Boo

Ch. 12

Logan awkwardly sipped at his water, while his parents chatted idly about mundane things. Things such as who gets their salary first, and when his father's next surgery was.

"Honestly, Logan. You'll love it when you're in the surgery station as my surgeon's assistant." His father smiled at him.

"...right." Logan nodded, taking another sip of his water.

"I'm glad we've put all this silly writer nonsense behind us!" His mother chirped, taking a sip from her wine glass. "A writer's salary won't be enough to take care of us later in life."

Logan remained silent, knowing better than to say something he'd regret.

He awkwardly took another sip of his water, finding drinking easier than speaking.

He glanced around, and promptly choked on his drink.

He coughed and spluttered, gaining the attention of a certain individual. The person walked over, and forced a smile on their face.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Janus?" Logan whispered, eyes wide.

It certainly was Janus, fully decked out in a waiter's uniform. He wore an apron around his waist, and a bowtie around his neck. His hair had been pushed back, showing his face on full display.

He still had dangerously dark circles under his eyes, so he had a fancy, emo butler thing going on.

"Do you know him?" Logan's father asked, looking between Logan and Janus.

"Oh, no, I said...uh...anus...?" Logan stammered, flushing in embarrassment before the statement even left his mouth.

Janus snorted, turning his face away to hide his amused smile. His father looked incredibly disappointed, choosing to pretend Logan hadn't just said that.

"Oh, uh, I'm fine, stranger!" Logan gave an awkward thumbs up. "I've never felt better!"

"Smooth." Janus nodded, pulling out a sketch pad.

"I'm sorry?" Logan's mother frowned.

"I said smooth, like our excellent, creamy mashed potatoes, would you like to try some?" Janus asked, smiling at them.

"Uh, yes! That--mashed potatoes!" Logan nodded, smiling widely. So widely, it was uncomfortable.

"Are you alright, Logan?" His father asked, raising a brow at him.

"Yes, I just, uh, love mashed potatoes." Logan nodded. "They're delicious."

"So, one order of mashed potatoes. What else can I get you all?" Janus asked, writing that down on his sketch pad.

They all told Janus their orders, and he quickly wrote them down at an impressive speed.

"I'll go put these in." Janus gave them one last smile, before turning away.

Almost immediately after, Logan abruptly stood. "Bathroom!" He squawked, speed walking away.

He looked around, trying to find Janus. He spotted him walking towards the bathrooms, which was actually perfect.

He went over, and immediately grabbed and thrown at the wall. He crashed into it with a thump. "Ow!"

"Are you stalking me?!" Janus hissed, glaring at him. "First, you ask if I have any friends, which is a weirdly personal question to ask your coworker! Then, you show up at my other job?!"

"It's not like I expected you to be here!" Logan snapped, rubbing the back of his head. "How do you have two jobs?! You work eight hours every day at the cafe!"

"And I work eight hours every night here." Janus huffed and crossed his arms, a stray piece of caramel hair falling in front of his face. "Why is that an issue?"

"Do you even sleep?" Logan asked incredulously.

"I get exactly five hours per night." Janus shrugged, like that was an acceptable answer.

"What about the remaining three hours?" Logan rose a brow.

"Those are spent preparing everything for my brother to go to school." Janus told him.

"And he's...?"

"Eleven," Janus nodded, "and he's all I've got, so whatever bullshit you have to say, you can keep it to yourself."

"Is there anyone else supporting you two?" Logan frowned, furrowing his brow.

"Well, there was, but he's gone now." Janus said simply, finally pushing that stray piece of hair back. "Don't feel sorry for me, alright? I've got it handled."

He turned to walk away.

"I-I heard about Jasper!" Logan blurted out. Janus froze in his tracks.

"...what?"

"Why did I say that?" Logan bemoaned quietly to himself. "Yeah, uh, Jasper. Your...brother?"

In a second, Janus had grabbed his collar and had him pinned against the wall. "Where did you hear that name?" He growled.

"Oh, uh, just...around." Logan stammered, terrified.

"Around?" Janus echoed, eyeing him in disbelief. "I want names, Logan. Who told you that?"

"Uh, I dunno their names, uh, I just heard him being mentioned as your brother." Logan lied, pressing his lips together immediately after.

Janus scanned his expression for a moment, before slowly letting go of Logan's collar. "Okay," He said, clearly not convinced, "it's just that only seven people in the world should know he exists, and five of them are dead."

Logan paled. "Oh."

"And the other two?" Janus scowled at him. "Well, that's me and my little brother."

Logan laughed awkwardly. "Well, that's weird, huh?"

"Which makes me ask again," Janus backed away from Logan, crossing his arms, "where did you hear that name?"

"I--"

"Have you been stalking me, Logan?" Janus asked again, eyeing him in suspicion. "Who are you, really?"

"Janus!" Someone scolded, poking their head into the room. "What are you doing?! Your shift isn't over!"

"Sorry, sir." Janus murmured, not taking his eyes off of Logan. He slowly left the room, but the suspicion never left his eyes.

"...shit." Logan laughed in terror.

A/N:

I've been sat here for, like, five minutes, trying to figure out what to say.