Why the Straight One? - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

I honestly didn't know what to say to him the next day.
I wanted to stay hidden in my rooms, but today was another "date". We were supposed to go to lunch somewhere. Which just meant a super long time of trying to make conversation.
It was 11 a.m. and I was just sitting there, wondering what to do. Early this morning I had had a lesson on how to act in court and at social meetings. It was a lot to take in, and I still felt overwhelmed.
I wanted to go see Elliot, but I knew he and Alan needed as much time together as they could get.
So, I ended up walking to Thomas' rooms. I'd never been in them before, and figured I might as well get used to them, and to seeing him in the morning.
I knocked quietly, my hand shaking slightly for some reason.
"Who is it?"
"Umm, it's me...Alex." He didn't answer for a few seconds, and I raised my hand to knock again.
"Come in." I turned the door handle slowly, and entered his room.
It opened up into a living room, a little larger and grander then Elliot's, but it still felt like a home and not a palace. He was sitting on the couch, hands in his lap, and what looked like a tissue clutched between them.
He did a good job hiding it, but his eyes looked as if they'd recently shed tears. I felt so bad, I didn't even know what to say. I just stood there in the doorway, looking at him.
"Did you need something?" His voice was quiet, as if by just raising it, it might shatter.
"I-I just came over to spend time with you. You know, like, here...where I'm gonna be soon."
"Oh...yeah. Of course. Umm, do you want to sit down?" He gestured to the couch next to him, and I sat down a few feet away from him.
"So I was thinking," he turned his head so he could look at me when I talked. "Why don't we just pretend that we aren't engaged or anything, and just talk like normal guys would."
"Sounds good to me. So tell me, how do normal guys talk?"
"Are you being serious?" It was really hard to tell with people you didn't really know, especially Thomas.
"Kind of. As a prince I don't talk to many normal guys." He smiled, and I noticed again just how good looking he was. Seriously, I didn't know people were made this gorgeous.
"Well, you could show me around your apartments."
"Oh, that's true." He stood up, shoving the tissue in his pocket. "If you just follow me, or..."
"Sure." I smiled to try and put him at ease. He seemed tense, but I guess that made sense. I would just have to get used to him tense around me.
"Umm, so my bedroom is massive." He opened the door, revealing the room behind it.
"Oh my god! My family home could fit into here!" The walls were a light grey, making the whole thing seems even bigger than it was.
"I honestly don't know why it's this big, but it's nice."
First off, I didn't even know they made beds as big as the one in the middle of his room. Secondly, I really wanted to jump on it.
"Dude, I'm jumping on your bed."
"What?"
"I want to jump on your bed." I started walking towards it. He looked at me like he thought I was crazy, which I am, but gestured towards it.
"Be my guest."
I took a running start, and leapt onto his bed. It definite lived up to expectations. It was the perfect mixture of soft and bouncy. I flopped onto my back with a contented sigh.
"How old are you, Alex?" He laughed in amusement. It was the first time I had made him laugh, and if all it took was jumping on a bed, I would gladly do it again. I don't know how to explain his laugh, but it was deep and made you want to laugh with it..
"21." I announced, and kicked my feet happily. Seriously, this bed was comfortable.
"Oh good. I wondered for a minute if you were actually an adult." I opened my eyes, and glared at him.
"Rude."
"Sorry, it's just the truth. But it was great. Glad you can get so much enjoyment out of life."
"Rule of thumb: you see a bed, you jump on it. That, my friend, has gotten me through many a hard day." He laughed again, and turned his head slightly to one side to look at me.
"You know, your not that hard to get along with. I've wanted to hate you, but I just can't. You're so easygoing." His words warmed my heart. Hey, at least he didn't hate me.
I sat bolt upright in the bed.
"Oh, but I just thought of something."
"What?"
"You'll need to be seated for this discussion. It could get intense." He looked slightly worried, but took a seat on the end of the bed.
"Okay. Here's the thing." I paused for effect. "What side of the bed do you sleep on?"
"That's it?" He looked relieved and amused at the same time.
"That's it, but don't take this lightly. It means a great deal to me." He burst out laughing, and ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Oh my god, Alex! You had me worried for a minute, I thought this was going to be serious. You are something else." He shook his head. "I don't care what side I sleep on really. Besides, the bed is massive. Like seriously, I think we could fit another two or three people easily."
"Well, I have to sleep on the right side, so that's decided. But you are right, it's huge. Like, why?"
"I have no idea, but it's pretty awesome."
"True. We could sleep on opposite ends, and still have room to fit a chaperone, someone from the media (so that the world could see how well we get along) and maybe even have room for a third person!"
"A chaperone? After we are married?"
"Yes, that's what I said." A smiled tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he did that thing where he tilted his head to the side and looked at me.
Which, for your information, is freakin attractive.
"You are hilarious."
"Thank you, thank you." I bowed from my seated position, the rolled over to the right side of the bed.
"I think I'm going to be rolling on this bed a lot, so be warned."
"I'll take that into consideration. But there's something you need to know as well." His face became suddenly very serious, and my smile faltered. This was going so well, I really hoped he didn't go all "sulky straight guy" on me again.
"This is something you really need to know before we get married." He looked so serious that I sat up and gave him my full attention.
"Okay, I'm listening."
"I don't do well with sharing. So, if I ever wake up to find that you stole my covers, I will lose my shit, and probably kick you off the bed."
He said it with such a straight face that it took a second to register that he had done exactly what I had done to him.
"Noted! I'm sorry to say that I have been called a blanket stealer before."
"Well don't blame me if you end up on your ass in the middle of the night." He laughed, and finally relaxed enough to lay down on the bed a few feet away from me.
"That too is noted. I will restrain myself from stealing."
"It would be in your best interest."
"Very true." We lay there in a surprisingly comfortable silence.
"Hey, were we supposed to be going somewhere today?"
"Yeah, I think we are leaving at 12." I said.
"Well, it's 12:30." We exchanged worried glances.
"We are in so much trouble."
There was a loud banging on the door leading into his apartments, and he glanced nervously at the door.
"You can say that again."
"We are in-"
"Dude, shut up! I wasn't being serious! It's a - oh never mind." He got out of the bed, laughing, and went to open the door.