NEWFOUND WEALTH.

(PAST)

FOUR YEARS AND EIGHT MONTHS EARLIER

ROME'S P.O.V

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"You what?"

I flung an arm over my eyes. "It was mutual."

"Dude, she's three years older than you," Lance grumbled. "What a good friend you are."

I laughed at my best friend. "Relax, we didn't go all the way."

"So? Hana Motley doesn't talk to us, humans. The last time she spoke to the male species was when dogs talked and pigs flew."

"Dude, that never happened."

"Exactly!"

I chuckled, "I'll introduce you if you want."

"No way. I want <i>her</i> to talk to <i>me</i>."

"Put your pride aside. She won't."

"She talked to you." He argued.

"And not you." I countered.

"Shut up."

I could hear Lance shift around then something groaned under him. "I still don't get how you pull all the girls without lifting a finger. I'm hotter."

Today was good enough for him to make jokes. Thank God.

"Can't reveal my secrets."

"Secrets, my as-"

"You've got something to tell me." I cut in.

Would he get mad if I brought it up?

He paused. "What do you mean?"

"Last two months and a half? You suddenly disappeared on me, man. What happened? You didn't pick up my calls, read my texts, or answer the door."

He chuckled, but I could tell it was forced. "How long are you going to keep asking this, Rome?"

I sat up, "Lance. I'm serious. You can always talk to me."

"Ew, man."

"You know what I mean."

He was silent for a while, then he mumbled, "it's nothing. I'm fine."

I rubbed my eyes.

<i>I never said you weren't, Lance. And that's the problem.</i>

Just when a new chapter of my life started, something happened to Lance.

It was in the middle of April, a couple of years after I'd found myself in our newfound wealth.

We'd moved to the rich side of the city and after a year and a half of homeschooling, I was enrolled in Prestige, a high school that was the embodiment of its name.

It lived up to everything it was rumored to be.

Impeccable landscapes and lawns, large fountains in several hot spots, a ground for every sport, three indoor pools, and jaw-dropping interior designs.

Almost a town on its own.

It's where I made my first friend, got betrayed, and almost became the laughingstock of the school.

But it was through that that I met Lance.

I'd opened the door to our homeroom, gloomy and depressed from almost being forced to literally lick my food off the cafeteria table, when I realised there was someone else in there.

Lance was on his knees, begging for something from a teacher. Apparently, he'd left hot glue on the seat of one of the school's administrators.

I didn't know who he was, but the situation was so unexpected and ironic that I'd bawled over and laughed so hard that I almost couldn't get any air in.

Shocked and red in the face, he'd dragged me out to the gaming store and later, bought me a lunch to silence me.

Our friendship started growing from there.

Lance was rich. He could buy a small island with his monthly allowance, but he didn't show it.

He could hang out with whoever he wanted, say wanted he wanted and all he'd all but get a playful pat on the back with a 'you're hilarious, Knight.'

But that wasn't who he was. He'd ask for the forgiveness he didn't need and show up when he didn't have to.

Maybe that was why he stayed with me and pushed me through my struggles, odd or not.

From having to lug me out of the bathroom during our lunch breaks to shoving me into random rooms just to get rid of my social anxiety, he's had it the hardest in our friendship.

Coming from the dirt and being thrust into the world of the elite was difficult, to say the least. In my head, everything I said and did was wrong, I was terrified of every tiny movement I made and worried that even blinking in someone's direction was insulting to them.

So I made the bathroom my second home and did everything in there. It was clean and almost always empty, considering the unholy numbers of them the school had.

But Lance wouldn't give up no matter how many times I run out on him.

I'd be eating my lunch in the toilet when he'd swing the door open with a big smile, panting like he'd searched through every bathroom he could find, and pull me out to eat with him in the cafeteria.

I'd managed to break out of my shell and confess everything about my background and the struggles I'd been through as a poor kid from the day I was born.

He listened quietly; he always did, never one to judge. My bubble had gotten bigger and the world didn't feel as constricting.

It was thanks to him that my social circle widened.

Now, people from many different cliques always had something to say or do for us.

He still complained that his favors weren't as big as mine but I knew he never meant any of the stuff he said.

Lance grew on me till I didn't have to worry if my presence alone was a bother.

He had become more than just family.

And then he changed.

"I'm fine, Rome." His low voice cut through my thoughts. "I really am. Just had a rough patch. You know what it's like."

But I didn't.

I didn't know him as well as I thought I did.

There were times I'd catch someone spare him a pitiful glance or pat his back but he'd never explain what was going on.

I wasn't blind; it was obviously a major problem because for the two weeks he'd disappeared, some people had gone as well.

Then they all returned around the same time and the school announced a moment of silence as well as a week off.

I was confused and lost but whenever I managed to sneak the topic into a conversation with girls or some guys, they all shied away, pretending they had something to do.

Despite their secretive behavior, I didn't need to be told that something horrible had happened.