"Friedrich!"

I kept heading down the hallway; I wasn't ready to deal with this. I wasn't ready to deal with him rejecting me.

I reached out and pushed the door to the staircase open and was halfway through it when a hand grabbed my wrist and attempted to pull me back. I looked; it was him, with Willy a few steps behind him.

I turned away and began to try and step through the doorway when he spoke up.

"Please.." he pleaded; I froze and, finding myself unable to move forward, listened to what he said from there.

"Don't do this, please,"

"Let me go Albre-"

"Please."

"You don't want someone like me. You don't need to deal with the shit I go through."

"I know what my life is like without you. I don't want to go back to that."

"You'd be better off like that than dealing with my-"

"Your problems won't go away if you leave me."

I didn't have a response. I wish I did, but I couldn't muster one. There were so many things I wanted to say, but if I was to get him to let me go, I couldn't say them. I couldn't let him on to where my head was taking me.

"Please Friedrich."

I turned around and looked at him; he looked so worried; the gentle frame of his seemed guarded, and he stood in a position that I knew meant that if I tried to go for the stairs, he'd race after me. Willy was gone; back down the hallway, standing guard.

"Just let me be at peace..." I muttered out.

He didn't speak for awhile, but his grip on my wrist remained just as tight as I turned to walk away.

"Is being with me not peaceful?" he asked. His voice was different; it wasn't agitation, no, but perhaps the voice of someone scorned. "Because if it isn't, I'm sorry."

"It..."

"There are other ways of doing this, Friedrich. You don't have to play this lonesome character... I'm trying to be there for you. I'm opening up every part of my life to you... but you won't open anything in return."

"I tried... and you just saw how well it went," I replied. He didn't respond for awhile; instead, he just chose to stare straight into my eyes. That kind of eye contact -hurts-, you know?

Its that kind of staring that makes you want to look away, but you know if you look away you'll hurt them more than its hurting you.

"You don't deserve to go through this trouble. You didn't do anything to deserve-"

"You didn't do anything to deserve what was done to you, Friedrich. For christ's sake, I...I..."

He didn't continue; his voice seemed strained, and he covered his mouth and let go of my wrist.

He was quiet for awhile, watching me as if he expected me to run. I had the chance to, but for whatever reason, I hesitated. I stood there looking at him for awhile, expecting him to say something. He just looked at me.

"If you fucking kill yourself..." he shuttered. I wanted to reply, but I couldn't.

'How does he always know..?'

"If you kill yourself, I won't be far off."

"Albrecht, you can't-"

"Just... know that if you insist on it, die knowing that your life was my life's best part, and that I won't last long..."

"I dont understand..." I replied.

Why would he care this much?

"Why don't you understand, Friedrich?" he asked, almost as if he were begging.

"Why someone like me? I'm just the son of a farmer, I have nothing to-"

"Friedrich, why do you think I care about that? Why do you think I care about wealth, about family, about any of that?"

"I... you're the... the Prince..."

"And do I not therefore have the right to date anyone I want?"

"I-"

"Maybe, just maybe, you're everything I've ever wanted. Maybe you fill every single checkbox on my list?"

"How-"

"Maybe you make me feel safe... when not much else does."

"You-"

"I lied about my parents, Friedrich. My father thinks my being gay is nothing more than another reason to be disappointed in me. That its just another stain on the family reputation, and that I've been nothing but an embarrassment from the start. My mother doesn't care, but then again, she's never cared about me to begin with..."

There was a noise at the bottom of the long flight of winding stairs, and I looked down below to see the figure of who looked like Christoph starting to make the journey up to our floor.

"I should go,"

"You should stay with me."

"I-"

"I promise you nothing will happen that you don't want to happen. Just... please..."

"I haven't any-"

"You can stay in my bed, you can use my shower, there's no reason for you not to..."

I stared at him for awhile; I wanted to, but I just... I didn't feel like I... I don't know.

Perhaps I didn't feel worthy.

"You don't understand how much it would mean to me..."

I just stared at him. After a moment, he held his hand out.

"I need to shower, I need-"

"You can use my shower"

"But my shower caddy-"

"Just use my stuff."

"I would still need clothes"

"I'm sure you can fit into some of mine, if not we can have Willy go to your room and get you some"

I just stood there and stared at him for a few seconds.

"Please..." his voice pleaded; his eyes gave off a sense of weariness. I was about to take his hand as a different voice broke the silence.

"Hey guys" a familiar, cheery voice spoke up. I turned to find Christoph standing there smiling at us both.

"You'll never guess what just happened" he remarked with a wide smile on his face. I looked him other; though he had his uniform on, it was buttoned only halfway up and gave off an appearance that he'd just run out of somewhere in a hurry.

"Oh? What" I questioned, looking between him and Albrecht.

"Kathrina..." he said with what seemed like a lustful tone of voice. His mouth formed into a huge smile, though all I could do was stare at him with a look of confusion. Albrecht was busy looking between Christoph and I, though focusing on me more than him.

"Oh my god, she's good..." he remarked as he ran his hand through his brown hair, messing with his already disheveled undercut.

I rolled my eyes; really? You're talking to -us- about -this-?

"What did she do?" I asked with a half-sarcastic tone in my voice.

"Oh my god... her lips dude" he said as he pointed to his crotch.

"You finally got blown?" I asked, "Took long enough, even Albrecht and I got-" I joked, though he interrupted me flabbergasted;

"I, What!? But you two are, and she isnt... what!?"

"Calm down, he's joking" Albrecht replied, his voice sounding somewhat irritated. I looked over and tried to get him to look back, but he was focused on Christoph. Christoph was one of... perhaps three people that knew about us, and he only found out by accident; he walked into us kissing in the washroom, though we didn't know until a few days later when he finally confronted us. He wasn't mad; he was just upset that we'd hid it from him.

"Oh, well," he stammered "I guess that makes sense, considering you two don't really roll her way".

"Is she better than Tjaden?" I joked. He looked at me annoyed, though didn't reply.

The rumor floating around, though we knew it not to be true, was that he and Tjaden were... intimate, to say the least. One couldn't really blame them if they were; they were both shining examples of male beauty.

I looked back at Albrecht and found him staring at me, gaving me a desperate look. Even though Christoph was there, Albrecht seemed to have no interest in putting up any guards. He looked at me desperately, and it was like his gaze went straight into my head and started beating the shit out of my consciousness, because my head started to fill with thoughts of regret;

How could I treat him like this?

"Oh, Friedrich, did you get the mail I left on your bunk?" Christoph questioned.

'Mail? Who would have sent me mail...?'

"Uh, no, I haven't been back to my room today. Who sent it?"

"I don't know, I don't look at peoples mail!"

"Well, what was it?"

"A small brown box; it looked like it came a long way."

I stood there confused for a moment, trying to think whom could have sent the box, from where it had come, or what it contained. There really was no one to send me mail...

"So, you two heading out, or?" Christoph questioned, breaking my focus. I looked up at him, then looked over at Albrecht as his voice broke the silence.

"We.." he said; before he continued, I interrupted him.

"No, we're just heading in for the night" I replied, looking down at Albrecht's hand that had fallen forlornly to his side and slowly slipping my hand into his grip. Within a few seconds, Albrecht was gripping on it tighter than a vice, and his lips pursed in a small smile.

I watched Christoph look down at our hands and back up at us before cracking a smirk.

"Well, just don't be too loud you two. I've got to get up early in the morning to head out for family holiday."

And with that, he walked past us and down the hallway to his room.

After he was far enough to not hear us, Albrecht looked at me with an air of suspicion; "Are you serious?"

I turned to him and rubbed the side of his hand with my thumb. His hand gripped mine even tighter, and he let a small smirk rise across his face.

'His hand is so soft...'

"Of course I am" I muttered. I stepped closer to him, and before I knew it I had my arms wrapped around him.

"I'm sorry I'm like this..." I whispered; I was embarrassed, to say the least, but his small frame fit so perfectly in my arms...

"Don't apologize for who you are," he replied into my ear. I couldn't control myself, and leaned in, kissing him on the cheek.

"You don't have to kiss me there, you know," he whispered.

"And where am I to kiss you then?" I questioned.

"On my lips."

I could feel my face go flushed, and couldn't put myself to look at him. His hand took my wrist and slowly started to pull me down the hallway.

"You said you'd come back to my room, didn't you?"

I smiled and nodded; we traveled back down the hallway and into his room, and I watched as he disappeared through a doorway to another room that I'd never been in. A few moments later, he stepped back out with what seemed like a towel and a few other things in his hand and walked over to me, holding them out.

"A towel and some clothes, since you're so insistent on showering," he remarked with a smile.

I smiled back, though I didn't say anything as I found myself more preoccupied with chewing the side of my cheek trying to control myself from throwing the clothes to the ground and embracing him. He pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room, and I looked at him confused.

"I mean, you know where the bathroom is, but in case you forgot".

"Oh" I smiled, nodding as I turned and walked towards the washroom.

"Oh, Friedrich!" He interrupted as I was stepping through the doorway. I turned, still holding the towel and clothes, and looked at him curiously.

"What... did you want me to order?"

"I, uh..."

That half of my head that insisted anyone ever paying for anything in my life was going to come back and ask for something in return ticked back on, but before I let myself get upset, it physically felt as if something took that little person in the back of my head and beat them with a baseball bat. I could feel a slight throbbing in the back of my head and winced, before looking up at him.

"Anything is fine," I replied.

Albrecht smiled, hopping onto the love seat in the middle of the room and grabbed a binder off the end-table next to him as I swung the bathroom door closed.

His washroom was... nothing like the communal one. A double sink made of real marble, fine tiled floors, brass towel hangers, and a shower with a real glass door; the shower looked like it was meant for a god. There seemed to be no shower head, but when I leaned in and turned the knob, it rained like a waterfall from the tiled roof and water sprayed from the sides of the tiled shower, as if it were a rain forest whose mist completely enveloped you.

I slowly undressed before I stepped into the cool water and found myself completely hypnotized by the feeling; I must have stood there taking it all in for at least half an hour before I began to search for Albrecht's soap and shampoo. A green bar that smelled of pine trees sat next to a large blue bottle labeled with something in English that I couldn't understand, though I imagined it was what I assumed it was. Perhaps this was the secret as to why his hair was so soft?

I'm unsure of how long it took for me to decide I was done standing in that waterfall, but it must have been quite a while, because as I turned the shower off and stepped out to begin drying myself off, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Friedrich? Are you alright?"

"I'm alright" I replied, patting myself dry with the soft blue towel.

There was quiet for awhile; I could feel he was worried. He was probably right to be; I wasn't the most emotionally stable boy, after all. Not since what happened with Erik, at least.

I stepped forward and stood against the door, replying;

"I promise, I'm alright. I'll be out in a few minutes, okay?"

"Tja," he replied, "I hope you like Turkish!"

I smiled and continued to dry myself, before examining the clothing he'd lent me; how could someone so much thinner than me have anything that could possibly fit?

There didn't seem to be a shirt, but there was a red pair of athletic shorts that seemed like they might fit, along with a pair of boxers that...

My face went beet red, and I paced for a few minutes before getting dressed and stepping out of the bedroom, the towel hanging around my neck; Albrecht was slumped on the couch with a large headset plugged into his laptop, listening to music as he seemed to be scrolling down a website. As I walked across the room, he didn't seem to notice me; his music was relatively loud and I could see him bobbing his head up and down to the beat. It was only as I walked around the table to sit next to him that he looked up at me, pulling his headset off and folding his laptop closed.

"How was your shower?" He asked

I sat next to him; closer than he probably anticipated, and looked at him with a smile.

"Well?" he questioned.

"It was... nice" I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

He pointed to the brown bag sat atop the table and spoke up.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just got a bunch of stuff, hopefully you like at least something I got."

"It doesn't matter what you got, I'll like it." I smiled. I leaned in and found myself putting the palm of my hand against his cheek, rubbing my thumb against his temple. He smiled, and his eyes sparkled.

"Though, I'm not sure how much I like the boxers you left me" I whispered.

His face went red and he let out a small laugh, revealing that he knew what he'd done.

"Really? Pink?" I questioned, pulling the side of the shorts down to show the pink fabric to him.

"My mom sends me things but doesn't think of if I like them or if they're the right size, she just buys things..."

"And so you decided to give them to me?"

"I thought you'd like them..." he said, his voice giving off an air of embarrassment, and I regretted the tone that I'd spoken to him in; I didn't want him to think he'd made a mistake...

"I didn't say I didn't."

"So... do you?"

"They're much nicer than mine. Much softer, but not loose anywhere."

"That's because all you wear is what the school gives you."

"And is that so bad?"

"I..."

He looked at me and smiled.

"No, but... it doesn't mean you shouldn't know of the finer things."

"I'm only a farmers son, Albrecht."

"So was Isaac Newton, and so is Prince Charles, and many great authors and musicians and poets and-"

"But I am to be none of those, Albrecht."

"Says whom? I must argue the opposite."

"And why is that?"

"Because I would not be falling in love someone who is nothing more than a strong athlete. You have many layers to you."

As he uttered that last sentence, he leaned in stared at me, as if asking for permission to do something. I looked at him confused, but as he leaned forward even more, I understood. He wanted permission to kiss me.

He wanted permission!

I didn't nod, I just leaned forward and closed the gap, pressing my lips against his. Moments later, I wrapped my arms around him as his hand pressed against my bare chest and ushered me to lie down on the couch.

"I'll teach you all of the things you don't know how to do" he remarked, running his fingers through my hair.

"Oh, such as?"

"Well, waltzing, the great artists, things like that" he replied before pressing his lips against mine again. I couldn't help but smile.

"And perhaps I'll teach you a few things," I replied mid-kiss.

"Such as?"

"Not letting your food get cold, for one..."