I hope this makes sense, I wrote well over 3/4 (from 400 to 2100) of it with a bad headache and the idea that it wasn't going to exceed 1000 words, but here we are... Enjoy.

T.W. Slightly Sad Roman.

Roman hummed happily as he walked through the hallways of the school, despite not having many friends, he didn't see any reason for him to be unhappy. He had a good home, a good education, and the few friends he did have were pretty great too.

The one issue he seemed to face when it came to his life was romance. Of course, he wasn't always one hundred percent bothered, but some days, he wished he had someone there for him, the way his friends had people there, in a romantic sense.

He loved his friends, but when he had three friends, and they all had a romantic interest in someone else, he didn't exactly feel welcomed all the time. Virgil was always on his phone, talking to that one guy he'd met and fallen for, and Logan and Patton were always holding hands and, mostly Patton, being all giggly.

He wasn't against their relationships, nor was he intending to be mean about it, but when he craved something like that, it was rather difficult to even try to tolerate them.

He made his way to English, smiling as he slid into the seat next to his partner. His original seat had been next to Virgil, and Thomas had been next to De, but when Virgil got a boyfriend, Virgil had practically begged Roman to switch seats with Thomas, something about how Thomas would always listen and react the same kind of way as him. He ended up agreeing so he didn't have to listen to Virgil gushing about his boyfriend all the time.

"Good afternoon." Roman smiled.

"Good afternoon, indeed." De rolled his eyes and Roman sighed.

"Look, I get the feeling you hate me?"

"You sound confused."

"Well, yeah, do you, or do you not?"

"I do not." De sent him a small smile.

Roman sighed, somehow still confused about the male he sat next to. He had developed a crush on said male, but that didn't mean he was going to immediately jump at the chance there may be the possible chance of returned feelings, because who was he kidding? De wouldn't ever like him back.

He watched as his friends trickled in, sitting in their respective seats. Patton and Logan were in front of him and De, Virgil and Thomas were to the left. They all sat around a table together, since they were working on a project, which was difficult to Roman.

The teacher came in, gave a brief overview of where they should be in the project, and then left them to it. Roman ran a hand through his hair, watching as Patton and Logan began to murmur to one another, clearly disinterested in the project. He watched as Thomas and Virgil began fanboying over the texts between Virgil and his boyfriend.

Once upon a time, Logan actually gave a damn about group projects and would be the one corralling them, now, Logan couldn't care less if someone else did the work for him, not if he could spend the time with his boyfriend instead.

Roman turned to Deceit, who sent him a small smile and turned back to his phone, reading through the notes he'd made when Roman had been able to actually get the group to work.

The folder of papers sat untouched on the table, waiting for someone to open it and figure out what they were going to do. Roman wanted to get the project done, but he didn't know if he could handle being around his friends much longer.

He'd left them at lunch in favour of walking around clearing his head, he'd avoided them walking to school, and he'd said very little to them all day. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was more that he was just having one of those days. One of those days where he needed time to himself, or someone there with his that wasn't in a relationship.

He preferred the days where they were all single and able to talk to one another without any issues threatening to break them apart. Now it just seemed as though Logan and Patton were on one path, Virgil and his boyfriend were on another, and Roman was torn between two paths. One leading down into some dark place that he knew he'd never escape, and the other being a way out of his own mind, where he would finally find happiness.

He hated feeling lonely, but more often than not, he'd find himself venturing down the dark path, trying to find someone, anyone, to be there for him, even if he knew going that way made it near impossible for him to find another living soul to love him. The light path seemed too hard, and he wanted to stay away from it. There was no certainty that he would be happy. He'd like to think there was a possibility, but it wasn't ever certain.

He felt a hand on his arm and he turned to look at the source of said hand. He looked over to De to find him with a worried expression. More often than not, De would be the one to keep Roman sane in English. He would make stupid jokes, they would bicker back and forth, more often than not ending in ridiculous nicknames and many more teasing and flirty remarks.

It didn't matter how many flirty remarks were made Roman couldn't ever be certain that Deceit liked him. The things that were said were either flirty remarks to overshadow something potentially insulting, or something slightly insulting to cover anything that was remotely flirty. Roman didn't really mind the nature of their bickering, he was happy to have at least one person able to keep him sane for a while.

"You look overjoyed." De drawled, his phone now on the table, having been disregarding in favour of making sure Roman was okay.

"I sure as hell could be better..." Roman ran a hand through his hair, focusing his gaze back on the desk. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate De looking out for him, but when they went from one extreme to the other, it confused Roman. Was De truly looking out for him, or was he just trying to look like a good person?

"I hadn't noticed."

"Whatever." Roman shrugged, reaching over and picking up the folder, only to have it taken from him.

"No," De spoke up. "You're not avoiding this."

"Yes, I am. I don't have to tell you anything."

"Maybe not, but..." De sighed, placing the folder back on the table. "But as someone who cares about you, maybe you should take some time to talk to me."

"I just... I'm not okay today. It's one of those days. But I'll be fine, I promise."

"You sound so reassuring."

"Like you're any better." He snapped, turning to him. "You're not helping, you're not making me feel any better, and I don't know why I even tried!" He got up and walked out of the classroom. He knew it was out of character for him, and he knew De was just trying to help, but he didn't know whether he could handle it anymore.

He was struggling to be the Roman everyone saw. The happy, theatre geek, who was somehow able to do well in all of his classes and be able to care for everyone else, as well as growing his own ego. The Roman who was prideful and egotistical. The Roman that wasn't him.

He shut himself in the bathrooms, locking the stall door behind him. He didn't want anyone following him. He didn't want anyone asking if he was okay, he didn't want to be honest! No one would believe him anyway. He'd be "asking for attention".

He sunk down to the floor, his head in his hands, trying to keep the tears at bay. He wasn't going to cry in the school bathrooms.

He heard the bathroom door open and footsteps stop by the stall he was in. He heard someone sliding to the floor on the other side of the door, and he heard them take a deep breath.

"I can't pretend to know what's going on in your head, nor can I pretend to know that I know you. But I do know that you're going through some stuff, and you probably need a friend... I know you probably want more than a friend at this point. Your friends have had relationships for six months now, and it can't be fun for you." De paused, and Roman sniffled slightly, tears slipping down his cheeks. "I know you probably need a hug, and someone to tell you that's it's okay, it's going to be okay, even if you don't believe it. I know it's going to be fine. You're going to be happy, you're going to find someone who loves you as much as you love them. They're going to be able to give you just as much love as you need. They're going to understand. You're going to feel happy again. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, maybe not even this week, but eventually. You will have a genuine smile on your face. The smile that lights up your eyes and everyone has to smile too."

"Why're you here?" Roman spoke up, voice slightly hoarse and rough.

"To make sure you're okay, and to give you a hug, if you want one."

"That would be great..." He mumbled. "Thank you for following me."

"Yeah, well, what was I going to do? Leave you to suffer, alone?"

"I thought you might..."

"Because that's who I am."

Even though the door was closed, Roman knew he was rolling his eyes, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips, and the sheer knowledge of that brought a small smile onto Roman's face.

"As pleasant as this may be, I can't hug you through the door," De spoke up.

"Really? I thought it was one of your many talents? Through-door-hugging."

"You can't be feeling that bad if you're making jokes."

"But you see, the jokes are merely a mask to hide how pathetic I feel."

"Oh, how wonderful."

Roman rolled his eyes and stood up, unlocking the door, smiling as he pulling open, not giving De the chance to stand up or move away.

"Jerk." De looked up at him, a slight frown on his face, but Roman knew he was joking, and Roman extended a hand to help him to his feet.

"You love me really."

"Debateable."

Roman smiled weakly, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. He really wanted a hug from De, but as soon as they were face to face, Roman found it hard to initiate anything.

"Hug?" De opened his arms, smiling at Roman fondly.

"Thanks." He smiled and let himself be wrapped in De's arms, slowly wrapping his own around De's waist.

"I don't hate you, at all, you know that, right?"

"I'm still skeptical." Roman looked up at him and De didn't miss the slight glint in his eye.

"Then how can I prove it to you?"

"I think..." Roman moved his arms and wrapped them around De's shoulders, smiling innocently. "I think you already know."

"A date?"

"Sure, but it's not enough, it's not right now."

"I don't..." De frowned, his gaze meeting Roman's. "Oh... Can I kiss you?"

Roman smiled, a small blush on his cheeks, and he nodded. "Only if you want to." He hoped that De did want that, because, as the thought about it more, he realised he really wanted to kiss him.

"I've wanted to for a while now." He murmured, leaning over and connecting their lips, causing Roman to let out a small surprised gasp. He never truly realised that De did like him that way, not after everything they'd talked about or the insults they'd shared, but he sure wasn't complaining.

When they parted, Roman's cheeks were a bright red, and he had to take a few minutes to compose himself before he spoke.

"So... A date huh... Where were you thinking?" He smiled.

"Maybe a coffee and a walk around the park as the sun begins to set, all the cliche stuff you like."

"How dare you assume that's what I like?"

"Well, you're Roman, it's pretty clear..."

"Okay fine. That does sound nice." He smiled and tightened his grip around De a bit more, smiling as he reconnected their lips.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Roman mumbled after a few minutes, taking in everything about the boy in front of him.

"I would absolutely hate it." He grinned, holding Roman close, hoping to keep the smile on his face.

They knew things would take some time, but they didn't mind, they were going to be able to work through it together, and as long as they were happy, they couldn't find it in themselves to care about much else.

2154 words

Hope you enjoyed
Take care
xx