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[THIS CHAPER HAS BEEN REVISED]

ღ Finding Cinderella-26 ღ

-Kylie-

Every day, every minute, every second, I felt like crap.

I mean, I woke up feeling fine, but as the day passed, my mood fell downwards. I started thinking about every little stupid thing that had happened to me, and I couldn't seem to let it go. The bad thing was; it was the exact same stuff that I was dealing with-no part of the situation was changing or anything, just the fact that it was a different day.

Then again, I figured it was pretty normal for me. I was still the girl who was almost flunking Math, who had never been normal, who was still trying to hide he r secret from everybody in school, and who was trying to avoid a guy for the res t of her senior days...

...who, by the way, was sitting beside me.

Oh, joy.

"...the traditional approach was the first way to congregate Shakespeare's tragi c play, which proves that it is based on the time this play was written..." blab bered our English teacher, Mrs. Cox, but I could barely concentrate on the topic , since Tristan's strange behavior was bugging me.

When Mrs. Cox turned her back to write something on the blackboard, I shot him a look, but he quickly diverted his eyes to the front. Seriously, we'd been doing this weird stuff for the entire period-how I wished I could transfer my seat an ywhere but here...

Groaning, I rested my chin in my hand and tried to focus on whatever was on the board. Mrs. Cox's hawk-like, wrinkly eyes were scanning the class as she spoke, so it would be better to stay focused on her; otherwise, she'd go bloodhound ove r us.

A few moments later, I heard a soft ripping sound from my right. I glanced over and saw Tristan ducking low over his desk, as if he was secretly doing something . I turned to the front again.

Something bounced onto my desk. It was a folded paper. Confused, I slowly turned to my left, thinking it might have come from Julianne, but she didn't look back at me-she was completely absorbed by the teacher's speech about Shakespeare, so I guess she wasn't the sender. No one else had been signaling me about the note , either, so it was then that it finally dawned on me.

Eyes growing wide, I snapped my head to Tristan, and he was pointing straight at the note, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. I scanned the note, and could see his handwriting all over it. It wasn't addressed to anyone, so maybe it wasn't for me, but for someone else instead. Besides, there was no way Tristan would se nd me a note. I mean, what would he even write to me? A homework assignment? His electric bill?

My eyes flicked to the person in front of me. It was Ronnie, and she was shaping her nails with a nail file underneath her desk as usual, although it was strict ly prohibited during classes. Mrs. Cox was writing on the board again, and I qui ckly poked Ronnie's shoulder. She turned to me, and her face went all confused w hen I flipped up the note for her to see.

Right, this must be his urgent love confession-I'd better give it to her.

But when I was about to hand it to Ronnie, Tristan scrambled off his seat and sn atched the note from my hand. Ronnie and I both gasped and looked at him in shoc k as he slumped back into his seat, making a loud creaking sound.

"What's with all that noise?" Mrs. Cox suddenly stopped writing and turned to us , but no one dared to speak up. It was like the whole room had suddenly been mut ed, so with a sigh, she returned to her writing again.

I spun to face Tristan and tried not to crack up. He was stooping over his desk again, but I could see his neck and ears turning beet red. Lucky for him, he had n't been caught. Oh, right-he'd never been caught in any of his classes, since m ost of the teachers thought of him as an attentive student. I wondered if Trista n ever had a nerdy ego. But just thinking about him wearing huge glasses and a b ow tie made me slap my palm to my face, suppressing a laugh.

Wait.

Why was I even laughing when I should be pissed off at him right now?

Erase the thought. Erase the thought!

Something dropped onto my desk. I peeked through the space between my fingers an d noticed the same folded note resting on top. There was writing on it, and my c hest drummed faster when I finally got a clearer view of the message:

This is for KYLIE HARRIS only.

I raised my eyebrows at Tristan. With an exasperated sigh, he hissed, "Keep it a nd read it later."

"Why would I?" I muttered with a scowl.

"Because."

"Because what?" Why was I even talking with him, anyway?

"Just read it. Don't be so stubborn, Kylie."

"Jeez, you're a one heck of a bothersome-"

That was when we heard Mrs. Cox clearing her throat. Slowly, Tristan and I turne d our heads towards the front. Shoot. She was standing in front of us, hands on her hips, and the corners of her red lips were tightened in a straight line. Eve ryone's eyes darted in our direction, and I couldn't tell whose face was redder between him and me.

"Mr. Hartford and Miss Harris, you know I've been observing the both of you. Wha t do you two think you were doing during my class?" she said, trying to stabiliz e her tone. Her eyes were shifting back and forth between us, waiting for an ans wer.

I melted in my seat, mumbling, "Um, t-talking." I threw a sharp look at Tristan as I shoved his note under my desk.

"And what are you supposed to be doing?"

"Uh, listening to the discussion," Tristan answered hesitantly, raking his hair up; his composed façade contrasted with my frantic state.

I hoped Mrs. Cox wouldn't send us to detention, or else I'd die.

"When will you start?"

"Now. Sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again." He looked at me, but I continued sho oting daggers at him.

Mrs. Cox bobbed her head and turned back on her heel towards the front. I almost let out a whoop, since she hadn't said anything about detention; however, she s till looked at us and said, "Very well, now since you two have finally decided t o join the class, will the both of you read the excerpt from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on page fifty-four?"

Both Tristan and I obediently flipped our books to said page number, and my jaw fell to the ground. Act two, scene two. Good grief- that was the famous scene! T he freaking balcony scene!

"Please stand up and read out loud to the class. Mr. Hartford will read Romeo's line, as Miss Harris will read Juliet's."

Oh, the horror!

Someone from the back let out a whoop, and I panicked. Freaking no! Why on Earth did this teacher have a knack for embarrassing students in front of the rest of the class? I wanted to take back what I'd said earlier-I'd rather be in detenti on than reading this dialogue to the whole class!

She raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows, and with a sigh, Tristan stood up fr om his seat with surprising calmness, like he hadn't been bugged by it. Not havi ng any other choice, I also stood up, book in my hands. Everyone had gotten to b uzzing, and I heard Grey cough and clear his throat a couple times.

"'Lady,'" Tristan began to read aloud with conviction. The buzzing stopped, and every ear began listening to him. "'By yonder blessed moon I vow, that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-'"

"'O, swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon. That monthly changes in her circ le orb'." My voice cracked at every word I said. Was I even saying them right? I sounded like I was doing a tongue twister. I swallowed and continued: "'lest th at thy-'" screw this word "'l-love prove likewise variable.'"

I decided to go to Mars after this and have my funeral there.

"'What shall I swear by?'" He was really playing the role by heart.

"'Do not swear at all...'" Because I'd be the one swearing like crazy. "'Or if t hou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry,and I'll b elieve thee.'"

"'If my heart's dear love-'"

And that was when everyone else in the class clapped, giggled, and made yeeeeee noises.

I examined them-they all had huge smiles on their face and kept shooting weird g lances at us. Julianne dramatically clapped her hands in the air and wiped away invisible tears, just like what she'd do when she watched Degrassi and Gilmore G irls. Some whistled, some squealed, and half of the female population was prepar ing to have me barbecued later.

I had no idea how many times my heart skipped a beat throughout the whole period .

I dropped my head down nervously, letting hair fell over my features, but it sti ll couldn't hide the heat glowing in my face. My knees were shaking so badly, I bet I'd pass out any second. Peeking through my curtain of hair, I noticed that Tristan had been staring at his book the whole time; his face was frozen in plac e, not showing any signs of emotion at all.

But in a split second, I saw him smiled.

I nearly fainted. He was definitely enjoying this, and no, he wouldn't be forgiv en. Ever. This crappy day should've been enough, but he'd added even more crap b y dragging me into his own crappy troubles. Crap.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax myself.

"Kids, please keep quiet," Mrs. Cox said strictly, as if she wasn't bothered. Ev eryone quieted down. "Carry on, Miss Harris."

What? Come on, give me a break!

Clearing my throat, I straightened myself and lifted my book up. There was no st opping now-I had to finish this before it could get any worse.

This was definitely a different day.

***

"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" Julianne dreamily sang as she leaned against her locker and gave me a look.

"Shut the heck up, Julianne!" I cried and banged my forehead on my locker door. I still couldn't get over the humiliation I'd experienced a while ago, and think ing about those creepy smiles and the teasing the others had been giving me all day made me mentally puke.

Julianne pinched my shoulders playfully, and I gritted my teeth. "Why are you be ing so bashful, huh?" She tickled my sides, laughing hysterically, and I pushed her hands away before I could end up rolling on the floor.

"Stop it, Jules! Who do you think wouldn't freak out because of that-that mortif ying scene, huh? I'm lucky I survived." I opened the door and saw my reflection in the small mirror pasted inside. My face was still pure red, which was why eve ryone was teasing me.

"Me, of course," Julianne said from behind the door. "If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't freak out as long as I was reading it with my crush." She sighed though tfully, and I simply shook my head. She continued: "In fact, I would savor every second of it, having his charming lines dig deep into my chest forever..."

"Bleeh, you're turning into a lovesick bug again," I said. "You're just saying t hat because you're referring to your crush. What about me? It was Tristan, my... my freaking mortal enemy!"

"Hey, haven't you heard of the saying, 'the more you hate, the more you love'? O r should I say it again to knock the meaning inside your head for good?"

"Wow, I'd rather eat a cactus than believing that." With a last look in the mirr or, I slammed my locker shut and turned to her. "Enough of this, okay? Let's jus t go."

As soon as we arrived to our usual table in the cafeteria, Lacey was all, "Hey, why's her face so red?"

"It's-it's because of the sun!" I immediately answered.

Julianne glanced at me and laughed. "If only you were there to witness, Lace. Yo u would surely feel the ants around you."

"What? Why? Did she and Tristan finally compromise or something?" Lacey asked, g rinning. She looked at me, keen for an answer. "Kylie?"

"Nope. But it's way better than that."

I groaned to Julianne, "Please, don't give her anymore ideas."

Someone tapped me from behind. It was Grey and his friends passing by, waving at us.

"Hi there, Nerdy," he called to my best friend, and then he nodded at me. "You d id a great job in your role a while ago, Harris. Keep it up!"

They laughed and went away, except for Clark, who remained for a couple of secon ds to say, "Hi," to Lacey before catching up with them.

I shot a look at Lacey, and she shrugged, saying, "What? It was just a 'hi'."

I exhaled exasperatedly. Those fargin' iceholes-they'd been making fun of me aga in! Fortunately, Tristan hadn't been with them, or everything would have been ev en more terrible.

"Julianne," I said, punching the palm of my hand with my clenched fist. "You've got to stop me right now before I launch myself at them and break their necks."

She tapped me on the head. Why did everyone always do that like I was a five-yea r-old kid? "Relax, my friend," she silenced me. Oh, right-she was a few months o lder than I was, so she'd been keeping up her role as an older sister. "Just inh ale. Exhale. Repeat that process to infinity. It'll soothe your nerves."

"Kylie Harris, can I talk to you for a moment?"

The three of us looked up at the source of the voice. Ronnie was dashing towards me in her high heels, and I pressed on the seat.

"Oh, my God. It's Ronnie Sullivan," Julianne muttered, inching away. "Watch out, she's bad news."

"I'm going to say it right off the bat. Kylie, answer me honestly-" Ronnie puffe d out air before continuing: "Are you and Tristan dating?"

"What." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Okay, I repeat, are you and Tris-"

"Stop. Okay, fine. I heard you very clearly." This was bad-now I was the focus o f these fan-girls' jealousy. I was so dead. "Jeez, what made you think that? Hol d on, is it because of what happened in class?"

"Um, yeah, duh. Like, everyone's having suspicions because of that." She stared at me, her eyes begging for the answer she wanted to hear. "Tell me, is it true? "

"Heck no!"

This was going so outrageously! One rumor after another... though I should've be en thankful that all the talk about the Valentine Ball was dying down and everyo ne seemed to have forgotten about it. But what was with this new stuff? How coul d they come up with that silly of a conclusion?

"Really? Really?"

"We're not, I told you." We're not even friends! I wanted to add.

Ronnie pressed her hand to her chest. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought it was real , but I should've known better. Like, wouldn't it be so weird if you, who are kn own to be one of the guys, actually dated a guy, a popular guy? You know, all th at impossible stuff... isn't it strange to think about?"

I pursed my lips as Julianne instinctively grabbed my arm before I could rip out this cheerleader's salon-like hair. What was that supposed to mean? Did everyon e in this school view me as a dude, so much so that I didn't even have the right to hang out with a guy anymore?

I scrutinized myself-worn-out sneakers, ragged jeans, oversized t-shirt, and kha ki jacket with rolled-up sleeves. Oh, okay, I really looked like a dude. Switchb lades and rifles were the only things I was lacking before becoming a complete R ambo-wannabe.

Ha! Screw what people thought of me.

"But anyway, I'm so glad I heard it from you, Kylie. Thank you," Ronnie said sha kily. "Finally, I can relax."

"Wow, you really like Tristan, don't you?" I said just to change the topic away from me, somewhat surprised that I was talking to her naturally now.

"Are you kidding me?" she squealed. "Of course, yes! Very much. Hey, do you thin k you can help me? You two are, like, super close, right? Considering that you a re neighbors and all, maybe I can ask you to-"

"Can't, sorry," I said, waving my hand.

Bringing two different people closer like what Cupid would do? That was a huge n o-no for me. I'd already encountered stuff like this where girls had asked me to help them gain access to Tristan like I was a freaking bridge, but I'd usually turned them down because I'd known trouble would be sure to come, and I hadn't w anted to be involved.

"So the gossip was true after all, huh?" a loud, lethal voice emerged from nowhe re.

Ronnie looked at us with startled eyes before we all turned to the back. Oh, no. It was the Witch Queen and her three minions, and all of them had their hands o n their hips, eyes staring at Ronnie with intensity. They smelled like a spice b asket, and all the floral scents floating around made us feel like I'd just wand ered into a botanical garden.

Julianne was already on the edge of her seat, pressed on the wall. "Oh, my God, it's Fiona and her Dementors. More bad news," she muttered.

Why are all these people here so suddenly?

"Hi, Kylie, Julianne, Lacey," Fiona greeted us with fake amusement. Her stoic fa cial expression was even more disturbing than before. "Looks like you girls were having some fun, huh? Oh, would you mind telling me what the topic was? I think I just heard that my best friend likes my ex-boyfriend, and that's like news to me."

"Bestie, please, I can explain-" Ronnie tried to reach out to her, but Fiona ste pped back.

"Shut up, Sullivan, or else I'm going to grab your pom-poms and shove them up yo ur ass!"

Ronnie's face was steaming up with embarrassment. The three of us merely exchang ed alarmed looks, though we didn't say a word. We didn't want to get on these wi ld girls' bad side. Boy, Fiona was even worse than I was when it came to making threats.

"I can't believe you, Veronica," Fiona continued, her entire face contorted with ferocity. "Have you forgotten about the friendship rule we've kept this whole t ime? Don't go after a friend's ex, that was the first rule, and no one's ever ma de an exception to that. But someone broke it, and guess who? The person I consi dered my best friend! I didn't want to believe the rumors at first because I tru sted you, but you just proved them right."

"Bestie-"

"Don't you ever call me that again! Do you understand?" Fiona snapped at her, an d when she looked at me, I held my breath. She leaned closer to my ear, her fing ers grasping at the back of my head. "You better look after Tristan, Kylie," she hissed.

What?

Immobilized, I only stared at her as she pulled away with a sinister smile.

"Let's go, girls. My perfume's starting to become rotten because of this god-awf ul smell reeking around," Fiona said, looking up and down at Ronnie. "Someone mu st've scented herself by Chanel number hoe."

With that, Fiona turned her back on us, and the rest followed her away in a snap , laughing hysterically.

Ronnie dashed towards them, trying to get Fiona's attention by yelling her name, but no luck-she was completely ignored, and I couldn't help feeling pity for he r.

All that drama.

"What was that all about?" Lacey asked.

"Dunno. I really have no idea what's going on," I said and faced Julianne. "Is t his the remake of World War Z, but with the most popular girls in school acting out instead of rotting zombies?"

"No. It's the Bitch Wars," she muttered. "Wait, did Fiona whisper something to y ou?"

"Uh-she said that I... better look after Tristan." Right, like, I was his babysi tter or something.

Julianne and Lacey exchanged looks.

"That's it? She didn't say anything after that?" Julianne asked.

I shook my head. "I don't even know what she meant by that. But it's kinda weird , isn't it? Why would she tell me something like that?" Was that some sort of a warning?

"Well, whatever her reason behind that, I think you have to do it," said Lacey. "Maybe Fiona knows something that we don't." She shrugged, sighing. "But anyway, I sort of feel bad for Veronica. Imagine your best friend calling you in that H word."

"Yeah, me too. I think Ronnie's a pretty nice girl," I admitted. "Although she c an be a biznatch sometimes."

Julianne faced me, cocking her eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest. " Kylie, you may not know it, but I think you can actually see the good in anyone. "

I stared at her.

"You actually overlooked Ronnie's bad trait and said that she's nice, so it's li ke you can somehow see a person's good side despite his or her façade."

"And your point is...?" I asked.

"And my point is that you have to try it on Tristan."

Just as I'd expected - this topic had fallen to him in the end. Lacey nodded at Julianne's remark.

"I don't know, Jules," I said with a shrug, since I didn't know what more to say .

She leaned to me. "Well, why don't you try believing him, at least? The most imp ortant thing you can give someone is a chance, you know..."

Julianne's words struck me like lightning again, and at that moment, I wondered why those words weren't included in my dictionary.

-Tristan-

The rest of the day went by in a blur, but I couldn't stop thinking about the le tter I'd given to her. Had she even read it? I guess she hadn't, considering she hadn't even come up and told me what she'd thought of it. Maybe she'd just thro wn the letter in a trashcan and forgotten about it.

I looked at her in the distance. She was passing by with Julianne, and she seeme d to be happy as always. I sighed.

"Look, isn't she so beautiful and impossible for you to get?" Grey, who was sitt ing on the top of the bench, pushed me and laughed. "But wouldn't it be a shame if you fell head over heels for her?"

"Shut up."

"Oh, Tristan. You're really upset, huh?" Lacey said from my right side. "But sto p playing like a tragic hero! It's your fault you've been annoying her when you could just have told her sooner."

"I know, Lacey," I grumbled.

"You guys are talking about Kylie, right?" Clark asked. He was sitting to my lef t, as if he was distancing himself from Lacey, and he hadn't been able stop fidg eting ever since she'd come over. "I... I actually couldn't believe that you, yo u know, like her," he said and then mumbled something to himself while shaking h is head.

"Gee, Tristan, what's with your taste? That girl's very difficult," Justin spoke up.

Will hooted. "Ha! Says the guy who had a crush on her back in tenth grade."

"What! I did not! You just made that crap up, right?"

"Dude, stop denying it. You were the one who told me that!"

"Really, Justin?" Lacey laughed.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Justin hit Will in the chest with his fist.

I could only look at them, dumbfounded. No wonder why Justin had been restless w henever she'd been around back then.

"Ooh, someone's jealous." Grey patted me on the back.

"Cut it out, Grey. I'm not jealous, got it?" I frowned as I shoved him to make h im stop. I hated to admit that I was kinda jealous whenever it came to her when I knew I shouldn't be. She had no idea how pissed I was because of that, and I h ad to hide it from her and from everyone else. "And yeah, I know she's much too difficult and stubborn," I continued, "but I have to admit, maybe she's worth it all."

"See, you just said what you're supposed to!" Lacey said, sounding like a grade school teacher. Here she was again, acting like the expert with this kind of stu ff even though she'd never even gone through it. "If she's worth it, you won't g ive up. If you do give up, then she's not worth it. Do you get me?"

We guys simply stared at her with our mouths hanging open, mind-blown. Man, wher e did she get stuff like that? It sounded like what grandmothers would say to ki ds during snack time.

"Ah, in short, it's carpe diem, Tristan," Grey stated matter-of-factly. "She's t rying to say that you have to grow some balls and take the risk, even though you know they'll be cut off in the end." His words of wisdom always sounded mislead ing and sometimes contained double meanings. He leaned close to Lacey, but I cou ld still hear what he was saying: "Hey, why don't you try saying it to the guy o n his other side?" He nodded his head towards Clark, who shot him a wary look.

"Grey, give it a rest, okay? Stop trying to sway her," I told him and bent down closer to Lacey, whispering, "I swear you have to get outta here before you end up hearing things you never wanted to hear. Save your innocence."

She continued to stare at the ground, hand under her chin as if she was absorbed in her own little world. She must not have gotten what Grey was saying, since s he wasn't showing any reaction.

"Oh, I know!" She suddenly sprang up from her seat, jumping in front of us; her eyes displayed a good deal of excitement. "I finally know what you gotta do. I c an't say it's a great idea, but I think it's worth a shot, believe me."

I exchanged glances with the others. Lacey never ran out of ideas when it came t o these types of problem, and anyway, what she'd said earlier had had a point. I n fact, it had actually been logical.

I gazed at Kylie, and when she caught me staring at her, she quickly turned away and buried her face in her book.

Looking back at Lacey, I finally said, "Sure. Tell me."

***

I threw my bag on the bed and rummaged in my bedroom for that thing I hadn't use d for a quite long time. There-I found it under my bed. I pulled it out and blew the dusts off the black leather case, before pulling out the acoustic guitar, w hich was Dad's birthday gift for me last year.

I plucked each string. Gladly, they were still in good condition. While tuning t he guitar and practicing it, I couldn't help to smile about Lacey's plan.

If I wanted something I'd never had, I had to do something I'd never done. Takin g chances was better than doing nothing, anyway.