Chapter Text
Logan arrived at the front step of the shared house. He had only chosen this house because it was near the college he was attending, though it was a quite expensive rent, and also because it was the only option left. It seemed worth it though, since the house was fairly large and could fit all his needs.
Logan pulled out the keys from his bag and entered the house. Logan was the first one to come, he had noticed. There was a hallway, leading up to the open-concept kitchen, dining, and living area. There was a leather L shaped couch, and a recliner. A small glass coffee table was in the middle and a regularly sized television was parallel to it. The kitchen was nothing special, just a stove, a sink, a dishwasher, and an oven. It did have an island in the middle, which would probably never be used. There were six doors, leading to the rooms.
Logan had a look around, and decided to pick an adequately sized room, near the kitchen. The house had no back door leading outside, which Logan found to be a safety problem if there would be an earthquake or a fire, but there was nothing he could do about it. He entered the room, placing his luggage by the door and setting his laptop bag on the bed. The room was lightly decorated, with beige walls and white crown molding. The single bed and desk by the window made up most of the room, giving the freedom for Logan to decorate. Not that he ever would, but still.
He opened the dresser near the bed and started fixing his things. Hanging his shirts and slacks, folding his jeans neatly, and separating his undershirts and socks in the drawers. Logan enjoyed the peace and quiet of arranging his things, as the satisfation of seeing everything fit in place like a puzzle was fulfilling indeed.
He had just put his few books for recreational reading on his desk, along with his laptop and other stationary equipment, when he heard a loud exclamation from the hallway.
"Woah! This is a big house!"
Logan sighed. It seemed one of his housemates had arrived. A loud one, at that. He exited his room, gently closing the door to see someone standing by the hallway, looking around in awe.
The man had a blue collared shirt on with a grey sweater wrapped around his shoulders. He had a red luggage covered in stickers of different cute animals and he wore black rimmed glasses. Logan made eye contact with the man. "Oh hello! It's nice to meet you!" the blue-shirt guy said, leaving his luggage in the hallways and rushing up to Logan, extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm Patton!" he smiled.
"Logan," he replied, shaking Patton's hand. Patton's smile widened even more, "Logan! That's a wonderful name!" Logan simply nodded, adjusting his glasses, "Thank you, Patton. You must be tired from your journey all the way here."
"Ah yes! It was really tiring. The 12 hour bus ride was devastatingly long," Patton sighed, placing his hands on his hips, "I should probably settle into my room, shouldn't I?"
Logan nodded, "That sounds pernicious to your physical and mental health. You should settle into your room. Just choose whatever fits best. If you need anything, I'll be in my room," he said. Patton nodded, thanking Logan and grabbing his luggage. Patton proceeded to check the rooms by the left, and immediately chose the first one he looked at.
As Patton entered the room, Logan sighed, and went back into his room.
*
A few hours passed. Logan sat silently on his desk, rereading The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Genuinely one of his favorites. It was a peaceful afternoon, indeed, until it got ruined by a loud voice, singing in the distance.
"♪ I have arriveddd! ♪" the voice sang, bellowing. It was honestly really good, reaching that high note, but Logan would never admit that. He sighed, closing his book, and stood up, peeking slightly out from his door.
A man stood by the hallway, looking quite confused. He had a white collared long-sleeved shirt on, with a red sash over his side, like he was a prince or something. He was pulling not one, not two, but three large luggages, all gold-yellow in color. He also had a large duffel bag on top of one of the luggages and a red backpack on his shoulders. Logan thought he had overdone his luggage.
Logan opened his door fully, and stepped forward, "Hello, yes. Welcome," he said, surprised at the light snark in his voice.
"Hello, fair maiden! I am Roman, at your service!" Roman announced, bowing. Logan looked at him with a confused and annoyed expression on his face, "Ah. You're not a maiden," Roman added, crossing his arms. Logan coughed subtly, "Yes, I am your roommate, housemate, whatever you prefer," he said, "My name is Logan," Roman checked his nails, "Logan, huh? Sounds like you're an all-knowing nerd."
Logan sighed, containing his anger, "Yes, I suppose you could call me that," he said, placing his hands behind his back. Roman looked bored of this conversation, "Well! I shall find my place and settle in!" he exclaimed, smiling at Logan, and quickly wheeling off his three luggages as he looked for the biggest room.
Returning to his room, Logan sighed, waiting for the last housemate.
*
The evening came. Patton had suggested to order pizza for dinner, and Roman had provided his input of ordering shakes. He had first suggested buying alcohol, but that was changed once Logan and Patton said it seemed like a bad idea.
The three started connecting a bit, to Logan's surprise. They had turned the TV on to the news, which only stood as background noise as mainly Patton and Roman conversed about random topics. Logan did find it nice hearing them talk. It had a sort of tingle to the ear.
Then there came a soft knock at the door. So soft you could barely hear it. Logan picked up on it, though. "Someone's at the door," he mentioned, as Patton quickly stood up, "I think it's the delivery guy!" he exclaimed, rushing to the door and yelping as he almost tripped on a stray pillow on the ground.
"You okay?" Roman called after Patton, who already ran to the door, giving a thumbs up to the former. Logan heard the opening of the door, then two people talking. A soft gasp, then Patton called out, "Guys!" he said, walking back down the hallway, someone following him, "This is our last roommate!" he announced.
The guy wore a black hoodie, covered in multiple shades of purple patches meticulously sewed on. The uneven lines of backstitch made Logan believe it was handmade. He had his hair dyed purple-pink shade and very prominent eyebags under his eyes.
"Come on, kiddo. Introduce yourself!" Patton said, playfully nudging him. "I- I'm Virgil." he stuttered, looking at the floor. "It's nice to meet all of you."
Logan nodded. "Salutations, Virgil," he said, sensing Virgil's hesitance. It seemed he had some form of anxiety. Roman stood up and bowed, "Pleasure to be at your service, Virgil. I am Prince Roman!" he announced, as Virgil raised an eyebrow, "Theater kid?" he joked. "I shall not take offense from that, because I am! A theater kid. And that's none of your business, Black Hole." Roman sneered.
"Let's calm down, everyone! Virge- is it okay if I call you that?" Patton said, waiting expectantly at Virgil, who nodded. "Great! Virge, you can settle for a while in your room and I'll just call you when the pizza gets here!"
Virgil slipped away, choosing the room next to Logan's and staying there. Logan had noticed that Virgil had not brought any luggage, just the black backpack he wore when he got here. Logan hummed thoughtfully to himself, focusing back onto his book.
A few minutes passed, and their food came. Patton may have ordered too much, as he and Roman came back from the front door with three boxes of pizza and four large cups of drinks. They fixed everyting up on the island table, which they decided to use as their dining table, and Patton left to call Virgil.
"Don't you sense something.. weird about him?" Roman asked, placing a coaster down, as Logan insisted. "About who, exactly?" Logan replied, looking at Roman. "About Virgil."
"What about Virgil?"
"I just- There's something wrong."
"You'll get used to it." Logan said. "It's very normal to not trust the first people you meet. You may not trust him because he reminds you of someone negative in your past. Or you may not trust him because you're not feeling like it. I don't have much experience with feelings, as you may notice by my distancing, but after a few weeks of constant encounters with him, you may find yourself growing closer to him. Give it time."
Roman blinked at him, as if not expecting all those words to come out of his mouth. "O- okay. I'll give it time. But I will not hesitate to use my sword to attack at any given moment."
"A sword."
"Got a problem with that?"
"No, I believe I don't. Please be careful with it though." Logan said, as Patton walked towards them with a sulky Virgil behind him. The latter begrudingly took a seat on the nearest stool. "What's cookin'?" he asked.
"There is unfortunately nothing cooking, Patton decided to order something, as we are all tired today." Logan said, taking a seat parallel to Virgil. Virgil gave him a confused look. "Uh- okay?" he muttered, grabbing his phone, not bothering to eat.
"Hey kiddo! We bought everyone a drink, and I wasn't sure what you'd like, so we got you a fan favorite! It's a blueberry-cranberry mix shake!" Patton said, handing the cup to Virgil, who grabbed it and took a small sip. The corners of his lips rose. "It's good. I like it. Thanks, Pat."
"Awww! You're welcome!" Patton exclaimed, sitting next to Virgil. Roman sat by Logan. "Hey, I helped too!" he groaned, crossing his arms. Virgil chuckled. "Sure you did, Prince Charmingly Stupid." "Hey!"
Well. I guess this year won't be hell after all. Logan thought.