:January 21st, XX47; Tuesday.

:BRING ALL STORYLINES TOGETHER.

•~~~~•

"How much late work is he going to have staying home this week, you think?"

Patton leaned against a counter whilst him and his husband were in the kitchen, and the latter sighed in front of Patton, both then glancing out to the living room, where their son was sitting, staring at a blank TV.

It had been decided after what had happened the night before that Joe- and everyone else in the family- was going to stay home for the rest of the week out of terror Joe would do something while alone at school, without supervision of his parents or anyone else who knew what was going on.

"...I'm unsure. But once he is set back on track, we can always help him to complete it. School work is not our main focus at the moment, though."

"Right. Maybe we should go talk to him... at least try to get him, y'know, not wanting to do this before Friday comes."

"Right, right."

Both sighed. Patton took his husband's hand and they both walked out to the couch, sitting on opposite sides of their son.

"Joe?" Logan started off by saying, very slowly placing a hand on his shoulder. Joe blinked a few times and glanced over at him.

"How are you doing?" Logan continued. Joe shrugged blankly. He went back to staring at the TV, which was still off, and his parents continued to stare at him.

"...We really do understand what you're going through, y'know," Patton said, also placing a hand on his shoulder. "But we really think you need to re-consider this."

"It's fine."

"I- Joe, honey, no, it's not. Just hear me out for a second. I get that you want to have him all to yourself but-"

"I know what I'm doing. It's fine."

"Joe-"

He stood up. "I'm going to my room."

"Joe-"

But he was already gone. His parents stared in mild fear and confusion as he disappeared up the stairs, and then both sighed, Patton holding his head in his hands.

"I don't know what we're supposed to do about him," he mumbled, then feeling Logan rubbing his back. "I- I just feel horrible that he's probably not gonna be able to listen to us, you know?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean he doesn't trust us, Logan. If anything, telling him not to go and kill Oliver is just gonna make him want to do it more."

"Well, who would he listen to?"

"...Probably two people. But we can't possibly get either of them to help. Because- because the first one, he probably wouldn't be of any help at all... and the other-"

Patton's phone suddenly dinged. He raised an eyebrow and glanced towards it, seeing he had received a text message from Roman.

"-...is Sage."

Logan blinked. "What does Roman want?"

"Probably something about Joe's late work... I'll reply."

Roman🌟
3:39 PM

<Hey, Pat! Heard Joe was
still feeling bad :( you think
he'll be in school tomorrow?
Should I have Sage text him
the late work? We could drop
by now and drop it off if you need

No, I don't think he'll be
back for the rest of the week,
actually, he's feeling pretty
rough :( I can come pick up
the work now  if you want>

<Don't burden yourself with
leaving the house when your
son is sick and our legal system
is attacking your husband
for no reason!! We'll drop it off

Seriously, Roman, it's okay>
I think it would be useful to
bring Joe along though he'll
probably stay in the car>
He could use some fresh air>
And I'll just ask Sage to explain
it to me so I can explain it to him>

<I suppose your house might
also have sick germs in it
as well... alright, you can come
on over right now if you please,
we'll be waiting!

Thanks, Roman!>
Read 3:54 PM

"I think I have a plan," Patton said as he put his phone down.

"Oh?"

"So... I really do think Joe would listen to Sage if Sage would just talk to him again. And, I- I understand him not wanting to talk to him, of course. But when I go and get the work from Sage I'll just slip him a note or something and ask him to come over Friday night and stop Joe from doing this."

Logan raised an eyebrow at him, and Patton sighed.

"...I know. It's not the best option and it's not right to put that pressure on Sage. And if he says no we'll just barricade ourselves in Joe's room with him to make sure he doesn't leave. But otherwise, I really don't think there's a better option here, y'know?"

"You're right, you're right... should all three of us go to their house, then? I'll stay in the car with Joe and you can go in to get the work."

"That'll be fine. Alright."

"I'll go and tell him to come along."

•~~~~•

"Patton! Hello, my dear friend!"

Patton forced himself to grin as Roman came and hugged him as he stepped inside his and Virgil's home. He saw the latter standing in their kitchen, smiling at him from afar, and their son was poking his head out from the stairs that lead to his bedroom, probably checking to see if Joe was there or not.

"Hey, you guys! Thank you so much for getting the work. I'll just, uh- Sage? You might have to explain it to me," he chuckled a bit, "I haven't done this stuff in a long time."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, sure. Where's Joe?"

"In the car. He's not coming in, still sick."

"Right. Okay."

Sage retreated down to his room for a moment and then came back with a textbook, and Patton stuck his hand into his pocket, feeling the pre-made note he made explaining the entire situation and what they were asking Sage to do. Patton walked over to the latter and stood by his textbook, glancing over what he was seeing with a raised eyebrow.

"So, uh, I'm not in Joe's math class, but we have the same teacher and he said some of the stuff Joe's class is doing is pretty much just this. So-"

"Right, right. Yeah, he mentioned this. Actually, he wrote down something, it's just a math problem he was having a hard time with, uh..."

Patton got out the note and, with a glance to make sure Roman and Virgil weren't paying attention to them, slipped it onto the book. Sage raised an eyebrow and glanced up at him.

"This is-"

"-A math problem, yes," Patton finished his sentence, nodding in an exaggerating way. "He said you might have to spend a lot of time looking at it before you, uh, figure it out."

Sage stared at him for another moment, and then sighed, looking back to the paper. He read through it, expression slowly growing more concerned, though he did a decent job hiding it.

"...Well, I'm not really learning about this stuff yet in my math class, so I don't know if I can help you with it."

Patton sighed. "If you don't know what it is, I won't force you to try and explain it, obviously. But I'd really appreciate if you just tried because Joe's having a lot of trouble."

"I mean- well, Joe decided he wanted to be in this math class, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"-So he should probably be able to figure this out on his own."

"I..."

"Or you guys should be able to help him, since, y'know... parents."

"And I really wish we could help him with this, but we just can't. And- we've tried. But we're unsure if he'll get... angry, with us, for trying to interfere with him solving it on his own. And maybe, when the time comes that this work is due, we will be able to help him figure it out, but it's unlikely."

"Is there anyone else that can help him with this? What about... uh, you know..."

Patton glanced at Roman and Virgil again, and once he double checked they were having their own separate conversation, lowered his voice and looked back to Sage. "Remy blocked his number."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Sage. I really don't know what to do here. I- I put my number with the, uh, problem, so I'd really just appreciate it if you texted me either Thursday night or Friday morning and tell me if you were able to figure this one out or not."

Sage stared at him for another moment and then he sighed. "...I'll think about it, then."

"Thank you, Sage."

"Is that all you needed, or..?"

"Yes, that's all. Thank you so much, again."

"I said I'll think about it."

"I know, but still."

"Yeah. Okay."

Patton smiled at him sadly and then turned back to his parents, catching their attention. "Okay, I got all I needed, I should be able to explain stuff to him."

Roman grinned. "Sweet! And if Joe needs anything else, Sage can probably just text it to him, yeah?"

"Uhm, yep!"

"Sweet. Tell him the Williams family wishes him good health!"

"I will!"

This better work.

•~~~~•
😊

See ya in the next chapter!👻
~Maxx(SanderShipper)