Private Joy.

Chp 16.

"Alice ?"

My eyes opened quickly as the light shone through the windows, blinding me instantly. I had fallen asleep on the couch. With Prince. But wait, he wasn't here. "Alice ?!" My mother called out my name. "Oh, morning mom.." I muttered groggily. "Where's Prince ?" She asked. "Uh, he left early..I passed out on the couch" I lied confusedly, not completely sure.

"Oh, ok"

Why did he leave.

I got up and went to my bedroom to get dressed. I don't remember seeing him leave. Perhaps he had a good reason. Maybe he didn't want to disturb me or have my mother walk in and see us laying there together.

Either way, the air had a uncomfortable stillness to it. Like the world was on the cusp of difference. Something was about to change.

I tried to ignore such thoughts as it seemed irrational. But I couldn't help but feel anxiously shaken, and I didn't even know why. I brushed my hair and grabbed my denim jacket before heading outside. The sky was dull and darker than usual, at least there was no rain. I hastily paced over to Andre's house to see if he had simply gone home.

I knocked on the door and patiently waited.

"Hey Andre, is Prince here ?" I questioned. "Nah, I thought he was with you" He replied.

Damn it.

I thanked Andre for his non-help and as I walked off, I tried to think of where he might be. He was probably at the studio, that had to be it. But that was too far away of walking distance and I had no car either. I gave up and decided to just walk home instead. I couldn't help but feel uneasy about his sudden disappearance but I shook it off nonetheless.

As I was about to open the door to go back inside. I heard his voice.

"Alice !!!"

I turned around and there he was. He had a giant smile plastered on his face. Before I had time to even ask him where the hell he had been all day and why he left so early.

He said it.

"I just signed a recording contract with Warner Brothers Studios"

"You what ?!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Yeah that demo I've been working on, they loved it ! I've got creative control for THREE albums and ownership of all the publishing rights !" He beamed. 'I'm finally gonna be a star" He gushed shyly, holding onto my arms.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy for you" I said, crying tears of joy. "Thanks, Husney and I are moving to California to record the first album next week" He grinned happily.

My jaw wanted to drop. It really did. But for the sake of happiness, I continued to smile wildly.

"That's great" was all I could utter. He pulled me into a tight hug as the joyful news was still very much consuming him. "I wanted you to be the first person I told..I wanted to share this moment just between you and I" He whispered. I thanked god that he couldn't see my face.

Because my tears of joy had now turned into tears of sadness. I wanted nothing more than to break down in his arms but he broke free from our embrace to look at me again. "Alice ? what's up ?" He chuckled.

"Nothing, I'm just so happy for you that's all" I fake laughed, wiping my tears away.

He hugged me once again and I could feel the genuine love radiating from him. He was so happy. I almost felt guilty for feeling so bad. I had to be strong. This was his moment and yet, he was generous enough to want to share it with me.

All these overwhelming emotions that were soaring around in my head just added to my already overflowing amount of tears.

"We gotta celebrate, I mean your birthday is coming up ! it can a joined celebration" He smirked proudly. "Yeah, we can plan something" I nodded encouragingly although it came out rapid. "Ok well do you wanna go inside and tell your mom ?!" He suggested eagerly.

"I will, how about you go back home and tell everyone" I urged, caressing his face.

"Okay" His eyes were twinkling. He kissed me softly before departing once more. I watched him run off to make sure he was gone. Then I walked inside and slowly but surely, I collapsed onto the floor, breaking down on my knees. My mother rushed over to me in a worried state.

"What happened, baby ? What's wrong ?" She kept asking as she wrapped her arms around me.

"He's leaving.."
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It was always coming.
You think Prince will realise that something is wrong ?

Song above - 'Never Can Say Goodbye' -by Jackson 5.