When did my pillow get so soft?
I buried my face deeper into the satin pillow, feeling its softness. It was like I was sleeping on clouds. My mom must have finally gotten me some brand new pillows last night. At least, I know that she actually takes into consideration my complaints about my pillows feeling like rocks.
But why did my bed feel different too?
I fluttered my eyes open and tossed the brown, satin pillow away from my face. Thank you Momma for all the brand new stuff.
I stretched my arms out and pulled off the blanket on top of me with one swish. I sat at the corner of my bed and looked around to get my stuff ready for school. My prepared clothes were probably near my closet and I could imagine my homework still scattered all over my desk.
But wait a minute ... There was just one problem. Something didn't seem right.
This wasn't my room!
Freaking out, I yelped and tumbled onto the hardwood floor. I scanned around the unfamiliar room and panicked.
What was going on? Did I ... get kidnapped last night?
I tried to remember how I got here, but the last thing I could fully remember was finding a crying Karen at a lounge. Everything else seemed blurry.
I got down on my legs and crawled around the room, afraid to make too much noise.
I picked myself up when I hit my head in front of a very huge and fancy book case. Rubbing my head, I scanned the books that were displayed so perfectly side by side. My eyes skipped around the literature and government books until it fell upon a gold photo frame near the corner. I squinted my eyes to get a better look of the frame. It held a picture of a young boy in a black and white tux and a beautiful woman with long, curly brown hair whose glowing skin illuminated her dazzling, gray gown.
"Whoa." I whispered to myself. This woman was gorgeous. I actually would not mind if she was my kidnapper. Maybe I can even ask her about her skin care routine? Can kidnapees do that?
"Miss Richelieu."
A very light voice spoke out from behind me. Startled, I turned around to face 10 maids in front of me and my mouth dropped down.
Is this some kind of maid fandom?
"Uh..." I nodded my head, "Yes?"
How did they know my name?
"You're finally awake." Another maid spoke out right when I noticed that the bed, I slept on, was already made. How did I not hear them entering into the room?
"He's been so worried." The maid with the red-hair spoke with a relieved tone to another maid. "He took care of her all night."
"He?" I overheard them.
"Mr. Prescott." The other maid smiled.
"Mr. Prescott?" I repeated. They must've seen how weird I looked because I stood there, pondering why that name seemed familiar. Then, my eyes widened.
William Prescott was my kidnapper.
Some flashes of memories from last night entered into my head and I cringed at the memories. It all made sense now. I remember seeing Will enter the lounge with his uncle, but after that ... I don't really remember.
Oh dear. I really, really hope I didn't do anything stupid last night.
"Mister Prescott"-A maid pointed at the door as I stood still, nearly hyperventilating-"is downstairs in the kitchen. Would you like us to inform him that you are awake first?"
"No!" I stopped them, "its fine. I'll go down."
I shut my eyes with embarrassment as I walked outside the room. Oh Shannon, you must've done something immensely stupid if you ended up here.
You were supposed to be avoiding him and letting him move on with his life ... with Charlotte.
"I'd be happy to show you the way, Miss Richelieu." The maid with red hair followed behind me. "It's in the East Wing, so it's pretty far from here."
"The East Wing..." My words trailed as my eyes widened with amazement. This. Place. Was. Huge. It was like all the Beverly Mansions combined together to make Will's mansion. A dazzling, crystalized chandler stood in the middle of the waterfall-like staircases. There was antique-styled furniture plastered everywhere and lots of framed artworks covered the walls. It was pretty hard, catching up with the maid, as I kept tumbling on my own feet from taking in this beautiful mansion.
"Mister Prescott took care of that headache you had last night." The maid turned her head slightly before entering a corridor.
"My headache ...?" I touched my head.
"Yes, you fainted last night, Miss Richelieu."
"Fainted!?" I exclaimed. I quickened my pace to catch up with her fast walking. "I fainted?"
"You don't recall, Miss Richelieu?"
"I-I have flashes of memory, but I completely blanked out." I tapped my chin, trying to force myself to rekindle the hidden memories. How could I let myself faint? And especially, in front of Will?! Ugh. Stupid Shannon.
We continued walking and walking until it seriously seemed like hours had passed. The good thing was that it gave me enough time to formulate sentences to say to Will since I hadn't seen him since the beach house. The bad thing was that the maid said we were getting closer which made me forget about all the sentences I formulated in my head.
Passing a mirror, I had to stop and stare at the medusa-looking girl in front of me. My hair was a huge mess and I seriously looked like a lost zombie from the Walking Dead.
Of course this would happen. I hadn't seen Will for almost a week and now I was going to have to talk to him looking like this. Yes. No big deal or anything.
I sighed, walking away from the mirror.
The maid nudged her head at the door in front of me and smiled. "Here it is, Miss Richelieu." She bowed and walked away.
I think I stayed outside for almost an hour before finally taking 2 steps near the door. It was two 2 big steps, okay! I hadn't seen Will in so long and plus, the last time we talked was when I exploded at him at the beach.
I'm trying to get over him...
"Maybe, I should check on her again." I heard someone say from outside the door.
"Bro, you checked on her 30 minutes ago. She's probably still sleeping. It's 6 in the morning."
"Yeah, but she has school in 2 hours."
Is it too late to just leave?! I mean I don't think Will would even notice if I was gone. Would he?
Stop it, Shannon! Man up! You can do it!
I let out a deep breath before quickly pushing the door open to let me in. I was feeling sort of confident walking in, until I saw someone rubbing their head and yelling a very, very bad word.
"Oh my gosh, Will!" I panicked when I saw his now, bruised forehead.
"Shannon!?" Will exclaimed as I looked behind him to see Derick, near the kitchen counter, typing on his laptop. "Derick?" I questioned.
"And Opaline! Hi Shan Shan!" Opaline waved from behind Will. And at that moment, I didn't know what to feel more shocked about - the fact that I had just hit Will straight in the face with a door or that Opaline was awake at 6 in the morning.
Retrieving back to the incident at hand, I held Will's arm and led him to a small dining table near the corner of the room. "I-I am so, so sorry." I bit my lip in embarrassment.
"You okay, bro?" Derick asked from his seat.
"You're an accident waiting to happen, you know that?" He rubbed his forehead, looking over at me. Opaline got up from her seat and opened the fridge to get some ice. Derick was starting to laugh, but Will death glared at him.
"Hey!" I fought back, "I didn't know you were going to go through the door, Prescott."
Ugh. I can't believe I felt embarrassed seeing him. He's still the same jerk.
"Really?! This door opens inward, Richelieu, everyone knows that you're supposed to open it slowly." He angrily yelled back.
"Well, sorry." Opaline handed me the ice pack and I placed it angrily on his head. "I'm not rich enough to pay for door opening classes like you."
"Oh clever, really." He remarked. "I'd be happy enough to pay for your door opening classes."
"Thanks, but I think you should spend that money on a class that teaches you how to be nice."
"Well, then maybe you would be happy enough to join that class with me." He got up from the chair and grabbed the ice pack from my hands.
"Holy crap guys." Opaline pushed Will and I away from each other and stood in the middle. "You realize, you both are fighting about nonexistant door opening classes at 6 in the morning, right?"
"No, don't." Derick came alongside us and smirked. "It's rather entertaining seeing them fight like an old, married couple."
"We are not a couple!" Will and I both yelled.
Will groaned when he placed the ice pack on his forehead again and turned his gaze at me again. "She's the one yelling at me! She's the one that hit me."
"It was an accident!" I exclaimed. "And how am I yelling? You're the one yelling at me so early in the morning."
"Shan apologized Will." Opaline clarified, trying to conciliate the argument.
"Yeah, but he's cranky," Derick counteracted, "He didn't get any sleep."
"Well then maybe you should have gotten more sleep." I said annoyed. I hit him with the door on accident, he didn't need to insult me or yell at my face.
"I would have if I wasn't taking care of you." He looked me straight in the eyes and then the whole room grew quiet.
Guilt started flooding through my veins and I grew crestfallen. How could I have forgotten that he took care of me when I apparently fainted? He was screaming so much, I just didn't know what to do.
I looked away from him, ashamed, as Derick let out a low whistle.
"You know, Derick." Opaline broke the silence, "The maids are cooking pancakes in the other kitchen." She started walking away slowly.
"Right behind you." He grabbed his laptop from the kitchen counter and walked out alongside Opaline. The door swung back and forth until it was just Will and I left in the room.
We were a few feet apart from each other, but it seemed like a whole wall was in between us. The awkwardness was slowly stepping in and I could feel him looking over at me.
Just say you're sorry again, Shannon.
I was seconds from apologizing again, but he walked off to one of the seats near the marble island. Why did he always have to be so frustrating?
I turned around from where I was standing and walked closer to him, unaware of what to do.
"Shan, I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm just having a bad morning."
I looked at him apologetically and finally stood closer to him. He never said sorry so it was always so nice hearing an apology coming out from his lips
I sighed. "No. It's not your fault." I bit my bottom lip noticing that even with him sitting down, he was still taller than me. "I'm just so insensitive! The maid told me you took care of me last night because I fainted."
"Yeah." He raised an eyebrow at me. "You were drunk."
"Me?" I pointed at myself, confused. "I was drunk?" I paced around the floor until I started remembering that Karen gave me a few drinks last night. Oh my goodness, everything makes sense now.
Curse being so lightweight! I knew it was bad decision drinking, but I still did it.
"Oh goodness." I shook my head, trying not to believe it. "I didn't do anything stupid, did I?"
"I don't know." He shrugged, completely enjoying my oblivion. "Do you still think my cheeks are as soft as a marshmallow?"
"What?!" I looked at him, alarmed.
He must've noticed the shock in my face because he smirked. "You don't remember, do you?"
He continued. "You tried seducing me."
Hold up! WHAT!
"Hah!" I disagreed. "That sounds ridiculous."
"Believe it or not, Richelieu, but you tried to kiss me." He grinned.
Okay, now he just sounded ridiculous. Even in my drunken state, I know for sure, I would not be too low enough to make him kiss me. I rolled my eyes in disbelief and he leaned closer to me. The heat in my cheeks started firing up.
"Okay, real funny Prescott." I laughed sarcastically, pushing him away from me. As much as I would love to kiss him, there is no way I would ever try.
"Believe what you want." He shrugged, "But Richelieu, promise me one thing." He looked at me seriously now.
"Yeah?"
"Please don't ever get that drunk again. I know you were with Karen but ..." He hesitated. "Something could have happened to you."
My heart thumped inside of me and I felt sick to the stomach. Realizing that I hadn't talked or fully seen Will since the day at the beach, I started feeling nervous. Why did he always have to say these things?
I shouldn't make things complicated. He just feels bad for me; I'm sure he still loves Charlotte.
"So, I'm happy for you and Charlotte." I said without thinking and regretted it right when it left my mouth. Oh my gosh! Why on earth did I just change the subject to Charlotte!? Crap.
My mouth is seriously moving without my mind anymore.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry, um. I'm just great you guys are back together." I tried elaborating, but every word I was saying was constantly getting more awkward.
I couldn't help myself. She kissed him. It obviously means they're back together, right?
"You guys are perfect for each other." I rambled on.
A grin was starting to form on his face and I looked at him uncomfortably, my heart pounding inside of me. Why did he have to have such a gorgeous smile?
"W-What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He said, still smiling. "Keep rambling."
"I'm not rambling!" I huffed.
"Yeah, but you are jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" I screamed, but he just responded with a chuckle. He shrugged and looked at me pouting. "Richelieu." He called for my attention again.
I looked up at him, my cheeks burning with redness.
"The day at the beach." He began, "I would've tried talking to you about it this week, but I've been taking care of my Uncle's job for the Winter Ball this Saturday"-I cringed a little bit when he said Winter Ball. He didn't know yet that I was going with Scott-"Plus, he's been busy fixing things with Karen so I hadn't had the time to be free. But after this whole thing, can we talk?"
Talk?! Like date talk? Friend talk? Regular talk? What does he want to say that's so important he can't tell me now?
"Yeah." I smiled and then looked at the floor when he grinned.
"You're going right?" He asked and I looked at him confused, "to the Winter Ball." He finished and I started panicking. Should I tell him that I was going with Scott? He wouldn't care, right? I mean it's not like he was ever my real boyfriend.
"Um..." I couldn't say it. "I'm not sure yet." I replied and cursed myself in my mind. I didn't have the heart to tell him about Scott yet. I just didn't know how.
"Oh." He said, a little sad.
"I'm going to try." I said and his eyes lit up.
"Okay." He said. "Promise me, that we'll have a chance to talk?"
I gulped down my anxiety. "I promise."
"My dad and his new girlfriend are going to be there." He suddenly said and he looked away. "I really would want you there."
I smiled and placed my hand on top of his. "I-I'll try my best."
"Okay, lovers." Opaline busted into the door and I let go of his hand immediately. "Shan Shan, you have school in 1 hour. My chauffeur is dropping you off." She handed me fresh clothes. "Here you go! Put the partition up in the car and change into your uniform there."
I looked at the clock on the wall and wondered why all of them weren't wearing their school uniform. "You guys aren't going to school?"
"We're all excused. We have lots of stuff to do before the Winter Ball." Derick walked back in and sat down at the same spot he was in before. He had a plate full of pancakes.
"He's getting an insight of which businesses he needs to associate himself with before the huge ball." Opaline shrugged like it was no big deal. "Lots of memorization." She pointed at her pink computer near the counter.
I didn't even realize that they were all doing work, but I guess the life of an heir/heiress was indeed, really hard.
"Oh okay. Bye guys." I wrapped the clothes around my arms before Will stopped me. "Don't forget the promise?"
I smiled at him, pleasingly and sadly at the same time. "I won't."
He smiled back and I felt my heart pounding inside of me. I should've just told him that I was going with Scott to the Winter's Ball.
"By the way," Opaline said while we walked towards the front door, "I told your mom you slept at my house last night so she wouldn't have a panic attack and call all the cops or what not."
"Thanks Opaline, seriously." I hugged her, before climbing into the limo.
"Shan Shan." She stopped me from closing the door. "I don't want you to feel bad, but when Will took you back to his house, you were really drunk and passed out. He called me freaking out and I stayed up with him, watching him taking care of you. I haven't seen anyone worry so much before -even more than when my mother got barbecue sauce on her new Louis Vuitton purse."
I listened to her and nodded.
"I-I just wanted you to know that even though that whole beach thing happened, he really cares about you."
I sighed. "Okay, thank you Opaline."
"I love you, girl." She returned back to her charming self and hugged me from the back seat. "Have a good day at school."
"I love you too, Opaline." I said and as she closed the door, she waved from outside.
"Are you ready?" The chauffer asked me, looking through the rearview mirror. My backpack was beside me and I wrapped my school uniform tighter in my hands. Am I ready?
The Winter Ball would be happening in 2 days; I'm pretty sure I can think of an excuse before that. Measles? Chicken Pox? Cold?
I sighed, knowing that, in the end, I'd have to go.
I looked at the driver desperately wanting to say no -that I wasn't ready, but I nodded instead.
A/N: SORRRRRY THIS TOOOK FOREEEEVAH! I am struggling with upcoming tests and CHEMISTRY! UGH, but I sat my butt down, drank some coffee, and forced myself to write a chapter because there was no way, I was going to make you guys wait another week!
The next chapters will be on the Winter Ball and lemme tell you, stuff will be going DOWN. OOOOH. Hehe, kay love you guys.
BTW THE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT I've been getting for this story makes me want to cry my eyes out. Seriously, thank you guys for all the comments, votes, and reads. You guys are great. Bye bye and Happy Reading <3