[THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED]
ღ Finding Cinderella-5 ღ
-Tristan-
I really didn't know what's wrong with that girl.
I mean, I'd offered her a once-in-a-lifetime chance, one that any other girl wou ld've died for, but all she'd done was blow up in my face and storm off. Now I w as here, making my way through the middle of the city, searching every damn corn er for Kylie but not having any luck.
Why was I even bothering, anyway? I didn't care if she wanted to get lost on a c rowded street. This wasn't my problem anymore, and I was done looking.
Glancing at my watch, I realized I'd spent almost an hour roaming around for not hing. It was already dark out, so chances were, Kylie was at home, laughing triu mphantly at her ninja-like success in ditching me here.
So I headed back to the Runaway Shoppe and apologized to Morgan for our sudden d isappearance, proceeding to clamber into my car when I was finished.
The entire way back, I couldn't help thinking about how my plan to force Kylie i nto the dance had gone very wrong. Once Fiona heard about this, she would surely laugh and throw herself on me again. Oh, screw this. Whatever.
A couple minutes later, I was pulling over in front of my house to the side of t he road and hopping out of my car, glancing at the neighboring two-story house. As I made my way towards their porch, I let out a deep sigh, trying to dissolve my frenzied attitude; that was what I always did when I was angry, took some tim e to cool off so I wouldn't cause uproar. Even though Kylie's callous actions we re already getting on my nerves, I still didn't want her, or anybody else, to se e the other side of me.
I approached the doorbell to ring it several times in a row.
After a few moments, the door clicked open, and there stood Lacey with her usual smiling demeanor, which faded the moment she laid eyes on me. "Whoa, T, what ha ppened to you?" she asked, concerned.
I shrugged. "Well, other than Kylie making me look like a dumbass today, nothing much," I replied.
"Oh, did you two fight again?" she said. "Would you mind telling tell me all the details? Maybe I can help!"
Typical Lacey-always acting as a peacemaker between us. Yeah, she and Kylie were sisters, but why did they have to be so different? Lacey was the kind of a girl whose personality guys loved, whereas Kylie... well, Kylie wasn't so much a gir l as a lion.
Honestly, I was glad that Lacey was trying to help out, but it didn't feel right to tell her everything that had happened, so I rubbed the back of my neck and s aid, "Uh, it's a little... personal. Sorry, Lacey."
I figured she would frown and demand an answer, but instead she just grinned as if she hadn't even heard my reply. "It's all right, Tristan. I just hope you two can work everything out," she told me.
I nodded, though not entirely on board with the "working it out" plan. "Yeah, th at's why I need to talk to her now. Do you know where she is?"
"Actually she's inside right now, and I can call her if you want, but just a lit tle warning..." She leaned in a little and whispered, "Kylie's kinda weird right now. I tried talking to her, but she just had this look on her face like she wa s hypnotized or something. I think you're the only-"
"Lacey, get inside," said a voice from the inside, and I looked behind her to se e...
Kylie.
She'd already changed into a set of SpongeBob PJs, and the moment I saw her, I c ould feel my optimism fizzling out-while I'd been out searching for her, she'd b een having leisure time in her bedroom, just as I'd guessed before. Wow, she pro bably thought I was a total idiot.
Meanwhile, Lacey was backing through the doorway and giving me a quick wave, whi le Kylie was stepping out into the porch and closing the door behind her.
"Oh, so you're here already?" she said, crossing her arms. "Did you enjoy the wi ld goose chase?"
I knew she'd already figured out why I was here, but as I examined her face, I f rowned. Lacey had been right in believing something was wrong with her.
"First of all, tell me exactly why you look so weird right now," I said sternly. "You just ditched me an hour ago, and now you look... creepy."
She scowled and said, "So you're here to insult me? Go on, then, do it."
I didn't respond, instead moving my face closer to hers, which made her jump in surprise. The expression on her face nearly caused me to laugh. Straightening up , I finally said, "Your eyes are brighter than usual, and your face is all red, almost like you're... like you're aroused or something... Wait a minute," I said slowly, "have you been reading Fifty Shades of Grey?"
Kylie hit my head with her knuckles.
"Hey!" I exclaimed. Damn, I didn't see that coming.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, can you just go away?" she snapped, whi ch made me chuckle a little. I still hadn't gotten over her signature angry face .
"I won't go away unless you state what's going on with you right now."
She sighed in a un-Kylie like manner and said, "Why would I? You wouldn't unders tand, or even care about it, anyway."
"Really?" I dug my hands in my pockets and looked up at her, saying, "Try me." W hen she didn't respond, though, I sighed impatiently. What a typical tomboy, bei ng so stubborn all the time.
"Spit it out, Kylie," I finally added, "don't make me wait."
"Gah! Fine," she exclaimed, "I-I met..." She gulped. "I met Erik, okay?" At the mention of his name, her face became even redder, and I could barely believe my eyes. It was unusual to see Kylie worked up like this over a guy, and to be fran k, I found it a little distressing.
"Aha! So that's why you ditched me," I said; my veins snapped as I thought out t he whole thing over. If my hunch was correct, Kylie's actions had been completel y inexcusable. "You ran away from me just to meet up with that guy, and I-"
"What are you talking about?" she interrupted me. "I didn't ditch you because of him. The fact that we met up was purely accidental, and I didn't even know he w as back in town!"
I grunted. "Oh, so you're the last one to hear the news, huh? Erik Taylor has be en back from Florida since the beginning of senior year."
Her jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"What the... why did no one tell me about this?" she cried, then murmuring somet hing else that I couldn't catch, and I found myself thinking, what the hell? Jus t because Erik was back, she was suddenly all melodramatic? Weird.
"Of course we weren't going to tell you," I said with a hint of impatience. "Nob ody-especially not Julianne, Lacey or I-would dare bring up the issue, since you 'd probably end up bawling like you did back in freshman year. But honestly, Kyl ie, why do you even care about that? You shouldn't be talking to him. He rejecte d your fe-"
"Shut it!" Kylie snapped. "My God, Tristan, don't you ever remind me about that! It happened three years ago, so that whole thing is already ancient, okay?" Her voice seemed angry, but her eyes told me otherwise.
I had a feeling she was replaying the memory over and over in her head, the same one I'd never witnessed, but had heard about from Lacey and a few others. At an y rate, this definitely wasn't going to be easy. Hell, just seeing her like this was giving me a strange feeling, which was bugging me to no end, and trying to get through to her would be problematic for both parties.
"Ancient, huh?" I said at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Then why do you still look like you're drooling over him? Are you still that obsessed with him?"
"What - drooling? Huh, what a nice choice of word." She held up a finger and con tinued: "Listen, mister, in case you didn't know, most girls look a little diffe rent when they see someone they actually like, even though it may be hopeless fo r them. You can blame the hormones, I don't care, but it happens to apply to all girls, so don't start making any judgments."
"Really? You still consider yourself a girl?" I chuckled. "Give me proof, then."
"Don't start that crap again, Tristan. You'd never know the reason why-"
I held up my right hand to cut her off. "Oh, I know perfectly well what the reas on is. You're talking about why you're such a tomboy, right? Why you put up all these barriers? Well, I know exactly why you do it. It's because of Erik, isn't it?" When she didn't say anything, I continued: "He rejected you, and after that , you began seeing all of us guys differently. You starting saying that we're al l the same, that we're a bunch of jerks, right?"
She took a small step back, taken aback my answer, and I knew I'd hit home.
Erik was the culprit.
Kylie had always thought I was clueless on her motivations for being such a tomb oy, but she'd been wrong, since I'd figured out her reasoning a long time ago. I f Erik's refusal of her confession wasn't what had caused her tough attitude, th en what had?
Nope, that bastard Erik had been the cause all along.
"But it's true!" Kylie burst out suddenly, fists already balled up. "You're all the same!"
"No, we aren't," I said in a neutral tone.
"Yes, you are!"
"No, we're-"
"Yes!"
"No!"
She flung her hands up in frustration. "Yes! Just admit the darn fact already!"
I did not admit the darn fact, instead choosing to flick her large forehead with my finger, which she swatted away in self-defense.
"Hey, what was that for?" she demanded, annoyed.
"You're too obstinate and brainless, you know that?" I grumbled. "If you really believe that we guys are all the same, why do you still look like you're crushin g on Erik? Besides, what's all that great about him, anyway? He's always hiding behind his sheet music or books or whatever like a creepy nerd."
"That's what's great about him! Erik's the type of guy who doesn't like to show off. He's down-to-earth and very nice, totally different from the rest of the ma le population, and I'm so glad he hasn't been influenced by people like you."
Oh, great, we were opening the big book of Erik Taylor once again. I had never f igured out why Kylie defended that guy. I thought she'd already ended all her fa ntasies about him by now, but shit, was she actually still into him?
I clenched my fists and stared at the ground. "Huh, you're talking like you've k nown that narcissistic nerd for ages... Trust me, though, you don't know him as well as you think."
"He's not a nerd, I already said that!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot. "Do we have to repeat this whole debate all over again?"
"So you don't like me calling him a nerd, but you're fine with 'narcissistic'?"
"Oh for Chrissakes, just shut up!" Kylie exclaimed. "If you're going to be so cr itical of Erik, why don't you look at yourself for a change? Honestly, it's like you've been referring to yourself in third person this entire time."
I shrugged. "But I'm just telling the truth. Erik's a narcissistic-"
"Stop insulting him! You're only making up all of these because you've never lik ed someone for real!"
My jaw clenched, and she quickly lowered her head in embarrassment, apparently s urprised she'd said what she had. But my heart was already banging in my chest, putting me on edge. I knew she'd believed what she'd said entirely, and her accu sation seemed to sting me more the longer I thought about it.
Dammit, what the hell had she seen in Erik that could turn her into this? She wa sn't acting like her normal tomboy-self, and it was infuriating to watch. Why wa s he the one who could bring this side of her out?
I took a few steps closer to Kylie, that made her press up against the door, and before I knew what was going on, I'd already placed my hands against the wall o n either side of her, my gray eyes locking with her startled blue ones. A hint o f perfume invaded my nostrils as I leaned in towards her ear, whispering:
"But what if I have?"
Then I was standing in front of her again, my hands at my sides; complete shock had paralyzed me, and I was left wondering:
Did I actually just say that?
Oh, no shit.
What had I just done?
Kylie's eyes were wide with surprise, but curiosity was filling them by the seco nd, and she asked me, "What are you saying?"
I couldn't bear to make eye contact. I'd been so stupid to say something ridicul ous like that. I should've been ashamed of myself. How could I have let myself g o that far, I never should've-
"Whoa, wait a second," she said, her voice shaky. "Don't tell me-"
"Forget it," I cut her off. "Never mind what I just said, it's not important." T hen I turned my back on her, unwilling to argue any longer. I was beat, mentally and physically, and I couldn't handle any more of this Erik crap tonight. "I'm outta here; I'm tired of bickering with you. You refuse to listen, anyway, so wh at's the use?"
"Well, I'm glad you've finally realized that!"
Then, just as I was about to head towards my house, she shouted, "Hey, T!"
I turned around and saw her hurling my phone, which I managed to catch just in t ime. It was off, but thankfully, there was no scratch.
"Try calling my mom again and you're dead," she exclaimed.
"Yeah? So here's my warning for you," I said in a low voice, turning to look Kyl ie in the eye, "you'll be sorry for everything."
She squinted at me, saying, "What are you-"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Kyles," I muttered before leaving her alone by the door.