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ღ Finding Cinderella- 2 ღ

-Tristan-

Kylie wasn't talking to me.

Normally, she would make the effort to pull a face at me or at least to murmur a death threat under her breath. But today in this unbearably dull English lesson, I wasn't even worth that.

She was probably still pissed over the breakup I'd had with Bella two days ago. Gotta admit—I very much enjoyed seeing her frustrated. Seeing her grind her teeth and ball her fists—her signature look—would never get old. Even thinking about it made me smile to myself.

When the bell rang, she quickly shot up from her seat and dragged Julianne behind. I was going to catch up with her, but my loyal subjects, Clark Young and Grey Walter, had already started tagging along with me.

Eh. I'd talk to her when she cooled down.

As my friends and I began to talk about video games and stuff, making our way to the cafeteria, we were suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall. A crowd, composed mostly of girls, had hurriedly surrounded us.

"H-hey," one of the girls stammered. "We want to, um, give these to you."

And every one of them lifted those little bags, letters, and greeting cards, giving me an expectant smile. I could only stare at them in confusion.

"Uh, cool," I said, "but what are these for?"

The girl blushed as if I had offended her. "Valentines...?"

What the hell, it's Valentine's already? It felt like New Year's was only yesterday. No wonder the girls were so obsessive today, and no wonder Kylie looked so pissed.

"Ah, apologies, ladies. I forgot the date," I said smoothly. "Anyway, thanks. You all are sweet." Winking, I took those little bags from their hands.

The girls giggled and whispered to each other as usual. I fought the urge to scowl. You know how many times I'd said those words per year? Maybe a hundred and one times. I couldn't care less about the gifts they gave me.

The crowd was getting huge with every passing second, yet I managed to make a clean getaway by thanking them as I walked away. They always irritated me, but I never showed it. All these people could get so annoying. I'd been surrounded by praise my whole life as if I were a living monument or something. Sometimes these people made me forget who I really was.

Luckily, there was one person who reminded me who I really was... even though she didn't exactly like me, at all.

"You've certainly not lost your touch. I swear, every Valentine's Day, your personal magnetism only gets stronger," Clark remarked after we'd successfully sat down (ages later) at our usual spot in the cafeteria.

Apparently, a lot of girls hadn't gotten the chance to give me gifts yet, but we couldn't just spend the whole day collecting heaps of boxes and making empty thank-you speeches.

I pushed the mountain of gifts to my friends across the table. "Take them."

"What?" they chorused.

"They're all yours. You guys can eat them or give them to charity, whatever. Just take them away from me."

Grey cocked his eyebrow. "Aren't you glad you're receiving stuff like this? You're one of the few people in this school who get more than fifteen Valentine gifts, while the rest of us are getting leftovers or none."

"I got eighteen this year, and they're definitely not leftovers," Clark butted in.

"Fuck off." Grey punched him in the shoulder. "Why are you getting rid of them so suddenly?" he asked me.

"I always get the same old shit every year. It's getting boring already." I slumped in my seat, my hands collapsing on my sides. "There's nothing fun in this school anymore."

"Hey, dude, check this out," Clark said, snickering. He held out a greeting card, and I grabbed it.

There, in neat handwriting, was written: Roses are red. Violets are blue. I have no Valentine today, thanks to you.

It was obviously from Bella. I snorted.

"Do girls always get poetic like this after they go through breakups?" Clark asked. He had the second-least experience with relationships among our friends. The last time he had a girlfriend was in sixth grade, and he couldn't even remember her name.

I shrugged, scoffing. "Nah. Bella could just be frustrated, and she wanted to make me feel guilty."

Then I saw the P.S. at the bottom, saying she still liked me and was hoping for a second chance. Fuck no. When I said I was breaking up with someone, I meant it. There was no way I was getting back together with Bella. Not on Valentine's Day. Not ever.

Why would we ever be a couple again? Getting back with an ex is pretty much like going to a yard sale and buying back your own crap.

I had chemistry with many girls at the beginning of our relationships, but it all died down within days. Yeah, I didn't refuse them when they came, but I didn't chase them when they left either. Almost all of my past relationships had lasted about a month, and they hadn't felt right at all. I guess you could call them "relation-shits" instead of "relationships."

Someone suddenly poked the dimple on my right cheek, and I almost yelled out loud. Seriously, who would poke someone's dimple without their consent? If it were Kylie, though, it'd probably be another story.

I turned to the person who poked me, and—ah, shit.

"Hey, Tristan," Fiona Ryder greeted me in her ever-sickly sweet tone. "Happy Valentine's Day."

As she was about to wrap me in a hug and kiss me on the cheek, I dodged away as fast as I could. Fiona almost landed her face on the table if she hadn't supported herself with her hands just in time. Her russet eyes flashed, and Clark and Grey tried to stop themselves from laughing. I raised my hands, not feeling any guilt at all.

"Gee, Fiona, a simple hi would've been enough," I said. "Listen, this isn't supposed to make you feel bad, but let me remind you that we are not together anymore."

Standing behind Fiona was her best friend, Veronica "Ronnie" Sullivan, who was the head cheerleader of the Broadway Heights cheer squad. The auburn-haired girl rolled her eyes as she discreetly snorted a laugh.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Fiona curled her pink lips in a snarl. "It was just a gesture of friendship, Tristan."

What she actually meant was that she was flirting with me beyond a general acceptance of friendship.

I was about to say a counterattack, but I snapped my mouth shut. It was pointless to argue with a close-minded person.

"So, anyway, I heard you broke up with Bella Matrix," she said with a touch of boredom.

"So what?" I asked.

"Nothing." She turned her head away and murmured to herself, "Finally. Served her right."

"Fiona, just cut to the chase. What exactly are you doing here? What do you want?" I complained. My ears picked up munching sounds from Grey. He was pigging out on the popcorn as if he were in the cinema.

"I need to ask you something," she said. "You're going to the ball, right?"

Ah, that. The Broadway Heights High School's Valentine Ball. A special event that celebrated not only the holiday but also the school's birthday. Students in all grades were encouraged to attend the ball, as all the proceeds would go to a charity.

I heard that the student council had decided to change some of the Ball's programs this year. Pretty sure they wanted to add an event called "Fate Dance" or something like that. No one except the council knew what that was, and it was something everybody was waiting to see.

Last year, I'd been chosen as the King for the opening dance. I had expected the experience to be enjoyable, but it ended up being awkward as hell because they had also conveniently chosen Fiona as the Queen.

That was one of the most disappointing experiences of my life.

And now, she was asking me if I was going to go to the ball. I could sense something bad behind that sinister smile of hers.

"Silly me. Of course, you are, since everyone's expecting you to come!" She laughed. "So, do you have a date for the dance yet?"

"Yes," I answered without thinking.

"New girlfriend already? Damn, that was quick," said Clark flippantly.

I glared at him, and he zipped his mouth. I didn't have a date, actually, but I had given Fiona that answer because I wanted her to fuck off.

"Right, of course. It would be a pity if you went dateless to the dance, wouldn't it? Whoever that girl is, she'd better thank her lucky stars," she said, half-mocking. Wrapping her manicured fingers around my arm, she drew herself closer to purr in my ears, "But if you get bored with her, you can come to me. You know I'm always here."

I pushed her off me. "That's it, Ryder. Beat it." I then noticed that Ronnie was giving her an incredulous look.

Fiona threw her brunette head back, laughing again. "Bye, T. See you around. Have fun with that pile of trash on your table," she said, alluding to the Valentine gifts I'd received. She waved her hand in the air as she and Ronnie left.

What a crazy witch. As yet, she was one of the vilest females I'd ever encountered, probably the second most vile, if I were to rank them. The first, of course, would have been Kylie, but then again, that's another story.

Grey shook his head in awe. "Shit, that was an awesome episode of the Broadway Heights Sitcom, man. Glad to finally see the monsters in action."

I chucked a bag of chocolate at him, and he tried to block it with his hands. "What?" he guffawed.

"Shut up."

"So, Tris, what are you going to do now?" asked Clark.

I sighed. "Dunno. Find a date, perhaps, so the bitch can leave me alone."

"If you found a girl, though, the rest would surely kill her."

"Heh. I know."

Grey nudged Clark. "Hey, speaking of girls, have you picked out one of them for the ball?"

"Why would I choose? There's only one person I want to spend the night with."

"Cheesy fucker. You make me barf."

Clark laughed. "I haven't asked her yet, though."

He didn't need to sweat over that. With his good looks, his Mister-Nice-Guy attitude, and his spot on the varsity swim team, he too had a long line of admirers of his own. Despite this, his heart and mind remained with that one girl.

"Good luck with that, bro. Watch out for the big sister, though. She can bite your head off," I said.

"Is that supposed to be taken metaphorically or literally?"

"How about both?" Grey answered.

Right on cue, I saw Kylie and Julianne, with full trays in hand, scanning the entire cafeteria for an empty seat. I gave them a wave and motioned for them to sit down with us, but Kylie only glowered at me and walked away.

I let out a quiet laugh. She'd finally returned to her normal self.

Suddenly, with my mind already on the Valentine Ball, a light bulb flashed over my head. I knew just what to do.

"Anyway, T, you're looking for a date, right?" Grey inquired. "I can hook you up with somebody. She's pretty hot—"

"No need," I said, a devilish grin forming on my face. "I already have one in mind."

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