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ღ Finding Cinderella- 37 ღ

-Kylie-

I rested my head on the door and clutched my chest. My heart was beating so loud and fast I could barely breathe.

I'd kissed Tristan...

...on the cheek!

My hands automatically covered my scorching hot face, and I quickly bit my tongu e after a soft scream escaped my lips.

I couldn't believe I'd done that! The feeling had been uncontrollable-it had got ten into my head and taken over my body without my accord. Tristan's reaction ha d been something I couldn't draw: his mouth agape, eyes wide, and whole body fro zen. That was why I'd quickly run away after realizing what I'd done. I hadn't b een able to look at him for another second and hear what he would say next.

Right now, he had to have been thinking how crazy I was.

I couldn't help but squeal my brains out. No matter how I tried to shut it out, the scene kept replaying in my head like a broken record.

I kissed him... I kissed him... I kissed him...

I never had done that to a boy before. The only guy in my life who I'd ever kiss ed on the cheek had been my Dad back when I'd been a kid. And because of my comp letely out-of-my-mind gesture from a while ago, Tristan was now the second guy.

How am I supposed to face him over the next few days?

Before I could think of a plan, I heard shuffling noises outside, which made me stop. There were familiar voices, and I figured they were coming from Lacey and Clark. It seemed that they were whispering intimately to each other, since I cou ldn't hear anything for the next few seconds. My curiosity was itching again, bu t I decided to give them a little bit of privacy.

I was about to proceed to the stairs when the door opened. Lacey entered, and th en shut it behind her with a dreamy sigh. Her eyes flicked to me, and she smiled broadly.

"Hi."

I pulled a thin smile. "Hey, so how was everything?"

"Perfect," she answered breathlessly, turning her head to the window. "That was the best date ever. Clark was so nice, even though I was so awkward about everyt hing."

"At least you had a good time and it ended well."

"Yeah." She turned back to me. "So, how was your day? Did you enjoy your date to o?"

"Huh? What date?"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, like I don't know any better. Don't play innocent, sis. Clark and I saw you and Tristan around the mall this afternoon, and you tw o looked like you were enjoying your day."

My jaw dropped. So they had noticed us back there. But from the oblivious look o n Lacey's face, I knew she hadn't realized we'd been spying on them. I couldn't just confess to her, so I tried opposing her assumption instead; all I could do was stutter, though, since... well, for me, what had happened back at the amusem ent park had sort of been a date...?

I mentally slapped myself.

"Don't deny it. It's written all over your face," Lacey said with a soft laugh.

I merely scowled at her. What else could I say? The idea machine I called my bra in had malfunctioned from all the stuff that had been happening.

"Girls?" Mom's voice called from upstairs.

"Yes?" we both chorused.

Mom descended into the living room in her bathrobe. "Did you two have fun?"

"Yup," was Lacey's automatic response just as I muttered, "No."

Lacey cocked her head towards me with a disapproving look. I shrugged as if I we re oblivious, though I knew this day counted as one of the best days in my life.

 

Mom turned to me. "Oh, I thought you did."

"Trust me, Mom, she did," Lacey mumbled and I elbowed her.

Mom didn't seem to hear her. "Lois told me you went out with Tristan this aftern oon. I wish you had told me about it sooner. I could have prepared some pretty c lothes for you, not..." Her eyes raked me up and down, taking in my ragged outfi t. "...that shabby attire... Oh, honey, how many times do I need to I tell you t o dress more nicely, like a woman?"

"Mom, please don't bring that up again. You know I only dress up when there's a funeral," I groaned. "And come on, I don't have to do that stuff. Seriously, Tri stan and I weren't doing anything. We were just...just strolling around the neig hborhood-"

Not.

"And then they went to the mall and I totally saw Tristan giving her a drink and they walked around like a lovely couple," Lacey prattled on, "and I asked Clark if you two were dating or not and he was like, 'yeah, I already saw that coming ' and-"

"Lacey!" I screeched. A blush crept onto my face again, but thank goodness, the room was slightly dark so they couldn't see it.

Mom grinned and clasped her hands in front of her chest. "That's good to hear. I told you, dear, Tristan is a very pleasant boy. I know you two will get along j ust fine in the end. So, did he ask you on another date?"

I couldn't take this any longer. Their smiles were silently killing me.

"It wasn't-ugh." I dropped my shoulders in defeat. "No."

"Not yet?" Lacey grinned menacingly.

I bit my lip and sighed. "Whatever. I'm heading to bed now. Just spare me the d etails about your date for some other time." I quickly marched upstairs before t hey could respond with another set of embarrassing ideas.

A couple minutes later, I pulled my hair into a tiny bun and relaxed in a nice, hot bubble bath. I reflected on my thoughts as I watched steam rise from the wat er's surface. A lot of things about the day came back to me, especially Tristan' s naughty and playful smile. It was the same smile he had when he was teasing me and when he told me he'd missed me.

I lifted my knees up and buried my face in them.

I was starting to explore this terrifying, yet wonderful little thing inside me. It was something that I hadn't felt towards Erik, and I'd never thought it woul d appear in me at this time. I always tried not to think about it, but here I wa s, and there he was.

***

The moment I stepped into the locker area, I took one look at the girl beside me and went, "Whoa, wait, what the-?"

"Kylie!" she chirped.

I scanned Julianne up and down and noticed that her typical look had changed-she was wearing a denim jacket, a skirt, and ballet flats. She rarely wore those ki nds of outfits to school. Her hair was now like the models' in those shampoo com mercials; long and silky straight, it showed no trace of her previous thick mass of curls. The most bizarre thing, though, was that she looked like a mini Ronni e Sullivan.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" I asked, shocked.

"It's me, really." She laughed. "And close your mouth before a fly goes in."

"I can't believe it. Last week you looked like a gypsy, and now..." I raised a h and, trying to muffle my laughter. "Seriously, what kind of ghost possessed you today?"

She made a face; thank goodness, that hadn't changed. "Oh, please. If I was a gy psy back then, try to look at yourself. You're practically wearing a burka." I g azed down at my oversized hoodie, trying to figure out what burka meant as she c ontinued with a shrug: "I'm just trying something new for a change, Ky."

"Just as I thought. You underwent metamorphosis this weekend." I shook my head, still smiling. "But jokes aside, you look really pretty, Jules."

Her eyebrows rose.

"Really, cross my heart." I nodded, chuckling. "It suits you very well, though I 'll definitely miss those bird's nest curls you had."

"Thanks." She tilted her head to the side, studying my face, then just shook her head.

We made our way through the mob. I started humming a song I'd heard over the rad io earlier this morning; it was very catchy, and it hadn't stopped echoing in my mind since then.

I felt Julianne's eyes on me. I turned to her and gave her a "what?" look.

"Hmm, someone's cheerful today, huh?" she said meaningfully. "You and Me?"

"You and Me what?"

"The title of the song you're humming. It's You and Me by Lifehouse."

"Oh, is it? It's really cute." My mind drifted, and I continued to hum in a happ y glow.

Julianne stepped in front of me with her arms crossed. I stopped and stared at h er.

"Aha! I knew it," she cried, snapping her fingers. "So that's why you've been so strange these past few days. Wow, Kylie, it's great to see you in a new light. Tell me, what kind of charm did he use on you?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Something happened, right?" she went on. "I rarely see you cheerful like this, not to mention humming a love song, because as far as I know, you don't like tha t kind of music. I've never... I've never seen you inspired like this before. Se riously, Kylie, what happened?"

"Um..." I gazed down at my sneakers.

To my surprise, she pulled me into a corner where people couldn't hear our conve rsation. "You asked Tristan to come with you on your little scheme last Saturday , right? Right? So how did things turn out?" she insisted. "I know something maj or happened to you guys."

"Jeez, calm the heck down. It wasn't anything-"

"Stop. Don't even try to deny it. With that look on your face and the way you're acting, it's obvious. Come on, tell me all the juicy details, like, right away, because if you don't, I swear I'm going to haunt you even in your dreams."

I heaved a sigh, brushing my hair back anxiously. "All right, just relax, Julian ne. I know I can't stop you from pushing me anymore, so okay, here goes..."

Then I told her everything that had happened. Well, almost everything-I didn't t ell her one thing, since if I did, I might have another mental breakdown. I'd be en so anxious about how would things turn out afterwards that I hadn't been able to sleep or eat yesterday.

However, Julianne kept giving me the look-brows raised, lips smirked in suspicio n.

"That's it?" she said. "You just told each other goodbye and then the end?" She snorted. "Sheesh, that's boring."

"Uh-huh."

"Not! Like hell I would believe that. Seriously, I know there's something else t hat happened after that. What was it?"

I sucked my breath in as I tried to form the words in my head. I had no choice b ut to tell her; otherwise, this would go on forever. I sighed exasperatedly, and much to my shame, I finally said, "I kissed him."

Her hands flew to her mouth after she let out a small squeal.

"But on the cheek, okay? On the cheek. Don't think anything weird about it. It w as just... a friendly one," I mumbled, closing my eyes. My face was steaming hot once again. I peeked at her and noticed that she was smiling so wide I thought her face would be cut in half. "What's with that look?" I grumbled.

She poked me. "Yeee. You bashful cat, I can't believe you had the nerve to do th at!"

"Neither do I." I wanted to crawl into a hole so badly. "You don't know how many times I've kept telling myself how insane it was."

"But Kylie, I'm so proud of you!" Julianne exclaimed, shaking my shoulders as if to wake me up.

"W-why?"

"You're starting to embrace what you really feel!"

What I really feel... I didn't speak up.

"For the last and zillionth time, Kylie... tell me." She locked her gaze on mine , trying to get me to be serious with this one, trying to get my final answer th is time. "Do you like Tristan?"

The moment I heard his name, thousands of thoughts about him flashed through my mind, increasing by the second. I opened my mouth, bit my lip, and opened my eye s again; Julianne was patiently waiting for me to answer.

"I... I..." I sighed. "Forget it, let's go to class."

"What? Come on, Kylie!" Julianne cried. "It'll just take a second to say yes or no!"

"Enough of it. We're so late to class already."

***

Hours later, English class came. I couldn't keep my composed look up any further when I caught Tristan talking with his friends the moment I reached the room.

"Ooh la la," Julianne crooned. She nudged me and gave a not-so-subtle nod in his direction. "Check him out, Kylie, he's so charming, don't you think?" She'd bee n teasing me about him so much today, and her pestering had gotten even worse th an before.

Flushed, I stomped my way out of the room, and she followed me. "Julianne, shut up," I hissed through clenched teeth. "Seriously, shut up. Stop teasing!"

"Teasing? Who's teasing?" she said innocently.

"Just zip your lips. Don't you dare mention anything we've talked about. Better yet, just forget everything!" I waved my hands like a mad witch.

She sighed absentmindedly like she hadn't heard what I'd said. "So baaaby I'm aa alright... Just a kiss goodnight..."

"Julianne!" I sighed exasperatedly. "I told you it wasn't anything serious! Give it a rest already. Try to spill one word about it and I'll mess up your hair in no time."

"Shhh, relax. I got it, I got it, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Swear?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah."

I wasn't so sure if she meant it, but I sighed and nodded. Giggling, she followe d me as I entered the room again. In a snap, a couple girls surrounded Julianne and they began to talk with her about her hair and stuff.

Tristan was still chatting with Grey and Clark in the corner. I tried to calm my self down as I began breathing exercises in my seat. Now, if he just didn't noti ce that I was-

"Hey." He smiled, slipping into his seat seconds after the bell rang, though the teacher wasn't in yet.

Oh Jesus.

I just nodded like he was a mailman or police officer, hoping that I appeared ca sual. Hoping to hide the fact that it kept replaying in my head, practically tat tooed all over my brain.

We remained in silence, and it made me edgy. I peeked at him; he was staring bac k. I tried to frown when I said, "What?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Everything's fine and dandy," I stammered.

Smiling, he turned to the front and straightened his back. "So I've heard..."

My mind stopped. Oh, crap, crap! Please don't tell me someone heard the conversa tion back then and told him about it-

"...Old Cross is about to pile us with Calculus this week," he said casually. "S ome kid from his other class told me he's started shoving test papers and assign ments in their faces."

"Oh!" I exclaimed as relief surged through me. Thank God! He gave me a surprised look, and I put up a forced smile. "I-I mean, oh crap! Really? Welcome to hell week, then."

So Tristan wasn't thinking about everything that had happened that night. He had probably already forgotten about it-guys didn't care about such things-and was cool with it.

I might as well stop thinking about it... I sighed silently.

"So, uh, d'you wanna hang out at my place?" he asked, hesitating a little bit. " I mean, for, you know, uh... If you're having any troubles in this subject and s ince finals are fast approaching, maybe I can tutor you or something like that.. .I swear I won't mess around with you."

This was so a-w-k-w-a-r-d...

I took a deep breath and said, "Okay."

Eyes widening, he turned to me. "What?"

"I said I'll go," I said a little louder, nodding my head. If I refuse him now, there will probably be no second chance, third chance, or any chances at all. "M om asked me to, actually," I mumbled.

Yes, that was another reason why I'd agreed. She'd figured out I had a hard time following the lesson, so she'd told me-no, it was more like forced me-yesterday to seek help from him, and I couldn't decline. Oh, she strikes again...

Tristan's face relaxed and he muttered something like "yes" under his breath. "T hat's great," he said, turning to me, "because apart from that, I have something important to tell you."

Our gazes locked on each other, and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. W hy did I feel so excited and anxious about this?

Just then, Mrs. Cox entered the room, and everyone returned to their seats. Afte rwards, Ronnie came; it was just natural for her to be late. And before she slid into her seat, I noticed that she was glaring at me, the cold kind of glare tha t gave me shudders for a moment. I wondered what was wrong with her.

The strange thing was that after class ended, she was back in a pleasant mood ag ain. She linked arms with me for the first time as we left the room.

"Later, Kyles." Tristan passed beside me, giving me a salute before jogging towa rds his friends.

Ronnie was staring at him with her eyebrows slightly puckered and her lips tight ened into a thin line. But when she faced me, her expression changed. "Oh, Kylie , come with me for a moment," she chirped and tugged on my arm.

"Why?"

Her grip around my arm tightened-sharp fingers dug into my skin that hurt a bit-but a casual smile was still on her face. "Well, I just feel like hanging out wi th you right now. Alone. Please, Ky? Just this once?" she implored. "I also wann a have a girl talk with you."

I looked at Julianne, who was at my side, and she gave me a nod and walked ahead of us.

"Yeah, that's more like it," Ronnie cheered.

I was getting a bad feeling about this, but I had to know what was going on with her.

***

Ronnie set a cup of caramel coffee down in front of me. I glanced up at her as s he sat in the space at my side.

"What?" she asked, amused. She lifted the lid of her cup and smelled the enticin g brew of coffee. Noticing that I hadn't touched mine yet, she rolled her eyes a nd said, "It's my treat. Duh. Don't you like it?"

"No, I-I was just surprised," I stammered. "Thanks." The beverage burned my tong ue, but I let the liquid run down my dry throat.

We just stayed there in silence, but I could still hear the distant noises of th e crowds and the harsh blowing of the wind through blossoming trees. Ronnie kept sipping her drink; her eyes looked distant. Eventually, she put her cup down.

"Kylie, have you ever had that moment when you've worked your ass off just to ge t something you really wanted?" she said vaguely. I noticed spitefulness in her tone, though I knew she was trying to hide it. "But in the end, someone else tak es that something, and you just mope in a corner and think of all your wasted ef forts? That feeling of frustration you get..."

I gulped. "Huh-?"

She laughed humorlessly. "Life is so unfair, isn't it?"

I didn't know where she was going with this topic, but I didn't dare question he r about it.

Cocking her head to the side, Ronnie squinted at me and leaned closer. I pulled away, slightly alarmed; her hand reached in front of my neck and grasped the nec klace.

"So pretty," she said, examining it. "Who gave you this?"

"A f-friend." Seriously, what was with her sudden mood swings?

"You mean boyfriend?"

I shook my head. "No, he's just a friend."

She nodded her head and scooted away. "Ah, so the person is a he indeed," she sa id. "I was right."

My mouth hung open. Well, I hadn't been expecting that.

"What's his name?"

I twitched. Seeing my reaction, she shook her head, giggling. "Come on, don't be shy. I'm just asking for his name. I swear I won't snatch him from you or anyth ing. I just wanna know."

"Erik," I mumbled. "His name is Erik."

She frowned. "With a 'k'? Erik Taylor?" When I bobbed my head, she turned her he ad away as if she were pondering over it. "Hmm. He sounds familiar."

"Maybe he's in one of your classes, but you just haven't noticed him."

She shrugged. "Well, maybe. I don't know. I'm not that interested in knowing eve ry person in my classes, anyway. But I must've heard his name somewhere, like wh en Fiona and the others were talking about boys in the restroom and I think they mentioned his name, blah-blah..." She waved her hands. "Oh, whatever. Forget it ." Then she tugged her lips into a sly smile. "So anyway, he must be so charming , right? Seeing as he gave you such a beautiful item, something most girls total ly dream of."

"Well-"

"You're special to him, aren't you?"

I brushed my head. A feeling of worry suddenly wrapped around me as I remembered what Erik had said that night when we'd been alone in the park. It had been som ething that I hadn't still settled with him yet, but I didn't know where to star t or how to tell him my thoughts.

I merely shrugged at Ronnie's question.

"Oh denial, denial," she crooned and started to play with the lid of the cup, lo oking bored. "I bet it's a great feeling to know that there are two gorgeous guy s flocking around you, right, Kylie?"

"What?" I tried to keep the annoyance out of my tone, but I guessed I failed. My jaw clenched as beads of sweat rolled down my neck. What was that supposed to m ean?

She titled her head to the side and said, "Him and Tristan?" in a suddenly cold tone.

"Wh-what... I don't get you. What are you trying to say? What's this got to do w ith T so suddenly?"

"What's this got to do with him? Ha! A lot of things, silly." Ronnie stood up fr om the bench and cracked her knuckles; her eyes looked distant again. "Tristan a nd I were actually close friends in middle school," she said monotonously. "We b elonged to a tight group of friends, and we were always together everywhere we w ent."

I blinked a couple times before I got what she'd said.

She snorted. "Yeah, I know, I know it's hard to believe. He never mentioned anyt hing about that to you, did he?"

"If... if you guys were really close friends," I said uncertainly, "then you kno w things about him."

She raised her eyebrows. "Apparently."

"But why'd you ask me things about him that one time?"

"Ah, you still remember our little chit-chat from my house, huh? Well, I'm not s urprised." She crossed her arms and raised her head. "I was simply testing you, Kylie, to see how well you know him. And you certainly know more about him than I do. I applaud you for that."

Testing me? I stared at her incredulously.

"Anyway, back to my story. You know, I always looked up to him, Kylie, if that i sn't obvious. I would do anything, anything, just to reach him. So close yet so far, as others would say, right? But it's already in the past. The closeness is gone now. Gone!" She hit her palm on the wooden table so hard it sent shivers th rough me. "I did get what I wanted. From being a girl with no type at all, I bec ame the Head Cheerleader. I became popular. I was proud of myself, but it wasn't enough! He still didn't look my way. In fact, he hates me now. Rejecting me a s hitload of times..." Brittle laughter escaped from her mouth. "I'm so special, a m I not?"

I noticed that her eyes were starting to glisten with tears, but she swallowed a s if she were trying to hold them back.

"I wondered what I did wrong. I thought maybe it was because of the rumors about me sleeping with other guys, that that was why he didn't like me. Fiona started those, actually-that bitch backstabbed me, spreading lies to everyone since she knows I like him. I didn't even know until someone told me last week," she spat , venom in her tone. "She doesn't even know him, but she knows how to play guys like they're all just a fucking set of cards."

That was news to me. I should have been angry with her, but after hearing her st ory, I didn't know... I couldn't even speak or react. The tension was growing be tween us, and I stiffened in place.

"But in spite of that, I kept hoping that one day, he'd be mine. But recently I figured out there was this one problem hindering my success all along..." Her ey es pierced me, and I melted in my seat. "You know, Kylie, if... if I had looked more closely, I would have seen it a long time ago." She bit her lip like she wa s hesitating, then continued in a low, cracking voice: "Seems like Tristan is a different person when he's with you, different from how he is with me or other g irls. Back at the mall when I saw you two together, I-I'd never seen that kind o f expression on him before. What did you do to him?"

I stood up, trying to reach out to her, but she quickly dodged me. "B-but I didn 't-"

"Seriously, what did you do?!"

"No! Ronnie, listen to me, I don't know wha-"

"See? It's unfair, it's fucking unfair!" she shouted; tears began to stream down her red cheeks. "You didn't do anything to get his attention! You're always fig hting with him, you're always arguing with him, but why? Why does he keep coming back to you? I'm the popular one, and you're just ordinary. I mean, look at you ! He's way out of your league! But why?" She gasped. "What does he see in you th at he doesn't see in me?"

The color in my face had drained, and I was trembling badly. This was the first time someone had slapped those words in my face. The friendship that Ronnie and I had formed for even a short while had only been a lie. She thought of me as a threat after all-a huge, uninsurable disaster waiting to happen. And here was th e disaster now.

Ronnie wiped her tears away with her hand and studied me. "You were that unknown girl back at the Valentine ball, right?" she asked; her voice was surprisingly stable now. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Ha-ha. Right. It all make s sense now. I knew you were lying when I asked you about it, but I just let it slip away."

"I'm sorry," was all I could whisper. I didn't know what else to say. Everything that had happened felt like bricks slamming into my head.

"Don't. After what you've heard, don't you ever feel pity for me. I hate it when someone looks down on me as if I'm incapable of doing something." Her fists cle nched at her sides, and she turned her back on me with one swift move. "I'm stil l going to get him, whatever it takes, Kylie," she said coldly. "Just watch me."

A gust of wind blew through as I watched her walking away.

Veronica Sullivan had just declared war against me.