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edupunkn00b · 10 months

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Overruled, Chapter 2: Obfuscated

Prev - Obfuscated - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]

Written for @loceitweek, Day 2: Masks - WC: 1498 - Rated: T - Alcohol, swearing, mentions of non-consensual drugging, vomiting/nausea ---

Everything hurt.

Janus blinked against the sunbeam targeting his face, lids sandpaper against his eyes. He turned his head and sharp, hot pain shot up his shoulder and neck before radiating out through his back and limbs. “Fuck.” He couldn’t get more than a croak past his dry throat. Even his tongue and teeth hurt, his mouth swollen, arid, and foul.

“Excellent…” The quiet voice rattled through his skull and he winced. “You are awake.”

“Either that or dead,” he muttered, eyes now squeezed shut.

Bare feet slapped against the hardwood floor past him and, after a clattering racket, the red glow bleeding through his eyelids faded. “Any better?” the voice said, even quieter this time.

Janus grunted and pried his head and shoulders up off the sinking soft surface he was lying on. He fell back almost immediately, a fresh ache exploding in his head as the room spun and his stomach flipped. “Sick—” he managed before he turned and heaved up the scant contents of his stomach. There was rushed movement near him and firm hands turned him to his side.

“Get it out,” the voice muttered near his ear. “That’s it, right in the bucket… you’ll feel better.”

When he finally stopped, something cool and wet was pressed to forehead and another dabbed at his mouth, his face, his neck. Janus cracked one eye open and spotted a colorful flash of floral brocade tucked under a dark blue apron.

“Necktie,” he groaned.

“So you do remember where you are,” Logan murmured. The cloth moved away, followed by the swish of water, then soon returned, cool and soothing.

He reached out blindly, brushing against the prim knot at the other man’s neck. “It's Seattle. You’re the only man our age who owns one of these,” he said, wincing at the deafening volume of his own voice. “Let alone actually wears the damn thing.”

Logan chuckled, low and quiet. The sound rumbled through his chest where Janus belatedly realized he’d been leaning. His brain told him to sit up all the way, but his body wouldn’t listen, and his head bobbed ineffectually against Logan’s shoulder. “Take it slow,” he said, shifting until Janus’ head was pillowed against muscle instead of the sharp corner where clavicle met shoulder bone.

The cloth moved to his neck, the light pressure easing the knotted muscle he’d woken up with, and he couldn’t help a low sigh. His hand flopped to his other side, rubbing the upholstery next to him.

Janus frowned. “This isn’t my couch.” He peered through narrowed eyes, ignoring the renewed pounding in his head. “Where am I?”

“My apartment,” Logan said after a moment. “You were… unwell last night at the party. You told me you lived a mile from campus and I asked you if I could bring you here.” His movements slowed and he set the cloth aside. Janus eyed it, already missing the soft touch. “You said it was—”

“Better than fucking in the elevator,” he finished, a flash of last night filling his mind.

“Well, yes.” Logan cleared his throat, a bubble of a mirth behind his words. “I was about to paraphrase that you thought it was wise.” He picked up the cloth again and resumed dabbing against his skin. “We can both be right.”

Janus barked out a half-laugh then winced. “Oh, don’t make me laugh!”

“I shall endeavor to be as boring as possible, then.”

True to his promise, Logan fell silent, moving only to refresh the cloth once it became warm.

Dread churned in his gut until he feared he’d be sick again. Finally, he asked, “What happened?”

“I will tell you everything I know, however I do not wish to impact your memory with my own perception,” Logan said slowly. “What do you remember?”

I remember watching the door, waiting for you to arrive.

“I was at Jack’s… I had a few drinks…” He chuckled, the movement rattling his brain against his skull. He breathed into the pain and nodded. Slowly. “I’d picked which guy I’d take home if you didn’t show.”

He smirked, one eyebrow a perfect arch over those damned glasses. “You were that certain I’d go home with you?” He wet the cloth and wrung it out again. “I could’ve been there to pick up your friend.”

“Ow,” he laughed and groaned at the same time. “What did I say about making me laugh, Necktie?”

Chuckling quietly, Logan reached for a small bottle of water and opened it in front of him. “Slow sips,” he said, pressing it into his hands. “It will help with the headache.”

He followed Logan’s instructions, annoyed he was right. “You gave me water,” he said suddenly, staring down at the bottle. Logan remained silent, but after a while Janus shook his head. “I… I don’t remember much else. Fuzzy thoughts…”

The hand holding the bottle shook and Logan took it from him. “You were unconscious when I arrived.” His lips tightened into a thin line and his brow furrowed, annoyance or perhaps concern darkening his steely blue eyes.

His pupils had shrunk.

Fear.

“I was able to wake you and you told me you’d had four…” Logan shook his head and inhaled slowly. “You were far more impaired than someone who’d had four bourbons over a few hours. I… offered to bring you home and as we were leaving… A man, one of the other guests, accosted us.”

Logan turned his head and looked closely at him, that same strange mix of emotions flitting over his face, like he couldn’t pick which one. “I believe he drugged you. He… he tried to stop us from leaving.” A smile sparkled across his face. “You fought back. Half conscious, and knocked over, you still managed to take him down and pin him to the floor.”

“Hmph,” he grunted, rotating his shoulder. “That explains this.”

“Are you in pain?” Logan turned again and scanned him with those laser eyes. “I mean…”

“Nothing a hot shower and some stretches won’t solve.”

“You are welcome to…” He gestured half-heartedly toward one of the doors in the hallway. “Of course, if you would not prefer your own shower.”

Janus nodded, letting where he would shower be a problem for the future. Even this short conversation drained him and it was a struggle not to let his full weight rest against Logan’s side. His apron smelled like coffee grounds and cinnamon. He wondered if his nursemaid would allow him a cup of coffee.

The thought alone was enough to turn his stomach and he closed his eyes. The unease didn't fade and the flashes from his dreams grew brighter. “Did I… did I say anything else last night?” he asked. His fingers scrunched against the plush sofa cushion, hand empty. He’d dreamt… Janus opened his eyes with a little sigh. He’d dreamt his hand had not been empty.

“There was some… flirting,” Logan said carefully. “No more than one might anticipate given the circumstances.”

“Nothing…” There'd been music, different music that from that fucking party. Soft. A peaceful rumble. Logan’s voice. “Nothing else?”

He shifted next to him and pressed the water bottle into his hands. Logan watched silently as he sipped. “You…” he murmured when Janus lowered the bottle. “You dreamt. And… spoke a little in your sleep.”

His name sat on Janus’ tongue, heavy and sweet. He hadn’t said it in so long. “Anything stand out?” he asked, desperate to hear anything but the answer he knew Logan would give.

“You called me Gabe.”

Janus couldn’t hide the hitch in his breathing but Logan didn’t ask him to explain, didn’t ask him if he was alright. If he’d said anything about Gabe… Logan would know he wasn’t.

Logan sat quietly with him until the room stopped spinning long enough for him to lean against the back rest. “I recognize food may be the last on your priorities at the moment…” He frowned, peering closely at his eyes as he avoided his gaze. Logan then picked up his hand and pressed the nail bed on each finger, watching intently. “But you are dehydrated and likely your electrolytes are unbalanced, as well.”

Janus’ hand was still resting in his and he stared down at it for a moment before slowly letting it rest on his lap.

“If you will allow me to prepare something for you…” He began to gather a bowl and tissues from the table.

“Before you—” Janus began, watching him work. “The—the cloth was…”

Logan looked down at the cotton cloth in his hand, then nodded. He dipped it in the water and wrung it out. He smiled, a soft, gentle smile, nothing like the little smirk from before or his failed attempt to hide a laugh. Just… soft. "Forehead?"

Janus nodded once. “Thank you,” he murmured and averted his eyes as Logan carefully laid the cloth against his skin.

“It’s my pleasure, Janus,” he whispered. Janus closed his eyes, afraid the rest of his mask might crumble under the weight of that smile if looked at it for much longer. “I will return with some ginger tea and crackers. Some broth.” Logan said after a long moment. “Rest.”

Nodding, Janus leaned back against the couch and tugged the cloth down over his eyes.

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wolfprincesszola · 4 months

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The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 12

i just realized that a couple of the old chapters have some formatting issues but i'm not sure where, so ig they're staying there until i get it pointed out or find it T-T. but anyways, WOAHHHH WE'RE HALFWAY THEREEEEE~. can't wait to finish with this because the climax keeps building. as always, reblogs and likes are appreciated! enjoy <3 ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.

Trigger Warning: None

Content Warning: Possible Death, Illness, Swearing

<Previous> <Next> ——————–

Chapter 12

Patton was going to be honest, he hated the idea of having a crush on Logan. It made his skin crawl with the uncertainty of how his feelings would one day be happy to see Logan, and the next be absolutely devastated. He had crushes before, but not like this. Not like him.

He thought the worst part about the idea of having a crush on Logan was the fact that he knew Logan wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings back. Logan was too apathetic, too robotic, too studious, too reserved. Not only that, but he didn’t know anything about Logan. Sure, Patton knew his favorite color, but he didn’t know Logan's darkest secrets or what Logan wanted to study. Yet, Patton couldn’t stop talking about Logan to all his friends.

He knew that everyone was already getting annoyed at how much he could say about Logan. It was already annoying to Patton to continue talking about Logan. Patton learned more just by observing Logan. He wore the same style every day, with a pair of khaki pants (or jeans if he was feeling risky), dress shoes, a black polo shirt, and a tie. He almost looked like he was wearing a school uniform, but the tie was always different. Logan even had a system. Dark blue on Monday, light blue on Tuesdays, black on Wednesdays, brown on Thursdays, and finally striped dark blue and light blue on Fridays. On occasions, he would wear a goofy pattern that had anatomical brains or of books, which Patton admitted was the best on Logan. It gave Logan personality that he severely lacked with such roboticism.

However, after Patton dumped paint on Logan and had felt bad, he realized how pretty Logan looked in the outfit Patton picked for him. He looked more like himself in the clothes he had stolen out of his own closet. Even if it was Patton's style, Logan decided not to wear the cardigan over his shoulders the same way Patton did. Instead, he wore the cardigan like it was supposed to be worn and it looked sophisticated on him. However, it was short lived as soon enough, Patton found a bag filled with neatly folded and freshly washed clothes containing the outfit Patton had given Logan.

Patton decided to try to make it his goal to help Logan feel like he belonged in the world. Because it seemed the way Logan was dressing and the way he was acting was not the true way Logan wanted to act.

-+=~=+-

“Hey guys, what’s going on here?” Patton asked as he walked up to the group huddling. Logan and Virgil were in the middle with notes, with Remus and Janus over them, looking at the notes.

“We’re discussing Remus’s illness.” Logan spoke, pointing to his neatly written notes about what he’s gathered.

“I’m currently stuck with him.” Janus clicked his tongue as he lifted his hand to show Remus’s hand intertwined with his. “We can’t let the ghost hear.”

“Tragic.” Remus grinned at Janus to show that he was almost ecstatic to try and goof off with Janus, but Janus was keeping him from doing just that.

“And yet somehow, you guys don’t seem too sad about it.” Patton remarked as he patted Remus’s back, “You feeling alright, kiddo?”

“Yeah.” Remus nodded, looking up at Patton, who yelped and leaped back.

“What?” Logan looked up immediately, a flash of concern fading away as soon as he saw Patton was unhurt.

“Wait…it’s not there anymore.” Patton raised an eyebrow.

“What’s not there anymore?” Virgil asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Sorry. It’s just that….for a second, I swore I could’ve seen something engraved on Remus’s forehead. It looked like a symbol.”

Janus and Remus exchanged a knowing look.

“What did you do to see that symbol?”

“I just pat Remus’s back.” Patton muttered.

“Okay, stay still and try not to jump.” Logan muttered before he motioned for Remus to do something. Remus reached out and gripped his arm, just tight enough so that Patton couldn’t move it easily and just loose enough to not hurt him.

Patton watched as the symbol faded in, and soon enough he could see it on everyone around him. “Everyone has symbols.”

“Can you write Logan’s down?” Janus and Remus asked at the same time.

Patton accepted the pencil that Logan had given, and he opened a new page for him to write it down.

As soon as they did, Logan, Janus, and Remus read it. It almost sounded synchronous.

“憦.” They all murmured.

"Wait, how do you know Chinese, Logan?" Janus raised an eyebrow, "I had to learn it because it was my power and I forced Remus to learn it."

"I took 2 years of Chinese because I already knew Spanish and Latin. Our school does not offer French, therefore I chose to learn Chinese." Logan remarked, almost as if it was obvious.

"How do you already know Spanish and Latin?" Patton asked with curiosity. "That would make you quadrilingual."

"Because my brother learned Spanish, so I learned it to tell him he was stupid in several other languages. Latin, I learned to help me ace the SATs. Are you telling me you haven't learned more than two languages?"

"Alright, before we get severely off-topic, what does that character mean?"

“It’s the fate of regret.” Janus explained, “I think Patton can see my power.”

“There’s no way.” Logan replied as he went to touch Remus’s arm. Immediately, he blinked. “Hey, Virgil, check this out.”

Then, all four of them were holding onto Remus, and were all staring at each other’s foreheads.

“死.” Logan murmured, earning a kick from Janus.

“Who has that?” Remus asked, his shoulders tensing up.

“You.” Logan stared at the symbol above Remus’s head.

“Janus told me that mine was 爱.”

“Maybe it changed.” Logan looked away, clearly haunted by what he had seen.

“Please explain to the two people that cannot understand whatever language that is.” Patton scowled.

“As you know, we're looking at Chinese characters." Logan replied, “Patton, your symbol is 爱. The fate of love.”

“Great!” Patton felt his heart swell. Maybe that meant he'd have amazing luck in love.

“No, not great. It’s not a fate really.” Janus murmured, “It’s a curse most of the time. Those marked with 爱 are destined to be cursed when it came to love.”

Patton screamed internally, knowing that it meant that it was probably why he had awful luck in his crushes with Logan being the worst of the pile.

“So what does Remus’s mean?” Virgil asked.

“Death.” Logan murmured, “He has a mark of death.”

“The mark of death, the baby’s breath, the favorite sun…” Remus murmured.

Logan scribbled something down in his notebook before turning to Remus, “What are you talking about?”

“Hm?”

“The rhyming. The mark of death, the baby’s breath, the favorite sun poem.”

“Oh…it’s just something in my mind. It’s nothing really.”

By the way Patton saw Janus look at Remus, he knew it really wasn’t nothing, but he wasn’t about to call them out if Remus wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Logan let go of Remus, “Either Patton or Virgil, try to touch the other instead of Remus.”

Virgil moved his hand two inches until he was only touching Patton, “I can still see the marks, even if I’m not touching Remus.”

Janus turned to Patton, holding his arm out, “Let go of Re and hold onto me instead.”

Patton stared at him, watching the symbols fade away as he let go of Remus. Then as he made contact with Janus again, he blinked. “I can see the symbols. They went away as soon as I let go of Remus, but they came back upon touching Janus.”

“Interesting.” Logan murmured before he walked over to grab onto Remus’s wrist. “You can let go of his hand, Janus. I need as much power as I can get. Once you see my eyes turn a different color, I need you to grab onto me. I want to see if something happens.”

“Your power of precognition?” Patton raised an eyebrow. “I thought it was a passive power.”

“When Remus’s power strengthens my magic, it allows for a vision.” Logan murmured as he readied himself, relaxing. Almost immediately after he did, he blinked and his eyes flashed into a different color. The beautiful brown that came from the dirt he used to plant flowers changed into a dark blue he saw in the ties Logan wore on Monday and Fridays.

Janus took that time to grab onto Logan’s wrist as well, and soon Patton was put forth into a vision.

It was a dark room. Patton could see Logan, sitting against the wall in chains, yelling out someone’s name. He looked worse than usual. His clothes looked like they had been worn for the last five days straight and his glasses were nowhere to be found. His hair was a mess. He looked tired and as if he could fall asleep at any minute, but still, his body persisted because his mind didn’t seem to want to fall asleep.

“Caleb!”

Who was Caleb? Did Logan trust him?

“Come out, you bastard, and face me!” Logan shouted. The room echoed.

Then, out of the darkness, there was a light that shone directly on Logan. He had to blink before he stared at the man in a black tux, holding a cane. The man's hair was slicked back, and looked about 40 to 50 years old. He grinned, using his cane to lift Logan’s chin up, “You smart little boy. Thank you for using my name.”

Logan moved his face away from the cane, glaring, “Where’s Patton?”

“Ah yes, your beloved-”

“He’s not-” Logan began frustratedly.

“Of course not.” Caleb scoffed, rolling his eyes as he cut off Logan, “It’s just that you came all the way here under the pretense of thinking he was in danger because of me.”

“Under the pretense…so you don’t have him?”

“No, you dolt.” Caleb scoffed, hitting Logan’s head with the cane, causing the cane to scrape against his head. He flinched in pain, but even after the cane drew blood, he didn’t scream of pain. “You’re the bait for him.”

“Why?” Logan croaked, “There is nothing I could offer him. I have been nothing but cruel to him all his life.”

“Oh, but you’re wrong. He was the first one to authorize a search party for you. He is still looking for you, even when the search party disbands for the night. Even when your parents have stopped looking for the night to get some rest, he shows up to school after getting an hour of sleep with no luck of finding where you were. Right now, he has been a mess since you’ve been gone.”

“It doesn’t make sense.” Logan scoffed, “You’re lying.”

Caleb rolled his eyes before he waved his hand and suddenly, Patton was on screen. He was walking around a hill, calling for Logan. Patton could see the bags under his eyes and the way his shoulders drooped. He looked like he was about to collapse but still continued, trying to find Logan.

“Patton!” Logan tried to reach out to the mirage, being pulled back by the chains still clasped to his wrist.

“Believe me now, sweetheart? He cares about you because to him, you have been kind.”

Logan swallowed, his expression different than before, “Leave him alone. Leave Remus alone. In fact, leave all my friends alone.”

“Sure, but that risks you forever losing contact with your brother.”

“What?” Logan’s voice cracked. “Leave my brother out of this!”

“Unfortunately, I can’t. He's a ghost, so he’s under my territory. He may not know it yet, but I have complete control of him.”

“What did he ever do to you?” Logan let the emotions in his voice take him over. He sounded angry and sad. He sounded like he was feeling for once in his life, “He was a good kid. He had a good life. He had good potential. Why is it that he should have to be under your control when he has been nothing but good his entire life?”

“Why, he has control over you, and you have control over Patton.”

“I didn’t know Patton before Roman’s death!” Logan scoffed.

“Because I made sure of that.” Caleb rolled his eyes. “Everything has been laid out for your life, for your brother’s life since you were born. Because I knew you were the one thing most important to the special one.”

Recognition flashed in Logan’s eyes, as he tried to process the saying. “He’s the special one. Patton has something you want.”

“Yes and I am going to get it, no matter how long it takes or how difficult the task is.”

“He doesn’t deserve this.” Logan shook his head, “You can’t do this to him.”

“Oh? But I already am.” Caleb grinned, turning around and snapping his fingers. The lights went out and Logan coughed, collapsing to the ground. Despite it being all dark, with no idea of where Caleb was anymore, Patton saw the flame that burned within Logan’s eyes. The determination burned in his soul, and he knew that whatever he was up to, he wouldn’t allow anyone else to come in the way of his plans.

Patton blinked, coming out of the vision and looking around to see everyone staring at him.

“You were in that vision a lot longer than we were.” Remus remarked. “Your eyes turned brown.”

“What color of brown?”

“My color of brown.” Logan replied as he pulled Janus to grab onto Remus again as he separated from the group to go write stuff down. “What did you see, Patton?”

“Well…a vision.”

Logan rolled his eyes, “I mean, in specifics.”

“Uh…if you got the vision, shouldn’t you know?” Patton asked, not really wanting to remember the vision. The man, whoever he was, terrified Patton.

“That’s the thing though. While you were still in your vision, we were all discussing. We all had different visions.” Janus began.

“Well…Logan was in a dark room. He's chained to a wall, and he looks like he’s been there for a few days. He doesn’t look like he’s slept, but he has been well fed. He yells out for someone named Caleb to come out. A man in his middle ages walks out and they have a conversation together.”

“Anything important in the conversation?” Logan asked as he was scribbling in his notepad.

“Apparently, to Caleb, your life has been laid out from the very start. So has your brother’s. He can see ghosts because he knew about your brother being a ghost. He can definitely control the afterlife, and he seems to have a lot of powers. He was able to create a mirage, and other things.” Patton shrugged, “Oh, and he mentioned I was the special one?”

“Shit.” Janus let the word slip out of his mouth.

“What?” Logan raised an eyebrow as he finished scribbling it down.

“Nothing.” Janus squeaked, “Let’s talk about the others’ visions first.”

“Right.” Logan sighed, “There’s an earthquake in mine. Everyone is trying to escape…except for me and Patton.”

“Where are you two?”

“Don’t know, but clearly in the middle of the earthquake because someone tries to go back for me, only to be stopped.” Logan muttered.

The other visions consisted of nicer things like the six of them hanging out, but Virgil’s was especially horrifying.

“All of us collapsed on the ground unconscious. The only one awake was my ghost friend. He tried going to each of us to try and get us to wake up, but no matter what, we wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. We looked scratched up. Logan looked the worse off. There’s blood pooling from him. My ghost friend tries so hard to wake me up to try and help him. Then, a scratchy voice mentions that there was no way for us to wake up.” Virgil shuddered, “It belonged to a ghost. A different, evil one.”

Patton blinked, “What kind of a scratchy voice?”

“It sounded like an older man, who sounds like he constantly has flem in his throat. He sounds like he’s always on the verge of coughing in front of my face.”

Patton blinked, “Does he have a deeper voice and an accent when he pronounces his ‘th’s?”

“Yeah.”

“That ghost is Caleb.”

“Caleb has to be the ghost inhabiting you then.” Janus turned to Remus.

Remus made a face, “Who decided it was a good idea to put a Caleb in charge of everything?”

“Don’t ask me.” Patton held his hands up in the air, defensively. “I wasn’t in charge of naming him.”

“Alright, that’s not a problem. Patton, I know you have connections. Find anything you might have on a Caleb that died around his 40s to 50s. Virgil, connect with your ghost friend and see how they’re doing on finding out about a way to contact the ghost.” Logan ordered the two.

Patton blinked. “Sorry what?”

Logan flicked his head, “Go.”

“Now?” Patton was caught off guard.

“Yes, now!” Logan huffed, pushing Patton away, “I’ll see you later. I need to talk to Remus and Janus alone. Go.”

“Alright, you’re so pushy.” Patton chuckled as he walked out of the area, deciding to help Logan out.

-+=~=+-

Patton walked into the detention room, fully expecting to see no one else in the room. Instead, he found Logan sitting at the front of the classroom, reading next to the teacher’s desk where their principal sat.

“Oh, hello, Principal Sanders.” Patton sat down near the front of the classroom.

“It’s come to my attention that you haven’t made up any of your 60 hours.” Logan's mother raised an eyebrow, “Mr. Morris, I’ve also learned you’ve been tormenting my son and that’s what most of those hours have come from. I will now be supervising all detentions until you make up all 60, and this is a warning to-“

“Mom!” Logan yelled, slamming his book shut, “I already told you, he’s the furthest from bullying me. Stop threatening to suspend him!”

His shoulders seemed tense, and everything about his position showed he was hostile.

“Honey, I know that you are friends with him, but I think it’s perfectly unacceptable that-“

“No. You don’t get to say that.” Logan scoffed, standing up, “I thought it was weird that for the first time in forever, you decided to try and do your job as a principal. Patton doesn’t deserve the punishment you give him because I have been endorsing this behavior.”

“What are you talking about-”

“Let me finish.” Logan glared, standing up from his chair, “Maybe if you stopped living in your little bubble and for once looked outside you would see that I am not myself when I’m around you.”

“Well, sure you’re quieter, but that comes with grief.” His mother began.

“No, I’m not just quieter. I don’t feel like myself anymore, Mom. I don’t even think I feel and it didn’t come from grief.” Logan’s voice cracked, “And for once, Patton gave me that ability to feel again. Even if it was annoyance, or some sort of irritation, he let me feel and he let me be myself around him. I could’ve gone away with not giving him a fair amount of detention hours, but the truth is that I enjoy spending time with him, and the only time we can spend time together is through detention hours. It helps the both of us, because I get to feel like myself for one second that I don’t have to keep a wall of perfection around him, and he gets to feel safe in an environment where there’s no yelling. He’s a little troubled, and sometimes he lashes out in a way I don’t enjoy, or sometimes we go head to head because the both of us can’t communicate in a proper way, but that isn’t his fault. It’s yours. It’s Dad’s. It’s his parents’. We are like this because of you four, and he shouldn’t be punished for something that I purposely inflicted on myself.”

Patton was speechless. He didn’t know that Logan had felt that way about him. He didn’t know that while a part of Logan was helping Patton escape from his parents, a part of Patton was helping Logan escape from his.

“Mom, just go.” Logan sighed coldly, turning around and looking up in an attempt to not let the tears fall out, “I can deal with all of Patton’s detention hours. Fix them to where they’re accurate to the number of hours he’s supposed to have. I’ll do detention how it’s supposed to be and I’ll have him write the behavioral statements for an hour before he has to stay silent and do his homework. Just…don’t suspend him or put him on warning.”

“Logan-”

“Go.” Logan adjusted his glasses to the top of the his nose, closing his eyes.

Logan’s mother sighed, walking out, “You better have that fixed by the end of the day.”

Logan didn’t answer, still facing away from everything with his eyes closed until he was certain his mother was out. Then, he turned to close the door and walked back to the desk to pull out a box of chalk. “Alright, Morris, you heard me. You know the statements. Go ahead and fill the entire board.”

He took out a chalk and placed it gently on the table before going back into his book. Patton treaded carefully, knowing that if he tried to ask if Logan was okay, it might end in either Patton getting punched or Logan walking out, never to be seen again.

Instead, Patton grabbed the chalk and started to write the sentences he knew by heart. Logan had made him write the sentences for the first 15 hours that he served detention before he was over it and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, as long as his homework was done.

He was not even a sentence in when he heard Logan sniffling and Patton turned to see Logan trying to wipe his eyes before the tears could fall out. Then, he knew he would take the risk of bodily harm if it meant he could comfort him, and calm his aching heart.

Patton walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Logan and squeezing him.

“What are you doing this for?”

“I’m sorry that I’m a little annoying all the time, and I’m sorry that I haven’t been the best at keeping my promise of being a little kinder to you.” Patton mumbled, “But my goodness…you just have to tell me that you want to spend time with me. If I knew that I was your escape, I would’ve spent every day after school in detention with you.”

Logan didn’t say anything, but Patton felt something cold hit his hand, and he turned a bit to see Logan’s face streaked with silent tears still falling down his face.

“Jesus, you idiot.” Patton snorted, pulling the boy closer and squeezing him tighter. Logan’s arms wrapped around him as well, and he tried to ignore his pounding heart to continue comforting the boy. “Just tell me next time. I would’ve helped. I’m so sorry.”

Logan choked out a sob, burying his head in his chest as he let it all out. All the regret, grief, and anger built up inside of his for the past four years finally released and for the first time ever, Patton saw a gateway into who Logan really was.

“There, there, let it all out.” Patton mumbled as he rubbed his back.

Patton didn’t care that his shirt was being used for a tissue, nor did he think about the fact that Logan was currently hugging him like his life depended on it. He cared about the fact that Logan had never felt like himself and he wanted to give Logan that experience.

“I’m sorry.” Logan murmured.

“Take all the time you need.”

That sentence was enough to establish the relationship between his and Patton. It was enough for Logan right now. It was enough for him.

-+=~=+-

Patton stared at the post-it hung in his room. Although the rest of his house was a mess, his room was the only thing neat, organized and color coordinated. The only thing out of place was the white paper hung up on his corkboard in the middle with Logan’s name and number on it in his neat handwriting. He had yet to need to use it, but he had stared at the number so much that he had it memorized to heart.

Then again, he always had a good memory.

However, a phone call interrupted his thoughts.

Without looking at the caller ID, he picked it up, “Hello?”

“Patton. It’s Janus.” his voice sounded worried.

Patton took that time to look at the caller ID, knowing for a fact that he had never gotten Janus’s number. The name “Remus Porter” lit up and it clicked in his head. Remus had given Patton his phone number after they were paired up together the last year for a class and although they never used it again for each other, it came in handy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you doing anything right now?”

Patton heard a crash in the living room, along with the yelling he had learned to block out. “Yeah, why?”

“That sounds bad. Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Patton pressed the phone to his shoulder and cheek as he went to grab the shoes he hid in his closet. He learned that he should always have a way to escape his house through his room. He started to put it on, “What do you need?”

“Remus is in the hospital. Just…come here quick.”

“Wait, wouldn’t you need Virgil and Logan though? They know everything related to his illness.”

“It’s not that. I know everything there is to know about Remus’s illness too. The doctors just aren’t listening to me. They don’t understand that Re will die if he gets put on more pain killers. Just please…come quick.”

“On my way.”

Patton rushed over to the hospital, getting there in less than 5 minutes on foot. He was always a fast runner, and he attributed it to the fact that he had longer legs. It came with the advantage of being tall, and also living close to the hospital.

“Hi, sir, what can I help you with?” The nurse asked as Patton came into the hospital all breathy.

“Where’s Remus Porter being held?”

“Sorry, sir, but the family only permitted relatives to see him.”

“Patton! There you are!” Janus’s face melted into relief, “Remus is in the ICU and I need you to see this for yourself.”

Patton stared at the nurse who sighed, allowing him in and he rushed to Janus, “See what?”

Janus just rolled his eyes as the two of them dashed to Remus’s room where Remus was. He seemed weak, especially attached to all the machines. There was no one else in the room, but the room seemed so loud with the heartbeat monitor continuously beeping.

“Re…I brought Patton.” Janus’s voice was gentler than usual.

“Patton.” Remus croaked, holding his hand out. Patton slowly took it.

“Hey buddy. You don’t look so good. You feeling alright?”

“Shut up.” Remus laughed, “Don’t be like everyone else.”

No quip. No dirty saying. Nothing. Remus truly wasn't feeling good.

Patton snorted, “Janus called me over.”

“I caught a fever from school. Since my immune system is weaker because of my cancer, they have to look me over.” Remus coughed.

“That’s not the problem.” Janus murmured, grabbing Remus’s hand as well. He watched as the Chinese symbols soon appeared on both their heads. “The problem is that he doesn’t feel any better when I am in contact with him. He still feels just as weak, if not even more, and look at the symbol above his head.”

He watched as the symbol of death faded in and out of existence. When Patton could see the symbol, it burned bright red, almost like the color of fire. It looked like it was burning Remus’s forehead.

“Woah.”

“Usually, his symbol goes away after some time of physical contact, but that’s not the case now. And usually it’s not that color.”

“It looks bad. What does that color mean?”

“I’m not exactly sure, since the only place I’ve seen it was on Logan, and he’s very unreadable. I’m guessing it doesn’t mean something too good though. Right now, I think that it means that it means you’re closer to your curse.”

“Yikes.” Patton sighed, “How long they keeping you on bed rest?”

“Until I get better and then a day after.”

“And you don’t think you’re going to be good anytime soon?”

“Nope.” Remus laughed, turning his head to sneeze.

“Bless you.” Patton snorted, “So what you’re telling me is that he’s on the verge of death right now?”

“Everytime he eats a new painkiller, his symbol glows brighter.” Janus murmured, “The doctors won’t stop. They just keep putting him on different medications, hoping one will just stick but it won’t and it’s only hurting him.”

“How do you want me to convince them?”

“I don’t know. You’re charismatic though! You’re the class clown, everyone loves you! You’re the fun, loving Pat! There’s got to be something that you can do!” Janus begged, “Please.”

Patton sighed, “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”

Remus sneezed, and a nurse came through at that moment.

“Ah, have you brought reinforcements?” The nurse raised an eyebrow, “You have to give some reasoning to him. He’s saying we should get him off the painkillers. It’s almost a death wish for someone with cancer.”

“Except Remus’s a special case. His heartbeat’s weaker and faster ever since you started giving him painkillers. Sure, he may be sneezing less, but his blood pressure is higher. I know you’re recording everything related to his health every hour and giving him new medicines, but the thing is that it’s getting harder and harder to measure them, and you’re afraid that you’ll be sued for getting him off, but you’re actually killing him right now. Do all four of us a favor and stop giving him it. Otherwise...I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me disappointed, missy."

The nurse raised an eyebrow looking at the clipboard in their hand. They sighed, and stared at Janus, “Be glad that your friend here has better reasoning than you.”

With that, the nurse took Remus’s blood pressure and wrote down his heartbeat before leaving.

"Fun, loving Pat to the rescue." Patton flashed a smile at Janus.

Janus sighed before admitting, "Thank you. I couldn't have convinced them without you."

"Of course, Janus! Anything for my bestest friends. If that's all, I'll be going out then."

"Wait, Patton?" Remus coughed as he tried to sit up.

"Yes, Remus?"

“Can you keep this a secret from Logan and Virgil?” Remus asked.

“Why?”

“I haven’t been the most truthful about my illness.”

“What do you mean?” Patton was very concerned now.

“The ghost that’s sucking all my power…has been contacting me more recently when no one’s around. He’s getting more powerful. I can feel him fighting back against my powers, against the painkillers, and more. I feel him fighting back against the blockage of everyone, but Janus.”

“You…don’t want to tell Logan or Virgil? Why? They’re helping you!”

“And I’m so grateful for that, but there are things I just can’t explain to them. I'd rather joke around about my illness and say weird and out-of-pocket things instead of facing the truth that I am dying and there's no workaway around it."

“I’m the least knowledgeable about your illness.”

“That’s exactly why. You won’t try to find an explanation or anything. You just accept it, and will try to help me find a solution. The other two are too obsessed with finding out why it’s like that before they find how to help me.”

Patton sighed, “Logan can see through my lies, so I can’t promise…but I’ll try to keep it a secret.”

“Thank you.” Remus seemed relieved.

Janus rubbed Remus’s forehead, “Alright, get some rest. I’m going to talk to Patton outside.”

“Have fun.” Remus murmured.

The pair walked outside, and Patton turned to Janus, expecting him to say something.

“How’d you know all those things about Remus? I didn’t even pay attention.” Janus asked.

“I didn't. I just winged it, and used a bunch of terms I thought Logan would use.” Patton snorted.

“Nice.” Janus smiled, “I’m not going to stop you from telling Virgil or Logan about Re in the hospital. He’s too important for me to lose. I know Virgil and Logan are going for the slower approach, but I know that approach is probably a stronger cure than the one that Remus wants. He wants a quick and easy way out of his suffering, but it’ll be temporary. Logan wants to find out why so he can find a permanent solution. Virgil wants to make sure that nothing like this happens to anyone else again. I get his point of view, but I also get theirs. I want Re to get better now, but I know that it won’t help him in the long run, and even if we expel the ghost, there’s a chance we could end up hurting someone else. It’s your choice to make on the matter.”

Patton hated the fact that it had to be his choice.

“I trust you either way. I believe we’ll make the right decision.” Janus pat Patton’s back, “I promise you that either way, the group will find a way to get over your choice.”

“Thanks.” Patton gave a small smile. “I think I'm going to head out now. Let me know about anything that changes.”

“I will.” Janus smiled weakly. Patton could see a look of terror and worry flash in Janus, and Patton just pulled Janus into a short hug.

When he left the hospital, he opened up the phone app.

Then, he started to type in numbers. One by one, he typed in the phone number he memorized.

Hovering his finger on dial, he took a deep breath, and let it fall onto the button.

He answered right away and Patton caught a breath, waiting for him to speak.

“Hello?” Logan’s voice sounded sleepy, almost as if he was either just waking up or about to fall asleep.

“You sound awake.” Patton joked.

There was shuffling on the other side, and Patton concluded the boy was still in bed. “Shut up, Morris.” he murmured, “Sundays are my recovery days.”

“You picked up, even if you didn’t know my number?”

“Usually, the person on the other end answers first, and then I reply afterwards, based on the voice and what they say. It has to be someone I know for them to not want to say anything after dialing me first.”

“What if it’s a stalker?”

“They’d have to get through my father who has an extensive knowledge of guns, and me who was trained to use a firearm since I was 10.”

“Fair enough. Just to make sure, I haven’t crossed you enough for you to take out a gun yet.”

“Hm…” Logan yawned, “I’ll think about that.”

Patton couldn’t help the smile that came to his face, “Sorry for bothering you, Sanders.”

“Mh, you always do anyway. What can I do for you?”

“Ah, I can always talk to you later. You sound sleepy and I should let you get back to sleeping.”

“No, you’re already here. Just tell me.”

“You sure you’ll be awake to answer it?”

“I will be if you don’t keep stalling.”

“Fair enough.” Patton chuckled, “I wanted to ask about Remus.”

Logan groaned, “You’re going to make me get up to get my notebooks, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Patton admitted as he walked to a nearby park to sit down at.

He heard shuffling for a while before Logan answered, “Alright, I have gotten it, and have cozied back in bed. What do you need about him?”

“His social security number.”

“Be serious.” Logan scoffed. “I will hunt you down if I find out you made me do all of that for nothing.”

“I wanted to ask about how Remus was. Is he getting better?”

Logan was quiet for a second. “I didn’t need my journal for that.”

“Is it obvious?”

“He’s getting worse. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know the ghost is getting stronger, and there is nothing I can do about it. I’ve tried using precognition, but nothing is showing up. I think the rosary is affecting my powers too since my powers expel both negative and positive energy. The rosary sucks up any negative energy, which protects me from the ghost, but…it also hurts my power.”

“Have you tried it in the shower when you can’t have the rosary on?”

“I’m too paranoid to try taking it off. There’s no doubt I’m a target.”

“I’m sorry.” That was all Patton could say.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Uh…I got records for a Caleb Covington. I’m not certain, but I think it’s our guy. He looks like the dude I got in the vision, and he matches the description, but at the end of the day, he could be one of the workers or pawns for the ghost that’s possessing Remus.”

“Specific details?”

“He died almost 120 years ago in this city, in a freak magic show. He was a magician, apparently he was very well known for being charismatic. After he died, mediums would see him all over the place, and he was seen as pretty friendly. Then, people started to notice that he started to be worse off. Then, one day, he completely disappeared. That happened about 10 years after he died. Then, 30 years after that, ghosts started to disappear. Then, they disappeared completely about 15 years ago, and mediums started to move out of the town. Virgil’s probably the only medium in town right now.” Patton cited off all he could remember from the research he did with his friend who had access to records.

“Huh.” Logan mumbled and he heard scribbling noises being picked up by the mic.

“Did you bring a pen into bed with you?”

“Of course I did. The pen was attached to the journal. I’m not stupid.” Logan scoffed, “Right…thank you for telling me that. I’ll keep my eye out for that.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.” Patton replied numbly.

“I will definitely come to you.” Logan mumbled as he shifted.

“I should really let you sleep.” Patton thought it was endearing that Logan still listened to him fully despite still being half asleep, “What time did you go to sleep last night?”

“Ungodly hours.” Logan sighed, “Are you sure you don’t have anything else you want to tell me? I can hear it in your voice that there’s still something.”

Patton thought about it. Logan knew him too well, but he was also respectful. If Logan believed Patton wasn’t ready to tell him or didn’t want to, Logan wouldn’t press it.

Then, Patton remembered the mark that burned above Remus’s head, and he remembered Janus’s pained face, and the trust Janus had in Patton to make the right choice, and he knew that Remus’s safety was worth more than his pride.

“Remus is in the hospital.”

Logan’s steady breathing, picked up on the mic, hitched as he processed what he said, “Is he okay?”

“He definitely has been better.” Patton remarked, “He caught a cold, and I just only managed to convince the nurse to get him off the painkillers that seemed like they were killing him."

“Good. He shouldn’t be on any pain killers. I told him to stop taking the ones he got from his doctors. He should’ve known his rights. He could’ve refused them himself. Why did he have to be so stubborn and get you to have to convince the nurse?”

“I don’t know.”

“Jeez, Virgil told him to be careful around others because it’s flu season. His immune system is already at risk since we told him to stop taking any of the ones he gets from the doctors treating him.”

“You sound like a worried mother.”

He could practically hear Logan rolling his eyes.

“He’s okay, genuinely?”

“Yeah, for now. I just think that we might need to hurry the process of catching this ghost off guard because right now, he has the upperhand. If it is truly Caleb, he is continuing to get more powerful, and he’s not going to stop until he’s gotten what he’s wanted.”

“Right…” Logan trailed off, yawning again.

“You should go to sleep, Sanders. Sorry for keeping you awake.”

“Mhph, it’s fine.” Logan shifted in bed, “I’ll talk to you later though. I have a lot of thoughts about this.”

“Me? What about Virgil?”

“I’ll talk to him about it after I get more details. Until then, I’ll be sleeping again.”

“Alright. Good night, Logan.”

“Good night, Patton.”

With that, the two hung up, leaving Patton to be smiling at the thought of letting Logan be in his contacts now.

-+=~=+-

Patton liked to think he had a good sleep schedule, but that was later refuted by Logan calling him at 3 am, and him immediately picking up.

“You should be asleep” was the first thing Logan said to him over the phone.

“So should you, Lo. Don’t you need your beauty sleep?��

“Just because I’m a hypocrite doesn’t mean you should point it out.” Logan remarked, “Tell me more about how you know that Remus is dying with the painkillers.”

“So you know how he has the mark of death above his head?”

“Uh huh…”

“In the hospital, it was fading in and out, when usually after some time, it just fades. Then, when it was visible, it looked like it was burning into his forehead, and the color was more of a reddish-orange fire color.”

“Yikes. What does that mean? Does Janus know?”

“Well no, because it had never happened until this year.”

“So Remus’s the first time he’s ever seen it?”

“No…he’s seen it on someone else.”

“Who?”

“You.”

Logan fell silent.

“And I’d love to tell you what I know and what he knows about that, but it isn’t something I can answer, because no one can read you. You don’t tell us anything about yourself, and I’m glad you feel safe with us enough to even talk to us, but please, Logan, Remus’s life is at risk and-”

“It’s probably related to my brother. I hold a lot of regret towards stuff I did to my brother, or stuff I said. I guess, I’d rather keep it away from me, and yet Janus always finds a way to make me feel bad again and remember all the promises I kept to my brother.” Logan sighed, “If that’s the case, and if I feel this intense amount of regret that makes the mark like that, then we need to do something about it. Let’s call a meeting.”

“Right now? At 4 in the morning?” Patton asked, staring at the clock.

“Remus is in the hospital right now, currently dying. Do you really want to stall?” Logan pointed out.

“Good point. How are we supposed to get in contact with them?”

“I’ll deal with that. Meet me at the clock tower at school.”

“How long is this going to be? Because you have to remember that we have school tomorrow.”

“Good thing tomorrow’s a school field trip for the five of us.”

“What?”

“Hey, I promised my brother I’d save the living, but I never promised my parents I wouldn’t abuse my powers. Remus is the living who is on the verge of dying, and I’m willing to abuse a few of my powers to authorize an unplanned school field trip that doesn’t use school funds for a club that does not exist.” Logan remarked.

It was the first time Patton ever heard personality in Logan's voice, and he knew that the Logan he used to be was coming back full force. ——————– angsty logan is my fav to write fr <3 (see porch tears for one example that's so real), but logicality will always be my fav ship, even if it's not really shown in how much i make these two be tortured. but remus having development and being in so much pain that he can't even make his jokes is so sadddd :((((. ANGST DOES GET BETTER LATER THO I PROMISE <3

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and it's just two clicks of a button (trust me, likes don't do anything to help me). Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)

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naminethewriter · 1 year

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Our High School Musical Moment

Back on track with @roceit2023. This is the longest one yet, have fun! 💛💖

Here on Ao3

Masterpost | Roceit Week 2023 Masterpost

Summary: Roman auditions for a gay production of High School musical and is immediately smitten by his duet partner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roman lightly jumped up and down, trying to get his nervousness under control. This might just be the worst he’s felt before an audition, probably because it was a role he had wanted to play since childhood.

Troy Bolton.

He had fallen in love with High School Musical the first time he watched it and continued to see it again and again, never tiring of it. Having a crush on Zac Efron didn’t help. And now his college was doing a queer production of the musical with a gay romance at the center. Gabriella was now Gabriel – not the most creative choice but why chose something else if there was a clear answer in front of you.

Roman would take any role, really, but he had to try his luck at getting the lead.

“Roman Prince for Troy Bolton and Janus Drake as Gabriel Montez, please join us on stage!” The casting director called. Roman took a deep breath and made his way from the audience up on stage. The other person that had been called, Janus, came from the other side of the room with confident strides that Roman envied. He just hoped that his hands weren’t shaking as much as he feared.

“Thank you for coming, you two,” the director, who had introduced himself as Anton earlier, greeted them both when they made it over to him. “Do you know each other by chance?” Roman just shook his head while Janus replied with a simple: “No.”

“That’s fine. Take a moment to meet each other, harmonize if that’ll make it easier and then give us your best ‘Breaking Free’ performance. Just give a sign to Angela at the piano over there when you’re ready.” Anton motioned to a brown-haired girl sitting at a grand piano stage left who gave them a quick wave.

“Will do,” Roman nodded and Anton patted him on the shoulder.

“That’s what I like to hear. Just make it quick, there’s others still waiting.” He hopped off stage and Roman turned to Janus who was looking him up and down. Their eyes met and Roman was stunned by the beautiful green on the right and deep brown on the left.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly before catching himself and tagging on: “I’m Roman, I’m a theater major.”

“Janus. Law major on my parents’ insistence.” Janus held his hand out for Roman to shake. He did so and noticed Janus wearing gloves on both hands but kept his questions to himself. Right now was not the time.

“Right, so wanna do a quick voice warm-up?”

“Very well.”

They took a minute to vocalize together and Roman found that they complimented each other quite well, which Janus couldn’t refute.

“Are you ready?” Janus asked then.

“As I’ll ever be,” Roman answered after taking another deep breath. Janus watched him critically for a moment but motioned for Angela to begin anyway. The first chords filled the air and Roman’s nervousness finally flew out the window.

He knew this song by heart. He sung it a million times before. He got this.

We’re soarin’, flyin’

There’s not a star in heaven

That we can’t reach

Roman had to hold back from imitating Zac’s gesturing since he often did so when watching the movie but he was here to present his own version of Troy Bolton. He did stand close to Janus however and lightly touched his arm, to reassure Gabriel the way his Troy would do. Janus had given him permission to be a bit touchy, it was part of acting after all.

If we’re trying

So we’re breaking free

Janus’ voice was so soft, it almost startled Roman out of the moment. His acting was on point, his expression and posture truly looking like he had as bad a case of stage fright as Gabriel did, but Roman knew even from the few moments they talked before the song that Janus was definitely used to the stage. He quickly had to shake himself out of his thoughts to not miss his next lines.

You know the world can see us

In a way that’s different than who we are

Janus stepped away from during his next part and Roman felt compelled to follow him but resisted. He needed to focus!

Creating space between us

‘Til we’re separate hearts.

‘He looks so damn sad!’ Roman thought, a bit envious of Janus’ talent. But he was sure he could keep up with him if he could. Just. Concentrate!

But your faith it gives me strength

Strength to believe

Their voices melded together perfectly and finally, Roman couldn’t help but get wrapped up as the chorus began.

We’re breaking free!

The rest of the song passed like a blur for Roman. He let his body take full control, stopped thinking, and just enjoyed the performance. Dancing with Janus was effortless and soon the were on the last few lines.

You know the world can see us

Roman and Janus were facing each other, staring into each other’s eyes and Roman felt a very strong urge to pull him into a kiss.

In a way that’s different than who we are

The last chords echoed through the room. Roman and Janus were both breathing heavily. Roman leaned closer. Janus didn’t move away.

Applause.

Roman flinched away and Janus seemed to equally startle out of the moment.

“That was great, thank you!” Anton announced, suddenly back on stage. “Go back to your seats, please!”

In a bit of a daze, Roman let himself be shooed of the stage and returned to his seat in the audience. He tried to spot Janus but couldn’t make him out in the crowd. Maybe that was for the best, he needed a moment to collect himself.

The rest of the auditions passed by quickly and soon Anton announced that he would publish the chosen cast online the next week. Roman gathered his stuff and made his way out of the auditorium. He caught a glimpse of Janus and made the impulse decision to go after him.

“Hey, Janus!” he called as soon as he figured he was in ear shot. Janus turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“Roman. What gives me the pleasure of you running after me?”

“Um…” Roman hesitated for a moment. Was he really about to ask this guy out who was basically a stranger to him?

…

Fuck it. Yeah, he was.

“Would you like to grab a coffee with me sometime?” Janus’ other brow rose in surprise.

“You’re asking me out on a date?”

“Yes.”

“We just met. We barely talked.”

“I know. And I want to get to know you better. If you allow me, of course.”

Janus looked him up and down, hummed and then shrugged.

“Sure, why not. Give me your phone.” Roman did as he was asked, stunned that that had actually worked.

Janus handed him his phone back moments later.

“I look forward to hearing from you, Roman,” he said with a wink, turned around and walked away. Roman watched him and resisted the urge to jump up and down in excitement. He could do that when he was back in his dorm.

Roman made his way back with a smile. Maybe he was more like Troy Bolton than he thought.

#namiswriting #roceitweek2023 #day 5: duet #roman sanders #ts roman #janus sanders #ts janus #anton the critic #fluff #meet-cute #roman falls so fast #and janus is smitten #lot's of high school musical references #technically a song fic #sanders sides #fanfiction #reblogs are appreciated

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mogamingcanthink · 4 months

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I'm just having a crisis over the fact that my legacy on ao3 is like. A really shitty Sanders Sides fic I wrote in middle school that's in first person and probably is a horrible representation of certain communities (saying probably because I refuse to read it)

It's not *super* popular, and no one will probably actually know it, but it had several recurring readers while I was posting it and I still get emails from people giving it kudos (it far surpasses my other fics) like whyyyyyyyy it's so bad I actually have skill now like damn

#ive said i might rewrite it someday but that was in 2021 and i haven't lmao #it makes me genuinely mad though just remembering it and it's sooo much more popular than my other fics #i should write more fics though ive just been focused on school and novel writing #archive of our own #sanders sides

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calethelettuce · 8 months

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Thank You For The Music (Sanders Sides Fic)

This is actually a songfic (Thank You For The Music by ABBA) and is part of a Human AU in development :3 Let me know how it is and send me a request if you want a certain fic!

Summary: Everyone knows Roman is a singer. Virgil had decided to come over for a few hours, and the two spend time on a certain piece they'd been working on. Virgil wonders, while Roman reminisces.

Relationships: Platonic/Familial Royality, father/son dynamic Royality, best friends Prinxiety

Characters: Roman, Virgil, mentioned Logan and Patton

Genre: Fluff, minor hurt/comfort(??)

Warnings: Swearing

"I'm nothing special,

In fact, I'm a bit of a bore.."

Virgil strummed his acoustic guitar, leaning into Roman's side. He didn't expect to be bringing his hand-made, hand painted guitar over to someone's house, especially after the gruelling after-school practices the pair had just finished. It's not like he was complaining, he would take any time he could get.

Roman sang soft, his pitch perfect and his tone as smooth as butter. He closed his eyes, resting his head on Virgil's shoulder as he breathed evenly.

"If I tell a joke,

you've probably hear it before."

It wasn't often he got to duet anything with Virgil, as the purple-clad teen was always so busy with other things.

It was moments like these that made Roman cherish their friendship. Sure, he had other friends, although nobody could compare to that of Virgil Storme, your average emo teen with a favorite hoodie.

"But I have a talent, a wonderful thing"

Cause everyone listens when I start to sing!"

Roman was a good singer, and anybody who tried to tell Virgil otherwise would have a nice time laying dead on the floor. He was almost jealous of his voice, although he never cared enough to try and work on his own (even though Roman had offered to teach him, it just wasn't his thing.).

"I'm so grateful and proud,

all I want is to sing it out loud!"

Well, you know what he always said. Fuck it, we ball!

"So I say,

Thank you for the music,

The songs I'm singing."

Virgil joined in, to Roman's surprise. His voice was much rougher than his own, although the teen was never into singing much. Their voices blended together almost seamlessly, Virgil's deeper tones mixing with Roman's lighter ones like they were already together.

"Thanks for all the joy they're bringing!"

Who can live without it?

I ask in all honesty.."

Roman looked up at his best friend, who had a familiar glint in his eye. Their eyes met as they kept singing in perfect unison.

"What would life be?

Without a song or a dance,

what are we?"

Their smiles lit up the dimly light bedroom.

"So, I say,

Thank you for the music!

For giving it to me.."

The room went quiet as Virgil strummed the final chord.

Roman let out a happy squeal before slapping a hand over his mouth out of embarrassment. Virgil snickered, putting his guitar down gently beside them. "Good job, Princey," he complimented, shoving his hands back into his pockets, offering a tiny smile.

Roman liked seeing his friend smile. "To you as well, JD-lightful! I heard you join in at the end there."

Virgil's face reddened as he rolled his eyes. "I did not!" He knew he totally did.

Roman smirked playfully, nudging him on the arm. "You so did!" he teased, laughing a little, "I swear, you need lessons! There's so much talent in there somewhere!" there was a hopeful look on his face.

Virgil shrugged. "Well, I'm sure wherever you learned to sing is probably too expensive for me to do.." he trailed off, biting his lip. Roman's family was certainly richer than his, he knew, although it wasn't a topic of conversation used often.

Roman's face softened as he brushed his bangs out of his face. "Oh, Virge, I didn't go anywhere to learn!" He gestured to the door. "I stayed here."

Virgil's brow furrowed. "What now? How'd you learn without lessons?"

His friend's smile came back, even bigger than before. "Wanna know a secret?"

"...Sure?" Virgil wasn't sure what he was getting at.

Roman clapped his hands together. "My parents were singers!" he proclaimed, gesturing wildly around to nothing in particular, "They taught me!"

Virgil's mouth hung open in shock. "Are you being legit right now?"

Patton and Logan Sanders were singers once? He could see it for Patton, but Logan? That's a surprise.

"Of course! Dad's a tenor, like me, and Papa is a baritone!"

Virgil nodded slowly. "Okay.. so what does that mean?" he felt dumb for asking.

Roman sighed dramatically. "Oh, you poor thing! Let me explain!"

As Roman talked, Virgil couldn't help but let his gaze wander around the room. Theatre posters (probably from all the trips he took to Broadway) were scattered around the room, although one particular area caught his eye. Those photos certainly weren't posters, but he couldn't help but try to make out every detail.

An average sized cork board was tacked to the wall, littered with photos, artworks and playbills.

There were photos of Virgil on that board.

They were underneath the section that read 'FamILY!'. There was a completely different section for his other friends..

Roman must have noticed him staring, as the red jacketed teenager paused mid-sentence. "Virge? You okay over there, bud?"

Virgil didn't respond verbally, but simply pointed to the cork board with a confused expression.

Roman's face reddened. "OH, that! You see, that's a new addition, I got it for my birthday!" he averted locking eyes with his friend. "I can remove them, if you want."

"..you don't need to do that," he mumbled, tapping a finger on his forearm. "I was curious. Why am I-?"

"Because you're like family!" Roman blurted out loudly, his eyes darting around the room. "You're like the brother I never had!"

Virgil took a moment to take that in.

Did he really mean that much to Roman?

Virgil let out a little huff, letting a soft smile take over his lips. "Well, shit, Roman, I guess I'm not the only one who thinks that." he squeezed his shoulder lightly. "I think we'd make pretty cool brothers."

Roman nearly tackled the purple-clad teen in a hug, knocking both of them down completely to the floor. Virgil shrieked, not expecting the sudden movement, but calmed down when he saw how happy Roman looked.

"You're the coolest," Roman mumbled into Virgil's shoulder, "I wish we could hang out more."

Virgil let out an affectionate snicker. "Well, maybe when I try to get those lessons we can hang out more, huh?"

Roman gasped. "Are you thinking about it?!" He withdrew from Virgil, hopping up to his feet. "Come on, we should go ask!"

He sure gets excited easily, huh? Virgil got up slower, brushing off his sweatpants like there was dirt on them. "Hold up, wait-"

Roman was already out the door, yelling for one of his dads. "DAAAD! I need you!!"

Well, fuck.

DO I ADD MORE TO THIS LATER SKJHSG I WROTE THIS IN SCHOOL BUT I LOST MOTIVATION

#sanders sides #patton sanders #logan sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #thomas sanders #ts patton #ts logan #ts sides #tss virgil #royality #platonic royality #sanders side fic #sanders sides au #platonic prinxiety #prinxiety #im writing this in school lolol #i need help

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tiredstressedemotionalmess · 8 months

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I JUST FOUND THE OLD. SCRIPT IG?? PLANS?? FOR A KOTLC ANIMATIC I WAS GONNA MAKE WITH MY FRIEND IN MIDDLE SCHOOL HDJDGSHSG I VIVIDLY REMEMBER WORKING ON THIS WHEN I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING FRENCH HOLY SHIT

#baby seasons change but people dont. one thing abt marz is they WILL be writing during their foreign language classes #thats actually so fucking funny now that i think abt it. the trend really started there when i was writing kotlc and sanders sides fic in #middle school french class #also the song for the animatic was swan aong by sio in case you were wondering #which fits so incredibly well for that aeries not even just bc of the name

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orbmanson7 · 1 year

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Me, with every fandom I fall into: okay but how do I make a wayward children crossover for this

#last night i literally went huh you know what would be interesting? if i set up a wayward children au for reanimator #the fucking brainstorming doc is currently 3k words bc i have no control over my dumb brain but oh well #i also keep coming back to my wayward sides au which is the sanders sides crossover #i worked on it for nanowrimo to actually everything out and it's currently 22k words long #Logan's part is of course my favorite but i never figured out how i wanted to present the idea #i had gone back and forth about it being an askblog or just a fic and i just never decided #aghhhhh i wish i could just post it but it's so damn Long #i just remembered how i set up a whole thing in minecraft a while back so i could create a better visual for janus' world in the au #no fucking reason i just wanted a better visual reference of the giant world he had traveled to #and then the sims 4 version of the boarding school from the au got updated when they finally released the high school pack but omfg #i have SO MUCH that I've done for that au and jusy havent posted any of it Anywhere #it feels Awful how its just sitting around and doing nothing for anyone #orbs thought bubbles

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cee-of-thoughts · 2 years

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Remembering that moment when i wrote a sanders sides fanfiction for an story-essay FOR MY OFFICIAL EXAM AT THE END OF MIDDLE SCHOOL WHICH DETERMINED IF I COULD GO TO HIGH SCHOOL???

AND I GOT AN A+???

#sanders sides #PLEASE IT WAS IN FRENCH TOO #in france for the french exam at the end of middle school there's a part where #you have to write either an essay or a mini-story following strict instructions #AND MY 14 Y/O ASS #WROTE A SANDERS SIDES FIC #AND MANAGE TO GET AN A+???#caps tw #ceecee's bullshit

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lovelivingmydreams · 2 years

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And the next prompt is....

Homecomming!

Okay so we have "Miss me that much?" Combined with fake dating set in... high school... let's see what we can do.

#sanders sides #ts sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #prinxiety #fic #high school #fake dating #implied assault #language #cussing

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10moonymhrivertam · 2 months

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❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

Y'know what, I think I do actually have a standing answer to this! Although now I don't know whether to be concerned or not cuz it's an old line XD But I posted an unfinished (as in, bracketed author's notes still in the text kind of unfinished) fic specifically so as not to lose the line, so I shall slap it in here.

Ah. Turns out it works best as a set of lines, but it was still the first thing that popped into my head, so here goes:

CW: Non-Graphic Animal Death

Carlos was counting the lab mice, suspicious that the bonsai they lived next to may have picked up some carnivorous tendencies. [...] Carlos lost count of his mice. His hands hovered over the cage, frozen. What had Cecil just said? Miss Frizzle? Aunt Valerie ? It refused to process. Carlos turned away from the cage to grab his phone, missing as the bonsai unfurled a branch and snagged a mouse by its tail and dragged it, shrieking, into its thick leaves.

END CW

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Oh, gosh, there are a few contenders. I could say the first one I remembered making, because I got to hand it to Mary Pope Osbourne before I knew giving authors fic was Bad. And I really don't remember much about the contents of it, just that it was handwritten and I did a little cover for it.

Of my modern fic, I think I'll pick two, due to them being the fics I've shown the most commitment to.

Face to Unfamiliar Face, recursive fic of @tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors's Love and Other Fairy Tales. I think about it a lot because I'd like to do more work on it. Alas, every time I go into it thinking that this time I will post it to AO3, I start sketching out major structural edits and get scared of the workload and let the poor thing keep languishing. I should just carry it over directly and then redux it later, just for the purpose of archiving it. Maybe I'll do that today. (Thank you in advance if so, Willow 💜)

And The Princess's Son (Ba, Ba), a Witcher fic where Jaskier is Renfri's kid. It haunts me constantly. I think as-posted, it's finished and satisfying from a reader's perspective, but from my Author's Vision it's unfinished, so the haunting continues. Alas, the redux keeps stalling out in the first few chapters. And then I don't want to just skip forward to get it started with because I feel like I can better build up the Lilit stuff so it's not such a Deus Ex Machina, even if I don't think I've changed all that much about the mechanics of her whole Thing. 😭

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

I think solidly in the middle as a reader? I know I lightly avoid 'modern AU' tags in AtLA and Witcher and stuff, but not strenuously. I like plenty of Sanders Sides fic where they're proper people and not just figments in the mindscape. But I think I also prefer to read when it's not super rooted in canon, either? Fleshed out side characters and Everybody Lives, Nobody Dies for the win, baby!!!

Now as a writer...

One of my provided filter-able tags is canon divergence XD I still like to keep things pretty rooted in canon, though. I like having a scaffolding to build around. Going too far into original territory tends to make everything feel a little too wobbly.

I think the most original I get is smashing together fandoms that don't necessarily make sense based on tiny details. (Or details that aren't there. Ben Wishaw and Colin Morgan are just. Connected in my brain for some reason and so I have Once And Future...Spy?!)

#ask games #welcome to night vale #magic school bus #sanders sides #love and other fairytales #recursive fic #the witcher #james bond #bbc merlin #as of right this second i'm actually working on my hazbin fic #but I will do my very bestest to finally transfer ftuf over #cuz i remember seeing someone ask after it in the discord or violet's ask box once #which was very flattering but left me quite guilty XD #thanks willow!#gonna open a tab to hopefully remind me to send you one when i'm not working on fic

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avis-writeshq · 1 year

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DETENTION — Damian Wayne

inspired by ‘detention’ by melanie martinez

a/n: HELLAUURRR!! returning with a damian wayne fic, how typical of me hehehe >:D i actually wrote + worked on this fic for a while now, maybe two months ago? so i'm glad i've been able to post it!! i haven't edited it that much aside from the times i had to reread it to continue writing, so if there are any issues, lmk!!

tw: guns, stalking, kidnapping, s3xual assault, blood, psychopathic tendencies (not by reader or damian), arson, prayer talk, if there’s more lmk!

rating: 16+ for mature themes, coarse language, and mutual pining

wc: 6k

“Morning, Damian!” You smile, waving in greeting as you fell into step beside him. “Did you finish the maths homework?”

He nods, muttering a quiet greeting before fishing his exercise book out of his bag. “Of course I did.” He relishes in the way your eyes lit up as you grabbed the exercise book, quickly turning to the current chapter you were on. “How are you never able to do your homework on time but–”

“– But you’re the one protecting Gotham, yes, Damian, I know.” You roll your eyes as you finish his sentence, having heard the ‘lecture’ one too many times. “I was busy providing sanctum to the sad citizens of Gotham through cheese, garlic, and tomato.”

Damian was well aware of your job at Maria Pizzaria, one of the best pizza places in all of Gotham, and he was happy that you were enjoying your job — even if it did mean you couldn’t do any of your homework for the next day.

“Alright, hurry up and finish your homework,” he says, chuckling at your frantic scribbling. “What time did you sleep last night, anyway?”

You groan, not ceasing your writing as you respond, “you don’t want to know. Ms Sanders decided to give me a one-thousand-word essay to complete, so estimate on that.”

Silence settles between you for a few moments before you snapped the books closed with a grin. “... and done! Thanks, Damian, you’re a lifesaver – literally. Oh! Did you hear about the new student? Her name’s Lilith, I think. I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about it earlier.”

Strangely enough, the name didn’t seem to ring any bells in his head. Maybe this student was incredibly new, but it’s weird that he hasn’t heard about it from his role as vice president.

“I actually wasn’t told about any new students,” Damian remarks as the two of you enter the classroom.

“That’s… weird.” Your brows furrow in confusion. “Did you turn up to all the meetings? Read all the emails?”

“Who do you take me for, of course, I did,” he huffed, taking his usual seat beside you in the centre of the class. “I never heard anything about it.”

You hum, taking in his words with full confidence that he was telling the truth. If there was one thing Damian never did to you, was a lie (aside from when he hid the fact that he was Robin from you – but that was on Bruce’s call, not his).

“Alright class, can I get your attention please!” The teacher claps their hands with a broad smile. “Everyone, we have a new student today! Lilith, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

A girl, mousey looking with dark brown hair with blonde ends, piercing brown eyes, and she looked innocent enough. Just your average high schooler. But her eyes seemed… off. It was almost like she wasn’t all there. At least, it looked like that to you. Nevertheless, you were never one to judge a book by its cover, so you quickly offered to show her around the school.

Lilith, as the girl was named, took the offer happily, saying in her thick Maine accent, “thank you, Damian. Oh, and Y/N.” Which you thought was weird, seeing that neither of you have introduced yourselves yet, but you figured that if she talked to the student council, they must have mentioned the both of you at some point.

“No problem!” You smile, but Damian was unmoving, his eyes narrowing at Lilith and you notice the way his jaw clenches. “Damian…” You hiss under your breath, “welcome the new student.”

He doesn’t say anything, instead choosing to nod in acknowledgment. He moved his seat so that it was almost as if the two of you were sharing a table while Lilith sat in front of you.

“Anyway,” You turn your attention back to Lilith who was staring a bit too hard at Damian for your liking. “I can show you around the school after class. Can I see your timetable?”

“Sure,” Lilith pushes her glasses up, digging into her bag. “Here you go.”

You read through her timetable, humming and nodding at the subject choices. “I have a few classes with you! That’s good, I can show you around then as we head to class. What do you think?”

“Is Damian coming with us?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh…” you falter, trying to ignore the small stab in your heart the statement made.

“I’ll be there,” Damian cuts in quickly, and you don’t miss the way he brushes his pinky with yours from under the table.

You notice how her smile widens at his announcement, and you shift awkwardly in your seat. There was one thing you knew for sure –

***

“I don’t like her,” you announce to Damian over the phone, “she seems sketchy.”

“What happened to ‘I never judge a book by its cover’?” Damian snorts, and you hear a page being flicked in the background. “But, I do agree.”

“Maybe she’s just nervous,” you say, more to yourself than to him as you move to sit on your bed. “I mean, she is at a new school. Maybe she just feels awkward about it.”

You can practically hear him nod as he reads his book. Today was one of the rare times he didn’t have a patrol. Instead, Dick decided to take his place, saying that ‘a kid like him needed some down time’ which, to be fair, you couldn’t deny.

“I agree with you,” Damian says before continuing, “give her a few days though to adjust. We can see her true nature then.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” You say, eyes glancing at the digital clock that was glaring at you from your bedside table. “Sorry. You’re probably tired. You go get some sleep – you always sleep past midnight.”

“Coming from you that means nothing,” Damian remarks, and he laughs when he hears you groan in frustration. “Okay, I’m going to bed soon. I just have to change Titus’s litter box and finish the physics homework Mr Daven gave me.”

You grin at his words, “imagine taking physics. And you’re supposed to be the smart one.”

“Why do you think I’m taking physics?”

“Shut up.”

You hang up on the phone a few moments later, falling backwards on your bed with your back against the pillows. What you didn’t know – and who would have thought – were two brown eyes who stared into your window.

***

“I didn’t know you work here.”

A familiar – albeit, annoying – voice enters your ears and you do your best not to cringe. Lilith seemed to be following you everywhere. The mall, your classes, your hangouts with Damian, and now here. At Maria Pizzaria. When you saw her at the doorway, you felt the bile in your stomach begin to rise.

This has been happening for weeks now and you doubted that it was a coincidence. Damian understood your worries, saying that he’ll do a background check on this so-called Lilith Hart-Stone. So far, nothing. He did checks on her family, on her previous schools, on her life in general and it all points to one thing: completely and utterly normal. Even still, you couldn’t shake the uneasiness you felt every time she walked into the room. Damian would do his best to reassure you every time saying that she was ‘harmless’ and that he ‘wouldn’t let her hurt you if it came to it’.

“Aneko can you take her order, please?”

“No problem, do you mind sending this over to table 5?”

You nod, wordlessly taking the margarita and pepperoni pizzas to the table. You feel a sinking feeling in your chest, and you really hope that this ‘bad feeling’ is just you being paranoid.

Your shift continues, long and dragging, throughout the night until 10:30PM sharp. Grabbing your bags and leaving through the back alleyway exit, you make your way to the main street.

“So, you really do work here.”

You flinch, spinning around to meet eye to eye with the one and only Lilith Hart-Stone, the very person you were told not to worry about. Her hair was put into two messy space buns, and an eerie grin stretches across her face. She reminds you of someone – some anime character or something – from the way she’s dressed. It’s nothing too crazy or abnormal: just her school uniform with her skirt rolled up a few times too much so that it rests a couple of inches above her knee. Even still, she looks weird. Scary, even, and you remind yourself to be on your guard.

“What about it?” You ask offhandedly, taking a step back. Bad move.

The twisted look on her face seemed to grow, and you do everything you can to not show fear, but the look on your face must have translated what you were feeling.

“Oh, come no, Y/N. No need to be aggressive.” She giggles, high-pitched and jarring, and it takes everything in you to not cover your ears. “Don’t worry, Y/N. It’ll only hurt for a minute.”

And before you could question it, you feel a harsh blow to the back of your head, and everything fades away into yellows, greys, and blues. The last thing you see before fully slipping into unconsciousness is the evil glint in her brown eyes as she steps toward you.

***

Damian doesn’t see you the next day in school. He waits outside the school gates well into the first period, and when you don’t arrive by the second class, his stomach doesn’t settle. Lilith didn’t come to school either, he notices, and he feels the burning in his chest worsen. Something was wrong – very wrong – and he pulls his phone out to call his father. Bruce answers immediately, knowing full well that Damian never calls during school hours.

“Father, I fear something happened to Y/N.” Damian is running now, away from the school, ignoring one of the teacher’s cries of disapproval. “It might have something to do with Lilith Hart-Stone–”

“Talking about me, are we?”

Damian spins around, his eyes meeting the sinister eyes of the girl he was just enquiring about.

Bruce asks through the phone, “Damian, what is going on?”

But he doesn’t respond. Instead, he focuses on the girl in front of him. The mousey, innocent-looking girl who didn’t seem to pose a threat. But, of course, nothing is ever as it seems.

“What did you do to Y/N?” He demands, eyes narrowing to slits as he slips his phone into his pocket.

“I’m insulted that you’d think I’d do anything to little Y/N.” She smirks. “Not that you’re wrong.”

Damian clenches his jaw, balling his hands at his side, ready to strike. His tone is dangerous as he demands, “What did you do to her?”

“Temper, temper,” she cackles before clicking her fingers, the smirk on her face never fading.

In an instant, two men are at Damian’s side and he twists around to land a sharp punch to one of their faces, and a harsh kick to the other’s torso. The men retaliate accordingly: one aiming for Damian’s head and the other aiming for his side. ‘They’re amateurs,’ Damian scoffs to himself, jumping out of the way and landing a blow on one of their necks, effectively knocking him out. The other man was not happy over the fact that a kid – even if he is almost 18 – knocked his partner out in the time span of five minutes, and aimed for another blow to Damian’s head. But Damian was quicker, and smarter, too. He grips the man’s fat wrist, pulling him down and socking him in the nose.

Easy. Too easy. Something was amiss. Then he feels it. He swings around, just in time to dodge another attempted blow to his head, but not in time to dodge the knee that hit his stomach.

Damian chokes, falling back on impact, his school bag as a cushion. The one who hit him in the stomach takes a hold of Damian’s collar, punching him across the face (finally landing the blow), before pinning him to the floor, face first, while another man pins his legs to the ground. There’s no escape.

Lilith fishes his phone from his pocket, eyes flashing with excitement. Bruce, on the other end, is chanting, “Damian? Damian?” To which she responds with pure malice:

“Damian is a little busy right now. This is Lilith, by the way, but I’ll call you back soon. See you, Batsy!” She hangs up.

“What do you want?” Damian asks from the floor, cheek scraping against the gravel with each word. “Unhand me!”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be making demands, little bird,” Lilith squeals at her own words before nodding to the men. “You know what to do.”

Damian feels the pressure on his legs leave, and the man who gripped his collar lifts him one more time, and he takes in the smell of chemicals on cloth.

***

The cold air whips Damian’s face as he awakes, his eyes blinking as they adjust to the bright city lights. It is dark now – around 7, Damian figures – and the bright city lights flash in his view. Lilith stands over him, grinning ear to ear. It is only then that he realises the situation he is currently in: wrists chained to a pole on the roof of some skyscraper, and you sat in front of him, seeming to be in the same position.

“So the little bird finally decided to wake up after all.” She shrieks with delight as his eyes open.

Damian grits his teeth as he fights against the metal chains. “What are you trying to do?”

Lilith hums sadistically, playing around with the gun in her hands. “You know what? I’ll amuse you. I’m doing it because I’m in love with you.”

Her words make him sick. His stomach churns and he tries not to gag. She thought that he’d be in love with her too? After all the stunts she’s pulled? What kind of person did she think he is?

“I know, I know… ‘I don’t even know you’ and all that.” She rolls her eyes, flicking her dyed hair over her shoulder. “But what you don’t know, my love, is that I know plenty about you – everything – about you. I know what time you go to sleep, what your hobbies are, how many pets you have, all your brothers, and where you came from. I know the exact route you take to get home, I know your favourite food, your secrets, everything.”

She lets out an almost sad sigh as she says, “I just don’t know how you feel.”

“That’s an oxymoron,” Damian scowls, eyes narrowing to slits, “and I feel disgusted.”

Lilith laughs, and the sound is like nails on a chalkboard. “My naive little bird. I mean… physically.”

She’s close to him now, her face was in front of his and their noses are almost touching. Her free hand tiptoeing up his chest. He pulls away, baring his teeth in retaliation.

She scoffs, “you put me on too low a pedestal, Damian, while you make her out to be an angel. Tell me, Robin, why is that?”

The boy spits back, “Someone like you could never understand.”

She scoffs in surprise. “Don’t tell me… you’re in love with her! Big, bad, Damian Wayne – Robin himself! – is in love with poor, little, Y/N.” Lilith laughs a manic, psychopathic laugh, and Damian suppresses every feeling of wanting to lash out and yell. She continues, “and to think of all the trouble that could happen if this little… scandal came out.”

Damian doesn’t hold back as he tries to lunge at her in anguish, the cold metal chains digging into the flesh of his wrists. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, but I would,” she smirks mockingly, and Damian watches in horror as she lifts your chin with the barrel of her gun. “Y/N was so nice to me, too… but she’s the one who’s taking you away from me.” Her eyes flash dangerously, “But if I can’t have you, no one can.”

She drops your chin, and Damian sucks in a breath of relief – at least now he had a little time to come up with a plan. His father should be here any minute, but she’s armed and dangerous. She has two hostages, himself and you. There’s a fire escape on his left, but it seems to be barred and chained, preventing any sort of escape. Damian swears silently to himself. He should have seen the signs. He could have prevented all of this but he didn’t. He knows exactly what you would say to him if you heard him – “it’s not your fault” and “you couldn’t have known”.

Lilith chuckles darkly, “you should see your face! Your look of regret…” With a powerful swing, the hilt of her gun made contact with the side of Damian’s face. “Pathetic,” she muttered, and Damian watches as she checks her watch, a sinister smile stretching across her face. “Oh don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. I just have to get your father’s permission to be yours.”

She snorts, “not like it matters! You’ll be mine either way – especially if you value your life.”

His eyes widen, Father. Of course, all his father was doing was buying him some time. He watches as Lilith skips away, swinging the gun haphazardly as she leaves the rooftop. Now was his chance. Pressing a button on his watch, letting out a breath of relief at the feeling of the machine turning on, preparing for usage. Seconds later, he was free from his bonds, and he shook out his wrists, muttering quietly to himself, “thanks, Pennyworth.”

He rushes over to you, shaking your shoulders in an attempt to wake you up. “Come on, Y/N…”

A quiet, almost inaudible, groan squeezes past your lips and Damian’s heart relaxes. He got to work at your bonds, and they gave way relatively easily – the chains that were wrapped around your wrists were rustier than his. You fall forward into his arms, shaking you awake, and you grunt in discomfort.

“Damian…?”

“Y/N…” He lets out a breath of relief, helping you up to your feet as you massage your temples. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” You mumble, clutching your head as you adjusted to the bright city lights. “What’s- what’s going on?”

The boy pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, his gaze shifting to the barred fire escape. “You remember your friend Lilith?”

Your expression changes with the blink of an eye. “She did this? Are you okay? What did she do to you? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” He says gently, brushing some hair out of your eyes. “But that’s the least of our worries. We have to get out of here.”

“Damian, wait. You have to know what I heard.” You let out a breath, catching his arm. “When she knocked me out, she didn’t do a very good job at it. I went in and out of consciousness and- and I could hear everything.”

“What are you talking about?” Damian demands, holding your arms as he searches your eyes for an answer. “What do you mean?”

“She’s going to set the whole building on fire. She’s going to–” the words get caught in your throat and you shake your head in disbelief. “She’s going to burn us alive. Damian, there are people in here – civilians.”

The vigilante freezes at your words as he processes the severity of the situation. How many people could be in this building right now? There are around fifteen stories, from what he could tell, but it was already past the average working hours. Maybe five on each level? That’s still seventy-five people inside the building. He had no way to contact his father – Lilith and her lackeys decided to take his phone – and from the looks of it, you didn’t have anything on you either.

From down below, he could hear the commotion of police officers with their loud sirens and bright lights. One of them was holding a megaphone, ready to state their claims, while firetrucks and police officers readied themselves if anything were to go wrong.

“We need to get out of here and evacuate everyone,” Damian says, eyes flitting from the locked door and the officers on the ground. “I’m going to jump off the building.”

Your eyes budge out of your head at his words, snapping your head to look at him so quickly you got whiplash. “What do you mean you’re doing to jump off the building?”

“There’s a hose next to the fire escape, we’ll use that. It’s bound by a metal fire reel and you’re going to hold onto it. I’ll scale down to the floor below us and break the glass. Then I’ll open up the fire escape.” He lets out a breath, blue-green eyes looking at you intently. “(Y/N), can you do that?”

“I-” you stammer, head reeling with the fact that you needed to support Damian, an almost 18-year-old who was mostly muscle and reached six foot two last Tuesday. “I- I don’t know, I’ve never–”

“(Y/N).” He says your name in a way you’ve never heard him say it before; with a softness and a kindness that sounded strange coming out of his mouth. “You can do it.”

You exhale, eyes shifting from the ground, to the hose, and finally to him. “Okay.”

He smiles, and you can tell it’s meant to be reassuring, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Okay.”

In moments, he’s attaching the hose to his belt loops and you’re testing the strength of the hose. The thick plastic is enough to give yourself a heart attack – what if itsn’t stable? What if it breaks? What if it unties? – but you have faith in Damian. He’s Robin; he can do this. You can do this.

“On the count of three,” Damian says carefully, standing on top of the balcony wall.

“One…” He tightens his hold on the hose.

“Two…” You widen your stance against the brick safety wall that separates you and the 150 feet fall.

“Three!”

He begins to fall, and on his command, you grip the hose as tightly as possible, your feet digging against the wall. You feel him come to a stop and your heart lurches as you feel the pressure sink into your stomach.

“I’m going to swing now!” You hear him yell and you wonder how his voice doesn’t waver.

“Okay!” You scream back and your grip tighter.

He swings, and you can feel weight of the hose shift with each movement. You’re praying now, you don’t know who’ll hear you, but you’re praying that he’ll be okay.

Once, twice, three times he swings and finally, the fourth time you feel him swing back towards the building you hear a shatter. The glass gave way. He’s in the building.

You’re still gripping onto the hose just in case until you hear him call, “I’m in!”

The adrenaline is still pumping through your body, and you release the makeshift tether, collapsing backwards onto the harsh floor of the rooftop. ‘He’s okay,’ you repeat in your head, trying to calm the quickening pace of your heart. ‘He’ll be here soon. He’s going to evacuate everyone then we’re free. We’ll be okay. We’ll be okay, we’ll be okay, we’ll be okay…’

The rattling of the lock on the fire escape snaps you out of your thoughts and your heart quickens in your chest. ‘Please, please, please…’

Your gaze doesn’t shift from the door, begging to whatever higher entity there is that it’s Damian. And when the red metal door finally swings open so that your eyes meet with blue-green ones, you’ve never felt more relief in your life.

“You’re okay.” You breathe, and you shake as you get back onto your feet, stumbling towards him. “You’re okay, you’re okay…”

He chuckles, reaching out and bringing you closer to his chest. “I’m okay. You did good.” His lips brush against your forehead and you can feel the tears in your eyes begin to fall. “You did really good.”

He pulls away from you, his gaze softening and he cups your face in his hands, swiping his thumbs over your cheeks. “We have to get out of here. I don’t know how long father can stall her for.” He pauses before continuing, “are you okay?”

You nod, head still spinning and heart still pounding in your chest. “I’m okay.”

“Let’s go.”

He doesn’t risk using the elevator, instead choosing to run down each flight of stairs and ordering for everyone to leave before the building to erupts into flames. The loud screams of the workers fill your ears as you continue to go down each floor of the skyscraper, but when you finally get to the lobby, everything seemed to be eerily quiet.

“There’s no one here…” you pant, hands on your knees as try to catch your breath. From the corner of your eye, you can see the civilians running outside and being questioned by the police. Luckily, all were safely escorted outside while you and Damian trailed behind just in case someone was forgotten.

The crashing of a vase makes you whip around behind you, only to be met with the sinister eyes of Lilith herself. She lets out a strangled scream, her hands pulling at her hair as scrunched up her face. Her breaths heavy and her eyes narrowed dangerously into slits, she whips the gun from her belt, pointing at the two of you.

“You!” She screeched, hands trembling. “You little bitch. You always want to make my life miserable!”

Damian pushes you behind him and you know what he’s really trying to say. Get out of here. But you know better than to leave him here by himself.

“Always getting in my way,” Lilith rattles on, glaring at his actions. “Always acting as if you’re better than me. Well jokes on you! This building is going down, and you’re going down with it!”

“Lilith, let’s talk about this…” Damian says slowly, and he side eyes the exit. “You don’t have to do this.”

Another scream of anguish escapes from the girl, and she fires a shot into the air, hitting the ceiling. You jolt at the sound, eyes widening at the hole in the roof.

Damian’s gaze darkens. “Drop the gun, Lilith.”

“I have to do this!” She screeched, hands trembling. “The building is about to catch on fire anyway! Burn in hell!”

“Lilith, you don’t need to do this!” You try, “we can–”

She lets out a laugh at your words. “There is no ‘we’ in this equation! And you’ll never understand because you get everything you want in life! So shut the fuck up!”

The sound of something exploding from the floor above you makes you jump and you feel your heart jolt in your chest. Damian’s hands find yours as another explosion sounds. Bigger this time, and Lilith’s lips stretch to a wide grin. Smoke begins to billow from the doors and so does the fire. Another bang! on your left near the exit, and it promptly lights up with reds and oranges. Waiting area is quick to catch flames and the smoke fills your nose and lungs.

“Ooh, it’s almost done! A few more explosions to go! You know, I thought you were going to be on the roof by the time I was done, so I rigged the whole thing to start at the top floor but…” She trails off, swinging the gun around again before meeting your eyes, “now I can watch you burn.”

Damian scoffs and he pushes you towards the exit. You start running just as he speaks, “Over my dead body.”

Lilith shrugs, lifting the gun and aiming it directly at the Wayne heir. “That could be arranged. But…” the smirk returns. “I’d rather kill her.”

“Wait-”

She doesn’t. Instead, she points the gun at you and fires. You try to move, you try to get out of the way. Your mind is screaming at your legs to do something – anything – to avoid getting shot. Damian is running after you, trying to take the bullet, but it’s too late.

A searing pain burns through your abdomen and you press a hand to where the pain sits. Crimson stains your shirt and you look up. Your head is spinning and a metallic taste settles in your mouth. You stumble backwards, just in time to fall into Damian’s strong arms. A sharp beeping sound starts screaming in your ears along with Lilith’s loud cackling. In a quick movement, he picks you up and starts running out the door, only for the building to erupt in flames seconds later. Black spots line your vision and you see people in dark blue uniform surround you. Damian is yelling something, you can’t make sense of it, before he presses his forehead to yours.

“You’ll be okay,” you hear him whisper, “I’m so sorry.”

You want to ask, ‘what are you sorry for? It wasn’t your fault.’ But as the noise starts and you feel someone take you away from him, the only thing you can do is close your eyes.

***

“Thank you…” you mumble, taking the glass of warm water from Alfred.

He smiles in return, “of course, Miss (Y/N). Let me know if there is anything else you require. I understand it must be difficult to be here.”

Your current situation involves one of the many spare rooms at Wayne Manor after your surgery, and despite how loud the manor usually was on your visits, the area Alfred placed you in was all too quiet. In fact, you would think that the entire family was avoiding you – best friend included.

“It’s okay. Thank you for letting me stay here.”

“It is our pleasure to have you here,” Alfred responds graciously, and you know he isn’t lying. “I’ll have Miss Barbara change your bandages tomorrow if that is alright. Ring the bell if you require any assistance.”

“Thank you, Alfred. And you know you can just call me (Y/N) right?”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “I am aware. However, I believe that calling you Miss (Y/N) is more suitable.”

With that, he bids you adieu, and you’re once again left to your own devices. The silence of the room has you shivering despite the warm cup in your hand. The books you half-finished lay haphazardly on the bedside table, and the tv on the other side of the room deemed itself to be useless when you’ve watched every good Netflix show in the past two and a half weeks.

You glance at the clock; fifteen past one. You would usually be asleep at this time, but it hasn’t always been easy. The pain medications make you drowsy, sure, but the feeling of sleep doesn’t wash over you like it once did. Before Lilith.

The newspaper sits on your bed, the front cover bearing words you so desperately wanted to read. ‘The perpetrator who kidnapped the youngest son of Bruce Wayne alongside local teenage girl pronounced dead in skyscraper fire’. To you, those words released the weight from your shoulders. You didn’t have to be scared anymore. You shouldn’t have to be scared anymore. But you were. No one in the Wayne family, except for Alfred and Barbara, have spoken to you since the incident. To be fair, Dick was in Bludhaven and was probably still caught up in his work to even notice what was going on in Gotham. Jason hasn’t been to the manor in a while doing some sort of undercover mission. Tim was with Stephanie on a mission (to Greece, of all places!) while Cass came and went as she pleased. But out of all of them, you would have at least expected for Damian to show up – even if it was just for a moment.

The quiet creaking of the door lulls you out of your thoughts, and your eyes widen at the sight of the person in front of you.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Neither do you. But like everything, the silence must be broken.

“You should be asleep,” Damian says curtly, stepping out of the doorway.

A scoff exits your voice. “You shouldn’t have to wait for me to fall asleep to visit me.”

He flinches at your tone, a tone that you’ve never taken with him, and he closes the door. “I didn’t think you would have wanted to see me.”

Anger replaces your faux disappointment and you shoot him an icy glare. “I was knocked out, kidnapped, almost a victim of arson, shot, and you don’t think I would have wanted to see you?!”

You throw the covers off of you, stumbling as you stepped over to him. “I almost died, Damian, and you didn’t think I wanted to see me best friend?” Your chest aches and you can’t tell if it was from the gunshot or from your heart. “You thought I didn’t want to see the person who went through the same thing as I did?!”

You jab a finger at his chest, tears falling down your face, blurring your vision; you can’t see his reaction. “I saw you jump off the fucking roof! You jumped off the roof and- and-” you swallow the lump in your throat. “You could have died! We could have died and you avoided me! I haven’t seen you in weeks, Damian! You could have been dead for all I know! And the last time I saw you was the second before the doctors took me and-”

He gently brings you into his arms, effectively rendering you speechless with surprise. With his arms wrapped securely around your waist and his nose against your jaw, you wonder if this really is the same Damian you knew before the incident.

“I’m so sorry,” He breathes, pulling away to look you sincerely in the eyes. “This never should have happened, I– (Y/N), I failed you.”

“You didn’t fail me–” he scoffs in protest but you continue, “–you saved me.”

He shakes his head adamantly, squeezing his eyes shut before opening them again. “You shouldn’t have needed saving in the first place. You got hurt out of my own inadequacy and my own misjudgments. You got shot because of my incapabilities and foolishness. None of this should have happened.”

“No.” The word comes out harsher than intended but you speak nonetheless. “Lilith fooled everyone. It’s not your fault she did what she did. And you saved me, Damian. You saved so many people that day. Without you, none of them would have made it out of the building. We wouldn’t be here right now. You got us out of that mess – a mess that you didn’t make.”

He’s quiet for a moment, gently leading you to your bed to sit down and he sits besides you. He dries your tears with his thumbs, cupping your face gently with his palms as he does so.

“You shouldn’t have to look at a failure.”

“Dames, you’re the furthest thing from a failure.” You rest a hand over his, gently stroking the back of his hand with your thumb. “You’re a hero.”

You press your forehead against his and you feel him lean into your touch. “I love you.” He whispers, not an ounce of shame or guilt or embarrassment in his words. “I love you so much.”

You smile, your heart bursting in your chest at his words. “I know. I love you, too.”

reblogs are always appreciated!!

no hate to people who have the name lilith 😭😭

#damian wayne x reader #damian x reader #dc x reader #batfamily #robin x reader #batman x reader #bruce wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #damian wayne #tw arson #tw assault #tw sa mention

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edupunkn00b · 10 months

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Overruled, Chapter 4: Conflict of Interest

Prev - Conflict of Interest - Next - Masterpost - [ AO3 ]

@loceitweek Day 4: Conflict/Resolution - Logan meets someone… interesting. WC: 2128 - Rated T - CW: swearing

“Hey, you’re that guy from the party!”

Logan’s table stuttered as a lanky undergrad flipped around the chair across from him and plopped down into it. He rested his chin on the backrest and stared up at him with big green eyes. “The one with Jack’s friend.”

Marking his page with a sticky note, Logan looked back at the man—boy?—head tilted to one side. Recognition dawned. “Yes. You were the one with Jack.”

He waggled his eyebrows and offered a charcoal-smudged hand. “In the flesh.” He grinned when Logan grasped his hand. “Firm handshake,” he winked. “I like it.”

“Thank you.” Logan released his hand even as Remus’ grip lingered. He searched his recollections of that night and nodded. “Remus?”

Nice memory… His eyes widened and he continued to stare back at him. “Not from the book.”

“Plutarch's?” Logan asked, one eyebrow raised.

Remus threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, I like you!” He pulled out a pack of gum and a wave of artificial cinnamon hit the air. “No wonder you were able to bag that hottie.”

Logan pursed his lips and attempted to return to his book. “Janus and I are not romantically involved.”

“Oh, really?” Leaning sideways along the café table, Remus smiled up at him. “Does that mean you’re available?”

“I’m sorry,” Logan inclined his head with a small smile. “But no.”

His grin only grew. “No, you’re not available? Or no, you’re not interested?” He brushed callused fingers along the back of his hand, sending a shiver up Logan’s arm.

“Am I interrupting?” Janus stood behind him, face set in a poised expression. His eyes jumped between them, lingering on Remus’ hand on his.

“Well—” Remus began. He didn’t remove his hand and instead, wrapped his fingers around Logan’s.

“No, of course not,” he looked up at Janus before turning to Remus and giving him a small smile. He covered his hand and patted it before gently removing his hand from his grip. “Remus was at Jack’s party on Friday and was asking after you.”

“Yeah, that dickhead ended up at Harborview ER,” Remus said after a moment. He flexed the fingers of one hand and gnawed at his lip watching him and Janus. His gum had disappeared.

“Really?” Janus purred. He started to pull over a chair between them, then stopped, staring at Remus. His hand fell away from the chair and hung limply at his side for a moment before he tucked it into his pocket. Janus nodded once, then smiled politely. “Then it appears I am indebted to you, as well.”

“You never have to thank me for breaking a creep’s nose,” Remus laughed and cocked his arm, appearing about to playfully punch Janus’ shoulder.

He never made contact.

Almost faster than Logan could interpret, Janus intercepted his fist and twisted. His other arm came up and out and suddenly Remus sprawled on the floor, his chair rattling to the floor next to him.

“Holy fuck, how’d you do that?” he laughed, looking up at Janus.

Frowning, Janus tugged at his jacket then offered a hand up to the laughing undergrad. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Reflex. Are you alright?”

“I’m trying not to be turned on right,” he shimmied his shoulders and Logan wasn’t sure if he was serious.

“That was quite impressive,” Logan murmured. He looked almost embarrassed by the attention. He nodded without meeting their eyes. Was he ashamed? “Would you be willing to demonstrate how you did that?”

Janus’ eyes shot up, wide with surprise. A soft smile sparked at the corners of his lips.

“Fuck, me too?” Remus started to reach for him but seemed to think better of it. He sat back down, looking between the two of them. “Or at least let me watch.” He winked at Logan, clearly more than aware of his double entendre.

“Perhaps,” Janus began slowly. It was only then that Logan noticed his flushed cheeks. He nodded at Logan and pointedly eyed the exit. “Perhaps when we are not already meant to be studying?”

Logan took the hint and smiled at Remus as he stood and gathered his books. “That sounds wise.”

Undeterred, Remus grinned again. “You should call me.” Before Logan could pull out a pen and paper, Remus dug a green coptic marker out of his pocket and shoved it at Logan. He presented his palm and looked up at him. The softness in his eyes was a nice contrast to his near manic smile. Logan obliged and, holding his hand steady, printed his name and telephone number on the undergrad’s palm.

He nearly capped the marker, but looked back at him. “If I am to call you , I will need your phone number, as well. Fingers spread, he offered his left hand and watched him write. His hand was rough but warm, and his little twitches disappeared once he had a marker between his fingers, his cursive clean and artistic, almost calligraphy across his hand.

“C’mon, Necktie.”

Janus fidgeted next to him and Logan gave Remus a little wave. “We really must be going.” He began to follow Janus outside but turned and smiled over his shoulder at the intriguing interrupting to his morning. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Remus.” Logan was surprised by how much he meant it.

“Nice meeting you, Nerdy Wolverine,” he grinned as though it was a compliment and he only smiled brighter when Logan’s face warmed. “You, too, Janus,” he winked. “See ya around.”

~~~

That loud sophomore of Jack’s had actually managed to fluster Necktie. Janus watched as a soft pink spread over his cheeks when the guy cradled his hand and wrote across it with one of those smelly alcohol markers. Janus shoved his own hands deeper in his pockets, ignoring the little twitch. He certainly did not want some random guy’s name and phone number seeping into his skin for fuck-knows how long it took for that stuff to wash off, being reminded of his flirting and little smirk every time he looked down.

As they left the café, Logan kept glancing down at his hand as it dried and Janus’ hands twitched again, pushing the door open and gripping it with both hands. He wasn't bothered. Over a week had passed since he'd told Logan to direct his interest elsewhere. Far from bothered, Janus was relieved Logan was taking his advice.

He waited until they reached the path outside the Marshall Hall before asking, “Are you sure I wasn’t interrupting anything?”

“No, of course not.” Logan shook his head. “Remus is… friendly, but were merely talking.”

“Mm-hm,” Janus murmured. Logan had stopped staring at his own palm but his face still hadn’t quite lost its blush “So… will you call him?”

“Of course,” he nodded. “When would you like to show us how you flipped him?”

“No, Necktie, I mean will you call him and ask him out?” He lowered his voice as a gaggle of freshman passed them. “I don’t think he gives a fuck about my krav maga.”

“Oh?”

“He was interested in you.”

“Oh.” Logan smiled, eyes dancing. “I believe he was interested in you, as well.”

Janus didn’t say, given his behavior at Friday’s party, he was certain Remus would in interested in almost anything that moved if it looked at him right. But something was different about the way the sophomore had looked at Logan.

“Perhaps I should reserve the wrestling ring at the fitness center for us,” Logan murmured, glancing again at the bright green letters and numbers on his hand. “It’s intended for recreational tumbling, so the mat is thicker than the regulation four inches, but that should be more sufficient protection from falls.”

“You know how thick the mats are supposed to be?” Janus chuckled. “Necktie, you’ve been holding out on me.”

Logan smiled back, that soft, almost smirk. “Never, Janus. My regional high school wrestling championships have simply never come up in conversation.”

“Book the ring, Necktie.”

~~~

Three days later, Remus sat cross-legged on the floor of the school’s wrestling room, knees bouncing as he retraced a line in his sketchpad. He was early and the room was already warm, making the pastels soft and extra easy to blend. Logan and Janus hadn’t even gotten there yet, and he could only imagine how much warmer it might get. He was left weirdly grateful for Ro’s unsolicited advice to take along a little cooler with ice and water.

“Trust me, Re,” he’d nodded. “The angels who bring us ice water after a dance competition never go home alone.”

The door creaked open and Remus’ head snapped up. Janus glided into the room, dressed in a butter yellow shirt, grey slacks and a matching vest. He scowled at the large sign dictating only wrestling shoes or bare feet were allowed on the ring.

Remus grinned and leaned back on one hand, legs outstretched as he wiggled his toes. “Aren’t you a little overdressed for a go on the mat?”

Janus raised an eyebrow and looked down at Remus’ tank top and shorts. “Are you a little under dressed?”

“Under dressed, overdressed…” Remus laughed. “That all depends on what’s next on order, Jannie,” he winked.

“My name is—”

The door opened again and Logan strode in dressed in a dark blue wrestling singlet. The skintight spandex revealed every muscle he’d been hiding under that hot nerd necktie getup Logan had worn at both the part and when he’d had found him at the Coffee Haus. Remus swallowed dryly, words failing him as he watched Logan move.

Janus seemed unfazed. “No headgear?” he chuckled, voice low and controlled, and ripped his eyes from Logan, searching for any sign of teasing. Instead, he was blushing.

Logan had noticed, his smile growing. “I trust you will not seek permanent damage to my ears or head during this demonstration.” He took in Janus’ clothes, eyes lingering at his open collar and the way his slim cut slacks hugged his thighs. “I trust you have sufficient freedom of movement in what you are wearing.”

“I’m not the one who should be worried, Necktie,” Janus smirked, toeing off his shoes. “Let’s go.”

“I get winner!” Remus called and leaned in to watch.

~~~

The first round was over almost as soon as it began. Logan mimicked Remus’ playful punch to the shoulder and Janus just moved, gripping his fist midair and grabbing his other arm. He seemed to push and pull at the same time and Logan was on his back on the mat, looking up at him, eyes wide.

“Impressive,” he said, taking Janus’ hand when he offered him help up. “My feint to the right did nothing to dissuade you.”

“You are lucky we’re not really fighting or you would’ve gotten a kick to the groin for good measure,” Janus laughed.

He bowed his head. “I am quite grateful for that,” he peered up at him through the fringe hanging over his eyes with a smile. “Shall we go again? A little slower, if you would? So I can follow along?”

Nodding graciously, Janus waved him forward, repeating the move. He grabbing Logan’s fist, then his arm and push-pulled again, slower this time. Then, at Logan’s little nod, repeated at standard speed and, again, Logan was on his back on the mat.

“Again,” Logan grunted before he was even on his feet.

They repeated this dance several more times. It was beginning to take a little longer for Janus to get him down on the mat and finally, Logan grinned, sweat dripping down both their faces. His cheeks and chest were flushed but he leapt up to his feet with as much energy as he'd started. “One more time.”

“Let’s go,” Janus nodded. He was breathing a little heavily. His movements had looked almost effortless, but, just like for Logan, his perspiration gave away just how hard he'd been working.

This time, when Janus grabbed his arm, Logan ducked and moved into the hold. Shoulder tucked against Janus’ side, he pulled up, freeing his other hand and grabbing Janus’ thigh. In seconds, he’d lifted him off his feet, then dropped down to a kneel on the mat. He froze, then slowly finished the move, gently lowering Janus to the mat. Logan’s upper body pinned him down, legs twisted together so Janus’ lower half was left tangled together and preventing him from getting any leverage.

“Not bad, Necktie!” Janus laughed, voice strained. Logan let him up and they sat together on the mat.

Remus grabbed the cooler and joined them. “Fuck, that was…" hot. "Incredible," he laughed, offering each of them a drippy cold water bottle.

“Thank you,” Logan panted. He took a long swig of the water before bowing his head to Janus. “You were holding back. If I’d come across you in a darkened alley, I have no doubt I would’ve not walked away from our altercation.”

“I’ve had instructors warn us not to challenge trained wrestlers,” Janus tugged at his shirt, fanning himself. “I see why.”

“Nobody’s warned me not to challenge a wrestler,” Remus winked at Janus before sliding closer to Logan’s side and brushing away the sweat-dampened hair hanging over his eyes. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

#Overruled #ts logan #ts janus #loceit #ts remus #well‚ Janus had said to look elsewhere…#Logan Sanders #Janus Pater #Remus Prince #Roman mentioned #Law School AU #romantic loceit #eventually #loceitweek2023 #loceit week #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fanfiction

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wolfprincesszola · 5 months

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The Fate of the Marked Six Chapter 4

I need to start queueing these posts because I keep forgetting until it's late~. I hope you guys enjoy and if you do, please reblog this because it helps a lot more than a like would! <3 ——————– Summary: Virgil moves into a new town and meets Roman, a ghost that he promises to help in finding the unfinished business needed to pass over. However, Roman's past seemed to be deeply muddled with trouble, an uncurable disease that has started to affect a classmate, and a certain tight-lipped valedictorian. Friendships are made and Virgil finds himself thrown into a situation far more complicated and twisted than he signed up. Hopefully, with the help of his new five friends, he can find a way to bring peace to the town once and for all.

Trigger Warnings: None

Content Warnings: Slight swearing, intrusive thoughts

<Previous> <Next> ——————–

Chapter 04

The problem with Virgil moving to another city was that he had to be the new kid. He hated being the new kid. It meant having to reintroduce himself to every single person that came to talk to him, and having people stare at him in the hallways, the attention was going to be on him for a while, and more.

That was why he put off going to school for the first week, saying he needed more time to adjust to living in their new home and that he would go in afterwards.

It was the day before his supposed start day for school as he was looking through his closet. He heard a voice, “Knock knock knock.”

“Come in.” Virgil pulled his headphones down, turning around to see Roman phase through the wall. Unamused, he put his headphones back on, “You’re here to bug me earlier than usual.”

“Oh come on, Count Woe-laf, the least you could do is listen to me when I come up. I got bored of eavesdropping on your dad's conversations with the neighbor's dad.”

Virgil rolled his eyes as he took off his headphones that weren't playing anything. Having them hung around his neck, he focused his attention on talking to Roman. As much as he hated to admit, Roman was a really good conversationist and often played to his banter. He wasn't a bad person and wasn't a bad friend, but Virgil knew that even if he had promised to help Roman, it didn't mean that he wasn't fully annoyed at Roman bugging him every day.

“Really? That usually keeps you entertained for two more hours.” Virgil finally responded to Roman's comment about being bored.

“Yeah, well they were talking about cars, and you know how I feel about cars.”

Virgil’s lips turned up in a small smile as he remembered about Roman's unfortunate accident, “Do I really? Please…enlighten me.”

Roman scowled, “I didn’t come here to get bullied by you. I just heard that your neighbor goes to the high school you go to. Apparently, he’s the same age as you too.”

“Uh huh…and?”

“Oh come on, I know you’re feeling nervous about this whole new kid thing, but trust me. It’s not that bad. If I remember anything about high school, there’s going to be someone who will go up to you and become friends with you, even if you don’t want to become friends with them.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t even know the town’s view on magic users, or how many there are in this town.” Virgil wasn't even sure if he wanted Roman to be right. As much as it was nice to have someone to talk to as a friend, making friends by itself flagged his anxiety. It seemed like so much work, time, and socialization: three things that Virgil hated the most.

Roman pursed his lips, trying to remember about the town.

“Do you even know what town this is?” Virgil asked, watching Roman try to think of what to say.

“No.” Roman snorted, “Of course I don’t. Do you?”

“Gainsville. This has to be where you died, so why don’t you remember it?”

“What do you mean? I died in my hometown.” Roman snorted.

“What’s your hometown?”

There was a pause as Roman thought about it before his face melded in horror, “I don’t know.”

“How do you not know your hometown?” Virgil sputtered.

“I don’t know. All I know is that I lived in my hometown for my entire life, and I had a family-”

“Specifics about your family, like their names. Did you have any siblings? Grandparents that lived with you?” Chills ran down Virgil's spine. If Roman didn't remember anything about his past, that could mean something really bad happened during his life or that something more sinister was at play.

“...I don’t know.” Roman’s voice cracked as he started to realize that he didn’t know anything. “I know I had a mother and a father. I don’t know their names. I feel like I had a sibling, but I can’t remember who they were or what they looked like. Is that bad?”

Yes. It was very bad. Still, seeing Roman's distressed face put Virgil at unease. As much as he wanted to tell Roman the truth, he knew that the new ghost would probably be more terrified over something new he learned. From the looks of it, Roman still hadn't really gotten the whole 'being a ghost' thing down to a T, so Virgil decided he would tell Roman once the ghost was more comfortable.

“Well…I’ve certainly never run into a ghost that’s forgotten their past, and it’ll make things a little bit harder.” Virgil sighed, hoping that Roman couldn't hear the lie through his teeth.

Luckily, Roman didn't as he asked Virgil for more information. “Things as in…?”

“Finding what your unfinished business is.”

“Oh…” Roman seemed to slump down, clearly upset about it before he shook out of his mood, “Well, nevermind that. I came here to talk to you about going to school since you’re still a bit unsure about the whole socializing thing. I think you’re being a bit too hard on yourself. Just breathe and believe that someone will come up to be friends with you.”

“I don’t know…” Virgil murmured.

“Do you want me to join you? I can just float around and keep you company during your classes.” Roman offered.

That would be amusing, but Virgil knew that if Roman was beside him, it would probably make the principal lock Virgil away into the asylum. Virgil had a tendency to forget that ghosts were not something everyone could see, so it would be even worse in school. Again, he also wasn't sure about the amount of magic users and how they treated magic overall in the town.

“No, thank you.” Virgil exhaled a small laugh, “There could be mediums at the school and I don’t want them to judge me right away.”

Roman pouted, “But what am I going to do all day if you’re not here to keep my company?”

“My parents are home for half the day, and the other half, there are things such as the internet.” Virgil remarked, “It’s not your fault you haven’t learned how to interact with items yet.”

“I can interact with items?” Roman gaped, going to Virgil’s desk to try and pick up a pencil.

Virgil snorted as he watched Roman struggle to even make contact with the pen, the pen just phasing through his hand. “I wish I could help, but it looks like you’ve got the whole learning thing covered. See? You have something to do while I’m still at school.”

“Will you be okay there?” Roman asked, turning towards the boy and genuinely asking him.

“I will. Will you be okay here?”

“By the end of tomorrow, I will have figured out how to pick up a pen.” Roman gave a loopy smile to his friend.

“I doubt that, but I wish you luck.” Virgil saluted Roman.

-+=~=+-

When Virgil was dropped off at his school, he couldn’t help but agree with his mother about how fancy his new school was. Although it wasn’t private, the sheer size of the buildings and the way people presented themselves made it seem like they were.

Rushing into the school, it was clear the school had a system that Virgil wasn’t aware of because he almost got run over by a group of teenage boys racing through the halls. The only thing that stopped him was a pair of arms that pulled him out of the way.

Virgil turned around as he heard a boy's voice chirp in, "Woah! Careful there!"

The boy had a light-blue polo shirt with a grey cardigan that hung around his shoulders and a backpack hung from his right shoulder. He was smiling as he adjusted the black glasses on his face and stared at Virgil in front of him. "You okay there, kiddo?"

Virgil just nodded at the boy who was the same age as him. Instead of pointing out how the boy talked as if he was a middle-aged dad, Virgil just whispered out a "thank you".

“Don’t sweat it.” The boy shrugged, “You must be new here.”

“Yeah. That obvious?” Virgil pulled the sleeves from his jackets up, playing with the fringes as he desperately wanted the conversation to end. It wasn't the boy's fault. He seemed nice enough, but Virgil wasn't much of a conversationist. It was times like these where Virgil wondered about how Roman would fare in these scenarios and if he would hit it off better than Virgil was currently doing.

“Unfortunately.” He offered his hand out for a handshake, “The name’s Patton.”

“Virgil.” Virgil shook his hand before the two heard a bell sound off. The hallways seemed to almost be cleared, a few kids lingering. “Shouldn’t you be getting to class?”

“Two minute bell. I can spare those two minutes. Is there anywhere you need me to help you find?” Patton asked, kindness flowing through his words. He had nothing but the best intentions, Virgil could tell.

“If you really have time, the front office would be nice.” Virgil was relieved that someone had offered to help his because he was almost about to stumble through the hallways until he was able to find them. He would sacrifice some socialization if it meant that he didn't have to have a mental breakdown trying to find any of his classes or the front office.

“It’s right over there.” Patton pointed to the door right across from where they were looking.

Before Virgil could say anything, the two heard someone coming down the hall, and a teenage boy threatened Patton, “Morris, class?”

“Right, I’ve got to go. I hope you know where to go?” Patton smiled at Virgil. It looked almost as if his smile could be contagious from how happy he always seemed.

"Yeah, thanks." Virgil shrugged, watching Patton run to class before turning his attention to the boy who had threatened Patton.

The boy seemed to be even more formal than Patton with a black button-up, a tie, slicked hair, and black glasses that matched Patton's. He got to the point, staring at Virgil, "You must be Virgil Gray, the new kid. My name is Logan Sanders and I am the valedictorian of our class. I can show you the way around campus."

Logan's speech was all formal and apathetic too. Virgil wondered if the boy ever felt anything since the roboticism and formality seemed to take over Logan's entire personality.

“Don’t you have class?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. He doubted that Logan needed the classes anyways, being the valedictorian and all, but considering the boy had just scolded Patton for being late to class, it was making Virgil wonder.

"The principal asked me to show you around, so I was excused." Logan cleared his throat, "Let’s get you your schedule first and then I can give you the tour.”

Virgil nodded in agreement, following close behind Logan who had started to walk ahead towards where Patton had motioned for the front office. When they walked in, there was a desk where a lady sat, who Virgil could only assume was the secretary. Although she had no nametag, she was nice to him, helping Virgil with the classes right away.

“Alright, you’re all set. I’m guessing our lovely valedictorian is going to show you around.”

“You guessed correctly.” Logan replied, grabbing a binder on the side of the secretary’s desk, “I’ll return this on the tour.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet, honey. Thank you.” The secretary gave a small smile towards Logan.

"It's no problem, Ms. Inug." Logan nodded, forcing a smile on his face that looked almost unnatural. Virgil wanted to pour water onto Logan to see if he'd short-circuit, but wasn't brave enough to do so. They walked out soon after that, walking out back towards the hallway they first met.

Logan turned towards Virgil after stopping in the middle, “Most new kids don’t want the school tour. I’m asking you if you want it, or if you want to go to class right now.”

“What happens if I take the tour?”

“You skip your first period, I take you to your second, and you continue your day from then.”

“Do I need to know anything first?” Virgil asked, looking at his schedule. Math. In the start of the day. He hated math.

“You have Mr. Davidson. As much as I'd like to pride our school in having excellent teachers, Mr. Davidson doesn't seem to enjoy teaching and often relies on ineffective and outdated ways to teach a class."

So Virgil wasn't going to learn anything in math, if Virgil had interpreted Logan's words correctly. That was good, at least. He hated math.

“I’ll take the tour.”

"Then follow me." Logan replied as he walked around, giving short commentary on where they were, as well as a bit of background. The more into the school they got, the more clear it was that Logan knew the school like the back of his hand. He talked about rumors and legends that happened in the cafeteria, as well as the more prominent people in their grade.

Once their tour was done and Logan had made a quick stop to drop off the binder at the correct classroom, the two sat in the empty cafeteria, waiting for the bell to ring for Virgil to go to his second period. Virgil, noticing how quiet Logan liked to be, decided to break the ice.

“Who should I look out for?”

“In terms of what?”

“In terms of I shouldn’t piss them off or even bother talking to them.”

Logan looked up, thinking about it for a while, “Remus Porter is the king of the school. You piss him off, you have no more social life. Janus Wright is his best friend. You piss Janus off, you piss Remus off. Remus is really easy to be friends with, although most people don't stick around to listen to him talk. Just don’t piss off Janus.”

“Yikes. Is Janus a hard person to please?”

“No. If you’re quiet, he'll be okay with you. He doesn’t like loud people.”

“Okay.” Virgil took note of all that, “What about you? As a valedictorian, I’d assume you have a lot of influence.”

“I don’t let people get the better of me.” Logan murmured as he looked at the time on the watch. “The period is ending in a few minutes, so let’s start walking to avoid the crowd.”

Virgil stood up, following Logan, “Thanks for taking me around.”

“Of course.” Logan shrugged, as if it was known he would do anything anyone asked, “It’s just what I do.”

“What? Help people?”

“Yes.”

“Now, kiddo, you know lying's wrong.” A new voice remarked.

The two turned to see Patton walking behind them, raising an eyebrow at Logan.

“Shouldn’t you be in class, Morris?” Logan challenged, crossing his arms. Virgil noticed how quick Logan was to avoid the question.

“Bathroom pass.” Patton showed the pass wrapped around his arm, “Can’t bust me yet, Sanders. I just wanted to see how our new duckling was doing.”

Virgil became hypersensitive at the mention of Roman’s last name, unsure of why that was Logan’s nickname.

“Don’t call him that.” Logan scowled, “Go back to your class.”

“Oh you know you love me.” Patton grinned, “You can join us at lunch, Virgil, if you want.”

“I’m not included in this ‘us’.” Logan scoffed. “I’ll be seeing you in detention today. Don’t forget it.”

“Got it. See you two later.” Patton remarked as he walked away, going back to his class.

“You don’t seem too fond of him.” Virgil remarked.

“Patton Morris’s a class clown. To me, it means I have to clean up all of his messes. As long as I’ve known him, I don’t think there’s any way for the two of us to get along, especially when we’re such jarring opposites.”

“He seems nice though.”

“No comment.” Logan replied as he stopped at a classroom, “I’ll see you later in fourth. Are there any questions before I go?”

Virgil thought about it, the back of his head nagging to ask about if Logan’s surname was Sanders. However, he just shook his head, deciding against treading somewhere where he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to know.

-+=~=+-

Virgil walked into his English class, expecting his teacher to be chill when it was the exact opposite. Walking in, he was greeted by a chirpy “Hello”. Virgil gave a small awkward smile before his English teacher stared at his before gasping, “You must be Virgil, the new kid.”

Virgil winced at how loud his teacher was, “Yeah…”

“Oh gosh, I saw you on the roster, but I couldn’t believe it. It’s free seating everywhere, but I want you to-”

“Miss Loanes, leave the new kid alone.” A guy walking into the class snorted, “I love your enthusiasm, but half the class could not and would not care if they walked up and spent the entire class period talking about themselves.”

His English teacher paused before sighing, “You’re right, Remus.”

“New kid, sit with me.” Remus flashed a smile, offering the seat across from him. There was already a quiet guy sitting there with a face mask covering the bottom half of his face. From what Virgil could see, the guy had a scar on the left side of his face that he was trying to hide with spots of makeup and the face mask.

“What’s your name?” Remus grinned at Virgil expectantly.

“Virgil. You’re Remus, right?”

“I am him.” Remus confirmed, motioning to the boy he sat next to, ‘This is Janus, my best friend.”

Virgil remembered vaguely about what Logan said to not piss them off, “I’ve heard that you two are an undefeatable pair of best friends.”

“Untrue. He’s just a loud asshole who won’t stop talking to me.” Janus finally spoke, crossing his arms, “And he’s powerless too. I mean…pick a struggle, Remus.”

Remus rolled his eyes, “Okay, like you’re any different. You’re powerless too.”

Virgil watched Janus’s eyes flicker to Remus’s forehead as if he was staring at a mark, and Virgil looked there, expecting there to be a sharpie mark or something. There was nothing. It was clear Janus wasn't letting onto his powers. Whatever his power was, it was the most clear on Remus.

“Do you have powers?” Janus asked, “If I may ask.”

“Uh…” Virgil dragged out, wondering if he should lie or not. However, by the way that they seemed genuinely interested and not like they were going to capitalize on powers, he decided to be truthful. “I’m a medium. I can see ghosts.”

“Wait, really?” Remus’s face melded into interest, “How does that work? Can you hear them? Can you touch them? Can you-”

Janus cut Remus off before the boy could say anything more, "Let's not freak out the new kid just yet, Remus."

"You're no fun, Jan." Remus pouted, but still left the sentence unfinished.

Although confused, Virgil just moved on, hoping that Remus wasn't going to ask what Virgil thought Remus was going to ask. "Well, when ghosts die, there are some who have unfinished business. Those ghosts reside in between the spiritual world and the real world, and so they are in our world, but no one but mediums can see them. There are some mediums that can reach into the spirit world and talk to those ghosts, but I’m only the type of medium who can see ghosts with unfinished business. They can only move onto the next world once they finish their business.”

“How do they know their unfinished business?”

“They don’t. Most ghosts spend thousands of years trying to figure out what it is. Sometimes it’s getting their name in headlights, and sometimes it’s making things up with family members. I try to help as many ghosts as I run across to return to the spiritual world.”

"Ooh, has any of the ghosts' wishes ever been to watch someone shove a butt-"

"Remus Porter." Janus glared at his best friend, "What did I say about not freaking out your newfound friend?"

Although Janus had interrupted Remus before the boy could finish, Virgil could guess what Remus wanted to ask and he now understood why Logan said most people don't stick around long enough for Remus to talk.

"Hey, Jan, unlike you, I don't hide anything." Remus grinned.

"Clearly." Virgil grumbled as he desperately tried to erase any of the thoughts implanted into his head from Remus.

"You seem cool.” Janus remarked, “If you want to, there’s a place for you to sit with us at lunch.”

“Thanks." Virgil nodded. Although it seemed that the pair were weird, they seemed to be more together than most of the people at the school. They knew who they were and weren't ashamed of their place in high school. Virgil knew that they would probably be Virgil's go-to people to sit. "Patton also told me that. Apparently he likes to sit with Logan?”

Remus giggled. “No way. Valedictorian Logan Sanders?”

“Yeah, why? Is it that unbelievable?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. He had seen how much Logan was exasperated around Patton, but Patton didn't seem to have any ill intent or ill feelings towards Logan.

"Patton's been Logan's enemy since he first entered this building day 1. Logan was asked to show Patton around, since he was the principal’s son. He showed up to lunch doused in ketchup because Patton thought it would be funny to dump it on him after Logan mentioned loving tomatoes. It was meant to be a lighthearted prank and had it been anyone else in the school, it would've been fine. However, something snapped in Logan and he stopped telling people anything about himself after that. In fact, he stopped being friends with people after that." Janus remarked.

“Why?”

“Don’t know. All I know is that I don’t need to piss off the principal’s son anytime soon because he has power, both as a stepping stone to getting expelled, and a stepping stone towards getting hundreds of detention hours.”

“Got it, so don’t mess with Logan.”

“Don’t mess with the Sanders. I’ve heard his brother is pretty nasty too. Don’t know anything about him though because Logan never talks about his life.”

“Interesting.” Virgil noted the fact that Logan’s last name was also Sanders. However, once Virgil realized that Logan looked nothing like Roman, all of his logic was figuratively thrown out the window.

Before anyone could say anything more, the bell had rung and the three had to be quiet as they listened to the lecture.

-+=~=+-

The cafeteria was chaotic during lunch. Virgil had packed lunch, just in case he didn’t like the menu, as he was very stubborn in food. However, it was the direct opposite why he was glad he packed lunch. The options seemed so amazingly good, but they were all gone by the time he walked into the cafeteria.

Walking into the cafeteria, he glanced around aimlessly until he heard a voice.

“Virgil!”

He looked to where the voice was calling his to see Remus waving and smiling. Janus seemed to be staring, almost embarrassed and trying to get Remus to stop. They were both sitting at the table in the middle, with no one around them but everyone was still staring at them. Remus was currently eating his plate while Janus was playing a game on his phone.

Virgil just walked over, going over to sit with them.

“You bring lunch?” Remus asked, “What did you bring?”

“Pasta.” Virgil shrugged, “But the food options look amazing.”

“Here.” Janus pushed his plate towards Virgil, “I don’t like any of it. Remus always makes me get an extra plate because he’s hoping one day I’ll eat at school. He always eats my plate at the end of the day, but I’m afraid that he pretends like he’s not too full by the end of it. Spare the both of us.”

Virgil gave a small smile, grabbing it, “Thank you, Janus.”

Janus shrugged, going back to his game, “Let me know if you have any allergies next time. I can get lunch for you.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’ll see if I can arrive early to grab it-”

“No, that’s not how this lunch thing works. It always gets sold out before the bell even rings. Trust me, we have a system to even get it. Let my little pogchamp get it for you.” Remus remarked, ruffling Janus' hair

“You call me that again and I’ll break your dick in half like a glowstick.” Janus threatened as he didn’t bother to even look up, continuing with playing the game on his phone.

“Alright, thanks, Janus.”

"Do you have room for another two?" A familiar voice came through.

The three looked up to see Patton grinning, holding Logan's collar behind him. Logan had his arms crossed as he was holding a clipboard and pencil.

“Sure.” Remus shrugged, making room for the two of them on the side Janus and him were on. Patton took the offer, but Logan went to sit next to Virgil, taking out a worksheet.

“Our one and only valedictorian. So studious.” Patton remarked with a genuine awe laced. It was clear to Virgil that Patton looked up to Logan a lot, even if it may not have been requited.

“He dragged me out of my club meeting.” Logan seemed annoyed, “Said they could run it without the president.”

“You have no trust in your board members.” Patton argued.

“I have all the trust in them! I have zero trust in you.” Logan glared as he worked on his math.

“Cookie?” Virgil offered the pissed off boy the chocolate chip cookie, which Logan gladly took.

“Thank you, Virgil.” He grumbled, going back to working on his homework.

“How's your first day been?” Patton asked, changing the subject.

“Good. Chaotic, but good. I made a couple new friends today.” Virgil nodded.

Patton flashed a smile, “I hope it’s the five of us here today.”

“Yeah.” Virgil cleared his throat, trying to hide his flush.

“Stop doing your homework for one second, Sanders, and pay attention to the conversation.” Patton swiped away Logan’s homework, leaving Logan to death-glare him. Patton's tone reminded Virgil of almost like a disappointed dad.

“I thought you said you don’t let people get the better of you.” Virgil remarked.

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking of Patton Morris when I said it.” Logan rolled his eyes, pulling out a yellow slip of paper, writing Patton’s name on it and giving it to him. “Virgil, have you seen the rest of the city, or met anyone else around these parts?”

“No, why?”

“Well, it is a small city. You are bound to know people.” Logan shrugged, “I was just wondering because if not, you should check out the museum downtown. They finally added a few new sections.”

“What? Really? Why didn’t we hear about it?” Patton perked up, “I love the downtown museum. We should all go there and check it out one day.”

"I don't know, Patton." Janus raised an eyebrow, "We're all not that great of friends."

"This is a great way to make us friends! We would get to know each other.”

"Ooo, in that case, count me in." Remus grinned, wiggling his shoulders in interest, "We could list all the different ways you could kill someone in alphabetical order while we're there."

Patton's eyes widened at the thought of that and Janus sighed as he tried to de-escalate Patton's reaction, "To spare everyone's sanity, Remus and I will not be doing that."

“That sounds like anxiety and socialization I’m not prepared for. I’ll pass.” Virgil replied.

“Count me out.” Logan made a face, “I don’t get close to people.”

“Wow, what an ass-.” Patton snorted as he saw Logan standing up, clearly going to take care of responsibilities elsewhere. "-sset."

Virgil didn't know that Patton made jokes, let alone jokes like that. He had to hide a smile begging to break through. It was clear the rest of the group was doing the same.

“Like I can’t say the same about you.” Logan remarked back, fixing his glasses before walking away.

“I think it’d still be nice if we planned it.” Patton offered, “Besides, I don’t have many close friends. It’s kinda sad how Logan’s so close to me that he’s my best friend, but he won't even talk to me. Maybe if I get to know you guys, I’ll have better friends.”

“You keep pissing off Logan. It’s not our fault that he hates you.” Janus snorted, “If I had someone who did everything he could to stop me from doing stuff I wanted to do, I’d probably be pissed off too.”

“Hey, you do have that!” Patton motioned to Remus.

“Hey! You’re right! Why didn't you mention me?” Remus pouted.

"Sorry." Janus rolled his eyes, "The difference is that Remus and I have come to an understanding. You create messes for Logan that he has to clean up."

Patton slumped down, thinking about it, "Oh man...do I?"

“I don’t think the problem is that you keep annoying him, but I just think that you guys don’t work together because you guys are so different. He's quiet, you’re loud. Everyone loves you, everyone hates him. He's the valedictorian so he’s super serious all the time, and you’re the class clown who I've heard makes a lot of puns. Of course you guys are going to always go head in head.” Virgil offered.

“He's smart. I’m officially adopting his as mine.” Janus replied, putting his phone down to make eye contact with Virgil.

Seconds later, his eyes shifted to Virgil’s forehead, where Virgil touched, worried that something landed there.

“Ah, sorry, I thought I saw something. It was nothing.” Janus murmured as he looked away.

“I’m down to go!” Remus grinned, “Janus, I don’t care what you say, but you’re coming too.”

“Great.” Janus’s voice was deadpan.

“I’ll find a way to get Logan to come.” Patton grinned, “Leave it to me and the six remaining hours he has to spend with me in detention.”

“Why is he spending detention with you? I thought he was the valedictorian.” Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“Being the principal’s son means he gets a lot of responsibility that teachers aren’t willing to put in themselves. It saves on money, and Logan can write it off as responsibilities of being valedictorian.” Patton explained.

“That leads to a higher standard for the next valedictorian. The teachers will have to go back once Logan graduates.” Virgil frowned.

“Yeah, well, it’s rough for the Sanders. Apparently it was the same with his brother.” Janus murmured, “There’s always been a rumor that’s spread around that there’s a reason his brother isn’t seen around the city anymore, the reason being that he was sick of everything.”

“Is this just known information? Should we be talking about it?” Virgil didn't feel comfortable in this situation. He felt as if he shouldn't be talking about it.

“Logan knows about everything. There’s no doubt he also knows the rumors that surround his family.” Remus remarked.

“Does anyone know his brother’s name?” Virgil asked.

Everyone shrugged, “No one talks about him. Not even the Sanders family. It’s almost as if he disappeared from existence for them.”

“Really?”

“Actually, I used to be really good friends with Logan.” Janus shrugged, “He was really open all the time, and happy. he was loud and he felt like himself. He was still a nerd, but he was happy and proud about it. Then…around middle school, something happened and he stopped doing everything he used to do. He stopped being loud and himself, and instead became closed off. He stopped talking to people outside of schoolwork. He started working harder on stuff, and didn’t go anywhere if it wasn’t to study. He just became a recluse after middle school.”

“You think it has anything to do with his brother?” Patton asked.

A throat cleared caught everyone's attention. The four turned around to see Logan standing, unamused, "You should know…it’s not very nice to talk about rumors behind someone’s back.”

Speechless, the four could only stare at Logan as if he had caught them in an intricate web of lies. Guilt crawled up Virgil's spine, knowing that he should've stopped everyone from talking about it. However, Logan seemed to be the most embarrassed out of all of them as he walked up to Patton.

"Apologies. I had forgotten about my Calculus homework that Patton had grabbed out of my hand." Logan murmured as he held his hand out for Patton. Patton was quick to give Logan his things and he started to walk away.

No one said anything as they watched Logan walk away. At least until Logan broke the silence once more upon halting in his tracks and turning back to them. His cheeks were flushed and it was the first time Virgil ever saw any real emotion on Logan's face. He seemed upset almost.

"I don't care if you do speculate on my life, or about my family. Just...please, whatever you say, leave my brother out of it."

Logan turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom before he could even get confirmation from the others. Once he was gone though, Patton's expressions flooded with sadness and guilt. "Logan's never sounded so desperate. He always has a polite or authoritative tone."

"Right...well, you heard the boy. No more talking about his brother." Janus exhaled a sharp breath as he stood up, "Come on, Re. Let's get to our own math class before you start speaking about more gore."

“Coming!” Remus packed up as fast as possible, bounding towards the boy who had already started walking.

“Which way are you going?” Patton grinned, turning his full attention to Virgil. “I’ll walk you there.”

Virgil uncrumpled the paper he had shoved into his pocket to look at the last class of the schedule, "Art."

“We should go before the crowd picks up when the bell rings.”

The two walked in silence the entire way to the class, until Virgil broke the silence, “Hey Patton?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think Logan has a power that makes him scared of getting close to people? Maybe that’s why he stopped talking to Janus.”

“Hm, maybe.” Patton smiled, “I’ll ask today, but I doubt it. I think he has magic. I just…don’t think he uses his power ever.”

“Really?”

“Trust me. I can feel it when people have powers.”

“Do you really know?”

“Yes, I do, Mr. Boy With Powers.” Patton remarked as he walked away, right as Virgil stopped by his classroom. ————– Patton may not make as many puns in this fic since it's so hard for me to make puns, forgive meeeee T-T, but ooooo, I love characterization and learning about backstories. Also 5/6 of the gang are together now and we get more insight into the dynamics of everyone~

If you enjoyed this, please consider reblogging! Reblogging helps me a lot and are very appreciated. Check out my masterlist for more, feel free to request any writings, and stick around if you want to see the rest of what I have in store for this! :)

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agaypanic · 1 year

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Do you think you could do a Reese x Cynthia’s sister! Reader enemies to lovers and/or soulmate fic?

Not So Bad (Reese Wilkerson X Sanders!Reader)

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Request Something!

Summary: Being a former Krelboyne with your sister Cynthia, you knew very well of the Wilkersons. Especially Reese.

A/N: The Sanders family doesn’t go to Europe, also i feel like this sucks but idk how to make it better lol

***

When your dad first told you and your sister that you were moving out of Manhattan, you were kind of excited. Manhattan was loud and hectic, and you agreed with your dad on wanting a more quiet life.

It wasn’t so bad at first. Seeing your and Cynthia’s grade history, the school had you two tested, and you were placed in a class for smarter kids. They called it the Krelboyne class. The kids were okay, a bit awkward at times, but that didn’t stop you from making friends with them.

Cynthia immediately took notice of a boy named Malcolm, and you all became friends. With Malcolm came his crazy family, the most notable to you being Reese. You two were in the same grade but only saw each other during lunch or when you two were waiting for your respective siblings after school so you could go home. He was violent, rude, and annoying.

You two would bicker whenever you were around each other. He’d make fun of you for being smart, and you’d make fun of him for being dumb. There was no escaping him since you and Cynthia were friends with Malcolm, and your dad didn’t allow your sister to be alone with Malcolm after he threw a brick through her window one night.

Hormones did crazy things to the Wilkerson boys, apparently.

Since you were in the grade above Cynthia and Malcolm, you started high school before them. No more hanging out with your Krelboyne friends. The only person you really knew at school now was Reese, who was a pain in your ass. But the good thing about high school was that no Krelboyne class meant you weren’t isolated from the rest of the student body. Slowly but surely, you started making more friends.

You were talking to one of them after school one day when Reese came up to you.

“You’re good at math, right?” Your friend said goodbye to you and walked away. You sighed, looking at Reese.

“Why?” You asked bluntly.

“I’m failing and-”

“Not surprised.”

“Shut up, okay! My mom saw my grades and is making me get a tutor.”

“Why not make Malcolm do it? Doesn’t he already do your homework?” You asked, walking towards the exit to get your sister, who was at the middle school. Reese followed after you, having to do the same with his brother.

“He can’t do it because he’s working on some stupid project. Look, will you help me or not?”

You stopped on the sidewalk, pretending to look off in thought. You turned to Reese, who looked annoyed but hopeful.

“Not.”

***

You ended up having to tutor Reese in math anyway. Lois knew Malcolm was too busy, and you were the next best thing. Plus, it was five bucks an hour.

That was the only upside.

“Reese, your mom is paying me to teach you how to do your homework, not do it for you.” You flopped on his bed, annoyed at his persistence.

“Well, if you were a better teacher, I wouldn’t have to ask you to do it for me.” You glared at him.

“And if you were a better student, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.” You shut your eyes, trying to block out as much of Reese’s presence as possible. The boy knew how to push your buttons. He was so frustrating. You felt lucky to be in higher-level classes, so you only had to deal with him after school. “God, you’re such a pain in the ass.”

He scoffed. You felt the bed dip beside you.

“Oh yeah, and you’re an angel, Y/n.” He laid down parallel to you, but his head was by your feet. You two lay in a moment of silence.

“Reese, we have to focus.” You finally said, sitting up just enough to look at his face. He snored softly in response. You almost rolled your eyes; of course, he would fall asleep when you had work to do. But you stopped yourself. He seemed more pleasant when he wasn’t conscious. You let out a breath, slowly lying back down. “Five minutes.”

An hour had passed when one of you finally woke up. It was Reese, who stretched all his limbs before slowly sitting up. When he saw you sleeping, he smirked. Ideas ran through his head of all the ways he could wake you up. But then he paused his thoughts. You looked peaceful, and for some reason, he didn’t want to disturb that. So he decided to let you wake on your own.

***

“Cynthia, Reese and I are not together.” You said on the walk home from the Wilkerson’s, grimacing at the mere thought. Your sister and Malcolm had seen you sleeping on Reese’s bed, and she wouldn’t shut up about it when you two left.

“Well, he has to like you or something. There’s no way he wouldn’t try to pull something on you while you were asleep if he didn’t.”

“You’re just a hopeless romantic.” You shook your head at her insistence. You and Reese could barely be considered friends, let alone a couple. “We were both tired, that’s it. He probably was having an off day or something, so he didn’t decide to do anything.”

Cynthia dropped the topic, sensing you wouldn’t budge anytime soon. It wasn’t until before you were going to go to bed that you barged into your sister’s room.

“Do you actually think he could like me?” You asked, toying with the hem of your pajamas. She smirked.

“I thought you insisted that he doesn’t.” She sat on her bed, patting a spot next to her, signaling for you to sit. “What changed your mind?” You rolled your eyes, sitting down.

“I didn’t change my mind, I’m just… more open to possibilities.” You tried to act nonchalant but then sighed, putting your head in your hands. “There was, like, this moment before I fell asleep. I was so annoyed with him, and then I looked at him, and he just looked so peaceful. It was so weird.”

Little did you know, Reese was having the same conversation with Malcolm.

***

Things didn’t really change between you and Reese. They were a bit weirder, not that either of you said anything about it. You two were nicer to each other, but not too much.

Cynthia had decided that in order to make new friends, she had to throw a party. Knowing how hard it was to make friends with peers that you weren’t really peers with, you and your dad encouraged the idea. She was so excited. She made hundreds of invites, giving them to kids around school and leaving some at the library.

“Hey, I heard you’re having a party tomorrow.” Reese suddenly brought up on your walk to your siblings’ school.

“Cynthia is.” You clarified.

“Do you have any say on the guest list?”

“Trying to get invited, Wilkerson?” You asked. You were slightly confused about why he would want to come to a party at your house.

“I was just curious, God. Always asking questions.” He responded. He rolled his eyes but kept a slight smile on his lips. “You know, Malcolm’s been trying to talk your sister out of throwing her little party.”

“What?” You stopped walking. “Why?” Reese just shrugged. You shook your head, continuing your pace. “I swear, if she says that she doesn’t wanna have this party anymore, I’ll be pissed. It’s all she’s been talking about.”

“If you want, I can beat some sense into him so he can shut up about the party.”

“No thanks, Reese.” You let out a small laugh. Of course, he would resort to violence, even when it came to his brother.

“Thought I’d offer.”

***

Luckily, Cynthia didn’t let Malcolm’s persistence affect her. The party was in full swing, full of people from middle and high school. Your sister seemed to be having a really good time, mingling with all the different groups.

There was a knock on the door. It was a miracle you could hear it over all the music and talking. You opened the door to see Malcolm and Reese. You glared down at the younger Wilkerson.

“What are you doing here, Malcolm?” He recoiled a bit at your reaction. He was used to seeing this kind of behavior towards Reese; he didn’t like it being towards him.

“Is Cynthia here?”

“She lives here.” You deadpanned. You refused to believe he actually had an IQ of 165. “Are you here to apologize?”

“Yeah.”

You opened the door a bit more to let him into the house.

“Go find her then.” He immediately followed your instruction, zooming into the house to find your sister. You looked up at Reese, who seemed amused. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just glad you’re not like that with me anymore.” You rolled your eyes, but your mood was better than when you spoke to Malcolm.

“Don’t push your luck.” You joked.

“Can I come in?” You were somewhat surprised at the politeness. Reese usually didn’t care about invitations. You nodded, shutting the door behind him when he entered the house. “Can I have a tour?” He surprised you again. You expected him to start walking around on his own.

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

You led him through the house, being sure to pass by the kitchen for some snacks. You don’t know why, but you decided to show him upstairs as well, the last stop of your little tour being your bedroom.

“I’ve never realized that you’ve never been here before.” You commented from your place on your bed, watching him look around your room. He nodded.

“Me neither.” He sat near you, carefully eating a cracker so crumbs wouldn’t get on your blanket. Another surprise. “Nice posters and stuff.”

“Thanks.” You took a cracker from his plate. He didn’t say anything about it; instead, he just looked at you and placed the plate between you. “You know, you don’t have to stay up here with me. You can go back down to the party if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good.” He ate another piece of food. “You’re cool to hang with.”

You raised your brows. You didn’t expect Reese to become so tolerant of you. You lay down on your bed, looking up at the ceiling.

“You’re not too bad yourself.” You muttered, playing with your fingers. After finishing his food, Reese laid down as well. “Are we, like, friends now or something?” Reese was quiet, trying to figure out how to respond. He turned his head to you, and you did the same.

His eyes darted from yours to your lips and back. He was hoping you wouldn’t notice, but you did. The boy was anything but subtle. Taking a leap of faith, Reese moved his head closer to yours.

“I was thinking ‘or something.’” Before he could say anything else, you moved closer, putting your lips against his. To get out of the awkward position you two were in, Reese turned to lay more on his side, cradling the back of your neck. You looked up at him with a nervous smile when you two broke apart.

“‘Or something’ works.”

#reese wilkerson x reader #reese wilkerson #malcolm in the middle x reader #malcolm in the middle #agaypanic

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