“Nino!” Jun yelled for his friend who came running to him immediately. “Look! I found a lizard in the yellow roses.”

“Prince, I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” Nino warned him, his hand grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away.

“Why?!” Jun whined. “It looks like you! And I told you many times to call me Jun!” The lizard really did look like him with its skin as light as Nino’s, and a dark spot just a few centimeters from the lips. He slapped his friend’s hand away and grabbed the lizard so it was crawling all over his arm.

“It tickles!” He giggled as the lizard walked all over his arm. “Nino, try it.” He his arm towards his friend, who yelled and pushed his arm away. Jun laughed when his friend had a terrified look on his face but he felt bad that he would hurt his friend so put the lizard back to its habitat. After finally calming down, and Nino’s expression went back to nothing, he and Jun rested their backs against the ledges holding the yellow roses.

For the past few weeks, since becoming Nino’s friend, he tried to make him smile at least and kept asking him to call him by Jun. Being called prince by him was awkward enough, but he didn’t have any problems with anyone calling him by that title. However many times he tried, Nino only showed different faces but he refused to smile.

“You know what else reminds me of you?” Jun asked him after a moment of silence.

“What does?”

Jun didn’t say anything and just turned around to face the flower bed. When Nino turned around too, he picked out the largest yellow rose he could find. He flinched when his palm came in contact with the thorns. Carefully and softly, he grabbed the rose by the petals, and placed it horizontally in front of his friend. Looking up, Nino still had no expression on his face.

“Please smile for me, Nino...” Jun mumbled, keeping his eyes on his friend’s face.

Nino didn’t respond to him, only staring at the still rose on the ground.

“This rose,” Jun started, “Reminds me of you when I see you. At first I thought of my mom back at home, but after I met you... It just reminded me of you.”

“Why me?” Nino finally spoke but he kept his eyes on the rose. “Why someone as poor as me you chose to be friends with? Is it because of pity?”

Jun shook his head furiously after hearing his friend’s words. He didn’t know why it hurt so much hearing those words come out from his mouth, but he shrugged that feeling away when Nino finally looked at him in the eyes. Unlike when he first met him, his eyes were soulless in which a kid like him shouldn’t have. In his eyes, he saw a small reflection of himself and he saw a little bit of what he couldn’t explain in his eyes. It was twinkling despite being under the shades, and his eyes were starting to water. Jun was about to pull him into a hug when finally...finally Nino’s lips curved into a smile and Jun felt something churning inside of his stomach.

“See, I knew you could smile as brightly as this rose,” He pointed out, his voice unexpectedly becoming weak.

“Yeah...” Nino mumbled, the smile never leaving his lips. “Thanks...Jun...”

“Nino!” He gasped. “You called me by my name!”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Jun nodded his head frantically almost getting dizzy because of it. “You’re welcome, Nino,” he smiled, “And you’re my friend because I chose you.” After he answered his friend’s thoughts, the school bell rang loudly and the two of them headed inside. I’m glad Nino is my friend, he told himself before seeing his friend disappear behind the other classroom door.

School finished fast and he was ready to go home with Nino. The past few weeks since becoming friends, Nino had recently been coming home with him to the palace relieved that he wouldn’t get in trouble by his parents for it. He was thankful that his parents were kind, despite being the fierce King and Queen that ruled their kingdom together. After the final bell rang, Jun headed outside the school gates, asking the carriage driver to patiently wait till Nino arrived.

As the students in the school came out, Jun couldn’t help but impatiently ask the driver if Nino was already coming towards them. The driver shook his head and Jun found it weird because Nino would already be showing up by the time there were less students coming out of the school. After asking the driver to wait for him, he walked out of the carriage and back into the school. He made his way to the third floor, where his and Nino’s class was. He knocked on Nino’s classroom door and he went inside after hearing the teacher say, “Come in.”

Strangely, Nino wasn’t in there either. Just as he was about to retreat to the garden, the teacher coughed and Jun just asked her instead.

“Ms.Umi, where’s Nino? Did he go home already?”

“Nino? Well he left with his dad earlier...Oh!” the teacher clapped her hands together, startling Jun. "Nino-kun left a note for you. He told me to give this to you tomorrow, but I think he would have wanted you to have it soon." Jun took the yellow paper from her hand, but didn't read it right away and just slipped it in the pockets of his clothes.

“Dad?” Jun questioned her. “He doesn’t have a dad.” He told her, remembering Nino’s short story about his life. All he remembered was his mom, working hard to get him into his elite school, and he never mentioned a dad in that story. Never.

“Prince, are you sure?” She raised her eyebrow, “He looked like he was sure about it.”

“Yes, I’m sure! I’m Nino’s friend so I should know.”

“Well, you have been hanging out with him for the past few weeks...” She mumbled to herself but Jun could clearly hear her. “I’ll drop by their house after I finish work. Otherwise, a Prince like you shouldn’t be out at this time. Who knows what kind of people are wondering around you know?”

“Yeah,” Jun nodded his head. “Tell me tomorrow about Nino, promise me?”

“I promise,” she reassured him. “Now go home, I don’t want to King and Queen to close down our school because of their son.”

Having no choice but to listen to her words, Jun turned his heel and walked back to the carriage. Half of him was hoping that Nino was inside, but as soon as he entered, there was not a single soul. He asked the driver if Nino stopped by and he said no. Feeling depressed, Jun slumped his back into the leather seating and just stared outside the window with the yellow rose seated on the opposite side of him.

TBC