"Get'cha ass up!" I exclaimed and threw the covers off of Alex. He groaned and turned over so his back was facing me, curling up in a little ball to try to preserve body heat. I frowned. "Alex, seriously, get up. We're going out," I said and shook Alex's shoulder in an attempt to stir him awake. I hadn't originally planned on taking Alex out today, but when I woke up at about 3:00 this morning, I just decided 'Oh, what the hell? Lets go on a first date."

"What are you talking about?" Alex mumbled, clearly annoyed at being woken up before the sun had even begun to rise.

"I wanna take my new boyfriend on an early morning date. Come on!" Alex sat up and rubbed his eyes. I couldn't help but smile at the way his sticking up in a bunch of different directions. "Cute morning hair. Get dressed and meet me at the front door." I kissed his nose and ruffled his hair before sauntering out of the room and down the stairs.

Since I had been up for a while before I woke Alex up, I was already dressed in a navy blue and white sweater with a light blue button up shirt underneath it, dark wash denim skinny jeans, and black Converse. I think I looked pretty damn hot. Gotta dress to impress on the first date, right?

I walked in the kitchen and shuffled around in the cabinets until I found the picnic basket. I knew I had to pack it quickly since the servants would be down to start preparing breakfast any minute now. I started making eggs, toast, and bacon, going to find a blanket while they cooked. I put the blanket along with some fresh fruit in the basket and went back over to the food on the stove. I stirred the eggs around in the pan and flipped the bacon. It was starting to smell pretty fucking good, if I do say so myself. When the food was finished cooking, I put the eggs, bacon, and toast in separate bowls with lids and put them in the basket. I grabbed some jelly out of the refrigerator and some silverware and napkins out of a drawer and put them in with the rest of the items. I picked up the basket and began walking out of the kitchen with the satisfaction of knowing that I hadn't gotten caught. Almost.

"Prince Jack? Is that you?"

I muttered a quiet "fuck" under my breath and turn around to see a woman in a dark purple servant's uniform staring at me. "Yes, it's me. Can I help you with something?"

The servant frowned. "What on Earth are you doing up at this time? And why do you have that picnic basket?"

"Uh, early bird gets the worm, I guess," I started with a nervous laugh. "Um, as for the basket, I was going to ride out and eat breakfast on the beach. Just need some alone time, is all." I decided to add a little smile at the end of my explanation more convincing.

She raised an eyebrow. "You're going alone?"

"Yes."

"You know your father wouldn't approve of that."

"So? I'm seventeen, for fucks sake! I'm about to become king and get married. I think I can do whatever the hell I want."

"But you're royalty. With royal blood comes someone who would like nothing more than to see you dead."

"So?"

"Take someone with you."

"No."

"Didn't you just get a personal servant?"

"Yes. What does Alex have to do with this?"

"Take him with you."

"I don't need someone watching after me."

"I know that, your Majesty. But, just in case something happens."

I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest to prove my point. Obviously, I wanted Alex to come with me but I had to make it look like I really didn't so that no one would suspect anything. "I can handle myself."

"But just in case. Please? We just don't want anything to happen to you so close to your wedding day," She said. I could hear the desperation in her voice.

I sighed dramatically and threw my hands up in the air in defeat. "Fine! Jesus Christ, I can't do anything! You'd think that a soon-to-be king would be trusted a little bit more but apparently not!" I groaned and stormed out of the kitchen, a devilish smile forming on my lips. I was a damn good liar.

Alex was waiting for me by the time I got to the front door. He wore a red and navy blue plaid shirt with a fitted grey t-shirt underneath, black skinny jeans, and red Vans.

"Cute," I commented as I walked over to where he was standing in front of the door.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise! I hope you're hungry," I said patting the picnic basket and walking out the door. He nodded and followed me outside. I took him to the stables and put a saddle on Nightshade. "Have you ever ridden a horse?" He shook his head. "Okay, you can ride with me until I get around to teaching you," I said with a wink. He blushed slightly and I smiled, climbing on my horse's back. "Gimme your hand." Alex did as he was told and I pulled him up so he was sitting behind me on Nightshade's back. "Hold on tight."

Alex wrapped his arms around my waist and I became slightly nervous that he would be able to feel the butterflies that were now fluttering around in my stomach. I pushed the feeling away and dug my heels into the horse's sides, signaling him to start running. We took off into the forest and Alex's grip on me became increasingly tighter every time Nightshade hit a bump in the path.

"You okay?" I called to him over my shoulder.

"Yeah! I feel like I'm flying!" Alex laughed. He sounded like a four year old on Christmas morning. Could he get any more adorable? I don't think he could if he tried.

We sped through the forest for a little while longer until we came to a clearing in the trees. The sun was just starting to come up now and it was casting a glare off the vast ocean that was now before us. I rode Nightshade down the beach a little bit farther until we got to the sand dunes on the far west tip of the island. I brought my horse to a stop and slid off his back, then turned back to help Alex dismount.

"Stay here, boy," I told Nightshade stroking his nose and letting him lick a sugar cube out of the palm of my hand. The horse whinnied and stamped his hoof into the white sand, as if he were telling me that he understood.

"Jack, this is--" Alex started but I cut him off.

"Nope. No talking until we reach our final destination." I winked at him, taking the picnic basket with one hand and linking my finger through Alex's with my other hand. I couldn't help but smile when he looked away, obviously trying to keep me from seeing how his cheeks were becoming increasingly pinker. "You don't have to try and hide it when you blush," I told him. "I think it's pretty damn adorable, actually."

He just laughed. "I thought you said no talking!"

"Motha fucka, I'm da prince! I can make da rules and break 'em as much as I damn well please!" I said with in a ghetto/gangster voice, only making him laugh harder.

We walked further down the beach, hand-in-hand, until we reached the highest dune on the beach. I pulled him up the tall hill of sand until we reached the top. By then, the sun was high above the crystal blue water of the ocean. Alex was taking in the view with his mouth hanging open. I couldn't say I blamed him, though. The view from here was incredible.

In front of us, the ocean stretched for as far as the eye could see. I even think I saw a group of dolphins arching their backs out of the water. To our right, the white, sandy beach stretched for miles on end, only stopping when it reached the giant cliff in the far distance.

"Wow," Alex marveled at the scene stretched out before us.

"You impressed, darlin'?" I said with a smirk pulling at the corners of my mouth.

"Hell yeah!" He said it in a tone that made it seem like my question was the stupidest and most obvious question that he had ever heard.

I chuckled and opened the picnic basket, taking out the blanket and spreading it out over the sand. I arranged the bowls of food and silverware on the blanket and gestured for Alex to sit down. He sis as he was told, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the blanket. I sat down opposite of him and poured him a glass of sparkling apple juice.

"Thanks," He grinned and took a sip.

"Mmhm. I hope you're hungry cause I made us a good breakfast. We've got eggs, bacon, toast, and some fruit that was picked freshly from the palace garden early this morning."

"Looks amazing, Jay. Thanks for doing this for me," Alex said and took a bite of the toast.

I nodded and shoveled a bite of eggs in my mouth. By then, the food had gotten pretty cold but I was still pleased with how everything turned out. We ate in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the waves crash against the beach.

"Jack?" Alex said after we had finished eating. We were now laying together on the blanket, Alex's head on my chest and his arm slung loosely across my torso with my arm wrapped around his shoulders and my nose buried in his messily styled hair.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response, taking in the scent of Alex's hair.

"Do you remember the fifth night I was here? When you got me to tell you about who I am?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You said that we had more in common than I realized. What did you mean by that?"

I thought about that for a minute. "I meant it in the sense that we both had to grow up before we were ready. You having to take care of your family and me having to get married and be king."

He wormed his way out of my grasp and sat up, looking at me. "So, you don't want to marry a beautiful princess and become king and be rich and admired by everyone in the country?" Alex asked in a slightly accusing tone.

I sat up and ran a hand through my black and blond hair. "It sounds nice, right? But it's really not that simple, as much as I wish it was. To answer your question, no, I don't want it. It has been forced on me pretty much my whole life that this would be my destiny and I had absolutely no way of getting out of it. My whole life has revolved around me being king. But, you know how in school you learn about one subject for a really long time and before long, you think that if you hear someone mention that subject one more time, you'll pull your hair hair out? Well, that's what happened to me. I'm tired of everyone telling me that I'll be a great king and I'll do all these good things for this country. I had no childhood because of all this king bullshit. There hasn't been one thing in my life that has been normal. That is, until I met you. Even though we've only been together for like three days, I can honestly say that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me because you've made me feel normal for the very first time in my life."

Alex leaned over and kissed my cheek. Neither of us spoke for a minute. It seemed like the wind was no longer rustling the palm leaves, waves were no longer crashing against the shore, and the obnoxious gulls were no longer squawking. It was Alex who finally broke the silence.

"How long do you have until you get married and become king?" He asked softly. I couldn't help but think that his voice seemed kind of sad.

I sighed and looked out at the ocean. "My wedding is a little less that seven months away, May 23rd, to be exact. My crowning ceremony is about three months after the wedding on August 17th."

Alex bit his lip. "So we only have seven months together and then what? Are you just gonna drop me?"

"Absolutely not! I told you we'd cross that bridge when we got to it. And, by that I mean that I'm still trying to figure something out. But one thing is for sure and that is that when, and if, I get married, you are remaining in my life. Whether you're my secret lover, my public boyfriend, my best friend, or just my servant, you're not getting away from me that easily."

The brown haired boy shook his head. "I just don't know, Jay. I can't help but worry. And I don't understand why you don't just tell your dad. I mean, he's your dad. He's not just gonna stop loving you and throw you out on the streets because you don't want to get married or be king."

"You obviously don't know my dad, then. He's spent the last year planning everything out and making sure that everything will be perfect. He's so proud of the prince I am and the king he's sure I will be. It's his dream to see me on the throne and making the important decisions for the sake of the country. I couldn't just crush his dreams and disappoint him by saying 'no thanks!'"

"Well then I guess you have a decision to make. And you only have seven months to make it."

"I guess I do."

Notes

Holy shit I am so so so so so so so so sorry this took so long. I've been so incredibly busy lately with school and what not and I just haven't had any time to come on and type this up! I give you permission to throw eggs at me. :((

This is a hella lot of dialog but whatever. I hope you enjoyed it! Comments are greatly appreciated! :)

-Katy :) xx

PS- All Time Low was fabulous Monday night. I met Danny and I touched Jack and Alex's hand and Alex told me he loved me omfg