A few days later, and absolutely nothing had changed.

Logan had barely really left his room after he snapped at Virgil- he didn't want to have to look anyone in the eyes. He knew seeing Janus would just make him question his existence more and seeing anyone else would make him angry. But what could he do when his own reflection in the mirror made was beginning to make him feel pain, as well?

So, the days went on, and Logan just tried to get by and not let his thoughts get a hold of him. He didn't like to deal with the emotions he was feeling. They just, quite frankly... sucked. He felt like he had screwed up so bad that he'd never be able to fix it. He longed for the touch of his boyfriend, even if it were as simple as brushing their knuckles together, but he knew Virgil didn't want to even acknowledge he existed.

Were they even still technically dating? Or was it over?

...

Logan wasn't sure. He hadn't been for a while.

And then, suddenly, he felt a pull. The normal pull a side would feel when being summoned, by whoever that may be. Logan felt a small jolt of happiness for what felt like the first time in weeks. He had always loved the feeling of being summoned because it was a feeling of being wanted- no, needed. Logan was needed in that moment, and so he snapped himself into his normal Sanders Sides video outfit just in case that was what was happening, and let the pull of the summon take him away.

But when he rose up, everyone else was already there.

It was... a sight, to say the least.

The first thing he noticed was Roman. Yes, that's right, Roman. Roman had emerged from his room and was standing in his usual spot and in his usual princely uniform, holding a jar of what looked like jam. And if he squinted, Logan could tell the label read Crofter's- Roman's "Dragon Witch" Dragon Fruit. The prince was beaming oh so widely, his eyes a bit red and puffy, possibly from another mental breakdown Logan had clearly missed. But now he looked the happiest that he had ever been, or at least had been in quite a long time, spoon in hand, jar already half empty.

Logan's eyes traveled around the rest of the room- Thomas, who was also smiling, wearing his classic Steven Universe t-shirt. Patton, tapping his feet excessively in excitement, asking Roman over and over again how the jam tasted and how he was feeling. Virgil, who... didn't seem to notice Logan had been summoned.

And finally, Logan noticed Janus. Janus was directly next to him, staring at him, even, and Logan wondered how he had not seen him sooner. After taking another quick glance around the room it became obvious that Janus was the one who summoned him.

"...May I ask what is happening?" Logan spoke after a moment. The noise in the room slowly died down, and all eyes landed on him.

"Oh, hey, Logan! Ah, you're just in time! Look, Roman finally got his own Crofter's flavor!" Thomas exclaimed, still grinning.

"Yes, I finally did!" Roman squealed like a small child. "And I must say, this is a pretty deliciously delightful dish. The taste is absolutely splendid- I've never tasted anything like it! It really did a good job of... lifting my spirits."

"Why was I summoned?" Logan asked, ignoring the joy of his enemy. Janus sighed.

"I summoned you because I thought you needed to be part of this discussion long ago. But I believe everyone else wants you here for a different reason."

"A... different- excuse me?"

"Well, you see, Logan..." Patton began, fiddling with the ends of his hoodie. "You haven't really been the, uh, nicest to Roman over the years. And now that he's feeling better we all really just want you to apologize to him."

"...Apologize?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't be too hard for you to wrap your mind around, Logic," Virgil muttered.

Logan blinked. Anger boiled up inside of him.

"Apologize. I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can do that when I don't even know what has been happening for the past- however long this video has been being filmed. Why was I not summoned sooner?"

"Well, you just... we thought you being there wasn't going to make Roman feel any better," Thomas explained, rubbing the back of his neck. Logan raised both of his eyebrows at him and then sighed.

"So you didn't want me here because you were afraid I was going to make Roman feel worse about himself, and after leaving me out of yet another discussion, you want me to apologize. I know you all know you're doing something wrong by the way you don't want to look at me."

"Dude. It's not that hard, just say you're sorry," Virgil rolled his eyes, ignoring the last part of what Logan had said.

"Alright- fine. Roman, I am sorry. There. Is that all you needed from me?"

"Oh come on, you high school English teacher, I want a real apology!"

"Well I'm sorry that I hurt your tiny, fragile, insecure mind because you of all people are listened to more around here than the literal personification of Logic," Logan spat, suddenly pointing.

"Woah there," Thomas mumbled, blinking. Janus crossed his arms, and Roman huffed.

"Wow. I guess I thought right, you don't care about me, do you?"

"You'd think someone who claims he has so many issues himself would feel a little empathy," Virgil commented saltily.

"I don't feel anything," Logan corrected. Janus held back a snicker.

"Okay, uh, well... Logan, maybe you should just..." Patton trailed off, palms out in front of him and making a pushing motion. Logan's eyebrows furrowed and he quietly scoffed.

"I don't understand why you all want me to apologize. Don't you see what you are doing? Thomas only has one Logic and you are ignoring it completely. You are treating me like a child! Yet, you have two Creativity's and you decide to put the spotlight on the worse of the twins instead. I've barely even had a full conversation with The Duke, yet I know Remus would be a better listener and friend than all of you combined."

The room was filled with shock. Logan crossed his arms.

"...Besides Janus, Janus is a better person, too," Logan added underneath his breath. Him and Janus shared a glance after that, one where Logan once again couldn't read the look in the snake man's eyes.

"...Wow." Roman scoffed out, crossing his arms. "You're lucky I'm not feeling as insecure as I was a couple minutes ago."

"How would I know how you are feeling? I was left out of this video entirely!"

"Okay- Logan? Can you, like... chill?" Virgil raised an eyebrow at him.

"I am as calm as I possibly can be in this situation right now, Virgil."

"Uh- Logan? Look, kiddo, I... I think you need to go take a breather. Maybe come back in like half an hour and we can all talk about this?" Patton suggested.

"And there you go again, Patton. Are you seeing what you're doing? You constantly ask me how I'm feeling and ask if there's anything you can do to help with my situation, but as soon as I try to vent my frustrations with not being listened to around here, you know what you do? You don't listen to me. You give your little nervous shrug because you know that you are part of the problem, and yet you have no want to make an effort to fix yourself."

Patton blinked. He nervously smiled and shrugged, quickly catching himself shrugging and immediately freezing and gluing his guilty eyes to the carpeted floor.

"Woah, hold on, Logan- can you take a deep breath?" Thomas asked softly. "Remember what you said that one time to help Virgil and me calm down? Name five things you can see, four-"

"Ah, yes, Thomas. The calming method I taught you after the events of the episode where you met Remus. I'm sure you remember that I played a very large role in that episode, and without me, you'd still be lying awake at night troubled by the random thought to hit your best friend over the head with a chair. I helped de-escalate the situation and brought us to an eventual conclusion. You called me cool. And then as soon as the next episode came you pretended like I never even existed. Did you forget all that I've done for you?"

"I... Logan-"

"No. You did forget, didn't you? While you were trying to figure out whether or not it was okay for you to feel good after doing good for others, I was trying to help. I brought up a study that literally answered the question, saying that humans naturally feel good after doing good for others. If you would have listened, the problem could have been fixed and dealt with so much quicker. But instead, you shoved me away, and look where it's brought us now. The problem has been made worse."

Thomas was silent. He opened his mouth, and then quickly closed it, looking around the room. No one wanted to look at him, or anyone else, for that matter.

"...Dude. Are you serious?! I was already fed up with your bullshit and now you go insulting everyone in the room. You are the one making the problem worse. What is your deal?!" Virgil finally asked, raising his voice.

"What is my deal? Virgil, you of all people should know what my deal is. You have heard me rant to you countless times about my need to be listened to. But you never listened to me during those. I'm sorry I pretended not to like the dark sides, but it was for your sake, because I didn't want you to be angry at me. I suppose I should have kept the facade up, because it's clear you don't even want to talk to me anymore."

"I don't want to talk to you because you lied."

Logan glared.

"So did you, Virgil. Countless times. You said on the one year anniversary of our friendship that you'd always listen to me and be there for me. You said you lo-... cared about me. I don't believe you've lived up to those words once."

And with that, he sunk out, a pit in his stomach slowly forming as his brain began to comprehend exactly what he had just let out in the open.

...What he had just realized.

•~~~~•
Ngl that was kinda fun to write- mostly because as it stands in the series I kinda hate C!Thomas-

Like bro you have NO. REASON. to not listen to Logan. You also obviously lied about seeing Roman as your hero. You would have said something to correct him when he "mis-interpreted" Janus's nod. (And even if C!Thomas does see Roman as his hero, like dude, why didn't you at least try to correct him???) You would have taken the time to step back and realize that literally all of your sides have lied to you at some point and just because Janus is deceit doesn't mean he's evil. (I guess that last one kinda ties in with the whole catholic upbringing shit but- hhhhh)

...he'll get better. Hopefully. For now I'm just gonna keep loving Thomas but not liking C!Thomas. Trust me, there's a difference-

See ya in the next chapter!🖤