tw ; negative thoughts, slight anxiety attack

"-and remember, my room number is b340 and you already have permission from the principal to come anytime you feel overwhelmed or if you just want to stop by. i can't guarantee i'll be free when you need me, but i can try." patton was looking directly at virgil as he spoke, his hands firmly placed on the steering wheel.

the pair had arrived at the school and were parked in the parking lot, they had a few minutes before the first school bell rung, so patton was going over everything they had talked about days prior to this.

"yeah, i know. do you know how many emails i've already received from the principal about this? what was his name- it was super weird, kinda stuck out so it's hard to forget- was it renard-?"

"hey-! don't say teachers first names! that's strike number one, mister." patton wiggled his finger teasingly at virgil. "plus his name is remus, not renard." virgil cracked a smile at that. that was the thing- patton knew how to make virgil feel comfortable around him. he didn't make things awkward like his real dad did - he was grateful.

"yeah, yeah whatever, let's just go inside already mister guidance counselor." virgil teased, earning a groan from patton.

"you could've came up with something wayyy better than that." the two got out of the light blue car, making small talk to pass time as they walked up to the school.

it was pretty big, probably around 3 stories tall, and really, really wide. virgil stared up at it in awe, this school definitely put his old one to shame. not only was his old school crappy in design, but it had shit people in general. one of the many reasons why he left.

"impressed?" patton was looking over at virgil, an assumed expression danced across his face. virgil nodded in response, keeping his arms close to his chest like some sort of protective shield. as much as he was excited to enroll in a new school (which in reality, he wasn't that excited) he couldn't shake off the growing nerves he experienced when going somewhere new. of course, those feelings were only heightened because of his anxiety disorder, but hey, he had to suck it up or patton would push him right back into the car. he saw the look of concern on the others face, even if it was the tiniest hint of it, virgil didn't want him to worry about whether or not he'd be fine alone.

"i'll be okay. who knows, maybe i'll make a friend." although virgil didn't mean what he said, patton took his word for it and didn't press on the matter. there was only so much one could do to help, and if virgil said he'd be fine, then patton would have to believe him.

"okay, well, you have your schedule so have fun in your classes, and remember-"

"yes, i know where your room is and i have your number, dad, i'm not five. i got this." virgil smiled down at the other. despite their age difference, which wasn't much, virgil stood a couple of inches taller than him. patton hummed in response, pulling virgil into a very tight hug, causing the boy's face to go red since there were a couple of people around. "okay, okay - let me go before you break my back or something."

"have fun, kiddo! i'll see you later." patton pinched virgil's cheek lightly, bringing them inside the building before splitting up. patton leaving to go to his office while virgil went to go find his first class.

it was a good thing they came a little early, the halls weren't that full, and it wasn't too loud. virgil let out a quiet sigh, his hands shaking a bit as he reached into his hoodie's pocket to look at the schedule he had memorized but wanted to check again just to make sure he knew where he was going. calm down, no one's looking at you. yes, you're by yourself but that doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen. virgil cursed quietly at himself for being so worried about someone seeing him. just find your class and sit down it shouldn't be that hard - shit, i transferred in the middle of the year what if i sit in someone's seat? not like they're assigned seats or anything - but like, unofficial assigned seats? that wouldn't be fun. fuck i don't want to mess this- "oof-" virgil snapped his head right up as he bumped into someone. now he was really panicking, not even five minutes inside his new school and he messed something up.

"i-i'm sorry i didn't mean to - i just wasn't looking where i was going and i was trying to find my classes - see i just transferred here and i'm confused because the numbers don't line up and i-"

"hey, calm down, i'm not mad." virgil looked up to make eye contact with whoever he bumped into. the other being taller than virgil, that intimidated him alone - his chestnut brown hair was perfectly set in place probably with hairspray, a few strands swept across the left side of his face, just above his dark brown eyes. something about the way the other looked down at him made him gay panic nervous. virgil cleared his throat, taking in his appearance fully. this guy contrasted virgil's dull colour choices. he was dressed head to toe in only red, gold, and white. minus the black shoes he wore. and his tan skin was like honey compared to how white virgil was - he looked straight out of a disney movie, it made virgil squint for how much he radiated light. "and it was only a small tap, no harm done! you said you were new, correct?" the guy eyed virgil, causing him to turn red. his very pale skin didn't help to hide this.

"uh, yes. why?" virgil looked down at his shoes, not wanting to keep eye contact any longer than he accidentally had.

"then allow me to guide you to your classes!" the other said assertively, taking virgil's schedule and reading over it. virgil mentally cursed at himself for letting the other take his schedule, he had wrote some mental notes down on the side - only for his eyes to see.

"oh, uhm. thanks." he said bluntly, still trying to recover from talking to a hot guy. "oh yeah, name's virgil."

"virgil? huh, unique. i like it. call me roman!" roman smiled down at virgil, leading him down the hall while telling him pointless fun facts about the school. virgil half tuned in, more so taking in everything that happened. he was still a bit on edge but pretty calmed down.

"well, here's your first class. my first class is right there," roman pointed at a door that wasn't too far from virgil's class. "if i'm not out waiting for you, feel free to wait for me so i can walk you to your next class." virgil stared at roman in confusion. why the hell is he being so nice to me? sure, he's an attractive guy but he probably has friends in every grade or something like that. not exactly the type of people to hang around me.

"thanks but, uh - why did you like help me to find my class? i'm sure you've noticed - we're not exactly similar in a lot of ways." virgil shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking he probably came off as rude and ungrateful but roman just let out a short laugh, placing his hand on virgil's shoulder.

"trust me, i know we probably have nothing in common, but, you seemed like an interesting guy. i thought it'd just be a nice thing to do."

"oh, i see. well, uhm, thanks again." fuck, stop being so emotionless he just wanted to help you. virgil glanced at the hand on his shoulder and then back up at roman, not as red as he was before but still, he was pretty flustered.

"right! before i forget-" roman shoved his hand into virgil's pocket, causing him to jump back a little.

"wha-"

"relax, virge, i'm just gonna-" he pulled out virgil's schedule and then a pen from his pocket, scribbling something on the paper and then handing it back to virgil with a wink. "there." he said as the bell rung, "oh, gotta get to class before we get marked late. later, virgil~" roman carried out virgil's name like it was a song lyric, waving to him as he made his way to the class just a bit away from virgil's.

virgil looked down at the paper, reading whatever the hell roman decided to write on it.

'love the purple hair and makeup by the way - it suits your complexion well! here's my number in case you wanted to be friends ;)) xoxo, roman~'

virgil sighed, his face turning way redder than before now that he was alone. well damn. virgil smiled sheepishly, heading into the classroom feeling overwhelmed with a thrill of new emotions.

word count ; 1,528