Reality Is a Lie

Come On Over!

Breakfast was awkward, and quiet. I mean, sure, we'd had a victory in one sense, but really all we had won was information. Knowledge may be power, but power is always maintained by strength. And part of strength, of course, is allies.

"How are you feeling?" Janus interrupted my thoughts. I hadn't slept. I'd been anxious. Planning, but still anxious.

"I'm fine." I responded curtly. I needed to think hard. What would Logan listen to the most? Janus was better with people then I ever could hope to be. Shouldn't I ask him for advice?

"Are you annoyed? You can tell if you're annoyed, y'know." Remus glanced at me "This whole silent treatment thing is weirder."

I realised I was being quiet, but I didn't care. I had a job to do, did I not? I refused to go in unprepared again. I needed to be ready.

"Virgil." Janus looked at me. "Ignoring us won't help anything."

"I'm not annoyed, but if you keep going on like that I will be." I rolled my eyes and tried to start thinking again, until Janus grabbed my hand.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes?"

He removed his hand, and I sighed, realising what had just occurred.

"Did you seriously not believe me when I said I was fine?"

"No. You lie a lot."

"You are literally Deceit; you would've been able to tell immediately if I was lying. What was the point of that?"

"I just wanted to hear it from your mouth and know it was true, okay?"

We continued to eat in silence. I was thinking, and the other two kept glancing at each other.

"Please just yell, Vee. This is fucking torture." Remus sighed and clashed his cutlery down.

"I'm not mad! I'm thinking!"

"About what? Who the fuck thinks that much?!"

"We all know you don't think enough, Remus, but come on. Let me think!"

"Virgil." Janus interrupted again. "Can you not share your thoughts with us? Is something wrong?"

I groaned, and I too threw my cutlery down. "Holy shit, no! I'm thinking about Logan, and what I'm gonna have to say to him to convince him, okay? That's all! Planning! Scheming! Average dark side stuff! Jesus, can a guy not think in peace?!"

Janus sighed, and smiled slightly, and placed his smug, smiling face on his palm to look at me.

"No elbows on the table." I said before he could speak. He ignored me.

"Virgil, I appreciate your concern for the future, and I'm glad that you want to do so much, but isn't it best that we let this sit for a bit? If we invite them over to soon our friend may get a little bit... well. You know."

"You always scheme really far in advance! Besides, I need time for this. Loads of it! I don't know how I'm gonna convince him." I put my head in my hands, as Janus kept that annoying smug smile on his face.

"Don't worry. I have a plan."

Janus' plans tended to be very detailed. Planned down to the tone of voice, the specific word choice, and the sentence structure. He essentially gave me a script to memorise.

How fun!

Acting was always more of Remus' thing, so he helped me rehearse for a few days.

Until, finally, D-Day.

____________________________________

Walking down the beaten path, out of our shitty home, across and over to the bright, perfect, and sunny Light Sides.

I fucking hated this place.

I knocked on the door, and waited. Of course, Patton opened it. "Anxiety! Hello! Welcome! What do you need?" He smiled warmly at me, though I knew it was fake.

"Logan."

"What? No, silly, I'm Patton!"

"I want to speak to Logan. Where is he?"

"Here." Logan appeared in the doorway, as expressionless as the first time I saw him.

"Y'know, Patton, I could feel how anxious you were about letting Roman come over to eat with us. In all honesty, I was kinda sad." I sincerely hoped my acting lessons with Remus were paying off. I sincerely hoped I looked as pathetic and as anxious as I felt.

"What! Oh, no, I'm sorry buddy. But... I was just worried about how different things were over there! I mean, it wouldn't be strange for Roman to feel uncomfortable since he's not a dark side." He emphasised the "D" on dark, as if to remind me that we were inferior.

It made me remember why I was here again.

"Well, I thought that maybe Logan could come next time as well? Maybe that way you'd feel better about it? After all, from what you've said you must hate it over there. So maybe Logan coming would be good, since we all know everyone will be comfortable."

A deer in headlights. How could Patton weave his way out of this one?

"That's a great idea buddy! When's your next little meal?"

He couldn't.

"Two days from now! Will I see you there, Logan?" I looked at him in the eye.

"Of course. I look forward to it."

Afterwards....

Wait.

I can't remember.

BACK TO THE PRESENT
(if you can't remember, we've been in a flashback for like ages lol sorry)

"Uhhh..." I looked around the room of sides, who were in their incorrect roles. I was trying to tell them about my problems with the dark sides, wasn't I? Why I left? Why I hated Janus so fucking much? How could I forget that? Had my being Creativity made me embellish my story to the point of forgetfulness?

"Don't worry, Virgil." Patton said, monotone. "You all argued at the table, remember?" I didn't feel convinced. That sounded wrong.

Something wasn't right here.

How had I even gone from hating Patton so much to being so... friendly with him? Why had I changed my mind? I could see now the remnants of how I saw him before. He was lying.

Badly lying, so obvious all of us could tell.

"Anyone else remember the dinner?" I asked the other two. They both shook their heads.

"I don't even remember you inviting me to a dinner." Logan said, shaking. Tears formed in his eyes. "What does this mean? What's happening? Patton, what happened?"

We all turned to look at him, and his face didn't change. Logic, after all, is objective. An undeniable truth.

Patton had no undeniable truth to give us.

"I knew this would stir the pot enough!" a familiar voice laughed. "How fun! Patton, darling, I'd love to try to hear you lie your way out of this one, but I'm afraid it's time to reap what you sow."

Deceit.

Of course.

"You... remember?" I asked him.

"Remember? Of course! Remus too! You're the only ones who forgot!"

I never forgot anything. My memory was flawless. Always.

I looked to Deceit. He had that fucking smug smile on this face again.

"Here comes the best part of the story. Are you ready?"

It seemed his plans were finally playing out.

The liar reveals the truth.