Call It Home - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fourteen: Reading Romance

Virgil found himself smiling even though he was in a crowded room filled with people. The Great Hall was decorated with Gryffindor colors and everyone (but the bitter ones on the losing team) was celebrating. The house-less student gazed across the Hall, spotting each of his new friends.

It had been a couple months since he'd started hanging out with Patton, Logan, Roman, and the rest of the gang. Since then, he'd grown pretty close to all of them. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Championship. It was a close game against Slytherin, but thanks to a few brilliant plays and the catching of the Snitch, Gryffindor had come out victorious. Roman didn't get injured this time around, which was a relief for the anxious boy.

He was surprised with how much he enjoyed being in their friend group. They were really accepting of him and Val was incredibly sweet to him. The muscular boy was laughing across the room with Luis and Melissa, bringing another smile onto his face.

"Ahem!" an voice said behind him. 

Turning, Virgil found himself looking at someone who seemed strangely familiar; the boy was wearing Slytherin Quidditch robes though. He felt like he'd seen his face somewhere before, but something about his eyes and the hairs growing above his lip was throwing him off. "Um, yes?"

"So you're the infamous Virgil Black, the one my brother was so determined to impress during our game," he said, cackling in a way that unnerved him a little. The Slytherin then paused to look at his reaction. Seeing nothing but confusion, he rolled his eyes. "Surely you can figure it out without me spelling it out for you!"

The darkly dressed boy peered a little closer at his face. Realization hit him as he gasped. "Oh! You're Roman's brother!" Virgil said. He fussed with his hair as he shrugged awkwardly. "Sorry, I'm not good with social situations."

"Yeah, I know, Roman told me already," Remus replied, slapping him on the shoulder. The house-less student flinched a little, but the Slytherin didn't notice as he kept going. "Ah, speaking of my bro, you've gotta watch out for him cause once he's set his heart on something he won't stop until it happens or he'll mope around for months at a time. In your case, he'll probably make a fool of himself for a bit because lord knows that he's a hopeless romantic and that means-"

"Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about?" he interrupted. He shook out his head in confusion as he tried to comprehend what the other boy was saying. "What does Roman being a hopeless romantic have to do with me?"

He stared at him for an awkwardly long amount of time, blinking. It then seemed to dawn on him because he gasped. "Oh my god, you're oblivious! You don't know yet!"

"Know what?" Virgil asked, puzzled. 

Remus opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by his brother who walked over. "Hey Virge, my brother's not bothering you is he?" he said with amusement, smiling between them. It was obvious that he didn't know what they had been discussing. "Because if he is, I can beat him up for you."

The Gryffindor laughed, as did his brother. Virgil, on the other hand, looked between them in confusion and a feeling of embarrassment for some reason. "No, no... he's not bothering me?"

"Yeah Roman! I'm just getting to know the famous Virgil Black you've been going on about!" Remus smirked, elbowing him in the chest. His brother rolled his eyes and shoved him back, telling him to shut up. "But you know I'm right!"

"Yeah, yeah, he's our newest addition to our friend group, so what if I've told you about him? It's rare that we get a new friend to our gay gang," Roman said with a laugh.

Virgil swallowed, feeling his face flush at the mention of the majority of the group's sexuality being not straight. Most of them were some variation of LGBT+ or an ally, and that included himself and the Gryffindor. 

He blinked, eyes going wide as it hit him; what Remus was trying to say suddenly made sense. His heart started to race as he looked between them. 

"Oh, my captain's beckoning me," Roman said, looking off to where the other Gryffindor was waving at him from across the room. He turned back to Virgil with a smile. "Let me know if this idiot does anything to offend you, he's got basically no filter." 

"Oh shut up, you can suck my di-"

"See what I mean?" He caught his brother's profanity off and rolled his eyes with a laugh. He then nodded to the two of them and hurried off.

Remus looked at the house-less boy, who was staring after him in shock. "Oh, did it hit you?" he asked, cackling. Virgil didn't reply. The Slytherin stopped grinning after a moment and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it, he probably hasn't figured it out himself. There's no rush to get to the butt sex."

He laughed loudly at his own comment and walked off, leaving the darkly dressed boy alone again. He had no idea how to process the information he'd been given. He began to chew anxiously on his lip.

"Hey Virge, are you enjoying the party?" a familiar and sweet voice asked. 

He turned around to see Val. The Gryffindor Beater was smiling warmly at him in a way that made his mouth dry; suddenly he was seeing the signs everywhere. "U-Uh, yeah, yeah, it's great..." he managed to reply, rubbing his arm awkwardly as he looked away. 

Val noticed his discomfort. "Hey, are you okay? 'Cause no one will be upset if you have to bail if this is too much," he reassured him.

"No, no, I'm fine, just a bit out of it," Virgil said. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath in, regaining his composure. He didn't want his revelation about Roman to ruin the whole night. He smiled through his stress. "Congrats on the win."

"Yeah, it's a dream come true! It's my first time actually winning the Quidditch Cup! I haven't been on the team as long as Roman," he said, laughing happily.

The darkly dressed boy smiled, feeling more relaxed already. However, his feelings of ease left pretty quickly as Val cleared his throat. He looked serious as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um, hey, Virgil?" he said, sounding unsure of himself. Virgil focus on him, feeling his throat close up. "I was wondering, if you would want to go... I don't know, maybe get butterbeers together sometime? Just the two of us?"

Virgil swallowed as he stammered. "U-Uh, you mean- like-" he tried to say. Val just smiled sweetly and nodded. "Uh..."

His gaze shifted across the room where Roman was now laughing with Patton and Logan. He felt his heart twisting in his chest as he struggled to find an answer to the boy's question. First, Remus had told him about his brother's... feelings. Now, Val was asking him on a date.

He was about to come up with something to say when Val's eyes traveled across the room too, following Virgil's gaze to Roman. Realization fell over his expression as he looked back at the house-less boy with a sort sad smile. 

"I get it," Val said. 

He didn't sound angry or upset, but Virgil felt like he was going to die from guilt and embarrassment. "I can explain-" he tried to rush out, but the Gryffindor put his hand on his shoulder.

"Virge, it's fine," he said, smiling at him understandingly. "We can go get butterbeers as friends sometime, but if you ever need advice about that one," he gestured toward the princely boy across the room, "I'd be happy to help out in any way I can."

Virgil stared up at him and then looked away, still feeling guilty. He had never been good at this.

Val looked up as someone called his name. Relief filled the awkward air between them as he pulled his hand away. "Well, I've gotta go, but don't sweat it. We're friends."

He nodded in reply but didn't meet his eyes. As the Gryffindor Beater walked away, he found his gaze returning to the Gryffindor Chaser. His heart was pounding in his chest. Roman had hated him for months after their first encounter and then they developed a truce that turned into a real friendship. Now his brother was saying that he had romantic feelings for him. Could that be true?