-Kylie-
I think I'm getting sick again.
"Wha-what are you t-talking about?" I could barely speak without my voice quaver ing, and all the muscles in my body had frozen up on the spot.
Tristan's grip on my shoulders was tightening by the second, preventing me from making any movements; those gray eyes of his had locked onto my blue ones, as if they were trying to dig deeper for answers.
I immediately shifted my gaze off him.
"Answer me, Kylie," Tristan said roughly, "where were you during the Valentine B all?"
Was he already having suspicions about me? But... but how? I mean, even though h is investigation had come somewhat close to the truth, I'd figured that idea wou ld never cross his mind... unless someone had spilled the beans to him, or my di sguise hadn't been effective at all and he'd only realized everything just now.
But he was merely asking-okay, forcefully asking me for an answer, so maybe ther e was still a chance I could warp his ideas a little.
I pushed him away and let out a deep breath, trying to compose myself. I mustn't show how nervous I was; otherwise, it would make him even more suspicious.
Looking straight at him, I innocently said, "Do you have any idea what you're as king? I was in my house, of course. Where else would I have been that night?"
"You look pale and sweaty," he observed. "Are you nervous, Kylie?"
Dammit.
Laughing sarcastically, I said to him, "Nervous? Nah, I'm not nervous, T. Actual ly, I'm hyperventilating for fun!" I dropped the act and added, "And I've had en ough."
I turned away, but then Tristan grabbed my arm again, though with moderate force this time.
"Stop. Don't you dare walk away if you're not going to answer me," he said in a rather urgent voice. The seriousness in his face was still there.
I faced him and sighed. "What else do you want to hear, Tristan? Okay, I repeat: I stayed in my house that night. That's it. Period. Am I speaking in an alien l anguage, and that's why you can't understand a word of it, or did you just smack your head on the ceiling fan when you were born, which would explain why you're being so stupid?"
His brows puckered, as if to show how badly he wanted to know everything. "I don 't believe you, Kylie."
My breathing hitched, but I finally said, "Fine! I don't care. This talk is over ." I turned and began to walk away before he could notice my wobbling knees. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here. I need to get-
"If memory serves right, Clark said to me that when he came to your house that n ight, you weren't there," Tristan called out.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
"And then you said you went out to buy something. Now, at this time, you said yo u stayed in your house. Which is which, Kylie? Or was there something that you d id other than those?"
Crap!
I'd totally forgotten that alibi I'd told him!
I fiddled my fingers fretfully and stammered, "Ah! Yeah, yeah I forgot to tell y ou that. Actually I was, uh..." my voice faded away. I didn't know what to say s ince it might come out very wrong.
"You're not telling me something, Kylie."
"N-no! I...I..."
"Then why can't you answer me straight away?"
I opened my mouth to argue but then snapped it shut, having absolutely no idea w hat to say.
Is this the end already?
"Hey there," a voice startled both of us. I spun around and, much to my surprise , saw Erik approaching; a grin was visible on his face, displaying how cool and collected he happened to be at the moment.
"H-hey," I squeaked, my lips barely moving.
"So, Kylie, are you ready?" Erik asked. I drew in my eyebrows in confusion, and his eyes twinkled, as if he were trying to convey a secret message. He continued : "Didn't we plan to go to the library right now? You were the one who brought i t up yesterday."
For a moment, I wondered what he meant, but then it hit me-I knew it! He's baili ng me out!
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about it," I exclaimed, and Erik grinned as I hopped down from the seat. Once again, though, Tristan grabbed my arm, preventing me f rom getting away.
"She's not coming with you," he said heatedly. There was an inexplicable look on his face-a mixture of anger, despair, embarrassment... I didn't know. I wasn't sure. But chances were; he was trying to figure out what was going on. "We still have some unfinished business to take care of."
"Actually..." I yanked my arm away. "Our conversation is over, T. Take it or lea ve it, I don't care."
Tristan's fists were clenched at his sides, and the dark look on his face remain ed as he watched me turning my back on him. Though he couldn't see it, I was sec retly beaming in triumph.
***
"Come in."
"Is it really all right? Someone might see us."
"No, really. Anyone's free to come here as long as they don't make a mess or dam age the property."
I sighed. "Well, if that's what you say..."
My jaw dropped as we entered a huge shed. The place was bordered with a variety of well-cultured herbs, shrubberies, and flowers, all potted and lined up neatly . The atmosphere was somewhat hot, but maybe that was because the sun's heat was trapped within the glass walls of the structure. I wrinkled my nose - the air i n here smelled like fertilizer.
"So do you like it here?" Erik asked me as he headed to a row of unfamiliar plan ts.
"Definitely," I said in awe, still scanning the place. "This is my first time in the greenhouse, actually. Do you come here often?"
"Yeah, ever since the ninth grade, in fact."
"Whoa, I didn't know that! So that's why you kept disappearing in some of our cl asses!" I said, amused.
"Nah, they just bored me to tears." He shrugged and began to pull weeds out from around the plants. "I just come to school for lunch."
"You're kidding me," I laughed before clearing my throat. "So, what do you do in this place?"
Erik bent down over a plant as if he was examining it, and then pulled out anoth er unwanted flower. "What I'm doing right now."
I blinked several times and said, "P-pulling the weeds? Are you... feeling okay? Isn't there somebody assigned to this job?"
He straightened and continued to inspect the area. "Well, you could say that thi s is my hobby," he explained to me. "Whenever I have nothing important to do, I help out by taking care of this greenhouse."
As he spoke, I felt my guts began to churn. Was he aware that other people could see his work as useless and not good? There were many mean guys in this school, and they'd think they could take advantage of anyone as kind as him. But I knew Erik, and he didn't care what other people thought-he always did whatever he wa nted.
Bending down over the plants, I began to pull out the weeds. The pollen tickled my nose, and I sneezed-darn it, this was why I hated flowers.
"Hey, you don't have to help me," Erik said.
"I don't have anything to do, either," I answered, rubbing my nose. "Besides, I think this is the only way I can repay you for saving me from trouble a while ag o." I bit my lower lip, and then added, "How did you know that Tristan was askin g me about... you know?"
He laughed and shook his head. "Judging from the way he looked at you, I quickly figured out that you were having some trouble with him."
"Some isn't the right word, Erik," I said breathlessly, still unable to get over what had happened earlier. "I swear to God, Tristan gave me an awful scare. I w onder how and where he got those suspicions, but seriously, I thought I would be dead by now if you hadn't come in time to rescue me."
Now that I thought about it, maybe it hadn't been so bad having Erik in the know about my secret. He understood what I was going through when I was around Trist an, and he actually stepped in to help me escape from that guy.
Like a knight in shining armor.
My face heated up at the thought, and I quickly shook my head. Why was my imagin ation being so weird?
"Don't worry too much about it, Kylie. I'm sure he'll get over it soon," Erik sa id with reassurance.
I shrugged. "I hope so, but I think not. I know Tristan-he won't stop pursuing s omething until he gets what he wants, and I don't even know if I would last agai nst him. He's such bad news for me."
"Well, in that case, why don't you steer clear of him?"
"As much as I want to avoid him, I... I don't know. It's kinda complicated."
"Then why don't you stick with me instead?"
My head shot up in surprise, mouth dropping as Erik raised his eyebrows at me. T he smile on his face grew huge, as if he were looking forward to my answer.
Finally, I stammered, "Uh, what?" although I'd heard him very clearly.
His electric blue eyes twinkled. "Stick with me, and you'll be fine."
***
As I closed my locker door, Julianne's hand slammed next to my locker, making my heart practically leap out of my chest.
"Gosh, Julianne, you scared the bejesus outta me!" I exclaimed, putting my hand over my pounding chest. "Don't do that again, or I might develop a friggin' ment al disorder."
Julianne didn't look amused at all-her eyes were glowing as they stared at me, h er lips curling in displeasure.
Grabbing my hand, she began to walk off, saying, "You have to come with me."
"What? Why?" I tried to pull away, but her grip became stronger.
She stopped walking for a moment and faced me. "You have some serious explaining to do, Kylie. I overheard a conversation between Lacey and Tristan yesterday, a nd it had something to do with the ball. Lacey kept on denying something about y ou, and then she even said-"
I quickly pressed a hand over her mouth.
Oh. My. Goodness. She was definitely going to give me a serious heart attack.
"Julianne," I hissed. "Please, not in front of the people."
She pushed my hand away and cried, "I knew it! I knew it! That's why you were ac ting so strange over the past few days! Why didn't you guys tell me anything abo ut it? Oh, my gosh, and after all this time, too! We're best friends, Kylie, and we swore we wouldn't keep secrets from each other!"
My face went pale. "I'm so sorry, Jules," I said pleadingly. "Please don't get m ad at me. But you see I-I can't-"
"Oh, whatever. Forget it," she said. "What's important is that you tell me what you did during the ball. In a nutshell. Now."
"Hush! Somebody might hear you. And can we talk about it later? You know we have English in five minutes."
"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Cox's not around today-I checked for her in the offi ce," she said casually. Oh, of course. Julianne was the only student I knew who bothered checking the faculty rooms on occasion-it was one of her ways of gainin g recognition among the teaching staff to survive high school. "So now you reall y have to tell me the news before the suspense kills me."
"Fine, fine, but this isn't the best place to talk about it," I replied, glancin g at all the kids roaming around the locker area.
"Follow me." Julianne once again grabbed my hand and dragged me over to the wome n's restroom. I was about to grasp the knob, but then the door flew open and rev ealed two of the most popular girls at school.
Fiona Ryder and Ronnie Sullivan. The Queen Bee and the Head Cheerleader.
Talk about great timing.
Ronnie's green eyes brightened up as she smiled at us. Fiona did as well-but of course, not a friendly one, since the sinister undertones hinted that she though t herself too good to acknowledge our presence. They looked like they had the en tire beauty salon in their purses and had spent the entire last period redoing t heir makeup.
The tension broke in a blink of an eye, and the two brushed past us, the strong scent of perfume drifting with them. Ronnie's straight hair swayed smoothly agai nst her back as she swung her head, singing, "I'm sexy and I know it!"
"Oh, please, you're slutty and you blow it," Julianne yelled as soon as we'd ent ered the restroom and locked the door.
I nudged her in the side and said, "Hey, tone it down. She might hear you and ch arge all the way back here."
"But it's the truth! Didn't you know that Ronnie's been hooking up with Fiona's ex-boyfriends? Gee, that's totally not right, don't you think? And I swear I saw Ronnie giving Tristan the 'hey-come-over-here-lover-boy' wink in front of the m ain building some time ago. All hell would definitely break loose if Fiona found out about her best friend's sideline job."
"Julianne," I said after she took a deep breath, "you're babbling too much."
"Right, sorry. I can't stop babbling, especially when my news is sizzling hot."
I groaned. "Now that you say that, I don't think telling you about my situation is a very good idea."
She waved her hands at me and said, "No, no! I won't tell anyone, promise! You k now I've never broken a promise in my whole life!"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"W-ell..." she cracked, forcing a smile. "Except for when I promised I'd never p ick my nose in public. I've done it before, and I know it's gross, but whatever! Puh-lease Kylie, tell me everything now! You know you don't want to leave me ha nging." She gave me a pleading face, and I simply rolled my eyes. "I promise I'l l never ever leak it to anyone until the day I die. Please, please just tell me, Kylie."
"Okay, okay. Relax. Hold on for a sec. We should check if this room is all clear ," I said.
She rolled her eyes. "All right."
After we had checked each cubicle and made sure no one was lurking in them, I sa id with a sigh, "Okay. How should I start this...?"
Julianne's eyes were growing larger by the second, forcing me to finally spill. I guess I had no choice now. I'd been caught.
As soon as I opened my mouth, all the words tumbled out. I told her everything, from the time Lacey had been sent to the clinic up until the time I'd run away f rom the dance at last. As being the good listener she always was, Julianne liste ned intently to everything I said without judging anything. My heart was racing so fast, I thought I'd break down as I continued to rattle off events to her.
When I finally finished, I took a deep breath, and Julianne's hands fluttered as a single brief scream escaped her mouth. She looked like I'd just offered her a diamond ring.
"Oh, my God. I mean, seriously. Oh. My. God," she said disbelievingly. I'd alrea dy known her reaction would be like this. "I can't believe this all happened to you," she muttered to herself before turning to me. "You know what? I bet this w ould be a great hit in the school paper! The headline would be like, 'Cinderella on the Loose: Who Was That Girl at the Ball?' or maybe it would be better if I put, 'Mystery Girl Spotted-"
"Jules!" My loud voice echoed against the pink walls of the room, and I shook he r shoulders to make her stop dreaming. I hissed, "You promised you wouldn't tell this to anyone! And now you're planning to turn it into a news article? Are you losing your mind? I'd be screwed, Jules! I'd be screwed!"
Her menacing grin widened. "But rumors about it have been going wild around the school!"
"Exactly! And God only knows what will happen to me once the truth spreads throu ghout whole campus. I don't want everyone's attention drawn to me, Julianne. Tha t's just intimidating for me. Please, I'm begging you, don't tell anyone about i t." Now it was my turn to give her a pleading look.
She laughed. "I'm just tricking you, Kylie," she said between giggles. "So this is why Tristan likes to tease you so often. You have the best freaked-out expres sion in the universe!"
I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. "That is so not funny, Julianne. It's not my fault I'm skittish."
A bang on the door made us jump out of our skin.
"Hey, who's in there? Can anyone open up?" a high-pitched voice called from the other side. The girl knocked on the door again, much louder this time, and I bet she was desperate for either the toilet or the mirror.
"I'm telling you, don't come in," Julianne said aloud. "There's pee leakage in h ere! It stinks, like, seriously."
The knocking stopped, and then we heard a couple of curses outside, as if there were actually a lot of girls already waiting.
I looked at Julianne, but she simply shrugged and said, "They'll live." She lean ed on the sink beside me and dreamily continued: "So... isn't it great, Kylie?"
"What's great?" I asked.
"Gosh, don't you know? Oh, Kylie, you're so thick! Have you been living under a rock or something?" she squealed again. I was about to cover her mouth with my h and, but then she quickly lowered her voice and continued, "Tristan Jon Hartford has been looking all over for you! Haven't you noticed that over the past few d ays, he and his friends have been acting like Sherlock Holmes?"
I slapped my palm to my face. "I know that, okay? It's already even giving me ca ncer," I muttered.
"No, Kylie! Your situation would be any girl's fantasy, and so many people would be super jealous of you! I mean, hello? The campus prince, and one of the cutes t and most popular guys in the history of Broadway Heights, is chasing after you ! It's like a huge freaking fairytale, Kylie. Open your eyes! Can't you see it? Huh?"
At that moment, my brain cells chose to commit suicide, and all I could do was d eadpan, "I don't eat carrots."
Julianne's hands flew up in frustration. "Oh, for heaven's sake, you make everyt hing around you so darn hopeless," she uttered with a groan. "Honestly, I feel b ad for Tristan, Kylie. Yesterday he looked like a desperate, infatuated guy. It' s so strange for him to be like that, and... and I must say he's very unfortunat e that he got you. Listen-" She stared straight into my eyes with solemnity and said, "Why don't you just tell him that you're the girl? Tell him you're the one he danced with that night-obviously the poor guy wants to find you!"
"Wants to find me? No way!" I cried out. "What Tristan's looking for is the girl from the ball, and she... she wasn't me at all, Julianne. That girl doesn't rea lly exist. She's like... like an illusion to everyone, and she only existed on t he night of the ball!"
"That's not true, Ky. You're still you whether you put on a wig, a mask, and wea r an extravagant dress or not."
"You don't understand, Julianne." I sighed, remembering how I'd faked everything about myself during the ball. "Really, it's the truth. That girl wasn't the rea l me." I turned to face the wide mirror and noticed how freakishly pale I'd gone ; comparing myself to my "other" image, I noticed that there was a great deal of difference between us. "I can't really tell this to anyone, especially not to h im."
"But-"
"No buts, Jules. And stop showing any signs of pity for Tristan. It's better to leave him like that, and... okay, I'm not trying to be rude, but I really don't care about him, like, at all."
"Just give him one hint, Ky. Just one. It may be the only way to finally let him rest in peace."
"No! I won't and I never will. I don't trust him," I exclaimed in exasperation. "He's a jerk, a downright evil jerk. I don't know what he'd do to me if he found any of this out."
"Kylie... I think you've been judging Tristan's character too much," Julianne sa id glumly, folding her arms over her chest. "A downright evil jerk? What if that 's just his façade? What if everything you think or say about him doesn't touch on his real personality? Listen, why don't you take the time to know him better? G ive him a chance at least!"
"Oh, trust me, I've heard that dozens of times already, and not just from you, b ut from everyone else, too."
"See? Then maybe it is true." She shrugged calmly. "I'm only being observant, Ky lie, and just like everyone else, I say what I think."
As her words echoed in my head, I took a long pause. My conscience was kicking i n, making me feel worse with every passing second, but I finally shook my head a nd boldly answered, "No! He used to pick me, Julianne. Ever since..." I trailed off, remembering those gray days in the past. "Ever since that Valentine's Day b ack in the ninth grade! Don't you remember those times? I can never get them out of my head. They still haunt me, like a freaking horror movie."
"Ooh," Julianne said. "I remember that. One time, he put a tarantula in your loc ker that made you go insane for the whole week."
"Yes! And not only that. There's a lot more humiliating stuff he had done to me. I was easily picked by him and his fargin' icehole friends, Jules, you know tha t. Tristan'sthe boss. He's the reason why I'm uncomfortable around people until now! It's his entire fault." I rubbed my forehead and drew in some air. "Just re calling all those things pisses me off."
"But didn't you notice something about him these days? He seemed to change-"
"No. Probably that's just his outward appearance. I mean, he's just pretending. He's actually very calculating and nasty."
Julianne let out a low whistle. "Oh-kay. Well, it seems that I can never force y ou to change your outlook. Prove me wrong, or prove yourself wrong-it's up to yo u to find this stuff out."
I made a lazy half-smile despite my feeling of exasperation. "There's no need fo r any proof. He is Tristan-he's like that and will always be like that. I can't trust him anymore."
"Hmm... we'll see about that soon." Julianne snickered as if she were too confid ent in herself.
I inhaled deeply, and then sighed to calm my frenzied nerves. "Whatever," I said and started to walk on the door. "Why don't we just go outside and get some air ? We've been hogging this room for too long already."
Tugging her bag over her shoulder, Julianne followed me, an amused smile still o n her face. Surprisingly, there were no angry girls lining up as we opened the d oor, and I suspected that they'd bought Julianne's "pee leakage" trick a while a go.
"So, Kylie, how long will you keep the secret from everyone else?" Julianne aske d as we went downstairs.
My shoulders dropped, and I said with a sigh, "As long as possible, I guess. Let 's just hope for the best."
Julianne moved in front of me and stopped walking. I halted, my forehead wrinkli ng in confusion.
"Sooner or later, secrets are always revealed. Mind you, Kylie, they don't last long," she said knowingly before walking away.
My mouth hung open.
I didn't know how to react. I just stood on the spot, silent and frozen. Pressin g my palm against my chest, I felt tight obstruction building up. It seemed that Julianne's words had knocked the breath out of me.
She was right. Secrets didn't last long, specifically in my case... and especial ly when Tristan was already trying to puzzle out the pieces.
Why? Why does he keep looking for me? What does he want?
Everything was like a ticking time bomb that would explode any minute from now, and I had to be more careful from this moment onwards. Erik's words from yesterd ay had swarmed my thoughts.
Maybe I should have considered them. I knew it would be hard to do, but... but I thought there'd be no harm in giving it a go.
A smile slowly snuck onto my face.
Right.
I need to stay away from Tristan at all costs.