Warnings: bullying, speculating death

Patton was beyond excited for his first day of high school. Sure, he was nervous, but there were some things that kept a smile on his face: the idea of being joined by old and new friends and the thought that his brother, Logan would be there for his Junior year. Although the school had students from kindergarten to 12th grade, it still felt like a different stage to Patton.

Patton had a variety of friends growing up and, even though the brothers shared the same school, Patton felt that his brother was in a different world from him. However, it didn't feel like that when they were home together; Logan was closer to his little brother and helped with whatever he could when he wasn't busy with schoolwork. Patton couldn't remember the last time he saw Logan be super affectionate, but he knew Logan tried.

As he predicted, Patton made plenty of new friends, so he wasn't too worried. It wasn't until one of his classes went to the library that he felt anything but eager. They went to the library in order to adapt to their high school login information. While others were checking out what websites they could get away with browsing, Patton grabbed a book from a shelf to work on his version of studying (making jokes and puns out of academic information). He felt excited when he saw Logan in the distance and was about to approach him to greet him. As he was by another shelf, though, he could clearly see Logan reading as well as other students surrounding them. Patton was shocked as he saw the students shove Logan around and shove his face into the book until his nose bled into the book. The students had malicious looks on their faces, but Logan's face didn't change except for the blood coming from his nose. Patton would've approached, but he saw his class leaving, so he had to go.

Once he was home, he spent time with his stuffed dogs when he heard a conversation going on in the living room. Patton snuck to the top of the stairs so he could hear better.

"I'm almost done in high school. I'm used to it. It's no big deal."

"No big deal? This can't keep happening! You have enough information, the school has the footage, we need to do something!"

"We tried, we can't. It'll...complicate things."

"I know you want what's best for Patton, but if this keeps up, you won't live to see his graduation."

Patton wasn't sure how exactly to react. He guessed that their father knew about what happened to Logan, but he also guessed that it wasn't the first time he had been assaulted. He wanted to do something, but he was scared Logan would continue to get hurt.

Patton woke up crying late in the night and made his way to Logan's room. He knew that he was getting old, but he couldn't help himself. He made his way into Logan's room and gently tapped his shoulder. Logan scooted aside to give Patton room to get into the bed.

"Nightmare?" he muttered.

"I'm sorry," Patton responded.

"Don't be. Care to talk about it?"

"I...we were at your funeral. It had me and Dad and the school, but Dad and I were the only ones mourning."

Patton softly cried in Logan's chest and sniffled. Logan didn't know what to say since he thought it would be real sooner than later. After some tough thinking, he came up with one thing to say.

"Patton, if you want to be safe, don't tell anyone we're brothers," he muttered.

"H-how long have you been bullied?" Patton asked while sobbing.

Logan turned on the light and had Patton sit next to him. He looked hesitant, but he took a deep breath.

"Well, you're in high school now, so maybe it's best if I tell you now. I've been bullied...since kindergarten," Logan admitted.

Patton's eyes widened and he looked incredibly worried.

"I guess Mom and Dad knew?" he asked.

"The first few times, I told them and the faculty did nothing. I was the one that got in trouble trying to make it known. Mom thought it was a sign of a man needing to build character and Dad thought, and still thinks, that I should be transferred or we should sue the school or something. They disagreed, Dad had us, and I insisted nothing should be done as long as I wasn't killed on campus."

"But...why wouldn't you do anything about it?"

"Call it 'giving up'. My academic success, my ability to give a reaction, and your safety were the only things I felt I had control over. I thought it would be unfair for you if we went to different schools or if you lost your friends because of me, so I'm just sticking it out until I graduate."

"Why didn't I know about this until now?"

"You have a more innocent friend group. As for me, the only people who approach me are faculty eager to discipline me for being the victim or students who know they can get away with hurting me."

Patton looked down before hugging Logan tightly. Logan didn't usually give an emotional reaction to Patton's hugs, but, that night, he found himself crying in his brother's shoulder as if the cries were a long-chained dog eager to be free. As Patton felt the crying, it was as if he was introduced to a new side of his brother that he never knew existed; whom he thought was his brother who had matured too fast due to his studies was his suffering brother who never knew if each day would be his last.

"I don't care if it impacts me, Lo. You need to get out of there and this needs to end," Patton told him.

"No! I can't allow you to get hurt because of me," Logan told him.

"If you have a journal of the attacks, I know a guy who can help. Not all my friends are as innocent as me," Patton told him.

The next day, Logan gave Patton his journals filled with the dates, locations, and specific types of attacks and Patton passed them over to a sneaky older friend of his. During the weekend, a few days later, there were posts on several social media sites tagging the school and rambling as an anonymous source that the school allowed a student to be attacked and bullied for years along with a compilation of the footage fromover the years that hadn't been deleted. Word spread about it and it was clear that the faculty and parents of the bullies were trying and failing to make excuses. Not only were there major layoffs and expulsions, but the family was provided with a compensation for the years of suffering. Although Logan hadn't changed completely he was adjusting to no longer getting hurt every day.