*Virgil POV*

Friday morning. I'm in homeroom, bored out of my mind. The Trio walks in and takes their usual spot on the other side of the room. Apart from lunch and occasionally after school, we don't really talk. My earbuds, it seems, are my only full-time companion. The teacher talks. The bell rings. We leave for our first class. I'm in the routine now, mindlessly going from class to class, doing the work, following directions. At lunch, again my usual seat by Logan is taken by another girl. I go back to the empty table.

Lunch passes by and I go to my locker early again. I've put away all my stuff from my previous classes when Logan comes from around the corner.

"Greetings, Virgil." He says.

"Sup," I say.

"Roman is having a party tonight and I was wondering if you would like to come." He asks.

I raise my eyebrows.

"A party? I doubt he'd want me there. I'm like a dark shadow dragging the mood down." I say.

I'm overexaggerating but that's pretty much how Roman views me.

"I don't think you are. Its a Homecoming party, so it would be best if you came. Most of the grade will be there, so the odds of Roman finding you are minuscule." He says.

"But still," I say.

"It's your choice whether you come or not, I'm just letting you know you can," Logan says.

He then tells me the info on the party, like where it is and what time it starts. I'm unsure whether or not I want to come.

*Roman POV*

It's after school and Logan drives us all to my house. They both offered to help set up the party. My mom is going to be out of town for tonight and the weekend and said I could host a homecoming party. I am ecstatic, as I love throwing parties and seeing everyone laughing and dancing. I invited all of the seniors at CherryWood, along with some Juniors and Sophomores. Most people said they could come. 

I'm preparing snacks, Patton is doing some minor decorating, and Logan is looking through the music choice.

"We're gonna have some big fun tonight," I say jokingly,

"We're up 'till dawn, having some big fun, big fun!" Patton half-sings.

We both laugh. 

"You ok, Lo?" I ask, noticing he didn't even crack a smile.

"I am feeling satisfactory at this time, Roman." He says.

"Stop lying. What's up?" Patton says.

Patton has the unique ability to sense almost anyone's lies. 

"I can assure you that nothing is wrong, Patton." He says.

I can see this going one of two ways. And Patton chooses to keep digging.

"Yes, something is. Logan, you don't have to feel uncomfortable talking to us. We're your friends, we'll accept anything you tell us." He says.

Logan sighs, and looks up.

"I don't know. Lately, I've been having nightmares and I can't seem to keep my mind off Virgil. He's all I can really think about." He says.

Patton and I share a look. It seems we've found his crush.

"Does your heart feel jittery every time you see him?" I ask.

Logan nods.

"Do you feel a rush of excitement every time you hear from him?" Patton questions.

Logan nods again.

"I diagnose you with love," Patton says, giggling.

Logan looks flustered as he says, "That's impossible. And besides, he has a boyfriend, albeit unloyal, but a boyfriend none the less!"

"So you know he's not straight. Wait for them to break up and then ask him out." I say with a grin.

Logan has been single for years and Patton and I have tried to get him into the dating game, not wanting our friend to be single for all of high school. So last year, we had an agreement that if Logan ever fell in love, we would do everything to make sure he got to date them. I don't particularly like Virgil, he looks like he came straight out of a Hot Topic, but if Logan likes him I'll be cool.

A little while later, while Logan went to the bathroom, Patton and I got to talking.

"If he really likes this boy, then we gotta make sure they go out. We can't have Logan spending his Senior Prom alone!" Patton says.

I agree and we get to planning. 

*Logan POV*

I come back from the bathroom and see Roman left out a few jars of Crofters for the party.

"Roman, I hope you are aware that I will not be sharing the Crofter's," I call to the other room.

I hear snickering.

"We know, Lo. There's no way in hell you'd share your Crofters." Roman calls back.

He's not wrong. I grab a spoon out of a drawer and Patton walks into the room. He takes the spoon from my hand.

"No Crofters until the party starts." He says.

"But Patton-" I start to protest.

He gives me a playfully stern look and I stop.

"You are just like my dad," I grumble.

"Aw, thanks kiddo!" Patton says.

I roll my eyes. I look at the clock. It's almost 6, which means the party is starting soon. I look out the window to see some cars pulling in. Roman greets guests as they arrive and the party starts. Seeing this, I grab a jar of Crofters and race over to Patton, and take my spoon out of his hand.

"Hey!" He says, turning around.

I smirk, already into the jar. Patton just bursts out laughing.

---

As the hour's tick by, my mood slowly deflates. More and more guests arrive, and I scan the crowd. None of the faces I see belong to Virgil. I'm out in the backyard, by the campfire that was set up. I sit down by it, with a glass of water.

"Sup girl. Wild party tonight, isn't it?" I hear someone ask.

In the dark, I can make out the person to be Remy. Even at night, he's still wearing his sunglasses. 

"It is." I agree.

Remy sips on his drink.

"I'm gonna have to make another stop to Starbucks soon. Imma go see if anyone wants anything from there." He says, getting up.

I haven't seen Remy without coffee since 8th grade. I sit by the fire for a bit, half-hoping Virgil will still show up. I go back inside eventually and am by the front door when I hear a faint knock. I open the door and to my utter delight, its Virgil.

"You came," I say.

"Yep. Couldn't let you guys have all the fun without me." He says, smirking.

He seems to radiate more confidence than normal, so I assume he's just happy to be here. We dance for a while, I show him around, and we eventually settle by the campfire at around 10 PM. 

"You seem calmer than normal," I note, "Is that because it's late or all the sugar you had?" 

Virgil had eaten about two packs of gummy worms before I convinced him to stop.

"I ended it with Jan. Kinda. He hasn't texted back yet." He says, grinning.

"That's great, Virgil," I say supportively.

I'm flipping out on the inside, ecstatic that I might have a chance with him. My phone buzzes. I pull it out and see I have a text from Roman.

RV kids here, be on the lookout. Pat and I are kicking them out rn

At several past parties, Rockview kids have tried to sneak in and spoil the fun. This has been a problem for so long that CherryWood has an unofficial kick-out group, which always consists of the host of the party and a few volunteers that know how to track them down and kick them out.

"What happened?" Virgil asks.

"Some kids from Rockview snuck in. Roman's kicking them out." I answer.

Virgil chuckles.

"Want to know their tricks? 'Cause I know 'em all." He says.

He stands up and starts telling me about all the past Rockview strategies. Then someone comes up behind him, yanks his sweatshirt which he had tied around his waist off and chucks it into the fire. I stand up and immediately start running after the attackers, who started running off. They underestimate how fast I am, and I crash-tackle them to the ground. I see their jackets and note the RV logo on them. They're Rockview kids. As luck would have it, a group of trackers come around to the side of the house and see me pinning them down.

"Rockview kids?" One of them asks.

"Yep. They threw Virgil's sweatshirt into the fire." I say.

I hear a few gasps. Roman steps forward, from the middle of the group.

"Well then, let's see who they are."

He rips off their masks and I feel like the world stops as we all see who they are.

My creativity has come back now, along with no schoolwork for the weekend! I also recommend you strap in because the emotion rollercoaster is about to leave. I don't know what emotions will come, just that a lot are. So I hope you enjoyed reading and have a musical day you magnificent peep!