So so so sorry for the delay!
Third Person POV
The four 'kings' of Cambridge Academy sat sprawled around their lounge doing various things while communicating to each other. Each boy had a completely different personality than the other, but they all fit each other like a puzzle. Silent Luca, loud Dakota, brooding Clark, and bubbly Nico.
The four boys were discussing various topics, all ranging in oddness. The current one brought on due to Luca eating a large bowl full of sugary American cereal.
"But you don't understand how weird it is to think that you and a baby cow are drinking from the same boobs!" Nico cried from his seat on the sectional.
Kota scoffed, "Milk is made for consuming, wether it be cows, goats, sheep, camels..."
Luca furrowed his brows, "Camels?"
"Camel milk is lactose free!"
"No way," Clark laughed slightly. He was seated upside down on the couch, his cheeks slightly pink due to the blood rush.
"Yes way, I had it once in Qatar and I was completely fine. So was the toilet."
The three boys grimaced. They knew Dakota's experience with dairy, and were familiar with the state of the porcelain throne after he had gorged on a tub of Double Chunk Rocky Road.
"You disgust me," Luca wrinkled his nose at the supermodel, "I don't know why I even deal with you."
"Because you looooove me Luca!"
Luca shoveled a spoonful of cereal into his mouth "Wrong."
Nico nodded, "Kota lets be rational. Luca doesn't experience love."
The three boys had been best friends for almost three years, all bonding due to being outsiders in the inside. The world around them feared the boys for various reasons, mainly due to their wealth and status. And maybe two of the fours resting bitch face. But the four understood each other and that's all that mattered. It was what the media would call a bromance.
"Luca only experiences love towards his mother!" Kota proclaimed as a ping sounded from Clark's phone.
"Nothing wrong with being a mamas boy." Luca shrugged.
Clark had flipped over, and was now standing. "I need to head out, I have to go to practice with Graham." And so Clark escaped from the odd conversations, towards his dance 'class'. Clark was to leave for New York once again in two days and was still practicing ballroom dancing with Blake Graham, the school's apparent new 'Queen'.
Nico was the first to speak after Clark had left the room, well not exactly speak. He made a sound similar to that of a whip.
Dakota was second. "They are gonna date, I call it."
Luca agreed, "For sure."
"What do you mean you call it?" Nico frowned, "I've been saying it even before she came!"
"You didn't even know her before she got here!" Luca protested.
Dakota made a sound of agreement "Exactly, so I'm right and I called it first! Doesn't Dakota Ellington sound adorable?"
Nico looked offended. "Why would they ever name their child Dakota? Nicholas Graham-Ellington sounds way more classy!"
"Fuck off Nicholas, if anyone should be credited for their future relationship it's me!" Called Luca, who was laying on the other end of the couch, shoveling more cereal into his mouth. Kota was happily seated on the floor with his feet up on the coffee table.
"No way, It's me!"
"No way, If I hadn't ditched those two in Italy they wouldn't have bonded!"
"Yes way!"
"Wrong!"
"Let's agree to disagree," Nico started, "That I'm the reason they will date."
"Or maybe-" Luca widened his eyes comically, "-maybe Clark will fucking figure it out himself..."
"Clark doesn't know how to deal with his feelings," Kota snorted.
"Maybe he will, a girl could be good for him. Especially Blake..." Nico trailed off hopefully.
Luca picked up his bowl and paused, "It could end well, or end in disaster. The two are literal- and I mean this in the best way- literal bombs."
"That's true, I wonder how their practice is going." Nico checked his watch curiously. It had only been ten minutes since Clark had escaped.
"We should go and find out," Kota suggested.
"What? Won't that be intruding?"
"No Luca, I've witnessed them practicing, it's nothing. It's as appropriate as a bunch of four year olds, so there will be no intruding happening," Kota stood up getting ready to go spy on his friends, "So let's go."
And so the three boys went. Luca was a little weary about the snooping, Nico was giddily thinking and hoping that the two would date, and Kota was just excited about spying on them.
The three boys weren't exactly the kings of subtlety. Standing at at least six foot with an air of power exuding off of them, people were always going to double take. So the students of Cambridge were a little curious as to why the three boys were sneaking around the arts department.
"Is that Nico Caldwell? What's he doing here?"
"Why is Luca Kingsley tip toeing?"
"Jesus Dakota Spaulding is fucking perfect, wait are those crocs?"
Luca snickered slightly at the comment he overheard, looking down at Kota's choice of atrocious comfort shoes. Kota felt a little offended, the shoes were hand painted by an acclaimed artist from Poland. Even Nico Caldwell, an oil heir with billions to his name, thought Dakota was ripped off because the shoes looked like they were painted by a toddler.
"Fucking pretentious people, they pay forty thousand for a painted purse but my custom crocs are bad?"
"Calm down Kota it's just shoes- Oh there's the studio!" Luca pointed towards the door on the left, which was one of the many private dance studios. Immediately Nico pushed the other two boys away, and ran towards the door.
"Nico! Don't let them see you!"
"Shit!" Nico skidded to a halt. He peeked through the tiny window on the door before letting out a loud "Wait a minute!"
"What?" Luca tried to peek also, but Kota was pushing Luca away to get his own look.
"Wait a minute- shut the fuck up Kota, I'm trying to figure it out... Okay, shut up. Don't make a noise, we can poke our heads in!" Nico reached his hand out for the handle. With silenced breaths, the boys watched Nico open the door silently and painstakingly slowly.
As the door was widened enough for the boys to see, the three stuck their heads in. Almost comically, Kota's head was on the top, Nico in the middle, and Luca on the bottom. Immediately the boys honed in on the two's conversation.
"You're doing great, we for sure will be ready for Saturday..." Clark's voice echoed through the studio.
"Not too shabby yourself Ellington." Blake replied, following Clark's steps.
Blakely Graham, the school's newest unofficially official Queen was dancing in circles with Clark, and Nico had to hold in his squeals of delight. The three watched the two as Clark moved his hand slightly to position for-
"He's gonna dip her!" Kota whispered softly to the other two boys.
"Wait wha-"
"Shhhh!"
Blake was taken by surprise as Clark smoothly dipped her towards the ground, but was even more surprised when he jerked her back up making the girl stumble.
"Ellington you loser," Blake laughed, pushing his chest softly. Clark's eyes glistened with concealed joy, a small smile playing at his lips. Immediately the three boys who were standing off to the side exchanged glances.
The three boys all came to a conclusion at that point. They were officially, one hundred percent, unquestionably certain that Clark Ellington liked Blake Graham.
Clark Ellington was a little sweaty, a little tired, and a lot happy. He had no idea as to why he had been happy for the past week, but he hadn't questioned it. He had concluded that it was a good feeling and better than his usual nonchalantly indifferent emotion.
As he opened the door to his dark dorm, a mini heart attack graced him due to the large figure sitting in the dark facing him.
"Dude what the fuck?" Clark slapped the boy upside his head after turning the lights back on.
"Sorry," Nico winced, rubbing his head, "The idea was cooler and less, ah, painful in my head."
Clark scoffed, going towards the fridge to grab a water. "Nice going, not to be rude or anything but why are you here Nic?"
"Do I always have to have a motive to see my best friend? My London Lad?" Nico went towards Clark's messy bed and laid down, ignoring the football socks sitting next to his face.
"That's true, so what's up?"
"Well I actually did have a motive..."
Clark gulped some water, "You arse, I knew it!"
"I also wanted to visit you! I haven't got to chat with my British Buddy in such a long time it seems!"
"What do you mean, it's only been a few hours!"
"I mean talk talk, not talk about milk!"
Clark scrunched up his nose, "You started the bloody milk conversation!"
"Shhh, don't get off topic! What I mean is our heart to hearts!"
Clark set his water bottle down, and made his way to his bed to lay next to his best friend. Nico laid in one direction, while Clark in the other, but their heads were side by side. Clark set his palms on his stomach. "So what do you want to talk about? You in love?"
"Are you in love?"
Clark sputtered slightly, "What?"
"You heard me, you fancy anyone? Anyone in particular? Maybe a tall, ever swearing, somewhat perfect brunette?"
Clark furrowed his brows, "Do you mean Blake Graham?"
"Mmmm, maybe."
"I do not fancy Blakely Graham."
"I think you do, I see you staring at her."
"Well have you seen the way she looks?"
"Is that a jab?" Nico sounded a little angry, Nico didn't like people bullying others.
"No not like that, what I mean is... Fuck. Her hair is so fucking soft and she smells, god she smells amazing. Wait, that sounds odd, I sound fucking psychotic. But her legs are so long, and her smile kills me, and her dimple, and her laugh, and god. God her eyes are so fucking blue, and I hate it."
Nico turned to Clark, who looked distressed. Nico could read Clark very easily. "You hate it? Or you hate what you feel?"
"I don't hate her. I hate whatever she's doing to me. Before all I thought of her was that she was infuriating and hot- infuriatingly hot- but now all I see in her is she's fucking gorgeous and I don't know what to do because whenever she's around I just- I feel- fuck- I feel like smiling!"
Now people who don't know Clark Ellington might just think Clark is confusing friendship with "love". But those who do know Clark know that he never really feels like smiling. Clark's real smile was a rare occurrence that he saved for his friends but even that was rare. It never even made an appearance at Nico's best joke.
How did I escape Iraq? I ran. It's a real knee slapper at lunch time, but Clark would always give an amused scoff and a tiny smile. Maybe even a smirk if he was feeling especially peppy.
So Nico knew what was happening, for once upon a time it had happened to Nico himself. But it was the other boys turn to deal with his feelings. "So you feel happy around her?"
"I guess, yeah."
"And you say you don't like her?"
"I don't know! Probably not?"
"Does your heart beat faster when she's around or do you get a little nervous?"
"Not nervous but I feel more excited..."
Nico smirked slightly, "Like a boner?"
"God no! I mean I'm excited to be near her.... I dunno?"
"And you don't think she's hot anymore?"
"She's fucking beautiful," the words slipped out of Clark's mouth before he could stop himself.
"Just explain to me what you think about her. Like explain how you see Blake."
Clark drew in a deep breath, and without even thinking began to talk. "Blake Graham is infuriating. Her sense of humor is fucked, she is always one step ahead of me, she is immature, and is still held back in her past."
Nico was going to call it there, that Kota, Luca, and himself were mistaken. But Clark amended that thought, "But she's also understanding. She gets me, she knows me. We're both different than we were in eighth grade. Even though her jokes suck, she always can make me smile and feel better. She is a fucking genius and doesn't even know it, she's perfect and she knows that but she still hates it. She understands how the world has labeled us and understands what I'm going through! Even though she's immature, it's always somewhat- don't tell her- fun. But she is stuck in her past. I mean I do want to know what happened, maybe that's what made us close, me trying to figure out why she's here. But I want her to come to the present now instead."
"Oh bloody hell Clark."
"I'm so fucked."
"Wait before you continue what do you mean hung up in her past?"
Clark shook his head, "I'm not sure. I don't think it has to do with her mom but it is the reason she's here. I think it's her ex."
"Who's her ex?"
"Parker Ambrose."
"Oh."
"I can't compete with Parker fucking Ambrose. She actually loved him, and I'm just a fucking childhood nemesis who has a-"
Nico was getting closer "A what?"
"I fucking like Blake Graham." Clark's dark eyes widened with the realization. Nico thought it was about time.
Nico chuckled. "Finally you admitted it, Kota and Luca will throw a party. And speaking of parties, what's gonna happen for Cotillion?"