Chapter Text
In the grand scheme of things, something as trivial as an alarm clock shouldn’t be the cause for both wild optimism and instant dread so early in the morning.
Actually, nothing should cause emotions so early in the morning, according to Virgil. Especially when that thing was shouting for him to get out of bed before the sun was really out. In the haze of his half asleep mind he nearly considered forgoing his first day at work in favor of a few more hours of sleep. But once he’d stretched and rubbed the grogginess away from his eyes, he’d come to his senses enough to crawl out of bed and start his morning routine. Partly because it was dumb to sacrifice a well paying job for three extra hours of sleep, but also due to the fact that he noticed he’d already hit the snooze button several times and if he didn’t get up right then, he would miss his bus.
That sure as hell wasn’t happening, so in a matter of minutes he was dressed and running out the door while gnawing haphazardly on a granola bar. When he was finally able to stop running and catch his breath, he took his seat on the bench in front of the bus stop, just in time for his morning panic. It started as a mental checklist to make sure he’d done all the activities necessary to begin his day, but of course that spiraled down to:
Did I make sure I locked the door? Did I turn off all the lights before I left? Oh god, my electric bill's gonna be insane if I left the lights on-
The consistent testing questions were not an uncommon occurrence for Virgil Maloret. Way too often he would pile on inquiries that seemed harmless in the moment but if he did not have an immediate answer it would continue to eat at him throughout the day until he returned home. It was a curse, but he was quite content with the uneasiness. It got his blood pumping, and for his first day working with a myriad of exhausted, grumpy, or way too energetic teenagers he’d rather be anxious all day than half asleep.
In his haze of worry he didn’t hear the low rumble of wheels on concrete or the warning to watch out. What he did hear was the sound of something hard colliding with the edge of the bench and suddenly his shirt was dampened with the strong scent of coffee. He barely had the compatible brain cells to register what had just happened in a timely fashion, but thankfully the stranger was the opposite.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I'm not usually clumsy like this, I'm just in a rush to get to work this morning. Are you alright?"
Virgil mumbled a halfhearted reply as he stood to try and swipe some of the excess coffee from his incredibly stained shirt. Though it really was a lost cause, and he would have picked up on sooner had it not been for the fact that he’d finally looked up and froze in place at the sight of an incredibly attractive stranger looking absolutely horrified by the situation at hand. “Uh- yeah. I’m alright.” He cleared his throat and looked back down to the dark stain in the middle of his once pristine gray top. “Can’t say the same for this though.” Great. His first chance to make a good first impression with the rest of his coworkers and he was going to look like such an idiot. The thought of running back home to quickly change crossed his mind, but just as it did the sight of the bus at the end of the street caught his eye and he let out an inaudible sigh.
Just as he began to resign himself to the fact that he’d most likely be branded as the “Coffee Stain Secretary” by the rest of the faculty in a matter of hours, the stranger proceeded to rummage around in his messenger bag at his side. It was then that Virgil noticed he was wearing rollerblades, which was most definitely the reason for the collision that had just taken place. A sudden flash of dark red came into view, and he looked up to see the other holding a shirt out in front of him. "Here. I always keep an extra, just in case."
"...In case what? You crash into a random stranger and spill coffee all over them?" Virgil asked sarcastically, an amused smile just barely poking through.
"Well, mostly in case anything happened to me, but it works if it helps a damsel in distress."
"Wow, a real heroic prince, huh?"
The stranger cracked a smile. "True to my last name." A beep snapped the two out of their impromptu staring contest and the other sighed loudly before silencing his phone. "I've got to go before I'm late to work...I’m Roman, by the way." Quickly flipping through his bag again, Roman pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. He quickly scibbled a series of numbers and handed the finished work to Virgil. “That’s my number. Give me a call and I’ll pay for your dry cleaning.”
Despite the surprise of just how cordial the man was acting- truly, very prince-like in Virgil’s humble opinion- he cleared his throat and grinned before uttering out a quiet “thanks” and picking up his bag in preparation for the bus quickly approaching his stop.
“It’s the least I can do….sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”
The bus pulled up at perfect timing for Virgil, and he decided to take a chance with playful sarcasm as he boarded. "I didn't throw it.”
That confident response was more than enough to occupy his thoughts the entire ride to work, and even as he quickly ducked into the restroom to change his shirt before anyone could see him. Thankfully, the newly gifted clothing fit him almost perfectly, and honestly didn't look bad on him. That Roman guy had pretty good taste. Well, good for a guy who rollerblades to work and crashes into guys who are still half asleep and spills lukewarm coffee all over him.
Wow, this morning was weird.
Once he got himself looking presentable again and his soiled shirt had been carefully discarded into a handy plastic bag he’d found in a supply closet, he finally had the courage to step into the office he’d be spending most of his time for the next school year. As he opened the door he was greeted by a man leaning against the counter with a file in his hand, clad in a light blue polo shirt, a gray cardigan wrapped around his shoulders and a pair of glasses resting on his face. When he caught sight of Virgil, his eyes lit up as his smile followed suit.
"Oh, hi! You must be the new secretary! I'm Patton Hastings, but you can just call me Pat! I'm the school counselor here, and I love making new friends, so don't be afraid to stop by my office at lunch or whenever you have free time! A couple of the other teachers usually eat lunch with me in my office because the teacher's lounge can be too much sometimes, and you're absolutely welcome to join!"
Virgil softly introduced himself and listened as the other talked to him, trying to stay focused but the realization hit him that somebody was trying to befriend him and it felt as though his entire being completely shut down. Friendships didn’t come easy to him. Hell, nothing really came easy to him. Well, except-
The door opened again and someone walked in with a large stack of books in his arms, blocking the entire upper half of his body including his face. "Someone please help me out here before I drop these! And let's face it, they're for the arts, so we won't get replacements anytime soon."
Virgil was able to stand up and help the poor guy, but the voice sounded way too familiar and by the time he figured it out, Patton had already started to help him.
"Roman! Why the heck would you try to carry all these books at once?" he asked, setting the books onto one of the nearby chairs as he scolded the man like a father would a child.
"I needed to get them all to Rebecca before second period. She's starting the new school year by making her students copy down vocabulary terms. I think she's hungover or something. Who knows?" Roman joked, a smile turning to a grimace until he turned his head and locked eyes with the man behind the counter. "Hey, coffee guy!"
Patton looked between the two of them then tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. “Huh?”
A slight smirk appeared on Virgil's face as he gestured to Roman. "He spilled coffee on me earlier today."
"On accident! I don't just go around pouring coffee on every guy I see. I'm not that kinda guy."
Virgil had to bite his lip to hold back a laugh, and obviously Roman just had to take notice.
"Ha! You laughed! I win!"
"You win?," Virgil mumbled in confusion, sitting back in his seat and grabbing the papers he had set on his desk earlier to finally put them into their respective files. “What exactly is the prize here?”
Patton sent a look towards Roman that Virgil didn’t understand before leaving with a cheerful goodbye. Roman walked over to the desk, but the bell that rang prohibited him from saying anything he wanted to. "I've got to get these books to the choir room, but I'll see you later." He made his way towards the door with all the books now once again stacked in his arms, this time more stable than before. "How long do I have to wait before you tell me your name?"
Virgil chuckled softly just as the bell rang again. "You would already know my name if you checked your email," he deadpanned, thinking of the several emails he’d already sent out over the last few weeks to the entire faculty. It makes sense that one of the only members who had not replied had been one Roman Prince.
Lone Ridge High School’s very drama teacher gave a teasing shrug and exited the office as smoothly as he’d entered, leaving Virgil with to his heaps of morning tasks and a no focus on any of it.
What a year it would be.