Happy new year, lovely readers! Sorry for the long wait; I just discovered Starkid and got kind of distracted. You have my friend to thank for this update, and for part of the design of Remus's room. (Hopefully she doesn't mind being shouted out.) This chapter is just Intrulogical hanging out, we're going downstairs to the party and Prinxiety next time. Also, I wrote half of this at midnight, so I'm sorry if it's a mess.

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS: brief, vague death threats; mentions of graphic art; stabbing tiny people with tiny swords; Remus angst

Stay safe, please review, and enjoy reading!

...

Remus kicked down the door to his room and flicked on the lightswitch while cartwheeling inside. Logan didn't follow right away, wanting to observe the room before committing himself to entering.

It was like an art project and a horror movie had thrown up. Two of the walls were neon green, with random splotches of darker colors and quotes on the wall in what was clearly supposed to look like finger-painted blood, though they were partially covered by a desk overflowing with sketchbooks, a dresser with mismatched knobs, and an upside-down bunk bed with torn sheets hanging around it, along with at least three puppets hanging limply from pegs. The other two were covered in a mural depicting a burnt orange sunset over a fortress of spiralling black towers and tattered green flags, flaming villages frozen in battle scenes, and a dead forest in the background with suspicious shadows lurking between the bonelike branches. Logan tiptoed inside for a better look, maneuvering around models of villages, ancient weapons, and torture devices that Remus somehow had avoided in his dramatic entrance. Bottles of paint were stacked in a pyramid in one corner. Less than a quarter of the floor was showing, and from what Logan could see, all of it was stained with every color of paint conceivable to the human eye. The light hanging from the ceiling was bare and painful to look at, and the fan around it was warped and mangled. The ceiling around it was also painted in a galaxy, but not like the ones Logan read about; these planets were all shapes and colors, circling each other in intricate patterns. Logan knew he should've been panicking about the complete lack of order, but something about the raw creative energy permeating the entire room was hypnotic. He found himself standing in the center of the room in moments, trying and failing to take it all in.

Remus brushed past him and closed the door. It, too, was painted, but not in a landscape. It showed younger versions of Remus and Janus standing side by side, both in costume; the painted Remus wore the same duke costume as the real one, and Janus wore his bowler hat and a capelet. There was room on Remus's other side for someone else, but the rest of the door was painted white, like a blank canvas. Like a held breath. Like a prayer, like waiting. Did Remus not have any other friends? Did it ever bother him?

But then Remus was pulling Logan towards the bunk bed, weaving through the models. Logan was going to go along with it, but when he narrowly missed a tiny house for the third time in five steps, he had to put his foot down (on the carpet). "Stop. Do you want me to crush your village?"

Remus shrugged. "Why would anyone be afraid of giants, if they didn't trip over a building every so often?"

In Logan's absolutely correct opinion, that made approximately no sense at all. "But you must have worked hard on this."

"Mama ants work hard to give birth, but I bet that didn't stop you in kindergarten."

"It did, actually."

"All I'm saying is, life's no fun without some chaos. Live a little! Stories happen when things go wrong, obstacles and challenges are what drive the plot until the character arc happens and their dreams are either fulfilled or crushed beyond recognition. Sometimes you just have to step on the cottage."

As if to prove his point, Remus took a tiny sword out of his pocket and stabbed it through a villager as tall as Logan's thumb. He bent the arms of the deceased villager's friend so it looked like it was clasping its heart in shock. Another tiny person began CPR, while their crabby auntie pointed out that that wouldn't do much for the freaking stab wound in a voice that Logan didn't know Remus could make. He had to pinch his arm behind his back to keep from laughing, his heel still hovering over what looked like a tiny schoolhouse.

Eventually, Remus finished the scene and set the little characters aside, hopping out of the maze to the tiny clear space by his bed and allowing Logan to find his own way. He did, tiptoeing through streets and yards. He didn't miss how Remus tensed when he got too close to treading on one of his models, though. So he did care. Then why did he insist otherwise?

Logan finally made it to safety by the bed. Remus pulled the sheets aside. They weren't hiding anything sinister, unless wall doodles and octopus plushies were somehow demonic. There was a skeleton dragon Halloween decoration, but it wasn't all that scary.

There was a small drawer under the bed, too, from which Remus pulled out a laptop. "So, what gruesome musical do you want to watch first?" He threw his sash onto the bed while waiting for the computer to boot up; dozens of thumbprint cookies spilled out.

"I don't know that many musicals. You pick."

Remus looked aghast at the revelation, but he seemed more enthusiastic about choosing the show. He stroked his fake mustache as he contemplated the matter at hand, nearly knocking it off; it didn't stick on well over his real one. "I'm between Beetlejuice and Sweeney Todd. What do you say?"

"Sweeney Todd," Logan decided without hesitation. As Remus began to pull it up, something else occurred to him. "Remus, this is a costume party, right? A musical-themed costume party?"

"Yeah. I mean, it doesn't have to be a musical costume, but we're theater kids so that's what usually happens."

"I would've thought you'd be Beetlejuice."

"Nah. I drank the last of my hair dye."

"You did what now?"

"Here it is!" Remus shoved the computer between them, making the video full screen. Logan figured he wouldn't gain anything from mentioning the abrupt change of subject, so he leaned in, grabbed a cookie or three or all of them, and enjoyed the show.

… [932]

"That. Was. Amazing."

Remus grinned, his eyes glinting. "I thought you'd like it. Oh! Oh, I know what we should watch next!"

Logan didn't protest. He wasn't usually a big fan of musicals, but Sweeney Todd had exceeded his wildest expectations and then some. He wasn't sure what Remus thought could follow a performance like that, but he trusted his judgement.

He was understandably baffled when Remus put the computer back in front of them—at some point they'd ended up right next to each other—and he was greeted with Neil Patrick Harris trying to laugh maniacally.

"Um…"

"It's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. In a word, it's fabulous."

Logan decided to take his word for it. It paid off quickly. He started a list on his phone for soundtracks to download when he was alone, and both of the ones Remus was showing him were on it. Sure, this one was a bit silly, but it felt natural. Mostly.

"What does he mean, he has a PhD in Horribleness? That isn't a thing."

Remus sighed. Logan knew he might've been getting tired of his bringing this up, even after they'd finished the musical, but it just bothered him. "I don't see why not."

"Horribleness has no real-world value," Logan insisted

"Well, I only associate with people who are at least taking it as an elective." A grin spread across his face. He went on before Logan had time to become wary. "Actually, I was thinking you could get in costume!"

"What? No!"

"Come on, he's Dr. Horrible! Don't you want a PhD?"

"In chemistry, or some other real scientific field. Not Horribleness."

"Please? You don't even have to go downstairs. No one had to see but you and me."

Logan adjusted his glasses. He took them off and wiped the lenses on his shirt. He needed to do something with his hands. Truth be told, he'd forgotten about the party downstairs. He'd forgotten about Roman lying to him, Patton trying to get him to talk to him, Virgil somehow looking both completely lost and right at home at the same time. He'd forgotten the way Janus orbited so many groups but never really joined them. For three hours, it had been him alone with Remus and YouTube, and none of that had mattered. Things had been simple. Understandable.

He didn't want to go back downstairs.

"Fine."

Remus jumped off the bed and plunged into his closet, overturning an ankle-high playground on the way. Logan peered out through the sheets as Remus rummaged through, throwing some things over his shoulder and chattering to himself. He was like a hurricane.

Logan emerged from the safety of the bunk bed to stand up the playground, once again being astounded by the room. He knew most parents disapproved of drawing on the walls, but even he would make an exception if his kid turned out to be such a phenomenal artist. Roman's room was much the same, though the subject matter was significantly more kid-friendly and wholesome. On one of Roman's walls was a radiant unicorn defending children from demons and dragon-witches, whatever those were; one of the sketches that had fallen from Remus's desk showed a dying unicorn with thorny vines growing over it, tethering it to the ground. There was something refreshing about Remus's deliberate deviation from traditional storytelling.

Remus bounced over, playing hopscotch around his models, and thrust the materials he'd collected into Logan's arms. "You can probably put it on over your normal clothes, but I won't look." He dove back into the bunk bed.

Logan had to shuffle over to the bed to put some of the costume down so he could safely put on the labcoat. He positioned the goggles on top of his head so they wouldn't get in the way of his glasses, then pulled the gloves on. He didn't wear the boots; navigating Remus's room was already like tap dancing in a minefield, they would only make it worse.

He knocked on the bedpost. It was time to get this over with.

Remus stuck his head out. In an instant, his face transformed. "Fantastic," he breathed.

If Logan hadn't spent years training himself to keep a straight face, he would've been beaming.

The moment broke when Remus's phone buzzed. He pulled it out, and his expression shifted again, this time to one of mischief.

Logan wasn't sure what was going on, and he was tired of guessing. "Who's that?"

"Just Jan. Don't worry, I'm not going to take a picture. Unless you want me to." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Logan frowned. "About that. You and Janus are close, yes? So why is he downstairs and you're upstairs? I thought friends hung out together at parties." Not that I would know.

Remus's grin widened. If his eyes got any bigger, they'd fall out. "He's spying," he whispered.

"On whom?"

"Whom," Remus repeated with a giggle. He muttered to himself, turning the phone over in his hands.

"You haven't answered my question."

Remus craned his head around, looking anywhere but at him. "Logan, are you aware that my brother is trying to get a date with my old friend?"

It took a second for the pieces to click together. "Virgil Storm."

His face tightened. "He wants me to stay out of the way. If he knew me at all, he'd know I would never let him get away with it." The glint was back in his eyes, but there was something dark in it this time.

Logan adjusted his glasses, giving himself time to think before replying. "Roman wanted you to stay up here so you don't interfere with his plan to get a date with Virgil, so Janus is downstairs helping you interfere more discreetly?"

Remus giggled. It sounded like he was choking. "It won't stay discreet for long, Lo-Lo."

Logan ignored the nickname. "Why? If Virgil is your friend—"

"But he's not my friend!" The scream tore from his throat, like he hadn't meant to speak at all.

"I'm confused."

"Virgil isn't my friend, I hate him! Everything was fine until he abandoned me and Janus! The three of us were happy, I know he was, so either Virgil is a lying traitor and I'd rather kill him than let him hurt my brother or—"

Remus snapped his mouth shut and disappeared behind the sheets.

Logan pushed the sheets aside and crawled onto the bed. Remus was huddled in the corner.

"Or what?"

Remus sniffled.

"Or I'm not good enough. Or I didn't deserve him."

Logan crawled just close enough to put a hand on his shoulder. Comforting others was definitely Patton's strong suit, not his, but he could at least try. "Remus. I think you're jumping to a conclusion. You're trying to find an explanation for something that happened when you don't have enough data to do so accurately."

"But he just stopped talking to us out of nowhere, like we didn't even exist—"

"But you don't know why. There could've been any number of unknown factors at play that you aren't able to take into account. Did Virgil seem happy when he was friends with you and Janus?"

After a moment, Remus nodded.

"Did Janus seem happy with you two?"

Another nod.

"Were you happy?"

"More than I've ever been since," he mumbled.

Logan pushed down the lump in his throat. "Did Virgil seem happier without you?"

There was the longest pause yet.

"No."

"Then I think it's safe to conclude that Virgil didn't want to hurt you, or that leaving might not have been his choice." He waited until Remus nodded before he went on. "Roman likes Virgil. From what I can tell, Virgil likes Roman. I think being together, or at least becoming friends, will be good for them. This could be a chance to reconnect with him, even."

Remus was silent. Then he pushed Logan's hand away. "No."

"No?"

"No! Why should he get to be happy without me? Why should he get to move on and not be torn apart? Why does everyone always choose Roman?"

"I didn't."

Remus stared at him like he'd never seen him before. Logan forced himself to maintain eye contact. He didn't regret what he'd said, and he wasn't about to take it back.

Remus took a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak.

A shriek from downstairs cut him off, a screech that unmistakable belonged to none other than Roman Prince.

"REMUS!"

...

I don't own Sanders Sides, Dr. Horrible, or Sweeney Todd. I do recommend both of those musicals, though, they're amazing. Here's the link to my favorite production of Sweeney Todd: watch?v=9Z-nIwAuh9g