The So-Called "High Life"

Sei

Shortish chapter but I'm definitely happy about it.

Thank you to nocturnal_writer  for the help with editing and getting it to look nice.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoyed staying up until midnight to write when I have work in six hours!

Anyhoodles!

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Fleeing is relatively easy when your family and half the staff are at dinner.

Without thinking too much of it, I call Jason to meet me in front of the castle with a car. I need to get off the grounds until dad is calm again and that could take all night.

Might as well have fun while I'm at it.

The driver pulls up right as I get out the front door. I climb in the back right next to Jason and he eyes me up critically.

"What happened." It's not even a question.

"I punched my father in the face." I say, looking out the window to avoid Jason's judgemental eyes.

"You what!" He shouts. "Why the hell would you hit him?"

"He called me a princess and told me he had people following me." I try to keep my voice nonchalant.

"You didn't know? Or at least assume."

"I figured he would have me followed, but I didn't expect him to accuse me of sleeping with William and then calling me a princess when I get pissed about it!"

"Yeah, I get it." Jason sighs. "Which club are we going to?"

"Do you even have to ask?" I say with a wicked smirk.

---

I wake up the next morning around eleven with a pounding headache.

I reach around my bed to find my phone. When I grab it, I realize I didn't plug it in last night in my drunken haze. With a groan, I pull myself out of bed. I stumble to the bathroom and wash my face, taking a quick drink of water.

Not wanting anyone to see me looking the way I do, I take the servant stairs down to the kitchen, knowing one of the chefs would have something for me.

Walking into the kitchen a few minutes later, I'm greeted by a chorus of good mornings before I find Katie Gardner.

She sees me and brews something up for me before I even say a word to her.

"Here, this will help." The head chef says as she hands me a cup of hot tea.

Smiling at Katie thankfully, I take the cup and hold it to my lips, breathing in the calming scent. "Thanks, Katie."

"No problem, Nico." She begins to wipe the counter with a damp cloth. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit drunk." I reply with a weak smile.

"You're an idiot, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the encouragement." I reply with a smirk.

"Nico... Do you remember what happened last night?"

"I went out to the club and spent the night getting drunk. That's all I remember." I rub my eyes tiredly.

Her eyebrows scrunch in worry and she busies herself with things around the kitchen.

"What did I do?" I ask, panic burning in the back of my mind.

She refuses to answer, but looks up at me with a conflicted crease between her brows.

"Katie. What did I do."

"You... Some paps followed you to the club and you talked to them a bit..."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "Please tell me I didn't do what I think I did."

"I think you should look it up for yourself..." She trailed off, not meeting my eyes.

Without another word, I drop the nearly full cup onto the counter and sprint up to my room.

Plugging in my phone, I anxiously wait until it's charged enough to turn on. I count to myself quietly to try and calm my rising anxiety as I watch the battery on the screen slowly charge up.

As soon as I can, I turn it on and impatiently wait the seconds it takes to turn on. Within moments of it fully booting up, my phone is exploding with texts and phone calls I missed.

Fifty emails, thirty missed calls from Jason, and twenty texts. My anxiety skyrockets as the notifications tell me exactly what I was hoping to avoid.

Reading through my texts, one in particular catches my eye. It's from Bianca.

I know you probably didn't mean to because you seemed pretty tipsy on the video, but I'm proud of you.

Taking several deep breaths, I open my browser and Google my name. I open the first article that pops up:

PR Stunt Or Real?: Prince Nico Reveals Too Much On Big Night Out.

Skimming through it, the author clearly doesn't believe what happened. Good.

Then, I see the video linked at the bottom of the article. Taking a deep breath again, I play the video. As it plays, the memory of last night comes flooding back.

I really should not have gone out tonight. Being emotional and drunk is never a good combination for me.

It happened when I was walking from my first club of the night to the second. Jason told me the paps would probably show up at some point, take some pictures, and be on their way. I wasn't too concerned; I've delt with the paparazzi since I was little. I wasn't expecting the video camera to be out.

"Prince Nico! Prince Nico, what are you doing out tonight? Shouldn't you be at the palace with your soon to be bride?" One pap screams at me over the others demanding my attention.

Snorting in annoyance, I wave him off. "I barely know her, why would I be with her?"

"Well you are getting married! Shouldn't you be getting to know her?" He asked.

I roll my eyes and try to ignore the question. Bad things always happen on nights like this, so I try to avoid questions that piss me off.

"What, do you and Princess Thalia not have good chemistry?" The same guy laughs.

That's when I get annoyed at everything going on and all the paparazzi crowding me.

"It's hard to have chemistry with a woman when you're gay," I shout as I slip into the club I was headed to.

Watching the video end, my face turns pale and my stomach churns.

I jump off the bed and run to my bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. I barely get the toilet open before my already empty stomach decides to empty itself further.