If the Shoe Fits (Prinxiety Cinderella AU - Roman x Virgil)

Chapter 7

3/22/19 at 12:02 am: I just referred to the ball in my notes as the sea of hormones so... progress?
at 12:25 pm: I'm watching a show and this girl was like, "Dude, the fuck's wrong?" and he was like, "Everything is fine" in the most robotic ass voice. Like, bitch, is that not suspicious?

Virgil looked down at the list of chores he'd been handed. "'Scrub the countertops,' 'bleach the toilets,' 'clean the pool?'" He looked up at Jayden, Hayden, and Jackson. "We don't have a pool."

His uncle just smiled. "Then have fun with that one." He ushered his twin sons out the door before glaring over his shoulder. "I'll be at the bar until this stupid dance is over. By midnight, all of this better be done." He left.

Virgil sighed. He fell backward until he hit a wall, sliding down it to the floor. His head fell back. All of the chores on the list, with a few insane exceptions, had been done a million times over; he knew he could likely waste the night away and it would go unnoticed.

Not that he wouldn't be punished anyway.

A knock sounded at the door. The sound was gentle and soft and it gave Virgil pause.

Slowly, he rose. His footsteps were perfectly silent on the floor. He peeked through the window next to the door warily. A groan escaped his lips and he threw the door open.

"Hi, Virge," Thomas greeted playfully. He held up a garment bag, already dressed in his own suit. He held a mask in his hand. "We're going to the ball."

Virgil rolled his eyes and stepped away. "No, I can't." He didn't want to go—not anymore. He handed over the list. "They gave me all of these chores to do before they get back at the end of the dance."

Thomas looked it over. "You don't even have a pool!"

A smile slipped onto Virgil's lips. "That's what I said, but now I have to figure out how to clean something we don't even have."

He peeked inside the house. "This place is spotless. You could go without cleaning a thing and no one would ever notice."

Virgil's eyes softened. Am I seriously debating this? The crowds... the people... the masks... Oh, how he hated masks.

"I'll be by your side the entire time... with Logan and Patton, Talyn, Joan, Terrance, and Val."

He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Fuck it. Give me the suit."

---

Virgil's hand slipped from Thomas's and the anxiety kicked in in a second; fear bubbled in his chest as his breath quickened. Around him, teens danced, masked and anonymous. I shouldn't have come; I shouldn't have come; I shouldn't have come, his thoughts told him. He shoved through the crowd, needing space to breathe.

He managed to slip out of the gymnasium and into the dark, empty hallways of his school. Teachers were stationed outside of the nearest bathroom but paid no mind when Virgil walked passed.

All of the lights were off but, rather than being creepy as one would expect, it was comforting. A light at the end of the hallway drew his attention and he neared a glass door leading to a courtyard. Honestly, he hadn't even known it was there.

Through the door, a thick bed of grass was bordered by overgrown hedges. One large tree stood to the side, its branches stretching out over the square space. A gazebo sat in the center of the courtyard, flowers surrounding it that threatened to overgrow the paths.

Virgil stared for a second, feeling strangely calm, before stepping forward on the path. He sat down on the gazebo bench and tucked his knees against his chest, soaking in the moonlight that bathed over him.