How to Solve Your Own Murder

Chapter 4: The Bodyguard

Virgil woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

Immediately his eyes shot open.

This wasn't Logan's couch. In fact, this wasn't even Logan's dorm.

What?

What?

He quickly grabbed his phone, face paling at the 6:45 A.M. that proudly displayed itself on the screen. "No." He murmured, voice shaking. "No, no, no--"

Virgil had lived. He had lived!

He rejected Janus' call, throwing himself out of bed.

This couldn't be happening. There was no way this was happening.

He ran to the door, yanking it open and speeding past the two party addicts.

"Oh--Bye bye, Vee-Vee~!" One of them called after him. Virgil didn't pay enough attention to the voice to decipher which one had spoken. They giggled as he got further from them, too drunk out of their minds to wonder why he was in such a rush.

He was still in his pajamas, his feet were bare. The floor of his building was rough against the soles of his feet. His mind was running a mile a minute, but he couldn't pinpoint any specific thought. He felt dizzy, his feet slightly stumbling as he raced down the stairs.

This time, he had reached Roman first. The green-eyed boy stared at him in bewilderment. "...Stormcloud?" He murmured cautiously, slowing his jog down to a stop. "Are you alright? You're looking a bit pale." He reached a hand out, as if to steady him.

Virgil couldn't breathe. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he had come home, and just didn't remember? "What day is it?" He asked, his voice trembling as much as his hands.

Roman frowned. "...Thursday, Vee. March 25th." He replied hesitantly. "Are you alright?" He repeated.

Virgil fell to his knees.

Why?

Why?

WhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhy?!

He survived! He did it! This wasn't supposed to happen again! He stared down at his hands in horror.

He was trapped.

"Virgil?!" Roman quickly kneeled down next to him. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

Virgil didn't look up at him. In fact, he had barely registered what the taller boy had said. He just continued to stare at his hands, ignoring the tears that began to fall silently down his face.

This didn't make any sense.

He had done everything right. He'd avoided the conflicts he had gotten into, he stayed away from the party, he had a witness with him at all times. Hell, he hadn't even died.

"What's going on?"

Virgil looked up, spotting Patton approaching the two of them. His expression was a mixture between annoyance and curiosity. Both emotions faded away when he made eye contact with Virgil, being replaced by muted surprise.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, furrowing his brow as he glanced between the two of them.

Virgil looked back down at the ground. He felt like he could puke. "I'm going to die." He murmured miserably, shaking everywhere.

Roman startled, whipping his head from Patton to the purple-haired boy. "What?" He placed his hands on his shoulders. "What do you mean? Are you okay?"

He had thought that the loop was happening due to his death, but clearly that wasn't the case. If his goal wasn't to survive the day, then what was it? What was going to get him out of this hell? Was he stuck here forever?