The Prince and the Peasant (boyxboy)

Chapter 18

Dean the bean

Ethan's POV

After I was done bawling my eyes out, I bundled myself up in Jay's sheets and hid from the world. I hated crying and seeming week especially around my friends so I shielded myself.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Jay asked and plopped down next to me.

"No." I said into the pillow.

"My mom got us pizza."

I perked up and stole the plate from him, shoving the cheesy goodness into my mouth. Whoever invented pizza was like Jesus. Like seriously, pizza was the best.

"Glad to see you're doing alright." Jay smirked a bit.

"Oh shut up." I muttered with my mouth full.

"Hey, I have the right to worry about you. You're my... best friend."

"Oh, what was it that you were saying in the car?"

"Ethan, we need to have a really important talk." He said seriously.

"What? You're not pregnant are you?" I joked.

"No, but..."

My phone started to buzz so I took it out, seeing that it was Dean, and answered it.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"Ethan, how are you feeling?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Would you like to come to the palace for a date?"

My mind trailed off a bit. Dean wanted to go on a date with me? Why? Did he feel bad about the whole kiss thing?

"I don't think I'd really fit in there, I mean I don't even own a dress shirt." I said, trying to get out of it.

"Just come in what you're wearing."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Great. I'll see you in an hour then."

"Okay. Bye." I hung up.

"Now can we talk?" Jay asked.

"Later, Jay. I just got asked out on a date. Can I borrow one of your dress shirts and a tie?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

I changed quickly and thanked my friend, then rushing out the door. After a short bus ride, I was at the palace and standing before the gates.

"Hi, I'm here to see Dean." I said to the guard.

He just laughed at me. "Nice try, kid. Now step away from the gate."

"Ethan!" Dean rushed out the door and down the driveway, coming over to the gate. "It's okay, you can let him in. He's my friend."

The guard opened the gate and the second I stepped in, he started to pat me down. After that awkward moment was over, Dean and I walked into the palace.

"Wow, this place is huge." I said in awe.

"You get used to it after seventeen years." He smiled and reached for my hand.

My breath hitched as his fingers entwined with mine. Just holding his hand as he gave me a tour felt right.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me.

"Yeah." I said with a smile.

"Great, the food should be ready in a few minutes."

We went into the dining hall, which was bigger than my house buy the way, and sat down next to each other. A man who I assumed was the butler came out with trays of food and set them down before us. Everything looked so neat and delicious.

"Wow, you had your butler make all of this?" I asked.

"No, actually. I made all of this, Ricardo just brought it out. I love to cook and I know that doesn't sound like something your typical snobby royal guy would say."

"You aren't snobby at all. You're actually really sweet in my opinion."

He blushed. "Thank you."

I smiled and digged into the food which tasted amazing. He was an amazing at cooking too and his face was pretty nice. I guess I could give this a shot.

"So why did you move to England?" Dean asked me.

"My mom wanted a fresh start and stuff. She had gotten married to a guy when he was visiting the US after two months of talking to him on an online dating site. He turned out to be a dick though."

"Where's your dad then?"

I sighed. "He's in jail. He got into drugs when I was really young and ended up dealing to the wrong guy. There was a shootout and he nearly died but they still blamed him. So I have to wait another fifteen years until I can see him again since he didn't allow us onto the visitation list."

"I'm so sorry. But at least your mum got another chance at love."

"Or at least she thought she did. She didn't believe me when I told her that Josh was a bad guy. But by the time we moved here, the cancer had hit and she only had a few months left. And when she passed, I was stuck with my shitty stepfather."

Dean looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I've had a bad rap but hopefully it'll get better."

"Well, you probably already know everything about me since the media catches just about everything."

"Yeah, that probably sucks." I muttered as I pushed my plate forward.

"I have lots of secrets though. You'll just have to figure them out yourself." He smirked and winked. "Come with me."

Dean led me up the stairs and down an extremely long hallway. He opened the door which revealed a spiral staircase going up. It was all a bit renaissance for me but when we got to the top, I was struck with utter beauty. Large windows made a looking glass to show the city with all of it's old buildings and twinkling lights. It was like the image had already been painted in my mind.

Dean touched my shoulder and gave me a quick, charming smile. "I know, that's why I picked this room. The view is almost as beautiful as you."

I smiled genuinely for once. Hardly anyone could make me do that ever since my mom passed.

"I have something for you." He said, his voice almost a whisper.

I looked over and saw him bringing over a big canvas and a set of new brushes. Taped to the brushes was a picture of him with a note saying, Incase you forget what I look like - D .

"You didn't have to do this." I told him.

"I wanted to. This way you can win a few awards." He beamed.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

I smiled, leaning up to kiss his lips and he didn't break it. We just stood there and enjoyed the taste of each other like it was the last thing we were holding onto.