Assistance Required

Painting (Finally)

TW mention of suicide, homophobia, transphobia, cursing

Sun Feb 7

Work absolutely sucked last night. Virgil couldn't get his mind off of what happened at dinner and he ended up having another panic attack in the back room. He had tried to hold that attack off as long as he could since he didn't want the others to see. Logan needed help right now and he didn't want to distract from that.

Logan hadn't said a word all day. He absorbed himself in his work and spent most of the day in the dorm. Patton said he just needed time to process everything. Virgil didn't want to leave him alone, though. He had gone through the exact same thing last semester and he almost killed himself. He Logan's mental state wasn't the same as his, but it was still hard and if anyone could reach him, it'd be Virgil.

Virgil decided this was a good opportunity to get some painting done. He had managed to get quite a bit of his work done for school and he had been wanting to try painting for quite some time now. He was hesitant to go into the dorm. He didn't want to annoy Logan, but it was technically his room too. Virgil opened the door and Logan glanced up from his book.

"H-hey. Do you mind if I paint? I'll be quiet, I promise."

Logan waved him in and Virgil closed the door behind him. He tried to pull one of his canvases from the closet and ended up knocking over a pile of clothes which hit his desk knocking over his pencils and books. Virgil cringed at the noise and the mess.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Virgil said as he started throwing his clothes back in the closet.

"You're fine," Logan said quietly.

Virgil paused to look at Logan before continuing to clean up his mess. He was a little surprised he managed to get Logan to speak. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not yet. He finished cleaning up before realizing he didn't have any water. He lightly hit his head on the desk before leaving the room. He walked down to the student center and asked for a small plastic cup. They gave him one and he went back to the dorms. He filled it halfway in the bathroom before walking back into the dorm room.

Virgil set out his brushes and paints on the desk next to the palette he had gotten. He stared at the canvas while he tried to think of what to paint. He remembered Janus had given him Grace's number over break in case he needed it. Since then, she's been randomly checking on him. He decided to text and ask her what she thought he should paint. He felt a little awkward waiting and decided to dip one of the brushes in the water. He realized he should probably have a paper towel or something here with him. He sighed before going back to the bathroom to grab some.

When he got back he found a message on his phone. Grace said she thought a sunset at the beach would like nice in her house. He smiled. It was weird having someone actually care about what he wanted, let alone wanting to put it on display in their home. Virgil thought about it for a minute before getting started. The only sounds in the room were the flipping of pages and the strokes of the brush on the canvas. Virgil wasn't entirely used to painting yet, but it was still relaxing. It was quite peaceful. They remained like that for about an hour before the silence was broken.

"Do you think I made a mistake?" Logan asked quietly.

Virgil looked up from his work. Logan was staring at a closed book. He wasn't sure how long he had been lost in thought like that, but he kind of wished he had noticed sooner. He placed his brush in the water cup and set down his canvas so he could turn to face Logan.

"No. I... I know it sucks. I was really... lost when my dad kicked me out and sometimes I wonder what life would have been like for me if he hadn't. But you guys showed me I don't need him and that I'm actually better off here. I don't know... maybe it has more to do with him being drunk all the time... but I don't think your situation was healthy for you either. You were always pushing yourself and the fact that they made you forget you have a choice in your life... it isn't right."