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the amount of embarrassment I have for this chapter is very extreme (i wrote thi s when i was still a noob in writing). it's better if you skip this part. but if you're really curious of what this is all about, proceed with caution.

ღ Finding Cinderella-11ღ

 

-Clark-

I should've headed straight home instead of coming back here.

I'd thought this night would be unforgettable, that I'd be doing things like par tying all night and getting drunk for the first time- this event would be the la st of my high school career, so I had to do some noteworthy stuff, even though I 'd probably end up breaking some rules.

But instead, here I was, on my own, sitting in front of some withered red roses in a vase that somehow reflected my situation, on one of the Valentine Ball tabl es. If talking to imaginary friends would be considered acceptable behavior for a seventeen-year-old guy like me, I would've done it already- my friends were al ready on the dance floor, grouped in large circles, but I wasn't that interested in joining in. All they were doing was some kind of a weird chicken dance; bopp ing all over the place like Mexican jumping beans, and that wasn't something I c ould see myself participating in.

Grey was nowhere to be found, but I supposed he was with the football players, l urking in the corner and trying to look cool and all. And as for Tristan, well, I'd just seen him moments ago, being swallowed by a swarm of admirers- he'd foun d the courage to stay and hang out with them, flashing a smile I'd known was hid ing his true weariness and indifference. Even so, I'd seen some unusual expressi ons on Tristan's face tonight, and while grooving with the others, his eyes had seemed strangely distant. At first, I wondered what was happening to him, but wh en an answer finally came to me, I couldn't help but smirk- maybe he was still w ondering about the Queen of the ball.

But how could he be that dense? I smiled just thinking about it- he'd known Kyli e for four straight years, yet he couldn't even notice her beneath the makeup an d a wig? I had to admit, whatever they'd put on her face had to have been magica l, since even I hadn't been able to recognize Kylie at first glance, but it was a different case for Tristan- they lived in the same neighborhood, for crying ou t loud! He saw her every day!

When he'd asked me about the mysterious girl earlier, I'd been dying to spill th e beans, just to see how he'd react, but his serious face had stopped me from sa ying anything. However, the situation was getting more and more interesting, and I was curious as to how far Tristan would go just to learn the girl's identity.

Curiosity aside, though, I was glad I hadn't spoiled the secret, since Kylie def initely would've beaten the crap out of me if I had. I knew that, since I'd gott en the information from a second-hand source...

Lacey...

I sighed heavily- the moment I thought her name, I could feel myself drifting ba ck to the time we'd spent alone in her house. It's a great feeling, having the m ost special girl in the world by your side... looking after her, talking to her, trying your best to make her smile...

It had been so perfect, I'd figured it'd be a good time to confess my feelings f or her, ask her to go out on a date with me; I'd actually said the words to her, but the thing I'd feared most had happened instead.

Have you ever fallen for somebody so hard, you only want to protect them, value them, care for them unconditionally, and then they just reject you in return?

It.

Really.

Sucks.

As I sat by the dance floor, I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket and searc hed for her number, but before making the call, I stopped, thinking that it wasn 't the right time to call Lacey and talk things over. The best thing to do would be to give her space, but for how long?

I was about to close my eyes and try to relax, but a voice startled me, and I sa t up instead, finding a girl standing on the other side of the table. From the l ooks of it, she was a sophomore, and based on her facial expression, she was wor rying hard about something.

"Uh, hello," she said softly, "do you mind if I sit here? Most of the tables are already taken..."

I shook my head, saying, "I don't mind at all. Feel free to sit down."

Her lips formed into a shy smile as she cautiously slid into a chair. "Thanks," she murmured, proceeding to bite her lip while watching the passers-by. I bet sh e was feeling self-conscious with all these people around. When she caught me st aring, though, she quickly turned her head to the side, apparently flustered.

I bit my lip, preventing myself from laughing- this dark-haired girl was actuall y kinda cute.

Lacey looks a lot like that when she's embarrassed...

Clearing my throat, I said to the girl, "A wallflower, I see."

Startled, the girl turned to look at me, seemingly surprised that I was talking to her; well, that made two of us. I figured she would ignore me, but she soon a nswered: "Um, well, yeah. I've never been a party girl- I just feel too awkward at stuff like this."

I smirked. "This is your first time at a dance, right?" When she nodded silently , I continued: "That explains it. I know how it feels to be in your situation, b ut you have to let your hair down sooner or later, or you'll miss this high scho ol heaven entirely. Believe me, it's better to overcome anxiety than stay on the sidelines, know what I mean?"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah... maybe you're right."

I leaned closer to the table and said, "My name's Clark, by the way. What's your s?"

After a brief pause, she finally replied with, "Luna."

"Luna... That's a lovely name," I said, finding myself winking at her. Luna's ey es widened, and she looked down, mumbling something I couldn't comprehend, which made me chuckle to myself.

As the night went on, I kept talking to Luna, though I was the one who had to op en up new topics just to keep the conversation going- it was my hope that if we spoke long enough, she'd eventually overcome her own shyness. Thankfully, my str ategy began to prove effective, since little by little she began to open up; onc e she did, I found her to be nice, surprisingly talkative, and very cheerful. Sh e laughed at all my jokes, even the corny ones, and though we didn't get into an ything personal, we had fun observing the people around us, glancing at each oth er and bursting into laughter as we realized how ridiculous some of these partyg oers were.

Luna was a fun girl to be with, and despite the fact we'd just met a couple minu tes ago, I found myself growing more comfortable around her. Still, at the same time, my guts were telling me I was only this content because she resembled Lace y, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true, and the wor se I felt.

What on earth was I doing?

Luna was tilting her head, probably wondering why I'd stopped talking so suddenl y; the way she was looking at me reminded me of a kid staring at her celebrity crush- no! No way! This couldn't be happening!

"Clark? Are you okay?" she asked, eyebrows drawn in concern. "Is there something wrong?"

"Uh-" I quickly answered, sliding out of my seat. "I need to go to the restroom. "

She pursed her lips, but made an effort to smile and nod. After giving her a wav e, which I actually meant as an 'I'm sorry', I headed to the only place where I could hopefully contemplate my sucky life.

Pushing several people away, I finally reached the restroom and went straight fo r the sink, twisting the faucet handle and cupping my hands underneath it. When enough cold water had pooled in my hands, I splashed it on my face, then repeate d the process twice before looking up to stare at my reflection; it had been a l ong time since I'd studied myself in the mirror, and I found my hair to be a mes s, several strands sticking out in different directions. Dark circles had alread y formed under my boring eyes, and I noticed the color in my face had drained.

I looked like a sick Goth. No wonder the people around me were shooting me weird looks. Small droplets of water were rolling from my forehead down to my jaw, an d I wiped them away with my hand, still staring into my own eyes.

Why did Lacey reject me? The question kept playing in my mind like a broken reco rd, and I got the feeling I was sinking into a deep pit.

Things had been going so smoothly between us, and I'd thought she'd felt the sam e way as I had... so why had this happened? Had I just been imagining things? Ma ybe I'd been getting my own hopes up, tricking myself into believing that Lacey had liked me back; I wished I'd been a mind-reader so I'd have known her real th oughts. But even if I do have one, would I even have the courage to handle the t ruth?

"I'm sorry, but I really can't do this. My situation is kind of complicated. Jus t... find another girl, Clark."

What the hell did that mean? Me, finding another girl? Seriously?

Ever since what had happened two years ago, I'd always seen Lacey as one-in-a-mi llion. I'd been a sophomore back then, heading to the library, not to read a boo k but to take a nap; when I'd gotten there, and I found her crying by herself in one of the corners of the room. She was the innocent type, the one that swoons just from the thought of love. With a book clutched in her hands, she wept over the loss of one of the characters, moved by the black words that formed colorful events in her head. She's pure and fragile as glass, and I'd never find another girl like her.

But what was this complicated situation she'd mentioned? Maybe there was somethi ng Lacey didn't want me to know about... Did it involve her friends? Her studies ? Family matters? I just wished she'd told me more about this "situation" so I c ould think of something, anything that could help her.

Why did she have to leave me hanging like that, without telling the whole story? How was there any chance I could fix things between us now?

God, Clark, you sound like a wimp!

I clenched my fists as they rested on the sink and let out a puff of air. If the guys had heard my thoughts, they would've laughed and said, "Grow some balls, m an!"

They would've been right, though. I still had to try for this, no matter what La cey's problem was- I couldn't give everything up now, when it would be so pathet ic of me to do so.

I had to do my best to get her back, and I had to do it soon. No time for procra stinating anymore... but where could I start? Think, Clark, think!

You have to deal with her sister first, the voice in my head chimed in, and I re alized it was right- Kylie was problem number one. Everything would go smoothly for me if Kylie weren't building barbed wire fences around her sister- if this w ere the Underworld, Kylie would definitely be Cerberus, guarding the pathway wit hin. As I thought about it, I realized I'd never been able to access Lacey witho ut going through her sister's ranting and scowling...

But every girl has a weakness, right?

I hoped to God Kylie had one- if someone knew about a secret weakness of Kylie's , I'd be able to advance easily in this situation. Tristan would be the one to a sk about that, but no, I couldn't do that now, since Kylie already despised him so much; even if I had my own problems to face, I didn't want to create any trou ble between them.

Realizing that I'd hogged the bathroom sink for too long, I stepped back and exi ted the bathroom with heavy shoulders. As I walked, I decided not to go back to the table where Luna was sitting- it wasn't that I disliked her, it was just tha t it felt... I didn't know... like the wrong thing to do, maybe? Like I got more guilt the longer I hung out with her, and she wasn't the girl I needed right no w.

Wanting to get some fresh air, I wove through the packed mob, but halted when so meone tugged at my shoulders from the back; startled, I turned around.

"Finally!" Tristan exclaimed. "I think it took ten years to find you, bro." His head swiveled as if he were searching for something, and he added, "Hey, where's Grey? I thought you two were together."

I shook my head. "Nope," I replied, "I left him a couple hours ago and haven't s een him since. Guess he's still hanging out with his teammates in the corner."

"Ah, as expected from him- he always disappears in times like this," Tristan sai d with a smirk. "So are you coming with us?" He jerked his head to the side, whe re most of the cliques could be found.

I cocked an eyebrow and said, "To where?"

"Huh? Haven't you heard? There's a party at Brett's house after this, and everyb ody's going." After seeing the confused look on my face, he explained: "You know , Brett Ben Ten from English class, the one with the Justin Bieber hair?"

I chuckled. "Ah, the dude who can't stop talking about Game of Thrones and his O lympic-sized swimming pool? His name's Brett Bentham, stupid."

"Well, excuse me for confusing the names, they sound practically alike," he reto rted. "You know that I never listen to roll call. Anyway, let's go now- the othe rs are waiting for us."

I waved a hand and said, "Nah, I'll catch up later."

"What? Where are you going?"

"Somewhere" was the last thing I said before turning and leaving him there, baff led.

Alone at last, I thought as I finally stepped out of the entryway. The school's exterior was surprisingly quiet, and as the auditorium door shut behind me, I le aned against the wall and sucked in the cool air, ready to mull things over.

This situation was just like a role-playing game, and in every role-playing game , you need the right strategy to get the job done. If Lacey was the damsel in di stress, then Kylie would definitely fit as a boss monster, which I understood wa s kind of a rude title for her, but there was nothing else I could think to call her.

Now, in video games, no matter how strong the boss is, it always has a weak poin t. And if this analogy was correct... Of course! Kylie had to have a weak point, which I'd already figured, and if I wanted the advantage, I needed to know what that weak point was.

But one can't defeat the boss monster all by himself, of course. Seeking help fr om others is the best way to beat the challenge, and when it came to Kylie, I ha d to have at least one brave person to help.

The sound of the door swinging open distracted my thoughts, and as I glanced to the side, I noticed a tall guy striding through the doorframe, his gaze fixed on his phone. With the light of the screen illuminating his face, it was easy to r ecognize him- he was a former member of the swimming team, though I didn't think he was competing anymore. No, this guy had only lasted for two months- known as the "mysterious" team member, he'd never mingled with large groups of people ve ry often, and he hadn't mixed well with most of the other swimmers. Despite that , he was a fairly nice dude, and somehow we'd both formed a good camaraderie wit h each other during practice sessions.

Then, as I stared at him, an idea began to form in my mind.

Perfect.

Smiling to myself, I inched closer to him, tapping him on the shoulder; his eyes lifted from his phone, and when he spotted me, he grinned. "Ah, Clark! It's you !" he said in surprise, holding up his hand for a high-five like the ones we'd a lways done before swim practices.

This looks like a good start for me.

I nodded at my former teammate, returning a half smile.

"Long time no see, Erik."