This chap is a little talky. Just wanted to take a break from all the bad stuff.

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Someday My Prince Will Come

Chapter 8

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They rode through the placid hills of upstate New York, taking in the remarkably blue skies. Of the two, Will was the most visibly frivolous, constantly voicing his excitement about getting away from the city on their three day weekend.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Will promised Jack as they turned into a gas station.

"Where are we going anyway?" Jack uttered, eyes alight in wonder. He watched his friend exit the car to fill the tank.

"Okay," Will said after he finished up and paid the cashier. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Will! You said the same thing at New City! Im getting very impatient!" He exclaimed.

"Well, we're going to Syracuse!" He said with such mirth on his face, that Jack felt bad when he scoffed aloud.

"Syracuse?" Jack said with a blank stare. "I brought my good shoes for Syracuse? What are we going to do there?"

"Well," Will began meekly, completely taken off guard by Jack's reaction. "We have to visit my grandfather whose in Albany. But he was gonna let us use his townhouse in Syracuse, so we'll go there ad get situated, eat dinner... and I thought we could go to Sylvan Beach the next day."

"Sylvan what?"

"Sylvan Beach. Its an amusement park."

"We coulda just went to Coney Island or something!"

"My grandfather doesn't live on Coney Island, Jack." Will muttered, growing irritated.

"Fine." Jack huffed and turned to the window.

"I thought you would have liked this trip."

"I do like this trip, its just that... "

"What?"

"You have to learn something else Will, we as a people don't travel for two hundred miles to visit old men or amusement parks."

"Note taken." Will smirked. "You'll see Jack its gonna be great!"

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After leaving Albany, the two stopped for lunch in Scotia, admiring the stark contrast of the place to the busy city they had just visited. Jack was in a lighter mood, growing more and more fond of the road trip.

"So what should we have?" Will thought aloud and scanned the menu. Jack snatched it away and looked it over.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Hm... nope"

"Ack! Will you pick something?"

"Patience Will. Everything takes time, especially something that determines the fate of your hips!"

"Nothings wrong with my hips!" Will argued and self consciously gazed down at himself.

"Oh Will. Denial is so for closeted guys!" Jack chided and gave up. "Fine. You pick what you wanna eat. I'll just have the fruit salad and a smoothie!"

"Nice combination." Will droned sarcastically and turned to the waitress. "Miss, we'll have the fruit salad, a smoothie, a coke (hold the ice) and a chicken sandwich."

"Ok." The girl walked off. Jack observed the town and traffic, and sighed. 'Its so nice to see this place. I wonder if there are any good shops around!'

Will watched his friend with a mix of amusement and concern. He was always nervous somehow; always fretting over himself, over his friends, over Jack. And his younger companion had been having a hard time at school from what Will had noticed. But of course, the impudent little thing would deny anything and everything about having problems with his school or with people. And he would turn it around with something lame and desperate like:

"What's with the hair Will, get into a fight with a blow-drier and lose?"

It was apparent to Will, that the hidden anger and fear in Jack's eyes were the result of something that he would not talk about.

"Where are those scrapes from Jack?" Will asked suddenly. The happy face turned quickly into one of trepidation.

"What? Oh. From gym class. Shouldn't play baseball with straight guys!" Jack laughed and pensively began to touch the healed scratches.

Their food arrived, and they both sighed in unison. "What did you talk about with your grandfather?" Jack said hurriedly, trying to change the subject, but deciding he wanted to know since he was asleep in the car the entire time they were in Albany.

"Just about the townhouse, and he gave me the keys. It turns out my grandmother will be in Syracuse when we go, so we won't really have the place to ourselves, not that it matters." Will said lightly as he bit into his sandwich.

"Oh." Jack sighed, trying to quell the feeling of disappointment. 'Why be disappointed? Its not as if anything is going to happen!' He berated himself and cast a furtive glance at Will. 'Oh but I wish something would.'

"We should reach our destination at sunset."

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"Are there any gay bars around here?" Jack asked, a not too hopeful look on his face. The car entered the city, passed the downtown area and sped away towards a secluded hill.

"I highly doubt it Jack." Will sighed. "Come on we can have fun other ways!"

Jack grumbled to himself, displeased. With this new confidence, Will was much more assertive. How had he gotten convinced to go on this trip? He could be teaching Will something, or out dancing with someone. 'Just have fun, you party pooper!' Jack told himself. 'Hell, you are the party!' And he smiled, because he knew this to be true.

Will frowned in concentration and glanced at the signs on the side of the road. Jack was mildly impressed with his friend's sense of direction and watched the scenery pour past them as they rounded a cluster of forest, and drove onto a dirt road. More trees streamed by, and Jack watched as the town became smaller behind them.

The car climbed the hill. As soon as they cleared the trees, a charming house could be seen sitting elevated and overlooking a lake.

"How cute!" Jack squealed so abruptly that Will stomped on the brake. "Wow! Will, this is such a nice little place."

"I know." Will grinned proudly and they pulled up in front of the structure. They exited the vehicle and looked up at it. Will nodded and then moved to the trunk to pull out their things.

Will's grandmother was not inside, so the two just went in to change and get ready for dinner.

"Will. What lake is that?" Jack asked as he dried his hair, still wet from the shower he took.

"Oneida Lake I think."

"Its so big! Its like looking at a sea."

"I know. Come on, you ready?"

"Sure am!" Jack smiled and felt his heart flutter as Will took his hand.

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"There are plenty of things to do when you're bored in a town like this." Jack amended, for dismissing the small town earlier. "I'd probably find a way to not get so bored."

"Find a way to what?" Will asked, noticing that he was not listening to Jack at all. Jack shook his head and finished his juice.

They sat in a quaint restaurant that faced the dark green hillsides of the east. In the moonlight, everything looked so eerie but peaceful. Will decided he was succeeding in appeasing the nervousness inside him. Ever since he came out, he was told that everything would be great. By Jack at least. But how did he know? He was only sixteen.

"Soon to be seventeen!" Jack reminded him once, a little while ago.

And to add to this fear, was the growing attachment he felt to the high school student. It was something so strong, that it terrified him. If anything, Will felt an obligation to be Jack's friend. (After all the young man did not have to help him unveil his sexuality.) But somehow he felt something more, like a need to guard him and be with him. It was an odd feeling he was having difficulty suppressing. He sighed and chewed on a peanut.

"What did I tell you about those!" Jack scolded and smacked the peanut bowl away from Will's reach.

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They returned to the townhouse later that night, after an hour of looking around the town at the shops. Exhausted from the six hour road trip and the dinner combined, the two went inside to an empty house.

Will frowned slightly and went into the kitchen. On the counter sat a note.

Will

I went to spend the night at B's in Utica. I will be back tomorrow night.

Grandma

Will frowned down at the paper. It was very short, and unlike the grandmother he knew. He disregarded it for the moment and decided to join his friend in the top bedroom.

Most of the rooms in the house were assigned to something. The one they were to sleep in was moderately large with a pair of twin beds, fashioned to look like a fancy hotel.

As Will went in, he noticed Jack was already asleep.

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Sorry, if it was too dull for you. I'll be giving you a triple whammy, cause Im already on the ninth chapter. I know! Im done with finals so Im kinda on the whole fic thing woohoo!

Sincere criticism or suggestions would be fine. Love you all. I promise the story will get more interesting. A shout out to my sister Jacquelyn!