****

Everyone thought he loved nobody. That he was cold, unloving, even heartless. They thought he was untouchable.

They couldn't be more wrong.

The truth was, one person had captured Anxiety's heart from the day they met. He with the flair for the dramatics, the romantic and fanciful side, the embodiment of creativity. The one with the sparkling eyes and brightest smiles, the ego and confidence, the flirt, the brave and honourable one. The one who was everything Virgil wasn't.

Prince.

Anxiety had been enchanted when they first met; the royal boy had been so new, so different, so strange and refreshing, a shining beacon of light in the darkness of Anxiety's world.

But he knew Roman would never feel the same, so he hid it. Buried the feeling. Covered the emotions up, the longing, the pain and hurt and love, the adoration and sadness, the wish for the feelings to be mutual. Covered up with sarcasm, sass, insults and hissed words of annoyance, rolled eyes and scoffed remarks. Hid with a cold stone mask of indifference and annoyance, a hard, tough exterior to hide and protect the soft interior.

But covering things didn't mean they would go away. The feelings remained, bubbling under the surface of the walls and shields Anxiety had put up, trying to break free every time Anxiety saw Roman laugh, noticed how his eyes sparkled, heard him sing a Disney song. He loved Prince, and there was nothing he could do about it. All he had accomplished was making the others drift away from him, ostracise him, believe that he was somebody he was not. He'd made them believe the mask, believe that he was cold and aloof and didn't care and didn't love anything or anyone, because no matter what they did he would reject their friendship, ignore any kindness or affection, because he couldn't stand it, the guilt, the emotions, the feelings.

They thought Anxiety untouchable, but Roman had swept him off his feet a lifetime ago and never quite put him down. Of course Virgil was out of their reach.