A week had passed since the boy with the emerald eyes had joined the Vine Academy. Virgil had only seen glimpses of him in the hallway, and in one of his periods. What were the chances he got to be in a class with him? It was almost like fate!

Currently, he was walking through the halls, on his phone with his headphones in to make sure people would leave him alone. He woke up with the feeling that today was going to be a bad day, and he had yet to be proven wrong. 

He could feel a pair of eyes boring into him, but not in the hungry way they usually were. No, these eyes felt curious, though he wasn’t sure how he could tell the difference. 

He looked up, and found himself staring at the boy with the emerald eyes.

Virgil scowled. Of course.

The boy was talking with Janus Orm, the latter glancing at him as he spoke, making it obvious who they were talking about. Virgil felt himself pale. What was Janus telling him? What kind of horror story had he made up about Virgil? 

Oh god, what if he was making that boy hate Virgil? What if he was ruining his chances? The thought made him nauseous. What had he ever done to Janus Orm? Why was he keen on ruining his life?

He felt like he could burst into tears. What did he do to not deserve happiness? Was his mother right about him?

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a pair of green eyes were suddenly looking directly at him. He froze, had he just been caught staring? 

He quickly averted his gaze, feeling his face turn an embarrassing shade of red. He rushed the rest of the way to class, trying to ignore the boy’s gaze on his back.

Oh yeah.

He definitely wanted to know more about him.

---

It was lunch now, and Virgil couldn’t stop looking at the boy with the green eyes.

He was right there, talking with Patton Libum. How had he just noticed that they had the same lunch period? 

He forced himself to look away. Watching him was so creepy, what was wrong with him? He groaned into his hands, before picking at the 'burger' he got from the school cafeteria. 

Should he talk to him? Was that smart? What if he thought Virgil was weird? What if he knew that Virgil had been watching him from afar like a weirdo? What if he had been told terrible things about him? 

He took a bite out of the ‘burger,’ too distressed to even care about how dry it was. Was his one chance at romance, real romance, slipping through his fingers. Was he really that pathetic? He couldn’t even work up the nerve to talk to this boy, and could only watch him from afar like a pervert. 

Virgil wanted to at least know his name, to hear his voice, to be friends with him at least. The first step of that was actually speaking to him. Easier said than done.

He looked back at the table the boy was eating at.

More people had sat down with him, those people being Logan Berry, Janus Orm, and the boy’s twin brother. 

Great. The whole squad was there. More people to witness his attempt at starting a conversation. Just perfect. 

Virgil pursed his lips. Was this really a good idea? Maybe it would be better if he kept to himself. He’s gone his whole life without any friends, why should he try and make one now? What good would it do him? He would probably just be awkward about it. 

Still, though, it would be nice to finally have someone to talk to. Someone who saw Virgil as a person, not some means for giving pleasure, or a trophy to parade around. Would the boy with the green eyes treat him like that? Virgil hoped not.

He rubbed the back of his neck. He needed to just do it already. Lunch period wasn’t long, they’d have to go back to class soon. If he waited until class, he would just forget and loathe himself that night. It needed to be now. 

He moved to stand up, eyes fixed on the boy.

Patton Libum then booped the green-eyed boy’s nose, causing an adorably stunned expression to plant itself on his face. 

Virgil promptly sat back down, flushing and burying his face in his hands. He couldn’t do this. Not right now. He probably looked like a mess, the air conditioning having broken down in his fourth period. The boy looked absolutely radiant, in comparison. 

Virgil sighed heavily. How many people had seen him make a fool of himself just then? He didn’t wanna know the answer. Hopefully Susan hadn’t seen that, she’d ridicule him in the school newspaper for a week.

He peeked out of his hands, and bristled when he met the eyes of Janus Orm. 

Virgil slowly lowered his hands. Oh god no.

An unreadable expression was on Janus’ face, and he turned back to the boy with the green eyes. 

Virgil stiffened. Oh god no.

Janus said something to his friends, his thumb pointing toward Virgil. 

Virgil blanched. OH GOD NO.

They all turned to look at him, and Virgil felt like he could puke.

Perfect red hair, a natural tan, a slightly confused expression, a bit of a flush. 

Virgil couldn't breathe.

Shockingly bright, gorgeously big, his eyes were a stunning shade of…

Emerald.

A/N:

BYE THIS CHAPTER WAS SO HARD TO WRITE CUZ I SPECIALIZE IN DIALOGUE LMAO