SECRETS AND AGENTS ~ Sanders Sides

[S I X]

Usually, everyone was busy all week but, on Sundays, Patton had the day off. While everyone was out at their jobs, he stayed at the apartment, doing small chores, like cleaning rooms and emptying the fridge of food past their recommended date, mainly because Logan wouldn't eat anything that had spent a day past their eat-by date. Roman and Virgil weren't that picky.

As he wandered around the apartment, cleaning up and tidying where he could, Patton noticed something that got his curiosity up. Virgil made his roommates promise never to go into his room, whether to clean it or to wake him up. He made them swear that they wouldn't and he always kept the door closed. But, today, it was open, just a little.

Well, Virgil had been in a rush that morning. Patton bit his lip hesitantly, peering nervously into the dark, dark room, debating to himself.

If he shut the door, it wouldn't be his fault if he happened to glimpse inside. Honestly, the fact he'd never seen its' contents properly made his interest all more unquenchable. He had to see.

Glancing around the apartment, Patton tiptoed his way over and slithered the door open a crack wider briefly, promising himself only a few seconds to look. First, he noticed the Jack and Sally poster, then a basket of washed clothes that his roommate probably needed to empty, the blinking light of a laptop on charge and an odd, dome-like shape on top of his bedside table. Then he shut the door quickly.

Snooping was wrong. So he definitely hadn't snooped. No way, not Patton. No snooping to see here, not a single teeny bit.  There were no witnesses, so no one could accuse him. He just had to make sure he didn't say a word of it to anyone.

['']

Logan worked at an arcade. He hated it. Last month, he was made redundant at the book store, which had to close down due to a lack of customers, and he was lucky he had gotten a job so quickly. That's government influence for you. Sadly, it wasn't exactly the job most suited to him. All the loud noises and screaming children really pissed him off.

That's when his phone rung, saving him from work briefly. One of his coworkers, who knew how much he hated the job, waved him off with a sympathetic smiling, taking over the customer interaction. Logan answered the phone.

"Hello," He greeted politely. "Logan Reed speaking."

"Hey, Lo," Virgil's' voice came through the speaker. "Princey just texted me saying he lost his phone."

Logan frowned. "He... texted you... saying he lost his phone?"

"Yeah. Can you please call him and tell him that he's stupid? This happens way too much."

"Why can't you?"

"Do you think I have enough patience to explain to him that he's using his phone to text me? Hell no. Besides, I'm going to the gym soon and I'll be busy."

Logan sighed, doubting Virgil actually used the gyms' services and only really went there to check people out, but he didn't say anything. "Alright, Virge, I'll call him. Enjoy the gym."

"Yeah, see you later, Lo!" Virgil hanged up.

Logans' coworker had dealt with the people at the desk and she turned to him.

Valarie was ordinary, with ordinary brown hair and an ordinary smile. If Logan weren't so incredibly gay, he'd probably feel attraction towards her. She beamed at him. "That was short, who was it?"

"My roommate, Virgil," Logan said. "Our friend, Roman, believes he has lost his phone so he texted Virgil, informing him about the news."

"Oh, god, I hope he finds it," Valerie said. Then, she frowned. "Wait, you said he texted your roommate... That he lost his phone."

Logan nodded. "I'm going to talk some sense into him, do you mind, Valerie?"

Valerie shook her head. "Not at all, Logan! Go ahead!"

Logan called Roman and his friend instantly picked up. "Thank god," Roman said before Logan was even able to say anything. "Got news from the boss."

"You know how incredibly stupid  that code of yours is, right?" Logan muttered, backing away from anyone who could hear him. "What if Virgil starts to bother you about it? He knows you're not that stupid."

"Yeah, well, it usually works," Roman answered. "Anyway, the boss says that they caught the thugs before they woke up. They were hired by the opposition to cause some chaos and run our forces around. I doubt they were going to be paid."

Logan sighed again. "What else did you get from them?"

"We asked about Anxiety Arachnia. They said they didn't see any creepy spider dude. I think he's gone for good."

Logan nodded. "Good. I don't know what we'd do if we found him lurking around somewhere."

['']

Patton wasn't in the main part of the living room when it happened. He'd been in Logans' room, sorting out his friends' bookshelf. The apartment door opened and Patton looked up in fright. There was a terrifying aura that entered the whole home, burning and radiating in a way that made Patton feel uneasy. The door closed and there was no sound.

Then, Patton could hear shuffling. Someone scuffing their feet on the mat. He began to panic. He didn't know why but he felt like he should be afraid. He hated that feeling. It reminded him of the oppositions' best attack dog. 

It felt like spiders were scuttling into the apartment, dousing everything black with their body. Then they were turning their sights onto Patton, jumping onto him until he couldn't move. The dreaded feeling of spiders had always accompanied him when he turned up.

Anxiety was building up in Pattons' chest. How had he found where they lived? Was he back? Was he coming to finish them? Fear was normal when this person turned up.

Patton tightened his fists, prepared to punch the one who was approaching. He wasn't going down without a fight.

Anxiety Arachnia. He was back.

The agent moved silently over to Logans' bedroom door, waiting to jump out on him. He wasn't going down without a fight, but he knew he was going to die. Here it was. The end.

He could hear footsteps, familiar footsteps. Footsteps that made the imaginary spiders grow larger and larger, despite how soft and gentle they were. A figure appeared in his vision and Patton felt his blood freeze briefly.

"Oh, hey, Pat," Virgil said. "The gym was closed for some reason, so I came home early. I'm gonna have a nap, so I'll be in my room." He saluted Patton in that light-hearted way of his before retreating into his room.

Patton stared after him, unable to move, unable to think.

What the hell?