The Logical Exception

{ Chapter 4 - Fractured Routines }

Logan thrived on predictability, but he was about to step out of his comfort zone. Getting ready for his day, he put on his usual outfit, a black polo with a navy blue striped tie, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. His parents didn't approve of his relaxed appearance, believing that as the son of the Mirce family he should always look like he had spent over a thousand dollars on an outfit. Logan didn't agree, it was much easier to navigate a dangerous world if you kept a low profile, unlike his parents.

Zero-Sum and Mother Necessity were two of the most well-known crime lords, even those who kept squeaky clean records had at least heard whispers of these two powered pilferers who ran the Chess Master's family. His parents made a name for themselves and whenever they actually went out to attend to business, which was rare nowadays, they continued to gain public and media attention.

Logan preferred to keep a low profile. The only ones who knew of his exploits were the creativity twins, Morality and Anxiety, none of whom could actually prove he had done anything wrong. At least, nothing other than that one time. He had made an infinitesimal mistake, two if you counted Morality correcting him on the meaning of infinitesimal, Morality, of all people. Logan rubbed his eyes as he got into the car that would take him to school, a formality, just to keep up appearance as the two of two wealthy business owners. It bored him going to this school for people who were under his comprehension level.

"At least winter break is coming soon." He muttered to himself, but he knew winter break would not be that much of a rest for him. He had a lot more to do in order to finish Project Creativity and his parents always seemed to push him to his limits when they had the freedom of his empty calendar. He didn't want to focus on it now, pushing the thought from his mind, Logan attempted to focus instead on Project Creativity. He had to admit, the name was catchy, but he had not come up with it on his own. That honor went to Roman who had started calling him and Remus 'the creativity twins' so when Logan began to work on a serum that would get rid of their powers, 'Project Creativity' seemed like the only appropriate name.

"Master Logan, we are here." Logan looked at the college in front of him, not realizing just how deep in thought he had been.

"Thank you." Grabbing his bag, he slid out of the car, and prepared himself for a day of tedium and monotony, until he saw it. There was an unmistakable flash of purple in the corner of his eyes, and as he went to focus on it Logan couldn't help but gawk. Virgil was walking beside someone who was dressed in construction clothes, a company logo on his sleeve that Logan recognized. They were preparing the campus for a new building and must have needed extra hands. Virgil worked for a company that hired out temporary laborers. Logically, this meant that Virgil must have been hired to help, meaning he would be around the campus for a while, hopefully until winter break. This would give him time to befriend Virgil outside of their nightly routines. Maybe he would be able to assist the hero with his eating habits without the use of his figurative mask.

A light smile covered his lips as he walked towards the building. He had something to keep his mind off of his schoolwork today.

~*~

Virgil wished his life had more predictability, but his anxiety and powers made it difficult for him to hold jobs long term. People always grew suspicious, so it was better for him, and better for Patton, if he didn't draw attention to himself. Plus, he was a hard worker, which meant he had a fairly steady stream of jobs the temp agency was willing to send him to. Last month had been a bit sparse, though he blamed himself for that. It had been hard to accept jobs knowing he wouldn't be in the right mindset to complete them, and it had been hard to be in the right mindset when he knew he was partially at fault for Roman and Remus leaving.

He wasn't completely at fault, no matter what the voice in the back of his head told him, but he was partially at fault, and he had been forced to come to terms with that. Taking less work during the month had meant less money though and he was behind on bills now. He would have to continue sacrificing meals until he had caught back up. As if on cue, his stomach growled and he reached for one of the apples that sat on the counter until he remembered that those too were gone.

"I can survive another day." He reminded himself, but he really did feel a bit weak. Pushing the thought from his mind, Virgil shoved his hands into his pockets, feeling the warmth of his usual black and purple hoodie, before stepping out the door, being as quiet as possible. Patton had a late shift today, so he was still sleeping and Virgil did not want to be the reason he was woken up.

Making his way down the street, Virgil hopped onto the bus, double-checking his phone to make sure he was headed the right direction. He was probably going to get there much earlier then he needed too, but he couldn't handle the idea of maybe being late on his first day. Virgil put in his headphones but kept his eyes on the road, looking over each street and occasionally checking his phone to make sure he was on the right path. He didn't relax until the bus let him off at the school. Even then he had to find the right building, but finding a construction area shouldn't be too hard right?

His phone chimed and Virgil looked at it, seeing a text from Patton using cat and dog emojis. He was happy to see those again. For a while after Roman and Remus left, Patton barely used any emojis, he had been on a bit of a hiatus since things started to go south with Remus, but this was a sign that he was recovering right? Virgil responded back before checking the email with the contact details for the third time today. He could have traveled through the shadows, it probably would have made all of this easier, but he couldn't risk getting caught.

"Hey," Someone flagged him down near the construction site. "Are you the new kid?"

"Um.. y... yes, I'm Virgil Black."

"Wonderful, let me show you around." Virgil nodded but felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He fought the urge to check his surroundings. He had to play it cool, but he felt like someone was watching him.

AN: Happy Holidays everyone! Sorry if it wasn't as good as normal, this one isn't edited because I was rushing to get it out before the end of Christmas day. I hope you all enjoy it!