pov Thomas
I heard a crash and I ran out of my room, wand in hand. I had just been doing some Harry Potter cosplay. I was wearing my Hufflepuff (meh fellow Hufflepuff!!!) robe and had my fake glasses on. Quickly rushing down the stairs, I turned the corner and saw that a stranger dressed up as a prince had fallen in our doorway. Oh wait is that… it was real.

Yesterday

I was walking back to the apartment from the college I was about to attend. Today was the last day of having the apartment all to myself, and I was glad. While the idea of having everyone gone was appealing in the beginning, it soon proved to be incredibly lonely. I wish I could have gone on the trip with my roommates, but the classes I was going to take next year required me to go to meetings to prepare for the school year to come. Even though summer had just started, I feel as though the easy part was over. Which, by default, means the hardest part is yet to come.

I made it up to my apartment and threw my backpack on a nearby chair. I made my way to the fridge, picked up a HelloFresh meal, and sat down at the table. I scrolled through social media as I ate my lunch. 

I was just going through my Instagram when I got a notification. And then another. And another. On Instagram, on Twitter, on Facebook. Something big must be going on.

I opened up the first notification I had received and a picture of the prince statue in Rome was showing. I remember Virgil talking about how excited he was to see it and I made him promise to draw it to show me because, "a photo can never do a statue like that justice." I mostly told him this so he didn't feel bad about leaving me home alone. I was drawn out of my thoughts when I saw something I recognized in the next picture. The prince was gone. There were two people on the ground. One was on top of the other. 

Wait… is that… Virgil's jacket?! I paused and tried to look closer at the two characters. That was definitely Virgil's jacket. He was so proud of it when he finished it he wouldn't stop wearing it for the first week… actually, I have rarely seen him not wearing it. Virgil was under a stranger in a crisp white uniform with a golden trim. He had a bright red sash draped across his shoulder to his hip.

The next picture had Virgil looking at the stranger with wide eyes, he looked mortified. The stranger was kissing him. It looked as though the stranger had looked up and immediately went in for a kiss, which explained Virgil's reaction. What happened to consent?! If I ever find this stranger, I am going to smack him… with my… umm… with Logan's book! I looked at the stranger more. He looked like… no he couldn't be… could he? Is that the statue? I remember Virgil mentioning something about a legend curse thingy… what was it? I rubbed my eyes, trying to remember what he told me last week. It was something about becoming human. Ugh I can't remember! So they must have solved a puzzle of some sort to make the prince a human. And he… kissed the person who saved him? Weird way to express appreciation. I rolled my eyes. I'm still going to smack him.

I scrolled to the next picture and that had Logan, Patton, Virgil, and the prince all standing, talking to each other. These guys have a lot of explaining to do. Logan's eyes were filled with wonder as he stared at the dashing man. I have to admit, he was very handsome and graceful looking from all the photos, even the one where it looked like he had just fallen. Who the heck is this guy? 

There were so many pictures of my roommates and this stranger. Finally I scrolled to a post with words. 'The prince statue of Rome has finally awoken! An American woke him and fulfilled the legend that has been surrounding the prince for centuries. No one knows who this prince's mysterious savior is.' I do! I thought with an eye roll. What's the legend? They don't explain any more details on the matter.

I scrolled to the next thing… it was more or less the same as the first one. But this one explained the legend a bit more. 'The Prince finally found his soulmate!!!' Soulmate?! What the heck?! I tried to find out more about the legend, but I couldn't find anything. 

I turned off my phone and sighed in defeat. A thought prickled to my mind. Doesn't Virgil have a boyfriend? They started dating a few years ago. I wonder what he's going through. Has he even heard the news yet? I mean, I know Virgil doesn't like talking about him much, but he came over to dinner once when Patton invited him. He was really nice and has this awesome birthmark on his face. There was this one time where Virgil came home sobbing and having a panic attack because he thought he wasn't good enough for him. Patton texted this guy and he came over immediately and he calmed him down. They were cuddling on the couch, with Virgil asleep on his lap and he was running his fingers through Virgil's hair with one hand and rubbing circles on Virgil's back with the other. When Patton had asked him if we wanted to stay for dinner, he replied that it sounded like a wonderful idea. I hope he isn't going through something. I remember how lovingly he woke Virgil up with small kisses on his forehead and the top of his head. Virgil's face had a look of pure joy on it for the rest of the evening, and we all ended up having a great time, but most importantly, they had a great time. They love each other so much. What will happen now? Will they break up? How much damage will that do to Virgil? Now he has to choose between the love of his life, and his soulmate… if that is what's actually going on. Why is this all so confusing?

I finished up my lunch and started doing the dishes. At least chores are easier with only one person around. I roll my eyes at the thought. This is all too confusing. I need to call someone to hang out with and either distract me, or talk about it with me. I decided to call Joan. The phone rang a bit, but they didn't pick up. Oh that's right! I scolded myself, Joan told me they had a dentist appointment today and couldn't talk in the afternoon. I went to the next person to come up. Talyn. I called them and they answered the phone.

"Hey Thomas!"

"Hi Talyn! I'm wondering if you could come over and we could hang out."

"Sure, I'll be over in ten!"

"Sounds great," We ended the call and I tried to pick up what little mess there was around the apartment. Sometime during the week, it had gotten to the point where I was so bored that I started cleaning daily. Yeah. I was that desperate. After I finished with that, I sat down on the couch, resisting the urge I had to fidget. Taking out my phone, I started playing random games.

I jumped up when I heard a knock on the door. I ran over and opened the door.

"TALYN!!!"

"THOMAS!!!" We hugged and laughed. They wore a black crop top and some ripped jeans. We walked over to the couch. "So… where are your roommates?"

"They went on that trip to Rome. Actually, that's kind of what I want to talk to you about." They looked nervous at this. 

"Why me?" Talyn questioned. They looked guilty of… something.

"Because I need to talk to someone about it and you were willing to hang out." I laughed, but I saw them shift uncomfortably and place a fake smile on their lips. "We don't have to if you don't want to." I quickly added, not wanting to make them uncomfortable.

"No, no it's fine. So what about Rome?" They asked, trying to hide their fidgets. 

I opened up my phone, "You're not going to believe this," I showed them the pictures of the prince with my roommates. I saw their eyes grow wide as they mouthed a word; Roman, I think it was, but I wasn't sure. "What was that?" I asked, trying to understand why they would act this way.

Talyn looked up from my phone and quickly replied, "Nothing!" Ummm ok? That's weird. I know there's something off. Before I could ask they quickly spoke up, "So the legend is true. Crazy." I saw them eyeing the door and was confused. Did they think I would attack them?

"What legend?" I asked them. Did they know about the legend? They took a deep breath before answering.

"Well, long ago there was this prince. He wanted to find love so bad, but he couldn't fall in love with any woman and he became distraught. He just wasn't attracted to them. It was inappropriate at that time to express these feelings, so he had been suppressing them for years. Eventually, he reached the age where he had to marry. He turned toward his good friend. A sorceress. He asked her to help him and she did. She told him about a soulmate spell. They went on a quest to find all they needed for the spell. Once she had it all, she instructed the prince to stand in a regal position with one hand outstretched. He did so; she waved her staff and recited the spell. He turned to solid gold, but this gold held a soul in it, so it could never be destroyed, ruined, or harmed. She loved her friend dearly and was sad to see him be turned to stone. She told the story of the prince to as many people as she could. She wanted to pass around the legend so he could find his soulmate and she could see him again. The… the friend of the prince… she ended up being killed…" 

"What?! How?!" I exclaimed.

"The prince's father. He went crazy after finding out his son had been 'cursed'. He guessed that the sorceress who was spreading around the legend had cursed his son. He convinced everyone else that she had done that and they burned her at the steak." My mouth was ajar.

"She never got to see her friend again." Talyn finished. They were crying now, and I tried to move closer to comfort my friend. They laid their head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I should have seen how uncomfortable this made you." They looked up at me.

"You don't need to be sorry. I shouldn't be reacting like this." They sighed, "I'm just glad Ro- uh I mean, the prince in free again." Ro? What did they mean by that? I would ask, but I don't think Talyn can handle it in the mental state they are in. "I just realized, I never told you the legend part of the story." They let a little half-hearted laugh at this and began in a trance like state. "The prince shall be forever cursed to remain as stone, no matter through any axe or bow. Whoever shall save the lad, shall be his soulmate as they touch his hand. He will be saved and free at last, from the prison and heart of glass. He shall never age a day, until his soulmate, by whom he is saved." Talyn recited. Their voice was layered over, almost like an echo. When they finished, they cleared their throat. "That's the prince's legend." Talyn's voice had gone back to normal.

"What was that?!"

They looked nervous, "What was what?" They replied. Again glancing at the door, eyes wide in horror. It scared me how they were reacting. I decided to drop it, or at least, pretend nothing was happening. They were clearly uncomfortable and it could honestly be none of my business.

"Never mind. How has your week been?" I asked, changing the subject. I saw Talyn let their shoulders relax and the tension disappear from their face. We ended up talking for the rest of the day. It got so late that we ended up ordering pizza. It was a blast and I almost forgot about what happened. Almost.

Eventually, we both started yawning and couldn't stop. In between laughs and yawns, we said our goodbyes and Talyn went home. I went up to my bed. 

Knowing that my roommates will be back tomorrow, I prepared a mental What the HECK list. My first question being, WHAT THE HECK?! So… that will be an interesting piece of information. A part of me wants to simply believe that it was a big hoax and a joke. I went to bed that night thinking of Talyn. I hope they're ok.

~back to the now brought to you by Auntie Edna~

"Umm… hi?" The stranger said from the floor. He rolled over so his back was on the ground instead of his belly, looked up at me, and gasped. "You're a sorcerer!" He scrambled to his feet as I looked back at the others, confused. So it wasn't a dream? And why was he calling me a… Oh! Right! I was cosplaying! I put down my wand and took off my robes. Next I removed the fake glasses. The prince looked at me with a confused expression. "What are you doing?" I quickly pile up my stuff.

"I was cosplaying. Uh guys," I looked at the others, "care to explain to me what the heck is going on?" Logan nodded.

"Certainly. But, you may want to sit down first."

2341 Words

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