Patton and Logan had just walked through the school gates when Paton got the phone call.
"Hello? Patton here~"
"Roman? What's wrong? Calm down kiddo… Breathe" At this point Logan was looking at Patton with a slight frown of concern.
"I don't understand what you're saying"
"W-What?!"
"Stay there! We are coming home right now!" Patton ended the call and was clearing panicking, internally stressing about what to do, to stay or go, what will he tell his boss?!
Logan walked over and placed a soft hand on Patton's back, rubbing circles to try and calm the other down "Hey, Patton, calm yourself, breath slowly, in through your nose, and out through your mouth, there, that's better" Logan spoke softly and slowly.
When Patton was more or less calm he looked at Logan with tears burning in his eyes "W-We have to get home, Roman rang and said there was a beast in Virgil's bedroom!" he whisper shouted so not to gather too much attention from co-workers.
Logan blinked and raised a brow "Roman called you… and said there is a beast in Virgil's bedroom…" his brain was close to flat-lining, Patton nodded his head frantically. Logan on the other hand, was very sceptical "Patton… why would there be a beast in Virgil's room… are you sure it wasn't just Roman being mean about Virgil again, insinuating that Virgil was a 'beast'" he asked, knowing how Roman always picked on the poor punkie kid.
Patton chewed on his lower lip to consider that idea before ended up shaking his head "If he'd texted me or spoke to me calmly then I would agree with you Lo… But… Roman sounded super scared… I think he was crying too" he told the other.
Logan took a deep breath and a moment to think before deciding to check it out. Both Logan and Patton had never missed a day of work, so one day off wouldn't bring much harm.
After talking to the principle, explaining there was an emergency at their house the principle let them take the day off to deal with it, claiming that they have time to call in cover. Of course, while Logan had explained the situation vaguely, the principle could see the panic in Patton's eyes and knew they weren't lying.
With that, they headed back home, only living 20 minutes away from the house.
Patton was the first to bust in "Roman!?" he called out. A small sniffle could be heard from the living room, the hypothetical parents found Roman uncharacteristically curled up on the sofa furthest away from the stairs, trembling and biting his thumb, his eyes still wide with silent tears pouring down them. Patton ran to sit next to him and gently pulled him in to a hug, which Roman accepted and quickly hugged him back.
Logan frowned. He'd never seen Roman like this… Could there really be a 'beast' in Virgil's bedroom? Patton looked up at Logan with worry in his eyes, silently having a mental conversation with his boyfriend, communicating with their eyes.
'I've got Roman… you check on Virgil'
'Okay'
Thus Logan turned to head upstairs, but before he could, Roman shouted for him to stop "No! Don't go up there! I-It's a monster!" he shouted through tears, in fear of that black creature "I-I don't want it to h-hurt more of my family" Roman sniffled and gripped Patton tightly.
Both Patton and Logan's eyes widened as they looked at each other before looking at Roman, Logan came over to the sofa and sat next to the dad of the family "Roman… What do you mean 'more of my family'?" Logan asked seriously "Where's Virgil?"
Roman flinched at that question, making tears start to appear on Patton's face "N-No…" Patton's voice hitched in the back of his throat as he held back a sob.
"I-I… I pulled back the covers and the creature was on the bed…" Roman tried to explain; "I-It had sharp fangs and yellow eyes that looked as if it was looking at prey…" he shivered remembering "I-I didn't see V-Virgil anywhere… b-but… I saw his clothes all torn on the floor-" he trailed off as he cried in to Patton's chest. Though he didn't like Virgil, he'd never wish him dead.
"Alright… If what you're saying is true, then we should get out of the house for a while and hire an animal rescue service to get rid of it" Logan, though sad at the possibility Virgil could be dead, he had to stay level headed. "Is it still in Virgil's room?"
Roman pulled back wiping his eyes a bit and sniffled "Y-Yeah… I ran out… shut the door and moved the dresser in front of the door…" he informed, earning a nod from Logan and a rub on the back from Patton. The latter had to stay strong, there was no proof of Virgil being dead, nor the creature really… but they had to get out, Roman may be an actor but he wasn't THIS good…
The day passed by, they had gone out for lunch, they'd tried Virgil's phone but got no reply… In the afternoon they called an animal service; that would arrive at their house at 6 pm tonight. To waste time until then they decided to try and take their minds off it, going to a crazy golf course and then out for dinner.
It was coming up to 6pm by the time they returned home, the animal rescue service consisted of a man and a woman, both prepared for any size animal.
"Hi there, we are here to remove an animal, am I correct?" the man spoke, directing his question to Logan. They all stood in the living room, Patton and Roman on the couch while Logan stood and nodded his head "Our roommate was the only one who saw it, but apparently it was large, black, with yellow eyes, and curled up on our other residents bed." The animal control team nodded their heads and geared up with medium tranquilisers.
They were then guided up to Virgil's bedroom, Logan in front, Patton and Roman behind. Upon seeing the dresser up against the door the man and woman frowned a little, nonetheless, they moved it out the way and told the others to stand back. The light still on in Virgil's room as it leaked under the door.
The man looked at the woman and counted down from 3, having his hand on the handle, the woman ready to shoot the tranquiliser.
3…
2…
1…
The door was swung open and the woman aimed her gun at the first thing that moved, but suddenly her gun was lowered quickly "No wait!" the man called out, seeing only a petrified 20 year old standing in his black ripped jeans, ripped purple shirt and black and purple patched jacket, with his hands up; the 'torn' clothes Roman had previously described.
Virgil's eyes were wider then the others had ever seen them, tears pricking in the corners from pure fright. He was just about to open his bedroom door when it had swung open by itself and suddenly there were people holding a gun up to him! Of course he was going to be scared, not to mention pissed off!
After the minute of silent shock, confusion took over. The man and woman took it upon themselves to check the room anyway just in case "What the FUCK are you doing in my room with a BLOODY gun!" Virgil growled loudly, but with deep gravelled undertone, his teeth bearing with unusually long canines. His eyes glared at the strangers in his bedroom, his eyes were a light brown, almost yellow, and had a predator's look in them. The animal control service quickly left the room after apologising, when they were just an inch outside the door Virgil slammed the door shut.
Logan, Roman and Patton were all stood there still in shock, though a little anger could be seen on Logan's face. The latter didn't waste time apologising to the animal service people and leading them out of the house and paying for their wasted time.
By the time Logan returned Patton was already lecturing Roman harshly, both sat on the sofa.
"B-But Pat! I'm not lying! I saw it!"
"Don't lie Roman! Did you see Virgil's face! Oh my god! I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to move out now!" Patton spoke, though he hoped his words weren't true.
"I… I don't… Understand…" Roman looked down, he was shivering, his emotions all over the place, he was scared, confused, sad, angry… He HAD seen a beast! Didn't he?... then he suddenly remembered! "Claw marks!"
Patton frowned a bit "What?"
"T-There are claw marks on Virgil's wardrobe door! T-That'll prove it right!" Roman spoke, Patton looked at Logan before they both sighed.
"That's enough Roman… Come on… We need to go and apologise to Virgil right now" Patton spoke before going up the stairs, followed by Logan, and then Roman trudging behind.
'Knock Knock'
Patton knocked on Virgil's door "V-Virgil? Hey… Kiddo? We're sorry for what happened… You have every right to be mad at us… But please, could you let us explain first?" Patton spoke through the door.
After a few moments the door opened, and Virgil stood leaning against it, no emotion or expression on his face as he looked at Patton, Logan and Roman, almost glaring at the latter. "I know what happened… I heard it all… you guys are really loud" he grumbled, almost lazily. His anger and killer aura completely diminished, for now.
Patton blinked "O-Oh…" his head hung a bit, not really knowing what to say now, this whole situation didn't make any sense to him… He was sure Roman wasn't lying but… there was no animal in sight…
Logan took over and stood next to Patton, he took a quick glance in Virgil's room from where he stood in the doorframe and saw the marks on the wardrobe Roman had spoke of "If I may inquire… How did your wardrobe come into possession of such marks? They appear to be claw marks from a large animal" he spoke.
This peaked Roman's interest, leaning his head in to see what he had noticed previously "See! I told you!" he spoke, pushing past Virgil and over to the wardrobe.
Virgil frowned a little at Roman just barging in, but he couldn't say anything against it as both Patton and Logan barged right on in after him "Oh yeah… Come right in…" Virgil spoke with a sarcastic tone before swinging his door closed lazily and went to sit on his bed against his headboard, glancing over to the three invaders, that are currently investigating the claw marks.
Virgil watched as the other discussed amongst themselves, he knew this day would come; he'd been able to hide it for a month but even so, if he were gunna live here with these people then they'd need to know… But… 'What if when they know, they throw me out?' he thought, a frown appearing on his face as he looked down at his hands. He remembered earlier today… Even though he'd just gotten woken up, he shouldn't have growled at Roman, the prince-like character didn't deserve to be scared shitless… He'd have to apologise later, but for now…
"Hey… Ummm… Kiddo?" Patton spoke up first and pointed at the claw marks "What made these?" all eyes were on Virgil, making him a little uncomfortable.
"I did…" he told them, Patton's eyes widened a little, Roman frowned and Logan raised a brow in confusion. "These marks were clearly not made by a human, Virgil" Logan spoke taking a step towards the bed, Virgil then shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head "Well duh" he spoke, looking at the three.
His response only confused the three more; Patton went over to the bed and sat on it, looking at Virgil's worried expression. Unlike Logan who wasn't good at reading people, Patton seemed to have a gift at it. "Virge? What happened? We are all very confused… Roman told us he saw a beast of some sort in here, an large animal but was too shocked to really see what it was in the dim lighting" Patton spoke.
Virgil sighed and just repeated himself, trying to give himself time to think of how to tell them the truth "those marks… I did it" To this Roman frowned and stormed over; grabbing the front of Virgil's jacket and pulling him close "YES! We heard you but how is that possible! And I wasn't just seeing things was I?! I saw a large, black beast with yellow eyes! So where is it!" Patton frowned and was just about to lecture Roman for being so hard on the youngest, when Virgil snapped.
"IT'S ME! I'M THE BIG, BLACK BEAST YOU SAW!" He shouted, in the same loud, gravelled growl he'd shouted at the animal control with. He pushed Roman with force, making him fall backwards onto the floor, while Virgil stood up towering over him, his shadow engulfing Romans horrified expression. Roman didn't believe his words at first but when he looked up as saw the anger in Virgil's brown/yellow eyes, his fanged teeth grinding together and the expression of a killer written all over his face, it reminded him of what he saw and felt earlier "O-Oh my god… I-It… It was you"
Romans words made Patton and Logan look at each other in confusion, purely lost at this point "How could it have been him unless you were lying to us" Logan asked. Virgil took a deep breath to calm himself and took a step away from Roman, Patton helping Roman to his feet before all eyes were on Virgil again.
He looked at them before looking at the claw marks "I…" he tried to start only to grit his teeth and squeeze his hands into fists, so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Patton dashed over and pulled Virgil into a tight embrace "It's alright, you can tell us anything, we will listen and accept, even though Roman can be a… pain at times, he had a heart, you'll see" Patton's voice was quiet and calming, and so only Virgil could hear him.
After a moment, Patton felt the boy's shoulders relaxing and he pulled back, Virgil looked up at them "I have a curse… I've had it since I was young… I am myself at night… but… during the day… I change… physically" he tells them "I turn into a Black Panther"
These words hung in the air for a bit, everyone trying to figure out how to take that information…
After more than five minutes had passed Virgil sighed, "Geez… I'll prove it to you in the morning, get up just before sunrise and go to the living room, okay?" they all nod silently. "Also…" Virgil pulls his sleeve over his hand "I'm in full control after the change… so… so don't be scared of me…" he spoke quietly but loud enough for the others to hear. Virgil's demeanour had gone from pure anger to a nervous child within mere minutes. "R-Roman… I'm sorry… I scared you… I was woken up when you pulled off the covers a-and… I… I forgot about the transformation… I'm a bit grumpy when woken up so… I got mad… I didn't mean to… I'm sorry" Virgil nibbled his lower lip, he really had felt bad about it. After seeing the horrified expression when Roman seen his 'day-form' he thought he wouldn't be able to stay much longer, but the jury is still out, depending on their reactions in the morning.
Patton took Logan's hand "Alright, we will be up and present for your change Virgil, for now we are going to bed, okay?" Patton smiled softly at him, Virgil nodded his head, though still looking at the floor. Patton wanted to give him another hug but Logan dragged him off to their room.
"Aren't you going to bed?" Virgil asked Roman quietly, not daring to look at the other. Roman stood, thinking about what happened today, what he thought he saw… a beast? No… He was just a big cat! Though they could kill a human, Virgil already said he was in full control… and this was a huge secret he'd divulged them… to top it all off he apologised to Roman for scaring him… Roman couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt hit him, remembering how he acted upon seeing the other… and shouting that he was a monster…
"R-Roman?" Virgil tried again but this time raising his head and looking at the other, Roman snapped out of his thoughts and sighed softly, silently stepping forward and pulling Virgil into a hug. The latter froze, tensing up, unsure of what the hell was going on "U-Uh… W-What are you…?"
"Just shut up and accept it… this is my apology for my reaction earlier… and calling you a beast and a monster… I didn't know it was you… I was scared… and that's not a thing I admit lightly… So consider yourself lucky" Roman grumbled. Virgil relaxed into the hug, listening to the kind words that were spoken to him, his eyes widening a bit and tears slowly leaving his eyes and running down his cheeks.
Roman pulled back when he heard a sniffle "What's wrong? I-I said I was sorry!" He freaked out a bit, unsure what to do, Patton would kill him if he found out that he'd made his strange, dark son cry!
Virgil chuckled lightly and sniffled, wiping his cheeks and looking at Roman "S-Sorry~ It's just… I've never had someone accept me… Especially after seeing my panther form… y-you're the first" he admitted, this somehow made Roman feel special.
"Really? But… If you say you're in control then why-"
"They don't care… they threw me out… everywhere I went… I couldn't hide… the transformation is painful… the growling always gets me found out… I knew I was close to being discovered here, when I heard Logan bring up about 'hearing it again'…"
To this Roman's eyes widened "You heard that all the way up here?!" he asked shocked, Virgil chuckled again with a sniffle "Y-Yeah, my hearing is rather good as a big cat" he smiled a little towards the one he'd nicknamed 'Princey'.
"Anyway… It's late… you need your beauty sleep" Virgil smirked a bit, having heard Roman this morning too, making Roman blush a bit and look away. "Uhh… Nah, I'll be good for one night, how about we watch a movie downstairs? I have a bunch of questions for you, so it may take a while" Roman smirked back, causing Virgil to laugh "Okay Princey" Virgil replied, causing Roman's eyes to widen a little, his first time upon hearing this nickname. He pursed his lips nodding his head in approval to that name.
The two made there way downstairs and agreed on a Disney movie, surprising Roman again when Virgil had confessed to liking Disney movies. The night went on and many questions were asked, Virgil happily answered all of them, while snacking on a plate of cooked pork bits. The pair had been sitting about 2 feet from each other at the beginning of the night, but now they were cuddled up together. Having watched another Disney movie, Virgil had fallen asleep, thus falling against Roman. The latter of course found it adorable and put his arm around Virgil's shoulders, as the hour went on Virgil had brought his legs up and was completely and perfectly snuggled up to Roman, his face in the crook of Roman's neck. Roman just watched the movie with a small smile on his face, resting his head on top of Virgil's.
"What on earth was I so scared of" Roman spoke softly, glancing down at the peaceful expression of Virgil's face as he slept gracefully "You're actually kinda cute" he admitted to himself hoping no one heard him before returning his gaze back to the TV.
One hour before sunrise.
A/N: Okkayyyyyy so maybe it will be more that just 2 chapters ^^; I got a little too into this haha still, hope you're enjoying it!
