New Kids (Prinxiety/Logicality)

Chapter Eight

Patton was reading in his living room when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is that?" He asked aloud. Neither of his dads were home yet. He wasn't supposed to let open the door for strangers, but when he looked out the window, he could see that Remy was standing outside. "What is he doing here?"

He opened the door for his new friend and Remy was visibly dead inside.

"Are you okay? Do you need something?" Patton rushed, letting Remy inside.

"I'm... fine," Remy said absentmindedly. "Just had to get out of my house for a little while. I literally got kicked out, and I really don't want to be alone right now," he admitted, and Patton's concern went from "level ten" to "level four hundred seventeen" within the span of a couple of seconds.

"That's not fine! Oh, come on, Remy," Patton grabbed his friend by the hand and dragged him to his living room. He sat him down on the sofa and pulled up an armchair for himself.

"This seems like therapy. Should I lay down on the sofa? You can take notes," Remy suggested.

"I realize you were being sarcastic, but if you need it, you can talk to me anytime. You know that, right?" Patton chided.

"Thanks, Pat. Really. Um. Well..." They sat awkwardly for a couple of moments before Remy took a deep breath. "My parents were never all that attentive. I had to grow up fast, learn to fend for myself. I never minded that, you know? I thought it was kind of a good thing that I could cook and clean and take care of myself." He stopped for a second, wondering if he should continue. After all, he didn't know Patton all that well. They'd only met today, after all. He seemed trustworthy, though. And very willing to help.

"Go on," Patton said, nudging him slightly.

He took another deep breath, this one rattling slightly. "We moved here because of my mom's job. I don't know what she does, really, just that it's a boring office job. She doesn't talk about it at home. My dad... he'd always been a bit of a drinker, but now he's a bit of a drunk." Remy scratched the back of his neck and found himself sniffling slightly. "I... He gets mad whenever he drinks now, and he drinks a lot. At night he goes to a bar or someplace else, comes back home stumbling, muttering to himself like a maniac. It's a miracle he hasn't poisoned himself yet, I learned about that in health class in like, seventh grade."

"What about your mom?" Patton asked carefully. "Is she any better?"

"She doesn't like me much. Always calls me by my full name, makes me clean and kicks me out if she gets too angry. She hates my dad's drinking, so he's probably gonna get it tonight. But... I don't know. I probably will too. Not for any reason. But... it's not so bad once you're used to it." He sighed.

Patton was silent for a second, then got up, sat down next to Remy, and gave him a hug. When he pulled away, he noticed that Remy was crying a little bit. He hadn't cried in years.

"I'm sorry," he sniffed. "They're just so awful and I wanna run. I want to run and I don't want to look back. I just..." He sighed. "Sorry." Remy forced a smile, and Patton returned it with a sad look.

"If they ever get to be too much for you... well, my dads are coming home soon. I'm sure they'd be fine letting you stay if they get to be too horrible. Just... maybe we could introduce you."

"Cool! I just have to be back a little before nine."

"Alright. They should honestly be here any moment now. I should warn you, though, they're in the middle of a prank war. They've been trying to assert dominance or whatever. You know how we gays can be."

"Yeah." Remy smiled. "Are all of us in our little friend group gay?"

"Not sure about Logan yet, and I'm pretty sure that Deceit is bi. But to be honest, I don't know if I want to include him in our group. He doesn't seem that great," Patton admitted.

"Took you that long?" Remy raised an eyebrow.

"No, I got a bad feeling about him almost immediately. I just don't like to judge people before I've seen them do much of anything. The nickname probably should've been a hint. No one gets a nickname for no reason," he explained, then jumped up excitedly when he heard the door open. "Jack and Eli are here! Come on!"

"Your dads?" Remy asked, and Patton nodded.

"Pat, we're home," someone called from the door, and Patton rushed over, beckoning Remy to follow.

"Hey, Jack," he said to the one with curly, brown hair and deep brown eyes. He had a splash of freckles across his nose and while he must've been in his forties, he looked great for his age. The same could be said for the other, who must've been Eli, who appeared at the door moments later. He had messy, raven-black hair and piercing blue eyes. They were both ridiculously pale, as if they never went outside. Either that, or they were both the types of people who slathered themselves in sunscreen even when it was cloudy.

"Hey, there, Patton. Who's that behind you?" Jack asked.

Remy stepped forward, wringing his hands. It was a nervous habit of his. "Remus Freeman. You can call me Remy. I'm Patton's friend, we met today at school. Were both new to the district."

"Cool!" Eli's face broke into a grin. "Your name is Remus? Like Remus Lupin?"

"Yeah. He was the coolest werewolf in the history of any series ever. Can't quite say I live up to the name," Remy replied, shrugging.

"So, Remy, what brings you here?" Jack asked, kicking his shoes off.

"My, er, my mom kicked me out for a little while. She's a tyrant."

Eli's face fell slightly. "I know what that's like. If you'd like, you can stay for dinner. Jack's making pasta."

Remy smiled gratefully. "That would be nice, thanks for having me over."

"Anytime, Remy," Jack smiled cheerfully. He then went to the kitchen to make pasta while Eli, Patton, and Remy all sat around talking. Remy hadn't felt this calm in awhile. He decided that he liked it here.