Trustfall || Sanders Sides Equestrian AU

Chapter 9 - Weight

If there was one thing in this wonderful world that Roman – who very much appreciated said wonderful world – hated, it was seeing his loved ones broken. So he closed his eyes.

He closed his eyes not to see the trembly figure of his best friend between his arms as he sobbed into Roman's chest. Roman tightened his embrace around the boy and bit his lip as to block the tears that threatened to show in his own eyes.

They were sat in the group's regular spot; behind the stables, where there was an old sofa they'd dragged over, perched between the foliage on the hoofprints-heavy ground. Oh, how much this place had seen.

Patton's sobs sent a crack cutting through Roman's heart. He felt painfully helpless; for the first time in forever it seemed he didn't know what to say to make it better. All he had to do was hug his friend tight and share his grief.

When he opened his eyes he found the other two looking exactly the way they did when he first closed them; Logan was sitting awkwardly on the far end of the sofa and looking down at his hands as though calculating a complex equation. He clearly had no idea what to do in such situation. Virgil's eyes were filled with pain almost similar to Patton's, and the sight pulled at a small string in Roman's chest. The boy had sunk into himself and watched from those brown eyes of his, buried inside his black hoodie. On the outside he was as silent as the still waters of Daybreak Lake, but Roman knew that his mind was in loud chaos.

He glanced down at Patton, whose sobs were muted by Roman's jacket. His stomach tightened painfully at the sight of his devastated friend.

"Pat... Pat, look at me," he said softly.

Patton sniffled and lifted his head to meet Roman's gaze. The boy's brilliant blue eyes were glazed with tears.

"We're going to get him back, alright bud?"

Behind Patton, Virgil's face snapped up and he gave Roman a look of "are you crazy?? We can't promise him that!". Roman returned a stern glance before looking back at Patton and allowing his face to soften again.

"H-how?" Patton sniffled.

"We'll do whatever it takes. We'll find him and get him back to you, I promise."

"I- I don't kn-now w-what I'd do without him-"

"I know, buddy."

Patton buried his face in his friend's shoulder, and Roman pulled him close. His body was warm and almost fragile. His sobs were mere sniffles now, but still pierced through Roman's chest like poisonous daggers. He made a silent vow in his heart that he would find that old horse no matter how far he has to go.

Logan shifted awkwardly in his seat. "I sense this is a bad time to mention that school starts tomorrow, however it is a factor we need to consider. We will hardly have enough time to train for the upcoming season, let alone locate a sold horse and retrieve him. Which is, in fact, a far-fetched idea."

Virgil tensed at the mention of school; it was a subtle motion, but Roman caught it.

"I'm not going to school," Patton murmured, voice muffled through his friend's shoulder.

"It's okay, take however long you need alone. We'll cover for you. Right, guys?"

It was clear that Logan found the idea of being involved in someone's skipping of a school day absolutely outrageous, and that Virgil was already running through all the potential trouble they were going to get themselves into in his head.

"Right, guys?"

"Uh- yeah! Yeah, of course," Virgil piped. Logan gave a reluctant nod.