Dark Knight at Your Service

Warnings: Some swears and character deaths

Roman was a very popular guy in high school. Outsiders wouldn't associate it with being the biggest target for bullying, but that described him, too. It was no secret that a lot of people either wanted him or wanted to be him, but it seemed as if the envy was too much for everyone around Roman. Roman was the kind of person who would flaunt self confidence and try to help anyone who needed it. Even though actions such as someone setting his bag on fire, students shoving him into lockers without the knowledge of the teachers, etc. were common for him to be a victim of, he still expressed a lot of self coincidence, not because it was actually genuine, but because he knew that reacting appropriately would give him the satisfaction they desired. He wouldn't cry from what he had to go through until he was in his bedroom alone. Another effect that the torment caused was that he couldn't get close to this antisocial emo guy in school that he occasionally saw and wanted to get to know because he didn't want the emo to get caught in the crossfire.

One day, the morning started with an assembly that everyone had to attend. Everyone was muttering and speculating about what the subject of the assembly was continued chattering until the principal settled them all down. As it turned out, one of the students, Nicole Arbour, had succumbed to sun poisoning due to an unchecked tanning addiction. While the principal was talking about the dangers of addiction and giving into the pressures of media, Roman was thinking about the bullying that came from Nicole and when he thought it started.

Roman was getting out of the auditorium after finishing an audition for an upcoming musical and Nicole quickly approached him and tried to ask him out in front of so many students. Even when she tried flaunting her cleavage (probably in an attempt to get a "yes" from him), Roman still had enough composure to politely reject her advances and remind her he's not into girls. She ran off crying and he didn't think much of it as he headed for class. She berated him in any way she could and even recognized some other bullies as Nicole's friends. Coincidentally, some time after Roman rejected Nicole's advances, he heard through the grapevine that she denied ever liking him and claimed she attempted to ask him out as a joke.

Roman noticed that, over the next several days, the bullying seemed to decrease a little bit, which led him to suspect that the majority of the bullying were acts of peer pressure rather than actual malice. He felt safe enough to glance at the emo more than before, but he was still scared that he'd get the emo hurt.

A few weeks went by and there was another assembly going on. The only differences were that the dearly departed student was Gregory Jackson and that the principal had to educate the student body and faculty on cleaning and inspecting food products so that they would be free of bugs or pesticides. Roman wasn't thinking about the lesson, but was thinking about his encounters with Gregory Jackson.

Gregory Jackson was held back and didn't hesitate to hit on the students that were younger than him. Gregory blamed Roman for his inability to get women to pay attention to him, but Roman and everyone else knew that the real culprit was Gregory's disrespect for... anyone and anything. That didn't stop those who were peers with Gregory from doing things like ripping Roman's drawings, trying to shove his backpack in the oven in Home-Ec class, or even slamming his face with locker doors.

Harassment became less and less for Roman as the days continued on. Roman was starting to suspect that it might not be a coincidence that two of the students that died were students that hated him, but he had no way of knowing why. He was bold enough to make small talk with the emo, whom he found out was named Virgil, but was still worried that he'd get hurt from the bullying that was still happening to Roman.

At least a month passed before another assembly occurred. A mixture of emotions were felt amongst the student body when they heard about a student by the name of James Charles had some health problems due to bootleg make-up products. Roman tried to listen to the assembly for the sake of respect, but he couldn't help but think of his encounters with James.

When Roman was still new to the school, he had always heard James proclaim that he was the Top Gay of the school. However, as Roman continued being himself in the school and expressing pride in himself, more attention seemed to be on him and he saw a scowl on James's face whenever they made eye contact. His reputation was in danger due to the gossip in the halls about James aggressively making moves on the straight guys, but the subject of gossip was changed to him harassing Roman and some others jumping on the bandwagon.

As they were all heading back to their classes Roman bumped into Virgil and they were talking with each other about what happened. Roman confessed that things likely weren't great between himself and James and Virgil was trying to be comforting. The school year went on and Roman wasn't bullied as much as he used to be. Along with that, he was becoming good friends with Virgil and it steadily turned into something more. He noticed that, every now and then, Virgil had an expression on his face that seemed to illustrate guilt. He wanted to ask what was on Virgil's mind, but he figured it would be better to wait until Virgil was ready to tell him.

One evening, they were spending time in the park when they were the only two there and Virgil had guilty expression again.

"Roman, do you remember me telling you that I used to grow up in foster care on the rough part of town until middle school?" Virgil nervously asked.

Roman remembered that Virgil told him that he thought it was a factor of his aggressive demeanor, but he gave the emo a reminder that it wouldn't scare him away.

"I remember. You said you were scared that, if your demeanor didn't draw people away, that your past might. Why do you ask?" Roman retorted.

"Well, a socially feared upbringing can teach you plenty, like how to make tanning lotion extra sticky where it can be used as a glue to keep you stuck in a tanning bed, how many spiders can be accidentally consumed before it became hazardous, and even what toxins to put in make-up to cause what health issues," Virgil claimed.

Roman started to feel confused until everything clicked for him: the deaths of the three students weren't accidents or coincidental after all. Roman would've been scared of Virgil if not for the fact there was remorse illustrated on Virgil's face.

"Why?" was all Roman could ask.

"Ever since you first came to our high school, I was to anxious to ask you out and figured you were out of my league, so I mainly just hoped you would be happy. Unfortunately, even before those assholes tormented you, I saw pain behind your eyes before you turned in a direction that wasn't mine. I wasn't confrontational and initially wanted to get revenge on them for putting you through Hell. I didn't intend for them to die, but it seemed like a bonus. Besides, they were planning something horrible for you and I didn't want that to happen."

Roman looked down and processed all he heard. He was dating someone with three deaths on his hands, but he didn't intend to kill them and Virgil did it all for Roman. It was clear to Roman that Virgil was scared of himself due to his past and his actions. Virgil handed over his phone with 9-1-1 dialed, but Roman pushed it aside.

"You had good intentions, Virgil. We don't have to get you to jail, we just need to get you to a good therapist. What good can being behind bars do that getting actual help can't?" Roman decided.

Virgil looked at Roman with tear-soaked eyes and surprise on his face.

"You're not going to turn me in?" Virgil asked.

"As far as everyone is concerned, they were all unfortunate accidents. All you need help for are your anxiety and your concerns towards your upbringing," Roman answered.

Roman held Virgil close and felt his heartbeat. As dark as it sounded, he felt glad that he meant so much to someone that they'd seriously harm his troubles like a dark knight.