This is what happened during the search with Roman's group lmao

This chapter. I had so much fuckin fun writing all the descriptions. Sometimes I just need... a vent, y' know? Sorry not sorry

Roman's POV:

After around half an hour of looking, we decided to put up missing posters. 

"Do you know how to get permission?" I asked Logan. "Cause I dunno if they'll just let us put up pictures of Janus and Remus on the light poles..."

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, tapping several words into google search. A few moments of silence later, he nodded. "Here it is. Apparently you have to get permission from either the police station or the mayor of the town."

Patton shivered. "I don't want to go anywhere near the police right now..."

"Why not?" I asked, confused. "Is there something wrong with the police in this town?"

Hesitantly, Patton spoke. "Well... no. But kiddo, you remember that Andy's a police officer, right? He could know some of the people in this police station, couldn't he?"

Logan thought about it for a few seconds. "That is an excellent point, Patton, but should we not try every possibility to try and find our friends?"

"...maybe," he murmured, sounding uncomfortable. "Can we just go see the mayor first?" he asked, looking up with pleading eyes at Logan. 

Sighing, Logan nodded. "Fine. Let's go."

I smirked, edging up to nudge Patton's shoulder. "Awh," I teased, patting his head. "You two are so cute together!"

"As if you hadn't set us up multiple times," Logan replied dryly. "You seemed to realize that we would be... 'cute'? In a relationship even before you began pushing for us to get together."

Rolling my eyes, I shoved him. "Yeah, whatever. C'mon now, I want to find Jan and Re before it gets even darker."

Patton looked nervously up at the sky. "It's already pretty dark, isn't it?" he muttered. "That's bad..."

"Is it?" I questioned. "I like nighttime. It's so cool and nice," I laughed, stepping ahead of the others and turning around in a quick circle, nearly falling over as I did so. "Oops!"

Logan blew out a long breath. "You are much too overdramatic," he complained. "Why did I have to get stuck with you?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "It's not like I want to be in your group either," I shot back. "I wish I was with Virgil."

"You have stated that multiple times," Logan sighed. "Either way, we should get going."

Behind us, a crow called out in a raspy caw. 

---

The mayor's building was... surprisingly small. It was squished between two other brick buildings on Hydrangea Street, with a black metal streetlamp dimly flickering light onto the dark walls. 

But what it lacked in size, it more than made up in majesty. 

A brick building, with several arched windows and an elegantly carved bronze door made up the front entrance, with flowers of all shades lining the granite path from the sidewalk. A large bush was trimmed in the shape of the moon, with small cream-white flowers popping from the dark, shiny leaves. 

When we stepped inside, I realized the glass was stained a pretty shade of amber, so the entire hall was bathed in a stunning yellow-orange light that looked like a sunset. The area was large and echoey, with oil paintings painted with intricate detail hung up with the same golden string holding the pink gemstone chandelier. 

I stepped cautiously inside as if one wrong step would shatter this elegant dream and I would be left with the quietly cool streets of Lakeside. 

Patton and Logan followed behind me, each blinking in the sudden white light from the hanging chandelier. "It's so... grand in here," Patton murmured, starstruck. 

"Completely unnecessary," Logan remarked. "Who needs that many silver fountain pens in one mug? And you should at least arrange them so they aren't falling over like that! Who arranged this place?"

"A goddess," I mumbled, my eyes still drifting around the beautiful space. 

An aura of delicate beauty had set into here, filling the place like a softly glowing fog. A dark red velvet armchair was set in the corner, the copper buttons shining like moons, the dark oak legs and frame glossy with polish. 

Logan sighed and crossed his arms. "You are missing the point completely."

"No, you are," I shot back. "It's gorgeous here! Look around! Stop obsessing over efficiency for once and enjoy being here, in this wondrous place, with your boyfriend!" I motioned to Patton, who squeaked. "Come on Patton, help me convince Logan to appreciate this place!"

Rolling his eyes, Logan stared dryly at me. "Fine. This room has great material beauty, however, the arranger could have made things set up a little better. I would have recommended a moonstone table, instead of that red crystal, so that the orange glass bounces off of the iridescence and makes it sparkle even more. It would be prettier that way."

As soon as he had realized what he just said, he hissed out a curse. 

I stared at him. "When did you learn how to speak in designer?" I finally mumbled. "And how are you so good at it?"

Patton laughed. "Logie's good at everything, Roman! Come on, let's go and meet the mayor! I'm sure that he'll help us with this, won't he?" 

"Well, we can hope," Logan said, sounding slightly flustered from the compliment. "But where is he?"

Gazing around the room, I let my eyes fall on three doors. One was made of a dark oak, so polished it shone, with a silver door handle and an opaque grey curtain falling over the window. The second was a lighter, tawny brown, with a bronze handle and no window. The last one was all window, the glass sparkling in the light. 

I hummed thoughtfully. "Let's go with that one," I finally decided, pointing to the one with the bronze handle. "It looks most promising."

Logan sighed. "Now you're just copying my way of speaking to make yourself sound smarter. I'm afraid it doesn't suit you."

"What does that mean?" I whined. "I'm smart!"

He patted my shoulder. "Of course you are."

Patton grabbed our hands, looking at each of us in turn. "Kiddos, calm down. We need to be nice right now, okay?"

I hmphed. "I will if he does." 

This was, apparently, the wrong answer. Crossing his arms, Patton cast a glare at me, and I immediately became quieter. 

Patton, even though he's short and sweet, can be just as intimidating as Mom... how do he and Virgil do it?

Once I fell completely silent, Patton smiled again. "Let's go, everyone!"

Hesitantly, I stepped forward and rapped against the door. "Hello?" I called. "Is anyone there?"

A small sigh came from the other side. "Dalilah? Is that you?" 

The voice was cold and grey, like old metal, with a slight growl around the edges. "If it's you, come on in."

"Actually," I edged. "Um... are you the mayor?"

The person paused. "Of course," they finally answered. "Who else would I be?" They chuckled, tapping a pen against something. "Come on in."

Logan pushed the door open, and we stepped inside the mayor's office. 

The walls were a dull brown wood, with no photos or anything else spotting them. The dark grey floor was cold and echoed, making me step around like a cat so I made minimal noise. 

The mayor himself was... majestic. 

Dark blonde hair with streaks of grey, slicked back and framing his pale face. A thin smile, pasted on like paper. His suit, grey-blue with a creamy white tie that matched his spotless gloves. He waved us over. 

The name plate on his desk read Carl Darke, Mayor of Lakeside Valley. 

"Sit," he ordered, motioning to the four seats near his desk. "I assume you wanted to ask me about something?"

I swallowed nervously, taking a seat. 

Okay... time to talk. 

"We're visiting this city," I blurted. 

No shit, Roman. 

Wow, what a great conversation starter!

Logan looked at me strangely, then pushed his glasses up and began to talk. "We have come to you to ask you for assistance," he began calmly. "Two of our friends have disappeared and we would like to put up missing posters to assist in our search."

Mr. Darke folded his hands, looking attentive. "Continue," he purred. 

"I understand that we could have gone and asked the police instead, but we do not feel... comfortable... with going near any sort of police station, as we do believe that a police officer-- not from here, of course-- was involved in this disappearance." Logan cleared his throat. "So we decided to come here instead."

The mayor nodded slowly. "...alright."

Not breaking eye contact, Logan sat up a little straighter. "Would you allow us to put up missing posters of our friend?"

An unspoken discussion seemed to go on between the two. 

Patton glanced nervously at me, an anxious frown painted on his face. I flicked my eyes to meet his, trying to give him a smile. 

Finally, Mr. Darke spoke. "...who are these people?"

"Remus Prince, Roman's brother," Logan explained smoothly. "And Janus Spice."

Something twitched in Mr. Darke's expression. Once so calm and quiet, for a second it looked like a silent amusement, or even anger...

I shivered. 

"Do you... know him?" I asked. 

The mayor cast a quelling glare at me. "Know Janus? Of course I do. How could I not?" he spat, standing up and pacing the room. "Request denied."

I opened my mouth. "But--"

"Denied," he hissed, slow and venomous. "You are to find him and take him back to me, got it? No matter what."

His gaze floated to Patton. "Drag him if you need to. I do not care the state he comes back in. Do you understand?"

Patton flinched away. "But why?" he protested, his voice shaky and startled. "I-- I don't want to! He's my friend!"

"I didn't think it would be smart enough to get a friend," Mr. Darke snarled. Patton began to talk again but he pressed a hand over my friend's mouth, muffling his words. "Do I need a reason?" the mayor growled. "Just do it."

Just as I was about to yell at him to stop, Logan stood up from his chair, cold venom flashing in his eyes. "Get away from him."

The mayor straightened slowly. "Did you hear me? I said you are going to--"

"Request. Denied." Logan spoke with a quiet fury, a growl deep in his voice. "Get away from them."

Mr. Darke threw his hand off Patton with such force he knocked the chair over, sending Patton crashing to the floor with a yelp. "Fine. I'll do it my own way," he hissed. "Leave."

Without a word, Logan helped Patton up, motioned to me, and left. Stunned, me and Patton looked at each other before half-running into the hallway and slamming the door, panting for breath. 

"What... was that?" I asked Logan. "You got super protective back there!"

He straightened his tie. "I do not enjoy seeing the people I care about being trampled upon. This applies to both my friends-- such as you-- and the people I love-- such as Patton."

With a small sob, Patton ran into Logan, nearly knocking the other off balance. "That was really, really, really scary!"

Sighing, Logan put a hand in Patton's hair. "Yes, it was."

"Let's get out of here," I muttered, looking around for the front doors. 

Somehow, they were already open.