"Why don't people believe me?" Patton asked. Logan looked up in surprise. "You don't have to answer my question, Kiddo. Just wondering out loud."

Logan nodded slightly. "What don't they believe you about?" He realised that sentence didn't make any sense. "What are you talking about when they start being disbelieving?"

Patton curled his legs under himself and sat on his feet. "You." He said quietly.

"That explains it." Patton looked up, tilting his head like a confused child. "Your friends take one look at me and see just another mermaid. I know you did too."

"I-"

"Shouldn't try to deny the true." Logan cut in. "You might not have consciously shown anything but I know what you thought of me." Logan looked at Patton. "It was written all over your face and in your voice. You're a very easy human to read."

Patton looked down, a light blush on his cheeks. Though whether that was embarrassment from what Logan had said or something else, he wasn't sure.

"Oh." He said quietly.

"Don't take that as an insult." Logan said quickly. "It's not, I promise you. You're just a very emotive person and that's a lot easier to read rather than people like Emile, who try to hide some of their emotions in some settings."

"Emile?" Patton repeated. "You know Emile?"

"Yes, why?" Logan looked at Patton and realised something was wrong. There was an open, slightly too hopeful look on his face that never came with good things.

"He was my brother." Patton inched closer to the glass excitedly. "Is he alright? What's he doing? He's not hurt, is he?"

"Patton, Emile is fine." Logan said slowly, trying to reassure the pirate. "He works as a therapist now, he's been helping Remus with his reaction to some scenarios."

A strange, excited smile crawled onto Patton's face.

"He's alright?" Patton asked, the strange smile growing. "Oh thank God, I was so worried about him. Does he ever talk about me? Wait, no, don't answer that. That'll just make me feel bad. Oh, I'm so glad he's alright."

"He does talk about you sometimes." Logan said, hugging his elbows. "You always sounded so familiar, like I'd met you before. And now I know I have." Logan looked down. "It's a shame I'll never be able to tell him what a wonderful person you've stayed."

Patton's smile slid off his face and he moved away from the glass, as if he remembered he wasn't talking to the boy he'd known all those years ago, but an altered, more miserable version.

"Logan..." It sounded like he wanted to say more but no words sprang to his mind. Strangely enough, just Patton saying his name was some comfort for Logan.

"I don't mean to make you sad, Patton." Logan said, tracing his markings with a nail. He still wasn't used to the bright glow emitting from his arms. "I just seem to say whatever comes to mind. I will try to work on that for my last few weeks."

Patton didn't say anything. He just looked at Logan with this worried curiosity in his eyes.

"Kiddo, I don't mean to be morbid or to pry..." Patton trailed off before deciding that, yes, he wanted to know the answer to this question. "But, if you don't mind, what will happen to you when you...?" Patton couldn't finish the sentence, the lump in his throat was too big, but Logan understood what he was trying to say.

"Nothing." Logan said. He uncurled his fingers. "Poof. I become sea foam. I become nothing."

No, Alex, this is not the end of your payback. This is what happens when you make an enemy of your writer friend!
Bye,
Blaize