Confidentiality

Chapter 17

Janus woke up the next morning to Remus staring down at him and poking his cheek. He jolted, eyes widening. “What the--?!”

“Jan-Jan! You’re finally awake!” Remus cheered, sitting down on the couch as Janus sat up. 

“What time is it?” Janus asked, rubbing his eyes and fighting the urge to immediately go back to sleep. 

“Prank time!” Remus beamed. “Or as losers call it, 5 A.M.” 

“We’re pulling a prank at 5 A.M.? On a Saturday?” Janus groaned, flopping back onto the couch.

“Oh, quit whining, you big baby!” Remus huffed, pushing Janus back into a sitting position. He paused, seeming to contemplate something for a moment. “...big baby...I could use that…”

"Wha--?"

“So here’s the plan!” Remus smirked. “So you know how Virgil loves being dark and edgy, yeah?” 

"Yeah...?"

“Remember yesterday, when he threw up ‘cause Patton’s cookies were pink?”

“What?” Janus furrowed his brow. “Patton didn’t make cookies yesterday.”

Remus’ smile dimmed. “...He didn’t? But I could've sworn…” He trailed off, eyes drifting away from Janus, who tilted his head. “...well, uh, no matter! Virgil isn’t a fan of bright colors, but he is a fan of his car.” He clapped his hands together. “You know how to drive?”

Janus nodded. His mother made him learn when he was sixteen, so he could be a good getaway driver.

"Perfect!"

---

Janus drove up to the stoplight, keeping a confident expression on his face. The guy in the blue convertible in the other lane was gawking at him.

Janus rolled down the window. "Sup."

"P-Paranoia...?" The guy stammered in disbelief. "Wh-Why is your car--?"

"Pink?" Janus narrowed his eyes at the guy. "Is there a problem with my car being pink?"

Remus had made it so the car was a mixture of all sorts of pinks, a marble pattern formed. In reality, it was still the dark and edgy car that Virgil loved, but the people didn't know that.

"N-No! Of course not!" The guy quickly assured. "It just seemed a bit...weird for you."

Janus scoffed. "Typical." He spared a glance at Remus, who was sitting in the back and currently dying of silent laughter.

Janus let a few moments of tense silence pass, before speaking again. "Want a picture?"

The guy blinked in surprise. "...what?"

"Do you want a picture?" Janus repeated slowly, as if speaking to a child. He made sure his voice had the same sarcastic drawl that Virgil used.

"R-Really?" The guy asked. "But the light--"

"Is still red." Janus finished easily, glancing at Remus, who was giving him a thumbs up.

The guy glanced at the light, which (thanks to Remus' illusion) was still red. "Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'd love a photo!" He took out his phone.

"Make sure to get my car in there." Janus told him, posing for the picture. "Wouldn't want more people assuming I'm less of a man because I like pink."

"Yeah, of course." The guy nodded, snapping a quick pic of Janus and the car, and then another in selfie mode. "Thanks, man! Is it alright if I post this?"