TW: Arguments in which wanting to die is joked about
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Tom picked at his food silently.
This was probably the most awkward lunch period that had occurred in his gang of misfits.

And that was saying something.

Virgil had given up on eating anything but pudding- claiming it was the only thing providing him joy at the moment. This meant that Lea was willing to silently give up his own pudding to aide to Virgil's cause...and also meant Tom was begrudgingly willing to give Virgil the scraps of his own- which Virgil only took on occasion.

None of them talked, Lea was eating his food in tiny, self-conscious bites while Tom kept stealing glances at him.

Tom wasn't exactly sure which one of them was supposed to feel guilty at this moment so he naturally assumed they all felt like absolute crap.

He couldn't be more correct.

And who but to break the awkward silence?

"White knight's lost." Lea mumbled around a mouthful of "mashed-potatoes".

Virgil sputtered on his mouthful of pudding.

Tom turned around from where he sat across from Lea and next to Virgil, back facing the entrance of the cafeteria, and there stood Roman, clueless as ever with his lunch tray.

Tom's shoulders sank and he looked to Virgil, cocking his head as if to ask what he wanted to do.

Virgil shrugged, "Not my problem- more of yours than he is mine right now, in this state." Even saying this, Virgil felt guilt prick at his chest.

Tom sighed, "None of that- Roman!" He called.

"What a bother.." Virgil muttered.

Tom kicked Virgil lightly from under the table as he waved at Roman who perked up and made his way over to them.

Virgil turned his head slightly back and made eye-contact with Roman who flinched with a slight glare and then Tom leaned over to Virgil to whisper, "Don't kill me." As Roman stopped near their table.

Tom scooted over and slapped the spot where he'd just been.

Virgil and Roman both visibly paled before Roman did a quiet, but dramatic, sigh, and sat between Tom and Virgil.

Both the royal and the angst were stiff as boards as they sat in utter silence.

Tom began to regret every decision he'd made that'd led up to the past week and he awkwardly cleared his throat, "Well...um, nice weather, huh?"

"We haven't been outside in a week you cherry pit." Virgil scowled.

"I have." Roman beamed.

"Well whoopty-fucking-do, of course you have." Virgil emphasized his words through flicking the fork he used to eat.

"Is that much pudding good for you?" Roman scowled.

"I don't know, I have to see your stupidity perfect face everyday and are you good for me?" Virgil shrugged, dismissing the fact that he wasn't sure if this was a compliment or a dis.

Roman glared.

A dis.

"You're going to hurt your stomach with all of that junk if it's all you eat." Roman bit back.

"Honey," Virgil began, "I think if this pudding kills me, it'll be doing me a favor."

"ANYWAY-!" Tom coughs to clear at least some of the tension, "HOW ABOUR WE-"

"Talk?"
The voice interrupted Tom and the rivalry between the..."lovers"?...as Brian sat across from Virgil, keeping a bit of distance between himself and Lea who sat a wee bit to his right.

"Good, a voice that doesn't completely annoy my ass." Virgil mumbled.

"How does my voice upset your rear-end?" Roman growled.

"Such a soap-opera we've got going on- I do really wish I could stay and hear more but I'd like to cut to the chase- what's up with the whole Logan situation?" Brian cocked an eyebrow.

"Logan? As in Logan Logan?" Roman looked around at the table.

Virgil glanced at him, taking note that Roman had only become friends with Logan through him, before paying his attention back to Brian.

"Sh, let them talk." Tom murmured to Roman as if he were a child talking at the dinner table when it wasn't his turn- which he practically was said child.

"Can't you just search up the call history and check?" Virgil honestly asked.

"If I abuse my access too much, it'll be restricted- and even if we're to bust this joint in less than a month, that wouldn't be good." Brian sighed.

Virgil frowned, "Less than a month? But- Logan said he can't come here for a month- he's on house arrest and I wasn't going to explain any plans over easily recorded calls."

"Smart..." Brian hummed I'm minimal praise, "Well, give him a week- I can work with a week to get that whole ankle bracelet attire worked out fine."

"You can do that?" Virgil scoffed in disbelief.

"I can do a lot more than just that...and speaking of which," Brian reached carefully into his pocket before palming a flash drive onto the table, eyes flickering up at Virgil, "Time's running short so I suppose you'll need this now."

"Is this...?" Virgil nodded ominously to Roman who gave a confused glance.

Brian nodded, "All parts of his file from when he was checked-out of society to when he was checked-in here. Of course-" Brian leaned forward, "Should you not be able to get smarts on your side...I'll make life living hell for you...I held up to my end, you hold up to yours." Brian had a dead-serious, cold expression on his face when he said this.

Virgil swallowed nervously, "Got it..."

"Good!" Brian beamed, clasping his hands together before standing up and over the bench of the table, circling around it to stand behind Virgil and place his hands threatening on his shoulders, "Hope, my sake and yours, that you can complete your side of the deal- I'll get another hard drive ready for when you meet with him, I trust you'll find- or have- a way to give it to him, good luck." He released Virgil's shoulders before sauntering over to his own group who'd been patiently playing cards in his absence, ending their game upon his arrival.

"Fun." Virgil sighed.

"What's that?" Tom questioned, Roman giving an equally curious glance, but not providing him with the satisfaction of his open interest.

Virgil grinned slightly down at the hard drive before genuinely smiling with some hope of relief, noticing a small sticky note attached to the drive, he reads it in his head.

Be ready at midnight- I'm going out on a limb for you because we really need Smarts. Midnight. Your door'll be "mysteriously" unlocked and unguarded and so will your path to the security office. Go down the stairs and hook a right. Then another. Then the door's at the end of the hall, up a few flights.
Do it in under an hour, that's when my cover for you two falls.
Goodluck ;)
-Brian

Virgil chuckled before nodding and looking at Tom and Roman, shooting a glance at Lea who'd been observing, without eye-contact, just ears primarily. He smiled.

"This...This is a solution."

***
///I got pretty tired of reading fanfiction at 2 AM so I thought maybe I'd want write some— didn't mean to finish an entire chapter, but that isn't a bad thing so here you go!!
-Jay💙