"The simulation is shitting itself off," Picani growled as he pulled Remy to the side. "It's doing exactly what we wanted to avoid."

"Then we need to get the others, and we need to go." Remy says. "Where is Logan and Patton?"

"They're at a park." Virgil says.

"How long have you been standing there?" Picani asks, letting go of Remy's hand.

"Logan enough to hear that you need everyone," he says. "And That life is a lie. But me and Roman figured that out last night."

"Hi!" Roman pops out from behind Virgil, giving the two others a fright. "Water doesn't taste the same."

Though that was a profound statement, both Picani and Remy nodded slowly. "So.... you know life is a simulation?" Remy asked.

"Yep," Virgil pops the 'p'. "And according to my knowledge, you're our way out."

"Do you remember how you got in here?" Picani asks, stepping towards Virgil.

"Neither of us do." Roman pitches in, stepping in front of Virgil.

Picani is astonished to see the same glint he'd found in Patton's eyes now alive and within Roman and Virgil's eyes.

"Wait, Wait, wait," Remy says. "How do you know where Patton and Logan are?"

Virgil chuckles grimly. "You think I don't know how to control a Simulation? You're not safe when you're in here."

Roman backs away, along with the other two, looking rather scared at the emo laughing in a Evil way.

"No," Virgil says, lighting up. "I just texted Logan." He shrugs.

Roman breathes a sigh of relief. "That makes much more sense."

"Off to a park we go, then." Remy says.

-Patton's POV-

I smile, leaning against Logan's shoulder. He's next to me. I have to keep reminding myself that he's there, with small touches and pecks on the cheek. It feels great to have him back.

But there's something, someone, that's also here and I can't shake the feeling of needing to address them. "Logan?" I ask.

He hums a response, turning to me as he flips his book shut. He was reading something, and I can't remember when but he'd stopped reading aloud.

"Can I... ask you something?" I'm a little unsure, but I sit up to look him in the eyes anyway. I don't know how he'll react. He nods. "Why did you get mad at me last night?"

He straightens himself, lacing his fingers with mine, both of our hands-still intertwined-falling onto my lap. He looks down at them, then back up at me.

"I... was frustrated," he begins. "I've spent so long trying to be robotic I forgot that I'm still human."

I don't know if that's what I wanted to hear. "Did I do something wrong?" I ask.

"No," he says, taking his hand from mine to wipe a tear from my face. "You could never. I've been pushing away how I feel instead of talking about it and then it all just poured out, and you got hurt."

"But... won't it happen again, then?" I ask, looking down at our fingers as Logan squeezes my hand. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Patton," He's still focused on me. "I'm going to talk about how I feel now, but I'll need your help, okay?"

I nod, looking up at him as he smiles softly at me. "I promise things will get better." He says.

I believe him.

And suddenly we're somewhere where there is no floor and I know I'm hallucinating. "Logan...?" I'm scared. I grip onto him.

He holds me back just as tightly. "Patton," he says sternly. "Don't let go of me."

"I-I won't," believe me, I'm too scared to try. "Logan, what's going on?"

"I don't know," he says. "But it's okay, I've got you."

I'm clinging to him like my life depends on it. Words around us seem like nonsense but Logan is fascinated by them.

"It's... coding for some sort of game," he comments, holding me tightly as I shift to wrap myself around him. "It's as if we're in the coding for a game."

"You are." Someone says. I turn to look around and find myself clinging to Logan again. There's someone there that looks exactly like us.

"Who are you!?" I squeal, as Logan pulls me closer to him.

"I'm Thomas," they say. "Sorry to interrupt your moment. I have no other way to contact you before I loose my chance to."

"Contact us?" Logan used his free hand to adjust his glasses. "What are you talking about, and where are we?"

"Life is a game," Thomas replies. "You're in a game. This is the coding for it. I think I was put here to keep you guys from getting stuck, but I'm not doing much... they made it pretty difficult."

Logan looks down at me, and I look back up at him. Are we artificial? Are we not real? I'm so confused.

"You guys are my sides," Thomas says. "Please, you have to remember. It's my only hope."

And we do.

I mean, I do. I don't exactly remember how I got here or what a 'side' is but I remember it being a simulation.

I remember hating the artificial nature of things like swaying trees and blowing grass. I remember hating this whole place but being here because it was best for... someone. I can only assume that someone was Thomas.

"You have to remember," Thomas looks desperate. "And please, get out soon."

And then it's back to normal.

But it's not normal.

A leaf floats down to the top of Logan's shoe and I get it, running my hands over its unnaturally smooth texture.

I look over at Logan.

He looks back at me.

This isn't a real leaf.

"Are you real?" Logan asks, poking me. He feels real, or at least what I assume is real. He feels different to my parents, at least. So he must be real.

"Yeah. Are you?" I reply. He nods, and then falls back in surprise when I tackle hug him. This is a lot to take in, and he's warm, and-

Oh my goodness, we're in a simulation.

(A/N: hello! Welcome to my favourite part about writing: feeling like I'm not doing great even though I'm positive I'm doing fine!

If there's one thing about me I'm sure I'm good at, it's writing better than a five year old. Bare in mind, five year olds usually only just know how to write.

If they were like a superhero five year old that's power was to produce stories, I'd probably loose. Let's be fair. They'd just be WAY cooler than me because hey? They're five and writing stories.

Anyway that's the topic of today, I guess.

-Winter)