The Rainy Day Coffee Shop - Sanders Sides AU

Part 4 - The Coincidence

Virgil gazed at his feet as he wandered around the mall, occasionally looking up to browse the names if the shops. The bustle of people filled the air, and the smell of new clothes and food and sweat drifted around. All Virgil could see was his black boots and the blur of feet and legs, as he didn't want to look up for fear of awkwardly meeting someone's gaze. The weight of his backpack made him hunch, and he tried his best to block out the loud noise of footsteps and voices. Where did Patton say they would meet? He pulled out his phone and scrolled to find the text.

Patton: Hey, kiddo! I'm gonna be at the mall of Saturday if you wanna meet up! x

Virgil: Yeah sure

Patton: I'm at the mall now x

Patton: I'm at McSonalds

Patton: *McDonalds

Virgil: Meet at 1:15?

Patton: Sure, kiddo! x

He looked around, searching for the McDonalds. He saw it across the mall, near the escalator. Without thinking, he made a b-line towards it, wanting to get out of the crowded mall centre as quick as possible. He had only taken a couple of hasty steps before he felt a shoulder collide with his. He fell to the ground, his phone flying out of his hand and landing hard on the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the person who he had bumped into, who was also on the ground, exclaimed.

"I'm sorry!" Virgil mumbled, reaching for his phone. He noticed a small crack in the corner of the screen and internally groaned - he didn't have the money to get it fixed, so he would just have to deal with it. He stuffed the phone in his pocket and got up, noticing the man still on the floor. He had jet black hair and a pair of dark blue glasses, along with a black polo-shirt and tie. He was scrambling to pick up the books he had dropped. Virgil could have sworn he recognised him. He bent down and helped him pick up his books.

"Thanks." the man glanced up at Virgil with gratitude.

As soon as he saw his face, Virgil knew who it was, "It's Logan, right?"

The man paused, "Yes, it is. Do I know you?"

"Uh, not really. I work at the coffee shop downtown, and I always see you there." Virgil cringed; he sounded like a creep now.

"Ah, I see. Well, thank you." Logan stood up and gave him a short nod, before turning and leaving.

Virgil paused for a moment before shoving his hands back in his pockets and heading back towards the McDonalds.

***

"Virgil, there you are!" Patton waved as he approached his table.

Virgil gave him a small smile before noticing that someone else was sat at the table. They were wearing a white and red long-sleeved turtle-neck shirt, and had silky brown hair. I froze as they turned to look at me.

Shit.

"Oh my goodness, it's the emo from the coffee shop!" Roman exclaimed.

"Ah, you know Virgil! That's amazing." Patton smiled.

Virgil barely heard them. Why was he here? How the hell did he know Patton? Goddamn it, why was he so fucking cute?

"Uh, Virgil?" Patton placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him back into reality, "You okay, kiddo?"

Virgil's face flushed as he realized he had been staring at Roman, and he was glad that he was wearing white foundation. He nodded at Patton and sheepishly sat down beside him.

"So how do you know... ah, it was Virgil, right?" Roman rested his chin on his hand.

"Oh, he works at the coffee shop and I see him in the bakery quite often." Patton waved his hand, before addressing Virgil, "Me and Roman are old friends from high school, and we only recently realized that we lived in the same town! I decided last minute to invite him over to our little get-together! I hope that's alright."

"Yeah, fine!" Virgil squeaked, his voice cracking a little as he tried to sound polite and chill at the same time. 

Why did it have to be Roman, he thought. It could have been literally anybody else.

Roman and Patton talked about school and their families, and Virgil listened quietly, trying to learn as much about Roman as possible. Patton tried to include him in their discussion as much as possible, as he was aware that it mustn't be very interesting for Virgil.

"How's your brother, Princey?" Patton asked.

"Even more of a psychopath than you remember, I'm sure." Roman shrugged, "He's going through a green phase - as in, he only wears green - which has ruined the colour for me forever."

Patton glanced at Virgil, "Roman has a twin brother. I know you have a brother too?"

"Oh, Janus? Yeah, he's a dick." Virgil smiled a little and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh my god, mine too!" Roman flashed him a toothy smile, "Is yours a chaotic brat too?"

"Nah, he just has a big ego and is constantly lying to my parents to get more money. He's so fucking annoying," Virgil shrugged and laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah - I don't know how my parents can stand being around Remus." Roman laughed and paused for a second before speaking again, "Turns out we have more in common than I thought, emo."

Virgil gazed at him, trying to cover his blush and smile with his fringe.

They talked for a while longer, and Virgil found out a little more about Roman; he lived in an apartment and went to the college nearby. He currently didn't work, preferring to spend all his free time watching movies and writing.

"What do you write?" Patton asked eagerly.

"Oh, anything, really. Fantasy, poetry, songs. Nothing too big at the moment, though - I'm still waiting on my magnum opus." He chuckled.

Roman talked about his family and college - he was studying creative writing and drama, and Patton studied mathematics.

"You study math?" Roman exclaimed.

"Yes, I do!" Patton replied, "But it's not exactly my passion. I just want to get a stable job so that, one day, I might be able to have or adopt kids of my own!"

"I think you'd make a great dad, Patton." Virgil noted, giving Patton a small smile.

"Well, what do you study, emo?" Roman asked.

"Me?" He was taken a little off-guard by the question, "Oh, I study IT and web design."

"Ah, a techie, eigh?" Roman raised an eyebrow and shot him a smile.

"Better than english and public speaking." Virgil teased, "Blegh, too much Shakespeare."

"Oh, I feel wounded!" Roman clutched his heart dramatically before laughing. Virgil couldn't help but chuckle too.

Then, their gazes met. Virgil gazed into his deep brown eyes, only for a split second, before looking away and blushing once more.

"Ah, I'm so glad you two are getting along!" Patton interrupted the moment, "I can tell we're all gonna be best friends!"