The Royal Scandal | Prince William |

Shy First Encounter

June 24, 2000

She stood in front of him wide eyed and rigid, looking so out of place personality wise, almost like she didn't want to engage in anything. The blue and pink and gray striped sweater that she must of been roasting in, not helping her with blending, but it was what pulled him over. 

She just looked so familiar. 

"I said that out loud didn't I?" She finally squeaked out. The water bottle she clutched trembled, but her posture didn't give out in the way most people's would. Her head was still bowed nerves flitting through her blue eyes that gazed up at him.  

She couldn't go one day without making a fool of herself, but why did it have to be Prince William?

"Let me guess," he paused circling her to grab a water of his own, "American?"

It was rather amusing how her head snapped up her neck arching so her eyes could really meet his. "What gave it away?" 

"Oh, it's quite obvious."

"Really?"

He laughed face stretching into a genuine smile. When was the last time a girl who didn't scream or show off excessively talk to him? All she was, was timid and he sort of felt bad for making it worse. "No, not at all, Zara pointed you out. The first thing she actually said to me was: "that's the American."

"Yeah, she does that often," she sighed her adoring eyes finding the girls in question. Then, as if caught cheating, it snapped back to him. "I'm sorry, I crashed your party."

"Technically you have to not be invited to crash." Her eyes found his, giving a rather disgruntled but flustered glare. "Still, I told my cousins they could invite anyone they wanted, and you seem to be a lot better company than who I assumed would show up."

"I'm flattered you think so highly of me, but you don't know me." For a second her humour poked through, mischief pulling at her lips, but in such a subtle way. The breeze brushed by throwing her frizzy blonde curls into her face, he was surprised it didn't blow her over she appeared so frail.

"I'm rather good at first impressions."

About to pull away feeling that the conversation had finished, but she caught him off guard again. "Good luck with your game." Now his cheeks tingled, a burning sensation he was oh so fond of taking over. 

William asked, eyes settling on anything but her, "you play?"

"Lord no, but my father is quite the sports enthusiast. He was rather disappointed I couldn't touch a ball to save my life." Her laughter was gentle, but her posture finally sagged. She must miss her family, he couldn't imagine she got to see much of them. 

"Baseballs our family favorite though," she rambled a bit, hands going through motions quickly, and all with delicately placed fingers. "The one thing we don't watch is football, well our kind of football."

Catching onto what she said his eyebrows rose, "are you sure you're American then?"

"Positive, I'm just more of a dancer." That made sense, William vaguely remembered Zara telling him Nati and her friend, this friend, trained at the Royal Ballet School.

The guys started to call him over, Harry chasing them away from their cousins, across the pitch. His eyes found hers again, looking smaller than she did before, but now she seemed to be having a mental conversation with someone else in the distance. It was kind of cute how her eyes bulged out, allowing him glimpses of her more confident side as she silently snapped at who he was guessing were his cousin and Natania. 

"Wills, c'mon on!"

Ignoring them for a second longer, and the cooing awws that followed from their half drunk lips, William lingered until she focused back on him jumping as if she expected him to be gone. "I just realized, I don't know your name."

The timid wall that had slowly started to come down dropped another brick at my feet. She shyly grinned, "Jaclyn Webber."

"William Wales."

"I know", the confident and flirty response that usually followed didn't come out as a reminder that she was standing in front of him for one reason only; and the genuinity behind her simple words had William racing to his mates, a grin stretched across his cheeks. He heard it so often, but never so gentle and never without any malition for another purpose. 

"It was nice to meet you." 

-----

Eyes wide, and mouth stuck in a permanent gasp Jaclyn hurriedly shuffled in Zara's direction as the match was starting. As the soccer ball was kicked off to the far side, and the teams started to wrestle for it, Zara seemed to be so into the game she didn't bring up what Jaclyn and William were doing.

Perhaps she hadn't even noticed

Natania just had to leave her stranded as she fooled around with who seemed to be prince Harry, he didn't seem to mind.

"You guys looked cozy," Zara mused. She was not even trying to hide her knowing smile! "He was uh," Jaclyn's eyes scanned the tent landing on where the two of them stood seconds ago, "getting water."

Eyes never leaving the game she nudged her side, "I'm sure that's the only reason he came over."

"Where's Natania? I think I like her more than you right now," Jaclyn scoffed. Suddenly finding it hard to breathe she swivelled around to the people who gathered around on the grass. Several of them were openly staring at her, or trying to steal discrete glances.

Zara voiced Jaclyn's thoughts exactly, "she's not even watching the game." Somehow still completely focused on the sport the short haired blonde gestured to where Nat was still catching up with Harry who wasn't currently playing.  Who would've thought that would be a thing people do at a football game?

Jaclyn loved her two friends dearly, all of their pestering had put her where she was today, and if she stuck with them who knew where she would be in ten years...

Either a very successful dancer or in prison.

Still as she watched the game her eyes followed one person more than the others, and her stomach flipped when he found her.