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The Heart Tends to be... Confused

After a few minutes of deep breathing and letting his mind wander, Patton left Dreamland.

Back in the Mindscape, he sees his nearly-untouched plate on the table. He sighs in relief at the fact that nobody is there right now.

He dumps the pasta into the trash. There's a bit of disappointment in himself, having thrown out good food, but if he keeps it there or puts it in tupperware, they might notice he didn't eat. Or, well, didn't eat what he made.

Patton reads the oven clock. The way sleep works may be weird in the Other Side, but time is a very peculiar thing in Dreamland. It's 6:22 now. Thomas won't be waking up or doing anything for a while. Patton wasn't sure what to do with himself. The Others are asleep, Thomas is too, and the Lights are all either asleep or doing their own thing. Probably the former, though.

It's odd, the feeling of being awake when nobody else is. Patton wasn't quite familiar with it. He's probably the biggest sleeper out of all the Lights.

He looked over at his cookie jar. Emphasis on the 'his.' Everyone else could leave cookies, an Oreo or two, maybe some baked at home if anyone was up to it, but nobody takes cookies from the jar except Patton.

It was somehow always full. It was opaque, so you wouldn't be able to see what you're getting until you pull it out. But only if that 'you' is Patton.

It's not even a spoken rule. It's just mutually understood, even when Virgil first arrived, nobody even had to explain how Patton's Cookie Jar worked.

He didn't feel up for a cookie right now. He didn't feel up for anything.

There was no urge to go to his room. No thoughts about watching a show or even reading a book. The only thing Patton felt was tired, and not the kind that could be solved by a good rest.

'I could just zone out for four hours.' Patton contemplated, until he realized he didn't know how long Janus and Remus would be asleep. He wanted to be ready. He wouldn't be able to feel the tug of being summoned if he was zoned out into the music video for 'Single Ladies.'

He headed to the kitchen, deciding to at least make himself useful. Everyone had eaten, the plates sat in the sink. Patton hand-washed them, just to be doing something. Another glance at the clock once they're all dried and put away. 6:25.

He blew some air out of the side of his mouth. Boredom was normal, especially nowadays, but now he had to be bored, ready, and quiet.

Patton looked around the kitchen, trying to find something to do. The pantry was always perfectly organized, Logan wouldn't allow anything less. Nothing needed cleaning, everyone is pretty good at handling himself.

He wandered around the kitchen, pacing more than anything. Any idea he thought of was either something loud or that couldn't be ended at the drop of a hat.

One stuck out, however. Rereading the cards he's made and received.

As a rather sentimental Side, Patton loves not only getting cards and gifts, but also making them. He has all the Side's birthday cards ready for the next three years. Well, all the Light Sides.

He very rarely gets cards and gifts from anyone else, but when he does, they're usually put in picture frames and hung all around Patton's room.

'Maybe I should ask for the Others' birthdays,' He wondered.

Patton stood still for a second. All of his cards are in his room. He squinted his eyes shut.

'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts...'

He opened his eyes awkwardly.

"That's not how that works..." He mumbles to himself.

Anything he could think of would lead back to feeling lonely. Virgil's card... Roman complimenting him... Logan...

Patton sighed and fidgeted with the hoodie hung over his shoulders.

He was suddenly very aware of how quiet the house was. It felt so empty. So still.

"Fam... ily..."

He fell on the couch ungracefully.

"Mai-ya hee. Mai-ya hoo. Mai-ya ha. Mai-ya ha-ha."

Letting the couch engulf him, he mumbled some song lyrics to keep himself from going crazy.

"C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song... humma-numma-humma say it faster, then you're wrong..." He mumbled, not knowing the quickly-spoken lyrics, as many times as he's listened to it.

"And it'll help if you just sing alooong~"

Patton stared at the ceiling. The couch was comforting and warm, though smothering. He was stuffed between the couch cushions, so they would act like their own puffy blanket. It was a cuddle for whenever Patton was alone.

Once he was singing songs and even making his own little tunes, time was passing by easily. He let himself forget everything. Good, bad, future, past. Wandering from how pretty rainbows are to how soon the next Disney movie will come out. Thinking about nothing. Doing nothing. Close to zoning out, but with a touch of the racing mind of a five-year-old.

He was in the middle of thinking of the difference between the way you spell 'onion' and 'Funyuns' when he felt a tug. Nothing particularly physical, but like gravity was messing with him, pulling at his middle.

The couch was really warm, but it'll be there when he comes back.

He stood up and fixed his hair, and let himself be pulled where gravity wanted him to go: Down.