Love is thicker than blood

Voicemail

Wilhelm woke up the next morning to his phone being propped up on his nightstand. His bed was cold, and it felt empty. He had dreamt of Simon again, them reuniting and being together how Wilhelm always wished they would. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, stars flooding his vision as he opened them again, only to fade away in a few seconds. It was light outside now, which meant that it was later in the day. He glanced at the clock, it was almost 10, which meant that breakfast would be served soon. He grabbed his phone and turned it on. He quickly sat up in bed as he saw a notification he wasn't expecting at all. It was a voicemail from Simon. It was from a few hours earlier. He sat up straight, turned up the volume and pressed play, his heart beating faster and faster in anticipation. What could Simon possibly have to say to him.

"Hi Wille... I know I called you early, and I don't know if I have the courage to call you up again in case you really answer, so I'm just leaving this voicemail for you to listen to when you wake up. I just want to tell you I love you too. I should've said it yesterday, but I wasn't brave enough I guess. Why I'm telling you this now, I don't know, but... I mean it, I really do. Take your time to figure things out, and tell me when you're ready. I hope you're alright and that we'll get to see each other after christmas break. Ehrm... yeah, that's it. Bye." it ended with a beep, leaving Wilhelm with a pounding heart and cheeks and ears that were slowly turning pink and red. He smiled and squealed like a little girl as he played the voicemail over and over again. The thoughts from the night before were useless, and he didn't have to overthink anymore. Simon didn't abandon him just yet, and there was still hope that the two could get back together again, if Wilhelm ever got the chance.

"Prince Wilhelm, are you up?" He heard Malin ask outside the door.

"Yes." He shouted back, clenching onto his phone and looking through Simons instagram, at his last posts and old ones he'd looked at a billion times before. Just the look of Simon filled his stomach with butterflies.

"Well, breakfast is being served in the kitchen in a few minutes. The Queen won't be joining you today due to a meeting in the parliament." Malin spoke monotonously like always. Sometimes Wilhelm just wished she would relax a bit and not be so serious and professional all the time. He didn't like serious people. Life is more fun when you do what you want, instead of following all unspoken rules and social expectations all the time. Wilhelm notified her that he'd be there soon, quickly hearing her walk away, down the hall.

His mother was away. He felt a huge sense of relief. It would just be him and his father, how he preferred it. Wilhelms' father never had any major expectations for Wilhelm to meet. He just had to do his best, and his father would be proud. It was just his mother who cared about pride and honor, and his father was just too much of a coward to say anything to defy his mother.

"Good morning." Wilhelm greeted his father at the table. His plate was filled with bread, eggs, bacon and some fruit. It was just like he was used to when he and his father were eating alone.

"Good morning Wilhelm. Slept well?" he asked, filling their glasses with orange juice before starting to eat.

"Yeah. You?"

"I slept well. It seemed like you were staying up late last night." his father eyed him, with a slight smile on his face. He was just like other teens, his father could understand that, and treated him as such.

"Yeah... I was just-" Wilhelm halted, how could he tell his father that he was making a christmas present for someone he wasn't allowed to date? He remained silent and just hoped his dad wouldn't ask or say anything else regarding it. His wishes were not met, like always.

"I saw you come home yesterday with a bag from Panduro. What were you making that required you to stay up so late? I went to the bathroom at 4am last night and the lights in your room were still on." His father just couldn't shut up, could he?