'I'm so fucking bored...'

          This thought continues to cross my mind as I scroll through Wattpad searching for a half-decent story to read. 'Screw the coronavirus, screw this quarantine, screw the celebrities in their million dollar mansions complaining about how this is the worst thing ever-'

          "Hey, Arya, I'm heading off to Costco to get some groceries. Your siblings are coming with me, so you'll be home alone for a bit. Ok?" my mom says, shocking me out of my stupor.

          "Okay," I mutter back with about as much enthusiasm as a depressed potato like me can muster. She closes the door to my room and I listen for the sounds of the garage door closing before I resume my search for a story. 'Why is it so hard to find a fic with my OTP that isn't abandoned or has the grammar of a five year old? And is it really that hard to complete your sentences with the proper punctuation? My god, this person throws semicolons into their writing like it's confetti! You know what? Screw this,' I think as I throw my iPad to the side. I flop back onto my bed and sigh in defeat.

          Grabbing my phone, I hop onto YouTube, click on some random video and question if there really is a god, and if so, what did we do to deserve his torment. The video turned out to be Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts, which I have watched enough times to almost memorize word for word. A few minutes later I laugh as I watch Remus rise up and strike Roman over the head with his Morningstar causing Patton to yell, "You killed him!" Then as Remus breaks into his theme song a sudden thought crosses through my mind.

          'What if you could talk with the sides? Go on adventures with them? Be friends with them?' This wasn't the first time I had envisioned this idea, but for whatever reason this time I decided to entertain the thought. "What if I was... wait. How would I even meet them in the first place? They're imaginary and I'm... not." But then it hit me.

          I knew the idea was absurd. Foolish. Outrageous. Preposterous, even. (Logan would be so proud) But as a bored quarin-teen (I'm sorry, that pun sucked) I would do anything for a bit of entertainment. I remembered how when I was still a more active member of the creepypasta fandom I would see posts on how to summon certain creepypastas with objects around your house. What if there were "spells" like that for summoning the sides? Even though it probably would be a waste of time, at least it was something to do. Opening up google I searched up "Sanders Sides summoning rituals" and got arrested by the FBI. The end. Don't do illegal magic kiddos. Just kidding! I clicked on the first result and scrolled through the list of materials needed for each side. In the end, I chose Deceit because the materials for the others would take too long to obtain and Remus's involved murder.

          Ten minutes later I had all the materials set up and ready: a piece of snakeskin, a bag of salt, a piece of paper with a past lie I told written on it, and a candle. I decided to do the ritual in the living room since there was more space. Setting the candle down, I pulled out the bag of salt and made a circle around the candle with it. Next I pulled out a lighter and lit the candle. Then I took the paper and quickly threw it on the candle. The paper caught fire instantly and burned for several seconds before turning into dark ash. Palms sweating, I took the piece of snakeskin and crumbled it to dust over the candle. I then quickly stepped back and waited. And waited. And waited.

          "Well, that was utterly disappointin-"

          Suddenly there was a BANG followed by an enormous cloud of foul smelling greenish-gray smoke. 'Oh fuck, did I set the couch on fire again?!' I thought, coughing and waving my hand in front of my face. When the smoke finally cleared I saw something even more shocking than a flaming couch. Because in front of me stood a figure clad in black and yellow Disney villain-like attire, with a half snake face and carrying a sinister aura.

          It was Deceit.

          "What the fuck."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Deceit was enraged. No, scratch that. Infuriated. His day has been about as fun as going to Disneyland. In the rain. With your ex. It had started with him waking up to see that Remus had brought another one of his creations from the Imagination into the Dark Sides realm. This time it was a cat, if cats had fins and gills and were the size of horses and were hellbent on murdering you. It had taken them almost an hour to get the damn thing under control and then he had to deal with Remus begging that they keep it as a pet, as if it hadn't just tried to slash them both to death.

          Next, he was summoned into Thomas's living room to discuss the latest problem. He couldn't recall what it was about, since the moment he dropped in he chose to zone out knowing that any input of his would be dismissed because no matter how hard he tried, he would always be seen as a liar, the metaphorical snake trying to lure Adam and Eve into sinning. When he did choose to start listening, however, he could hear the tell-tale sound of Sir-sing-a-lot and Microsoft turd arguing.

          Deceit couldn't be less surprised. These two idiots never stopped fighting. It impressed the serpent how the others managed to put up with their antics; it also made him grateful some days that he ended up with Remus. Then the conversation took a turn in a way that if he knew about beforehand he wouldn't have stuck around to watch.

          "At least I'm not an emotionally cold robot!" Roman yelled furiously.

          "Well at least I didn't side with a fucking liar!" Logan screamed back, angrily motioning towards Deceit.

          Suddenly, all eyes were on either the prince or half-snake, who stood there stunned. Logan seemed to process what he said because he had stiffened up, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, not making a sound. He had gone too far and everyone knew it, yet rather than yell or chastise him they just stared, stared with a look devoid of feeling, all except for Roman, who for the faintest moment let a flicker of vulnerability flash through his eyes. And it was in that moment that Deceit realized that this was not the first time this has happened. This was not the first time they had brought up the big debate and guilt tripped Roman for siding with Deceit. This was not the first time they made him feel bad for just wanting something that would help Thomas in a world where the only way you ever made it big is by making sacrifices because you never know who you can trust and who would stab you in the back with no hesitation-

          Deceit reined in his thoughts before they got out of control and forced his gaze towards Logan, who shrunk back slightly at the venomous look Deceit gave him.

          "Well if I'm only a quote, 'fucking liar' to you, then I guess you wouldn't mind if I just left." he hissed, sinking out of Thomas's living room before anyone could object. He reappeared in his room and resisted the urge to scream. How could they be so blind to all that is going on? Why didn't Roman try to tell the others how much he was hurting? Deceit threw himself onto his bed and tiredly ran his fingers through his hair. Things like this could wait until later. The snake laid there for several minutes in silence replaying the scene that just occurred in his mind.

          Then came the sounds of footsteps along with the voices of the other sides. Deceit quickly sat up and decided he would wait until everyone had settled into their rooms before confronting Roman. Something was wrong with him and Deceit would find out what. After all, he couldn't let the side suffer in silence much longer. Closing his eyes, he teleported just outside the dark side of the Mindscape and listened for the sounds of the others. Everyone seemed to have turned in for the day and had headed off to their rooms. 'Perfect,' the serpent thought. He silded over to Roman's door and knocked softly, getting a faint, "Come in," in response.

          Roman had looked surprised to see Deceit but nevertheless let him enter. Deceit quickly took notice of how the prince sat on the edge of his bed hunched over as opposed to his usual posture of sitting up straight. His eyes were also red and puffy, and his breath came out in little gasps.

          The snake took a deep breath and said, "I understand that you do not like me that much; you have good reason to. But there are a few cases where one must set aside their differences for the greater good. Now I want you to answer the following question as honestly as possible: are you okay?"

          Roman stayed silent for several moments before responding. "No, but I don't see why you would care." Deceit had expected that kind of response but those words still stung nonetheless. Deceit patiently replied, "Because, and although it may not seem like it, I care about our host. I care for Thomas's well being and if one of us is suffering, then Thomas's well being is suffering too," Deceit patiently replied. Roman scoffed and stood up, clenching his fists and glaring at Deceit.

          "Oh sure. I totally believe that. Especially coming from a liar like you! I'm honestly glad I chose to not let you get your way in the end! I'm glad that I chose the wedding over the callback! I wish I had never sided with you, because I can now see that you're just a greedy, spiteful, piece of shi-" Roman's rant was cut short as his hand slapped over his mouth thanks to Deceit's powers. The serpent in question was seething. He didn't know if he wanted to slap Roman or scream at him, so instead he turned on his heel and stomped out. Looking over his shoulder just before he left though, he threw one last rage-filled statement at the prince. "I apologize for trying to help for once!"

          Deceit had teleported back to his room where he was now pacing back and forth, the events of today replaying non-stop in his mind. "Fucking liar!" "Greedy, spiteful" "I don't see why you would care" He was livid. Why was everyone so dead set on the idea that all he wanted to do was harm everyone? What would it take for them to realize that he had importance too? The thought of ducking out crossed his mind but he quickly pushed that away. No matter how bad things got, he would never do that. Not to Thomas or the others despite how badly he had been treated recently.

          A wave of loneliness suddenly overcame him. Deceit has longed for someone he could talk to, someone he could share his views with without being judged or berated. He missed those days when it was just him, Remus, and Virgil, where they would support and carry each other through their problems or make fun of the light sides. But then Virgil chose to betray them, leaving both Deceit and Remus distraught. He had slowly recovered over time but never fully. A part of him longed for the past, wished he could go back to those days, especially now when it felt like nobody wanted him. Sure, he had Remus, but he could be a little... intense, to put it nicely.

          The serpent sighed quietly, a few tears spilling out of his eyes and landing on the floor. Maybe one day he would at least be tolerated, be able to speak without being dismissed, but for now he would just have to deal.

          Suddenly, Deceit felt his body jerk forward uncontrollably and then he was... falling? All he knew was that the ground and lights had disappeared without warning and he was now descending through absolute darkness. Even stranger was how the feeling had left as soon as it came, leaving him on his hands and knees, surrounded by smoke and feeling dizzy. Thinking this was some prank by Remus he quickly scrambled to his feet and waved away the smoke. Rather than seeing the familiar design of his room, though, he instead saw that he was in a living room. It wasn't the dark or the light sides living room, or even Thomas's. Deceit then noticed how solid and real everything was, meaning he wasn't in the Imagination either. He started panicking. 'How did I get here? I don't think any of the others could have done this. I've never accidentally teleported before, especially to the real world! Where am I even?' Deceit thought frantically. He looked up when he heard a voice softly say, "What the fuck." In front of him was a teenage girl wearing a dark red hoodie, gray leggings and an expression of pure disbelief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          'Holy shit, you just summoned Deceit into your living room, don't panic, don't panic,don't panic- ah crap, I'm panicking.' I couldn't believe it. I somehow managed to bring a character that I thought to be imaginary to me with a spell I found on fucking DeviantArt. After a moment of us staring at each other in pure shock I worked up the courage to say in a shaky voice, "Deceit?"

          Bad move on my part. The snake in question snapped out of whatever trance he had been in and raised a hand in a swiping motion in my direction. My right hand uncontrollably slapped over my mouth and stayed there firmly. Deceit stalked closer and let out a low hiss that caused all the hairs on my neck to stand on end. "Who are you? Why am I here? How do you know my name?" he demanded. I tried to pull my hand off my mouth but alas to no avail. He hissed again and took a step closer, gloved hands balled into fists. Making a muffled noise of exasperation, I finally was able pull my hand off my mouth with one large tug.

          "Hey, calm down! I'm just as confused as you are. I'm not gonna hurt you," I said trying to deescalate the situation. I put my hands up in surrender as if to prove my point. Deceit stared at me with a look of distrust, seeming to scrutinize my words for any bit of lies. He then dropped his hands to his sides, his posture a bit more relaxed. Heart pounding away like a dubstep bass, I did the same.

          I took a deep breath before saying, "To answer your earlier questions, my name is Arya. I know your name from the series Sanders Sides, I'm a huge fan by the way," I added, laughing nervously, "and as for your final question, it's a little confusing... I found a spell online that could supposedly summon in the sides. I chose you and somehow it worked. I have no idea how, or why it did. I am sorry for scaring you though..." I trailed off, wringing my hands behind my back.

          Deceit looked at me incredulously. He nodded before muttering to himself, "That is quite odd, though I couldn't detect any lie in her statement. She seems to be trustworthy enough so far." The snake then straightened (gayed) up and said with a small smile, "Well, it hasn't been pleasant meeting you, and I don't hope we meet again. Bad day, Arya." He gave a little wave before beginning to sink out.

          "Wait!" I cried out, stepping forward. Deceit paused and gave me a confused look, already halfway through the floor. "I mean, this may sound a little weird, but would you want to stay and hang out...? I understand if you don't!" I quickly added. But rather than sink out immediately and question why he even talks to the fangirls in the first place, he instead rose back up and smiled. "I would love to."

(~Time skip brought to you by Sanderson~)

          "And then I said, 'Oh, please! The only thing hetero about me are my eyes.'" I laughed at Deceit's story of the time one of Remus's creations started hitting on him. Deceit chuckled softly and took a sip from the can of soda I offered him earlier. (A/N This isn't accurate to real life. My mom never lets me or my siblings have luxuries like soda or candy. The last time I had sugar was when people were still panicking over ebola. Send help-) We had been talking for a while now, sharing stories from our pasts or discussing theories for different TV shows. Deceit was surprisingly easy to talk to, always having a good response to your statement or a thought-provoking question to keep the conversation going strong. Our laughter faded into a comfortable silence that filled the room and made everything seem calm and content. We sat like this for several minutes, letting our thoughts shift and wander but never really form clear ideas.

          All the sudden Deceit turned to me, a strange glint in his snake eye. "Would you like to see something cool?" I considered his words. A gut feeling told me to say no, but my curiosity took over. And besides, Deceit hadn't done anything yet to give me good reason not to trust him.

          Right?

          "Okay... just don't set anything on fire," I responded apprehensively. He smirked and set down his soda before standing up. The snake brought one of his arms up in an extravagant sweeping motion while loudly calling out, "Oh Roman!"

          The side swiftly rose up and stumbled a bit, looking disoriented from the sudden summoning. But before he could say or do anything else Deceit quickly glanced at me and said, "Watch this," before snapping his fingers.

          A sound not unlike a gunshot rang through the air followed by a flash of white light. 'What the hell?! Did he just flashbang me?' Blinking rapidly to clear the spots from my vision I looked over to Roman to see if he was okay.

          I never really understood the concept of being shocked speechless until now. Because who stood there wasn't Roman despite how similar they looked to him. Where Roman's clothes were white and gold, this person's were black and silver. The person's sash was also a much deeper shade of red than Roman's. Their hair was also slightly longer and bangs hid their eyes from view. A small silver crown sat on their head with little rubies embedded into the metal. And the emblem on each of their shoulders now featured a picture of a gold crown with a crack running through it.

          Deceit turned to me and smirked at my shocked expression. "Now, now, don't be rude. Say hello to Pride Sanders."

A/N: Hello! It's ya boi, back at it with another badly written fanfic. In case you don't know already, this story is based off of a role play me and @definitelynotdeceit did together. Follow them or I will steal your kneecaps and throw away your toaster. The plot line is predetermined and no, there are no romantic ships in this story. Sorry to dissapoint ya fanders. 

That should be all for now!

Bye my fellow potatoes!