THE STUDENTS had decided to have one last big party before school closed. The whole school was going to be there. Mae had gotten ready with the girls all afternoon. They all understood that they had little time left all together and that it was stupid to argue.

       It was a white party so Mae had put on a strapless white dress that fell to her mid-thighs. She and her friends had found the boys so they could go to the party together. Henry was wearing white pants and a shirt that showed off his red hair. Mae slipped her arms around his neck to kiss him.

       "You look very handsome." she told him.

       "And you look even more beautiful." he smiled back.

       He had a bottle of wine in his hand. Mae took it from him and drank straight from the bottle. Henry gave her a surprised smile. She usually didn't drink, or very little, because of sport.

       "It's our last night." she told him. "It will be memorable."

       He nodded and put an arm around her shoulders as the group was walking towards the party. Some of them had already started drinking too. They ran to the party venue. The music was loud and since everyone was dressed in white they all seemed to fluoresce in the light.

       Mae went to hug Simon, who just came in with Rosh and Ayub. Elisa couldn't be there tonight but they would be hanging out the next day. Sara was there too and they just shared a nod. They hadn't spoken since she kissed August.

       "Can we talk?" she yelled so Sara could hear despite the music.

       The girl nodded and Mae quickly looked towards Henry who was taking shots with Valter and Alexander. She grabbed Sara's arm and lead her to the corridor so they could talk far from the music.

       "Are you here for August?" she asked once things were a little more silent.

       Sara shook her head. "No. I'm here because it's our last night, and I wanted to see you and Felice."

       "Really?" Mae asked. "Because Fedrika saw you and August kissing at the dinner."

       "Yeah, but... it's over now. I loved August and I did very bad things, I know. But I really am sorry. You're more important than August, and Felice and Simon are. And I am. I understand that now."

       Mae smiled. "I'm glad you realized it. I think Felice's over there, if you wanna talk to her."

       "Thank you. So, are we good again?" Sara asked.

       Mae nodded. "Yes, we're good."

       The two girls opened their arms and hugged tightly for a minute. Mae had to say she missed Sara a lot.

       Sara left to get Felice and Mae returned into the room. She bumped into Henry and they danced for hours until they had to go outside because of the stifling heat of the shed. It must have been four or five in the morning because even though it was dark, the sun seemed to be about to rise.

       They had made their way to the field not far away and were drinking from the bottle they had brought with them. She was sitting on top of him, her legs straddling his body as his hands were grapping her waist and thighs. She ran her hands through his hair while their mouths were moving in perfect sync.

       "I'm going to miss you so much." Henry whispered between two kisses.

       "What do you mean?" she asked as she pulled away of a few millimeters.

       "Well, you know, you're leaving for New York in a couple of days and we won't be in the same school next year."

       She slowly removed her hands from his hair and pulled away some more to look at him. "Do you want to break up?"

       "What? No! No, absolutely not. It's not what I meant." he grabbed her waist to pull her back against him. "I was just saying that I was going to miss not seeing you every day." he said as he caressed her cheek.

       She smiled as she slipped her hands behind his neck. "Our schools will be only twenty minutes from each other, we'll hang out on weekends. And when I'm in New York, I'll call you every day. In fact, I'll call you so much that you'll get sick of me."

       "I could never get sick of you." he smiled before kissing her again.

       He grabbed her by the waist and flipped her onto her side so that she lay on the grass and he was on top of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as their bodies pressed together and Henry slipped a hand under her dress.

       "I love you so much." she whispered.

       "I love you." he whispered back.

★

      "A round of applause for our graduating students!" Mrs. Hamilton exclaimed and everyone cheered. "Today is a rather different day in many ways. We share the same sorrow and the same worries. But let today be a day filled with joy. With joined forces, we will appeal against the decision of the School Inspectorate. Which means the fight for Hillerska's future is far from over."

      "Bravo!" everyone clapped.

      "And to honor our graduating students, let us join together and sing the Hillis song. And we can only hope that it won't be the last time."

      After the choir surprised Simon by singing the song he wrote, everyone ran out of the school. The third years tossed their caps in the air while waving their diplomas. Their parents were there with congratulatory signs.

      Henry grabbed Mae's hand. "Can I introduce you to my parents?"

      "Sure." she smiled.

      He pulled her towards two people who smiled when they saw them. The boy let go of her hand to hug the couple.

      Henry's parents were very beautiful. They were distinguished. It was not difficult to guess that they came from a family of aristocrats, they had a presence that left no room for doubt. Mae suddenly felt very intimidated. She didn't have anything they had. What if they didn't like them?

      As if he was feeling her worry, Henry moved back next to her and took her hand again. "Mom, Dad, let me introduce you to Mae, my girlfriend. Here are my parents, Emilia and Gustav."

      "It's very nice to meet you." Mae politely nodded.

      "It's nice to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you." Emilia gently smiled.

      Mae smiled as she shook both of their hands. They asked her where she was going to go back to school and they talked for a few minutes before Elio ran towards them. Elisa came up behind him. The child hugged his sister and then Henry, who seemed surprised at first but then smiled and hugged him back.

      "This is my brother Elio and my best friend Elisa." Mae said after she hugged her friend. "Here are Henry and his parents." she introduced everyone.

      "Hello."

      "Where are your parents, dear?" Henry's mother asked.

      "Oh, they're working, they couldn't free themselves." Mae replied, putting her lips together.

      Henry's parents shared a quick look. You could tell they were surprised but they didn't say anything.

      "Would you like to have dinner with us tonight?" Gustav asked. "We'd like to get to know you."

      "Dad." Henry grunted, embarassed.

      Mae nodded. "No, I would like that."

      They agreed on a time and place to meet and while Henry's parents went to chat with other people, Mae signaled to Elisa and Elio that she would join them in a moment. She took Henry's hands and smiled.

      "Your parents are very nice." she told him.

      "They like you, it shows." Henry replied.

      That made Mae smile.

      "So, I'll see you tonight." the strawberry blonde boy nodded.

      "You will. I'm going home with Elio for now. I love you."

      He leaned over to kiss her. "Love you."

— hi guys! so sorry for the wait but i couldn't find a way to end this book (and maybe i didn't really want to lmao) so i hope it doesn't feel to rushed. i loved writing this book and i sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it. thank you to everyone who supported me during the writing, i am very grateful for all of you.

if you're looking for young royals fanfic, i have another one on my profile, feel free to check it out!

until we meet again,
- angie <3