An (Un)Suspected Visitor −8-
Gosh. I suck don't I? I'm just gonna finish both stories now cuz I hate leaving things incomplete. I'm in a rut. And I'm stuck.
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I slid the key card into the slot as I opened the door back at the hotel. I threw my bag into the nearest chair and made a beeline to the couch. Sitting down, I put my had in my hands, my elbows on my knees.
"God, this is all giving me a head ache. A week ago, I could have killed you for becoming another stupid employee of my father who's hired to keep yet another eye on me and now you're just another rich snotty guy sharing the same fate as me," I said more to myself than to anyone else. "What I would have given for you to have been another unsuspected school visitor that day who just happened to walk by the door that day..."
I heard Jace chuckle from somewhere behind me. I heard the mini-fridge open then shut. The small couch shifted letting me know that he had sat down. I looked up and shifted myself to face him. One of my legs was bent and the other hung off the edge of the couch. He smiled and offered me a pint of ice cream. I returned the smile and accepted the frozen treat. I looked down at the carton in my hands and saw that it was Ben&Jerry's Half Baked.
"Did you just happen to grab this by chance or did you actually know that I loved this flavor?" I asked him with a smirk.
"Your dad may have let it slipped that this was your favorite ice cream during one of those few times that he does talk about you on a personal level," Jace told me.
I pried the top of and grabbed one of the spoons I saw him holding.
"Sooo...talk," I told him. "I'm all ears when it comes to what I'm assuming is an amazing explanation for this confusing mess I call my life."
"Well," he began. "I'll start with my half of this mess. I guess you could say I was like you in the beginning. All throughout elementary and middle school, I did everything I could think of to keep my dad happy. I got amazing grades, participated in so much extracurriculars that my face was plastered all over the yearbooks, and put my social life in the back burner. I wasn't an outcast, but I just didn't give my social status much thought...But then high school came."
"Ahhhhh...the big four years," I said while I continued to eat my ice cream.
He took in a spoonful of Ben&Jerry's and nodded.
"Then, everyone started seeing me as the 'IT' guy. Everyone started to care about what I wore, what I did, and every single move I made just because of my dad's social status and his high class. I guess they thought that whatever he was, I was bound to be in the future, too. I hated feeling like I was being used, but it helped me see all that I've been missing out on. The parties, the hangouts, and, basically, just all the friends. I was missing out on all of the fun." He shrugged.
"Yeah, but is all that fun worth it if when you grow up you're just gonna regret it all?" I asked him seriously.
"Don't make any assumptions. I kept grades up, but not to it's highest. I still participated in extracurriculars but only in those I saw fit. I just basically tuned things down a notch. Instead of A's, I got B's and C's. Instead of being in every single club, I became officers of a select few. I just made things a little easier for myself," he told me while looking in my eyes.
"Are you advising me to do the same thing?" I asked in a whisper.
He sighed. "No. Not really," he said.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Didn't he say I was missing out on all the fun? Didn't he imply that some things are more important than getting good grades and pleasing everyone but yourself?
"Huh?" I asked.
"In the time that I've been 'stalking' you, I've seen that you've got what it takes to become successful. Not only had you managed to do completely perfect in school, but you've also got a pretty capable grasp on all this business stuff," he told me reassuringly. He then put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.
"If I've ever regretted anything, it's the fact that I didn't try to be both. I didn't try to be the heir of the company and the person that I also wanted to be. I'm trying to say that if anyone can do it, it's you. You can be both," he told me.
I nodded.
"I'll bet that you can be both, too," I told him with a grin.
