Warning: Lying, Pain... The usual

Virgil pov
I'm drawing. It may seem ridiculous, but when you get as anxious as I do, it's good to have something to do that doesn't take brain cells. I usually arrive at the school at seven o'clock and I have an hour and a half to kill, might as well. Patton usually arrives at seven thirty and we talk until school starts. I guess he's running late today. It's already seven forty five. I wait a bit more and at eight, I am shocked to say the least. I jumped up.

"Patton! What happened?! Who do I have to kill? Do I need to put the Patton protection squad on this?" He held up his hands to slow the questions.

"Nothing! I'm fine! You don't have to kill anybody, and… what's the Patton protection squad?" Crap! The fandom is gonna kill me!

"Umm… nothing!" Great, totally believable. I internally eye roll.

"Okayyy…" I let out a sigh.

"Now, what happened? And it isn't nothing! You are literally on a crutch!" He sighed and ducked his head. Quack. No! Now is not the time!

"I um… uh.." I've seen him get like this before about an injury. It usually means he's making up a lie. "I tripped while running down the stairs! You know me! I'm very clumsy!" I don't usually pry, but this one is too bad for me not to!

"Patton. Please don't lie." He looked shocked and a little… scared? He quickly hid his uncertainty with a bright smile.

"Why would I lie about this?" He asked. I could tell he was pushing the panic out of his voice so I just shook my head.

"Nevermind. Just… be careful next time, okay Pat?" He nodded and jumped a little as the bell rang for a five minute warning. Since he has a different first period than I do, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I went in and met Logan and Roman in there. We share a first period. Poor Patton.

"Salutations Virgil," Logan greeted with a slight smile.

"Greetings!" Roman proclaimed dramatically. "And how has your day been going, Emo nightmare?" I roll my eyes.

"Hey guys, and not so good." I stated as I sat down at our table.

"What's happened?" Logan inquired.

"Patton is on a crutch and refuses to tell me why." I state curtly. I know at least Logan has caught on a little to Patton's lies about being alright and his injuries, but I think Roman is still clueless in this area. "I mean, he says he fell down stairs, but he's obviously lying."

"If he truly doesn't want us to know, we won't find out. But we need to be there for him and support him through these difficult times he is going through. I have also noticed he seems to tense up whenever we ask him how he is doing and his breathing patterns quicken." Logan explained in a very cute nerdy way. "I shall be collecting more data, but there is little we can do. I may be able to ask if I can inspect the injury and try to help in that area, but that isn't much and he most likely will deny my assistance." Roman sat there in stunned silence.

"So… you're saying… he may be harming himself?" Roman finally whispered out. Logan nodded.

"That is one possible outcome. Another is that he truly is telling the truth and just doesn't like to talk about himself."

"Or he could be being bullied," I fill in, "The Patton protection squad will destroy those monsters who dare touch him." The other two nod. Us three are the ones who have started it after all. We have only grown in numbers since then. Our ranks mostly contain crazy fanders. Fanders are basically weird, messed up people, like myself and the author. Three other huge members are Marly, Hannah, and Sarah. They were here from the beginning and are very dedicated to keeping Patton safe, though they somehow know more about him than I do and refuse to tell me or the others. It's like they stalk him all day and night. Or maybe they have just read the past chapters. Either way, they are our most devoted members.

Class started and we had to be quiet. That didn't stop us from continuing our conversation in Morse code.

Logan: Should I question Patton about his injury in second period

Me: No. He will freak out more than he is already. You should tell him I already told you about it though and offer to help.

Logan: Alright.

Roman: Why can't we just demand he tells us the truth?

Me: Seriously? That will make things worse! We need to be supportive of him.

Roman: We can't be supportive if we don't know what's going on!

Logan: We can ask, but it wouldn't be very polite to 'demand' answers, as you put it.

???: What are you three talking about?

I look up to see the teacher standing over us tapping the table as well. I share a look with Logan and Roman. She knows Morse code?! Shoot!!! The whole class was staring at us and I felt myself sink deeper into my hoodie. Roman spoke up first.

"Would you like us to tap it out for you or…" that idiot.

"I think that you three just earned yourselves a detention because this is the third time I caught you this week. You really need to learn to pay attention in my class." She walked back up to the board and continued teaching us about the growth of the universe and blah blah blah. I ended up watching Logan and how his eyes lit up everytime he answered a question or learned something new. He loves the universe and learning about the stars. I felt a poke in my side and turned to Roman, who wiggled his eyebrows. He must have caught my stare. I felt my face flush as I turned back to the board.

A thought crossed my mind. Shoot! Didn't we say that we would meet again after school today? I remember it being brought up as we texted last night. Poor Patton! Canceling two days in a row! I wonder if he made it to the Davis house yesterday. It could have been where he was hurt! Maybe us going ghost hunting isn't the best idea.

Time Skip brought to you by I never paid attention in that class and still somehow passed…

Ah lunch. A period where I can be free of stress. Well no. That's a lie. Never mind. I get to see all my friends. That's… that's pretty much the only good thing about it. There are more people so that's not fun. Food is an eh. But, it's open campus so… that's a plus too I guess? I dunno. 

After fourth period I had taken Patton's backpack, much to his protests, and slowly walked with him to lunch. We made it to our usual table with Logan and Roman already there. Roman immediately jumped up and offered Patton assistance, but Patton waved him away.

"I'm fine guys! Really!" He sat down, slowly and painfully and we all knew he was lying.

"So Patton, how did you obtain this injury again?" Logan asked him.

"I fell down some stairs and it got my leg pretty bad." He answered confidently and ended with a light laugh. He must have had practice telling the story because he is a lot more confident than he was this morning.

"I see… and that is why you require the crutch?" Patton looked confused at Logan's question.

"Yes?" He answered, uncertainty seeping into his voice.

"May I inspect the wound?" Logan asked. "If it's not that big of a deal, as you say, it shall be good practice for future medical care." How is Logan lying so easily? I'm honestly scared and impressed at the same time. He's cornered now.

"Can I eat first?" He asked. Logan nodded and Roman helped Patton go to the cafeteria.

"I'm worried about him Lo," I whisper under my breath.

"I am too, but it will be alright." I nodded.

After waiting a few minutes, Logan pulled his lunch bag out and gave me an apple, knowing well that I wasn't going to eat otherwise. I roll my eyes, but take the apple and nibble on it. When they finally return, I am surprised to see Patton's tray full of chicken tenders, carrots, multiple milk cartons, and one of those pb&j sandwiches that the school serves. I look to Roman for an explanation, but he just shrugs and sits back down in his seat. Patton sits down and immediately starts eating. It's almost like he hasn't eaten for twenty four hours.

Once Patton finished his lunch, we were already done with ours and deep in conversation about the most productive way to spend your time. I was honestly tuned out the whole time as Roman and Logan bickered back and forth. I reach out to Patton's leg, trying to be comforting. He ended up making a loud yelping sound instead, causing the others' conversation to come to an abrupt halt.

"I'm so sorry Patton! Are you okay?" He turned bright pink and looked like he was inwardly cursing himself. 

"I-i'm fine kiddo, just… still a little sore and still hurts a little."

"Patton, I believe now would be a good time for me to inspect your leg." Logan said cautiously.

"No, no! I'm fine! I already had it treated!" He sounded desperate. Why does he feel like he has to hide it from us? I look over at Roman who had opened his mouth to protest. I send a quick kick his way, in which he yelped in response. Drama queen.

"Hey babes!" We turned to the new voice.

"Salutations Remy,"

"Greetings"

"Sup"

"Hey Remy!"

"Nuthin much. Hey Pat, what happened to you?" He noticed his leg.

"Oh nothing, just fell down some stairs!"

"Isn't your house a single story?" Remy asked.

"Um… yeah?"

"Patton went to the old Davis house earlier," I said, clearing things up.

"But you were just fine coming home from there, that's when you ran into me right?" Wait what? We all turn to Patton for an explanation. He looked visibly panicked.

"Well… I… um…" just then, the bell rang. Talk about saved by the bell. No. Stop talking… or would it be thinking? No stupid puns. Those are Patton's forte. I caught him staring at me intently, like he could have heard my brain making the pun… weird. It's kinda frustrating though, almost like the author didn't want us to find out what's happening to Patton.

We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways to our fifth period class. I guess I'll have to ask him tomorrow.

1813 Words
Have a great day ladies, Lord's, and Non-binary Royalty!

💖 Maybay4