It was late in the afternoon. The rehearsal had ended and most of the cast and crew had gone home for the night. Not Virgil; he took it upon himself to clean up and tie up any loose end jobs to be ready for rehearsal on Monday. As just a lighting techie, it wasn't as if anyone besides the director noticed his presence. Said director had given him a copy of the key that lock the stage door since he'd expressed his desire to stay late. So here he was, sweeping and tidying the theatre and the house late after rehearsal.

Virgil's attention was caught as he heard the sound of voices. Loud voices he heard every day as he made his way through the halls. Oh no... not football players, he thought.

"Dude! Look at the shit! It's crazy! I bet I could be you to the top!" one of them boasted, looking at the tall ladder that led to the catwalk.

Virgil's heart lurched as he thought about all that could go wrong with three pompous jocks running around up there. "U-Uh excuse me?" he said, approaching them before they started to climb. "I'm going to have to ask you to please leave... the c-catwalk's off limits to non-theatre students..."

They just laughed, making the nervous techie shrink back as they approached him. "And who are you to tell us what we can and can't do, pipsqueak?" the one who'd previous spoke sneered, shoving him to the ground.

He yelped as he landed on his hip, sharp pain surging through it. "P-Please, guys, it's j-just the rule! There's lots o-of valuable s-stuff up there," he pleaded from the ground. The jock crouched down, grabbing him by the shirt and pressing him against a wall forcefully.

"Look at the way he's trembling!" one of his friend cackled. "He's terrified!"

"As he should be," the one holding him snickered, smirking evilly. "Bill, Chase, go find some paint or something. I want to teach this guy who thinks he can boss me around a lesson."

His friends nodded, laughing as they began searching the theatre. Virgil could only watch helpless from his place against the wall, praying they didn't break anything that he couldn't fix once they left. "P-Please be careful-"

The techie yelped painfully as the football player holding him against the wall smacked him across the face. His cheek burned and tears sprung to his eyes. "Not another word out of you," he warned, clearly enjoying this more than any normal kid should. Virgil nodded frantically, keeping his mouth shut and letting his head hang limply.

Meanwhile, Roman was walking back up to the school, praying it was unlocked. He'd forgotten his bag, which had his script, his props, and his water bottle inside. Roman was that kid everyone adored, the one that always got the leads. Not that he didn't deserve them. He worked himself just as much, if not harder, than the other kids, not letting his privilege go to his head. He pulled at the stage door, sighing in relief as he realized it opened. He rushed for the dressing rooms, finding his bag and his belongings all intact. "Thank goodness," he murmured, shaking his head with a smile as he pulled it onto his shoulder.

On his way out, he heard voices. Laughing and yelling coming from somewhere in the theatre. He hadn't noticed on his way in because he'd been too worried about his bag, but now he went to investigate.

No one should still be here, rehearsal ended almost an hour ago, Roman thought, frowning. He heard someone cry out followed by more laughter, making him walk faster. What the hell is going on?

When he made it to the scene, his eyes widened. Three jocks were standing over a boy he recognized to be on lighting crew. Virgil, the quiet boy he'd been crushing on for years, was on the ground in pain with tears rolling down his cheeks as he let the football players hit him. Roman felt anger surge through him, seeing that one was holding a paint can. Judging by his previous cry of pain, he could only assume they'd used it to hit him.

Thinking quickly, he reached into his bag for something, anything, that he could use to save Virgil. His hand found his prop sword, the one he'd been practicing with at home for the show. He ditched his bag, and approached the jocks.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Roman snapped, getting the three of them to look up. "You guys aren't supposed to be here, and you're definitely not supposed to be using things that belong to the department to beat someone up."

They laughed, ignoring the whimpering techie on the ground as he managed to crawl away to a safe distance. "And just what are you going to do about it, your highness?" the leader sneered, smirking. "You wouldn't want to ruin your hair and your reputation. Fighting isn't a very royal thing to do."

"I will only ask once more," the actor said, holding his chin high. "Leave him alone, and go home."

"Oh? This kid?" he questioned, faking ignorance as he walked over to step on Virgil's hand. The techie bit back a painful gasp, shaking. "What do you care what happens to him? Isn't he a little below you on the social pyramid to be concerning yourself with?"

Roman glared at him. "Get away from him," he growled, drawing his prop sword from his belt. "Or you'll regret it."

"Oh no! The scary prince is gonna cut me with his foam sword!" the jock exclaimed, making friends cackle. The actor didn't hesitate this time, stalking forward and punching him right in the jaw, sending him stumbling into his friends. "OW! What the hell?!"

Roman held his sword as he stood protectively in front of Virgil. "Want to find out if this is fake?" he snapped. The football players actually looked scared, shaking their heads. "Good, now leave. I don't want to find you in this theatre again, am I understood?"

They nodded as they ran from the theatre. He let out a heavy sigh as they disappeared from the building, turning to look at the small, shaking boy on the ground. Roman felt a tug on his heart as tears dripped from his cheeks and hit the stage silently. He knelt down on his knees, and reached out to put a hand on his back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, getting Virgil to look up at him. The techie nodded shakily, not meeting his gaze. The actor bit his lip, not knowing what to say in this awkward situation in front of his crush. He thought of one his lines from the show. "Hey, you're even beautiful when you cry."

Virgil looked up with wide eyes, blushing furiously. Roman laughed nervously. "S-Sorry, it's a line from the show- force of habit- sorry," he stammered, offering an embarrassed smile as his face flushed. The techie avoided his gaze and they were quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. "What are you doing here so late?"

"C-Cleaning and prepping for Monday," Virgil mumbled as he tried to stand. He winced, stumbling a little. Roman caught him, supporting him. "T-Thank you..."

He offered a smile and lead him to sit down in the house. The techie sighed heavily as he relaxed for a moment. He tried to stand again, making the actor catch him again and sit him down. "Whoa, what are you-"

"I have to put the paint away, and make sure they didn't break anything, and they probably wrecked the paint room-"

"I'll do that," Roman said, cutting him off as he stood. Virgil gave him a wide eyed look, mouth falling open slightly. "I'll go take care of all that, you just stay here. I'll be right back."

Five minutes after the actor disappeared backstage, he returned having finished checking and straightening everything up. Virgil was thankfully still sitting where'd he left him. Roman sat down next to him again. "How do you normally get home?"

"I w-walk..." he mumbled, wincing. His eyes widened; there was no way he could walk home like that.

"I have a car, I can drive you home," Roman offered, pulling his bag onto his shoulders along with Virgil's before he protested. He helped him to his feet and exited the theatre, locking the stage door behind them. Once in the car, the thought crossed his mind that tomorrow was Saturday. "Hey, uh, why don't you come back to my house? It's kinda late, and I want to help you with... you know..."

Virgil blushed furiously but agreed as he texted his fathers to let them know. Roman drove them to his home, where his parents were still working late. He guided him to the couch. "So, how bad is it?"

The techie bit his lip, pulling off his shirt to reveal a nasty looking gash from the edge of the paint can hitting his chest. Roman sucked in a breath just looking at it. He stood and got a first aid kit, cleaning and bandaging the cut. When he finished, he met Virgil's eyes.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked quietly, looking away.

"It's the right thing to do, and I'm rather embarrassed to say..." Roman said, blushing as he laughed nervously. "I've kinda had a crush on you for a very long time."

Virgil's eyes were wide as his heart raced. "R-Really?"

"Yeah," the actor replied with a sigh. "It's stupid, you're probably not interested, but I still wanted to help you. I couldn't just leave you there to be beaten."

The subject was dropped as Roman insisted he change into some of his pajamas. The actor offered him his bed and he'd sleep on the couch, to which Virgil protested but wasn't allowed to refuse. When he came out of the bathroom in his pajamas, he awkwardly headed to Roman's room once more. The actor jumped to his feet, shifting nervously. "Well, I-I'll see you in the morning then, uh, pleasant dreams," he said as he stepped outside the doorway. Virgil stayed put, holding the door open a little longer. He bit his lip before moving forward to press his lips to Roman's. He gasped, eyes wide as he pulled away quickly.

"G-Goodnight, Roman..." the techie whispered quietly, smiling a little before closing the door.

The actor was left standing there in awe as a smile spread across his tingling lips. He was blushing, flustered, surprised, but so happy he felt like he could fly. When he laid down on the couch to sleep, he knew he'd be dreaming of Virgil until he woke up to see him the next day.