A Few Days More - Sanders Sides

The Day The Past Bit Back

Shout out to @drawing_doggo for the suggestion!
Trigger Warnings: Bullying, Mentions of Alcohol Abuse, Abusive Parenting, and Suicide Attempts

I was sitting in the mall food court as I had many times before. Roman was hugging my waist from his spot next to me while Patton and Logan were across from us. Damion and Remus wanted to go to the mall after the more dramatic events of our lives. I couldn't agree more. We all needed a break.

The couple have been gone for the past hour. I'm not entirely sure where they would've gone for a whole 60 minutes. Our local mall was smaller than our high school. But they had a decent enough food court.

The four of us had been munching on some nacho fries. The actual potato fries tasted like plastic and the cheese was like melted Crayola. But to me, it was so fucking good for some weird reason.

Getting to the bottom of our fries was around the time Remus and Damion came back. They both were carrying mountains of bags from about every store in the mall. "This mall is much worse than the Alachua one!" Remus complained. He reached out with his grotesque fingers to finish off our fries.

"I offered to drive us to that one! Yet, you two didn't want to wait the extra half an hour to get there!" Logan reminded them. Remus just shrugged while Damion rolled his eyes and laughed.

We were about to get up to leave, but I froze. Walking down towards us was two people I wish I didn't recognize. They were both about the same height, one slightly skinnier than the other. Both were rather muscular. However both of them had the same mad smirk stitched to their skin.

I began to shutter, my knees locking together. Roman walked into me, not realizing I had yet to move. "What is it, Vee?" He asked me. When he found me not answering, he followed my gaze.

The two boys were now in front of me. "So you've dared to show your face in public again, have you?" The one asked me.

"Hold on! Who do you think you are talking to Virgil like that?!" Patton asked. The two looked at each other before staring back at me.

"The name's are Axel and Rian. Perhaps you've heard of us? Virgil's old friends!" Axel introduced with a gritty smile.

"Y-You were not my friends!" I muttered.

"Oh can it!" Rian yelled, pushing my chest. "We were the only ones that ever talked to you. You owe us for that! Wasted our damn time!"

"You were the kids that picked on Virgil," Logan realized.

"Well, someone had to put this freak in his place!" Rian mocked. I could feel my hands struggling to hold still. The bullies laughed at my attempts to stay calm. "Still an anxious little asshole like before!"

"Perhaps that mental hospital shouldn't have let you out yet!" Axel added.

"Now, hold on just a second there!" Damion butted in, trying to stand up for my poor soul. "You know nothing about the progress he's made!"

"Is that so? Does that scar block the blood from getting to your brain?! Cause in my opinion, nothing about this pathetic little punk has changed!" Axel laughed. Damion went bright red. His hand mindlessly wandered up to cover his face. Remus grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to the back of our friend group.

"T-T-That's...n-not," I quietly mumbled.

"You two aren't being super nice!" Patton scolded, pointing his finger in their face. Axel and Rian smirked, giving off a petty laugh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does that make your 'mysterious' bruise around your neck ache?" Rian growled. Patton's face fell. It was true that Patton still had a black and brown ring around his neck, but never did I think these two would stoop so low.

"I'm sorry," Logan hissed, taking a step forward till he was practically nose to nose with Rian. "But I'll excuse you to never talk to my boyfriend like that again!" He threatened, the steam visible out of his ears.

"And you're so perfect? I can smell the alcohol in your throat." Axel taunted. "I recognize you from the liquor store. Turns out you can't even sober up even when your parents pay top dollar to have you fixed!" Logan's breathing grew slightly more rapid. Patton tearfully pulled him back before Logan bit either of their head's off.

"P-P-Please..." I whispered again.

"You guys are fucking disgusting, making fun of us. I mean, honestly, do either of you want us to press charges for hurting the lives of MY friends?!" Roman seethed.

"Oh please, go back on stage you pathetic excuse of a prince," Rian yelled. He gave Roman a harsh push in the chest, sending him falling back onto his brother. The two Princes let out a groan of pain as my two old bullies laughed at their expense.

I couldn't stand it anymore. For some reason, my veins were burning with anger and hatred. These two assholes were picking on my friends! The friends that raised me. The friends that care for me. The friends that love me. The friends I call my family.

"Hey!" I grumbled, clenching my fists. Rian and Axel turned their heads, pity laughs escaping them. My friends were looking at me, almost frightened by the level of anger I was exhibiting. My face was red, more with frustration than embarrassment for once.

"Awe, what asshole? Did we hurt your feelings?" The two mocked.

"First of all, you have no right to make fun of these people you hardly even know. You don't understand their trauma! You don't understand their triggers! You don't understand their pasts and you especially don't understand their feelings!

"Plus, you two are ones to talk! Don't think I don't remember how your parents would treat you on Back to School Nights and all the school plays! You two out of all people should understand what it's like to live in hell and not even be able to escape! You of all people should understand the harsh reality of your nightmares being real! But you both choose to ignore that and instead, spread your pain along like the diseases you both are!"

I was panting when I finished. It would be an understatement to say both Axel and Rian looked a mix of terrified and surprised. "W-What are you saying, asshole?" Axel had the nerve to ask.

"I'm saying, you both should grow bigger dicks and fuck yourselves if it makes you feel any better. In other words, GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME AND MY FRIENDS!" I barked. They both ran off the other direction. My panting didn't stop, still gasping for air like a dog.

"Are you okay, Virgil?" Damion asked, putting his hand on my shoulder. I immediately turned around and hugged him. He acted shocked before slowly wrapping his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry you had to meet them." I cried, crushing him tighter.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Logan concluded. Roman helped Remus to his feet. As soon as he was settled, I broke off of Damion and gave Roman a massive hug.

"I'm so proud of you, baby." Roman cooed, placing a supportive kiss on my head.

"C-Can we go home now?" I asked. Everyone laughed at that as I clung to Roman the entire way back to the car.