𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 • 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

chapter two

bruce had drug finney to a small, more hidden part of the garden. it was pretty, there was tons of flowers — as there was through the whole garden, of course — and a small pond. although, it was hidden by trees, so most people didn't come across it. bruce was currently braiding flowers together to make a flower crown. finney watched intently, he found it mildly mesmerizing. "so," bruce spoke up, causing finney to flinch. "how'd you get the job early? shouldnt you technically still be at the academy?" he'd been pondering on why there was not many knights his age, and when he considered how old they usually were when they graduated, it clicked. "oh-" finney shrugged. "i started early, so i finished early." bruce looked up from what he was doing for a second, to raise a brow. "started early? how'd you do that?"

"you're nosy, did you know that?" finney sighed, and bruce shrugged. "my dad was a knight so i was able to get an early start. i think there was two or three other kids who did as well? they looked about my age, i only really talked to one of them." finney was still watching bruce weave the flower stems together. he took notice of how every now and then he would move too fast and have to stop. "hm, did he apply for another castle?" the other had clearly spiked bruce's interest, but honestly, anything about the outside usually world spiked his interest.

finney shook his head. "he wanted to be here, but he dropped out. decided it wasn't for him, i guess. we lost contact after he dropped out, soo.." finney trailed off, thinking back to when he went to academy. "i'm not surprised, though. he was always a pretty big trouble maker, if im being honest." he shrugged. bruce nodded in reply, tying the last two flowers together. "there we go-" he picked it up and looked at finney, a small smile spreading on his face.

he tilted his head to the side. "can you take off your mask?" finney hesitated, but once again gave in. he moved it up ontop of his head again. "no- all the way." bruce said. "oh, uh, alright." finney reluctantly took the mask off, earning another stare from bruce. he instantly took notice of the other boys blonde curls. his hair wasn't very curly, but at the ends it curled out. his hair was much longer in comparison to bruce's own. he set the flower crown on the other's boys head with a smile.

"perfect, it matches your eyes." finney couldn't help a blush and he let out an awkward laugh. "ah-" he looked away from the other, trying his best to avoid bruce's gaze, although, bruce didn't make any attempts to look away from finney. infact, he took the moment to lean a little closer and get a better look at him. he took immediate notice of the other boy's light chocolate eyes, which almost clashed with his pale skin, but at the same time blended perfectly. he had some small freckles that dusted just above his nose and along his cheeks his hair wasn't really a bright blonde, infact it was rather dark. he couldn't seem to take his gaze away from the other boy. infact, before he knew it, finney was staring right back at him. he didn't realize how close he was until finney looked at him again. now, it was bruce's turn to face pink flush over his face. he scooted back a little. "ah- uhm, i'm sorry— i didnt mean to stare."

the two boys sat in silence for a couple minutes — and not a comfortable one. it was killing bruce, he hated silence he glanced over at the pond, taking notice of the small fish swimming around. he piped up. "hey, did you know koi fish can live for over two hundred years?" finney raised a brow. "really?" bruce nodded quickly. "yeah! its super cool actually- ninety percent of koi fish out live their owners." bruce rambled on, earning a chuckle from finney. "right- so, how do you know all this?" he spoke up, and bruce paused. "ah- i have a lot of free time and there is a surprising amount of books about koi fish in the library. oh! i should totally show you." bruce smiled and finney nodded, a soft smile on his face. "sure, you definitely should."

bruce scoots a little closer to the pond, looking at the three fish that swam around. "anyways, these three are my friends, so i definitely had to do some research on them. did you know they can't have white bread, peas, or corn?" bruce hums softly to himself as he watches the fish swim around in circle. finney moves over next to him, looking at the fish as well. they were pretty, bright orange and white. although, they all looked practically the same. "so.. i take you spend a lot of time out here?" finney asked, his gaze never leaving the fish. bruce nodded. "all the time i can. it's the only place my parents don't bother me — mostly because they don't really know about it." he softly chuckles. finney paused. "they dont know about it?-"

bruce shakes his head. "nah, you'd be surprised how much they really don't know about on their own property. the workers know about it though, someone has to be watering all these plants." he gestures to the flowers. finney nodded. "yeah-" finney glanced up at the sky. the sun would be setting soon. "we should probably get back inside.." he glanced at bruce, who still had yet to take his gaze away from the fish. "just a couple more minutes, no one has come looking for us anyways." finney started to push about going inside, but he found himself instead giving in and sighing. bruce leaned his head on finney's shoulder. finney smiled to himself, resting his head on top of bruce's.

the two boys sat their for a couple hours, watching the fish — and watching the sunset — before they made their way back to the castle. they had to part ways of course, since bruce had to go to his room and finney had to go to the knight quarters. but, for the first time in years, bruce found himself going to sleep with a big smile on his face. he found himself happily drifting off, as opposed to his usual sour mood he had when going to bed, or rather, all the time. he was content now. well, content was an understatement. he was happy. maybe he would sleep peacefully for once.

maybe he would sleep peacefully. maybe. he had hoped he would, although when he was woken up by a loud thud on his balcony. who even needed a full nights rest anyway? bruce sat up, rather quickly, when he heard the noise. "what the hell?" he murmured to himself, rubbing his eyes. he stared at the window. he was too scared to go over to it. although, eventually curiosity got the best of him and he was making his way over the balcony. he hesitantly opened the curtains and, just his luck, there stood a boy.
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word count: 1,241
two chapters in one day 😱 active era fr anyways i hope you guys like this book so far 🤔 also happy halloween (it's technically tomorrow i guess but just take it now 😒 )