summary: Not all relationships are perfect, and not all of them can last forever. Some relationships don't have to last. Sometimes, it's enough just to be able to call someone your friend for the rest of eternity.
pairing(s): platonic AND a little romantic royality, background analogical and qpr dukeceit if you squint
warnings for this chapter: swearing, alchohol, death mention, gun mention, bottled up feelings(?)
a/n: so, here it is! chapter one! i do have chapter two up on the original place i posted the fic, but ill post that either tomorrow or on a later date. i predict some time after i finish this long one shot request i have to do.
chapter three is in the making!
Roman sighed in relief as the surprisingly cool air hit his face, stepping out of the doorway of what now used to be his school. A content smile found it's way stuck onto his face and now he couldn't seem to wipe it off. The boy felt free, at last. It felt like it had been years since Roman had left the building and now it felt better than ever to finally be out of the place.
Making his way over to his car after snatching his keys from the pocket of his jeans, Roman unlocked his vehicle. After promptly plopping himself down into the leather seat of his car Roman rested his hands over the steering wheel. A slight feeling of dread took over him, but that stupid smile just refused to slip itself away. This was the last time he would see his only friends that weren't some random strangers from the coffee shop across the street from his apartment and it made Roman feel sort of lonely from the thought of it. Nothing was going to be the same after Roman left this lot. He would have to go off and find his new life elsewhere.
âAgh, stop worrying over nothing Roman,â He whispered harshly to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. âThis is your chance to finally create the new you. The person you've always wanted to be.â
Now that smile he had shifted into a confident one. âThis is your last chance,â Roman whispered. âUse that chance to make it right again. You have an entire life ahead of you.â
Slipping his keys off of his finger, he ran a shaky hand through his hair and sighed again.
âNow let's go to this party and not die.â
About twenty to thirty minutes later Roman arrived at a large and fancy house, which wasn't very surprising considering what a snobby ârichâ little shit the host was. Why did he even agree to go to this party anyway? He didn't even know the answer to that himself. Roman doubted any of his friends or anyone he really knew were going to be there, so what was the point?
Roman shook his head and started to make his way inside of the house, double checking to make sure he had locked his car. Hopefully this party wasn't going to be a drag like the last four parties Roman was invited to. Now those were absolute torture to stay for even fifteen minutes at. All the people there were drunk the entire time and everyone was either making out with each other or sobbing in the corner because their friend didn't come like they said they were.
Roman was really hoping that his party buddy would bail on him this time. She was usually the only sober or mentally stable one there besides Roman himself. She was fun, and actually worth talking to.
The first thing he noticed when he made his way into the building was that he must've been surprisingly early, because there weren't all that many people there yet. Well, in that particular room that is. You could never be one hundred percent sure until you've actually made your way through the entire body of chaos. There was always that one room Roman would accidentally walk into and at least fifteen people would be stuffed in there playing spin the bottle or something else. Suspicious, yes, but overall still funny and memorable no matter how many times it happened.
The second thing Roman noticed was how awkwardly eerie the room had smelled. It was probably just his brain messing with him again, but he could swear he smelt blood or something terribly rotten. Once again, probably just his brain being stupid and messing up his senses, but gosh, it smelled like someone literally died in there. Maybe Roman should just leave. That, to be quite honest, sounded like the best option at the moment. He really didn't feel like getting caught up in a homicide investigation and being falsely accused of someone's death. Roman had been caught up in one of those before and it wasn't pleasant. A gun being pointed straight at your face wasn't a very fun experience, he might add. It was life threatening and overall completely terrifying.
Roman shrugged it off eventually and went over to the mini bar set up in the kitchen, grabbing himself a small drink and practically chugging the entire thing in under ten seconds. Not a very smart idea but he kind of wanted to get out of there as soon as he possibly could. The aura around this place was rather eerie too.Â
"Hey hottie!" A voice said enthusiastically behind him.
Roman flinched, a hand flying to his chest before whirling around to see who pretty much just yelled in his ear. Seeing who it was, he easily calmed himself with a small and short sigh.
"Oh, thank gods. I thought you were one of those obsessed girls from school, Melissa. You need to stop doing that!" Roman exclaimed as he shoved a cup over to the girl. Melissa grinned wickedly and grabbed the cup. She took a short sip and placed it down, leaning back onto the counter.
"I know, I know. But you're just so fun to mess around with," Melissa said, nudging Roman's shoulder. In return she earned a playful glare from the boy.
Roman rolled his eyes and took a seat in the stool behind him. He stared at the girl in front of him for a moment before speaking up. "So, how have you been holding up? Ever since you graduated college last year I haven't seen or even heard from you."
Melissa fiddled with the ruffled fabric hanging around her neck. "I'm fine. I sorta got caught up in two hundred different things all at once so I forgot to message you," she answered. "How about you? Find that boyfriend of yours yet?" She asked playfully.
Upon hearing that purely sarcastic question Roman's heart dropped. A small frown made it's way to his face but quickly covered it up with a small melancholic smile. Looking down from his friend, his gaze went to his plastic cup, biting his lip.
"Sadly, no luck. With him or anyone else. I've started to give up honestly. After he left all those years ago I've gotten tired of looking and I don't want to stay depressed and angry at myself forever. There wasn't really anything I could do to stop it, so I don't see the point anymore."
Melissa side glanced over to Roman, who was now sadly looking down at his red plastic cup without much emotion on his face. She knew from the past that this was a common thing he did when something from his own 'tragic' past was brought up in a conversation.
"Hey, hey, no need to get worked up dude. Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up," She said, grabbing her cup from the counter and sipping from it again.
Roman sighed once more and shrugged. "It's fine. It's nothing really. I just don't know how to get over some stupid feelings I had years ago. I need to learn how to finally get over it."
"Maybe you do. If you don't end up getting yourself to do it, that's fine. It's nothing to be ashamed about. It happens to a lot of people, Ro."
After a moment of silence, Melissa's phone rang and he jumped slightly. Slipping her phone out of her pocket, she squinted at the screen.
"It's my step-dad. Probably something stupid with mom or something. I'll text you later, Ro! Night," She said, before making her way out of the house.
Roman looked up, and when she left he immediately looked back down again.Â
