ღ Finding Cinderella- 31 ღ
-Tristan-
"Why are girls so complicated?" I asked.
Grey looked up from his phone. "What are you yammering about?"
"It's like she doesn't know what to do. One minute, she's nice and looking like she's getting into me. And the next minute, she has this deadly look on her face while telling me she hates me. Could someone fucking explain, please? I'm confused."
"Hear you, bro. Them chicks are unexplainable sometimes," Justin said, grabbing a fistful of chips from the table and shoving them into his mouth. Then he chewed as he nodded at me. "But hey, it isn't like you to get worked up over how girls think."
"T-man's in love, dude. Cut him some slack," Ryo said with a chuckle.
"This thing has been going on for two days." I sighed, sagging in my chair. If only I could climb into Kylie's head to know what she thought about me. "I can't tell whether she likes me or she hates me."
"Just fucking ask her and get over it," Grey suggested and went back to texting somebody—probably some girl he'd picked up somewhere.
"She's avoiding me," I replied.
Ryo let out a sound as if he was punched in the gut. "Ooh. Feels bad, man. What if she already knows you're into her, but she doesn't feel the same, so she's avoiding you as a way to turn you down?"
I stared at him, astounded. For the record, Ryo had offered a rational insight into relationships. "That... that makes sense," I uttered. Yeah, I remembered making an indirect confession to her by the river. Had I come on strong? Or had I told her too early, and she hadn't liked it? What if she was merely having fun torturing me? Damn it, Kylie.
"But," Ryo piped up with his index finger pointing upward, "what if it's the opposite? What if she actually likes you, but she doesn't want to admit it, so she's avoiding you for you to chase her more? Like she's playing hard to get, y'know?"
That made sense, too. Which was it really? "Wait, where are you getting all these ideas?" I inquired.
"Probably from watching too much hentai," Justin answered, which earned his head a smack from Ryo.
"I want to think it's the latter, though," I said.
"Bro, you're probably over-analyzing it. Just do what you gotta do fast before you become a completely non-sexual entity in her eyes, like a brother or a lamp," Grey said in a monotone.
"Doing it already, man. And it's exactly why I'm getting these mixed signals," I said.
"Hey, at least lamps are attractive and they put you in a good mood." Ryo laughed, and I only stared at him for a few seconds.
Grey shook his head. "You all are hopeless fucks."
A moment later, Clark appeared, looking weirdly happy. The guy was smiling so big that his cheeks could be hurting.
"Yo, guess who just scored a date with the prettiest girl on campus?" He opened his arms to present himself proudly. "Yeah, this boy right here."
Justin cupped his hand to his mouth and hooted, at the same time Ryo asked, "With Lacey Harris?"
"Who else, dude?" Clark said.
In a state of bliss, Grey threw his hands up and shouted, "Fucking finally."
"Good for you, man," I said. A smile formed on my face as I thought about Kylie, and I angled my head to look over to her table to see how she was taking this news.
-Kylie-
"YOU SAID WHAT?" I slammed my hands on the table, rising to my feet.
"Sis—"
"Clark Young asked you out?"
"Kylie—"
"And you said yes without informing me first?"
My blood was boiling to the maximum level, and I tried to catch my breath when I finished talking. Lacey sank into her seat, pale and red-eyed if she were about to cry. Julianne, who was sitting beside her, brushed her hair affectionately as some form of moral support.
"Yes, because I'm sixteen and I can make my own decisions now," Lacey said. Her voice shuddered as she spoke, but her tone was full of defiance.
"It's just a date, Kylie. A natural phenomenon in high school. You need to calm down," Ronnie said, shaking up her little carton of milk.
"That's what I'm saying," Julianne replied.
The shock brought by the news gave me a sudden headache. Taking a seat, I closed my eyes and heaved a deep sigh.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Lacey," I said. "You hardly know the guy at all."
"But he's nice!"
"You think everyone is nice, Lacey, which gets you in a lot of trouble."
She crossed her arms across her chest and said stubbornly, "Clark isn't trouble."
"How do you know? How can you say that?" I asked. "You don't know his family or anything about him except that he's popular and is a friend of Tristan. Those aren't very good qualifications."
"He and I have known each other for a long time. Even if we don't hang out that much, I still can tell that he's a nice guy. And anyway, I'm going out with him, not with his family."
I was still unconvinced so I drummed my fingers on the table and kept my disapproving look in place. Ronnie and Julianne only shuttled their gazes between us.
"He's not a complete stranger to me. Or to you. Or to anyone at this table," Lacey continued, staring back at me with a flare of determination in her eyes. "He's not the type that smokes and throws beer cans in the street. He's a good student and he's very dedicated to swimming. I know he's a nice guy, Kylie. Besides, isn't the main point of dating to know more about each other?"
She made a valid argument. But I refused to give any reaction.
"I can vouch for him," Ronnie butt in. "Clark's actually the sweetheart in their bunch."
"See? He's a good guy." Lacey pouted. "You just don't want me to have any fun, do you?"
"No! It's not like that," I interjected. "I am eager for you to have a good time. It's just that..." I paused, trying to find the right words to explain it. "You know, I'm just worried—"
"I can handle myself," Lacey declared, answering the question that I hadn't asked yet.
I hit my face with my palm. A lot of what-if suddenly ran around my head. For example, what if some pervert arrived, pretending he was nice and all, and Clark wouldn't be there to save her? He might be sharing the same name with Superman, but he definitely wasn't a hero who would be there for her in a snap. She'd said that she could handle herself, but I highly doubted she could fight anyone. She couldn't even kill a cockroach at home.
Yet seeing her tough and determined expression, I couldn't help but think back to the talk I had with Erik some time ago. Maybe he was right. That Lacey was mature enough to recognize a good guy when she saw one.
I wanted her to be safe, but then... I probably should stop being the Mother Gothel in her life.
I regained my composure first before asking, "When will it be?"
"What?"
"Your date. When?"
"Oh. This Saturday," she answered.
With a reluctant heart, I said, "So you have a day left to prepare yourself."
Her face brightened, and she bounced on her feet. "You're letting me go for real? For real?"
"Don't nag me or I'll change my mind."
"Freaking finally," Julianne breathed out after her long silence.
Breaking into a wide grin, Lacey hopped to my side and squeezed me in a bear hug that almost cut off my windpipe. "Oh my gosh, thank you, Kylie! I love you!"
"H-hey, hey, I can't breathe," I wheezed. Laughing, she freed me, and I adjusted my collar. "Don't forget to tell Mom about this, okay? She has to know. Also, on Saturday, Clark must pick you up from home. I don't want you waiting in some street corner for him," I said. I needed to see that guy's face and give him a warning that I would cut off his limbs if he ever did something bad to her.
"No problem," Lacey chirped and sat back in her seat. A dreamy look came into her blue eyes as she held her rosy cheeks with her hands. "Oh, I can't believe I'm going out with him!" she squealed and then quickly pressed her lips, embarrassed. "Sorry, this is just really important for me..."
"We understand." Julianne smiled at her. "You've liked him since you were in ninth grade, right?"
Ronnie's mouth fell ajar. "Oh my God, ninth grade? You're so loyal."
"And Clark is patient, so I'd say they're both lucky to have each other," said Julianne. When she glanced at me, her smile faded. "Really, Kylie? Wipe that murderous look off your face already. She'll be fine."
"Wait," Lacey suddenly gasped. "What am I going to wear?"
I snorted. Was it really that big of an issue? "Lacey, you have a closet full of clothes. Maybe more than a lot of girls in our neighborhood."
She shot me an amused look. "You sound like Mom."
"Look, why don't you put on that pale blue dress you always wear outdoors? Isn't it your favorite dress?"
"It is, but it's old and Clark has seen it many times."
"Okay. How about that pink dress you bought two weeks ago? I don't think he has seen that one."
"Won't do, either. It's too dressy," she said with a shake of her head.
I raised my hands in surrender.
Lacey began biting her nails—her terrible habit when she was stressed. "Oh, and I think I need to lose three pounds and get microdermabrasion."
What the hell was that?
"This is totally an emergency," Ronnie said in horror. Both she and Julianne had worry clouding their faces.
I looked at them like they were losing their minds. "What emergency?"
They glowered at me and chorused, "Really?"
I raised my hands again, surprised by their outburst. "Jeez, sorry. Don't get hard on me. But is this actually something that you should be stressing about? I don't think you have to spend so much money and transform yourself overnight just to please your date."
"Incredible how you are right and miss the point at the same time," Julianne said.
"I love it. She's so clueless." Ronnie giggled.
I gave them all a deadpan look.
"Anyway, your sister's correct. You don't have to spend money on a new wardrobe," Ronnie said and bent forward to touch Lacey's arm. "I have an idea. What if I lend you my dress? I bought it last Sunday, and I haven't worn it yet. Tags still on and everything."
"Is it really okay with you?" Lacey asked, astonished.
"It is. I'm not sure if it fits you well, though, so why don't you come over to my house and try it on?"
"What about your parents?"
Ronnie made a scoffing sound. "Oh, they won't care," she answered in a brusque manner. "So, my place after school? After my cheerleading practice, I mean."
I wondered if there was a motive behind Ronnie's exceedingly nice treatment to us or this was just the effect of her broken friendship with Fiona, but since she wanted to help Lacey with her problem, I simply shrugged the suspicion off. As long as Lacey was happy, that was all that mattered.
Lacey gazed at Julianne and me, her expression begging for us to come with her. Smiling, I shrugged and said, "Yeah, we can go."