all the world's a stage // prinxiety ✔

♡ 28 - wait ♡

"Virgil! Wait!" Roman called.

Virgil turned around. His bag was swung over one shoulder and was on the verge of slipping off. "Yeah?"

"I thought you wanted to avoid me but you talked to me in the dressing room. Like, normally."

Virgil looked down at his feet. "Yeah... Well, I can't ignore you forever, I guess." He wanted to say sorry, but he couldn't push the words out. It made him feel weak.

"Uh, so, do you want to hang out sometime? Grab some food or something?" Roman put his hand on the back of his neck.

"Why do you always try to make me feel better?"

Roman gasped. "I'm your friend! That's what friends are supposed to do, and I also have a c-..." He stopped in his tracks, silent.

"Continue? Why'd you pause?" Virgil asked.

"I'm unsure, I must have forgotten," he lied. "So where do you want to go? Mall? My place or yours? Anywhere's fine as long as it makes you happy!" He put on his widest smile.

The teenager looked overwhelmed. "I'm an indecisive fuck, first of all. And second of all, you're being strangely peppy soon after my boyfriend died. You don't always have to be happy, you know."

Roman didn't know how to respond. Finally, he shook his head and lowered his voice, his breaths short and shaky, but still warm on Virgil's forehead.

"I'm not happy that Declan died. No one is. Okay? Even though he wasn't nice to me, I wouldn't seriously want anyone dead. And I'm not always happy. Maybe I just seem that way. But I do really care about you, Virgil, and I want you to feel better and I'm willing to do anything to make you as happy as I come off as."

Virgil gulped.

"I want you going out and having fun, and not just on stage. Can you do that for me?" Roman put his hands on the teenager's shoulders firmly but not too much so.

They were silent. Virgil looked over to the side and saw Patton's car pulling up.

"I..." He stared into Roman's pleading eyes, noticing their gold flecks and slight display of dark green. "Patton's here. I gotta go. Text me later. I- We can talk then. Yeah?"

Roman let his hands fall to his sides. "Of course." He gave one last tiny smile before waving goodbye and turning away to walk to his car with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Virgil sighed as he watched Roman walk away. Then he opened the door of Patton's car, said hi, and sat down.

"You look a little glum today," Patton said. "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you about it later. It doesn't matter right now."