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“Hey buddy, we still on for a weekend of games, movies and junk food??” Prompto called out, laughing excitedly as he darted out of the classroom. Quick to join up with the familiar raven-haired teenager slowly trudging his way down the hall towards the school’s exit. The blonde could practically feel the weekend calling out to him after a long day of taking tests and sleeping through all his super boring classes.
He was so eager to start heading over to Noct’s place, he could barely keep his body from trembling from all the anticipation. After all, he and Noct had already made plans to thoroughly break in the new Assassin’s Creed game that had been released a few days ago. Noct had somehow been able to finally convince Ignis to stop at the video game store on the way home one day, and had been permitted to complete the purchase only after the two of them promised they would only play it after they finished studying for the big test they had in History today.
Everything was going great.
Well, it had been going great until Prompto almost unconsciously grabbed Noct’s jacket sleeve and couldn’t help but notice the other’s shoulders start to fall as he let out an audible groan.
It was only once Noct started to rub the back of his neck nervously that Prompto knew for a fact that his fate had been sealed. It was a nervous habit he noticed the prince always went back to when there was something on his mind that he either didn’t want to talk about, or wasn’t sure how to bring up.
“Oh man, I totally forgot…” Noct moaned once more, his eyes shifting anywhere but connecting with the blonde’s. “Dad’s making me go to this stupid thing at the citadel this weekend… sorry Prom…”
“It’s totally cool.” Prompto replied without missing a beat, his smile calm and cool as always.
“See you Monday.” He finished as he waved goodbye; Prompto now easily able to spot the unmistakable Citadel car from in between the throngs of students eagerly departing the school grounds without a care in the world.
“Yeah, see you.” Noct mumbled with a muted and half-hearted wave as he was quickly ushered into the sleek and majestic car before them.
“Crap…” Prompto muttered to himself; only allowing his posture to slump and nervously grasp the back of his own neck when he was sure the car was completely out of sight.
He would certainly never admit it, but there had been a reason that he had asked Noct to hang out this weekend. Although seeing as that plan was now completely and utterly busted, the idea of what he would have to do now brought a deep, creeping feeling slithering around in the pit of his stomach.
“What am I going to do now?” He mused slowly to himself, frozen to the spot for what felt like an eternity; and ultimately, he couldn’t help but feel lost.
It soon became very clear that the more he wracked his brain, the more he realized that his choices right now were practically non-existent.
Accepting that he was simply attempting to avoid the inevitable, Prompto managed to pull in a shaky breath before finally forcing his body to start walking again.
It was only two days, right? He had managed much more than that before, so there was no reason to believe that he wouldn’t be able to do it again.
Even with Prompto taking every little detour he could think of, it wasn’t long before he could see his ultimate destination revealing itself over the horizon.
He had been almost seriously attempting to entertain the idea of trying to find a nearby park or some other similar venue where he could distract himself while killing time by taking lots of pictures that he might be able to show Noct after the weekend.
However, there was but one major wrinkle in this otherwise brilliant plan. That one major wrinkle being that the sun had already starting to dip down below the horizon, and it was already getting increasingly harder to ignore the significant drop in temperature even with his heavy school jacket.
Regretfully it was but a few moments later that Prompto found himself face to face with his front door.
Pausing a moment before he entered, he determinately took a deep breath and pulled the door open just enough so that he could squeeze his skinny frame through the door as quickly and quietly as possible.
He had almost managed to dash upstairs to his room, when he stalled at an unmistakable voice emanating loudly from the nearby living room.
“You’re actually home for once.” She finished dully once Prompto finally came into sight.
“H-Hey Mom, Dad.” Prompto replied, unable to keep the slight tremble out of his voice as he stopped so that he was standing within arm’s length of the armchair that his mother had occupied.
“H-How are you?” he asked cautiously.
The dialogue Prompto normally kept with his parents hadn’t typically been known for being very lively in recent years, and for once the blonde was hoping that wasn’t about to change.
“I was actually just asking your Father if he thought you had forgotten where our house was, seeing as this is probably the first time that either of us have seen you in almost an entire week.” His mother replied bluntly, not even bothering to disguise her obvious displeasure.
Almost instantly, Prompto could feel that familiar weight that had settled and made its home in his gut earlier when he had parted with Noct, burst once again into a flurry of emotion.
If it had been anyone else’s parent saying such things, Prompto would have dismissed the aforementioned comment as nothing more than sarcastic probing; but with his own mother?
Nope, Prompto knew better than to be fooled by something like this. He knew for a fact, she meant everything she was saying. 100%.
“S-Sorry…” Prompto frowned, stuttering as he frantically wracked his brain in an attempt to devise a sufficient explanation that would satisfy, or better yet, negate his mother’s irate mood.
“I’ve uh- you know, been real busy with school… and um, I just joined the photography club...” he quickly started muttering, “Oh, and remember how I told you guys that I got that part-time job down at the electronics store near-”
“I don’t want to hear any more of your damned excuses!” His mother shouted loudly, silencing him instantly, as his entire body tensed as instinctively shrunk away from the sudden outburst.
“I-I’m sorry, Mom… I-I w-wasn’t trying to, I s-swear.” He dared to breathe, before choosing to stay completely silent. Prompto could only hope that maybe… just maybe his silence might help to diffuse the situation a little, rather than dig himself further into this hole he suddenly found himself in.
“How we ever got stuck with a utterly hopeless son like you, I’ll never know…” His mother practically spat before glaring in the direction of her husband, who had yet to even so much as acknowledge the scene unfolding in front of him.
“Johnathan…! Are you just going to sit there and let him talk to me like this??” She nearly shouted, snatching the book he had been reading and slamming it closed on the table next to her.
However, before the elder Argentum had a chance to express any feelings he had, (or did not have for that matter), their entire attention was quickly shifted as all three family members heard a few quick knocks from the front door.
“I’ll get it!” Prompto squeaked as he practically jumped up and sprinted over towards the direction of the door, almost unable to believe his luck. The simple thought of who this mysterious savor could be had the butterflies in his stomach multiplying like no other, and he would be lying if he said that most of them didn’t involve Noct in some way or another.
Could he have been able to get out of all that Citadel stuff this weekend after all, and was coming over to get him…? Or more likely… he had sent Ignis to pick him up? The thought alone had his heart beating a million time a minute.
Prompto pulled the door open quickly, his usual bubbly persona on in full force, but when he locked eyes with the man standing outside his door, his heart plummeted when he quickly realized that he had no idea who this person was.
It wasn’t Noct, or even Iggy, and it definitely wasn’t Gladio. This guy honestly didn’t even look like he was Crownsguard or Kingsglaive in any way and Prompto could only assume that this man had literally zero to do with anything which concerned the Citadel.
Fuck.
“Yes?” he asked; attempting to disguise his feelings of utter betrayal, of himself more so than this random stranger standing right outside his door.
“I have a package for a uhm-” The man started as he started fumbling through a bunch of crumpled and wrinkled papers from inside one of his interior jacket pockets.
“Mrs…. Ar…gen…tum?” he spoke slowly as he struggled to dictate the messy handwriting that was scribbled all over the small slip of paper in his hands.
“Oh-” Prompto sighed, “Yeah, this is the Argentum residence.” He continued, his eyes downcast as he extended his hand to take hold of the small box in the other man’s grasp. “I’m her son, so I’ll make sure to get it to her.”
“Ah- yes.” The man replied, offering a quick smile as he handed over the package. “Thank you. Have a good day.” He uttered with a quick wave as he practically sprinted back towards the safety and warmth of his still running truck.
“That better not have been any of your little friends!” Prompto’s mother called before he had even had a chance to properly close and lock the front door.
If one thing was clear though, it was that she must have already grown tired of waiting for her son to rejoin her in the living room and had decided to meet him back in the entryway to make sure he wasn’t entertaining any foolish idea, like leaving for instance.
“Your Father and I aren’t finished with you, so whoever it is, tell them they need to leave.”
“It’s not like that, mom.” Prompto tried once again to reason, even despite the fact that arguing with her was usually about as useful as trying to convince a brick wall to knock itself down.
“I-It was just s-some delivery guy…” he muttered, trying and failing once more to keep the slight stutter out of his voice as he handed over the plain box he had been given moments ago. “He had a package for you… not sure what it is though.”
“That is absolutely none of your business, so you need not concern yourself with it.” She snapped as she practically ripped the small package out of her son’s grasp.
“Now get out of my sight until your father and I figure out what we’re going to do with you.” She turned around and started heading back to the living room, before pausing and finishing with a quick, “Whatever you choose to do though, don’t even think about stepping a single toe outside this house.”
At first, Prompto was bewildered at his mother’s sudden dismissal. It had seemed too good to be true; and when he heard the unyielding spite coming off his mother’s tongue, he knew for a fact that it was.
As he rushed up the stairs and practically collapsed on his bed, Prompto couldn’t help but think about how this all could have played out differently had things not blown up last minute with Noct like they did. Just the simple fact that in another time he could have been laughing, playing video games, and eating junk-food while goofing off and just all around enjoying simply being in Noct’s company, was enough to nearly bring tears to his eyes.
However, it wasn’t long until the cruel truth of reality set in and he was quickly reminded that his current situation couldn’t possibly be further from that right now even if he tried.
If there was one thing he knew for sure right now though, it was that he just needed to figure out a way to power through the rest of this weekend. Once he did that, he would be rewarded by being able to see Noct again; and that fact alone was a prize worth any price.
It was weekends like this one, where Noctis would swear to the moon and back that being the Crown Prince of Lucis was nothing but an endless source of trouble.
It was also weekends like this one, where Noctis wished more than anything that he could renounce his title as prince and just be a normal kid with only the real normal problems most teenagers had to worry about. Things like studying for tests, trying to find a job, or having to make multiple trips to the store because he had forgotten like half of the items off his shopping list.
Worst of all though, Noctis down-right despised the fact that being the Crown Prince always seemed to take priority over being a good and decent friend. Especially when it concerned someone like Prompto, who was literally the most amazing best friend someone could possibly ask for.
No matter what, Prompto was always there to talk, or sometimes even just listen whenever Noctis was having a particularly shitty day. Prompto never bailed when they had plans, and it was always the same blonde that would sporadically drag Noctis out of his apartment on some random adventure because he somehow had this innate ability to know when Noctis really needed to let off some steam and have some seriously meaningless and ridiculous or silly fun to fully recharge himself.
There were a number of times where Noctis was pretty damned sure that Prompto had realized precisely how truly of a shitty friend he was and subsequently came to his senses, before going off to make friends with someone who wasn’t constantly bailing on him because of stupid royalty stuff.
It was a well-known fact that Prompto could make friends with literally just about anyone. He had this astoundingly infectious energy he brought everywhere he went, making everyone he interacted with feel like they had been close friends for ages. So, it wasn’t like it would be that hard for him to make lots of new friends to replace him.
In a desperate attempt prevent exactly that from happening, once Monday morning finally came around, Noctis had woke incredibly early so that he would be able to arrive at school super early (which was quite the shock to Ignis’s system) and then, he would simply wait for Prompto to walk in to homeroom like he always did.
The second that the blonde was in earshot, Noctis would proceed to start showering the other with apologies for bailing on yet another one of their pre-planned video game marathon weekends. At one point, Noctis had even considered bribing Prompto with free trips to the arcade, some other video game, or one of those fancy camera accessories that he had been going on and on about for the past few weeks. It was a foolproof plan in his own mind.
Well, it had been a foolproof plan, at least until Noctis was faced with the completely unexpected revelation that Prompto never actually ended up making it into Homeroom, or really any of the other classes the two teens normally had together that day.
As the end of the day marched steadily closer, Noctis couldn’t help himself any longer, quickly texting the missing blonde and asking him why he had missed school. Before he had even realized how much time had passed though, the dismissal bell was ringing and Noctis had yet to get any kind of response and he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
Mondays tended to be the day that Prompto would come over and they would work on homework for the week. Noctis typically hated any kind of schoolwork on principle, but Prompto somehow had a way of making all the really boring stuff a hell of a lot more bearable. Not to mention, Ignis always seemed to be a little less work-crazy on him when Prompto was over for whatever reason.
The best part of the night however, always came after they finished their schoolwork and inevitably decided to spend the rest of the evening lazing around and playing video games or watching TV until Ignis had to practically drag the blonde out the door and drive him back to his house so he could at least try to salvage a few hours of sleep before school the next day.
“Will Prompto be accompanying us today?”
Speak of the devil… Noctis sighed as he approached the stout advisor, currently holding open the back door of the Regalia.
“He wasn’t in.” Noctis replied quickly, not in any kind of mood to discuss the matter any further and thank the six, Ignis had enough sense not to continue to pry.
The rest of the evening went just about as smooth as the morning had gone, which definitely wasn’t saying much. It pretty much just consisted of the raven-haired teen lying around his apartment, bored and feeling steadily more and more guilty about what had transpired (or not transpired for that matter) this past weekend.
The only comfort Noctis found in this whole situation was that when he went to school the next morning, he would finally be able to apologize to Prompto properly. Then, maybe… just maybe, things would be able to go back to normal.
The next morning came and went, and much to the raven’s chagrin, things had not gone back to normal.
In fact, things could not have possibly gone in a further direction away from normal.
Classes started off as they always did, all except for one small, little detail… and that detail being the empty seat right behind Noctis’s own. It was the seat that Prompto always occupied while absentmindedly doodling or daydreaming during class, and yet, there was still no sign of said blonde for what was now the second day in a row.
For anyone else, missing two days of school was probably nothing out of the ordinary, but when Prompto was concerned, it was seriously unheard of. Prompto never missed school. He almost… dare Noctis say it, enjoyed coming to school every day.
Noctis would never be able to forget that one-time last year, where there was this really bad strain of the flu running around and Prompto had continued coming to school despite having already been showing symptoms for several days.
The only reason Prom hadn’t already been sent home was simply due to the fact that he had gone to incredibly detailed lengths to cover up all evidence of his being sick from everyone at school, even Noctis.
The prince was downright convinced that Prompto would’ve undoubtedly taken his secrets with him to the grave if said blonde hadn’t literally passed out in the middle of gym class one day, and been forcibly carted off to the Nurse’s office.
Least to say, the nurse had been horrified at how sick he actually was and after letting him sleep for a few hours in the clinic, had called for him to be sent home. Even half-delirious with fever, Prompto had pleaded desperately with the nurse to let him just stay put in the clinic for the rest of the day.
Only after a plethora of probing on Noct’s part and the Nurse’s refusal to keep him at school when he very clearly needed to go home, did the blonde finally proceed to admit the reason he didn’t want to go home.
His parents were apparently away on a business trip and he wasn’t sure that he would be able to make it home all by himself, let alone being able to do anything but pass out on his bed the moment he got there.
It took all of less than a minute after this particular confession for Noct to pull out his phone, call Ignis and tell him to swing by school a little early to pick them both up, so that Prompto would finally be able to get some proper rest.
Luckily for all parties involved, all that excitement just so happened to unfold on a Friday, so Prompto had been lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the weekend to continue to recuperate and make sure he had recovered enough to be allowed to go back to school come Monday.
The raven-haired prince was swiftly jarred out of his thoughts when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate within his grasp. His fingers trembling slightly as they scrambled to check and see whether or not it was finally some word from his currently MIA best friend.
However, he soon found himself biting his lip in utter frustration, attempting to prevent a long string of curses from streaming forth from his mouth as a result and undoubtedly garnering the attention of every other student in class.
Noctis had to actively hold himself back from chucking his phone near half-way across the room when he realized his phone must have buzzed because the alert had been nothing more than some stupid spam email advertising a special deal going on at one of the fast-food places he and Prompto commonly frequented.
It had been a whole day since he had originally texted Prompto after realizing that he wasn’t going to make it into school. Not only that, but it had been a full three, almost four full days since he had actually seen the skinny photographer in the flesh or had really any solid form of communication with him whatsoever.
It certainly didn’t help Noctis’s anxiety when he recalled how Prompto always tended to have his phone essentially super glued to his hand. This fact, compounded with Prompto’s usual tendency to be so quick with getting back with Noctis, even if it was with a message like ‘I’m busy. Call you later,” to let Noctis know he had gotten the message and wasn’t simply ignoring him, was starting to drive Noctis crazy.
Although now that the raven-haired prince thought about it… maybe… could it be… maybe that was precisely what the problem was in this case.
It’s not that he hasn’t replied because he’s not getting the texts… Noctis reasoned with himself, no… he’s probably super pissed about me ditching this past weekend… yeah, that has to be it. This past weekend must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back and now he’s totally and completely done.
Noctis’s heart sank at the thought of Prom being mad at him, but that fact alone wasn’t even the worst part.
What really set a chill running down the prince’s spine, was the sheer fact of Prompto being super pissed off at him made a hell of a lot of sense.
He never did it on purpose, but the unfortunate truth of the situation was that this wasn’t the first time he had to call thing off at the last minute because of some “royal complications.”
Great Job Noct… he thought bitterly to himself. You’ve really done it now. He’s obviously had enough of your flakiness and probably stayed home today because he knew you’d be here. If he came in, he’d have to tell you flat out that he doesn’t want to be friends anymore. But Prom is still Prom after all… and he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, so he probably just settled for just avoiding the problem all together by staying home.
“Fuck…” He muttered as he let out a low groan, unable to stop himself from fruitlessly glancing quickly down at his phone for what had to be the tenth time in a matter of minutes, at a loss to do anything but continue to stare when the small device remained completely still and silent in his hands.
After being 100% unable to concentrate on a single word his history teacher had said during the entire lesson and continuing to check that he had not received any new messages, Noctis was almost relieved when the dismissal bell rang. He gathered up his things, chucked his phone angrily into his bag, and headed out to the front of the school where he knew the Regalia would be waiting.
Noctis was only a little confused when he noticed that it was not in fact Ignis that was waiting for him, but Gladio.
“Where’s small, dumb and blonde?” The larger bodyguard asked with a sly grin before Noctis even had a chance to say anything.
If he hadn’t spent the entire day worrying about why Prompto had all of a sudden decide to drop off the face of the planet, he probably would have realized that Gladio was just messing with him the way that he always did.
However, with his missing and possibly very pissed off best friend already being quite the sore subject, Noctis simply didn’t have the patience to put up with any of his shield’s crap right now.
“Not here, obviously.” Noctis shot back, frowning as he silently slid into the backseat, his arms crossed and intent to glare at the back of the seat in front of him until it burst into flames or something that would be as equally satisfying given his current situation.
Yet another day came and went, and still Noctis had not heard from Prompto.
It had been almost an entire week… and there had still be absolutely no sign or word from the wayward blonde.
There was still a part of Noctis that prayed Prompto would just waltz right on into school one morning like he always had, rambling on and on about all the epic pictures he took while on his way to school.
Six, he missed those times. As each day came and went with no change, Noctis kept wondering to himself if those memories were just that… memories.
He would never say that he had gotten used to not having Prompto around, but it was more like he was slowly coming to accept that this was how things were probably going to be from now on.
Prompto had made himself very clear, because despite Noctis’s continued attempts to reach out, he had been stonewalled at every turn.
Noctis had even been so desperate at one point in the week to confirm that Prompto was at least okay, that he had sent Ignis over to the blonde’s house under the guise of bringing by all the schoolwork Prompto had missed while he had been out.
When the advisor had returned and Noctis had nearly jumped him the moment he stepped inside the apartment, Ignis had revealed how Prompto’s parents had nearly fallen over themselves with gratitude and given many assurances that their son was simply going through a bit of a rough patch.
After Ignis had attempted to inquire further, they simply assured him that they hoped Prompto would be able to return to school soon.
Trying to push all the thoughts and worries that had been consuming his mind for what felt like forever, Noctis sighed loudly.
With the way things were going right now, there was nothing that Noctis wanted more than to be give the chance to go back in time to when Prompto had originally asked about their planned weekend of video games.
If he had known… if he had just figured out some way to make it work… then maybe he wouldn’t have lost the only real friend he had somehow managed to make.
Wanting to simply numb himself to the rest of the world and ignore all the thoughts and fears running rampant in his brain, the young prince decided to do what he always did best.
With a tired sigh, Noctis simply elected to laid his head down on his desk deciding to make the most of the remaining time he had before the morning bell rang. It wasn’t like there was much else to occupy his time anyway.
~~
What felt like mere seconds later, Noctis was jolted awake when he felt something solid repeatedly come in contact with his head.
The tired, and now very grumpy young prince was ready to shoot up and vehemently start to curse out whoever the hell it was that had made the unfortunate mistake to try and screw with the fucking Crown Prince -when he heard something- or more specifically someone- that made his heart stop all together.
“Knock, knock.”
Wait… that voice… that was definitely-
Noctis’s head suddenly shot up, rubbing and blinking his eyes to make sure that this wasn’t just a trick of his mind or something of the dream that he very obviously hadn’t woken up from quite yet.
“Prompto!” He nearly shouted in sheer excitement after finally being reunited with his previously missing friend that he was seriously getting concerned that he would never see again. “Where have you… been?”
The sheer euphoria of finally hearing and seeing his best friend after so long instantly faltering as his brain seemed to cease all functioning as it attempted to process what was right in front of him.
“W-What the hell?!” He spluttered, eyes going wide as he grabbed the blonde’s wrist in utter shock, afraid that he might disappear once more should he let go.
There he was.
It was definitely Prompto.
But what the… what in the almighty hell was going on here?
Prompto was right there in front of Noct, standing still with a calm, gentle smile and an almost… could it be gleeful expression? But h-how…? How could Prompto possibly be standing around so casually like it was just another usual morning and the two of them were catching up before class...?
Noct couldn’t even believe what his brain was very obviously telling him was there in front of his very own eyes.
Prompto’s entire left arm was heavily bandaged and secured up against his chest in a large sling, accompanied by some seriously nasty looking bruises scattered in various places on and around the blonde’s face and arms.
There was a large bandage that was obviously covering something equally as nasty on his right cheek, accented by the not so subtle remains of what looked to be a pretty nasty split lip that had only partially healed.
As if any and all of that wasn’t enough to set the young prince’s blood boiling, it was pretty damn hard for Noct to miss yet another swath of bandages currently peeking out from underneath the jacket of Prompto’s school uniform, which had conveniently been rolled up near his elbow.
“Did you miss me?” Prompto smiled lightly, finally breaking the tenuous silence that had settled between the two. “Oh- and um, sorry I didn’t reply to your texts…”
Over the past week, Noct had come up with what had felt like an endless number of reasons why he hadn’t seen or been able to get in touch with his best friend, but something like this…? He never would have thought this would be the reason why in his wildest dreams…
“Prom…” The raven-haired boy managed at last to force the words out of his throat with a strained breath. “But… what the hell… are you even apologizing for…?”
“Seriously…!” Noct continue to practically shout, “What in the fuck happened to you???”
It was so much to take in and Noct just didn’t even know where to start. Why hadn’t Prompto just told him that he had gotten hurt? It honestly and probably wouldn’t have made him worry any less, but at least he would have known that the reason that he hadn’t seen the blonde was because he was recovering from whatever the fuck had happened, and not because Prompto was actively trying to avoid him.
Prompto’s body visibly stiffened at the sudden questions, but with Noct still being incredibly distracted by everything he hadn’t noticed, or at least had paid it no mind.
The momentary lapse was quickly gone as Prompto gingerly pulled away the hand that Noct had been grasping tightly.
“You know me Noct, I’m nothing if not the world’s biggest clutz.” He laughed lightly, bringing his now free hand up to scratch the back of his head.
“You really shoulda seen it… of all the things that coulda happened, of course I had to trip and fall down the stairs at my place this past weekend like a complete dumbass.” Prompto finished with another much more obviously forced laugh, and this time not even Noct was distracted enough not to realize that was definitely something amiss.
“You’re expecting me to believe that all of this,” Noctis continued as he motioned in reference to all of Prompto’s injuries, “Happened because you just took a dive down the stairs…?” He frowned, also not missing the fact that Prompto was now absolutely refusing to make any sort of eye contact with him whatsoever.
“I don’t like it…” Noct mused, “Not one bit,” he added before proceeding to cross his arms in front of his chest impatiently before softening a moment later and finishing in an almost pleading voice, “You know you can tell me what really happened, right? I don’t care how stupid or embarrassing you might think it is. I swear I won’t laugh and I sure as hell won’t judge.”
“I’m t-telling you… I missed the first step and like an idiot tried to catch myself… which as you can see worked out spectacularly.” Prompto replied with only the slightest bit of hesitation in his voice this time, serving only to elicit a frustrated sigh from the raven right in front of him.
“You know…” Noct started with a bit of a sly smile. “If I really wanted to find out the truth, I could… perks of being Crown Prince and all that.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Prompto cried out almost instantly.
At first, Noct thought the other was simply playing along as they did quite frequently when they were together, but when he say the way Prompto’s brows creased in genuine worry, it all but confirmed his previous hunch.
“Why don’t you just tell me the truth, then?!” Noct quickly shot back.
“Because it’s none of your business, okay??” Prompto nearly shouted back in a desperate wishing Noct would get a fucking clue and just drop it already.
“It sure as hell is my business when someone that’s really important to me practically drops off the face of the planet and gets the shit beat out of him!” Noct replied, changing gears in heartbeat.
Prompto’s features froze, his face completely drained of all color and Noct was half expecting the blond to either pass out right then and there, or proceed to empty whatever currently made up the contents of his stomach into the nearest trash can.
After taking a moment to collect himself with a few steadying breaths, Prompto was eventually able to utter a quiet, “Can we please just drop it already…?”
“Why are you trying so hard to hide this from me??” Noct refused to relent, completely unfazed by his friend’s sudden and unnaturally subdued demeanor.
“Is it because you’re mad at me for bailing on you this past weekend?” He asked, unable to veil the anxiety that clear as day within his unsteady voice.
“D-Do you not w-want to be friends… anymore…? Is that i-it?” Noct had barely been able to force the words out of his mouth, for fear of what the blonde’s response might be.
“No!” Prompto frantically came back. “I swear, it’s not like that at all!”
“Then what is it?? It’s obviously has to be something!”
“I told you, it’s nothing.”
“It wouldn’t be bothering you this much if it was nothing!”
Prompto opened his mouth as though he were about to reply, but quickly closed it again, concentrating very intently on what looked to be a very tense, internal dialogue.
“Shiva be damned…” he finally uttered, “You know Noct… sometimes I just wish you weren’t so overwhelmingly and frustratingly stubborn…” he sighed.
“It’s all part of my charm, of course.” Noct smiled softly, wishing Prompto would just get out with it once and for all, so they could finally be rid of all the awkward tension that had been built between the two of them. “So… you gonna spill the beans or what?”
Prompto slowly took another few deep breaths, eyes darting all around the classroom, before lingering just a few seconds longer on the wristband he always wore on his right wrist and then quickly back to Noct.
“Okay, fine.” He sighed. “You win. I’ll tell you… but you have to promise me something first.”
“Whatever you want Prom.” Noct muttered in hurried agreement. “What is it?”
“I can’t tell you right now.” Prompto stated quite plainly. “If we’re really going to do this, then I can’t do it in a place like this where anyone could be listening… it’s… it’s just too risky, okay?”
It was a bit of an odd request, but it was something that the raven-haired teen wasn’t about to argue with, especially if it meant that Prompto was finally going to come clean about whatever the hell had happened over the past week in which he had been completely MIA.
“Video games over at my place tonight, then?” Noct grinned, turning around to face his friend as Prompto finally decided to plant himself in the seat right behind the young prince. “I can even have Iggy pick us up a pizza from that place downtown that you’re always raving about to make up for flaking on you over the weekend.”
“I can’t think of anywhere else, I’d rather be.” Prompto beamed, and Noct could easily tell that the smile now sitting comfortably on the blonde’s face was no longer fake or forced. It was the same excited and curious grin that he had become so accustomed to since the moment they had started hanging out when the first started high school.
To be honest, Noct had absolutely no idea what it was that Prompto would be telling him once they arrived back at his apartment.
The possibilities were practically limitless… but if there was anything Noct learned from the past week or so, it was that he never wanted to lose Prompto ever again.
Noct was prepared to do whatever it took to make sure that he was there for him, no matter the cost. After all, Prompto’s friendship was worth all that and so much more.