Hey everyone,

this chapter is a bit on the short side, but it felt right to end it there. But the next update will follow soon, so you won't need to wait for long to know how the plot evolves ;).

bruh: thanks! You're welcome :3! I hope you enjoy the next chapters as well!

bevin: well, Prom needs some kind of background which explains how he's the only one using guns in the future. So this is my explanation, even if it isn't canon. We still don't know how his original background story plays out in the end. Why does he live all alone? How does he learn and why does he prefer to use guns? Oh and of course I heard the great news about Dius/Ravus! Hey, in case you didn't know, I'm his biggest fan ;D! haha

Yoshi: thank you! I apologize, but in this story all chapters will be kept short so that I can update more often. :) Please bear with me. Have fun reading!

A big thank you to everyone who follows this story!

Till next time,

Kamuel

P.S.: Sius is the driver we saw in one of the older Versus XIII trailers, where they drive to the signing treaty party, and where he calls for Noctis (Noctis Ouji! Noctis Ouji!) to wake up. I don't know if we will ever see 'Sius' again in the game, so I took this opportunity to flesh out his character into this story :D.

Chapter Six

...

Sius did bring all of us fresh baked croissants and cups of hot chocolate (my favorite!), but not even those delicious treats are able to distract me from staring in awe at Prom.

It suddenly feels like he revealed to me a much more complex and darker side of himself, which intrigues me to no end. So not only is Prom selfless, well mannered and terribly nice, but he's courageous and strong as well. He learned to fight at such an young age. He protected his family in grave times, survived the relentless war raging outside of Lucis' protective walls and now he's here, living all by himself. Who would have thought? His adorable and clumsy appearance did completely fool me.

The most intriguing part for me is, he himself isn't even aware of how special he is, and how rare it is to find all those qualities in young people such as us nowadays. I must know, because I searched to meet someone like him for a long time.

When I see that he's obviously too shy in front of my father to start to eat his croissant, I slowly push his cup of hot chocolate closer to his hand, encouraging him to have a taste of it at least. I can only imagine how hungry he must be after the ordeals of last night. As if on cue, his stomach starts growling, the pains of hunger making Prom wince and I give the cup another, insistent push towards him.

Prom sends me a small, albeit unsure smile, but then he imitates my movements and takes a few sips out of his cup. His eyes can't help but widen at the rich taste of the creamy and hot liquid in front of him.

I hide my smile behind my own cup. Well, this brand of hot chocolate is my favorite for a good reason.

After a few silent moments, my father resumes the conversation, saying softly, "Prompto, guns in Lucis are only frowned upon when they are used in offensive practices. You and your family had to protect yourselves from Niflheim forces, therefore it's completely understandable given the dire circumstances. Don't worry, you are not in any trouble because of it."

Prom nods at my father in relief, clutching his cup tightly between his hands.

"Now tell me, what do you want to be later in life? Where do you see yourself after you finished school?"

Well, that was a quick change of topic. My head turns in a swift move to look startled at my father, who, interestingly enough, seems to stare quite thoughtfully at Prom.

Here we go, the interrogation continues. I only am not sure if this is a bad or a good thing. Hopefully the latter.

"I... I'm not sure yet, sir," Prom admits, his stance uncomfortable as he looks down, his cheeks blushing in shame.

From the look inside his eyes, my father seems to already have made some kind of important decision, something that I'm not able to decipher from his serious expression. I follow his movements when he shares an unreadable, meaningful look with Sius, who in turn gives a firm nod of his head in confirmation. I am aware that my father trusts Sius with his life, in the same way he trusts uncle Cor, so I rise an eyebrow at the truly curious exchange between the two of them.

I want to know what's going on.

With a frown on my forehead, I just continue to take a bite of the soft croissant and then give a nudge to Prom's hand to start to eat. Whatever my father decided, I'll stay strong in my resolve to not let Prom alone this weekend. Come hell or high water, I'll resist my father's authority if I have to.

When I sneak up a glance at Prom, I almost choke up on my food in shock.

Where did his croissant go? It... it disappeared.

At my quizzical gaze, Prom smiles sheepishly at me, rising the cup of hot chocolate to his lips in a futile attempt to hide himself. The remains of the icing sugar on the corner of his mouth the only evidence that he just devoured the whole thing at once.

I hide my soft laughter behind my hand. He's truly something else...

But my chuckle freezes on my face as soon as my father orders Sius to wait outside in the car for us. A sure sign that we are going to leave soon.

"Noctis," my father addresses me suddenly, "I understand your desire to help your friend. But you know that you can't stay here. It's too much of a risk for both of you."

"What? No! Please, I want to spend my weekend with my friend."

He must know that I rarely go out of my way to ask for selfish things. I rarely behave passionate about something that I want, Eos, I usually refrain from objecting his decisions as I prefer to go with the flow, because I learned early enough it becomes less of a hassle for everyone involved if I comply.

So I kind of understand the shock and surprise written all over my father's face. He's not used to me behaving in such a stubborn manner. But he will learn that Prom is important to me.

"Be reasonable. Alone the amount of protection you'll need this weekend will shake up the entire neighborhood. People naturally get curious and are going to attract a lot of unwanted attention. It's dangerous," he insists in a strict sounding voice, folding his hands together on the table as his eyes narrow at me.

My heart starts to beat furiously.

No. There has to be a solution.

A further glance at Prom's disappointed and sad expression helps my resolve to remain firm.

"I want to stay."

"My son, this is a wish you must be aware I cannot grant to you. Think of your position. It is your duty to protect your friend from harm. This involves refraining from making your friendship go public beyond the security of your own home."

This time it's Prom who reaches for my hand under the table. Saying in his own way with a slight squeeze to give up, that it is okay to leave him. But he can't hide from me the sadness in his eyes, so I clench my jaw, refusing to get separated from him. I don't know where this strong and strange force comes from. It's compelling me to stay by Prom' side. I never felt like this for anyone before. All the more I don't want to go home without him.

On the spur of the moment, my eyes grow large with inspiration. That's it! This is the solution!

Gulping down my fear of rejection, I look my father squarely into his eyes and say with finality, "If it's not possible for me to stay here, then Prom comes with us."

I think I did manage to catch my father completely off-guard, his silence speaking for itself. This is a novelty. My father experiences for the first time ever how I'm about to invite a friend, a commoner, inside my home.

Isn't this what he intended? Isn't this the reason why he keeps insisting for me to go to a public school? To meet all kinds of people and to make friends?

Well, here I am now. I found one. A very special friend.

Prom pulls at my hand to get my attention and a glance to my side makes me smile inwardly. Only now do I notice how his uncombed hair from sleep defies gravity, he strangely reminds me of those Chocobos depicted in Ignis' photography books. His adorable cheeks are flushed from utter surprise, his wide, blue eyes clearly not believing I just proposed such a preposterous thing.

What can I say that it hasn't already been said? I find myself doing things I never did before, all because of him.

Should I get worried for my mental health? Hell no. I feel elated.

My father clears his throat after a dramatic, sabbatical pause of silence. "Noctis, it's impolite to decide something for yourself without asking the other party if they agree to your idea first."

I slowly look back at my father, my expression reproachful. I give my best to send him the 'You are one to talk.' look. One day I'm hopefully old enough to tell him that out-loud.

So I follow his remark and ask Prom, "Is this okay? Do you want to come with me? It will be fun, I promise."

Prom's hand starts trembling, his wide eyes suddenly fearful. He looks down at our joined hands, suddenly letting go while his head shakes from left to right, obviously refusing my invitation.

I feel my cheerfulness instantly plummet to the ground. "What? Why not?"

"I c-cant," is Prom's only answer.

After everything I fought so hard for, my father finally approved to invite my new friend home, and now Prom says no?

Eos, I want to know his reasons!

But before I can ask another question, my father already stands up from his seat. Hell, I know that my father is in great haste because of his duties. I'm still surprised that he found time to pick me up personally. But I don't want to go without understanding why Prom refuses my invitation. I thought he would look as much forward to this weekend as I did?

My father takes a last look around Prom's living room, saying, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Prompto. Get your belongings, Noctis. I approve of your friendship, but you must understand that now we have to leave. Don't be sad, you two will meet at school on Monday after all."

Sad? I'm more than sad! I'm devastated... I can't stop staring at Prom, my eyes desperately searching his out to get a proper answer.

When Prom avoids to look at me, clutching the end of his seat tightly with his hands, I feel like having been punched in the guts by him. His rejection hurts more than I thought it would do.

Not knowing what to say, I shuffle my bare beet in small steps towards Prom's bedroom to get my clothes and my bag. Like in a trance I undress Prom's pajamas, fold them neatly and place them on his bed. The cute teddy bears printed on the pink colored fabric smile at me brightly. But instead of feeling happy, the pain in my chest makes it hard for me to breathe.

Why?

Did I do or say something wrong? Doesn't Prom feel the same strong connection to each other like I do?

I stare at my clothes as if they would know all the right answers.

Despite my huge disappointment, I know that I should respect his decision. Maybe he still doesn't feel well and needs this weekend to recover...

After I finished dressing into my own clothes, I reach for my bag, but the heavy photo book slips out of it and clatters down on the floor in my haste.

I take a moment to look at a revealed Chocobo picture. What a strange coincidence. I can't stop a fond smile, but then the pain in my chest reminds me of why I feel the pain in the first place and I heave a sad sigh, looking for a pencil to write down my phone number on the page next to the photo.

Drawing a funny stick figure, I write underneath it 'If you need a friend, you know where to find me! Noct"

Proud of my accomplishment, I place the open book next to the pajama on Prom's bed and then I leave to meet my father at the door.

Because I don't want Prom to see how miserable I feel, I don't turn around when I make my farewell.

"See you on Monday, Prom. Take care of yourself," I say, forcing myself to sound cheerful but failing miserably at it.

"Yeah, the same. Have a nice weekend, Noctis," says Prom in a subdued sounding voice. "Thank you for everything..."

My father goes first and I follow his steps outside. But something tells me to stop for a moment before I close the door, and I catch a glimpse of Prom behind me.

He wipes his tears furiously away when he realizes that I watch him.

Prom cries.

My chest hurts again. I don't want to see him sad.

But it was his decision to stay home, and if this is what he truly wants, then who am I to force my own selfish wishes on him?

Indeed, I have gotten to know diferent flavors of pain in my life. But I have to admit, that the stinging torment that I feel right now, just when I close the door with a harsh clicking sound behind me, comes second to the pain that I felt when I realized that my mother had died. That's how strong it is.

I place my hand over my heart.

Why? Why do I feel so strongly for my new friend? Why does his rejection hurt so much? I really don't understand...

Once I get into the car, occupying the seat next to my father with a heavy heart, I can't stop my mind from asking again and again the same questions.

Why?

Why didn't Prom come with me?

...

To be continued.