J."Dee". // Sanders Sides AU

Chapter 16

TW: Mentions of death, talk of suicide

Roman frowned at the loud and persistent pounding at the front door, preventing him from watching Aladdin. He huffed and got up, pausing the movie and opening the door. Only to see a very distressed Virgil on the other side, completely soaked due to the storm. His eyes widened and he grabbed Virgil's wrist.

"Virgil, oh my God, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Come inside." He tried to pull the younger boy inside the house and away from the storm that had just begun, but Virgil snatched his arm from Roman's grip. "Virgil, come in and we talk about whatever you're so shaken up about-" he started.

"No! Where's Remus?" Virgil asked. "We have to go after him and find him before Dee does," he said, confusing Roman even more. "Where's that party?"

Roman pulled Virgil inside and closed the door. "Come with me to my room and get changed... we can talk in the meantime," he said, pulling Virgil up the stairs. "What's going on?" he asked. "You sounded panicked on the phone and that video was weird." He reached his bedroom and looked opened one of the wardrobes. "Don't step on the carpet or I'll be in trouble."

Virgil nodded and started stripping off of his soaked clothes as Roman looked for something he could wear. "Dee fought with my dad. He said he was going to a party. Dee would never go to a party..." The last part was muffled as he took off his shirt. "And then it all clicked. What you said the morning after... that. He's not Damien. He started acting weird then..." Roman tossed some jeans at him and grabbed a shirt. "I don't think Patton killed himself."

Roman froze, turning to him. "What? What do you mean?" he asked, frowning. "Patton killed himself by drinking drain cleaner, Virgil-" he started.

"But what if he didn't?" he asked, putting on the jeans before Roman grabbed a towel and started drying his hair. "Think about it. Patton saw or heard something that day. He seemed almost scared when he asked Dee about his free period and then he kills himself out of nowhere?" he said. "It doesn't make any sense. Plus, Patton couldn't know where the drain cleaner was because we had just switched some stuff around in the kitchen. There would've been a mess made if he had looked for it. What if Damien killed Patton? Only... it wasn't Damien... I know Damien wouldn't hurt anyone, but I think he is vanishing before our eyes and we never really noticed it. We all thought the panic attacks were some kind of PTSD... but the things he said- they didn't make any sense. I think that was Damien trying to tell us something."

Roman blinked, stepping away once he was done with Virgil's hair and gave him the shirt. "So, you think he's possessed? That- that's impossible, he's still Damien. He would never hurt anyone, Virgil. It's your brother who we're talking about. You know him better than anyone else. He would never hurt Patton and you know it. And with that logic, you also knew about the switch. You could've killed Patton as well. You saw Dee. He was devastated with his death."

"You're right," Virgil said, putting the shirt on. "I know him better than anyone else in the world. That's exactly why I know that the guy who argued with my father earlier over a party wasn't my brother. You know as well as I do that, if we don't go after them to that party right now, something will happen." He looked at Roman dead in the eyes. He knew he was right. He knew Remus and Damien couldn't meet and move on with their lives. Roman raised an eyebrow and he sighed. "Okay. Let's say I'm being paranoid, which I'm not, and I'm making things up where there's nothing wrong. I still want to make sure your brother is safe and that my brother is really my brother," he said determinedly.

Roman sighed and grabbed a white and red hoodie, tossing it to Virgil. "Fine. Let's go," he said, walking down the stairs and turning the TV off before grabbing an umbrella and putting on his jacket. "Start the car, I have to turn on the alarm," he said. He tossed the car keys to Virgil and turned to the square device on the wall.

Virgil nodded and went straight to the garage. He got in the passenger's seat and started the engine, letting the warm air hit his face with a sigh. He really wished he was wrong. He didn't want his brother to be possessed by a serial killer and therefore seen as a serial killer himself. He took his phone and called Logan, but it was late so he assumed he was just sleeping when there was no answer.

Roman got in the car and immediately started driving, getting out of the garage and heading to where Remus had said the party was. He had to make sure things were alright and make Virgil see that there was nothing for him to worry about.