A/N: I forced myself to upload the next chapter faster this time.

Also I really hope Vanellope isn't OOC in this.

Enjoy! :D

RJ

"You sure he's in there?"

I pause, look down at the little girl holding my hand, and gently let my other hand fall to my side. It has been two days since I'd met Vanellope in her new game, and it's been two days since I told her that I had befriended one of the clones that had haunted her during the Internet Crash. I had told her that it's a bad idea for her to come here, but she had insisted on coming along, saying that she wanted to meet Terrance in person. This is a bad idea, very bad, but…what else can I do? Vanellope won't take no for a reason, right?

I don't think it's a good idea to have them meet in the Older Net, though, it's too dark and too easy for Vanellope to get lost in there; so instead, I had invited Terrance up to my BuzzzTube studio earlier, made an excuse saying that I wanted company today, told him to wait inside for a while, and then went and grabbed Vanellope from Slaughter Race for the meeting. If I'm being honest right now, I feel really bad about myself, like I'm about to do something that I might hurt my friend with. And by 'friend', I don't mean Vanellope, kid's fine; and although I keep telling myself everything will be fine, a part of me thinks that it's not, that everything will crash down the second Vanellope steps into the room, that I shouldn't have planned this meeting in the first place after all.

I breathe in and out, and then I bend down to Vanellope's height. "Yep, he's in there, waitin'." I say. "But are ya really sure about 'tis?"

"Of course I am!" She shouts at me, but her face drops briefly after a moment, bits of her body flickering. "Well…Okay, I'm a little nervous, actually. And scared, but not too much."

"Hmm?" I raise an eyebrow. "Ya tellin' the truth, kiddo?"

"Yeah, I am!" She says, flickering stronger. Apparently she noticed it too, and she turns away from me, closing her eyes as she breathes strongly in and out to soothe away her glitches. It takes a while for her to calm down, but eventually she opens her eyes and looks back up at me. "I talked with Shank about this, last night and the night before. And…maybe it's because our game was spared during the Crash she didn't really know what had I experienced and didn't really know what to say about it, which is strange. But…she knew that I am scared about this, and then she said something similar to what you did, that I shouldn't force myself to do something that I don't want."

"I getcha." I say. "That's why I'm askin' ya if ya really wanna do 'tis. If ya don't want to, I can take ya back, and we can pretend nothin' has happened. I can do that."

"I know you can. But…the thing is…I want to meet him. I want to meet Terrance and see what he's like. Hearing from what you said about him, I think he's a nice guy, despite being a viral clone and all. And I want to meet him, I really do. It's just that…" Vanellope sighs deeply. "I'm nervous what will happen when I walk in. And I keep telling myself 'you're now in a game where everything is unpredictable, you're used to this already, you should be fine', but…I'm kinda not."

"Ya know what kid?" I say, cocking my head. "That's the same with me back then. I am very used to gettin' into trouble and runnin' off on my own to make new friends, but…I don't know, 'tis different 'tis time, like I can't tell Ralph anythin' abo-wait a sec, ya didn't tell Ralph about 'tis right?" I ask, clutching her shoulders nervously.

"Nope, you're good. We're good."

"Ah, good." I say, breathing a sigh of relief. "Anyhoo, what I was sayin' is that 'tis time 'tis different, that I cannot treat 'tis like my other pranks and friendships and stuff, and…maybe because of that I got nervous as well. But…as time passed, we got to know each other more, and I got less and less nervous every time despite keepin' 'tis all a secret from my brother. It just takes time…ya know what I mean, Vanny?"

"I do." Vanellope says, nodding her head.

I stand back up quickly. "So what do ya wanna do?" I ask her again.

The little girl sighs once more. "I…I…" She starts stammering, glitching again.

"Come on, don't force yerself." I tell her gently. "We've got all time in the world, ya should think about yerself first. If ya don't wanna do it, or do 'tis at another time, then just tell me. 'Tis fine."

Vanellope flickers for a few more seconds, griping her arms tightly with her head ducked. I kneel back down on the ground, cocking my head at her. A few moments later, she opens her eyes, not glitching anymore.

"Okay, I think I'm ready."

"For what, kid?"

She turns to the door behind me. "For the meeting. I am ready to meet him, no matter what happens. I know I have to face this sooner or later, might be best to get this over with now."

"Really?" I ask her again. "Ya sure?"

"Oh please, RJ! Stop asking me that so many times, it's annoying!" She yells, placing her hands on her hips as she smirks at me.

I let out a chuckle. "Okay, okay. Ya remember what and what not to say, kid?"

"Hmm…" Vanellope tapped her chin, slightly looking away from me. "Let's see…I can talk about everything, but nothing about the arcade or whatever that happened before the Internet Crash…oh, and definitely nothing about Ralph, right?"

"Right, ya got it kiddo." I say back. "We could be in very big trouble now, so Ralph must never, ever know about 'tis. And I guess the same can be said to Terry as well. Oh, and final reminder: don't ever mention the word 'friend' in front of him, or at least try not to. I mean, we both know why…"

"Oh, just chill, RJ. I'll be fine!" Vanellope said. "Can ya open the door for me now? I'm too short to reach."

I chuckle yet again, stand up, and turn to face the door. I slowly bring my hand up to knock on the door, but something inside made me pause. Like I'm not certain if this is the right thing to do, that I should just call this meeting off without any reason…

"RJ, will ya just do it?"

I shake my head, and look down at Vanellope. Looking straight at her, I pull my hood tighter down my head, and say a single word.

"Yes."

And I knock on the door.

Terrance

Ratta tat tat

I look away from the window and turn towards the door. It must be RJ; he's been gone for quite a while now. It must be him, I shouldn't panic.

I smooth out my poncho, pull the hood tighter over my head, and stand up. It's been a weird day for me so far: almost immedaitely after RJ came to me in the Older Net, he invited me up to his BuzzzTube studio, but with no reason whatsoever. He was saying something like 'he wanted company', but I wasn't really buying it. And then, without saying anything, he left me in this room and gone out an hour earlier, with no reason at all. If I'm being honest, I had thought of leaving as well: the fewer characters see me, the better; but somehow a part of me wants to stay, so take a look at what RJ is really planning for me. Which is why instead of leaving, I've spent the last few minutes sitting by the huge window, overlooking the huge screens BuzzzTube is famous for, waiting for my friend to return. Strange to think that just a few days earlier, before I met my friend, I would have left almost at once in fear of being found instead of spending more time up here. Strange that what could happen when you have made a new friend after you think you've lost everything.

The door opens, and RJ slips into the room. His hood is pulled over his head as usual, and he's glitching a bit too. There's something off about him though, it must be his expression: he looks a bit more nervous than usual, for some reason.

"Hey Terrance!" RJ called, waving. "Ya okay here?"

I nod my head and show him my board. Yeah, I'm good. You?

"Kinda." RJ replies, cocking his head a bit. He moves slightly away from the door, but part of his arm is still hidden behind it. He glances quickly at something behind the door, and then looks back at me. He taps his finger on his chin, a nervous expression on his face. This makes me worried, since RJ is one of the most confident characters I have ever met; so why the sudden nervousness?

"Terrance." RJ takes a deep breath, and then continues. "There's someone I want ya to meet. Don't be scared, and don't freak out when ya see her, but…yeah, that's all I'm gonna say."

Her? Who's 'her'? RJ had said nothing of bringing a friend! What is he going to do to me this time?! They can't know that I'm still alive, nobody can!

Something in me starts to think it's a bad idea for me to be here, but I do nothing as I watch RJ slowly move further away from the door, revealing his arm little by little. By now I can see his hand, which is currently holding onto another much smaller hand. RJ has now away from the door completely, revealing a young girl with huge eyes and a ponytail, wearing a green hoodie and a miniskirt and mismatched stockings and-

NO!

The very moment I see it, my eyes widen in terror, my head starts spinning wildly. By instinct, I turn away from the two, groaning as I place my hand to my head, clutching it in pain as I try and find my way back to my seat.

NO!

"Terrance?" I hear someone ask. It's not RJ's voice, is it the girl's?

Pain explodes in my head and I moan, stumbling dizzily left and right until I somehow miraculously find the seat and sink into it, whimpering in pain. Terror floods through my code, and I shiver violently, trying to shake myself out of this feeling but I can't, I just can't.

"Are you okay?"

I let out a small cry, the ones that a strangled animal makes when it's in pain. I don't look back to see who said that, I'm afraid to, I'm afraid that if I turn back, I'll see the character that I don't want to see, the very character that had given me nightmares all this time I've been under.

The pain keeps on coming, not ceasing at all. I press both hands to my head tightly, hoping that it'll soothe the pain but to no avail. It seems like every time pain is slightly less unbearable, something inside me immediately cranks it back up with a vengeance, blasting me with unmistakable pain.

Make it stop! I scream in my mind. Pain pain pain pain so painful so painful so unbearable so explosive make it stop make it stop MAKE IT STOP!

"Are you okay?" The voice asks again.

No, I'm not okay.

I'm not okay at all.

I hear faint footsteps, but I'm too caught up in my pain to pinpoint who they belong to. I keep rocking back and forth in my seat, groaning as pain continues to bombard over me. I don't even notice that the seat next to me is no longer empty, and someone has sat down next to me.

Somebody calls my name again.

The splitting pain is still in my head, but I manage to slightly turn and catch a glimpse of who had just sat down next to me. Yup, true to my predictions, a little girl is now sitting there, her huge eyes looking up at me in concern. I let out yet another small moan, and turn away from her, pulling my hood tighter down my face.

Why are you here? I frantically ask in my mind. Did RJ ask you to be here? Or wait, is he trying to set me up again?! What is he trying to do? Didn't he know that I'm terrified of you?

My entire body is shaking, both in fear and disbelief at what is really happening. I don't know where RJ is right now, but I don't think I can trust him after what he just did. He might have even have gone already, locking the door and leaving me in the room with the very character I am terrified of! Who knows what she can do to me! RJ, you scumbag, you little traitorous glitchy scumbag! Why are you doing this? What is the purpose?

What are you trying to do to me?!

What?

I feel something on my poncho, and covering part of my face with my hood, I cautiously turn my head around to see what it is. And there, I can see a tiny hand, just barely touching on my arm. I let out a squeal, and flung my arm away, crossing it tightly against my chest. I'm so nervous I can feel sweat dripping down my forehead, soaking my poncho further.

Get away from me! I plead in my head, shaking hard. Just leave me alone! Go! Get out! Get out!

The girl doesn't leave.

"I'm so sorry, Terrance."

The voice is coming from far behind me. I turn and RJ continues to speak, his face looking very guilty. "I'm so sorry. I really don't wanna do 'tis, but it has to be done. And ya need to face 'tis sooner or later. Might as well…get 'tis over with."

Get what over with?! I scream in my head, anger flaring up. You set this all up for me! Is this a trick or a prank or something?! Is this a joke?! Why are you doing this to me?! Aren't you my friend, RJ?! Aren't you?!

"RJ, you can leave. I can take care of this."

I am surprised at what the little girl had said, but I am so furious at RJ that I can't even think straight. All I want is that I don't want to see him anymore! I turn away from both of them, covering my face with my huge hands completely, as if trying to block myself off from the rest of this room.

"Ya sure, kiddo? I mean, what if somethin' goes wrong? What if…"

"I'll be fine, RJ. Just…go."

I hear RJ sigh from the back of the room, and then I hear footsteps going out of the room. The door opens, and then swings back shut a second later, leaving me and the little girl in the room.

The anger within me is still flaring, but as soon as RJ had left the pain takes over me again, and soon quickly extinguishes the final tongues of flame. I breathe in and out deeply, and the terror of the little girl being in the same room as I am in falls upon me once more.

"So…Terrance, is that your name?" She asks me.

I am still shaking hard, but I manage to muster up an answer. Without turning my head, I bob it slightly.

"You…can't talk, can you?" She asks me again.

I sigh, hearing the question that I've been asked many, many times before. I don't turn around, but I shake my head, hoping she'll catch my response.

"I'm sorry."

There is a brief pause, and then she continues "I'm Vanellope, not sure if you knew that already but better safe than sorry." She pauses again, and then asks "I heard you like sandwiches, right?"

I don't answer, but she keeps on talking. "I've got a burger here with me. It's similar to a sandwich, but different at the same time. I'm not sure about it actually. Don't know you've ever had stuff like that before, but…" I hear the sound of rustling paper, and then Vanellope says "Here, I got one for you if you want to."

There is yet another pause, and then gingerly, I turn my head slightly, just so I can see the little girl. Her head is turned away from me, but she has her hand extended, an unfamiliar food hanging on the end of it. Is this the 'burger' she was talking about earlier? Is it?

It smells so good though, so carefully, I reach out and gently pluck the burger out of Vanellope's hands. I can see her turning her head back towards me, so I look the other way, hoping that she wouldn't catch me. Cautiously, I take a tiny bite out of the burger, finding it much different than the sandwiches RJ had made for me before. It briefly crossed my mind Vanellope may have put something in the burger to harm me, to torture me while she's here, but I'm so hungry I had finished the entire thing before I even have time to worry. I just hoped for the best that nothing will then happen to me because of this.

"I heard that you were from the Internet Crash, right?" Vanellope asked. Without waiting for an answer, she adds "What…happened to you? Why are you still…here?"

Her question pricked me slightly, but it was a dull pain compared to what I am experiencing now. Slowly, I reach into my overalls and take out a marker. I then take my board, write down my response, and without looking, passed it to the girl.

Building crash. One of the websites fell upon me and knocked me out, and when I woke up they were all gone. Every single one of them.

There is silence.

Then I hear the little girl reply.

"I know how you feel Terry." She says, passing the board back to me.

Ha! As if! I scoff in my head as I take the board back. I am about to write something else when I hear her continue. "Before the Crash happened, I was in a race and the game started glitching and everything started falling down. I was heading to the exit, but I wasn't fast enough. My car was caught in the chaos, and I was trapped underneath one of the buildings, completely knocked out. If it wasn't for…someone pulling me out just in time, I…would have been dead by now."

A bitter thought crosses my mind, thinking why someone would care for this girl and not me even when we're in the same situations when she begins speaking again. "RJ told me what happened to you, and…I'm sorry there was no one to save or care for you. It…isn't fair, at all. What they did to you, that's wrong."

I don't turn around, but the pain has slightly lessened in my head, enough to let me hear Vanellope more clearly. And…am I imagining it, or is that fear in her voice?

Nonsense, how can she be afraid of me? How can she?

Still, I wanted to confirm if that is the case, and I pass her my board. Vanellope, are you afraid of me?

I hear my board being picked up, and then there was silence. I can hear Vanellope glitching, the same way RJ did but only much milder. A while later, her response also comes.

"If I'm being honest…yes, I am afraid of you. What you and the other clones did to me and my…pals in the Crash…it really scared me, it really did."

I feel the board being passed back to me, and I write a second question. Then why are you here? Did RJ send you?

"Well…"

Vanellope sighs. "Actually…I was the one who wanted to come here. I wanted to meet you for real. I mean, I'm scared, but…I think that you are a good character. Even if…you're a viral clone and everything. And so, I asked RJ if he could take me here. It was all my idea, not his! It was all me!"

I let out a terrified gasp. Why did she have such an idea?! I slide myself a bit away from Vanellope, while she looks at me with a confused expression.

Then it hits her.

"Wait, Terrance…are you afraid of me?!"

Oh no.

No.

No!

I can't let her know, I can't let anyone know about this! This is such an embarrassment, definitely another joke to add to the character that is already unwanted. Vanellope may look like an innocent young, even cute, girl to many; but to me…she's my worst nightmare, haunting my already bad dreams. Some nights I see her running towards me, her features angry and demonic, chasing me as she hurls a hundred insults behind my head as we run through an endless maze of hallways; it always ended with me reaching a dead end and her catching up to me, with a such a murderous, crazed expression it always sent me sweating and screaming awake in terror. Other times it was much milder, where she was simply glaring at me from a distance with a disgusted look, as if disapproving my presence within her sight. And if I'm being true to myself, I would have been disgusted by my existence as well.

I turn away more from Vanellope, as if it is possible for me to avoid her question. But it is clearly not enough.

"Are you afraid of me?" She asks again.

At that moment, I am so terrified that I can't control myself. I feel my code racing like my mad and the sweat soaking my poncho again. My head jerks up and down quickly, forming a sort of nod as an answer to Vanellope. I can faintly hear her gasp in surprise.

"But…why though? Why is that?"

I start to shake more and more in fear. I try to fumble up a response, but my trembling hands proved difficult. My words come out messy and unintelligible, and my board falls to the ground a couple of times, the ink landing on my hand instead. I suck in my breath tightly, trying to calm myself down but it is proving impossible. What simple response that only uses up seconds now takes minutes to complete, and what words that make up my sentence now have gone out of order. My vision becomes blurry, but after several minutes, I manage to shove my board back to Vanellope, and then slide myself as far away from her as possible.

I can't even hear the board being picked up, but if she did decide to read my response, this is what I had written:

Don't you hate me? After everything I have done to you in the Crash? I tried taking you away by force to be my friend, tearing down the Internet in the process! I killed hundreds of avatars; I threatened your friends; I did everything I can to capture you! Aren't you angry at everything I did? Don't you want revenge on me, to repay everything I did to you? Don't you?

I can hear her glitching again, and then she slides her board back to me. She takes a deep breath, and then starts talking.

"That's not true, Terrance. That's not true." She says. "If RJ was correct, you were already knocked out before I got captured; you weren't involved in capturing me! You didn't kill the avatars; you just kicked their human counterparts out of the Internet, that's all! Sure, you did help in tearing down some of the Internet, but you didn't do it on your own! What you did to me, you didn't do alone; it wasn't just because of you. It wasn't entirely your fault, it wasn't!

Then what's the point for me to be here? I write, shaking my head. I don't understand!

"Maybe…someone is giving you a second chance?" She asks me with a bit of hesitation. "Maybe someone thinks that you deserve to start again? Have you thought of that before?"

I shake my head. There's no point for that anyway. Even if I try to change, characters will still remember what had happened instead of giving me a chance. Not to mention they tend to report viruses almost immediately after they saw one. To everyone, I'm nothing more than a mistake, something that is not meant to exist on the Internet in the first place. And besides, I don't think anyone will ever forgive me for everything I've done, no one will.

Vanellope looks at my answer. "Really? You think no one will forgive you for that?" She asks.

I nod.

"Have you tried forgiving yourself, then?" She asks.

I shake my head again. What's the point? I write. What is the point? I hate myself, hate that I'm created by that insecurity virus, hate that I'm created with all the mistakes my original had. I'm not even a real character! There's nothing good in me to forgive and be proud of, nothing!

"What about RJ, then? Didn't he take a chance and became your…buddy? I mean, he saw something in you and took the chance, did he?" She further asks.

Angry, I slam my marker on the board, gritting my teeth as I chisel my words out. Did he?! Is that really what he had in mind? If he was really my friend, then he wouldn't have hidden so many secrets about himself, he wouldn't have left when I really needed him, he wouldn't have set me up over and over again! He wouldn't!

"I told you already! It wasn't RJ's fault that I'm here. It's my entire fault! I wanted to be here, he just helped! It was all me! Stop saying that it's his fault, it's not! It's not his fault!" Vanellope screams into my face before turning away from me.

There is silence.

The little girl takes a deep breath, and then starts talking.

"Look, I promised RJ I wouldn't say this, but I…I know how you feel Terry, I really do."

We have more things that we have in common? This is unusual. This curiosity prompts me to turn my head slightly back towards Vanellope, as if to hear what she wants to say to me.

"A long time ago, I had a mistake in my code, and everyone teased me about it. They never invited me to play or hang out with them, and…said I was not supposed to exist. A part of me wished that was really true, that…I could just vanish one day. I mean, no one could even care if I'm gone anyway."

I let out a gasp, and turn completely towards Vanellope. Had the girl completely read my thoughts? Was she able to do that? I briefly recalled the past few months I've been hiding on the Internet, trying to survive and not get caught by the authorities. No one liked a virus, no one liked a threat near them; there's really no place for someone like me. I wasn't supposed to stay; if it not for the building crash, then I wouldn't be here after all, so why should I prolong the inevitable? Why should I?

Sometimes after a rough day, maybe after a failed attempt to steal supplies or I've been spotted by the netizens, the thought of going through the Antivirus archway floated up in my mind. I knew in the Crash my brothers didn't go through the archway, but I also knew that if they did, there's no way that they can survive it. I've heard rumors that in the Antivirus District, all mistakes will be destroyed, every single one of them, vanishing from the Internet without a trace. I have a hunch of where it's at, but so far I haven't been able to completely locate it: I've never seen it in person during my trips, yet I feel I'm getting close. And when I do find it, maybe I can just…go through it and disappear, leaving the Internet and joining all my brothers. I mean, hey! There's one less virus to care about on the Internet, one less threat to look out for; isn't that worth celebrating about?

"Terrance? Are you still here?"

I shake my head, pulling myself from my thoughts and turn back to Vanellope. She looks up at me, her body slightly shaking and glitching. She takes a deep breath, and then continues.

"But then…I met someone, someone…I realized who has been through a similar process and knows what's it like to be me. And frankly…I didn't believe him at first. I thought he was joking, but then he tried his best to help me, breaking rules here and there and even standing up against the characters that bullied me before. It made me realize that even if he didn't have a mistake like I did…I'm not alone."

"With his help, I was able to prove myself out, turn my mistake into something useful, and kinda got accepted by my peers. But most of all…I found myself having a very good friend that I trusted more than anyone in the whole wide world." She finishes.

I sigh, jealous of what Vanellope had just said. How lucky can she be, having a friend that has gone through something similar and defending her for anything? Sure, RJ's a good friend, but I'm pretty sure that he doesn't know what I've been through, or else he would have told me already.

And by the end of the day, I'm still alone in the world, I still am.

For some reason, I can feel my sweat starting to become tears, and unexpectedly I choke out a sob. I turn away from Vanellope again, resting my face in one of my hands. My other hand swings naturally downward, landing on the seat that we're on. No, I can't let her see me cry. I can't let her realize that I'm crying because I'm jealous of what she has been given. I can't let her know. I can't.

I let out another sob, and then…then, I feel something holding onto one of my hands, the one that is not covering half my face right now. The grip gets tighter, and I slowly turn around.

To my surprise, the little girl has managed to slip one of her tiny hands into mine, clutching one of my huge fingers gently. A few small glitches race down her arm and up into my finger, leaving a faint tingling sensation behind.

For a while, I just stare at our clasped hands, none of us making a second move. A part of me desperately wants me to jerk my hand away, just like the first time when Vanellope tried to touch my arm before this 'conversation' happened; but somehow, I feel another part holding me back, firmly pulling me towards the girl, telling me not to run, telling me to stay, telling me to give Vanellope a chance…

I decide to listen to the latter part.

Gradually, I return my grip on the girl's hand as I awkwardly start to turn my entire body around. I can still feel myself crying, but I don't care, I don't care. The little girl returns my grip, holding my fingers tighter and tighter. I can feel my code starting to race again, but I ignore it, forcing myself to completely face Vanellope, not turning anywhere else in my seat.

As I sit there, I get a chance to take a closer look at the little girl, seeing clearly what she is really like. Her large eyes stare back at me, but I can tell that it's out of concern. She shakes her head a bit, her dark candy-filled bangs and ponytail flapping along with it. With her free hand, she smoothes out part of her pleated skirt and then tucks it back into her mint green hoodie pocket, and kicks her tiny legs with mismatched stockings to and fro, making faint thuds against the seat that we are sitting on.

Vanellope is just a sweet little girl, nothing remotely close to what I saw in my nightmares.

But then again, maybe she's just fooling me in a way that I don't understand yet.

For a while, we just look at each other silently. As I look at Vanellope, I can see her starting to calm herself down, and she started glitching less often. She shifts her position to face more directly to me, and then she begins talking again.

"I know you're scared, I am too, but…I have a feeling that this will pass, that…we are able to put everything that happened behind us and start over. We can do this, Terrance, right?"

I don't answer.

"You need to let your past go, Terry. I know you're scared, but you have to stop blaming yourself for everything! I know that you're a viral clone, but so what? I was coded as a mistake, as a Glitch, as an outcast; but did I let that define me? No! And neither should you!"

I still don't answer.

Vanellope lets go of my hand. I am convinced that she had finally given up on me when she stands up and suddenly takes a flying leap at me, a beeline straight towards my neck. I can't even do anything to defend myself when she throws her tiny arms around me, her head gently landing and resting against my chest.

I can feel my code racing in horror, and I can feel my arms fighting to rise and swat the little girl off my chest. But no, I can't do that to her, not after what she just said to me.

"You know," She mutters into my poncho. "You don't look as scary as I thought you would be. You look quite nice, and kinda…friendly really."

I gasp.

Did I hear that right?

Did she say that I am friendly?!

No, this is a mistake, she just made a mistake, it has got to be.

Vanellope pulls her head back and looks at me. I just look back at her, and then I turn away slightly, write down a response, and show her my board.

You're kidding, right?

"No…I'm not. Why do you say that?" She asks, her eyes wide.

I write my reply down. How could you say that I'm friendly when I'm really not?

Vanellope takes a deep breath. "Well…I don't really know honestly. A small part of me still thinks that you're one of the clones that tried to hurt me in the Crash, but now that I have met you, I…don't see you as one of them, really.

I raise an eyebrow. Really? I 'ask' her back.

"Really!" She says, a bit louder this time. "And you shouldn't see yourself as that as well! You're not as bad as they say you are, you're not!"

I shake my head. No, Vanellope has made a mistake, she really has.

She starts speaking again. "And yes, I forgive you, Terry. It isn't really your entire fault but, if it makes you feel better, I do forgive you for everything."

I feel my code suddenly pause.

I feel myself unable to move.

I just simply stare back at Vanellope with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide, unable to believe what she has just said.

Did she just…forgive me?!

Did she really say that?!

Did she really mean it?!

Have I really been forgiven by her?!

I can hear my code starting back up again, and I blink my eyes to clear my mind. I shake my head quickly, and then look back at the little girl hugging me.

"I really mean it, Terrance. I really forgive you. You're really a good character, and I don't want you to feel bad about what you said you did to me back then. So if that makes you feel better, I want to forgive you for everything. In fact…"

Vanellope reaches into her hoodie pocket, and pulls out a small device. I recognize it as the one that both RJ and I have for our BuzzzTube accounts. She takes another deep breath, and presses the device onto my free hand.

"I can be your friend if you want, just to show I really mean it."

I gasp, and unable to control myself, I crash backwards, falling off my seat and onto the floor. I feel my hood being knocked off, my head being uncovered before I fell completely. I take Vanellope with me, and she ends up falling on my chest, letting out a small oof! as she lands.

We just look at each other, Vanellope scooting up to crawl closer to my face. I glance over at my hand, happy to see that her device is still clutched in my grasp, undamaged.

We look at each other a second more, and then awkward, I turn my face away from her. I don't dare sit up while she's still on me, I don't want her to get hurt.

"I mean…we can still be friends, right?" Vanellope gingerly asks. I don't answer, but I can feel her scooting back to my chest. Carefully, I sit up on the floor, and wipe a stray tear from my eye.

I desperately want to nod my head, but at the same time I can hear a tiny voice taunting me, saying Vanellope and I cannot be friends. That even though she said she has really forgiven me, she is just lying and will turn away from me as soon as she has the chance, that she's actually really the crazy, terrifying girl in my nightmares all along…

"Terrance, are you…crying?!"

I turn my head further away. I don't want to let her know, but I unexpectedly let out a small whimper, confirming her question. I glance sideways at her, only to find Vanellope looking back at me with even more concern.

I turn my head back and shake it, ignoring all the ugly tears blotching my face. Vanellope smiles, and gently places her tiny hand against my check.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay. I know you're scared about this, but I'm ready for everything that happens. And I won't turn back on my word, ever."

I keep crying, but I still can't muster the strength to nod my head. There still a part of me that is still uncertain about this deal, that keeps saying that Vanellope's a liar all along. I know it's not true, but I can't seem to unhear it in my mind.

"So can we be friends?" She asks me once again.

It's now or never. I have to make my choice now. I don't know what will happen next, but what I'm pretty sure is that if I refused, I might not have the chance for friendship once again.

Vanellope and I might become enemies for real then.

I can't let that happen.

I can't.

Gritting my teeth, I tone out the tiny voice in my mind, and nod my head fiercely at Vanellope's offer. Vanellope smiles, and extends her hand to me. "Friend?" She asks, cocking her head slightly.

Slowly, I extend my free hand, and carefully hold onto Vanellope's tiny one. I shake it once, and then, can't help myself, I pull Vanellope to my chest, hugging her. I feel her device slip out of my other hand, and I throw my other arm over her, crying the hardest she has ever seen me cry.

I can feel her snuggle her head up against my chest, and she starts to softly cry too. I let out a small moan, and I cry even harder, wrapping my arms tighter in our hug. At this very moment, all the fear I'd had of the little girl has completely disappeared, replaced with disbelief that she has actually forgiven me and become my new friend. It seems like a dream, something that could never, ever happen to me.

This is all just a dream, right? I think to myself. Any moment now, I'll wake up, alone and cold in the Older Net, and trying to swat the absurd thought of Vanellope actually willing to forgive and be my friend. Yup, that's probably what's happening right now. I just need to wake up…

Just need to wake up…

"Terrance?"

I blink, and glance down at Vanellope, who is still hugging me tightly. My eyes widen for a moment as the reality sinks in.

No, this is not a dream.

Not a dream at all.

Vanellope has really forgiven me.

I really have been forgiven.

I really have.

I really have…

"You okay?" She asks me.

Looking through my tears, I nod my head at Vanellope. Yes. I manage to mouth back at her, and we continue to hug each other tightly in silence, my mind still whirling with disbelief that how all this is possible; how Vanellope has accepted to become my friend for real; how she saw that, despite that I'm a viral clone, that I can be friends with her.

Maybe all of them are right after all.

Maybe…I'm not as bad as I thought.

Am I?

I don't get my answer immediately, so I simply continue to hug Vanellope, hugging each other silently as long as the two of us can remember.