Royal Mistake || BxB || Complete.

Chapter Thirty-four

3rd person POV:

The man made his way down the street after a quick goodbye, he stopped at the flower shop, briefly wallowing in the nostalgia of a wonderful night, where Eleni had spoken ever so softly about a beautiful kingdom she had visited, and how that kingdom had these pretty trees that bloomed everywhere, he was thankful for the weather as he was able to find them in season, he bought a bouquet of wisterias and strutted happily to the train station. 

After buying the ticket, it didn't take long for the train to arrive, so he boarded it, making sure to grab a window seat to have a front seat view to the fading sunset, his phone buzzed and he unlocked it, expecting it to be Alexander making sure he got there in time, or wishing him luck, but his eyes widened slightly at the name. 

He hesitantly opened it, 'I wasn't supposed to text you, but I'm done doing what I'm supposed to, I'm in a car right now, unsure where to go, I was hoping you would tell me', the man stared at the screen for a few minutes, unsure of what to say, or if he should say anything at all, the guilt welled up in his chest. 

'I don't know if this is a good idea', a bubble quickly popped up, he couldn't figure out if it was eagerness or desperation, which hurt him, 'I will never leave again, I just want to make my own life and I can't do that without Alexander', the man sighed, 'Alex is very hurt, and he's very fragile', this time it took the boy longer to type back, 'and I'm not?...', it hit him that no matter how much he wanted to protect Alexander that this wasn't about him, and that no matter how much Alex liked to pretend he was okay, he wasn't. 

'how long would it take you to get to London?', 'tomorrow afternoon maybe?', 'Alex would be in uni around that time, if you take the 12pm train you'll get there on lunch break', 'what university does he go to?', another wave of guilt hit him as he typed, this time towards Alexander, who would probably not handle this well, 'Oxford, but I need a favor from you first', 'anything!', 'approach him calmly, he may get nervous if you do it suddenly', 'of course, thank you so so so much', the man locked his phone, tucking it into his pocket, choosing to focus on his date instead, as it was about time he let Alexander make his own choices.

Charles's POV:

I lifted my head up, creaking my eyes open, my neck felt cramped but that was the best it was going to get from a window nap, or rather a full night of sleep, 'the sun is already up?', she sighed, 'it's a long drive and you have a lot ahead, I thought it was better to let you sleep', I smiled, 'thank you'. 

'what's your game plan?, I'm sure they know you're missing by now but they're keeping it off the news, which means they're looking for you themselves, you gotta keep your head down', I nodded, 'I will, and I don't care what they do to me, I am never going back', the car suddenly stopped, I looked up and realized we were at the train station already, 'I'm gonna miss you Oxy', she rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her face anyways. 

'I'll be here every weekend to annoy you kid', I nodded, 'I'm not gonna hug you because you might punch me', she chuckled, 'go on before your train leaves', I said goodbye and collected my things, leaving the car and walking towards the booth that sold tickets, I got one then sat down to await the train's arrival, I took the small bit of time to think of how the reunion would be, and all the scenarios in my head were amazing, as I knew seeing Alexander in any way was enough, the anticipation lit up my heart again, and I found myself staring at the sky like an idiot, the smile on my face being, for the first time in a long time, real.

I tapped my foot nervously against the ground, as I sat in a bench near the school cafeteria, I observed every person that passed by, getting a few strange looks myself, I questioned why, then realized I hadn't gotten the chance to change out of the suit, I sighed, loosening my tie and shoving it into my bag, I ruffled my hair around as I lifted my head up, I froze up and my breath caught in my throat as he walked by. 

He was looking at his phone and didn't even glance my way, and the desperation in the back of my mind made me question if he was real or not, but I shakily took my bags and paced after him, he stopped suddenly, taking a phone call, I stopped not that far away too, 'hey War, I'm on my way, are you coming?', a bit of silence and I could almost see his smile as he spoke again, 'okay I'll see you soon'.

He hung up and as he was trying to put his phone back in his pocket, he dropped the bunch of books in his hand and cussed, I sniffled in a laugh and approached him, 'do you need help with that?', 'no thank you', his tone was stiff and I didn't blame him, he probably didn't recognize my voice since it was hoarse and slightly faded, 'you're Alex right?', he continued paying me no attention as he picked up a book and papers fell from it, 'fucking hell', I smiled, 'yeah sorry, I'm Alex, do I know you?'. 

'I thought you were cute and wanted to ask you out', I heard him sigh, 'I am taken, sorry', I flinched but then figured that it was probably an excuse to get people to back off, so I smirked, hooking my arms together, 'I can't exactly handle rejection', he finally stood up, 'listen I'm flattered I jus-', he stopped midway as he fully turned around, he took a step back, his hands began shaking slightly, and I got worried at the thought of scaring him this much. 

'Charles you're here right, I-I'm not going crazy?', the stutter broke my heart as I shook my head, 'you aren't, I am here', I could see his breathing fasten a little as he took another step back, 'I'm sorry, I don't want to see you like this', before I could register what was going on, he rushed away, and I found myself stuck in place, barely able to drag my feet to go back to that same bench I was sat on before. 

Over a million questions swarmed my head, but the most urgent one was, what do I do now?, my answer came in the form of another figure walking by, I called out his name and he turned around, narrowing his eyes as to check if I was really there, he walked towards me, not looking very happy, 'what are you doing here man?', he sat next to me, 'so you remember me?, and I'm real?', he raised an eyebrow, looking evidently confused, 'yes and yes, now what do you want?', I rolled my eyes. 

'Alexander, I came to see him', his eyes widened a little, 'did you?', 'I did but he panicked and ran away', he mumbled a quick fuck, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone, he dialed someone and they answered quickly, 'hey, is he with you?', he hummed mostly, 'okay, I'll be there soon', he hung up and turned to me, the sight of his harsh green eyes brought me back to that day where Alexander had been trying to burn that painting, maybe their history is more complicated than I thought. 

'Alex almost had a panic attack, he's fine now, but you definitely shouldn't have come', 'I'm sorry, I didn't think it would go like this', he sighed, standing up, 'just stay away man', I followed behind him, 'that's not fucking fair, you don't get to do the heroic thing and walk away, I didn't know he had panic attacks, if I did I wouldn't have been reckless'. 

He stopped walking, 'I'll take you with me, you stay outside and I'll check if he's ready to talk to you, if he isn't, you leave, preferably for good', I let out a sigh of relief, 'okay', I followed behind him, not much words were exchanged in between us as we drove in his car and stopped in front of a suburban looking house, he opened the door, 'I'll come out and tell you if he's up to talk', I nodded as he got out and went inside. 

Every minute that went by felt agonizingly long, I felt like a mountain had left my chest as he opened the house door and gave me a nod, I took slow and heavy steps towards the house, the moment felt unreal and overwhelming, and hesitation took over my body as I lifted my arm to knock on his door, but I did anyways.