The Ignored Princess Meets the Tortured Prince

Chapter 22

Kirsten

“Kirsten!” Dawn hurried over to me as I stood by a tree in the courtyard, waiting for school to start.

“Hey Dawn, what’s up?”

She looked at me with a curious look. “You haven’t heard yet, have you?”

“Heard what?” I crossed my arms, waiting for some kind of bad news.

“I’ll take that as a no.” She dropped her bag and leaned back on the tree. “Well I’d rather you hear the new rumor from me than some gossip who’d just exaggerate.”

“What new rumor?” I asked. “Does it have to do with me?”

“Well,” she let her hair fall further into her face, “sort of. Your name isn’t in it so they don’t realize it’s you, but whoever started it probably does. Well, I’m pretty sure the person knows it’s you. Maybe not though, who knows.”

“Dawn,” I shook my head, “what’s the rumor?”

“Right,” she gave a Dawn smile then stood up a little straighter. “They’re saying that Lucas is dating a preppy girl, which is enough of a scandal to most people, and that, and this is the part that isn’t true, just so you know,” she looked at me with a very serious face before continuing, “Well, they’re saying he’s only doing it to make Angel jealous.”

I blinked. I’d never thought about that. Was Lucas just with me to make Angel jealous? Would he do that?

“Stop right there,” Dawn said, stepping toward me, “I can see the wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours. I can tell you that I am 100% sure, no 1,000%, even a million percent sure that Lucas is not trying to make Angel jealous by being with you.”

Hold on a minute. “Wait, I just broke up with Josh yesterday after school. I’m not even sure if Lucas and I are really dating, so how do you know?”

She smiled a little bigger. “Lucas texted me last night. He was all super excited, which is another reason why I know this is just a stupid rumor!”

I bit my lip, looking to the side and she lightly put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t jump to conclusions. I can almost guarantee you that your mind will come up with something much worse than the truth. Just go talk to him, ask him about it, and listen to your heart.”

When I didn’t move, Dawn gave me a light push. “Go.”

I laughed once at her then made my way over to Lucas. He smiled when he saw me, but stood still, not sure what to do. As soon as I got over to him, I gave him a big hug, discreetly kissing his cheek, then stepped back.

He grinned. “Well good morning to you too.”

“Lucas,” I said, somewhat serious. “I need to ask you something.”

His smile dropped. “What is it?”

I took a big breath then threw it out there, talking barely above a whisper. “You’re not just dating me to make Angel jealous, are you?”

He blinked, looking shocked. “No, hell no. Why would you think something like that?”

I shrugged. “There’s a rumor going around.”

His eyes widened. “A rumor?”

“Yeah,” I gave a nod, “but no one knows I’m the one you’re dating. They think it’s just some random popular girl.”

“Well I don’t know who started it, but it’s not true.” He paused for a minute then grinned. “So we’re dating now?”

I blushed slightly. “Well I don’t know, I guess we are. I think we are, aren’t we?”