Another way (Young Royals)

At the Eriksson house

"Erik says that he will pay our tuition for the next year, if you want to still board at Hillerska," Wille said. He was laying on my bed in my room in Bjärstad. Erik had taken him here the day before.

"That is too much, Wille," I said. It was too much. I could not accept those kinds of gifts.

"I would pay him back and it is just this year until I am eighteen," he said. "Then I can pay myself."

"With what money?" I asked.

"I have a big inheritance from my grandfather that is unlocked when I am eighteen," he said. "It is so much money that three tuitions at Hillerska for two years won't matter. Please don't leave me alone at Hillerska next semester baby. I need you." I embraced him. I felt that he was in need of some cuddles.

"I won't leave you crazy," I said. He grinned and kissed my cheek. "We won't leave you. Whatever happens you will always have me, mom and Sara. Okay?"

"Says my hot boyfriend who is going to a meeting next Tuesday to become Sweden's next popstar," Wille said teasingly. He was really proud. I knew that.

"Well who says I can't bring you with me?" I said. He kissed me.

"Well I would not mind that," he replied. "In the meantime I can figure out who I am when I am not a prince. I don't even know what I like to do. I have never been allowed to dream about anything until now." I let my fingers play with his hair.

"Well now you can do whatever you want to," I said, "No need to limit yourself anymore."

"I think I am going to pursue a career in stripping down at the club," he said jokingly. I laughed so much I thought he might kill me. Wille also laughed.  "Baby don't forget to breathe."

"Well, your mom would probably be ecstatic if you became a stripper darling," I said. 

"She would regret ever giving birth to me," he said with a grin. I was very glad she did, at least. "Or maybe I will just make some nasty documentary or write a book about how bad it is to grow up as a royal and paint mom in a really bad light." She did deserve it if he did. I only ever liked Erik out of Wilhelm's family. I knew they never really liked me.

"Well don't make it your life mission to take her down. That is not a healthy thing, baby," I replied. He needed time to heal. Time to find his identity. Become something that was not his heritage.

"I won't. For Erik's sake," he said. "If I only had myself to think about, I would have loved to take down the monarchy once and for all."

"If I knew I had the biggest hater of the monarchy in our first class together I would not have said what I said and looked like that at you," I said laughing.

"That look definitely made me fall a little for you. So I am glad you did," he said and we grinned at each other. Then we fell silent. He laid his head on my chest and I just held him.

"Can you sing for me?" he asked after a while of silence.

"Okay. What do you want me to sing?" I asked.

"Anything," he said. I began singing Diamonds by Rihanna. There was this big adoration in his eyes when I sang. So much love. I flirted with my eyes.

"Oh. I hear singing from a certain someone's room," I heard Rosh's voice from the laundry room, that was the room next to mine.

"He is working that siren magic to seduce a certain prince of Sweden I think," I heard Ayoub's voice reply. I saw that Wille did not like being called a prince. When they came inside my bedroom he gave them an offended look.

"I am not a prince anymore," Wille replied.

"What?" Rosh exclaimed and looked at us with big eyes. "What are you saying?"

"Uh, I haven't had time to fill you in on all of the news I guess," I said.

"Clearly," Ayoub said and sat down on my bedside. Rosh sat down in my chair by my desk. "So what has happened?" Wille and I looked at each other, silently telling the other to tell.

"I abdicated," Wille said at last. "Gave up my title."

"Why?" Rosh asked.

"Because I am tired of them dictating my life and it becoming news in some tabloid," Wille said. "And I was apparently not allowed to date the next big Swedish pop star either. My mother said it was not fitting for a prince." They already knew about the contract with the record label. That at least I had told them.

"Well congratulations on your new freedom," Ayoub said. "Why haven't those news gotten out to the public yet though?"

"Mom is still trying to change my mind," Wille said. She had been calling him constantly, until he got so tired of it that he shut his phone off completely. If Erik wanted something, he could just call me. His parents had not bothered getting my phone number, so there was no risk they would start terrorising me atleast.

"Can't you make a statement yourself though? On like instagram?" Rosh asked. "They won't do it voluntarily. It is a bad look for them that you give up your title."

"Maybe it is not a bad idea," he said. I held his hand in mine.

"Won't this impact you a lot though? Will you still attend Hillerska so you can be with Simon or will you have to move back?" Ayoub asked.

"My brother has offered to pay our tuition until I can access my inheritance from my grandfather," Wille said.

"And he is not leaving me for the summer either," I said and hugged him and kissed his temple. "Because he misses me too much." Wille smiled.

"Yeah. I miss you as soon as we are apart," he said.

"Poor Simon. Can't even go to the bathroom alone," Ayoub teased. Wille and I reached our tongues out at him in sync.

"So are you making it public or what?" Rosh asked.

"That Wille and Simon go to the bathroom together?" Ayoub joked.

"No! That Wille is not a prince anymore," Rosh chuckled and sighed at our best friends terrible joke.

"Well I could do it now, I guess," Wille said. His phone almost vibrated out of the bed from all the missed calls he had from his mother when it started. He went to instagram and chose a photo of himself from the day the third years graduated. We decided that a picture of the two of us would just add extra drama and speculation. His fingers wandered over the screen of his phone and wrote a text.

"I want to announce that I am giving up my royal title and the privileges that I have enjoyed as a prince. Right now I won't give comments on my decision and I ask for privacy during this time. I refer to the royal court for any further questions. Thank you." He looked at the publish button for a while before pressing it. Then he went into his settings on instagram and changed his password and the email for resetting the account, so that the royal court could not delete it. He also changed the name of his profile from Prince Wilhelm of Sweden to Wilhelm Bernadotte.

"You are so brave. Do you know that?" I told him. He was shivering by then.