Roman sighed and folded the list of things that Virgil liked. He was smiley because it felt good to be back. He didn't have to keep his facade up, Micheal had understood why Roman didn't do more when he saw him but it really made Roman think.

Was this what everyone was saying when they said the school drew them in? Or was it something else? Or was it someone? Roman looked up at Virgil's door. Roses, then. He was never great at drawing or any art other than writing, but he knew someone who was.

He called his brother. "Hey. I know it's last minute, and I will be willing to pay full price for it." Roman said.

"Dude, I'll do it for free. What do you need?" Remus asked.

"If I send you a few things, could you draw up a few sketches and then send them to me? I want to do something like you did on my bag for Virge." Roman said.

"Ooh, Christmas present?" Remus asked.

"I don't think he celebrates Christmas but his birthday is in December." Roman said as he pushed through the people to get to his room.

"I could do that, just send me what you want me to do and I can figure the rest out." Remus said.

"Thanks, you are a lifesaver."

"I know, now can I go?"

"Yeah, be safe. And let me know if that kid acts up." Roman said and Remus said he would take care of it. Roman got to his room and sighed. Micheal was sitting on his bed reading a book.

"Something wrong?" He asked not looking up.

"How do you ignore emotions?" Roman asked. Micheal chuckled and shook his head.

"Is this about Virgil?" Roman looked up at his roommate. Micheal shrugged. "I am just saying, you have a crush on him, why not act on it?"

"Because I am going back home and not coming back after summer." Roman responded.

"You still believe that?" Micheal said.

"What?" Roman asked.

"You don't think anyone noticed how uncomfortable you were when you saw me? Roman you have changed, and let me ask you this, do you like the new persona?"

"Huh?"

"The Roman that walks these halls? Do you like him more than the Roman who walks the streets with friends?" Micheal asked.

"I-I don't know, I guess I have been trying to be a friend the Virgil needs. Don't get me wrong, Logan and Patton are great, I guess Janus is as well. But they are all too protective and treat him like he's a child. He's not, I won't do anything that makes him uncomfortable but if I make him upset I am going to try and make up for it. But I like that, but can I just abandon my friends there? Can I abandon Remus?" Roman said.

"But you aren't, you are still his brother. As for your friends, they are so wrapped around your finger they will jump when you say jump. They will change if you model it, Remus will support you and if they don't they can fuck off."

Roman shrugged. "I don't know what is true anymore."

"Then make your own story. Just rethink your actions at your old school and think about now. Just think of Virgil, how do you think he'll take this? How do you think he would react if someone he really likes is gone, the one person who doesn't treat him as a child, but if you want to leave and you do what is stopping you from coming back because of another stupid thing you allow Remus to do?" Micheal pointed out. Roman wanted to be mad because he was right. What was stopping him?

"I am going to start small, his birthday is coming up so I asked Remus to help. The show is coming up the week before we leave, so Remus has until then to do it." Roman said.

"You are getting him a birthday gift?" Micheal said. "Does he know that you know it?"

"Not yet. But I am going to ask him while I dye his hair today."

"You are helping him dye his hair?" Micheal asked. Roman nodded. "He's got you whipped dude, just ask him out."

"Can we not repeat this conversation?" Roman asked.

"Can you stop sitting in denial?" Micheal countered. Roman got up and looked right at his roommate.

"I am not in denial! I know I like him, he probably likes me but he hasn't responded to any of my flirting. The most he's done was randomly hold my hand and that was a comforting gesture." Roman almost yelled.

"He held your hand?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't see that as a I like you thing?"

"No. I don't know what he's like! Sure I hugged him and people almost had a heart attack but he didn't freak out." Roman said.

"OH MY GOD! Roman, how dense can you fucking be?" Micheal said. "You are so oblivious and set on not coming back and hurting Virgil, that you are ignoring the fact Virgil likes you back. The kid barely lets people in, the fact he has made three friends in three years is shocking to many people. Virgil hates physical contact, but from you, he doesn't care. Think of the fucking signs and go get your boy!"

Roman sat there. Micheal was nice but he could give a reality check if he needed to and it was scary. Roman's phone went off and the roommates looked at it. Micheal sighed.

"Listen, if next year you come back and you want to be roommates with Virgil, I suggest you do it." Micheal said.

"Virgil has a single that he lives in year round, I think he likes that life." Roman responded and got his phone. Remus had sent back a few sketches. Roman didn't expect him to get back to him so soon. Roman looked at the three symbols, one called to him and he told Remus the colors he wanted and asked him to get a canvas to do it. Roman was going to do a backpack but Virgil had one that he liked and Roman wanted to give him something that he could use.

A canvas would be something that Virgil could use. He didn't want it to be too big and he told Remus to be thrifty. Remus complained a little but when Roman reminded him that he was getting paid for it, and Remus shut up.

"I am just saying, you two barely spend time apart if it's not forced. What would happen when you get together?" Micheal said.

"If." Roman said.

"I am skipping the anxiety because I am pretty sure that Virgil likes you, so I am saying when." The dinner bell sounded. Micheal and Roman looked at each other. "You might want to change into clothes that you don't care all that much about, dye can stain." Micheal said. "Unless you are willing to destroy something for him, then be my guest."

Roman rolled his eyes and went to his closet and bag to find clothes he could part with. Or get dye on. Roman chose a pair of older jeans that were a bit worn down, and a black t-shirt. He slipped on his brother's hoodie which now had Remus' cologne on it again because Remus insisted on spraying it when Roman was getting ready. Roman still didn't mind, it was Remus. It was his brother.

Micheal was getting ready to leave when Roman walked out of the bathroom. "Eating with us or your boyfriend?" Micheal asked.

"Oh my god." Roman said. "Listen, when it's just me and you fine, but we have to draw a line. No saying this shit out loud, I would rather not get punched by Janus today." Micheal nodded.

"No one wants to get punched by Janus." Micheal said.

"You have a point, but we should get going." Roman said.

"Don't want to be late for dinner with your boyfriend." Micheal said.

"We aren't dating!"

"Yet."

Roman sighed and Micheal smiled. Micheal had won that round. Mainly because the pair was now walking in public. They two got to the dining hall and Roman said goodbye to Micheal when they got to his table.Virgil was standing by the table.

"They leave you again?" Roman asked. Virgil shook his head. He was wearing the same clothes and a different hoodie. It was one Roman hadn't seen before. "How many of those do you got?" Roman asked.

Virgil shrugged. "Too many to count. Virgil is a hoodie and sweatshirt expert and collector even though he likes one in particular." Logan said.

Virgil huffed, rolled his eyes, and signed something. Logan shook his head. "But rotation Virgil. Rotation!" Patton stepped in.

"Lo, people can have favorites." Virgil nodded and thanked Patton. Virgil then walked away from the tale. "You might want to follow him, it's a thing he does when he wants to be followed but doesn't say anything." Roman nodded and ran after Virgil.

Maybe staying here for senior year wouldn't be too bad, if he had Virgil by his side.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

"This is a long process, how do you sit for that long while not moving?" Roman asked as he applied the dye on Virgil's bangs. "I know you hate sitting still, you fidget all the time." Logan answered for Virgil.

"He likes getting his hair dyed, so he will sit still for that. And if he moves while doing it, I would scold him a bit. So I figure it has to do with not wanting to be scolded or making sure it looks good." Logan said.

We should dye Roman's hair. Virgil signed when Roman went to get more dye on the brush.

"If you can convince him, be my guest. You are good at doing it on others, Virgil." Logan said.

"What?" Roman asked.

"Virgil can dye hair like nobody's business, except he hasn't mastered doing his own yet. He's done a stripe in my hair, he's done Patton's before, and a few of the girls in our grade." Logan responded.

Virgil looked to Logan to ask him if he could sign. Logan nodded. Patton's was easy, it was just bleaching. Yours was hard because we had to bleach then dye. Roman's is light enough we can dye it red without much issue. Plus it goes with his style.

"I can see that." Logan said.

"At this point I am going to give up on trying to understand you when you sign." Roman mumbled as he focused on another section of Virgil's hair. Logan smiled and Patton came to check in.

"Aw, it looks so good!" Patton said. "See? I told you, you two made a good team." He told Logan and kissed him.

"I guess you are right." Logan said. Roman went to get more dye and Virgil made a gagging motion. Roman saw and laughed.

"You can say that again." Patton rolled his eyes.

"Please, we aren't that bad." He said. "If anything you two are worse."

Virgil and Roman looked over at him, shocked. "What do you mean?" Roman asked for the two of them.

"I agree, I don't follow that either." Logan said. Patton shrugged.

"I'll explain it to you later Logan. For right now, you two are so sweet to each other that it's kind of too much. And that's coming from me." Patton said. Virgil rolled his eyes, he knew what this was coming from.

Multiple times over the weekend, Patton had mentioned the fact Virgil might have a crush on him, Virgil still wasn't ready to admit that yet though. Virgil held up a 'W' to say whatever.

Virgil had already thought about what Roman would look like with dyed hair. In fact he thought about it a lot more than he would like to admit. So while Roman was fighting with Logan about coverage, Virgil tried to figure a way to convince Roman to let him dye his hair. Finally, Roman had finished and made eye contact with Virgil through the mirror. Roman had a look in his eye that Virgil didn't like. Roman was still wearing gloves so he ran his hands through Virgil's hair to mess it up.

"Roman, stop it." Patton said while laughing. Virgil scrunched his face up with a blush dusting his cheeks and swatted at Roman to stop him

"I had to, sorry. Besides he's cute when he gets all flustered." Roman laughed while stripping off the gloves and throwing them into the sink. The comment made Virgil go red, so he distracted himself by putting a cap on his hair to keep it from dripping on to the floor too much.

Virgil moved to his room with Roman walking behind him. "So, you want me to stay and wait or leave?" Roman asked. Virgil sat down on his couch and tapped the seat next to him.

"Virgil tends to watch movies while the dye sets." Logan said, sitting down on the other chair. Roman nodded and sat next to Virgil. Virgil had chosen the Nightmare Before Christmas. He enjoyed the movie and he knew it very well, so he wouldn't mind leaving in the middle of it to rinse his hair.

About halfway into the movie, Virgil's alarm went off and he got up. "Wait, do you want help?" Roman asked. Virgil shook his head. "Are you sure?"

Virgil rolled his eyes, as Patton and Logan laughed. Virgil locked the bathroom door and rinsed his hair out. Once he was done, he dried his hair and looked at it. It was good to have the dark purple back.

He turned around to pick up his towel and then in the mirror he was Roman's ancestor. Virgil jumped and then huffed, after he blinked the guy was gone. Virgil was still trying to catch his breath when he left the bathroom.

"Hey, you good?" Roman asked. Virgil nodded and jumped over the back of the couch.

"Virgil, I thought we talked about you doing that." Patton said and looked over at Virgil for a response. Virgil shrugged.

Monday came too early for everyone, but Virgil was walking out of his English class early for his regular appointment with Picani. Roman had asked him if he wanted him to bring his stuff to their last class, but Virgil refused. Something about the day made him uneasy. He didn't express this too much but Logan knew he wasn't feeling great.

Divination was a little difficult because all of the readings were super unclear. That wasn't a good sign at all. The fact the dream he had was so fuzzy near the end wasn't good either. He did remember his grandfather mentioning something about Monday, but what he couldn't find.

He really didn't focus on it as he walked through the quiet halls. He instead went through his team for the play, they would have to discuss the makeup soon. The performance was a few weeks away but they still had dress rehearsals that they need makeup for. He was doing Roman's and that was not negotiable, but how he was going to pull off a transformation that quick was the question, Virgil would probably just use a mask and simple makeup for him.

He got to the office and was told that Picani was already there, and so was his uncle. That was new. Virgil nodded and slowly made his way over to the office door and knocked. Picani yelled for him to come in. Virgil went into the room and saw his machine set up on the table and Thomas sitting on the couch. Thomas looked just as confused as Virgil did.

"As you can see, this is not going to be our normal session today. I am going to skip the exercises and ask you how this weekend was." Picani said. Virgil went through the motions of explaining the Thanksgiving they had with all of Thomas' friends and a few family members that showed up.

Thomas sat quietly as he watched Virgil go, Virgil was sure that Thomas thought Virgil was going to talk. Not yet but soon, Virgil was sure of that. He just had to get past the nervousness around adults. With Picani being so nice these last few years, it was getting there. After all the usual questions, Picani nodded and then looked uncomfortable.

The atmosphere changed. Virgil could tell it was something. "So the reason I wanted to call you both down here was to ask a question on behalf of Janus. He is going to court again soon, as you know Thomas and we were wondering if you would allow Virgil to speak to Janus' character at the hearing to reduce the amount of services the court appointed."

"Well, that would be up to Virgil. I understand that they would be gone during a school day which will be excused fully for the both of them." Thomas said. Picani nodded.

"That's what I figured, Virgil?" He asked, Virgil thought about it. He nodded. "You'll do it?" Picani said happily. Virgil nodded again. "Great, so there will be an interpreter there to translate what you say, so you don't have to talk or try to."

"Okay, is that all? I have a bit of paperwork that I have pushed back until now." Thomas said, Virgil rolled his eyes.

"Not exactly." Picani said. Virgil looked at the therapist. "I got a call from the court that granted you custody of Virgil, and it turns out that his mother has disappeared. Like nobody knows where she is, other than the law officials. They were the ones who got her out and somewhere else, but they also said that she can't have contact with Virgil." Picani said.

Virgil almost started to panic but Picani noticed before he could start. "Alright, I know hearing this will make you think that you will be taken back but that isn't going to happen." Picani said.

"The only way it's going to happen would be over my dead body, that man is a dick and I am glad my sister is out of that house." Thomas said.

"Well, there is that but there was also a document that was signed by both your mother and father. In the event of divorce or anything else that resulted in his mother being out of the picture, you would remain with your uncle until adulthood. Your father is also not allowed to have contact with you for the rest of his natural life, and there is a restraining order being processed against him for you. There is a divorce also being finalized but from what I hear. Mr. Cyrus wasn't going down without a fight or so he saw it. There was one clause in the divorce agreement that they both signed." Picani pulled a paper out that the court must have sent and read the clause. "'Neither party is allowed to have contact with their child, Virgil Cyrus, as long as he is in the custody of his uncle, Thomas Sanders.'" Picani looked up at Virgil.

Virgil didn't know what to feel. He was happy, he didn't have to see his father again unless he wanted to. But he never wanted to see that man again, there was just too much that couldn't be forgiven. The relationship was just too broken. Then there was the issue of not being able to talk to his mother who didn't do anything.

Everything that he heard was building up, he needed to leave and get out. He needed to do it now.

"Virgil, how are you doing?" Picani asked.

Virgil went to the machine and typed a message. "Can I not go back to class?"

"You are excused for the day, yes." Thomas said. Picani nodded. Virgil grabbed his bag and then practically ran to his room. He didn't want to be asked if he was okay. He just wanted to be left alone. He bumped into some one and didn't even look back.

He needed to get away from everyone.