Chapter Text
It had been half an hour. A full 30 minutes had passed since Wille had opened Choir Boy's last message. He still hadn't replied.
How was he meant to respond to that? He wasn't sure if he should confirm or deny that he went to Hillerska. He didn't want to lie, but he was fearful of what it meant that this person knew where he went to school now, where he lived for 10 months of the year. It would be unnerving for anybody, he figured, for someone you barely knew to have possession of information like that, but as the Prince of Sweden there was an added layer of fear.
Did Choir Boy know who he was now? Had his friend put the pieces together, and if he had, then why not say anything about it? Wille hoped the lack of a comment on his royal status meant that at least his identity was still safe.
Erik. Erik would know what to do. His brother would give him hell for this, he knew, but he also knew he could trust him not to say anything to their parents. And he could trust his advice. He'd take whatever teasing his brother gave him if he could coach him through this.
Wille pulled up his brother's contact and hit the call button for Facetime. It began ringing and he continued pacing the small confines of his bedroom while he waited. It only took a few rings before Eriks face was beaming at him through the screen.
“Wille! It's so good to see you! How are–” Erik seemed to notice his younger brother's anxiety and sobered. “What happened? What's wrong?”
Wille sighed. “Hey Erik. I think I might have messed up.”
“Wille, what happened?” He repeated. “Talk to me so I know how to help. It might not be as bad as you think.”
Wille brought his thumb to his mouth, nervously biting at his nails as he gathered his courage and took a moment to collect his words. His brother waited patiently, and to Wille's relief, didn't scold him for his nervous habit like their mother would have. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, he dropped his hand and forced himself to sit back on his bed.
“Do you remember that number neighbor thing people were doing like 10 years ago?” he began.
Erik immediately closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. “Tell me you didn't.”
It was a statement, not a question. Wille saw it for what it was–a plea for Erik's assumption of what his younger brother was about to tell him to be wrong. He wished he could tell him it was.
“I was lonely, and frustrated,” he began, “and I didn't exactly think it through.”
“You don't say,” Erik said as he opened his eyes again.
“It's not like I told him who I am or anything like that. Still, I know it was a stupid thing to do, alright?”
“It was,” his brother agreed with a slight grin. “Tell me what happened?”
“I honestly didn't even expect to get a response, and if I did, I didn't think it would go beyond a quick ‘oh my god that's so funny, have a good night.’”
“Seeing as we're having this conversation I'm assuming it did go beyond that though.”
Wille nodded in confirmation. “We’re friends now.”
His brother rested his head back against his desk chair and looked at Wille expectantly, waiting for him to continue.
“I told him earlier that I always thought cooking looked sort of fun, but I could only really boil pasta.”
Wille began rubbing a hand over his chest to calm his racing heart and rapidly increasing breath–another nervous habit his mother would have scolded him for. Erik sat patiently, giving him time to explain rather than rushing him, which he appreciated.
“He suggested I try making a sauce to go with the pasta, something easy, and we joked about it being homework. He teased me saying I needed to send him a photo for a completion grade. So I did.”
They sat in silence, Wille mentally pleading for his brother to ‘just remember what the plates looked like so I don't have to admit how stupid I was out loud.’
Eventually, Erik broke the silence. “I'm not seeing a problem so far, Wille.”
“Hillerska stamps their stupid logo on all of their fucking plates.”
Wille rushed the words out–he felt like an idiot for not having checked the photo before sending it–and watched as his brother realized what the issue was. It was subtle, but he could see Eriks' eyes widen slightly as he processed what it meant.
“Let me guess, he recognized the logo?”
Wille nodded and shifted his weight further back onto his bed, leaning against the wall behind him.
“And he said something about it?”
It was like his anxiety had taken away his ability to speak, so he just nodded his head again.
Erik sighed. “Does he know who you are?”
Every word Wille had ever learned seemed to have fled from his memory. He accommodated his apparent inability to speak by lifting his shoulders in a shrug, shaking his head ‘no,’ and releasing a noncommittal groaning sound. Like the dignified prince he was.
His brother seemed to understand what was happening and gave him an affectionate smile.
“It's okay, lillebror, take as long as you need.”
He managed to give him a thumbs up in response this time rather than just nodding. Progress.
Wille was fortunate that Erik knew him so well, and after a few minutes of listening to his brother talk about his day and complain about Jan Olaf, he was feeling significantly calmer.
“Ready to try again?”
“I think so.”
“You're talking again, so that's a good start. Take your time.”
“I don't think he knows who I am,” Wille began hesitantly. “Or, if he does, he didn't say anything about it.”
Erik nodded slowly. “What did he say, exactly?”
He opened their text conversation and read Choir Boy's most recent message for his brother.
“If he felt like he needed to tell you he knows where you live, it sounds like he's the type of person who would also have told you if he knew you were the prince.”
“Yes, maybe,” Wille said. “Or what if he's just waiting for me to respond before he tells me that? Or he's suspicious about who I am, and by continuing to talk to him I let something else slip and he figures it out?”
“Wille,” Erik said slowly, carefully. “Are you telling me you haven't even responded to him yet?”
“I didn't know how to respond,” he muttered quietly.
“How long have you left the poor boy on read, Wille?”
He glanced at the time stamp on the message– 9:15 pm –and the current time on his phone– 10:25 pm –and winced.
Erik laughed softly. “That long?”
“A little over an hour.” He confirmed.
“And you do want to stay friends with him, right?”
“Of course I do.” Wille smiled as he thought of the conversations he'd had with his friend. “He's kind and honest, and I feel like I can just be myself when I'm talking to him and–why are you giving me that look?”
Erik had raised his brows and was giving Wille a smirk that he just knew meant he was about to be teased mercilessly for something.
“Nothing, it's nothing.” His brother laughed. “It's just, listening to you talk about him, it reminds me of how I used to talk about my old girlfriends.”
“What, that's not–I mean, it's not–” he was struggling to find the proper words to deny what his brother was implying. “I'm not–I don't even know what he looks like! And we've only been talking for a day, we barely know each other.”
His brother held up his free hand in a gesture of surrender, laughing.
“Okej, I'll leave it alone.” He said sobering . “Just, if it was like that… I just want you to know, that would be okay.”
Wille pressed his lips together, nodded, and looked away from the camera. The intensity in his brother's expression and the sincerity of his words were too much for him to handle. And Erik’s words had meant more than he was ready to admit to himself yet, for reasons he was only just recently beginning to consider and come to terms with. He'd recognized men were attractive before, but he'd assumed it was an objective observation. It wasn't until one of his former friends at his last school came out to him and started dating another boy from their class, until he saw them together, that he began considering he might want that too. And that had been just a few days before the fight that got him sent to Hillerska had happened.
Now that his brother had pointed out the way he was talking about his new friend, if Wille thought about it, he realized he might be right. He couldn't deny the easy connection they'd formed, the genuineness of it, how happy he felt whenever they talked. It felt different than any other friendship he'd ever had before. He was still figuring his sexuality out, and they had only just met, but Wille had to admit to himself that there was a possibility for his feelings to develop into something more than platonic. It was something that he was going to have considered as he figured himself out and grew their friendship.
“So what do I say to him?” Wille said, changing the subject.
“You tell him the truth.”
“Tell him that I'm the prince of Sweden?” Wille asked sarcastically.
Erik laughed. A full body kind of laugh that made his shoulders shake. “Maybe not that much of the truth. It might be a little too soon for that bombshell. But tell him it was an accident. And thank him for being honest about it.”
Wille learned his head back against the wall behind him. He covered his face with his free hand and groaned. “Why is that so scary?”
“Because he's someone you care about. But Wille, he could have kept quiet and not said anything. He was honest, and I'm sure that was scary for him to do, too. Now it's your turn.”
“I hate it when you're right.”
“Maybe, but you wouldn't have called me if you didn't want to hear it.” Erik laughed. “Now go text that poor boy back and put him out of his misery!”
“Alright, alright! Goodbye!”
Wille laughed as he ended the call. He took a moment to text his brother a quick “thank you” and then returned to his messages with Choir Boy. It had been an hour and a half since he'd opened the last text. His brother was right, this friendship was important to him, and he needed to do this.
Wille: I hadn't noticed
Wille: Thank you for being honest and telling me
Wille: I'm sorry to have disappeared for so long
The reply came almost immediately. Wille wasn't sure if he was relieved by that or not.
Mr. Choir Boy🎤🎶: I wasn't going to keep something like that from you. That's safety honestly
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: Are you okay?
Wille: Honestly?
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: Always Frog Boy
Wille: I might have had a panic episode and had to call my brother
Mr Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: Fuck I'm so sorry 😔
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: I'm glad your brother was able to help.
Wille: Don't be sorry. I'm glad you told me that you knew. You're right about it being safety
Wille: I can't believe I was stupid enough to not check the photo before sending it
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: What did we say earlier today about you being mean to my friend?
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: You're not stupid. I could see you tried to cut the logo out of the frame. And mistakes happen.
Wille: I should have been more careful
Wille: Not that I don't trust you because I do
Wille: But having someone you've only just met over text know where you live is unnerving
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: I trust you too. Which is insane because I've only been talking to you for a day 😅
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: But for the sake of fairness since I know where you go to school and live for most of the year….
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: I live in Bjärstad. I go to Marieberg.
Wille took a moment to re-read the last message. And then another to process it. While he was at Hillerska, he and Choir Boy lived in the same town, close enough that meeting actually could be a possibility if they both wanted that.
Wille: You're telling me we live in the same town?
Wille: Also thank you for telling me. That weirdly helps.
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: It looks like we do! And it was only fair.
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: If you ever wanted to stay at my place for a night to hide from your cousin I guess that's a possibility now 😂
Wille: I think I'd like to get to know you a little better first if that's okay?
Wille: But one day I'd like to take you up on your offer 💙
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: Of course that's okay. I understand. Whenever you're ready 💜
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤 🎶: Until then what do you want to know about me? I believe you had 20 questions
Wille: I do. But unfortunately it's already so late
Wille: Can I ask my questions in the morning?
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤🎶: I'm looking forward to it
Mr. Choir Boy 🎤🎶: Goodnight Frog Boy 💜
Wille: Me too.
Wille: Goodnight Choir Boy 💙