Hey everyone, ya boy is back!
Wow what is this, 2017 Wattpad?
Damn that was cringe-worthy...
Moving swiftly onward-
Sorry it's taken me so long to get this new chapter up, but I do have plenty of other stories that I'm also writing, not to mention all the online schoolwork I've got.
Anyway, getting back on track.
Thank you all for waiting so long for this update, and I hope to get the next chapter up a lot sooner, but my depression isn't going easy in quarantine, so I am, quite often, having days and nights where I really just don't want to write anything. However, I am going to try to update all my stories sooner and publish them earlier so that I update stories a lot faster. But I can't promise anything just yet.
Now, onto the story.
Same warnings as the previous chapter, so maybe go back and reread those if you've forgotten.
Now, on we go!
The lunch period arrives after what feels like an eternity to Virgil, though it has only been an hour.
Still, it was an hour of being alone in a classroom, surrounded by complete strangers eyeing him up from all angles, his anxiety going haywire and being forced into answering most of the questions asked by the professor.
He leaves the history classroom behind as soon as his class is dismissed and finds Remy leaning against the wall to his right, his body fitting neatly between the two doors on this particular wall. A single brown eye opens and fixes Virgil with an unreadable gaze before a smile breaks between Remy's lips and he gestures for the new boy to follow him. Virgil sighs beneath his breath and silently steps down the corridor behind Remy.
"So how was your class?" The other boy asks over his shoulder as the two make their way out of the school building and onto the field, Remy leading Virgil to where the others in their group will supposedly be waiting for them.
"Eh, pretty shit but I guess that's history for you..." the new boy replies, and his new friend - if that's really what these boys are to Virgil already - hums in agreement as a higher-pitched voice calls out from behind them.
"Virgil, language!" Patton gasps loudly, and both Remy and Virgil flinch as they spin around to face the boy in the blue polo shirt, whose arms are crossed over his chest.
"Sorry Patton." Virgil ducks his head as he replies, his eyes landing on a small bug with multiple legs weaving its way between two blades of grass.
"It's okay kiddo, just try not to use that kind of language in school. You could get in trouble." Patton's arms fall back to his sides and a smile graces his face as his eyes light up again and he waves his hand, motioning for the three to move forward again.
After another minute or two of walking, Patton stops in the shade of a line of trees at the end of the field, looking around in confusion.
"That's odd... normally Roman's here by now." He mumbles, seemingly to himself, and even Remy seems concerned by this news.
"Maybe... maybe he just got held up by his professor or something? None of us are in his class so we don't know what could have happened." He tries to reason with Patton, who bites his lip slightly before shaking his head worriedly.
"Exactly, we're not in his class so we don't know what could have happened!"
"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that-"
"Wait, isn't that Logan?" Virgil cuts in, watching anxiously as, sure enough, the boy in the tie approaches them from afar. Patton drops his backpack onto the grass before running towards Logan, who quickly stops walking and holds his hands up in what seems like a nervous attempt to get Patton to calm down. Patton just manages to stop before he slams into Logan, and the boy in the tie visibly eases up until Patton explains Roman's absence. The two then make their way back towards their friends, Logan's strides much longer and faster. When he and Patton reach the spot that Remy and Virgil wait in, Logan places his bag on the grass and opens his mouth to speak before another voice breaks the silence and Emile barrels towards the group.
"I saw Roman in the corridor and tried to get here before anyone got nervous, but I can see that I didn't quite succeed... anyway he told me to tell y'all that he is coming but he's gonna be a bit later than usual." Emile pants, bent over and taking deep breaths to try to stabilise himself again. Patton audibly sighs and visibly relaxes, letting himself fall onto the grass and get moderately comfortable. He then pats the ground beside him and the others drop their bags if they haven't already and sit in more or less a circle, their bags in a cluster in the middle as they sit around them.
Only when Roman doesn't show up half an hour later do the group start to get a bit nervous. Patton shifts uneasily for a few minutes before getting up and wandering around the field, his head held high and eyes scanning the area intently. Virgil starts tapping his fingers against the grass while resisting the urge to gnaw on his fingernails. Emile leaps onto his feet and makes his way towards Patton, joining him in the visual search. After five minutes the two make their way back to the group and reluctantly sit back down.
"He always meets us for lunch on Mondays, he tells his jock friends that he has some club or another and sits with us." Patton explains anxiously to Virgil, who slowly nods and lets his eyes conduct their own small search for the boy in red and white.
Eventually, Roman emerges from the main school building and makes his way towards the group. Patton and Emile immediately launch onto their feet and run towards him, while Virgil lets his body relax again. His shoulders slump and he realises just how tense he had gotten because of the disappearance of a mere acquaintance. Shocked at how easily he's become attached to the people around him, Virgil shuffles to his left a bit to make room for Roman to sit down. He smiles and throws his bag down near the pile and plonks his body into the gap between Virgil and Emile. The latter seems relieved that the whole group is now together, but the former feels like something is... off. He just can't identify what it is.
Thankfully for Virgil, the rest of the day passes surprisingly quick, and he's walking out of his final lesson before he knows it. He had agreed to meet the others at the front gate of the school, so he now makes his way down the path, the large, black, metal gates not too far away. Patton spots him first, a wide, beaming smile emerging from his lips as the boy in the black and purple hoodie approaches. Logan looks up from something and nods with a straight face, though Virgil can see the relieved look in his dark brown eyes.
"Heya Virge!" Patton chirps as Virgil takes the final step towards the two boys, one eyebrow rising.
"Verge?" He asks, shock and confusion rippling through his body. It's only my first day and I already have a nickname?
"Y-yeah!" Patton's smile slowly drops. "Do you... do you not like it? I can stop saying it if you don't like it!" Virgil quickly shakes his head before explaining.
"Oh no, I just wasn't expecting a nickname that isn't cruel. I mean, it's only my first day after all."
Patton's face drops further. "Why would anyone give you a mean nickname?"
"Well I mean I wasn't exactly liked in my last school." Virgil holds his right arm in his left hand, his gaze falling to the pavement beneath his feet, his words becoming little more than a mumble. Patton's eyebrows rise and he starts to stutter an apology, which Virgil waves off, claiming that it's fine and not his fault. Even so, the boy looks a tad miserable.
Remy and Emile soon join the trio, talking among themselves.
"No you don't understand, coffee is literally the best fucking thing since... I don't know... just general caffeine?" Remy shrugs as he trails off and Emile chuckles quietly as he shakes his head jokingly.
"Coffee is pretty damn good." Virgil nods slowly, and Remy shoots finger guns his way.
"You get it!" Virgil returns the finger guns before smiling slightly.
"Nah, I'm more of a tea guy myself." Roman's voice chimes in, and the group turn to face him.
"Oh hey, you're gonna walk with us today?" Patton's voice is hopeful, eyes wide, and Roman smiles as he nods.
"The other guys have a sports club after school today and I'm not interested in whatever one it is, so I have today off pretty much." Roman replies, his eyes wandering to Virgil. He shoots a smile to the new boy, who returns one weakly. Remy clears his throat, drawing all pairs of eyes towards him.
"I mean not to burst your lil' bubbles or anything, but are we gonna go or not?" Many of the group nod and a few mumble replies, their words becoming entangled, before they start to step away from the gates as a large team.
As fate would have it, the boys all live along the same street, with Roman furthest down, Virgil just past him on the opposite side of the street and Patton nearer the middle on the same side as Virgil, with Remy and Emile opposite as next door neighbours. Logan lives on the same side as Remy and Emile but much closer to the end of the street. The group slowly disperse, with Logan bidding them farewell first, of course. Patton stays behind for a bit, talking to the boy in the tie before he heads in. The boy with the cardigan then runs to join the group again, panting quietly as he catches up. Remy and Emile break off next, saying their goodbyes before walking into the former's house together. Patton offers to walk with Virgil and Roman until they reach the new boy's house, but after some discussion he also leaves the two, heading into his own home and waving from the front door. Roman and Virgil continue on in silence until the taller boy starts a conversation.
"So how was your first day?" He asks, snapping Virgil out of his thoughts.
"It was okay I guess. You gave us all quite a scare when you didn't turn up for lunch on time though." The emo jokes, nudging Roman in the side. He laughs it off, narrowing his eyes playfully.
"Yeah well, I didn't know you would care. It was your first day after all." Virgil forces a chuckle, his pale foundation hiding the burning blush that coats his cheeks seemingly for no reason.
"Ha ha." He replies sarcastically, causing Roman to smile smugly.
Virgil's bubble pops as he recognises his new house. "Well, this is my stop. Thanks for... I don't know, tolerating me for a while." Roman snickers, shaking his head slightly and facing the ground.
"Well why wouldn't I? You're a pretty cool guy, not gonna lie." Roman replies, and Virgil fails miserably to hold back a smile.
"Thanks."
A few moments pass in silence before Virgil waves and turns to enter his house. He holds his key in his hand and is about to slot it into the lock when a choked shout behind him gets his attention.
"Can I have your number?"
Virgil's cheeks burn brighter, the foundation fighting to hide the blaring red that covers the emo's skin. He smiles, turning his head slightly towards his right hand side. "Sure." He spins on his heel and holds his hand out for Roman's phone, which the taller boy hands over, unlocked, almost immediately. The darkly dressed boy grins again as he enters his number into the mobile, naming his contact and passing the phone back.
"See you tomorrow." The emo says before unlocking his front door and slipping inside the house, leaving Roman to stare blindly for a few seconds until he turns sharply and leaves, his face glowing pink in the sunlight.
Okay yeah I know this chapter is probably kinda shitty compared to the previous one, but I'm just trying to get back into writing again. It's been a while and I'm kinda facing writer's block at the moment, but I am fighting to get past it. For now though, this is what we have.
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter at least a bit and hopefully I'll see you all again soon.
For now, this is PanicAtTheHere, signing off for however long it's gonna be until I have to post the next chapter.
See ya!
Panic1AtTheHere