Mysteries & Royalty

Chapter 14

Doot doot doot, it's chapter time again

The headache Emilio always got after crying hit like a semi-truck. That's why he preferred to cry before sleeping. It avoided the mess all together. Emilio held his head tightly, vision blurry. As soon as Lukas brought the aspirin, Emilio downed it, closing his eyes tightly until the headache passed. Lukas hugged his brother, seemingly understanding his want for comfort.

"I think I'm okay now." Emilio said quietly

"Okay. Do you want to talk about it?" Lukas asked softly

"Damien told me he loved me. I freaked out and assumed he was fucking with me. We yelled at each other. He stormed out. I cried." Emilio replied

"Okay" Lukas started slowly, "A fight. How long have you been dating him?"

"2 months, almost 3" Emilio replied

"What'd he yell at you?"

"That I wasn't trusting enough. That even though we spend so much time together-" Emilio paused, his voice choked up a bit, "I didn't trust him enough, and that I wasn't putting enough effort into it"

Lukas' hand curled into a fist. Emilio pretended not to notice. He took a breath.

"What'd you yell at him?"

"That he was spoiled and that my trust issues weren't my fault"

Lukas sat to think about this for a moment. He gently rubbed Emilio's arm to keep him calm.

"Okay" Lukas started, looking at him, "I think you should definitely apologize for panicking and stuff, because that wasn't cool. For calling him that too."

"I know it wasn't, it just happened and I regret it so much. I will" Emilio replied

"But-"

Emilio shot him a confused look.

"Damien has to apologize too. That was assholish of him too. He escalated the situation." Lukas told him

Emilio glanced down at his hands.

"This was both of you guys fucking up, not just you,"

For some godforsaken reason, Emilio laughed. It was sharp and dry. He didn't know why it came to him, but it didn't stop. Slowly, Lukas joined in. It was like an infectious joke they hadn't yet heard. They soon calmed down and Emilio got up.

"You're right. I'll do that," Emilio paused, "Tomorrow, I have to look like I didn't just sob my eyes out. When are mom and dad coming?"

"Two hours."

"Shit."

Lukas laughed at his anguish and Emilio rolled his eyes.

"You go get ready too, Luk"

"Alright, alright, see you"

"Bye, thanks"

Emilio started to rush. He took a shower, put on his suit, a tie, washed his face and put cold water under his eyes. He only looked at the time as he was drying his hair. 7, they'd be here in an hour. He was good on time. His apartment was clean, he kept tidy, but the living room was a bit of a mess, so he got to that. He tidied the living room as much as possible.

He sat on the couch, grabbing his phone. Spotify was still open from when he was listening with Damien. Tears threatened to fall, but he wiped them away, closing the app. He shoved his earbuds in his pocket, followed by his phone.

The clock read 7:30. Emilio knew he should go. He grabbed his blazer, slipping it on. He ran his hand through his hair. It was fluffy and curled, as it tended to be after showers. He walked out, locking the door, putting his keys in his pocket. As he glanced up, there stood Damien. Emilio locked his eyes on his shoes. They were clean, his father wouldn't take it any other way.

Emilio realized Damien had stopped there too. He kept walking. Slowly. But as he passed, Damien stopped him, grabbing him by his waist and pulling him into a hug. Emilio hugged back. They pulled away.

"Tomorrow during lunch work?" Damien asked

"You know where to find me" Emilio replied

Damien nodded, kissing him gently, Emilio kissed back.

"See you tomorrow" Emilio said, walking down the hallway after their kiss

Damien nodded. Emilio went in the elevator. Just like that, they were away.

~

When Damien saw that suit, the possibilities ran through his mind like a train on a track. A date, another guy, someone who wouldn't yell at him. But Damien shook himself from that quickly. A quick version of the thought was that maybe he was gonna go meet Damien himself, but Emilio had tried to get past him.

The kiss assured him there was no one else, but the rush meant he was under a time crunch. Damien's curiosity peaked. He followed him.

When he finally found him, He was standing with his siblings in the lobby of the school. Two adults approached them. Damien assumed it was their parents from how they greeted the three.

The woman went in and gave all three a hug. Her husband joined but they quickly broke up.

"Your undershirt is wrinkled." Emilio's presumably step father told him

"Apologies." Is all he said back

"Don't be too hard on him, he's busy being top of his class."

Emilio glanced down, Damien could tell he had that shy smile on his face. Emilio worked hard. Damien once saw him pull what he called a 'tri-nighter'. Staying up for three nights studying for an important exam. He got a 98.

He was so incredibly dedicated. No matter what.

Damien loved him. He found himself not caring about what anyone thought of it. He needed to talk to Emilio and needed to do it fast.