Prompt: https://youtu.be/-J7J_IWUhls

AU: College AU

TW: Divorce? Not Edited

WC: 1762

Date: March 20th, 2020

When I was younger I saw my daddy cry

And curse at the wind

He broke his own heart and I watched

As he tried to reassemble it

And my mama swore that she would

Never let herself forget

And that was the day that I promised

I'd never sing of love if it does not exist

Virgil grew up in a broken home, his dad, Patton, and his father, Darius, had separated when he was still rather young and there was no love lost between them. Patton did his best to assure Virgil that they both loved him equally, that their separation didn't mean that Virgil had done something wrong, but he didn't believe it. He couldn't believe that the cracks in their relationship weren't, at least in some small part, his fault. They had argued on how to raise him, argued on how to deal with his anxiety, argued about every little thing. Virgil had watched their relationship fall apart and he knew he would never allow himself to fall in love. He wasn't going to have friends who could hurt him. He would never go through that pain.

But, darling

You are the only exception [4x]

Then, he met Remus. Remus was wild, crazy, and chaotic. With Virgil's anxieties, he had no reason to befriend Remus. Yet, he did, or more, Remus befriended him. It was the absolute definition of an extrovert claiming an introvert. Remus had walked up to him one day at school and sat down next to him, talking his ear off about spiders and their mating rituals. It was weird, but Virgil couldn't find his voice to chase him away. The next day it happened again, by the tree near the bleachers, Remus sat down and began talking, never expecting a word out of Virgil. It became a habit until Virgil was finally probed for an answer. "Hey Emo, are we friends?"

"I guess." And that was all it took. The two became inseparable, Virgil slowly warming up to the tornado that was Remus. He wasn't supposed to make friends; he wasn't supposed to let anyone in, but somehow he had. Maybe just one friend was okay. Maybe one friend could be his exception.

Maybe I know, somewhere

Deep in my soul, that love never lasts

And we've got to find other ways

To make it alone, but keep a straight face

And I've always lived like this

Keeping a comfortable distance

And up until now, I had sworn to myself

That I'm content with loneliness

Because none of it was ever worth the risk

"Hey Emo, you coming to my brother's party next week? It's bound to be a snooze fest, but it will be better if you are there." He smirked and fluttered his eyelashes as if he was flirting, that was just Remus' nature. They had all gone to the same college together and Virgil's small enjoyment turned into a deep-seated crush on his best friend.

"I don't know crackhead." He gently punched Remus' arm. "You know I'm not one for social gatherings."

"Yeah, but if you come to the party then you have an excuse not to go visit your father. And you said that he is being a b-"

Virgil cut him off, slapping a hand over Remus' mouth. "Don't say it, I know what I said." He felt Remus lick him. "EW! Gross!" He started wiping his hand on his pants, trying to ignore the red flush to his cheeks.

Remus just cackled, giving Virgil one of his signature demented smirks.

"You are such a weirdo." He smiled.

"I live to entertain."

"Yeah, yeah." Virgil smacked into him, giving him a slight smirk. "Hey, is he inviting Logan?"

"Why? Do you have a thing for him? Do I have to fight him to assert my dominance?"

"What? No." Virgil laughed, it was the opposite really, he had seen the looks that Remus gave Logan, and he really didn't want to compete with Logan tonight.

"He invited the nerd, I doubt he'll come."

"Alright, then yeah, I'll go, but if you ditch me I'm hooking up with some hot guy on your bed."

"Just remember, my brother isn't as fun as I am in bed."

Virgil punched Remus hard in the arm this time and it only earned a cackle out of the strange man.

Well, you are the only exception

You are the only exception [3x]

The party was not the snooze fest that Remus had promised and the moment that Virgil got there, he was regretting his decision. There were a lot of people dancing to overly loud music, most of them were from the theater department and although they were interesting people, they were almost all extroverts who knew each other. Virgil felt like an outsider and quickly wrapped his arm around himself. "Remus, What..." he turned to talk to Remus but his friend had already been whisked away to talk to someone else. Virgil's arms crossed in frustration. He had told Remus that he didn't want to be abandoned and normally he took that seriously but apparently tonight was an exception.

He turned to leave, but the thought of going back home wasn't a pleasant one. He could walk to his dad's house but then he would have to explain why he was home early from the party and then his dad would call his father and it would just be a whole mess that he didn't want to deal with. Turning back to the party he headed towards the snacks and he grabbed a beer. He was not a fan of the flavor but he was a fan of the numbness that came with drinking.

Virgil leaned against the wall, watching as Remus laughed and joked with everyone. People, of course, thought he was weird and strange because he was, but what theater kid wasn't. Roman and Remus played off different eccentricities and where Roman would often make people swoon, Remus would make them cringe. They were both well-liked.

Soon a tall figure, smartly dressed, with a stylish pair of glasses, made his way towards Remus and Virgil turned away. He couldn't watch this. He couldn't watch Logan flirt with Remus. First off, Logan flirting was always a disaster. Secondly, he was jealous. Virgil knew he had no right to be jealous, Remus wasn't his, but he was jealous none-the-less. He slammed his plastic cup on the table and began to walk off, wanting to get some fresh air.

I've got a tight grip on reality

But I can't, let go of what's in front of me here

I know you're leaving in the morning, when you wake up

Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream

Virgil sat on the cold concrete in the back yard, looking up at the almost nonexistent stars. He had followed Remus around High School; he had followed Remus to college; he had made Remus his only exception.

He had made a mistake.

Virgil hadn't realized he was crying until he felt the tears hit his knees. A few drops making it through the wholes in his ripped jeans. He was curled up on the ground, his back against the wall and he was crying at a party he hadn't even wanted to come to. He felt like an idiot. There was really no point in cry, in mourning a relationship that wasn't even his. It frustrated him that he couldn't just play it off as him being cool and unaffected.

His hands shook. His breath was caught in his throat. Once he had realized he was crying, he fought it but it wasn't helping. The world felt so incredibly tight. Virgil's fingers gripped his jeans as he tried to focus. He shouldn't have let anyone in. He knew better. He knew the reality of the world was harsh and cruel. He had just wanted one thing to be his.

"Hey, Hey, focus, Tickle Me Emo. Breath, follow my breathing." When had someone come out and found him? It didn't matter, they were right. He needed to focus on his breathing. His hand was gently grabbed and placed on that person's chest and Virgil could feel the soft up and down movement. He attempted to copy it.

"Good, there you go, breathe with me."

It took far to long for Virgil to catch his breath, but when he did his eyes were able to focus on the black and green clade man in front of him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew. Remus was the only one who could have talked him through it.

"You doing okay now?"

Virgil nodded, like a liar, but Remus seemed to understand. He scooped Virgil into his arms and began taking him back into the house and down to the bedrooms.

"Remus what are you doing?" He asked, weakly pounding on his friend's chest.

"I accidentally ditched you, didn't you say if I did that you were going to nail someone on my bed." He teased, causing Vigil to let out a laugh and miss his friend's relieved sigh.

"You are so ridiculous if you think I'm sleeping with you."

"Don't worry, I'll win you over!" Remus tossed Virgil onto the bed before curling up next to him, not making a move or trying anything. "Sorry Verge." He said in a much calmer voice. Virgil could hear the guilt and he sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Reluctantly he wrapped an arm around Remus and hid his face in Remus' neck. "Why aren't you out there with Logan?"

"Because I'm not in love with him."

"Then why are you in here with me."

Remus sighed, "You are the sharpest broken light bulb in the Crayola pack are you?"

Virgil almost choked on his laughter. "That was like three different idioms."

"Yeah, I improved it."

"You called me dumb."

"You are being dumb."

"Then kiss me." Virgil couldn't believe the words had come out of his mouth especially with how sarcastic he had said them. Once they were in the air he couldn't take them back. He blushed and went to turn away from Remus but Remus grabbed his face and did just that, kissing Virgil.

"Don't ask for something you don't want."

"I never said I didn't want it." He curled back up into Remus' chest, closing his eyes as his lips buzzed from the sparks between them.

You are the only exception [8x]

And I'm on my way to believing

Oh, and I'm on my way to believing

AN: First off, sorry y'all this is unedited. I have a head cold, yes I promise it's just a head cold, and I didn't want to have to think about editing it. Especially since it was just a quick one-shot I've been working on. Secondly, hi! Sorry, it's been so long since I've posted a one-shot. I was a bit burnt out after Fluffuary, but I have another one I'm working on for a contest so, hopefully, you should see that soon! Thirdly, I just realized as I was about to post this that this book is up to 1.5k views. Like what!! Seriously! Y'all make me so happy, it almost makes the drumming in my head fade away.

If there are any specific prompts you would like me to do, please let me know. I am looking for some inspiration.