the prince and the peasant | skephalo | DISCONTINUED

skeppy

After that day, Darryl and Zak would stop by the graveyard together. Zak also asked Darryl about their orphanage adventures. He learned a lot about Darryl.

Darryl's favorite colors were red and black, he loved potatoes and muffins, he didn't like to swear or other people swearing, and he started to take art. Zak learned that Darryl wanted to be anything but a farmer. His parents were farmers and saw how stressful it was.

Zak learned more about himself. When he was younger, he was obsessed with Skippy peanut butter. He would eat it with everything, apples, celery, bread, cookies, and cupcakes. Darryl recalls all the times Zak called Skippy, Skeppy. After that day, Zak was known as Skeppy to Darryl.

Everyday, Zak would sneak out to meet Darryl at the graveyard. It was their official hangout spot. One day, the two were laying in the grass, laughing about some dumb story about Darryl's first day of high school, Darryl starts to remember that he needs to drop something off at Vincent's place.

"Shoot. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Darryl said as he got up.

Zak tugged on Darryl's sweater, keeping him from leaving. "It's barely 2. Where do you need to go,"

Darryl smiled softly at Zak. Zak stopped clinging  onto Darryl's sleeve. "I'm going to Vincent's. I need to repay him. He helped me buy the bag and outfit for you birthday," Darryl explained.

Zak nodded. "I never got to thank you for the gift. I really liked it,"

"No problem!" Darryl helped Zak up, "You can come if you want to."

"Sure. I've been wanting to meet this famous Vincent you're always talking about," Zak grinned. He was looking forward to finding a new friend.

Darryl and Zak dropped by Darryl's house to get Darryl's wallet. Darryl helped his parents at the farm for a few weeks so he can make enough money to pay Vincent back.

Darryl walked with Zak to Vincent's restaurant. It was 2 at the time, which were Vincent's work hours. Vincent helped his parents in the restaurant. He was a waiter and he cleaned. They got to the restaurant and saw Vincent mopping the floor. It looked like a busy day for the restaurant.

Zak started it get more anxious. There were a lot of people staring at him when all Zak planned was to meet Darryl's friend. Darryl took Zak's hand and stood next to Vincent.

Vincent finally looked up from the wet floor, "Darryl! I didn't expect to see you today," Vincent looked at the shy boy next to Darryl. The French boy's eyes widened, "You brought the prince?!"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. He wanted to stop by," Darryl dug into his pocket to get the money he owed Vincent.

Zak waved at Vincent. Vincent studied Zak. Zak was wearing a black hoodie with his hands in his pocket. He kept his hood on top of his head. Zak tried to keep a low profile.

Darryl cleared his throat. "I just wanted to come by. I've been talking to Darryl for a while. He's talked about you a lot," Zak explained.

Vincent blushed a bit. "You've talking about me to the prince?!" Vincent exclaimed.

Darryl handed out the money and nodded. "Of course! You're my best friend," Vincent nodded, a bit embarrassed, "Here. The money I owe you,"

Vincent pushed the money out of his reach, "You don't have to pay me back," Vincent insisted.

Darryl tilted his head. "You sure?"

Vincent nodded. "You need it more than I do,"

Darryl nodded back. He put the money back in his pocket. "I think we should head out now," Zak whispered to Darryl. Darryl noticed all the stares Zak was getting.

"You want to come along, Vincent?" Darryl asked.

Vincent nodded, unsure. He went around the employees only room and grabbed a 'wet floor' sign. Vincent told his parents he was heading out early and returned to the two boys.

The trio exited the restaurant. Zak and Darryl walked, but Vincent was still unsure where they were going. "Where are we going exactly?"

"The graveyard! It's me and Skeppy's hangout spot!" Darryl glanced at Zak, who was looking down as he walked. "Skeppy is Zak, by the way."

Vincent frowned. He and Darryl had been friends for so long, yet Darryl seemed to be closer with Zak. Yes, Darryl knew Zak longer than he knew Vincent, but Vincent and Darryl had been talking longer than him and Zak. Plus, Vincent and Darryl didn't have nicknames for each other or a hangout spot.

The three walked in a silence before Zak pointed at a cornflower. "I remember you saying that was your favorite flower," Zak leaned down next to it and picked it from the ground and handed it to Darryl.

"Aww! Thanks Skeppy! I can't believe you remembered! I remember you saying these were your favorite flowers too because they were blue," Darryl thanked Zak. He the flower close to his chest.

Vincent felt jealous and out of place. He never knew Darryl's favorite flower. At least not until that moment. Vincent let to two boys walk in front of him as he walked behind them. Vincent felt horrible. He felt like he was getting replaced. By the prince of all people.

He never joined in Zak and Darryl's conversation. He just listened as he walked silently, focusing on the lines of the side walk. He kicked a pebble he spotted on the ground. "Just kiss already," he mumbled harshly, in anger.

The two boys in front of him turned their heads to look at him. Zak gave him a confused look while Darryl gave him a concerned one. "What was that?" Darryl asked lightheartedly.

Vincent felt his face heat up. "Nothing," he said in a whisper voice.

Darryl spread his arms and out walked in front of Zak to face the two others at the same time. "We're here!" To Vincent, it was just the graveyard, but to Darryl and Zak, it was a special place of memory.

Darryl and Zak led Vincent to an empty grass patch where the two usually sat when it just them. "You guys come out here every night?" Vincent asked.

Darryl laid down next to Zak. Vincent remained sitting. "Every night since the day after Zak's birthday," Darryl explained.

The party was one week ago. Vincent wondered how they grew such a strong bond in a week. It was still bright out, so there were no visible stars yet. Stargazing was Zak and Darryl's favorite shared activity. Nighttime was the best time to feel nostalgic. But since it was still bright out and they had a new guest with them at the graveyard, it was a little silent.

Vincent played with the grass and the things on it while the other two talked about the orphanage. "At least me and Darryl have other topics to talk about besides the orphanage. They'll run out of stories to share soon." Vincent thought. "I mean, why does Darryl like Zak so much? He didn't even remember him."

Vincent sighed as he tore blades of grass out of the dirt. "Maybe it's because Zak is the prince. That must be it. There's nothing else good about him."

He tore another blade of grass, roughly. "You ok, Vince?" Darryl sat up next to Vincent and put his hand on the French boy's shoulder.

"Yeah. Mhm," Vincent said reassuringly.

Zak sat up next to Darryl too. Zak smiled to Vincent. "You don't have to be shy around me just because I'm the prince. I just want to make new friends," Zak told Vincent.

Vincent nodded and looked back down at the grass reflecting on what Zak had just said. "He's so full of himself."

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Thank you for reading part 4 :)

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Words: 1315