-Kylie-
My heart pounded to the beat of my feet racing over hard ground. Sweat beaded on my forehead and neck, making my hair to cling to them as my throat ached for mo re air. I pulled the wig and the mask off . They were actually owned by the Dram a club, but I didn't care as I threw them behind.
Pulling my dress up even higher, I kept up my sprint, anticipating the relief of finally getting away from this place. Finally, I rounded the curve in the path, but came to a sudden halt when I saw what was on the other side.
My breath caught in my throat as I watched a figure coming closer and closer to me. Before I could even take a step back, he was already in front of me. When he leaned down, his face was illuminated by the moon's light. I gasped and started to mumble a prayer.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no!
Why was Tristan here? I thought he was in the-
"You," he said with his husky voice.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I began to take tiny steps backwards, but he o nly followed me, his paces synchronized with mine. His gray eyes were like sauce rs in the moonlight, filled with rage, and his lips twisted up with frustration; dark hair was sticking to his forehead, making it clear that he'd been running all over the place... but why?
Oh, groan. When it came to stalking people, this guy would be worse than Jack th e Ripper.
His hands traveled to mine, and I felt him tighten his grip, which made me shudd er. His breaths were hot against my face as he leaned closer to my ear and hisse d:
"Don't run. Don't hide. Don't even try to deny this from me. Your secret is out, Kylie. This game is over."
I jolted my head upwards, a scream escaping my mouth, and then twenty pairs of e yes snapped towards my direction. Julianne, who was sitting across the table, st ared at me with her mouth hanging open, her other hand was about to flip another page.
Someone cleared her throat loudly, and I turned to see Ms. Hale peering sharply at me through her spectacles. She pointed at a sign on her table, which read: Ke ep Silent; and blood immediately rushed to my cheeks.
I was in the freaking library!
"Ah... sorry for the noise!" I said sheepishly, brushing my head. Then I quickly lifted up a book to cover up my face.
"Kylie."
I peeked over the book. Julianne pointed her index finger at the corner her lips , and I wiped my hand on my mouth. Oh, turds. Now I wondered how many people had seen the drool on my face.
Shaking my head, I blinked several times as I tried to focus on the writings on the book. My heart continued to beat so hard in my chest. That dream had been so vivid, so real, that for a moment I'd thought Tristan's burning look would actu ally set me on fire. Why had I dreamed about him knowing my secret? Did... did i t mean something?
No! Scratch that, it wasn't real. And I prayed to God it would never become real , either. It had only been a dream, a nightmare, in fact. There was no way Trist an could find out about my secret, and even if he did, it would probably be way far into the future. As far into the future as the day we separated our ways, an d I would be in the North Pole saving the penguins.
"Kylie," Julianne called again.
"What?" I asked.
"You're reading the book upside down." She stifled a laugh. "I never thought you could be that talented."
Turning the book upright, I frowned at her. "Why, can't I practice?"
"Gee, what's with you today, huh?" She casually turned a page, her eyes rapidly flicking through. "It's Monday, yet I still don't see your adrenalines kicking i n. Have you had enough rest last weekend?"
"Actually no, and I'd been hibernating for one and a half days, Jules," I said, rubbing my eyes, and then just realized that I was reading a Calculus book all a long. I instantly put it away like a hot potato.
"Well, you even beat me with that? Between us, I was the one who stayed up all n ight at the ball but only had sleep for a couple of hours." She let out a small yawn. "And as a matter of fact, I'm still bushed I keep on nodding off during cl asses."
I sighed. "If only you know the story of my life..."
She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "What do you mean?"
"Oh - I mean, I just totally hate Mondays that's why I keep on snoozing," I quic kly blurted out, forcing a grin. "P-plus, you know I always stay up late for Sat urday Night Live 'cause they're just so damn hilarious to watch. Yeah!"
Darn, I almost gave away a clue about me joining the ball. Yeah, Julianne was my best friend, but I so couldn't tell her about it because she could be a huge ch atterbox sometimes.
Thankfully, she didn't press it afterwards.
"Oh, speaking of the ball, I have lots of juicy stuff to tell you," she said exc itedly, shutting the book close. Told you so. "But before we go on for the full details, you have to know something. Oh wait, let me ask you first - do you alre ady have an idea about who the King of the ball was?"
And I was like - oh, my God, Jules, yes! I even came face to face with him, and it was like the most awkward scenario I've had so far in my life, even more awkw ard than the time I was taking my poop in a public toilet and I accidentally far ted - "No. Do you? Because I want to know about it, too!"
"Oh, gosh, Kylie. You'll never believe it, like, seriously," she breathed in ast onishment. "The King of the ball was no other than Erik Taylor!" And there came her fangirl squeals.
I waved my hand at her, trying to shut her mouth. "Okay, okay. I get it; it's Er ik. You don't have to wail like that," I hissed after I noticed some students sh ooting glances at us.
"When he came out, I was like 'no way' all the way," she continued, her hands fl ying in the air. "Really, Kylie. It's like my eyes were tricked, and it wasn't e ven a Halloween yet. Lacey was right, you should've attended the ball!"
"Julianne! Shut up," I uttered. "Look, we better continue this outside. Ms. Hale is beginning to bellow."
As we grabbed our things and went out, Julianne continued to prattle about him a nd the ball. I could hardly contain my cringing because of the flashbacks I was beginning to have. That night held my worse experiences in my seventeen years of existence so far, and all of them were because of Tristan. That moment where he had been so close to me that we almost - no, I didn't want to imagine that - ke pt on haunting me to no end!
"...and then there was this girl who was paired with him," Julianne went on as w e settled on a bench outside the school building.
I lost track of her story because she was speaking so quickly, but that one caug ht my attention. "Huh?"
"Yeah, everyone was wondering about her. I mean, she was the only one who's wear ing a mask that night. Why would she be, anyway? The event wasn't even a masquer ade."
"Oh," I puffed, getting a little uneasy about the topic.
"Lacey was sick that night, wasn't she? Did the student council just pick a rand om girl to be her replacement?"
Hell yes, exactly! "Uh... How would I know?" I asked, shrugging.
She laughed. "Right, you didn't attend. Why did I even ask you about it? In all fairness, though, they picked a good one."
I nearly choked on my spit.
"Seriously, it's like she got one of those What Not to Wear makeovers or somethi ng." She stopped and looked past at me. "Hey, is that your sister? What is she d oing over there?"
I turned around. On the bleachers sat a blonde girl with her hair clipped in fiv e thousand barrettes. She had her chin on her arms, staring remotely at the foot ball field where several players were practicing. Julianne and I decided to go t o her.
Smiling, I sat beside her. "Hey, don't you have class right now?"
"Oh, hi. No, our teacher's away," she said in a little voice.
I put a hand on her back and gazed down at her. "What's with the sad face, Lace? You've been like this ever since the entire weekend. How are you feeling?"
She lifted her head up and spun her attention to me. Her large blue eyes were gl eaming, and after a second, she burst out crying.
"Then there goes the precipitation," Julianne muttered.
I stared at her in incredulity. "Lacey, why are you...?"
She grabbed a handkerchief and blew her nose out. A sense of déjà vu came over me, a nd I realized she was making the same gesture with Bella. Wait. Was she crying b ecause of a guy?
"Oh, no. Hell no," I exclaimed at the thought. "Lacey, don't tell me a guy did t his to you! Who is he? What does he look like? You've to tell me right now becau se I'm so gonna skin him alive with a cheese grater! How dare him to make you cr y-"
"No," she mumbled. "It - it's me. I..."
My eyes widened. "Are you pregnant?"
"Whoa - contain yourself, Kylie," Julianne hushed.
"What? Of course, not!" Lacey rolled her eyes and sniffed. "It's just - I turned down Clark!" Then she wailed so loud I had to push myself away. "I - I can't be lieve I did that to him!"
Julianne gasped. "Oh, so that's what you've been texting me about since Sunday!"
"Really?" I asked.
"Y-yeah, and he's not talking to me anymore. Of course, why would he, right? I h urt his feelings. It makes me so guilty I can't even - whatever!" Lacey hiccuppe d and wiped her eyes.
"Oh, come on!" I clasped my hands on my chest, grinning. "Stop crying because wh at you did was absolutely right!"
Lacey and Julianne just blinked at that.
"Don't you get it? That's what I've been waiting for! For him to stop clinging a round you!" I cried. Then I studied their faces and put up a frown. "What?"
"B-but, Kylie! Why? Clark's charming, intelligent, considerate... He's like a pe rfect guy a girl wants to date with!" Lacey complained, her lips trembling.
I rolled my eyes and said, "Oh, stop it, Lacey. Forget that guy already. I've al ready told you how I feel about him, and he's not perfect, especially not for yo u."
Julianne just cocked her eyebrow at me.
"But-"
"No buts. I mean it."
"Ugh. You, sister dearest, are impossible," Lacey said, shaking her head.
As I watched her, I noticed she looked like a miserable porcelain doll. Her lips were frozen in a thin line, and her glistening eyes were distant. My heart sank .
"Do you still remember the rule, Lacey?" I asked after a momentary silence.
She sighed. "'None of Tristan's friends should ever date me.'"
"That's harsh," Julianne commented.
"Jules." I gave her a warning look and turned back to my sister. "Yes. So forget about him, okay? It's as simple as that."
"No, it's not. I don't think it would ever be that simple."
I wrapped my hands around hers, staring at her with genuine sincerity. "Look, La cey, I love seeing you happy with a guy you like, but... you have to understand, it's so much more difficult if you choose him. Just think about it - he may see m like a great guy, but he's Tristan's friend, and like-minded people tend to as sociate with each other. 'Birds of a feather flock together', right? We have no idea what's on his mind, so what if he turns out to be exactly like Tristan?"
"Kylie." Julianne flashed me a disapproving look.
I ignored her. "You know what Tristan's like, with all those broken-hearted girl s... I know it's terrible to judge people, but I don't want you to end up as ano ther one of those girls left in the dust, and I... I do hope you understand, and I'm really, really sorry if I was being a horrible sister to you, but I just ca n't stop me from being worried-"
Lacey chuckled, though the laughter didn't reach her eyes.
"Okay. I get your point," she said quietly. "I'll... try to think that."
I nodded. "Good."
She bit her bottom lip and lifted up her phone. "Oh, I better get going now. My next class is about to start at any minute."
"So... you feel okay now?" I asked as I watched her slinging her bag on her shou lder and standing up.
She bobbed her head lightly. "Uh, yeah I guess... thanks for your time, guys."
When she was finally out of earshot, Julianne inched towards me. "What was all t hat about?" she said with a glare.
I shrugged. "I'm just protecting her."
"No, who are you kidding?" she said bluntly. "You're actually limiting her freed om to get the guy she likes and have her own happily ever after!"
I scoffed. "Come on, a happily ever after? Jeez, she's only sixteen. Besides, do es that thing still exist in this world particularly in high school?"
"So what are you trying to imply? That you'll let her have her first boyfriend w hen she's finally eighty and having dextrose and shots?" Sighing, she shook her head and shifted herself towards the field. "I bet she'd never forget this exper ience."
"But she can suck it up and get over soon," I said, my guts started to twist as a vague memory came to me.
"It's not that easy. Hello, Lacey totally likes the guy since freshman year! I e ven think she's falling in love with him for real."
"Pathetic."
"Trust me; you would think twice saying that word again once you know how it fee ls like."
"Feels like what?"
"Oh, Kylie, you little naive..." Julianne smirked as she stood up from the seat. "I mean, when you finally find the guy, who not only can give a smile in your f ace but in your heart as well." She winked and started to walk away.
I only stared at her, wondering what she exactly meant by that.