without you [analogical]

chapter two

(present day)

the following Monday after the funeral was solemn. it seemed the entirety of the 12th grade class had come to set up a memorial for Virgil. Many of them had tears, many were reminiscent about the times they had actually hung out with him.

On one side of the hallway, Patton was doing his best to stay calm, to not let tears escape out of his eyelids as he taped pictures of Virgil, of their friends and the boy, to the deceased's locker. Others around him were taping flowers in similar spots.

Just a few feet away, Roman was halfway putting together a purple lilac flower wreath, and halfway watching his boyfriend. Tears stung at his own eyes, but he refused to let them show. After all, he had to stay strong for Patton, who was slowly breaking apart, but silently.

Quick footsteps sounded in the hallway, but nobody seemed to pay attention; after all, there were many people, but when they slowed down behind Roman and tapped him in the shoulder, he had no other choice but to turn around. A small gasp left his lips when he seen who was behind him.

"Logan, I... What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home!" Roman exclaimed softly. Logan let out a tiny scoff.

"And skip on a day of education, something important to my future if I want to attend an Ivey League college? You really don't pay attention, do you, Roman?" Logan stated in an almost robotic voice that hadn't been heard in a while. Out of the corner of his eye, Roman could see that Patton was making his way over.

"Lo, you shouldn't be here! You just lost your boyfriend. Go home, get some rest. Gosh, you look horrible." He exclaimed a bit more loudly than the others had been talking, and for a moment, it seemed to Roman that a flash of pain flickered in Logan's eye.

"...Thanks, Patton, but I am splendid. There was no way I would have changed Virgil's decision, and therefore, I am not going to dwell on somebody who isn't here anymore." Logan pressed two fingers on his glasses, pushing them up so he could see better.

"Now, as I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted, you two remember to do the homework Mr. Picanti assigned?" He asked the others. They both gave him equally shocked expressions.

"Logan, he said we didn't have to do the assignment." Roman said, trying to be gentle with the teen. Logan rolled his eyes.

"I take that as a no. Seriously, guys, you need to start doing homework." He stated coldly. Patton and Roman shot knowing looks between each other.

Logan had went back to how he used to be, before he fell in love... before Virgil. The bell rang, signaling that class was about to begin. Logan turned curtly on his heels; pulling an about-face, before walking away, shoulders and back visibly stiff.

"We need to keep an eye on him." Patton whispered to his boyfriend, who agreed whole-heartedly.

•~•

That day in theatre class was silent. No one spoke, no one even whispered. They all just did their own little thing, and Roman was almost thankful. He had been looking down for the first 10 minutes since he had arrived, but had looked up when he heard the teachers chair move across the floor.

"I understand that these next few days are going to be rough. We lost one of our own. So we aren't going to be doing any class work. Instead, we will be writing poems to read out loud about Virgil, to pay respect to him." She let her lips fall into a frown.

Warmth spread at the corner of Romans eyes, and, blinking fast, he had hoped to be rid of them. Instead, they fell to his cheek. One by one, they started streaming down, staining the paper on the desk below him.

Footsteps quickly approached him, but he ignored them as he tried to get the wetness on his face to go away; a useless attempt.

"Roman, dear? Do you need to step outside?" The teacher questioned, and when Roman looked up, he noticed that concern was written clearly in every line of her face. A sniffle sounded, and he nodded, pushing away from the desk and running out the door.

Patton was avoiding his first period that day. He couldn't face it, couldn't do it. The past few days had been an emotional roller coaster for the empath, but today, it seemed like the tragic event was more realistic than he though.

And it killed him.

Sitting in the boys bathroom at the end of the hall, he had the stall locked and his feet up, gently sobbing into his knees. The only bad part about this was he was wearing khakis; the test stains would show.

But as he let the sobs rack his chest, he couldn't care less about the tear stains. He just wanted his best friend back.

Wasn't it weird, how someone could impact your life like that? The way Virgil entered their life in a flash, and was gone just as fast.... it taught you to realize something.

Don't take things for granted.

As Patton sniffled, he let his hand brush away the tears that were bound to be staining his already rosy cheeks. He knew the end of class would be soon, and he didn't want to be seen showing emotions.

He had to be happy, if not for himself then Roman and Logan, who needed him now more than ever.

The day for Logan was like any other day. He went to class, he did his work, and he stayed silent.

There was no need for him to feel sorrow for somebody who took their own life, even if it was somebody whom he cared about deeply.

If Virgik had cared for him as much as he had claimed while alive, he wouldn't be 6ft under. He'd be here, at school, annoying Roman. Joking with Patton. Cuddling hi-

'Logan, snap out of it.' An inner thought sounded. 'Obviously he didn't care, so quit acting like it.' It whispered to him, snapping him back to reality.

His eyes looked down at his paper, then back at the whiteboard. Shoot, he was behind.

He quickly scribbled down all the notes that he had missed.

'You would never have been enough, Logan...'

That day, lunch came a lot quicker than normal. Patton, Logan, and Roman all gathered in their normal spot; a booth in a window-seat corner. The sun was shining brightly, unaware of the dim feelings the three friends felt.

Patton was glancing down a lot, but a smile stood still on his face nonetheless. Roman knew he had a hard time showing dark emotions, which is why he grabbed him up in a big hug and just held him, tears threatening to slide down his own face.

Logan sat down, a poker face like this morning still apparent. He refused to show emotion. Emotions got you nowhere in life.

He realized that now, which is why he promised himself he would never ever show them again.