[Sometimes, Daniel tells a lie without realising it. He believes himself in the moment, but the second someone questions him, the belief collapses underneath him. There's always a split second before the hallucinations start when it feels like his stomach is lurching, like he's falling, and he feels that now, teetering in his invisible circle.]
I-I--
[The walls sag inward, and he gasps, recoiling from nothing. He imagines insects wriggling behind his eyes, their silhouettes blotting out his vision.]
I knew! I knew! [He makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, his fingers rubbing at his eyes. The bugs aren't disappearing, and the walls haven't stopped breathing. It's too dark for him to regain the ground he lost with the lie.
He chokes out another sound.]
I didn't think it mattered! You were supposed to forget!
cw: hallucinations, insects, eye horror
I-I--
[The walls sag inward, and he gasps, recoiling from nothing. He imagines insects wriggling behind his eyes, their silhouettes blotting out his vision.]
I knew! I knew! [He makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob, his fingers rubbing at his eyes. The bugs aren't disappearing, and the walls haven't stopped breathing. It's too dark for him to regain the ground he lost with the lie.
He chokes out another sound.]
I didn't think it mattered! You were supposed to forget!