The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

Tonight We Can Dream

"Here everything is soft and smooth..." Jaclyn shuttered as Anakin caressed Padmé's shoulder. As much as she actually liked the prequels the dialogue and delivery always made her cringe.

William laughed nudging his shoulder with hers, "I forgot you don't like this scene."

"How could you forget?" She scoffed, "no Padmé don't be turned on by that it's weird," she groaned at the fictional character on the screen as her and Anakin made out.

"You can't say anything. You're just as bad at flirting."

Her jaw dropped as she kicked his arm with her foot, "I am not."

"I'm sorry, but does "deadheading" ring any bells?"

Her lips pursued, nose scrunching as she tried her best to conceal the smile threatening to consume her, but it was no use. He could see the tinge of pink on her cheeks in the laptop screens light, so she fell over on her side laughing lightly at the memory.

Her hair brushed his leg, the closest either had allowed the other to get, but neither noticed. They fell back into their old routine easily. Laughing and teasing as if the world they lived in didn't exist, like the events that pulled them apart never happened. They hung out like best of friends perfectly understanding the other like no time had passed at all.

He thought she was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. The girl always in the back of his mind, he was always ready for her, he was simply just waiting for her to realize it.

"Oh, to be seventeen again," Jaclyn sighed, her blue eyes looking upwards at William as he craned over her.

"I was eighteen, but what were we doing again?" Suddenly she was thinking of lots of things they did when teenagers, but she went for the safest one. "We laid on the ground in the middle of a church."

Movie forgotten they sat, one over the other, captivated like teenagers all over again. But, something was different, like them. The anxieties that plagued them were gone, replaced by voices whispering that everything about this was right.

"We should do it again," she finally mumbled, jumping up so quickly she nearly knocked her head with William's. He followed her of course, and laid down on the carpeted floor of the hotel. Jaclyn stared up at the popcorn textured ceiling counting every little bump as she thought about her life so far. Was she doing the right things? What had it amounted to? Was any of it really worth it?

Time drained on, eventually on her forgotten computer the wedding scene played and in the music their hands gravitated towards each other. Fingertips only brushing. It was getting late and after four days of shows and rehearsals Jackie was exhausted her eyes lolling, but she willed them back each time.

Finally William asked, "What are you thinking?"

"That the world is moving on," and she responded simply, but felt him shift beside her. "Everything's changing; Nat and Leo are dating, Emma's engaged, Thomas is being promoted to principal, Zara is finally in a relationship with someone I can stand behind, and you're graduating."

Ready to take your place, her head whispered.

"I'm still doing the exact same things I was doing four years ago." She kept her eyes up hesitant to allow the goosebumps to eat her skin if she turned to look at him. Something in her wants to ask about the last four years. The one topic they ignored in all their texts. She wants to ask about the girls, the parties, why he did it at all.

But she can't. It would mean she cared.

"Well, if you think about it I'm not really doing anything different either, and all of England is complaining that I'm being irresponsible, not settling down when really I just want to make sure that I'm absolutely ready. I don't want to make the same mistakes my parents made."

And somewhere in his words her fingers twitched grasping his, she knew what people meant when they said he was being irresponsible. But she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on that tonight.
"What do you think the right age is to get married."

"For me? Twenty eight maybe older, you?"

Her conversation with Natania played in the back of her mind, but Jaclyn in her tiredness let everything that stopped her then go.

"I'd say the same." For as long as she could remember she dreamed of being loved just the way her parents had, but lately thinking of it reminded her of how alone she was. Her fingers squeezed William's. Or how impossible it all was.

More seconds passed and he asked, "If you were to have kids how many would you want?"

I'm not sure," she was consciously aware of his hand slowly slipping more into hers, and with drowsy ease she revealed her secrets. "Lots, maybe three or four. I've always loved teaching the kids at the studio, and it's made me want to have several. You?"

"I don't really care as long as we're happy." And if her heart had stalled ready to sleep suddenly it leapt. Jaclyn knew what he meant. Both of his parents had loved him and Harry, but he didn't want his kids to grow up between the two people they loved the most feuding.

And when she finally looked over at him, he was already watching her.

In the light of the silver moon reflecting through the single square window Jaclyn lost herself in his eyes, fit perfectly beside him as if their souls had been split long ago, and were finally returning.

I love you

Her heart screamed the revelation, the first time she had thought it in any capacity, and tomorrow she would deal with the aftermath, but tonight she would dream that they were forever.

"You will be, I promise." She didn't know where her words had come from, or what they truly meant, and she wasn't really sure what his response was because after she drifted off.

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Another update because I literally can't get enough of this book. Just a heads-up I might update tomorrow as well because this chapter was supposed to have more to it, but it was pushing 4000 words and that's a lot for one chapter so I had to split them into two.

Please let me know what you think, your comments give me joy, and motivation.

Love you guys🥰