Chapter Text
“Virgil?” There was a knock at the young teen’s bedroom door. “It’s time to get up, you’ll be late for school.”
“No thanks.” Virgil’s voice was muffled by his pillow. “I’d kinda rather lay here and die.”
“What was that?” His mom, thankfully, didn’t hear his sarcastic retort.
“I said I’m coming!” Virgil lifted his head up to be heard. He knew it’d be worse if he stayed in bed; after all, if he didn’t get up then his dad would get involved. And Virgil would get yelled at, and then mom would yell at dad for yelling at Virgil, and then Virgil would just be a little more of a burden on their relationship.
So, Virgil begrudgingly got out of bed, already pondering all the ways today could go poorly. Virgil threw on a relatively clean pair of jeans and his signature hoodie, pulling the strings so tight that no one would be able to properly see his face. He gathered up his backpack, stuffing his notebooks in and cringing as they folded over each other in an unorganized flop. Virgil peeked his head out into the hallway, not stopping to grab breakfast before he snuck out just in time to catch the bus.
Virgil sighed, pressing his head up against the glass and trying to get a few blessed moments of rest. Why did school have to be every day? Didn’t he deserve a break by now? He held his backpack close, hands slowly tracing the various buttons adorning it. The wannabe emo watched as the buildings grew larger and larger, the bus being cast entirely in shadows as it entered the Giant district.
Virgil sat up with a jolt, realizing his mistake. They must have past his stop some time ago while Virgil wasn’t paying attention. He started to reach up for the yellow cord to signal the bus driver… but something stopped him from committing to it. Did he really want to get off the bus here, in the middle of the Giant district? Virgil had only been here a handful of times, and certainly never on his own. Perhaps it would be best if he just kept riding the bus until it looped back to the human side of town. Or maybe he could just ride the bus all day and avoid school entirely, leaving his troubles far behind...
“Alright, last stop. Everybody off.”
Okay, maybe not.
Virgil stood up, slowly shuffling towards the open doors waiting him at the front of the bus along with the other stragglers that were still on. Once they were off, all the adults split off to go about their business, not even paying the 15-year-old a second glance.
He shivered, pulling his hoodie closer to himself. The Giant’s district seemed even colder than usual, because here the wind threatened to whip him right off his feet.
Virgil was a fool. He knew he was a fool; his parents told him so often enough for it to stick. But this time, Virgil knew he had gone too far.
Where did he even plan to go? Virgil began to scold himself internally. He didn’t have any plan. Virgil had dashed out the back door this morning while his parents were distracted, not even stopping to grab a proper coat. He didn’t think he’d need one today, considering he had expected to spend the day in class.
Virgil’s feet began to move on their own accord, picking a direction at random. He tried to look up at the street signs to find his way back, but they were far too tall for the little human to read. Strangely, Virgil didn’t notice any Giants about here either. For that, he was grateful; Giants were terrifying. He had heard plenty of horror stories where Giants had used their size to their advantage, harming humans in ways that upset Virgil’s stomach to even consider.
It was times like this that Virgil wished, not for the first time, that his parents trusted him with a cellular device. But Virgil’s father was quick to point out how distracted Virgil got in class even without a phone. Virgil’s mother agreed, saying that until his attentiveness picked up he would not be getting a cell phone any time soon. It was one of the few topics on which his parents actually agreed.
“Dude, check this out!” Virgil hadn’t even noticed where he was going until a particularly large shadow fell over him. Virgil froze, slowly taking in the size of the converse coming straight for him-!
Virgil let out a less than manly scream, ducking down to try and avoid being trampled. There was loud, cruel laughter far above his head. Virgil felt his face redden in embarrassment, but at least the converse stopped just a few feet ahead.
“Oh my god, it’s so tiny.” A second voice joined in as a pair of brown boots entered Virgil’s field of vision as well.
“Watch this.” Converse said, one foot reeling back before rushing towards Virgil again.
“Don’t hurt it!” Brown boots protested, but the shoe was already colliding with Virgil’s side, sending the human flying off into the grass. He tumbled for a few feet, landing with one final thud on the frozen dirt that sent all the air out of his lungs.
“Nah, see? It’s fine.” Virgil scrambled to his feet, trying to get away before anything worse happened. But as he tried to back further away, Virgil found there was a stone wall blocking his path that spread out in both directions. He was cornered, with two pairs of shoes quickly coming closer.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Three, now there were three pairs of giant shoes in front of him. A Giant individual with large black combat boots had joined the discussion going on above his head, sounding furious. Virgil cowered at the tone, not daring to crane his neck back to meet this stranger’s face.
“Augh, don’t tell me you’re a human sympathizer too.” The converse groaned. “First enbies, now this?”
“It seems my lesson about basic decency didn’t penetrate your thick skull the first time.” The combat boots stomped towards the converse. “Here, let me help with that.”
“Now, now!” The brown boots quickly stepped in between the two, sensing a confrontation. “Let’s not make this physical, boys.”
“Well I’m not going to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.” The combat boots sassily retorted.
“OH, THAT’S IT!” Virgil covered his ears at the volume of shouting that broke out as the converse-clad Giant launched himself at the combat boots guy. A moment later there was a loud cracking sound, followed by a scream of fright from brown boots.
“Guys, please!” Brown boots continued to plead as a full-on fight broke out. Virgil pressed himself further against the wall, trying to remain as hidden as possible. His face turned an ashen gray as a few drops of blood fell onto the sidewalk in front of him. This was so very, very bad. He was stuck only a couple feet away from a Giant brawl, and even if these Giants were kind (which seemed unlikely by this point) Virgil was as good as dead if he ended up in the middle of this violence.
The ground shook, sending Virgil to his knees once again. Looking to his right, Virgil saw that the converse Giant seemed to have fallen, and now Virgil could get a look at his face. He was huge, and his eyes harbored more malice than Virgil would have guessed was possible. The human shuddered, glad that gaze still seemed reserved for the other Giant. Virgil was also happy to note that this Giant’s nose was bleeding, and it seemed this was the source of the blood.
“This isn’t over, Sanders!” The Giant threatened, being helped to his feet by brown boots. The two made a hasty retreat, one still clutching his nose.
Virgil was glad to see them go, and it took a large portion of weight off his chest. However, looking forward, Virgil noticed that the combat boots individual- who had just proven he possessed enough strength to easily break a Giant’s nose, no less- had yet to leave. In fact, they were now facing him .