Roman POV
"The basement?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Henry locked him in there last night when he came home with you." She answered. "Henry doesn't like gay people. Much less his gay son."
Gay? Could Virgil be gay? Wait! Focus on the issue!
"Wheres the basement?" I asked, fingers fiddling with the keys.
She headed into the house and down the hallway. She stopped by a door and motioned to it.
"Get Virgil out of here. Just for one night. So Henry can calm down." She kept mumbling over and over. I quickly moved to unlock the door.
I opened it quickly, searching for a light switch. I found one, but no lights turned on. I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight.
"Virgil?" I called out, as I headed down the stairs. "Virgil where are you?"
My flashlight hit a moving lump in the corner of the room, farthest from the door. I quickly scramble around boxes to the lump.
The lump moved again and I saw Virgil's face. I let out a little sigh of relief and knelt down next to him. I placed my phone down, letting the phone's flashlight aluminate our faces.
He was shaking and crying, his eyeliner streaked down his face. I quickly pulled him out of the pile of old blankets and into my lap.
He held tightly onto me. He was freezing. I wrapped my arms tightly around him, cursing myself for not coming earlier. For not just immediately coming for him when he didn't show for school and didn't answer my texts.
I remembered what his mom told me. I quickly stood up and pulled Virgil with me.
"Come on, I'm getting you out of here." I said. Virgil still hadn't said anything, but he seemed to snap into focus when I said that.
I followed him as he bolted up the stairs. He was holding my hand tightly again as he pulled me along with him as he headed towards what I guessed would be his room.
We headed up the stairs to the second floor and stopped at a door in the hallway. He let go of my hand and pushed the door open.
I followed him into his room, but stopped for a second to look around. The walls were painted purple and black with lots of different band posters hanging up. There was a small messy bed in one corner of the room. There was a bookshelf that was covered in cds and books.
There was a desk covered in paper and an open closet, reveling more dark clothing. I turned to see a old piano with...a cat on top of it?
Before I could say anything, Virgil was hugging me. I quickly returned the hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you." He mumbled over and over.
"It's okay, I'm glad your okay now." I said gently, rubbing his back. "But we have to get out of here before your dad gets back."
Virgil nodded and pulled away. He grabbed his book bag and pulled some clothes into it. I turned and looked at the piano and the cat again.
One; I don't know Virgil could play piano. Now I really want to hear him play. Two; I didn't peg Virgil to be a cat person. The cat stood up and walked over to me.
It meowed at me and rubbed up against my leg while purring. I smiled gently down at it. The sound of a pill bottle snapped my focus back to Virgil. He quickly dry swallowed a handful of white pills before setting a pill bottle on his desk.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, anger in my voice. I stood next to him and grabbed his hands to make him look at me.
"Makes me feel better." He mumbled, shoving another pill bottle into his bag. I grabbed one of the bottles to read the label. Antidepressants.
"You shouldn't have taken so many." I said, getting worried for him again.
"I'm fine." He said. I sighed, not wanting to upset him more.
"So...you have a cat?" I asked, trying to change the topic.
"Her names Luna. She's about year old. You can pet her." Answered Virgil, while returning to his bag.
I quickly pulled out my phone to text my Mom.
Me - Hey, is it okay if a school friend comes over tonight and spends the night?
Mom - On a school night?
Me - Please. He needs a place to stay for the night
Mom - Fine but you have a lot of explaining to do when you get home.
Me - He has a cat, can he bring his cat?
Mom - A cat?!
Me - I'll explain why when I get home. Pleassseeee
Mom - Fine, keep the cat away from Zeus.
Me - Okay we'll be home in like 10 mins
Mom - Okay honey
I turned off my phone to see Virgil looking at me. He had wiped all his makeup off. He looked very pretty without it.
"My Mom said it's okay for you to spend the night tonight, and you can bring your cat. But I do have a dog so we'll have to keep her away from him." I told him.
"Okay." Virgil mumbled. He picked Luna up and zipped up his hoodie so that Luna was tucked inside it with her head peeking out of the top.
I grabbed his hand again and headed out of his room. We passed his mom while heading for the front door.
I let go of Virgil's hand when we reached my car. I got into the drivers seat and moved all my stuff so Virgil could sit down.
"Thank you." He mumbled again.
"Your welcome. I wouldn't know what I'd do if you got hurt. I should've come sooner." I told him, starting the car up.
"It's okay Roman." He said. "You still care. You still showed up for me. Your still helping me get away for the night."
He slid his hand into mine. I looked at our intertwined fingers in shock. I hadn't expected Virgil to be brave enough to do something like that. I held his hand reassuringly the entire car ride back to my house.
I felt him stiffen up as we pulled into my driveway. My house was very different from his. I was a lot bigger and a lot prettier.
"It's going to be okay." I told him reassuringly. He nodded. I got out of the car and grabbed my bookbag. I quickly headed over to Virgil to help him. He seemed to be a little weak and out of it still.
I held his hand as we walked into the house. I didn't call out to my mom to say we were hear. I just quickly ushered Virgil up the stairs and into my room before we could be bombarded by her or Zeus.
Virgil stopped as I shut the door and looked around my room. It was very different compared to his. Mine was big and bright. I had a queen sized beg in the middle of the room. Lots of theater and sports things were littered across the rooms.
I felt kinda embarrassed by how messy it was. Virgil let go of Luna. She jumped to the floor and started sniffing around the room.
Virgil turned to me with tears in his eyes. I walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. We both dropped our bags and held onto each other. Virgil was shaking again.
"It's okay. You're safe now." I told him over and over. He just cried. I led him over to my bed and we sat down.
"I...I'm s-sorry." He said between tears. I leaned against the headboard and pulled him up against my chest.
"It's not your fault." I told him, running my fingers through his hair. "None of this is your fault."
We stayed in silence until he calmed down. He pulled away from me and rubbed all his tears away.
"Why were you in the basement?" I couldn't keep myself from asking.
"My Dad was angry with me. Usually he'll just hit me. But it's he's really angry he'll lock me in the basement until he calms down." Virgil explained. I felt my heart shattering for him.
"Why was he angry this time?" I asked, wondering what happened to cause Virgil to have to go through this.
"He was angry that you brought me home. He accused me of being gay." He mumbled. "For you." He added on, blushing a bit. I blushed too. "He hates gay people. He said he wouldn't raise a gay son. So he locked me in the basement. So I'd learn my lesson."
I felt a rage in me that I've never felt for anyone besides maybe Jackson. How dare Virgil's Dad do this to him. Virgil yawned.
"Did you sleep...or eat at all down there?" I asked.
"Barely eat to begin with, but no." He answered. "And it was too cold down there to sleep."
I slowly got off my bed and pulled his shoes off. I gently laid Virgil down and pulled the blankets over him. He curled up a bit and snuggled into the bed.
"I'll be right back." I told him. "I'm going to get us a snack and talk to my mom." He nodded, closing his eyes. I picked up Luna and sat her on the bed next to him.
Luna purred and rubbed her cheek against Virgil's. He smiled gently but didn't open his eyes. Luna curled up again his chest.
I felt a warm feeling in my chest again. Virgil looked so precious laying there. I wanted to just lay down and curl up around him. I just wanted to protect him mostly. So he never had to go through any of that with his father ever again.
Before I did give in and get back into the bed, I turned and headed out of my room. I gently shut the door behind me.
"Hey Mom." I said, walking into the kitchen. I sat down at on of the barstools as she turned to look at me. She leaned again the counter and placed a hand on her hip.
"So you wanna tell me about your friend?" She asked.
"His name's Virgil." I told her. "And I needed to get him out of his house. He couldn't stay there any longer."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"His parents treat him like shit!" I said, my temper getting the best of me. "He was freaking locked in his basement when I finally got to him after school. I couldn't just leave him there. His dad was so drunk the first time I met him that he hit Virgil in front of me for hanging out with me! Virgil has horrible anxiety and depression and he already deals with people treating him horribly at school. I can't let him get hurt again."
Mom's face softened as I continued to rant about why I needed to help Virgil. I told her everything that happened to Virgil at school and at his home. I was just so angry with everyone for treating Virgil like shit that I couldn't keep all this to myself. By the time I was done, Mom had tears in her eyes.
"My god, that poor boy." She whispered when I finally finished. "Of course he can stay the night."
"There's also something else Mom," I said, unsure if I should tell her.
"You can tell me anything honey." She said.
"I think I'm gay." I blurted it out. Mom just gently smiled and nodded.
"I had my suspicions." She said with a laugh. I looked at her in shock. "A mother can always tell. I'll always love you honey. I'm not going to hate you for being gay."
I smiled at her, grateful she understood. That she understood that I was questioning my sexuality now. That she understood that Virgil needed to get out of his home.
"And I think I really really like Virgil." I admitted. When I said it out loud, it just felt right. Mom smiled again.
"I hope it works out for you two than." She said. "I'll order a pizza for you two, but I expect to meet him later. And I'll talk to your dad about Virgil and how you feel towards him. I'm sure he'll understand though."
"Thank you so much Mom." I said, jumping off the barstool and running to give her a hug. "Your the best mom ever." She laughed when I said that.
"You two can stay home tomorrow too. I'll call the school but I'm not sure I can do anything to help Virgil." She told me. "But I'll make sure your both excused tomorrow." I hugged her even tighter.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" I said giddily.
"And what's this about a cat?" She asked with a laugh when I pulled away.
"Virgil has a pet cat. She's one and a half years old now. Her names Luna. She's a stray he took in, but he's kept her hidden from his parents because they would take her from him." I told her.
"He sounds like a sweet boy." She murmured to herself before turning back to me with a smile. "I'll buy some cat food for her. Just keep her in your room and don't let Zeus see her."
"Of course." I said. "I need a snack for him. Maybe like some chips or something." I muttered as I rummaged through the pantry.
"How about these?" Asked Mom, holding a plate of freshly baked cookies out to me. I took them from her and looked up at her with a huge smile.
"You made cookies?"
"Yeah." She answered with a small laugh. "I thought I'd make some once you texted me that your friend was coming over to spend the night."
"You made cookies in like half an hour?" I asked in shock.
"Yep, I've become quite the master at cookie baking." She said. We both laughed.
"Okay, see you later." I said. "Thank you so much for everything!"
"I'll call you two down when the pizza's here." She called to me as I headed for the stairs.
I quickly headed back up the stairs, excited to see Virgil. Even more happy that mom was okay with my feelings for him. And that she'd let us stay home from school tomorrow.
"I have returned!" I announced, opening the door. Virgil smiled over at me. He was still laying down, but he was lazily petting Luna.
"Nice to see you're back princey." Virgil said with a laugh.
"Nice to see your back to your sarcastic self." I laughed. "I brought cookies."
I set the plate of cookies on the beside table next to Virgil. He looked hungrily at the cookies but didn't move to eat them.
"What movie do you want to watch?" I asked while walking over to my tv. "I own just about every Disney movie you can think of."
"Oh, I haven't seen a lot of Disney movies." Virgil admitted sheepishly.
"You what?!" I said in mock offense. Virgil laughed.
"Do you have Atlantis?" He asked.
"Yes." I answered, pulling the dvd out of my collection.
"Can we watch that?" He asked.
"Of course." I told him while turning on the tv. Once the dvd was in, I grabbed the remote and jumped on the bed next to Virgil.
I placed my pillows up against the headboard and leaned against them. Virgil turned over and snuggled up against me. I couldn't help but blush and smile down at him as he laid his head between my shoulder and chest.
I wrapped my arm around him and leaned my head against his. I started the movie. We fell into a comfortable silence as we just enjoyed each other's company while watching the movie. Luna even curled up on my lap.
Everything was just right in this moment. I let out a content sigh. I hope things stay happy like this from now on.