CHAPTER NINE: OF PANIC BUTTONS, CLOSET RESCUES, AND THE BOY WHO
Arielle Rylance Del Rio's POV
If it were possible to file a case for emotional distress and public humiliation, Supreme Allievo Academy would've been served a court summons ages ago.
Ever since the announcement about the Acquaintance Ball came out, it's felt like we're trapped in a live-action soap opera. The boys? Practicing their confessions like there's a cash prize. The girls? Touch-ups galore using phone cameras, locker reflections, and-no joke-one girl even brought a ring light.
On a Monday.
I wanted to disinfect my brain with alcohol. The wound-kind. Not the shot-kind.
And of course, as the new girl and a certified emotionally unavailable being, I became the unwilling object of everyone's hopeless romantic fantasies. Maybe because I'm "mysterious." Maybe because I genuinely don't care. Or maybe because the boys know I'm not interested-which, apparently, is a green light. Boys smell indifference like it's Victoria's Secret.
One second I was walking to the vending machine to buy C2. Next thing I know, three guys had blocked my path like they were filming the pilot episode of a romcom.
"Rielle, do you already have a date for the ball?"
"Go with me? I promise I'm better at dancing than I look-"
"I have a driver. And snacks."
Snacks? That's your move?
I gave them my best deadpan stare. "No. No. And hell no."
Walk out. No explanation. No regrets. If one of them cried? Not my problem. Come lunchtime? It was a war. I could hear the whispers-louder than my conscience.
"She pretends she doesn't care, but you know she wants attention."
I've started tolerating Jodie, Xylia, Errol, and Mico—aka KD's clingy fan club. I refuse to call them friends. They're like glitter: unwanted, impossible to get rid of, and stuck to me no matter how I try.
During break, I hid in the garden behind the Science building. Quiet. No boys. No Bianchi. No fake perfume or faker smiles. Just me, myself, and my unresolved rage.
But apparently, clingy is contagious.
"Yieee~ we found you!" Jodie chirped, annoyingly upbeat. "You thought we'd let you sulk alone? Cute."
"Didn't know I adopted stalkers," I muttered, complete with an eye roll.
"You're welcome," Xylia said as she plopped down like she owned the bench.
I groaned. But I didn't leave. Sometimes, silence feels lonelier than noise
. The rumors mutated like viruses. I was sitting with KD's crew-barely eating, silently judging-while Errol scrolled through his phone.
"So it's true? The serenade in the hallway?" Errol laughed.
"Ukulele, dude," I said, stabbing my rice. "Pink. With stickers. I almost called security."
"What'd he sing?" Mico asked mid-chew.
"Nothing. I left before the first chord. Faked an asthma attack."
They laughed. I smirked. A little.
"You sure you're not cursed with main character energy?" Xylia teased.
"Main character? Sis, I'm just trying to be a rage-fueled wallflower," I muttered. "But with how persistent the boys are, I feel like I'm the final boss in a dating sim."
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STRINGS BETWEEN US
Teen Fiction"A slow-burn teen romance threaded with secrets, rivalries, and a dangerous past neither of them remembers-until it comes for them." ✧ STRINGS BETWEEN US ✧ She left her crown behind. He ruled with silence. But some strings pull-no matter how far you...
