(TW: cursing, mention of getting beat up)

*Roman's POV*

After taking out my other contact, I put in some eye drops to account for the pollen. This, of course, caused my eyes to look bloodshot, turning my overall appearance from demon to super tired vampire.
There has got to be some spare contacts in my bag somewhere.

I take everything out of my backpack, look in every pocket, and shake it upside down for good measure. No luck.

The warning bell for first period rings and I quickly shove everything back in my bag. The halls are mostly empty now, but I still keep my eyes glued to the floor, refusing to look up.

Once I got to my first hour I sneak to my usual seat in the back unnoticed. Which honestly, wasn't too hard. Our teacher wasn't here yet and the other kids were too busy talking over each other to notice me.

???: Alright class, settle down.
The noise slowly dies down till we all have our attention on our teacher Mr. Williams.

Mr. Williams: Alright. We're gonna start a new project that will require you to be in groups of four. Your assigned groups are on the board in the back.

Assigned groups?! Seriously?! I can't catch a break today!

I waited till everyone else had seen the board before dragging myself up there.

Good news; Patton's in my group.
Bad news; He's not here.

The other two are, just my luck, the future Homecoming King and Queen. Axel Carson and Mia Stone. The most popular, and gossip-prone, couple in the whole school.

This is shaping up to be a fantastic day so far isn't it?
I sigh and walk over to where Mia and Axel were sitting already talking at full speed.

Mia: I know it's still a few months away but it's never too early to get everything in place to make sure we're color coordinated.

Mia is your stereotypical popular girl. Attractive, rich, and everyone either loved or hated her. She was also cheer captain.

Axel: I guess so... we can go today after practice.
Axel, the guy who's "only popular because his girlfriend is." He's also the basketball captain. (Though people say it's only because of Mia's influence.)

I slip into a seat as quietly as possible, hoping and praying they won't notice me. That would be best for everyone honestly, they get to keep talking about Homecoming and I can work silently on the project. No interaction necessary. Of course, I have no such luck.

Mia: Where's the other one?
I keep my gaze on my hands in my lap, prolonging the inevitable as long as possible.

Roman: Other one?

Axel: You know, the one you hang around with all the time.

Roman: Oh, Patton isn't here today.
I hear Mr. Williams's footsteps approach then the sound of papers landing on the table, forcing me to look up.

Mia: OH MY GOD!
Despite expecting this exact reaction, I still cringe at Mia's sudden loud voice.

Everyone was dead silent now, waiting to see what made the "Queen" yell this time. Axel raises an eyebrow then turns to me and his eyes widen.

Axel: WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!

Mr. Williams: What's going on over there?

Mia: HE'S A DEMON!
Mia angrily pointed at me.

Mr. Williams: Now Mia, I'm sure you're just being drama-
He walked over to our table and stopped short when he seen me.

Mr. Williams: Uhh... Roman. Care to explain what's happening here?

Axel: HE'S SATAN THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING!
By now the other kids had moved to get full view of what was happening and had matching expressions of confusion and... fear?

Mr. Williams: Mr. Carson lower your voice please, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for this.
He gestured for me to start explain and I shifted awkwardly in my seat, looking all around the room. Which probably wasn't helping.

Roman: W-well...
Stop stuttering!

Roman: I uh...
Just spit it out!

Roman: I was born with red eyes.
And there it is. Out in the open now.

Random kid: There's no way in hell that's natural.
I nod slowly, shifting in my chair again.

Roman: The uh... The hair's natural too...
Might as well just say it. It's not like the situation could get any worse.

Another Random Kid: You literally had brown eyes last week.

Roman: Those were contacts.
Mr. Williams walks over to his desk and starts typing furiously on his computer. Doing what exactly? I have no idea.

Mia: Well how do we know you're not just wearing contacts now for attention?
I reach over to grab my bag but stop to stare at my hands. Turns out, I'm shaking a lot right now.

That's good to know.

I pull out my contacts case, which I almost drop three times, out of my bag and set it on the table.

Roman: Those are my contacts. They got covered in pollen this morning and I didn't have any extra...

Axel picks up the case, opens one side, and shows that it is in fact a brown colored contact.

Mr. Williams: He's telling the truth. The school file says his eye color is red. And it's not albinism, that's just how he was born.

Axel pushes the reclosed case back towards me and everyone stays quiet until Mr. Williams breaks the silence.

Mr. Williams: Well. How's that for an entertaining Monday. Everyone back to your projects now.

The rest of the hour Mia and Axel talk to each other in hushed tones, occasionally shooting me death glares, while I work on the project.

The rest of my classes went pretty much the same as my first hour did. One or a few people noticed, called me a demon, the teacher eventually defused the situation, and a few people kept staring at me. Each time, without fail, I was a shaky, nervous, mess. I'm surprised I haven't had a full mental breakdown yet.

Now, it's lunch and I can get away from all the people.

I grab my lunch from my locker and start heading towards the forest. Eating lunch in the clearing is always calming.

???: Hey kid!
I stop dead in my tracks, just before the tress, hearing the voice behind me. Did someone follow me? And what do they want?

???: To the fates above please tell me you're the ghost kid.
I turn to face a guy in mostly black clothes with yellow accents and a bowler hat. Half of his face was covered in green... scales? And one eye was yellow and snake-like.

Roman: Ghost kid? Also who are you?

???: Fantastic! It is you! I've been yelling at random kids all day looking for you! And let me tell you, it gets old real quick. Now, on to business.
He snaps his finger and a huge yellow ball python is suddenly wrapped around me, pinning me in place.

???: Alrighty! Number one, the ghost kid things obvious. You see ghosts, such as myself, and you're a kid. Ghost kid. Number two, the name's Deceit.
He tips his hat and bows.

Roman: Uhh... I'm Roman?

Deceit: I know.

Roman: Umm, ok. What do you want with me?

Deceit: My boyfriend asked me to see how you were doing on your... quest. But it seems Virgil is nowhere to be found.

Roman: Virgil? What does he have to do with this? And what quest?

Deceit: Ooo~, getting a little protective are we? Interesting...
He thinks for a second then snaps again the snake disappearing.

Deceit: Very well. I got what I came for.

Roman: Wait! What quest? And why is it so important that your boyfriend sent you to look for me?

Deceit: So many questions, they will all be answered in due time Roman.

He turns and starts to walk away while I just stare after him dumbfounded.

Deceit: Oh, and one more thing.
In less then a second he's suddenly so close that if he were alive I'd be able to feel his breath. His snake eye was glowing and I could see that he had fangs.

Deceit: You will tell no one about this encounter. Not Virgil or any other ghost you may or may not be in contact with. Understand?
I nod quickly, afraid to say no.

Deceit: Good.
He turns and walks away again calling over his shoulder.

Deceit: Love the eyes by the way. Those are brighter then any other demon's eyes I've ever seen.
Then he was gone. Disappearing into the tree line.

I stare at the patch of trees he disappeared in for what felt like a long time before my knees buckled.

Well, here's that breakdown I've been expecting.

Mia: Wow. You really are a fucking freak.
Great. Now Mia? What does she want?

Not even bothering to turn around, I have a strong feeling Axel is with her.

Roman: What do you want?

Axel: Honestly, we wanted to see which was more red. Your vampire eyes or your blood.
This made me turn around.

Mia, Axel, and two other basketball players whose names I didn't know, where all staring down at me.

Mia: But then, we saw you staring at absolutely nothing mentioning a "quest" multiple times. Which is fantastic cuz now we have something to blackmail you with!

Roman: B-blackmail?

Mia: Yep! You do what we want you to if need be,

Axel: We beat the hell out of you cuz we can,

Mia: And you won't tell a single soul of else we'll call the psych ward to tell them of your lunchtime meetings with the devil.

This... is not going to end well.

Roman: B-but Why?

Axel: Cuz we're mad with power and can do whatever the fuck we want, or we just have anger issues that we're gonna take out on you. However you wanna look at it.

He cracks his knuckles and the guys behind him follow suit. He flexes his hand then right-hooks me in the face.

*Virgil's POV*
*Around lunch time*

I wake up feeling groggy but still better then yesterday.
I roll over to check the time on Roman's alarm clock only to face plant onto the floor.

Virgil: You slept on the couch last night Virgil. And now you're talking to yourself. Great start to the day.

I get up off of the floor, stretch, and see a piece of paper stuck to the TV in the corner of my eye. It's a note.

Hey Virge!
We already left for school, you looked so peaceful sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up. Plus, you clearly needed rest. Anyway, I'll see you when I get home! :)
-Roman

I slept in?! What time is it?!
I run into the kitchen to check the time on the microwave.

Virgil: It's noon?!

No. Nonononono.
What if something happens to Roman and I'm not there?? What if something already did?! This is not good...

Logan! Logan is with Patton so they should be at school Right? But I have no way to talk to them!

???: Virgil, I need you to take a deep breath ok?

Virgil: Who was that?

???: Its Logan. I think I'm the midst of your spiraling you accidentally telepathically communicated with me.

Virgil: Telepatha what now?

Logan: Mind speaking.

Virgil. Oh. Okay. Cool.
Alright it's just just Logan everything's cool.

Logan: So what seems to be this issue?

Virgil: Can you check on Roman for me?
Man I sound desperate.

Virgil: Please?
I was also talking out loud, I probably didn't need to but it's fine.

Logan: I'm afraid not Virgil. Patton has a doctor's appointment, were in the waiting room now. Why, what's wrong with Roman? Also, why aren't you with him?

Virgil: I just feel like something's wrong. I'm at home right now, I slept in and Ro didn't want to wake me up.

Logan: Slept in? You do know you don't need sleep right?
Tell that to me last night passing out on the couch.

Virgil: I know, but last night I got really tired after creating a necklace for Patton.

Logan: So that's where that came from... Wait a second, there's alot to figuratively unpack in that sentence. First, congrats on figuring out how to create stuff. Second, being tired that's weird... Third, you made it for Patton? As in he knows you exist and you made it? Why?

Virgil: First, thanks. Second, i know right? And third, well, we found out that other people could see me if they were in skin to skin contact with Roman. Then Ro got the idea to put a drop of his blood into something Pat could always have on him so they wouldn't have to hold hands all the time. It also means he can see you now.

Everything was quiet for a second and I thought I lost him till he spoke again.

Logan: Patton can see me?

Virgil: If you're not cloaked.

Logan: I'll have to test that later...
Despite not being able to see him I just know that was adjusting his glasses again.

Logan: As for the second thing, you should not be tired after creating something. You might feel a bit of fatigue after your first few creations but it should go away after a few minutes. It definitely shouldn't make you need to sleep all night and, assuming you just woke up, half the day.

Virgil: Well, what do I do?

Logan: Well, I guess just rest until you feel normal again. As for Roman, he'll be fine. It's high school, nothing too terrible could happen.

Virgil: Yeah, I guess you're right... I still feel like something's wrong but I guess I'm just anxious.

I mean, I had Roman call me a shorthand version of Anxiety for the longest time for a reason.

Logan: That is likely the case. Has anything else weird happened that I'm unaware of?

Virgil: Uhh... I don't think so. Why?

Logan: No reason, just a question. The doctor just called us in, well not me but you know what I mean. Are you alright now?

Virgil: Yeah, I'll be fine.
He says goodbye and everything is silent again.

Well. That was entertaining. It also didn't really answer anything.

First of all, I have telepathy? Awesome! Secondly, getting super tired was something that even Logan was confused by, so what does that mean? Also, I still can't shake the feeling that's something's wrong.

I don't know maybe it's the tiredness.

I walk upstairs and plop onto Roman's bed. There's still a couple hours till Ro gets back, so I'll just sleep.

*Time Skip*

I wake up at 3:30 according to the clock, just in time to hear the car pull into the driveway.

By the time I pull myself out of bed, I hear the car doors closing and three sets of footsteps walking up to the front door.

Mom(Alex): ...more careful.
Wait more careful from what?

Roman: I will Mom, I promise.
The front door opens to reveal Alex, Kat, and Roman, who was partially hidden behind his moms.

Ma(Kat): I'm getting you an ice pack.

Mom(Alex): And I'm gonna make you some hot chocolate to help you feel better.

They close the door behind them and head off towards the kitchen. Now that they're not blocking him I can see him fully.

Whoever did this to him I'm going to kill them.

He had a small cut just under his right eye and it was surrounded by a bruise all that was all shades imaginable.

Virgil: Roman what the HELL happened?!

Heyyyy!
So this chapter didn't take as long to get released then the others did but it still took a while...
Anywho, I wanted to get this chapter out before or on Christmas and I did it! 😊

Merry Bitchmas Everyone! 😊🎄💕

Also, *clears throat* THIS STORY IS ALMOST TO 3K READS. OMG HOW?!

Thank you so much.

Anyway, thank you ArtAngle713 for being my editor and to all of you who have voted/commented/added this story to your libraries.

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Love you all!
See you next year! Next decade actually! (Dad joke. I'm so sorry)
Byeeeee!