''''''''''

Someday My Prince Will Come

Chapter 10

'''''''''''

"So where to next?" Jack smiled, adjusting the large prize under his arm. The afternoon sun had emerged from behind the clouds, and it was already very warm for a February day.

"I don't know. I'll let you choose." Will said, a distant look in his eyes. They treaded up a pathway, towards the classic carnival rides.

"Ferris Wheel." Jack said and looked up at the enormous structure, mouth agape. They both glanced at each other.

"Okay." shrugged Will, not really excited about it.

The ride was different from other ferris wheels. It was huge, and the little cars were circular, with little roofs; able to seat six people in one[1]. Jack and Will hopped into theirs, sighing in relief as no one followed them into their car. Jack bounced up and down on his seat.

"Yay! I can hardly remember being on one of these!" he exclaimed and placed his prize next to him.

"Lucky for you, it goes pretty slow." Will said, relaxing on his side of the car. The ride began to move and they were lifted into the sky. It took a while for them to reach the top, but they rounded once and started the cycle again.

Jack kept looking down and smiling at the people, waving frantically each time they descended and then ascended again.

"Stop that!" Will sighed and realized how much he hated ferris wheels. It was like getting no where, going in circles and always ending how you started. It was monotonous.

Will felt very weird. It was great to escape the city, and yet the worries were still there.

He looked at Jack and was reminded of the day he had gone over to his house, finding him in such a sad state. What had happened that day? What was happening now? Will had a pretty good idea. He wasn't an idiot. However, it irked him that this was happening at all. And he was reluctant to address it.

Suddenly the wheel came to a halt. Will peered over the side, and noticed the worker was having difficulties. This had happened another time before, when he was in high school. Will remembered and relaxed.

"what's going on? Why aren't we moving?" Jack asked nervously and shifted on his side of the cart.

"Nothing. Just a delay. This thing is old. Don't worry about it." Will frowned.

As Jack spun around to the other side of the cart, Will caught a glimpse of some scrapes on his arms. They weren't severe, but disturbing nonetheless.
Jack moved again and a compact fell from his pocket. Collecting it from the ground, Will tilted his head.

"Jack."

"Yea?"

"Why are you always covering up your face with this stuff?" Will asked, much too suspiciously for Jack's taste.

"What?"

"You told me, this kind of stuff messes up your skin."

"It does, I just... need it."

"Why?"

"No reason." Jack shrugged. "Why do I have to have a reason for you? If anyone needs it, its you."

"Well, then why are you the one using it?"

"Because! Its none of your business. Every guy needs a little touch up here and there!" Jack panicked and snatched the piece of cosmetic from his friend.

"You don't need it Jack." Will frowned. "Unless you're trying to hide something."

"Screw you! I don't have anything to hide!" huffed Jack and looked down at the people below.

"Then you have no problem if I do this." Ever so gracefully, Will snatched the item from Jack's hands and tossed it off of the side of the cart. Jack watched in horror as the compact plummeted, and landed in a cluster of swaths and bushes beside the ride.

"You fucking jerk! That shit costs money! Oh my god!" Jack shrieked, still gawking at the bushes below, as if his belonging would fly up and back into his hands.

"Jack..."

"You jerk!" Jack screamed again and began to pull at his hair. Will's eyes went wide at this reaction. And he frowned at the sudden look of fear on his friend's face.

"Jack, what the hell is wrong?" he asked. "Why do you need it so much?"

"Oh my god!" the younger one began whimpering. "I hate you! I hate you!"

"Jeez, Jack. Calm down." Will grew frightened.

"I hate you!" Jack shouted and wiped vigorously at his face with the back of his hand. When he was through, Will took one look at him and regretted what he'd done.

"...who... who gave that to you...? " Will breathed out at the sight of the black eye his friend revealed.

"There, you fucking jerk!" Jack hissed. "There!" And he couldn't hold up strong, any longer. He crumpled in his seat, burying his face into his sleeves.

Will felt his heart wrench mercilessly in his chest. This was just wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen to someone like Jack, who Will considered invincible in the face of ridicule. But there he was, ashamed and hurt and crying before him.

It was the first time Will had seen Jack cry. And it made him feel ashamed, for provoking him. He leaned forward to embrace him.

"Jack, come on." Will felt very awkward, as he attempted to soothe his friend. "What is it? Is it school?"

Jack nodded into his friend's shoulder, keeping his sounds as low as possible. The shame was unbearable. He hated crying in front of people like this. It was the first time he'd surrendered to his tears since that evening when it all began.

"Tell me about it."

"I can't. Its all so stupid!" He hiccuped and let out a frustrated sound. "So stupid. They're all so stupid!"

The repetition was foreboding, and Will wanted the ride to start up again and finish, so they could figure things out in a better place. Sure enough, a small tremor took the cart and they began to descend.

''''''

Jack was furious with himself as they got off the ride. He let out an angry sound and wiped his face a couple more times. They walked a short distance from the ferris wheel, over to the bushes where Will had thrown his compact.

Jack waited with his arms crossed, as Will searched for it. He brought his hand to his face, and felt the smoothness around his eye. It was strange, he couldn't feel it, only see it. It didn't hurt, but it ruined everything still. It had ruined the whole trip.

When Will returned with the item in his hand, Jack took it and looked down at it. 'What now?' he asked himself.

"Come on, we still haven't gone on the bumper boats." Will said, with forced cheerfulness. Jack gave him an impassive stare but followed anyway.

'''''''

After the bumper boats, Will took Jack to an isolated area, where a grip of trees and flowers separated them from the park. They watched the lake from their spot.

"It happened to me too." Will blurted.

"I know." Jack smiled sadly. "And you weren't even out yet. Its much worse that way, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"To be punished, when you don't even know why." he said dismally, eyes dulling in thought. "Its like they knew before you did. They always know before you do."

Will was stunned at the sadness in his friends words. And it was accompanied by something else, was it, bitterness?

"They know, but they don't understand." Will offered.

"You don't understand it either."

"Not yet, but I will." Will smiled. And Jack smiled too.

''''''''

The day was coming to a close, and Will sighed with content. The sun was falling, and it made the lake look beautiful with the golden and pink hues of sunset.

"Oh god!" Jack complained as they walked out of the park. He made Will carry his stuffed animal prize, and was now working on his cotton candy. "Im going to need some real crunches to work this baby off!"

"Jack, its just cotton candy!" Will sighed and searched for the car. He pulled out his keys.

"Yea, but one day you ignore a cotton candy, then the next you ignore a cheeseburger, and pretty soon you're on a couch with a box of donuts, waiting for your plus size suit to be done at the cleaners!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about do you?"

They had a mildly smooth drive home. Jack's pleasant mood returned, and he switched on the radio.

"Ooh! I love this song! 'Gonna dress you up in my love! All over, all over!'"

Will smiled and sang along with Jack and Madonna. The road was dark as the evening sky fell around them. Soon they were laughing together, at spontaneous jokes, or little stories they had to share. They drove into Syracuse, and criticized what people in town were wearing.

"Shut up. You used to dress like that." Jack snickered as Will poked fun at a man's outfit.

"Thank god I had a little fairy godmother to knock some sense into me!"

"Damn straight!"

"Well... not really." Will smiled wickedly.

Jack was laughing so hard, he could barely find his lungs. All the puns were truly exhausting his funny bone. And he sighed in happiness. That he could find such jokes comforting really confused him.

Will refilled the tank in the car and they made their way to the townhouse. The roads were blackened, and Will had trouble adjusting his eyes in the dark. All that could be seen was the little yellow pathways the headlights formed ahead. But they managed to reach the house without too much problem.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Jack groused as they walked up the path to the house.

"What is it?" Will whispered, pulling out the keys.

"My feet. All that walking was bad. Im so gonna give myself a pedi when I get home." He looked down at his feet in concern.

Will opened the door, and they walked through. "Grandma?" He asked the house. Pretty soon, a woman came walking down the stairs, with a cautious look on her face. She was looked strong and healthy for her age, standing upright at the foot of the stairs.

"Will?" she said, walking towards the door.

"Hi Grandma." Will smiled. "This is my friend Jack." He said gesturing to Jack.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Jack said cheerfully, holding out his hand. The lady gave a half-smile and shook Jack's hand. They were in an awkward silence for a little while.

"Uh, Jack, why don't you get washed up for dinner?" Will suggested. Jack frowned in confusion, but obeyed and walked up to the bathroom.

"So where have you two been all day?" The woman asked, moving to the kitchen to check on the food. She knew her grandson would be hungry when he returned.

"We went to the park by the lake." said the young man, casually sitting down in front of the counter. His grandmother was pretty quiet, her mouth turned down in a grimace.

"Grandma? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said sternly. "I haven't seen you since... "

"Christmas, I know." Will said in realization. Was his grandmother still uncomfortable with it all? Her eyes were cast downward, and away from his stare.

Jack came hopping down the stairs, a bright smile on his face. He sat down beside Will, and leaned over the counter.

"Dinner is almost ready." And she began to serve some drinks.

Throughout the entire dinner they were nervous, not saying anything really. Jack would try to start a conversation, but only received minimal interest. He wondered what is was that constricted the room.

After they were done eating, Jack went upstairs to take a shower. Will waited until he could hear the water running, when he turned to his grandmother.

"How did this happen, Will?" she asked suddenly, apparently not being able to hold in anything. "Did he make you like this? Did he force you to make this decision?"

"Grandma." He said gently. "This is who I am. I wasn't forced to make any decision."

"You know its wrong Will. Its not God's way."

Will couldn't think of any contradiction for that remark. He could only look at his hands, and his grandmother's hands, just remembering how Protestant she was.

''''''

"Jack?" Will asked the darkness for his friend, as he lay in bed.

"What is it Will?" Jack turned from his sleep, and opened his eyes. He sat up a bit, and looked over towards Will's bed.

"Do you believe in God?" Will asked, his eyes looking at the ceiling. Jack shook his head. It was such a simple question, and yet it angered him.

"Will, Im tired."

"Do you?"

"Yes, I do." Jack's bed was closest to the window, he turned and looked out at the night sky.

"Do you believe in heaven and hell?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Jack asked angrily. He could hear Will whip the blanket off himself, and sit up.

"Don't you ever think of these things Jack?"

"What things?"

"You know, about what we are? Don't you ever think that maybe, we aren't right? That we are wrong?"

"We aren't wrong!" Jack whispered harshly, almost raising his voice. "We aren't!"

Will couldn't see his younger friend in the blackness of the room, but he could picture the angry look on his face. "Jack... "

"What?!"

"Its not the way things are supposed to be."

"Im not hearing this." Jack laid back down, and pulled the covers up over his head.

They were quiet for some time. The silence was so thick, it seemed clamorous. They were so used to the ever present noise of the city. It wasn't so peaceful, so stark and clear like this. Will glanced out at the stars, at how bright they were.

"You think you have the right to ask these questions?" Jack blurted loudly in the dark. "You don't know anything!"

"You don't either." Will muttered, his own anger growing. He could hear Jack breath in sharply at his words. "You tell me stupid things that I don't care about. You make me do things that I honestly don't think really matter."

Jack went silent, his eyes softening at the revelation. "You don't like who you are?" he finally asked the question.

"Who does?"

Jack sat up again and looked over at his friend. He reached over and turned on the lamp. Will squinted as the light flooded the room.

"How are saying this? All the things we've been doing, they've been fun haven't they?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Well, yes. Its just... it all seems so, trivial. Hair gel, the right jeans, shoes, manicures, going out every weekend."

"These things may not seem important. But they help you. They're fun. Its all we have you know!" Jack felt himself babbling.

"Everyone hates us. Everyone hates me." Will groaned and sat up. He was almost weeping. Jack felt terrible for being so angry. He realized that, Will was scared. He was still afraid of what he was and what lied ahead for him. Getting up, Jack walked over and sat beside his friend.

"It gets better." Jack said softly.

"This coming from someone who gets his ass kicked everyday at school." Will burst, missing the flash of pain of his friend's face. "How do you know if it gets better. You don't know anything!"

"It will get better." Jack managed to get out, still unsettled by Will's harsh words. "And one day, you'll know that what Im doing, and what Im telling you isn't as stupid or unimportant as you think!"

Jack let his anger take the back seat for a while. His friend was in a vulnerable state. He couldn't bear to take advantage of that. Sliding back into his bed, he just closed his eyes, wishing away at all the hurt he was feeling.

As Will shut off the light, Jack leaned over to get his stuffed animal. He clutched it tightly, and looked out at the stars.

'''''''

[1] Has anyone seen that kinda ferris wheel? You know, the ones that go really slow, because they have the ones shaped like a flying, roofed circle? Its hard to describe. I need help. --

Sorry things were so talky and stuff. Things will pick up soon. Do not fret my little faithfuls! Love you all. (Hi Jacquelyn!)