The metal feet of the suitcase clicked as they hit the floor, followed by the loud screeches of old springs as Sara launched herself on to her new bed. "Sara, careful!" Linda warned with a slight chuckle as she wheeled in another suitcase. Though the young girl couldn't contain her excited giggles as she pushed herself back onto her feet, looking around the bare room that would soon be decorated and brought to life for her to live in. "I'm just so excited, I can't believe I'm actually boarding here now," she beamed, bending down to grab her suitcase once more. Setting it on the bed, she opened it pulling out a small picture frame that held a picture of the three of them; Linda, Simon and Sara. She walked over placing it on her desk carefully, "There," she said with a triumphant hum before turning to her mother. Linda stood there, a forced smile on her face, but nothing could hide the true emotion behind her eyes. She was excited for her daughter, happy that she was finally able to live at Hillerska, but that didn't keep her from being worried about her and saddened by the fact she couldn't see her as often any longer. Sara pouted as she walked up to her mother, wrapping her arms around her securely. "Mama, I'm not leaving forever. I promise I will visit as much as they let me," she tried reassuring her mother who clung to her. She could feel her mother's entire body heave as she let out a long sigh, Sara pulling back to see tears in her mother's eyes. "Mama!" She exclaimed, holding her face gently. "Let's not think about it now, hm? Let's just get you unpacked and set your room up. Your roommate could get here soon and I don't want it to get crowded in here," Linda said softly as he held onto Sara's hands, offering a more genuine smile.
A small knock was heard from the open door, Sara and Linda looking up from their tasks to see a petite young girl standing in the doorway clutching the handle of her suitcase. Her long, brown hair held tight curls as it cascaded over her shoulders, her hand coming up to tug at one of the coils as she stood there. "Hello," she finally managed to get out, her voice soft, almost intangibly so, as if she was scared to speak. It wasn't long after that a deep male voice could be heard from down the hall, "Karolina, I know you're excited but you can't go on ahead like that. I don't know where I'm going." The man behind the voice appeared in the doorway as well, stopping in his tracks when he noticed the other two in the room. "Oh, hello," he hummed out, gently nudging the girls shoulder to get her to move inside the room. She scuffled her way in, walking over to the unoccupied bed where she set down her suitcase, the man following behind her. After he emptied his hands he turned to face the others, a warm smile on his face. "Nice to meet you, I'm Stefan, her father," he explained, gesturing to the girl before extending his hand out to Linda. She fumbled with the jacket she was in the middle of putting on a hanger, letting out a embarrassed chuckle, before reaching out to shake the man's hand. "Linda, I'm her-..." "Sister?" Stefan interjected with a proud grin. Taken aback by Stefan's boldness, Linda glanced at her daughter who in return just gave her mother a confused look. "No... no, I'm her mother," she eventually corrected letting out a soft laugh. Sara looked between the parents, her nose scrunched up slightly before she turned her attention to her roommate. She tossed the pillow in her hands onto the bed before walking up to her, "Hi, I'm Sara!" She beamed, obviously excited about the whole situation as she shot her hand out. "Karolina, I'm Karolina," the soft spoken girl replied, a tiny smile on her face as she shook her hand. "Well, we better finish up so you can have the room to set up," Linda spoke up, looking around at the small bit Sara had left to take care. Stefan shook his head, waving his hand in the air, "Please, take your time, we don't want y0u to feel rushed. We will be fine," he assured before turning towards his daughter's side of the room, humming to himself as he began to help her unpack.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"So you moved here all the way from Gävle... because your dad got this new job in Linköping?" Sara asked as she walked beside her new roommate, both of them heading towards the Manor House. Felice had told Sara to come over once she was done moving in so they could hang out before classes started tomorrow, even though they'd have a lot more time to see each other now that she was boarding. "Yeah, he got a promotion and they wanted him to move to that facility," Karolina explained softly. She was still rather quiet, not really speaking unless asked a question and even then she didn't say much. "And, like, what does he do? I know Hillerska isn't cheap," Sara stated with a small chuckle as she skipped down the steps, holding onto the railing in case there was any ice left on them. Karolina pursed her lips, twirling one of her stray curls around her finger, "Uh... he's some sort of developer or something. I don't really know what he does," she admitted with a shrug. "What about your mom? What does she do?" Sara continuing her questions to try and fill the silence of their walk. However, this question seemed to strike a cord with Karolina as she immediately stopped walking, her gaze dropping to her feet. When the echo of foot steps on the packed snow stopped behind her Sara turned around, seeing her roommate frozen in place, somehow appearing smaller than she already was. "Are you okay?" She asked, backtracking to stand in front of the girl. It was at that point Sara was able to hear the quiet sound of sniffling. "Karolina? What's wrong?" Concern taking over her previously bubbly attitude. It was quiet for a moment, for the first time since stepping outside, Sara was aware of the sting of the cold on her cheek. It was late in the day, the sun already setting, taking whatever bit of warmth it provided with it. "Can we... Can we just not talk about my mom," Karolina finally whispered out, slowly lifting her head to look at Sara. Tears pooling, threatening to spill over, the look in her eyes pleading for her roommate to understand that she didn't want to be questioned as to why she had reacted this way. Without a word, Sara nodded her head, feeling as if she had done something wrong. Maybe she shouldn't have been so focused on Karolina's family, and stuck to questions about her. Things she liked, if she was interested in the equestrian team, anything else really. "Come on, let's get inside, I'm starting to freeze out here," Sara encourage with an awkward chuckle, hoping she hadn't ruined a friendship before it had even really begun. The curly haired girl nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, "Yeah, let's go."
As the girls approached the Manor House the front door swung open, revealing Felice and Madison frantically waving their arms. "Sara!" They beamed in unison before breaking into laughter as they stepped aside to let the other two in. Madison pulled the door shut as soon as everyone was in, her whole body shaking for a moment as a cold chill ran up her spine, "It doesn't matter where you are, Sweden or America, winter sucks!" The group giggled before Felice spoke up, "Sara! I missed you!" She squealed as she opened her arms to hug her friend, Madison doing the same. After their greeting, the looked over to the unfamiliar girl who had came inside along with Sara. For a moment, she was confused by the silence until she realized she hadn't even mentioned she was bringing her roommate over. "Oh right, Felice, Madison, this is Karolina! My roommate," a proud grin on her face as she said that word. It signifying she was finally a residential student. "Karolina, these are my friends, Felice, and Madison," she said pointing to them as she said their names. Karolina offered a shy smile, followed by a wave. "You aren't much of a talker, huh?" Madison hummed as she stepped forward, looking Karolina up and down for a moment. "Don't worry, we can change that," she declared as she wrapped her arm around the small girl's shoulders before taking off towards the stairs that lead to her and Felice's dorm room. Felice and Sara looked towards each other before bursting out in a fit of laughter, each wrapping an arm around each other as they followed behind.
"Wait... so they gave Simon the grant and he's not going to take it?" Felice questioned, turning around to look at Sara who sat on the floor as Madison painted her nails. The girls had at first sat around talking, asking about everyone's break and what they did, trying to get to know Karolina more before Madison grew bored. She was a girl who seldom sat still for very long. This resulted in the girls breaking out their makeup bags and various bottles of nail polish. Felice was currently giving their new friend a makeover as they continued to talk. "I mean, I tried to convince him but he just wouldn't. At least he is still going to Hillerska," Sara mumbled with a shrug, causing her hand to wiggle just enough for Madison to paint the edge of her finger. This resulted in a playful glare, followed by a light smack on the wrist causing the two to giggle as they carried on. The room fell silent, as each were focused on what they were doing for a moment, before Felice spoke up, "Do you think... it has to do with Wille?" Sara wasn't quite sure if it was or not. The two of them hadn't talked about the prince much, if at all. Anytime he did come up Simon seemed to switch the subject rather quickly, or in some cases remove himself from the conversation completely. Which she understood, he was hurt. He trusted Wilhelm and was told they were going to go through whatever would have happened together, but instead was abandoned. He probably didn't wish to be reminded of those feelings. But she was proud of her brother, for once he put himself first and did what was best for him. She knew he would've been miserable trying to keep the relationship a secret. "I don't know. Maybe," she eventually said. "Blow on them," Madison instructed as she started to screw the lid back on to the nail polish bottle. Sara did as she was told, holding her fingers in front of her mouth before looking up when Felice called for their attention. "Woah, you look so pretty!" Madison cheered as she got up from the floor to inspect Karolina's make up closer, "Damn, Felice, you've gotten good." Karolina looked between the three girls in front of her, unsure of what she looked like despite the others assuring her the makeup looked amazing. "What do you think?" Felice asked as she handed over her phone so she could see herself in the camera. Karolina slowly lifted the phone up, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at the dramatic look that had just been dusted onto her face. Her mouth agape as she stared in awe. "I practiced a lot over break," Felice hummed proudly as she started to pack her brushes back into her bag.
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The familiar tree lined road came into view as the car drew closer and closer to the school, music softly playing from the speakers. After coming to a stop beside the bus stop, Simon sat in the car, staring at the building in front of him. He was going to see Wilhelm today. There was no way around it. He wasn't sure what he would do when it happened. What if he tried talking to him? What would he say? Did he even want to talk to him? It had been over a month since they last saw each other, he could've completely moved on. Simon was pull from his thoughts when he felt a gentle touch on his cheek, looking over to his mother. A sympathetic look on her face, "Simon, you don't have to go here if it's too much. You can also transfer back to Mar-..." Simon quickly shook his head, cutting his mom off as he reached up to move her hand from his face. "No, Mama, I want to go here. I'll be fine, I promise," he assured her. He leaned over kissing his mother's cheek before he gathered his bag and began to get out of the car. "Okay, see you later. Say hi to Sara for me!" She called out to her son as he exited the vehicle. Stepping back out of the way, he watched as his mother drove off, leaving him alone. Taking in a deep breath, Simon shook the thoughts of uncertainty from his mind before he made his way towards the library so he could stop at his locker. As he made his way across the court yard he spotted August, chatting away with his friends. Despite being paid back in full, he couldn't help the anger bubbling inside of him when his eyes landed on him. How could someone so foul and conniving continue to be rewarded through life? What happened to karma? Letting out a huff he continued on, knowing he shouldn't dwell on something like that. As he neared his locker he spotted Sara coming out of the library, finally something to brighten his day a bit. He quickened his pace to catch up to her, placing his hands over her eyes as he stood behind her. She stood up straight, coming to a complete stop, startled by the sudden presence. Though she quickly relaxed hearing the familiar chuckle of her brother. "Hello, Simon," she said with a content sigh, his hands falling away as she turned around. "So how is living on campus?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows moving off to the side where his locker was. "It's fun! My roommate is really nice," she chirped as she leaned against the lockers beside him, hugging her books to her chest. Simon smiled as he pulled a text book from his locker, "That's good, can't wait to meet her," he hummed out.
As Simon turned around from his locker he felt an intense gaze locked onto him. It wasn't a mystery for long as to who it was, because when looked up he locked eyes with Wilhelm instantly. He was walking out of the library when he stopped, seeing Simon right in front of him. The curly haired boy didn't know what to do, his heart beginning to race as his entire body went rigid. He wasn't prepared to face the prince so soon. He wanted to look away but it was like he had no control. Neither of them moved, just staring at one another, wondering who was going to make the first move, and what that move would be. Simon was certain the world had stopped until he noticed Wilhelm start to move towards him, panic rising within him. Luckily, his sister seemed to be able to read his mind, grabbing his hand and quickly running off. Sara led him to a stairwell, away from the students in the halls, staying quiet as it was clear he already had a million and one thoughts racing through his mind. "Simon..." she whispered, her eyes searching her brother's face for an indication of what was going on in his head. "He looked like he wanted to talk to me," Simon murmured, picking up his head to look at Sara, "Maybe I should've talked to him." Furrowing her brow, she shook her head, grabbing his shoulder, "No... No! What is there left to say? You know where he stands, he chose the crown." Her words cut him deep, even though what she said was true, it didn't dull the sting of being reminded. Simon let out a sigh, dropping his head to stare down at his feet. "I know, but... what if... what if he changed his mind? He m-..." Sara cut him off, pushing her finger against his lips. He blinked, furrowing his brows as he looked down at her hand and then back up to her. "Has he told the truth about the video?" Simon shook his head no. "Did he text you at all during break?" Simon didn't answer. He had never told his sister about the text he received on Christmas Eve, and he would be lying if he said he didn't think about it a lot. It being one of the first things that sprang to the front of his mind when he locked eyes with Wille moments ago. Reminding him that he had not been forgotten, giving him hope that maybe the prince regretted how he handled things. That he wanted take back what he said and make things right. However, Sara seemed to take Simon's prolonged silence as another no to her question, as she soon carried on. "See. He would've done something by now if he had really changed," she said confidently, as if she knew Wilhelm's intentions. Sara linked arms with her brother, starting to tug him along, "Come on, let's get to class."
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Simon had hardly been able to concentrate in his classes, his mind constantly drifting to this morning. Still not understanding why he was the one getting so worked up. He had caught glimpses of Wille throughout the day, he seemed... fine. Totally normal. The few times he saw him, he was chatting with Felice, a visibly annoyed Sara standing by her side, and it didn't seem like anything was bothering him. As if this morning never happened. It felt backwards. Simon was the one who stepped away, the one who put his foot down and made it clear he wouldn't be in a relationship if he had to be hidden away. He tried not to worry about it too much, chalking it up to just being the initial shock of seeing the prince after so long. Well, in person anyway. It was much different than seeing him on the television screen. In person, it was easier to see each one of his freckles, and the scar on his cheek left from the fight at the club. The cracks on his dry lips from licking them too much. Or the small patch of stubble on his chin. Without realizing at first, Simon felt himself smiling at the thought of Wilhelm's face. Groaning lowly as he got to his locker, resting his head against the cold metal, trying to banish those thoughts from his mind. "Why?" He whined to himself before standing up again. He placed his books back into his locker, pulling out his jacket so he wouldn't freeze while he waited for the bus. Swinging his backpack over his shoulder once again, after he got his coat on, he started making his way towards the front of the building. He began humming the songs they practiced in choir today to keep his mind from drifting again, his hand swaying at his side to help him keep tempo. Every so often letting his voice out to sing some of the words, the music seeming to help put him at ease after the stressful day he had. Though, his peaceful mood was quickly interrupted as he felt himself being yanked out of the hallway. He let out a yelp, that was muffled by a hand slapping over his mouth. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, and once he finally was able to focus again, his eyes went wide.
"Wille?"
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Again I am so sorry for how late this chapter is, and I will be honest it's not my best work. I know it's a bit all over and I apologize!
I promise next update will be much better!!
Enjoy! See you Friday!