The Bad Boy's Princess

Ch. 45 - Welcome Home, To Me

Jace.

A week away from school has really made me not want to come back whatsoever, but Avery was coming home from New York today so there's still a silver lining in things I suppose.

Yesterday was eventful as hell as my mom and Ali dragged me around and made me carry a million and a half shopping bags all day long. My dad came home late last night and brought us many goodies from Shanghai, but his valentine's day gift to my mom was more on the extreme side. He got her a diamond necklace from some boutique so that it would be one of a kind. Even at 45, my old man was even more whipped for his woman than I was with Avery.

Avery's birthday was coming up soon and I still could not decide on which surprise I wanted to do for her. Maybe I should just do them all and save myself the stress of having to choose. I had already picked out her gift yesterday during the eternity-long shopping spree my sister and mom indulged themselves in, on my card. At least they have very insightful opinions on what to get Ave or else I would've been tempted to buy everything from every store we visited.

"Have you guys started studying for midterms? We're only a few weeks away from mini hell before hitting the big hell in May." Cameron groaned as we sat down at our usual table in the cafeteria. "Senioritis is really hitting me like a truck right now."

"God, no. If they're in three weeks, i'll start studying in three weeks." Harry popped a grape in his mouth. "You really are doing too much. We already submitted our apps, no need to try anymore."

"I hate to break it to you, my dude, you still have to pass this semester and graduate." Cameron smacked Harry in the head with a highlighter.

"I'm starting to not want to go to college." Charles groaned and rested his head on his arm against the table, "Why can't we just be done after high school..."

"I mean, we technically can but we'd just get disowned." Harry shrugged. "Aren't your parents super lax, I doubt they'd care if you pursued college."

"But I would care. If I didn't go off to college, I think i'd seriously just get too tempted to waste my life away and get complacent then get forced into taking over." Charles wasn't wrong. With the lives that we had, school was probably the only leash we had on our unrestrained temptations to be non-contributing members of society other than blowing our money.

"We're really going to be separated after August." Everyone was going their own ways and I wasn't ready to accept that fact yet. This summer was really going to be the last summer of our childhood before we really have to grow up and be boring adults with actual responsibilities.

"You guys are talking like we're not going to do hood rat stuff in college." Harry chuckled. "Let's be real, we'd be hopping back and forth between each other's college campuses."

"Jace is going to Stanford, Charles is going to Columbia and I'm probably going to get stuck at Princeton. Cameron, are you still set on Harvard?"

"Of course. That's if I get in." Cameron sighed. "Results should start to come out in a few weeks. Why is everything happening so fast..."

"If you don't get in, what are your plans?" I had to ask. Cameron has always been so committed to Harvard that I thought he was blinded and I was worried that a rejection would actually break the Cameron that we knew for a long time.

"I think I'm going to take a gap year and travel for a bit maybe. Then probably re-apply until they finally get annoyed and have to take me in." Cameron was working on his chemistry homework as we spoke but I knew he was trying to avoid the subject.

"I think that would actually drive you insane. You're a workaholic for gods sake." I rolled my eyes at him. "It doesn't have to be Harvard or nothing you know that right, Cam? You're going to make one hell of a doctor no matter where you go."