The Prince is back

In the Hospital in Room 678 lay Aiden being treated by a nurse. Compared to the previous time we heard of him, he is now in even better condition with him sitting up and eating his soup as the nurse gave him his daily check-up.

"Alright Mr. Agrest, so far almost everything is alright and I am glad that you are now back in good condition." The nurse says as she places her stethoscope down, Aiden then finishes his soup and places it down on the tray beside him. " Thank you Miss Polenia." Aiden smiles at the nurse who replies with a warm smile.

"Well, you still have some minor pains, especially in your back so I would suggest not to slouch too much and don't worry it will all be gone in a couple of days but overall you are now well enough to be discharged." Nurse Polenia says as she starts to place all of the utensils onto the cart while giving Aiden a pill. Aiden took the pill and drank some water. And when Nurse Polenia exited she looked at a person behind the wall in the hallway and told them that it is ok to enter the room.

Mari entered the room and smiled as she saw Aiden. "Hey man." Mari greeted which Aiden quickly lightened up. "Mari!" Mari then sat beside Aiden and gave him a shoulder hug. "So I guess nothing can get Prince Charming down huh?" Aiden just chuckled at Mari. "Piss off."

"I gotta say man while you were gone the whole school was in chaos especially with Vicky being a Hollywood star and an S-tier annoyance to everyone," Mari says as she was checking out fashion magazines on the desk beside Aiden's hospital bed.

Aiden simply sighed." Well, Vicky can be a bit uh dramatic, but I just hope that at least I can 'go' to school, and besides, It beats online classes by a mile." Aiden says as he slowly gets up from the bed.

"I still don't understand, why do you still let Vicky stick around you? She is clearly pissing you off and when will you ever just snap at her to get away since it can save you some peace." Aiden stretches a bit and with some minor pains.

"Vicky despite her ego is actually someone nice if you just understand her." Mari just gave Aiden a questioning look. " Are you sure your head is healed yet?" Aiden gave her a quick glare in which she held up her hands in defense.

"I know her Mari, we've been friends since we were kids and if you just give her time you can see that beneath all that Narcissism is a girl who cares for those close to her and wants more friends. And besides, why not give her a shot?" Before Mari can disagree, she stopped and gave some thought to what Aiden said.

'I haven't really thought about that, so far I only ever argued with her. I...I guess I didn't really give her a chance.' Mari deeply thought as Aiden went to the bathroom.

"Hey Mari, I'm gonna change my clothes I'll be back." And with that Aiden went to the bathroom leaving Mari to herself. After a few moments, her eyes then wandered around the room, and afterward, her eyes landed on the necklace. She then picked it up and examined it.

"Where did Aiden get this from? I really don't see him wearing any necklaces and jewelry much." And as she kept on examining it, she then remembered the time when she first visited Aiden in the hospital. He stared at the windows while holding the necklace in his hand tightly.

Mari then felt sadness envelop her as Aiden doesn't really give much attention to how she felt. The necklace simply reminded her that...Aiden doesn't see her the same way she sees him.

The bathroom door opened snapping Mari out of her thoughts and making her jump a little. "Aiden!" Mari says a bit surprised which made Aiden a bit confused. "Are you ok Mari?" Aiden says a bit confused about the way his best friend is acting. "Yeah I'm alright," Mari says as she hid the necklace in her pocket unconsciously. "Anyway, we should be going now. The nurse said you are healthy enough to go home." Mari says changing the subject.

And when Mari said this, The doctor walks in with a clipboard. "Ah, good morning Mr. Agrest and I see that you have recovered excellently. Now here is your discharge copy and I hope you get home safely. And do not forget to take your medicine, they will be on this list, just give this to the desk and they will give you your required medication." The doctor then gave Aiden a small list.

"Goodbye Mr. Aiden and have a nice day." "Thanks, doc." Aiden shook the doctor's hand as he and Mari left the room. The hospital staff and patients were all staring at Aiden and Mari as they gossiped about how they are seeing the Prince of Paris in person. Aiden simply ignores this as he was used to it but the same cannot be said for Mari as she becomes embarrassed with the attention. Aiden upon noticing this, held her hand to let her know that he is with her.

Mari jumped a bit from the warmth she felt from Aiden's hand. Instead of comforting her, Mari became even more embarrassed as her face turned to a shade of red.

"OH my gosh, they make a cute couple!" "Aww so cute." Nurses and women keep saying as Aiden and Mari pass by. One elder woman in a wheelchair while being wheeled away said with a look of nostalgia." *Sigh* young love."

'OHMYGOSHMOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! OK calm down Mari, you are simply holding Aiden's hand nothing much, nothing.....much. Everybody is LOOKING! They must think we're a couple, but not that I'm complaining but. OH MY GOSH!' Mari's mind is a mess as she and Aiden are going down and trying to exit the hospital.

When Aiden and Mari turned to a corner, a tall man in a black suit came out of the restroom. When he saw Aiden, he quickly fixed his composure and instantly had an aura of professionalism. "Mr. Agrest, I will now be exporting you to the back exit of the hospital, please follow me." The bodyguard walks towards the direction of the back exit of the hospital which Aiden and Mari followed. During this time they started to see why going to the other exit is the best way to exit. In the front of the hospital is a crowd of reporters, paparazzi, and fans all gathered with cameras ready to take pictures of Aiden. There is a black Lamborghini parked at the front gate and the paparazzi taking pictures of it.

When Aiden and Mari arrived at the back of the hospital there was an SUV with tinted windows parked with the bodyguard opening the door for them. Aiden then let go of Mari's hand as he enters the vehicle. Mari feeling dejected as Aiden let go of her hand, sadly follows him towards the car. The bodyguard then closed the door and started the car.

As they drove around the hospital and towards the front, they can clearly see the crowd of fans and paparazzi bombarding the bodyguards guarding the decoy car with the demands of being able to take pictures. Upon seeing this Aiden just sighed as Mari gave him a curious look.

"It's gonna be a pain as on how they will never leave me alone until I either quickly lose them or decline them and have blogs written on how 'insensitive' I am. And besides, I would rather spend time with a friend than with the press." Aiden says as he looks at Mari with a friendly smile. "Uh, y-yeah." Mari stuttered as she then glanced away and out of the window.

The car was then silent for a few minutes as the awkward atmosphere grew between them. "So, I guess I won't see you in school anymore huh?" Mari asks as she still looked out of the window. Aiden gave a glance at her as he then sighed. " Well since word got out, I have no choice but to stay at home and get home tutored."

"Oh," Mari said with sadness in her voice. Aiden noticed this and was hurt as he just made his friend sad." Hey, don't worry. I mean we've got the internet and we can just video call." Aiden says trying to cheer her up.

"Well, I guess so. But come on, it won't really be the same because..." Mari cut herself as she realizes what she is saying. "Because what?"

"Because...well because I won't have my...best friend beside me," Mari says dejectedly.

'Dammit Mari, just say it. Just say I like you Aiden, I like you.' Mari curses herself as the car went back to its awkward state.

'Mari, I didn't really think it would be this much on you. If only I could just spend time with you, as a friend I feel like I failed as one.' Aiden says as he looks at Mari with longing eyes as he hopelessly thinks of a way to help her situation.

They finally arrived at the Agrest Mansion as the gates opened letting the SUV in, as the car is parked, the bodyguard exited the vehicle and opened the door to let Aiden and Mari out.

The doors were opened to them as they both entered the house, they were greeted with the familiar faces of the maids and butlers Aiden knew for a long time. "Good Morning Young Master." An old butler greeted Aiden as he just waves his hand.

"Good Morning to you as well John." Aiden greets the old butler with familiarity. " I see you brought Lady Fortunne with you," John says as he does a small bow in front of Mari.

"U-uh yeah! You don't need to bow." Mari says as she frantically waves her hands to signal John to raise his head. John chuckles at Mari's silliness. " I am simply showing my respect, my lady."

"Young Master, may I carry that baggage of yours? And it seems that I would have to accompany you to Mr. Agrests office by his order" John says as he takes the paper bag from Aiden's hands and walks to the right as Aiden follows after him. Mari then follows after them but was stopped by another butler.

'I'm sorry miss, but I believe you weren't invited to the meeting, but shall I guide you towards the living room?" Mari then looks at the butler and sees a familiar face.

"It's you! From the party!" Indeed it was the butler with his blond hair and his shining green eyes. The butler simply smiles as he leads Mari toward the living room while starting a small conversation.

Aiden then arrived at his father's office with his looming golden doors. John opened them as Aiden enters, there standing behind the large desk was his father who was conversing with Cindy. Their attention was then drawn toward Aiden as he enters the office.

"Aiden," Francois says with care in his voice, but something else caught Aiden's full attention.

Within the room, on a couch, sat a girl with a large jacket, her jet-black hair tied up into a ponytail as it flowed down her back. As the girl and Aiden locked eyes, a sudden jolt emerged from between them. A question formed in Aiden's mind.

'Why do I feel like I have met her before?'