#borrower!amanda

“Nonononono-” Amanda shook her head frantically, closing her eyes and curling in on herself as those giant hands actually touched her. Not to mention, her leg felt as if it was on fire. This was officially becoming the second worst moment of her life.

 Patton furrowed his eyebrows in concern and quickly took her into his room. He placed her on the bed, so she would have a soft surface to lie on and gently looked her over. He noticed the string still wrapped around her and her leg and carefully reached out to untangle. “It’s okay, I’m just gonna get this off of ya.” Patton continued to reassure.

“Don’t touch me!” Amanda hissed in pain as she pulled her leg closer to herself, fingers shaking as she tried to undo the knot.

 Patton brought his hands back quickly, no longer knowing what to do. He wanted to help but he didn’t want to scare the poor girl either. “Please, I’m just trying to help.”

 “I- I don’t need your help!” Amanda insisted, frustrated tears sprouting in the corners of her eyes.

 Patton felt even more concerned when he noticed the tears. “Kiddo, hey, it’s alright.” He said softly. “Calm down. Deep breaths.” He started breathing in the familiar pattern, the one he used to help Virgil out.

“I’m not a kiddo.” Amanda glared at him, but slowly she steadied her breathing and gained enough of a grip to untangle her leg. Amanda wrapped the string up, about to stuff it in her bag before remembering that was full of cookie. Instead, she threw it around her shoulders like a sash, reaching for the pin she kept at her side. 

“Stay where you are!” Amanda threatened, biting her lip to keep from screaming as she stood up and brandished her sword at the human.

 “Whoa!” Patton put his hands up in surrender as the tiny girl pointed a very sharp looking pin at him. He briefly wondered where she had gotten it from. “Um...okay? I really don’t mean you any harm, though.”

“Likely story,” Amanda growled, looking around for the nearest escape route.

 “No, really! I just want to help you.” Patton said, slowly putting his arms down. “What were you doing up there anyway?” He asked.

“...None of your business.” Amanda lowered her sword slightly, surprised the human was actually keeping his distance. 

 Patton chuckled a little. “Well, I mean, it is sorta my business, with you being in my apartment and all. Not that I’m mad or anything!” Patton wanted to make that clear. “Just curious.” Patton looked the tiny girl over, still in awe, when he noticed something on her face.

 “Is that...chocolate?” He asked, reaching up to his face at the same spot she had it on hers.

Amanda reached up, mirroring the human’s movements. She felt some chocolate left there, a side effect of her messy eating habits. “Uh, yes?” Amanda answered cautiously, knowing the human might get mad about her cookie theft.

 Patton smiled sadly as he realized what the girl must have been there for. “Were you hungry? Is that why you were in my kitchen?” He asked.

“I, well I  only took one...” Amanda paused her explanation. No, why should she have to explain herself to a human? She shouldn’t be talking to him at all! Amanda took a step away from him, forgetting it was her bad leg. She let out a cry the moment pressure was put on it, her legs collapsing and sending her tumbling down.

 “Whoa!” Patton exclaimed and subconsciously surrounded her with his hands. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He asked, trying to be gentle. 

“I’m...fine.” Amanda pushed herself up, trying to bring her pin up again, but the effort of trying to do both simultaneously just made her fall on her stomach again.

 Patton bit his lip, eyes going to her leg. “I...I think you may have hurt your leg when you got all twisted up in it.” Patton guessed. He suddenly stood up. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to go get the first aid kit.” He ran off to the bathroom.

Amanda looked up, realizing the human was gone. She tried to stand up, but her leg burned so fiercely that it was clear that wasn’t an option right now. Instead, Amanda began to army crawl towards the edge of the sheets. Grabbing hold and giving a small prayer, Amanda slid down towards the floor.

“OW!” Amanda couldn’t bite back her exclamation as she fell directly on her injured leg, making it flare up again.

 Patton rushed back in, eyes going to the bed. He panicked when he didn’t see the girl but then his eyes spotted movement on the ground and he saw the curl lying there. He gasped. “Oh goodness!” Patton threw the first aid kit on the bed and reached down to scoop the girl up. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fiNE!” The last part of Amanda’s words became a high pitched yell as her leg painfully protested being moved. She clenched her jaw.

 Patton winced and gently set her down back on the bed. She definitely did not sound fine. Patton dug through the first aid kit and cut up some gauze. “Alright. I’m going to wrap up your leg, okay? Can I do that?” He asked, not wanting to do it without consent.

Amanda shook her head weakly, unable to say anything lest it come out as another scream.

 Patton frowned. “Well...do you want to do it? As long as your leg gets taken care of, I’m good with anything.” Patton said with a soft smile.

Amanda took a deep breath. She had never wrapped a leg before, but she definitely didn’t want the human getting any grabbier.

“I...I can do it.” Amanda said, a bit unsure of her own skills but willing to try. Especially if it meant the human left her alone.

 Patton nodded, glad to see they were finally getting somewhere. He placed the gauze close enough for her to reach and then sat back to watch in case she needed help.

“How do I, uh, do this?” Amanda asked, gathering up the gauze in her arms and carefully rolling up her pants leg.

 “Oh uh…” Patton thought for a moment. “Just take the end of the gauze and start at the base of the injury and then work your way up, making sure you overlap slightly,” Patton explained.

“Right.” Amanda followed his instructions, looking up at him to see if she had done it correctly.

 Patton smiled. “Good job! It looks great.” 

Amanda frowned up at the human. His behavior was certainly odd. Why did he care if her leg was wrapped, anyhow?

“What do you want from me?” Amanda asked, gazing at him with suspicion.

 Patton frowned again, looking at the tiny girl with a tilted head. “I...nothing, I just want to make sure that you’re okay,” Patton answered truthfully.

“Why’d you take me captive then?” Amanda’s hand went once again to her pin. “Every human wants something.”

 Patton put his hands up once again, wanting to let her know that he meant her no harm. “No, really! I just wanted to help untangle you from your string.” Patton explained. “After all, it was sort of my fault that that happened.”

Amanda paused, not actually expecting a human to take the blame for something like that. “Well, yeah I guess.” Honestly, she blamed her own climbing skills.

 “Like I said, I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Patton said before his face lit up in realization. “Oh! I haven’t even introduced myself yet! I’m Patton.” Patton grinned. He reached out to offer a shake but decided against it and put his hand back down.

Amanda contemplated for a moment whether she should give out her name. Of course, she shouldn’t be talking to a human at all, but with her leg in its current condition, it’d be difficult to make another escape attempt while Patton was in the room. Perhaps cooperation would be her best bet.

“My name’s Amanda.” Amanda said finally.

 Patton grinned. “Amanda! Well, it’s nice to meet you!” Patton still couldn’t believe that such a tiny person existed but he was doing his best to keep his curiosity to himself. He didn’t want to scare her, after all.

 “Do you always climb things like that?” Patton asked, referring to back in the kitchen.

“I mean, I climb a lot of things.” Amanda shrugged as if it would be obvious. “It’s kind of the easiest way to get around.”

 “I wish I could climb like that.” Though, he wasn’t sure what he would use that ability for. Rock climbing? 

 Patton glanced down at Amanda’s leg again with a small frown. “How does your leg feel?”

“Like it’s on fire.” Amanda’s eyes widened slightly, realizing that admitting weakness to a human probably wasn't such a good idea. “I mean...a small fire. It’s fine, really.”

 “That...doesn’t really sound like it’s fine,” Patton said with a slight wince. “I think it might be best for you to stay off of it for a while.”

“Not really an option,” Amanda muttered, trying weakly to stand again. She tried to use her pin as a walking stick, only for the needle to poke through the blanket.

 “Careful!” Patton reached his hand to surround but not touch her. “Amanda, really, you should rest it.”

Amanda’s eyes widened, feeling a jolt of primal fear go through her as the human’s hand came at her.

“Stay back!” Amanda swung her pin at Patton’s hand, slicing across the palm.

 “Ow!” Patton yelled, hissing as he brought his hand to his chest. He looked down to see a long cut that was now bleeding pretty badly.

 And it was at that moment, that the door opened. “Pat! Are you okay!?” Virgil yelled out, hearing the shout of pain coming from Patton. He ran into Patton’s bedroom to see Patton sitting there with a bleeding hand. “What happened, how did-” He cut himself off when he looked up more and saw a...tiny girl?

 Virgil froze. “...What the hell?”

Amanda trembled, favoring her good leg as she held her needle out in front of her with both arms. “Don’t come any closer!” She warned, feeling even less sure of herself now that there were two humans.

 Virgil blinked, taking notice of the needle and putting two and two together. “Wait a second, did you do that to Patton’s hand?” Virgil asked, glaring at the tiny girl. Patton’s eyes widened and he put his uninjured hand on Virgil’s arm.

 “Wait! It’s not her fault! She was just trying to protect herself. It was my fault that I got too close.” Patton said sadly. 

“I’ll...I’ll do it to you too if you come near me.” Amanda threatened, noticing the second human seemed a lot more aggressive.

 Virgil scowled at the tiny girl but grabbed the first aid kit on the bed and started to bandage Patton’s hand.

 “Thanks, kiddo,” Patton said and Virgil just nodded, his eyes still on the tiny girl. 

 “...I really don’t think you’re in the position to be making threats.” Virgil spoke, not only talking about her injured leg but her size as well.

Amanda took a deep breath, knowing he was right. The very act of standing was taking a toll on her, and she had begun to shake from exertion.

“Well, I’m the one that’s armed.” She pointed out.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow and reached over, plucking the girl’s weapon from her gasp easily. 

 “Virgil!” Patton yelled at his friend.

“Hey!” Amanda glared at the human. “Give that back!” She tried to take a step towards the human, only to lose her balance and fall on her stomach.

 “Amanda! Are you okay?” Patton leaned forward in worry but kept his hands back.

 Virgil looked at the tiny pin for a second but his eyes widened when he saw the tiny girl, apparently named Amanda, fall.

“I’m fine!” Amanda hurriedly pushed herself up, worried about keeping her eyes off her captors too long.

 Patton turned to glare at Virgil. “Why would you take her pin?” Patton said, disappointed in Virgil and showing that through the look he sent his friend.

 Virgil winced. “I just didn’t want either of us getting stabbed again,” Virgil argued back. He then turned back to Amanda. “Look, I’m sorry.” He apologized, knowing Patton would have made him anyway. “But, based on the look of things, Patton was just trying to help you. You had no reason to freaking stab him.”

“I didn’t mean to stab him that hard,” Amanda admitted, sitting up more. Indeed, she was a bit proud of how effective her weapon had been, but now might not be the best time to admit that. “I just wanted to send a warning. I don’t like being grabbed.”

 “I’m sorry about that.” Patton apologized, looking down. “I should have known better.”

 “...Still, stabbing him was a bit excessive.” Virgil said, looking from Patton to Amanda.

“I don’t exactly have a lot of options at my disposal.” Amanda was now noticing that all her options seemed to be gone now, and perhaps she should be a bit more careful about not angering the humans. “Humans aren’t keen to listen to people like me. It’s more grab first, kill later.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “Kill?!” Patton exclaimed in horror, hands going to his mouth. Virgil’s eyes went wide right along with Patton’s.

 “Whoa, whoa...you don’t actually think we’re going to...kill you...do you?” Virgil asked, looking Amanda up and down.

“Well, not right now, no,” Amanda admitted, having noticed how calm these humans were acting. “Although I was wondering when it’d come up.”

 “We would never, ever, ever!” Patton said, eyes wide and filled with concern. “I-I actually want the exact opposite. For you to get better.”

 “Yeah and, well, despite the fact that you hurt Pat, I don’t want to see you dead either. That’s just wrong.” It was wrong whether the person in question was a human or not. Cause Amanda was definitely not human but she was a person.

“...why should I believe you?” Amanda frowned, looking between the two of them. Honestly, the idea of a human not wanting her dead was...baffling.

 “Because if we wanted you dead, you would be dead already,” Virgil said, plain and simple. Patton, this time, hit Virgil in the arm.

 “Seriously Virgil, stop it.” Patton did his best to glare at Virgil and Virgil ducked his head down.

 “S-Sorry.” Didn’t make it any less true though. Patton sighed but turned back to Amanda.

 “He could have said it better, but he is right,” Patton said with a gentle smile.

“Well then, what do you want from me?” Amanda asked again, looking at the new human. She knew Patton had said he just wanted to help her, but that made no sense. Besides, if he really wanted to help he wouldn’t have grabbed her in the first place.

 “Well...I just got here.” Virgil defended himself. “I’m not actually sure yet. Pat?” He looked down at his friend, who was still kneeled near the bed.

 Patton bit his lip. “I’ve already said what I want. For you to get better. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Sorry, it’s just...hard to believe,” Amanda admitted. “Humans always have some sort of motive.”

 “And my motive is seeing you get better. And so is Virgil’s, right?” Patton turned to look at Virgil and Virgil’s eyes widened.

 “What?” Patton narrowed his eyes. “I mean, uh, yeah! Right.” Patton nodded and smiled back at Amanda.

 “And I’m willing to give you whatever you need until your leg is all healed up!” Patton exclaimed.

“Oh! Well, that’s very kind of you.” Amanda’s eyes widened in surprise. “But really I should be going home.”

 “Oh.” Patton bit his lip. “Um, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“What do you mean?” Amanda gave Patton a wary glance, knowing this was where his true motives would come out.

 “I mean, well, where do you even live?” Patton asked. Virgil just watched this interaction, curious as well.

“Uh…” Amanda glanced briefly at the outlet under the bedside table. “...around.”

 Patton didn’t notice but Virgil had followed her gaze. He put two and two together. “...Do you live in the walls?”

“What?” Amanda quickly looked away, eager to deny it. “Who said anything about the walls?”

 Virgil smirked. “Sounds like someone who does live in the walls and is trying to deny it.”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “But, if you live in the walls...isn’t that a lot of climbing and walking?”

“Well, yeah,” Amanda admitted, looking at her leg. “But it’ll be fine, I can just rest for a while. I’ve got food preserves.” Sort of, she thought distantly, remembering the mess of melted cookie in her bag.

 Patton shook his head. “I...I really can’t let you go in this condition. You’d just hurt yourself even more!” Patton was quick to continue. “But! Once you’re all better, you are more than free to go home.”

“No, I’ll be fine!” Amanda insisted, scooting backward. “I can’t stay here!” 

 “But-!” Virgil cut Patton off by placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Amanda.

 “Alright. If you can make it over there.” He pointed to where she had been looking earlier. “And not hurt yourself, then you can go.”

 “But Virgil-” Virgil shook his head and Patton shut his mouth. He understood what Virgil was trying to do but he didn’t want Amanda to get hurt.

“What, right now?” Amanda shifted, stalling for time as her leg reignited.

 Virgil nodded. “Yep. Show us what you got.”

“Okay.” Amanda scooted on her butt over to the edge of the bed, unfortunately, close to the humans. Her leg protested the move, and Amanda kept her jaw clenched to keep from giving any indication that she was in pain. She could feel two giant pairs of eyes watching her every move. She could do this. 

Amanda turned herself around, gripping onto the sheets with her remaining strength. She gave a quick prayer, and she jumped.

 Patton’s eyes widened and he went to reach out to catch her but Virgil held his arms back. He hated having to do this but Amanda seemed too stubborn to accept help unless they proved it to her.

“Augh!” Amanda couldn’t hold back a groan as she landed painfully on her uninjured side, rolling down a few more inches before finally coming to a stop. Dang it.

 Virgil winced and released Patton’s arms, who immediately scooped Amanda up and looked her over. “Oh goodness, are you okay!?”

“Ow.” Amanda cringed, Patton’s jostling only serving to aggravate her injuries. “I- I was fine, I had it. Put me back, I can make it.”

 “I think we’ve proved that you’re too injured to make it,” Virgil spoke, crossing his arms.

 “Virgil, you should have let me catch her!” Patton exclaimed, actually looking a little betrayed. Virgil sighed, hating to be looked at like that.

 “Sorry, but it was the only way. She is way too stubborn.”

“I can make it, I didn’t need catching.” Amanda winced, sitting up.

 “Come on.” Virgil groaned, leaning forward a bit. “Look, Patton is right. We really do just want to help. So stop pretending like everything is okay when it clearly isn’t.” Virgil spoke, glaring slightly at Amanda.

“Fine!” Amanda glared back at him. “Life sucks and I’m in pain. But I certainly don’t need your help.”

 “Why not?” Patton asked, eyes wide in his signature puppy dog look. “We promise not to keep you here any longer than need be. And we can provide you with anything you need, both for your leg or if you need food, stuff like that.”

Amanda looked back at him. It was clear even to her that she wasn’t going anywhere. And maybe things wouldn’t be so bad if she stayed on this human’s good side. After her leg healed she might even be able to sneak away pretty easily.

 Dan raised his eyebrows, still surprised to hear another borrower speak. Despite all his late night researching, it was hard to process a borrower right in front of him. Especially because this one seemed so much calmer.  “She’s right here.” Dan tapped the side of the bowl.

 “I can speak for myself!” Amanda yelled up at him, making sure Allison could hear her.

 Allison’s head snapped back over to the bowl. “Amanda!” She ran over, past Mark’s arms and placed a hand on the bowl. “Amanda, can you hear me? Are you okay?”

 Amanda moved closer to the side, hearing Allison on the other side. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” Amanda said a bit breathlessly, relieved to hear Allison’s voice even if the situation wasn’t ideal. “Are you?”

 “Yeah, I’m okay.” Allison looked up at the humans, finding herself glaring at them. “Let her out!”

 Jack blinked and glanced at Dan. He would let Amanda out, but Dan currently had the bowl and he didn’t want to risk hurting Amanda by trying to get it.

 “Allow me.” Mark said, going to grab at the bowl.

 “C’mon, you already have one.” Dan argued, holding the bowl closer to his chest. Mark’s eyes widened, shocked at Dan’s behavior. He didn’t own Allison at all. Allison was just a person too. A… smaller person.

 Allison had not liked the way he had said that. As if she belonged to Mark or something. Which she did not. She stayed silent though, not wanting to risk anything.

 “Dan. Let Amanda out.” Jack said, glaring at Dan.

 “Alright, but you know what’s gonna happen.” Dan gave Jack a pointed look. He grabbed Amanda up in a fist, gently setting her down on the table. Amanda straightened her clothing, not bothering to glare at Dan before rushing over to Allison.

 “Allison!” Amanda pulled her borrower friend close, letting herself enjoy the hug for a moment before addressing Allison in a voice quiet enough that the humans couldn’t hear. “Do you have your hook?”

 Allison enjoyed the hug, before pausing at the question. She nodded, though she was confused. “Yeah, why?” She whispered back.

 “Alright, get it at the ready.” Amanda instructed. “If you don’t feel comfortable, you can give it to me and I’ll take the lead. In a minute we can make a break for it. There’s an exit under the sofa.”

 Allison blinked. “Amanda, wait, Mark said he was going to take us home.” Allison explained.

 Amanda paused, pulling away from the hug enough to look Allison in the face. “What?”

 “Look, I know how it sounds, but Mark is actually really nice. He didn’t even hold me until just a moment ago and that was only because Jack gave him to me.” Allison explained, knowing the look on Amanda’s face and her untrust of humans. Of course, she wasn’t one to trust humans either, but Mark was, of course, different.

 “...Allison, you don’t even know Mark.” Amanda scolded. “You’ve known him, what, a day? Anybody can be nice for a day. Well, most people.” She sent a glare over her shoulder at Dan. “But that’s all the more reason to take advantage of that kindness and escape while we have a chance.”

 “Are they talking about me?” Dan looked at the other two humans, at a loss for what was going on.

 “I...guess. But...You weren’t there but I really don’t think Mark was acting. I think he really wants to help us.” Allison sent a glance towards Mark, it may have only been a day, but Allison really did feel safe with him.

 Jack looked over at Dan and shrugged. “Probably.”

 “And now they’re talking about me.” Mark joked, looking at Allison with a smile when she looked over at him.

 Amanda glared over Allison’s shoulder at Mark, causing Mark’s smile to fade. “Allison, there is no way I’m going to put my trust in that human. He is not taking me or you anywhere.”

 “But...But what about our home? If we don’t go with Mark, we’ll be stuck in England forever.” Allison didn’t want to leave the home they had made for themselves. It was nice and had all of their past borrowings. She didn’t want to start fresh.

 “So?” Amanda shrugged. “That’s the borrower way, that’s what you’re supposed to do. We’ll have to move anyways in California because we were seen, so we might as well move far, far away.”

 “Oy, mind including us in the conversation?” Dan spoke up again, getting a little on edge about all this secrecy.

 Allison tensed at the sound of Dan’s voice and backed away a bit, closer to Mark. Jack turned to glare at him.

 “Hey, they were havin’ a reunion, let them be.” Jack spoke in the borrowers defense.

 “Sorry!” Dan put his hands up to show he meant no harm. “But I mean, c’mon, we are right here. It’s a bit weird.”

 Amanda realized they were running out of time. She took a step closer to Allison, looking at her sternly. “Allison, listen to me. You’re just brainwashed. Let’s get you away from all this craziness and see how you feel in a few days.”

 Allison glanced back at Mark one more time, before sighing. “...Alright.” She discreetly handed Amanda her hook. There was no way she could take the lead on this.

 Amanda grinned, glad her friend had come to her senses. She gripped the hook in her hands, always grateful to have one available. “Okay, so I’ll run over to the edge, hook it and grapple down. You follow down the rope, I collect the hook and we sprint to the exit.”

 Allison nodded, bracing herself for what was about to happen. “Got it.”

 Amanda took a deep breath, nodding once before sprinting to the edge of the table, placing the hook with practiced ease and jumping off.

 Allison was about to follow, just as planned, when Jack’s voice rang out, causing her to stumble.

 “Whoa, hey!” Jack’s eyes widened when he saw Amanda jump off the table with a hook. He practically flung himself down to the ground in order to catch her. Thankfully, he had been quick, and he found his hand wrapping around her small frame. He let out a sigh of relief as he awkwardly got back up.

 “No!” Amanda screeched, kicking at Jack’s hand. The coffee table wasn’t far from the ground so she didn’t fear for being dropped.

 “I told you it would happen again.” Dan sighed, expecting nothing less.

 “Jack, what are you doing?!” Mark gasped, watching Jack hold the struggling borrower. He felt terrible just by association, looking at her trapped by his friend.

 “Well, I couldn’t just let her get away!” Jack said in his defense, but feeling a little guilty. He set her back down on the table next to Allison, but took the hook and placed it in his pocket.

 Allison backed up as Jack dropped Amanda off next her, waiting until the hand was gone to run over to her. “Are you okay?”

 “I’m fine.” Amanda huffed, glaring over her shoulder at Jack. “But that’s why you can’t trust a bean.”

 Jack put his hands up and Amanda’s glare. “I’m sorry, okay? But you can’t just leave. Not when there are still so many questions that need answering.”

 “It’s not my job to sit here and answer your questions!” Amanda turned to face him fully, pointing an accusing finger at him. She felt more protective and brave with her friend around, despite the addition of two other humans.

 Jack wasn’t sure what to do at this point and turned to Mark for help. Mark had seemed to make the other borrower, Allison, trust him. Maybe he could do the same with Amanda?

 “Mark, can you help us out here?” He said, motioning towards the borrowers.

 “If she doesn’t want to talk, you can’t make her.” Mark put his arms around the two borrowers protectively once more. “And she doesn’t have to stay here either. I’m taking them both home.”

 Amanda took a few quick steps backwards to avoid Mark’s arm, turning now to glare at Mark. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”

 Allison was at a loss. On one hand, she really did want to go back home and Mark hadn’t done anything that would elicit a negative response. On the other hand, she trusted Amanda a lot more. As her best friend and as a fellow borrower. But really, in a room full of humans, what were they going to do?

 “Amanda.” Allison spoke low, so only she could hear. “What else are we going to do. They’ve already stopped an escape attempt and they’ll stop another if they have to. I hate to say it...but out of everyone here I’d rather go along with Mark.” Dan was most certainly out of the question and Jack...after being grabbed by him earlier and watching him grab Amanda, Allison could say she wasn’t feeling very good around him.

 Mark looked down at the two borrowers, feeling a tiny bit annoyed. He flew across the ocean to help this girl, after all. Still, he could sort of understand her distrust and just hoped Allison could talk some sense into her.

 Amanda glanced between Allison and Mark, uncertain. She still didn’t want to put their fates in the hands of a human bean, but there was some truth to what her friend said. “If you really trust Mark, then we need to use him now while he’s still on our side. I say we get him to help get our hooks back and set us free here.”

 Allison blinked and looked behind her back at Mark. She turned back to Amanda and nodded. “Wait here.” She really didn’t want to leave Amanda’s side, not so soon after finding her, but she was doing this for them.

 She went over towards Mark and looked up at him. “Um...Mark can I talk to you.” She glanced at the other humans in the room. “Er...privately.”

 Mark looked down at Allison, glancing at Amanda. “Uh, okay?” Mark put down his hand, waiting for Allison to climb on.

 Allison tensed as the palm was offered to her. This would be the first time she went into Mark’s hands willingly and only the second time she would actually be in those hands. But she had to do this, she trusted him...right? Man, she hoped she was right to put her trust in him.

 She slowly, carefully, climbed onto Mark’s hand and sat down in the center. She controlled her breathing as she waited for Mark to move.

 Amanda watched with wide eyes as her friend willingly climbed into a human bean’s palm. She could only hope Allison was right and Mark could be trusted. Nevertheless, Amanda sent a warning glare Mark’s way.

 Seeing Amanda’s face, Mark couldn’t help but gulp nervously. He could feel so many eyes on him, and he was scared of breaking Allison’s trust. She was just so small in his hands. But, Mark tried to keep a cool exterior. He glared at Jack and Dan.

 “No funny business while we’re gone.” Mark lectured them. “Leave Amanda  alone.”

 “Okay, mom.” Dan joked, which earned him a hard look. But Mark decided to not waste anymore time, instead carefully standing up while cupping Allison close to his chest and heading into the kitchen.

 Amanda watched the two disappear, now realizing her situation. She was left alone on a coffee table, hookless, with two human beans who already didn’t like her. She tried to focus on staring straight at the kitchen door, waiting anxiously for Allison to return.

 “What’s up, Allison?” Mark asked quietly, not sure if the others could be eavesdropping.

 Allison fidgeted with her clothes nervously, before taking a deep breath and looking up at Mark. “There’s been a...slight change in plans.” She revealed, wincing. “Um, instead of you taking us back, we need your help in getting our hooks back and then…” This was the part she was dreading. She really hoped that Mark would still help them, even though he would no longer be taking them back with him to America.

 “And then letting us go here.” She finished.

 “Wait, what?” Mark frowned, confused. “You two want to go with Jack?” Mark thought that Amanda hated Jack, why would she want to stay here?

 “What? No! No, definitely not. He’s uh...yeah no.” Allison said shaking her head. “I meant, like, we’ll find a new place to live on our own somewhere here.”

 “Where are you going to go?” Mark asked. “Is it something I did? What happened?”

 “No, you have been great so far...it’s just...Amanda doesn’t trust and I hate to say it, but she has good reason. Humans are dangerous for us and even if we had gone back with you, we would have had to move away anyway. It’s the...borrower code.” Allison sighed.

 “As for...where I’m not sure. Somewhere far away from here though, that’s for sure.”

 “You wouldn’t have to move!” Mark assured her. “We could work something out! I promise, I’ll be super respectful. We can do whatever it takes to make Amanda comfortable. I just… I don’t want you guys to go without a plan, I want to know you’ll be okay. I can help you, honest.”

 “I...Mark to be honest, I would love to go back home and stay there. But Amanda...she would never go for that. She doesn’t know you and honestly I can’t see her trusting any humans, especially at this point.” Allison explained.

 “...wait, I have an idea.” Mark said suddenly. “If Amanda’s the one against it, maybe I can just try talking to her. She can see how much I’m not a threat and how I really just want to help!”

 Allison’s eyes widened. “Uh, Mark, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

 “Trust me, I know I can get through to her.” Mark assured her. “I’ll be on my best behavior and everything.” He gave her a small smile, turning more serious. “It’s our best chance. You already tried talking to her, and unless she trusts me too something bad might happen to the both of you. I don’t want you risking your lives just because she and I didn’t take the time to get to know each other.”

 “I...I guess it doesn’t hurt to try…” Or it could, guess they’ll see because there was no talking Mark out of this.

 “Trust me, I can do this.” Mark began walking back into the living room. He sat down, setting Allison back on the table.

 “Amanda, will you please come with me?” Mark asked, putting his palm down on the table next to her. Amanda skidded back, avoiding his palm.

 “...no.” Amanda said, glancing at Allison in confusion. Had Allison convinced Mark? Why did Amanda need to go with him then?

 “Why do you get all the alone time with the borrowers?” Dan raised an eyebrow. Mark tried to ignore him. “We’re curious too, you know. Maybe we could all just talk in this room together like normal people.”

 “Stay out of this, Dan.” Mark gave him an irritated huff, taking a deep breath to try and make his face look as welcoming and calm as before. He didn’t want to scare Amanda off.

 Allison sent a pleading look towards Amanda. “Please Amanda, just...hear him out. I promise he isn’t going to do anything.”

 Jack looked from Allison and to Mark, wishing he could somehow get Amanda to trust him like that. Instead, while the two had been away, the three of them had sat in silence. Dan had tried to ask some questions, but Amanda had simply ignored him.

 “He’s going to pick me up.” Amanda hissed out of the corner of her mouth, looking at Mark’s palm with distaste. “And he wants me to walk into his palm so he can do it.” The thought made Amanda’s stomach churn.

 “I promise it’s not like with Jack.” Allison shuddered remembering how Jack’s hand had curled around her body. She shook the memory away. “He won’t close his hand around you and if you want down he’ll put you down. Please, just give him a chance.” Allison put on her best puppy dog eyes.

 Amanda gave her friend a long, hard stare. “...fine.” Amanda tensed at her own words, knowing that while she didn’t always trust Allison’s judgement, she was her best friend. Amanda looked at the palm, deciding it would be best to just get it over with. She jumped up onto it, almost falling over in her haste. One of her hands went down to catch herself, but she quickly pulled away, wanting to keep contact to a minimum.

 “I’ll go slow and gentle, I promise.” Mark spoke softly, pleased to see Amanda get into his hand. Progress already. He stood, returning to the kitchen with the new borrower in hand.

 Allison watched her friend go, hoping things went well with her and Mark. She turned around, only now realizing she was alone with Jack and Dan. She backed up a step.

“Yeah, imagine that.” Amanda scoffed. The day was like one long heart attack with all the fear of human interaction, combined with the absolute boredom of sitting in the dark all day. Virgil didn’t even go to any interesting classes.

 When they finally got home, Virgil very carefully lifted Amanda out of his pocket. Immediately, Patton went up to her. He gave her a kind smile. “How are you doing?” Patton asked.

Amanda gave him a weird look. “I’ve been stuffed in a pocket all day, how do you think I’m doing?”

 Both humans winced. “I-I know, I’m sorry about that,” Patton said, sending a disapproving look towards Virgil. Virgil ducked his head slightly.

 “Right, sorry. I just...didn’t want you trying to leave and hurting yourself even more.” Virgil tried to explain himself.

“I’m not stupid you know.” Amanda chided. “I wouldn’t do something like that.” Of course, she had been planning to do exactly that, but Patton and Virgil didn’t need to know.

 “Well, how about I make us something to eat?” Patton suggested. It was a little late for lunch and dinner was right around the corner but they could have a little snack to munch on until then. “Have any ideas?” Patton asked, looking directly at Amanda.

“Me?” Amanda looked surprised to be included in such a decision. She never got to decide what to eat, except in terms of deciding what to borrow and that was limited to what humans made available.

 “Of course! Name anything and I’ll go see if I have it.” Patton grinned. He had a feeling Amanda never really got this kind of food and wanted to give her as much of it as possible.

“I mean, I really like fruit,” Amanda admitted. It was delicious, but rare for her to get because it was often kept refrigerated and it spoiled quickly.

 Patton hummed. “Fruit, got it! I know we have some strawberries in the fridge, definitely.” Patton smiled and went to go grab them. Meanwhile, Virgil was just now realizing he was still holding Amanda.

 “Oh, right, you probably want to be put down.” He knows he would want to be, after spending so long not on solid ground. He set her down on the table.

“Right, thanks.” Amanda shifted, noting that the wooden surface of the table was a lot less comfy than Virgil’s palm. Of course, it was also a lot safer, so Amanda preferred the table.

 Virgil nodded and Patton came back with a plate of strawberries cut in half. He set the plate down and sat, Virgil following suit. “There we go! This should hold us over until dinner.”

 Virgil smiled at him. “Thanks, Pat.” He grabbed a strawberry and popped it into his mouth.

Amanda limped over to the plate, grabbing a half strawberry for herself. She took a big bite, smiling as a bit of juice ran down her face.

 Patton chuckled. “Good?”

 Virgil reached over and grabbed a paper towel, ripping off an edge and holding it out for Amanda wordlessly.

“Delicious.” Amanda ignored the paper towel, instead taking another large bite and looking Virgil in the eye as she made a further mess of herself.

 Virgil couldn’t help but chuckle at that. He decided to just set the paper towel down near her. “Well, it’s there if you need it.” He said, taking another strawberry.

 As Patton swallowed his bite, he looked between the two. “So! You guys have anything you want to do today? Virgil, do you have homework?”

 Virgil shrugged. “I mean, yeah but it’s fine.” 

 “Virgil…” Patton said and Virgil sighed.

 “I’ll get it done, don’t worry. But, for now, I’m down for not doing it.” He chuckled. Patton rolled his eyes playfully and turned back to Amanda. 

 “So? Any ideas for what to do today? Nothing too strenuous though, of course.” He said, looking Amanda and her injuries over.

Amanda kept her lips sealed, tactfully distracting herself with finally cleaning her face. After all, her preferred activity would be going home, but that didn’t look like it was gonna happen any time soon.

“...I’m kind of tired.” Amanda shrugged, hoping that if she were to nap the humans would leave her alone.

 “Oh! Well, we could always set something up for you so you can take a nap.” Patton said. “Did you want to do that?”

“Oh, I’m definitely tired.” Amanda made a show of stretching her arms up, giving a yawn. “That sounds wonderful.”

 “Cool! Where did you want us to set it up?” Patton asked. “I can offer my bedroom, or we could make it out here in the living room?”

 Virgil shrugged. “My room is open.” 

“I think your room would be best, Patton.” Amanda gave him her kindest smile. That bedroom was out of the way, with a fairly accessible hidden entrance. Not to mention, Patton seemed to be the less suspicious of the two humans.

 “Sounds good!” Patton held out his hand for Amanda to climb on. “Virgil, could you go find that fluffy blanket? I think it’s up in the hall closet.”

 Virgil nodded and went over to look.

In the meantime, Amanda situated herself into Patton’s hand.

 Patton lifted his hand carefully and brought her into his room. He went over to his bed, figuring that would be the most comfortable, and set her down. Virgil came in a second later with the blanket. “Here you go, Pat.”

 Patton took it with a grin. “Thanks, Virgil!” He turned back towards the bed and situated the blanket so it was a nest shape. “There we go. How does that work?” He asked Amanda.

Amanda ran her hands along the soft fabric, a slight pang of jealousy going through her. It really would be a comfy bed.

“It’s perfect.” Amanda thanked him, climbing into the center for show.

 “Great! Then we’ll leave you alone until dinner is ready.” Patton turned to leave but Virgil stopped him. He was looking at Amanda warily.

 “Pat, are you sure we should just...leave her out?” Virgil asked hesitantly. Patton frowned.

 “Of course kiddo. She knows better than to try anything and risk hurting herself. Right, Amanda?” He turned back to her with a smile.

“Oh, of course.” Amanda batted her eyelashes for good measure, pulling the blanket around herself to appear even more small and innocent. “You’ve proved your point, I was just too stubborn to realize this is for my own good. Thank you both for doing my thinking for me.”

 Virgil narrowed his eyes at her but Patton didn’t seem to notice the sarcastic undertone, despite Amanda trying to hide it. “See Virge! Nothing to worry about!” He started to push Virgil towards the door.

 “We’ll leave you to your privacy now!” Patton called out. Virgil wanted to argue but knew it was no use. Instead, he gestures that he was watching Amanda before the door was shut.

Amanda breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful to have some privacy. Of course, as comfortable as this blanket was, she couldn’t stay here. Virgil was clearly suspicious, and Amanda had to take advantage of this time alone while she had it.

…

Okay, maybe a few more minutes in the blanket wouldn’t hurt.

 Patton dragged Virgil over to the living room and sat him down to watch TV so he wouldn't bother Amanda. Honestly, he didn’t understand how Patton could trust Amanda so much. She was stubborn, after all. And she had been very adamant about leaving before. It was why he took her to school with him.

 Patton just liked to see the best in people. But sometimes it blinded him. So Virgil waited a bit before sneaking off with the excuse to use the bathroom. Instead, he opened the door to Patton’s room to check to see how far Amanda had gotten in escaping.

 To his surprise, she was still in the little nest and by the looks of things, maybe even asleep. Huh. Maybe Amanda realized it was better for her to stay here after all. Virgil took one last glance at her before shutting the door and heading back.

***

 Allison sighed, head against the glass as she watched Logan hyper-focused on his studies. He had glanced over at her a few times but hadn’t said or done anything else since he had put her in here. She hated it but she was too nervous to try and say anything else. Besides, she highly doubted it would work. 

 She was dreading Roman coming home, knowing that was when they would all talk and her fate would be decided for her. But at the same time, she wanted something to happen already.

It was a long time yet before Roman entered through the front door, positively fuming.

“You forgot to pick me up!” Roman exclaimed, sulking into the kitchen.

“...oh, my apologies.” Logan had the decency to look sheepish. “It slipped my mind.”

“Oh, I’ll give you a piece of my own mind-!” Roman stopped mid-sentence, spotting Allison. “...why is Allison in a jar?”

 Allison ducked her head, bringing her knees up to her chest. Oh gosh, she wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t ready to have her whole life taken from her.

“Well, she kept trying to run off.” Logan sunk further into his chair, noticing the way Roman glared at him.

“You could have just watched her.” Roman huffed, picking up the jar.

 Allison heart rate picked up as Roman grabbed the entire jar, lifting it and her up. She glanced down for a moment before quickly taking her eyes away. She did not like being able to see the floor through the glass. Nope. No thank you.

“I attempted to do so but it proved futile!” Logan insisted.

“No, you just wanted to pay more attention to your books.” Roman rolled his eyes, tilting the jar upside-down and placing his palm beneath.

 Allison's eyes widened but she had no time to brace herself as she tumbled down and into Roman’s hand. She groaned slightly but quickly sat up and glanced shyly up at Roman with a mix of nerves and fear. She found that she was trembling as well but she couldn’t stop it, no matter how much she wanted to.

“Aww, it’s okay.” Roman cooed. “Mean ol’ Logan won’t hurt you anymore.”

“I’m right here.” Logan deadpanned.

“How about you and I just spend some time together, hmm?” Roman suggested, heading to the living room. “That would be fun.”

 Sure, Roman seemed like a good alternative to Logan right now but she still didn’t want to be alone with any human. She shook her head. “I-I want to go home.” She tried. Maybe Roman would listen better? Probably not, though.

“How about we watch a movie?” Roman said, ignoring her request. He sat down on the couch, leaning forwards to grab the remote. “Any suggestions?”

 Allison squirmed, heart dropping lower in her chest. She was being ignored once again. “I...I don’t know.”

“Hmm….” Roman scrolled through the various films, wondering what Allison would like. His eyes lit up, spotting Lilo and Stitch. “Ooh, I think you’ll like this one.”

 She probably would but she wasn’t sure if she could enjoy the movie in her current situation. She squirmed a little more. “P-Please...I just…” I just want to go home.

“Oh, come on Allison.” Roman set her down on the couch cushion next to him, giving her a sympathetic smile. “This will be fun, I promise.” He pressed play on the remote, leaning back into the couch.

 Allison let out a little sigh, looking up to glance at the TV for a moment. Whatever was happening on screen was so fascinating. She just wished she could actually enjoy it. She glanced up at Roman, seeing how into the movie he was. Wait...this might be her chance. 

 With Roman distracted by the movie and Logan still in the kitchen, maybe she could actually escape!

 ...Well, probably not. But she had to at least try.

 She carefully stood up, keeping one eye on Roman before heading to the edge and starting to climb down. She had to make sure she didn’t go to fast though, despite how much she wanted to. She didn’t have her hook and she didn’t want to fall.

“Now, see, this is where it gets really good,” Roman explained, leaning forwards with his eyes still glued to the screen. “Just wait, it’s coming up in a moment.”

 Roman had looked at her yet. She still had a chance! She continued until her feet hit the floor. Her eyes lit up, was she actually going to make it.

“There!” Roman clapped his hands excitedly. “Did you see it?” Roman turned to gauge Allison’s reaction, but of course, Allison was not there. Roman’s eyes widened, quickly catching sight of Allison on the floor.

 Allison’s eyes widened, looking up in time to catch Roman’s eye. She froze for a second but then booked it underneath the couch. She was so close!

“Wait!” Roman wasted no time diving to the floor, pressing his face up against the floor to see. It was dark underneath, and for an anxious minute, Roman found he was blindly flailing his arm around. He sighed in relief when he felt a living form, quickly curling his fingers around Allison.

 Allison couldn’t help it. She screamed. “No! Let me go!” She cried, struggling within the grip. Tears escaped her eyes, she had been so close. Right next to her exit, in fact, when Roman was able to grab her. She just wanted to go home.

Roman became alarmed at her pleas, pulling Allison back into the light. “Allison, please, calm down!”

 “No! I-I want to go...go home! Let me go!” Allison yelled, still crying. Her tears were coming out in waterfalls now, hot against her cheeks as they slid down her face.

“I...I…” Roman was at a loss of what to do, looking down at Allison with an almost panicked expression.

“What’s all the commotion?” A worried Logan asked, speed walking into the room. He crouched down, trying to gauge the situation. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Roman insisted. “We were just watching a movie, and then she ran under the couch, and… oh Allison, please don’t cry…”

 Her crying was full-on sobs now, she just couldn’t help it anymore. As soon as she saw Logan come in as well, she knew it was hopeless. 

“Roman, stop restricting her!” Logan insisted.

Roman did as he demanded, looking just as worried as they stared at the sobbing mess of a girl resting in Roman’s palm.

“Allison, are you hurt?” Logan insisted, leaning closer.

 Allison shook her head as she continued to cry. She was trying to calm down enough to speak but her emotions were overwhelming her right now. So much had happened in just a day, she was finally letting it all out.

“Allison…” Roman reached out to comfort her, but Logan stopped his hand.

“Set her down,” Logan explained. “Give her space.”

Roman nodded, setting Allison gently down on the couch cushion.

 Allison was thankful when she was set down and she curled into herself to let the crying run its course. After a few more minutes her sobs quieted and the only sound coming from her was her shaking breaths.

The room slowly became quiet, the movie having been paused long ago. Roman and Logan looked at each other, unsure.

“How are you feeling?” Roman asked quietly, breaking the silence.

 Allison didn’t look up as she shrugged. “I’d say fine but then I’d be lying.”

Logan let out a tense sigh. “Perhaps we have been a bit….brash.”

“Indeed.” Roman murmured. All he had wanted to do was spend some time hanging out with Allison, and yet even that had ended up with Allison in hysterics.

“Allison, perhaps we can come to an agreement.” Logan offered.

 Her eyebrows furrowed at that and she glanced up at them. “An...agreement?”

“If you simply answer a few questions, we will let you leave,” Logan explained. “Is that fair?”

 Allison groaned and looked back down. Yeah, she wanted to leave but not...not like that. She couldn’t reveal anything about the others. About Amanda. “It...depends on what you ask.” She ended up saying. Maybe they...wouldn’t ask about any of that? 

 Ha...Allison laughed at the thought. 

“Fair enough.” Roman nodded. He was curious too, but he knew that though this might be his last chance to ever see a person like Allison, he wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping Allison around against her will. 

“Do you want to go first?” Logan offered. “I need to go grab a notebook.”

“Oh, sure. Umm….” Roman pondered it a moment, waiting for Logan to come back. “Well, can you tell us what you are now, Allison?”

“I’m curious about that myself.” Logan murmured, opening to a clean page and pulling out a pen.

 Allison bit her lip. She knew that was going to be a question. “I...I really shouldn’t…” It was against the rules, after all.

“Hmm.” Logan pondered this a moment. “Then perhaps we should start with what information can you share?”

 Allison blinked. What could she share? “Um...well...m-my name is Allison but uh, yeah, of course, you knew that already um…” She couldn’t help but stutter as her nerves took over. “I-I live in the walls, have for some time now…” What else was there?

“...anything else?” Roman pressed. 

 “Um…humans aren’t supposed to see people like me. We’re supposed to stay hidden away for our...for our own safety.” Allison hugged herself. “I know now more than ever why that rule was put into place.” She said quietly.

“Apologies.” They both had the decency to look ashamed of themselves. 

“Where are you going to go now?” Roman asked. “I mean, will we see you again?”

 “No,” Allison said, knowing for sure that they wouldn't. She only realized after she said it, that it could affect them letting her go. Still, she continued on. “I’ve been seen...I have to move away now.” After she found Amanda, of course, they were both out of there.

“Where will you move?” Logan pressed. “Will it be dangerous?”

 “Probably,” Allison admitted. “It’s...It’s always dangerous.” At least it wasn’t winter. But fall could still see snow and she hoped that didn’t happen. “As for where...well...me telling you kind of defeats the whole…point.”

“Oh, of course.” Logan looked a bit sheepish.

“Is there any way we can assist you?” Roman offered. “I know we’ve been terrible, but...I certainly don’t want you to get hurt because of us. I mean, you don’t have to move, do you? What if we just leave you alone?”

 Allison clung to her own arm, looking down. “Would you really though? Be able to leave me alone?” Allison sighed. “I know you humans. You’d constantly be looking around for me to pop up. And if you actually saw me, would you be able to...to not do anything?” She asked and despite whatever they answered, she knew the real answer.

“Of course we would!” Roman insisted.

“If that is what you desire, I’m certain we can make those accommodations.” Logan agreed. “It may take a period of acclimation, granted.”

 And that’s what she thought they would say. Of course, how could she trust them to uphold that? She shook her head. “I don’t have a choice.” She said. “It’s the rules. I have to leave.” She didn’t really want to leave but she also didn’t want to stay, knowing Roman and Logan knew about her and could potentially find and catch her again.

“Rules?” Logan seemed to become more interested. “What rules?”

 She wasn’t thinking as she spoke. “Borrowers have these rules we have to follow. Like to not be seen, don’t talk to a human, and if you are, then you need to leave. Those are the main ones. The most important.” Allison explained.

“Borrowers?” Roman repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, Logan was frantically scribbling away in his notebook.

 Allison’s eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. “No! I mean...I, no, I didn’t say that!” She tried desperately. 

“Yes you did, approximately 43 seconds ago.” Logan reminded her, still focused on his writing.

 Allison groaned, putting her head in her hands. “Would it be possible for you to pretend like you never heard that?” Allison asked, voice slightly muffled.

“Absolutely,” Roman assured her. “Our lips are sealed.” He made a zipping motion in front of his lips. When he saw that Logan wasn’t going to copy the motion, Roman leaned over and did it for him.

 Allison laughed a bit at that but quickly covered it with a cough. “Anyway...is that...is that enough questions? Can I go now?” She had basically already revealed everything she wasn’t supposed to. She didn’t want them to somehow find out about Amanda too.

Logan and Roman looked at each other.

“...I have no further questions.” Logan announced. “At least, none that I believe you would be willing to disclose, and I will not pressure you further.”

“Same goes for me.” Roman sighed. “But...please consider the offer to stay. We really will leave you alone.”

 Allison sighed. “I’ll...think about it.” She lied. She then turned to Logan. “Can I have my hook back, please?”

“Ah yes, of course.” Logan retrieved it, handing it over. “My apologies.”

 Allison just nodded carefully taking the hook from Logan. She held it close to her, happy to have it back. She then went to the edge of the couch, as far as she could away from the humans and began to lower her hook and climb down it. Sending nervous glances towards the humans as she did. Just waiting for them to suddenly spring forward and stop her.

But neither human made a move, going so far as to avert their eyes to give her some privacy.

“...lovely weather we’re having.” Roman murmured.

 Allison made it to the ground and quickly took her hook back, wrapping it up and hanging it on her belt. She then wasted no time in running under the couch. Without another word towards the humans, she went back into the walls.

“Indeed.” Logan sighed. “Now I do believe she has truly departed.”

“Do you think she’ll stick around?” Roman asked, daring to be hopeful despite his mood.

“Outlook doubtful,” Logan admitted, heading back to the kitchen.

 Allison stopped for a minute a smile on her face as she realized she was free. It was the best feeling in the world.

 Virgil groaned as the smell of food filled his nostrils as well. Half his body hurt and as he opened his eyes he realized it was because he had fallen asleep on the couch. And at a weird angle too. He sat up and stretched his body, wincing as he felt several places pop. His eyes went to the on TV and then slowly to the arm of the couch. 

 He saw Amanda sitting there, awake and looking at him. “Uh...good morning.”

Amanda shifted in place. “...Morning.”

 Virgil didn’t know what to say after that but thankfully Patton came in to the room. “Oh! You two are awake! Perfect, breakfast just got finished.”

 Virgil nodded and then offered a hand to Amanda as Patton went back to set the table.

“Oh, right.” Amanda looked at the palm offered to her, steeling herself. She tried to get up and stand, intent on walking over, but her legs buckled beneath her weight. Amanda fell to her hands and knees, caught off guard by her own body working against her. It seemed the lack of sleep last night had done her no favors.

 Virgil’s eyes widened. “Whoa!” His hands came a little closer, cupping around her but not yet touching her. “...You okay?” 

“I’m fine!” Amanda insisted, putting a hand up. Despite how frequently she said it, the statement seemed to be getting less and less true. After all, what part of this was fine? She was in human captivity and she couldn’t even walk. What a useless excuse for a borrower.

 “You definitely don’t look fine.” Virgil muttered. “I’m gonna pick you up now, okay?” He didn’t wait for a response and he brought his hands closer and gently scooped her up into his hands.

Amanda tensed at the feeling of hands coming underneath her and surrounding her body, but what could she do? Amanda couldn’t fight Virgil, and she couldn’t cooperate correctly either. At least he had given her a warning.

“Thanks.” Amanda muttered, trying to get comfortable.

 Virgil hummed and brought her into the kitchen. Patton was there and looked at Amanda with concern. “Is everything okay?” 

 Virgil shrugged and gently set Amanda down on the table, before taking his seat. Patton soon followed. “I don’t know. I think she might have gotten worse.” Patton’s eyes widened.

 “Oh no!”

“I just needed to rest my legs for a moment.” Amanda paused, then defaulted to her favorite lie. “...I’m fine.”

 Patton’s eyes still shown with concern but he nodded. “Alright but don’t be afraid to tell us if you aren’t, okay?” Patton gave Amanda a gentle smile before giving her a small plate of eggs and hashbrowns. 

Amanda was planning on doing nothing at the sort, but she nodded anyways. Her expression lit up as she recognized the hash browns on her plate, taking a large bite out of the warm cooked potato shreds.

 Patton smiled as he saw her excitement at the hashbrowns. It was why he made them again, after all. He dug into his own food, glancing at the time. “Oh, shoot. I have an 8am class today.” The clock currently read 7:20. “I’m going to have to leave soon.”

 Virgil glanced at the clock as well. He still had a bit more time, thankfully.

Amanda almost said ‘I know’ before realizing that might not be the best thing to admit. Instead she kept her head down, focusing more fully on eating her food.

 Patton ate the rest of his breakfast fairly quickly, putting it in the sink before heading to his room to get changed. “Just put your dishes in the sink and I’ll clean them when I get home!” He called before they heard his bedroom door shut.

 Virgil continued to eat at a slower pace, since he had the time. He turned to Amanda. “So, how did you like the show last night?” He asked. He hated small talk but he also hated awkward silences more.

Despite herself, Amanda perked up at this new conversation topic. “It was cool.” Amanda smiled. “I mean, it was different than what I remember from the books, but it was intriguing to see a different interpretation.”

 Virgil nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Honestly, I’ve never read the book but the show is good.” Maybe he should...but then again, reading large books like that wasn’t really his thing. That was more Logan’s thing. 

 Patton came back out after that, fully dressed with his backpack. “Alright guys, I gotta head out, but I’ll see you two later!” 

 “Bye Pat!” Virgil called out as Patton closed the front door. “Welp, just the two of us for another hour or so.”

“Oh yeah, you have class too, don’t you?” Amanda remembered. 

 “I do, unfortunately.” He’d much rather just skip class but he knew he’d get an earful from Patton if he did so. 

Perhaps there really would be a chance for Amanda to get out of this situation after all. If Virgil was leaving, then Amanda would have the apartment all to herself again. All she’d have to do is make it to a wall entrance and she’d be home free. Amanda grinned slightly to herself, eating some of her eggs.

 Virgil stood up and placed his empty dish in the sink before turning to Amanda. “Are you done?” He asked her.

“Oh, yeah.” Despite saying this, Amanda grabbed a few last strands of hash browns and piled them into her lap, intent on saving them for later.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?” He asked as he took the plate.

“Saving these for later.” Amanda opened her bag, only to immediately groan at the contents. “Oh great, I forgot.” Her bag was still loaded with the broken cookie, the chocolate having melted and coating just about everything. After all the excitement of the day yesterday most of the actual ‘cookie’ was just a pile of dusty crumbs. 

With a huff, Amanda turned her bag upside-down, shaking it to dispel the contents onto the table and try to begin clearing the mess.

 Virgil just continued to watch her and began to wonder where she had gotten...what was that? A cookie? Was that from Patton? He put the plate in the sink and turned back to her. “You don’t have to do that. Patton would be more than happy to make some more for you later.”

“Hmm?” Amanda paused briefly, wondering what he was talking about before realizing he meant her borrowings. “Oh, well I’d rather have it just in case. Of course, stupid thing wasn’t worth it.” Amanda returned to her grumbling, giving the bag another shake. Now most of the cookie chunks were dispelled, and the tools that resided at the bottom of her bag came tumbling out. Many of these were covered in sticky chocolate stains.

“Oh, come on!” Amanda groaned. This was going to take forever to get clean.

 Virgil winced at the small items covered in chocolate. That didn’t look good. “Do you need some...help?” He offered, though, as soon as he said it, he was wondering how he actually could help.

“Yeah, grab me some paper towels.” Amanda instructed, beginning to sort out her items and move the important pieces away from the cookie pile.

 Virgil nodded, glad to have some instructions on how to help and grabbed a paper towel, putting it next to Amanda to use.

“Thanks.” Amanda got to work, using the paper towel to diligently scrub at her tools.

 Virgil watched Amanda scrub her tools. “...Did you need some water or something? Would that help?” He asked.

“Well, if you have some to spare.” Amanda answered, for a moment forgetting with whom she was speaking. Of course a human would have enough water, they had access to faucets all the time.

 “Uh, yeah, of course?” Virgil didn’t really get it but he went over and filled and small saucer with water before bringing it over for Amanda to use. “There, hopefully that will help.”

“Thanks.” Amanda dabbed the corner of the paper towel into the dish, using it to remove the residue chocolate. Slowly her belongings became clean, and she used the other end of the paper towel to dry them off. Once she was satisfied, Amanda got to work cleaning the bag itself by turning it inside-out and scrubbing at the patchwork fabric.

 Virgil looked down at her work with a smile. “Well, looks like that took care of it.” He glanced at the clock. “Shoot, I’ll be right back. I gotta get ready for class.” Virgil left for his room.

Amanda felt her fingers twitching, desperate to take advantage of her time alone, but now was not the time for an escape attempt. Her legs protested such an idea. Amanda could let them rest for just a few minutes longer. After all, soon Virgil would be gone and she’d have the entire apartment to herself.

With this thought in mind, Amanda quickly dried off the bag, repacking so she could be ready.

 Virgil came out a few minutes later dressed and ready with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked towards Amanda and then down at himself, wondering how this was gonna work. He unzipped his hoodie, looking down at his t-shirt and realized it had a small pocket there. Yeah, that should work, right?

 “All right, all set. You ready?” Virgil asked.

“...ready for what?” Amanda asked uneasily, not liking his tone.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “For school? You’re coming with me.” He said, like it was obvious.

“I certainly am not!” Amanda’s jaw dropped, looking a mix between offended and fearful. After all, if Virgil really wanted to take her, there was nothing Amanda could do to stop him. “I’m not going anywhere with all those beans roaming around! I could get seen, or hurt. I thought you were trying to keep me safe. I’m injured, remember?”

 “Yeah but you’ll be safe in my pocket. And that way I know you won’t get up to anything here.” Virgil said. He didn’t want her trying to climb anything...and half of him still thought she was going to try and get away. Which wouldn’t be good for her. Not in her current state. 

“I’ve never gotten up to anything in my life.” Amanda insisted. “And there is no way a pocket is safe.” Amanda pictured it for a moment, imagining how she’d be thrown around and forced to curl up into a ball. 

 “You’ll be fine.” Virgil said. “And at least then I know you’re getting rest. Now come on,” he glanced at the clock. “I really gotta go.” He held his hand out for her.

“There’s no way I could rest, I’d be tense all day wondering what you’re gonna do to me.” Amanda scooted away from him, grabbing her bag. “That hardly sounds like a peaceful environment, as opposed to a quiet apartment with no close encounters and no surprises.”

 Virgil sighed. “Amanda, I don’t have time for this.” With one last glance at the clock, he reached out and gently scooped her up before gently dropping her into his shirt pocket.

“H-hey!” Amanda protested as she was squashed at the bottom, banging her fist against Virgil’s chest. “Put me back! I don’t want to go with you! I’ll- I’ll tell Patton!”

 Virgil actually paused at that but he zipped up his hoodie. Patton probably wouldn’t be happy with him but this was to keep Amanda safe. “I’d keep your voice down, I’m about to leave.”

Amanda felt her face pale at that. She hadn’t left the building in years. What if something happened at school? She certainly couldn’t make it back in her condition.

“...please be careful.” Amanda requested, her nervousness increasing. Like it or not (and she did not), her life would be in Virgil’s hands for the day.

 Virgil blinked. “Wait, you talked to Allison last night?”

“I do have friends besides you, you know.” Amanda quipped, giving Virgil a look.

 Virgil put his hands up in surrender before going over to make some coffee. Patton chuckled. “We know kiddo, but how did it go? Is she...did she say anything about us? Or Roman and Logan?” Patton was curious about how the other borrower thought of them.

“Mhm.” Amanda nodded, wondering how much she was at liberty to say. “She ah… she agreed not to move, and she was gonna try to patch things up with her humans.”

 “Really?” Patton grinned wide at that. “That’s great! Roman and Logan may have messed up a little but their still good people with good intentions. I’m sure everything will work out.”

 “...I think it will be fine.” Virgil admitted. “I know I was giving them crap yesterday but they are still our friends.”

“Well, I don’t know them.” Amanda was still a bit tense about that aspect. “Not really, at least. But even Allison was willing to give them a chance, despite being the one at the center of everything that happened, so they can’t be so bad. She was gonna read and play games with them.”

 “Aww, that sounds fun!” Patton clapped his hands once before turning when he remembered the food. Virgil poured himself a coffee, sipping it slowly.

 “Do you think we should...check on them? Er, later on, I mean?” Virgil asked.

“Could you?” Amanda said hopefully. “I mean, I don’t think it’ll go too poorly, but… well, I doubt Allison would want to get stuck in a jar for very long again.”

 Both humans winced. “Yeah, definitely. Did you want to come with?” Virgil asked as Patton handed out the food. It looks like they were having hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon again, not that Virgil was complaining.

“Yeah, I can come too.” Amanda agreed, walking closer to her food. “Thanks, Patton.”

 “No problem kiddo!” Patton said as he took a seat. Virgil wasn’t far behind. 

 “Alright, then I say we give it a few more hours and then head over to check on them.” Virgil planned out. “We don’t have classes today, so it’ll be a shorter wait...wait, did she say when she was going to try this?”

“...morning.” Amanda gave a small nod as if confirming this to herself. “Yeah, this morning.”

 “Oh, that early?” Patton said, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Maybe we shouldn’t wait too long then?”

 “Eh, an hour or two should be fine. Right, Amanda?” Virgil asked.

“I think it should be fine.” Amanda agreed, hoping she wasn’t wrong. She had been putting a lot of trust in the goodwill of humans lately.

 “Me too!” Patton said. “And that means we have some time to waste! Oh, but…” Patton looked over at Amanda’s leg. “Maybe we should check on your leg first.”

“Right… about that.” Amanda gave an awkward chuckle, feeling suddenly nervous. 

 “Huh? What’s up?” Patton asked, tilting his head slightly. Virgil ate as he honed in on what Amanda was gonna say.

“My leg. I, it’s kind of healed already.” Amanda rubbed the back of her neck.

 Both humans blinked in surprise. “It...is?” Patton asked.

 “Huh, no wonder you were able to climb on me last night,” Virgil muttered.

 Patton frowned. “Wait, so then...why didn’t you tell us?”

“Okay, this is going to sound a bit silly.” Amanda hoped it sounded silly at least because having her fears confirmed would be a massive buzzkill. “But basically I thought if you knew it was healed, you’d kick me out.”

 “Oh kiddo...We wouldn’t kick you out for a silly reason like that.” Patton paused. “Or, you know, at all for that matter. You’re our friend.”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

 “Unless you don’t, of course.” Patton jumped in. “Remember, it’s completely your decision if you want to stay or leave.”

“Yeah, no, I know that now, it just feels… weird, accepting charity.” Amanda explained. “Like when my leg was messed up I had an excuse to be out here but now I’m just freeloading.”

 “Hey, you are no freeloader,” Patton argued. “You’re our friend! And friends do things for each other.” He looked to Virgil, who nodded in agreement. “We enjoy your company.”

“Well, I enjoy your company too, except it’s not an equal trade.” Amanda winced. “Because I also live with you. And steal your food. And I don’t have a job or school or whatever.”

 “...Eh, she has a point.” Virgil said but at Patton’s look, he grinned. “Kidding.”

 “That’s okay, we really don’t mind,” Patton revealed. “But...if you really did want to help out, we might be able to figure something out? You don’t have to, though.”

“Wait, like what?” Amanda asked.

 “Well…” Patton trailed off, thinking hard.

 “You could be our designated bug killer,” Virgil suggested. “Pat here is terrified of spiders, so that could work.”

“I can kill spiders.” Amanda agreed, her hand going to her sword.

 “Then that’s settled. You kill the spiders and your welcome to stay as long as you want.” Patton grinned. “Deal?” He stuck out his finger.

“Deal.” Amanda agreed, giving it a shake. She quite liked the idea of having a role of her own.

***

Allison woke up the next morning and immediately headed out before she could change her mind. She clung to her bag as she drew closer to the apartment. Would they even be home? She hoped so but if not she might just wait for them. 

 She entered the apartment and scaled the coffee table, looking around the room. She saw no one and sighed. Of course. She didn’t know what day it was but it was a possibility the two were at school at the moment. It looks like she would have to wait. In the meantime, she might as well go to the kitchen to look for something to eat. She scaled back down and headed in that direction.

By the time she reached the kitchen, two loud voices could be heard entering through the front door, one noticeably more boisterous than the other.

“How can you not like Shakespeare?” Roman ranted, clearly still in the middle of an argument. “And you call yourself a poet.”

“I do not call myself a poet.” Logan corrected. “And I merely stated that while progressive, Shakespeare still lacks the…” His sentence trailed off, his eyes falling to the counter as they entered the kitchen. “We have a guest.”

Roman followed Logan’s gaze, eyes immediately lighting up when he spotted the borrower. “Allison! You’re back!”

 Allison tensed and almost ducked away to hide when she heard the voices but stopped herself. She was here for them, after all. “Uh, yeah. I am.” She winced at her own words.

“Is there something you require?” Logan asked, hypothesizing she would not reveal herself without a purpose.

 “Oh, uh, yeah.” Okay, here it goes. “I was just wondering if maybe we could...hang...out?” Allison asked, getting less brave even as she spoke. Oh, this had been a terrible idea, hadn’t it?

Logan glanced between Allison and Roman. Roman did the same, but with Logan.

“But of course we can hang out!” Roman declared, giving her a wide grin.

“Hang out with whom?” Logan asked for clarification.

 “Oh, well...both of you? Not together, like separate. One at a time to get to know each other better? Um, I’ll admit this wasn’t my idea. Amanda suggested I do this so we could...bond?” Allison admitted.

“I like Amanda.” Roman decided with a grin. He had been unsure after being rejected yesterday, but this certainly made up for it. “How about you and I spend some time together then?”

 Allison nodded. “That sounds good.” She stepped forward a little wondering if she should climb down herself or wait for Roman to offer her a hand.

She didn’t have to wait long; the second she confirmed, Roman set down his palm near her.

“Where do you want to go?” Roman asked. “There’s a cute little ice cream parlor down the street. Ooh! Or we could go to the park, or see what’s playing at the theatre.”

 Allison climbed on but tensed as Roman mentioned actually going somewhere. “Oh, um, I...I would prefer if we stayed...inside. Please.” Allison said. There were too many humans outside for her to be comfortable.

“Discrepancy is key.” Logan advised.

“...right.” Roman felt his ears turn pink, embarrassed he hadn’t thought of that himself. “Well, ah, in that case, what would you like to do?”

 “Well...maybe we could play more games?” Allison suggested, remembering what her and Amanda had talked about last night.

“Yes! Games!” Roman headed to the living room, looking delighted by the suggestion. “What sort of games would you like?”

 “Um...well, what kind of games do you have?” Allison had forgotten what Roman had listed before.

“How about a board game?” Roman suggested. He set Allison down on the coffee table, going to pull out the large stack from the closet. A few came tumbling down, a side effect of Roman’s poor organization skills.

 “Sure, but I’ve never played any before,” Allison said. She only had a vague idea of what they even were.

“Oooh, okay, then we must pick a good one.” Roman brought a few titles over to the table, pursuing them. “I think this is a good place to start.” Roman suggested, holding up a box that read ‘Monopoly’.

 Allison blinked. “Uh, okay, yeah sounds good.” She wasn’t quite sure what Monopoly was though.

Roman began to set up the board, sorting out wads of cash. “So what do borrowers usually do for fun, anyways? Do you guys have your own sorts of board games?”

 Allison shook her head. “No, nothing like that...I guess borrowing might count as fun? I mean, it’s super tense, especially when you’re trying not to be seen but sometimes the adrenaline of almost being caught is kind of fun.” She said with a shrug. It could also be incredibly stressful too but as a borrower, you took fun where you could get it.

“Oh, kind of like pulling a prank.” Roman related, smiling in memory. His roommate was not as fond of pranks, but that just made it all the more fun.

 Allison tilted her head. “A...prank?”

“It’s when you do something silly to mess with someone’s day,” Roman explained. “Place googly eyes around, fill Oreos with toothpaste, prop up a water bucket… come on, surely you’ve done something like that before!”

 “Oh! Yeah, I’ve done something like that before.” Allison smiled. “I’ve hidden Amanda’s borrowing supplies before as backup for her doing it to me.” She laughed at the memory.

“See? Pranks are awesome.” Roman sighed happily. His face slowly began to morph as he was struck with inspiration. “...wait. Allison, I have had the most amazing idea.”

 “What?” She asked, curious.

“We should totally go pull a prank.” Roman leaned forwards eagerly, the board game now forgotten.

 Allison blinked. “A prank on who?” She thought for a moment. “Wait, do you mean on Logan?”

“Yes, it’s perfect.” Roman insisted. “He’s always suspicious of me now, but he’ll never suspect you. Plus you’re so small that you can sneak right past him too. We’ll make a terrific team.”

 “I-I don’t know,” Allison admitted. “Will it make him...mad? If we tried?” She asked, not liking the idea of a human being angry at her.

“No, he usually doesn’t get mad, just annoyed.” Roman shrugged. “Plus I doubt he’d dare get annoyed at you, because he’s still so self-centered about his whole moping thing. Just another reason you’d be a great ally.”

 Allison pursed her lips, looking down. Even if Logan did try something, which at this point seems unlikely, Roman was there in case anything happened. Besides...it did sound like fun. She sent a small smile up at Roman. “Okay. What’s the plan?”

***

Logan paused, spotting Allison alone on his desk when he walked into his bedroom. “...are you looking for something?”

 Allison took a deep breath, she could do this. Just distract Logan long enough for Roman to strike. Easy. “Oh no, I just uh...wanted to talk? A bit?”

“Talk?” Logan slowly pulled out his chair, sitting down. “About what?”

 “Well...there’s a lot of...tension, between us. Wouldn’t you agree?” Allison said, feeling nervous.

“Yes, that is accurate.” Logan sighed. “I know I am to blame for that. I do apologize, the way I’ve acted has been cruel and thoughtless.”

 Allison scuffed her shoe against the desk. “Yeah…” She agreed. “Being in that jar was not...fun. But I think it was the fact that you just kept ignoring me that really got to me.” Allison admitted.

“Yes, I understand that now.” Logan adjusted his glasses. “I was just thrown off guard and didn’t know what to do. I could not do anything right, so I assumed doing nothing at all would be better.”

 “I...I get where you were coming from. Sorta.” Allison rubbed the back of her neck. “And I also get why you didn’t want me to leave. I mean, if I saw someone smaller than me, I’d be pretty fascinated too, I guess.”

“Fascination doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I appreciate the sentiment,” Logan said. “I hope going forwards we can remain on civil terms.”

 Allison nodded and she smiled softly. “Civil terms to start off but...maybe eventually we could even be...friends?” Allison asked. “I mean, I heard you like books! I happen to be a fan of books myself, I just uh...never get the chance to read.” She chuckled.

Logan blinked, looking happily surprised. “Are you really? Well, in that case, I would love to share my library with you. And companionship sounds most admirable.”

 Allison perked up. “That sounds...that sounds great! Th-Thank you.” She said, smiling wide.

Before Logan could get in another word edgewise, Roman, who had been sneaking up throughout the entirety of Allison’s conversation, took this wholesome moment to strike.

“PRANKED!” Roman declared, dumping a large tub of confetti all over the bewildered college student.

“I-wha-ho-” Logan tried to form a coherent sentence, which is difficult when your mouth continues to fill with little colored bits of paper. He sputtered, looking quite disoriented.

 “Oh!” Allison had gotten so caught up in the conversation she had forgotten why she had started it in the first place. She let out a laugh. 

“Thank you Allison, you did a wonderful job.” Roman praised, putting out his finger for a ‘high-five’. 

“You were his accomplice?” Logan realized.

 “Yeah, sorry. But everything I said was true! Just to make sure you know that.” Allison said. She didn’t want him to think that whole thing meant nothing.

“And it was so pure.” Roman teased, shaking Logan gently by the shoulders. The nerd blushed.

“How long were you eavesdropping?” Logan asked.

“The entire time.” Roman assured him. “I was in the closet, ironically.”

 “We planned it after I told Roman about pulling a prank on Amanda once.” Allison explained. “He said I would be the ‘perfect accomplice’.”

“I see you were.” Logan gave her a soft smile. “I never suspected a thing.”

 Allison gave a proud grin. 

 At that moment, there was a knock at the front door and her attention turned that way. She looked up at the humans with a curious frown.

“I’ll go check who’s come a’knockin’.” Roman declared, heading into the living room. He pressed his ear to the door. “Who goes there?”

 “It’s us, Princey,” Virgil said through the door with a sigh.

 “Hi, Roman!” Patton exclaimed.

“Oh.” Roman opened the door, happily surprised to see Amanda in Patton’s hands. “Oh!”

“Uh...hey.” Amanda gave a slight wave.

 “We wanted to come and check on you, make sure Allison didn’t end up in a jar again,” Virgil said, giving Roman a look before heading into the apartment.

 “Not that we think you would do it again, just...making sure,” Patton said with a small smile. “And Amanda wanted to come too.”

“I’m supervising,” Amanda explained.

“Oh, no, I can assure you, we’re getting along swimmingly here, no jars necessary.” Roman paused, turning back to the bedroom with a smirk. “Hey Logan, is Allison in a jar?”

“...no?” A confused and alarmed Logan called back.

 Allison chuckled a little. “I’m jarless!” She called out, hoping she would be heard from where she was. She turned to Logan. “Maybe we should join them.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” Logan placed his palm down for her.

 Allison looked down at the hand and let out a deep breath before slowly climbing on. Logan was good now, she could trust him.

Carefully Logan brought Allison up, cradling her in a fashion that was safe but not constricting as he slowly made his way into the living room. 

“See? She’s fine!” Roman insisted, giving Allison a grin.

 Patton grinned happily as he saw her. “Hi, Allison! Everything okay here?”

 Allison smiled and nodded. “Yeah...I think everything worked out pretty well.” She looked at her two humans before turning to Amanda. “Glad I took your advice.”

“I got mad human skills.” Amanda grinned, giving two thumbs up to show she was happy that everything was working out. 

 Allison grinned, giggling slightly. Patton could help but grin at how cute that was. “Well, it seems like everything is working out! I mean, I’d even say we’re all friends!”

“Wow, that was fast.” Amanda seemed impressed. Then again, Allison wasn’t one to hold a grudge. 

“It was friendship at first sight.” Roman decided.

“No, that is entirely inaccurate.” Logan sighed. “But after careful discussion, we are certainly on pleasant terms and have agreed to move forwards in a friendly manner.”

 “And that’s all that really matters,” Allison said, smiling. “Yeah, we might not have started off...great. But I think you guys have all proven yourself to be trustworthy.”

 “Aww, Allison!” Patton exclaimed, smiling wide. Virgil snorted.

 “Not great is an understatement to how everything started but...yeah, I think you’re right.”

Amanda hummed, looking between the humans she knew, the humans she didn’t, and her best friend. “So… now what?”

 “We...go on as normal?” Patton suggested.

 “I wouldn’t exactly call this normal.” Allison brought up. “After all, we technically should be packing up to move away...but I have to admit, I don’t want to.”

“I can’t move,” Amanda informed her, a knowing grin on her features. “I’ve got a job now.”

“You...what?” Logan looked puzzled by this development.

 Allison blinked. “I’m...sorry? You have a job?” How did that happen?

 Patton giggled but Virgil was the one to answer. “She’s our resident spider slayer.”

 Allison’s eyes widened. “Ooooooh, but wait, why?”

“Because I wanted to do something useful if I’m going to be out and about all the time,” Amanda explained.

“A spider slayer? That’s so brave!” Roman praised.

“Are you mocking me?” Amanda squinted, uncertain.

“No no, I assure you, my praises are sincere,” Roman assured her. 

“Oh, well then, thanks.” Amanda gave a shy smile, preening from the compliment.

 “She is pretty good at killing spiders,” Allison said, before looking down in thought. “Well...I want to do something too! If...If it’s okay to even stay with you guys?” She asked, realizing Roman and Logan hadn’t actually said she could yet.

“Yes, of course, we would love to have you.” Roman tried to contain his excitement at the prospect of Allison sticking around.

“Indeed. Although, you are certainly not required to kill spiders if you do not wish to perform such a task.” Logan assured her. Though he could see how spiders could be a threat to borrowers, from the human side of things they were quite beneficial to the environment.

 “Yeah...I’ve never really been a huge spider killing person.” She was afraid of them, in all honesty. She thought for a moment. “Oh! But I can sew pretty well. Maybe I can sew any rips you get in your clothes?” She suggested.

“I’m certain your precision would be much finer than our own in that regard,” Logan observed.

“We wouldn’t want to overwork you, but if that makes you happy your assistance is more than welcome.” Roman agreed with a smile.

 “Well, it looks like I’ve got a job now too!” Allison exclaimed. “So...I guess we’re both staying then.”

 “Yay! Oh, I’m so happy!” Patton grinned. 

 “Same. I’m glad you guys aren’t going anywhere. I’d, uh...I’d miss you.” Virgil said, a faint blush on his cheeks.

“Sap.” Amanda teased. 

“Well if we’re all in agreement, then perhaps we should all get better acquainted,” Roman suggested, gesturing to the group as a whole.

“In what way?” Logan asked.

 “Oh! I could cook dinner for everyone back at our apartment?” Patton suggested. “Maybe we could even watch a movie afterwards.”

 “That...sounds fun.” Allison grinned. “I haven’t seen a movie before. Mostly because uh...I was still trying to escape during my chance to watch one.”

“Right.” Roman looked sheepish. “Well, it would be wonderful to amend that.”

“It sounds like a good suggestion, if everyone is agreed.” Logan looked around for confirmation.

“If a movie is anything like Sherlock, I’m all in,” Amanda assured them.

 “Sherlock?” Allison asked. She thought that was a book.

 “We watched the TV show Sherlock on Netflix the other day,” Virgil explained with a shrug.

 “Oh, gotcha.”

 “Well great! Then everyone grab some pajamas and head over to our place! I’ll start up some dinner, everyone okay with pizza?” Patton asked with a grin.

 “Yeah!” Allison knew what pizza was and was excited to finally be able to try it.

“Yes, that sounds great!” Amanda echoed Allison’s excitement.

“Affirmative.” Logan nodded, his dramatic roommate nodding as well.

 “Then let’s go! Best friend movie night commences now!” Patton shouted, bouncing up and down but still being mindful of Amanda.

 “The two of you are acting weird…”

“I’ve never acted weird in my life!” Roman insisted.

Logan followed him into the apartment, looking almost like a mannequin with his inhuman movements.

 “...Right.” Virgil said, also stepping into his apartment. He glanced over at Logan, eyebrow raised at how he was walking. “Um, L you good there?”

Logan froze. “...I am functional.”

 Virgil frowned at that but Patton spoke up before Virgil could. “So! What did you want to talk about?” Patton asked.

Roman took a large dramatic step forwards, pointing an accusing finger at the pair. “Are you or are you not harboring a tiny humanoid captive?”

Logan smacked his own forehead.

Inside Patton’s pocket, Amanda paid rapt attention to the conversation going on above her. How could these other humans possibly have reason to suspect she was here?

 Allison groaned. She had wanted this done subtly! Now the other humans were going to suspect she was there.

 Both Patton and Virgil froze. “Um, we uh, we have no idea what you’re talking about.” Patton put on an innocent smile. Meanwhile, Virgil was slightly panicking. Had they not hidden Amanda as well as they thought?

“I think you know exactly what we’re talking about.” Roman insisted, noticing their unease.

“Amanda.” Logan piped up, deciding to cut straight to the point. “We are referring to Amanda.”

Amanda hadn’t thought her back muscles could get more tense. How did these humans possibly know her name? Did Virgil and Patton tell them about her? Was she being set up?

 At the sound of Amanda’s name, Virgil stepped in front of Patton, glaring at his two friends. “...How do you know about her?” 

 Allison’s breath hitched. Oh no, she wasn’t ready for this. Please don’t reveal me.

“A little birdie told us,” Roman answered, realizing it wasn’t that far from the truth. “And we will not stand by and let our best friends be kidnappers any longer!”

Amanda’s eyes widened, beginning to gain an inkling of what was actually going on.

 “Wha..? We’re not kidnappers!” Patton exclaimed. “She’s not here against her will!” Well, not anymore.

 Allison tensed. What? No, that couldn’t be true. They were obviously lying.

Logan and Roman glanced at each other.

“Prove it.” Roman narrowed his gaze.

“Indeed, we would require significant proof of such a claim.” Logan backed him up.

 Patton and Virgil shared a glance with one another. “Uh, one moment.” Patton excused himself and Virgil as they both disappeared into Patton’s bedroom. Once inside, Patton carefully took Amanda out of his pocket and, after checking her over to make sure she was okay, asked, “So...what should we do?”

“Well…” Amanda thought about it, her heart pounding. If her suspicions were correct and Allison was involved in all this, then maybe these humans weren’t so bad. Especially considering the fact that Allison was too timid to get involved with anything but the nicest of humans.

Of course, Amanda also had to consider the path where she was wrong and Allison wasn’t involved. Was she really comfortable revealing herself to two human strangers? The idea seemed daunting, but they were Virgil and Patton’s friends. That meant they couldn’t be too bad...right?

“What do you guys think of them?” Amanda asked, deciding she needed a second opinion.

 “Aww, they’re the best! Roman can get excitable and Logan has trouble expressing himself most of the time but they really are good people.” Patton smiled.

 Virgil shrugged. “Roman’s a bit more than excitable but otherwise, yeah, they’re good.”

“...I think they might have found my friend.” Amanda admitted.

 Patton blinked. “Your...friend?”

 Virgil’s eyebrows furrowed. “Wait, since when did you have a friend?” This was news to the both of them.

“I have a life outside of you two, you know.” Amanda reminded them. 

 “Oh, I know!” Patton was quick to say. “I just, well, I guess I never thought about there being others like you. Though, I guess it only makes sense, huh?” Patton chuckled sheepishly.

 Virgil frowned, remembering what Amanda had just said. “So, wait, you have a friend and you think Logan and Roman have them?”

“Well, she is the only one besides you two who knows my name in the building.” Amanda looked between the two of them. “So, unless it’s an uncanny coincidence, or one of you two told them about me…” Amanda trailed off, having not completely ruled out the possibility.

 Patton put a hand up in a sort of surrender. “We didn’t! We wouldn’t, we promise. Right, Virgil?” Patton turned to his friend, who nodded.

 “Yeah, we didn’t tell anyone. Despite whatever you still may think of us, we wouldn’t do that to you.” Virgil said.

“Sorry.” Amanda winced. “I didn’t mean to accuse you of anything, I just thought...maybe earlier...whatever. Doesn’t matter.” Amanda shook her head. “Then it’s either sheer dumb luck, or they found Allison.”

 “Well...what should we do?” Patton asked. “Do you...want to reveal yourself? Or maybe we can get Allison back another way?”

“...I’m not sure,” Amanda admitted. It felt wrong to reveal herself and possibly put Allison at risk if she wasn’t already involved, but at the same time, it seemed as though there could be no other foreseeable outcome.

 “Well, we have to do something. They’re waiting out there as we speak and coming in here already basically confirmed you’re here, so we can’t exactly tell them you’re not.” Virgil spoke, crossing his arms.

“Ugh, you’re right.” Amanda groaned, hating to admit that. “I just...they’re your friends, right? Do you think that would go, I dunno,” Amanda twiddled her thumbs anxiously, “...poorly?”

 They both shared a glance. “It shouldn't,” Patton said. “If anything, we won’t let it.” He said with a determined look.

 “I think it could have gone worse if they didn’t already know about you but since they do…” Virgil shrugged. 

“Okay. Okay okay okay.” Amanda gave herself a shake, psyching herself up. “Let’s do this then. Quickly, before I lose my nerve again.”

 “You just want me to...carry you out there? Like this?” Patton asked.

“Patton I said quickly!” Amanda rubbed against her forehead, feeling tense. “Now you’re making me second guess it again!”

 “Ah! R-Right!” Patton wasted no time in heading out the door and back into the living room. Virgil was quick to follow and Patton bit his lip as he looked between Amanda and his friends.

Logan’s eyes widened, almost unnerved to see another girl so small. This borrower sat atop Patton’s palms, and just as Allison had said Logan was concerned to see she looked injured.

“...Amanda?” Roman guessed, taking a step forward.

Amanda hesitantly nodded.

 “And she can tell you herself that she isn’t here against her will,” Virgil said with crossed arms.

 Allison desperately wanted to see Amanda for herself but she was still scared to pop her head out and be seen by these new humans. She still didn’t believe them, how could she with the state she saw Amanda in?

Roman and Logan looked to Amanda expectantly.

Amanda pursed her lips, torn between her desire to thwart Virgil and her desire to not anger four human beans at once. 

“...I’m not being held against my will.” Amanda finally admitted.

“How were you injured?” Logan pressed, remaining unconvinced.

“Ah…” Amanda winced. “Long story?”

 “She got her leg stuck in some string. That’s how I first met her, actually.” Patton explained.

 “She also jumped off the bed, which was her own fault.” Virgil also chimed in. “Anyway, enough about Amanda for a second.” His eyes narrowed at his friends. “Because she seems to think you have a...friend, of hers.”

“Where’s Allison?” Amanda pointed an accusing finger at the human Beans.

Roman and Logan shared a glance with one another. “...just one moment, please.” Roman excused them both as this time it was their turn to disappear out into the hall. Once there, Logan held open his pocket, Roman peering over the edge.

“So, what should we do?” Roman asked.

 Allison bit her lip. “I-I don’t know…” What if Amanda was being forced to say those things? But...knowing Amanda, if she was being forced to say something she probably wouldn’t even say it. So...did that mean she really was okay? That those humans were...okay?

 “Do...do you believe them?” Allison asked, looking up at the two humans.

“It seems a plausible explanation, given the state of her injuries.” Logan reasoned. “Although I am a bit confused by the implication of her bringing herself to harm throwing herself off furniture.”

 “Yeah…” If they weren’t keeping her captive, why would she feel the need to do that? Allison groaned, knowing what she would have to do. “I think...I think I need to reveal myself. I need to talk to Amanda and that’s the only way it’s going to happen.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Roman said. “We’ll support you no matter what, and we can guarantee nothing will happen to you either way.”

“Guarantee is perhaps the wrong term.” Logan corrected. “After all, we cannot predict any and all outcomes.”

“...fine.” Roman gave the nerd a brief glare. “We will protect you no matter what. There, happy ya linguist?”

 Allison felt a small smile growing on her face. “Th-Thank you.” Now to get out of this pocket, she shifted and managed to get to a stand but was now just hanging off the lip of the pocket. “Um...a little help?” She asked shyly.

Roman glanced to Logan.

“Me?” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it is your pocket.” Roman reasoned. Frankly, he was beginning to feel odd about focusing so much of his attention into Logan’s chest pocket.

Logan carefully maneuvered his fingers into the pocket, gently lifting Allison out. He set her down on his palm, just as Patton had done with Amanda.

 Allison shook slightly as she sat on Logan’s palm. She had been hoping Roman would help her out but she supposed it made sense for Logan to get her. Still...Logan was still not her favorite person.

“All set?” Roman glanced back, his hand already on the door handle. With a nod from Logan, Roman dramatically threw it open. “All right! Everyone, this is Allison.” Roman stepped to the side, allowing Allison to be seen as Logan entered the room.

Amanda’s eyes widened, shocked to see her assumptions confirmed as Allison sat openly in a palm just like herself. “Allison?” 

“Yes, that’s what I said.” Roman nodded.

 Allison laid eyes on Amanda and her eyes widened. “Amanda!” She felt a smile come on her face but then she met eyes with the other two humans and she started to shake again.

 Patton nor Virgil could believe their eyes, despite the fact they both knew Amanda. It was just strange, seeing another borrower. Patton, however, noticed Allison’s fear and he gave her a gentle smile. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not going to do anything, promise.”

“He’s harmless,” Amanda assured her, finding it almost odd that someone was afraid of Patton despite herself being frightened of him just the other day. Amanda glanced up at the human holding Allison. “...what about him?”

Logan bit the interior of his lip, concerned about Allison’s response.

 Allison looked behind her, remembering whose hands she was in. “Uhh…” What did she say? “He hasn’t...hurt me?” Physically, at the very least.

 Virgil raised an eyebrow, looking to Logan. “And what is that supposed to mean?” He crossed his arms. Patton was now looking at Logan with a confused and concerned expression. 

Roman muttered something about an idiot jar.

“I placed her inside a mason jar for an extended period of time,” Logan admitted guiltily.

Amanda’s eyes widened. So, it seemed Allison hadn’t gotten quite as lucky as herself and had ended up with regular, bad, run-of-the-mill humans.

“And what did you do?” Amanda turned to point an accusatory finger at the other human.

“I didn’t do anything!” Roman raised his hands in self-defense.

 “Logan, how could you?” Patton said, still hung up on what Logan had said. Virgil had glared at Logan but was now on Roman as well. 

 “Don’t lie, Princey,” Virgil said. 

 Allison looked between Virgil and Patton, surprised by how much they seemed to care about what had happened to her. “I mean...Roman wasn’t too bad.” Allison admitted. At least he hadn’t trapped her in a jar.

“Are you okay, Allison?” Amanda leaned forwards, looking at her friend earnestly. “Are you being held against your will?”

“Now hold on a moment, we were supposed to be rescuing you!” Roman pointed out, confused on how this encounter had turned so accusatory.

 “She doesn’t need rescuing,” Virgil said. “But by the sounds of things, Allison might.” 

 “N-No! I…” Allison sighed. “No, not-not anymore. They let me go and I came back because I thought...I thought you needed help.” Allison said, looking at Amanda.

“...oh.” Amanda was certainly surprised to hear such a tale. Allison must have been really concerned about her to go back to all that; Amanda felt a bit guilty for not trying to get a message to her. “Well thank you, but no. I’m good.”

 “Well...I’m glad about that,” Allison said with a smile. She glanced at Patton and Virgil.

 “Yeah, see. Nothing to worry about.” Patton smiled. “She’s in good hands. Literally!” She grinned as he held her up slightly.

“Pat…” Amanda rolled her eyes, letting out an amused snort.

Roman watched the pair of them, his defensive posture slowly deflating. “So...if you’re not in danger...what now?” He looked back to Allison, not sure what the plan was now.

 Allison noticed Roman looking at her. “Oh! Uh...I-I don’t know.” She turned to look at Amanda. “Are you...staying here?” She asked.

“Well, I mean… I was planning on it.” Amanda shifted slightly, embarrassed to admit her clearly against the rules plan to another borrower. “I have to allow my leg to heal a bit more.”

 “Oh, right.” Allison bit her lip. “I mean, as long as you feel safe with them then...I guess it’s okay?” Having humans around to help would probably help her leg heal up faster too.

 Patton grinned. “You’re welcome to stay here if you want! Unless you’re going to stay with…” he glanced between Logan and Roman.

 “Uhh…” Allison didn’t know.

“Yeah! You could stay with us!” Amanda’s eyes brightened at this suggestion. It would certainly be fun to have everybody together.

“You are, of course, under no obligation to stay with us,” Logan assured her.

“...right.” Roman murmured, confirming Logan’s statement as he looked down at his shoes. It made sense that Allison would want to stay with another borrower, after all.

 Allison looked between Logan and Roman and then at Amanda and Patton and Logan. She really did want to be with Amanda again. It had seemed like forever since she had last seen her, especially when she thought she was never going to see her again. But at the same time…

 She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “I um...I’ll probably swing by later.” She still needed to properly talk with Amanda, after all. “But...I’m tired. I think-I think I just want to go home for a little bit.” Now that she knew Amanda was safe, she could finally relax.

 “Well, our home is always open to ya!” Patton exclaimed.

Amanda blinked, surprised and almost hurt that Allison had rejected the offer. Of course, as Amanda glanced at Allison’s humans she understood. Amanda didn’t want to go with new humans either.

“I guess we’ll see you later then,” Amanda said. She wondered if Allison would come by to visit, or if she’d wait until Amanda was away from Patton and Virgil. Amanda hoped Allison wasn’t mad with her decision.

“In that case, perhaps it would be best for us to leave now?” Logan’s statement was more of a question than usual, looking to his companions for reassurance.

“I guess.” Roman shrugged. Honestly, he wanted to stick around and hang out with both borrowers, but it seemed that wasn’t going to happen. It was still a shock that even Allison wanted to come back with them, but that was likely due to the fact she knew them more than Patton and Virgil.

 Allison nodded. “See you later Amanda.” She said with a smile. 

 “See you!” Patton exclaimed, using his free hand to wave bye to her. 

 Virgil was still glaring at Logan, had been for some time. He would have to talk to him-and Roman, despite what Allison said-later.

Logan placed Allison back into his pocket, heading out the door. 

Roman followed, sending one last curious look Amanda’s way before shutting the door behind them.

“Well, that was...unexpected,” Amanda announced after they left. It certainly wasn’t how she had pictured today going.

 “You can say that again,” Patton said. Out of everything, he hadn’t expected Logan and Roman to find a borrower themselves. 

 Virgil turned away from the door. “I hope Allison is doing okay.” She seemed fine for the most part but still…

Amanda’s heart skipped a beat, looking over Patton’s incredulous form and beginning to see that a creature of such mass was just...a person. And a nice person, at that. In fact, all sleepy like this Patton almost had a cute appearance. Amanda snorted at the notion, surprising herself by calling a human ‘cute’.

“Good morning,” Amanda replied softly. “How’d you sleep?”

 “Pretty good. What about you?” Patton asked though he could already tell that she hadn’t. 

“Pretty good.” Amanda echoed, lying with a smile.

 Patton sighed a little but didn’t say anything. Living with Virgil, he was unfortunately used to this kind of denial about sleep. Instead, he smiled at her as he sat up. Honestly, he was mildly surprised she had decided to stay but no less happy. “How does some breakfast sound?” Patton asked, offering his hand to her.

“Delicious,” Amanda admitted, climbing on. That was certainly another reason she had decided to stay: the sheer amount of food available all the time. Amanda didn’t even need to borrow away any in her bag.

 “Hash Browns?” Patton asked with a grin, carrying Amanda into the kitchen and letting her off on the counter.

“Do you even need to ask?” Amanda teased, getting situated.

 Patton chuckled, already getting it out of the freezer. “You’re right.” As Patton started to fry them up, Virgil walked out with a terrible bed head, yawning.

 “Well, good morning sleepyhead!” Patton exclaimed. Virgil hummed.

 “Morning Pat…” Virgil went to go brew some coffee but looked down to see Amanda on the counter. He blinked. “You’re actually still...here?” He had thought for sure she would be gone, especially since he knew what Patton had planned to do last night.

“Good morning to you too.” Amanda gave him a slight glare. She still wasn’t quite sure of the decision herself, and having a reminder was a bit much this early in the morning. Besides, even if Patton said that Virgil would have been fine with letting her go, Amanda had no way to know that for sure.

 “Huh. Um, yeah, good morning.” Virgil said back, shaking his head. He went back to getting his coffee. 

 “I gave her the choice and she decided to stay,” Patton said, despite Virgil already knowing. Virgil hummed.

 “I can see that I just...why?” The question was aimed down at the borrower. 

“I…” Amanda paused, wondering if she should be honest. It was one thing talking to Patton in the darkness of night, it was another to explain herself to two humans in a brightly lit kitchen.

“It’s, I dunno, a lot of things,” Amanda explained finally. “Might as well let my leg actually heal instead of running off all the time.”

 “Glad you finally see that,” Virgil spoke, leaning against one of the table chairs with his arms folded as his coffee poured. “And that we, you know, don’t actually mean you any harm.”

“Well, it’s not like you made it easy.” Amanda glared at him again. “And you don’t need to get all self-righteous with me as if you know best just because you’re taller.”

 “I don’t know best because I’m taller. I know best because you’re too stubborn for your own good.” Virgil said with a slight smirk. 

 “Virgil…” Patton warned but Virgil turned towards him.

 “Come on Pat, you can’t really say she isn’t, can you?” Virgil said and Patton blinked. He then looked sheepish as he turned to look down at Amanda.

 “I mean, Virgil has a point, You can be pretty stubborn.”

“I may be stubborn, but I’m also right.” Amanda frowned, not liking how they were teaming up against her. “You were keeping me against my will.” 

 Patton winced at that but Virgil frowned. “Hey, we were going to let you go when you were better,” Virgil argued. Patton sighed and shook his head.

 “No, she’s right. Even if we thought it was best, even if we were going to let her go, we were still keeping her trapped here.” He turned to Amanda. “I’m sorry.”

“...thanks,” Amanda muttered, not feeling very sincere. 

 Virgil pursed his lips and turned to get his coffee, knowing that Patton was right but unwilling to admit it out loud. Proving he was just as, if not more, stubborn than Amanda.

 Patton sighed but finished cooking breakfast. He set the table and turned to smile at Amanda. “Need a lift?” Patton asked, offering his hand to her once again.

“Where?” Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow. She was content to eat here, but it seemed the humans had other plans.

 “Just to the table, unless, oh! We could eat out in the living room and watch a show! How does that sound?” Usually, Patton preferred to eat at the table but there were certain occasions he enjoyed watching TV while he ate. Now being one of those times. 

 Virgil sipped on his coffee and shrugged. “I’m down.” They both looked at Amanda.

“Alright, fine.” Amanda climbed on, still sulking slightly.

 Patton grinned as Amanda climbed on and moved her into the living room. He set her down on the coffee table as he went to get the food with Virgil’s help. Both humans came out with three plates of food between them.

 Patton set Amanda’s food down close to her and then sat down on the couch with his own plate. Virgil did the same and Patton turned on netflix. “So, what should we watch.”

“I don’t care.” Amanda just grabbed a bit of potato, not feeling in the mood to actually eat anymore as she twisted it between her hands.

 “How about Merlin. That’s always good.” Virgil suggested and Patton nodded, grinning. He chose one of their favorite episodes and let the episode play as they ate.

Amanda sat back, leaning on a textbook lying around. As she slumped against it, Amanda found she was getting invested in this show despite herself. It was certainly no Sherlock, but it was still very intriguing. More like the fantasy novels Amanda had stumbled upon in the past. However, as the scene changed to a sword fight, Amanda frowned.

“Where’s my sword?” Amanda asked, turning back to look at the humans. She hadn’t seen it since Virgil took it the other day.

 Both humans turned to her in confusion. “Your what?” Virgil asked, not remembering.

“My sword,” Amanda repeated. “The pin, the one you took away when we met.”

 Virgil blinked and then widened in realization. “Oh! Uh, yeah, right. Hold on.” Virgil stood and went to his room and Patton paused the episode. Virgil came back with the pin between his fingers. Virgil’s eyes went from Patton’s hand to the pin and Amanda. “You aren’t going to...use it again, on us, are you?” Virgil asked.

 Patton gave him a look. “Virgil, give it back to her.” Virgil sighed but did as told, holding it out for her to take.

“Why do you ask?” Amanda snatched it up, teasing Virgil as she did so. “You scared?”

 “No.” Virgil scoffed. “Just...weary.” Virgil was quick to take his hand away.

 “You do have good aim with that thing.” Patton chuckled, remembering the cut he had received a couple of days ago.

“Well, you are pretty big targets.” Amanda stood up, favoring her good leg as she swung towards them in a warning gesture.

 “Whoa kiddo!” Patton giggled a bit, putting his hands up. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing.”

 “Yeah, seriously,” Virgil spoke.

“Don’t worry, I’m watching.” Amanda pointed it directly at Virgil, looking down the blade at the human with a smirk. She liked how the pin seemed to make Virgil nervous.

 Virgil crossed his arms. “Why am I suddenly your target,” Virgil asked. He had seen how she could use that thing and despite being far enough away, it still made him nervous.

“I already got Patton.” Amanda shrugged. “Besides, you need to be taken down a notch.”

 “Yeah, no thanks.” Virgil deadpanned. “You cut me and I’m taking it away again.”

 “Virgil, no,” Patton said, sending another warning look towards his friend.

“Patton said I can cut you, no take-backs.” Amanda thrust the sword forwards, still of course too far away to hit Virgil but her movement was still startlingly fast.

 Virgil flinched back and then glared at her. “He did not say that.” He turned to look at Patton who just shrugged. Virgil let out a betrayed gasp. “Patton!”

Amanda’s grin was positively predatory. 

 “Okay, that’s it.” Virgil reached forward, quick and carefully avoiding the tip of the pin and he grabbed it. However, he didn’t try to take it away, just held it steady. He grinned teasingly at Amanda. “There. I’d like to see you stab me now.”

“Hey!” Amanda growled, trying to tug her pin back towards herself and out of Virgil’s grasp to no avail. She pushed at his finger, hitting it in frustration. 

 At the sound of a familiar voice, Allison’s ears perked up. Amanda. It had to be but...she sounded distressed. The borrower rushed over to the closest vent and looked down. The scene below made her gasp. 

 There Amanda was, two humans surrounding her and one that had a grip on her pin. No, no, no! Had this been where Amanda had been all this time? Trapped with humans, the same she had been. This wasn’t good, she...she had to save her!

 But how? Pulling away from the vent Allison bit her lip. Her mind was racing but she knew she had to think of a plan before doing anything rash. She hated leaving Amanda there with the humans, but there was nothing she could do. Not without being captured again.

 So, feeling guilty, she ran off towards her home.

 Virgil just continued to smirk as Amanda tried to push him away. “Sorry, not gonna work.”

Amanda huffed, her foot slipping and nearly making her lose her balance entirely. Amanda caught herself, pushing down slightly on the pin as she steadied herself.

Amanda paused. The pin had moved. Filled with determination, Amanda thrust her weight down on the pin like a lever, creating enough force for the sharp end to whip through the air and back into Virgil’s hand.

 “OW! Hey!” Virgil’s grip released the pin and he brought his hand to his face to see the injury. Yep, he was bleeding.

 “Sorry, Virge but you kind of deserved that,” Patton said, a slight chuckle on his lips.

“You deserved it a lot!” Amanda insisted, stomping her injured foot and wincing as it hurt. “You keep flaunting the fact that you’re human and bigger and stronger and you keep taking advantage of me and I’m sick of it! I’m done with how you think you can make decisions for me just because you can prevent me from stopping you!”

 Both pairs of the human’s eyes widened. “Amanda…” Patton said, voice full of guilt and sadness. He had no idea she felt that way.

 Virgil bit his lip, turning away slightly. “I didn’t...I’m…” Virgil rubbed a hand across his face with a sigh.

“You didn’t what?” Amanda huffed, prompting him to finish as she irritably cleaned off her blade with the edge of her shirt.

 “I’m...sorry.” Virgil finally said. He still wasn’t looking at her. “I didn’t mean to make you feel...less than.” Virgil could sense the awkwardness in the air and he absolutely hated it. 

 Patton sent him a small smile, glad to see that Virgil was apologizing. He then added, “I’m sorry too if I ever made you feel that way.”

“Of course you did.” Amanda turned to give Patton a slight glare, peeved at how innocent he was acting. “You’re the one who grabbed me. You’re the reason I got into this mess, and you’re the one who wouldn’t let me go.”

 Patton deflated, looking down in guilt. “You’re right...I-I guess I did think I knew best when it came to you. And I’m...I’m so sorry for that…”

Amanda nodded, accepting his apology. “It’s okay. I get it, you were just trying to help me. I can’t fault you for trying to do the right thing.” Amanda sheathed her weapon. “The real problem is when I say “hey, don’t do this thing.” And you do it anyways.” Amanda turned back to give Virgil a look. “Like taking me to school.”

 “Right, probably not the best idea…” Virgil admitted.

 “Speaking of school though...we do have it today.” Patton reminded Virgil. He stood up. “I’m gonna go get changed, be right back.” Patton went to his bedroom and Virgil groaned. 

 “Right, school.” He really did not want to go. But, he was paying for it.

“What classes do you have?” Amanda asked.

 “Uh…” Virgil had to think for a moment. What day was it? “I have English and Graphic Design today,” Virgil said with a shrug.

“How long do those take?” Amanda wondered how long the humans would be gone. “And are they boring?”

 “Nah, I actually kind of enjoy those classes,” Virgil said, and it was true, considering Graphic Design was his major. “And not long...maybe three or four hours?”

That certainly sounded like a long time to wait for Amanda. For some reason, the idea of sitting out in a human apartment alone filled her with a slight sense of familiar dread, even if no one else lived here. Amanda would feel like a sitting duck. Of course, she could go into the walls, but Amanda had a silly fear that if she went into the walls she might never come back out. And despite how frustrating her humans could be, Amanda didn’t want that to happen quite yet. 

“And what about Patton?” Amanda asked, shocked that she was even considering the possibility of accompanying one of them.

 “Well, Patton-”

 “Well, Patton what?” Patton asked as he came out to join them, all dressed and ready. 

 “Oh, Amanda was just asking what your classes were. Can you answer while I go get ready?” Virgil asked, already heading to his bedroom.

 “Sure thing kiddo!” He turned to Amanda. “I have history and calculous today,” Patton answered.

“And are those interesting or long?” Amanda quizzed him.

 “Well, maybe not calculus but history is certainly interesting!” Patton exclaimed. “And both are only about an hour and a half long.”

“Hmm.” Amanda thought it over in her head. Virgil had two interesting classes (supposedly) while Patton only had one, but she had also already been to school with Virgil. On the other hand, because of that experience, Amanda knew Virgil would be careful and she should be relatively safe. On the other other hand, Virgil might taunt her about it considering she had just lectured him about taking her to school the first time.

 Virgil came out, dressed and looked between the two of them. “You ready to go Pat?” He asked and Patton nodded.

 “We’ll be back soon,” Patton told Amanda as he put his backpack on.

“Wait! um…” Amanda swallowed her pride, knowing it was now or never. “Would it be alright if I went with you guys?”

 Patton blinked. “I-I don’t know kiddo…” He knows she went with Virgil before but he hadn’t liked it then either. 

 Virgil raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go to school?” Virgil said, remembering how much she had fought him on not going the first time.

“I didn’t want to be forced to go to school,” Amanda admitted. “Not during prime escaping hours. Besides, it was scary but it wasn’t...terrible. At least it was something new, and I’d rather do that again then sit here all helpless by myself.”

 “Are you sure?” Patton asked. “Isn’t it dangerous…?”

 “Come on, she’ll be fine,” Virgil spoke, despite being nervous himself. But it went okay before, right?” “Who do you want to go with?” Virgil asked her.

Amanda looked between them, having already made her choice. Unfortunately, her choice seemed none too eager to participate.

“Patton?” Amanda asked. “Can I go with you?”

 Patton’s eyes widened. “I...well, um…” He sighed, he didn’t think it was the best choice but he also didn’t want to tell Amanda no anymore. “...Okay.”

“Awesome.” Amanda gave him a reassuring smile. She could tell Patton was nervous, but hopefully, that would just mean Amanda would be better protected because he’d be paranoid about something happening.

 Patton offered her a hand, Virgil standing back to watch. He was actually glad Amanda chose Patton this time. So he didn’t have to worry about her the entire time.

Amanda climbed on, trying to convince herself that this was indeed a smart plan and not one of her dumb plans in disguise.

 “So uh...pocket?” Patton asked, looking down to make sure this shirt had one. It did, thankfully.

Amanda nodded. It was the only human transportation she knew, aside from hands.

 “Okay.” Patton carefully placed her in his shirt pocket. “Is that okay? Are you good?” He wanted to make sure she was truly comfortable.

“All good!” Amanda stuck her thumb up out of the pocket. Patton’s pocket was different than Virgil’s, a little coarser fabric but larger and more like a human hammock.

“How long was I asleep?” Amanda asked, trying to gauge what time it was as she climbed on.

 Virgil shrugged, bringing his hand to his chest. “About two hours.” He headed out of the room.

“That long?” Amanda let out a groan. How could she have slept so late?

 “Yep, you were out like a light the last time I checked.” Which made sense, considering they had stayed up pretty late watching Sherlock. He entered the kitchen, see that Patton already had the table set. 

 “Hey, guys! Go ahead and dig in!” Virgil smiled and sat down before letting Amanda off on the table.

It unnerved Amanda slightly to hear that Virgil had come to check on her and she hadn’t even noticed. Usually, her borrower instincts were sure to kick in. Did they not work while sleeping? Amanda had never tested that, but it must be what had happened. Why else would her instincts not pick up Virgil as a threat?

“Thanks.” Amanda thanked Patton, noticing the baked potato and pork chop in front of her. She smiled slightly. Even if her escape failed, at least she got more potatoes.

 “So, did you get some good rest?” Patton asked, then took a bite of his own food. Virgil took a bite himself, having already decided to keep quiet about Amanda’s almost escape attempt. At least for now.

“Yeah, apparently,” Amanda answered, eating her own food. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.” Or sleep at all.

 “Aww, it’s okay! It’s probably good you got the rest, that way you’re leg can heal up quicker!” Patton exclaimed. 

 “Yeah, the trick is to not be on it.” Virgil spoke, sending Amanda a look.

“Well then, good thing I wasn’t on it.” Amanda feigned ignorance, taking another bite.

 Patton was oblivious to everything. “So, I was thinking after dinner, we could play a game!” 

 Virgil blinked. “A game?” Patton nodded.

 “Yeah! I have plenty of board games and video games we could play.”

“What kind of game?” Amanda tilted her head. She knew many borrower games, but very few human ones.

 “Oh, I’ve got tons!” Patton exclaimed with a grin. “We can play monopoly, life, apples to apples to name some board games. As for video games, I have a switch, so we could try out Mario Party or something like that.”

“...Great!” Amanda plastered on a smile. “I have no idea what that means!”

 “Oh, right.” Patton looked sheepish. “Well, okay, let me ask you this first. Do you want to play a physical game? Or a game on the TV?” Patton asked.

“Um, well…” Amanda thought it over. It’d probably be best if she did stay off her leg to save energy for her next attempt. A board game might mean she had to get up a lot, but she’d seen the way humans played video games. Those controllers would probably require just as much movement for someone of her size.

“Whatever you think will be easier,” Amanda answered, deciding to leave it up to the game experts. “I just want to rest while we play.”

 “In that case, I think Mario Party sounds like our best option.” Patton said with a grin. He turned to Virgil. “Can you go get it started while I clean up.” Virgil nodded and stood.

 “Yeah, no problem Pat.” Virgil went into the living room to do just that and Patton started collecting the dishes.

 “Did you enjoy dinner?” Patton asked Amanda.

“Yeah, it was tasty.” Amanda nodded honestly.

 “I’m glad!” Patton quickly dumped the plates in the sink and then went back to the table to offer Amanda a hand. He’d actually wash them later. “I’ve been making sure to include a bit more potatoes in the meals for you. Since I know you like them so much.”

“Oh!” Amanda had, of course, noticed the amount of potatoes, but she didn’t know they were for her. “That’s...really sweet of you, Patton. Thank you.”

 “Of course! If you want anything, you just gotta say it.” Patton grinned.

 “Game is set up!” Virgil called out. Patton looked back to Amanda. 

 “Let’s head out there, I’m sure you’re going to love this game.”

Despite herself, Amanda agreed with that notion as she stepped into Patton’s hand. There was just something about human culture she loved so much; perhaps it was the fact it was forbidden, and a secret part of her loved this rebellious energy.

 Patton brought her out into the living room, setting her down on the arm of the couch. The game screen was already on the TV and Virgil handed Patton a red and blue switched remote. Patton then set the red one down in front of Amanda.

“So...what do I do?” Amanda, as she looked down at the controller, suddenly had the urge to press every single button.

 “So, you move with this,” Patton said, pointing to the joystick on his own controller. “And these buttons with the letters on them do different things. Don’t worry though, you’ll get the hang off it.”

 “Yeah, and this game is perfect for you.” Virgil spoke. “Since it tells you what controls to use for every mini game.”

“Ooookay?” Amanda agreed, still feeling a bit lost. She tested out the controls, trying to do as the humans instructed, but nothing happened.

 “Hold on, your controller isn’t connected yet,” Virgil said, going to do that. “Just press the two top buttons down at the same time.”

“Like this?” Amanda pressed them down with all her might.

 Patton grinned as the controller registered on the TV. “Yep! Good job! Now we can choose our characters. I call Daisy!” Patton clicked on the orange dress wearing girl on the screen.

 “I call Boo.” Virgil said, picking the ghost character.

“I call...this one.” Amanda replicated their movements, choosing a green turtle creature.

 “Oh, a Koopa. Nice choice.” Virgil said and then, they were in the game. When they got to the dice roll to see who would go first, Virgil frowned. “Wait, uh, Amanda can you lift the controller? And then pump it up?” The controller was small but Amanda was still only about the same size as it.

“Do what now?” Amanda looked down at the controller, concerned at the thought of trying to hold the monstrosity.

 “Maybe this game isn’t gonna work,” Virgil muttered, already exiting to the home screen. Patton looked disappointed.

 “Aww man. Well, is there another game Amanda could play?” Patton asked. Virgil thought for a moment. A lot of the games did involve moving the controller but…

 “Yeah, I think so.” Virgil stood up and switched out the games, the title screen now displaying the same characters as before but in karts.

“Wait, so we’re playing this now?” Amanda asked, watching Virgil click through the menu screens. “Can I actually play this one?”

 “Yep, I just have to…” Virgil went into Amanda’s controller settings and changed it so all she had to do was move the joystick. “There. The only thing you need to worry about now is moving the joystick.” He smirked down at Amanda. “Sound manageable?”

“Are you asking me if I can manage one lever?” Amanda raised an eyebrow, giving it a practice shove. “You know I’m not incompetent, right?”

 “Do I?” Virgil said with a smirk. Patton shook his head, but there was a fond smile on his face, knowing Virgil didn’t mean it. But still.

 “Don’t be mean, kiddo.” Patton said and Virgil just rolled his eyes.

 “Yeah, yeah.” Virgil clicked on a few more things to bring them to another character select. “I’m sticking with Boo, if you guys don’t mind.”

 “I’m still gonna be Daisy!” Patton exclaimed.

“And I’m Koopa thing again.” Amanda chimed in, feeling almost a sense of Deja Vu.

 “Sweet. Now just choose what kind of kart or bike you want.” Virgil said, going to his own creation. Patton, however, had a bit more information to give. 

 “The stats on the right tell you how much speed and stamina it has. I’d probably go for a lot of speed and control.” Patton explained before making his own kart.

“...right.” Amanda tried to keep track like Patton suggested, but there seemed to be an overwhelming amount of information. She decided to just pick the parts she thought looked best instead.

 “Ready to race?” Virgil asked, giving Amanda a determined look. He was not about to let her win, uncaring that she had never played video games before. He didn’t think she would appreciate it anyway.

“Ready.” Amanda leaned forwards, looking determined. She may not know a lot about gaming, but she did know competitive racing. Of course, the kart was new.

 The screen counted down and as the light turned green, they were off. Virgil and Patton, both having played the game a ton before and knew all the maps, were quick to get ahead of all the NPCs and Amanda.

Amanda quickly began to get the hang of it, leaning into the turns instinctively as she pushed the joystick to and fro. She grinned, watching her character pass the other racers. This wasn’t so bad!

 Both Virgil and Patton’s eyes were slightly wide at how fast Amanda was getting the hang of things. Patton felt proud but Virgil just took it as more of a challenge and moved into an item box. He grinned when he got a banana peel and threw it behind him right in Amanda’s path.

“What? Hey!” Amanda gave the screen an offended look, quickly recovering control of her vehicle. She glared, recognizing Virgil’s character. “That’s cheating.”

 “No, it’s not.” Virgil said with a smirk. “It’s all part of the game.”

“Well, then how do I do it to you?” Amanda huffed, eyes glancing around for something she missed.

 “Left or right trigger,” Patton answered. He glanced at Virgil. He didn’t really think it was a fair move but it was part of the game. Still, though, Amanda was new to all this and he was at least trying to ease her into it.

“How am I supposed to reach that and drive?” Amanda glanced at the buttons Patton indicated. She could reach them if she were standing maybe, but with her bad leg that wouldn’t be such a good idea. Of course, Amanda began to consider it if only to spite Virgil.

 “You can’t,” Virgil smirked and Patton, being able to, got an item and hit Virgil with a shell. Making him fall behind Amanda.

 “Wha-? Hey!”

“Serves you right, cheater.” Amanda gave a smirk of her own, cutting a close corner around the bend to keep her lead.

 Virgil huffed but was quick to catch up based on his experience alone. He passed both Amanda and Patton, crossing over the finish line a few moments later. “Ha! I win!”

 Patton was too caught up looking at Virgil’s win screen that he didn’t realize he went past Amanda and became second. “...Whoops.”

Amanda tried not to feel bitter. It made sense for them to race better, they had years of practice of course and- “Wait, hang on. Patton, were you...pitying me?” 

 “Wh-What? No, of course not! I just…” Patton bit his lip as he set his controller down on the coffee table. “I just thought, since it was your first time playing I would go just a bit easier on you…”

Amanda pursed her lips, pouting slightly. Patton had tried to let her win and she still lost.

“Well, I still don’t think those items are very fair.” Amanda came back around to the one part of the game she didn’t like. “Considering I can’t use them.”

 “Maybe not now, but when your leg gets better we can play again and be more even!” Patton suggested. Virgil gave Patton a look as he set his controller down and then to Amanda. Patton actually thought…

“...right.” Amanda nodded, but her voice was quieter. She had to stay focused on the task at hand. Getting better had to be her top priority, not winning a virtual kart race.

 “I wish I could play longer, but I just remembered I have homework,” Patton said with a sheepish grin.

 “Yeah, actually, so do I.” Virgil stood up and turned off the switch and TV. Patton turned to Amanda.

 “Alright, who do you want to go with?” Patton asked her.

“I can go with you, Patton.” Amanda offered. It was the obvious choice- Patton was clearly the more gullible of the two.

 “Yay!” Patton offered his hand to her.

Amanda climbed on, smiling slightly to herself as she noticed her leg was feeling marginally better. Slowly but surely she was getting there.

 Patton held her close to his chest, nodding to Virgil as he passed. “See you in the morning Virge!” 

 “Yeah, goodnight.” Virgil sent Amanda one last look before he disappeared into his room, Patton going into his shortly after. He set Amanda down on the desk before taking a seat himself and emptying out his bag for his assignments. 

 “Did you want to play around on my phone while I worked?” Patton asked Amanda, figuring she might be bored just sitting there.

“Oooh, yes please.” Amanda’s eyes shone at the possibilities. She had never been allowed near a human phone before or at least been allowed to mess with one. It would certainly be interesting to see...until, of course, she got the chance to escape.

 “Alright!” Patton grinned and took out his phone, unlocking it and setting it down in front of her. “There you go, just let me know if you have any questions about it.” He then turned to his homework.

Amanda was sure she would have lots of questions, but she preferred to try and figure them out the borrower way: trial and error. She began pressing icons at random, trying to guess what the buttons did and why they were there.

“...okay, I yield.” Amanda finally admitted, realizing she was out of her element. “What am I doing?”

 Patton chuckled a little. “Well, what do you want to do? There are a few games, you could watch a video, you can have a go at taking a selfie?” Patton laughed.

“What’s a selfie?” Amanda tried to repeat the phrase back, unsure of her pronunciation.

 “It’s when you take a photo of yourself. Usually from the front camera. Here.” Patton opened the camera app and held the phone up, grinning wide as he took a picture. He then showed it to Amanda. “That is a selfie.”

“Oh, ah no, I don’t want to do that.” Amanda quickly shook her head. Photos were a bad idea when you were trying to keep your entire race a secret. “I’ll just play a game on it. Do you have that kart game? Where’s the joystick?”

 “Oh, uh, not on the phone, no. It’s more basic games on the phone. Hold on, um…” Patton looked through his phone, to find a game that would be simple but fun for Amanda. “Amanda, I hope this doesn’t sound rude but...can you read?”

“Yes Patton, I can read,” Amanda assured him, trying not to take offense. “I read all the Sherlock books when I was younger. It’s why I wanted to watch it.”

 “Oh! Wow, okay then.” Patton hit the app and place it in front of her. “Okay, so this game is more of a simulation. It goes through the life of a human but you can do different things to get a different outcome.” He showed her all the categories and what to press. “You got it?”

Amanda nodded. She began tapping along, reading the story as she slowly grew her human up. “So, what’s the point of this game? How do you win?”

 “You don’t really win, it’s just kind of...fun, to see what different lives you can lead,” Patton said with a shrug.

“Oh.” It seemed kind of pointless then, but Amanda was bored with nothing better to do. Maybe that was the point. “Alright then.”

 “You’ll see. Pretty soon, you’ll be addicted to it just like everyone else.” Patton laughed before turning back to his work.

Amanda kept playing for almost an hour, making sure to read every piece of information carefully. She became invested, wanting to live the best life virtually possible. Amanda thought she was doing well; that is, until a giant tombstone appeared on the screen.

“I died?!” Amanda was flabbergasted as she read that text. “I didn’t even know that could happen! I- what did I do wrong?”

 Patton looked over at the screen a small smile on his face. “Nothing. That’s how they all end. You start the game born and then the game ends when you die. Just like regular life.” Patton read her stats. “But it looks like you lead a pretty good life!”

“Yeah but I just died anyways.” Amanda pushed away the phone, a bit bitter she had let herself get so tied up in a silly game. 

 “Yeah. But that’s life.” Patton took the phone closing the app. “Did you want to play something else? Or…?”

“I don’t know.” Amanda shrugged. “How close are you to being done with your homework? What are you doing, anyways?”

 “Oh, I’m just finishing up a math worksheet. See.” He brought the paper closer for Amanda to see. “I should be done in a few minutes.”

“Oh, okay.” Amanda just waited it out, twiddling her thumbs. Her eyes scanned around the room, once again by instinct planning out her escape routes. Of course, they were useless when she was so close to Patton.

 “Are you tired?” Patton asked, finishing up his last problem.

”A little.” Actually, Amanda still felt wide awake, but she faked a small yawn. 

 “Okay! Then I say we head to bed!” He offered Amanda a lift.

“Excellent!” Amanda tried not to show her excitement about Patton going to sleep as she climbed into his hand. This would be her chance.

 Patton headed over to the bed and set Amanda down on the pillow before climbing into bed himself. He stretched his arms. “You all good? Do you need anything before the lights go out?”

Amanda just shook her head, giving off the illusion of settling in for the night as she sunk into the pillow. It was odd, the idea of sleeping so close to a human, even for pretend.

 “Okay. Goodnight then!” Patton shut the light off and settled down into bed.

Amanda waited for her eyes to adjust, sending a glance in Patton’s direction. She couldn’t see the glow of his eyes, so she assumed she was in the clear. With a grin, Amanda prepared to slip off the pillow.

 Patton sighed, feeling her movements. “Amanda?”

Amanda froze. “...yes?”

 “You’re still trying to leave, aren’t you?” Patton asked softly.

Amanda paused, debating what she should say. If this was Virgil the answer would be obvious, but for some reason, the sincerity of Patton’s voice made it difficult to lie to the human.

“...yes,” Amanda replied quietly.

 “...Can I ask why?” Patton’s voice stayed quiet and he had yet to move, simply staring up at the ceiling for now.

“Um, well nothing’s stopping you.” Amanda joked, but her chuckle was humorless. She looked over at Patton’s form, trying to figure out the answer herself.

“...I guess just because it’s what I’m supposed to do.” Amanda explained. “Because borrowers aren’t really supposed to be seen in the first place, let alone stick around.”

 “Oh.” Patton thought for a moment, shifting slightly so he was laying on his side so he could look at Amanda. “Even if the human is just trying to help?”

“Well, yeah.” Amanda turned her attention to picking at her bandages. “Because humans are...evil, and have ulterior motives, and don’t, um, don’t just...help.” Though she had been taught these things were true, it felt so weird to say them aloud to Patton. Because despite what she knew from her teachings, her heart just couldn’t see Patton as one of those stereotypical monster humans.

 “...Do you think I’m evil? That I want you here for some other reason? That I don’t just want to help you get better?” Patton asked, voice sad. He could understand Amanda’s fears...but it still hurt.

“I think you want me to stay longer than it’s going to take my leg to heal,” Amanda answered. “But I don’t know what would happen then if I didn’t want to stay. I don’t think you’re by nature a bad person, Patton, but the concept of a human actually letting a borrower go…” Amanda gave a weak chuckle again. “That’s completely foreign to me.”

 “Of course I would let you go,” Patton said but he knew his words meant very little. He bit his lip. “How is your leg doing. Does it feel a little better?”

“Yeah, it’s doing okay.” Amanda nodded, although she doubted Patton could see the movement in the darkness. “Borrowers heal fast. It should be fine in another day or two.”

 “Well...if you think you’ll be okay to go then you can.” Patton finally said. “I’ll be worried, of course, but I...I don’t want to keep you here if you really are unhappy.”

Amanda’s eyebrows raised. “What, tonight?”

 Patton nodded. “Right now. I’ll turn around and go back to sleep and you can go home.”

Amanda looked out at the bedroom, eyes slowly falling towards the outlet cover that held her entrance.

“...What about Virgil?” Amanda asked.

 Patton shrugged. “I’ll just tell him the truth. That I let you go back home. Virgil wouldn’t do anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“How do you know?” Amanda pressed. “He seemed pretty adamant about me staying.” Indeed, of the two, Virgil was definitely the one Amanda worried about more.

 “I know because he only did that because he thought that’s what I wanted,” Patton explained. “When I explain things, he’ll understand. I’m sure he’ll miss you though, even if he won’t admit it.”

Amanda’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh.” So all this time, Patton was the real leader of team “Don’t Let Amanda Go”. 

...and still, Amanda didn’t think of him as a bad guy. Why was that? 

“So...what would happen if I don’t go?” Amanda asked.

 Patton smiled softly. “Well...we’d continue to help your leg heal. Get some food in you. The normal?”

“And...after my leg heals?” Amanda’s second question was quieter.

 Somehow, Patton’s eyes turned even softer. “Then you can go home. Like the plan always was.”

Amanda couldn’t believe she was even considering it. The idea of willingly staying with humans when she was given a free pass to leave was unheard of; any borrower would be ashamed to learn Amanda was even thinking such a thing.

Of course, any borrower didn’t know her humans.

“Okay.” Amanda’s voice was barely above a human whisper, uncharacteristically timid as she settled back into the pillow. She hoped she wasn’t making a poor decision.

 Patton smiled. “Okay.” Patton settled back down to sleep. “And just so you know. If you change your mind, you can leave at any time.”

“Thanks, Patton.” Amanda took a deep breath, slowly letting it back out. “...goodnight.”