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When Logan decided to start going to school again it wasn’t an easy decision for anyone. The boy wasn’t sure how he was going to survive away from Patton and Virgil but the desire to go and learn was one that he felt he couldn’t ignore. Patton’s teaching was fun and more than enough to sustain his and Virgil’s education but there was something more something almost mystical about a “going-to-school-experience” that he needed to experience. It was an exciting a nerve-wracking time full of gathering supplies and learning new things. The school he was to be attending wasn’t a “normal” school by any means, though. Roman knew of his and the boy’s popularity and he wanted to send him somewhere where that might be a little less of a remarkable thing. Sending Logan to a school filled with other famous and/or rich children was his solution though it was, arguably, not a great solution. This school, Chandler Lywen Academy, came with a uniform and a whole list of rules and expected behaviors. Virgil was having an especially difficult time trying to imagine his little brother somewhere he couldn’t reach him if he was needed. It was causing tension between the brothers and Patton wasn’t sure what to do about it.
While Logan and Virgil were very different individuals, they seldom got into any arguments. They shared just about everything, including their personal space. Patton didn’t realize exactly how lucky he was until about two weeks before school began. Suddenly, his precious angels began to bicker about anything and everything. These arguments typically escalated until they were shouting at each other, and Patton had to intervene before some truly hurtful exchanges were made. The issue was that the two boys usually bickered quietly until right before the situation got out of hand. It was like Virgil was preparing for the worst. He began to order Logan out of his room, to leave him alone, or to stop bothering him. All this was extremely confusing and scary for Logan who was about to undergo a huge change and was relying on his brother to be his emotional support and anchor.
Nevertheless, the squabbling continued until the morning of Logan’s first day. Patton had everything set up and ready for him the night before and sent him to bed early. Despite this, Logan got hardly any sleep at all. The next morning, Virgil didn’t even come out of his room to say goodbye. Just like that, Logan was off, and his newest adventure began.
Patton wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed that day. Logan was gone and there was a certain emptiness to the house that came with his absence. Virgil was withdrawn, too. The teen had responded to the change by trying to distance himself from it as much as possible. Patton tried to engage with him, to get him to do something to pass the time but the emo either refused or was simply unable to get himself to focus. Patton let Virgil go after a couple hours of attempting to get any schoolwork done; he could always make up the missed work later.
Sighing to himself, Virgil slipped upstairs to his room and shut the door. He pulled out his notebook and began to sketch, losing himself in the methodical strokes of his pencil and the slow creation appearing on his page. He finished the monster he was drawing and started on another. The first one was looming, dark, strong, and terrifying. His companion, however, was turning out very differently. The body was smaller and the teeth, though sharp and pointed, were delicate. Beautiful scales covered the little monster and Virgil couldn’t help but think that the two were probably friends, or more than that: brothers.
The first monster was very similar to how Virgil saw himself: a protector, a guardian, strong, dark, and practically unlovable. It had taken this family of misfits to show him exactly what it meant to be a child, to be cherished and to be loved but he’d always show Logan that. The smaller monster was definitely Logan. Delicate, tiny, but still a monster in his own way. Still strong and capable of so much more than what Virgil could imagine. He was the reason for Virgil to keep going. If it had just been Virgil against the world, the lad was sure the world would’ve won a long time ago. Logan was a light in his darkness and Virgil would fight dragons before he let that light be snuffed out. Guilt pooled into his stomach as he thought about this. Logan was somewhere new, somewhere far away where Virgil couldn’t protect him but instead of preparing him for it, Virgil had gotten scared and pushed Logan away. The boy was facing off against new experiences and a plethora of unknowns that the very thought of made Virgil’s anxiety spike. He was angry at himself for letting Logan go, angry at himself for being distant and nitpicky, but mostly angry that he was too scared to go with him.
When Logan had expressed interest in attending public school it was like someone had told Virgil that his baby brother was going to be thrown into the deep end without being taught how to swim. To top it all off, in this analogy, Virgil was deathly afraid of water. He was weak to his own interior battle, unable to pull himself together and brave the dark and murky life that Logan so bravely pursued. Virgil found he simply didn’t have the capability to push aside his inner demons and follow Logan like a loyal guardian angel. Instead, he cowered from the sidelines, ashamed of his own inability.
To make matters worse, Logan loved school. Virgil was hoping against hope that after the first few days or the first week Logan would decide that school wasn’t for him and would instead ask to be homeschooled once more. When a month passed and this didn’t happen, Virgil’s irritability grew quicker to come to the surface. Logan began to avoid him, looking miserable the whole time. Patton was slowly reaching his wits end as to what to do. Logan began to act withdrawn as well, putting emotional distance between himself, Virgil, and everyone around him. Little did Patton know but this was only the beginning of the issues. Less than a week later, Logan came to Roman with an issue, his laptop wasn’t working.
“What happened?” Roman asked as he inspected the smashed screen.
“I tripped and fell backwards.” Logan whispered. Roman and Remus exchanged glances.
“Logan,” Roman began, “is there anything going on at school that you’d like to tell us about?”
“No.”
“Alright, if you’re sure. Just remember you can tell me about anything, and I mean anything, that’s going on.”
“I know.”
And that was that. Logan stayed quiet but he’d more or less always been a quiet child. Little did the rest of the family realize that Logan was hiding bruises and working out of books with torn pages. The boy was withdrawing emotionally from teachers and studies, and it wasn’t long before he started hiding assignments, ashamed of the fact his grades were slipping. He couldn’t help it, though, his mind was occupied with other things. School, a once beautiful establishment intended for learning and life experiences was suddenly a battlefield and he was on the losing side. Logan wondered if this living hell was something he would have to get used to. That was until the day that Virgil pulled his head out of the sand and remembered his all-important role.
It was Patton’s doing, really. Virgil had become disinterested in nearly everything and had even begun cancelling on Remy every now and then. He’d become depressed with his own decisions and Patton decided enough was enough.
“Virgil!” He called, “Come downstairs, we need to practice driving!” Virgil appeared at the top of the stairs a few moments later, looking confused,
“Why are we going now? Logan will be home soon, and you hate leaving him alone.” Patton jingled the keys,
“We’re going to pick him up today.”
It took some persuading, but Virgil was eventually in the driver’s seat and heading towards the school. Virgil had been learning how to drive for a few months now and while it had been a terrifyingly shaky start, the lad was getting the hang of it. He was rather good at it. He was hyper aware of everything going on around him and always cautious. It wasn’t long before they pulled up to the school and Patton instructed Virgil to go into the parking lot for the sake of a little more practice since they were early. A few laps around the parking lot later (during which Patton had given a few scenarios for Virgil to react to) they were in a spot waiting when the bell rang a few students began to stumble out of the building.
Patton was scrolling through recipes and didn’t see what Virgil did. Logan was heading down the stairs, head down, hands clenching tightly to his backpack, and glasses somewhat askew when a trio of three large boys loomed up behind him. Their large frames all but dwarfed Logan’s slim delicate one. They were all bustling with each other and goofing around, or so it seemed. Virgil felt the whole world slow down though when one of the boys reached out and gave Logan a hard shove. The boy was sent tumbling down the steps and rolling on the ground. Logan didn’t move for a couple seconds, sending ice cold chills down Virgil’s spine.
He was out of the car in a moment, causing Patton to look up in surprise. Virgil ran. Seething, anger rose up inside of him and he began to think of every curse imaginable that he would unleash on these bullies. His shoes smacked against the pavement and skidded slightly as he stopped next to his brother. The three boys stared at him, looking mildly surprised.
“What the HELL?!” Virgil barked, eyes flashing as he glared at them.
“Virgil?!” Logan squeaked in shock. Virgil ignored him, placing himself between Logan and the trio. They were more solid, but Virgil was taller and confident.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?!” He growled, “In fact, who the fuck are you? I want your names and then I want to show you exactly what happens when you mess with the wrong person.” He took a step forward when a hand snatched the end of his hoodie. Logan was staring at him with wide eyes, looking frightened.
“Virgil! You can’t hit them, you’re older than them!”
“The fuck I can’t.” The teen growled, looking ready to roundhouse kick the biggest of the boys.
“What’s going on here?” A very professional female stepped out behind the boys, looking concerned. The boys paled slightly but only for a moment before one pointed an accusing finger at Virgil,
“This dude is threatening us!” He exclaimed just as Patton came hurrying over,
“You pushed Logan down the stairs!” Virgil shouted, “What else have you been doing to him, huh?!”
“What happened?” Patton’s alarmed voice joined the hubbub as he quickly went forward to inspect the skinned palms that Logan held up for him. The woman’s expression changed from confusion to annoyance.
“I believe I need to speak to you three in my office. Now.” She hissed, pointing back into the school. The three boys began to protest but she snapped her fingers over their squabble. “I’ll listen to it all in my office.” She turned next to where Virgil was still standing as a wall between the bullies and his brother. “Logan, I will begin a full investigation into this. I will get in contact with you tomorrow to get your statement.” She turned and walked back in, letting the door swing shut behind her.
“Who was she?” Virgil asked as they walked back to the car.
“Mrs. Kitchen, the principle.” Logan replied, still looking at his hands.
“Oh.” The silence was deafening.
Virgil’s hands shook from the unused energy that was still pulsing through his veins. On top of that, though, was the new flood of guilt. He’d failed. He was supposed to keep an eye on Logan, he was supposed to notice when something was wrong. Instead, he’d been so caught up in how the change was affecting him that he’d turned a blind eye to the one who needed him most. It was like someone had slapped him with a sheet of red-hot metal. He hardly noticed they’d gotten to the car until Patton rested his hand on his shoulder.
“Give me the keys, Kiddo, you’re too worked up to drive.”
Numbly, he handed them over, watching Logan crawl into the back seat. He was torn. Did he get into the back with Logan, or would the boy even want to see him? Finally, he climbed into the passenger seat, and they drove home in silence. When they got home, the cars in the driveway told them that Roman, Remus, and Janus were all home. They unloaded and walked inside. Patton set the keys down and turned to the youngest,
“Let’s get your hands cleaned up.” Logan shook his head,
“No thank you, I can do it.” He dropped his bag onto the ground and disappeared up the stairs. Virgil stared after him before turning and picking up the bag, putting it on its peg. Patton sighed and made his way to the kitchen. After a moment of not knowing what to do, Virgil followed him. Roman was in the midst of making mac and cheese and the smell of chicken nuggets let the teen know what was for dinner. Remus was, scarily, nowhere in sight but Janus was sitting at the bar counter, bent over a book. Patton began to unload the dishwasher and Virgil sat down next to Janus. The agent glanced up before slipping a bookmark in his place.
“How was driving?” He asked, taking in Virgil’s tense body language.
“What? Oh. It was good, I guess.” Virgil muttered, mind still reeling over what to do about Logan. Janus narrowed his eyes, trying to read his adopted nephew.
“What’s wrong?” He finally asked. Virgil fidgeted, unsure how to answer. He wanted to claim that nothing was wrong, but he was genuinely stumped as to what to do.
“I messed up.” He admitted, sounding miserable, “I’ve been a jerk to Logan ever since he decided to start this school thing and now he’s getting bullied and I didn’t even notice and now he probably hates me because I was too stupid to even notice what was going on and if he hates me I’m not sure what I’ll do because I don’t think I can live without him because he’s everything and it’s my fault because-”
“Virgil! Breath!” Janus was clutching his shoulder and Virgil noticed his breath was fast and ragged, he felt lightheaded and like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. “That’s it,” Janus crooned, “in and out.” After he’d calmed down somewhat, Roman reached out and took his hand,
“Virgil, Logan doesn’t hate you. He misses you. He told me so himself.”
“What?” Virgil breathed
“It’s true, Kiddo,” Patton chimed in, “Logan has been looking for his big brother long before he started school. He thinks it’s his fault that you don’t hang out with him.”
“But that’s not true!” Virgil exclaimed. Janus squeezed his shoulder,
“WE know it’s not true, Virgil, but you need to tell that to Logan. Yes, you’ve hurt him but give him a chance to forgive you.”
That’s how Virgil found himself in front of Logan’s door with sweating palms and a racing heart. He raised his hand and knocked shakily.
“I’m not hungry.” Logan’s voice carried through the door.
“No, Logan, it’s me.” Virgil said, “Can I come in?” There were several seconds of silence before the door opened and Logan peered out at him.
“What?” Suddenly, Virgil couldn’t hold back anymore. Logan found himself pulled into a fierce hug, one that almost took his breath away.
“I’m sorry.”
That was it. That’s all that was said and that’s all that was needed. Too many years of heartbreak and separation had shown what true sorrow was and Logan recognized it immediately. He brought his arms up and clung to his older brother. They held onto each other, soaking up the warmth and the lost time over the past few weeks. All the hurt that Logan had experienced came flooding up and silent tears began to spill. Virgil felt them and held on tighter.
“They hurt me, Virgil!”
“I know, I know.”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to go back there.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll protect you.”
And with sweet whispers and reassurances, Logan’s tears eventually dried and the two of them made their way inside the spacious room. They climbed up on the bed where Logan curled up between Virgil’s legs and the teen stroked his hair. They stayed like that until they were called to dinner, even then it was hard to get them separated. After dinner, Roman led them all into the living room where they turned on a movie and all crowded together on the sofa. Logan immediately sought Virgil who happily wrapped a protective arm around him and held him close. It wasn’t the end of Logan’s problems nor was it the last time Virgil would stand up for him, but it was the beginning of Logan’s journey into a new adventure but this time with his big brother standing right behind him; a solid anchor and a protective pair of arms that he could (and would) come running back to over and over and over again. Virgil, for his part, was more than happy to offer himself and vowed to never let his fear ever dictate him again.