The next week was slow. There was prep for the midterms in their classes for the semester plus many students were planning to "party hard" before the midterms started. Roman was now popular enough to get invited to many parties and from what he saw so did Virgil.

Every time Virgil was given a note or was approached by a senior or a classmate, Roman saw that he shrugged to say maybe to not be rude. But he saw the distaste in his eyes as they walked away. Roman had asked him about it on Wednesday before they were let out of their last History class before the festival.

"So, Marissa invited you to her place for a party?" Roman asked and Virgil nodded and rolled his eyes. "Not too keen on it?"

No, I don't care for crowds. The festival is different, there are vendors that are offering free things and cool shit. The parties are excuses for the upperclassmen to invite their old friends and get hammered. Virgil wrote to him.

Roman shrugged. "So I take it we aren't going to a party this weekend?"

If you want to don't let me hold you back. Roman shook his head.

"It's not my scene either, despite my reputation you are very aware of by now. But I would attend parties with my brother and make sure he got home safe." Roman said and Virgil gave him a look and smiled.

You expect me to believe that? Virgil wrote back to him while they got a worksheet out. They were told to go over some materials they really didn't understand. Despite it not being an area he was confident in, the work he had done with Virgil had given Roman confidence they would do well.

"Believe what you will, but you are looking at the designated driver of many parties for my brother and my friends. I am sweet like that." Virgil had grown to Roman's self centered remarks as Roman had taken to Virgil's sass.

Now it was Friday. Roman had gotten up at a regular time and not the ungodly hour of 6 am. He had breakfast with Micheal and a few friends, then texted Virgil who had run down the stairs just in time for breakfast before it closed. Patton and Logan were already there.

Roman watched as Virgil angrily signed, he didn't know much at all but from Logan's responses he caught on to a few. Mostly just the sign for me, I, and yes. And from what it looked like Virgil was saying me a lot. Logan and Patton just shrugged but were smiling.

Virgil was finishing breakfast when the festival was announced that would start at noon. There was a small night party that meant people dressed up. That wasn't happening until at least 6pm. Roman excused himself from his friends and went over to Virgil and Patton. "Can I sit here?" He asked Virgil.

Patton looked like he was about to jump in but Logan had grabbed his arm and shook his head. Virgil looked up and pointed to himself. "Yes, I am asking you." Roman smiled and Virgil rolled his eyes. He nodded so Roman sat down.

Virgil got his phone out so he could talk to Roman since he didn't know sign and they were in public. "So, ready for the festival today?" Roman asked the table.

"Oh, yes! I can't wait to see what vendors are showing up." Virgil signed something and Patton answered. "Let me be excited." Virgil smiled.

"He's right, Virgil. Just because you both helped pick out vendors doesn't mean they actually approved and are going to show up." Logan said.

"Wait, you helped with the festival?" Roman asked.

I told you it was my favorite holiday. Virgil wrote and Roman nodded.

"You did, I forgot. I apologize." Roman bowed slightly. Virgil shoved Roman who laughed after.

Stop, I am not royalty. Virgil typed out.

"I beg to differ, but whatever you say. So we have an hour until the festival starts, I'll meet you at your place?" Roman asked. Virgil nodded, but then grabbed his arm. "Yes?"

Virgil signed something but Roman had no idea what he said. Roman took Virgil's hands and looked at him. "Vi, I don't know sign language." Roman said and Virgil nodded.

"He asked why you were going to his dorm." Logan said. He had been watching the whole interaction just to see Virgil's reaction.

Roman nodded to Logan who nodded back. "Well the answer is very simple. You asked me to go to the Festival with you. I figured that meant the entire weekend, unless you are already tired of me?" Roman teased and Virgil shook his head.

I was just surprised that's all. Virgil typed, Roman nodded.

"I'll come by about 12:15, I tend to be fashionably late." Roman leaned over and then whispered in Virgil's ear. "Better to avoid crowds that way too." Roman pulled back, smiled and then left.

Roman walked away and then met up with Micheal. "Dude what was that?!" He asked and Roman grabbed his arm and turned him away.

"Trust me, I have no idea." Roman said and sighed.

"Are you nervous?" Micheal asked with a smile.

"Stop, I just kinda went on autopilot. He didn't seem to mind." Roman said, biting his lip.

Micheal turned to look at the group he just left. "Seems like he enjoyed it." He commented and nudged Roman. "Now, come on let's get some money out of our accounts just in case." Micheal dragged him off.

Around 12:10, Roman was leaving his roommate and friends to pick Virgil up. The group said they would meet up at 4:45 when the vendor part of the festival ended for the night. Victoria said that she would do his makeup so he didn't have to, he was excited for the party that night.

Roman was constantly watching his back around the dorms, just because Janus wasn't going to be around for the festival didn't mean he was going to be gone. Roman was still watching his back, he didn't think Janus would try anything before going to see Virgil but Roman didn't want to push his luck.

Roman was walking pretty fast, waving at multiple people. He really had gotten popular with girls. He really didn't have any interest in them, he was gay. He really didn't see the need to come out because it was frankly nobody's business.

He dodged the question of him going to parties this weekend, and kept walking. Was he being paranoid? Probably but that really didn't matter to him right now. Roman had told Remus that he would call later, but he wasn't sure how long he would be out with Virgil. Remus would no doubt question about Virgil. Remus was under the impression that Roman had finally accepted that life was changing, but Roman was still hoping to go back for senior year.

He didn't want to think how comfortable he had gotten. Could he have searched for someone less complicated to be friends with for a year? Probably, but life had handed him Virgil. He didn't intend on letting him go though. The two had been texting when they weren't in class, mostly it was what Virgil missed when he left for the office each Monday and Thursday.

He got to the door of 219 and was about to knock when the door next door opened. He looked over and saw Patton. "Oh, good I was hoping to catch you before you knocked. Virgil is with my dad, he'll be back soon. Come on in." Patton smiled.

Since Roman had gotten into Virgil and Logan's good graces, Patton was showing that he was the school sweetheart. He always said hello in the halls, and gave Roman smile. "Thanks." Roman stepped into the dorm.

The dorm was covered in half of fairy lights and bright blue colors. But the other side was covered in a smile white wall that each dorm had but had one astronomy poster and a calendar. The room was set opposite each other like Roman's and Micheal's expect the beds were at the windows and the desks were across from each other.

You could tell which one was Logan's side and which was Patton's with the small bookcases next to the desks. They were filled in different books. "You can sit on Virgil's chair, he won't mind." Patton said and pointed to a comfy looking black chair.

"Why is it covered in spider webs?" Roman asked.

"Because I wouldn't let him have a spider print, I am a little scared of them." Patton said. Roman nodded and took a seat. The room also had a small common area. The dorm they had was slightly bigger than Roman's.

"This is quite cozy, got to say I expected Janus to be here as well." Roman said and Patton smiled.

"Nah, Jan doesn't really hang out with us in our dorms. Mostly it's during extracurriculars that we share or Virgil goes over to Janus' dorm." Patton said while cleaning his desk up. He was just trying to find something to do so he could distract himself from the fact Roman was sitting right there.

"Huh, you know before Virgil told me he lived in a single I kinda assumed that Janus was his roommate." Roman said.

"Virgil and Janus living together, that's an idea." Patton chuckled.

"It was an idea." Roman shrugged and they settled into an uncomfortable silence.

Patton slammed a notebook down and sighed. "Can I just say I am sorry?" Patton said.

"What do you mean?" Roman turned to face Patton.

"Well, when you first got here I was nice enough but then you started showing interest in Virgil and I got defensive and I was a little mean about it. I wanted to apologize, it really wasn't something I was behind but I was told it would protect Virgil. In reality, it only upset him further or confused him. He has no idea about it, so please don't bring it up. But I have been feeling really bad about it." Patton gushed out. Roman smiled.

"Calm down dude. I understand, I don't need to know everything behind your actions but it's good to know there's more than just Virgil rooting for me." Roman winked. Patton sighed and jumped over the back of the futon they had.

"Good, and of course. We haven't really interacted much but it is good to hear that you don't care. He is one of the only cousins I have who is my age and I really see him as more than my cousin. These last few years, he's become my brother. As long as you promise that you will do your best to not hurt him I can get behind that." Patton said.

"I wouldn't dream of that, he's sweet. And when did he get so sassy?" Roman asked, Patton rolled his eyes playfully.

"He's always been that way since we were little. It's just Vrigil." Patton responded. "Trust me, it can get a bit old after a while."

"I really doubt that, I don't think I could." Roman said. "It's refreshing to find someone who isn't too sensitive about sarcasm."

"Give him a few months then we'll talk." Patton said and turned toward the door. "He should be back in a minute."

As if he heard, Virgil flew through the door and saw Roman and sighed in relief. He didn't come through the dorm door, he came in through the bathroom door. Virgil signed to Patton who nodded. Roman recognized Thank you, meaning Virgil had asked beforehand.

"No problem, Virge. Have fun and remember your phone so you can interact. Also Ze is going to be with her parents, so just a warning." Virgil nodded and waved to Patton. Roman followed Virgil into the hallway.

Janus looked around the meadow that was usually bare. He sighed and walked through the hallways. They had a few people in them but not a lot. He was wearing a comfortable outfit. It was Friday and he still had his appointment with Picani.

This time was different than most, he had to reschedule because there was a testing conflict, but he had to wait until it was time. He was impatient, it was just who he was. So he went to the office knowing full well he was an hour early and waited.

The secretary was there and she gave him something to do, she always did. Janus and Virgil were her favorites. She would never tell anyone that but she did tell Janus one day when Virgil was away. Ever since that day when the ambulance came and then he was called in to be asked what was going on, he didn't exactly understand the gravity of the situation with Virgil.

Despite what a lot of people were thinking, he wasn't always as rough. He was sent to Westward because his parents were done with the constant lies they got from him and misplaced emotions, after the first month of school it wasn't any better. But he found an outlet for anger. Sadly, he didn't realize that there was a toll that it took on Virgil. And all because Janus had misplaced anger and didn't understand what he was feeling.

Janus had a lot of time to think and he almost fell into the same pattern as Virgil did. He then figured Virgil would not want to be friends with someone who was sent to the same place. Not to mention this was the court's last chance for him to clean up his act. And clean up he did.

The court promised to pay for his tuition if he attended at least four sessions of therapy per week. Since being at Westward for almost two years, Picani has knocked it down to two sessions per week, and advised him to pick up a sport. Last spring he did track, now he was trying to convince Picani to write him off for hockey. Janus was built enough for a hit, plus he had the pure strength behind him.

That didn't mean he was off the hook, he had a meeting with the judge every six months while he was at school to see how he was doing because they felt it was necessary. Picani was working on convincing his lawyer that he didn't need that. The lawyer had been with Janus and his family since he started getting in trouble, so it was hard to believe that after two years a kid can change.

But what they didn't realize was seeing a half conscious kid who you bullied being wheeled out of the school really did a number on your confidence. And moral compass. When Virgil finally spilled what Janus had done, Janus was sure he was going to be sent home. He was lucky Virgil said it was okay when it really wasn't. Virgil was given a second chance and so was Janus.

It was then Janus was in his debt and he realized that there was more to people than their facade. He figured there could be more to himself. His parents were ecstatic at the fact he had smartened up and even wanted to stay in the school. Janus always liked school, and he was in classes a year ahead of his friends. He would never tell Logan that however. Janus would rather Logan take the title nerd while he was the planner.

Picani called him in after he finished filing some of the things that the secretary asked him to. Janus sat on the couch and waited. "So, is there any news?" Janus asked.

"I tried my best, but they still need to do an evaluation while you are here. They will be watching you in classes for the week and how you interact with other students." Picani said. Janus thought about it for a minute and then asked.

"Isn't that tracking? Which is illegal?" Janus asked.

"They are calling it an evaluation, which gets around the tracking issue. Also they want to interview a few friends. I was thinking maybe Virgil-"

"No. Not Virgil, I am not dragging him in further than he already has been. He's doing so well, I am not making him relive that shit." Janus interjected.

"Language." Picani said quietly. "For what he has gone through, I think he will be perfect. He's seen that side of you and then gave you a second chance. It's a redemption story!" Picani said excitedly.

"Then why not Patton? That little puffball is a source of unending positivity. He can vouch for me about my past and then how I am now." Janus crossed his arms and sat back.

"Patton is a sweetheart but Virgil is as well. And he's strong for what he does. Hell, if it was up to me I would take him with us to testify. I think you should consider it, don't rule Virgil out as a possibility. They will need a translator for him, he won't speak to them. They will be coming a few weeks before finals. So after Thanksgiving, I advise you to rethink the possibility of Virgil being your best bet." Picani pushed.

"I don't want to make it worse!" Janus almost yelled. "I already did that once, and he gave me a chance he didn't need to. After the bullying, all the times I hit him just because I didn't understand what happened to make him that way." Janus sighed. "He didn't have to tell me either but he did."

Picani smiled and looked at Janus. "But he did, he saw what others didn't. Remember when he told Patton off in your defense. That was Patton, imagine what he could do for your case. We could knock down your sessions and even lessen the requirements. Janus, Virgil cares. He would do it if you explained to him why you need him to."

"I don't want to, they would dig into his past. That town is shady as hell, and I don't think Virgil needs to be telling a court about the fact he won't speak because his father didn't even want him or his mother." Janus shook his head. "No, I won't do that."

"You can't know for sure unless you ask him. Maybe he was willing to and you are making an assumption that he doesn't want to. You are making a choice for him and you aren't factoring important details. In fact, I think the three of you do that a lot." Picani said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" Janus asked now intrigued.

"Virgil is a closed off person to everyone around him, expect those he wants to be around. But he's also compassionate, strong, and cautious. He tends to overthink words and what he wants to say, yes that comes from his past but it also comes from people pretending they know him better than himself. And that can be easy with mutes. They can't get their words out so they bottle up, you all have done better with it since he got back but the issue remains. You three are not letting him take hold of his life. He needed the constant support when he was hospitalized, but when he came back he had a drive that no one saw coming. It's time for you all to step back and let him fly. I know you want to prevent last year, but it will happen again. Different actions and the same outcome. Virgil is Virgil, and he will talk again if you give him time."

"And if you are lying?" Janus asked.

"I am not, but if you keep this up, Virgil might never talk to you."

Honestly, it freaked Janus out how much he came to care about Virgil. Sure at the start of the bullying that he had put Virgil through it was misplaced feelings, but once he saw how that messed Virgil up he changed his tune. He was working with Picani at the time with emotions and how they aren't a bad thing, and he ended up going to ask Picani to speak with Virgil. When Virgil came back, he was ready to forgive Janus but Janus couldn't forgive himself.

And it was the first time in years that Janus found someone who lit his feelings again, it scared him so much.

"He won't leave you if you tell him the truth."

"Would he even trust me still?"

"If he did then, he could now." With that Janus launched into a discussion of the last week, but leaving out details of how much farther his research on Roman had gotten. But he couldn't keep his mind off the fact that it was his damn anger management issues that got him arrested and into this mess.