A big chapter because the last one was too short, and yes, Kam, I am looking at Y O U-

Also, fluffy angst and manipulative bitches-

Remus sat down heavily next to Janus, slurping obnoxiously from a water bottle. It was almost painful when there wasn't a third thud of Virgil collapsing next to them. It was painful that Virgil wasn't even there. He never was anymore.

The large tiger leapt at them from the bushes but Janus just waved his hand and it vanished.

"It's no fun without Virgil..." Remus sighed sadly.

"Yeah... These illusions aren't as good," Agreed Janus, taking the water bottle from Remus and sipping from it himself.

They were playing a game they would always play together. A game where Virgil would create an illusion of a dangerous animal and they'd just run from it. Run from the illusion and throw things at it until you're too exhausted to run anymore. It had always been a great way to exercise and practice stealing. Remus sighed a little at the memory. He hated being the stupid one. Well, he wasn't stupid but he definitely wasn't too smart either. If he was smart, he'd be spending all his time helping Virgil get through whatever he was going through, he wouldn't be waiting in blind hope. All Virgil did anymore was talk to Prince Roman all day. The moment anyone else was there, he'd scare them off with his sudden personality switch.

Remus could tell Roman wasn't too comfortable with it, too. The prince would often try to steer Virgil back to Janus and Remus but Virgil would rarely talk to them anymore. If he did, it was heartbreaking.

Something wasn't right...

"Janus," Remus began, feeling his friend glance at him. "Do you think we'll ever be a trio again?"

Janus sighed quietly, looking away. "I don't know, Remus. I hope so... I want Virge back."

"Yeah..." Remus paused, looking up to the sky. "Yeah, me too." A minute passed. "Hey, Jan?"

"Mm?"

Remus swallowed, before asking, "How do you feel about Virgie?"

Janus frowned at the question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Remus bit the inside of his lip, keeping his gaze fixed stubbornly on a cloud that looked kind of like a mace. "Like, would you go out with him?"

"Oh, god, no! He's like my little brother!" Gasped Janus, pulling back from Remus with a grin, and the octopus couldn't deny the relief. "Why, would you?"

"Nope, he ain't my type," Shrugged Remus, noticing the mace-cloud also looked a little like a dick, if you tilted your head on a certain angle.

He felt Janus's' eyes on him and he reluctantly peeled his attention away from the dick-mace-cloud-thing to look at the half-genie. Janus stared softly into Remus's' eyes, asking for a reason why he'd asked the question.

Remus shrugged. He answered back with a, 'Why not?', and it made him want to giggle. If any of the Auradon kids were looking in on this scene, they'd think one of two things: They were about to kiss or they were dead.

Janus sighed. "Remus..."

"Yes, snakey boy?"

"I'll pretend you didn't just call me that, and ask you why you wanted to know if I'd date Virgil. Why did you want to know if I'd date Virgil or not?"

Remus hesitated. He'd always thought that if he managed not to annoy them long enough to get to this point, he'd do this without a thought. He'd be confident enough, reckless enough and mad enough to do this. But a lot of things had changed and they had wracked him a little closer to sanity. First, Virgil's' behaviour and then finding out about Virgil's' anorexia-without-the-depression, and now the possibility of losing his last friend. Patton would probably be his friend if Janus shoved him back when he did this. It wouldn't be the same, Patton wouldn't be part of their family but, by that point, he wouldn't have any family left. Despite all of those thoughts and all of those worries, Remus did it.

He placed his hand to the side of Janus's' jaw and pulled the half-genie to him, meeting him half-way there in a kiss. Janus didn't pull away. Instead, one hand went to hold Remus's' waist and the other moved to cup his neck.

This is definitely a better outcome than rejection, Remus thought before his mind drifted away, lost in the kiss.

.:*:.

After searching everywhere, Patton had finally found Logan in his dorm, holding something as he sat at his desk.

"H-Hey, Lo, can I come in?" He called.

"Of course, you can, Patton. I'd welcome your company."

Patton beamed at the warm tone as Logan spoke, quickly jumping inside and shutting the door as he walked over to Logan. "Whatcha got?"

Logan didn't bother to correct his speech, he only looked up at Patton with a small smile before returning to look at a golden lamp. "This fell out of Janus's' pockets on that night I was talking to you about, when we discussed Virgil's' behaviour and he mistook this room for a library. I've been meaning to give it back to him but, honestly, I am a little terrified he'll try to cut off my hands for stealing."

"But you didn't steal it," Frowned Patton.

"Some people don't see things like that, Patton. Besides, it's completely fine, Janus is a reasonable person once you get to know him."

Patton gave a small hum of indifferent agreement and sat on Logan's' desk, looking down at the lamp. "Should we rub it or something?"

Logan looked at the lamp, twisting it in his fingertips. "We probably shouldn't, Janus doesn't seem to enjoy the idea of people knowing about his lamp. It's better we just leave it in his room."

The freckled prince nodded. "This is why you're the smart one, Lo!"

"What do you mean?"

Patton blinked, tilting his head. "W-Well, you're the clever one, Roman's the brave one and I'm the clumsy one. Right?"

Logan's' brow was creased as he looked at Patton. "Why can't we all be those things?"

"Uh, well, you're definitely not the clumsy one and you're super smart-"

"So am I not brave?"

"Huh?"

Logan tilted his head back at Patton. "Just because I am the most academically advanced, does that mean I cannot be brave?"

"I-I didn't mean it like that-!"

"And just because Roman is brave, he's not clumsy? Because he really is, and we've both seen examples of it."

"Now, Logan, let me explain for a bit-!"

"Even if you are a bit more accident-prone than us two doesn't mean you're stupid, Patton: just because you don't memorise textbooks like me or you don't sign up for dangerous activities like Roman. None of that makes you less intelligent or less brave," Logan said sternly. "We, as people, are unable to be defined by one trait. We are complex and unfathomable. Even I, the clever one, as you say, fails to understand astrology and it is my least favourable class."

Patton listened to Logan, eyes wide. One throw-away comment and he'd latched onto it, teaching and lengthening his argument to Patton about why they were all brave, all clumsy and all clever. And Patton was delighted. He listened as Logan brought up his own flaws and highlighted Pattons' qualities, even going as far as to tell Patton off for bringing himself down to lift Logan up and to feed Roman's' ego which, apparently, was already inflated.

The bubbly prince waited until his intellectual friend had finished, stunned by the support and the way Logan had quickly jumped to defend Patton from himself.

Patton began to beam slowly. "Aw, Lo, you're so sweet!" He squealed happily, wrapping his arms around his friend who blushed at the physical contact.

"I- Thank you, Patton, I was only trying to clear up a small problem I've been noticing," Logan scurried his way out of Pattons' arms, bright red. "I'll go d-drop this off in Janus's' room, before he and R-Remus come back," He stammered, hurrying out the door.

Patton waited until to dorm door shut and he giggled. Logan was so cute, sometimes.

.:*:.

"Hey, Roman!" Ali called, grinning, catching up with Roman by grabbing his friends' arm, pulling down on it. Roman tried not to flinch in Ali's' vice-grip. "Do you wanna go get coffee? Just you and me, like old times. You've been spending far too much time with-"

"Hey, Roman!" Virgil appeared next to Roman, tugging at the prince's' other arm with a soft smile. "I need to talk to you for a bit, d'you mind? You're not busy, right?"

Ali glared across Roman to Virgil. "Actually, Roman was just about to go get coffee with me."

Virgil sneered at Ali briefly, before swinging a suddenly pitiful look up to Roman. "Y-You don't have to, I j-just wondered if... n-nevermind, sorry for bothering you..." He mumbled, quickly glancing down.

"N-No, Virgil, it's fine!" Roman said hurriedly, not noticing the villain shot Ali a triumphant smirk.

Ali reared back, as if stung, fixed Virgil with a murderous stare and tightened his hold on Roman's' arm. "Yeah, it's not like he doesn't want to talk with you but, Ro, I also need to ask you something, it's really important for... us."

Roman turned to look at his childhood friend and then to the fairy, knowing that whoever he didn't pick would definitely get back at him for it. On one hand, both figuratively and literally, there was Virgil. Someone who would act extremely weird unless he was alone with Roman, when he'd suddenly be the same Virgil the prince had met the moment the limousine arrived. The Virgil that messed up his hair with magic wind and the Virgil that talked to his friends with his eyeballs. Roman definitely liked that Virgil and he wanted to almost preserve him, or at least keep that part of him alive to cherish. Besides, Janus and Remus would be pissed if he upset him. So would Virgil.

Then there was Ali, someone he'd grown up with and had always been there to keep him in check and stop him from being an idiot. Roman couldn't really describe Ali, he just had been loyal to him for so long Roman didn't know what to do if he left him. Both had consequences and both had benefits, both could be fun and both could be scary. Both of them wouldn't hesitate to lash out if he hurt their feelings. 

Roman could sense some sort of rivalry going on between the two but he didn't really know what it was about. The tension between the two was plain, by the veiled annoyance in Ali's' voice and the look in Virgil's' eyes when he glanced at Aladdin's' son. Seriously, could someone tell him why these two seemed so desperate to spend time with him and hated the other?

Ali tugged on Roman's' arm sharply. "C'mon, Ro! We can buy some magazines, I've heard Aurora's' latest bedroom interior design is, just, the thing, right now!"

"Please, princey," Virgil stammered over his words, looking up at Roman with sad hope. "I gotta talk to you..."

Roman knew that if he went with one, the other would be pissed off. Roman knew if he offered for the three of them to all hang out together, the two fighting would get into a bigger fight. Roman decided on Plan C. "I-I was actually going to study a bit because I couldn't borrow Logan's' notes, so..."

Virgil's' eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth but he did a good job at a pitiful, upset expression, letting go of Roman's' arm sadly and turning his head away almost shamefully. Ali only tightened his grip on Roman's' arm until Roman felt he would cry with pain.

"Hey, I could help you, Ro! We always used to study together when we were in our first year, why not start again?" Ali beamed and Roman swallowed.

"Probably not, we'll get distracted...." Roman answered carefully, flinching as he saw Ali's' mood change.

Ali let go of Roman's' arm, a hand mark visible. "Oh, am I a bad influence? I'd only go to stop you getting distracted because you know you will and I'm only looking out for you because I'm that good of a friend! Haven't I always looked out for you, Roman?"

"...Yes, you have..."

Ali was suddenly grinning again and Roman reminded himself how much he hated Ali's' mood-swings. "See! I'm only tryna help! Now, c'mon, let's go!"

"Do you think I could come?" It was Virgil speaking, keeping his head tilted to Roman but his gaze locked on Ali. "It would be good if I get to learn more here, and my behaviour will probably change Deceit's' and Remus's'."

"That sounds pretty good, uh, A-Ali? What do you think?" Roman asked.

It was obvious Ali hated the idea but Virgil was staring him down. Still, he wasn't going to surrender in whatever argument was going on. "I don't know, it will probably slow the studying down if we have to explain to you every step of the way. Besides, you're obviously crazy, if your display in the cafeteria wasn't enough proof. Roman, isn't Virgil crazy?"

Roman paled under Ali's' command.  He wanted to just agree and make Ali happy but he couldn't, not with Virgil right there. That's when Virgil put his hand on Roman's' shoulder, pulling him away from Ali and stepping in front of him.

"You shouldn't make Roman feel like he has to agree with you, Ali. That's, like, really toxic and such a dick move to pull," Virgil lectured. "You've hurt him enough, physically and emotionally, just piss off already!"

Ali shook with fury but he spun around on his heel, marching away.

"A-Ali!" Roman tried but Virgil turned around and shushed him.

"He's not worth it, Roman," Virgil said in a voice that seemed to hypnotise Roman. In fact, it did hypnotise Roman, and the prince stared helplessly into Virgil's' big purple eyes. "Can we go to the museum?" Virgil purred, those big, purple eyes trapped in Roman's' mind, forming the prince's' answer.

"Of course."