Twenty Two

781 42 4
                                    

Arden
•••

   We are sitting at the bonfire. The boys were just telling me the story of them meeting. They've actually known each other since they were boys. Apparently the general takes care of him as his own.

   His mother had died during childbirth, and his father at battle. Apparently he was a good friend to the king and general. I was surprised on how open he was to a stranger in telling his whole life story. Will explained to me that since it happened when he was only one, so it didn't bother him to talk about it.

   The boys would always play together though, Gwen would join them. It explains why Will is so nice to her. They've known each other practically their whole lives. Which, side note, has been eighteen years. Making William and I the same age.

   "I need to take a leak." Will says standing up, still laughing from their conversation. I've been sitting here, listening to the two boys catch up.

   I have concluded two things. One, I like this Christian guy. He seems like a good guy.

  And two, they are best friends. In a different way than Will is with Carter and Levi. They could go years without talking, but meet again and act as if no time has passed.

   "Don't get yourself in trouble while I'm gone princess." He smirks at me.

   "I won't." I say putting my hands up in mock surrender.

   He laughs and looks at Christian. "Keep your eye on this one. She looks innocent, but she isn't."

   I laugh, "I'll behave."

  "You say that, then do the complete opposite of what I tell you."

   "What can I say?" I shrug, "I'm a hard girl to control." Will laughs and shakes his head before heading out into the woods.

   Christian sighs, "God, I've missed that guy." He says with a small smile on his face.

   "Why don't you ever come to the school?" I ask.

   "The ones filled with supers?" He laughs, "I don't think I'd be allowed even if I asked."

   I laugh embarrassed. He mentioned earlier that he didn't have powers. "I forgot." We laugh and talk for only a little longer before Will is back.

   "She didn't sway you to the dark side while I was gone?" Will teases sitting back down.

   "I don't know man," he says leaning over  to Will and whispering. Looking back at me. "With her beauty and charm. I'm sure by the time you guys are ready to leave, all the men here will be at her knees."

   Will throws his head back and laughs. I've never seen his this genuinely happy, well since ever. "Charm my ass."

   I scoff, "I'm still working on him." I say to Christian. The boys continue to talk and joke around. I smile at this new side of Will, almost childlike. One that makes him seem like a normal regular boy, not a prince. Christian brings that out of everyone, I'm guessing. And one that makes me feel like I'm just a normal girl.

   I groan when my stomach starts to growl. "I'm hungry." I say to no one in particular.

   "Oh I totally forgot." Will says lifting up his bag to his lap. He pulls out a small brown bag. I nearly gasp when I smell the tacos.

   "William whatever your middle name is..."

   "Oh it's..." William cuts Christian off with a glare. "Never mind."

   "Whatever it is, you are a walking saint. Please hand them over." I say putting my hands out eagerly. He's rolls his eyes amused, but hands my a taco. I nearly moan when I take the first bite.

   "Wow, I've never seen someone seem so in love with a food." Christian says taking a bite of the taco.

   "What can I say, I am a whore for a good taco." I say taking another bite.

   Will chokes on his food. Christian snaps his head in his direction. "Did she just say..."

   "Ignore her," Will says after clearing his throat. "She's a weird one." I roll my eyes and show him my favorite finger. "And not very lady like." He adds.

   "Just not to you." I say mid bite.

   That sentence puts a smirk on both boys faces. I don't miss their little exchange of looks. I roll my eyes. Boys and their dirty minds.

   Don't get me wrong, girls have just as dirty of minds boys do. They're just better at hiding it. "Oh," Will pipes up. "Before I forget." He reaches into his bag and pulls out some sort of device. "A walkie-talkie."

   "Why do I need that?" I ask taking it from his hand and turning it around.

   "In case we get separated tomorrow and you need something. Or even tonight."

   I raise an eyebrow at him. "What would I need from you tonight?

   "You have a dirty mind princess." Will looks at me and shakes his head.

   I scoff, "That's funny coming from you. And that's not even what I meant."

   "Sure it wasn't." Christian adds in.

   I narrow my eyes at him, "I don't like you anymore."

   He smiles, "Liar."

   We continue to joke around and eat our dinner. Once we were done, Christian shows us where our tents are.

   Will's and my tent aren't super far from each other, but also not super close. Mines a little bit away from the other tents. Christian explained that it's because apparently me coming was a last minute thing, leaving them not enough time to make rooms near the rest of the tents.

   I'm walked to my tent by William. He says goodnight and tells me that he's going to talk to the rest of the men before going to bed. I wish him goodnight and go into my tent.

   I smile at the nice little set up they have. It wasn't as nice as my room at school, but I can tell they put effort into it.

   Not tired at all, I dig into my backpack and pull out a book. It's just some random love story I found at the school's library. I get comfortable, and start to read.

•••

There's No GoodWhere stories live. Discover now