Across the Pond (Prince Harry #2)

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Meredith entered her senior year of university with a lot on her mind. In four short months, she was done with university. It was London then. It was Harry then. It was that life then. It was whatever he planned then. Anxiety marched through her veins, awaiting a change in course. Meredith never thought this would be her life, yet suddenly it was her path. She had the chance to jump off, to dive into the cold water and escape, but she stayed on the path. Her love for Harry was just so strong.

On the Tuesday morning, she stared at herself in the mirror. Like they had been for the past few days, paparazzi waited outside Crownhart. She knew that well. With all the rumors swirling around Harry and her about an engagement ring, it made even Meredith believe it to be true. However, she didn't know.

If-- no-- when it happened, she didn't know the next step. She had a few ideas, which meant molding her into a princess. While Harry and her had talked about the future, now the whole world spoke about it. It trended on the internet, the first few things to pop out, and everyone waited for the ring. It was either speculated he already asked and she didn't wear it, or it was to happen after she graduated from university-- and soon.

For some reason, there was a rush for Harry and her to get married, like a push for the monarchy. Whatever it was, Meredith didn't know. If it was about her "running out of time to have children," Meredith was barely twenty-one, she had time. And it wasn't like Harry suddenly was going to not be able to produce. The anxiety the world had gave her anxiety.

At the thought of spending the rest of her life with Harry, it gave her excitement. It was time. She spent enough time dreaming about it. She spent enough time imagining their lives together. It was hard to imagine it when she didn't fully know his life. While he tried to explain it, it was easy to state she might find it differently. Already she acted differently around certain things, like the media, than he did.

Yet, there was a tinge of anxiety. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be a proper adult, or even how to be a proper adult. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be a mom-- or mum-- to anyone. Harry didn't pressure her, but it had been spoken about. She wasn't sure if she was ready to be a royal, or even what her duty was as a royal.

That was on top of the anxieties of being a senior. The world watched, and that suddenly made all her four-hundred level classes more difficult. While she suspected this semester would fly past, it was scared for this to be an end. This had been the last three and half years of life. People came and went, but the University of Wisconsin- Superior stayed. Her job as an RA stayed. It was natural, like her class schedule.

Her mobile dinged, and Meredith glanced at it. Good luck, Harry texted.

Meredith responded back, Thanks.

Setting her phone back down, Meredith checked herself one last time, knowing this was the best it was going to get-- good for her: it was pretty fucking good. Placing her red lipstick on, she threw her hair back and put her shoulders up right. "You got this. I am Meredith Fucking Rogue. I can do this." Leaving her room, Meredith mentally repeated, Badass. Badass. Badass. Badass.

Leaving the doors of Crownhart, humidity made Meredith's hair curl immediately. The flashes of light from paparazzi echoed over, even in broad daylight. The clicks were a common occurrence, ringing constantly. The Superior Police Department had deployed some officers to keep the paparazzi back and from disturbing other students.

"Meredith Rogue! Where's the ring?" yelled a paparazzo.

"When are you getting it?"

"Is Harry coming?"

"Are you moving to London?"

"Where's the ring?"

"C'mon, sweetie! Show us a smile."

Meredith kept her head held high. Badass. Badass. Badass. Badass. Badass. Bad-fucking-ass. She walked on.

In Swenson, she escaped into air conditioning. Walking past the paparazzi, she had felt so weak. A migraine ranged through her head, like nail hit by a hammer over and over again. Her skin tickled. White and black lights flashed in her vision. Meredith had a hard time telling up from down. She stood still, taking a deep breath.

Don't show weakness, Meredith thought, knowing someone always watched. Anxiety caused the headaches, or at least made them worse. In a few days, or at least when it grew cold, she hoped the paparazzi might back off, along with the questions about marriage. She didn't want to think about it until Harry put a ring on her finger. Hopefully that didn't happen until later.

Meredith sat down at a desk in her classroom and waited as teacher after teacher went through the syllabus for the semester. Nothing ever fun or exciting happened on the first day. It was all about getting to know each other. Meredith didn't like these days because while she remembered everyone's names, no one remembered hers-- or that had been the case until the news came out she dated Prince Harry.

Even people who didn't know who Prince Harry was or that the United Kingdom had a monarchy or that the United Kingdom was a country in the planet knew her around here. She was the local celebrity. It was the same at home in the Twin Cities. Since Prince died, Prince Harry's girlfriend was the local celebrity. It wasn't even that she was only famous locally, but more like she stayed in the area. It was laziness, truly, or perhaps Meredith might have transferred elsewhere-- but that took too much time and effort.

Walking past the paparazzi again, again came their hollered questions:

"When are you two getting married?"

"Where's the ring?"

"How did it happen?"

"When can we expect an announcement?"

Apparently the paparazzi knew more than her, and Meredith gave no response. Showing off a polite smile but no teeth, she let the Crownhart front doors seal shut behind her.