Tally Marks (Thomas Sanders PolySanders/LAMP fanfiction)

20

When Virgil ran from Logan and Patton the two of them were confused and very worried. It was silent for a while between the two as they stared at the place Virgil had ran from until he disappeared, wondering whether or not they should go after him. It seemed obvious he didn't want to be there with them, but they wanted to know he was okay.

"I... did we do something wrong?" Patton asked, and Logan could hear his voice tremble. He turned to find Patton already looking at him, eyebrows drawn together and frown on his lips. Suddenly his eyes went wide, hand going to touch his wrist. "D-do you think he-"

"Patton," Logan started, putting his hands on his shoulders. "It isn't that, I am sure. Even if he saw them he wouldn't know who it was. Look, the makeup is still covering them." Logan gently took Patton's arm, showing him where the marks would be. Patton looked at it as well, nodding slowly and taking a deep breath.

"Okay... okay. Then, what happened?" He asked, still looking like he could burst into tears at any moment. "One second we-we we're talking and laughing, everything was fine... and then he just left? I thought... it seemed like we were all having a good time."

Logan paused, thinking it over for a while. "He was acting strange the day before as well."

"What do you mean? I didn't think he was acting strange at all when we hung out.." Patton thought back to it, and Logan shook his head.

"No, after that. When he went back to his house. He called me while he was having an anxiety attack, so I went over to help him. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and eventually asked me to leave." Logan explained, and Patton only looked even more worried and confused.

"Wait... he called you? Why not Roman?" He asked, and Logan shrugged. Both of them stayed silent for a while, thinking over what they knew and wondering what could have caused him to leave like he did.

"I don't think it is going to do us any good to sit here and worry," Logan mentioned, and Patton sighed.

"Then what do we do? We could... we could go over to his house and see if he's there?" Patton suggested, looking at Logan hopefully.

"I'm assuming he doesn't want to see us, so I doubt he will answer the door." Logan answered, sounding just as disappointed as Patton felt. Patton sighed again, sitting back down under the tree where they had been with Virgil just minutes ago. Logan joined him in sitting down, Patton leaning into his side as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I hope he's okay," Patton mumbled, hiding his face in Logan's shoulder. Logan agreed, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his boyfriend's head.

"I am sure everything will be okay in the end," Logan did his best to reassure him.

"Yeah.." Patton murmured, looking down at his wrist. He wanted to believe that everything would turn out okay, but he wasn't sure. He didn't know what was bothering his friend-one of the people he was in love with, and he didn't know how to help or even if he was part of the problem. He didn't know if he could keep his secret either, and he didn't know what would happen if he was found out. There was too much he didn't know, and it was overwhelming.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, holding each other closely as they worried about their friend. Logan once again felt the itch in his wrist, not bothering to acknowledge it. It was a while before either of them spoke again, Patton being the one to break the tense silence.

"Can't we at least call him? I want to check on him somehow..." Patton asked, looking up at Logan with a frown.

"I suppose we could try to call him." Logan responded, and almost immediately Patton had his phone out and was scrolling through his contacts. He found Virgil's name quickly, pressing call and waiting impatiently for him to pick up. He sat up so he was no longer leaning against Logan, Logan sitting up as well and watching Patton, hoping he might get Virgil to answer.

Patton frowned suddenly, taking the phone away from his ear and looking down at it. "He won't answer. I'm going to try again."

A few more minutes passed, and Logan gently took Patton's hand that was holding the phone, stopping him from pressing the call button another time. He took the phone from him while Patton protested, trying to take it back. After setting it aside Logan took Patton's hands, getting him to look at him. "Patton, you've already called him ten times by now. His phone is off. He isn't going to answer."

"But he has to! We-we just want to help... why won't he let us help?" Patton asked, looking up at Logan helplessly. Logan frowned, shaking his head.

"I don't know. But like I said, I am sure everything will turn out alright. Sooner or later Virgil will tell us what is wrong, and then we can talk to him about it, okay?" He looked at Patton, waiting until he received a nod. Silence fell once more between them, and it stayed that way for a lot longer that time.

They barely talked for the rest of the day until Logan realized he needed to get home. The pair had said there goodbyes, Logan kissing his boyfriend and telling him to call if he needed anything after walking him home. Then he had made his way home as well, soon ending up in bed for the night. He was wearing Virgil's hoodie still-he had left it with Logan in his hurry to leave them, and now Logan didn't want to take it off. It was nice, comforting, and since Logan was still worried about his friend it somehow helped a little.

He still didn't know what it could be that was bothering him but he did hope he could figure it out and help him. He just hoped that Virgil knew that his friends were always there for him. Patton and him cared a lot about Virgil-they loved him.

He loved him, his mind corrected. Logan, for once, did not argue against the thought. It was true-he knew that. He could feel the itching yet again, and there was no point in denying it anymore. He knew it was more than just a platonic affection, and he knew that ignoring it wasn't helping him in any way.

The itching got worse, and in a split second decision Logan finally gave in, finally scratched the painful itch of his wrist. The second that his fingers touched it the pain he felt disappeared entirely, and Logan found that he surprisingly felt relieved. Not worried or scared, he didn't think he was wrong or bad. He just felt... happy.