"Logan, are you sure this is good?" Roman said to his best friend nervously. "This is due in less than ninety six hours! Can you at least look over it? Please?"

His original play project was due in three days. Roman was positive that it was going to be awesome and that it would blow countless minds. However, a part of him was still concerned about his work. Is the character too clingy or too independent? Were there plot holes that he didn't notice? Is the story too predictable? There were so many questions that kept popping up in his mind. And, Logan was certainly not helping.

That morning, Logan didn't answer his phone, which was unusual. So, Roman decided to pay his best friend a short visit, bringing his project with him. Since he arrived two hours ago, Logan had not given any input on his project. Roman could see that Logan's mind was occupied with other things and he understood, but he also need Logan's attention and his inputs. It was getting increasingly difficult to speak to Logan.

"Roman, do you want to come with me the next time I go to Patton's place?" Logan asked, his gaze serious.

"I don't mind... Logan, seriously, look at this and help me fix it!"

"I'm sure it's fine, Roman." Logan stood and walked to the kitchen. Roman silently followed. "Besides, I have no interest or expertise in theater and such, so don't ask me."

Roman groaned in mild frustration. Was it hard for Logan to just read through his play? It wasn't as if Logan didn't like reading fiction. In fact, Logan had an entire stash of fiction books, starting from science-fiction to fantasy-action, surprisingly enough. Roman walked back to the living room, leaving Logan in the kitchen and dropped himself onto Logan's couch. Who else could he ask for input? Patton or Damien is out of the question, Remy might be in the same state as Logan, so it only leaves... Virgil. Roman groaned again.

It wasn't as if Roman didn't have any other friends outside his current friend group. He just wasn't comfortable with them. He loved being a popular person and having all the attention he could get. However, that also meant that there were people who were not genuine, only wanting to be friends with him for their own gains. He could never trust too many people, which was difficult since Roman was a very outgoing person. Sometimes, he wished he didn't stick out so much.

To: Remy
From: Me
[10:22]
Remy I need your help!!! Right now.
If you can, that is.

To: Me
From: Remy
[10:22]
Hey girl, help with what?

To: Remy
From: Me
[10:23]
With my original play project!
Remember that optional play project from a few months ago? I need some inputs on mine, cus it's due in three days.

To: Me
From: Remy
[10:24]
Oh, honey, I'm not good at those writing stuff.
Usually, I wud just think a story is good w/o thinking too much of it. Like, I don't think of like plot holes n stuff. Cos I literally dgaf about those.
Maybe you should ask Virgil about it. He's good with stories and stuff.

Roman was starting to think that he shouldn't get any feedback at all before he submitted his project. Last week, Virgil and him had agreed on exchanging email addresses so that Virgil could share his short story and he could send his project to Virgil. That hadn't happened. He did, however, got Virgil's number. The younger had been a little hesitant on giving Roman his number, but he finally did.

Now, Roman was pondering whether or not he should text Virgil. He desperately needed some outside opinion, but if he was going to get that from Virgil, it might be even more difficult. He let out a long sigh. Alright, he will sacrifice anything for his project. If his play was selected to be performed, it might be his big opportunity to make his name. Plus, from seeing a snippet of Virgil's story, he knew that Virgil was a good—if not, great—writer.

To: Emo Nightmare
From: Me
[10:36]
Hey there, Dark and Dreary. I need your help.

----------

Virgil was lying on his bed when he heard his text tone went off. It wasn't often that he got a text. It was probably Remy. He took his phone from his bedside table. Usually, he didn't bother seeing who texted him, since he didn't have anyone that texted him other than his cousin. However, this particular text stuck out.

'Roman?' His mind was starting to blare with alarm. 'The fuck does he want?'

To: Prince Underarm Stink
From: Me
[10:37]
What?

To: Me
From: Prince Underarm Stink
[10:38]
Can you meet me at the cafe? Roast & Grind

To: Prince Underarm Stink
From: Me
[10:38]
If I say no?

To: Me
From: Prince Underarm Stink
[10:39]
PLEASE!!!

To: Prince Underarm Stink
From: Me
[10:40]
Fine

Virgil was unsure. 'What the hell is happening? What if he isn't there later and this is all just a sick joke? Does he hate me that much to actually do that? Probably...' As thoughts kept spilling out of his head, he grabbed his wallet and pocketed his phone. He knocked on Remy's door, telling his cousin that he'll be out for a few hours and went to the door. He was still thinking about his decision to go when the door fell shut behind him.

The cafe—Roast & Grind—was not too far from his apartment, so he didn't bother taking a bus. He exited the apartment building with earbuds plugged into his ears, drowning out the sound of the city. Virgil had always liked observing people doing their things; waiting for the bus, buying coffee or even walking their dogs. He could learn about these people from the little quirks they do. He could learn about them from the way they carry themselves—straight posture with their shoulders pulled back or perhaps a certain bounce in their step—or he could just observe the small things that these people do—a baker giving a free pastry to children or a street-performer doing a magic trick for a little puppy. These things helps him a lot with creating authentic characters in the stories he wrote.

As his feet took him to the cafe, his mind did what it was so used to doing: narrate people's lives internally—someday, he'll have the courage to do it right to people's faces. His mind would go wild, coming up with little stories for people he barely knew about out in the streets. To him, his little stories color his world just a little brighter and it never fails to bring a smile to his face—except for now. Right now, he couldn't think of anything other than what stunt Roman was going to pull on him.

'Is he going to hurt me? Maybe I should have brought my pocket knife. Maybe he's going to finally kill me and accomplish his goal of not having a soulmate...'

After another couple of minutes, he was finally standing in front of the coffee shop. He tried to see through the dark glass walls of the cafe to see if Roman was already there. He spot the dramatic man seating at the seat near the front of the cafe, sipping his drink calmly. The only time he ever saw Roman looked this calm was when they were abandoned by the rest of the group, so they were the only two people left in the pizza parlor. The hang-out session they had didn't start smoothly, but Virgil thought it wasn't too bad.

He walked into the cafe with a wave of nervousness nipping at his heels, following his every step. He tried to avoid eye-contact, trying to take as long as he could to walk over to Roman's table.

"So, what's happening, Princey?" Virgil said when he got to the table. "Hope you're not here to kill me."

Roman looked up in surprise, gesturing at the seat opposite him for Virgil to sit. The emo boy hesitated for a split second before finally lowering himself to sit. What was Roman playing at? Was this some sort of serious business? If so, why was he part of it?

"I need your help," Roman said, reaching into his bag to take his laptop. "Can you, perhaps, give me some feedback on my project?"

"You made me come here for your stupid project?" Virgil asked in disbelief. He could've just stayed in bed and not do anything.

"Hey! If I succeed in making this work, this might be a breakthrough for me!" Roman defended himself. "It's not stupid."

"Sure it is." Virgil smirked. He was starting to like making Roman go all crazy. The dramatic nonsense that Roman would spew out were rather entertaining. "Also, I could've done this through the phone instead of coming here."

"It's easier like this, you know." Roman shoved his laptop to Virgil's face, waiting for the younger to read his work. Roman was proud of his creation, but he was never too fond of critics, because it always made him feel like he was incapable and not good enough. Fortunately, he was aware of the importance of those critics, so he always swallowed all his discomfort when people gave him critics—especially the harsh ones.

"This sounds oddly familiar, Princey..." Virgil mumbled, though loud enough for Roman to hear.

"It's a Rapunzel retelling," Roman explained, not saying much so as to not disturb the other while reading. Virgil nodded in acknowledgement.

Roman took his phone out and tried to ignore Virgil who was still reading his work. He was very aware of how Virgil's expression shift from time to time. Was that a bad sign or a good sign? At times, Virgil would take a glance at him and return to reading as if realizing something. Roman couldn't help but feel very small and shy—which, to say, was very unusual. He went back to his phone, trying to distract himself from worrying too much.

Fifteen minutes later, Virgil was still reading the script. His expression had become unreadable. Roman wanted so badly to bang the table and shout. He tapped his feet on the wooden floor, burning off the nervous energy that bloomed in him.

"Are you done yet?" Roman asked impatiently.

"Almost..."

"Is it good?"

Virgil finally looked up and closed the laptop. "Wow, that was something," He said with a tone of finality. He wasn't blind to not notice Roman's nervousness. He thought it'd be funny if he messed with Roman for a little bit.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roman was starting to get more nervous. Virgil's ever-so-sarcastic tone was making him confused. What does 'something' even mean?

"Okay, okay," Virgil finally said. He wanted to get over this anyway. "I think it's pretty good. The concept of the story is actually really interesting, I like it. Also, I really like that boy that helped the protagonist—what's his name again... oh, Fernand—yeah, he's a very complex character. You should probably make his motivations more clear, but other than that, it's all good." He paused, thinking for a brief second before speaking again. "The dialogues are alright. You should probably add more on the story from the witch's point of view, like from her holding cell in the castle and what happened to her and stuff. Just a thought."

Roman didn't expect Virgil to give him a serious feedback. He thought he was going to be critiqued so harshly that he'd have to fix everything, but Virgil had been... considerate? Roman didn't know the right word to explain it. He took his laptop back with a relieved sigh.

"Thanks," Roman murmured. Virgil shrugged in reply, not saying anything else. "Are you just gonna go home now?"

"Probably... unless you have other plans? I mean, Remy's been ignoring me all day yesterday and today. He kept mumbling about Patton and Damien. It kinda made me want to visit the twins, too. So yeah, now I'm bored back at my place 'cus I don't have anything to do and... I don't know why I'm telling you all this." Virgil scratched his neck as an uncomfortable heat climbed up his back. He need to keep his mouth in check sometimes.

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one. Logan is the same. Honestly, I'm also concerned for those two. I don't know them well, though. Especially Damien." Roman looked down at his folded hands on his lap. "Logan asked me to come with him the next time he visits the twins. Should I even come? Logan is absolutely useless with emotions, so he might need help with that."

"So, I guess we're both alone at the moment?" Virgil asked, more to himself than to Roman. "Though I imagine you have so many other friends. Heck, I'm not even your friend."

"It's not easy you know... I know lots of people, but I can never tell who were genuine and who were fake. I can't tell, so I can't really have a close relationship with anyone. Logan's my only friend now."

Roman looked over to the slim figure sitting in front of him. Virgil was looking at him intensely, but something about it made his mind calm down. He looked away, not wanting to think about what's happening. He thought it was funny that he was only able to talk to Virgil without breaking into a fight under a very unfortunate circumstance. This was another proof that soulmates are dangerous to people and that it would only bring despair and heartbreak. Roman didn't need a soulmate.

Yet, some other part of him made him think of Virgil in a different light. Virgil may not have been as bad as he originally thought. Also, he looked cute when he's in a peaceful state. His jawlines looked more defined when he looked to the side, just like what he was doing when he stared out the window. The serious look that was always present on Virgil's face was different than the all-business serious look that Logan had. Virgil looked somewhat softer with his violet hair falling down to his face, hiding his sharp, silver eyes.

Roman snapped out of his thought. What was he thinking?

"If I may ask," Virgil broke the silence that hung over them, "what happened to your dad?" He remembered Roman mentioning something about his dad the last time they hung-out.

Roman stiffened at the question and he sucked a quick breath. He didn't really like talking about his dad. "I'd rather not talk about it now," He said, folding his arms onto his chest.

"Okay." Virgil felt a twinge of guilt for breaching a sensitive subject. "Hey, you wanna get out of here? I'm starting to get bored of this place."

"Oh man, yea, let's go."

**********

Notes:

Hey y'all wonderful people! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not really sure about this chapter. I do hope you like the prinxiety in this chapter. It's not romantic (yet), but I promise we'll get there eventually.

See you in the next one!

~AJ