The Last Dance (27)

Thanks for all the awsome and nice comments last chapter! This long chapter is espeically for you, so everyone else should thank you as well for commenting lol

So, as most of you have figured out this story is getting closer to the end, and I wish it wasn't, but I don't want to just add any random twist to make it longer and risk ruining the storyline.

Anyway since it IS wrapping up soon I want as many votes for the story as I can get so can you please go back and vote for any chapters you haven't, or for those that haven't voted at all please do. Thanks in advance =)

Comment and Vote?

Cheers,

xo.

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Recap:

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"I meant I need to get back to my room before that maid tells my dad. I'm in so much shi-- trouble"

I rolled my eyes at him, feeling relieved it was nothing to do with us. "Alright one, you can swear in front of me John I'm not some delicate court lady" He smiled slightly.

"And second, you don't have to go anywhere, you're not even grounded"

"Oh alrig-wait, WHAT?"

I took a startled step back, not expecting his voice to come out angry.

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Chapter 27 - Kiss and Make Up

"What do you mean I'm NOT grounded?" He tried to ask calmly but I could still hear the anger behind his words and fidgeted nervously.

"John, your dad wasn't serious about that" I whispered.

His eyes widened, and for a brief moment I saw the old John.

"And you didn't come and get me until past noon?"

"Well I-I meant to come earlier but I ran into Mira and Lily and I lost track of time..." I finished lamely.

He didn't look pleased.

Not at all.

And where was this nervousness of mine coming from anyway? Since when was I scared of John?

"Oh, well, sorry I'm such an inconvenience" He said coldly.

"That's not what I meant John I--"

"You shouldn't have even bothered coming if it was so much trouble, you could have just sent someone else" He said cutting me off.

Where was this even coming from? "You're overreacting--"

"I am not overreacting. You're the one who cares so little about me that you could just forget about me in a room all morning"

"That's not true--" I pleaded, but it was hopeless. He wasn't listening to a word I was saying.

With one last pained look he shoved past me, hard, making me stumble back while he disappeared.

I blinked back tears of frustration and hurt. What the hell just happened here? Not five minutes ago he was about to kiss me, and then this.

I knew it.

I knew things would never last when we got back.

And he just proved me right. Didn't even give me a chance to explain or apologize or anything. Not that I had any reason to.

How was I supposed to know he would be so upset by it? He didn't exactly look like he was dying of boredom in his room.

And how could he say I didn't care? How many times was he going to make me prove that I did care?

I swallowed hard. He shouldn't have been able to hurt me like this anymore.

The worst part of it all was that even if he could go back to hating me so easily, I couldn't. I couldn't just forget the last two weeks so easily.

I wanted to find him right now and force him to listen to me, but my pride wouldn't allow it.

I told myself he was just acting on his hurt, that's all. He would get over it wouldn't he? He just needed to cool off and then he would realize he blew things way out of proportion.

Right?

This was so pathetic. When had I come to this?

John's POV

I stormed outside, fuming. How could she do that?

How could she just forget about me the second we got home?

I was actually starting to think she cared about me. I guess I was wrong.

She didn't even take me seriously.

First she made up hearing someone just so I would make a fool of myself. And that's exactly what I did. I bet she enjoyed that. And then when the game was over she finally told me I wasn't even in trouble.

She must just think of me as some stupid Prince that she could mess around with, and that hurt like hell.

To think I was almost going to kiss her again. It's a lucky thing that maid came by when she did because Celia probably wouldn't have let it happen anyway. She was probably just waiting to laugh in my face about it.

I don't know what comes over me when I'm around her. What is it that makes me want her to like me so badly?

Maybe it's just because she's the only one who tries so hard not to.

Every lady who's come to court has tried to talk to me, not one of them sincere. They all flaunt their finest gowns and most expensive jewellery like some kind of showcase.

Granted, they were pretty, but Celia beat all of them without even trying. She even went out of her way to look as little like them as possible, and could still outshine them all in her plain training clothes.

She didn't even know it. Didn't even realize where her beauty came from, but I saw it more and more everyday. She even made walking seem like an art, the way she glided along as if she was floating on clouds.

Oh hell, how did she have me thinking about her this way?

Who was I even fooling trying to be friends? It wasn't enough, it could never be enough. Her and I, we just weren't cut out for that.

Stop it John, just stop it, you're supposed to be mad at her I silently chastised.

Exactly. Forget how sweet her laughter sounds and remember she was only laughing at your idiocy.

I kicked at a tree trying to get rid of some of my frustration.

"Well, I guess someone's happy to be home" A voice said sarcastically from behind me.

I turned around with a frown to see David and Luke walking towards me.

"Oh look David, he's just the way we left him, same scowl and everything" Luke said cheerfully.

"You know that's funny Luke, because I thought he was working it out with our Cee."

"I can hear you" I said through clenched teeth.

"Well my friend, that generally is the point."

I scowled at them not in the mood for their jokes. The both exchanged and look and raised their eyebrows at me.

"My, who's got your Royal panties in such a bunch?"

"Who else?" I said kicking at the tree again. I didn't even know who I was angry at anymore, her or myself.

David sighed, finally looking serious.

"I don't get it John, I saw Mira a little while ago and she said you two were finally getting along."

"We were... but I don't want to just get along" I mumbled, finally feeling defeated.

I looked up to see them both giving me weird looks; right before they burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?"

"I just... can't believe it... that's all" David said between laughs.

"Our little Johnny... fell... for Cee! How cute" Luke said while making kissy faces at me.

If only he knew how close his little taunt was.

I felt myself turning red with embarrassment and shoved him into David so that they both fell on the ground. Unfortunately it did nothing to stop their laughter.

Ugh! And what was up with everyone today? How come I seemed to be the only one not finding things funny?

"Can you guys shut up! It's not 'cute', and it's definitely not funny"

"Oh, but it is" David said with amusement while standing up from the ground and dusting himself off.

"You're so lovesick you don't even realize it" Luke said with a grin and threw his arm around me jokingly. I shrugged him off and stormed a few steps off.

I realized it alright. I was probably as lovesick as they got. Next thing you know I'd be writing poems. Now that would really have her laughing at me I thought angrily.

"Yeah? Well that all ended about five minutes ago" I said bitterly instead.

"Come on, what could she possibly have done that was so bad?" Luke demanded, going rapidly from smile to scowl.

I sighed; this was almost too shameful to even repeat. But what could I do now but follow my stupid tantrum through? I couldn't very well say I was angry because I liked her too much for my own damn good.

"I thought I was grounded, but she knew I wasn't. And not only did she abandon me in there for half the day, she let me keep thinking I was going to get in trouble so I would make a fool of myself while she just laughed. Kind of like what you guys keep doing. Some friends" I mumbled quietly.

"Ah, poor Johnny, you gonna break up with us too?" Luke said with a fake pout.

I shoved him again and he stumbled back, laughing. This time though I didn't have the satisfaction of seeing him trip to the ground.

David rolled his eyes at me. "Is that it? You really are an idiot John"

"You're supposed to be on my side" I said, annoyed despite myself.

"Did you even hear what you just said? You're getting mad over nothing. She was with Mira and Lily as soon as she woke up and came to get you right after."

"But--"

"And as for the rest of it, you damn well know you would have done the same thing. She was just teasing you, not trying to hurt you. And knowing you, you were probably a huge ass about it."

I opened my mouth to deny it, but no words came out. He was right, at least partially. I wasn't even mad about that. It was everything else, but this morning just... tipped me over the edge. And there's no doubt I was a huge ass about it.

Shit.

"I might have overreacted a little..." I said sheepishly.

They both rolled their eyes at me.

"Cee's a great girl John, and if you keep messing up like this she'll find someone else."

"No she wouldn't... would she?" I asked hesitantly.

"Look, its simple. Do you seriously like her?"

I ran a hand through my hair, but I didn't have to think about it. The answer was obvious, but admitting it out loud was another thing.

After a minute of silence Luke turned to David. "Well, if he doesn't want her then I call dibs."

My jaw dropped open as they turned toward each other, ignoring me altogether.

"Hey, no fair, I didn't know we were calling dibs."

"Well that's too bad because I just did."

Excuse me? No way would she pick them over me... right?

"Umm guys--" I tried cutting in, but they didn't even seem to hear me.

"But I want her too!"

"Guess you should have called dibs then."

"Guys!" I tried again to no avail

"Duel you for her?"

"No way! I called her fair and square."

"Fair my ass! I was trying to reason with Prince Blockhead over there."

"ALRIGHT" I yelled finally getting their attention. "I like her okay? Seriously like her. And no one gets to call dibs, or duel for her or anything because SHE. IS. MINE!"

They turned to each other with a smirk and slapped hands.

I felt my jaw drop for the second time. "Wait, you planned that?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, more like winged it."

"Oh, don't give us that look, how else were we going to get you to admit it?"

"Now, go fix it" David said firmly.

I could only nod meekly in response.

Luke looked past us and his face brightened. "Celia!"

He and David waved cheerfully and ran past me. I turned around slowly, to see her waving back with a smile.

Luke reached her first and threw his arms around her in a hug. She laughed, hugging him back, and I felt a surge of jealously run through me.

I clenched my teeth until he let go, but just as soon as he did, she went to give a hug to David.

It hurt to watch. She never acted that relaxed around me.

I told myself to go over there, but I couldn't do it. She talked with them so easily, not like when she was with me. If I went over there now, I would probably only ruin it like I always seem to do.

She probably didn't even want to see me right now. I was only meters away but I might as well have been invisible for all she noticed.

With a last longing look in their direction I turned away, walking slowly towards the practice court.

I almost wished we were still on our 'adventure', at least then I wouldn't have to share her.

Celia's POV

He was right there.

Right there and still he refused to walk the few steps over to join us.

Was he still mad?

It didn't seem like it. His face seemed almost sad. I was only half listening to the guys, waiting to see if he would come. Instead he turned around and started walking away.

I sighed, and Luke stopped talking.

Luke glanced back and exchanged a look with David. He then glanced back too and swore softly under his breath. "Idiot Prince" He said quietly.

I didn't think I was supposed to hear it, so pretended I hadn't.

They exchanged another look, and I cleared my throat to get them to stop whatever silent conversation they seemed to be having.

David gave me a sheepish smile. "For what it's worth, we're sorry on his behalf" He said, jerking his head back in the direction John had gone.

Obviously John had already told them what had happened this morning. I shrugged. "It's okay, it's just... I don't know what I did that was so wrong"

Luke chuckled "You didn't do anything; Johnny's just feeling a little jealous"

I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Jealous?

John?

Why would he be? That was just ridiculous.

"I think he's just afraid you don't like him as much as he obviously likes you" David said with a wink.

I felt myself blushing, surprised that he could say that so casually.

"But I don't think he has anything to be afraid of, do you?" He teased.

I only blushed deeper in response.

"So... I guess one of us should go after him" Luke said before they both turned to look at me.

I looked between them and saw the smirks on their faces.

"What? You want me to go after him?" I asked incredulously, and though I tried to mask it, nervously.

They nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I shook my head "I don't think he wants to see me right now."

David rolled his eyes at me and pushing me gently in the direction he had gone. "Trust me, he does."

"Yeah, we've already made him feel properly ashamed" Luke added with a grin.

And with that they left in the opposite direction, expecting me to go after him.

Well, I suppose there was no harm in it if he wasn't going to yell at me anymore.

I sighed and made my way over to the practice courts where he had been heading.

I heard the sound of the sword before I saw him. He had his back to me and didn't seem to hear me when I approached.

I stayed where I was for a moment, watching him as he practiced some basic techniques with a sword. It was such an improvement from the way he used to fight. Every swing was more calculated and better controlled. I had to admit to being a little surprised that he'd taken my advice so seriously.

His hair seemed to sparkle in the light, turning it to that shade of molten gold I loved so much; so stunning it put real gold to shame.

He was handsome no doubt, though I'd never acknowledged it before, and even more so when he blushed, which he seemed to do a lot of around me. The thought brought a smile to my face.

Why he liked me when there were so many more ladylike girls out there was beyond me. Hadn't he always made fun of me for not being enough of a girl? And yet all those years of taunting didn't stop me from liking him now.

If it weren't for that quick temper of his he would be almost too good to be true. He was as gallant as any knight was meant to be and twice as sweet, even if he rarely let it show.

I walked around to the side as he came out of a difficult manoeuvre.

"You're getting really good" I said softly.

He turned around in surprise, his arms falling limply to his sides.

"Hi" His voice came out almost as a whisper.

"Hi" I replied, suddenly feeling nervous.

I stared at the ground, shifting about from foot to foot wondering what to say.

"I'm sorry" He blurted out.

I glanced up to see him looking at me sheepishly, a light blush coloring his cheeks. "I know I say that a lot but..."

I shook my head, cutting him off. "It's alright"

"No it's not" He said, running a hand through his hair. "I always seem to mess up around you" He mumbled.

"Not all the time, not even most of the time anymore."

We stood in silence for a while before he spoke again.

"So... why did you come and get me?" He asked hesitantly.

It took me a moment to realize he was referring to our fight earlier. I walked over to him while he watched me wearily, and took the wooden sword out of his hand.

"Because, for some reason unknown to me I actually missed your royal pain-in-the-ass self" I teased.

He smiled shyly "Really?"

I nodded and started swinging the sword around.

"So... I'm not just the annoying idiot Prince you put up with?" He asked hesitantly.

I watched him from the corner of my eye. "Oh, you're definitely an annoying idiot Prince"

I saw his face fall and continued with a slight smile. "But, you're my annoying idiot Prince" I said without looking at him.

He stood where he was for a moment, grinning like a little boy and blushing furiously, before walking into the practice shed and coming out with another wooden sword.

He watched my movements for a moment, before following them with his own sword, a faint smile still on his face.

The silence was comfortable, but there was still another question I wanted to ask.

"Why did you leave when Luke and David were talking to me?"

His movements faltered for a moment before picking up again.

He shrugged, looking a little sad. "I didn't want to interrupt."

"You never seemed to mind before" I pointed out.

He didn't reply right away, but when he did his voice was almost emotionless except for a trace of something else. "I never realized you were so close to them."

The words David had said earlier came to mind and I voiced them out loud. "Were you jealous?" I asked curiously, dropping my hands to my sides.

He stopped his swinging all together and faced me, meeting my eyes reluctantly. "You've never greeted me like that before."

What was he talking about? The fact that I'd hugged them? Well, of course, they were like brothers to me. Only, from the look on John's face, I guess he didn't know that. He must have thought I liked them better than him.

Oh.

I guess David knew what he was talking about. He had been jealous. How sweet.

I regarded him carefully for a moment before resuming my practice with the sword.

"That's because with them it doesn't mean anything."

He watched me in silence for a few minutes before speaking again.

"And... with me it... does?" He asked hesitantly.

I stopped again and looked over at him. He tried to keep his features blank, but I still noticed the anxious look in his eyes.

I walked up to him slowly and handed my sword to him by the hilt. He took it absently, watching me curiously.

Before I could talk myself out of it I stood up on my toes and lightly kissed him on the cheek. His face instantly turned red as I stepped away.

"What do you think?" I asked softly.

He looked too stunned to speak and I decided to give him a few minutes alone to recover.

I turned around, hiding a smile when I saw him reach a hand up and touch his cheek.