Trade Mistakes - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter XII

It had been a week since Roman Prince showed up to their show in New York. That had been the last show of that tour, and they were planning to tour again early next year, but there was tension rising. The encounter with his old friend had made Virgil jumpy, defensive, and closed off; his temper was short and he would be quick to leave the room to be alone.

The princely man's words had gotten to him, making him avoid one of his bandmates in particular. De had picked up on the tense vibes that radiated from the singer, but didn't know why or what the cause of them was. He had an idea, of course. Everyone in the band knew about Roman attending their show, and the guitarist was growing increasingly paranoid about what the actor had said to him to make him avoid him.

He sighed as he knocked on Virgil's door; he didn't want to have this conversation, but he felt it was inevitable. However, there was no answer.

Frowning, De took out his phone and sent a text, asking if he was home. Evidently he wasn't, given his reply came a couple minutes later to tell him he was at the studio. He rolled his eyes and texted an Uber to come pick him up. He was left alone with his thoughts as he stood waiting for it to arrive, making him pace back and forth on the sidewalk.

Maybe Roman just brought up some old memories and that's been putting him on edge, he thought optimistically. There's no way of knowing for certain what they talked about. Maybe he didn't even bring up their past. Maybe they didn't talk about their positions in the present either. Maybe they just... talked...

The guitarists thoughts weren't helping with his paranoia as he got into the Uber and gave him the address with a slightly trembling voice. Upon arriving at the studio, his heart was in his stomach. There was just this feeling in the air; something was going to go wrong. De took a deep breath and braved the walk through the building to the recording room anyway. He knew Virgil would be there.

After the encounter with Roman Prince, the lead vocalist was rarely ever seen at home. He practically lived in the studio, crashing on the couch in the recording room often surrounded by crumpled up balls of paper with lyrics or scribbles he wasn't satisfied with. 

This time, however, the singer was awake when he walked into the room. "Virgil," he greeted, fighting to remain calm. The conversation had barely begun. 

"De. What do you want?" he replied offhandedly. 

The dismissive tone in his voice made him want to grab his shoulders and shake them vigorously. This wasn't the Virgil he knew, and most certainly wasn't the Virgil he was in the process of falling in love with. 

"We need to talk," the guitarist said, making sure his voice had enough bite to it that he looked up. 

The singer looked slightly confused and nervous, but then his expression went blank. He set down the notebook he was working in and nodded as a sign for him to begin talking. "You've been avoiding me," De said, jumping straight to the point. "Ever since Roman came to the show in New York, you've been avoiding me, you've been rude to the other guys, and you've been acting just... weird. You're barely ever home, you're always here working on something even when there's nothing to be working on, and it's not healthy. I'm worried about you."

"Wow, I thought I was the paranoid one," Virgil replied with a sarcastic smile. 

He shook his head. "This isn't paranoia, Virge," he explained desperately. "You're falling apart at the seams. You're pushing me away like I did something wrong. Have I? Or did Roman say something to you that night?"

"What was said doesn't matter," the singer snapped quickly, looking away. "It's in the past. It's behind me."

"No it's not," De said, accusingly glaring at him. "You're just lying to yourself, and to me. I know a liar when I see one. Whatever he said shook you up, didn't it? Just talk to me! Whatever he said to make you feel like this isn't true!"

He chuckled darkly, not looking at the guitarist. "Yes it was," he muttered. "You wouldn't understand."

"What are you... Virgil! Snap the fuck out of it!" he cried, grabbing his shoulders. "What is wrong with you?! Just a couple weeks ago you were telling me about what happened between you two. Just a couple weeks ago you were letting me hold you in my arms. Now you're treating me like some stranger who's bumped into you in the street as an inconvenience! I care about you, Virge, I'm- fuck I'm basically in love with you!"

The singer's eyes were wide as he stared at him. His cheeks had paled and his breathing had accelerated. "N-No you're not..." he breathed. "You can't be."

"I am, Virgil. Your words and your eyes... all our moments on stage," he murmured, smiling hopefully. "They all meant something, right? We would touch like that even when it was just you and me in a room together."

He moved his hands down to clutch his trembling ones. "They mean something..." he repeated, but as he looked at the singer's face, his heart dropped. Virgil pulled his hands away as he took a step back. De's chest felt like it was constricting to crush his lungs as he looked at the man in front of him in horror. "It never meant anything to you, did it? You were just leading me on, letting me believe you wanted me too..."

Virgil looked guilty beyond belief. "I-I never meant to lead you on," he tried to explain feebly. "I'm just not good at this-"

"You led me on!" he yelled, feeling his eyes grow hot. 

He blinked back the tears, refusing to let himself break down in front of this man. The singer was desperately trying to explain. "De, please, listen to me! You're my best friend! I'd never hurt you intentionally! I'm sorry I wasn't clearer about my feelings."

The guitarist was shaking his head in disbelief, backing away. "I- I can't do this anymore..." he breathed out. "I have to quit this band. After all this time... I just I have to."

"De, don't be ridiculous, come on," Virgil pleaded with him, taking a few steps forward.

He, however, just shook his head and stumbled back towards the door. "No! I'm not being ridiculous! You don't get to lead me on for almost two years and treat me like this and expect me to stay! I'm going to quit," he snapped, making him flinch. He let out a bitter laugh as he opened the door to leave. "You know, after all you'd told me about Roman tricking you into thinking he was in love with you, I thought he was this horrible person... 

Pausing, he looked up to meet his eyes, saying one more thing before walking out.

"I never even stopped to consider that you were just as bad."