(COMPLETE) Out Of Mind, By Your Side - Thomas Sanders Fanfiction

Opportunities

Verita was meant to wake the Sides up at 10 am to start their day productively. Logan was already up earlier than that, and had found some HG Wells in the bookcase to read. It was around 7:30 am when Logan started reading as he lay on the floor of the bedroom around his sleeping friends. "They don't know anything do they?" Pace whispered at the early hours of the morning.

"Not a clue." His wife responded also in a whisper.

A moan next to him startled Logan from further eavesdropping on their conversation. Virgil jolted awake with tears in his eyes. "Are you alright?" Logan asked, Virgil only nodded.

"Remus and Deceit... they've got Roman, or they're getting him. I don't know..." Virgil whimpered, hugging his sides and looking up at Roman, who had taken the bed. Logan, although confused, carried on reading while Virgil contained himself. "We need to go back."

"I thought you said Deceit and Remus are in Thomasville?"

"They are - but we can't risk it - we need to go." Virgil's hands now held his head as he shook himself back and forth. His fringe had now covered both of his eyes, his eyes darker. Logan was about to respond to calm him down, but there was a knock on the door.

Verita revealed herself with a smile, looking down on Logan and Virgil. Logan turned to face her smiling face, while Virgil stayed back to her. "Good morning!" Verita chirped. Roman and Patton rolled out of their sleeping positions to face Verita too. "Breakfast is ready downstairs, we heard you were up." Verita glanced at Logan. "Come down when you're ready!"

Roman went downstairs as soon as the door closed, grabbing a hairbrush to brush his hair on the way down. "Mornin' chap." Pace cheered as Roman came down. Roman placed the hairbrush on the coffee table and joined him in the kitchen. Pancakes lay on the counter doused in honey, sugar and cream. "You have a very interesting outfit." Pace said as he grabbed a pancake for himself.

"Well, yes. I'm a prince!" Roman announced. The three other Sides came down, Patton immediately going to the pancakes and sitting down.

"Are you interested in dramatics?" Roman nodded excitedly. Pace reached into his pocket and brought out a small card. "Verita knows people in San Francisco. They can get you to Hollywood, just join us tonight."

"How do you know them?" Logan walked past Verita as she put on her yellow gardening gloves to remove the morning weeds.

"Old school friends. You boys don't need to worry. The three of you can stay and get rid of that Duke Killer while we take Roman to Hollywood." Three of the Sides glanced at each other for a second while Roman's eyes were glued on this offer from a stranger. Even Patton ate his pancake in silence. Pace held the small card to Hollywood in his hand, holding it like a dog treat for the dog, Roman. "Take it, brother."

"No." Virgil murmured. He had stayed silent ever since he came downstairs, and what came out of him when he said that one word was a low, animalistic growl. His fringe completely covered both of his eyes, it was unsure whether he was staring at the old couple or looking down at his half-eaten pancake. "Roman won't need that."

"What's the matter, Virgil?" Roman snapped back. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime, we can show Thomas and he wouldn't be stuck making those skits the rest of his life."

"Just don't."

The breakfast table silenced, and Pace stood to join his wife in the garden. "Stay in your room to relax, my wife and I still want the house to ourselves." The Sides nodded. The card went back into Pace's pocket and he walked away. They finished eating quickly and went up to the room.

Virgil sat on the bed with his hands clasped on his head and legs bent covering his chest. It was almost like he was covering his ears from everything surrounding him. "Virgil, you're being ridiculous." Roman started as they went into the room. Patton looked as worried as ever, slowly walking up to Virgil. "We've been allowed a place to stay and you treat the people like this..."

"Roman, stop." Logan interrupted, putting his book back onto the bookcase. Patton sat with Virgil, cocooning him as a father would do with a young son stuck in the middle of a natural disaster. "This isn't helping anything."

Virgil started sniffling. Patton held him tighter, giving him reassuring words whispered in his ear. He then started crying, quietly, but it was still crying. Logan sat on the bed too, sighing and looking to Roman, the cause of Virgil's first actual tears. Patton rocked him from side to side, mumbling parts of nursery rhymes from Thomas' childhood. It was the first time any of them had seen Virgil cry, he usually just disappeared at any upset or just got louder and stronger. In the real world, he couldn't disappear and anxiety didn't make him stronger. It tore him down.

"I'll go get tissues." Roman turned to the door, understanding Virgil probably didn't want to be consoled by him at this time. He reached for the handle, only for it not to move. He put more force into it; it still didn't move. Logan realised this and went to the door himself, applying force further up the handle. Still no movement. After a few more frantic tries Roman called out while Logan looked out into the garden. They weren't in the garden. As Roman called louder the television's volume increased until it was booming across the room. "I think we're locked in."

A/N - Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, the stakes are high! Will Thomas and Joan find them? Another help with the 'Ciao' clue - translate the names given in Dreaming.