Cat and Mouse [SEQUEL TO FRAGILE MINDS]

Data Entry 14

"You're finally ready to come back to work?" Othello raised an eyebrow. He eyed Adrian up and down then frowned. "Aren't you a bit...different?"

"Hm?" Adrian blinked. "Because I'm wearing a sweater vest? Come on, it doesn't look that bad on me," he pouted. 

"Aren't those...fake glasses?" Othello adjusted his own glasses when he asked this. 

"Well, yes, but my therapist said they'd help with social anxiety and I've been getting nearsighted anyway because of my bangs so..." Adrian twirled some of his long fringe in his fingers. "Maybe this will get me used to wearing glasses when I need them?" 

"Hm," Othello crossed his arms. "Fine," he sighed. "Your office is just like you left it." 

"Thank you!" Adrian grinned and walked toward his office. He opened the door and coughed at the dust. Memories drudged up but he suppressed them. "No," he slapped his cheeks lightly. "I can do this!" He sat down in his chair and started cleaning, as one does, but the door opened and Vincent walked in. Was it dangerous for him to be here? Probably. Was his curiosity about the police investigation stronger than his safety precautions? Definitely. He sat down in the chair across from Adrian's desk and waited for him to notice. 

He didn't notice. 

Odd. 

"Excuse me," Vincent spoke. Adrian's head snapped up and he nearly jumped out of his skin. 

"You really startled me," he placed his hand on his chest to try and calm down. "May I help you?" Vincent blinked. What? "Are you here looking for treatment? Because, I just got back but I can introduce you to someone until I get back into the swing of things," he smiled warmly. Excuse me? What? 

Has he forgotten about us? Victoria huffed. Vincent pushed her away and brought his hand to his chin. He pondered this for a moment. Should he pretend to be a patient? That sure did bring back memories. 

"Just got back?" Vincent smiled. "Did you take a break from this line of work for some reason?" he decided to play along. 

"I had a patient that really messed me up more than I helped her," Adrian confessed, laughing awkwardly. 'Her'? Hm, must just remember Victoria then. What about Blavat? "Luckily I have a very supportive boyfriend," Adrian beamed. "He really helped me work through my issues and convinced me to give this another go." Boyfriend? What the fuc-

"Boyfriend?" 

Adrian's glasses glinted with warning as his sweet voice lowered about three pitches. "If you have an issue with me having a boyfriend, I ask you to reread this facility's policies and suggest looking for another clinic." 

"Please don't misunderstand," Vincent waved his hands, acting concerned. "I'm only interested in knowing what such an angel would look like to have helped you so much. Would you mind showing me a picture?" He knew very well that Adrian didn't have a picture. His only obsession was Vincent for a considerable period of time. Everything on his phone would be wallpapers designed in shades of blue. Vincent wasn't the type to allow pictures of him to survive on the internet. 

"Oh, I don't mind," Adrian smiled and grabbed his phone. He opened up his camera roll and stared, bewildered. Just as Vincent suspected, walking behind the desk to glance over Adrian's shoulder. Nothing but saved patterned blue-themed backgrounds. "Strange, I don't even enjoy the color blue..." Adrian muttered. "Blavat must be playing a prank on me." 

Blavat? Vincent was tempted to take a step back. Of all of the things...Blavat was the boyfriend? It made sense if Adrian was avoiding Victoria, forgot Vincent, and Blavat was the only personality left but...it didn't make it any less annoying. I'm the boyfriend, hm? I kind of don't know how to feel about that. I missed all those dates! Blavat sighed. Shut up! You're not even supposed to be out right now! Victoria scolded. Don't you think I should know what's going on? I'm the boyfriend. Blavat replied smugly. 

You know very well that's not what's going on, don't you? Adrian turned his head to look in the corner. Who was talking to him? A male dressed in black with long unruly hair. He couldn't see his face but knew very well who it was. The Undertaker. That same horrid person that broke into his office. What was he doing here so soon? How did he know? Adrian panicked and fell out of his chair into Vincent. 

"W-what are you doing here?" he pointed at the corner. Vincent stared, holding Adrian's shoulders. He wasn't expecting that drastic of a response...but then again...Adrian was already prone to hallucinating. Why wouldn't he hallucinate his memories? It was too soon for him to remember, so Vincent would have to play along once again. He moved in between the hallucination and Adrian, then glared at the wall as if he was seeing the same person Adrian was. 

"I think it's time for you to leave," Vincent snapped. "You're clearly unwelcome here." 

Oh? I'm wounded. The Undertaker cackled but did as he was told. 

"Thank you?" Adrian muttered as Vincent helped him to his feet. 

"It was no trouble," Vincent smiled. The actual problem here was his favorite toy forgetting all about him. How rude! Weren't you the one that said you weren't going to see him again? This is your perfect excuse to leave his life... Blavat suggested. Vincent growled quietly at himself. No. He didn't want to leave his life, he wanted to provide initiative to become an obsession. He liked it best when his toys only thought of him and him alone. Oh, honey, you like him a bit more than just a toy. Victoria chuckled. Ridiculous. He would just have to make Adrian remember him and then torture him a bit for forgetting. Yes. That's it. He wanted his toy back. Don't you know? Cats always play with their food. Are you sure you're the cat? Blavat and Victoria said in unison. 

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale..." Adrian tilted his head slightly. 

"I'm fine, thank you," Vincent assured. "I've just been feeling a bit out of sorts recently. Someone I care about, you see, has forgotten all about my existence." 

"Amnesia?" Adrian sighed and crossed his arms. "That's a difficult one. Try too hard and it'll backfire. It's best to let these things run their course. Triggering a memory to come back too soon will cause adverse effects. Is this person the reason for your visit today?" 

Vincent was very tempted to slap Adrian right now but it was his own fault for talking about Adrian to Adrian as if Adrian wasn't the person he was talking about to begin with. "Yes," Vincent forced himself to keep smiling. 

"Well, under normal circumstances I would say to keep your distance. Something in their everyday life might trigger memories to come back and then they'll reach out to you. However, given that this person seems close to you..." Adrian frowned slightly. "You might not be willing to do that. Perhaps it's best if you try to establish a new bond with the individual and then in time they might remember the old one as well. If they liked you once then they'll like you again in the future, with time, of course." 

Vincent feigned surprise. "How do you know that the person is close to me?" 

Adrian laughed. "It's highly unlikely that you would reach out to a professional on a stranger's behalf. I've been doing this for a long time, you see. I happen to notice these things," his eyes glinted with a bit of pride. Vincent wasn't used to seeing Adrian confident in himself. See? Maybe it's best if you just leave his life right now... Blavat said. 

"Thank you for your advice," Vincent held out his hand for Adrian to shake. "I've made my decision but would you mind terribly if I came back for advice in the future?" 

"I gave you this much to repay what you did for me earlier," Adrian shook Vincent's hand. "If you want more advice, you'll have to pay the price. Goodwill doesn't exactly put food on the table or pay the bills. Consider that a free trial."  

"I'll keep that in mind."