"Who?" Dan asked, voice tired and just done. He didn't have much energy left to try. "My parents are probably off on some trip, it's not like they would tell me if they're just not gonna come back, and you're my only friend and you can't drive cause- cause-" Dan bit his lip, and then tossed himself into the driver's seat. He wanted to get home, and then he could sleep forever for all he cared.
(Ooo, we could absolutely have something where Dan eventually gets a therapist and he's forced to confront that Roddy is a defense mechanism and Roddy has to realize he's not real)
(Oohh that'd be so interesting! I like it. Im thinking of having him skip school a couple days, and Anna gets freaked cause she thinks he's dead. But his parents could find out he's been skipping school and have him talk to a counselor.)
(Ooo, we could absolutely have something where Dan eventually gets a therapist and he's forced to confront that Roddy is a defense mechanism and Roddy has to realize he's not real)
(Oohh that'd be so interesting! I like it. Im thinking of having him skip school a couple days, and Anna gets freaked cause she thinks he's dead. But his parents could find out he's been skipping school and have him talk to a counselor.)
(Hehehe yesssss!!)
"Who?" Dan asked, voice tired and just done. He didn't have much energy left to try. "My parents are probably off on some trip, it's not like they would tell me if they're just not gonna come back, and you're my only friend and you can't drive cause- cause-" Dan bit his lip, and then tossed himself into the driver's seat. He wanted to get home, and then he could sleep forever for all he cared.
Roddy felt awful. He just wanted to help but he had no idea how. "I'm still here for you. I always will be. You know that." He kept his voice soft, worried about his best friend but not knowing what to do about it.
The past twenty-four hours had been downright awful. Dan's body hurt like hell, he couldn't remember what happened and he wasn't sure if he wanted to remember, and his only friend didn't actually exist. But he still had a friend, at least. A great best friend at that. Roddy was all he would ever need, he wouldn't have to talk to anyone again. He could just live up in his room, talk to Roddy, and be happy. No more Anna, no more moments where he had to fear or feel uncomfortable. "Thank you, Roddy," Daniel said quietly, hia voice weak but true, as he started up the car and left that forsaken house.
Rodney just smiled and settled back in his seat, glad that things had started to calm down and they could work on getting back to normal. Roddy would wait forever, not like he had anywhere else to go. He would stay by his best friend's side until the day he died.
(Skip now?)
(Yeah, when to do you think would be best?)
(Walking in for his first appointment?)
When the food in the fridge wasn't getting eaten up and there was no order-in containers in the trashcans, and they got a call from the school, Daniel's parents finally noticed that their son was barely coming out of his room. Dan had fallen into a spiral of exhaustion and sadness, not having enough energy to actually face the world. He still had Roddy though, he had talked and talked to his imaginary friend all those hours in his room. Anna had texted him after two days of not going to school, and he ignored that. Then she kept texting him. She was worried for him, asking if he was okay, and that this wasn't a joke, she just wanted to make sure he was alive… Daniel ignored all those texts. He was content with hiding from the world.
Daniel's parents actually showed some concern for him, for once. They had scheduled him for a 'Wellbeing' Appointment, and now here he was, in the waiting room, watching the clock tick by with Roddy at his side.
Roddy couldn't stop bouncing his leg, his hands squeezed together in his lap. He hated places like this, they made him so uncomfortable and almost fearful. He could never explain why, he just hated them. But Danny needed him and by God was he going to be there for his friend.
"Mr. Fletcher?" Daniel raised his head to see a nice looking woman standing before him. She had a gentle, friendly smile, and her soft brown pants paired with a pink cream colored shirt seemed to radiate kindness. "Why don't you come with me to my office where we can talk in private?"
Roddy stood, nervous and with his heart beating out of his chest. He promised Dan he'd be there through the whole appointment, there was no backing out now. So he just followed Daniel in, not at all ready for what would come next.
She led them to a small room filled with soft colors and comfy furniture. She sat down in a chair, and Daniel sat in a chair opposite her, leaving a two-seater couch for Roddy. "Alright Daniel, before we begin, let me say everything that is said here is completely confidential. I am obligated to bring forth information if you are hurting someone or hurting yourself, but other than that this is a completely safe space to talk." Daniel gave her a small shrug in recognition of her words, but favored starring at his and Roddy's shoes instead of looking up. "Do you know why your here?"
"The school made my parents do something for once?" Daniel offered, but the bite in his voice was dull. Tired. He wanted to go home and curl up again.
"Hmm," She hummed softly, as if in thought for a moment, "So your parents don't do much for you?"
Daniel shrugged again. "It took them long enough to notice me."
"Is that what you want? For them to notice you? Is that why you didn't leave your room? Your parents told me that much," The therapist told him, eyes gentle in contrast to her probing questions.
"No," Daniel said softly, his gaze moving to stare at Roddy. "I just wanted to talk with my friend for a while. That's it. I can go back to school now."
The therapist paused. "Who's your friend?"
"Roddy," Daniel responded softly, his stare moving back down to his shoes.
Roddy smiled supportively when Dan looked at him, kicking his feet as Daniel talked. He didn't mind just being a side character. This was to help Dan get better, to get him back to normal. So he stayed quiet, just playing with his fingers.
"What is your friend like?"
Daniel shifted nervously. "Can I excuse myself for a minute? I need to talk to him first," Daniel said, biting his lip hard. He had spiral down, down, down the past week. He just wanted to talk with Roddy for a moment, clear some things up.
"Why don't you give him a call?" The therapist suggested, not moving.
Daniel began shaking his head. "I can't," He voice came out weaker than he intended. Maybe it was because he hadn't been eating, or maybe it was because of the incident at the party, or maybe it was because there were some wounds that had never healed, Dan found himself ready to say something he hadn't dared confront before. He looked to Roddy. Pain, real genuine pain for something so fake, raked his chest as he said, "Roddy is imaginary."
It took a second for the words to sink in but when they did, Roddy's entire world shattered. Imaginary? Him? No. No way. It wasn't possible. I mean, sure, people never talked to him and acted like he didn't exist but that was just people being people, right? The never getting anything when it came to school, never getting any attention from anyone, the only ever talking to Dan and even his ignoring of Roddy in public, that was all just people not liking or not caring about who he was, right? He couldn't be fake, right?
He blinked a few times. He wasn't processing this properly. "Danny…what are you saying?" His voice was soft, heartbroken and confused. "I'm real, right? I-I mean, you talk to me so I must be real, right?"
"Is your imaginary friend with us right now?"
Daniel slowly nodded, shame dragging down the movement. "I'm sorry Roddy," He whispered softly. He had never wanted Roddy to know. He never knew how he'd react. What if Roddy disappeared after he learned he was imaginary?
The other woman was quiet for a moment. "Why do you apologize to him?"
Daniel looked up at her. "He's my friend, and I lied to him."
Roddy had to blink away tears, swiping at loose ones that escaped. "Danny…I-I thought I was your friend. Why would you lie to me? How could you do this to me?" He whispered, absolutely broken. His entire life was a lie. It's not that he didn't remember his childhood, it didn't exist. The blackout from the party was because of Daniel. "You're all I've ever had…"
"I'm sorry Roddy," Daniel repeated softly, wrapping his arms around himself. He didn't want to be here, he just wanted to talk to Roddy. "I just can't…" Daniel bit his lip again and rested his head in his hands
"Can't what?" The woman prompted.
"I can't do anything without Roddy. He's my only friend. He's the only one I can talk to." Daniel said quietly, shaking his head. The therapist was silent for a moment.
"Can I ask Roddy if he remembers how you two met?"
Roddy pulled himself together and thought for a minute. "Sure, I remember. It's a little fuzzy, like everything is from back then, but I remember. It was at the park. We were maybe six? Give or take a year, I think it was six. Danny had crawled into the tunnel to hide from his dad and found me there. We started to talk and the rest is history."
The therapist waiting expectantly for Daniel to relay the information. "I was hiding from my dad and I found- I made him up," Dan said quietly, shifting from side to side.
"Why were you hiding from your dad? Hide and seek?" The woman offered gently.
"No," Daniel said softly, glancing at Roddy uneasily. Dan never told him about what actually happened.
"Does your dad ever hurt you, Daniel?" The therapist asked gently.
"Not anymore."
Roddy squeezed his hands together. He knew about what happened when they first met but his understanding was vague. He remembered the rest though. The rest of what they went through together. He was there through it all. Not like he had a choice in it.
"Do you think you use Roddy as a coping mechanism, to deal with feeling isolated?" The therapist asked softly, and Daniel shrugged. Probably. But now… Daniel didn't want to have Roddy stuck to him anymore. Dan messed up, and he didn't think it was fixable.
"But…we're friends. He's all I've got, I have no one else. I don't even exist without him!" Roddy broke down in tears, curling up into a ball, scared for his life. "Please don't make him get rid of me…I can be better, I don't wanna go."