Death By Flowers

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Virgil's chest hurt. Today was Thursday which meant that tomorrow Virgil would spend the night at Patton's house. Which he, of course, didn't mind. Yeah, they've only known each other personally like three days. Yeah, they would find out Virgil basically never slept. Yeah, if he did sleep they would find out he sleep talks. Yeah, if they find out he sleep talks they could use that to find out his crush. Yeah, if they find out his crush-

Virgil started to cough again and he watched as not only petals and a bud came out of his mouth but blood. He noticed how a tiny bit covered his pillow. He sat up quickly and stared at his pillow, then wiped his nose. 

I must have had another bloody nose. He thought to himself as he gathered up the petals and stuffed them into his sheets. How am I supposed to get blood out of this pillowcase? Maybe I could call Valerie. Yeah, I'll do that.

He picked up the phone and took a deep breath as he pressed the call button on Valerie's number. What would she say?

"Hello, my dearest cousin!" Valerie basically yelled into the phone. "How are you today?" 

"Do you know how to get blood out of sheets?"

"New or old?"

"New..?"

"Okay in the bathroom open the mirror, take the hydrogen peroxide, put the-" Valerie paused for a second, "Talyn says hi. Anyways, put the sheet in the sink and pour some peroxide on it until it stops looking that weird brown color, or it feels really hot. Then run cold water until the water runs clear and then put it in the washer."

"Ok, thank you. Tell Talyn I said hi back. Thanks for not questioning my motives."

"Well if I don't know what you are up to, then I can't be a witness in court."

"True enough."

"Shiz my boss is-" Valerie hung up leaving Virgil chuckling.

After doing what Valerie advised, Virgil got ready for school. He was about to leave his house a few minutes early to get to the bus stop when he got a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" Virgil asked, confused.

"Hey, Virgil. This is Joan. The bus is going to be super late. It just got out of the parking lot. I was wondering if you just wanted me to pick you up?" Joan asked. "We have to pick up coffee on the way through."

"Yeah, sure," Virgil replied, shrugging. "Coffee sounds amazing."

Joan and Virgil had known each other for a while, and even though Joan didn't go to high school, he was there all the time. No one really knew why, but no one questioned it either. Virgil then sat on his porch step listening to music until he saw Joan's car ten minutes later.

"Hey, kiddo!" Joan screamed at Virgil.

"Hey old man."

"I am not old." Joan pouted.

"Sure you aren't," Virgil smirked and crossed his arms. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

--- Timeskip sponsored by Author 2 begging Author 1 to continue---

Virgil looked at the address three more times, making sure he got the right address before knocking. His heart stopped as he heard footsteps. What if I got the wrong house? What if this is a trick? Is it even tonight?  Virgil turned to walk home but stopped when Patton opened the door.
"Hey, Kiddo! Glad you could make it," Patton said grinning from ear to ear. "We're still waiting for Dee and Logan."

"Sounds good," Virgil smirked and followed Patton to the living room. 

Virgil stared in awe. It was a large room with two comfortable couches, a chair, a wooden coffee table, a huge TV,  and a soft carpet. There was a fire burning in the stone fireplace, which cast a warm glow over the room. The whole place smelled of freshly baked cookies. The hallways were full of pictures of Patton, his parents, and inspiring quotes. All the decor in the home seemed to be in soft colors. Unlike Virgil's room that was dark and cold, Patton's place seemed designed to feel calm and welcoming.

"Woah," Virgil whispered as he sat down and was immediately absorbed by the cushions. "This place is amazing."

"It's the friendliest home ever." For the first time, Virgil noticed Remus, who was camouflaged into one of the couches by the fireplace. "I want to jump into the fire."

"Thanks!" Patton exclaimed, sitting down by Virgil. "Remus, you touch the fire and I will ground you." 

"Please no," Remas said quickly.

Virgil laughed and snuggled further into the couch. It was nice seeing his friends get along, although it was a little weird.  Even though Dee and Remus were the complete opposite of Patton and Logan, they were still best friends. The doorbell suddenly rang, making Virgil jump as Patton shot up to answer it. Speak of the devil.

"Logan! Dee!" Patton said, clapping his hands. "Glad you could make it!"

"Sorry we're late, someone," Logan gestured toward Dee, "wouldn't let me leave until he found his gloves." 

"That's not true," Dee said. "I would most certainly be able to leave the house without them."

"Wait, why did you come from the same house?" Remus asked. Now that Virgil thought about it, it seemed they always came and left at the same time.

"You never told them we're siblings?" Logan turned to Dee perplexed.

"What?!?" Gasped Virgil and Remus in sync.

"You didn't know?" Patton looked at them, confused. 

 "It never came up?" Dee responded.

"Was that sentence not sarcastic?" Remus asked in mock surprise.
 
"And why was it a question?" Virgil asked.

"Please do keep talking." Dee deadpanned.

"Changing the subject now." Logan said, "What movies do you have Patton?"

"We have every Disney movie, a lot of movies on animals, a bunch of cartoons, a lot of musicals, and then random tapes," Patton said walking over to a desk and grabbing a binder full of CDs. "I was thinking we watch something until dinner is done and then we start in on the activities."

"What's for dinner?" Logan asked perking up slightly. 

Virgil wouldn't have noticed if Logan hadn't had a slight giddiness to his voice. This made Virgil smile, which he quickly covered by a cough and then smirked. The tiny cough made everyone turn to him and look at him with concern.

"Sorry, I'm fine it hasn't been as bad today." Other than the blood. Virgil thought to himself as he brought his arms around his torso remembering the pain. He winced slightly when Logan shot him a look. "Hey Patton, do you have the Fox and The Hound?"

"Yes, I do." Patton smiled.

"I haven't seen that in forever!" Remus exclaimed.

"I wouldn't object to the movie." Logan shrugged.

"I totally don't want to watch it because it's definitely not my favorite," Dee muttered.

As Patton put the VCR in the player, Deceit and Remus sat by each other on the other couch. Virgil moved to the chair and Logan sat on the couch where Virgil sat. Patton started the movie then went to sit with Logan. They all watched the fast forward play bringing back memories for them all. Virgil tried to hide his smile at the baby animals as Patton and Dee openly cooed at the creatures.

Halfway through the movie, Virgil looked over and saw Logan and Patton curled up together on the couch. Logan would smile whenever Patton laughed. They seemed so happy and relaxed together. Their personalities always seemed to balance each other out. 

Dee and Remus were on the other couch. Dee was resting his head on Remus's shoulder and occasionally Remus would whisper in Dee's ear, making him smile.  Virgil could guess he was commenting on the movie and most likely things he couldn't say in front of Patton. Those two seemed to be a perfect match for each other. They both loved each other's weird quirks and they were similar enough to understand each other.

After the movie, everyone was in tears. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't they just be friends? Well, maybe that's just life.

"Hey, kids!" Patton's dad called out, "Come down for dinner!"

Virgil tilted his head slightly, as everyone got up and went to dinner.