Misinformation Can Be Deadly

Chapter 1: Well, Didn't See That Coming, Saw the Bat Last Second Though

CW: implied bullying (small part), being knocked out, and Virgil is a bit out of character for a small bit that I hate

Work sucks. So does school, though for once school sucked a bit less today. Yeah sure Virgil got picked on the normal amount, but he also got asked out for once! And not by anyone, but by Cecil Henson! He was a pretty cool dude, kinda hot too, he was sorta emo but in a cool way that didn't get him bullied and walked with confidence. Honestly, Virgil didn't think someone like Cecil would notice him. And usually the only people who do end up giving him a few bruises every day.

So when Cecil walked up to him while he was at his locker to ask him out, well to say he was shocked would be an understatement. Virgil embarrassed himself when he stuttered out "S-sure, that-that would be cool," for an answer. Of course he's still kicking himself out for it, but Cecil didn't seem to notice or if he did, he didn't care. Part of Virgil hoped it was the latter because that shows how kind he is.

Usually when Virgil gets out of work, since he works at a grocery store, he just goes to the bus stop to go back to the orphanage that he lives at. But since he had a date, instead of getting off of the bus stop close to his orphanage, he got off at the stop closest to where the date was supposed to be. Which was in the forest, because Cecil was really cool like that. Ugh, Virgil felt so embarrassed by how amazed he was by this kid, even if he is cool.

He wore dark clothes and even makeup, like Virgil, but his style was cooler and he talked with confidence. When people spoke to him, they talked to him with respect. When people talked to Virgil, it was as if he was the scum of the Earth. To be fair though, he wasn't the most pleasant person to talk to.

Luckily he was able to change his shirt in the bathroom at the store he worked at, and he always had his hoodie on him, so he didn't have to change. Maybe he should have agreed to the date on another day where it was more planned out, but oh well. It was fine now, he was almost there.

Getting off of the bus, his anxiety started to rear its ugly head again. Should he have worn something fancier? Yeah it was in the forest and all, but still, he could have put in more effort. Too late to back out now, but what should he say? Maybe he should have brought flowers, or candy? What would Cecil even like? Maybe it was best to have nothing, he might think it's too cheesy and stupid. Oh god, what if he regrets asking him out? Or worse, what if this was some kind of prank to humiliate him?

Should he back out and go home? No, if it's not a prank then that would just be rude, and the one person who was kind to him at school would think he's an asshole. He was already there anyway, but where was Cecil?

The bus drove off as Virgil walked closer to the forest, looking around. It was dark and almost threatening, the sun was already going down. He was probably going to get in trouble for staying out so late, but hopefully it'll be worth it. Still, watching the forest as the cold wind blew and shook the branches... he got a bad feeling from all of this.

"Virgil! There you are!" a voice said, startling Virgil out of his thoughts as he turned around and saw Cecil.

He wore a black denim jacket that had a gray hood, a leather bracelet with spikes, and black ripped up jeans. He had a brown mohawk that wasn't spiked so it fell in front of his eyes, and gray eyeshadow. A red tattoo peaked out from his shirt, it looked like the head of a hawk or something. It was still awesome, and Virgil was embarrassed by how much he admired him.

The most Virgil was able to do was pierce his ears and dye his hair purple, he could never get a tattoo. Even then, he only wears cheap black studs even though he has more earrings. Dying his hair was an attempt to keep attention off of his eyes, his right eye was black while his left eye was blue. He hated when people commented on it.

"Hey, s-sorry, am I late?" Virgil asked, cursing his stutter to hell.

"Nah, your timing's perfect! The forest is cooler when it's dark. Now come on." He took Virgil's hand, sending a jolt of electricity up his arm.

"O-okay..." Virgil let Cecil drag him into the forest.

The air smelled like dirt and it was still humid from the rain from last night. Some leaves were still wet, but that might have been from dew. Virgil didn't know why, but he was starting to get a bad feeling.

It was probably just his anxiety. Delores, the woman running the orphanage, had told him not to stay out so late. He had messaged her with his crappy phone earlier about the date. That's probably why he seemed so anxious, since he was going to get in trouble. Hopefully it won't be too late though.

"So um... wh-what made you decide to ask me out?" Virgil asked, wanting to break the ice.

"I thought you looked cool, wanted to get to know you more personally," Cecil answered. "What made you say yes?"

"Uh, same reason kinda. You're pretty cool and I thought it would be nice." Virgil rubbed his arm with his free hand.

"Hey, this is kinda random but you're an orphan, right?" Cecil looked back at him and Virgil tried not to freeze when looking into his gray eyes.

"Y-yeah, I'd rather not talk about it though..."

"Ah, sorry about that. I guess it makes sense being a sensitive topic and all. But I have to ask... are your parents alive and do you still talk to them?"

"Th-they're alive, probably, but no I don't talk to them anymore. Barely even remember them. Again, I don't want to talk about it."

"That's cool, we can talk about something else!" Cecil let go of Virgil's hand to cross a stream, stepping on some stones and a small island that was in the middle of the water. The other hesitated for a moment before trying to copy his moves, though his foot slipped a bit on the mud on the other side and his foot got wet. "I'm pretty sure I've seen you draw in class, are you good at it?"

"N-not really," Virgil answered, trying to shake some mud off of his sneaker. "It's mostly just random patterns on edges of paper."

"Cool, I have an older sister that draws a lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah! She wants to be an artist but mom and dad want her to take over the family business. They're also trying to get me into it." Virgil frowned and looked down to watch his step, trying to remember what he knew about the Henson family. He was going to ask but Cecil spoke up again. "Ah, we're here!"

Looking up again, Virgil saw Cecil standing in front of what looked like an old house. Vines grew inside the broken windows, and the porch was missing a few planks of wood. One of the supports for the house was bent, and the paint was long gone.

"What is this place?" Virgil asked, taking a step forward.

"Just a hang out, sort of. Oh but hey, uh, sorry about this."

Virgil's heart dropped and he tensed up. Was it really some kind of prank? "About what?"

Cecil only shrugged as an answer and Virgil heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, only to be met with a wooden bat to the face. He didn't really feel himself fall, but he certainly felt the ground. There was muffled talking above him only for a moment before everything blacked out.