(I love the picture's artist...! Art not mine! Obviously...)

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~Virgil's POV~

I was packing my bags in my car until my father came up to me.

"Remember to stay away from any gays. They are terrible people." He told me.

"Alright, dad." I sighed. I put the last box I had into the trunk. I did look up LGBTQ+ on my computer to learn more. I even read some people's stories. Some people got accepted... some people didn't. It made me think about my cousin, Remy. He got kicked out of my family. I hated my whole entire family for it. I don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's still alive.

I closed the trunk of the car. I locked it and my family looked about ready to cry.

I opened the door of my car, got in, and started it. Everyone waved goodbye. I didn't wave back since I had to keep my hands on the steering wheel. I looked down beside me at all the snacks and drinks. This was going to be a loooooong ride.

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It's been a couple of hours but it felt like years just to get to the college.

I got out of my car and got my stuff. I left a few things behind since there was so much I had. Such as posters, clothes, accessories, old pictures, etc. I got my room number but didn't know who I was staying with. The college allowed 6 people to share a dorm room. 2 people in each room. I hated the idea of sharing a room with someone, but I hoped I wouldn't get stuck with the annoying roommate.

I got out the key for the dorm room and unlocked it. I opened the door, walked in, and placed my bags near the door. I looked around.

I walked around, looking at everything. This is where I was going to be living for 2-4 years since I wanted to be a music major.

"Um... excuse me?" A voice suddenly said, startling me that I let out a tiny squeak.

I turned around, slowly. I saw a guy who looked very familiar. He had sunglasses on, even though he was inside, a black leather jacket, a white t-shirt, almost black hair with dark purple highlights. He was also pale. I knew he looked familiar.

"R-Remy...?" I stuttered out and took a few steps back. The guy looked at me closely, then gasped.

"V-Virgil!?" Remy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

His voice didn't sound harsh, though I wished it did. Remy should've been mad at me, yet he didn't sound mad. He sounded surprised.

I took another few steps back, then bumped into the back of the recliner.

"I-I... um... well..." I couldn't speak normally. I just stuttered out random things and hoped he knew why I was here.

"Hey, hey. Calm down, Virge. Breathe in... and breathe out." Remy took a few steps towards me and took my hand and guided it to his chest. "Feel my heart... try to get your heartbeat like mine."

I felt his heartbeat and I started to do my breathing exercises. Remy said soothing things and I calmed down and my head slumped down. I felt Remy pull me into a hug. I tensed up.

"I can hug you, can't I?" He asked. I nodded and returned the hug. We pulled apart after a few moments. "You... don't hate me, right?"

"Hate you? I was going to ask if you hated me. Of course, I don't hate you, Rem." I said.

"I don't hate you, either. I just... you didn't even say anything to me when I left."

"I was frozen. You know how I get when I'm scared. I freeze up and don't speak." I crossed my arms.

"Right... I forgot. I also need to tell you a family adopted me." Remy smiled a bit.

"Really...? By who?" I asked.

"Well, the son found me. Asked if I had a home, I said I didn't, he asked his parents if they could adopt me, they said yes, a few years passed and here I am." Remy explained. "He should be here any moment."

"Who?"

"Roman, the son. He's like a brother to me. No offense since you are also like a brother to me." Remy said, quickly.

"That's not really offensive since I had a best friend who is also like a brother to me," I said.

"Oh, you replaced me with someone?" Remy smirked, this is his idea of fun.

"Of course, in return, you replaced me with someone," I smirked. Then frowned. "Though, I haven't seen him ever since the end of middle school. He moved to England. I had to deal with all my problems by myself." I muttered the last part, but Remy heard me.

"Problems? What problems?" Remy asked. I was going to speak, but someone waltzed through the doorway with bags.

The person put the bags down and I looked closer at him. He had brown hair that looked formal, a white hoodie with red on some places and a yellow crown on the front and black jeans. He wiped his forehead.

"Okay, Remy. I had to leave some boxes behind in order to carry- who's that?" The guy asked and looked at me, curiously. I was very cautious when meeting complete strangers, but this guy knew my cousin.

"Oh, Roman, this is Virgil. Virgil, this is Roman." Remy said. Remy pulled me out from behind him.

"Virgil? You mean your cousin?" Roman asked. Remy nodded.

"Yeah, but don't worry. My cousin isn't a homophobe of any kind." Remy said. "He's also quiet and shy. He takes a while to actually open up."

I glared at Remy. He was smirking at me.

"I'm going to pick a room..." I said, quietly, so that only Remy could hear me. He nodded.

"Sure, if you need any help, just ask," Remy said.

"You know I like to do things alone. I don't have that much stuff." I said. I picked up my bags. Something fell out of one of them. I picked it up and realized it was a picture of me and Emile. I smiled a bit. I needed to put it in a frame. I wanted to put it on something so that while I'm stressed, I can look at it to remember him.

I turned the picture to the back. It read 'Even though I'm far away, you can still remember me with this! - Emile'. I put the picture back and realized that Remy and Roman were standing behind me. I jumped a bit.

"Seriously? What?" I asked.

"Is that who you replaced me with?" Remy asked.

"Yes, his name is Emile Picani. We were best friends and like brothers. As I said, he moved to England, don't know whether or not he came back. I'm just going to pick a room..." I said and walked off.

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