Robot (Thomas Sanders Analogical fanfiction)

27

Sorry for the long wait! I am back to updating every Wednesday. Thanks for being patient, and I hope you like this chapter. ^•^

Lunch ended eventually and Logan made his way to class feeling more nauseous than that morning. He almost wanted to call home sick, but he knew he couldn't after taking so much time off already. His mind was racing on the entire walk to class, and his thoughts refused to stop even as the teacher began the lesson.

One thought in particular seemed to echo in his mind more than the rest. If Archer had really done that to Virgil, why hadn't anyone else said anything about it? He did ignore Patton when he tried to talk to him, but surely he would have tried harder to tell him about something like that. If that were true, then maybe Virgil did deserve to be forgiven. Logan knew very well how manipulative Archer could be, and he definitely could have threatened Virgil so he would listen to him.

Logan sighed, teeth tugging on his lower lip as he thought. He was so lost in his own head that he jumped when his name was called out. He turned his attention to the teacher, finding that all of the other students had already begun filing out of the room. His teacher spoke again, stepping closer to his desk and frowning. "Logan, are you alright?"

"I-yes, sorry. I zoned out, it won't happen again." He muttered, quickly getting his things together to leave. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, looking up to find his teacher still concerned about him.

"Are you sure you're okay? It's unlike you to be unfocused." The teacher, Mr. Sanders, continued to question him. "If something is bothering you I want you to know there's always people you can go to."

"Thank you. It has simply been a... confusing couple of weeks." Logan admitted, not wanting to say much more. Mr. Sanders nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I got into an argument with a friend, and I... broke up with my boyfriend." It felt awkward to talk to an adult about his relationships, but he knew Mr. Sanders was kind, and would not be judgmental.

"That sounds awful," the teacher frowned. "I'm sorry you're going through that. If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know okay?"

Logan nodded, looking to the floor and wondering what exactly the teacher could possibly help him with. This wasn't something an adult could figure out for him; he was on his own with this. He was going to just thank him and leave, but then his mind wondered back to the same thought that kept repeating before. He hesitated, but slowly started to ask. "I... I heard that Archer got into a fight with another student. A bad one. Is that.. true?"

Mr. Sanders face changed, his anger at the entire Archer situation obvious. "Yes. Not that that's a surprise, he always fought with other students. He should've been expelled a long time ago."

Logan certainly agreed with this statement; if he had been expelled sooner Logan's life would have been a lot easier. He took a deep breath and forced himself not to think about that, instead asking another question. "And it's true that the person he hurt was Virgil, right?"

"Yeah. Poor kid got sent to the hospital. I don't want to think about what might have happened if another student hadn't found him." The teacher shook his head with a sigh. "I'm just glad he was found."

"Me too," Logan mumbled, and only then did he seem to notice the time. "Er, I am late to my next class... May I go?"

"Oh, of course!" Mr. Sanders moved to grab a small piece of paper, scribbling something down and handing it to Logan. "So your next teacher will know I was speaking with you. Good luck with everything, Logan. Remember, you can always come see me if you need something."

Logan nodded, thanking him and heading for the door. He was stopped one more time by the teacher, who called out. "One more thing, Logan!" The student paused to look at him, waiting for him to speak. The teacher smiled. "Paying attention in class is a requirement. Please try to do so next time."

Logan felt his cheeks heat up as he nodded quickly, apologizing and promising to pay attention next time before darting out the door to get to his next class. He thought over everything the two had talked about; especially about Archer. Virgil really had been telling the truth, and Logan wasn't sure what to think now. He did know that he needed to pay attention to his class though, as other teachers were usually not as kind and understanding as Mr. Sanders. So, Logan did his best to push his worries aside to focus on the lesson.

****

Logan was panicking whenever class ended and it was time to leave school. He knew Virgil wanted him to meet him after class, but he didn't know if he should. He had been telling the truth about Archer, but did that really mean he could trust him? Just because he told the truth about one thing didn't mean he would be honest about everything in the future. What if Logan trusted him just to get hurt again?

He made his way out of the school slowly, making sure he didn't run into anyone he knew on the way out. When he finally was out of the building he spotted Virgil in the place that they would usually meet with Patton at. He paused for a moment, looking in his direction and wondering what he should do.

He wanted to meet with Virgil, he really did, but there were so many questions running through his mind. What if he was tricking him again? What if he got hurt again? Could he handle going through that another time?

Logan got so caught up watching Virgil he seemed to forget where he was. That is, up until another student ran into him. Logan stumbled, barely catching himself and glaring in the direction of the student who had walked off without saying anything. Logan sighed, turning back to Virgil once again while he continued to walk out of the school.

No, Logan decided. He couldn't meet with him. Not yet. He needed to think about this more.

Logan was just about to turn away and run home when Virgil turned and caught his eye. Logan froze, staring guiltily at the hopeful look Virgil gave at seeing him. His mind screamed at him to turn away, to just get out of there quickly. It was illogical to trust him again, it would only end in more hurt.

Though even as his mind shouted at him, telling him to leave it, Logan couldn't. Suddenly, without really thinking about it Logan was walking over to Virgil. It almost felt as though he'd lost control of his own legs, unable to stop putting one foot in front of the other until he was there, standing in front of Virgil. As soon as he was there he felt like he was in control again and his nervousness from before came back ten times worse, but it was too late to run from the problem now.

Logan opened and closed his mouth, searching for the right words in this situation. Forcing himself to breathe, Logan paused to regain his thought, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again Logan looked Virgil in the eyes, speaking in a small and unsure voice.

"I... believe you, Virgil."