Friday Afternoon

October 25, 2019

I yawn and rub my eyes, exhausted beyond belief. Between last night and this morning, I haven't gotten a lick of rest. As soon as I'd made the confession to the girls last night we'd been up talking until all of our alarms went off signaling the time to get up and get ready for school only I hadn't spent any time getting ready. I'd gathered my things and rushed home to confront my parents unable to hold off any longer in fear of losing my nerve.

Too many events in the past 24 hours.

I sigh as I bring my warm Styrofoam cup to my mouth.

"Share some of the coffee," Gwen mutters as she steals the hot cup from me, appearing like a ninja in the night.

"Hey!" I bark out, annoyed. I'd used my lunch time, going off campus to get that hot cup of joe.

Good thing I'd gotten an extra-large.

I sigh as I watch Gwen take a long swig of the caffeinated drink, not caring in the least that it's still piping hot. "So," She starts as she lowers the cup and holds it between her hands. "What do you think about the events from this morning?" Her gaze finds mine for only a moment before looking back down at the Styrofoam cup, her fingers tracing the name brand orange lettering on the side.

Gwen's talking about the big event no one around school can shut up about. Seth, otherwise known as Mop Head had shown up without his signature feature and Carmen had been anything but okay with it. After some encouragement from the both of us, she'd dragged him off somewhere to no doubt talk about things. We'd met up with her between classes after that and the most we'd gotten from the girl was a 'We're okay now' which left Gwen and I both grossly unsatisfied. We let it slip, for now having exchanged a similar look that promised we'd get the rest out of her eventually.

"I think-" I pause and chew over my next words, taking my coffee back from Gwen. If I have any hope of being able to form a proper thought, let alone play the game tonight, I'd need the entire franchise of coffee. "I think I trust Carmen to know what she's doing."

"Good answer King, good answer." The devil herself speaks up, drawing the looks of both Gwen and me. She wears a satisfied grin and her muddy brown eyes hold a light within them that I haven't seen for a long time. She stands tall, her body relaxed.

"How the hell can you be so chipper? We've been awake for more than twenty-four hours." Gwen grumbles and Carmen just shrugs. "Gross." She mutters as she steals my coffee once more.

"Hello? Mine." I said, trying to take it back. She hisses at me. Hisses. Like some rabid animal and I toss my hands up in the air. "Jesus Christ fine woman! Keep the coffee."

"You won't need it anyway," Gwen says and my brows come together in question. She nods her head and I follow her gaze to a certain raven-haired jester stalking through the halls. "That's your boy, now go get him."

"Wha-you cannot be serious."

"Oh, I'm as serious as the welcome party next week. I'm not letting you ruin the mood with your sad, gay boy dramatic love story. Now go make up with your beau."

"No way!" The bell overhead rings, signaling the end of the day and students begin to surge forward towards the doors for freedom, Peter among them.

"Yes, way," Carmen said and she shoves me, actually shoves me into the crowd of students.

Those assholes.

I cast them both dirty looks and all I get in return are smiles and waves. Gwen even has the audacity to hold my coffee cup up as a sign of cheers. I laugh in disbelief before turning around.

"Fine. Just, fine!" I relent and zero in on my raven-haired jester. "Peter!" I called out as I force my way through the stampeding crowd of students all swarming towards the exit of the school building. By the stiffening of his shoulders, I know he hears me but refuses to give me his attention. I clench my jaw and jostle my way through the pack of students trying to catch up to the raven topped boy. It's not an easy feat and I lose sight of him a handful of times only to catch him outside the building.

My fingers curl around his slender wrist and his head whips around, enticing baby blues snapping to me. He yanks his wrist from my hold and his nose crinkles as the side of his mouth draws up an inch as if he's about to bare his teeth like some type of rabid dog. My eyes catch the small movement of him rubbing the spot on his wrist I'd touched.

"Well, I guess you had one thing right when you said you aren't the brightest crayon in the box." He spits out. "What part of leave me alone from now on are you having trouble understanding King?"

I give a small smile not an inch of me feels confident in and meet Peter's eyes, doing my best not to let them stray to the hundreds I feel watching us. "Uh, all of it?" I reply, my mouth becoming cotton ball dry. Go figure, give me a football and a supposed unbeatable team and the last thing I do is cower but give me a confrontational situation like this and all I want to do is curl up in a dark hole.

Peter rolls his eyes. "What do you want, Steven?" If the tone of his voice is any indication, my time with him is dwindling by the second and I grapple under the pressure for all of the words and thoughts and feelings I'm looking for. All that comes to the surface is,

"I'm sorry."

Peter looks at me, expression deadpan. For a long moment silence drags on and then he's turning on his heel.

"Wait!" I cry out and grab his hand stopping him once more, entwining my fingers with his so he can't escape. He gives me a withering look and a bitter smile as he meets my eyes.

"Careful, your highness or people may get the wrong idea." Those baby blues shift between where I hold his hand and the crowd watching our interaction as if starved for entertainment and drama. It turns my stomach, making me sick.

Are these the people I've been trying so hard to blend in with?

Despite the thought, old habits die hard, and I find my hold on Peter's hand loosening. Pain flashes across the boys' features and, out of the corner of my eye I notice Gwen and Carmen nodding like mad women. With a grit of my teeth I dig deep inside myself for the strength I know I have before tightening my hold on Peter's hand once more.

"I don't care. Let them think whatever they want. Right now, you're my only concern."

Peter's eyes widen and it's clear I've caught him off guard. The small victory gives me even more strength to move forward. "I didn't mean to apologize."

He raises a brow and turns his body to face me in full now. "You didn't?"

"No, I mean, yes I did but not in the way you think." I stumble over my words becoming tongue-tied and embarrassed, my face heating up. "I talked to my family, and I'm not going to hang out with that crowd anymore. I was a dick, and I shouldn't have been..." I stumble on with my words, not able to meet Pete's steady gaze. Hell, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. "There was just so much happening. I had so many thoughts and these past two years have just been a lot, you know."

"-en. Steven!" Peter yells and my mouth snaps closed when a pair of fingers snap before my eyes. I look at him, chest heaving because I hadn't stopped to breathe once in my tirade of words. "Calm down, I can barely understand what you're trying to say." He sighs and runs a hand through his black locks of hair looking away from me and my heart drops to my stomach. "For now, you should go and collect yourself. We can do this later and I-"

"I like you." The words from my mouth seem to silence everything around us. Everything is still, not even a breeze dares to blow past. Peter seems to move in slow motion as he looks towards me once more.

"Wha-"

"I like you," I say once more, my voice stronger this time as I speak each word. The fear and cowardice I'd felt seconds ago ebbing away by the pure power I feel coming from the confession. There's something liberating about speaking the words aloud in front of my peers as if all the walls I'd built to hide my true self are finally being torn down.

Peter stares at me. Everyone stares at me as if no one can believe a word I just spoke until Gwen and Carmen start to hoot and holler their approval.

"That's our boy! We love you, Steven! Way to put yourself out there!" The shouts of my childhood friends seem to wake Peter from his stupor, and he yanks on the hand I currently have hold of before pulling me along back into the school building. I'm taken off guard and look back to my friends who are encouraging me with nods and wacky hand motions. Peter drags me to one of the empty classrooms, only releasing my hand once the door is closed behind us.

"Is this some sort of sick Halloween trick? Are your monkey friends going to jump out from somewhere?" Peter questions, eyes darting around the room and body rigid, ready to take on anything that's tossed his way.

"What?! No!" I meet his eyes, frowning and hurt. "Do you really think I'd do something so low?"

Peter's gaze searches my own, looking for the lie and when he comes up empty, he sighs. His hand lifts and he rubs his arm. "Sorry, but you can't blame me for being a little skeptical after everything." Neither of us says a thing after that as we stand in one another's company. The silence grows heavy and awkward. I find myself unable to stop fidgeting with my shirt. "Did you mean it?" Peter's question has me stopping.

"What?"

"Did you really tell your family?" He asked and I set my jaw as I look away from him, remembering the conversation over breakfast this morning. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before opening them and nodding as I meet Peter's gaze once more.

"Yeah."

"And?" He holds his breath as he waits for my response.

"And," I lift a hand and rub the back of my neck. "Things are going to be awkward for a while."

Peter's shoulders drop at the answer and his head bows. "I'm sorry." The words he speaks make my chest swell with emotion for this man in front of me and I reach out, taking his hand once more.

"Well, I'm not." I declared. "I'm happy." I pause and chuckle. "Well, it's more like relieved, I guess?" The look in Peter's eyes tells me to continue so I do. "I feel like I can breathe easier now than I could before. I don't feel as restrained." My eyes stray away from his and I look at the tile flooring, bitter that I'd taken so long to free myself from the invisible chains I'd been blindly shackling myself in. "All this time, the trick I thought I'd been playing on everyone else, I finally realized I was only playing on myself because I was scared."

"Steven."

"I feared who I would become. Of who I would no longer be able to deny after years of denial." I pause and breathe before smiling. "I want to thank you. Even though you were a total asshole and a royal annoyance at the start, I'm not sure I would have been aware of just what I was doing to myself without you. So, thank you, Peter, for opening my eyes."

Peter's eyes widen and they glass over making me think that he might start crying any moment. Instead, he looks away and shrugs. "I didn't really do anything." My eyes zero in on his left ear, the tip of it visible and I smile when I find it bright red.

"But you did. You did something amazing."

"Hmm." Peter hums, his eyes darting towards me as he waits for an elaboration. I smirk, feeling more in control of my life than I ever thought possible.

Is this how he feels when he teases me? No wonder he does it so often.

I tug on both of his hands, pulling him towards me as I lean in closer. The raven-haired boy who is usually so poised and composed stiffens.

"You gave me the strength to chase after who I really am."

Peter turns in full now and faces me. "Well that's great and all, but I don't actually like you." He speaks the words with so much certainty that I blank for a long minute. His face is void of any type of emotion. My stomach knots and I start to pull away until I notice his lips twitching.

"You asshole!" I yell as I sock him on the shoulder. Peter bursts out in laughter, his arms crossing his stomach as he doubles over, wheezing.

"Oh my god! I really had you going there for a minute! Holy shit!"

"I cannot believe that, after everything we've been through over the last two weeks, you'd pull a trick like that!" I turn away from the raven-haired jester and cross my arms over my chest, fuming.

"Aw, come on King. It's Halloween, where's your sense of humor?"

I remain silent and a moment later I feel strong arms snake around my waist from behind. Deja vu hits me like a truck when his chin comes to rest on my shoulder. "You're not really mad at me, right?" His voice holds the note of the puppy dog eyes I know he's no doubt trying to use on me, and I huff in annoyance as I turn my head. Our eyes meet and mine flicker down to his lips only a few inches from mine. Peter notices the small shift and I'm almost blown back a step when he closes his eyes. I don't miss a beat though, my eyes scanning over his defenseless features from his flawless skin, to his long, black lashes, and his sharp jawline. I'm unable to stop my smile as I lean in and place a soft kiss on his forehead.

Peter's eyes snap open and he narrows them at me. "Hey! What the hell? Where's my kiss, King?"

I look away from him, acting as innocent as a lamb as I shrug unable to stop my smirk. "What can I say, jester, I don't kiss on the second date."

A/N: The story of the King and the Jester has now come to a close. If you enjoyed this chapter or the story in whole don't forget to vote. Also, drop a comment below on your thoughts! I love hearing from you.

There's another, more in depth note on what's next that will be following up on this book soon so keep a look out!