"I'll keep you my dirty little secret."
IT'S BEEN TWO weeks since I've arrived at Meilleur, and if I'm going to be completely honest, it was pretty boring. If you don't count unexpected encounters with the Royals and Bianca and her cronies on my first day, that is. Emily and I hit off right from the start, and now having lunch and dinner with her is practically a given.
Even though we've only been friends for half a month, it almost feels as if we've known each other for ages. By the third day of knowing her, we knew almost everything about each other, like how she tends to ramble when she's nervous and that her favourite colour's grey, because it reminds her of her first pet dog who had a coat of grey fur.
Emily also made sure to tell me all about the workings of Meilleur Academy, and what proper etiquette was around here. Of course, I never listened to her advice on how to act around her and always ended up getting stink-eyed by everyone around me. For some reason, I found it extremely amusing how easily offended these people were.
"Lexi, wait up!" Emily called out. I turned around and spotted my friend walking up to me. That's something else I've learned here at Meilleur, don't run unless you're in gym class. Even if you're late.
Why? Etiquette, Emily has so kindly explained. I will never understand rich people.
"You know it's much faster for you to just run, right?" I sighed when she finally caught up with me. Emily shot me a sheepish grin, tucking a strand of hair that had escaped her usual neat bun behind her ear.
"You know we're not supposed to do that," she said, hugging the textbooks in her arms close to her chest. "So, what's for lunch?"
"They're serving Japanese today," I told her, adjusting the strap of my knapsack that had gotten loose. "And we're late. Come on, let's go!"
"Alright, alright," Emily drawled, rolling her eyes playfully. "You and your darn Japanese food."
"You know it," I said, winking. As we made our way to the dining hall, Emily started up a conversation.
"So," she began, pausing. She glanced at me, making sure I was listening to her. "You heard about the Winter Semi-formal ball, right?"
"Yes," I answered casually, before stopping in my tracks and casting her a suspicious look. It wasn't like her to bring something up unless it was relevant. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking that you should go. Since you're new to this place and this will be your first ball, no?" Emily asked. Tilting my head to one side, I contemplated going to the ball. It was on the second last Sunday of February, and I'd rather spend the weekend sleeping in instead of dressing up for a ball. Besides, going without a date would be pretty awkward.
"I don't have a dress, Em. Plus, I'm not very keen on attending alone," I sighed, biting my lip.
"You can borrow one of mine! I have way too many dresses," Emily offered, widening her eyes and casting me a pleading look.
"Still. The ball's this Sunday, and there's no way I'll be able to get a date by then. Besides, what's with the sudden interest in attending balls, Em? Two days ago, you were just talking about how annoying they were," I laughed, giving her a strange look. She was acting really strange, and now that I noticed it, she even looked a little strange today. She walked with a skip in her step and instead of her school blazer, which she never took off, she was wearing an over-sized grey sweater that didn't look her style at all. Then, just like magic, a lightbulb went off in my head.
"Oh my god. You have a date to the ball, don't you?" I gasped, my eyebrows shooting up in surprise. Just like I expected, Emily turned a vibrant shade of pink. There was no other explanation as to why she was acting so giddy and strange! It had to be a boy that's gotten her all hot and bothered.
"I knew it! Who is the lucky boy, hm?" I squealed excitedly. Emily cleared her throat awkwardly and gave me a nervous smile. Her shifty eyes refused to make eye contact with me and she couldn't stop fidgeting in place.
"Lexi, you know how it is with balls at the Academy, don't you? You can't go without a date, so of course I have to have a date, but you know, it doesn't really mean anything at all and you are really just thinking too much of it and all and really—," she rambled nervously, licking her lips and throwing her hands in all directions. As horrible as I might seem, seeing her get so flustered over a boy was really funny, and I was looking forward to see just how much she could ramble. However, my fun was quickly cut short by the clearing of a throat.
Turning around, I saw that it was none other than the Royals themselves, in the flesh. Emily, who took notice of them, let out a squeak and kept her head down low. In their uniforms, they look fit to walk a runway instead of just attending classes. Students lingering around us started to pause, staring at us with interest.
"What now?" I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes.
"Hey Asher, isn't that your—," Logan began to say before Emily cleared her throat loudly.
"Lexi, meet my date to the Winter Ball," Emily blurted out quickly. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I stared at the four boys in front of us.
"Which one of them is your d-date?" I stuttered, blinking slowly to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Then, with a low voice, I pleaded, "Please, please tell me it's not Asher Dane."
"Uh, Lexi," Emily whispered awkwardly. "It is Asher Dane."
"W-what?" I blurted out, dumbfounded. "But he, he's such an ass!"
"I'm right here," Asher muttered, his expression one of annoyance.
"I know that!" I snapped before turning to Emily again. Logan and Yuko looked like they were about to laugh, but quickly controlled themselves when Asher shot them a warning glare.
"I'm so confused. I, I don't know what's happening. Emily? Explain? Please?" I mumbled dazedly, staring at Emily and back at Asher Dane, who looked as cranky as ever. Emily giggled nervously.
"Um," Emily began, coughing awkwardly. "Asher and I are kind of..."
"Engaged," Asher finished impatiently, crossing his arms. I almost started choking on air.
"Huh?!" I yelled, before Emily quickly slapped a palm across my mouth and muffling my agonizing shout. Once she was sure I wasn't going to start screaming like a banshee anymore, she cautiously removed her palm from my mouth.
"You're stuck with him for the rest of your life? Emily, don't do this to yourself!" I cried theatrically, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her lightly.
"Oi!" Asher snapped. I caught Logan laughing softly under his breath but he quickly composed himself after Asher gave him the evil eye.
"It's complicated," Emily mumbled. I opened my mouth to fire more questions at my new friend, but was quickly cut off by her.
"So! You need a date to the ball, right?" Emily said, changing subjects. I narrowed my eyes.
"What are you trying to get at?" I asked suspiciously.
"Well maybe one of them can take you!" Emily cheered, pointing to the three remaining Royals.
"No."
"But, Lexi—"
"Nope."
"C'mon, it'll be fun—"
"No thanks."
"I don't know whether to feel bad for Emily, or be personally offended," Logan joked.
I shot him a glare and replied, "Feel free to be offended."
Emily groaned aloud, clasping both of my hands in hers and giving me her best puppy-eye expression.
"Come on, please! For me, Lexi!" she begged again, widening her eyes and fluttering her eyelashes, which even I had to admit, was almost enough to get me to agree to her demonic plan. Although, agreeing to go was one thing. Getting one of these boys to take me as their plus-one was a completely different challenge.
Pursing my lips and glancing at the boys around us, I finally sighed in defeat and said, "Fine. Although, I'm sure none of them are free to take me."
Emily squealed, then turned to the boys who all looked pale and a little bit terrified of Emily's impending question of doom. None of them dared to look in her eyes, except for Robin Clair, who hasn't looked up from his phone screen since they appeared.
"Logan!" Emily chirped, and I swore he cursed under his breath before shooting her a wide charming smile.
"Yes, Emily?" he cooed.
"Can you take her to the dance?" Emily practically pleaded. Logan smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head.
"About that...I already have a date. Sorry, Alex," Logan explained, casting me an apologetic smile. I shot him a stiff smile, although inside I was practically jumping for joy.
Yes! I thought. Reject me!
"What about you, Yuko? Please?" Emily begged, and the pale bespectacled Japanese boy licked his lips nervously. His cheeks flushed light pink, and he blinked at Emily and then at me.
"I'm not sure—"
"I'll take her. Can we go now?" Robin said restlessly, no— demanded, his smooth and velvety voice sending shivers down my spine. He barely threw me a glance before he continued to use his phone, ignoring the rest of us who were staring at him, dumbfounded.
"Well then, it's settled," Logan said slowly, tilting his head to one side and blinking, as if he couldn't believe his own words. Without wasting a second, Robin turned around and walked away towards the dining, and his friends followed behind soon after.
It took Emily and me a minute to comprehend what just happened, and when everything finally sunk in, I let out a loud groan.
"Did Robin Clair just...what the hell?"
"Calm down, Lexi! You have a date!" Emily said, although she looked more apologetic than happy.
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing," I mumbled, staring at the backs of the boys as they walk away. Today was just full of surprises. First with the whole Asher-Emily engagement. And now, I was Robin Clair's bloody date to the winter ball. What's up with that?
"He can't be that bad," Emily tried to comfort me. I could do nothing but sigh and hope that Emily was right at this point. Pursing my lips, I glanced at Emily and narrowed my eyes.
"Come on, I need to get some food in my stomach. And besides, you have a lot of explaining to do."
I could hardly contain myself as we made our way to the dining hall. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask! I couldn't wait before getting to the hall to start asking questions, so I started grilling her as we made our way to the recreational building.
"When did the two of you start dating?" I questioned, staring dead into her eyes. Emily squirmed, shaking her head slightly.
"You've misunderstood me, Lexi. We're not dating," she answered.
"So you're not engaged!" I sighed in relief, only for Emily to furrow her eyebrows awkwardly.
"Actually, we are engaged," she coughed.
"To be married," she added, after some silence of my part.
"You're not dating, but you're engaged to be married," I said slowly, giving Emily a strange look.
"Yes, that is correct," she replied, and I rubbed my eyes roughly.
"How am I more confused now than before?" I muttered to myself, burying my face in my hands. Emily hesitated, biting her lip, before letting out a small sigh.
"Asher Dane and I are getting married for our family business," she explained. "It's kind of like a contract between both of our families. Asher's family and my family own the two most successful and competitive banking firms, and our parents think it's a good strategic move to merge our companies."
"To form like, a monster banking firm?" I asked. Emily blinked, her lips threatening to break into a smile.
"Yes, Lexi. A giant monster firm that no other firm can beat," she laughed.
"Let me get this straight, your engagement to Asher Dane is a business ploy?" I exclaimed, summing up everything Emily had just told me into one single statement. Emily chuckled nervously and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"Yes?" She answered, almost as if she herself was unsure.
"No offense, but this sounds like some kind of medieval crap," I commented, and even though she was clearly troubled, she managed a small laugh. "Do you want to do this, Em?"
Emily, who was staring blankly in front of her, looked up at me in surprise.
"Huh?"
"I asked if this is what you want," I repeated, causing her to stare at me in astonishment.
"N-No one's asked me that before," she finally answered, in a small, timid voice. At this moment, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for Emily. Even though she was born into a wealthy family and lived luxuriously, her life was already set in stone by her parents. I wondered if that was the case for the rest of the students here. For once, being wealthy didn't seem so fortunate.
"I don't know, Lexi. I was never given the chance to think about myself and what I want," she sighed sadly. "When my parents tell me to do something, I just do it and I don't think too much about it. But marriage...that's serious, isn't it?"
"If you're not sure you want to do this...why don't you tell your parents?" I suggested softly, patting her back. She shook her head gently.
"I can't. This is their legacy. I'm continuing their hard work by doing this," Emily sighed, looking dejectedly at her feet. "I'm glad that you can't understand or relate to this, Lexi. In this society, this is how things work. Success comes first before anything else."
"Is the engagement made known to the public?" I asked curiously after some silence.
"Not yet. Although that's going to be a big problem when it's finally revealed," she replied miserably.
"Why?" I asked, furrowing my brows.
"People adore the Royals, like they are pieces of art, you know? Like paintings and sculptures," she said absentmindedly. "The most beautiful pieces are stored at museums for everyone to admire. But in the end, these works of art don't belong to any single person. You can look at them, but you darned well better not touch them."
"So you're saying that you might be targeted by the student body if they find out that you and Asher Dane are engaged?" I asked, suddenly feeling anger build up inside of me. This was complete blasphemy! As much as I disliked these boys, I don't think they should be treated as public property.
"I'll stand by you no matter what. If any Barbie or Ken tries anything funny, I'm here to kick their asses for you," I said firmly after Emily nodded. Emily's worried expression quickly dissipated and was replaced with a shy, grateful smile.
"Thank you, Lexi," she said quietly, nibbling on her bottom lip. She shut her eyes tightly, letting out another sigh. "I really don't want to get married to someone that I don't love."
"I'm assuming Asher Dane isn't lovable?" I teased, causing her to pout.
"I don't know, Lexi. I'm just confused," she replied. "Sometimes, when we're alone, he can be really sweet. And then sometimes he acts as if I'm not even there."
"What about this?" I asked, pointing to the grey cardigan she was wearing. Immediately after I pointed it out, Emily turned a bright pink.
"H-He lent it to me last night. We were out and it was cold," Emily explained quietly, absentmindedly stroking the soft grey wool.
"Why are you still wearing it if you didn't like him?" I decided to ask, pushing my limits. Emily cringed after I asked the question, and I was about to take it back before she opened her mouth to speak.
"Like I told you before, I'm confused. I feel like if the two of us at least try to make it work, we could become friends. But he changes his mind with a flip of a switch. One minute he's nice, and the next he's not. I think he's purposely being difficult because he's against the whole engagement."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"He thinks that I'm some kind of gold-digger," she replied, rolling her eyes. "At least, that's what he's told me."
"What?" I exclaimed, completely flabbergasted. "But you're probably just as wealthy as he is!"
Emily laughed and shook her head, "He's like that. Very negative."
"What a jerk," I said, shaking my head.
"I know that real reason he hates me is because he thinks I'm spineless. Like me, he isn't interested in the family business. Instead, he chose to do art. His parents think that if he wasn't going to take over the business, then the least he can do is to make sure that his family's company is taken care off," she said softly. "He thinks that if the both of us rebel against our parents, they'll drop the engagement. But I won't. I can't. Gosh, if I were him, I'd hate myself too."
My expression softened when I heard what she had to say. Reaching to my left, I clasped her hand in mine and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"You do what you think is right," I sighed, offering what little advice I could come up with. "But Emily, what is right might not always be the correct thing to do."
"My, we're talking as if I just told you I'm pregnant or going to die! We're a tad bit over dramatic, aren't we?" Emily laughed, nudging me with her shoulder and livening up the dreary atmosphere. Even though I grinned and laughed along, I couldn't get rid of the worry I had for Emily.
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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this extra chapter! That'll be all for today. If you hadn't already noticed, the rewritten version has longer chapters. I hope you guys appreciate that <3
Also, if you don't already know, I write poems occasionally! Head over to my profile and look for The Skin On Our Bones, my lil poetry collection.
#QOTC: Do you ship #Ashly? Or do you ship Asher and Alex (#AA)? Let me know!
Song of the Chapter: Dirty Little Secret by All American Rejects.