Virgil loved Space.
When he was younger, his mother would always take Virgil out to the meadow behind his childhood home, laying down his favorite blanket so they could watch the night sky. Virgil would listen quietly, nestled under his mom's arm as he watched his mother trace shapes between the twinkling lights, explaining the constellations and the imaginative stories behind them.
He would always remember the sweet smell of the poppies around them, surrounded by the warm summer air as he looked up at the stars in wonder. His mother would explain the mysteries of the universe, his low voice accompanied by the chirping of crickets. She never could stay up very late, his mother usually having to carry the sleepy child in. The stories of monsters and heroes and tragedies etched into his young mind forever.
When his mother passed away, Virgil would take their blanket out to the field, retracing the lines his father had shown him for years.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Most kids look forward to college, and Virgil wasn't one of them. He wasn't very good at school, barely passing by in English and Math. The only reason he chose to go to one of the biggest schools in the state was for its excellent science program, and Virgil had sworn to be an astronomer, just like his mom. Space was his only true passion, and he could spend hours pouring over astrological maps, studying the different planets that filled the galaxy and the galaxies around it. Something about the world so far away from his own mystified him.
The summer after freshman year, Virgil decided to find an apartment close to campus because, frankly, Virgil had hated the dorms. Too many people in too small of a building, Virgil quickly found out. The only person Virgil had actually liked was his dorm mate, Logan, who was studying to become a particle physicist. The brainy boy kept to himself, but Virgil hadn't minded one bit. Whenever Virgil was in need of a study partner, though, Logan had proven himself quite the friend, helping Virgil out in his Advanced Algebra while Virgil (poorly) explained Creative Writing to the boy. They got along well, both quiet and reserved but incredibly tender towards each other.
When Logan had offered Virgil to come move in with him and few friends from one of his classes, Virgil jumped at the chance.
What Virgil hadn't expected, however, was how much he came to adore Logan's friends as much as he did Logan.
Patton, a long-time friend of Logan's, was a ball of unfiltered sunshine, through and through. The minute Virgil had walked through the door of the ground level apartment, suitcase in one hand and a box of valuables in the other, Patton swiftly took the box out of Virgil's hand and lead him down the hall to his soon-to-be room, talking excitedly about how much fun it would be to have someone new. He made conversation easily as he helped Virgil drag his mattress through the apartment and into his room, and even stayed around to help him unpack. His jokes were downright awful, but Virgil couldn't help but laugh anyway.
Virgil didn't meet Roman until almost the beginning of his sophomore year, and Virgil was glad for that. Spending an entire summer with Patton around helped him adjust to being around constant energy and affection after spending a full year before around the calming presence of Logan. Having such high energy around already, Virgil was so much more easily equipped to handle the human tornado that was Roman. He lived much like a yellow highlighter: bright, bold, and almost a bit tacky.
Virgil joined Patton to help Roman with his room, and although Virgil's first impression of Roman was a bit lackluster, he quickly realized that though Roman was full of bravado and recklessness, he had a soft side too as he proudly taped polaroids of his hometown to his walls, explained the story behind each picture and who the people smiling back were. It was touching, really, and a deep longing ached in Virgil's chest as he looked up at a photo of Roman and his dad the day of high school graduation.
