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

Chapter 8

3/22/19 at 5:05 pm: For those of you who don't know how iPhone's work, you're about to be real fucking confused.
4/15/19 at 7:21 pm: Meant to post this at about 7am and then forgot. Then I meant to post it at about noon and then forgot. Welp, here it is. Also, I just got not one, but two letters from my local community college that I didn't apply to expressing their joy that I had taken interest in them.

Roman watched as the magnificent man pulled his hand away and fled.

But he dropped his phone.

Roman called after him again, holding the only thing that tied him to, truthfully, the most amazing person he'd ever met.  He looked down at the device.

It was an iPhone, an older model but still nice.  Good care had been put into it but the black case gave no sign as to who the mysterious man was.

Reluctantly, Roman pressed the home button.  The screen lit up with a beautiful blue and purple sky, bathed in white moonlight.  One notification sat on the screen from "Thomas Sanders": 'It's almost midnight. We HAVE to go'.

The name was familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Now, he needed to go home.  He'd think about all of this--the kiss--everything--in the morning.

---

Virgil woke up full of dread, the same feeling he'd had when he went to sleep.  He couldn't believe he'd lost his phone.  Did that guy now have it?

Oh, that masked man..., Virgil thought, rubbing his shoulders as he waited for the oven to heat up.  His right hand drifted up to his lips for a second, brushing over where the stranger's had been.

He dropped his hand.

The landline rang.

Virgil bolted for it, not wanting the sound to wake up the others.  "Hello?" he greeted.

"Virge?"

He collapsed into the couch.  "Oh my god, Thomas."

"Hey, um, we-we need to talk.  Can I come by?"

His chest tightened.  Oh, hello, anxiety.  Nice to see you again.  "Yeah, because that's not freaking me out at all."

"Please, just let me come by.  I'll explain everything."

The oven beeped, reminding him that he needed to put in the muffins for their breakfast.  "They can't see you, okay?  I'll have to sneak you in and out and you'll have to be quiet, okay?"

"Got it.  I'll be by in ten."

Virgil hung up and slipped the muffin pan into the oven, setting a timer for fourteen minutes.  Neither his cousins nor his uncle would be awake any time soon unless he woke them up, which he'd learned at a young age not to do.  Now, he just had to wait.

---

"So, um, what's going on?" Virge asked, keeping his voice low as he glanced around his bedroom.

Thomas had never been in his house before and now...

"Well, I'd first like to know what happened to you last night."

His anxiety only grew.  "Nothing.  I had a panic attack in the bathroom and then hid in there until you texted me."

"Really?  'Cause that's not what the text I got this morning from your phone said."

Oh my god; oh my god; oh my god.  Kill me now, please! he silently begged.  His voice was gravel as he asked, "What does it say...?"

"'Do you know who this phone belongs to?'  That was the first text, at least."  Thomas pulled out his phone.  "Whoever this is said that they met you last night and had to know who you were; when you dropped your phone, they saw their chance."

Virgil's mind was a mess.  The masked man from the night before had his phone and he was very determined.  "Can I...  Can I talk to him?"

Thomas got a smile.  "'Him,' huh?"  He chuckled and began to grin.  He handed his phone over.

Virgil looked down at the screen--at the two texts that this guy had sent.  With shaky hands, he began typing.

Virgil: Hey, Princey. A little bird told me you have my phone
Him: If you'd tell me the password it'd be a lot easier to return it to you
Virgil: Oh so you can go through it and learn everything about me, including my name?
Him: It'd be a nice help. Siri is being a bit difficult

Virgil laughed but he quickly caught himself.

"No, please, laugh," Thomas told him.  "This man, whoever he is, makes you happy."  He pulled his friend into a hug.  "Keep my phone until you get yours back as long as you promise to keep on smiling."

"Abso-fucking-lutely."

Virgil managed to sneak Thomas out and began folding laundry in his bedroom, taking breaks to text his masked stranger, his smile never faltering.

Him: Can I call you?

He wondered if his smile could get any wider, but he glanced up the stairs at the closed door.

Virgil: I dunno...
Him: See now I can't tell if you're playing hard to get or not
Virgil: Not. Please I'm just scared
Him: I want to hear your voice again

Virgil sighed, setting down the phone and t-shirt to sift through his things for a pair of earbuds.  He plugged them in and dialed the contact.

"Hi," the man greeted.

"Hi," Virge squeaked.

A chuckle echoed through the speaker.  "There's that beautiful voice.  I missed it."

"I miss you."  The sentence slipped out before he could stop himself.

"Then please, tell me who you are.  Let me see you."

"You'd be disappointed."  He realized what he'd said and sighed, sitting down on the floor.  "I don't know who you're expecting, but, I promise you, I'm not him."

"I'm not interested in who I expect you to be; it's who I'm talking to now that captivates me."  A second passed before he spoke again.  "I have an idea: if I guess who you are, will you tell me?"

"Maybe..."  Virgil, admittedly, loved games, so he suggested, "Ask me 'yes' or 'no' questions only, and I'll answer them honestly."

"Are you... an upperclassman?"

"Yes."

He let out a hum.  "So, you're either a junior or a senior.  Junior?"

"Yes."

He laughed.  "Two for two," he exclaimed excitedly.  "I think it's time for more personal questions.  Are you an outdoorsy person?"

Virgil scoffed.  "Not in the slightest.  I burn to a crisp in the sun."

"Fairest of them all."

"Oh, hush, Princey," Virgil exclaimed.

"We're sticking with that nickname?"

"Yes, now next question before I get bored and start asking you."

"Okay, okay, baby.  Calm down."

Baby?  Did he really just...  "Did you just call me baby?"

"I-I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to offend."

Virgil's heart was in his throat.  "No, I, um...  I didn't mind.  It just... startled me."

His cousins called his name from upstairs and panic ripped through him.

He quickly covered the mic while hollering, "I'll be there in a minute!"  He sighed and removed his hand.

"What was that?" Princey asked.

"My-My family needs me.  I have to go," Virge explained.  "I'm sorry."

He laughed--his laugh was beautiful.  "Don't worry about it; I get it.  Just don't ghost me, alright?"

"Promise."  He hung up, though it pained him.  He set down the phone, slipping it under a pillow, and made his way up the stairs.

He shoved his smile deep down.