I can't say I do without you

Deacon Kline

To dissuade Mishelley and Gabriel from arguing again, I thought of giving them a photo of Raeanna and Prince Emmanuel with a signature and a short note. I can't wait to see their reaction. When I returned to the room with the three mini ice creams, they were still arguing.

I cleared my throat. "If you don't stop, I'll have no choice but to put your surprise in the trash."

"What's the surprise? I love surprises, " Mishelley said.

I placed the three ice creams on the table and took the bag to where the photo was hidden, and pulled it out of the bag cautiously. I purposefully left Raeanna and Prince Emmanuel out of the topic so that they would be more thrilled about what I would give them. "Did I mention that I became Raeanna's friend?" I said, pulling a picture of Raeanna from my bag.

"You've got to be kidding me," Gabriel exclaims, his palm covering his mouth in disbelief at what I'm holding. "T- that's freaking Raeanna Csilla Ferrel!!" he said as he snatched the photo from my grip. "How did you do that?"

"Here's a small gift for you, Gabriel. Raeanna shot a selfie photo specifically for you, along with some short messages."

"This... this is the finest surprise ever!" Gabriel said, hopping with delight.

"How about me?" Mishelley said, her eyes pity-filled.

"Don't worry... I've got this for you," she said, pulling out another photo of Prince Emmanuel.

"Gemma!! A- are you for real?" Mishelley snatched the photo from my hands and kissed it repeatedly. "Why didn't you say anything? You met the prince without even informing me; at the very least, you could have given me a text or bothered to facetime me so I could see him."

"I can't trouble the prince just because you wish to flirt with him,"

Gabriel suppressed a chuckle. "Gemma, that's a little too direct."

Mishelley scowled defiantly at me, "I despise you, but I love you. YOU'RE THE BEST!"

Because no matter how hard I try to make them go to school, they refuse. Since Gabriel's car had been taken, we used Mishelley's car. Since Abel was driving and Mishelley was in the passenger seat, I was the lone person in the backseat. When I got to the mall, the two started arguing, so I walked away and strolled around by myself.

I stalled at the music store, where I noticed a violin that caught my attention. That's when the violin in the library's secret room sprung into my head. That is, without a doubt, Mama's violin. Someone unexpectedly ran into me, and I almost fell, but luckily someone caught me. I still had to glance up at its tallness to glimpse the face of the person who had collided with me. The man is wearing a pair of glasses that obscure his eyes.

"Gemma!" Aaah. He was familiar with me.

"Who are you?" I queried. And that is when I recognized who he was when he took off his sunglasses. "Wait, what? You, again?" The man from Hilliard was grinning at me.

"What a serendipitous occurrence."

"Gemma!" Mishelley said as he dashed towards me, Gabriel trailing behind her.

Mishelley, gasping for air. "We're looking for you everywhere? Where have you been?"

"I decided to go for a walk around the mall because you two are constantly arguing."

"See, Mishe, it's your fault," Gabriel said, pointing directly at Mishelley.

"Here you go again,"

When they started up again, I was about to turn around when the guy from Hilliard grabbed my arms. "Can you tell me where you're going?"

I said, "Anywhere except here."

"Wait... Deacon?" Gabriel said as he approached the Hilliard man. "Deacon Kline."

Mishelley added, "D- Deacon, from summer camp?"

The Hilliard man let go of my hand so he could adequately clasp Gabriel's and Mishelley's hands. "It's great to see you all again; it's been a while."

I just stood there, puzzled by what I saw as they shook hands. What exactly is this? Is this the sort of get-together? I had no clue they knew each other. "Um... I didn't feel like I belonged here. How?" I hesitated. "How did you get to know one another?"

"What are you talking about? Of course, we know him," Mishelley said.

"How? I mean, I just saw him at the practice game, and his face didn't look familiar."

"Is this a joke, Gemma? How can you not remember, Deacon?" Mishelley said, her arms folded and her brows furrowed.

Rafael put his arms around the man from Hilliard's shoulder. "This guy helped us get out of the summer camp's basement."

Their conversation about Deacon, the guy from Hilliard, proceeded once they found a suitable coffee shop. Now I understand why this person knows my name and keeps questioning me. Deacon Kline was one of the kids at summer camp. I'm prone to forgetting people, primarily if I've just known them for a short time. But I must not forget the one and only kid who helped us in getting out of that dark basement. Because of the basement, we decided to quit attending camp every summer.

As the sun set, the story finally ended, and everyone decided to go home. These two fools keep pleading with Deacon to send me home. Just the sounds of the air flowing out of the air conditioner could be heard around us. This is awkward. What can I do to break the silence? Should I simply ask him a few questions?

"I..."

"I'm just curious. Why aren't you with the prince?" he queried.

Deacon is the one to break the silence. "I'm no longer working with him as of yesterday," I replied.

"Oh, that's a good thing you chose to avoid him. Yes, he is the prince, but he has no right to treat you like a slave. I witnessed how Prince Augustus embarrasses you in front of everyone; that's no human, Gemma. Novel?" Deacon scoffed. "He's a black sheep."

"You shouldn't talk about the prince like that; he's kind; he just has a temper problem."

"A good person did not just toss a ball at them or embarrass them."

"If you were with him, you wouldn't say that."

"Hey, easy!" He motioned with his right hand for me to halt. "I'm defending you against him, so why are you attacking me?"

"I didn't ask for someone to defend me," I stated loudly. "People who aren't aware of his circumstances condemn the prince so quickly. Prince Augustus didn't choose to be a prince nor be the next in line to the throne. He didn't want people talking behind him, so stop!"

"Okay, I get it; I'm sorry; don't be mad," he apologized.

I ignored him and focused my attention on the buildings we were passing. It's not because he's to blame for me or because I'm no longer Prince Augustus' personal maid; I'll just let other people say nasty things about him.

I unlocked the door as soon as the car screeched to a halt in front of the house. He stopped me before I could set foot on the road. "Please accept my apologies for being disrespectful and for saying negative things about your prince."

"He's your prince, too, Deacon, and you shouldn't apologize to me since I'm not the one you talked badly of," I said as I took his hand away from me.