TW: Remy's injuries and upset Virgil

*Logan POV*

"Virgil, can you come out?" I ask.

"No," Virgil says through his door.

"I will respect your wishes but you need to come out sometime," I say.

He's seldom left his dorm since he heard about Remy. It's worrying me by this point.

"Later," he says.

I walk away and back to my dorm. It's Wednesday, near noon. Tomorrow marks the first day of our winter break. The buses to take us home are coming in around an hour.

I start my packing and notice how I'm the only one with an organized suitcase. Patton is struggling to close his and Roman's entire area is just a mess of clothes.

"Patton, you might have to fold your clothes to get them to fit. Then organize your personal items," I suggest.

"No no, I totally got this!" he says, continuing to struggle to close his suitcase.

When it pops back open again, he sighs and concedes. He starts a feeble attempt to organize. As he does so, his schedule slips out and falls to the floor, skidding across the floorboards and landing near me.

I pick it up, glancing at it.

"Hold on, there's a dance during the break? How are we supposed to-"

"Oh, it's mostly for the kids who don't get to go home," Roman explains.

I nod.

"I'm going home for the holidays too, obviously," Roman says.

"Yeah, me too! My aunt and uncle always have the best Hanukkah celebration. Although it is late this year. It actually ended on the tenth..." Patton says, frowning a little.

"You still get to celebrate once you get home, don't you?" I ask.

Patton gives a half-shrug half-nod.

"Yeah, but it's kinda like if you guys celebrated Christmas in early January. Speaking of which, what holiday do you celebrate?" he asks.

"Christmas," I say.

Patton nods again.

"Good to know," he says.

"I am mildly excited to go back home," I say.

"Oh yes, because it's absolutely terrible to go celebrate a holiday with your family," Roman says sarcastically.

"Well, it's not my fault they aren't too fond of me or my power," I say.

"Neither of them have it?" Patton asks.

"Not to my knowledge," I say.

"Hmm. That's kinda weird. Almost everyone here has at least one parent with this power. It tends to stay in families," Patton says.

"Is it a dominant or recessive trait?" I ask.

"Uh- I dunno. It's not really something we research," Patton says.

"Yeah, you're just a nerd," Roman says.

I shrug. I guess I'll check out some books from the library before I leave.

We all finish packing after about ten minutes and I check my phone for any notifications. There's none, and I decide to text Virgil.

You: I am going home for the holidays. I'll call you when I get there?

Virgil: Sure.

"Well, I'm done. See you when I get back, I guess," Roman says, picking up his bags and leaving.

I stare at his empty bed, my eyes slowly turning to Remy's, which has been empty for nearly a week. We still don't know what happened to him. But I can't even begin to imagine the effect it's having on Virgil.

*Virgil POV*

I toss a hoodie and some sweatpants into my suitcase on top of my laptop and chargers.

"Ughhhhhh I don't want to go back home," Remus says, "The princey brat is there."

"Yeah, be sure to tell me what kind of socks he gets you," Janus says.

"Will do. I hope I can just top the ones I gave him last year," Remus says.

Janus laughs.

"Yeah, that's going to be hard. Good luck," he says.

"Are you coming back home, Jan?" I ask.

"Nope," Janus says, "This holiday my parents are gonna go see my brother. I think he's studying somewhere in Europe. I didn't really care enough to remember where. But hey, I get the dorm to myself while you losers are gone."

"Don't mess it up more than I already have," Remus says.

"I don't think that's possible," Janus retorts.

They both chat a bit and I tune them out. Then my phone buzzes.

TheCoolMom: Excited to see you!

TheMomInCharge: Me too! We finally got off work, so we can celebrate Christmas as a family this year

You: That's good. See you soon

My moms. I'll admit I miss them a bit.

Before Remus and I head down to the buses, I make a quick detour to the library. I left the book of manipulations there. It's been the only thing keeping me sane through everything that's been going on between Remy and school and Janus and Remus.

---

On the bus ride back home I get a video call. It's Emile.

"Heya kid!" Emile says.

"H-Hi," I say.

"I have a surprise for you!" he says, smiling brightly.

He flips the camera and there I see it.

Remy.

Awake and alive.

I nearly start crying happy tears.

"Hey Vee," he says.

"Oh thank god you're okay," I say.

"Yeah. You would not believe what happened. Wait- Em what did happen again?" Remy asks.

Emile briefs me and Remy on what happened to him. My eyes widen and my eyes mix between tears of relief and sadness.

"Well, ha- happy holidays, Remy," I say.

Some internal organ damage. Spinal damage. Facial scarring. All because of one trip to Starbucks and one drunk driver. 

"Yeah- merry Christmas, Vee," Remy says with a small smile.

"Sorry I can't be there with you," I say.

"Oh, it's fine. I can't exactly do anything anyway," he says.

I shrug a bit.

"But how're you holding up?" he asks.

I glance over to the book.

"Fine," I say.

"Try again," Remy says with a raised eyebrow.

I sigh and smile a bit.

"Can't get anything past you, can I? Well, I'm not doing great, but you're up and alive. It's you who you should be worried about," I say.

"True true, but I'll probably be fine," Remy says.

"Probably. So don't focus on me, focus on yourself," I say.

"I will, I promise. The only real danger to my health is the lack of anything caffeinated here," he says.

I smile a little.

"Must be a nightmare. Can't relate, I'm at my folks. Both practically live off coffee," I say.

"True role models," Remy says wistfully.

"Remy, it's time for your checkup," I hear a voice say.

"Oh, gotta go. Ttyl Vee," Remy says.

He hangs up and I stare at my screen for a few seconds. He's okay. At least for now.

For now.

What if he doesn't end up okay???

What if he's paralyzed?

Or dies?

It could happen...

A few panicked tears fall down my face as I flip open the book. If there's something in there that can help me save people I won't have to worry. I'll be able to protect everyone. Remy, Emile, my moms, and...

Logan.

If literally anything happened to him I won't forgive myself.

Section 3 - Human Manipulation

Maybe there's something on healing here. I really hope there is. I have this gift, if I can't help then I might as well be useless.

There. Remy's alive! And oh boy I need to find an excuse to get more in-depth with the abilities in this book because I put way too much thought into it- Anyway! I hope you enjoyed reading, feel free to leave any thoughts or feedback in the comments, and have a fantastic day/night you magnificent peep!