I chewed on my thumbnail watching the video again. I couldn't remember if this was the fifth or tenth time. Pulling my laptop closer, I settled against my pillows, propping myself up. The more everyone thought the Prince was guilty, the harder it was going to be to prove his innocence. Carlos had given me nothing to work on. Well, not entirely. He believed the video was real. He had also said Pat knew of some witnesses that were there. 

If only the Prince had an alibi, proving his innocence wouldn't be so hard. Where had he been that night? Why did the guy in the video look so much like him? Was he an actor? Maybe it was a stunt double or something like they had for me at that press conference. Yeah, that could be it. Groaning, I massaged my temples. 

Glancing at my alarm clock, it read 11 o'clock. My parents had gone to bed a few minutes ago. The main light was off in my room and the only thing I had on was the lamp by my bed. 

So, if the Prince had been set up by the Purists then, there had to be a bigger agenda, right? They were planning something big. At least, that would be the smart thing to do. Since the King had basically said 'handle it yourself' it meant that . . . it meant . . .

"He is tired of cleaning up the Prince's messes is what," I muttered to myself. "The Prince is vulnerable. Take him down, drag his name through the mud, and turn the public against him."

I nibbled on a loose piece of skin. "Take him out and the royal family is fair game. People will be crying out for stricter regulations and all that sort of stuff. There's going to be tension. Maybe protests on the streets, riots - "

"It sounds like you're behind all of this."

I shot a glare at my window. It seemed like I could train old dog new tricks. 

"I'm trying to put myself in their shoes, so I can figure out what they're planning," I retorted. "I don't see you making this easier so, do me a favor and shut up."

The Prince chuckled. "I take it your plan didn't bear fruit."

"Not yet," I said defensively, "but, I have planted a seed."

"We don't have time to watch it grow."

I sighed. "Do you have any bright ideas?" I asked. "Have you contacted your vampire terrorists? Are they behind all of this? I mean, it makes sense, right? Have a vampire impersonate you and -"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the Prince interjected. "The radicals are, in some ways, like the Purists. They believe vampires should be in charge. However, they aren't going to resort to trickery. "

Frowning, I paused the video. "Let me get this straight," I began. "They basically want the same thing you do."

The Prince suddenly appeared in my room, his eyes flashing. "They are nothing like me."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, you don't want vampires to be in charge?"

He growled. 

I massaged my temples again. "You know, none of this would have happened if you just stayed in your house and fooled around with everyone's daughters. All of this could have been avoided. You just had to go out and try to feed on me."

"Please," the Prince sneered. "None of this wouldn't have happened if you would just let me -"

"Hold it right there. Me? You could just have left me alone, but no. You had to attack me at school! So, don't blame this on me."

"You started it."

I took a deep breath. Pointing fingers wasn't going to help. Arguing wasn't going to get us anywhere.

"Look," I said, "we can't change what happened. I need to know where you were that night." I looked at him. "If you were with anyone that night, they need come out and say it. If there are pictures or -"

"There's nothing like that."

"You're telling me you were alone that night and no one saw you?"

"Why is that hard to believe?"

I opened my mouth then closed. Answering his question was probably going to take all night. I wouldn't even know where to begin. 

"So, we are back to square one," I said, ignoring his question. "Your fans are getting bullied. Everyone who steps up and defends you are shut down. There must be some powerful people behind this. We need to talk to the person who took the video and those so-called victims. We need to get a hold of the vampire who impersonated you. We need-"

"Is that all?"

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at him. "You think this is funny?! You're the one who asked for my help. Stop being an a$$!"

Something smacked into my face. It took me a moment to realize it was my pillow. This guy- I moved the throw the pillow again but he was suddenly there, holding my wrist. I glared into his perfect face. 

"Be nice," he whispered. 

My eye twitched. "Get out of my room."

The Prince released my arm, but he remained sitting on my bed. "You asked for it," he said simply. "I'm merely trying to tell you that your plan isn't going to work."

"Do you even want to fix this?" I asked tiredly. "If this is a joke, I swear I'm going to -"

"Relax," he said. "I do have a plan."

I raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

"Whoever framed me isn't going to stop at something like this. No, they're going to record more and more of these videos until everyone is calling for my head. The best thing for me to do is stay here and have proof so the next time someone frames me, you can say we were together."

I busted out laughing. "Th-that's the most ridiculous plan I have ever heard!" I laughed. "Oh man, oh, oh, I can't breathe."

The Prince slapped his hand over my mouth and pushed me down against my pillows. "Shut up," he hissed. 

I pushed his hand away, well, at least tried too, but he wouldn't budge. I swallowed back another laugh. The Prince kept glaring at me, but just remembering what he'd said, I chuckled. 

"I can keep this up all night," he growled. "Or would you prefer to wake up your parents?"

Ah, so it was him that was keeping them oblivious to what was happening in here. Figures.

"Oo-ay," I told him. "Oh-ay."

He finally released me. I took a deep breath and scooted across my bed to get some distance between us. He still didn't understand the concept of personal space.

"So," I said, fighting a smile. "We aren't going with that plan because I don't want you in my room. I'm also not going to take any pictures with you because no. Just no. So, that leaves us back to nothing."

"You expect me to stay on the streets?" he asked quietly.

I frowned. "You have a home," I reminded him. "Go back to it. Hide in your room and come up with a better plan."

"I told you, my father-"

"Oh my gosh," I gasped, finally realizing it. "He kicked you out. Wow. Seriously?" I leaned forward. "He finally kicked you out? Are you sure that's your father? I mean, you've done some crazy stuff in the past like and he didn't go this far."

"Are you done yet?"

You don't understand," I told him. "Your dad finally punished you. I need a moment."

Why were all my dreams coming true? The Prince was living with the consequences of his actions. His dad had kicked him out and wasn't going to protect him anymore. What had changed? Not that I was complaining but still. 

"Are you seriously gloating right?"

The flashing eyes were back. 

At this point, I wasn't really scared anymore. I think I was just tired of him and all his nonsense. If he killed me, he would just prove to the world that they were right about him. Sure, that wouldn't stop him from threatening me, but I was willing to take my chances.

"First things first," I said. "We need a plan in case Carlos doesn't believe I'm on his side. You need to talk to your vampire buddies and ask them if they're behind all of this."

"You think they're going to welcoming me with open arms?" he asked.

"You're good at lying," I said bluntly. "Lie to them. Say that you have seen the error of your ways and you need them to bring about a new reign of vampires or something dumb like that."

The room got colder. That had been happening a lot lately. I didn't really want to be polite with him. He needed to know that the world wasn't going to revolve around him anymore. 

"My point is, lie to them. Join their ranks and see if they're the ones who created that video."

"I don't have time-"

"Too bad," I snapped. "We don't have anything else to go on." I gestured to my laptop. "I'm going to be looking at online forums and comments on that video see if I can find anything. I'm not holding my breath but there must be something. Maybe I can pretend I want, like an interview or something. I don't know." 

"Fine," he forced out. "Fine. We'll do it your way but that doesn't change the fact that we're grasping at straws."

"I know that." I sighed. "I'll talk to my lawyer and see what we can do. Maybe you can sue for slander or something like that. Go on television and demand that faker to go behind bars." I shrugged. "Maybe that I can buy us some time . . . no, wait. It won't. People will want to know where you were at. If you can't give them that then, they'll won't believe you."

He stayed silent for once. "I still need a place to stay."

"Uh-huh. How is that my problem?"

"Seeing as you agreed to help me," he began.

"Oh hell no. You ain't staying here."

"Look at it this way. If another video does come out overnight, you can say that I was with you."

"That sounds bad on so many levels. You think I'm going to go and tell the public I had the vampire Prince in my room all night, yeah, no. My parents would kill me."

Granted, that could work and give us time but still, I wouldn't even want to admit that. 

"Don't you want to keep an eye on me?" he asked. "This will be the perfect way to do it. I'm sure you have doubts. There's only one way to be sure."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You are seriously trying to sell yourself." I sighed. "Fine, but you-"

Before I could say another word, the Prince was suddenly gone and in his place, was a cat. It was a black kitten to be exact with red eyes. He meowed at me and flickered his tail across the bed. Oh man, he was so cute. My palm itched. I just wanted to reach out and pet him. No. You must resist!

I cleared my throat. "Y-yeah, okay," I squeaked out. "That works too."