#tw:fostercare

[nikokova]

Changes: Chapter 4

Hey everyone, it's me Nesa! I don't really know what to put in these intros anymore so I’ll just remind you that my asks are open for any questions about the story! I’m also trying the keep reading thingy this time because I’m actually on a computer for once, so let's all hope nothing glitches

BIG SHOUT OUT to @black-out-wonder for being my beta reader! I love and appreciate them so much<3 They also write, so you should go and check out their writing masterpost!

Prologue Previous

Summary: Logan Summers: One friend, a 4.0, and a huge secret. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Virgil Mathews: barely surviving high school, let alone possibly being moved away from his one and only friend just so he gets to experience what its like to “Have a family”. Patton Pennington: can’t remember having a friend in real life, hopes that his parents taking in a foster kid can change things for him. Roman Royal: Arguably the most popular boy in school, but when he hears that the high schools are merging next year, will he be able to mend his checkered past?

Pairings: Slow-burn Analogical and Royality

Warnings: Nightmare, anxiety, invading personal space, mention of past bullying, negative thoughts, food, an almost swear, alcohol mention, drunk person, child abuse, mental abuse, mention of physical abuse, bad writing, tell me if I missed any!

THIS IS A VERY HEAVY CHAPTER, PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS

Word count: 1959

Tag list:  @zaisling @heir-of-the-founders @rainbow-sides @3-14l59265358979323846  @spazzz32 @sanderstalker @confinesofpersonalknowledge @phlying-squirrel @scorching-scotch @queen-of-all-things-snuggly  @theotherella @toujours-fidele @hamster-corn @misslilidelaney @alkimara  @ccecode @nienna14 @sylveon-lover-crazyfangirl1415 @smileydog101 @am-i-heaven-or-am-i-hell @an-anxious-acquaintance @a-wild-zaneta @starryfirefliesbloggo

***

It had only been two weeks that Virgil had been staying at the Pennington’s. But he felt right at home. The adults always asked before touching him and seemed to know when Virgil’s anxiety was becoming too stressful for him. They also bought chocolate milk, somehow knowing it was his weakness. The caseworker probably ratted him out.

It wasn’t a bad idea though, and after a couple days he started to feel more comfortable just living there. Of course, he still had the habit of asking if he could get something to eat or drink even though they would remind him every time that he didn’t have to. He was mostly just glad that they were patient and knew not to cross any of his boundaries.

The only person not so good at telling where his lines were drawn was Patton. It wasn’t that he didn’t try, he just got very excited and that lead to him tackling Virgil into a hug. Which gave Virgil a panic attack once, and Patton wouldn't stop apologizing for the rest of the day. Even after Virgil said it wasn’t a problem. Virgil actually enjoyed the hugs, he hadn’t really gotten any before. And he sort of wondered how Patton would react to that information.

Patton seemed to be happy almost all of the time, but Virgil knew it was just a front. He saw the moments when Patton’s eyes were glazed over as he stared at the wall. Virgil wanted to know what he was thinking about in those moments. What was making him sad? Honestly, Virgil had no idea why he seemed to have gotten so close to Patton so fast. He was almost the complete opposite of Logan, but maybe Virgil just needed a friend like that right now. One that might not be able to push all of his fears away with logic. But one that could feel with him and make him feel less alone. Maybe Virgil really did need a brother.

***

A scream pulled Virgil out of his dream with a jolt. Without thinking he jumped out of bed and opened the door to his room. He knew the scream had come from Patton, so he made it to Patton's room and slowly pushed the door open. The red-haired boy was curled together, his face in between his knees with his hands in his messy hair. His body was shaking, and Virgil couldn't tell if it was because of the sobs tearing from Patton's throat.

“Hey, Pat.” He hushed quietly, he slowly approached the bed that sat in the center of the back wall. “It’s ok, I’m here.”

“I d-didn’t do anything to him!” Patton gushed, rocking back and forth. Out of the corner of his eye, Virgil could see Ryan poke his head out of the parent's door. They nodded to each other and Ryan went back into their room. Virgil realized that it wasn’t the first time this happened…

“Of course you didn’t do anything, Pat.” Virgil hummed. He slowly set a hand on Patton's and started to untangle his hands from his hair.

“Th-then why does he hate me?” Patton asked, pulling his hands from his hair and turning his face to Virgil.

“Who hates you?” Virgil's eyebrows furrowed as he began rubbing Patton's back.

“Roman..”

“Royal?” Virgil asked, how would Roman and Patton know each other? Roman had been in Virgil's classes since middle school. But Patton nodded. “How do you guys even know each other?”

“Uh, we went to elementary together.” Patton sniffled, “He was always so mean to me, I don't know what I did though.”

“Probably because you didn’t do anything,” Virgil growled, trying to keep his voice calm for Patton. Whatever Roman did to Patton was unforgivable. Especially if Patton was still this upset about it after all this time. Roman had always seemed nice and had occasionally gone out of his way to help other people. It was a shock to hear what Patton was saying.

“Then why was he so mean?” Tears threatened Patton's dark eyes once again.

“Well, I don't know Pat. Sometimes people hate themselves, so they take it out on others. It’s not fair, but it’s important to remember that it’s not your fault that he treated you that way. You can’t take responsibility for someone else’s actions.” Virgil said softly, Patton let out a long breath and stretched his arms a little.

“Sorry for having a breakdown. Sometimes I just have nightmares about what happened.” He gave Virgil a smile. He was retracting back to his happy self. Virgil decided he would investigate further later on, so he could properly gauge how hard he was going to punch Roman. “Will you, uh, will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Of course.” Virgil smiled and moved off the bed so that Patton could lay down. Once Patton was comfortable, Virgil sat down next to him.

“This is weird, but can you talk? Just like a story or something. Maybe a story of you and Logan!” Patton begged, Virgil rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Alright, so the first time we met he almost walked right into a pillar…”

***

“Boys, breakfast!” Cathy called, causing Virgil to jump and stab himself in the eye with his eyeshadow brush.

“Fu-crap!” He cut himself off. Cutting off his swears had become a habit since moving in. It seemed like Patton could hear him from any room and would tell him to watch his language. Not that Patton really had any room to talk. He sure was a sight late at night during a horror movie. He could scare off sailors.

Quickly he wiped the water from his eyes and finished applying his eyeshadow before stuffing his makeup into his bag and shoving it under his bed. He could hear Patton's door open and the steps skip down the hall. As usual, they stopped in front of Virgil's door. It was almost like clockwork. Around nine every morning they would get called down for breakfast by Patton's mom. Patton wouldn’t go downstairs without Virgil, and part of him was appreciative of this. It meant that when Patton's dads didn’t have to work, he didn’t come down to an already full table alone.

“You coming Kiddo?” Patton asked, the creak of the wood told Virgil he was shifting his weight.

“Yeah, one sec.” He made sure to brush off his clothes before opening the door.

“It smells like pancakes, think that's what she made?” Patton guessed,

“Probably,” Virgil shrugged.

Cathy was setting the table with pancakes as the boys walked into the dining room. Virgil eyed the chocolate milk and took his usual seat next to Patton.

“When are you going to work?” Patton asked, his mom had a wacky work schedule due to her being a waitress. Some days she didn’t go to work until eight PM and got back at two AM

“My shift starts at two today,”

“Pa’s teaching summer school?”

“Yep, and Tom is at work as well,” His mom responded, “I was thinking that you guys could walk to the library,” she added, pouring syrup over her plate.

“You can walk there from here?!” Virgil exploded, dropping his fork to his plate. His face felt ten degrees warmer when the others laughed.

“Yeah, you didn’t notice how short the drive was here?” Cathy asked,

“Well, not really. I was sort of panicking so it seemed really long.” Virgil shrunk into his jacket and a twinge of guilt appeared on Cathy's face.

“Well, you boys can walk up there if you want. Maybe your friend will be there Virgil. I mean, I don't want to push into your business. But if meeting up with this boy is what you enjoy, I wouldn't mind it. Ryan and Tim wouldn't mind either.” She explained, “The only day you can’t go is Saturday. As you know that's sort of our family day.”

“Th-that would be really nice. Thanks.” Virgil muttered, staring down at the food on his plate.

“You really like this guy, huh?” Patton nudged Virgil's shoulder with a mischievous smirk.

“Sh-Shut up!”

***

It was two weeks ago when his best friend had moved away, and he wasn't sure how it made him feel. Usually, Logan could pride himself on being devoid of emotions just like she wanted. Now, however, he was definitely feeling an emotion, even though he couldn't place which one it was. His chest ached, and he almost felt nauseous when thinking that he might never see Virgil again.

Whatever the emotion was it was illogical, and disrupting the time he had to study. Since Virgil had left, the amount of time he had left over to study now took up most of his day. The only day he did go to the library now was on Saturdays. Saturday just seemed to be the appropriate day to take a break from his endless studying. The whole first week after Virgil left, Logan continued to go to the library in hopes that his friend would be there. He found that being at the library alone did feel, quite lonely. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling to the nerd. He knew that he felt it often when his father was gone to work. Usually, he had Virgil to wipe the feeling away, but now he really didn’t have anybody.

“LOGAN!” A voice screeched, he recognized it as his mother. Most likely having drunk more than she should have. Not that it was something new, but he couldn’t stop the sudden increase of his heartbeat. His body started to shake, but he forced himself up from his desk. Too fast, pencils clattered to the hardwood floor. Should he pick them up? Or go to his her, he really didn’t want to go to his mom. What would she want from him? He had already made sure that the house was spotless. Perhaps something had occurred at work that upset her.

A door slamming open caused him to jump, and his head jerked violently towards his door. His mother's thin body was supported by the doorframe as her ice eyes stared him down. A sudden lump in his throat appeared as he tried to think of what to tell her.

“I called you,” she hissed, “why didn’t you respond?”

“I-I was, on my way.” He choked out,

“Oh?” The dark haired woman warned. “For 5 minutes?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long. I’m sorry.” The words fell out of his mouth. He felt like an idiot. He couldn't even speak properly. No wonder she hated him.

“You’re so ungrateful you know that? Your dad and I work tirelessly just to support you, and you can’t even simply respond to me?” Her lanky body made its way over to where Logan stood in the middle of the room. “You're so worthless. God, I wish I had never given birth to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Whatever. Just go make dinner. I’m starving.” His mother then left the room, leaning more to one side than the other. Part of Logan wished she would fall down the stairs.

‘Wait, don’t think like that. She didn’t hit you this time. It would be rude to wish that. Don’t be illogical Logan.’

Thoughts spun around his head as heat came to his eyes.

‘Stop. stop. Stop. You're being stupid. Go do what she wants before you have to use the foundation you hide in that drawer.’ he told himself,

After a minute he was able to pull himself together enough to leave his room and hide away in the kitchen.

‘Today was a good day. Today was a good day. It could've been worse. Just don’t mess up, and everything will be fine.’

***

There is gonna be Roman angst in the next chapter. So. Stay tuned for that<3

[nikokova]

Changes: Prologue

In honor of hitting 100 followers, I decided to stop procrastinating on posting this so here it is. My first fanfiction!

Summary: Logan Summers: One friend, a 4.0, and a huge secret. He wouldn't have it any other way. Virgil Mathews: barely surviving high school, let alone possibly being moved away from his one and only friend just so he gets to experience what its like to “Have a family”. Patton Pennington: can’t remember having a friend in real life, hopes that his parents taking in a foster kid can change things for him. Roman Royal: Arguably the most popular boy in school, but when he hears that the high schools are merging next year, will he be able to mend his checkered past?

Pairings: slow-burn analogical, slow-burn royality (because I don't know how to write anything else)

Warnings: Angst, bullying (verbal and physical), mentions of pain, injuries, foster care, crappy writing, please tell me if I’m missing something!

Word count: 2,670

Tags: none yet, but please put in an ask if you want to be on it!

***

Running through the playground towards the woods is not how Patton envisioned the end of his day at his summer program. But now that he thought about it, he really shouldn't have expected anything else. He knew that Roman was going to be there. He also knew that Roman Royal had an agenda against him since the 4th grade, and he also knew that Roman would never let him get away.

“Just stop trying to run, you can’t get away from me!” Romans' voice was louder than before. Patton pushed himself to run faster as he passed between the swingset and into the trees. Sticks and wrappers lied all over the ground along with leaves that hadn't quite faded away from last fall. Patton ducked left and right swerving around the biggest trees to see if he could throw Roman off, occasionally lifting a hand to get his curly red hair out of his eyes. He didn't dare look behind him, nor did he have time to before he got a close up look at the flowers spread on the ground. The body sitting on his back stood up and flipped him over as tears ran down the cheeks that were already stinging from scrapes. The look of anger on the tanned boys face made Patton start to squirm. Roman looked angrier than he ever had before.

“What did I tell you?! You’re so stupid, no wonder your parents hate you. That's why your mom got another boyfriend isn't it?”

“Please stop!” Patton cried, but his bully continued, setting his knees onto Patton's wrists.

“Cause you weren't enough for her, you and her husband were so stupid she needed someone smart huh?” Roman hissed, his raven black hair falling over his eyes in small waves. He leaned in close to Patton's face, his breath hot and humid.

“Th-that's not why! People can like more than one person, and like any gender--” Patton protest was cut off by a fist colliding with his jaw.

“Shut up! No one wants to hear you talk anyway.” Roman growled, the heat and anger in Patton grew.

“Why are you so mean to me? I’ve never done anything wrong to you!” Patton screeched, praying that his papa might get out of work early. And that maybe the sound of him pulling into the parking lot would make Roman leave him alone. Roman’s nose scrunched, causing his freckles to fold together in the wrinkles. Finally, all of Patton's fidgeting paid off and he was able to wrestle his wrists free from Roman. Before the taller boy could pin him again, Patton placed his hands next to his sides and used all of his might to push his body up and throw Roman off of him.

Before the other had time to react he was running again. His eyes scanned the area if he could just make it to the parking lot… Someone had to be there, and Roman would have to leave him alone. Then he can just tell his parents that he fell while playing tag. That should work, it's worked before.

He had almost made it to the edge of the woods when there was a sudden weight on him again, dragging him down face to face with a candy wrapper. At first, his only thought was, ‘huh, a Hershey's bar’, before his mind actually caught up to what that meant.

Of course Roman would've caught up to him. Roman was bigger and stronger than him even though Patton was older.

“Stop running away you coward!” Roman growled flipping Patton over again. Patton barely had time to lift his bruised arms over his face before he was suddenly being pummeled. He could hear Roman yelling something at him, but what he said seemed to be blurred out behind Patton's own thoughts. He never really imagined this ever happening to him. Sometimes it made him wonder if his dad had just read him too many fairy tales growing up.

He kept his eyes shut, too afraid to move. Too afraid to make Roman angrier. Too afraid to make his mom worry. He choked back tears and kept biting his lip. He wondered if the iron he was tasting meant that he broke through the skin on his lip or that there an abrasion from somewhere else on his face. How would he explain this to his parents? He didn't want it to get worse, and telling parents always makes it worse. After a second he realized he no longer felt the pain of Roman’s beating. He wondered if mental pain worked like that too. That maybe after a while of feeling it, you just become numb. A loud honk threw his mind to a halt, along with the boy sitting on his torso. The weight on his stomach was lifted as Roman got up, it was probably his dad's car.

“I hate you.” Patton could hear roman grumble. “Pennington is a stupid last name I hope you know. It's stupid like you.” He spat. Patton left his arms over his face as he heard the sticks crunch under Romans feet. He continued to lay there for a while, even after he heard the tires pull out of the parking lot. He didn't even put his arms down until his heart stopped beating all over his body. It took awhile for him to sit up and look around. The area had settled into a quiet swish of tree branches, with the occasional car horn from the road that wasn’t too far away. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands before taking a deep breath. He had to get cleaned up and think of an excused before Papa came for him. He also had to find out where Roman hid his backpack anyways.

Patton pulled himself up and made his way to the playground on jello-feeling legs. Walking across the wood chips to the concrete stairs that lead up to the side doors of the school he let his hand glide across the rusted railing. The doors were luckily still unlocked, meaning there must've been other summer programs in session. He could hear his sneakers squeak as he traveled down the hall, turning right, dragging his hands against the could green lockers. Sometimes he wondered why they even had lockers since they didn't let anyone use them. Well, there was this one that was always unlocked on the second floor. But that was Patton's secret hiding place. He took a left into a small hallway where the boy's bathroom was.  Before he could open the wooden door, he noticed a backpack sitting in the trash. Of course, that's where Roman left it... Patton sighed and took it out before flinging it over his shoulder, letting out a small gasp as it rubbed against his arm. He blinked away the tears that stung at his eyes and pushed the door open, hoping he’d never have to see the face of Roman Royal ever again.

***

To say that Logan didn't enjoy the presence of other people would be an understatement.

Even at age 11 he found others to be irritating and assumed he would prefer to be the only human left in existence if it weren't for the fact that others were a necessity for the creation of books. If he was going to be honest, books were the only reason he tolerated people other than his father. His dad was the one to introduce him to books, knowledge, and facts after all. Being the famous lawyer, Robert Summers, one of the first things he taught Logan was that the truth is more important than anything else. While his father did teach him his favorite life lessons, he was often gone on business for weeks at a time working different cases. And while he was proud of his dad, his absence left Logan alone with his mother. She was the reason Logan ever had to go against his core beliefs about the truth because she always helped him to realize he didn't deserve the truth no matter how hard he tried. When Robert did come back home he would always bring Logan a new book to read. This book Logan would carry around, even after he finished it, until his father returned with a new one.

Logan retracted his hand from the brick wall of the foster center to flip to the next page of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It didn't really matter that he had read this chapter 4 times already, just that he had something to read while he walked to the library. He didn't look up from printed words as he placed his hand back on the wall, feeling the ridges numb his fingers as he dragged them across. He’d memorized his way to the library when he was 7 and walked the path at least 4 times a week. Logan looked up and swerved away from the wall to avoid the white stairs that protruded from the building. After he quickly looked back down and ignored the fact that in doing so he joined a group of children exiting the foster facility. Kids shoved him from all sides causing him to huff and push his glasses up in frustration. Clamping his book shut with one hand Logan looked up to see if he could navigate out of the crowd. He slowly pushed in with the other kids to make it to the outside of the group, and he almost did. Except that he noticed something that caused him to hesitate. A smaller boy who was completely covered in dark clothing, including a black hoodie with the hood drawn up. Logan immediately decided it was more important to let the younger child know of the safety hazards of wearing so many clothes in the hot summer afternoon. Walking a couple blocks in a large group would make it even worse, it was possible the kid could suffer from a heat stroke at this rate. After a second of contemplation, he pushed his way through to the other kid, now noticing the boy wasn't much smaller than himself up close.

“Um, excuse me. You are aware that it is 82 degrees Fahrenheit, are you not?” Logan asks looking down at the top of the boys hood. He looks up and sees a giant marbled white building up ahead, that he instantly recognized as the library. He looked to his right to see the bricked barber shop between the bodies. Then to his left, over the heads of the shorter kids to see the apartment building Logan's favorite librarian lived at. Often he would accompany her on her walk home from the library after staying later than he intended, though he seemed to intend to do it more often now as he enjoyed the conversations they could have about the language use of the author he was currently studying. It took him a couple moments to reel back and realize he still hadn't gotten a response.

“Hello, my name is Logan. Perhaps you didn't hear me, its 82 degrees out right now. With the way you're dressed it is quite likely you will suffer from heat stroke if not properly ventilated.” Logan tried again. This time, he made sure to observe the hooded child. Logan noticed the way he shook inside of the jacket, His breathing also appeared to be shallow. Logan brushed off the fact that he was ignored, again, and chose to lean forward to see the boys face. It was pale, blue eyes wide while his dark russet hair fell over them. It didn't take long for the pieces to fall into place in Logan's brain. The dark clad child was experiencing a panic attack.

Before he could formulate a plan of action to best help the boy he was suddenly pushed by the taller girl to his left. He looked over and noticed the group was moving around to climb up the tall steps to the library. His eyes returned to the shrinking boy he had previously been pushed into, the boy seemed to be trying to force himself further into his hoodie. Logan huffed at this and went back to planning how he could best help the boy. Bringing him to a quiet and unpopulated part of the library was probably his best bet. Along with running through the breathing exercises, Logan had memorized a month ago.

Logan noticed the boys sneakers as they walked up the stairs. They were black, not an uncommon color when someone wanted shoes to last and appear clean with minimal upkeep. But they had few scrapes and did not appear to have any dirt stuck to the sides. At first, Logan assumed they were relatively new. Until he noticed that the leather was dulled. Meaning that this boy didn’t participate in outdoor activities such as sports or other outdoor games Logan never understood the appeal of, causing his sneakers to remain looking new.

Logan was again snapped out of his thoughts by a hand grabbing his sleeve and yanking him back. He looked up immediately to see the white marble of one of the pillars guarding the doors. he turned to his right to thank whoever had stopped him from walking face first into the column to see the hooded boy still holding onto his sleeve. His hood was down now, most likely from leaning forward quickly to stop Logan. Logan opened his mouth to utter an apology but was stopped by the way the other boys blue eyes seemed to reflect the light from the sun.

“Are you ok? You didn’t actually walk into it, did you? I thought I had grabbed you in time but I guess not, sorry.” The boy muttered, again shrinking into his hoodie.

“Nonsense, you stopped me right on time. Thank you for that, and I apologize for making you have to grab me, and for getting distracted by your eyes.” he stated, not seeming to notice the boy begin to blush. “I don’t know if you were able to hear me properly earlier, but my name is Logan. Logan Summers.”

“O-oh, I’m Virgil.” The boy stuttered in reply, it seemed that his adrenalin from having to save Logan was wearing off and turning back into extensive worry. It especially didn't help when he noticed he was still holding Logan's sleeve. Logan didn’t say anything as Virgil let go of his sleeve and dug it back into his own pocket. The taller boy now looked up to observe the area. It appeared that the rest of the group had gone inside, leaving the street quiet and empty. The only other person on the sidewalk was the old Mr. Crocker who owned the grocery across the street, sweeping the sidewalk like store owners often do in movies set in the early 1900’s. He turned back and looked at Virgil, who now had his hood pulled back over his head.

“We should probably head inside. I know a quiet spot in the back of the library I think you will enjoy. Is that alright?” Logan asked, Virgil just looked up and nodded slightly.

“How old are you anyway? You talk like a doctor in the movies.” Virgil giggled, his mouth opened into a small smile and Logan was able to see a chipped front tooth.

“I am 11 years, 4 months, 7 days-” He gets cut off by a laugh.

“Alright, alright. I get it calculator watch.” Virgil laughed, shaking his head. Logan opened his mouth to lecture him on why it was rude to interrupt someone, but noticed that the boy seemed calm now. He definitely didn't feel like scaring this boy back into a panic, especially since something about him made Logan enjoy talking to him. “So, is this area of the library really a quiet place?”

***

A/N: Sorry this is crappy, hopefully, the next chapters will be better. They will be less angsty, I can say that!

Next

[nikokova]

Changes: Chapter 3

Hi guys, it’s me. The anxious writer. So, as this security guard at my school keeps yelling, I’ve only got 15 days left before finals. So I might not update on the schedule that I want, though I will try!

Feel free to send me an ask about the story. I'll try to answer as long as it doesnt give away any spoilers!

Prologue Previous

Summary: Logan Summers: One friend, a 4.0, and a huge secret. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Virgil Mathews: barely surviving high school, let alone possibly being moved away from his one and only friend just so he gets to experience what its like to “Have a family”. Patton Pennington: can’t remember having a friend in real life, hopes that his parents taking in a foster kid can change things for him. Roman Royal: Arguably the most popular boy in school, but when he hears that the high schools are merging next year, will he be able to mend his checkered past?

Pairings: Slow-burn Analogical and Royality

Warnings: Foster system, food/drink, anxiety/nervousness, some self-deprecation, puns, injury, mentions of getting beat up, bad writing skills. Let me know if I missed any!

Word count: 2087

Tag list: @zaisling @heir-of-the-founders @rainbow-sides @3-14l59265358979323846 @spazzz32 @sanderstalker @confinesofpersonalknowledge @black-out-wonder @phlying-squirrel @scorching-scotch @queen-of-all-things-snuggly @theotherella @toujours-fidele @hamster-corn @misslilidelaney @alkimara @ccecode @nienna14 @sylveon-lover-crazyfangirl1415 @smileydog101 @am-i-heaven-or-am-i-hell @an-anxious-acquaintance Just ask if you want to be added!

***

To say that Patton felt excited was probably an understatement. He didn’t know a word for how he was feeling. Some sort of mix of happiness and nervousness that bubbled in his stomach making him simultaneously thrilled and nauseous. It was only a week since school had ended, but he had felt really lonely. At least at school, he was surrounded by other people, even if they didn’t care to notice he existed. At home, it was just him and his online friends. Who each had a life and their own in real life friends. He craved friends more than he would even admit to himself. When he imagined going out for ice cream, movies, staying up late at sleepovers. He felt selfish. It wasn't other people's fault that he felt the way he did, or their job to make him feel better.

He sat up and looked around in an attempt to change the subject of his own conversation. His eyes scanned the walls that had been yellow since he was a baby, some spots still had crayon and finger paint that his mom refused to wash off because of “memories”. He had never really thought of wiping them off the wall, especially because it made his mom happy when he asked if she knew the story behind a certain scribble. Usually, she did, sometimes she would make something up to make him laugh.

The other things he had on his walls since childhood was a collection of pun posters. The biggest was taped above his dresser, it had two bananas drawn on it with the quote, “Why did the banana go to the doctor? He wasn’t peeling well.” Seeing the posters always made him laugh, or at least smile on a rough day. His personal favorite was the rainbow deer, bubble letters spelling out “Oh deer! I’m queer!”

His room was one of the only to not be completely reorganized in the past week. HIs parents had wanted the house to be presentable when the boy arrived. Not that it wasn’t already pretty clean, but his parents worried. Part of Patton was glad that his room had been left untouched, another part wondered if a change of scenery would improve his state of mind. He had read somewhere that being exposed to yellow for a long time made people depressed. Or was it blue? Either way, maybe a different color would make him happy? No, that was silly.

His eyes moved to the corner where a mirror stood out like a prep in Hot Topic, being one of the only things not covered in childhood stickers. In it, he could see his brown eyes contrasting with the bright white of his skin. He had tried to tan before, it resulted in a painful sunburn that returned to its natural color in two weeks. What bothered him though, was that he had no freckles. Almost every redhead he knew had freckled, but him. Patton loved adored freckles. He developed a crush on almost all of his male classmates who had them at one point or another.

“Patton!” His mom's voice snapped him from his thoughts,

“Yeah?” He hopped off of his bed and took a deep breath, plastering a smile on his face.

“Can you do me a favor?” She asked, her voice seeming louder as Patton opened his door.

“What do you want me to do?” He questioned, walking down the hall and looking through all of the open doors. He stopped in the guest, well his new brother's room, where his mom was wrapping the vacuum cord. She looked up at him and smiled,

“Do you think you can wipe down the window for me?” The window looked spotless. “I need to vacuum the living room.” for the fourth time this week. But Patton could see the stress and worry behind her smile. He widened his own smile and slowly took the vacuum from his mom.

“Why don’t you go grab some lemonade from the fridge? He might be thirsty when he gets here, and the living room is squeaky clean.” He reassured, her brown eyes softened and she gave him a small smile.

“Alright, I’m overworking myself, I get it.” She giggled and headed to the door, “You want any lemonade?”

“No thanks, I’m good.” Once his mom was gone he deposited the vacuum into the halls closet. He walked back into the room to look for the window cleaner, only to see a car parked in front of the house. He ran up to the window, placing his hands on the glass, before taking them off and scolding himself on the imprint it left. The driver's door opened and a tall woman climbed out. Her grey hair tied in a bun that matched her suit. Heart pounding, Patton raced out of the room and down the stairs. He could see the lady and his parents on the porch as he crossed the dining room.

“Virgil really doesn’t like being touched, especially right now. He got a little beat up this morning, he’s not violent of course. Just other kids usually get jealous when another gets adopted or moved to a home.” The voice seemed extremely cold for someone who works with kids. Patton chose to stand next to Ryan as they all listened to her.

“Is there anything we should do about it?” Ryan asked, running a hand over his black hair.

“Honestly, the best thing is to ignore it. He probably feels self-conscious about it.” The lady shifted, clearly uncomfortable with standing in the heels she had on.

“Where is he?” Patton looked around curiously.

“Oh, he’s in the car. Maybe you can show him around while I talk with your parents.” The lady suggested,

“Only if you’d be ok with that kiddo.” His dad added,

“Yeah, I’m ok with doing that!” Patton smiled,

“Great.” The lady responded monotone before turning on her heels and walking over to the car. She opened the back door, and it seemed like a couple words were exchanged before a tall boy dressed in all black stepped out of the car. He was quite a few inches taller than the lady, and it became obvious he was only a little taller than Patton, who was only around 5’8. He stayed on the stairs even as the lady came up to them on the porch. His hood was pulled over his head, hiding most of his face.

“Alright Virgil, this is Ryan,” Pa waved a hand, “Cathy, and Tom.” His mom and dad waved respectively.

“And I’m Patton!” The boys blue eyes looked him over in a way that made him nervous. He had blown it already, hadn't he? He moved to the door and held it open, “I’m gonna show you around while they talk.”

“O-oh, okay..” The deep voice stuttered, maybe Virgil was just as nervous as he was. The taller one walked around the group of adults before ducking through the door. Patton closed the door behind himself and noticed that Virgil only had one bag hanging off his shoulder.

“Is your other stuff in the car?” He asked, the taller one's eyes widened a little.

“No, this is all I’ve got,” Virgil muttered, almost too quiet for Patton to hear. It didn’t help that he had his hand in front of his mouth as he bit his thumb.

“Oh, well… This is the dining room. If you couldn't tell.” Patton attempted to lighten the mood. Virgil only nodded, eyes flying back and forth behind his dark bangs. Almost as if he were a scanner. So, Patton pointed to his left, towards the room with a large couch and medium-sized TV. “That's the living room, and the kitchen is up here next to the stairs. I’ll show you that and the bathroom first before we go upstairs, if that's ok with you kiddo- wait oops.” Patton's face grew warm. Did he really just say kiddo? Maybe he spends too much time with his dad. But now Virgil must think he’s so lame. I mean only old people use ‘kiddo’ anymore.

It was a light laugh that yanked him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see a smile on the boys split lip, and a laugh escaping from between. The laugh was bubbly and much lighter than Virgil's voice. It still held the same softness, however, and it made Patton smile despite his heart ramming into his chest.

“Sorry, my dad calls me that all the time. It just sort of, slipped out I guess.” Patton allowed himself to join in with his own laugh.

“It’s ok, I don't mind,” Virgil stated once he had managed to stop laughing, a small smile tugged his mouth to one side.

“So you, don’t mind me calling you that?” Patton repeated, trying to be sure.

“I mean I guess not, even though we’re like the same age aren’t we?” Virgil's brows furrowed,

“Well, I’m 16 as of January.” Patton shrugged, sure that the boy would be younger than him.

“I’m 16 too, as of last December.” Virgil moved the bag from one shoulder to the other, some part of him itching to move.

“Oh, so you're the oldest. Well, I guess I’ve always wanted to be a younger brother.” Patton muttered, walking towards the kitchen that was to the right of the stairway. Virgil slowly started to follow,

“Umm, if you could, not say it in public. I guess, then I’m ok with you calling me kiddo.” He mumbled causing a genuine smile spread across Patton's face.

“It’s a deal then,” he turned to glance at Virgil, “kiddo.”

>>>

“So your room is across from the bathroom, mines at the end of the hall, and my parent's room is next to the bathroom, across from the closet where our cleaning stuff is,” Patton explained as they walked up the stairs. He was extremely glad that the other teen seemed to be warming up to him quickly. Once they reached the top of the stairs he quickly struck a pose to present the room. Virgil rolled his eyes at this but walked into the room. It had light grey walls and a large window across from the door. Virgil set his bag on the bed and approached the window. Out of it, you could see the roof of the porch, his hands reached up and unlocked the window before pulling it open.

“What are you doing?” Patton asked, walking over to stand next to Virgil.

“Shh, listen.” So he did, and he could hear the adults talking.

“Is there any other things you think we should be aware of?” It was his Pa asking, he was always asking questions and trying to make sure everything was planned out fully.

“Well, usually every day after school Virgil would spend time at the library with this boy. We aren’t sure if they were dating or not, but the boy is the only person Virgil really ever hung out with. He seemed to be really anxious about moving away from the boy.” It was the lady's voice that said this. Was Virgil gay? Virgils face was as red as a tomato and he quickly moved to slam the window shut, barely giving Patton enough time to get himself back into the room.

“So are you really gay?” Patton asked, his stomach buzzed with excitement.

“So what if I am? It’s not like there's anything wrong with that.” Virgil hissed. Patton's waved his hand frantically, trying to figure out how to explain that he didn’t mean it in a bad way.

“Of course there's nothing wrong with it! I’m gay too, I was just excited. To have someone like me, for once…” He mumbled, his voice getting softer at the end. Virgil's defensive look melted and he frowned,

“I, I’m sorry. I shouldn't have lashed at you like that.” he apologized, Patton pulled on a wide smile.

“It's ok. I should've said it a different way.” Patton shook his head, “so, do you have a crush on that guy?”

“I-it’s none of your business,” Virgil whined,

“Awwww, what's he like?”

“I mean, I guess… Well, he’s short.” A smirk spread across Virgil's lips. “He’s also the smartest person you’ll ever meet. He always wears jeans and a polo with a tie, like a nerd. But its cute-” he cut himself off realizing what he was saying. Before he could spout out apologies Patton interrupted him.

“He sounds great! I can’t wait to meet him kiddo!”

***

Hey so, in case anyone is confused.

Tom= Pattons biological father

Cathy= Pattons biological mother

Ryan= Pattons Pa, aka his not biological dad

Virgil and Pat will be sort of the main focus for the next couple chapters since thats where most of the story is developing. Though there will be updates on the other two.

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