Roman frowned as he read through the scene yet again. For some reason, it wasn't clicking. No matter how many times he read it, something felt off. He couldn't connect to the character. The actor in senior year of high school had a lot riding on his shoulders for this. There would be colleges coming to the show, scouting for talent. He was the president of their theatre troupe and a known actor in the district. If he didn't put on a good show, talk would spread.

He frowned as he looked down at his phone, contemplating if he should call one of his friends. Roman bit his lip, sending a text to his friend group asking if any of them could come over for help. Unfortunately, Patton was at Logan's to 'study' according to the texts, not that he believed them for a second.

Emo Nightmare

Roman's heart jumped a little, sending a quick thank you. His mind was racing as he thought about how close the scene was to their past. Before they became friends, Roman would insult him because he thought he'd lose popularity if he didn't. He'd been foolish back then. About five minutes later, there was a knock on his door. He opened it, finding Virgil messing with his hair as he looked up.

"Sup Princey," he said as he walked inside. "So, you need help with a scene?"

"Yeah, I couldn't seem to connect to the character," Roman explained as he handed the script to Virgil. "I thought maybe having a scene partner to practice with would help me. I have it memorized, so you can start when you're ready."

Virgil nodded, looking at the first few lines and clearing his throat. "Why would you say that to me?" he asked, clearly acting as he read the lines. He sounded hurt, betrayed, and confused. "Is that what you think of me?"

"No! No, I swear," Roman said, his voice one of desperation.

"Then why would you say that?!" Virgil asked, eyes wide and turning glossy. Roman was shocked at just how amazing of an actor he was.

"I-I was afraid..." Roman replied quietly. "I was afraid that people would look at me differently if I said how I truly felt..."

Seeing Virgil standing in front of him, the character clicked. He took a step closer to him, as he would on stage. "I was hiding my feelings behind the words I thought they wanted to hear instead of saying what I wanted to say."

He took another step and raised a hand to Virgil's face as the blocking in the script had said. He searched his gaze, lost in the dark chocolate pools of his eyes. "I'm not going to hide it anymore," he murmured. They were both leaning forward. "I want you to know I love you, and that I always will. I'm done changing who I am for people who don't care. I-"

"Just shut up and kiss me," Virgil said in character, pulling him into a kiss be the shirt.

What they had intended to be a quick kiss had turned into one that was slow and passionate. They held each other close as their lips moved in time. When they slowly pulled away, their eyes met. They were both breathless.

"Are you sure you needed help with that scene?" Virgil muttered with a tiny embarrassed smirk. "Because that was incredible Roman."

He laughed a little, blushing furiously. "Y-Yeah, I'm a method actor, or something," he replied. They took steps back, sitting on the couch. "I think it was a little forced."

"No, no, not at all," Virgil said. "You were great."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. They were silent for a moment, both of them flustered and blushing. "So, are we going to ignore the fact that we just kissed?"

Virgil laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't going to bring it up, but if you want to talk about it we can."

Roman laughed at that, reaching up to hold his face again. His friend blushed with a shy smile. "Could we try that again?" Roman asked quietly. "I could use some more rehearsal so..."

He shrugged innocently as Virgil smiled and leaned forward. They were kissing once again, lips fitting perfectly together. They were panting as they pulled away, smiling.

"How was that?" Roman asked, receiving a smirk from Virgil. He pulled him closer once again.

"I think you need more practice."