popularity || sanders sides [DISCONTINUED]

20 | Patton

heh, this one has a trigger warning:
mentions of arguing, the possibility of being taken into foster care, and mentions of divorce

Chapter Twenty: Good Day, Bad Day
  Patton Valentine

All I wanted was to spend time with Logan, but of course I wasn't allowed to have that considering the laws of Roman. I was leaned against Logan's side, enjoying my time watching a movie with him, and all of a sudden, he comes barging in, yelling that he has to talk to me. I sighed but didn't complain verbally, instead leading Roman to Logan and I's room to talk.

"Patton...Patton I think..." Roman began, looking more nervous than on average. "I think I may have a crush on Virgil. I decided I'd come to you because you'd be the most understanding; Veronica would just call me a dork, Logan wouldn't supply much help, and of course I couldn't talk to Vi-Virgil...about it, and I highly doubt that he even likes me back, I mean I was really mean to him at f—"

"Roman, Roman! You're rambling. Now, try and communicate what you're trying to say as calmly as you can. It will be fine."

He took a deep breath and sat down on my bed, "I have a crush on Virgil, and I don't know what to do. Like, there's no way he'd like me back, right? I was so rude to him when we first met and, oh! The sleepover was just awful. I want to know what you think I should do."

"Well," I began. "Why wouldn't Virgil like you back? I mean, you guys have gotten along pretty well recently, and he's definitely forgiven you for what happened at the sleepover. I know that he won't upright reject you, he isn't that kind of person. Roman, the best advice I can give you is to just go for it. Don't make it more complicated than it has to be."

Roman looked a tad bit more soothed at that, almost as if he was thinking about something he now didn't have to worry about. He smiled and jumped up, engulfing me in a hug like the extra dork he was (who am I to talk, though?,) "Thank you so much, Patton!"

Just after the hug had ended, the door to the room opened and Logan stepped in, "Roman, Veronica's out there in the main room. She said she is looking for you."

"Veronica?" Roman muttered quietly. "Why would she be here?"

The two of us walked into the living room, only to find a very distressed-looking Veronica pacing around. When her gaze landed on Roman, her expression softened and she looked more calm. I wanted to ask what was going on, but felt that that was more of Roman's job than mine.

"Ronnie? What's wrong?" Roman asked, obviously as worried as I was about her. Sure, I wasn't nearly as close to her as Roman was, but I still cared about her.

Veronica, instead of telling him what was wrong, ran up to him and quickly wrapped her arms around him, noticeably trying to not cry. Now, if there was one thing I knew about Veronica Heron, it was that she hated crying. She thought it was for people who 'showed too much emotion and needed to take a chill pill' so it was very out of character for her to have to stop herself from crying.

"They-They're fighting again, Roman. It's-It's so stupid...they got mad at my brother for leaving to get coffee, like he does every morning, and then it got into unnecessary subjects that...I don't know. I'm scared, Ro."

Veronica's parents were in a rough patch in their relationship, and now almost every minor inconvenience turned into an argument. Most of the time, it started as them yelling at her brother, Remy, and it escalated into something much more. It wasn't fair; Veronica and Remy both didn't deserve to be in a house full of fighting. They're way too close to being taken into foster care.

"That is horrible, Veronica. I wish there were a way we could help," Logan said. He had been expressionless throughout this whole thing, which wasn't too surprising considering his character. He was quiet about situations dealing with emotions and matters of family, especially since he moved in with my family and I. I'll have to ask about that sometime.

"Well," she continued, looking at Roman, then to Logan, and then to me. "Remy's outside in my car. I was hoping that Roman could join us for a day out in the town to get my mind off of it. But since he came here before I could get to see him alone, I suppose I could extend the offer to you two too."

I was quick to nod my head 'yes,' and looked back at Logan to see what he would say. I was expecting him to say that he would go, but deep down I knew he wouldn't want to. He wasn't much of an extrovert. Eventually, he shook his head no, so I said goodbye to him in my Special Patton Way™ by:

1. Saying 'Goodbye'
2. Kissing him on the cheek
3. Telling him I love him
4. Leaving

This is the way that I developed after I started dating Logan. It took a long time to perfect, and I only use it on Logan, and occasionally on my mother. What can I say? It's a craft that I have perfected.

We piled into Veronica's car, Roman pushing Remy to the backseat with me. I spent five minutes trying to decide how to say 'hi' to him, but by the time I finally decided on one, we were at our first destination: a nail salon just outside of our really, really, really small town.

Now I knew it was for the better that Logan didn't come with us.

Roman gasped, a huge, dorky smile on his face, "Ronnie, I love getting my nails painted! This is going to be amazing! Come on, let's go!" He was the first to jump out of the car, followed by Remy, then me, and finally by Veronica.

We walked into the salon, Roman looking to be the most excited and Remy seeming like he didn't care at all. I mean, he was only fourteen, and from what I've seen, emotions aren't really fourteen-year-olds' best attribute.

"Hello, how can I help y'all today?" The lady at the counter said. Veronica stepped up, "Hi, yes, me and my very feminine male friends would like to get some manicures. It's kinda a girl-and-dorks day."

The lady smiled, "Well isn't that somethin? We don't get a lot of boys in 'ere, mostly because all of the boys 'round these parts think 'ey're too good to look beautiful." She looked at Roman, then to me, then to Remy, and finally back at Veronica, "Cash or credit?"

"Cash." Veronica said. After that, she got the totals and paid for them, before we were allowed to pick out our nail polish(s) of choice. Veronica picked out a nice, dark purple, Remy picked out black, I chose a light blue, and Roman grabbed a nice, bright red color and a gold one for his accent nail, after telling Veronica he could pay the extra amount for another bottle.

Then, we sat down, prepared to enjoy our manicures and the rest of our fun-filled day together, forgetting why we had gotten out of the house in the first place.

—————

okay, so, first: i thought i'd inform you that the next chapter won't be in the perspective of one of the sides, but rather a character who's side of the story you haven't heard completely. i won't reveal anything yet, but be prepared.

secondly, i didn't get too many questions last time so i'm gonna re-open opportunities now. DO NOT REPOST A QUESTION!! ONLY ASK NEW ONES, OR THE COMMENT WILL BE DELETED!!

virgil

roman

patton

logan

veronica

peach

dawson

group questions/other characters

me (ze author)

bye, y'all!
-riv