One Of Us

Chapter Four

Virgil hadn't left his room since two in the afternoon, when he slipped into the kitchen to scavenge for lunch while the others were preoccupied. (Logan was still hacking away at a schedule, Roman had taken it upon himself to belt out the entirety of the Les Misérables soundtrack in his room, and Patton was setting up the commons for movie night.)

He'd had enough time now to clear his head, though he hadn't quite managed to shake a lingering sort of discomfort in his chest. Reading couldn't dispel it, music couldn't brush it off, and sitting in silence just made the feeling worse. He settled for scrolling blankly through his phone around five o'clock — as soon as he did, he was distracted by a quiet knock at the door.

"Who is it?" he called, sitting up as best he could and scooting to the edge of his bed.

The door eased open to reveal a cat-sweater-clad Patton hovering in the hall. "Hey!" he said, very pointedly avoiding looking at the spider curtains over the window. "Are you ready for movie night?"

"Yeah, no," Virgil said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I'm... I think I might pass on that tonight."

"Hey now," Patton said. "I'm not letting you miss pancake day and movie night! I think you spent enough time in here today." He watched quietly for a moment as Virgil fiddled with the sleeve of his hoodie, seeming to consider something. "Can I come in?"

"No," Virgil said, too fast. He breathed in through his nose and tried again. "No, you don't need to, I... I'll be right there."

"Alrighty," Patton said, flashing him a smile. "We're watching Black Cauldron! I know it's your favorite."

Virgil let his sleeve fall from between his fingers. "Thanks, Pat," he said quietly. The other gave him a wave and bounced off down the hall.

It had been months since anyone had tried to come into his room. Whenever one of them did, Virgil immediately turned them away; he hated watching the fear creep into their eyes the longer they stayed.

While he wasn't exactly fond of the fact that the only way to keep Patton out, it had been a while since he'd watched a Disney movie, and there was no way he could turn his back on such a classic. He heaved himself off the bed and tucked his phone into his pocket, then set off toward the commons.

"Look who finally made it!" Roman called from his nest of blankets the second Virgil came into view. "Perfect timing, we're just about to start."

"Glad to be here," Virgil replied, giving a small salute. He scanned his seating options (either between Patton and Logan or beside Roman) and settled for the corner where the two halves of the couch intersected — a small distance away from all three of them.

"Is everyone adequately blanketed?" Roman asked the room at large.

"Our potential for being 'adequately blanketed,'" Logan said, placing air quotes around the phrase, "was reduced to near-zero when you piled four out of the five we possess on your own body."

Roman rolled his eyes and tossed the one that was wrapped around his shoulders at Logan's face, grinning slightly when Patton giggled. "There. Is that better?"

"That was uncalled for," Logan said, but he draped the checkered fabric over himself and Patton anyway.

"Virgil can share with me," Roman suggested, extending his right arm to leave a space for the other Side to sit. He waved it impatiently when Virgil remained in his corner.

"I don't need a blanket."

"Nonsense! Everyone needs a blanket. Come here."

Virgil exhaled and slid along the cushions until he was just outside the reach of Roman's fingertips. His hesitation earned him a raised eyebrow, and he reluctantly moved closer, doing his best not to stiffen when Roman's arm draped itself over his shoulders.