Motorcycles and Lies (Anxceit)

Oleander

TW: mention of murder and paranoia

    Virgil sat on his bed, elbows slumped on his knees as he held his phone and scrolled through the news. Not much interested him but it did cure his boredom for a time. His Sunday had been pretty lazy and Virgil had no intention on changing that. He clicked on the “crime” tab after a bit and scrolled through there, that area of the news interested him more than celebrity drama and cooking recipes.

He read one of the headlines, “BODY FOUND IN WOODS BY DOG, NEW EVIDENCE TO A QUICKLY CLOSING CASE”

Virgil clicked on the article in interest, unsure of which cold case it was referring to. The victim was a male and they assumed it to be linked to a three month old case from the city nearby. He shrugged it off as just another case and shut off his phone, his growing headache making him more tired.

    A head poked into the room. “V?” Patton asked.

    Virgil sat up and faced his brother, “Hm?”

    “Are you going shopping yet? There’s no more milk and not much to eat.” His brother looked worried, and Virgil knew why.

    “Yeah, let me see what we can get and then I’ll head out. Are you going to be okay here or would you like to come with me?” He opened his phone to a document of their budget as he spoke, looking down to see how much they could spend.

    “Can I come with you?” Patton said shyly.

    “‘Course. Wouldn’t of offered it if not.” Virgil got out of bed and slipped his sneakers on and tied the laces while Patton did the same. He grabbed the wad of cash from under his dresser and motioned for Patton to follow him as he walked out.

    Patton did as told and followed his brother out to the motorcycle, both of them slipping on their helmets. Virgil started up the engine and Patton got on, burying his head in Virgil’s shoulder. He drove, heading to the supermarket just downtown, a short, ten minute drive.

    Once they arrived, Virgil parked the bike into place and headed in, going to the cold department in the back after grabbing a cart. He grabbed a few things he needed, adding up the prices on his phone’s calculator.

    After grabbing everything they needed, Patton and Virgil went to the checkout line and started scanning the items; Patton putting up the items on the table beside the machine and Virgil handing him items. From the side of his eye, Virgil caught a glimpse of a red face and yellow t-shirt and, suspecting it was Janus, looked at the person.

He saw it was his friend and called calmly, as Janus was just beside him, “Hey, Jan.”

    “Jan?” The shorter asked, confused but also amused by the new nickname.

    “Duh, ‘cause your name is Janus. Anyway, hi.” Virgil spoke in a dry tone, his sarcasm clear.

    “What are you doing here? Did you follow me?” Janus seemed panicked, almost paranoid.

    “Uh, no, I just needed food?” His brow furrowed as he bit the inside of his lip nervously.

    “And that’s all?” Janus asked once again to which Vigril confirmed. Virgil looked over Janus and his odd stance, the distress in his face was evident. His clothes were disheveled and his outfit seemed less put-together than normal. His beanie covered his messy hair and his eyes seemed slightly red under a layer of concealer and eyeliner. Janus seemed hunched over to seem smaller and his hands were collapsed tightly together in front of his body.

    “Forget it, anyway, they’re asking for your card.” Janus pointed to the cashier who had swung the card scanner over to Virgil’s side of the counter.

    “Oh, uh, no, I only have cash.” He handed her the pre-counted amount of bills to the cashier.

    The cashier looked over them, counting out the amount, the time it took making Virgil shake with anxiety for feeling like he was holding up the line, even if it was just Janus.

    “Sir, you’re eight dollars short.” Virgil’s eyes went wide as he dug through his pockets, praying he had some forgotten bills in there for the items were all essentials and he didn’t have anything else.

    “I...I don’t. Um, take off the-” He was cut off by Janus slipping the cashier a $10 bill.

    “Give him the extra,” Janus said with a small, barely noticeable smile to anyone but Virgil.

    The cashier took it and finished the transaction, handing the extra two dollars to Virgil who slipped it in his pocket.

    “Thank you,” He said softly before heading out, Patton just behind him.

    They walked to the motorcycle, Patton slipping the bags on his arms and holding on once more.

    “So that was Janus, huh?” His brother teased. Virgil lightly headbutted Patton by leaning his head back.

    “Oh, shut up. He’s cute though, right?”

    Patton giggled and shrugged, “Not to me but he seems like your type!”

A/N: Hey, y'all should check out my one shot series. Also, the name has nothing to do with the song or the flower, I just have a conspiracy theory that Oleander is about murder