Tally woke with a jolt. It was the third time that week that she had been forcefully yanked from her dreams back into reality. She reached across the bed for Zane, and frowned when she got a handful of sheets instead.

He had been more distant lately, and she knew it had something to do with their conversation after she'd been discharged from the hospital. Zane had been adamant that the Middle Pretties had done something to her to erase her memories, and he wouldn't stop talking about Specials for three days after that. She did her best to handle the situation, but there were times when she caught him looking at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention and she knew he was thinking of something, or someone else. It broke her heart. Wasn't she enough for him? She sacrificed so much to be with him; her friendships with Shay and Peris had suffered, she hadn't talked to Fausto or Ho-la for weeks, and she couldn't even remember the last time she went to a bash.

She rubbed her hand over her face in an attempt to drag the bogus feelings away and sat up. "Lights on," she murmured quietly. The room lit up instantly. Zane was nowhere to be found, but she wasn't really surprised.

"Send a ping to Peris, Shay-la, Fausto, and Ho-la. Bash tonight? Zane is being bogus and I want to be not bogus. Miss you. Tally-wa."

Getting out of bed, Tally noticed a note next to a small cart that was obviously from a breakfast drone. She smiled, thinking Zane had started to revert back to his normal self. Picking up the note with one hand, she lifted the dome shaped lid off of the breakfast platter.

Take two. Bubblier than a muffin.

Zane-la

She squinted in confusion, glancing away from the note and towards the tray. A bowl full of calorie purgers and a glass of water were the only things sitting on it.

"We're not supposed to take purgers without eating, Zane-la," she said aloud. In her head, she heard a faint, It's fine every once in a while, Tally.

A prickle of pain made it's way up her neck as she pondered on the thought. Where had she heard that before? She rubbed her neck and decided that just this once would be fine, but after this time she would always eat with a purger. She popped two in her mouth, just like the note said, and gulped down some water to make them easier to swallow.

Almost as soon as she had taken the purgers, a ping from Zane came in.

"Good morning, Tally-wa! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast. Meet me in the nearest pleasure garden when you get this."

She smiled, excited that Zane was expressing himself to her again with these sweet gestures. "Wall? Pick me out something nice." She said as she walked towards the bathroom. "I'm going to meet my boyfriend."

-ITIKY-

Zane had been researching and planning for weeks. If Tally couldn't remember anything, again, he'd get her to de-Prettify her mind, again.

It wasn't until he'd decided to visit her room in her old building that he actually came up with any ideas. And even then, it wasn't him who came up with the plan.

She had been waiting for him for four days. Well, she'd been waiting for Tally, but Zane was the next best thing, she'd said. Her name was Maddy, and she was the reason Tally couldn't remember.

The reason Tally couldn't remember right now.

She'd created a pill that, if taken, could destroy any lesions put in the Pretty mind during an operation. Tally and Zane had split them the first time, which resulted horribly on Zane's behalf. But by some twist of fate they were given a second chance. Because Tally had already given consent, Maddy figured if she were in her right mind she'd give consent this time, too.

So they were going to drug his girlfriend.

-ITIKY-

"Are you sure you're okay with this, Zane?" Maddy asked from across the room. Zane had programmed a ping to send to Tally when she'd taken the purgers and to alert him when she was on her way to the pleasure garden.

He sighed before turning away from the wall and facing her. "I don't like it." He paused. "You said yourself that we used these pills before and it didn't work out too great that time. Why should it work differently this time?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

Maddy voiced his thoughts. "You already know why, Zane. As long as Tally takes both pills she'll be fine." She walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. Even though she no longer looked exactly like a Middle Pretty, the calming effects the Zane always felt around them still occurred, and he found himself soothed just by her presence.

"It will work," she said with a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder.

"It has to," he replied.

-ITIKY-

The walk to the pleasure garden was very nervous-making. Zane couldn't help but shake a feeling that he was doing something other-him and other-Tally wouldn't like.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "It'll work, it'll work, it'll work." He repeated this mantra all the way to the garden, where Tally was waiting for him with a smile and a kiss.

"Hi, Zane-la," she said warmly. "What was up with your bogus breakfast idea?" She asked with a chuckle.

Zane forced himself to smile and laugh with her. "Don't you feel bubblier, Tally-wa?" He asked cheekily, knowing that she liked his behavior.

She nudged his shoulder playfully and laughed again. It lit up Zane's insides like the fireworks that other Pretties launched off of party spires every night. "I do," she said before noticing his basket. "But it is very happy-making to see that you brought me actual food," she said with another chuckle.

Zane laughed again, this time without forcing himself to. Even if Tally was a complete bubblehead right now, she could always make him laugh.

"Well," he paused. "We don't have to eat right away…" he trailed off. Tally tilted her head to the side in confusion. Zane couldn't help but laugh. "We are in a pleasure garden after all, Tally-wa."

Tally's eyes lit up and she smiled before leaning towards him, happy that he was invested in their relationship again. She felt the slightest sense of unease at the fact that he was opening up to her so quickly after being so cold for the past few weeks, but all her worries melted away the moment his lips pressed against her own.

-ITIKY-

Tally was curled up under Zane's arm, her head resting on his shoulder. She sighed contently before looking up at him. He was watching the clouds roll over the rest of the garden with the slightest ghost of a smile on his lips. She couldn't resist herself and reached up to trace his mouth softly with her hand.

Zane looked down at the girl next to him. Can I really drug her? He thought to himself. Can I rob her of her choice in the matter? He sighed, but it sounded happier than he felt.

"What are you thinking about, Zane-la?" Tally asked him. Her eyes were tinted dark blue; different from the carefree green he was so used to.

"What does dark blue mean?" He asked, ignoring her question. She furrowed her brows in confusion and he laughed. "Your eyes, Tally-wa. They're dark blue." She blinked a few times trying to remember all the hues before her eyes widened and she buried her face in his chest.

Zane chuckled again before using his finger to coax her head up until she was facing him. "What does it mean, Tally?" He asked, gentler this time.

She blushed. "I…it means love, Zane-la."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Tally-wa. I love you, too."

She smiled up at him again, content, before placing her head back on his shoulder. They watched the clouds together in silence for a while before Tally's stomach grumbled and she remembered the basket.

"Zane? I think it's time for actual food now," she said with a chuckle. Zane placed a kiss on her temple before reaching over towards the basket. His fingers brushed over the vial with the two pills in it and he froze. How had he forgotten? That was the whole point of coming here.

"Zane?" Tally asked again. She sat up and looked over at him. "Is everything okay?"

It was now or never. Zane had never been so conflicted in his whole life. Obviously it was possible for him to love Tally when she was a bubblehead, but would he eventually revert to his old bubbleheaded self? Was it worth it, risking her brain just so he could have the old Tally back? Was he really that selfish?

"Zane-la! Quit being so bogus, it's very unhappy-making," Tally pouted. He looked back at her and saw her eyes shifting to a flat red-orange. That seemed to flip a switch in his brain. His Tally would never get annoyed with him. She loved him and was patient with him with whatever he needed. He had to do it.

"Sorry, Tally-wa. I couldn't decide what I wanted." He said just to calm her down. Her facial expressions flipped in an instant from annoyance to peaceful. It sickened him.

"Well, what did you bring?" She asked, leaning over to peer into the basket.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Zane said a little too quickly. "It's a surprise," he said with a wink, recovering smoothly.

"Ooh, I love surprises! How bubbly-making," she said, relaxing back against the tree they were under. "Well, hurry up!" She said with a laugh. "I don't know how much longer I can wait!" His heart broke for her. This wasn't the girl he loved. He needed to fix her.

-ITIKY-

After a very filling meal, Zane decided to put his plan into action. He emptied the vial into his hand and held it out to Tally.

"Here's your purgers, Tally-wa." He said as he took two actual purgers himself.

She eyed the pills in his hand before shaking her head. "I already took those two this morning, Zane-la. I don't want to push it."

He had to force his expression into a teasing one. "Tally-wa, I do that all the time. It's just a way to keep the world bubblier. There's no harm in it!" He smiled. She looked at the pills again, a little less wary this time.

"I don't know, Zane-la. There's just something about them that's…bogus to me. Can't you see it?"

He held back an eye-roll and picked one up, pretending to inspect it. "I think they're just newer, Nose." He paused, still fake-examining the pill. "I just took two, and I'm fine."

She looked him up and down before finally holding out her hand. "Alright, if you're sure…" she trailed off. She popped both pills in her mouth and swallowed. Zane breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay, Zane-la? You're acting kind of we– " she broke off as she lost consciousness. The last thing she thought she heard was Zane, screaming her name.

I know, it's been a while, and I'm sorry. I just wasn't inspired at all. Then I sat down a few nights ago and forced out the first half of this, but the second half was just begging to be written down. I hope you liked it! And yes, they totally boned in the pleasure garden.