The Prince of Royalty (PREVIOUSLY ROYALTY HAS ITS PERKS; UNDER MAJOR EDITING)

3

The rest of the day went smoothly, and when I was all settled in, my bags unpacked and me showered and all ready for bed, I pulled out my phone to call my mom.

I'd ended up meeting Milo later in the day, Bobby and Ingrid's other friend. Milo had suntanned skin, and thick hair... everywhere. The true Italian that he was, he had dark brown, nearly black hair, and his eyebrows were equally as thick, with a nice arched shape. He was from New York, his accent thick and revealing. His eyelashes were long, his large brown eyes constantly glowing with curiosity.

I'd also learned that Bobby, Ingrid, Milo, and Dean were all in their second year. We were all in the same building because we were all undeclared majors. Everyone who was undeclared was in the Palace, and the other buildings were designated for different areas of study.

The phone ringing halted halfway through the second ring, my mom answering quickly.

"Johnny? How are you, honey? Did you get settled in okay? How's the campus?" She fired questions at me without giving me a chance to answer before another one popped out, before I cut her off.

"Mom! Breathe." She stopped, and I heard the deep breath she took through the speaker. "Everything's fine. I already unpacked and got the stuff I needed. My textbooks and uniforms are coming tomorrow morning, because they had a mix up, but other than that everything's going as planned." I felt her relief through the phone as she sighed deeply.

"Oh, good. So... have you made any new friends yet?" I sighed.

"It's only the first day, Mom. But I met a few guys, they're nice."

"That's good."

"Yeah, I guess." I wanted the conversation to be short. The subject of being there was still sore for me, and I just wanted a bit of space. She talked for a few minutes longer before I pretended to yawn. "I'm going to go to sleep, Mom. I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright, honey. Goodnight. I love you."

"Love you, too." I hung up, sighing deeply and falling back onto my bed and groaning.

"Troubles?" I flinched too hard at the voice and shot up, my eyes landing on Dean, dressed in checkered sweatpants, a black muscle tee and socks.

"How did you get in here?"

"You left your door open. I knocked, you didn't answer." I frowned deeply. Before showering, I'd just gotten back from grocery shopping. I guess I could've forgotten to shut the door...

"What are you here for?" He held up my apartment keys on one finger, smiling a bit. I blinked. So much for that lanyard making it easier to keep track of my keys.

"They were in the hallway." I took them from him, narrowing my eyes at him. He stared at me, as if he was waiting for something.

"Thanks," I said shortly. I'd decided to keep my distance from him; in that single day, I'd seen him with four different people, at four different times, wearing the same charming smirk, winking, or flirting in the middle of the walkway. It was just unsettling. He was obviously a player, and I wanted to keep away from that sort of drama.

"You're welcome." He didn't move from his spot, though, staring at me. I looked at him expectantly.

"Was there something else--" I was cut off by a phone ringing, and Dean sighed, reaching into his pocket. He checked the screen, then answered.

"Hey." He was quiet. "What's up? No, not... What? Right now? Where are you?" Dean smiled softly, and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, can you finish your booty call in your own apartment and get out of mine now?" He met my eyes, and his face altered in a way that made it seem like he had just remembered I was there. In my own apartment.