Chapter Text
A dark alley. A young boy backed into a wall. Three tall creatures with sharp teeth covered with a strong metallic scent.
One slowly approached the boy, teeth bared and a smile on his lips. Loud footsteps echoed in the night.
"Come on, boy. Just one little bite…"
***
Virgil shot up, heart racing, breath heaving. He buried his head in his hands, shuddering as he tried to regain control of his breathing.
'You're here, not there. You're safe now'. He repeated in his head as his heart slowed to a normal pace. Well… normal for a dead guy at least.
A couple of minutes later, his alarm went off and Virgil groaned, not excited to start the day.
After dressing (long sleeves and a hoodie to hide as much of his body from the sun as possible) he trudged down stairs to drink his first coffee of the day. Despite spending everyday sleeping at night and awake in the day, it was still hard to go against his biology as a vampire so he survived off of caffeine and make up to hide his eye bags.
While most people associated packs with werewolves, vampires can have them too. They aren't as common as werewolves (who struggle to survive without packs) but many still have them to help relieve the loneliness that comes with immortality.
Virgil was part of a pack; they had quickly adopted him when they saw a young, scared, recently turned vampire running away from home. As he came down the stairs, he saw one of his pack mates: Andy.
"Hey," Virgil greeted Andy, who was drinking a blood pack out of the fridge, "good hunt?"
Andy shrugged, "Not really, we couldn't find much."
"Well, it's winter, less people want to go on late night walks,"
"True," Andy replied, "Seth said we might have to hunt near clubs cause there's likely to be more people there. But he's hesitant 'cause of all the alcohol and drugs in those people's systems."
"Fair enough. Good luck," Virgil poured his coffee. Unlike him, Virgil's pack were awake at night and slept in the day, usually going hunting for human prey. Virgil didn't like the idea of hunting humans so he mostly survived off blood packs and animal prey.
"Thanks," Andy smiled and made his way up stairs, "try not to burn or whatever."
Virgil huffed a laugh. It was tough being awake during the day but he managed.
Soon enough, he was out of the house and on his way to the coffee shop.
Virgil vastly preferred winter to summer. Not only was cold infinitely better than hot but it also made life as a vampire easier. Firstly, the sun rose later and set earlier, making it easier to avoid. Secondly, it was easier to wear long sleeves and cover his body as it was colder and more socially acceptable. Lastly, it meant his pale complexion was more natural than in summer when everyone else was tan.
In short, Virgil was glad it was winter. The only bad things were all the themed drinks and increase in annoying customers at his coffee shop.
At his job, he usually took the long shifts which lasted nearly all day and often volunteered to cover other who needed to leave early. Most of his co workers were glad, seeing him as a friend who they could count on to take the shifts no one wanted. Others questioned his insane work ethic, sometimes begging him to take a break. None of them knew- and he would never tell them- that he only took those shifts to stay out of the sun longer.
All the Karens, demanding customers and long hours did often make him hate his job but there were a couple of benefits. Firstly, protection from the sun- the shop was neatly nestled in a corner of the city and crammed between tall buildings, allowing very little direct sunlight shining though the windows. Secondly, he earned a wage to help out his pack, they had done so much for him from taking him in when he was young to teaching him all about vampires and he liked being able to help out and give back to them.
The third things was his friends.
The five of them attended the college down the road and liked the cheap prices and corner table Virgil always managed to keep open for them. They started showing up a few months after Virgil began his job. Serving them once a day turned into getting to know them personally which then became spending his breaks with them and finally arriving here with the best friends he could ask for.
Sure enough, they showed up right on time, the bell above the door tinkling as it opened and quickly being drowned out by the sound of laughter as they walked in. Virgil looked up and smiled, the annoying old man of five minutes ago forgotten.
"Virgil!" The moustached man ran towards the counter, leaping on top and pulling Virgil into a big, fat kiss.
Virgil chuckled as they parted, looking down at the counter, "Great, I'm gonna have to clean that now, who knows where you've been!"
Remus laughed and jumped down, "I haven't seen you in forever!"
"Yes, a whole twenty hours ago, absolute torture. I was starting to forgot your face." He smirked.
"Hah! You said hole!"
Virgil rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the rest of the group, "and how are the rest of you."
They all answered something to the effect of 'good' or 'fine'.
"Cool, you all want the usual?"
They quickly agreed and went over to their table.
The 'usual' was as follows:
Logan ordered a simple black coffee, cream and sugar on the side in case he decided he wanted them.
Patton took a hot chocolate with all the cream and marshmallows Virgil could cram into a mug.
Roman drank a heap load of syrups and extra sugar in his large, fancy, over the top iced latte.
Janus chose a simple English breakfast tea (though he'd occasionally take chai if it was a special occasion)
And Remus… Remus asked Virgil to make him an Abomination, aka the strangest combination of flavours he could dream up. Virgil and Roman had a bet going to see how long it took him to vomit from one of his creations.
Soon, all the drinks were made and Virgil brought them over. Logan had his head down in the study materials he'd placed over his end of the table. Remus was working on a new sketch. Janus, Roman and Patton were engaged in a conversation which abruptly stoped when Virgil approached.
"Here," he placed everyone's drink in front of them, Remus thanking him with a wet kiss to the cheek.
"When's your break?" Logan asked.
"Right now," he smiled as he flopped into the seat next to Remus.
For the next half hour, the others caught Virgil up on everything happening with them. Sometimes, Virgil found himself feeling a little like an outsider to the group. Logan, Remus and Roman had been friends since middle school then they'd met Patton and Janus in high school while Virgil had only known them for nearly a year. Luckily, they seemed to all love and care for him deeply (even if his anxiety said otherwise) and made sure to include him, explaining stories from their youth and including him in inside jokes. Plus, dating Remus helped him to feel like part of the group, giving him an anchor to alleviate fears of being excluded.
Sadly, Virgil looked up at the clock, "Sorry, guys, my break is over." He stood and began to clear their empty cups.
They all exchanged a look before Patton asked, "Are you free tonight?"
"Yeah, why?"
"We're planning to hang out at Remus and Roman's dorm if you want to?"
He smiled, "Sure."
"Great, we'll leave when your shift's over!"
Time seemed to drag on throughout the last hours of his shift. Finally, he sighed in relief upon hanging up his apron , grabbing his stuff and meeting his friends by the door.
As the walked, the sun's last rays hovered at the edge of the horizon, allowing Virgil to leave most of his skin exposed. He still put his hood up to be safe, claiming that he was cold which led Remus to basically cling to him as they walked like a koala. For most of the walk, the conversation flowed smoothly and naturally, the warmth of friendship keeping them all comfortable in the cold streets. However, as they reached the twin's dorm, the others tensed. It was barely noticeable and they tried to pretend things were fine but Virgil noticed. There seemed to be something they all knew but he didn't. Anxiety began bubbling up his in stomach.
He tried to take some deep breaths. It's fine, everything's fine. They're your friends. The problem was that anxiety didn't tend to listen to reason. Soon his brain started spiralling.
They've decided you're worthless. They don't want to be your friend. You're too much work for them. You've been a horrible boyfriend to Remus and now he's gonna break up with you.
"You okay, Virgil?" Remus asked him quietly.
Not trusting his voice he just nodded. He could tell Remus wasn't convinced.
They all took seats around the small room. Virgil felt like he was choking on the thick tension in the room. The others kept giving each other glances. He was going to be sick.
Eventually, Logan sighed, "Look, Virgil, we need to talk to you."
This was it. It was nice having friends for a while. He'd probably have to get a new job since he doubted the others would want to go to another coffee shop and he wouldn't be able to bear seeing them.
"Logan!" Roman shot a glare at the nerd, "Sorry, Virge. This isn't as scary as he made it out to seem, I promise."
"We're just… worried about you, kiddo." Patton smiled at him sadly, "and we want to help."
Remus held Virgil's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"Worried about what?" He felt himself shaking.
"It's just…" Roman looks for a polite way to say it.
Sick of them all dragging it out, Janus said, "We know about your… condition."
"My…?" Suddenly, the puzzle pieces fell into place. They knew. They knew he was a vampire.
Upon seeing the horrifying realisation dawn on his face, Patton quickly jumped in, "it's nothing to be ashamed of, kiddo! We just… we wanna help!"
"I… I thought I'd been careful hiding it," Virgil ran a hand through his hair. The others exchanged sad looks at that, "How… how did you figure it out?"
"Well, firstly you never eat," Logan answered simply, "and you turn down food when we offer it."
While he could eat regular food, it often made him nauseous so he tried to avoid it. He didn't think his friends would've picked up on that,
"You're always hiding your body. I don't think I've ever seen you wear something that wasn't large, baggy and with long sleeves," Roman looked at his with pity.
As stated previously, clothes like that were the best at helping him hide his skin from the sun.
"And you're always really pale and tired all the time," Remus pulled him into a side hug.
Virgil felt his chest tighten. He knew they'd have to find out eventually but he kept putting it off and hoping it would happen by his choice.
"I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't want you to find out like this. I wanted to tell you myself but…"
"It's okay, Virgil," Roman reassured him, "We're here for you."
"And we're willing to help you find treatment," Patton smiled.
"Treatment?" He sat up and frowned.
"Yes, a combination of therapy and treatment from doctors can help make things better for you," Logan replied.
"And we'll support you every step of the way!" Remus declared.
"I didn't think there was a cure," Virgil was growing concerned.
"Of course there is!" Roman insisted, "It's not easy but with help and effort, we'll be able to help you through your eating disorder."
…
Virgil stared at him in shock for a second before yelling,
"What!?"
"Virgil, it's nothing to be ashamed about!" Patton tried to comfort him, "Eating disorders are fairly common and we want to help you."
"I don't have an eating disorder!"
"But you were agreeing with us?" Logan questioned, "What did you think we were talking about?"
"I…" he really didn't want it to happen this way but he had no choice, "I'm… I'm a vampire."
Silence.
"Virgil, this isn't funny!" Janus snapped, "We're trying to help you, don't joke about this!"
"I'm not joking, it's true!"
"Can you prove it?" Roman asked.
Virgil sighed, "Here," he opened his mouth and let his fangs drop.
He looked around the shocked faces of his friends, just waiting for one of them to yell, to scream, to kick him out or hunt him down. Instead he was nearly winded as Remus launched himself, tackling Virgil into a bear hug.
"MY BOYFRIEND'S A HOT, SEXY VAMPIRE!!" He quickly pressed wet kisses all over Virgil's face.
Virgil couldn't help but start to laugh. This was really not how he expected him reaching he was a vampire to go. He eventually managed to squirm out of Remus' hold and look around nervously at the others.
"S-sorry if you think this is weird or crazy but… can we still be friends?"
Patton gasped, "Why would we not want to be your friend?"
He shrugged, "Cause I just told you I'm a supernatural creature that, until a couple years ago, I thought were fake?"
Logan adjusted his glasses, "While I do find this shocking and hard to believe, I would never abandon you as a friend due to this, Virgil. I may need a bit more evidence before I'm fully convinced, however."
Roman and Janus shared similar sentiments while Remus just tackled hugged him again.
Virgil smiled. He should have known that things would be alright. His friends are awesome.