The Prince, The Gangster, The Teacher, And The Poet (Sander Sides Fanfic)

Chapter Nein-The Realization

I spelled it that way for a reason.

TW: Picani and Remy make a small appearance, getting over a fight, privileged person realizing how privileged they are, flowers

They didn't speak again until lunch. Even during lunch, the only one who said anything was Patton, offering sandwiches he had packed, and telling Logan that he had to eat when Logan tried to turn it down. Roman needed to get out of there. He needed space to think. So when he was done with his sandwich, he stood up quickly. Everyone looked over at him curiously.

"I'm going to be right back." He quickly walked off, not really looking back. He walked into the trees, making a note of how he got where he was going so he could always turn back. He wasn't crying, he wasn't. Prince's weren't supposed to cry. But there were wet spots forming in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks, and he leaned against a tree, taking deep breaths as he desperately wiped at the tears falling.

"Are you okay?" A tiny voice asked him as a small hand pulled on his shirt. Roman jumped, looking down to see a small boy with pink hair and glasses smiling up at him. Another boy was hiding behind him, around the same age, but this younger one had brown hair and sunglasses hiding his eyes. They were both looking up at him with interest and wonder.

"Y...yes. I am. I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Roman straightened again, blinking away the tears that threatened to spill. "I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Mommy says that people only cry if they're overwhelmed." The one with the pink hair states, tilting his head. "She told me the least we could do is listen." Roman blinked.

"Are you asking me to tell you why I'm... upset?" Roman asked, baffled.

"So you are upset." The one in the sunglasses pointed out, before ducking behind the other boy. Roman was at a loss for what to say.

"Yeah, I guess I am." He rubbed his neck, remembering what Logan had yelled at him about before and wincing. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He cringed at how childish it sounded.

"We aren't either." The one with the pink hair smiled. "So if we aren't, and you aren't, that means you can trust us. I'm Emile, this is Remy, but you can call me Picani!" Roman just stared at these little kids, who sat down next to him.

"I'm Rom-" Roman stopped himself. It was probably a good idea not to give his full name. "I'm Ro."

"Nice to meet you, Ro!" Picani smiled. "Now tell us what's bothering you."

"Promise not to tell anyone?" Roman sighed, sitting down himself, and running a hand through his hair.

"Pinky swear." Picani held up a pinky, and Remy took a canteen out of his bag, putting in a straw, and taking a sip.

"I don't tell." He pulled down his sunglasses and winked, and Roman laughed through the pain in his chest, linking his pinky with Picani's.

"I... I got into a fight with my friend. We were getting along yesterday... I guess I was even flirting with him a little bit, and he seemed to like it... like me?" Roman could tell he was getting off-topic, going down a rabbit hole he wasn't sure was really healthy, but he couldn't help it. He glanced back at the two kids next to him, and they were nodding along, smiling. 

"Then this morning I made a decision that ended up almost getting our other friends hurt." There were small gasps from the two, which might have been a little over the top if Roman wasn't feeling so dramatic. "But my one friend, he had told me not to do it. That it was a mistake. I thought it was harmless, and so I brushed it off, but he got really upset." Roman sank a little, looking at the dirt. "We didn't talk for a bit and then we got into a bad fight. Really bad." He closed his eyes, leaning his head against the trunk of the tree. "What's worse is that I know he's right. I know he was more correct then I was, that he had more information than me and that he made a better choice than me. It just..." Roman groaned. "I don't know. He started talking and all I needed to do was defend myself."