I Found the Prince

A Day Without Ethan

"Wake up, Loser!" I hear as I am slowly coming out of a deep slumber. I open my eyes and my best friend, Ashley, is jumping on top of me. "You told me be here by breakfast and here I am!" She starts pouncing harder as I groan.

"Get off, you are so heavy!" I complain as I push her off of me. I sit up and rub my eyes, trying my best to wake up. 

"Oh, shut up! Come on. I am so excited to spend the day with my best friend, since she has been so 'preoccupied'." She teases as she raises her eyebrows on "preoccupied". I roll my eyes and give her a warm smile. "Tell me everything! Do not leave a single detail out!" She says while jumping up and down on her hands and knees, making my whole bed shake. 

"Okay, okay! Calm down, nut case." I then start to explain the last 3 days in full detail to her. She is just gawking at the adorableness. "But, today, he said he has something important to do. He's coming by later tonight. Maybe I can text him and ask if we all can hang?" I ask her, knowing full well she wants to get to know Ethan. But then I remembered something about yesterday and before she could answer, I added, "As long as you promise not to spill anymore secrets about me."

Ashley rolled her eyes and groaned. She loves to make my life more complicated. "Fine. But, only because I want to actually know the guy who makes my best friend so happy." 

I giggle as I whip out my phone to text Ethan. I let him know of the plan and he happily agreed. "There, he said he can't wait to get to know you more. He also said he thinks he knows of a great guy for you." I say with a shocked tone as I read out the message. 

"Really!" She gushes. "If he is anything like Ethan I would love to meet him!" The excitement in her eyes showed me that I have a great guy if Ashely wants a guy just like him. She has never liked any of my boyfriends before. She claimed she could tell when he was just trying to get in my pants. Given she was right literally every time!

"Oh, he sent another text. He said but it has to wait 3 more days before he can officially introduce you two!" I read aloud and I look over at her face. 

Ashley looks instantly sad. "Bummer. Way to get my hopes up Ethan!" She shouts at the phone and we both giggle. "Oh, hey, did you hear about Prince Ethan and him running away?" She asks.

"Yeah, that's actually what Ethan and I bonded over. He loved my insights on the matter." I beam.

"Well, what are you insights. At first, I thought that the prince was kidnapped or something and then to find out he ran away to be a better King.. I was so proud!" She gushes. I roll my eyes at her. She has always had a thing for royalty. 

"It seems like you have a little crushy wushy on Prince Ethan." I tease.

Ashley rolls her eyes and say, "The prince part, maybe, but I wouldn't be so sure about the Ethan part. He just seems so mean and... ugh what's the word!" She says frustrated. 

"Emotionless?" I add. She nods her head. "Yeah, that's what I said to Ethan. He seems to me like he hates his life or something. So, when I heard he actually ran away, I wasn't too surprised. Ethan said he thinks that Prince Ethan is just really sad and hides who he is in fear of the public misjudging him. I thought it was pretty insightful but I'm sure I am more correct." I say as I flip my hair in confidence. 

"How cool would it be, though, if one of us or even a friend was Prince Ethan's true love. Remember he is still disguised." She says. I never even thought about that. But, let's be real, what are the odds that we would have our lives change that drastically in a flash. "Hey, let's turn on the news. Hopefully there are some updates about the royal family!" I nodded and flipped the T.V. on.

It was just a re-run of the 6 a.m. news but it did have some updates. "We just received an update on Prince Ethan and how his week in the kingdom is going!" The reporter booms. "The King and Queen shared this letter that they received last night, just before bed. It reads 'Hi mom and dad. I wanted to let you know that my journey so far is very successful. I have, however, gotten a tad distracted by this amazing girl I have been seeing. Tomorrow, I plan to explore the kingdom by myself so I can stay focused on my first task. I can't wait for you to meet her. I know you are just going to adore her. I will see you all in about 3-4 days! I love you, see you soon! Prince Ethan!" The reporter drops the letter in her hand and blushes at what she has just read. "Can you believe it, ladies and gentlemen! Prince Ethan has found love! Well, we cannot wait to know more about this mystery girl! That is all for now!" The lady flashes off the screen and the weather man popped on the screen. 

Ashely and I both have her mouths dropped to the floor. "Did you hear that?" Ashely starts and I nod. "He has found someone already." I nod some more. We both look at each and just read our faces. After a minute of silence, Ashley says, "What if... Ethan... is... Prince ETHAN!" She squeals. 

My face went from surprised to just plain shocked. "What!? What makes you think that. There is no way that my Ethan is the Prince." I say, half confident. 

"Oh, come on, Livvy. The timeline matches. He found love as soon as he got into the kingdom, which was 3 days ago.." She starts and I feel my confidence depleting the more she talked. "And he's going home in 3 days, which he just said in 3 days time I will meet my special someone. He probably wants to wait because it's one of his prince friends! AND he said he was spending the day without her today and just by coincidence your Ethan had something to do?" She squeals louder.

I am still sitting there with this utter disbelief in my face. I finally say, "All of that can just be a coincidence, Ash. There is no way that he is the prince!" I feel a little more confident with that sentence. 

Ashley shrugs, but I know she doesn't buy it. Once she has a thought in her head, it is there until she is proven wrong. "If you say so, Livvy. I still think he is but only time will tell."

The rest of the day, we gossiped about the Prince, Ethan, and even who this mystery guy could be for Ash. If he is anything like Ethan, then I refuse to warn her. She made my situation worse than it already was. I was really excited to finally see Ethan in a few minutes. We all decided to go out for ice cream. But, all day, the thoughts were still swimming in my head. There was no way that my Ethan was Prince Ethan... right?