4:56pm

Trigger warning: homophobia

First part in fourth book

Somebody told me you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend

Au
—

"I thought you two were close?" Virgil's mother frowned as she leaned on the kitchen counter top, watching her son pack his lunch in his bag. "Nah" he responded with a shake of the head and a hint of anger in his voice. "He's just like the others" he added, face twisting in annoyance when he recalled the next day after they spent hours doing the project together - Roman had lied. He wouldn't tell the school who he really was. He would always care more about his reputation than Virgil, so he wouldn't bother himself with him.

"Awh, I'm sorry, Vivi" she walked around the counter to hug her son from behind, pressing a kiss to his cheek motherly. He leaned into her body, closing his eyes for a moment and sighing out. He needed to stop being so angry over a stupid boy, that happened a month ago, time had passed, it shouldn't affect him anymore. He just couldn't believe he trusted a jock.

"Call me or pa if you need anything, alright?" Virgil nodded and the two shared goodbyes before he left the house, earphones plugged in, listening to music and casting himself away in his mind as he subconsciously took himself to school. Ever since that day they did the project Roman hadn't talked to him once - not once. Not fucking once. Not even when he started conversation, Roman ignored him and dashed away.

Don't get mad, Virgil, he told himself, he's just one person you'll never see again after school.

Making his way through the front door, he found his locker and piled in the books he wouldn't need for first and second, making his bag much lighter and considerably more bearable to carry around.

About to turn and head to homeroom, he heard the sound of laughter from the hallway the opposite direction. He turned his head, watching as a few students hurried over to see the commotion, but he quickly realised he didn't care and carried on the other direction, content with the fact his pathway was suddenly barren of life.

Most of the day passed by like any other; he would avoid everyone in favour of silently doing his work, bopping along to his favourite tunes. However, he would admit it felt...weird, different. The whole atmosphere wherever he would go - it was odd, but he didn't think about it much, he didn't see the point. Besides, he didn't have anyone to talk about it with, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and chalked it up to his imagination.

However, in the end, he realised it wasn't his imagination, something was different, something big.

"Roman's a faggot!" Echoed down the hallway, reaching his ears as soon as he left the classroom. It was such a shock he gasped silently, eyes lifting and widening as he saw Roman with his head ducked down, eyes burning into the floor, face flushed in humiliation as he scurried away from the laughs and mocking students. His so called 'friends' laughing the most, pointing and using the most disgusting slurs Virgil had ever heard in his life. He thought Twitter was bad.

Walking up to the nearest student, he tapped her shoulder and asked what the Hell just happened.

"Oh, Roman told his friends he was gay...." she gestured around with a frown, anger clear in her eyes. "Obviously didn't turn out well" she then turned back to her friend and went on a mad rant about how much she wanted to gauge the bullies eyes out. Virgil slowly backed away but forgot about it a moment later, in favour of catching up with Roman to see if he was okay.

Yes, he lied, but...he wasn't a bad guy, no one deserves what he just went through.

Finding him outside in the car park, on the phone while fumbling with his keys, Virgil rushed over, grabbing his arm before he could open the door. Roman whipped around, ready to hit whoever grabbed him (thinking it was one of his 'friends') but relaxed when he saw Virgil.

"I-I'll call you back, dad" Roman shakily ended the call, stuffing his phone into his pocket, sniffling and wiping his eyes hastily before speaking.

"Virgil, h-hey, what's up? Need anything?" He asked, taking off his bag and throwing it into the car.

Virgil's eyebrows shot up, "need anything?! I'm here t-t...well" to comfort him? To ask why the Hell he did that? To ask if he was okay?

"I want to talk, really I do, but I must leave before they come again, I'm sorry" Roman excused himself, sliding into his car and driving out the parking lot faster than the speed limit would allow but Virgil was sure the boy couldn't give less of a shit. He held his bag strap tightly, eyes narrowing with sudden hatred that coursed through him. He glanced at the school over his shoulder, wondering how on Earth people can be so cruel.

Virgil would go inside and pummel all the boys but he felt like that wouldn't really end in his favour, instead he had a better idea. A stupid one, maybe, but would it hopefully make Roman feel better? Possibly, so he would do it, he's already an outcast - what would this really do?

He arrived home at his usual time once school had ended, dropping his bag in his room before finding his parents outside, sitting beside the swimming pool, sunbathing while occasionally sipping from fake coconuts. Virgil rolled his eyes fondly - he wished they would just go on vacation, but they were waiting for Virgil to graduate and move into college dorms first, they didn't want to have to leave their son alone. He loved them for that but he could care for himself for a few weeks.

"Hey, mom, dad?"

They both looked at him over their sunglasses. "I'm going to a friends, but I'll probably be back for dinner"

"Alright, call if not, though, we're having takeout" his dad responded, Virgil nodded and shared goodbyes before he left the house with only his phone, not feeling in the mood to listen to music. He got onto the bus and stared out the window for the entire trip - sometimes glancing at others when they got too loud, but other than that completely focused on what he would do when he reached Roman's house.

Yes, he was going to Roman's. Why wouldn't he? He knows his parents are probably giving him all the care and attention he would need but Virgil really wanted to talk to him - to make sure he was okay after what happened, and to tell him what he did when he left.

Once reaching his stop, he jumped off and hurried down the street, before he knocked on the door he glanced at the time - exactly six pm. Just like the last time. However, now it was different, now he didn't need to wait for Patton to come up and allow him in, instead he knocked on the door with as much confidence as he could muster, only needing to wait a moment before it opened, revealing Logan, the dad Virgil didn't actually get a chance to talk to.

"Ah, Virgil" Logan greeted, "if you are here for Roman I do not think it is a good time-"

"Who is it, Lo?" Patton's voice called, then appeared beside his husband, eyes lighting up when he saw Virgil. "Oh, Virgil!" He exclaimed, unceremoniously pushing Logan aside to widen the doorway and let him inside. Logan stared at him in bewilderment.

"He's upstairs" Virgil nodded and jogged across the foyer and up to the second floor, looking over to the parents to see them hurrying into the living room, sharing a hushed conversation.

He didn't know how but remembered where Roman's room was, pausing for a moment outside the door, he listened carefully, able to hear the sounds of soft sniffles and little sobs. Virgil's heart shattered and strengthened with rage at the same time. He knocked on this door, too, not wanting to barge on in without permission.

"Pl-please, dad, leave me alone" Roman called, his voice uncharacteristically sad, without it's usual flare.

"It's not- it's Virgil" he clarified, the sniffles silenced, but he heard shuffling so he took a step back, the door opening to reveal a very distraught Roman.

"Virgil...what brings you here?"

Virgil rose his eyebrow, hands awkwardly placed in his pockets. "It couldn't be anything to do with what happened today" he responded semi-sarcastically, semi-jokingly. Roman merely glanced away, managing a small smile but Virgil knew it was mostly forced.

"Can we...talk?" Roman nodded and stepped back inside his room, allowing Virgil to enter, which he did, closing the door afterwards and sitting on the desk chair while Roman opted for the bed, legs crossing, hands fumbling together on his lap.

"So...you came out?"

Roman nodded, "I-it's a good thing, I mean- you gotta be brave for that shit. It's commendable" Virgil tried to bring up his mood, Roman shrugged and nodded again in agreement - it was a brave thing to do, he just wished he hadn't let the outcome get to him so.

"Why did you do it?" Virgil then asked, going right to the point. Roman opened and closed his mouth, chuckled weakly and lifted his hand in a meek gesture towards him. "You-because of you...I..." he breathed out, lifted his head and met Virgil's gaze. "Being bullied was the worst thing to happen to me in my old school, I couldn't let it happen again, I didn't, I wouldn't, but because of it I turned into something I despised...I couldn't stand myself for awhile" Roman found a very hard time keeping Virgil's gaze, but he needed to, he needed Virgil to know this was all the truth.

"I avoided you because I didn't want to burden you-to allow you to become friends with someone like...me" he admitted, "and today I saw you-I saw you so many times, over and over, and I remembered how happy I was the day we did the project-I thought if I ruined my reputation, did something that would destroy the bond I had with the populars I could become your friend. I could stop caring but..." Roman finally dropped his gaze to rub his face for a moment, hiding it in the palms of his hands before sighing and looking up.

Virgil stayed deathly silent.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm sensitive!" Roman threw his arm up to gesture to himself, "severely sensitive..." he added for emphasis, "someone can say something and it'll bother me for the rest of the day, I need to be perfect and if not I become so insecure I can barely live" he then drew in on himself, shuddering, head dropping, unable to keep it up any longer.

"I'm sorry, Virgil. I'm working on it, I really am, but for now I can't go through this, it'll bring me back to...to.." Roman cut himself off with another shudder, "my parents are already finding new schools in the area, I'm sorry, I can't stay"

Why was he apologising? Virgil completely understood, he hated being bullied as much as the next guy but it didn't affect him as much as it does to Roman, obviously, so the best thing would be to move, and he wouldn't try and keep him back for their friendship. Slowly, he stood up and sat beside Roman, a tad awkwardly but he kept going.

"Thank you for...for telling me. Hey, um-" Virgil has a sudden thought, "I could ask my parents if I could move, too, to your new school, if you want...I don't like our school and I might've done something that'll make it even more hellish"

Roman furrowed his eyebrows together, silently asking him what. "Well, when you left I..." Virgil scratched the back of his neck, "I came out, too"

Roman gasped loudly, leaning back with a hand over his heart. "Virgil! That's like proposing at a wedding! How dare you steal my thunder!" For a moment, the emo-boy thought he was serious, but when Roman started to laugh he did, too.

"Why would you do that, though?" Roman asked once calming down. Virgil shrugged. "Well, I want to be your friend, moron, ever since that damned project. So, we're in this together, yeah? New school, new people-" Virgil pulled a face at that one, "and new experiences. We can get through it" Virgil confirmed, and Roman gripped onto his hand.

"Together" he reinforced, "two closeted gay boys ready to face the world!" Virgil snorted, nudging him playfully.

"Sounds like it could be a plot to a cheesy romance movie" Virgil quipped, Roman's eyebrows wriggled suggestively.

"Maybe ours will end with a kiss, too"

—
Are you high enough without the Mary Jane like me?

9:35pm