Prince Christopher stepped out of the unmarked black car and stood gazing up at the small apartment building. He'd only lived here a year and a half, but it was the best home Chris had known. Sure, he'd grown up in the palace, but the small strands of independence he'd found in this apartment were worth much more the luxury he'd grown up with.

Chris smiled sadly as he walked up the short path to the door. He remembered how much work it had been to get him this place and now it would be the last time he saw it.

When he'd decided he wanted to go to college and get an education, he really hadn't thought it would be possible. But Chris had truly underestimated the amount his uncles loved him. They had been the ones to convince his overprotective mother that he could handle it. They had been the ones to talk down the advisors and assure the public that Christopher was taking his role seriously. His Uncle Ryan had even been the one to suggest his major, political science with a minor in economics.

Growing up, Christopher had longed for a normal childhood, and when he was sixteen he broached the subject of attending a public university. He thought it was a pipe dream, but now three and a half years later, he was living it out. His college career looked unlike most students, but then that was the story of his life.

He hadn't been able to live in the dorms, but his family had rented out this entire building, using the extra space for the guards on Chris's detail. Then, a year later when his cousin was going to a university, she had joined him in the apartment next door, and so did Chris's other cousin when it was his turn to enroll.

Chris had loved every minute of his time here. It was the first time he could truly find himself and his voice. He had friends here, his own life, but now it was time for him to return to the palace. He remembered the deal he had made when he was first discussing going to university. The advisors had all warned against it, saying that it was unprecedented and would hurt his approval ratings. Chris had never cared much about what people thought of him. He wanted this, and now that it was in his grasp he would do anything to get it. The advisors had allowed him to go off to college on the condition that he do something to please the traditionalists. He had to hold a Selection.

Chris had thought nothing of the request, agreeing to it readily. He thought that after he graduated he would return to the palace, find a wife, and take the throne. But that wasn't how it went. As soon as he turned nineteen, the advisors had called him back to the palace to begin preparations for his Selection. Chris had begged to wait until graduation, but to no avail. He was nineteen and he would have a Selection. At least Chris had gotten them to compromise a bit. Rather than leave in the middle of the semester, he had gotten to finish it. He had the summer to conduct his Selection, and then he would return for his senior year, finish his degree, then get married. It sounded so simple when he said it like that.

Chris knew it wasn't simple though. As soon as the Report announcing his Selection had aired, everything had changed. Though he would get to finish his degree next year, he would no longer be allowed to live on campus. He would commute from the palace so that he could spend time with his fiancée. This was the last day he would get to spend with his college friends, and he sure wasn't going to waste it.

He opened the door, expecting the apartment to be empty.

"Surprise!"

The shouts rang out from all over the room and Christopher couldn't help the smile that broke out across his face.

Standing around the room were Christopher's favorite people on the entire planet. He saw his three cousins, Camilla, Jason, and Serena, along with his best friends from college. In total there was probably less than ten people in the room, but they were the people who mattered most to Chris.

Hung across the entryway was a handmade banner that read "We'll Miss You, Chris". He recognized his friend Melody's exquisite calligraphy. The table was spread with all of Chris's favorite treats and he saw board games piled in the corner. There was also quite a bit of alcohol piled in the kitchen and Chris knew this would be a good night.

He smiled, looking around at all of them, "What is all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" his cousin Serena stepped forward, her red hair pulled back in a flawless ponytail, "It's your farewell party."

Chris pulled her into a hug. He'd expected his other two cousins to be there, since they were enrolled at the university, but Serena was only seventeen and shouldn't have been able to make it out of the palace without her guards. He couldn't imagine the trouble they'd gone through in order to get her here.

"I can't believe this," he said quietly.

"Well, what did you expect? We couldn't send you back to the palace without saying goodbye," his friend Melody stepped forward and took her turn hugging Chris.

He held her tight and whispered in her ear, "Did you do all this for me?"

Mel rolled her chocolate brown eyes, "We all did, dummy."

Chris pulled back and smirked at her, "Yeah, but whose idea was it?"

Mel scoffed and pulled away, walking into the kitchen to poor herself a drink.

Chris spotted a couple of his other friends from class, Owen and Peter. Neither of them moved to hug him but they nodded at him from across the room.

Chris moved on and walked over to where Jason and Camilla were standing, Millie looking like she wanted to meld into the wall behind her.

"Thanks for this, guys."

Jason grinned at his cousin, "Of course, man. This is your last chance to let loose for a while. I mean, once those girls get here you'll be busy with them and hardly have time for yourself, let alone be able to hang out with us."

Chris's smile haltered for a second, thinking about how his life would be turned upside down in the next few weeks.

He quickly pulled his face back to its usual expression, a confident grin, "No way, there's always Millie's birthday next week. That'll take the attention off me for a while huh," he nudged his cousin playfully.

Camilla nervously pulled on a strand of brown hair, "Please don't remind me," she said quietly. It was no secret that she hated the spotlight.

Chris felt bad for her, but he was glad that the next week would be dedicated to Camilla so he could have one more week to finish preparing. After the broadcast last week, he'd had to stay in the palace to help prepare. His mother had barely allowed him to return for tonight to say goodbye. He'd be returning to the palace tomorrow morning and then the Selection would really begin. While the press focused on Camilla's party, at the palace they would be putting last minute details in place and picking the Selected to be announced the week after Millie's party. Chris knew that this really was his last night to be normal and he didn't intend to waste it.

Christopher stepped away from his cousins and entered the kitchen grabbing a full bottle of whiskey. He spotted Mel setting up a speaker and winked at her. Raising the bottle high he proclaimed, "Let's get this party started!"

...

So, as you may have guessed, this will be an SYOC story. It is the sequel to my other story It Takes Two, but you don't have to have read that one to understand this (though it will help). I have been toying with the idea for this story since I finished the other one, but I was struggling to come up with a valid reason to write it and I finally decided to just go for it. I learned a lot from my other story and so this one will look quite different. I will only be accepting a maximum of 15 characters for the story and the form is on my profile if you are interested in submitting a girl.