Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 29 - Prey to Thought

There was almost nothing Roman loved more than the first day back after a show. The stables would wear a golden, triumphant hue, and the arena would be more inviting than ever – there were so many more shows to conquer! When he grabbed Trigger's halter, he could already see his horse glance at him with expectant eyes from the other side of the stable.

And for the first time in his life, Roman was uncharacteristically careless regarding the show's result. Almost as if the more time he spent with Trigger since their accident, the more the horse chipped away at his competitiveness and challenged his world view. Because who cares they placed lower than those stuck-up Canyon riders? They were back on t heir feet! They completed a course! And frankly, they gave a much more dramatic show and received much more applause than the winning team. And Roman loved applause.

And all that meant that now, there was just one tiny little detail to try not to gracefully ignore.

Virgil.

Or rather, that little moment that had named itself in Roman's mind (despite his best efforts not to let it), "the tack room incident". They'd already spoken about it. They announced that everything was normal. Why, for Epona's sake, did things feel... not normal?

Well, the answer might have been five stalls away; because just as the face of his friend popped into his mind and scrambled his thoughts, the same friend appeared at the stables' doors.

Roman waved more excitedly than he'd meant to. "Virge! There you are!"

Virgil's step turned hesitant. He fiddled with the strings of his hoodie as he made his way down the corridor.

"Oh- um.. hi."

"Want to go for a hack? I'm in the mood to ride but if Laura catches us training the moment we're back she'd behead us."

Virgil chuckled quietly. "Maybe later, I have a lot of stalls to clean... And I need to turn out the lesson horses."

"I could help! We'd get it over with super fast and then we can hit the trail."

"It's okay, I can do it on my own. Gotta go."

He rushed past him, barely throwing a smile. Roman remained standing in the middle of the stable. He tapped the halter awkwardly. Something about the place felt so quiet.

"... Okay. Next time, I guess."

So he was still avoiding him, then. Roman hung the halter distractedly on a nearby stall as he turned the other way. He could go for a hack on his own, there was nothing wrong with that.

The sound of footsteps made his eyes dart up in hope; had Virgil changed his mind?

Laura appeared power-walking down the corridor like she always did when she was in a hurry. Maybe he won't have to go on his own?

"Laura! Do you want to-"

"Morning," she cut him off. "I'm super busy, could you turn Nexus out? I was going to do that myself but she doesn't want to leave her stall, I don't have time to drag her out of there."

"Oh-.. Sure."

She patted his back before hurrying away. "You're a champ."

Yeah, he was. So he just had to focus on that and surely his good mood will return. The golden hue died away a little as he grabbed the halter he'd just set down.

- - - - - - - -

Patton had already predicted that Roman and Virgil would skip school today, and so he didn't wait for them at the gates. He only got the slightest glimpse of Logan disappearing into his class before the bell rang – so today he would be alone. But that's okay! There was nothing wrong with being alone every now and again.