*** This is my THIRD update today! If you have not read Chapters 19 & 20, I suggest you do that prior to reading this! <3 ***

Chapter 21

I settled down that evening right outside Ted's door with my computer, editing my novel. My thoughts continued straying to the man on the other side of the door, wondering how he had managed to get through all those years of missing his wife.

Soon, AJ got home, and I had to fight my instinct to send him a sympathetic look. "He's been doing alright?"

"Yeah. I think he's asleep."

"Good," AJ nodded. He retreated to my room, where his suitcase of clothes was, and changed into his pajamas. "How's the novel coming?" he asked.

"Still no title, but it's going well as far as editing is concerned," I shrugged.

"Will you read some of it to me? The edited part, of course," he added.

"Maybe a little," I shrugged. We moved over to the couch and settled down next to each other, and I took a deep breath and began reading.

"Dressed as a common milkmaid, Eleanor found it rather easy to blend in with the crowd. She wove through groups of commoners, never receiving a second glance. It was the most thrilling feeling in the world.

"Soon, the trumpets blared, announcing the start of the Queen's Procession. Eleanor paused, her curiosity piqued. Never before had she seen any royal procession from within the crowd. So, alongside the other citizens, she turned her eyes to the direction of the castle, eagerly searching for that first glimpse of the magnanimous procession. The queen's ladies came first, outfitted in the grandest, brightest colors. They walked with an air of dignity about them, the same air Eleanor had so willingly shed just to become a common member of society. Seeing the ladies made her wish she was one of them.

Next came colorfully dressed servants bearing equally vibrant flags. They bore the crests of the families of the ladies, as well as the queen's family crest and the seal of the royal family.

Finally, in an open carriage pulled by four magnificently white mares, came the queen herself. Eleanor felt her breath fly out of her, and hear heart began pounding rapidly. It was not nerves which put her in such a state; she was, instead, in awe of the beauty radiating from the queen, and the wonder of the procession itself. When it was gone, she sorely missed the dazzling colors and the exhilarating feeling of being so close to such noble, dignified people. It was rather dizzying.

As Eleanor walked on, she accidentally ran into a boy, slightly older than her, outfitted in the bland garb of a squire. 'Pardon me, ma'am,' he bowed, making as if to continue moving through the masses.

'What is your name?' Eleanor asked swiftly.

'William,' the boy supplied.

'You are a squire?'

'Well, obviously,' William scoffed. 'I want to be a knight some day, though.'

'Best of luck to you then, William,' Eleanor grinned up at him. The boy nodded and continued on his way, and Eleanor giggled at the idea of having just spoken to a commoner without being recognized."

I paused and glanced over at AJ, finding him asleep and lightly snoring. I laughed, closed my computer, and grabbed a blanket. I curled up next to him and closed my eyes, quickly surrendering to sleep.

The next morning, I awoke to find AJ staring down at me. "I fell asleep," he said.

"Well obviously," I yawned, sitting up and stretching out my arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to your whole story," he sighed.

"It's not that big of a deal," I shrugged.

"Still. I want to make it up to you."

"Well, you could stay with me this afternoon to wait for the stove," I said hopefully.

"I will, then!" beamed AJ.

"Yay!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him in excitement. We both changed our clothes and brushed our teeth, and then AJ and I walked to the coffee shop. DongHo and Hoon were not surprised to see AJ there, since he had come with me every morning, but they were surprised when he did not leave.

"Kev, how are we supposed to goof off like idiots if your boyfriend is here watching us the whole time?" DongHo asked sulkily.

"Hey, that's mean!" I exclaimed.

"Well it's true!"

"No, it's not! He can goof off just as much as the next idiot! Right, AJ?" I asked, turning to face my boyfriend.

"Uhm... yes?" said AJ, obviously unsure how to handle the situation.

"See, DongHo? He'll be fine!"

"Oh, alright, just this once," huffed DongHo.

"Thanks!"

We ended up playing a game of Get Down Mr. President. As we went through the day, one of us would start the game randomly by putting two fingers up to one ear like a Secret Service agent. When all but one person was doing it, we would tackle the last one and scream "Get down, Mr. President!" Everyone was tackled at least once, but DongHo was pinned to the ground the most.

When my shift was over, AJ and I waved goodbye to my friends, thanked them for the fun, and headed back home. We didn't have much of a wait before the workers from the department store arrived with the stove.

As they began installing the stove, I turned to AJ. "So, what are we naming it?" I asked.

"We have to name it?" AJ seemed confused.

"It's the first actual thing we've gotten together. Of course we have to name it!"

"Why don't you just pick?"

"Because then we wouldn't be doing it together," I sighed.

"Okay, okay. How about Petunia?"

"No, that's an old lady name."

"Rebecca? Jacob? Peanut?"

"Too common, too werewolf-y, too comic-strip-esque."

"Theodore!"

"Too chipmunk-y."

"Lisa?"

"Er, no."

"Chloe!"

"Actually, I like that one!" I grinned.

"Chloe it is, then!" AJ laughed. After the stove was finally installed, we put it to use by cooking a big dinner. We made sure to keep Ted out of the kitchen, and made spaghetti and meatballs with spinach salad and cannolis for dessert.

When we were done, Ted walked into the kitchen, rubbing his hands together eagerly. We dished out plates of food and all sat down on the couch to eat and watch a movie. It was nice to spend time with two of my favorite people, just watching television and eating food.

Halfway through the movie, I stood up to gather everyone's dishes, when the doorbell rang. I went to answer it and found my mother standing there.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Where is that ridiculous boyfriend of yours? I came here to teach him a lesson about messing with my son!" she cried, marching into the house.

"Mom, what on earth are you doing?!" I chased after her, watching in horror as she grabbed AJ by the hair and pulled him out of the house.

"How dare you do this to my son!" she screamed.

"Mrs. Woo, I don't--"

"How DARE you cheat on him with another man! You SWORE to me that you wouldn't do anything to hurt him, and here you go stabbing him in the back!"

"MOTHER!" I stepped in front of her.

"Move out of the way, Kevin, I have to bash this idiot's brains in!" My mother tried to shove past me, but I managed to hold her back.

"Mom, explain what is going on before you do something stupid!"

"He is cheating on you!"

"No, he's not!"

"I promise I'm not!" AJ chimed in.

"Then why did Elison come and tell me you were?!" My mother argued. AJ and I paused, glanced at each other, and burst out in laughter. "What's so funny?!" she cried.

"Mom, Eli told you?" I chuckled.

"He came to the studio demanding that you back off from his "boyfriend,"" My mom said in confusion.

"Mom, that's his ex boyfriend. He's just mad that AJ's moved on with his life," I explained.

"Mrs. Woo, I'd never do that to Kev," AJ added, "especially not with an airheaded blonde like Elison!"

"A-are you sure?" asked my mother.

"Yes, Mom, I am one hundred percent positive," I laughed. "He probably did it because I threw him in a fountain the other day for being a jerk." At this, my mother grinned widely.

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore," she chuckled. She stepped up to AJ and ran her hands through his hair, doing her best to right it. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to misunderstand," she apologized, straightening his tie.

"It's alright, Mrs. Woo," AJ laughed. "I would have done the same thing if it was my child."

"Well, I'm glad you understand," she smiled.

"Of course!" My mother stepped back and glanced at the two of us thoughtfully.

"Can I take a picture of the two of you?" She asked.

"Mom, that takes too long!" I sighed.

"Kev, taking a picture only takes two seconds," AJ corrected.

"No, you don't understand," I chuckled. "When she says "take" a picture, she really means paint a picture. We'd be sitting here for hours!"

“I don’t think that’s too bad,” AJ shrugged.

“Maybe sometime later this week?” I suggested. “As long as you’re willing to sit perfectly still while my mother paints you.”

“Fine by me,” he grinned.

My mother nodded, and I invited her in to finish the movie and eat some food. It was a pleasant evening, and I could not have asked for better. Then again, I might have been able to. But, at the time, I didn’t know I needed to.


A/N: 1,594 WORDS! WOOT!!! I have written a little less than 10K words today, but I have surpassed the 40,000 word mark! I am 80% done with NaNoWriMo! xD I'm excited. Also, this is kind of an uneventful chapter, but more things will be happening soon! PINKY PROMISE! <3 Now, GOODNIGHT!