No Never Yes||Prinxiety||

Familiar Faces Come Home- Roman

"You might not think it's worth it, you might begin to doubt. But you can't take any shortcuts, you gotta stick it out."

If you had asked me what my classes had been like, I couldn't answer. My mind was completely filled with thoughts of that trifling assailant of my emotions. One second he was about ready to kill me, the next moment we were in each other's arms like nothing had happened. It was bizarre... but I wasn't necessarily complaining. He kept me grounded and often gave me that jerk back to reality. I wasn't sure exactly what our relationship status was, but that was okay. I knew he liked me too, and that was enough for now.

The drive back home was a little quiet with Logan still slightly miffed at me and Patton babbling to fill the dead air. I had almost run out of the car as soon as we stopped by my house, not wanting to be around that for much longer. I swung the door open and dropped my bag and the door. I looked up and my breath caught.

"Hey there, kid!" My dad stood up and wrapped an arm around me. I was shocked for a moment before returning the hug. "Business trip finished early, so I'm back."

"I'm glad," I tried to make it sound like I really was. My father meant well, but he was always griping about something, and his stance on LGBT+ really messed me up as a kid. Internalized homophobia was something that would continually bother me until I met my two closest friends. "I missed seeing you around."

"Ah, Roman, you're home!" My mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel. "Your father and I were talking about your musical." Oh no. OH NO.

"And we both feel," he moved back and stood by my mother with a smile. "That it's important we meet this boy."

My heart stopped. My parents. Meeting VIRGIL?! Oh no, this could not be happening to me. He was exactly the sort of person my father complained about. Layabouts, he always said. Never do anything but sell drugs and get tattoos. As far as I knew, Virgil did not have tattoos, but the piercings and dyed hair were not going to endear him to them.

"May I ask why?" My voice was quiet as I internalized my freakout.

"Well, considering the contents of this musical," my mother spoke as if it was something to be ashamed of. "We just want to make sure this boy is... good."

You mean not gay? Well, I have some bad news. We're both gay. FOR EACH OTHER, I screamed in my head, but aloud I said. "Okay. Well, I'll call him and let him know. When did you want-"

"I thought he should come over for dinner tomorrow, after your rehearsal. Do you think he'll be okay with that?" my father smiled as if this was no big deal. Not like I just kissed him and we were going to take things slow. And now he had to meet my parents. Not a big deal at all.

"Yeah, that's fine. Let me go call him." I took a few backward steps towards the stairs and ran upstairs, almost slamming my door behind me. I fumbled with my phone, went through the drama club group chat and found Virgil's number. I took a few deep breaths and then pressed the "call" button.

"Princey?" Virgil picked up almost immediately. "What's up?"

"Hey there," I tried to act like I wasn't panicking, so he wouldn't panic. "I have some... not-so-great news..."

"...oh." His voice was suddenly quiet. Then he cleared his throat. "Yeah, what happened?"

"My parents... want to meet you," I stammered out. "But like, don't even feel pressured! It's not like a thing! They know we're doing the musical and they want to meet and make sure you're like not a weirdo and/or gay, which you are. Gay, not weird! God, I'm saying all of this wrong!" The words tumbled out of my mouth and I heard a very quiet sigh and almost... a chuckle?

"That's fine, Roman. I'm pretty good with parents. When did they want to meet?" His voice was calm and collected, which made me mad. Why did he get to be fine with this?

"Tomorrow after rehearsal. For dinner." I rubbed the back of my neck, silently praying he wouldn't be available.

"Tomorrow's fine. And don't be panicking over there, Roman," His voice was gentle and teasing, which set every hair on my body on edge. "I won't shame you."

"What makes you think I was worried about that?" I tried to sound confident, but I sighed when I heard him genuinely laugh.

"I know you better than that, Princey. Give me some credit."

"Yeah, yeah. But that's it."

"Good, you scared me." My heart jumped. "I thought you were calling to tell me you made a mistake before we even went on a date."

"Did you want to go on a date?" I teased him just a little.

"Let's see if I get the approval of your parents and then we'll discuss further. See you tomorrow. Try not to fall apart without me." Virgil hung up and I stared at my phone for a minute.

This was really happening. Mr. and Mrs. Princeton, two very homophobic conservatives, were about to meet Virgil Sanders, a dark gay emo that had piercings. Oh yeah, this was going to be great. I texted Patton and Logan to fill them in on the situation. Patton shot back a quick, It'll be fine, kiddo. No stressing! while Logan, ever logical, decided on, Well, there are only a certain amount of outcomes and Virgil is not foolish enough to put himself in that situation willingly. And I knew they were right. But that didn't make me feel even a little bit better.

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Sorry, it's a little short today. And also sorry this didn't come out yesterday. I had to go to my sister's homecoming party (we go to different schools) and I didn't know anyone. And my old friend, social anxiety, showed up! So two panic attacks and a brief moment of me actually crying later, I got my parents to take me home. And they got mad at me. For being weak. So I really wasn't in the right place to be writing. But I'm feeling a little better today and I can release this! I'm still on schedule, no worries. Take it easy guys gals and non-binary pals. Peace out!