Chapter Text
“I didn’t do it.”
The other sides turn to me, from where they’d been watching Thomas.
The words fall from my lips easily, as I look up at Ma, who’s wearing a scary expression. I shrink under her gaze, and give Thomas the words he has to say.
“I didn’t do it,” I repeat, tears in my eyes.
Ma’s expression softens, as Thomas mimics me, feeling my emotions.
The scary one shifts, and suddenly he’s standing beside me— the one I know as Fear. He looks as scary as I know he is, dressed from head to toe in black, sharp teeth opening at me in a smile.
“Good,” he whispers, and I shiver, as he touches my shoulder, making my heart trip faster. I try to step away from him, hunching my shoulders, but he grabs my arms, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Keep going. What if she doesn’t believe you? She’ll tell Thomas he’s a bad boy, she’ll never talk to him again, she’ll hate him, she won’t love him anymore, she’ll send Thomas— ”
“Stop!”
Someone shoves me and I fall, landing on the floor. I look at Heart, who stands over me protectively, glaring at Fear.
“Stop it,” Heart says, his voice small. “He’s crying.”
The distance from Fear helps, I can feel my heart rate slowing, even as I hiccup in tears. That guy’s scary . More scary than Ma when she’s mad.
“She’ll never stop loving us.” Heart says, his voice dropping to a whisper, as he glances at me. I taste the air— there’s a small lie there. He doesn’t believe what he’s saying? “She won’t— ”
“Oh, Thomas , dear, I wasn’t mad at you,” Ma says, and we all freeze, looking at her. She sits down in front of Thomas, cupping his face gently. “I just didn’t want you to get hurt. You don’t have to lie to me honey, I was just worried.”
We watch silently, as she brushes away an unshed tear from Thomas’s eyes, and stands up. She’s looking at the overturned bowl of steaming hot noodles, which drips down the side of the table, and at the shattered glass of water on the floor.
“We better get that cleaned up. You’re not hurt, are you?” She asks, looking over at Thomas.
“...No.”
“Good,” she nods. “Now go upstairs, okay? We wouldn’t want you stepping on broken glass.”
Thomas searches Ma’s expression for any hidden anger, anything mean directed towards him. But Ma just smiles reassuringly, and grabs a towel to start cleaning the mess off.
“Okay,” Thomas says, slowly starting to smile, fear forgotten.
He skips over to the stairs, and everyone slowly deflates, relieved, the tension lost.
The scene around us ripples and changes, and we’re suddenly all standing in a blank space, everything grey around us, like a blank paper. I blink again, and objects and furniture start peppering the grey, until we’re standing in a cozy living room, identical to the one in Thomas’s house.
Fear is still blinking at Heart, but Fear’s less scary now, more subdued. He backs away, his eyes catching mine.
“S-sorry,” he mumbles. “I lost it again.”
“It’s okay!” Heart says, his voice cheerful and loud now, putting a reassuring hand on Fear’s shoulder. Fear’s expression relaxes, and he leans in to the touch. “We were all super worried too!”
“Realistically, speaking, it doesn’t make sense that she would ever stop loving Thomas over an accident,” the other one in the room pipes up— Logic. He’s fiddling with his fingers, not meeting our eyes when we look at him. “... I think. At least, I’m pretty sure.”
Heart skips over to him and grabs his hands, spinning him around with a laugh. “You betcha it doesn’t! You’re totally right, Logic!”
I lean forward, cradling my head, trying to block off their nose. I just popped into existence, and I had to do my job as soon as I did. The lie had been obvious, but strong. It had taken up most of my power just to say. Though, with how obvious the lie had been, I’m pretty sure I have to get better at my job. For Thomas.
I flinch, when Fear moves closer to me. I look up at him, and he stops, looking guilty.
“I’m sorry.” He says again, holding out a hand. “I just, I get really scared sometimes, and Heart says I get weird. You need help?”
I stare at him, not tasting any lies in the air. I accept his hand, and he helps me up.
“Thanks,” I say.
“Right, we have a new guy!” Heart squeals, bouncing up to me. He engulfs me in a sudden hug, jumping up and down, and I force out a startled laugh, wishing he’d stop. He freezes, and steps back quickly, his smile dimmer. “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you!”
He clears his throat dramatically, and sticks out a hand. I see Logic roll his eyes behind him, as Heart smiles again, a little calmer. “I’m Heart. What’s your name?”
I hesitate, before taking his hand and shaking it. I have to make a good first impression, even if I’m tired, even if I just want to escape his expectant eyes and hide somewhere. I feel too exposed out here in the open, but I don’t know why. It’s not like I have anything to hide. I smile, a little unsure. “I’m Lying.”
“Lying?” Heart repeats, tilting his head. He frowns a little— I step back. No. If Heart doesn’t accept me, I’ll end up like the others. The ones that have no place, the ones who wander— But he’s smiling again, and pulls me into another hug. “It’s nice to meet you, Lying! Let’s be friends!”
“Yeah,” I mumble into his shoulder, meeting Fear’s eyes, who was watching us. He turns around and sinks into the floor wordlessly, leaving us behind. I taste the air, which leaves a swirl of untold truths in his wake. I taste it again, but the truths fade, and I can’t tell what they are anymore.
“You should meet the others!” Heart says, pulling away, a smile as bright as the sun on his face. He turns around. “Oh— Oh. He left already… That was Fear, don’t let that bother you, though. He likes being alone.”
Heart grabs my hand, and leads me to Logic.
“And that’s— ” Heart starts.
“Logic,” the boy interrupts. He holds out a hand to me, and I take it, as he pumps it in a firm handshake. “I look forward to getting acquainted with you.”
“And the silly one over there is Creativity!” Heart chuckles, pointing to the other boy in the room, who’s running around, his hands spread out on either side of him as he makes a weird noise. I jump, as his arms suddenly flicker, becoming metallic, becoming red. Then Creativity’s a small red airplane, swooping around the room.
I laugh in wonder as he brushes over us, the other two ducking in time.
“That’s so cool,” I breathe.
“We really should tell him to keep that under control,” Logic says, glaring. “Heart, make him do that in his own room. Someone could get hurt.”
“Aw, don’t worry Loggie,” Heart says. “Creativity won’t hurt us.”
“He could .” Logic mutters, but he doesn’t push it any further.
“Wanna see your room, Ly?” Heart asks, suddenly excited again, looking at me. “I bet it’s around here somewhere. You can feel it, can’t you?”
I nod hesitantly, trying to remember. I have Thomas’s memories, and some of each of the sides. Mostly Heart’s. Which makes sense, since we were all a part of him before we became ourselves.
I feel my room immediately, and I find it in a space not far from us. It’s down the hall, between where I know Logic’s and Creativity’s rooms are. I point towards it, and Heart lets out an excited squeak.
“Great, lets go see it!” He chirps, pulling Logic along behind us.
I lead the way. The hallways are a little confusing, they’re not like real hallways. Some parts of the wall and floor fall away to reveal a blank grey space, and everything creaks . Well, not actual creaking. Maybe, this background hum, the sound of an ocean pressing up against a small, frail ship.
We reach my door, which is a plain dark wood, with a name set into the center: LYING. I smile a little, feeling more at ease than I ever have since materializing in Thomas’s head. Somehow, just being near my room calms me down.
Heart giggles. “Don’t just stare at the door, open it!”
I reach forward and twist the doorknob, stepping slowly inside. Heart pushes me in, and then he and Logic follow. I turn around, taking in my simple room. There’s a bed pressed against the corner, and a desk by the other. The most personalized thing in the room are the strings of lights that hang from the ceiling, like twinkling stars. I frown at them. They’re the same ones as in Heart’s room. They’re pretty, but I want something more me , I realize.
As the thought strikes me, the lights disappear, leaving the ceiling blank.
“Your room’s so big!” Heart says, sitting on the bed. “Mine is filled with stuff now, so the space is nice. Oh! Oh! We could have a sleepover! We could all fit here!”
“Sure,” I say, shrugging, when he looks at me. I’m tired, and all I want to do is take a nap right now. But I don’t want to make Heart feel bad.
But Heart’s smile dims again anyway, and he shakes his head.
“Not if you don’t want to,” he says. “It looks like you’re tired. I can tell.”
My eyes widen, as I remember. Right. Heart knows how we’re feeling all the time.
I smile guiltily. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be!” Heart says, chipper again. I’m guessing he goes through a lot of mood swings. That’s not going to get annoying at all. “We can just do it tomorrow! We should let you get some time to sleep in today, anyway.”
“Can’t we have the sleepover in anyone’s room? We can just make our rooms bigger,” Logic points out.
“But I wanna have it in Lying’s room!” Heart almost whines. “It looks so empty, we should be making him feel more welcome on his first day! Besides, he doesn’t mind. Do you, Lying?”
Heart looks at me with pleading eyes, and I shrug again. “I don’t mind.”
“Yay!” Heart says, clapping his hands. “Then, it’s set! We’re all doing a sleepover here tomorrow!”
I nod, yawning, as I lean against the wall for support.
“Uh oh. Looks like someone’s tired.” Heart says, standing up. “We’ll let you get some rest, Lying. Let me know if you need anything! You know how to call us, right?”
I scrunch my eyes shut, trying to remember how Heart does it.
Then I remember, and I think loudly, calling for Heart.
“That’s it!” Heart says. “You got it right!”
He hugs me again before he goes, promising we’d have more fun once I woke up. Logic nods his head at me as he follows Heart out, and the door closes behind them.
I let out a shaky breath, finally breathing in the quiet of my room.
I walk over to my bed, and sit down, smoothing over the blankets as I yawn again.
I don’t think I’m a peoples person. I’m pretty sure I like being alone. I wonder how that works, since I’d once been a part of Heart, and Heart hates being alone.
I shrug it off as my eyes fall shut, and I lay down on my bed.
I’m so tired.