The Crown Prince's Love
Chapter 49

"Hey, Desmond," Ana greeted, and my attention quickly turned toward them.

Desmond replied with a smile on his face and waved at her.

I frowned and looked away, but not for long when I saw Noah push Desmond away from my side.

"Are you trying to get him killed again?" I heard Noah shout at him.

"What... what are you trying to say?" Desmond stuttered. "I didn't do anything wrong, and..."

"Stop talking!" Noah yelled at him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "I already warned you to stay away from him, yet you..."

I clenched my fists, trying so hard not to react because we were not alone, and I didn't want to raise any rumors about me supporting a friend instead of my brother.

I made a move to stop the argument, but Sonnia beat me to it.

She grabbed Noah's ear and pulled him into the bus. "What the hell.." Noah screamed and let go of Desmond's shirt.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Yes," he replied and hurriedly entered the bus as if he were trying to avoid me.

I followed him and took my seat beside him.

He was seated close to the window, and when he saw that I was sitting next to him, he looked away.

"Are you trying to avoid me because of what just happened?" I asked him.

Desmond sighed and faced me. "I...," he paused and lowered his head. "Noah hates me because of the accident that happened to you. He believes that it's all because of me, and he warned me to stay away from you, and..."

I clenched my fists yet again and looked around, searching for Noah. When my eyes landed on him, he was having a heated conversation with Sonnia. I glared at him and tried to stand up and go meet him, but Desmond grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"That idiot attacked you for something you didn't do. I have to teach him a lesson, and..."

"Randy," he muttered my name softly. "I don't think this is the place to argue since we're not alone, and..." He looked around, and I did the same until my eyes landed on John, who was seated by Ana, and they were both staring at us. They already knew about us and were eyeing us suspiciously, looking for more proof, and who knows what they might do with it.

I looked back at Desmond and heaved a deep sigh.

"Fine," I agreed and rested my head on the seat. "I'm going to settle this with my brother once we reach the location, and I don't want you to stop me there," I told him, and he nodded in response.

I placed my hand on his and looked at him again, giving him a big smile, and then turned my attention to the teacher who had entered the bus.

"I, Lumin Welcome, all of you to the third year trip, a wonderful tradition where you explore the vast forest, beauty of nature and try to replace the ultimate treasure, and the best third year student will be picked!" he shouted excitedly, and everyone around started clapping, but I didn't.

"It's going to be great, so you all should enjoy the trip and look forward to it!" he said and sat down in the front row.

When the engine of the bus roared to life, I tapped Desmond on the shoulders.

Desmond smiled at me, and I wished I could kiss him at that moment, but all I could do was smile back at him.

~Desmond~

I yawned, fluttering my eyes open to the murmur of the other students.

I noticed the bus had stopped in the middle of what appeared to be a forest. Naturally, it had to be a forest, what else was I expecting?

I heaved a deep sigh, glancing to my right to see Randy still sleeping peacefully with his head on my shoulder.

"Hey," I gently tapped him on the shoulder, and he groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"I believe we've arrived," I replied, pointing forward to the students disembarking from the bus.

He groaned and stretched. "We better join them."

He stood up, and I followed behind him.

Once outside the bus, we trailed the rest of the students until the teacher stopped at the center of the woods. There, a large clearing was devoid of grass, surrounded by tents, about twenty in total and a long table displayed various colored boxes at the side.

"We are here," the teacher, Lumin, adjusted his glasses and clapped his hands.

"Welcome to the Forest of Truth!" he announced, eliciting happy cheers from some students.

I faced Randy, giving him a smile. "We are here," I murmured.

He smiled back and nodded. "Yes, we are."

"Well," Lumin clapped his hands to regain our attention. "As I announced on the bus a few hours ago, we have gathered here today for the tradition of every third year student and..."

"Get on with it, Mr. Lumin!" someone shouted from the crowd, a lanky boy looking uninterested.

"Calm down, kid. I assure you that you'll enjoy the tradition of the third year," Lumin replied and continued to explain the tradition, taking another twenty minutes.

By the end, most students were seated on the forest floor.

"What's next, Mr. Lumin?" Noah groaned as he sat down. "Are you going to bore us to death with your talks? That's not what we signed up for. We came here for the traditions, not to listen to your speeches."

"I apologize, my prince," Mr. Lumin replied, pointing to the long table. "This is where you will have your dinner, lunch, and breakfast for the three days we'll spend here."

"Excuse me," Sonnia snorted and walked forward. "As far as I can see, there are no chairs. Are we expected to sit on our shoulders?" she questioned.

"Oh no," Lumin laughed. "That's not the reason. We will provide chairs soon as they are all in preparation."

"Better be," Sonnia flipped her hair with an attitude and leaned against a tree. "Please, when do we rest?" she demanded.

"Right now," Lumin replied. "We are going to get our rest now." He pointed to the different colors on the table. "According to your dormitory color, please pick any tag in the box. The tag will determine your roommates for three days." Randy looked at me. "I'm sure we'll become roommates," he said, and I nodded in agreement.