Theo looks over at him, then turns towards Sadde. "What's next?"

"Next we figure out what's going on with your twin," he says, turning to look at Tyler.

"… What about me?" asks Tyler warily.

"Oh, good, he speaks."

"… He does, yes?"

"Then you can maybe tell me what's up?"

He shrugs.

"Tyler," he sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I know technically I'm dating him and not you, but... Man, come on, we've had this conversation."

"I," says Tyler, "don't know." He sighs. "I am slightly tired, I don't really exist, I am sixteen."

"...don't really exist? Under what ridiculously twisted concept of existence, personhood, and continuity are you operating that would cause this to be 'not existing'?"

"Don't really exist in paperwork. In the government system. That sort of thing."

"That's—okay, admittedly a problem, but not in principle insoluble. Erm. Even if I don't know how to solve it. But come on you didn't spend the whole afternoon looking like someone stole your candy over bureaucracy."

"I'm also not particularly magical. And Kero's pretty shit as 'help for sorcery' goes, offence intended if he can hear me, so ugh."

Kero... flies away from Theo's bag and goes somewhere else.

"Was that really necessary?"

"No," says Tyler. "But he's frustrating and I'm feeling a little bit frustrated and slightly vindictive, so."

"It's not his fault—whatever. Okay, frustrated, but what is up. And how can I help?"

He shrugs. "I'm probably just being stupidly temporarily moody. I hear it's a thing teenagers suffer from."

"It... is, yes. Erm."

"What?"

"I don't know," he sighs. "Just, I have all these instincts on how to deal when Theo is going through emotional stuff and they don't apply here so I need to figure out... something else."

He shrugs. "I might be better by tomorrow. Assuming I don't, like, disappear in my sleep or something weird – I don't know what the Twin's changed or controls about me or whatever."

"Worst-case scenario we'll just keep bringing you back?"

"Yeah, I know, I just mean– I probably need some time to work through things or just, you know, exist with things being on my mind, and if I disappear I will lose this time and I probably won't be better by tomorrow."

"Yeah," he sighs. "Well, erm. I hope you'll be alright, then. I'm—sorry, I guess, for stuff."