For Forever (A FirstPrince Story)

Nora & Alex

4:40 am

Cash forced the four young adults. "Stay down," Cash ordered right before slamming the door shut. Bang! There was another gunshot. That caused a miniature scream to come from Nora.

"Are you guys okay?" Nora asked.

"I'm fine," June said. "Alex?"

Alex was leaned against Henry, trying to regulate his breathing. Henry wrapped his arm around Alex. He wasn't bleeding. "Yeah," Alex said. "I'm fine."

"Do you think we were followed?" June asked.

"Maybe," Alex said. He chuckled, in a way to calm himself. "I knew the van was a bad idea."

Maybe the joke was too soon, but no one dared mention it. "People are trying to kill me," Alex muttered. "They're trying to kill me because they know I'm already slated for death."

A terrifying thought then hit Nora. How many hits did Alex have on his head? This was probably not going to be there only close call tonight. Suddenly, she was aware of everyone's mortality. They weren't untouchable. Being young wasn't going to save them.

Henry rubbed his shoulder. It seemed the reality of the situation had suddenly crushed Alex like a bolder. Nora wished she could say something to comfort him, but there was nothing she could say.

The car was completely dark. "I haven't heard gunshots in a few minutes," June whispered. She then felt her phone vibrate. "Amy says they apprehended the guy. Wasn't an assassin. It was a decker who was hunting for other Deckers."

Deckers hunting deckers. It was a concept they were familiar with. People who were angry about their own impending demises, so they decided to take it out on everyone. "Amy says we still need to stay in the car until the police arrive," June continued to explain. "He's claiming that he didn't know who was in the car. He just wanted to kill people."

"That's honestly more horrifying," Alex said.

"You sure you're okay, Alex?" Nora asked.

"I would not be this calm if I was shot," Alex chuckled.

"I know, but mentality," Nora said.

"I guess I'm fine," Alex said. "My life just flashed before my eyes."

They heard the wail of police sirens. Alex and June received texts from their mom. They were surprised she wasn't ordering Amy and Cash to take them home so she could look Alex in a bunker until he choked on his spit or something.

The van door opened. "All clear," Amy said. They finally climbed out of the car. Alex checked his phone. It had just turned five o'clock. The group was escorted into the building by Amy and Cash.

The lines weren't too long. There were two lines, labeled "Deckers" and "Non-deckers." This was one of the places where Deckers got in for free. This place made most of their money from the merch stands in the different areas.

The group got into the line labeled Deckers. There was maybe about fifty people in the room with them. Nora spotted two girls, one with a scarf over their head. A man was taking a picture of them, and the one with the headscarf had her arms wrapped around the other's torsos. They were in the Decker line.

It didn't take them long to get to the front of the line. The man behind the counter seemed to recognize them. Then again, a large percentage of citizens in the country could identify the four of them.

"You know Deckers get in for free," the man explained.

"I know," Alex said. "I still want to pay my way in."

"You don't have to do that," the man explained.

"Eh, I'm not going to need it," Alex said with a shrug. So, they bought the tickets. Everyone paid for their tickets. It was about ten dollars a ticket. Some billionaire was funding all the locations. They were all given wristbands. Alex was given a bright yellow one, and the others were given blue ones.

They were led to the loading areas. There were quite a few trams. Those were what were going to take someone through the fake world. They found a sign with all the tours. "The around the world in sixty minutes is going to start in ten minutes," Nora explained.

"We should do that," Alex suggested. They made their way over to that tram. After they scanned their wrist bands, they climbed onto the tram. They sat together on one of the benches. There were a few other people there. Amy and Cash were stood in a corner. No one was speaking.

A few minutes pass, and the intercom roars to life. "Welcome everyone, to around the world in sixty minutes," the conductor said. "In the next sixty minutes, you will experience several different countries. At everyone country, you can press a button to get off if you wish to experience the country up close. Though, be aware that if choose to, we will not wait for you and you'll only have thirty seconds to get off. We have a lot of ground to cover. Now, sit back and enjoy the ride."

The tram soon started. Some generic elevator music started playing. They went through a dark tunnel to take them to their first country. The group of four got a few looks, but no one said anything.

"Our first stop," the conductor announced. "Rio."

Everyone stared at the Rio. They saw the Parque Lange and other big landmark. Alex and Henry held hands. Nora knew despite the 2016 Rio Olympics having not so pleasant memories for Alex, it was still where they met. There was a sliver of nostalgia.

No one got off at this stop. "I love you," Henry whispered.

"I love you too," Alex said.

"Are you two engaged?" The girl with the headscarf asked. The group of four looked over at her. She was sat with the same girl and man from earlier.

"No," Alex responded. "The rumors aren't true, and sadly, will never become true."

---

5:13 am

"Why don't we make them true?" Henry asked.

Alex looks over to Henry. "What?" Alex asked.

"I know nothing will happen, but I want you to wear my ring," Henry said. "I want you to be forever in my history. When historians hundreds of years together, and they find our graves, I don't want them to shrug you off as just being my friend. I want them to find a symbol of my love for you. You all be a part of my history. I wish I had the chance to marry you, but I'd be honored if you wore my ring until the end."

Henry pulled out an extravagant diamond ring. "I've been carrying it around for a while," Henry admitted. Alex was blinking back tears. "Alex, will you wear my ring forever?"

"Yes," Alex said without missing a beat. Henry slipped the ring on Alex's finger. The two shared a passionate kiss. It was a perfect fairytale ending.

Though, this is no fairytale. There will be no happily ever after.