The Prince (A KOTLC Selection Fanfiction)

Chapter 31

I let out a shout of happiness, jumping up from my seat. 

"TAM'S JOINING THE SELECTION!" I shout at the camera, tossing the magazine at Leto and running out of the studio.

It's probably an abrupt end to the Report, but who cares?

My legs bring me towards the library, where I had called everyone earlier, and I find them still there.

"Hey, Keefe's back!" Marella tells the others. The girls grin at me, and I grin back at them. 

I quickly weave through them, planting kisses on their cheeks before I see Tam calmly reading a book. I guess he hasn't seen the magazine.

The book goes flying out of Tam's hands as I tackle him with a hug, squeezing him as tight as I can.

"Can't breathe-" Tam gasps, pushing me off of him. I release him, the smile on my face still bright.

I lean forward, giving him a short-but-sweet kiss on his lips, before twirling him around giddily. 

From the places where my hands touch his, I can feel a strong surge of emotions. It takes me a second to untangle the strongest emotion from there—it's happiness. It feels like I'm bathing in sunlight.

"Keefe— Keefe, what are you doing?" Tam says, his face a bright shade of red. The others are dutifully pretending to ignore us, giving us our own little moment.

"YOU'RE JOINING THE SELECTION!" I shout, grabbing some papers and tossing them in the air. They rain down on us like confetti.

"Alright, that's it." Ro grumbles, stepping out of the shadows behind me. Even Tam seems startled by her sudden appearance. 

She shunts all of us out of the library, muttering about how the librarian keeps giving us murderous glances. I may be a Prince, but there's only so much she can take. 

Oops.

"Okay, well," I sigh, "It's still awesome!"

"Yeah, sure." Ro grumbles, pulling her dyed hair back into a ponytail.

I roll my eyes at her, turning my gaze to Tam. His face is still flushed from a mixture of embarrassment and excitement.

Fitz punches me on the shoulder playfully. "Welp, that's great, Keefe. Does this mean the Selection's gonna take a bit longer?"

"Yeah, I guess so." I shrug. If it meant I had more time with all my Selected, then I was fine with it.

"That's great." Marella says, her enthusiasm sounding strained. Then she turns and walks off towards her room.

I pass it off as just being nervous from the fact that I would be coronated, but then Sophie gives me a glance before heading after Marella. 

Hmm. 

I guess I'll talk to Marella soon, see what's up. 

But for now, I'm gonna celebrate by taking Tam out on an official date.

I grin, excited, as we walk towards the little dinner I set up for us. I've blindfolded Tam, and he's clinging to my hands as I pull him along.

"Are we there yet?" He says, nearly tripping over his own feet.

"Not yet, Tammy. Here, let me do something."

"What are you- Keefe!"

I've neatly scooped him up and I'm carrying him, bridal-style. He flails around for a bit, before resigning himself to it with a sigh.