(Logan's P.O.V.)

It's not easy to be considered the smartest kid in school and then be a complete loser at the academic decathlon. Needless to say, this is exactly what happened to me a few days ago and ever since I have been ridiculed. 

Simply because I misused the word "infinitesimal" and cost our school the match, I am now the laughing stock of the entire high school. It does not help that my friends Roman and Patton are sometimes complete idiots and do not see any point to why I'm so upset or why I'm being laughed at in general. This is one of the situations I'm stuck in right now. 

"Logan, it really isn't that big of a deal, you know? You made a mistake, and that's okay!" Patton tries to cheer me up by being optimistic and flashing one of his signature smiles but I only look at him with my normal stoic expression. 

"Patton, you simply do not understand. I am the smart one, and I made a mistake." Roman scoffs at this, rolling his eyes as he looks at me. 

"So? I'm the best actor here and, following your logic, I can't forget a line without being ridiculed and yet everyone still loves me!" He says, ego going off the charts per usual. I simply frown and adjust my glasses. 

"You never have forgotten a line so that was a pointless example, Roman." He looks at me with wide eyes, probably shocked at the slight hint of anger in my tone, something I try to avoid. Feelings are the absolute bane of my existence, so I try not to let my own show through my tone of voice. However, the prince like teen quickly recovers and smiles brightly, almost rivaling Patton. 

"Never mind my perfect record, Patton has made plenty of mistakes and everyone still loves him!" I glance at Patton, who is nodding wildly despite the fact that Roman just insulted him to a degree. 

"That is because Patton exhibits lovable traits, from his personality and optimism, to his childlike yet fatherly actions. I am nothing more than a talking dictionary most of the time." Patton gasps at this and looks like I just slapped a puppy. He immediately goes into "dad mode" and frowns with disappointment, shaking his head. 

"I never want to hear that kind of talk again, Logan. You are just as amazing and human as the rest of us, despite your love for knowledge and books. Okay?" I sigh, nodding as I know that I would never win an argument against Patton despite his faulty logic and minimal knowledge. He simply has the passion that I don't have when it comes to debates on such topics. 

I zone out a bit as Roman and Patton both start talking once again, telling me that I'm still amazing and all that feelings stuff I don't particularly like. However, something catches my eye. Or, more specifically, someone. A kid that I recognize is standing against a wall, looking straight at me. Virgil Black, the most mysterious and "emo" kid in school. 

He wears his signature black and purple hoodie along with the rest of his signature outfit, his hair in his face and a smirk on his lips. He sees that I'm looking at him and his smirk seems to get bigger as he nods to the side, walking off in that direction towards a small rundown building that he soon walks into. I think he wants me to follow him, and although the logical answer is that I shouldn't, I really want to. After all, what do I have to lose? I stand up, scaring Patton a small bit as he was talking. 

"I have to go." I say simply, saying a quick goodbye before walking out of the park and towards the building I saw Virgil go into. Upon further inspection I recognize it as the old bar that went bankrupt and shut down years ago. No one ever bought the building, so it has just sat abandoned for years. I hesitantly open the door and walk inside, looking around to see that the inside is still very clean, almost as if someone lived here. 

This is a shock considering the building's outer appearance, since it is very grimy and rundown. Walking through another doorway, my eyes widen slightly at the sight. Sitting in the back room in a booth, a table in front of him and his one hand on a cane with a clear crystal ball in it, is Virgil. However, he looks nothing like he did when I saw him walk in. 

Instead of messy hair falling in his face, his hair is now slicked back without a single hair out of place. Instead of ripped jeans and a hoodie, he now wears black dress pants and shoes, a purple dress shirt with a black vest over that, and finally a black tie to pull it together. He nods towards the chair across from him, an almost malicious smirk on his face. 

I hesitantly walk over and sit in front of the table, still staring at Virgil and wondering how he could have changed clothes so quickly. Virgil has something else to talk about though, as he starts talking the moment I sit down. 

"So, you messed up the academic decathlon for our school." He says and I groan, sinking down in my chair slightly as I nod. 

"Is this really what you wish to talk about?" I ask, already wanting to leave and get as far away as possible from this mysterious boy. He chuckles, leaning back in his seat, resting his arms on his cane. 

"Of course, because I want to help you." He states, almost as if it should be obvious even though we've never spoken before. I narrow my eyes, shaking my head slowly as I look him up and down. I want to say something like how he is insane, or doesn't understand what it is, but instead the only thing I say is 

"How?". The only response I get immediately is a widened smirk before he grabs something and puts it on the table, unrolling the paper to present what looks like a contract. 

"Sign this, and I'll make you the smartest kid in school." His tone is business-like, yet he speaks softly. Of course my logical thinking immediately goes against this. 

"Wait, how? Are you suggesting some sort of magic?" I question his own logic without outright saying it. If this boy really is crazy, I don't want to anger him. He shakes his head, nodding towards the contract. 

"Does it matter how I do it as long as I do it? And I promise you, I can do it." He states it so confidently, enough that I actually believe him, despite the fact that it goes against any logical part of me. 

"So you're saying, if I sign this... I'll be smart enough to win the next decathlon?" I'm hesitant to ask, and yet I ask anyways, tempted to take this opportunity for the small chance that it'll work. He chuckles and hands me a pen, tilting his head to the side slightly. 

"Kid, if you sign this, you'll be smart enough to win anything." I take the pen, staring at the contract although I don't yet move to sign it. It doesn't make sense, especially since he seems to implying some sort of magic that doesn't exist to this known universe. However, it is incredibly tempting, despite it's lack of logic. 

"It doesn't make logical sense, and it's throwing off my decision making. I don't know about this." I look up at Virgil with a slightly disappointed expression, but he seems more confident than ever. 

"Oh, Logan, logic doesn't apply here. Don't you just want to be appreciated for how smart you are, instead of picked on because of how dumb you can be?" And that's what does it. I move forward and look for where to sign as Virgil points out the five places to sign the contract, smiling and rolling it up as soon as I finish. "And there you go. Now go on, have fun, and good luck at next weeks decathlon." And for once I can't help but smile as I walk out of the building, already feeling smarter.

***

Everyone cheers as I say the winning answer, knowing it easily just like every other question. Whatever Virgil did, whatever magic or rigging was used, worked. Ever since our impromptu meeting I've been somehow smarter, knowing the answers to any question asked of me and even more so. I could give you a full on explanation, not just the answer. I don't know how he did it, and I don't know if I really want to know how he did it. 

For now, I just want to relish in the praise and the knowledge, actually enjoying life for once. People continue cheering me on, all the way to the backstage area of the auditorium, letting me go only after we had gotten many, many pictures of us as a team, me holding the trophy in each one. I'm not normally one who likes the spotlight, or likes to brag or anything, but this was amazing, and felt amazing. 

Being the one. The one that won for us, the hero of the decathlon, moving us to state. I walk quickly into one of the back rooms, closing my eyes and smiling slightly, shaking my head. I can't believe this, the chances of us managing to get to state after my mess up was slim to none, but because of this newfound knowledge of mine we're going. And everyone loves me because of it. 

I open my eyes, expecting to see the room I was just in, but instead I'm staring out at a much larger version of the auditorium, everything almost ten times bigger than me. My eyes widen, my smile falling as I look around to realize I'm in some sort of crystal ball. And then my eyes land on a large figure looking at me with a smirk across his face, his one hand on top of the crystal ball I'm in. He chuckles darkly, shaking his head as he holds up part of the contract that I remember signing all to well. 

"Logan, Logan, Logan." He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. "You should have stuck with logic." And with that he blinks, the contract disappears, and everything goes black. 

A/N: This one-shot was based off of NateWantsToBattle's music video for his song "Phantom", just so you guys know =P <3