Just You and Me [Young Royals]

One: Jealousy

Wilhelm walked through the empty halls of the palace, his hands tucked in his sweatshirt pockets.

He was dreading the next day. Christmas break was ending in two days, and he was being driven back to Hillerska tomorrow. He didn't want to face the press and the students at school. He especially didn't want to find out what his relationship with Simon would be now. In fact, he was surprised his parents allowed both him and Simon to stay at the same school. It did take lots of arguing and begging, but they eventually came to an agreement.

They had separated on unstable terms for break. With Simon telling him that he needed to figure it out on his own.

Wille knew Simon was upset, and it was only fair. Wilhelm had gone against his word and denied that it was him in the leaked video. He didn't know what else to do, he had to protect his family too.

The whole school would be gossiping about the video and them. He felt terrible for making Simon go through this. But he didn't know how to help when Simon wouldn't let him.

Wilhelm made his way back to his room, closing the door behind him. He pulled his bags out of the closet and finished packing his clothes and books. He would've left them at school, but he wasn't sure if he was going back.

His eyes turned to the photo on his desk. It was a picture of him and Erik. They hadn't known their picture was getting taken, so everything was completely natural. The picture was taken mid joke, Wille and Erik's faces glowing with laughter, and grinning from ear to ear. Erik's arm was slung over his brother's shoulder, his eyes sparkling. He looked so alive.

To say that he missed him wasn't enough. There was an empty space in him that ached for his brother, his number one best friend. He knew that Erik would have supported him through this mess. He knew that Erik would have loved Simon, he wouldn't care about his gender, his sexuality, his race. He would only be supportive and loving. It was hard to accept that he was gone.

He had nothing else to do the rest of the day, so he lay in his bed for the rest of the afternoon, scrolling through Simon's Instagram and contemplating the idea of calling him. He stopped again on the photo of Simon and his sister. The lighting in the photo and Simon's expression, made the picture absolutely magical. He wished he could be there with Simon without needing to hide.

Dinner was eventually served and the family ate in silence, with the occasional sound of silverware on plates and the chair's scooting. Wilhelm spent that whole dinner silently wondering if he would get a big lecture from his parents before he left. He hoped there would just be a simple goodbye and he would go on his way.

That night, he thought about August too, he wondered why August would leak the video and why he had it anyway. He never fully stopped to think about this yet. Was it hard for him to post it? Did he hesitate at all? And why? A question that he had never gotten answered. Why would someone he trusted so much do this to him? He felt so betrayed once he found out, and even more so when his mother knew and didn't tell him, just to keep their reputation clean.

He didn't know what time he fell asleep, but he eventually stopped thinking and drifted off to dreamland.

- -

Simon sat on the edge of the couch, his knees bumping the coffee table in front of him. His Uno cards were arranged in his hands like a fan. He was confident that he would win this time.

"And, Uno!" Sara placed down her second last card, her face smug.

"Oooh! Uno as well!" His mom cheered, holding her card up.

Simon made a face, "Nooo! What am I supposed to do about this?" He showed them his whole display of cards. "I still have 8 cards! From when you made me draw a bunch."