If You're Real

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I walk out of my room and I see that the lounge is free. Good, I hate it when there are people there, all they do is stare at me.
So I lie down on one of the sofas and stare at the empty sofa opposite me, I feel my shoes sinking into the scratchy fabric and my eyelashes brush the pillow every time I blink.

Suddenly my Frank appears on the sofa, he is in exactly the same position as I am, and seems to be mirroring me. We are both on our sides and facing each other silently, his feet are where my feet are, his hand is where mine rests, his nose is directly opposite mine. I could be looking in a mirror.
I know he in not real, he is just a part of my imagination. But I check anyway, and when I reach out to touch him my hand goes through his white smooth skin. As if he is a ghost.

I ask him to move his fringe out his eyes, in my head, and he reluctantly brushes it away, before staring at me again.

"What are you staring at?" Someone walks into the room. Oh shit, it's Dr Iero. The real Dr Iero. This is so weird. There are two Dr Ieros. I look slowly back and forth between my imaginary Dr Iero and the real Dr Iero. Two versions. Oh my fuck. The one in my mind looks kind and beautiful but the real life one looks tired and pained. If only he knew another version of him was less than a metre away from him on the sofa.

"I'm not looking at anything." I say, trying to sound innocent. He raises an eyebrow.
"What?" I exclaim.
"Are you sure there is nothing there?" he asks. As if he knows. Pffft.
"Positive. Nothing there." I lie.
"If you say so, but I swear there is a person lying across from you."
Shit. How does he know?
"Gerard, I can't see anyone but I can tell that are hallucinating. I know that because your pupils are enlarged. I can tell by looking at your eyes."
Does he know I've been staring at him for the last half an hour? Is he real? Which one is real?
"H-how did you know? Is he real?" I panic.
He smiles.
"I knew it, you are hallucinating, aren't you."
I say nothing.
"What is their name?" he asks gently. I mentally slap myself. Of course. He doesn't see the hallucination. Only I do. It could be anyone. It's my secret, I can just lie to him.
"His name is... Michael." I lie. I can't believe I got so worked up about this. Dr Iero seems to believe me and walks off, smiling at me before his goes.

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Notes