The Wattpad version contains all the unedited chapters. Mind you that there are some stuff different between this and the actual book (for instance, there are s ome scenes in the book that are not written in the Watty version). Please do NOT reproduce or plagarize this. Otherwise, I'll sacrifice your firstborn to Hades.
ღ Finding Cinderella- 1 ღ
-Kylie-
"Well, look who's here."
I didn't bother to gaze up to know who was coming.
It was already too obvious, what with the screaming fan-girls and whatever else; I knew perfectly well who it was. Who wouldn't, anyway?
Gracing his presence was something of a daily routine for most of the students h ere in Broadway Heights, and I wondered why no one had gotten tired of it over t hese past four years. Anyhow, let me tell you something about the person I was r eferring to.
I knew what you're guessing; trust me, you were far from the truth. He wasn't Ho llywood actor, a billionaire, or a star athlete. Or even someone who could perfo rm miracles like walking through walls or something. In fact, he didn't apply to any of the above. In actuality, he was even more attractive and desirable than all of that put together.
He was the Prince.
But here's the deal breaker: he never came from a royal family.
Confused? No, you're not. How many times have you seen someone so ruthlessly exp osed in the limelight? So much so that they might as well have actually been fre aking royalty? After all, he certainly looked the part: tall, handsome, well bu ilt; well read.
He had those cute little dimples with the gorgeous eyes and stunning smile to ma tch. The shine you got from those straight pearly whites could blind you if you dared to look long enough. No, he didn't have a white horse, but he had the next-best thing: a deadly, unbeatable red Porsche. Most girls would die just to stan d next it.
Even his name fitted his title, considering that it probably came from one of th e Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend.
In short, Tristan Hartford was the very epitome of a Prince: the most dashing an d unobtainable young man on the face of the planet.
And all I could think to do was roll my eyes at him. Prince, my ass.
"Once upon time, there was peace, and now it was unfortunately over." I slammed my book shut and let out an exasperated sigh. Honestly, I wasn't the bookish typ e, which explained why hardly a single piece of information had registered in my mind while reading. Let's just say I'd only picked the book up in an effort to avoid his unshakable presence.
"Jules, come on. Let's get outta here," I said to my best friend Julianne Johns on, who was busy stargazing at Tristan.
"Already? Why?" the redhead asked. "We only just sat down."
"Please, don't even ask. You clearly know the reason why."
She glanced at him again, and returned to me with a playful smile growing on her fleshy lips, "Whatever you say, Kylie."
But before we could escape and enter the overcrowded school building, footsteps came rushing behind and someone slung their muscular arms around my shoulders. D espite managing to avoid his existence for a whole four minutes, I knew that my grace period had just ended.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear...
"Hey, Kylie! So why are you ignoring me, huh? I've tried calling you a couple ti mes already."
I hastily pulled away from him, turning around; I put up my best sarcastic expre ssion. I didn't want to face him, but it's not like I could avoid it forever. Th ere stood the dark-haired guy, within his infectious ever-charming aura. Good th ing I was already immune to that.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't see you there," I said scornfully. That's it. Bring out t he sarcasm, like we practiced. "But wait, how did you get here? Did someone leav e your cage open?" Score!
He let out a soft whistle of self-pity. "Well, someone's pretty grouchy today," he uttered nonchalantly, averting his gray eyes away from my own piercing stare of despise.
"It's because I have allergies," I informed him.
"Allergies? To what?" he asked. No, he wasn't oblivious to the fact that I disli ked him. Actually, he was just mocking the whole situation.
"Pretentious people like you, of course," I snapped.
He smirked haughtily. "Ooh, big word. Have been reading your thesaurus lately?" His eyes dropped on my book. "Figures. Look, Kyles, I came here with a good vibe , okay? Until you start freaking out. Again."
A brittle laugh rang out of my lips yet my cold expression remained. "Hey, I'm n ot freaking out. Jeez, I'm just impassively telling you that you should get outt a my sight," I said sweetly. "Or better yet, I should go first because Nostradam us predicted that a guy talking to me right now would be a loser."
Suddenly all nerve to deal with him diminished and I just walked away.
"That was a totally cool comeback, girl," Julianne commented.
I grinned and we both made a high-five and a low-five. That was something we alw ays did when either of us would have done something badass or whatever, ever sin ce the ninth grade.
"But mind you, sarcasm would always be his defense mechanism," she reminded.
From a distance, I could hear his laughter echoing amidst the crowd that had bee n watching us all this time with baited breath.
"Yeah, good idea, walk away. Can't expect anything more from a tomboy like you."
Oh, that did it. Everyone else in the area went into hysterics at his remark. Bl ood rushed to my face, and I didn't have anything to cover it up. Even if I did, it still wouldn't have been enough to conceal my utter embarrassment.
Jeez, what a freaking douchebag!
The laughter continuously echoed in my ears, making each of my nerves snap.
"Told you," said Julianne. She tapped my back for reassurance, knowing I possess ed precious little tolerance towards idiots like him. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to relax.
"Remember who you are to me, Kylie," he called aloud. "The universe is laughing behind your back now."
My eyelids fluttered in dread, and I groaned.
My life wasn't a fairy tale nor did it revolve around sovereigns, crowns, lavish clothes, and I certainly was not a royalty. Since Tristan was the so-called "Pr ince", of course, he definitely required a so-called "servant".
And unfortunately, that was me.
In his face.
"Jules, can you, like, resurrect me?" I exhaled after we had finally escaped the crowd and found an almost-empty hallway to stay. "I think I just died from emba rrassment."
"You know it's physically impossible to die because of that," said Julianne, as the know-it-all she always was.
I rested my head on the wall. "Who knows, I might turn out to be as an exception to that rule."
"Uh... yeah, but before that, I think you have to deal with something right now, Ky." She pointed her finger.
I looked around and saw a girl, having both of her hands on her face. Even as he r dark curls cascaded down her face covering it up, I knew who she was. Oh, not again. Before I could bolt myself away, the girl looked up, tears streaming down her enflamed face and said, "Harris. C-can I t-talk with you for a moment?"
***
There were only five words and fourteen letters that could describe what I felt now.
I. Hate. Him. So. Much.
Wait that was an understatement.
Gritting my teeth, I wiped my left shoulder with a handkerchief and prayed that the tearstains would come out without much hassle. Now I know what you're thinki ng, but trust me, I was not into bringing out the waterworks-at least not anymor e. Anyone who did cry was just kidding themselves.
"You okay there?" asked Julianne. She had her chin cupped in her hands as she st ared at me in a bored manner.
"Fantastic as ever, Jules," I moaned.
"So how was the session with Bella?"
"It's getting worse even to the point where I think I might literally rip my hai r out someday, I'm not even kidding." I traced my fingers on the coat's wet patc h, which had more or less vanished, and exhaled deeply. I wasn't that pissed abo ut having my coat wet, since there was a good reason behind it-it was where Bell a had just wailed like a banshee for the better part of thirty minutes.
"Chill down." Julianne snickered as she pushed a red curly strand of hair behind her ear. "What'd you guys talked about?"
"Same old crap as usual. Tristan this, Tristan that. It's getting to the point w here I don't even know what to say anymore so I started recycling my old speeche s. I don't know how to make her feel better." I sighed. "I've been dying to tell her that she never stood a chance, and that she was like, the twelfth girl he's dumped. But as we all know, that would be the last thing a broken-hearted girl wants to hear, right?"
She shrugged. "Guess so."
"Why does this seem to go on forever?" I threw up my hands in the air. "That's i t. I'm so done."
"What do you say; let's grab some Cokes before we get home?" Julianne suggested, jabbing her thumb at her back. She smiled sympathetically. "Gee, I hate to say this, Ky, but you seriously look dead-beat now, and I think you need a little re freshment to calm your nerves down."
I gave her a flat look. "I always look dead-beat, Jules. No matter how much I fi x myself, I still look like a mess." I shook my head. "Thanks, but no. Not today . I have to find that jerk and settle this once and for all."