The Prince

Part 22

Noah, where are you?" Skye poked his head into the bakery kitchen, trying to locate him. He was supposed to be back from his break but hadn't been seen so far. Confused, he walked to the back entrance, where he found him sniffing with his eyes red as if he'd been crying.

"What's up with you?" He asked not overly concerned. 

"N, nothing," he stuttered while trying to suppress a sob.

"Okay, I'll try again. What's up?

"I told you, it's nothing," Noah's voice cracked and he had to bite back a sob. How had he gotten himself into this position?

"Okay," Skye shrugged and closed the door behind him.

Noah tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. He didn't know which side was up or down, neither did he know what was going to happen to him. And now he's gone and pissed off the one person who could help him. Finally deciding to go back in, he jumped back as it sprang open.

"God, you're going to fall again," Skye grunted pulling Noah up straight by the arm.

"Only because you opened the door in my face!" How was it that Skye could drive all other emotions out of him, except anger?

"Shut up and come with me," he grabbed Noah's arm and dragged him to Jackson's SUV.

"Where are we going?" He asked once he got his arm back and was busy buckling up.

"It's a bit late asking, seeing that I could be kidnapping you." Seeing Noah's troubled expression, he softened his voice. "Don't worry, I'm taking you to the most magical place on earth for me." Skye relaxed a bit when he saw Noah's wan smile. At least he wasn't at the point of being hysterical, yet.

"Where's that?"

"Shut up and enjoy the view."

Ten minutes later, they stopped near the lake where the trees were lit up along the walkway, which was starting to fill up with pedestrians who were out for a stroll. Noah was confused, he couldn't think of the lake as being the most magical place on Earth. That was a stretch even for Skye and yet, when he looked up, it was the first time that he'd seen Skye relax, almost as if a weight was lifted.

"Here, we have to get ice cream," he walked excitedly to the ice cream truck, turning to make sure that Noah was behind him. Inevitably, he stopped, grabbed Noah's wrist and dragged him at top speed to get the ice creams.

Before he knew what was happening, a tall ice cream was thrust in his hand and Skye grabbed the other pulling him along to the jetty, which was also lit up with string lights. The moored boats with, brightly coloured flags, painted a pretty picture against the low light of the early evening. He wondered why Skye had brought him here in such haste and why he was being dragged all over the place like a naughty child.

"Okay, sit down," Skye ordered settling himself while looking out over the distance. He took a deep breath and smelled the water, the soil and the grass in the cooling air. It made him feel good to have this moment where his senses could take over and his thoughts would quieten down.

"Eh, Skye, what..."

"Are you ready to tell me what's up now?" He looked at Noah's face which still showed traces of his crying. Even though their situations were nowhere near the same, he'd also done his fair share of crying.

"It's stupid, really," he laughed derisively. "My brother's got some new friends over and they're everywhere, making my life hell. I can't get anything done and I know that my grades are dropping, but there's nothing I can do. You speak to him about it and a nuclear bomb would go off. It's like walking on eggshells all day. It's exhausting," he sighed.

"Any idea of what you want to do next?"

"No," he said miserably, finishing his ice cream. "It all got a bit out of hand back there, sorry you had to see that."

"Do you want help?"

"What kind of help?"

"Stop asking me dumb questions. Do you want help?"

"God, you're awful sometimes," he made a face. "But yeah, I could use some help I suppose."

"Okay, finally. Now, I'll tell you why we're here," he smiled when he saw Noah's surprise. "This is where my dads brought me when I was upset. We used to spend the whole day here, sometimes going on one of the boats," he reminisced.

"When I come here, I'm the happiest, because here I don't have to think or worry. All I have to do is sit and enjoy the view." He looked over at Noah. "I know it's easy to say that things will be okay, but somehow it always works out."

"Yeah, it's easy to say and I'd like to forget about my problems, but when they're standing like a mountain in front of you, it's hard to see past it. I just don't know what to do Skye. Why is everything happening all at once?" It looked as if he was about to cry again, his body rigid with tension, his hands balled in tight fists.

Taking his hand, Skye's gaze held his. Noah could feel his index finger gently tapping his pulse in a slow, consistent rhythm, while he was calmy speaking, his voice becoming almost a melody as he spoke in tune with the beat of his finger.

Noah felt himself relax as he focused only on Skye's musical, almost ethereal voice. He was mesmerised by his blue eyes that seemed to turn into liquid pools of calm water. Taking a deep breath, it felt as if the heavy load was being lifted off his shoulders and thought to himself that it was going to be okay, he needed to stop worrying. Everything was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry, it's better this way," he softly sighed to Noah, watching his face change and the tension leave his body as he kept repeating that everything was going to be okay. He didn't want to do this without Noah's permission, but it was the quickest way of getting him into a safe place without him constantly worrying about being in other's way and what was happening at home.

Taking another careful look at Noah's happy face, he tapped a different rhythm to wake him up, before letting go of his hand. In a moment Noah's eyes cleared, but the smile remained on his face.

"Are you okay?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, I am, actually. Everything is going to be okay, isn't it." He felt as if he'd just had the best rest in the world. Gone was the tension that was eating away at him the past few weeks, there was no more worry, only a warmth that felt good.

"That's why this place is so magical. I would always feel better when I sit here and now I'm sharing it with you. So when it all gets too much, come here, it will help you feel better or at the very least, tell me, okay?"

Noah couldn't speak, he only nodded, pursing his lips to stop them from quivering. He couldn't describe the emotion that swept through him at Skye's words. He didn't feel so alone anymore.

"Right, one more stop before we go home." He got up and stretched before looking at Noah. "We have to pick up your books and whatever else you need then we can get out of there. But don't bring any clothes, that's going to piss Josh off after he tailored all that other stuff for you," he clarified.

"Right, off we go." Noah smiled shyly at him. He couldn't believe that Skye shared so much of himself in one afternoon. Maybe his cold and aloof nature was caused by something that had happened to him. Whatever it was, he was glad to have a friend in his corner right now.