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Click on the external link to read Kylie and Tristan's interview made by AndreaP orcelainDoll!

[THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED]

ღ Finding Cinderella-10 ღ

-Tristan-

"A round of applause for the participants of the Fate Dance!" the host announced over the microphone. "As this night's program comes to a close, we would like.. ."

While everyone was so eager at this moment for the real party to start, all I co uld do was stand there in disbelief, staring at the back of the beautiful girl i n the crowd, until she disappeared and vanished like a bubble after I'd blinked.

No, I can't let her get away like this!

I began to dash after her, but then a girl stepped in front of my way.

"Tristan, hey!" Ronnie said with a fervent smile. "Um, wanna dance?"

I shook my head as I passed her. "No, sorry. I gotta go."

As I left, I could hear Ronnie's groans at my back, but I didn't mind her, seein g as I was much more occupied by that mysterious girl. To be honest, I really co uldn't understand myself. Why was I drawn to her this much?

Then, just as I was reaching the auditorium door, someone from the right yanked on my arm and pulled me to the side.

Stumbling, I came face to face with another girl, this one with dark hair coiffe d above her head. She leaned in to wrap her hands around my neck, her ruby lips turned up into a glossy smile.

Oh, great. Just great.

"Tristan," said Fiona in a sugary tone, and I recognized it as the one that so m any guys had fallen for before; even so, I could only respond with a dark glare.

"Fiona, what is it this time?" I grumbled.

Her lips curled into a frown. "Gee, T, rude much?" she said, pushing a finger on my chest and tilting her head to the side. "I just wanna have fun with you toni ght. Is that too much to ask for?"

Before she could trap me here, I managed to detach myself from her and step back , saying, "How about a no? Look, just have fun on your own or with your football captains, but not me. Right now, I've got business to take care of."

"Ooh...." She curled her lips downward, mocking. "Did your date ditch you? What a pity. Listen, Tristan, why don't you just forget about her-"

"I don't think it would ever be possible," I interrupted and jogged away. I coul d hear her screaming and stomping her heels behind me.

Damn, Fiona could be a drama queen. When would she ever stop clinging to me? Wha t a pain. Whatever Fiona's thoughts were, she was only embarrassing herself, and I had nothing more to say to her tonight.

As I stepped out of the building, cold wind blasted my body so intensely that I had to hug myself for warmth. Aside from the chirping of crickets and the muffle d noise from indoors, there were no sounds around me. I scanned the surrounding area, my hope fading out in an instant. There was no sign of the girl anywhere.

Several kids were strolling a short distance from me under the light of the full moon, probably getting some fresh air. I approached them, asking if they'd noti ced a girl leaving the building, but all they did was stare at me wide-eyed and shake their heads.

Was I too late already? I couldn't help to think that she had run so fast even S onic would be jealous.

A moment later, I found myself standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk, gas ping for breath. I kicked a pebble off the path, and the motion seemed to make a ll my turmoil unleash upon on me at once, the disappointments flooding me withou t an end.

Thinking about everything that had happened, I cursed at myself. The fault belon ged entirely to me, and the stupid actions I'd taken that night. The moment I ha d seen the girl's shocked expression, I had realized how far I had allowed my te enage hormones to go - I'd almost kissed her! -, and I'd known how badly I had b lown my mission to get with her before I had even started.

I figured I must've really scared her to death, but honestly, what other explana tion was there? She'd left without saying a word to me. How else was I supposed to interpret that?

Nice, Tristan, you've screwed up everything.

I kicked another pebble off the sidewalk again, and expected to hear it land sof tly in the grass. Instead, I heard a dull thud, followed by a stream of muttered profanities. I gathered I must have hit something... or someone. When I looked up, a dark figure was approaching me from the shadows.

"Tristan?" It was Clark, and he was glaring straight at me, apparently baffled b y my behavior. "What are you doing here? Why the heck are you kicking stones at people?"

"I didn't mean to," I said, "but shouldn't I be asking what you're doing here? Y ou're late, bro. What's up? Where have you been this whole time?"

Before responding, he dug his hand into a pants pocket and pulled out a handkerc hief, which he used to wipe sweat from his forehead. "Well, I drove Lacey to her house," he replied, "and I ended up staying with her for a couple hours..."

"Really?" I said, confused. "Did... did something happen to her?"

"Yeah, it was bad. She's actually sick and ended up fainting in the dressing roo m. I carried her all the way to the clinic myself." Clark was still dabbing his forehead with the handkerchief, but I could see a serious look on his face even in the dark.

I nodded. "Ah, so that's why she was a no-show for the opening dance... Do you t hink she's okay now?"

"Guess so." That was strange for him to say that kind answer.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Something was starting to sink in, and after thinking ab out it some more, I continued: "Wait, wait, you said you stayed with Lacey for a while after driving her home, right? H-how did you manage to do that with... yo u know, Kylie? She'd definitely freak out if she saw you around Lacey, so..."

He slipped the handkerchief back into his pocket and shrugged. "Kylie wasn't the re."

"What?"

"I said; she wasn't there. The only person I came across when I got in their pla ce was their mom. I swear to God, man, I couldn't keep calm while talking to her . Mrs. Harris seemed nice, though."

"So where was Kylie?" I couldn't help but ask.

Clark's lips tightened. "What's with the questions about her?" he said. The tone in this voice was rather cold, I noticed.

"Just answer me. Where's Kylie? Haven't you seen her around while you're on your way back here? It's highly unlikely for her to be out this late." I looked at m y wristwatch. It was five minutes to midnight already.

"I-I don't know, Tris," he answered, "And how would I even know? It's not like w e talk with each other without ending up being apathetic. You know Kylie doesn't like my guts." He shrugged again, eyes distant. "Damn, that tomboy was such a h uge problem," he muttered, "just because she's Lacey's older sister doesn't mean she has to-"

"Clark," I interjected. My ears were ringing as he said those words with such an imosity. Yeah, I always tormented Kylie behind her back, but when the others did that to her, I... somewhat felt uneasy and ticked off.

"But she's really starting to get..." He glanced at me and his jaw clenched. "Ah , dang. I'm sorry I'm rambling shit already. It's just-never mind."

 

I let him pass on that one as seeing the look on his face right now. "What's wit h you being so worked up? You okay?"

"Yeah," he said distantly. He went silent for a while and continued, "I just got rejected. That's all."

"Wait - what?" I exclaimed, staring at him with wide eyes. "You mean, by Lacey?"

"Who else?"

"Seriously? Why? I thought you and her-"

"I don't even know; I'm trying to figure it out. She just told me. Isn't it funn y that after all the unconditional care I gave to her, she just turned me down i n return? And she did that after a moment she woke up a while ago." He made a dr y laugh. "Can you imagine that?"

I tapped his back, giving a sympathetic smile. "Sorry to hear that, bro. But hey-don't feel like it's already the end of the world. I mean, you can, like, just find another girl, right?"

He shoved me, scowling. "Are you for real? That's what she also told me! Thanks, man. Thanks a lot for reminding me that."

"Whoa - chill! I was just giving a suggestion," I stammered, waving my hands. "A nd I thought I was helping! But I guess not. Okay, I suck already. Don't go apes hit on me, Clark."

He heaved an infuriated sigh. "But that's just ridiculous. Me, finding another g irl, seriously? Yeah, I think I can do that - when hell freezes over." I saw his fist clenched on his side. "I don't want everything to end this way. I gotta do something."

"Right," I said. Wow, he was totally whipped...

He jerked his head towards the auditorium. "Let's cut this and get inside alread y. It's freezing out here."

"Yeah, I'll go later." I nodded. "I'm going to stay here for a while."

Without saying a word, he began to walk inside. Man, he was getting touchy. The serious way he'd dealt with the whole thing really made me feel like a moron for saying that kind of suggestion.

I had already seen this whole scene coming ever since I saw those two going all-romantic with each other. A serious relationship between them would nearly be im possible to happen since there was Kylie, who had been making barbwire fences ar ound her sister.

That girl would definitely track down Clark once she saw him advancing towards L acey and make sure he would never see daylight again. Poor guy - it had to be di fficult for him to deal with Kylie when she was so against him.

Not even I can handle her wild side very well.

Speaking of her, I wondered if where she was right now. I had been certainly tro ubled when I heard from Clark that she hadn't been in her house.

Sitting on the staircase outside the auditorium, I fished my phone out of my poc ket and searched her number. It took me several tries before she finally picked up.

"What?" That was her usual greeting for me.

"Are you in your house right now?"

"Why?"

I sighed. "Clark said you weren't there when he dropped Lacey. Where did you go? "

A pause. I just noted that she seemed breathless on the other line, but decided not to question her that.

"None of your business," she said finally.

"Kylie."

"I... I just went out to buy something!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes! Jeez, why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just..." I pressed my lips, hesitating. "Forget it. So, what are yo u doing right now?"

"Oh actually, I was about to close my eyes and have a good night's sleep when so meone ruined it by calling in the middle of the freaking night! Are you drunk or what?"

"I'm completely sober." A smile slowly grew on my face. "Kyles, can I ask you so mething?"

"Make it quick."

"Are you... wearing your white cotton undies right now? You know, the one you al ways considered as a lucky-"

"Tristan! You - you pervert!"

I roared with laughter. "In here, I can see you blushing."

"Gah! I want to throw a microwave at your face!"

 

"Why do you always target my-"

She hung up abruptly, yet I still couldn't get off my grin as her mortified imag e floated in my head.

"Good night, Kyles," I whispered, putting back my phone into my pocket and getti ng up from the stairs.

Before I could go back to the party, I swiveled to face the empty space around m e, feeling suddenly deflated. I knew everything was already hopeless, but some p art of me still wished to see the mystery girl again - even a simple glimpse wou ld do. But it seemed as if that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

Will I ever have the chance to meet her again?

Then the answer came to me before too long:

Yeah. Maybe, someday.

I mean, it couldn't be that hard to search her in the wilds of the school, right ?