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ღ Finding Cinderella- 43 ღ

-Kylie-

Okay, I had made up my mind.

I would get my shit together and take matters into my own hands this time.

I waited until after school to begin my quest. Julianne and I were hanging out at one of the tables in the courtyard. She was complaining about how Grey hadn't stopped bothering her to go to prom with him when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ronnie and her cheerleaders striding toward the gym, carrying huge duffel bags over their shoulders.

Perfect.

I got up and ran. Julianne followed me, screaming, "Wait, Kylie! What are you gonna say?"

Honestly? I did not know what I was going to say. My insides were starting to do crazy somersaults, but screw all the what-ifs. That girl needed to know her place.

Upon reaching her, I poked her shoulder, making her stop and turn. The other girls did the same.

"I need to talk to you in private," I said, glowering at her. Ronnie was a few inches taller than I was, but I felt like I towered over her.

She gave her teammates a flick of her head to signal them to go ahead without her. Julianne also backed away to give us privacy. As soon as everyone else was out of earshot, I said with my voice low, "Ronnie, you may be gorgeous, popular, and pretty much the opposite of me, but listen to this."

I let it sink for a second. She raised one eyebrow as if she was daring me.

"Fuck you," I said.

Her jaw fell to her chest in an instant.

I barreled on, feeling more powerful every second. "Don't ruin someone's love life because you're unsatisfied with your own. Try that again, and I'll fucking shave your head."

Ronnie snapped her mouth shut, swallowing. Her usual confident air wavered as she tried to form a response.

"Okay," she said with a robotic bob of her head.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "That's it? That's all you've got to say? Are you mocking me, Ronnie?"

"No. I just don't know what else to say."

"You could apologize."

"I won't," she snapped. I blinked, my mouth forming an O. "I hold no regard for what pain you might have felt when you saw that picture. And I most definitely hold no regard for whatever you and he have gone through. I accept defeat, but I won't apologize."

That I could acknowledge. I wouldn't have forgiven her easily, even if she had apologized.

"Then I think the least you can do is to delete that picture," I demanded.

"Can't help you with that. Fiona was the one who posted it."

I screwed up my face in disbelief. Was she still in cahoots with that witch? Huh. So it proved that even enemies came together when their interests and goals aligned.

"You and Fiona are really something," I remarked. "You two must've come from the same birthplace, huh?"

"Which is?"

"Hell."

That made her smile. "Whatever. I gotta admit, though—we can't really win against you. You have him as he has you. I can't compete with that anymore."

I smirked. "You'd better keep that agreement."

"Oh, getting a little possessive of him, are we?"

"I'm not one for polygamy," I deadpanned.

Ronnie struggled to find a reply to that. "Right... Well, I guess that settles everything, doesn't it?" She held out her manicured hand. "Truce?"

I was surprised that she made the move, but I only stared at her hand, keeping my serious, unflinching look. "Truce is only temporary. It's like saying you're just going to lurk for a while, waiting for the opportune moment to sashay back into lives and do bad things again. I'd rather pick a permanent thing, like a peace treaty, in which you have to promise to never meddle in our relationship ever again."

Ronnie curled her hand and dropped it at her side, her smile turning to one of disappointment. "So... how would you like me to go about this... this peace treaty?"

"Keep your distance from now on."

She bored her eyes into me. "You do know that we belong in the same social circle, right?"

"Why does it matter? It doesn't give you the right to snake your way between us, does it?" Wow, did I just freaking say that?

A faint scowl passed her face. She knew she couldn't do anything but agree. She had said so herself that she couldn't compete with me anymore, and she knew how serious I was about the consequences. After a moment, her throat bobbed as if she was swallowing most of her pride, and her head rose with what was left of it.

"Okay. Fine," she said.

"Swear it."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I swear I'll keep my distance from you and from him."

I pointed two fingers at my eyes and then at hers. Ronnie gave me a weird and slightly scared look before turning on her heel and disappearing from my sight.

I pivoted to the opposite side and found Julianne staring at me with her bulging eyes.

"I'm surprised you didn't smack her in the face," she said.

"Unnecessary. Maybe when she tries anything funny again, I'll do it for real."

She cracked a smile and put her arm around my shoulder. "You totally looked cool back there. Good job."

"Really? Thank God it wasn't obvious that my heart was pounding like crazy." I said, and then we giggled at that. I was feeling so triumphant that I could jump around and scream.

"Now that you've settled matters with Ronnie, what's next? I hope you're not forgetting him," Julianne said, passing me a meaningful look.

"I know," I answered. This time, it was my responsibility to fix things up between us.

Tristan might get mad at me and blow me off like the way I'd done to him, but I couldn't just sit and wait for a miracle to happen. I would not allow us to spin into another miscommunication, misunderstanding, or other mess. This silence between us was suffocating already. I have to try.

Grinning, Julianne pulled her arm from my shoulder to give me a push on the back, making me stagger forward. "Go. Don't waste any chances. I heard he's at the greenhouse for his community service."

I turned to her. "Hey, Jules?"

"Yeah?"

"This is going to sound really cheesy, and it may make both of us cringe, but, uh, thanks for putting up with me and for always challenging my mindset." I was almost chewing my words, still finding it hard to be expressive and to put an affectionate intonation on my voice.

Julianne widened her eyes at me before biting the bottom of her lip and letting out a puff of laughter.

"Don't laugh. This is serious," I said, but I was smiling and frowning at the same time, and I felt like laughing as well. Uuugghhh, awkward.

"Sorry." She waved her hand as she composed herself. "I just didn't expect you to ever say that. I thought my unsolicited advice and commentaries were annoying you or something."

"Oh, they were indeed annoying," I said. "But I'm sure my pigheadedness was annoying you, too. So yeah... sorry."

She shook her head, indicating that it was fine. Her amused smile never left her face. "That's what friends are for, right? Now, go. I'll be heading home, but you've got to tell me the full scoop tonight, all right?"

"You think we'll be okay?" I asked. I sounded like a worried Lacey right there.

"Of course, silly. I've known he's in love with you since the first time I saw him looking at you. You screwballs will be okay. Just believe in yourself and go talk to him."

Onward to the battlefield, soldier.

I was taking my sweet time walking to the greenhouse, mentally preparing myself, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Lacey.

Behind lab. Clark's meeting with T. You need to hear this. HURRY.

The distance from the courtyard to the science building wasn't that far, but I had never run so fast in my life.

When I reached the area, I found Lacey peeking behind the wall. My lungs were burning, almost exploding, and I put my hands on my knees to catch my breath. Snapping her head around, she put her finger on her lips, silencing me. I walked closer to her and bent as well to see the boys in an already intense argument.

"—your problem with him, but it was long ago, wasn't it? I swear, man, I didn't know about his motives against you," Clark was saying. "I only asked him to convince Kylie to let me date her sister, that's all."

Lacey gasped.

My eyes sprang out of their sockets.

And the aliens spying on us from outer space are probably facepalming right now.

What. The. Hell.

I remembered what Erik had told me before, about my giving Lacey a break and letting her date whomever she liked. I had thought Erik was only sharing his personal opinion, but it turned out to be a deceitful act all along. Clark had used him!

Wait, no. Maybe Erik was the one who had manipulated Clark, based on what I'd just heard. Jeez, who exactly was the master puppeteer here?

"Well, isn't that fucking stupid?" Tristan spat. He looked like a wreck with the graze on his mouth and his hair uncombed. "You know you could've done better than that."

"I know, T, I know. I'm sorry. Something told me it was a bad idea, but I still did it because I thought it was the most effective shortcut to help me get to Lacey." Clark's voice was desperate; I could almost hear him whimpering. "That girl means a lot to me, T. You know that."

I turned away, my chest constricting. This was my fault, too, wasn't it? If I hadn't been so harsh on him and holding Lacey hostage, he wouldn't have fallen into Erik's trap, and none of this would have happened. You really can't underestimate the levels of stupidity someone will resort to in order to get what they want.

"I was supposed to ask for your help, T. Not Erik," Clark continued to explain, sounding breathless. "But you and Kylie hated each other, and I didn't want to create more problems for you and her. But... but then, things changed, and I realized my mistake. Erik was starting to do things that were completely out of the plan. I tried to stop him, but he didn't."

"Jerk," Lacey snapped. I looked at her wide-eyed. It was like hearing a four-year-old say the F word.

"What about Fiona and Erik?" inquired Tristan. "Monique told me you've also got something to do with them."

Fiona and Erik? Holy shit. They were in cahoots, too? Who the hell did they think they were, Bonnie and Clyde?

"Y-yeah," Clark mumbled. I could barely hear him, so I leaned closer until my cheek brushed against Lacey's hair. "Erik asked for my help to take out Fiona on a date as an exchange for my bid. So, I... I pried Monique for information on Fiona's preferences."

"You even dragged Monique into this? I can't believe you!" Tristan said.

"I didn't want to talk to Fiona, man. You know how she is. And I really thought I was helping. You wanted to get rid of Fiona, right?" There was a heavy pause, and then Clark sighed exasperatedly. "If only I knew things would turn out so ugly, I wouldn't have agreed. Swear to God, man. I'm really, truly sorry."

A nauseating chill crept through my skin.

My hunch last night was correct. Erik wasn't the person I believed he was. Was my judgment really that impaired? I felt so ignorant that it made me sick to my stomach.

I peered at them again. Tristan was gone. With his shoulders slumped, Clark turned around and tried to avert his eyes when he saw us. Lacey stepped out of hiding, a deep, scary frown on her face.

"I'm sorry, Lacey. I wasn't thinking rationally," he said. This guy looked like a wreck, too, like he'd spent the entire night thinking about how Lacey would react.

Was I looking forward to her breaking up with him? To be frank, regardless of all his confessions, no, I did not look forward to it. But I wouldn't care if he ended up single, either.

"You are a coward," Lacey pronounced, dropping every word like weights.

I gave her a wide-eyed look again. For a second there, she didn't sound like my sister at all.

"I accept that, Lacey." Clark shifted his eyes to me, and his expression turned to one of fear. "You can punch me if you like."

"No way," I said, grimacing. I was saving my strongest punch for someone who deserved it better. Someone whose name started with E. "You screwed up big time, Clark, but I don't think I'm the person to criticize you... or punish you for that matter."

I, myself, screwed up, too, so it would be hypocritical of me to point at him, laugh, and say, "Ha! Dumbass! You deserve it."

Besides, Lacey could make her own decisions. I had to acknowledge that, notwithstanding her naïve mind, she was more insightful than I was.

"Well, I'll leave the two of you now." I gave her shoulder a little squeeze, and she returned me a quick smile. A smile that was full of certainty that she got this. I couldn't be prouder of her. I couldn't be more impressed with her quiet emotional strength.

While I strode away, Clark gave me a grateful smile.

ღ

Filling my lungs with fresh, afternoon air, I rolled my shoulders back, slapped my cheeks, and entered the greenhouse. There was a hammering sound coming from a corner. I followed it and found Tristan behind a plant rack. He was bent on one knee as he worked on what seemed to be a planter box, a toolbox lying open beside him.

He was about to make a strike to the nail when he did a double-take at me. He ended up hammering his own thumb, and I flinched at the impact.

"Ow," I said, gritting my teeth.

Muttering a series of curses, he shook his hand and blew on his thumb to ease the pain.

"Um... s-sorry if I startled you."

He lifted his head up. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes followed me as I sat on my heels beside him. I took his hand and checked his swollen thumb. "Let's make sure you didn't squash or fracture it."

The skin was a bit red, but his nail was fine, and there were no cuts, no signs of tendon injury.

"So, how is it, Doctor Harris?" he said with an amused lift of his brow.

I scowled, but then I couldn't help smiling back. I loved the sound of it. Doctor Harris. But what I loved the most at the moment was that we were talking normally despite all the trouble that had happened.

"Is it painful?" I asked. "We can go to the clinic and get an ice pack for this."

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Okay... Well, let it rest for a while." I noticed that his hands were full of dirt. "Have you been gardening, too?"

He shifted his position so that he was now leaning against a long planter box next to the wall, resting his arm on his bent knee. Shrubberies lined behind him, and the light of the afternoon sun was passing through the windows, creating a yellow glow around his head.

"Yeah. Part of the service," he answered.

"You're working alone?" I wanted to find out what happened to Erik.

"Yeah. That bastard chose one week of suspension over one week of service," he said with blatant cattiness. "Who knows what he could be doing now, but let's hope he's mulling over how far he's surpassed the stages of being a liar and an asshole."

I wore a dismayed smile. Then, silence fell upon us. I lowered my eyes, but I could feel him still staring at me. The guilt of hurting him, of saying hurtful words to him, slipped into my chest and made it ache. Made it weak. But I shouldn't run away from my feelings anymore.

Slowly, I breathed in.

"T," I said, at the same time he said, "Kylie."

Tristan glanced away. I fiddled with my fingers on my lap.

"You—" we said together again and stopped.

Oh, jeez.

A smile threatened to take over my face, and I quickly gnawed on my bottom lip. The ache in my chest was still there, pulsating, but my amusement over this situation lessened the pain. It seemed as if he was struggling to hide his amusement, too; his dimples were a dead giveaway.

"W-what I wanted to say is," I blurted out, "I'm sorry."

He looked back at me, his face going serious.

"I'm sorry... for everything. For being so stubborn and mean, and for judging you so much."

The words hung in the air like a fruit waiting to be picked. At last, Tristan replied. The weight in his voice allowed me to know how much he was hurting, too.

"I'm sorry for everything, too, Kylie."

I nodded.

"Also, I'm sorry for slapping the crap out of your face," I said.

He shook his head. "I deserved it. After all the things that I did... It was a much-needed wake-up call for me to stop playing around, and for me to be honest with you and with myself, too."

We locked eyes and shared a small smile of amusement. Relief filled me with so much lightness I could probably float away. And cry. The door to my heart had opened just a little more to welcome him. Once again, I felt vulnerable. But this time, that vulnerability came with courage.

"T?"

"Yes?"

"Have your feelings for me changed?"

He shook his head.

"Then... will you go out with me?"

He blinked. Then quirked his eyebrow.

"Is it for another undercover work?" he asked.

"No..."

With every ounce of bravery in me, I lifted myself to draw closer to him. His cologne, which was mixed with sweat, invaded my senses as I hovered my face over his. His grey eyes widened in surprise and anticipation, and they closed when I kissed him. Time seemed to halt while I rested my lips on his. My heart was thrashing around like a wild animal in its cage, but my whole body had never felt so at ease having physical contact with another person.

After a minute of forever, I opened my eyes and pulled away to say, "It's for real this time."

His cheeks flushed adorably, and he could hardly look me in the eye.

"That was hot," he said.

I laughed. "You know, I swore to myself that never in a million years would I ever date you, but here I am."

"How do you feel about it?"

"Weird."

He chuckled. "Understandable."

"But mostly... I feel happy."

"I'm glad." His cheekbones could be hurting from all that smiling.

I wanted to lean in and kiss him again, but then a gruff "humph!" sounded from behind me. Twisting my head around, I saw the school groundskeeper—Milburn, if I remembered correctly—standing to his full height. His arms were crossed over his chest, and the frown on his face made his wrinkles more pronounced.

He angled his head toward the door, telling me to get out, and I quickly got up, babbling apologies. Laughter was starting to bubble inside of me, and I pursed my lips together before it could escape. I didn't know what was funny about us being caught—in fact, I should feel embarrassed—but after patching things up with Tristan, my mood had boosted to a euphoric state.

While heading to the entrance, I peeked at Tristan over my shoulder, and he grinned, giving me an "I'll see you later" look. Meanwhile, the groundskeeper merely ping-ponged his gaze between us before he shook his head. I could skip my way home for being on such a high, but first, I had to make a stop at a convenience store to get myself some ice cream. Just a little reward for myself.

-Tristan-

It had been an innocent little kiss, but it was undeniably hot. I was still grinning like a lunatic even though it had been more than a minute since Kylie left. The touch of her skin, the taste of her lips, and the scent of her shampoo lingered around me.

Milburn seemed pissed that his greenhouse was turning into a make-out spot; he kept barking that I needed to finish the planter box immediately. I heard myself saying sure and found myself hammering the wood again, but my mind was stuck on her. I didn't expect she'd go out of her way to ask me out. Her confidence was hot, too. Thank God, she had been blunt about it, or I would've taken ages to make a move on her again.

Fuck. I could die from happiness right now.

When Milburn went out to water the plants, I fished my phone out of my pocket and called Grey.

"Hey, man. Listen, this might be short notice, but I need your help. Tell everyone to come to my place later. We gotta prepare something important for tonight."

No more dawdling or waiting this time. 

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