Royal Pain {Prinxiety}

Chapter 16: The Problem

Roman's POV

Oh thank God he liked the hoodie. I don't know why but that thought keeps repeating itself in my mind. Maybe because his opinion matters to you. That and our kiss, we were in front of my family and under mistletoe so we kinda had to but...But now you actually want to kiss him. Didn't realise my mind was staging a mutiny against me today, thanks for that mind. Now what am I supposed to do?

I barely pay attention to the rest of the gift openings as my thoughts spiral down into complete gay-dom. Christine seemed to want to set us up, so maybe I could get her to help? But that would mean admitting to her she was right, which will happen anyway if we end up actually dating. Is this how Virgil feels all the time? Because if so, I gotta say, this sucks.

As soon as the parents finish opening their presents, mostly gift cards or cheesy framed photos, they are immediately bombarded by young children asking to have this box or that toy opened for them. In their defense, Jamie, Preston, and Michael aren't exactly trusted around scissors or really any sharp objects for that matter. Not after the safety scissors incident of 2017.

"Ro? You good there?" Virgil asks, snapping me out of my war flashback.

"Yeah, just got caught up in my thoughts I guess," I say, flashing a smile.

He looks unconvinced. "Okay then. Thanks for the hoodie by the way," He holds it up. "Where are the scissors?" I'm assuming he's asking so he can take off the tag, and not cut the hoodie into shreds because he actually hates it, so I show him to the kitchen. Christ, what is he doing to me, for once I actually feel anxious. You know what, not the point. I hand him the scissors, and he cuts off the Hot Topic price tag. He puts on the jacket, and I can't help but smile stupidly in pride.

"I should change into the shirt you got me!" I exclaim, causing him to laugh slightly.

"I'll be here when you come back," he says sarcastically, clearly hinting at his boredom. I laugh offhandedly and leave the room to find Christine. Of course, I'm actually going to put on the shirt, but this gives me a chance to get some relationship help from her.

I find her on my way upstairs as she's heading downstairs. I grab her hand and pull her back upstairs, startling her. "What'd I do?" she asks.

"I need your help." I state, so much for being sublte.

"With what?"

"Virgil." I clarify.

"Does this mean..?" She starts, already looking smug.

"Yes, you were right-"

She pumps her fists in the air. "I knew it!"

"Are you going to help me or not?" I ask. She's never gonna let me live this down so I might as well delay the inevitable.

"Roman what kind of sister do you think I am?" She asks rhetorically. "The kind that wants her bro to end up with his soulmate!!" She answers before I can say anything.

"Right," Agreeing with her is usually the safest option since you can never win an argument with her. Instead, I drag her into me and Virgil's shared room so I can actually change while getting her help. "So, what do I do, teach?" I ask as I rip off the price tag.

"Virgil has anxiety right?" She asks while I take off my old shirt.

"Yeah...?"

"So you probably shouldn't ask him out randomly, or in front of our family. You could talk to him about your feelings? Like explain that you actually have a crush on him and stuff," She suggests.

"Oh yeah let me just go up to him like, 'Hey Virge, you know how my mom made us kiss and it made you uncomfortable? Yeah, well I wasn't uncomfortable if you'd like to try it again?'" I really owe him an apology if anxiety really sucks this bad all the time. With a groan, I let myself fall face-first onto the bed hopelessly. "I can't do this," I mumble into the sheets.

Christine pokes me in the shoulder. "Hey, get that quitter attitude out of here. I signed up to help you get a boyfriend, not Jake."

I can't help but laugh, Jake really is a quitter, and I'm not. "You're right," I say, sitting up.

"That's the second time I've heard that today, new record! But seriously, if there's a time when you and Virgil are alone, you could talk to him. I may not know him well, but he'd be an idiot to not like you back." She reassures me.

"Heh, thanks Chrissie, but I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow since mom's gonna keep us all together for the holiday," Usually on the holidays, we're basically required to participate in family bonding activities. They're actually really fun, and now they're an excuse to stall until I figure out how to tell Virgil I like him.

"Fair enough, but it'll give you more chances to get close to him," She points out.

"Kids! Get down here we're decorating cookies!!" Aunt Taylor calls.

Cristine looks at me encouragingly. "You got this RoBro."

I smile, feeling much better about this. "I know."

A/N: So I was wrong in the last author's note, whoops. I just write these as I go along, so none of this was really pre-planned. As of right now, they won't be confessing in the next chapter either, but that might change. Also over 400 reads how????