11:27pm

Omg I've come to the conclusion now I'm in college inset days suck

Au
—

"Right here, Patton" Logan leaned over to his side of the desk and, using the highlighter Patton handed to him, coloured the few lines of text he would need to answer the next question. Logan knew he didn't mind, in fact Patton often asked Logan to highlight the important bits of long winded paragraphs of explanations because he's not as good as condensing it all down as his best friend is.

"Thank you, Lo!" He bumped their shoulders together affectionately, physical touch was common between the two who had been friends since either could remember. They did try dating for a few weeks but it didn't work out - it was awkward and simply didn't feel right, so they stayed best friends and have been happy of the decision ever since. Patton was still grateful it didn't ruin their friendship.

While the students talked and answered questions the lesson ran by pretty smoothly, Patton only knew a few in the class personally but not so much so to hang out with, merely through short conversations shared in the hallway. Patton did have a group of friends he shared with Logan, but unfortunately none were in this class.

"Do you think-?" Patton went to ask, referring to the work, when another voice caught his attention and made a few heads turn.

"Mention my brother again one more time and I'll leave"

The voice was a low growl, everyone who heard it knew it was serious, even the teacher who leaned back and narrowed their eyes, not taking kindly to the tone. The student who spoke was Virgil Bright, only known in the school because of his celebrity brother, who had gotten the best grades in this school up to date - Patton knew of Virgil's situation and he felt terribly bad for him, every day he's bombarded with 'can't you be more like your brother?' or something similar and Patton knew how much it wrecked Virgil's self esteem. He was his own person, and definitely shouldn't be compared or forced to turn into his older brother who had moved to Hollywood a few months back.

"Virgil, what's the matter with you? Speaking to me like that" the teacher responded, crossing their arms. Patton shot a glance at Logan who watched the scene too with a risen brow, "I'm...gonna stick up for him" Patton whispered, for he had seen the same scene carried out in different lessons and each time Virgil gets too annoyed to properly articulate his thoughts, ending in offending the teacher and being sent to the principle. This time Patton would help.

Rising from his chair he walked through the two-seat desks to stand beside Virgil who closed his mouth when he neared. The two have shared conversations before, and are desk buddies in history, although Patton didn't know it all he knew enough to want to stop this bull from occurring even further, his heart ached every time someone even mentioned Virgil's brothers' name when Virgil was around as it obviously negatively affected him.

"Please stop bringing up Virgil's brother" he started in a calm voice, wanting to keep this whole exchange level, usually they ended up with Virgil yelling. "I know I'd feel terrible if I was told to act like someone else everyday. Why should he? Can't he be his own person? Why is Virgil's brother better than him?" Question after question he watched the teachers eyes cloud over with defensive confusion - they didn't know what to do or say, not in their years of teaching has this happened before. Of course they knew Patton was right but he was a student who shouldn't get involved with other people's affairs.

"He's not" Patton answered for them. "He's not better. Yeah he left with great grades, so what? After all the articles I've read about him..." Patton glanced at Virgil, knowing the boy hated his brother, half because he was nothing compared to him, half because he was a complete and utter jerk. "I don't think anyone should be like him" Patton concluded, by the time he did the class was full of quiet whispers and subtle recordings from phone hidden behind bags.

"Please leave Virgil alone" Patton added, a quiet plea, something only for the teacher's ears, he knew the whole class was listening.

"I...Patton.." the teacher licked their lips, then pointed towards the door. "Both of you, out" they ordered abruptly which made Patton take a motion back, "what? But-"

"I said out" they demanded again, this time louder.

"That is hardly fair-" Logan tried but didn't get more involved after the glare he received from the teacher, Patton sent him a half smile as thanks, collecting his things much like Virgil was and leaving the class while the teacher returned to the front and demanded everyone went back to their work.

"Pat..." Virgil frowned once they were in the hallway, "you didn't have to do that"

Patton was frowning too, leaning on the wall and glaring ahead of him, but it looked more like a pout one might see on a child. "It's so du-st...annoying, Virgil!" He stuttered, letting out a pitiful whine. "Why can't they leave you alone? You're ten times better than your brother!" By the look he received Patton knew he didn't believe that which broke his heart. "You are.." Patton whispered, taking a step closer to grasp his hand with both of his, squeezing it gently.

Virgil just barely met his gaze, bangs hanging across his face. "Trust me, your brother is a...a...meanie!" He blurted, not wanting to be too offensive. Virgil managed a chuckle, squeezing Patton's hands back. "I guess, still wouldn't hurt to have better grades"

"Oh psh!" Patton crossed his arms again. "Grades are one thing, you are another. You don't need straight A pluses to get ahead in life-I mean, could your brother make art like you do!? No! It's incredible, Virge! Some business man like him wouldn't understand, and I hope you don't turn out like him at all" Patton wanted to carry on, say so much more but the door opened and the teacher stepped out, ready to deal out punishments all the while Patton pouted towards the ground. He knew what he needed to do, it had gone on for too long now, the worst part was Virgil bad barely received anything to counter act it. Obviously not enough from Patton either.

Twenty minute detention during lunch wasn't bad, it would be better if they were in the same room but alas they were split. While Patton coloured in the time went by sooner than he anticipated, but due to the teacher still being pissy they wouldn't tell Patton which room Virgil was in, so had to explore down the halls until he found him sitting in a mostly darkened room, scrolling on his phone.

Opening the door he beckoned Virgil out, telling him it was over.

"Hey, Virge?" Patton caught his attention before he could walk to the library, the place he spends most his time. He didn't have many friends and found Patton's group of friends too overwhelming. "Can we uh-meet up today? After school?" Shock split through Virgil's face until he masked it with slight excitement, a smile quirking his lips. "Yeah, sure, here...swap numbers?"

And so they added each other to their contacts and split off, Patton to find his friends and explain in greater detail what happened as Logan could only give what he saw in class. Each one of his friends were pissed off at the teachers actions, and now they knew much more what Virgil went through they all felt the same as Patton did. Horribly bad for him.

"I have the perfect idea!" Roman, a close friend of Logan's which was how he met Patton, suddenly exclaimed, jumping a little in excitement beside his boyfriend, Deceit, who sat calmly on a fallen log the staff turned into a bench. He was indifferent about the whole thing and much preferred to focus on his book in his lap, the other hand interlocked with Roman's.

"What is it, Ro?" Patton encouraged, leaning on Logan who didn't mind at all. "My mother is quite the influence around here" he began with an eyebrow wriggle, this was true, she brought Roman up single yet he had the greatest childhood he could ask for - she ran a high-end business yet still found all the time in the world for her son whom she loved with her whole heart, so much so she hadn't the time for relationships.

"I can tell her what's happening to Virgil, I'm sure with one talk to the principle it won't happen again.." the wink at the end gave off the true, slightly sinister, undertones to what his mother could do if she wanted. Others in the group jumped aboard the idea immediately, even Deceit who looked up from his book, interested in the power Roman's mother had. He always has been.

"Okay, okay! It's a good idea" Patton agreed, waving his hand around. "But you know how easily overwhelmed Virgil gets, I want to make sure I have clear consent from him that this will be okay" and then their friends settled down, seeing the reasoning behind this. Roman, however, pouted.

"But how long will that be?" He whined, Deceit nudged his shoulder, Roman simply sighed over-dramatically but still smiled lovingly at his boy. "It'll be today, actually!" Patton giggled a little shyly, "I invited him to hang out"

Coos rang throughout the group of friends which made Patton blush and hide his face into Logan's shoulder. "I hope it goes well" Logan murmured and Patton chuckled, nodding in agreement. He knew exactly what he was going to do, going to say, he hoped Virgil would appreciate it.

Later in the afternoon after Patton sent him the details of what they'd do he responded thusly;

Virgil 💜 - the woods? what are you gonna do kill me?

patton 💙 - not at all kiddo!! Is the woods okay with you?

Virgil 💜 - yeah I was only kidding
Virgil 💜 - six right?

patton 💙 - yep! Just knock on my door when you get here, I'll promise I'll answer it!

Virgil 💜 - kay cool
Virgil 💜 - see ya

Patton got himself ready and spent the time between watching cute animal videos online before he heard a knocking from downstairs. Hurrying out his room he was glad his parents were busy in the kitchen, they had been informed Patton was going out and told him they'd keep his food in the oven to stay warm.

"Hey, Virgil!" Patton grinned upon seeing him, closing the door after. "Uh-hey" he smiled back, but kept his head mostly ducked so Patton couldn't see much of it, which made him a little disappointed - why? He didn't know...he just knew he liked Virgil's smile.

"C'mon, this way!" Patton led the way through an alleyway beside his home, it ended in his garden which took him directly to the fence cutting off the forest from them. A safety/privacy precaution. 

"Can you climb?" He grinned, gesturing to the fence. He was only joking, he had a ladder in the shed but gawked at Virgil who heaved himself up and to the top of the fence with a smirk. "Can you climb?" He taunted which only made Patton giggle. Patton could climb it himself due to years of practice, so the two landed on the other side pretty easily.

"This way! Promise you won't regret it" Patton took him down a beaten trail through the trees while starting up conversation, Virgil was happy to listen and respond whenever needed, but merely listening to Patton was enough for him. He really enjoyed Patton's company, since they first became friends to now, he was the first person since coming to high school to treat Virgil normally, without once mentioning his brother unless Virgil was talking bad about himself, or Patton wanted to reassure him.

Whenever Patton did speak highly of him Virgil wondered why; he didn't believe it to be true, and wondered why Patton would think it true, he was...nothing really, mediocre at art, average grades, shy and boring...why does Patton want to spend time with him outside of school? Maybe he'd never know, or maybe he'd find out soon.

"Holy shit..." Virgil breathed, cutting off Patton's ramble about squirrels. "Oh!" He gushed, "we're here!" He then jogged up to the ladder hammered into the tree, the ladder being planks of wood leading up to a well built, sturdy and slightly dirty treehouse. "Me and my dad's built it!" Patton explained, climbing up the ladder with ease and hauling himself onto the balcony which even had a fence preventing anyone from falling off.

"I come here with friends a lot, but sometimes alone to just...breathe, ya know?"

"Yeah, I do.." Virgil knew all about finding a quiet place to be himself, away from everyone, to (like Patton said) breathe. He was a little shaky climbing the ladder but Patton helped him up the last few, taking him inside the room big enough for seven people to fit inside comfortably.

There was an old desk with a missing draw, a few stained beanbags, and a couch with ruined, messy and flattened cushions, but Virgil wasn't expecting luxury. He guessed they wouldn't put in anything expensive as it would most likely be stolen.

"Come here, Virge" Patton sat down on the couch, patting the spot beside him. He did so, taking one last sweep of the room before shuffling a little to face his friend, wondering what he wanted.

"Can I...talk to you? Seriously? Or d'you not want that right now?"

Virgil was a little surprised, while he could sense their conversation wouldn't be light hearted he didn't expect Patton to ask, but he nodded. "Yeah, sure, what's wrong?"

"Nothing with me but...I just wanted to vent a little, y'know?"

Virgil smiled a chuckle, "I've been there, c'mon, spill" he urged and Patton smiled gratefully, folding his hands in his lap and letting out a long breath, eyes focused on the floor covered with a few leaves.

"It's...about today" Patton started, "with the whole detention thing. It bothers me because, well...you shouldn't have been treated like that! You were given a detention for what? Because you made obvious to something that upsets you?" Patton sighed deeply, picking at his nails. Virgil listened on silently.

"You're told off so much but it's not even your fault! It's why I stood up for you today, I thought it would help but-"

"Hey" Virgil shuffled closer, Patton met his gaze. "It did help. Well, it helped me, you stopped me from losing my shit and made me feel...a bit better about myself than before" he tried to chuckle it off but Patton jumped aboard. "See!" He exclaimed, surprising Virgil a little.

"This is what I mean, Virge! The teachers make you feel so...so...pardon my French, shit about yourself!" Even had he excused himself, he still felt the urge to whisper the curse. "Who cares about your brother!?" He pouted then full on glared towards the wall, Virgil hadn't seen him so angry before but didn't want to disrupt his flow now.

"I know I don't! I'm sick of hearing about him, so I can't imagine how bad it is for you! The teachers are so mean, not all of them are but....and then you try and tell them and it makes them worse and-!"

Now Virgil needed to stop him, placing a comforting hand on Patton's shoulder, he drew him from his pit of rage. "Pat, look at me, that's it..." he coaxed, bringing the big closer to him. "Breathe for me, deep breaths, c'mon" and the two took in long, sturdy breaths, to let them out gently. This continued until Patton's glare softened into sadness. That ached Virgil's heart, he wanted to wipe it away and never see it again.

"I'm sorry, Virge" Patton sat up again, picking at his nails once more as a distraction. "But moving on from him..." Patton turned to face him further, knowing he'd meet to meet his eyes for this. "The worst part about this is you don't see your self worth, Virge" while speaking Patton reached forward and held both of Virgil's hands.

"You're an incredible person! A shining diamond" he grinned, Virgil could feel his cheeks heating up, that's what Patton thought of him...?

"Words can't express..." Patton drifted off, then changed what he would say. Right now Virgil didn't need to hear 'he was better than his brother', Patton knew something else that would make him (hopefully) feel much better.

"You are your own person, Virgil" at this Virgil's expression softened.

"Let's not think about anyone else but you, huh?" Patton smiled, slowly intertwining their fingers. "Let's think about your amazing art, it's so good! I bet it'll be in museums across the globe one day! Just you watch" he giggled, Virgil managed a flustered chuckle at his words, he seemed so adamant too.

"And you're doing so well in school, Virge, I'm incredibly proud of you. I know you sometimes get overwhelmed in loud classes, and sometimes have to leave, or other times get bothered by teachers, but even with all that you're striving, doing the best you can, whether it be an A or a C, that's all you, you and no one else. You can only be you, and you..." Patton smiled, taking a nervous glance down at their hands.

"And you are the best thing you can be" He finished a little quietly. Shyly. He watched as Virgil removed one of his hands and covered his mouth with his sleeve, eyes glossing over with tears, only a few spilled. "Pat-that-I-..." He spluttered, unsure of what to say, how to act. He's never been told that before, hadn't received such compliments since he could remember, it made his heart hammer very fast, butterflies fly wild in his stomach, and eyes tear up.

"Come here" Patton encouraged, wrapping him in a hug and resting on the back of the couch. Virgil buried his face in his shoulder and they cuddled like that for awhile, comfortable silence filling the space around them, somewhere between their legs tangled up but neither minded one bit.

"Pat?"

"Hm..?" He hummed, feeling a little tired, they had been there for quite some time now, the sun was halfway set. "Thank you, so much"

Patton hugged him tighter, kissing the crown of his head without really thinking. "You're welcome, Virge" he responded just as quietly.

A few minutes later Virgil slowly sat up, Patton followed suit. "You really...think of me like that?"

Patton nodded, "I do"

While staring at the ground Patton bit his lip, then softly pressed a kiss to Virgil's cheek. It was a simple peck, one that left both boys blushing madly.

"Virge?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Wanna come here again? Tomorrow?"

Virgil smiled wide and nodded.

"I do...I really do"

Maybe it wasn't such a surprise their first kiss was shared in that tree house...

—
I hate my nervous habits lmao

I'm getting close to everyone in college calling me Logan :) now I just gotta start correcting people lmao RIP ME-

12:48am