Sanders Sides Descendants AU

Chapter 32: Contemplation

     Roman's POV

     We walked in silence down the halls of the school. I wanted to say something, but... What could I say? I have no idea what he must be feeling right now... I can't even understand why Maleficent would do this to her own kid.

     After walking to the top floor of the school, Virgil opened a metal door by the stairwell, causing me to tense up. "Uh... Virgil?" I finally spoke as he found the staircase behind the door. "That leads to the roof." I told him, carefully reaching my hand out to close the door. "I know- I mean, I figured... I just need to think." Virgil muttered absentmindedly.

     Feeling unsure, I checked his eyes. It didn't look like this was the curse, and the curse isn't supposed to happen till midnight. Still, I'm not sure I should let him. "If I do something stupid, you can stop me." Virgil assured me before opening the door. I chuckled a little, feeling a bit reassured as he began walking up the stairs. "I wish there was something I could do to help... I know you're going through a lot lately, and while I most likely don't know the half of it, I want to help you." I sighed as I followed him. Virgil looked over his shoulder at me, stopping to study me as if I were a riddle that didn't make sense.

     "What?" I asked, unsure why he seemed so confused. "You've already helped us, Princey." He assured me, a small smirk appearing on his lips. He allowed his bag to slid off his shoulder and down his arm, undoing the zipper and pulling out a container. "I really don't think we deserved your help... Well, maybe the others do..." He admitted, his smile falling into a frustrated expression. I watched, my own expression falling into a confused frown. My eyes wandered to the container in his hands. He rotated it, studying it as well, his eyes lost in thought. I couldn't see what was in the container, since the tubbaware wasn't see through, but I could tell it was probably important.

     Virgil put the container back in his bag, growling softly in frustration. "No... I'm not ready yet..." He muttered, closing the zipper before pulling his bag back over his shoulder. He glared down at the stairs, gripping his bag's strap tightly.
     Tightly enough for his nails to dig into his palm.

     "Hey," I said as he began walking up the stairs. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "What's wrong? You can tell me." I asked, desperately hoping he would believe me. "Why? Why do you want to help me so bad? You know we were trying to steal the wand, you know we already took advantage of your trust, I wouldn't be surprised if Remus has already told you that we've taken more advantage of your trust than you already knew. Why the hell do you still want to help so badly?" Virgil demanded, his hands shaking as he turned to glare at me.

     "You know why." I told him, my voice as calm as I could manage. "You have your brother. Why not send the rest of us back? Or are we just here because he needs us?" Virgil continued. "Virgil..." I sighed, feeling helpless to see him like this. He was being so hard on himself. It was heartbreaking to watch, and I'm probably only seeing a fraction of what's going on in his head.

     "What?" Virgil shouted, tears welling up in his eyes. He shook his head and wiped them away, growling in frustration. "I'm... I'm sorry..." He muttered, taking a step back only to fall backwards, landing in a sitting position on the stairs. He flinched, and tears managed to fall despite his best efforts. "I don't know what to do." He cried, hiding his head in his hood, and his face in his knees. He hugged his knees tightly, crying into them. My heart simply shattered seeing him like this.

     "What do you want?" I asked softly before sitting beside him. "I want my friends to be safe. I want you to be safe. I want to be with you but I also don't want you to trust me because you really shouldn't. I still want my Mom to be proud of me, or at least give a shit about me. I thought she at least wanted to keep me alive, at least wanted me to succeed for the sake of her legacy, but... She doesn't even care about me that much... She... She cursed me..." Virgil ranted, hissing in pain after he punched the wall in anger. "Hey..." I said to get his attention, carefully taking his hand in mine.

     "I feel stupid... I don't want to be acting like this. I used to be able to keep my cool, but... I also used to be able to know what my goals were, what I was working towards. Now I can't even tell left from right, and I'm... scared." Virgil murmured. I nodded, rubbing his back to reassure him. "It's okay to be scared, Virgil." I assured him. "But I'm too much of a coward to face the consequences of my actions. You're only acting like this because I'm too much of a coward to..." Virgil argued before trailing off.

     He sighed, then pulled out his bag again. He undid the zipper, and pulled out the container again. Opening it, he revealed more cookies inside it, causing realization to dawn on me. That must have been how he gave me the love potion... Which means, if he thinks I'm still under it, those cookies are probably the antidote.

     "Oh, more cookies?" I asked with a knowing grin, snatching one and tossing it into my mouth. "Wait!" Virgil shouted, eyes widening with panic as his voice gained another layer, making it raspier and more intimidating. I held back a laugh as I chewed the cookie and swallowed, nodding in approval at the taste. Virgil lowered his head and raised his shoulders, looking nervously at me. "Uh... Do you... Feel any different?" He asked reluctantly, confirming my assumption. "I don't know." I said with a shrug and an amused smile. "Guess we just have to wait for the antidote to kick in." I added with a grin.

     Virgil tensed, and somehow became even paler. "I... uh..." He stammered, his brows furrowing. "You knew?" He questioned. "I told you. The river had healing powers. I'm guessing it cured the Love Potion." I explained. Virgil's shoulders fell and he looked down, almost seeming embarrassed. "Oh..." He murmured, fidgeting as he processed this. "So... You've just been... pretending this whole time?" He questioned, his tone bitter and cold. "Who said anything about pretending?" I mused.

     Virgil looked up at me, his expression taken aback. "But..." He began, his tone much softer due to surprise. I chuckled and ran my fingers along his cheek, smiling as I leaned in. "A kiss won't cure it... We've already kissed before so it would be our first." Virgil mumbled as I closed my eyes. "We'll find a way." I assured him. Rather than kissing him, however, I suddenly opened my eyes and pulled away, getting an idea. "That's it!" I cheered, startling Virgil. "What's it?" He asked, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. "The river! We can use the water to cure your curse!" I cheered.

     "Roman! There you are!" The Fairy Godmother's voice called suddenly, causing both me and Virgil to jump and look towards her. "You're going to be late for the coronation." She scolded, crossing her arms and giving us both a cross look. "Right... forgot about that..." I admitted, scratching the back of my neck and letting out a nervous laugh. "You forgot?" She snapped, raising an eyebrow. "He was helping me..." Virgil explained, looking nervously at the Godmother. "Talking to my mother... went badly... so he's helping me with... my anxiety." He elaborated in a strained tone, his hands shaking.

     The Godmother sighed, her face softening into a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry to hear that... Please come down once you have recovered enough to do so. I'll tell the King and Queen to wait half an hour before starting the ceremony." She decided. "Thank you, so much. I will try to be there as soon as I can." I replied sincerely. The Godmother gave a stern but understanding nod before heading back downstairs. Virgil let out a long breath the moment she was out of sight.

     "I hate standing up to adults." He groaned, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. "I think you were very brave, considering your past experiences." I assured him. "Brave?" Virgil scoffed, lazily opening one eye and giving me an amused smirk. "Oh, Princey. The last thing I am is brave." He sighed before closing the eye again. "Oh, shut up Emo." I told him affectionately before kissing him on the cheek. Virgil blushed brightly, and made a flustered sound before hiding in his hood. I let out a laugh, causing him to grip his hood more tightly.

     "Come on. We'll get your friends to help you with your anxiety, we'll do the coronation, and then we'll go to the river and cure your curse. Easy." I decided. "But the curse can't be cured, Roman." Virgil reminded me. "We can still try." I insisted, taking Virgil's hand in mine and slowly leading him back downstairs.

     "Okay..." He surrendered, smiling fondly despite his uncertainty. "Thank you... For everything... I'm probably never going to make this easy for you, but... I'll try to get a hang of this whole being good thing." Virgil told me. "You're right, it certainly isn't easy. However, I think the best things are challenging. If everything were easy, getting what we wanted would become boring." I assured him. "Yeah, I guess you have a point." He conceded.

     After that, we fell into a more peaceful silence, both focusing on sorting out our own thoughts as we returned to the dorms. We had a busy day ahead of us, but hopefully after today, life would become much easier for all of us.