prince ♛ cole mackenzie

26 | promise

"Cole. Cole!"

Silas hurried after him, brushing away low-hanging branches and ferns. "Cole!"

He skidded to a halt outside the den, where Cole was already inside. His hands were wet with clay he was forcefully mixing.

"Cole?"

Silas climbed in to sit beside Cole, giving him space; he seemed to be breathing quickly. After some time that had felt like years passed, he spoke. "You can go home, I'm fine here."

Silas looked up. "I'm not leaving you here alone. Maybe you should take a break."

"I'm fine, okay?"

"Cole, please talk to me."

"I'm never going back."

"You need an education to work."

"I have my clay. My wrist might heal, too. And anyway, I can be a farmer."

"What will your parents think?"

"They won't have to know."

"I'll be by your side the whole time. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise. Just . . . please. Come back."

Cole added one more line onto the sculpture of a torso he was creating and rubbed his hands as free of clay as he could. "He wanted to hurt me today because he couldn't punish himself. For being like us."

"He . . . he is?"

"He's ashamed of it. So he's marrying Prissy."

Silas took a moment to hunt his mind for any signs of Mr. Phillips's secret. He was a cruel man already, though he was especially brutal towards Cole.

"Why must life be this way? So unnecessarily complicated," sighed Silas. "Love should not be defined by gender, but emotions. We feel exactly as any man or woman would feel for the other, why is that a problem? Why's it a problem for other people?"

"They follow too closely to the words of the dead before us. It is imprinted on their brains that they must listen to those people, even if the lives of others are taken, unless it affects them negatively," Cole muttered, every word drenched in hate.

Cole's breathing had slowed now. He was quiet and still as Silas moved closer, taking his hand.

"Silas . . . I'm afraid. What will they think? They are sure to find out. Everyone will. Billy and Mr. Phillips have. They'll leave me, I'll be alone, alone until—"

"Cole. You know I'd never leave you; not even if my life would surely end with no legacy or other family beside me but you. But then again, you're going to go down in history as the youngest and most talented painter of all time. Our many dogs and I will be right behind you."

"I don't want you to be behind me. I don't want to be known, I just want you."

Silas had kissed someone before. Susie Hales, twice. It had turned out she hadn't liked him at all, though, and it was faked to make another boy jealous. He hadn't liked her much either, honestly speaking.

That didn't change the fact it was not simply terrifying. Silas leaned forward slowly as if letting him know. Cole responded— their lips touched and the world around them dissipated.

"You'll never be alone if I'm still breathing, I promise," Silas whispered after they drew back.

He reached out his pinkie to Cole's own clay-covered and their fingers hugged.

"Promise," agreed Cole.

Silas smiled softly. "See you tomorrow, Monet."

It wasn't truly perfect, but it was theirs. Their moment. Only theirs to know of and remember; for a while, at least.

♛ ✧ *✭˚･ﾟ✧*.

𝓥: i procrastinated and ending up making this from that one base

enjoy goodnight xo