A Little Ghost Help

~6~

Warning: Lying, Pain... The usual

Virgil pov
I'm drawing. It may seem ridiculous, but when you get as anxious as I do, it's good to have something to do that doesn't take brain cells. I usually arrive at the school at seven o'clock and I have an hour and a half to kill, might as well. Patton usually arrives at seven thirty and we talk until school starts. I guess he's running late today. It's already seven forty five. I wait a bit more and at eight, I am shocked to say the least. I jumped up.

"Patton! What happened?! Who do I have to kill? Do I need to put the Patton protection squad on this?" He held up his hands to slow the questions.

"Nothing! I'm fine! You don't have to kill anybody, and… what's the Patton protection squad?" Crap! The fandom is gonna kill me!

"Umm… nothing!" Great, totally believable. I internally eye roll.

"Okayyy…" I let out a sigh.

"Now, what happened? And it isn't nothing! You are literally on a crutch!" He sighed and ducked his head. Quack. No! Now is not the time!

"I um… uh.." I've seen him get like this before about an injury. It usually means he's making up a lie. "I tripped while running down the stairs! You know me! I'm very clumsy!" I don't usually pry, but this one is too bad for me not to!

"Patton. Please don't lie." He looked shocked and a little… scared? He quickly hid his uncertainty with a bright smile.

"Why would I lie about this?" He asked. I could tell he was pushing the panic out of his voice so I just shook my head.

"Nevermind. Just… be careful next time, okay Pat?" He nodded and jumped a little as the bell rang for a five minute warning. Since he has a different first period than I do, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I went in and met Logan and Roman in there. We share a first period. Poor Patton.

"Salutations Virgil," Logan greeted with a slight smile.

"Greetings!" Roman proclaimed dramatically. "And how has your day been going, Emo nightmare?" I roll my eyes.

"Hey guys, and not so good." I stated as I sat down at our table.

"What's happened?" Logan inquired.

"Patton is on a crutch and refuses to tell me why." I state curtly. I know at least Logan has caught on a little to Patton's lies about being alright and his injuries, but I think Roman is still clueless in this area. "I mean, he says he fell down stairs, but he's obviously lying."

"If he truly doesn't want us to know, we won't find out. But we need to be there for him and support him through these difficult times he is going through. I have also noticed he seems to tense up whenever we ask him how he is doing and his breathing patterns quicken." Logan explained in a very cute nerdy way. "I shall be collecting more data, but there is little we can do. I may be able to ask if I can inspect the injury and try to help in that area, but that isn't much and he most likely will deny my assistance." Roman sat there in stunned silence.

"So… you're saying… he may be harming himself?" Roman finally whispered out. Logan nodded.

"That is one possible outcome. Another is that he truly is telling the truth and just doesn't like to talk about himself."

"Or he could be being bullied," I fill in, "The Patton protection squad will destroy those monsters who dare touch him." The other two nod. Us three are the ones who have started it after all. We have only grown in numbers since then. Our ranks mostly contain crazy fanders. Fanders are basically weird, messed up people, like myself and the author. Three other huge members are Marly, Hannah, and Sarah. They were here from the beginning and are very dedicated to keeping Patton safe, though they somehow know more about him than I do and refuse to tell me or the others. It's like they stalk him all day and night. Or maybe they have just read the past chapters. Either way, they are our most devoted members.