May 3rd, 2020
A/N: THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR "Putting Others First" AHEAD! DON'T READ UNTIL YOU'VE SEE IT!

Patton wasn't expecting to stumble upon the boy he knew as "Dee" Drake sitting and looking depressed in the courtyard of their school. He was staying after school for a Student Government meeting and was on his way to it when he found him. Patton had seen the boy with Vitiligo and heterochromia around the school before.

His friend Virgil had told him about Dee, and how he wasn't someone he should be associated with. Patton had interacted with him rarely and didn't see why he was warned not to trust him, but Virgil had explained that they had a troubled past together. He honored his friend's wishes and didn't seek Dee out.

However, Patton was an empathetic person to an almost unhealthy degree; he often put others before himself and became oblivious to his own issues. With one long glance at the sad looking boy, he couldn't help it.

He walked over to the table Dee was sitting at and took a seat at it. "Hey! It's Dee, right?"

The boy looked shocked that Patton was there and speaking to him, but after a sigh, he shrugged. "I guess... it's what everyone calls me," he answered. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I just thought you could use a friend, you look kind of down," Patton said, giving him a gentle smile. "I'm a really good listener if you want to talk about it. I'm heading to the SGA meeting, but it doesn't start for another fifteen minutes or so, so I can talk if you want to."

Dee looked conflicted, turning his head away from him. Patton noticed the scar on his cheek among the patches of discolored skin; instantly his curiosity was peaked, but he knew better than to ask about something like a scar when he was only an acquaintance to him. The boy before him was clearly more complicated than he could understand before getting closer to him as a friend.

"Are you going to sit there and talk to me for the next fifteen minutes either way?" he asked, pulling Patton from his thoughts.

He smiled a bit and chuckled. "Well, not if it annoys you that much, but yeah, I'd like to talk to you. We've only talked a few times, and I wanna get to know you!"

"Why?" Dee asked, looking at him suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything," Patton reassured him. "I just like to help people and I like making new friends. I mean... that's why I became Student Body President, so I could make as many people happy as possible by helping out around the school whenever I can. You looked really sad, so I want to help you!"

It was silent for a moment. The boy looked unsure and a bit uncomfortable. "If you don't want to talk, that's okay too though," he continued. Patton stood up from the table. "I can leave you alone if that's what you want."

"No!" Dee exclaimed suddenly.

Patton looked at him in shock and sat back down, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "Okay, so you don't want to be alone?"

"I'm always alone," he replied, shaking his head as his walls fell. "I'm always the mysterious kid with the skin condition, the scars, the freaky eyes... I- you're the only person who hasn't treated me like that... at least, now... you seemed freaked out before when I talked to you."

"Well, that's because my friend Virgil said you two have some history," Patton admitted with an awkward frown. The other boy winced and shook his head knowingly; clearly there was hurt on both ends. "I wasn't sure if he'd be okay with me talking to you, and I don't know the whole story there, just that Virgil seemed really freaked out by you."

Dee sighed heavily in frustration. "Then why are you talking to me now?"

"Because you need someone right now," he replied firmly, reaching out to touch his hand gently. "If Virgil has a problem with it, I'll talk to him about it, but I want to help you."

He looked down at where Patton's hand was gently touching his own. He seemed a bit disbelieving at the contact. Dee sighed in defeat.

"Okay... I just... I just wish people would give me a chance to show people what I'm really like," he admitted. "I know that I'm weird looking, that I give off strange vibes... I know all that, but it would be nice if someone looked passed all that for once. Virgil did when we were younger, but we both doomed that relationship in our own ways. That theatre kid, Roman Prince? You know him-" Patton nodded, "he's got a brother, who's pretty weird, Remus. He talks to me sometimes, but he's not the type to be a friend. He's just the kind of guy who will sit down and be weird with you. It's better than nothing... but I don't have any real friends."

Dee looked down sadly and shook his head. Patton felt his heart pang. "Well, I'll be your friend."

"Yeah right... you're pretty much perfect, and friends with Virgil," he shot back. "You're the least likely person to be my friend."

"I'm not perfect," he replied softly. The tone of his voice got the attention of the other boy, who looked up at him in curiosity and confusion. Patton sighed a little and forced a smile. "I feel like I need to have all the answers, and that when I don't people will be disappointed. I feel like I should always put other people before myself, but my friend Logan says that it's unhealthy, so I don't really know what I'm doing most of the time... I'm really bad at finding a balance between helping people and helping myself. When I'm not helping other people, I feel useless."

Dee looked shocked and speechless. "Well... your mental health is important," he tried, looking unsure. "You need to make sure you're doing okay, and that when things get rough, you'll be able to handle it. It sounds like you don't pay attention to it."

"Well, that's probably true," Patton said guiltily. "But you seem to know about it, so why don't we help each other? I can help you make some friends and you can help me try and get better about taking care of myself. We have an opening in the Student Government, why don't you come to the meeting with me?"

"Are you sure people would like that?" Dee asked. He looked nervous and uncertain.

Patton nodded and looked more confident. "I'll convince them to give you a chance, and then, you can show people the real you!"

He smiled a little hopefully. "Well... if that's the case, then I guess I should start with you," he said. He took a deep breath and looked Patton in the eye. "My name is Janus. Everyone calls me Dee because whenever I introduce myself I use my middle name, Diego. People shorten it to Dee, and I let them call me that because it feels safer than telling people my real name and having them reject me."

Patton looked surprised but a smile spread across his lips as he extended his hand. Janus took it. "Nice to meet you, Janus."