"Okay so if we fill the balloon with pink paint," Remus was saying, laying on his bed with his feet kicking in the air while he planned a prank with Janus, who was sitting on the ground.
Janus closed his journal as the door opened and both boys turned to see Roman.
"Oh god, what are you two planning?" Roman asked.
"Nunna!" Remus retorted.
"If you do anything to me I will set both of your beds on fire."
"Well I share a room with Logan so you better not, otherwise he'll come after you," Janus warned.
"Oh, now that Roman's here I wanted to ask you a question," Remus said. "Why did Virgil get in a fight last year?"
"Remus, respect their privacy," Roman scolded.
"No it's fine, Virgil won't care. Patton does, cause it involved him," Janus explained.
"Did Patton get in a fight?"
"No way, I mean yeah he's one of the best fighters in the school but he's a complete pacifist. No, last year we had noticed that Patton had been acting... off. When we confronted him about it he told us not to worry, huge red flag, Patton is an open book... for most things. We quickly realized he was being bullied, but he wouldn't tell us who. Then one day during the class change, Virgil saw three kids cornering Patton against the locker. One thing led to another and Virgil was fighting the kids, keeping Patton away. Three against one, and Virgil was the winner with only a few cuts, bruises and just a broken finger while the others walked away with a sprained wrist, concussions, and one kid had a broken nose. The four were gone for a few weeks and we were worried Virgil was expelled, but they all came back."
"So if Virgil was just protecting Patton, then why is he treated like the bad guy?" Remus asked.
Janus sighed, "It's really not my place to say this, but even before the fight there was a theory going around about Virgil's father. It's no secret that Virgil's parents are both... absent. His mother passed away when he was nine, or so it's believed, Virgil still thinks she's alive. And no one knows who his father is, not even Virgil. Some kids believe that his father is Shadow."
"Wait really?! The Shadow! As in the one that was the Superhero Committee's most wanted?"
"Yeah, same power and he disappeared around the year Virgil was born. Of course, there's not a lot of pictures of Shadow anywhere and if there is it's always blurry but a lot of kids still believe it."
"Do you?" Roman asked.
"I don't know, I don't think it really matters personally because Virgil is my friend and that's all I care about. Yeah we fight sometimes, but I won't ever leave his side."
"How does Virgil feel about it?"
"He... claims he doesn't care. But it's obvious he does, he tries to shrug off the glances and ignore the whispers but you can always see him tense up. He's a very complicated person with a complicated past, I mean his PTSD alone is enough for him to be in therapy-"
"What?!" both the twins said at the same time.
"And I've said too much, you two didn't hear that last part."
"You can't just deny what you said, he has PTSD?" Remus asked.
"Okay, yes, he went through something traumatic when he was younger, but don't you dare ask him about it. We don't talk about it and it's not our place. He's secretive about certain topics and you need to respect that."
"You're right, I wish you didn't say that cause I'm really curious now."
"But we won't say anything to Virgil, promise," Roman said.
"Good, otherwise I'll make both of you regret it," Janus warned. "Don't forget, I have several different pranks ready for anyone."
"I love that," Remus said.
~~~
Roman finished up the last math problem on his worksheet before glancing at Virgil. The emo had been even more quiet and grumpy than usual, and it was concerning Roman. They weren't even racing to finish their work before the other!
He couldn't stop thinking about what Janus had told them the day before. It was constantly on his mind, he felt like he shouldn't have been told what had happened.
Everyone called him the bad guy even though he was just protecting his friends. Just because of a theory of who his dad might be and because he won an impossible fight. It was so unfair!
Even if Virgil's dad is Shadow, that doesn't make Virgil evil. Roman knows better than anyone else that your parents don't make who you are.
Still, for Virgil's sake he hopes he isn't related to Shadow. If he is and word gets out, everyone would look at him like he's the bad guy.
"Alright, spit it out, I can feel your eyes on me," Virgil said suddenly, pulling Roman out of his thoughts.
Roman blinked, surprised Virgil started the conversation. "I-I just... Janus told us what happened last year. The fight you got in."
"Really? I'll admit I'm a bit surprised he did. I don't care honestly, the only reason I didn't tell you before was because Patton got uncomfortable. Anyway, what about it? Does it bother you that I was able to beat three guys in a fight?"
"No, what bothers me is how people treat you despite the fact that you were just trying to protect Patton."
Virgil looked up, frowning slightly but Roman couldn't read him. "I-I mean it's not that big of a deal. I really don't care what anyone thinks of me."
"It still isn't fair."
"Well, there isn't anything you can do about it. Seriously though, don't worry about it, you'll learn to ignore the stares." Virgil turned back to his questions.
Roman frowned. "Are you okay? You seem upset today."
"I'm fine, I'm just tired."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I didn't sleep last night."
"Did you have a nightmare or something?"
Virgil tapped his pencil on his paper for a moment. "Can you help me out with question 13?"
YOU ARE READING
Learning Control
Fanfiction*Completed* Roman and Remus were born with super powers. To help learn how to control them, their parents send them to a school that teaches young children how to control their powers. While there, they make several friends, and everything seemed to...
