Royal Academy

Chapter 12

"Noelani!" He says, copying my excitement. "I hope you like my gift."

"I love her!" I say, taking my bag off and setting it down on his bed. I pull Shisa out of the bag. I cuddle her close and she licks my cheek. "Adorable."

"Not as adorable as you!" He says, hugging me.

"Smol family." I say, quoting the old tumblr meme.

"Family." He smiles warmly at me. "So, Nay," he says, using my nickname from Danielle and Megan. "I want to tell you something."

"Yes?" I say, wanting to know.

"I love you." He says, kissing me on the head, and smiling. That adorable guy.

"I love you, too." I say, and kiss him softly. I run a hand through his dirtyblonde hair, and he purrs. "Oh my god, that WAS ADORABLE! Do it again, do it again!" I say, sounding like an amazed child.

He purrs again, and kisses my nose. "Want to cuddle?" He asks.

"Yes please!" I say, as he curls up in his bed. I curl up next to him, and he wraps his arms around my torso. "I love you" I whisper.

"I love you more, little Strawberry." He says referring to my red ombré hair. They're also his favourite fruit. It was a nickname he gave me a while ago. Shisa curls up at our legs. This was an amazing moment for me.

Boom! A crack of thunder is heard, followed by a light. It scares me, and I cling to Will for dear life. "Shh.. It's okay, my love." He says, making me ease my grip a bit. "Look into my eyes." He says. He didn't have his yellow contacts in that he loved to wear. I guess I caught him when he was just about to go to bed. I almost get lost in the pool of blue that surrounds his pupil. He moves a piece of hair from my face, out of my eyes. I can tell he likes them. Especially with the red in them. A flash of white is seen, and more, louder thunder. You could hear the rain falling. I cuddle him closely. Soon, I've fallen asleep, and judging by the light snoring I could hear as I drifted off, he was out too. I felt warm, and at home. The most comfortable I had been in years.

A brief flash of light is seen, but this time, a different sound had followed. It wasn't a clap of thunder, it was the click of a camera. We forgot to lock the door. He sits up, and him and I were so close together, he brought me up with him.

"Hey lovebirds! I'm keeping this one." Megan says, looking at the Polaroid photo she had taken clear up. She stores it in a nice container for a scrapbook, maybe. "We haven't found Ben yet, but we're on the lookout. Jakob told us where you were."

"Okay.. Let's go look for Ben!" I say, standing up. I yawn, and pick Shisa up and put her in my bag. I slip my bag on, and take Will's hand, walking out the door. He takes his keys, and gives me the spare- just in case I ever need him. We search all over the dorm. Nothing. Maybe the boys were in a different dorm? "Hey, maybe they're in a different dorm!" I suggest.

"Yeah, maybe they are." Danielle says, thinking about what I've said.

She takes the idea. "Come on guys, let's go!" Aestia says, and runs outside in the rain. Megan brought an umbrella, and she shares it with Danielle as they run through the muddy grass to the next dorm.

I hold Will's hand as we run, using our free hands to shield our eyes. We walk into the warm dormitory. Taking a look around, making sure we don't leave any marks on the ground. We see a small, shivering figure underneath a table, meowing softly in fear. Will takes a step forward, and sees it's Ben. "Come here Ben. Come on, we won't hurt you." He says, reaching his free, yet sort of wet from the rain, hand out to touch Ben. The orange (or ginger, I'm not sure) tabby walks up to him, and let's Will pet his fur. "Good young one, aren't you?" He says in that adorable voice of his.

He picks Ben up, and holds him. I pet the poor thing's back, and sing to him to calm him down. He slowly stops shaking, and we take him to Danielle. We put him in her bag, and we run back to the other dorm building. "I'll see you tomorrow, Noelani." Will says, holding both my hands, looking down at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, too, William." I say. He kisses me, and see a flash of light. The camera again.

"Beautiful, beautiful!" Megan says, bundling her fingers together and kissing them, then extending them once more. Like stereotypical Italians do.

"I have become Willock Holmes." He says.

"Aye." I say.

He chuckles and kisses my forehead, then my lips once again. "Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams." I say, as he let's go of my hands, and let us walk away. We all run back to our dorm, and walk in. Everyone was asleep by then, and we walk up to our dorms.

"Thanks, girls." Danielle says, taking Ben out of her bag, and kissing his little head. Megan and Danielle walk back to their rooms, and Aestia and I walk into our room. I lock the door behind me, and look for a chain with no charms. I find a silver one, and slip the metal key onto the chain. I hook it onto my neck, and smile. For emergencies. Aestia changes her clothes and sits on her bed.

"Well that was fun!" She says. "I wonder how Iris is doing."

"Probably asleep." I say, giggling. She brushes out her hair, and I tap my scepter on her head, putting it into a braid.

"Woah! How'd you do that?! I've tried millions of times!" She says.

"I don't know. I guess some scepters work differently than others. You're good at doing hair, I'm not. Maybe it wants you to keep your skill!" I say. I walk into the bathroom, and change into an oversized shirt that my old friend Jakob once wore often. It was his favourite. Too bad he's not around anymore. He's still here, watching. I feel it. I put my old swim team pants on. They were plaid with red and white, and white letters spelling Aviano down the right leg.

I climb into bed after putting my hair in a bun, and Shisa climbs up and cuddles me. We both fall asleep a few minutes later, and I dream of Will.