Patton and Megan hopped out of his car and began to walk toward the football field where the cheerleaders were currently warming up to begin practice. He had asked Logan several times that day what he should do to help Nora and all he got in return was 'You always know what to do.' While he appreciated the sentiment, it wasn't as helpful as he had hoped. Patton had asked Megan if she noticed anything about Nora's behavior on Monday practice and she told him Nora was generally quiet during practices, but she was unusally silent the entire time. 

Patton took all of this into consideration when he approached the girls who had already arrived for practice. They greeted him with enthusiastic hellos and went back to their business. Patton began helping coach Green by getting out mats and other items used for warm-ups. Their school had a surprising amount of cheerleaders considering the jokes people made about the sport. Patton had wanted to be a cheerleader for some time and had joined freshman year, but soon figured out his whole reason for joining cheer was because he was a big fan of Glee and absolutely adored Santana. It wasn't until the beginning of sophomore year when he saw seasons four and onward of Glee and decidedly lost interest in ever being a cheerleader. He missed it every now and then, but he simply didn't have the time anymore. 

As he was helping carry impressive weights to the field he spied Nora walking up to practice alone. Patton tired to remember the last time he saw her walking to practice alone and couldn't. She was always with Penelope. Her best friend. Why wasn't Penelope there? In fact, why wasn't Penelope at practice yet and why was Nora not her typically punctual self. She always arrived early to practices and though she was right on time, it seemed wrong. Patton watched Nora from the side of his vision as she set down her bag and wind-breaker. 

He knew that look. That posture. The way she huffed as she relaced her shoes when one had come undone. Nora's eyes were slightly glazed and her shoulders hunched. Her jaw looked clenched and her arms shook just a little. Patton saw it all. She looked so much like Logan in that moment. He tried to remember when he had seen Logan looking like that but the memory wouldn't surface. All he could gather was she was trying to push down how she felt. She was trying not to scream her emotions out and she was scared to let anyone know that wasn't content. 

Practice began with simple stretches and a few jokes tossed around. While the girls were doing lunges with weights-a feat that Patton knew for sure was one of the top five reasons why he couldn't be a cheerleader-Patton decided to get some diary writing done. He began by detailing his most frustrating classes, but it ended up being an entire page dedicated to how he couldn't decide anything about his future. He didn't know what major he would take, let alone what college he wanted to go to. At this point he figured he could go many places, perhaps not Ivy League, but with his student loans essentially paid off by being a Ranger, there wasn't too much holding him back. 

Practice came to a close and Patton closed his note taking app and put his phone in his back pocket. He walked down the bleachers and thanked the coach for letting him sit in. Then he put his half thought through plan into action.

"Hey Nora!" He called out as she went to her bag. 

Nora looked to his direction, her eyes lighting ever so much, before going back. Patton recalled Logan doing that too, though once again, he couldn't place it.

"Greetings Patton." Nora chuckled a little, stooping down to untie her laces and change shoes. 

"Ha, you know, that sounded a lot like Logan." Patton said, trying to keep things light before he asked the hard question.

"So I've been told." Nora looked up at him and smiled. "You and my brother have been talking a lot more lately, huh?"

"Um, yeah I guess so." Patton chuckled. "You know, he's really sweet and stuff. I kinda wish we'd hung out more before this."

"Mhm." Nora raised an eyebrow. 

"Actually we were talking about you yesterday. Logan mentioned something about like, 'mind manipulation', or something along those lines." Patton hoped this would be a good segway. 

"Oh I guess you figured me out huh? Yeah in middle school I read about how simple actions over time condition someone's mind to thinking about certain objects or people. I know it's kinda rude, but I just had to test it." Nora went on. "I read an article about how two people had only met a few times and were considered acquiantances, but through a mutual friend who continuously talked about the other subject and slowly trained them to associate positive feelings with the other subject, the two gained a closer bond that eventually turned romantic."

"Is that so?" Patton tilted his head. 

"Yep, the mutual friend would offer them items that the subjects enjoyed immediately before or after talking about the other test subject and would consistently bring up interesting stories about the other subject in order to make them intrigued and slightly devoted to the other. It was a fascinating study." Nora slipped on her other pair of shoes and stood up to face Patton. "I hope you don't hold too much contempt towards me for testing some of these actions on you. If you do, know that my brother has nothing to do with it and it was soley my idea. He's simply been too embarassed to bring it up and has asked me to stop."

"Oh don't worry, I didn't really get a lot of that to be honest, so no hard feelings." Patton knew it wasn't right to lie, but in this case it seemed like he had to. He could unpack everything she had just said at a later time, right now he was more conerned with helping Nora.

"Right." Nora gave too wide of a smile and pulled out a stick of gum. "Here, I know this is your favorite."

Patton took the gum happily and unwrapped it. How do you know this specific gum company and their very specific flavor is my favorite Nora Montgomery? How?

"And speaking of secret favorites, did you know Logan's secretly very fond of cookie dough. I shouldn't be telling you this because he always talks about how healthy he eats, but you have to know that he's a bit of a hypocrite. Sometimes I catch him making cookie dough that he says he's baking into cookies for Roman and Remus, but he just eats it." Nora was practically smirking. 

"That was an example of your psycology tricks." Patton said softly, chewing on the gum less enthusiastically. 

"Indeed." Nora stated. "I've noticed a few of my experiments on you specifically have been successful."

"Is that so?" Patton was beginning to get a little concerned. 

"Yes. Tell, me, what do you think of when I offer you a cherry coke like this one." Nora pulled a small bottle cherry coke out of her bag and handed it to him. 

Immediately Patton's mind drifted away. He could almost smell the crisp pages of an unused book at the library. He thought of soft eyes that held a deeper understanding of things Patton desperately wanted to uncover, but never could. He could see brown hair that had just a tint of red when the sun hit it just right. Logan. Patton's smile widened just a little bit. 

"Logan." He answered truthfully. 

"See. Last year when Megan joined cheer during spring practices I would go up to you and strike up a conversation about Logan. During those conversation I would offer you a cherry coke. This unknowingly to you, created a connection between cherry coke and Logan in your brain. Associating him with being offered this drink." Nora explained. "I only noticed this particular experiment worked when at a football game earlier in the year Roman offered you a cherry coke and you placed your hand on your forearm much like you're doing now."

Patton looked at his posture only to find he was holding his forearm in his hand. Rubbbing it slightly with his thumb. 

"How-how does that tell you I'm thinking about Logan?" Patton asked, he realized the feeling he was getting in his stomach was nervousness. Perhaps just a little bit of fear.

"My brother isn't one for physcial contact as anyone could guess. However, there are certain physically comforting ways he reaches out to people. For example I've noticed with the two of you, holding each other's forearm is a sign of comfort. For our sister Lauren, Logan will touch her knee with his index and middle fingers, she then reciprocates by holding his fingers in hers. With me, Logan will hold my hand. With Roman it's a hand on the shoulder." Nora confided. 

"You notice a lot about Logan." Patton stated. 

"Well, I notice a lot about a lot of people." Nora stated, putting her bag straps on her shoulders. "And I worry about Logan."

Finally, Patton thought. "He worries about you too Nora." He started. "Which is kind of why I'm gonna ask if everything is alright."

"What do you mean?" Nora asked. 

"Logan told me about how you were, um, crying after homecoming. Is everything okay?"

Nora paused. "Of course he would send you. You're easy to talk to, extremely kind, and understanding."

"Oh uh thank you." Patton responded, though he could tell she didn't really intend to have him hear that.

"Hmm." Nora looked in thought before scnaning the surrounding field where the last few poeple were leaving. "Shouldn't you be taking Megan home?"

"No, she's getting a ride from her friend." Patton said. 

Nora paused for a few beats. She seemed to be debating.

"Patton, you have to understand. Logan and I are very similar. We don't share our emotions so easily"

"I know." Patton tried to ease her growing anxiety. 

"Of course you know." Nora sighed. "Patton, would you mind walking me home? Since my Mama is home Logan can drive you back here to pick up your car." 

"That sounds good." Patton nodded. 

"Thank you." Nora smiled gratefully and the two began their walk. "Patton, as you know I have two very close friends. Penny and Luke."

"Yeah." Patton nodded. 

"Well, my friends, at homecoming, confessed their feelings for one another and have begun dating." Nora said a little sadly. "They've already started talking to me less and somewhat leaving me behind and it's only been five days. Perheps I'm simply overreacting but that doesn't change how I feel."

Patton had an inkling that there was something more but he didn't push it. 

"Patton, as I'm sure you've noticed something else is bothering me, but I'm not so sure talking about that right now is for the best."

"Understandable." Patton reassured. 

"Thank you. Like I said, there's more, but indulging that information to my mother worries me. She means well, but she's invasive. She overreacts easily and I want nothing of her invading my privacy. I'm afraid that me telling her about this will make her go into that state and that is the last thing I need right now." Nora smiled though Patton didn't know why she would be. "And Logan, well, I want to talk to him about it. But something is going on with him. He's spending so much time away from us, and seems sore or bruised randomly. I'm not entirely sure why, but now with Mama home, it appears his weariness is only getting worse. She's been affecting him and it's hard to feel bad about myself when I know what he's going through is much worse. I don't want to weigh him down with my problems as well as his."

"Well, you could also think of it as your very valid issues not being properly discussed, because you're too weighed down by your brother's." Patton smied comfortingly. "It goes both ways Nora."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Nora stopped, Patton realized they had arrived at her home. 

He didn't know Logan lived so close to the school and field. Nora walked up her porch steps and was about to push inside when she stopped and turned to Patton. 

"Thank you." She said. "I don't like to open up to people that aren't my brother or Mama, but you've always been easy and calming to talk to. You truly don't know how wonderful that feels. I'll send Logan out to drive you back up to your car."

"Oh!" Patton stopped her. "If it isn't too much to ask, can you tell me why you wanted me to think of Logan everytime I think of cherry coke?"

"He has some secret favorites. Eating raw cookie dough, cherry coke, and as he puts it 'the way Patton adjusts his glasses and smiles right before essentially telling someone to F off'." Nora snickered. "I suggest you use that information to your advantage."

With that she gave him a wave and went inside. She may not admit it, but Nora's as much of a fan for the dramatics as Roman, Patton thought smiling. He knew he could just simply walk back up to his car, it wasn't far at all. However, he wanted an excuse to talk to Logan and Patton always preferred face-to-face communication. It was easier to understand. 

Logan appeared in the doorway and stepped out to meet Patton. He didn't say anything but he didn't need to. His eyes lit up like Patton had already seen from Nora, only this time, it didn't fade away. That made Patton unbelievably happy. The two hopped in Logan's mother's car and Logan started it up. 

"How did the talk go?" Lgoan asked. 

"Well, like I said yesterday, Nora's just as smart as you." Patton admitted. 

"Oh that statement is unbelievably true." Logan sighed. "In fact it would not be a stretch to say she is smarter than me. Nora is wise for one, but she also understands people far better than I do. She calls me dense you know. If I was Sherlock Holmes she would be Eurus."

"That episode creeped me out." Patton laughed. 

Logan gave him a smile before looking back to the road. 

"So," Patton decided to say after a little bit of awkward silence. "I didn't know you liked cherry coke."

Logan was quiet, his expression a little startled. "She told me she stopped doing that."

"She did a while ago, but she didn't tell me about it until now." Patton said. 

"I'm so sorry." Logan sighed. 

"It's okay. I think it's kinda funny. I mean, a little rude like she said, considering I had no idea, but funny nonetheless." Patton eased. "Besides, it kinda worked. She gave me a cherry coke and asked me what I was thinking about and I didn't even realize I was thinking about you in that moment until she said something. It's kind of amazing."

Logan looked at Patton with an eyebrow raised very quickly before he started to break for the upcoming red light. Patton saw the parking lot in view and realized how sad he was to leave Logan. Then it hit him. That expression that he had been wondering about before. that look that Nora gave, that look that was so familiar to Patton becuase it was a look he had seen on Logan. In one particular instance he had seen logan with that face and now the memory was surfacing. 

It was the beginning of junior year, Logan and Patton shared third hour and sat next to each other one day. As they were talking Logan brought up Roman playing the lead in the school musical, and Patton commented that his boyfriend at the time was Roman's understudy and played another smaller role. That was when Patton saw that expression. Glazed eyes, hunched shoulders, clenched jaw, shaky arms. All of it. Logan had tried to cover it up quickly, but Patton had that face ingrained into his memory already and it wasn't leaving. 

Logan parked the car on the right of Patton's and looked to him. Patton smiled distractedly and got out, striding over to his own used Nissan family car. He stopped suddenly, realizing he was by Logan's window. 

Heartbroken. That's how Logan looks when he's heartbroken! Patton practically yelled at himself. 

He knocked on Logan's window without thinking. Logan looked to him confused and rolled it down. Before he could say anything Patton leaned over and gave Logan a hug through the window, not an easy thing to accomplish, but he figured it was done well enough. When the two pulled away Patton saw the concern on Logan's face. He figured that was justified. 

"Patton, are you oka-"

Logan was cut off when the two heard a loud rip echo across the parking lot. They turned to look at the source and saw a breach beginning to form. With panicked eyes they looked around the parking lot, empty thankfully. They summoned their Ranger armor and respective weapons. The monsters were already coming through the breach.