Fearkeeper: Book 2 (Keeper Trilogy)

3

The next morning Roman was a lost cause. He was broken. That much was clear. He didn't want to leave his room at all, but that really wasn't new. He just laid there on his bed holding the hoodie as if it was going to disappear on him too. He did it. He sang the song. But Logan was right, the pain wasn't worth it. 

Then again, there shouldn't have been any pain. Roman shouldn't feel like he's an empty shell. VIRGIL SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE! 

Virgil meant everything to him. Roman always joked, saying he saved Virgil but in reality, it was the other way around. Virgil saved Roman. He saved Roman from himself so many times. He brought a light that Roman never knew he needed. Being there for the darker side actually made Roman feel better. 

It wasn't easy. When Roman found Virgil, the prince wasn't exactly very... stable, emotionally speaking. The smile he always had on was just as fake as Pattons. He felt alone after losing his best friend, he just didn't feel the same. That was why he spent all that time in the dark realm. He was searching for him... for the man he lost. He ended up finding Virgil and he couldn't just leave him there. At first, he was using Virgil to fill that empty spot but soon enough he found that fake smile becoming real. And as time went on... he began to realize just how much Virgil meant to him. 

And now he's gone.

Roman hugged the hoodie closer as he cried into it. He thought he was out of tears but it turns out he still had some to shed. He just laid there crying until he felt the air shift. Roman jumped up with a start, eyes glowing pink as he scanned the room only to find another white gift with a black bow complete with envelope. Roman's blood went cold. He knew he could sense someone watching him. He could feel it but there was no one there.

He pushed himself up ignoring the way his head spun as he made his way to the gift on his dresser. Did he really want this shit? Roman sighed as he opened the envelope and took the card out. There was no letter this time.

"This one's simple so I'll be fast. Somethings missing that I'd never have guessed. There isn't any laughter filling the halls. No sound of joy to echo off the walls. Your job is small but truly grand bring back the jokes and take a stand... So what I ask you on my behalf... is to make our dear Patton laugh." Roman froze up as his voice carried through his room. "I have to... what?" He slowly lifted the top off the gift feeling his body go icy as he spotted the old fairly worn out book that he could never forget ... even if he wanted to. It was Patton's old joke book from when they were kids. "Shit..." Roman wasted no time taking everything over to Logan's room only for that very sides door to open the moment he walked up to it.  Once again that wasn't really new though. Since everything last year, Logan had a very STRICT open door policy.

"Come in, Ro." Roman frowned as he spotted Logan at his desk doing some paperwork.

"I can... I can come back when your not..." Logan just smiled as he spun his chair around.

"Don't even think about it. I'm not busy. What do you..." Logan's eyes narrowed spotting the card and book. "Oh, I see you got another one. So I take it you sang..." Roman nodded as his eyes darkened and Logan sighed. "Are you ok?"

"Not really, but I'm more concerned about this, Logan. I don't understand the point of it." Roman handed everything over before hugging himself to hold in his nerves. "The Christmas carol was meant to teach you what's been going on with all of us. Patton was trying to get you to see the effects you had on us. I think..." Roman shook himself out of his thoughts as he frowned. "But this one I don't understand. The first task was to sing a very... sentimental song and this one..."

"Is to get Patton to laugh." Logan's eyes narrowed as he read the card over and over. "One thing I can say... these rhymes are very basic."

"Seriously?" Roman deflated a bit as Logan laughed a little. "That's all you can say about it."

"What I mean by that is, whoever is writing this doesn't rely on their creativity. It's someone who must find the task of being... 'creative' a tad difficult for them. That or... they're not very good with their words." Roman stared at the card in Logan's hand as Logan shrugged. "Either way it's clear this F person is doing something entirely out of their wheelhouse. This means that whatever the reason for this is, it is EXTREMELY important to them. To force yourself into doing something you don't typically do can be very anxiety-ridden. You'd have to have a strong reason to do so. Again, I don't want you forcing yourself to do anything you don't think you can handle, but I do think you should try to continue. If only to get an idea of what the reason is. "

"But that means I have to get Patton invol..." Logan smiled softly as he handed the book over. Roman just stared at him as Logan laughed. "Lo?"

"If you can get Patton to laugh... after all this time... I will be the most grateful one here." Roman felt his heart lurch at Logan's expression. "He hasn't even said one pun, Ro. Please... if you can do that, it'll mean the world to me."

"Ok." Roman held the book tightly as he sighed to himself. "I'll try my best, Logan. But..." Roman's eyes went stern as he glanced at the card in Logan's hand still. "You have to help me figure out who's behind all this." Logan smirked as he placed the card on his desk. 

"I'm already on it."