Don't Leave Me | Analogical

15. The Gig

POV: Virgil

We decided to walk to the bar as it wasn't that far from our apartment. Logan held my hand as we walked, keeping me close to shield me from the cold evening breeze. Patton walked with us, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his cat hoodie with the hood raised over his head. The natural bounce to his step was entertaining to watch and was also comforting to see. The tension from Logan's birthday last week had eased up and I think everything was back to normal. He must have talked it out with Roman.

"Where is the bar again?" I asked as we reached the main street.

"Two blocks down. We should reach it with ten minutes to spare." Logan reassured me, knowing that the idea of being late gave me awful anxiety. I nodded and smiled.

Roman and Remus were performing a small gig at the local bar today and Roman had invited us all to see it. We gladly accepted, wanting to support our friend.

We arrived ten minutes before the clock struck nine, just as Logan had predicted. The bar wasn't very busy to my relief, but was bustling with activity as the stage was getting set up. A drum kit and a microphone were set up, ready for the performance.

We took a seat at a table near the front and ordered some drinks. A couple minutes later Roman appeared beside us, wearing a nice suit and light makeup.

"Oh I'm so glad you could make it!" He grinned at us.

"Of course we did!" Patton grinned back. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"It is our pleasure, Roman." Logan smiled politely. "I'm sure it'll be worth our time."

"Thanks guys! Okay, I've got to go. I'm up in four minutes." He waved and quickly started walking away. "Enjoy the show!"

The clock struck nine and our drinks were served. The lights dimmed and a spotlight was directed at the stage as a man walked up on strange and introduced the performers. The audience started to clap softly as the two brothers walked on; Roman with a guitar slung across his shoulder and Remus holding drumsticks. Roman beamed his dazzling smile at the audience but it looked... strained. I frowned in concern — something was off.

They took their positions and Remus started a quick beat, Roman quickly joining in with the melody on his guitar and then leaning into the microphone to start the first verse of the song.

It was a love song, that's what I could gather from the lyrics. A story of a high school crush, most likely. There was a stark contrast between the romantic lyrics and the fast pace of the music, reminding me of 2000's pop punk songs which I often listened to. My fingers started tapping on the table and I was greatly impressed with Roman's vocals.

They performed three more songs; two softer melodies and one more faster one, allowing Remus to show off his drumming skills, a wild grin on his face. The audience cheered and all too soon, the performance was over.

We caught up with Roman later outside the bar. His arms were folded and he was looking at his feet.

"That was so good!" Patton exclaimed. "You're such a good singer!"

"Thanks..." Roman grumbled and everyone's faces instantly dropped at his tone. Logan put his arm around my shoulder comfortingly when he saw me tense from the spike in anxiety.

"Roman... is everything okay?" Patton walked up closer to him hesitantly, pausing a couple feet away from the sulking boy. A cold breeze filled the silence which followed, making us all shudder and pull our coats tighter around us.

"What happened, Roman?" Logan asked calmly.

"It's nothing... me and Remus just had a fight, that's all."

"Aww, Roman..." Patton finally decided to move closer and put an arm around his friend. Surprisingly, he didn't pull away from it.

"Yeah he... doesn't want to do this anymore. Not with me, anyway." Roman wouldn't raise his gaze up at his, deciding to focus intently on his shoes instead. "He doesn't need me anymore, he said. He wants to go solo."

"That's not very nice of him!" Patton frowned. "Come on, let's get you back inside. It's freezing out here."

We spent the next twenty minutes sitting at the bar, sipping our drinks and listening to his problem, trying to give our best advice. Patton's arm remained around his shoulder and after some time, Roman even started leaning into it as exhaustion took over.

I glanced at Logan beside me and froze. He was hunched over his drink, not looking up.

"Hey Lo, you alright?" I swivelled in my stool to face him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He tensed under my touch and quickly sniffed, wiping his eyes and looking up at me.

"I'm fine." He mumbled.

"You're clearly not." I shuffled closer. "What's wrong?"

Logan adjusted his glasses and started to fidget with his drink. "I guess I... just got a bit triggered."

"Huh? By what?"

"By... Roman's situation." He sighed. "Rejection isn't something I... enjoy hearing about."

I gently placed a hand over his, intertwining our fingers together. "No one does. But it's clearly something more than that, Logan. You know you can tell me anything."

"Yes I know." Logan sighed again and squeezed my hand. "I've been rejected by people I trusted in my past and it's just a very sensitive topic."

"I'm so sorry." I muttered, squeezing back. Is this why he's so paranoid of me leaving him? The thought made a wave of sympathy rush through me. "Logan... who was it?"

My boyfriend sighed again and took another sip of his drink. "My parents when I refused to study medicine like they did." He shrugged. "Can you believe it? My own family abandoning me because of my life choices." He shook his head in disbelief. "And my friends when they eventually got bored of me tagging along and not being any fun. I'm apparently not a very exciting person."

He was about to say something else but I cut him off with a tight hug. He stuttered in surprise but quickly returned the embrace, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"Those people weren't your friends." I mumbled in his ear. "Real friends wouldn't leave you. And neither will I. I'll never leave you Logan, because you've changed my life for the better."

Logan hugged me tighter and I felt him nod. "Thank you, Virgil." He whispered.

"I love you."

He chuckled. "I love you too."