Stars (Logicality) - Completed

Chapter 1

Sixteen years later

Virgil Sanders raked a hand through his bangs, chewing on his lip as he tried to finish the test in front of him. His heart was pounding, and he was writing fast, test time almost up.

The pencil fell from his hand, and he cursed under his breath. He bent over to pick it back up, and when he sat up, the teacher said, "Time's up!"

Virgil looked down at his test, panicking as a voice in his mind put bad thoughts into his head. He reluctantly passed the test in, and as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, he was out of there.

He walked home slowly, taking his time as he tried to calm down. Despite the warm spring weather, he wore a black hoodie, the hood up. The sun was shining down on him as he blasted his music through his earbuds, taking deep breaths.

These occurrences were usually a normal thing for Virgil. Sometimes, they were mild, other times, absolutely horrible. As much as he wanted help, to have relief from these feelings, he didn't want to burden his father, Patton, even farther.

Minutes later, he arrived at his house, pulling out his key and unlocking the door before stepping inside. As usual, the house was quiet and empty, as Patton worked nearly all day, and wouldn't be back for another two hours.

Virgil sighed, pausing his music and pulling his earbuds out before sitting on the couch, curled up in a ball. He was feeling better, but he always liked this position. It made him feel safe and comfortable.

He stayed like that and watched a movie on the couch. Two hours came and went, and Virgil heard the front door's lock click, then the door opened, revealing Patton weighed down with plastic shopping bags. Once he saw him, Virgil immediately got up, starting to help him put things away in the kitchen.

"Thanks, kiddo," Patton said tiredly, kicking off his shoes and sitting down on one of the dining room chairs once they were finished.

Virgil nodded, "No problem, dad. Want me to heat up the leftovers?"

"I can get that, Virge," Patton said, starting to get up.

"No, I'll do it," he replied, busying himself with the task.

"How was school?" Patton asked.

"Good . . ." Virgil lied, placing a full plate of food in front of his father. He sat across from him, picking at his food with his fork. If Patton noticed how little Virgil's portion was, he didn't mention it.

In fact, Patton seemed to be too tired to notice Virgil's odd behavior as well. When he was finished, he got up and put his plate in the sink. He came over to his son, then kissed Virgil's forehead. "I'm going to go to bed early tonight. Goodnight, little star."

Patton stumbled tiredly upstairs, leaving Virgil alone on the main floor. The boy sighed, cleaning the dishes before curling up under a blanket on the couch.

He felt bad for Patton, he really did. His father had been raising him all on his own, working constantly to provide for them, and so he could buy Virgil "the sun and the moon" as Patton called it.

Lately, Patton seemed to come home from work absolutely miserable. The parent had developed dark circles under his eyes, and the normally lively person seemed to have the life drained from him in a matter of weeks. Virgil never mentioned these observations, but he was getting deeply concerned.

Virgil sighed, pulling the blanket a little tighter around himself. It was a few minutes after 4 A.M. when Virgil finally went to sleep.

*

Patton trudged over to a table, wiping the crumbs off with a towel, as it was now empty and needing a clean. He yawned a bit, then went back behind the counter.

The coffee shop where Patton worked could get extremely busy, and after serving hundreds of patrons, he was exhausted. Unfortunately, he still had two more hours left of work. He sighed, yawning once more.

The bell above the door rang as someone walked in. Patton slowly looked up, eyes locking on a man around his age.

The man looked like he just came back from somewhere important, as he wore a black dress shirt, blue tie, along with khakis. He also wore black glasses, which he pushed up on his nose as he walked past the counter, sitting down at an empty table. He pulled out a folder, then a few papers. Patton kept watching, almost in a trance of some sort. He felt some confidence bubble inside him, and once he served all the customers in line, he went over to the man.

"H-Hello, sir. Can I get you anything?"

The man looked up. He had some of the most beautiful brown eyes, Patton observed. "Oh, no thank you," he replied, looking down at his papers once more.

Patton was still standing next to the table, and he saw him checking and crossing off things on each paper. He blurted the first thing that came to mind. "You're a teacher?"

The man once again looked up, and Patton's face was dusted pink in embarrassment. "Correct," he responded. "I teach at the high school down the road."

"Oh! My son goes there!" Patton blurted once more. "Er, sorry!"

"It's quite alright." He chuckled slightly, causing Patton's face to turn even darker.

"I'm Patton," the barista said, holding out a hand.

"I am Logan," he replied, shaking Patton's hand briefly before dropping it. 

Patton was about to say something else when Logan's phone buzzed on the table. He checked it, and frowned down at whatever message he received. He put his phone away, then started to pack up his things. "Apologies, I must go."

"Oh . . ." Patton said, trying to hide his disappointment.

Logan gave Patton a little smile, then opened the door. The bell above it rang, and the teacher was gone.

*
First chapter! *Fireworks*

Enjoy, ~Jem