guys like you [ prinxiety ]

[ 17 ]

"Vigil sighed again, and pressed the call button.

Blooooop.... blooooop.... blooooop...

Click.

"Hello?""

Roman's POV

"Emo boy? How did you get my number?"
Roman questioned, spinning around in his desk chair. He had just been finishing some homework when his phone had started ringing.
"Patton gave it to me, dumbass. Anyway, I have a favour to ask of you,"

"A favour, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm going to dinner with my annoying aunt on December 1st and she's expecting me to bring my boyfriend. Unfortunately for me, you're the only person I have left to pretend to be said boyfriend."

Roman groaned and face palmed. Trust Jack Smellington to get himself into a situation like this. A million thoughts raced through his head, each battling one another. Was Virgil gay? Why did he have to bring a boyfriend? Didn't he have any other people to ask?

"Princey? You still with me?"

"Mmhmm."

"So is it a yes?"

Sadly, Roman was indeed free December 1st and his mother would greatly appreciate him getting out of her hair for a few hours. His mum was crazy busy, being a nurse and helping to deliver babies at the local hospital, which Roman found rather ironic since he was an accidental teenage pregnancy.

"What do I get out of it?"

Roman heard Virgil sigh exasperatedly.

"You're shit at maths, correct?"

Roman frowned.

"I'm not that bad..."

"Princey don't kid yourself. If you go to this stupid dinner, I tutor you all term for free."

Roman was intrigued. He was indeed truly terrible at maths, and Virgil was a maths scholar. This could work out in his favour. All he had to do was act like Virgil's boyfriend for a few hours, shouldn't be to difficult, him being an aspiring actor and all.

"I'm in."

"Great. Thanks, Princey,"

"No problem, my ChEmIcALlY ImBaLaNcEd RroOooMAnCe!"

Roman smirked as Virgil sighed heavily at his pun before hanging up. A "date" with Virgil. What could possibly go wrong.

"Roooooman! Diiiineeerrr!" His mother yelled up from the kitchen.

"IM COOOOOMING!" Roman screeched back. He snapped closed his textbooks and shoved them into his backpack, along with his script, which his was going to go through with Patton and Logan tomorrow. He leapt down the stairs, his stomach growling despite the fact he had a snack only a few hours earlier. The joys of being a teenager.

The entire afternoon Roman's thoughts had consistently returned to the mystery of his father over and over again. He had never known his dad; apparently he had come out as gay just as Roman's mother had given birth to Roman. They had broken up on good terms, she said. But leaving your girlfriend alone with a child to raise by herself while she was doing her GCSEs doesn't sound like good terms to Roman. This was all Roman knew about his father; every time he had asked for more information as a child he had been shot down and told to wait when he was older. Was he old enough now?

"Hey mum?" Roman said as he sat down at the table.

"Yes honey?"

"Can you tell me more about dad?"

As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. He watched his mum drop her fork, her expression turn melancholy. WHY DID HE SAY ANYTHING?!

"You're just like him, you know." She said softly, her eyes glistening. Roman blinked a few times, surprised, but didn't say anything.
"You have Charlie's hair, and his eyes, and his love for theatre."

Charlie?

Charlie.

His father's name was Charlie.

"He likes theatre?" Roman asked, his voice shaking, careful not to say anything wrong.

"Oh yes. Greatest actor I've ever known. He could become any character in an instant, and he was so, so believable. He was so believable that he had me thinking that he loved me.

"Maybe he did love me. Maybe he could've loved you. But he dropped out of school and moved to Wales the day after you were born. Always loved to run away from his problems, your father,"

Roman felt his stomach tighten. He was so confused, he didn't know if he should be angry, or crying, or disappointed, or happy... but he did feel guilty. He felt very, very guilty. Because he was gay as well wasn't he? Did his mum hate him for that? The very cause of his father leaving her was that.

"Do you hate me? For being gay?" Roman choked out, tears leaking down his face. His mum burst into tears and pulled him out of his chair into her arms.
"I could never, ever hate you. Never ever ever. Do you hear me? I love you forever and unconditionally. Even at times it may not seem like it, but I do. Being gay isn't your fault, okay?"

Somehow, Roman cried harder, which in turn caused his mum to cry harder. Mother and son cried together, their dinner left untouched.