Y'ALL.
i finally watched Dunkirk yesterday, and lemme tell you, if you haven't seen it already, you absolutely MUST. not only because harry is completely mind-blowing in it, but because the movie itself is truly a cinematic masterpiece. i was on the edge of my seat the entire time--the whole thing was phenomenal.
also, harry did so so SO incredibly well in it, i'm in awe. his acting is so amazing, i'm so proud of my baby.
ALSO it's One Direction's 7th birthday today, and i've been super emotional all day. as much as i enjoy their solo endeavors, nothing will ever compare to One Direction. i look forward to the day they come back together. i miss my lads.
enjoy the chapter, because soon, things are gonna steam up ;-)
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Chapter 15
Prince's POV:
"Now that's what I call a homey place, innit?" Louis grinned on my phone's screen, sitting at his usual stool in the pub back in London. "It's as eccentric as you, mate."
I rolled my eyes at the comment, laughing nonetheless as Niall chimed in off camera, "I'm just disappointed you got no photos of your best pals up on the walls."
"They're getting developed," I assured him, shaking my head as I laid down on the couch, left arm folded under my head as my right hand held the camera above my face. Here's to hoping I don't lose my grip and drop it. As for the pictures Niall was referring to, I had found an app, thanks to Vera, that you could upload up to eighty photos a month to and they'd deliver them in the mail all developed, so after buying some photo frames I had done so and was just waiting for the pictures to arrive.
Louis, who had just set down his pint glass of beer, asked, "So when do we get to meet this friend of yours? You talk an awful lot about her—I'm beginning to think she doesn't exist."
I snorted a laugh as a shit-eating grin spread on my best friend's face, Niall's low chuckle sounding as well as he leaned forward on the counter to get on screen. "She's actually coming up in a few minutes," I informed them truthfully. "A new episode of Supergirl is on and she may or may not have talked me into watching it," I confessed sheepishly. To be fair, it was a good show, and it only took one episode for me to be hooked in.
Moments later a knock sounded on my door, and with my phone still in my hand with the lads on FaceTime, I went to go answer it. Vera stood there, in her infamous black leggings and black tee that read Calvin Klein with her long hair loose. "Hiya, Prince," she greeted as I stepped aside to let her enter, mindful of the friends I still had on FaceTime.
"Evening, love. How was work?" I asked as we walked towards the couch.
"Same old, same old," she responded, and just as we sat down, Louis's voice sounded, "Oi! Let us meet the girl!"
Vera looked at me in surprise, not expecting the voice of a second party as she raised her brows, watching as I brought my phone up and looked to see Niall and Louis looking rather impatient from where they sat on the bar. Chuckling, I motioned for Vera to come closer, and she did, albeit very confusedly, as her arm pressed against mine and I showed her face to the camera. "Lads, this is Vera Queen. Vera, these are two of my best mates back home—Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan."
The dark haired girl looked at me in surprise, taken aback by the introduction, before smiling at the boys. "Hi," she said in her friendly tone, "Harry's told me so much about you guys—it's good to finally meet you."
"You too, love," Louis grinned, holding the camera a good length away so he and Niall could fit comfortably in the screen.
"Yeah, Harry's told us a lot about you as well," Niall nodded, Irish accent thick as Vera chanced a suspicious smile at me. I merely shot her an innocent smile of my own. "Told us you're the first person to become his friend. We're sorry about that."
Vera laughed at the joke while I exclaimed in protest, her head coming to rest on my shoulder briefly as she did so before she lifted it again. "Yeah, being the Prince of England's friend is no easy feat," she sighed dramatically, nudging me as she teased, "He's quite the diva."
That erupted laughter from my friends back home while Vera grinned at obviously enjoying making fun of me. "I'll have you know I'm the complete opposite of a diva, thanks," I defended, unable to stifle my own laughter as Vera chuckled.
Vera quirked a disbelieving eyebrow as she stated, "You're a prince. I think being a diva is, like, in the job description."
Niall and Louis, as expected, howled with laughter as my jaw dropped, all the while Vera offered me an innocent yet wide grin as I used my free hand to push her away, only causing her to laugh. "Alright, that's enough out of you," I laughed, folding into myself a bit as Vera shoved me right back.
"I'm just teasing!" Vera laughed, hand on my right shoulder as she pulled me back next to her. Look back at the screen where my friends were watching on in amusement, she added, "All that alcohol in the back is making me want a drink." She then glanced at me and asked, "You got any beer?"
I ticked my head towards the kitchen. "Help yourself."
She grinned and stood up, asking, "You want?" and once I shook my head she headed off to the kitchen.
Once she left, I looked back at my phone as Louis hummed, "She's a funny lass—I like her."
Niall's laughter joined in as he added, "Yeah, it's good to see someone over there's keeping your royal arse humble."
Rolling my eyes, I scoffed sarcastically, "Oh, yes, because I was on such a high horse back home."
My hope that they would disagree came through as Louis shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess you could've been a lot more of a dick. Not too bad for a prince."
"Gee thanks." Once again, the sarcasm dripped from my tone as Vera returned, a bottle of beer in her hand as she sat back down next to me. Shifting the phone so we both fit on the screen, I told her, "You know, Niall's pub has the best beer in all of England. I can vouch for that."
Vera's brows shot up as she sipped her drink, looking impressed as she lowered the bottle and mused, "Oh, really?"
"It's true," Louis piped up next to a pleased Niall, holding up his near finished glass. "Niall's is always the top choice for some good beer."
Grinning, Vera commented, "Well, whenever I come to London I'll know where to get a good drink." Taking a sip from her bottle, she continued, "For now, I'm stuck with some American beer."
Niall, quite dramatically, shuddered. "Fuckin' awful," he declared, earning laughs from both Vera and I.
The two of us talked with Niall and Louis some more, before Louis had to go so we had to hang up. After bidding them goodbye, I put my phone down with a sigh, leaning back on the couch and tilting my head back, staring up at the ceiling as I let my thoughts run amok for a few moments. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss them, because they were the two guys I would spend a lot of my free time with.
I had come across Niall's pub one casual night after I had forced Liam to let us go on a drive. All because I was about two seconds away from putting my head through a wall, since I had to spend an evening at one of the palace parties. So during the drive we had passed the pub, and I asked Liam if we could head inside. There hadn't been many people in there since it had been a weeknight, but enough to turn and look and realize the Prince of England had just walked into a random pub in downtown London.
Niall, as always, had been behind the bar, and it was the same night I had met Louis because he had been out for a drink as well. I pulled up a stool next to Louis, ordered a beer from Niall, and moments later a friendship had been formed that I was missing quite a lot right now. They had been my escape from my crazy life back at the palace, who let me complain when a guy with my life should have nothing to complain about. It was all mutual, though, because they would talk to me about anything at all as well. They were my best mates, and that I can easily say.
"You miss them, don't you?" As if reading my thoughts, Vera's voice cut through the brief silence that had fallen upon us.
Lifting my head, I glanced at her, only to see a small knowing smile on her lips. She had shifted to sit sideways facing me, left elbow propped on the back of the couch and her right hand resting her bottle of beer on her knee. "A bit, yeah," I admitted, lips pressed together in a smile. "They're my best friends. . . It's weird not being able to see them whenever I want."
Vera's smile turned sympathetic. "Yeah, I get that," she nodded slowly. Her eyes glanced down to the bottle she was holding, pulling her lower lip into her mouth before looking at me once again. "I never really, like, asked you this since you got here but. . . How're you holding up? Like, it must be hard being in a whole new place with none of your friends and family around."
"That's not entirely true—you're my friend," I corrected her with a grin, because it was true. Vera had come to be a really good friend, and someone I trust.
At my words, Vera smiled, clearly happy with that sentiment before she shook her head. "Yeah, I am, but you know what I mean. Friends you've known for a long time. And your family, too."
Sighing, I shifted as well so I could sit facing her, folding my right leg on top of the couch as I did so. "I mean, I didn't expect to be surrounded by tons of people all the time when I moved here. It's a strange situation with my, um, status and all so I get it. People can't really know that I'm living in some flat in New York, but yeah, it's weird not being around the people I'm constantly surrounding myself with."
"You don't regret moving here, then?" Vera inquired, placing her now empty bottle of beer on the coffee table in front of us before her dark eyes met my green ones.
Shaking my head, I offered a smile as I truthfully answered, "Not a bit." Then I reached out and poked her knee with my finger. "Besides, I have a pretty great friend here so I've got nothing to complain about."
Adorably, a blush spread across Vera's cheeks, smiling at my words as she shook her head before musing, "You're such a charmer, Prince."
Quirking a brow, I couldn't help but tease, "Oh, really? I thought I was a diva."
Vera grinned widely, dimply, not denying her previous words as she assured, "You have your moments."
"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes dismissively, reaching for the television remote as I shushed her, "The show's about to start."
*****
The following morning, I woke up to the sound of someone's light footsteps moving about and the pleasant scent of eggs being cooked. Blinking my eyes open, I furrowed my brows sleepily as the sunlight streamed through my window, sitting up from where I was lying down on the couch in the living room. Groaning drowsily, I realize I had fallen asleep here, running a hand through my messy hair as I stood up from the couch.
Memories from last night instantly flooded my mind, reminding me just how I had ended up falling asleep here. After Supergirl had ended, Vera and I began watching other shows and movies on Netflix, neither of us tired enough to go to bed. Eventually, I gather, we must have fallen asleep right here instead of Vera going back to her own flat and myself retiring to my bedroom.
"Hey, you're awake."
Turning around, I caught sight of Vera standing in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against it as she shot me a smile. "Yeah," I lazily answered, my voice rough from sleeping.
"I had some time before I had to get ready for work, so I made some breakfast," she informed me, pushing herself off the wall as she ticked her head towards the kitchen, "Hungry?"
I smiled in relief, nodding, "Starving."
Following Vera into my kitchen, I saw that she had taken it upon herself to set up a little breakfast at the square marble table I had set up on one side of the kitchen. There were plates of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon as well as glasses of orange juice. As the two of us sat down diagonal of each other, I said, "You didn't have to do this, Vera."
"It's no biggie," she assured, reaching for her glass of juice before adding, "I hope you don't mind me raiding your kitchen, though."
"Are you kidding?" I laughed, grabbing my fork, "If this tastes as good as it smells, you're more than welcome to raid my kitchen any time you want."
Vera snorted a laugh, buttering up her toast as she joked, "Don't give me the credit before you've eaten anything."
Honestly, she deserved the credit because the breakfast she had cooked was quite delicious, and it was nice to have breakfast with someone in the morning instead of sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal. Of course back in England, breakfast was on the table every day with my parents, sister and I. I guess I took eating with people every day for granted until I came here and was eating by myself. Eating with Vera was an option, but I didn't want to seem too intruding or always force my presence upon her. But this right now, breakfast with Vera as we talked about the most random of topics. Just each other's company was enjoyable.
When we had finished eating, Vera helped me put the dirty kitchenware in the dishwasher before going back to the living room and slipping on her shoes and grabbing her phone. "Alright, I gotta go, I'll see you later, yeah?" she questioned, stumbling a bit as she put on her shoe and my arms instinctively reached out to balance her. Vera laughed sheepishly, straightening as she opened the door. "Thanks."
"No problem," I chuckled in amusement. "But, yeah, I'll see you later."
Her grin widened. "Great," she beamed before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. Pulling away, I noticed her cheeks were just as pink as I could feel mine were, both of us slightly surprised by her action as she shyly added, "Bye," before turning and leaving the flat.
Pressing my lips together to stop the stupid smile from growing on my face, I grabbed the door handle and slowly shut the door, chuckling to myself as it closed. My hand reached up to rub the back of my neck, feeling the place where Vera's lips had touched on my cheek tingle excitedly. Breathing deeply, I walked further into the flat, as I released the breath.
Quite a nice start to my morning, I'd say.