Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Emile Picani was experienced in the way of teenage drama, but this was rediculous.

"GIVE IT BACK YOU SCOUNDREL!"

"HA! NEVER! YOU'LL HAVE TO PRY IT FROM MY PUS-FILLED HANDS!"

He had just gotten the call from Remy, his receptionist and nurse, that everyone had arrived. He'd been so excited for these new inpatients that he'd tripped and lost his papers while leaving his office. It was a new program after all, one that Emile had been waiting for. Upon arriving at the front desk, he was greeted with two nearly-identical teens playing a game of tug-o-war with something that looked to be a notebook of some kind.

"Do you how do?" Opting to disrupt this screaming match with a greeting, Emile fully emerged from the doorway, crap-eating grin plastered on his face.

"What?" Another teen muttered from the corner. This one was wearing a patchy purple sweatshirt, and probably hadn't wanted Emile to hear.

Another, seeming to have caught on to the message, cheerfully answered, "I'm doing swell!" This boy had blonde curls, perfectly complimented by his baby blue button up and gray cardigan.

Emile grinned. "Well, what seems to be the problem here?"

Simultaneously, the twins answered. "He stole my coloring book!" and "He's a big dummy!" Neither of them seemed concerned about the attention they were gathering.

Emile frowned, turning to the twin with a white streak in his hair. "Why did you steal from your brother?"

The twin frowned back. "Because he's annoying!" While he was distraced with answering, the other twin-Emile would really have to learn their names soon-snatched his book back.

Before another conflict could occur, Emile ushered the boys into the hallway which would lead to the common room. He waved at the parents remaining in the waiting room, who all seemed to be trailing after the twins with their eyes. He couldn't tell if any of them were the twins' parents. Emile had to trust Remy with the paperwork. He only hoped the parents were okay with waiting to meet him. He also hoped Remy wouldn't be bothered bringing their luggage over to their new rooms...he could handle it.

He chattered on about nothing as he lead the teens through the building, making quiet observations about his new charges. The way the twins whispered violently to eachother, the way cardigan had an ever present smile plastered on his face. Finally, he ceased in his one-sided conversation to open the common room door. "Here we are! Get comfortable!" As he watched absolutely none of them get comfortable, he internally frowned. He plopped himself in one of the armchairs, grateful when cardigan-boy sat himself on a beanbag chair. Most of the others followed suit, except for a stick figure of a boy with slicked back black hair. He only fidgeted with his tie and glasses and stood at the end of the sofa.

Emile continued anyways. "First we should introduce ourselves! I have a game for this. How about you say your name?" He pointed to the boy to the right of him, who happened to be a boy in a beanie with vetiligo on one side of his face.

The boy blinked once, then answered, "Dee."

Emile didn't press for his full name. After all, he had reviewed their files over and over in anticipation, and could guess who this was by the description. "Okay! Dee," he pointed at Dee, "and I'm Emile!" He then gestured to the cardigan boy, who was the closest to his left.

"Uh, Dee?" He looked to Emile for confirmation, then continted on. "Emile, Patton!"

Next were the twins. "Dee, Emile, Patty, REMUS!" He raised his voice at the end, but by the way he clenched his fist into his pants afterwards, Emile thought it may have been involuntary.

"Dee, uh...oh! Emile, Patt...on! Remus, obviously, and I'm Roman Knight!" The boy flamboyantly raised his arms, almost smacking his brother in the process.

Then was the patchy boy. "Um I'm er, I mean...Dee, Emile, Patton, Remus, Roman...and I'm V-Virgil." He winced as Roman stifled his laughter. Patton frowned. "Don't laugh," he mumbled. Roman pouted petulantly, but ceased his giggling and glared at the ground sheepishly. Virgil glanced at Patton thankfully.

"Dee, Emile, Patton, Remus, Roman, Virgil. My name is Logan." Emile smiled sympathetically as he saw Logan repeat his introduction to himself under his breath. He hoped that wouldn't give the boy a hard time.

Emile turned to Dee. "Why don't you finish off the circle? Y'know...the circle ooof liiiiife!" Emile chuckled as Roman and Remus began attempting to sing the opening song of The Lion King. One was horribly off key, while the other sang perfectly. He couldn't tell which was which.

Dee scowled and begrudgingly started. "Me, Mr. Therapist, Patton, Trashman, Disney, Emo and Logan." Emile frowned.

"Why'd you only give them nicknames and not me and Logan?" Patton asked, pouting.

"You're not memorable enough for a nickname." Dee answered petulantly.

Emile started. "Now, that's no way to make friends!" Patton eagerly nodded from his perch on the sofa.

"I'm not here to make friends. You're all just a bunch of freaks!" Dee snapped back.

"That's okay. You don't have to do anything. All I want is for all of you to be comfortable, and none of you can be comfortable if you insult eachother all the time!" Emile answered. Dee just frowned. Assuming that the conversation was over, he continued on. "Let's keep playing the game. We can do a different topic now. Any ideas?"

"Oooh, oh!" Roman bounced in his seat, his voice bursting forward as Emile turned to him. "Favorite color! No, that's boring...age? No no no, wait! Favorite TV show! Can I start?" Emile nodded. "I like Gravity Falls!"

Emile gasped. "Ah, you two are twins just like Dipper and Mabel!"

The twins glared at eachother.

Virgil was next. "Gravity Falls...does Buzzfeed Unsolved count?" Emile nodded, and Virgil sank with relief.

Logan continued, monotone. "Gravity Falls, Buzzfeed Unsolved, and. I suppose I like documentary shows."

Dee sneered. "Gravity Falls, Buzzfeed is totally solved, documentaries. Ssssupernatural." He drew out his 'S,' accentuating his apparent boredom. Emile hoped he would open up easily, his curiosity would not be stifled.

Emile cheerfully continued. "Gravity Falls, Buzzfeed Unsolved, documenteries, Supernatural and...We, are the crystal gems, Steven Universe!" Patton and Roman squealed as Remus retched. Emile gasped. "What do you have against Steven Universe?" Remus crossed his arms. "It's too sparkly! We need more excitement, more drama," he clenched his fist at that. "Like, mostly more crazy fusions like Malachite!" Emile nodded in contemplation. "I dunno. I like it how it is, but you can always bring your ideas to the storyboard!"

Patton went next, reciting the former statements. "And...hm...Star vs. the Forces of Evil." Emile grinned, elated at the shared interests. It seemed cartoons were a highlight for about half of them. The other half...he was sure cartoons would grow on them.

Finally went Remus, after his repititions. "Crime shows! With lotsa blood, and autopsies! I once watched a movie where-" Roman interrupted. "I can't do the full circle, I forgot most of them." Emile shrugged. "It happens."

Roman frowned. "Anyways, where are our beds and stuff? And do we gotta share a room, 'cause I can't stand living with my brother even away from home." Remus and Roman turned to eachother and scowled, Roman rolling his eyes dramatically as Remus stuck his tongue out, making obscene faces.

Emile glanced at the clock. "I guess I should give you a tour, huh? Weeeell, this is the common room, where everyone comes on their free time. The cafeteria is parallel to here, just go down this hallway and turn down the next and you'll be there. Breakfast ends at ten, but people are allowed to eat before then. There are signs on the wall to show you to the cafeteria, just in case you forget." Emile paused for dramatic effect. "Wanna see your rooms now?"

Roman and Remus cheered, and Patton nodded vigourously. Dee and Virgil stayed quiet, and Logan voiced his confirmation.

Emile led the way down the hall slowly, giving them the chance to memorize 'landmarks' if they wanted to. Logan caught up behind him. "Is there any way I can see the file they gave you about me?" Emile shrugged. "I don't think there's a rule against it, but why?" Logan furrowed his eyebrows, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "I would like to reread it. I think the information might be false. I need to be positive that it's not." Emile nodded. "In that case, I'll bring it to breakfast with me tomorrow." Logan nodded his thanks, then fell back a couple steps to stand next to Virgil.

Eventually they stopped in front of two doors. "There are two rooms you have to share, for safety reasons." Immediately the twins went to different doors, glaring at eachother from across the hall. Roman waved his coloring book tauntingly. Emile chuckled. "There are schedules in there for the week, but you probably won't need them after a few days. I'm sorry this was so rushed, it's always crazy the first day." Emile smiled reassuringly, watching as Patton and Virgil crossed to the door with Roman, and Logan and Dee went to the door with Remus. He was interested to see how that played out, especially with eccentrics like Dee and Remus being in the same room.

He waited as they all wandered inside, until only Virgil was left. Emile smiled reassuringly. "Something wrong?"

Virgil fiddled with his hoodie sleeves and shuffled his feet. "Um, I just...can you promise that nothing bad will happen?" His face got red, Emile hoped it wasn't from embarassment.

Emile pretended to think for a moment. "Yep, everything's in order! I promise."

Virgil gave a half smile, shuffling into his new room. The doors didn't close all the way, another safety precaution, but Emile made sure to give them all their privacy as they settled in.

He just couldn't wait to know them.

Chapter Text

"Wakey wakey, eggs 'n bacey!" Patton groggily smiles at the voice. Emile.

"Mornin'," he mumbled in response, turning over in his bed. In the beds across the room, Roman and Virgil don't answer. Patton blinks the blurriness out of his eyes and furrows his brows. He forgot he had to share a room. He'd never had to before. He assumed Roman had, because he was already throwing off his shirt and pants. Also because of all the complaining about his twin the night before.

"There's a bathroom..." Virgil murmered.

"Don't worry, I'm just changing!" Roman grinned, already awfully energetic. Patton felt bad for Logan and Dee if Remus was the same way. Dee didn't seem like much of a morning person. Patton himself wasn't bothered by the noise, but that was mostly because nothing truly registered in the morning. He needed a few moments to wake up.

Emile began talking. "Breakfast is ready, you got an hour. Didn't wanna wake you up toooo early, it's nine." He smiles broadly, then ducks out of the room, heading down the hall. Patton hears him whistling the tune from Snow White that the dwarves whistled as they worked. Ha.

Virgil shot up and began rushedly getting ready. Patton frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Virgil shook his head urgently. "I don't wanna run out of time to eat."

Roman laughed boisterously. "He said we have an hour!"

"Yeah, but what if it's cut short, or all the food runs out? It opened a while ago, the other patients could've taken all the good stuff." Virgil ran to the shared bathroom with his toothbrush and clothes. Patton suddenly realized he was the only one still in bed.

"Looks like I'm a rotten egg!" Roman smiled in response.

"It would seem so, my fluffy new friend." Patton giggled. Fluffy?

Getting out of bed was hard. The bed was so warm, and the pillow was oh so soft...Patton didn't believe breakfast was worth leaving this luxury behind. Eventually though, he decided breakfast was the best option, as Roman was looking at him expectantly. He got dressed hurriedly, so he could catch up with Virgil, who had exited the room running.

"Sooo..." Roman began as they walked side by side. "Why are you here? You seem perfectly normal. I mean pretty much everyone here is, but I thought there would be blood spatters on the walls and screaming patients and electroshock therapy...at least that's what Remus told me."

Patton searched for something to say. He didn't think he was ready to tell anyone why he was here, it made him uncomfortable just thinking about it, saying it out loud would only make it worse.

He shrugged.

Roman didn't seem to notice, already moving on to a new topic. "Do you think any of the older patients are really crazy people? Voodoo-Virge was talking about crazy sociopath people he's heard about in stories, but I don't think Emile looks like a crazy torture doctor."

Patton shrugged again. "I don't think it's that kind of hospital. I hope those don't actually exist."

Roman smiled despite the odd topic. "If they do exist, I'll vanquish the evil doctors and free the tortured patients, and they shall become my loyal subjects! Do you think the government would let me take over an old hospital? We would be libertarians! We just need to find a way to pay taxes..." As Roman continued on, Patton felt a pang of homesickness. His mom and dad hadn't prepared him for this. Rambling roomates and therapy sessions? Patton had never been an inpatient before. It felt weird. Were there things he was supposed to talk about with his roomates? Was there an etiquette he needed to follow?

Soon enough, the duo arrived in the cafeteria. There was a short line at the food station, and several tables with carefully organized groups of people. A couple older patients, maybe in their thirties, sat in a circle knitting as they ate. They all had smiles on their faces, and somehow that made Patton feel more at home. Smiles were a good sign. Roman began tugging him into the food line, still jabbering on about fluctuating topics. Patton was suddenly reminded of elementary school, and as was customary at the beginning of a new school year, he searched for somewhere to sit. Patton spotted Virgil sitting with Logan, Dee, Remus and someone that appeared to be one of the nurses. There were two extra seats at the round table, and Patton had a feeling it was for them. He was glad he'd made friends before breakfast.

Turning to the food line, Patton's heart stuttered. Food was hard. How was he supposed to eat if he couldn't...

He shook that train of thought out of his mind, absentmindedly grasping a banana and a bowl of fruity pebbles. He turned to see Roman, piling his plate full of chocolate muffins and pancakes. Patton loved pancakes. He made his way to the table as Roman continued his food ventures.

Patton could tell a lot about people based on what they ate. Roman, for example, was bold but sweet, with that much sugary food. Virgil was cautious, evidently going for something he knew would be good, a trusty yogurt cup and waffle. No syrup. Remus was bold too, but a different bold then his brother. Mixing pancakes with yogurt. An odd choice. Logan was practical, his own empty bowl, formerly some kind of grainy cereal, sitting in front of him as he reads Stephen King. Dee sat with nothing but a frown, while the newcomer, the nurse, held a cup of coffee in one hand and some kind of tabloid in the other.

Patton smiled sweetly as he sat down, greeting the man he didn't know. "Hi, I'm Patton!"

The nurse glanced up from his tabloid. "I'm Remy. Nice to meet you, child."

Patton blinked. He was hardly a child. Was 17 considered a child? He wasn't technically an adult, he supposed.

Logan looked up at Patton, blinking as if Patton had appeared out of nowhere. "Good morning Patton." His dark blue eyes followed Roman as he sat in the last vacant chair. "Good morning Roman." As soon as he was done greeting them, his eyes fell to a file sitting directly in front of him. He eagerly opened it, reading the pages as if they would escape from him. Patton wondered why he had waited to open it if he wanted to so badly.

Turning his attention to his food, Patton's brain swirled. He peeled the banana, as slowly as possible. Just as he was about to take a tentative bite, he felt a shiver run through his spine. He glanced up to see Dee staring, one of his eyes glinting yellow in the morning sun, which was streaming in through the window. Patton thought the sun was supposed to make things look cheerful, but it only seemed to highlight Dee's unfriendliness. Suddenly, Patton just couldn't eat. He wouldn't have before, but now he had absolutely no motivation to try, not with all the eyes that could peer into him at any moment.

Remy noticed this. "Take one bite of your cereal, and one of the banana. If you're not hungry after that, at least drink some water, girl." Patton didn't approve of the attention being called to him, but he was grateful Remy seemed to notice. He had come here to get better, and he would darn well try! Even if he needed some coercing.

Thankfully, Logan began talking as Patton began eating. "How old are you all?"

"Why?" Dee snapped.

Logan bit his lip. "I would just like to know."

"'M sixteen," Virgil answered, mouth full.

Roman and Remus answered simultaneously, though Remus' voice was garbled and loud. "Fifteen."

Patton answered next, and almost squealed when Dee was the same age. Instead, he smiled broadly and stared at Dee until he saw. His mouth twitched in a half smile, but he ducked his head before Patton could see his face truly light up.

Remy begrudgingly answered as well as Logan waited patiently for his answer. "Twenty-four." Logan nodded gratefully.

"How old are you? Are you legal?" Remus spoke up next.

"None of us are!" Roman smacked his brother.

Logan, seemingly not phased apart from a light blush on his ears, answered calmly. "I was born fourteen years ago."

This time, Patton did squeal. "Ooooh, you're the baby!"

Logan frowned. "I am not a baby. I can walk and talk, an-"

Virgil interupted him. "It's a figure of speech."

Logan's mouth moved into an 'oh' shape, and he nodded his head in understanding. "I apologize."

After that, conversation came easily. It seems they got the hardest part over with. They talked until all of them were finished, and then, with a groan that sounded like it belonged to a hibernating bear, Remy lead them to another room. The plaque next to it said it belonged to Emile, who Patton just now realized had a last name. Picani. Huh.

"He's in there, 'cause he basically lives in his office. This is where you guys will officially go for group, dunno why he did it in the common room yesterday." When no one moved, Remy sighed. "Go on in, shoo!" Virgil wandered in first, followed by everyone else.

This certainly would be something.

Chapter Text

Virgil was surprised. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but a large round table almost completely covered in fidget toys, stuffed animals and Disney coloring books was certainly not it. Certainly not his...therapist standing on a chair, dressed in a cape and crown.

"Hello, dear friends! I am King Emile, welcome to my kingdom! Come, come, adorn your finest robes and sit down for this delicious feast!" At that, he sprang into an enthusiastic rendition of Be our Guest, gesturing towards a treasure box in the corner. Virgil glanced at his peers, snickering at Roman's gaping mouth. He had frozen in the doorway upon hearing Emile's speech, wide eyed and dizzy. Virgil jumped as the enthralled boy suddenly shook himself from his reverie, pushing past everyone else and raiding the treasure chest. 

"DRESS UP TIME!" He screeched. Virgil couldn't believe Emile would allow him to do that, but upon peering over at the cartoonish dude, he was simply grinning excitedly.

Remus planted himself beside his brother, and together they worked through the costumes, handing off 'peasant drapes' to the others. Virgil blinked as he was handed some kind of nun robe. With a glance to the others, who couldn't seem to care any less, he threw it over his shoulders. Logan, with a scowl on his face, petulantly adorned his own robe, which looked like some sort of lab coat.

"Hey, you look like Dr. Doofenshmirtz!" Emile suggested, pointing at Logan. Logan responded with an eye roll.

"Hey Virgil," Patton began, sidling up behind him. "You're such a treasure!" He pulled up a satchel of what he could only assume were pirate coins, and Virgil groaned at the visual pun. He hid a grin at Patton's beaming. 

When the din died down, and everyone had placed themselves at the table, Virgil took the time to notice what each person had gotten. The twins, with their extravagent nature, had gone all out. Roman had a princely outfit and foam sword hanging at his side, while his brother had snagged an obnoxiously pink feather boa and green...something. It looked like it was meant to be a scarf, but sitting on top of the boa it didn't serve any purpose. On his head sat a stuffed animal that looked like a cross between a raccoon and a rat, but was colored purple and orange. Logan had his lab coat, now accompanied by some goggles, and Patton had been transformed into a pirate. Dee had placed a bowler hat on top of his beanie, and absentmindedly tugged on his yellow gloves. Virgil thought maybe the black and yellow cape was a bit much.

"So, hello!" Emile said. There was a moment of awkward silence before Logan answered.

"Hello." There was a chorus of other greetings, mumbled or otherwise.

"I've got a little activity to do, if you guys don't mind..." He reached...somewhere, under the table, and pulled out so much paint Virgil wondered how he hadn't seen it under the table before. "Painting!"

Remus screeched. Virgil winced.

"Was that supposed to be a word?" Dee asked. He didn't receive an answer, the boy in question only continued to bounce up and down in his seat. Roman gasped loudly as the array of colors was placed in the middle of the table, standing hafway from his seat to scope out which color he wanted to use.

Virgil wondered how the twins hated eachother so much when they both seemed to like the same things.

"There is oooooonnnne thing though." Virgil sighed. Why was there always a thing? "You have to paint what you're feeling." 

Patton smiled. "I'm RED-y!" He pointed at the gaudy red color Roman was reaching for. Emile chuckled along with Patton, while practically everyone else groaned. 

Virgil grabbed at the black immediately, but had a harder time discovering a second color. His favorite was purple, but he didn't feel purple. He didn't even know what purple would feel like. He looked around for inspiration.

Logan had his own black paint, but was currently arranging every other color from the inventory on a couple paper plates, so he didn't get much inspiration from that. Roman and Remus had red and green respectively, and both were using yellow for some sort of accent on the side. Virgil supposed he could paint the paper black and then make lightning bolts - he was feeling anxious, and anxiety felt hot and crackling like lightning. He looked over at Dee, using a small brush to paint what seemed like random shapes all over the paper. Patton was using a light blue and pastel yellow to blend soft blobs of color in a circle in the middle - leaving the sides of the paper white. Virgil thought his lightning bolts could be blue - anxiety was hot and crackling, but pairing it with shame was a nightmare. Colder, but hot at the same time, like dry ice...blue was a colder color, it might work.

As they all worked, Remus rambled on to his brother. "So anyways, the substitute was all like, 'Mr. Knight, you can't say such things about your fellow students!'" Remus mimicked the teacher in a high voice, illiciting a giggle from his brother. "And I was like, 'What's wrong with saying that Benji eats pencil shavings?' I mean, he always has stuff in his teeth, and they look like pencil shavings! Am I wrong?" Virgil suppressed a chuckle, snorting when Patton caught his eye and shrugged. 

"I don't believe pencil shavings are a good source of sustenance." Logan supplied. "Even if the graphite or led didn't kill you, I doubt your stomach would be able to digest the wood."

Remus nodded vigourously. "That's what I thought! I mean, how can the teacher blame me for watching out for my fellow student?"

Roman snorted. "You did cuss her out afterwards though."

"How did you know about that?"

"Mom was talking about it at dinner that night while you were banished to our room."

Remus gasped loudly. "WHAT?" 

Virgil did laugh out loud this time, prompting Remus to turn towards him, offended. 

"How dare you laugh at my misfortunes?"

"Yes, Virgil, it's not funny at all." Dee supplied from his seat, smirk splattered on his face. 

Patton smiled, trying to hide his giggles. "Don't laugh at him, guys!" 

Emile beamed. "Look at all this jolly good fun!" Virgil stared blankly at him, but Emile didn't seem to notice.

Remus beamed. "It is!"

Virgil didn't miss the genuine smile Roman shot his brother while he wasn't looking. 

~     ~     ~

Virgil was delighted to return to his room. Despite the fact that he shared it with Patton and Roman, it had a sense of privacy that wasn't felt anywhere else in the building. 

Presently, he watched as Roman sat hunched over on his bed, scribbling in one of the coloring books he'd brought. Apparentely, he'd brought multiple, including some lined notebooks. Virgil could tell he was an artsy person, but they'd only been there a day and a half and Roman had switched projects seven times. Virgil had a tendency to watch these kinds of things. Some called it paranoia, Virgil called it caution. 

When Roman looked up, Virgil looked down. They both knew what was happening, but neither of them approached the topic.

Until Roman went and ruined it. 

"Anyways...what are you here for? I've been trying to figure everyone out, I've never...done this before."

Virgil sighed, glaring at Roman. His green eyes flicked over to Patton, and Virgil's own eyes followed. He was sleeping.

Virgil sighed. "Anxiety..."

Roman furrowed his brows. "That's it?"

Virgil growled. "What do you mean that's it?" 

Roman scrambled to apologize. "No, no that's not what I meant! Just...I mean all I have is ADHD, so I was...upset when mom made me come here. I thought it was just to look after Remus, but...I mean I'm perfectly fine!" Virgil raised his brows as Roman smiled, waving his arms around as if to say 'look and see if I have any flaws.'

Virgil shrugged. "Depending on the severity, I'm sure ADHD warrants this. I'm not a mental health expert or anything but, I mean, um, a little counseling never hurt anyone."

Roman smiled, eyes averted. "I guess so."

Virgil kept staring at Roman. "Why is Remus here?"

Roman sighed. "He has Tourette's Syndrome. Can't really control what comes out of his mouth."

Virgil nodded. 

Roman sighed and smiled. "I'm gonna go to bed now. Goodnight."

Virgil thought maybe he was trying to exit the conversation, but didn't argue. "Night."

And if he stayed up until three a.m. after that, unable to sleep, well, no one would know.

Chapter Text

Logan made sure to wake up first, setting an alarm for 6:00 every morning. He awoke on the first ring, so it didn't wake up Remus or Dee. His roomates, he had found, were very deep sleepers. All the better for him, he supposed. 

He watched the clock carefully until it was 6:05 before getting dressed. This was a process which always ended at exactly 6:15. He watched the clock once more, heading out to breakfast when it got to 6:20. He turned the knob three times before opening the door. Three was a good number. It was the first digit of pi, and the number of vertexes on a triangle. It was good.

So Logan headed to the cafeteria, counting his steps in multiples of three to keep his mind busy. He only had to backtrack once, which he counted as a win. 

By the time he got to the cafe, it was 6:27, so he waited outside the door until 6:30. There were only two other people in the room, so he took his time getting his breakfast. The same thing as yesterday, a bowl of some cereal he didn't know the name of. He preferred not to know. If it was something that didn't sound like it looked he wouldn't be able to eat it anymore. 

He sat in the seat from yesterday. He tapped his feet and stared at the clock. The wait had begun.

Remy arrived next, plopping himself into his seat. He didn't seem to care that he was eating with a fourteen year old. Next came Virgil, then Dee and Remus, and Patton and Roman. While they did change their breakfast orders, they all sat in the same seats as the day before. Logan was thankful.

When they were all seated, Logan began to eat. He listened to their idle chatter.

"So I told her, you're an art teacher, is this not art?" Roman finished his story with a grand gesture across the room.

Patton chuckled. "That's what you get for drawing all over the table, mister!"

"It was paint, thank you very much."

Remy sighed, "hate to be a downer, but whichever one of you is Virgil should probably go to your individual session."

Virgil blanched, Logan could see his eyes dart to the clock. "I-is it the same place we did the group session?" 

Remy nodded. "'Mile's office, yeah."

Virgil rushed off to his session, Logan's eyes following him all the way.

~     ~     ~

Emile smiled broadly as Virgil sat himself down on his sofa. He'd pushed the chairs and table from the day before towards the wall so the room was more open, and pulled the sofa and his own chair into the middle where the table had been. "Hey there, Virge! Today are you how?"

Virgil shrugged. "I dunno." 

Emile smiled. "Well, I suppose I should tell you that anything I write about you I'll show you if you want me to." Virgil nodded. "The first thing I want you to do is pretty simple, I think. If you can, relax your shoulders, put your tongue down from the roof of your mouth, and take a couple deep breaths."

Virgil did so, his hands shaking where they were clenched in his ripped jeans. Emile did it along with him. "To help your anxiety, we need to find what's at the core of those feelings. Think of it like...when the crystal gems'...gems are broken, they need to take time to reform! Whatever is hurting you needs to take some time to heal!"

Virgil nodded. Emile continued, "Lets start with this. How are you feeling, right now?"

"Uh, n-nervous."

"Do you know why?"

"Um...I d-don't wanna be judged."

Emile frowned. "I'm sorry. It's not nice to be judged."

Virgil nodded. He knew.

~     ~     ~

When Virgil was done, it was already 11:00. Logan hoped the red in Virgil's cheeks wasn't from anxiety, though it would be useless to hope otherwise.

Roman ran up to Virgil excitedly. "We went outside and found a volleyball net! Wanna join?" Logan watched as Virgil shook his head no. Roman seemed dejected, but otherwise fine. 

"You can come sit with me," Logan prompted. He was sat, back straight, on a bench looking out into the courtyard. From there he could enjoy the air conditioning and watch his friends do their bidding with the volleyball. Virgil gratefully sat with him. Logan felt an itch in the back of his mind telling him to stand up and check the seat. He ignored it as best he could for now, people tended to get annoyed with him.

There were a few moments of silence before Logan mumbled, "What was it like?"

Virgil hummed in confusion.

Logan rephrased. "The counseling with Mr. Picani. What was it like?"

Virgil shrugged, chewing on his lip. "Lotsa cartoon references. I think he's used to having younger patients."

"Oh no, he specializes in couple therapy and teen counseling."

"How do you know that?"

"Google is the wonder of the modern world."

Virgil shook his head. "We can't have our phones in here."

"You didn't know there's a computer lab? Granted, we are monitered in our use, but I'm sure as long as your endeavors are not harmful you will be able to do what you like with them."

Virgil's mouth opened in awe. "I didn't know that! I've been lied to!"

"We've only been here for three days - only two nights." Logan squirmed in his seat. Virgil gave him a weird look.

"Are they allowed to be outside," he asked, watching their roomates run around through the grass.

Logan nodded three times. "Remy said that we can go out as long as someone knows where we are."

Virgil hummed. "Sounds fair, I guess." He looked back at Logan, who continued to shuffle in his chair.

"You okay?" Virgil asked.

"My health is perfect."

"That's not what I-" Before Virgil could finish his sentence, Logan hopped off of the bench. He ran his hands over the seat, checking. For what, even he didn't quite know. He sat down and inspected the grains in the table instead of meeting Virgil's eye. Virgil didn't say anything, and for that Logan was grateful.

He supposed not everyone here was so terrible.