The school day passed far too slowly for Roman's liking. Partially because he couldn't wait to hang out with his new friends. Partially because he was so hot that he could hardly function. He knew that the long sleeved shirt and pants were unsafe in this heat, but he knew that he couldn't leave the house without them, so he suffered willingly. He couldn't focus in any of his classes because he was all too aware of the sweat rolling down his forehead and the oncoming headache he was sure would come. Finally, the final bell rang, and Roman rushed out of his class quicker than he ever had before.

Walking through the crowded hallway was much more difficult than Roman had anticipated. He felt dizzy, his lack of focus making the other students look like a blur. He was so distracted by this that he didn't notice the foot kick out in front of him. Roman tripped and fell hard, his books scattering across the floor. He looked up to see Jacob, one of the boys who had been tormenting him relentlessly since he had moved schools. Roman tried to get back up but was pushed down roughly, causing him to slam into the floor again. After his incredibly tolling morning and his less than ideal school day, this was the final straw for Roman. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. "Aw, is somebody going to cry?" Jacob mocked. Roman shook his head, willing the tears to go away. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Can you speak up?" Jacob laughed loudly. Roman felt a tear roll down his cheek as he tried to get up again, only to be pushed down once more. His tears flowed more freely when he heard someone speaking behind him. "Are you quite finished? You are acting like a child." Roman knew that voice, and he felt his body flush with relief. Jacob didn't look intimidated, however. "Oh look, the robot came to save you. You better watch out for him, he's emotionless. He'll hurt you more than I ever could," Jacob spat with a grin on his face. Logan kept his usual straight face on, but Roman could see the hurt behind his eyes. "Now that you are finishing lashing out, Roman and I will be leaving." Logan walked over to Roman and squatted down in front of him, reaching out to wipe away the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Come on, Ro. Let's go find the others." Roman was slightly taken aback by Logan's use of his nickname. Maybe he wasn't as uptight as he seemed. Roman slowly pulled himself up, scared of being pushed down again. Logan helped Roman up to his feet before putting his arm around his shoulder and leading him through the hallway. Roman couldn't help but focus on the arm around him. He didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew that he felt safe, and he was more than thankful for that. He pulled out his notepad from his pocket and quickly wrote a note, handing it to Logan.

Thank you.

Logan read it before speaking in a softer voice than Roman could have expected from the boy. "It's not a problem. I am sorry that I couldn't have gotten there sooner. I hate that they hurt you." Roman felt his face heat up slightly. He cares about me? Roman wrote another note, taking a bit more time on this one. Logan watched him curiously until he was given the paper.

Also, for the record, they were wrong about you. I don't think you're an emotionless robot at all.

Logan's breath caught in his throat. That note alone meant more to him than anything. Logan couldn't stop himself before he threw his arms around Roman, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," Logan whispered. Roman rubbed his back lightly until they both heard an "awww" echo through the now emptying hallway. They both looked up to see Patton watching them with a huge grin on his face. "You two are so cute!! But Roman, I gotta say, how did you break Logan?" Roman's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. Patton chuckled. "I was just making a joke because Logan isn't one for physical contact unless he's super duper comfortable with you. So how'd you do it?" Logan handed the note to Patton, letting him read the sweet message. Patton's expression was a mixture of happiness and pity. "Were they messing with you again, Lo?"

"To a degree. But it did not start that way, no. They were harassing Roman. They had him on the ground and they kept pushing him down and making horrible comments to him, so I stepped in to assist. They turned on me, as they do, and now we are here." Patton gasped before turning to Roman. "Are you okay?" Roman nodded lightly, looking to Logan gratefully. Patton walked over to Logan and hugged him lightly. "Are you okay, Logan?" Patton whispered in his ear. Logan nodded lightly. When the pair pulled away, they turned to find Roman looking at them with a soft smile. "What?" they both said in unison. He wrote a quick note.

You two are so cute together.

Both boys blushed lightly, thanking Roman. "We better get going, Virge is waiting in the car and we all know how dramatic he can be when he's hungry," Patton giggled. With that, the three boys headed to the car, occasionally making jokes to each other and laughing at each other. Finally, they made it to Logan's car, a slightly annoyed Virgil sitting in the passenger seat. "What took you guys so long? I've been sitting here forever." Patton spoke up. "Sorry Virge, we had a bit of a...complication." Virgil furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Jacob," Logan said lowly, and Virgil's eyes widened. "Oh god, I'm sorry Lo. I didn't mean to sound insensitive." "It is quite alright, you did not mean it. However, he wasn't after me today, surprisingly. He was after Roman." Anyone within a five mile radius could've seen the anger forming on Virgil's face. "Are you kidding? Why can't he leave everyone alone?" Patton opened Virgil's door and rubbed his arm lightly, trying to calm him down. As Virgil's anger dissipated slightly, he turned back to Roman. "What did he do to you?" Roman looked down at his shoes. He didn't want his only friends to think he was as weak and helpless as he was. "Please Ro, we just want to know what he did," Patton added. Roman knew he needed to tell them. So he took a deep breath before pulling out his phone to text their group chat.

He tripped me so I fell hard on the floor. When I tried to get up, he kept pushing me back to the ground.

The three boys read the text, sympathy filling them. How could someone hurt a person as sweet as Roman. However, Logan furrowed his eyebrows. "Roman, I don't mean to sound accusatory, but is that all he did? He is usually much harsher with his words." Roman shook his head. He typed quickly.

I guess after my awful day, him harassing me was my breaking point. He laughed at me and asked me "Aw are you gonna cry?" or something like that. I guess he didn't get the reaction he wanted because he was like "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, can you speak up?" And I just couldn't take it so I cried in front of him like an idiot. But that was it. I'm fine now.

All three boys had an unmistakeable look of fury on their face. I made them mad. I sounded like a baby, and now they're mad. They are furious with me. Roman's thoughts swirled as his body began to shake violently. He typed as fast as he could.

I'm so sorry please don't hurt me I didn't mean to make you mad I'm sorry

All of their faces softened instantly, looking up at the shaking boy. Patton spoke first. "No, Roman, we're not gonna hurt you. We would never." Logan nodded. "We are simply upset at that idiot for hurting you and making light of your condition." "He made you cry, Ro. That's seriously messed up," Virgil added. Roman looked at the three, searching for a sign that they were lying. However, he only found three concerned faces looking back at him. He looked down at his feet, willing himself to take deep breathes. Once his shaking subsided, Patton spoke. "So, you guys ready to go?" Roman chuckled lightly and nodded. Logan got in the driver's seat, leaving Patton and Roman to sit in the back seat. As the drive to Virgil's house began, Roman felt a hand slip into his. He looked up to see Patton looking back at him, before squeezing his hand lightly. Roman squeezed back and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Maybe with these three, he could finally feel safe again. Just maybe.