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Thomas quietly hummed songs from Moana as he put the boxes of mac and cheese on the conveyer belt and placed a product separator in front of it. He let out a small yawn, giving the cashier a friendly smile as she started to scan each item. Joan and Talyn were behind him, making small conversation.
The cashier brought up the final price and it's only when Thomas put his hand in his pocket that he finally realized his mistake.
"I cannot believe you forgot the wallet," Logan muttered with his forehead in the palm of his hand. "It's literally the one thing that you need to buy things; how you forgot, I'm not sure; it's just simply il—"
"Illogical to forget it; yes, we know," Roman cut in, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. "Look, it wasn't my fault that Patton was too distracted by the dog sweaters to notice that we were missing a wallet."
"Hey, now don't go spinning this on me, kiddo — the whole reason that we forgot the wallet in the first place was because you were too busy singing the Moana soundtrack in the car."
"Hey, Joan was singing too! As for me, I was simply living up to my name," Roman said defensively. He added feebly, "And I am not a kiddo, Patton, I am the prince. "
"Well it's merely a nickname, kiddo — I am the dad after all," Patton replied as if it were obvious. Logan pressed his hands together.
"I mean, Roman is right — we are of sufficient age to not be classified as children. However, Roman, none of us are of regal blood to be considered royalty—"
Virgil's loud groan cut them all off. "Can someone please stay on topic here? I swear you guys are always leaking with exposition. Meanwhile, there are people who are going to keep staring at us and judge us if we don't do something."
"Just let someone in front of you and run quickly to get the wallet," Logan finally said, pushing his glasses slightly up to rub the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed. "It can't take too long."
"You can even make a funny joke to the cashier!" Patton cheered.
"It's 1 am, Patton," Roman moaned. "No one is in a fabulous mood — they just want to go home."
"And you're stopping everyone from doing just that," Virgil snapped. "Chop chop; they're staring."
"I, uh…" Thomas stood there, a bit dumbfounded as he smiled shyly at the cashier.
"Dude, is there something up?" Joan asked. Thomas grinned sheepishly, still patting down all of his pockets in hopes that the wallet was in one of this pockets.
"I may have left my wallet in the car," he said hastily, and Talyn just stifled their laugh in the palm of their hand. Joan gave him a half-amused look, and Thomas looked at the cashier apologetically.
"I'm just gonna grab my wallet quickly," he said with a nervous smile, and the cashier nodded unenthusiastically. Joan sighed, stepping out of line and letting an old woman pass by. The cashier proceeded to check out the lady's groceries.
Thomas jogged outside, fumbling with the keys as he frantically unlocked his car. The lights flashed at him, almost angrily; as if it knew about Thomas' frustration.
He quickly opened the door and grabbed the wallet out from the glove compartment. He stuffed it in his sweater's pocket, went out of the car and when he slammed the door, he was met with a man's face staring at him.
"Um, hello?" he squeaked, slightly surprised. The man—seemingly in his mid-thirties, with grey hair that practically glowed in the dark surrounding—smiled at him in a way that sent shivers down Thomas' spine.
"Hello." His voice was deep, almost soft. Thomas blinked.
"May...may I help you?"
The man flashed a crooked smile. "I see you just grabbed your wallet."
Thomas' heart began to race. He slowly backs up against his car.
"You know, I am just gonna go back in the store now," he said, slightly panicked. He slowly sidestepped past the man and was about to make a break for it when the man grabbed his wrist.
"You're going to give me your money," the man growled. His eerie smile from before was replaced by a snarl. Thomas' eyes widened, and he tried to escape his grasp.
"What the— let go! I am not giving you anything!" Thomas exclaimed, hopefully loud enough for someone to hear. The man looked at him, almost amused at his attempt of defense, and used his free hand to pull out what seemed to be a pocket watch out of his jacket. Thomas gulped.
"You see, Mr. Sanders,"—Thomas heart pounded upon hearing his name—"I am not any regular mugger. I spent a while learning a few tricks up my sleeve, and…"
He dropped the pocket watch—that seemingly glows brighter than any street-lamp surrounding the two—in front of Thomas' face and grinned.
"I would love to show you a few tricks."
"We're being mugged?!"
The Sander Sides were clearly going crazy. Virgil was working overtime, pacing back and forth.
"This is it." His voice merely broke out of its dull monotone, snapping out of his usually-dull persona into a full-fledged panic. "This is how we are going to die. We are going to die because Princey couldn't stop singing 'How Far I'll Go' thus forgetting the wallet. We are going to die because of a wallet, oh my God—"
"Alright Virgil, let's calm down," Patton said. Virgil swung his head to face him.
"Calm down?!" he nearly screeched. "Morality, I am Anxiety; nice to meet you, by the way!"
Patton was almost taken back by Virgil's sudden outburst. He was about to respond with something witty, but he suddenly heard the man talk to Thomas and his eyes widened.
"Did he just say Mr. Sanders?!" Virgil exclaimed. "Holy sh—"
"M-Maybe he's just a fan?" Roman prompted nervously, tugging the hem of his sleeve. "Thomas is quite the online super-star — I mean, who can blame the guy? I gave Thomas the spotlight!"
"Yeah, thanks a lot for that!" Virgil snapped at him.
"The only logical explanation is that he knows Thomas from YouTube," Logan said, trying to stay calm. "Perhaps Roman is correct and he is simply just an avid supporter of Thomas."
"An avid supporter or a middle-age creep?!" Virgil exclaimed. Patton tugged his collar.
"Goodness, I feel hot." Roman rolled his eyes.
"Patton, now is not the time for complimenting yourself — especially considering that we all look exactly the same," he said sarcastically. Patton shook his head.
"That's not the kind of hot I am feeling right now," he replied nervously. "I mean I am feeling hot. Or...or not so hot. Or— goodness, Princey, you confused me. I meant that I am feeling hot; temperature wise."
"You're rambling, Patton," Logan said, putting his hands in front of him calmly. "Let's just slowly sidestep away from the man, and then we can return back to the grocery store and reunite with Joan and Talyn to calm down. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Yup," Roman said. "Better make it quick though — Virgil looks like he is going to pace right out of here, and Thomas' heart is literally racing."
True to his word, Patton was speeding all over the place, passing by Virgil's anxious paces. Logan sighed, and watched carefully as Thomas sidesteps according to plan, before—
"By Zeus' beard!" Roman yelled. "He has Thomas' wrist!"
Logan was spluttering, clearly panicked. "W-Well that cannot be good; Thomas has to get out of there as soon as possible. He needs to pull out right now."
"What is happening?!" Patton exclaimed loudly, and Virgil stopped in his tracks.
"Alright Morality, if you don't calm down right now, you are going to send me through the roof," Virgil gritted out, trying not to either break down and scream at someone.
"We need to fight him!" Roman announced. "I shall simply ask Thomas to show this guy what he's made of!"
"Thomas is mainly made of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorous," Logan hissed; "none of which are fighting material in any way."
"Alright, I am panicking," Patton rambled. Virgil clenched his fist, silently panicking alongside Patton. Roman took a deep breath.
"Okay, Logic," he yelled, "what do you propose we do?! 'Cause your last plan just went just peachy, didn't it?"
"Alright, let's just try and focus on making a plan before something bad happens," Virgil cut in, stepping in between the two.
"I am telling you what the plan should be and it should be a punch to the face!"
"Um, guys?" Patton suddenly said, his voice eerily quiet.
"He cannot defend himself if he is suffering from an injury, Roman!" Virgil argued.
"Guys, you're going to want to see this," Patton said again. He looked to Logan, who had stepped away from Roman and is apparently the only person to notice what Patton was looking at. However, he was too dumbfounded to say anything. Patton's heart raced at Logan's reaction.
"He can't defend himself if he is dead, Virgil!"
"Guys!" Patton finally yelled, catching both sides' attention. "Guys, this guy is doing something to Thomas. It's...it's something bad."
Virgil and Roman paused and exchanged nervous looks and hurried over to Patton's side when they realize what's happening.
The man was swinging a pocket watch in front of Thomas, and Thomas—and seemingly Logan— both mesmerized by its movement. Patton winced, a hand flying to the side of his head in attempts to lessen the sudden sharp pain.
"Patton?" Roman stammered, surprised. Virgil squeezes his eyes shut.
"T-This is hypnosis," Virgil managed to say. Roman eyes widened.
"What kind of maniac uses hypnosis for money?!"
"This one apparently!" Virgil retorted, and for the first time that night, Roman noticed that Virgil is completely and hopelessly afraid.
His first instinct was to protect them.
"Logan, you're gonna have to help me with these two," Roman said slowly, tapping Logic on the shoulder. But he didn't say anything in response; all he did was stare at the pocket watch that Thomas was entranced by.
"He...he wants money," Logan said slowly. "We...we need to give it to him."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Roman yelled at him, grabbing Logan by the shoulders and spinning him around to face him. "Logan, snap out of it!"
Logan blankly stared at him. Roman whipped his head towards Virgil. "You want to explain what is happening to Logan?"
Virgil took a deep breath and explained shakily, "If this guy is hypnotizing Thomas, then he is putting Thomas in a state of trance-logic; it's an altered mental state that opens Thomas to suggestion."
"Oh sweet heavens," Roman murmured, the intensity of the situation dawning on him.
"I am going to be sick," Patton whispered scratchily. Everything was spinning, and the Sander Sides were slowly descending into chaos.
"Roman, what do we do?" Virgil said, his voice nearly cracking. Roman glared at him, the pressure of the situation making him feel more frustrated than ever.
"What do you mean 'what do we do'?!" Roman yelled, almost angrily. "I'm not his logical side! I don't know what to do!"
"Well we have to do something before he gets to all of us!" Virgil snapped back. Roman's eyes widened at the thought, and then they both heard Patton moan behind them. They turned around in time to see Patton stumble into a nearby chair. The two quickly rushed towards him.
"I don't feel so good," Patton groaned. Virgil ran a hand in his hair, more panic starting to build up inside of him.
"Patton is Thomas' morality and conscience," he realized. "He...he distinguishes the difference between what is right and wrong, but a hypnotic state can alter that. If this man is really hypnotizing Thomas, he is altering his morality."
"Whatever is happening to Thomas, it is affecting me too," Patton managed to say. "I don't know what to do...maybe we should just submit."
"Submit?!" Roman exclaimed. "No, no, no! We are not giving into this...this scoundrel! I shall take the lead and we are going to fight back!"
"And how do you suggest we do that, Roman?" He turned around to see Logan, eyes glazed and standing completely still. He almost mirrored Thomas, who was still staring straight ahead at the pocket watch. "We are safe. Thomas is safe. This man is just helping us. He wants something...we should just give it to him."
Roman heard a whimper from behind him and turns around just in time to see Patton close his eyes for a split second, hands to the side of his head in pain.
"That's two of them," Virgil said nervously, walking away from Patton and leaving Roman to watch. "Roman, it's going to be us next. We are going to give in and then Thomas is going to be gone. He's going to get hurt, and none of us will be able to stop him.
Roman pressed his hands together, about to start giving into the panic too, but then gets an idea.
"Virgil, you're Thomas' anxiety," Roman said, walking hastily towards him. Virgil stares at him, backing away. "You can get him out of this somehow. You just need to snap him out of it."
"I-I don't know how," Virgil stuttered. "I...the man is telling Thomas to relax. Should...shouldn't we be relaxing?"
Roman's eyes widen; he couldn't lose Virgil too.
"Virgil, Thomas is not safe here," Roman said, grabbing Virgil's hands and pulling him close, hoping that he'd stay with him. "We're not safe here. He is the villain, Virgil — we are not to submit to the villain!"
Just when Virgil began to slump against his chest, Roman heard familiar voices.
"Thomas?!"
"What the hell are you doing?! Get away from him!"
"It's Joan and Talyn!" he exclaimed, stumbling to the front of the room and watching the scene unfold. He turned around to see Logan still standing, entranced by the man's actions, but Patton was starting to get up again. Roman rushed to help him up, gently leading Virgil alongside him.
"Patton, what on earth happened to you?" Patton winced at the sudden noise, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"I...I am not entirely sure," he finally said. "But we can deal with that later — right now, we need to save Thomas; before that man can hurt any one of us again."
Roman nervously glanced at the tranced Logan and Virgil, who looked as if he was going to pass out on the couch — he knew Patton was right, but he couldn't help but feel scared for what would happen next.
"Thomas?!" Talyn exclaimed, nearly dropping the grocery bags in their hands. Joan stuffed their wallet back into their jacket pocket and raced towards the man in front of Thomas, who pulled the pocket watch away as soon as he got caught. Thomas, still entranced, followed the watch, but nearly fell forward.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Joan yelled. "Get away from him!"
The man stumbled off, running away as soon as they approached. Talyn grabbed Joan's wrist before they could go after the man, and put all of their attention on Thomas.
"Thomas?" Talyn said slowly. "Thomas, can you hear me?"
Thomas said nothing, staring straight ahead; his eyes glazed and his mouth parted slightly.
"What did that guy do to him?" Joan asks, a sudden rush of fear passing through them. Talyn shakes them head.
"I am not sure, but he had a pocket watch," they replied. "Maybe—and now this is going to sound crazy but hear me out—the guy hypnotized him?"
"You're right," Joan said after a moment of silence; "That sounds absolutely crazy."
Talyn rolled their eyes. Joan sighed.
"Alright, say this is hypnosis; how do we snap him out of it?" Joan asked. Talyn frowned, looking at Thomas; who was leaning on the side of the car, his eyes beginning to flutter closed.
"We can shock him awake?" Talyn prompted. Joan immediately shook their head.
"I don't think that's the best decision?" they said, a bit unsure themselves. "Like, he is pretty still right now — maybe he'll sleep it off and it will wear off with time. After all, hypnosis is just is a state of human consciousness — we just need to wait until he's...out of that state of consciousness."
"Alright," Talyn said nervously. "But what do we do with him now?"
When Joan turned to face Thomas, they watched him slump against the car as if it was the only thing helping him stand straight. He moaned a little in his semi-trance. Joan sighed.
"I guess we should put him in the car and drive him home," they said. "I'll take the wheel and you help Thomas into the car."
Talyn nodded, and gently wrapped Thomas' limp arm around their shoulder. Thomas whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Tal…?" he sleepily muttered. Talyn smiled.
"Don't worry, Thomas," they said softly. "We are getting you home."
Virgil finally flopped on the couch, rubbing his head.
"That was exhausting," Roman sighed. "I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my whole life."
"Are you serious?" Virgil grumbled.
"Er, I don't mean to bother you, but I would love a hand with Logan over here, kiddos," Patton called them from the kitchen. Virgil and Roman exchanged looks and sighed, heading over to where Patton was.
Logan was in a chair, slumped over on the table. He stirred every now and then, but was mostly still. Patton rubbed his head.
"Yo Roman," he said once they entered, "can you pass me an ice pack?"
Roman frowned, slightly taken back. "Did you...did you just say 'yo'?"
"Now is that really the priority right now?"
"Good point," Roman replied, grabbing an ice pack from the fridge and tossing to towards Patton.
"Woah!" The ice pack slipped a few times in his hand. Before it could hit the ground, Virgil grabbed it quickly. Patton looked at him, impressed.
"You have really fast reflexes!" Virgil shrugged.
"I usually think fast," he replied. Patton grinned.
"That's funny!" he giggled. "Hey Roman, did you hear that? See, he thinks fast, because he is the one who usually causes Thomas to thi—"
"For the love of Disney, Patton," Roman groaned, raising a hand quickly before Patton could continue. "Can someone please tell me what is going on with Logan?"
"Logic must still coming out of the trance," Virgil explained. "His drowsiness is what's causing Thomas to be drowsy as well."
"How long do you think this is going to last?" Patton asked nervously, looking up at them, still holding the ice pack against Logan's head.
"Not long." Virgil adjusted his sweater. "Maybe we should just let him rest."
"Fine," Roman huffed, crossing his arms. "Let's all take five."
"Good theater pun!" Patton exclaimed, standing up. "You should say that joke at—"
"Don't say it," Virgil gritted out.
"—opuning night!" Patton finished with a big grin. Virgil grumbled something incoherent as he stalked off. Patton followed Virgil out, and Roman looked nervously at Logan; still slumped over the table.
"Get well soon, Logan," he muttered, hoping part of Logan could hear him. To his surprise, Logan groans in response. Before Roman could say anything, he heard a crash in the living room and the annoyed groan of Virgil. He sighed.
"And that's not sentiment," Roman added.
"Alright, I'll take Thomas' left arm, and you take his right," Joan instructed, climbing out of the car. They open the back door, and Talyn came out first. Both of them gave all their effort in pulling Thomas out, and when he was, Talyn swung Thomas' left arm around their shoulder.
"Geez, Thomas, pick up your feet a little," Talyn grumbled. Thomas perked up suddenly, surprising both Talyn and Joan, and wordlessly went on the ground, grabbing both of his feet. Joan stifled their laugh in the palm of their hands and Talyn, panicked, yelled, "Sleep!"
Thomas immediately slumped face first against the driveway, asleep once again. Joan giggled, and Talyn sharply nudged them.
"Well now we're back to square one," Talyn muttered, a bit annoyed.
"I can't believe that worked!" Joan laughed. "We should tell Thomas to act like a dog or something!"
Before Talyn could reply, a loud bark was heard below them. Talyn and Joan looked down to see Thomas on all fours, panting with his tongue out and running around in circles. Joan was in hysterics now, and Talyn sighed.
"Maybe he's still in that trance-state," Talyn said, ignoring both Joan and dog-Thomas. "This could mean that we could just tell him to snap out of it?"
"Or we could just film it and show him later?" Joan prompted, pulling out their phone. Before they could hit record, Talyn pushed their arm down, and Joan rolled their eyes.
"Fine," they said. They faced Thomas—who was still running around circles, chasing his "tail"—and said, "Uh, sit."
Thomas immediately obliged, going on his knees and placing his arms in front of them. Joan grinned.
"Good boy!" they giggled, going on one knee to ruffle Thomas' hair. He grinned widely, almost proud at the praise. Joan looked up at Talyn.
"Come on, this is cute!" Talyn flashed a small smile.
"I never said this wasn't cute," they said, grinning. "But we do need to bring him inside, and out of the hypnosis."
"Fine," Joan huffed. "But I'll have you know that I love dog-Thomas and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"I wonder what hypnosis does to the brain," Talyn mused. "Imagine what's going on in his head right now."
"Logan!" Patton exclaimed, chasing after Logan; who was running all over the place on all fours, barking and panting with his tongue out. "Uh, sit! Heel! Just— gahh, stay!"
Logan continues to run around, going to Virgil, who was on the couch, and nuzzling against his leg. Virgil immediately pulled away, annoyed.
"I can't believe I have to share a brain with you morons," Virgil grumbled.
"Come on, Anxiety!" Patton cheered. "Logan's a dog! A cute, lovable, dog!"
"I'm getting this on camera," Roman said smugly, pulling out his phone. Logan looked up at Roman and without warning, tackled him onto the ground. Roman yelped, Logan on top of him and licking his face.
"Sweet Cole Sprouse!" Roman yelled, trying to get Logan off him, but to no avail.
Virgil smirked. "Never mind, I like this a lot."
"What's a Cole Sprouse?" Patton asked cluelessly.
"Oh cut it out, J.D-elightful," Roman grumbled, ignoring Patton. Virgil smiled smugly, slipping on his headphones once more and watching the scene unfold in front of him.
"Wait a minute kiddos," Patton said. "I think I hear Talyn!"
"Uh, Thomas? Sleep!"
And Logan flopped face first on Roman, his body limp. Roman winced.
"Good...Gucci," he managed to grit out. Virgil smirked.
"This is the most I have ever smiled in one day," Virgil chuckled. Roman rolled his eyes.
"Someone get him off me!" Roman snapped, and Virgil rolled his eyes, standing up and slowly dragging Logan off Roman and onto the floor.
"Buzz-kill," he muttered under his breath, and Roman looked at him incredulously.
"Seriously?" he retorted. "Me, the buzzkill?"
Virgil rolled his eyes, dropping Roman back onto the ground. Roman huffed, standing up himself and brushing him off. Virgil slipped on his headphones again.
"Touché, Princey," Virgil hummed. "Touché."
"Alright, alright, on the couch we go," Joan muttered, gently laying Thomas—who was now sleeping calmly in their arms—face first onto the couch. Talyn rubbed their head, almost frustrated.
"This is so ridiculous," they muttered. "He has been in this trance-state for nearly two hours now — I am almost certain that hypnosis doesn't work this way!"
Joan looked at Thomas, whose cheek was smushed against the fabric of the couch.
"Let's just slowly bring him out of it," Joan suggested. Talyn's eyes widened.
"We can't do that!" they exclaimed. "We don't know a thing about hypnosis. We could mess up or something!"
"I mean, I've been doing a pretty good job so far," Joan boasted smugly. Talyn rolled their eyes.
"Fine," they huffed. "Just...do it slowly."
Joan nodded, and sat beside Thomas on the couch.
"Okay, can you hear me, Thomas?"
Thomas murmured, "Yes." Joan looked at Talyn, almost excited, and they prompted them to go on. Joan cleared their throat.
"I'm just gonna bring you out of this trance permanently, alright?" Joan asked, and Thomas nodded. "When I snap my fingers, you're going to wake up. You're not going to remember anything that happened tonight, and you are just going to carry on as normal. Do you understand?"
"I...I understand," Thomas said slowly.
Joan paused, and added, "And when you wake up, you're going to want to get me a soda!"
"Joan!" Talyn scolded.
"What?" Joan protested. "I am kinda thirsty."
Talyn rolled their eyes, and snapped their fingers.
Logan's shot up off the ground at the sound. Roman, Virgil, and Patton exchanged looks, and rushed to his side.
"Logan?" Patton asked nervously. Logan winced at Patton's loud voice, and rubbed his head, pushing his glasses up.
"God...what happened?" he murmured, about to stand up. Roman pushed him down gently.
"It's a really long story," Roman said, "but it's a story for another night."
"How are you feeling?" Patton asked quickly. Logan squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, adjusting to being awake.
"Fine," he replied lowly. "Whatever did happen to me was truly...an experience. It was interesting, to say the least."
"You...you were hypnotized," Virgil said in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you enjoyed that?"
"Hypnosis is a truly fascinating tactic," Logan replied, standing up and brushing dust off his tie. The other sides' stand up beside him as well. "The state of consciousness hypnosis promotes is something I would enjoy to study more through experience."
"I totally agree!" Patton exclaimed, raising his hand up excitedly. "Besides, Logan makes a great dog!"
Logan glared at Patton sharply. "Wait, what?!"
Virgil stifled his laugh through his sweater sleeve. Roman rolled his eyes.
"Let's just go and get some rest," Roman prompted. "Thomas is probably exhausted, and we mustn't tire him out more."
"Why on earth was I a dog?"
"I hate to agree with Princey, but he's right," Virgil said, ignoring Logan. "I worked overtime tonight, and I am going to get some rest."
And with that, Virgil sunk out, saluting everyone goodbye.
"I think I am going to hit the sack too, kiddos," Patton said. As he sunk out, he added, "We should get a dog!"
Logan rolled his eyes, and Roman looked at him.
"You should be getting some rest too," Roman said after some silence. "I don't see how you're not exhausted."
"The experience has left me quite...energized," Logan replied nonchalantly. "But it is best to take a break for the night, I suppose."
Roman nodded, about to sink out himself when Logan stopped him.
"Roman?"
"Yeah?"
"You did good tonight," Logan said slowly. "I am sure chaos occurred during everything, and while I am not sure what that 'everything' is, I am glad you took control."
Roman smiled. "A prince has to protect the ones he loves after all."
Logan managed a small smile, adjusting his glasses and sinking out wordlessly. Roman smiled to himself, closing the lights and sunk out.
Thomas' eyes flew open as soon as Talyn snapped their fingers. His breath hitched momentarily, but he slowly calmed down as he looked around him.
"Wa— Talyn? Joan?" he asked, confused. "When did we get home?"
Talyn was the first to hug Thomas. "Oh God, you're back to normal."
Thomas slowly hugged back, still confused. "Um, I...I'm glad to be normal again, I think?"
"It's a really long story," Joan explained. "We'll tell you everything later, but we should probably get some rest — it's almost 3 am and I am exhausted."
"It's really strange," Thomas said, rubbing his head. "I feel pretty awake; like I was asleep for hours."
"Yeah," Talyn said nervously. "Weird."
"But yeah, I wouldn't mind going to bed." Thomas stood up from the couch, and before he could go up, he paused, turned around and added, "Do you want a soda, Joan?"
Talyn's eyes widened, and they glared at Joan, who was flashing Thomas a big smile.
"A Sprite would be great," Joan chuckled.