You can't escape the lies

Chapter 1~ What'd they miss?

Part I

Virgil walked alongside Janus, heart shuddering in his chest. They were in DC for a group trip, them being his roommates; Thomas Sanders, Logan Webster, Patton Keebler, Remus and Roman Romulus, Remy Starr, Emile Picani, Virgil's boyfriend Janus Menteur, and then him, Virgil Brenton. They had just finished dinner and Janus had slapped a few 20s down, told the others they'd meet back at the hotel, and with an encouraging look from Patton, snatched up virgil's hand and swept him from the restaurant. Now, they were walking along the harbour, and with the way Janus was stiffened, Virgil's already heightened anxiety was getting to an all time high. He tried to convince himself that his dreams were coming true, but his anxiety said a proposal was not possible, even with the 3-year relationship that had been going steady.

"Virgil," Janus said, as virgil turned away so he wouldn't see his love's face.

Virgil shot up, face covered in a slight sheen of sweat. He looked to his left and saw the empty spot next to him. His purple sheets were tangled around his legs and he sighed, lifting the grey comforter from its place on the floor as he untangled himself. He made his bed and looked over at his alarm clock. It was 9:00 and he panicked (like always) for a moment before he remembered that it was sunday and he didn't work on Sundays until 12:00. He walked to his closet and pulled down a purple P!ATD tee and then grabbed some jeans from his dresser. He stepped into his bathroom and looked at the Amazon Echo Dot mounted by the outlet.

"Hey, Alexa," He opened the shower and started the water, "shuffle my shower playlist,"

"Shuffling; 'Shower Playlist' from Spotify," the robotic voice replied and he smiled to himself as Brendon Urie's voice blasted through the speaker.

____[~.~.~]____

Virgil tied his hair back and made a mental note to get it cut the next day as he stepped into the kitchen. He washed his hands and tied his apron about his waist and started making some more cookies for him to take to work with him. The purple haired male worked at a bookshop, Books and Baubles, and he made sure to put cookies out on the cash register desk every day. He lived in a small town called Everly, just on the border of Washington and Idaho, where everyone knew everyone. Sometimes, he missed the constant heat of Florida, but the escape from his mistakes and the people he had known and -still- loved was a pleasant upside. He rolled the sugar cookie dough and laid it out on a pan, before putting it in the fridge. He picked up the dishes, and loaded the dishwasher while humming to himself. It was mid-spring, and he had the windows open to enjoy the weather and the smell that the woods brought into his home. He sang to himself as he started sweeping up the flour.

"Again you're gone, off on a different path than mine..." he belted out the lyrics to a song from his favourite movie, smiling. He emptied the dustpan and then wiped down the counters. He heard a knock at the door and looked over at his fridge. He had nothing planned for today, though he had ordered a new ribbon for a typewriter he was restoring. The mailperson, and his personal favourite Nonbinary was probably at the door. He walked over and opened the door, smiling a closed-eye smile, "Hey Glenn," he opened his eyes and his heart caught a snag in his chest.

"Virgil," Janus breathed out and virgil slammed the door. He caught his breath, remembering the breathing exercises his therapist, Mika, had taught him. He opened it again, face pale and looked into the mismatched eyes of his old love. He looked over to see Logan, Remy, and Remus standing behind him. Remy lowered his sunglasses and looked Virgil dead in his dual coloured eyes.

"Well hello there, Virgil," Logan said, pulling out his phone. He began texting and Virgil's heart started to race as he realised what that meant.

"Hey Bitch!" Remy said, smirking.

"H-hey" Virgil finally stammered out, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to see you, obviously," Logan said, replacing his phone and shrugging, Janus shot him an agitated look. Remus's smile finally got so big Virgil thought his face was gonna break and he shot past Janus and hugged the purple haired man.

"My favourite purp man! This is where you've been? I knew you'd love a tiny place like this!" he paused and looked at Virgil's large house, "Well large place, but still! Have you hidden any bodies here?" He let Virgil go and darted around, investigating the largely wooded area, "Have you found any bodies?"

"What? No, what the fuck?" Virgil said, pressing his lips together, "No, I mean, Would you guys like to come in-?" A car screeched to a halt in his gravel driveway and it had barely stopped before the passenger door flung open and Patton came flying out, crying.

"VIRGIL! MY DARK STRANGE SON!" He flung himself at the tall male and Virgil stumbled backwards before catching himself on the door.

"Hey Patton," He muttered into the dirty blonde hair of the closest thing he'd ever had to a father figure. He looked up to see the rest of his old friends piling out of Patton's old red van. Emile walked up and smiled at virgil, before wrapping his arms around Remy. Virgil smiled a little, realizing the one couple he'd always wanted to see was a thing. Thomas and roman approached and the former waved enthusiastically. Roman looked like he was gonna cry.

"Hey, umm..." Virgil tried to find a nice way to tell Patton to let go of him. Logan reached over and lifted Patton by the armpits, sending a small smile of apology to Virgil. Patton made a pouty face at Virgil as he was lifted away by his husband.

"It's been a very long time, Virgil," Janus finally spoke.

"You are a very hard man to find when you want," Roman said.

"Yeah!" Patton said from beside Logan, "You know how long we've been looking, Kiddo?" Virgil looked at the hash marks tattooed on his left wrist

"Three and a half years, dad," Virgil said.

"No! Three and a- wait, yes." Logan stopped and looked at him

"Believe it or not, I've been keeping count," Virgil turned, leaving the door open behind him, "Come in, I guess," He sighed darkly, trying to shut out his anxious thoughts.