*Wilford's POV*

I was torn from my thoughts as I heard Lily's voice. "Yes love?" I covered my mouth after I said that.

She blinked. "Um...what was that?"

I corrected my voice. "O-Oh, I-I said 'Yes Lil?' heh heh, heh..."

She blinked but she didn't decide to pursue it. "You seemed kind of lost? Any reason?"

I looked over to Mark but found he was walking away with his hands in his pockets. Well, there goes my excuse!

I tried to think of anything at all. "Err, w-well, I'm just..." Then something came. "Oh! I was wondering if we could play a game?"

She raised an eyebrow. "A game? Really?"

I nodded. "It's quite simple really-are you aware of the game of tag?" She nodded skeptically. "Well, we shall engage in a quick game of it!"

"...What's the price?"

I tilted my head. "What?"

"You're always doing some sort of competition-what are we betting this time around?"

I shook my head. "No no no no no, nothing like that this time around! It's just a simple game of tag! Nothing special about it at all!"

She squinted at me hesitantly before nodding. "Alright then...who's 'it'?"

I rocked my head back and forth before reaching out quickly and touching her shoulder. "YOU ARE!" Then, I dashed away before she had a chance to strike back.

Let's have some fun!

***************************************************************

*Lily's POV*

I growled as he ran away. Alright Warfstache, you're on!

I quickly took off after the pink-stached man, determined to get him. I was not going to stay 'it'!

I quickly caught up to him and before he could try to get away, I tapped him on his back before sprinting in the other direction, laughing.

It had been a while since I had done a chase. The last chase I went on was with a man named Charles Linen. See, I had him at one point but then he went out the backdoor-a door I didn't realize existed at the time. Of course, it was a one way chase but still, it got my air pumping and my mind reeling.

It also wasn't as 'friendly' either-

I felt a hand on my back along with a, "Gotcha!" followed by a snicker.

I shook my head as I pivoted and chased after him.

I remember when I saw multiple kids doing this on a playground. They were running around and around after each other in a heated frenzy, especially when it was them who was 'it'.

I tagged Wil and took off in another direction.

I remember seeing them with smiles on their faces, all giddy to be alive and to be running, every once in a while tripping on themselves. I remember my teacher telling me to go out and join them but...whenever I played, no one ever bothered to come after me. I suppose it didn't help that I always seemed angry and on the verge of cutting people's heads off but it just taught me that the world would never accept me. That I would always be alone.

I heard Wilford calling for me but I wasn't listening as I continued forward.

I would never be like everyone else. The world wouldn't give me a chance-why should I give it one? The world was cold and it didn't ever want me. I was not meant to be here. I was not meant to be anywhere. Anywhere I am right now disrupts it and causes things to fall. I am a fault and if I am to be used, then so be it. I could only help others with a few ordeals and if that is what my life calls for, then-

"LILY!" I felt someone pounce on me from behind and we both crashed to the ground. Before we landed, he positioned himself so that he was beneath me and caught me as we fell.

I blinked and pushed myself up as I heard the other person groan in pain. It was Wilford. "Wil?" I asked as I saw him hold his head.

He nodded some and groaned again. "Ah ha ha, th-that hurt..."

I shook my head and went to move his hands. "Come on Wil, let me see."

He shook his head. "I-It's fine-oooo."

I glared at him warningly. "Wilford, let me see it."

He whimpered some before showing me his head.

Underneath, there was a little scrape there that was bleeding a little onto his dark locks. I sighed and ripped off part of my shirt to use to sop up some of it. I positioned myself over his head, dabbing the wound lightly.

"Wh-What are-"

"Quiet." He stayed silent as I went to work on it.

Eventually, it stopped bleeding and I removed the rag. "When we get home we need to clean it, alright?"

He nodded. That was when I noticed that his cheeks were really red.

I raised an eyebrow. "Wil...are your cheeks usually this red?"

He shook his head and chuckled softly. "U-Uhm, n-no. Th-They aren't...I-I guess it's f-from all of the running."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? You were only running for a little while!"

He laughed some and muttered, "Yeah, I know. Haven't been working out too well I guess."

I shook my head and then laid down next to him. It was only then that I realized we weren't near the park anymore. "...Did I run out of bounds?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I don't think you noticed it yourself. I was trying to call you to come back or to turn but you seemed to be in your own head again."

I nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking about the last guy I had to chase when he had escaped a back way. It wasn't all that hard to get him but it was just annoying."

He nodded and paused. "...Was that all you were thinking about?"

I paused. I mean, it can't hurt to tell him at this point...

"Well, I was also thinking about my years in elementary. How we'd have to go outside to play and how everyone would always go to play with each other, the 'big game' being tag. I would watch most of the time unless my teacher would bug me long enough to go play. She had good intentions but...I was never really chased. And whenever I would get tagged accidentally, they would always have this fear in their eyes if they were my next target but...eventually I just got used to it. The world never wanted me nor I it. If anything, it'll just use me as it will till the day I die and that'll be that..."

There was silence between us for some time as this sank in. I can't remember the last time it was this quiet...did I let my thought trail too much? Was he just not ready f-

He turned to me and suddenly wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. "W-Wil?" I asked.

He didn't respond for a while. Instead, he held me close to him and...I didn't fight him. Minutes passed by us as we were like this before he muttered, "Even if you believe that...I could tell you that you're wrong...Some of us do want you in this world. More than just to use but to just be around. To have as a friend..." He began rubbing my back gently. "The world is full of all kinds of people and just because the people at your school didn't want to be near you doesn't mean that for the rest of the world. You deserve a place here just like everyone else and deserve to be loved as well...You aren't alone here, Lily." He pulled away slightly and smiled softly. "You have us...and we have you...If the world doesn't want you then, hell, we'll take you with open arms!" He paused some and looked down with heated cheeks. "We...We love you, Lily."

'...They...love me?'

I felt myself being brought back to the basement and I held onto Wilford, trying to stay but my mind wouldn't let me.

I was brought back and I saw the way my mother would hold me a couple of times a day to meet whatever time was needed so that I wouldn't die. She'd constantly tell me of the story on how these babies were given all the essentials needed to live except for 'love.' They were trying to see if this case of 'love' was essential for living. The experiment was stopped about a good four months in because a good chunk of them ended up dying. Perfectly healthy but for some reason they needed 'love.' She'd claim that that was the only reason she'd hug me for so long and talk with me even.

A.N. Not sure if this is true or not-I read the article over it and everything but have heard rumors that the experiment hadn't happened. But it still does make sense in some ways...

Either way-according to her, she was the reason I was even alive...but whether or not that was a good thing, I couldn't tell.

At one point though, she began to talk softer to me. I think I was about to be three. She began to talk to me about the world outside. She began to talk about her relationship with my father-her husband. Hell, I even think she began to take teaching me things more seriously just so I'd understand her. So I'd be able to help her.

At one point, the woman even came to me and broke down as she was trying to feed me, claiming she had had enough. She's had enough of his bullshit and didn't care if some company was paying her to stay there with him...

A couple of days after that, she came down and told me her plan. I was around 5 by this time.

She told me that she was planning to leave and would take me with her. Get me away from whatever this place was. Give me a new life-a life I would get the chance to be happy in...

But as I sat and waited for her...she never came. I couldn't really tell when day and night were except when they'd bring me food but, for a while, no food came. I couldn't tell how long it took for someone to find me as I kept passing out, multiple times relying on paper to get something inside of me.

At one point I woke up to the sound of banging. I couldn't tell who it was as the door suddenly went inwards and crashed into the basement. I was too weak to move to hide but I saw multiple people come downstairs. They brought me up and out of there and for the first time, I saw daylight. It hurt like hell against my eyes but I wasn't outside for too long as they placed me in a van and put me through the process, trying to find out who I was and what I was doing down there. They were trying to simplify things but as I responded more and more with how an adult would, they began asking bigger questions. Of course, I only knew minimal things about them like their names and who they were to me. When I told them their names though, they kind of faltered in their questions. Then they made the statement that they had died in an accident a few days ago...

They held a small service for 'the sake of the child,' even though no one else was there except for me, CPS, and my new caretakers. But as I gazed into their faces...I knew something was wrong. The woman that I called my mother had died with a more horrid wound than the man but the man...wasn't my father...

I didn't know how to feel about the woman...I feel that I should have been more close to her but...I just couldn't...

And that word 'love' being tossed around as though it was some meager task and here this man was trying to say that he and the others loved me...

How could I trust that?...How could I trust anything...

Love is just some essential to life-what more can be drawn from it than just that?