Soul Bound

Chapter Ten: An Unsettling State of Affairs

Virgil got the biggest chill down his spine he'd ever felt in his life. Janus had mentioned that they didn't like the idea of their parents finding out about their soulmate being a boy, and that gave him a rather negative outlook on Janus's parents.

Now he had to lie to them and misgender Janus. Perfect.

V: im a friend, well, a former friend i guess. i wanted to patch things up. do you mind telling me where he is?

Virgil's heart was pounding in his chest. It occurred to him that Janus may not have been their legal name, and he was worried about referring to them as it. He didn't want to out them.

Jay: Ok "former friend" he isn't here right now. We can't find him

Every particle in Virgil's body exploded in that moment.

V: you cant find him???? what do you mean?????

Jay: I mean we can't find him...? Been looking since this morning, he must've run off or something

Virgil could not believe Janus's parents were being so casual about their disappearance. He couldn't believe a lot of things about what was going on, but most of all this.

V: where have you looked? has he given any indication of where he might go if he were to run away?

Jay: The house, our neighbors, the police station, everywhere. And no, I think I'd know something like that

They didn't check Janus's friends' houses? They didn't check Coco's Diner? They didn't check the park? Did they even know their child?

V: if you find him please get back to me. i want to know hes okay

He put his phone away and spent the rest of class suppressing a panic attack. It was so bad that he couldn't even remember what class he was in. Everything on the paper in front of him made absolutely no sense to him anymore.

Somehow, he was able to make it through the school day, but he came out the other side feeling incredibly drained. He climbed aboard the bus and spotted Remy and Emile. They moved closer to the window to give him room to sit.

"Hey, Vee," Remy greeted.

Virgil sat down and rested his head on Remy's shoulder. "Hi," he mumbled.

"What's wrong, sugar cube?" they asked, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Did you get a text from Janus yet?" Emile asked.

Janus. Virgil realised suddenly that he may never find out what happened to them. He hadn't even thought of that before but now it was all he could think about as tears threatened to spill over.

"Virgil?" Remy pressed. "You good?"

Virgil began to tremble as his tears poured from his eyes. He tried to suppress a sob and failed, which only served to worry Remy and Emile that much more.

"Virgil, breathe," Emile soothed. "Deep breaths, okay?"

He tried to breathe the way he was told but it was difficult. He held Remy tighter, who did their best to soothe him. Over time, he was able to calm down, though he still clung to Remy.

"Better?" they asked, Virgil nodding. "Wanna tell us what's wrong?"

He did. He really did. However, with the movement of the bus and the surrounding clamour and the uneasy feeling it caused, he knew this wasn't the place.

"Can I... come over? To your house, I mean? I'm not comfortable saying here."

"Of course, coffee bean!" Remy said.