S̶̶e̶̶b̶̶a̶̶s̶̶t̶̶i̶̶a̶̶n̶̶

Dimitri Russo

I sat back unwillingly as I watched Sebastian
continue his attempts to hurt Queen and Syn. I tried desperately to fight him from doing horrible things but after all these years, he had overpowered me. I was now nothing but a weak voice in the back of his mind.

What are you doing now? I asked him.

"Don't worry." He chuckled and sat down in an office chair as he kept our eyes on a plain wall in front of us. He made it a habit to look elsewhere when he was doing something sinister, so I wouldn't try to take control and warn someone.

There was only one time I managed to truly do it before and although it was the best thing I ever did, he just wouldn't stop hurting people.

2 Years Ago

"What are we doing here?" I asked Sebastian as I watched us walk into a nightclub.

"Just here to have fun," he said slyly.

I could clearly see and hear him interacting with my friends as if it were me and I hated every second of it. This had to be my fault. Was I that insignificant to the people around me that they couldn't tell there was an abrupt personality change?

For instance, at this very second, Sebastian was drinking. A lot. But none of them said anything just like all the other times he grabbed drinks with them.

They knew I never drank. So why didn't they question it? The bitter pill and hard truth about the matter was that they didn't give a shit about me. They didn't care that I drank now and didn't before. Or that I now yelled at staff, when it was previously against my character.

Not a single one of them pointed out a difference. But they did point out one thing. Sebastian was a lot more frugal than I was...

"Dude, come on, Dimitri," I heard Alec whine as he pat my shoulder. "What happened to you? You've become so cheap!" He said with a laugh as he chugged a bottle of alcohol.

Sebastian laughed in response and shook my head. "I've always been like this, dumbass."

They all laughed together and cheered when Sebastian gave in to their request to spend more money. That was yet another disparity with us. Sebastian, with the right influence, could be talked into anything. He was mentally weak, naive...desperate to be liked.

I, on the other hand, was none of those. Which made this all the more disgusting to watch. My friends used to call me rigid and uptight...so why didn't "my" sudden aloofness not trigger any curiosity?

I had to come to terms with the fact that my "friends", weren't truly my friends. I suppose it's what I get for surrounding myself with business partners instead of true friends.

"We need to get laid tonight!" I heard Kai yell. Sebastian turned in his direction and laughed as they clinked glasses.

Possession wasn't new to me but laughter was always something that caught me off guard. I'd feel my body shaking with joy and excitement yet I mentally and emotionally wanted to die.

If someone, just one person, had the balls to kill me...I'd get rid of this asshole and come back as myself in a few days. I suppose if I really wanted, I could gather all my strength and push myself up to consciousness.

It wouldn't take much for me to pick at Alec's weak ego and have him beat me to death. The only reason I didn't was that I'd seen some of the things Sebastian had done to people.

Just like Vladimir...

I'd rather contain this evil within myself than it be an invisible force that could hop into an unknown and unsuspecting body. I wouldn't wish this fate upon my worst enemy. So death wasn't an option at the moment.

After a few hours of their partying and drunk conversations, the boys left and the bar was practically empty except a girl sitting beside us. I hoped Sebastian wouldn't notice her as I did but knowing him, he did.

"Don't even think about it," I said to him.

I heard him laugh within my mind and disgust filled my senses. "Why? Do you like this one?"

"No," I lied. She was a beautiful girl admittedly but I didn't want her to get hurt. I wanted to scream for her to run but even if I did, she wouldn't hear me. She seemed like one of those naive girls that always saw the good in people. That's what Sebastian liked.

He told me once that he liked to see the fear in his victims' eyes as his good boy facade disappeared. It excited him and to me, it was sick.

I'd wonder if Sebastian was like this before he possessed me. Did he hurt anybody as he had done in my shell? Or was his newfound courage due to him damaging my reputation and not his?

"Did I make you like this?" I whispered. "Is it my fault that you are the way you are?"

"Yes," he spat. "This is all you. I'm following the will your mind is telling me to."

"That can't be true..." I trailed off sadly.

"Oh, but it is. Before this I never harmed a fly, now I'm following the will of your disgusting and perverse thoughts."

I scoffed to myself and thought solemnly. The mind is a strange thing. We come up with so many realities, so many false narratives to make ourselves the good guy in each of them. His Angel and savior narrative could only be true if he blamed it on me. So he did.

Admittedly I was never perfect myself. I made a lot of mistakes in my life. Hung out with the wrong crowd, broke the law a few times, but I had a line.

I could with 100% honesty say that I never hurt anyone before. Not sexually, or physically or mentally. I hadn't even truly ever had sex with a girl or fallen in love with anyone. It's always been someone else.

When I was in control of my body, I was too disgusted with myself to ever put myself out there. And by the time I had gone through therapy and was ready to go out into the world, someone else was in control.

Just like that, I would be pushed to the backseat of my own car to watch the driver go anywhere he wanted. I could yell directions all I wanted but they never listened to me.

A prisoner in my own body.

It would be easier to push myself down to the depths of my soul and submerge myself in darkness. To let anyone who had control of me do whatever they want, but then what type of person would I be? I couldn't stop anyone but I'd never be able to live with myself if I didn't try.

So I did.

Every single time that Sebastian would try to hurt anyone, he'd have to go through me. Granted, he'd overpower me every time, but I would still give it my all.

I was becoming weaker, though. And him already being stronger than me when I was at my strongest, wasn't a comforting thought at all. One day, he would be in my body doing whatever he wanted, and I'd be able to do nothing but silently watch.

I felt my head turn towards the girl and I cursed myself. This was going to happen again. "Can I get you a drink?" Sebastian asked her.

She looked up at us and smiled as she shook her head. "I don't drink, but thank you so much."

"Is there anything you want me to ask her?" Sebastian asked in my head.

"Let me take control," I said dryly.

"Not happening."

"What's your name?" He asked her.

"Charlie," she said nicely.

"What's a girl like you doing here alone this late?" He asked.

"I just got off work," she laughed. "I have a test in a few hours so...I'm studying my ass off."

"You came to a bar to study?" He questioned.

"Leave her alone," I begged.

"I work here too, so I'm just studying until my shift starts."

"When do you get off?" He asked.

"Umm," she glanced at her watch as she yawned. "6 am and then it's time for school."

"Busy girl," he joked.

They talked for a few minutes about random things and I found myself completely absorbed in their conversation. If it weren't for the lingering threat that he might hurt her, I would've enjoyed what they were talking about.

"I need to start work," she said as she packed up her things.

"And I'll be here."

Sebastian made us stay and talk to her as she worked the late hours. It was hard for me to loosen up and relax when I knew the type of person he was.

I found myself smiling at the sound of her laugh but I quickly pushed that away and focused. Sebastian was trying to get me to like her before he did anything, which was cruel.

His cruelty and torture persisted for the next couple of months as they began dating. He would walk her home every day, make sure she got to work on time, helped her study for her exams...

It seemed like he truly changed and I finally let myself relax. Over time, she fell in love with him and I fell in love with her...while he...I'm not sure what he felt.

For the first time ever for me, I had found someone I was in love with and wanted to be with. But I couldn't. If I thought about it she truly didn't even know me anyway.

That didn't matter to me though as I continued falling for her. The way she smiled, snorted when she laughed, or how she would kick us out of her apartment at exactly 8 pm, no later.

That would piss Sebastian off considering sex was the only thing ever on his mind, but I loved it about her. She had boundaries and self-respect for herself that couldn't be dissuaded with sweet words.

I thought about her all day today as Sebastian sat through meetings. I didn't even notice it was nighttime until Sebastian stood up and we looked outside of a window.

"You want to see her, don't you?" He asked out loud.

I almost didn't know he was speaking to me until I remembered that nobody else was in the room. "No," I answered. It obviously was a lie but no matter how much I loved her, I didn't want to see her anymore.

More time with Sebastian, meant more danger for her.

"You don't think I can tell that you love her?" He asked. When I remained quiet he began laughing and my nerves went crazy.

"I don't!" I lied.

"You do!" He snapped. "So let's go see her."

I protested as he changed into dark clothes and drove to her job. I memorized the direction since we always took it but today was different. He parked a couple of streets away from her job and got out of the car.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He ignored me and pulled up his hoodie and hid behind a tree from a restaurant where she waited tables. I saw her grin at an elderly couple as she passed them their food and my heart ached.

"Sebastian, please don't hurt her."

He ignored me once again as he stayed in the shadows and watched her. We stayed in that same spot for what felt like hours. Sebastian didn't move us an inch.

...not until Charlie left the restaurant.

She had a bad habit of walking home alone at night and I passionately hated it but it wasn't like I could tell her. Sebastian waited until she was far ahead of us before he began following her.

"Sebastian stop!" I screamed.

I recognized his predatory stalking from all his other victims and I screamed from inside him. He hit the side of his head to shut me up but I wouldn't stop. Id keep going until his, our, brain exploded if I needed to.

The streets were empty and I silently begged for Charlie to notice she was being followed, but she didn't. She was too absorbed in the music playing from her earbuds to notice that we were following her every step.

An alley came up and I fought with all my might as I felt Sebastian grab her and pull her into it. She fought and screamed against him and my heart broke as her eyes recognized us. "D-Dimitri what...stop!" She yelled.

It's not me.

Her brown hair fell on her face as her hazel eyes pooled with tears. The pain I felt seeing her in such distress was unmatchable to anything I'd ever felt.

Sebastian ripped her underwear and she clawed at his arms. A fit of anger bubbled up from within me and I let out a guttural screech as I pushed myself to consciousness.

I stopped moving and froze when I felt the cool breeze hit my face. It had been so long since I felt such a thing.

"Let me out!" Sebastian screamed inside my head.

His screams and pounding in my head brought my attention back to the severity of the situation and I looked down at Charlie, who was sobbing against the alley wall. Thankfully I had interrupted before he was able to do anything but I didn't know how much longer I could hold him back.

"You need to leave," I said through gritted teeth as I stumbled away from her. Tears fell down from her face as confusion passed her features.

"Dimitri, why-"

"Leave!" I yelled. "Before I hurt you."

She hugged herself as she looked out the alley and then back at me. "I don't understand."

"I'm not who you think I am," I answered quickly. I felt Sebastian coming closer and closer so I removed my keys from my pocket and passed it to her. "I can't explain everything to you, but I'm not Dimitri. At least not the Dimitri you know."

"Can you explain?" She cried.

"No, no, you need to go."

"No, we can get you help," she argued. "I love you I can't-"

"I'm being possessed, Charlie. You're in love with the man pretending to be me and he won't hesitate to hurt you," I said in a hurried voice.

"But-"

"Please!" I begged as I held the key in her hands. "Leave Juva and never come back. Never try to contact me again. You have to disappear so he won't find you."

"Who's he?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"His name is Sebastian Kingston. If you ever hear the name I want you to run as far as you can!"

"She can't run from me!" He screamed.

"Do you understand?" I asked. "If I ever come to you, don't believe a word I say."

She nodded quickly and moved away from the wall hesitantly. She backed away a few steps before rushing towards me and kissing me quickly. "I'm not going to leave forever. I'll come back for you."

"You don't even know me," I whispered.

"I want to," she said.

"You don't. Don't come back." I felt Sebastian managed to push through a barrier in my mind and I fell to the floor. Charlie seemed concerned as she tried to come and help me but I quickly shook my head. "Get the car and leave!" I screamed.

I held Sebastian back as she sped to the car. I fought until my body went limp and I fell into the backseat of my mind once again.

"Charlie!" He yelled in a sing-song voice.

He walked towards where the car was and my heartbeat raced as I saw her fumble with the keys. Come on, Charlie. The car finally came alive and the headlights shined in front of us.

Sebastian laid his hands on the car and I watched as she looked us into our eyes. What was she waiting for? Sebastian began laughing maniacally and she reversed the car.

"Get out of the car, Charlie..." he sang.

With a determined look, I watched as she hit the gas and drove. Straight towards us. I hardly felt the impact of the car hitting my body but hearing Sebastian scream in pain was satisfying.

We landed on the floor weakly and coughed up blood as we started at the road. I felt like shit but a smile was on my face as I heard Charlie get further and further away from us.

___

Present

I never heard from Charlie again after that and I was thankful for it. I hoped every day that she wouldn't keep her word of coming back. If she came back here, I wouldn't be strong enough to fight Sebastian.

These days though, he seemed busy with Syn and Queen so I doubt Charlie was ever a recurring thought to him. I didn't know exactly what he had planned for them...but I knew it was big.

꧁꧂
Author's Note
I am flabbergasted and utterly disgusted...

I think I truly hated Sebastian the most in this chapter. The way he played with Dimitri's heart when it came to Charlie was just...sad. 😣
I don't know about y'all but I actually like the real Dimitri🤧
Lmk your thoughts ✨