Patton sighed as he looked into his fridge. "We're out of milk, too?"
"I can go to the grocery store." Logan offered from where he was in the living room, sitting on the couch with his feet perched on the table, holding a book in his hands.
"No, I'll go." Patton said. "No offense sweetheart, but you don't buy anything good."
"If by 'good', you mean 'unhealthy', then I would say that's pretty accurate." Logan said.
"But Logan, cookies!" Patton protested.
"Do you really need them?" Logan asked.
Patton nodded. "Of course! Cookies are my life force, Logan!"
"Actually, realistically speaking, you will live just fine without cookies. What your body needs is the nutrients found in food—"
"I'm getting cookies." Patton announced, grabbing his keys.
"Suit yourself." Logan shrugged, and returned to his book.
On the way to the store, Patton made a mental list of all the things he needed.
Milk,
Tea for Logan,
Cookies,
Bread,
Bananas,
Jam,
Butter,
Trail mix,
Chips...
Patton blinked. What else did he need? Stuff for dinners?
He pulled into the grocery store parking lot and parked his car. It was a hot summer day, in Florida no less, and so Patton was relieved when he got inside the air-conditioned store. He grabbed a cart and wandered down the isles, searching.
He didn't have trouble finding the things he needed. When he got to the jam section, he grabbed a jar of Crofter's, because ever since the joke with his brother, he had actually really liked the brand.
"Patton Sanders? Is that you?"
Patton spun around to see a man who looked familiar, and instantly loads of memories came flooding back to him.
"Jonathan?" Patton blinked.
"Yeah buddy, it's been years." Jonathan said.
"I can't believe it's you! Wow, it really has been too long." Patton grinned.
They hugged each other for old times' sake.
"How's life been treating you?" Jonathan asked.
"It's been great, actually. I'm married and I own my own daycare now." Patton said.
"Wow, really?" Jonathan said. "Who's the special someone?"
"Logan, actually—"
"No way, Logan Greene from freshman year?" Jonathan gaped.
Patton nodded. "That's the one."
"I never would have seen you two together. You're practically polar opposites. Like that left and right brain shit you learn about, where one represents logic and the other emotions? That's essentially you and Logan." Jonathan said.
Patton shrugged. "Opposites attract."
"What about Logan's roommate, that Virgil guy? You still friends with him?"
"Yup!" Patton nodded.
"He still friends with Logan?"
"Oh, yeah. They're like brothers. You couldn't separate those two if you tried."
Jonathan laughed. "They were that way in college, too. Heck, I would've sworn they were related until I heard that rumor about Virgil's family."
Patton froze. "What rumor?"
"I dunno, really. I can't remember the details. Something about Virgil's family being assholes to 'im. I dunno, I heard it from Greg, and you know that guy makes shit up for popularity."
"Greg probably doesn't know what he's talking about." Patton said.
"I mean, you would know better than I do. You said you guys were still friends, right?" Jonathan shrugged.
Patton nodded. "Of course we're still friends, but... I guess I never really asked about his family. He didn't say anything, so I didn't press."
"You've been friends since freshman year and you haven't met his family? Don't you think that's a bit suspicious?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Patton. You've always been naive, but I didn't think that naive."
"It's just never come up." Patton was starting to feel a little defensive. After all, he was Virgil's friend, not Jonathan. What did he know?
Jonathan shrugged. "I guess it's possible to be friends with someone without knowing where they came from."
Patton desperately wanted to change the subject. "So how has life been holding up for you?"
"Oh, you know, it's been good." Jonathan seemed eager to talk about himself. "I have a nice paying job, and a lovely wife, and a darling daughter..."
"Oh, that's all nice." Patton said, but his mind was still stuck on the past topic.
The thing is, Jonathan was right. Patton didn't want to admit it, but it was suspicious that Virgil had never mentioned anything about his family.
How come Jonathan knew and Patton didn't?
Did Logan know?
When Jonathan came to a close on bragging about his family, Patton made an excuse to leave. He finished his shopping, paid for the groceries, and headed out to his car.
Patton only thought more during the car ride. He wasn't mad, per se. He didn't want to get mad on so little information. He was just confused. Why would Virgil keep something like this from him for so long? Didn't Virgil trust him?
They had known each other for years, and Patton had made it a point to always be there for Virgil when he needed it. When Virgil broke up with his boyfriend of two years, he was heartbroken. Logan, Patton, and Thomas were there with chocolate and emotional support, and they were there with Virgil as he healed, slowly but surely.
Patton would like to think that Virgil trusted him.
He thought Virgil trusted him.
No, stop, Patton. Don't jump to conclusions. It's probably a misunderstanding.
He scolded himself, and tried to focus on something else for the ride home. Instead, he listened to the radio.
When he got home, Logan helped him unload groceries, and he thanked him. The entire time, he had wanted to say something, but... He hesitated. Maybe it was better to just disregard it?
"Hey, Lo?" Patton blinked.
"Yes, Patton?" Logan asked casually as he put away the last bit of groceries and turned to face his husband.
"So I saw Jonathan at the grocery store today. Remember him?"
"Jonathan Parker from college?" Logan asked.
Patton nodded.
"Wow, I haven't seen him since college." Logan said.
"Neither have I, which is why it was a pleasant surprise seeing him." Patton said.
He was avoiding the topic he really wanted to touch on, and he knew it.
"How's he doing?" Logan asked.
"He's doing good." Patton said. "He has a wife and a daughter."
"Oh, that's nice to hear." Logan said casually.
Patton nodded absentmindedly. "So we started to talk about college."
"Yeah?"
"And so he mentioned something and I guess I just wanted to run it by you because I don't know if I exactly trust it."
"Hmm?"
"So... Jonathan said that he heard a rumor about... About Virgil's family."
"Ah." Logan's expression was casual, but at the same time Patton could tell he knew something that he wasn't sharing. "That."
"What do you mean? Do you know something?" Patton had a million questions. "Is Virgil okay? Do I need to physically fight his family? Did they hurt him? What happened?"
"It's... Sort of complicated, and it's not my story to tell. You should ask Virgil about this." Logan said. "He's okay, I assure you. If I thought Virgil was in danger, I would have most definitely said something. As for the drama with his family... It's more in the past than anything else."
"Logan, why... Why didn't he tell me?" Patton asked, letting a little hurt into his voice. "Doesn't he trust me?"
"Of course he trusts you, Patton. You know this. It's a matter of whether or not Virgil wants to talk about it himself." Logan said.
"Alright." Patton nodded. "I guess I'll call Virgil."
"That's your best bet." Logan agreed. "Though I can't promise that Virgil will want to talk about it. I think he sees it as better left as a thing of the past."
Patton nodded to signal that he understood. He went to the master bedroom and took out his phone. He selected Virgil's contact and pressed call, and listened to it ring.
"Hey, Pat." Virgil's voice rang through the phone.
"Hey." Patton greeted. "So I had something I wanted to talk to you about... That is, if you want to."
"Yeah?"
"So, do you remember Jonathan Parker from college?" Patton asked.
"Oh god, not that well. To be fair, I didn't really know him that well. He was sorta annoying. No offense— I know you two were friends." Virgil said.
Patton laughed. "No, it's okay, he was never one of my closer friends."
"So what about him?" Virgil asked.
"I ran into him today." Patton said.
Patton explained how him and Jonathan talked.
"—and he said he heard a rumor... About you."
Virgil snorted. His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Great."
"More importantly, he said it was about your family?"
"Oh."
"So I was just wondering—"
"Patton, buddy, I love you, but please drop it."
"But—"
"Please."
"Okay, Virgil."
"Thank you. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay. Talk to you later."
Patton hung up.