Hey guys, Cheryl here. Welcome to Chapter 22 of Book 1: New Revelations! I'm BACK!!! Hope you didn't miss me too much. 😊 I was going to post some photos of my holiday but, sadly, Wattpad doesn't support photos that you take yourself or something. 😓 If anyone knows how to do it, let me know in the comments section below. Now, without further ado, enjoy.
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Emma's POV
"Girl it's going viral! Everyone at school's talking about it!" Alyssa squealed, shaking me. I quickly shushed her and hissed in reply, "I know. Why did you think we are hiding at the back of the school?" The magazine where I modeled with Alan finally came out yesterday and apparently everyone in Paris got hold of it within the day. My Instagram and Twitter accounts were blowing up with thousands and thousands of posts and tweets. Fans from all over Paris, all over the world, even, had tons of things to say about me and Alan. It was crazy.
Alyssa shook her head, excitement shining in her eyes. "I don't think you get it Emma! People think you're his girlfriend! That is insane!" That seemed to be what everyone thought ever since that magazine came out. People were posting and tweeting about how I was in the magazine with Alan because we just started dating. "Yeah, it is insane. It's also insane how many people are hating me because of it!" I retorted, clenching my fists. That was the other side of it. A crazy amount of fans were saying how I "don't deserve him" or "just blackmailed him into becoming her boyfriend" and I'm "just using him for money".
Alyssa sighed dramatically and said, exasperated, "Emma! People think you two look cute together! Alan could finally give in and actually ask you to be his girlfriend!" I whipped my head around to stare at her, open-mouthed. Alyssa actually thinks this is a good thing?! "Alyssa! Don't you see? I can't ever speak to him again! I don't think I can even show my face at school today! Maybe ever! And besides, I don't want him to like me because of peer pressure! That's just lame!" I protested. Alyssa really wasn't getting this.
Alyssa rolled her eyes and said, "Girl! You have nothing to worry about! It's not like you were the one that said you and Alan were boyfriend and girlfriend. You didn't mess up the photos like you said you would. The subscription to the magazine doubled! Everything's fine. Great even! People just think you're Alan's girlfriend, that's all!"
What the hell... That's all?! It was my turn to shake Alyssa. "That's even worse than messing up the photos! God, I can't speak to Alan again. I'll have to change classes... no, change schools. Change my name, my face, my hair. I might have to move out of Paris and-" "Girl chill! Alan knows that this isn't your fault! You have nothing to worry about." Alyssa reassured me, interrupting my rant.
Alyssa still doesn't get it! Unbelievable! I gripped Alyssa by her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. "Alyssa. They think I'm his girlfriend. His girlfriend. How do you know he's ok with that?! You don't even know if he likes me like that! You don't even know if he likes someone else!"
Alyssa rolled her eyes and said, "Ok, now you're being overly-dramatic. (Only now? 🤨😂) We both know for a fact that Alan doesn't like anyone." That was true. After being friends with Alan so long, I know when he has a certain person in mind. "But that includes me Alyssa!" I fretted, fiddling with my hands. Alyssa sighed again and ran her fingers through her hair. "You have a point there." Alyssa mumbled, looking around. She took out her phone and reported, "We have 5 minutes until class starts."
I groaned in frustration and slid down the wall, sitting down on the floor. My heart beat faster and faster with each passing second. I wiped my hands on the sides of my jeans and mumbled, "Oh god. What am I going to do now?" "Alyssa? Emma? What are you guys doing back here? Shouldn't you be inside?" Alyssa and I turned our heads to face Kace. When did he get there? Alyssa rolled her eyes and replied, "Emma didn't want anyone to see her so she's hiding here."
Kace looked at the both of us in silence for a while, before asking again, "Then why are you here?" "As her best friend, I have to be here." Alyssa replied, rolling her eyes again and folding her arms.
The three of us stood there in silence, or sat there, in my case, for a while. When suddenly, Kace's face brighten and he asked eagerly, "Oh right! Is it true you're Alan's girlfriend now? That is too cool!" "Not you too Kace! Ugh. My life sucks..." I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Yeah. Says the girl who was everything she could possibly want." Alyssa remarked, raising an eyebrow. I looked up and gave her a dead-panned look. Was she really going to do this with me now? Now? When I'm in the middle of a huge crisis? Alyssa turned to face Kace and asked, "Kace, did you see Alan anywhere?" Kace nodded and replied, "Yeah. A bunch of girls were waiting for him at the entrance to the school and they practically pounced on him. He should still be stuck there. For now."
Alyssa turned to me and pulled my up by my arms. "Listen girl. If you don't want to face Alan right now, that's fine. But this might be our only chance for us to sneak you into school without having almost every girl in this school, and that's a lot of girls, charge at you and tear you to pieces. That would be really hard to deal with. (You think? 🤨😂) Alan is still stuck at the front of the school, for now, at least, so come on!" Alyssa raced into the school, opening the back door for Kace and I to follow.
Ok. Let's do this quickly. I got up and ran after Alyssa, Kace right behind me. Kace wasn't wrong about the swarm of girls. Even at the other end of the school, I could still see and hear them practically interrogating Alan. Most likely on why he chose me as his "girlfriend". I rolled my eyes and followed Alyssa. I'm not his girlfriend! Get a grip people! We ran up the stairs and into the classroom, pushing past students walking along the hallways.
There were a couple of girls who didn't join the mob downstairs walking around the hallways, but we didn't stay long enough to hear what they had to say. No way in hell was I going to take that chance. We burst into the classroom just as the school bell rang. Everyone in the class turned to look at us. Why is it always me?! Ms Bustier looked up from her desk and instructed, "Emma, Alyssa, Kace, good, you're here. Sit down please. Class is starting."
I nodded and scurried over to my seat. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. For the thousandth time this year. Seriously. It's like I'm always in the spotlight. Always the center of attention.It was tiring. And a little weird. I looked around the classroom, trying to distract myself from their stares. Alan, Carmen and Sara were missing. Carmen must've wanted to join the rest of the girls downstairs and Sara had no choice but to follow.
Surprisingly, Lexi was here. I thought she would be one of the girls downstairs. Surely she would want to know why Alan is my "boyfriend". Whatever. I couldn't care less about what Lexi Rossi does. Except to me and all of my friends. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. I wouldn't let her get to me. And I wouldn't let Lexi succeed in whatever she's planning.
Ms Bustier sighed and put whatever she was looking at down on her desk. "What is taking Alan, Carmen and Sara so long? Class started five minutes ago." "They're still downstairs. Poor Alan. He's probably drowning in girls right now." Alyssa whispered to me. I smiled as I imagined Alan in a sea of girls, bobbing up and down, arms thrashing. It was quite comical. I looked at Alyssa and we burst into a fit of silent giggles.
Just then, a loud shout was heard throughout the school. We all recognized it as Mr Damocles' voice. Alyssa and I stared at each other wide-eyed. What the hell is he doing down there? More shouts soon followed and the classroom door burst open as Alan, Carmen and Sara made their way to their seats.
The entire class watched as the three of them made their way to their seats. Carmen was clearly furious. She stomped over to her seat and sat down with a huff, crossing her arms. She turned around and glared at me the harshest that I had ever seen before facing forward again. Sara just sat down beside Carmen wordlessly, head down.
Alan looked like a mess, which I guess was excusable since he just survived a stampede of girls. Alan's hair was all tangled and sticking up in the weirdest of places. He looked like he just got out of bed. His clothes were slightly crumpled. I gotta say, it wasn't his best look.
"Now that everyone's here. Let's start the lesson, shall we?" Ms Bustier said, her voice pulling me out of my thoughts. A collective shuffling sound was heard as everyone took their books out of their bags. I felt Alyssa nudge me, and when I turned my head to face her, she gestured her head at Alan, then at me, then at the rest of the class. I looked around cautiously, and realized that everyone was whispering about something, probably me and Alan. I groaned inwardly and focused on writing notes.
I really need to deal with this boyfriend-girlfriend situation later.
Lunch break
"So... what's going on between you and Alan? Since when did you guys become boyfriend and girlfriend?" Irene asked, twirling her spaghetti around her fork. All the girls in the class, minus Carmen, Sara and Lexi, of course, had made their way to my usual table and sat down. The minute they did, I already knew what they were going to say. Not this again.
I groaned and leaned back against my chair. "Why does everyone think that?" I protested, rolling my eyes. Iris shrugged and replied, "Isn't it obvious? You were on the cover of the most popular teen magazine with Alan. It only makes sense that people would think that. Honestly. What did you expect?"
That was a pretty good point. What did I expect? Everyone loves gossip. Especially this kind of gossip. "I knew I shouldn't have done the photoshoot with Alan." I groaned, sitting back up and leaning over my food, pushing the food around the plate with my spoon.
Alyssa rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh come on. How was I supposed to know that people would end up thinking you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend? And I was doing you a favour too. Since you like Alan so much." I whipped my head up to stare at her incredulously. What the hell did she think she was doing saying that?! "Alyssa!" I hissed, shocked that my best friend would betray me like that. I told her not to tell anyone! "You're not wrong Alyssa. I mean, she's liked him for years. This might be what pushes them together." Kira commented, popping a grape into her mouth.
What the hell... "W-What are you guys talking about?" I asked, feeling slightly panicky. Iris rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh come on Agreste. Don't act dumb. Everyone knows that you have a crush on Alan. I mean, except for the boys, obviously, but still." "H-How do you guys know?" I asked, eyes wide. I needed to get some answers here. "There's a 100% chance that you have a crush on Alan. Even when you guys were younger. Much much younger. The numbers don't lie." Maya replied, an amused smile on her face.
"W... W...." I couldn't even reply. Was it really that obvious? "Yes it is that obvious. Come on Emma. We've been you're classmates for years. How could we not know when you have a crush?" Irene said, shoving a spoonful of spaghetti into her mouth. I blushed a deep red. This was so embarrassing. Kill me now.
"Anyways, I don't think this is all bad." Kira said, conveniently changing the subject for me. Thank god for Kira. "Oh really? How can this not be all bad?" I replied dryly. Kira shrugged and stated, "Well, you like Alan anyways. And you want to be his girlfriend one day right? So this is kinda in your favour. Plus..." She paused while digging around in her bag, before pulling something out and continuing, "I think you two look cute together."
What...
WHY?!
Kira had pulled a copy of the magazine out of her bag. "Kira! Why did you bring this to school?!" I hissed, looking around to see if anyone was watching. "Kira's not wrong. You two do look cute together." Irene chime in, looking at the magazine. "Irene!" I exclaimed. "I know, right?" Alyssa continued, a slightly evil glint in her eyes.
I sighed and looked at the cover of the magazine. The agency just had to choose the most embarrassing picture to use as the cover, didn't they? I was standing on a tree stump behind Alan, my arms draped on his shoulders, a small smile on my face. Alan had his left hand on my right hand, his head resting against my shoulder. Even now, I still couldn't look at that photo without blushing. Though I guess the rest of the photos weren't exactly any better.
"Let's just hope this blows over quickly." I muttered, leaning back against the chair. "I'm sure it will Emma." Kira said sweetly, smiling at me. "And if it doesn't, what's the worse that could happen? I mean, people only think you're his girlfriend. No big deal." Iris added nonchalantly, shrugging. What the hell is wrong with all of my friends...
Shaking my head, I stood up and walked over to the dustbin, dumping my half-eaten lunch into it. I felt something wriggling in my purse and pop out at the top. Tikki smiled at me and said, "You're friends aren't wrong, you know, Emma." "Tikki! What do you think you're doing? People can't see you! Get back in there." I hissed at her, looking around to see if anyone had spotted her. What in the world was Tikki doing out in the open? Someone could see her!
Tikki just smiled and said, "I know Emma. I just wanted to give you some moral support. It looked like you needed some." "Well, thanks Tikki, but get back inside my purse. We can't risk anyone seeing you." I replied with a small smile. I pushed Tikki's head until she was completely out of sight before clasping the purse shut and walking back to my friends.
"You go ahead first. We'll meet you back in the classroom." Alyssa said, shooing me away. Weird, but ok. I walked towards the doors leading out of the cafeteria, looking behind me occasionally. It wasn't like my friends to do this, but whatever. They probably still needed to finish their food or something.
Once I was alone in the hallway, Tikki poked her head out of my purse and said, "I think you're friends are talking about the possibility about you and Alan actually becoming boyfriend and girlfriend." Not again! "Tikki. I told you to stay inside my purse. No one can see you!" I said as patiently as I could, but Tikki was stretching it pretty thin. Tikki rolled her eyes and said, "Oh come on. Don't pretend that you've never thought about it Emma."
I fought the blush that threatened to appear on my face. "Tikki. We can talk about this back home, where it's safe for you to be out in the open. But not right now. So get back inside my purse. Please." I said as nicely and patiently as I could. I clasped my purse shut and continued on my way.
Tikki was right though.
I had thought about it before.
But getting Alan to actually become my boyfriend wasn't exactly my priority right now. More like make sure Alan doesn't hate me for life and never speaks to me ever again.
But one day.
Maybe.
Alan's POV
"So dude... what's going on between you and Emma? Since when did you guys become boyfriend and girlfriend?" Liam asked, setting his plate down at my usual table. All the other guys in the class followed suit and all looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer.
I leaned back with a heavy sigh. Not this again. I already had enough of questions this morning when the horde of girls swarmed around me. I didn't even know this was that big of a deal! Emma and I just did a photoshoot together.
"Look guys. We are not boyfriend and girlfriend. Why does everyone think that anyways? We didn't say we were in a relationship." I replied, rolling my eyes. This was absolutely insane. Jackson shrugged and replied, "Isn't it obvious? You and Emma were on the cover of the most popular teen magazine together. What did you expect?"
"Anything but what's happening now, obviously." Joseph replied for me. I wouldn't have put it that way but oh well. Whatever gets everyone off my case. "Unless you want whatever's happening now to happen." Liam said suggestively, raising an eyebrow, a smirk on his face. What the hell is Liam doing... "He's blushing!" Jacob exclaimed, pointing his finger at me. All the boys at the table made that collective ooh sound. Even Kace. And he was supposed to be on my side no matter what.
"Would you guys please shut up? I don't like her like that. You all know that." I hissed, hoping with all my heart that Emma or anyone close to her wasn't standing behind me and furiously trying to calm the blush on my face, which I didn't even know was there. I didn't want to accidentally hurt Emma's feelings by what I say, but I had to get these guys to stop.
"How did it even happen anyway?" Jackson asked, chewing on a grape. "Well, Emma and Alyssa were walking through the park on the day I had the photoshoot and then my photographer just went up to them and asked if Emma wanted to be in the photoshoot since the girl that was supposed to come couldn't make it or something. It was all kinda sudden." I replied with a small shrug. Liam had his eyebrows raised suggestively and suspiciously, like he didn't believe me or something. I fought back the blush that threatened to appear on my face. That would only lead to more teasing.
"Well, what about Emma then?" Kace asked, pointing his fork in the direction of Emma's table at the other end of the cafeteria and conveniently changing the subject for me. We all turned around heads to look at the group of girls sitting at Emma's table. Emma had her back to me, so I couldn't see her expression, but Irene, Iris, Kira, Maya and Alyssa all had small smirks on their faces. "What about her?" I replied, turning back to face Kace.
He shrugged and replied, "What do you think she thinks about all this? You know, the boyfriend-girlfriend thing." Good question. Honestly, I never stopped to think how Emma might feel about all this. I guess I was just a little preoccupied. "I don't know. But I'm pretty sure she wants this thing to stop as badly as I do." I replied, standing up with my empty tray.
I walked over to the dustbin, about to through my plate away, when Plagg wriggled around in my jacket and popped out at the top. "Plagg! What do you think you're doing? People can't see you! Get back in there!" I hissed at him, looking around to see if anyone had spotted him. What in the world was Plagg doing out in the open? Someone could see him!
Plagg ignored me and said, "Do you know how stuffy it is inside your jacket? Phew. I need some air you know? Besides, there's no way I can not tease you about this. You really got yourself into a big mess with this one, kid. How're you going to explain to everyone that you and that lady friend of yours aren't together?" If Plagg was trying to annoy the heck out of me, he definitely accomplished it.
"Back inside my jacket or no Camembert for a week." I growled, glaring at Plagg, being completely serious. If anyone saw him, we would be in big trouble. I wouldn't even know how to handle it. Plagg just rolled his eyes and replied, "You and Adrien are the same. You both don't feed me." I glared at him one more time before he pushing his head down until he was completely out of sight. What I didn't need right now was more drama.
With a sigh, I walked back to the table. Kace shooed me away and said, "You go ahead first. We'll meet you in the classroom." Weird, but ok. It wasn't like my friends to do this, but whatever. They probably still needed to finish their food or something.
Once I was alone in the hallway, Plagg flew out of my jacket again and cackled in the middle of nowhere. "Plagg! What's so funny? You know what? Doesn't matter. Just get the hell back in here. I'm serious about not giving you any Camembert." I warned him, glaring harshly.
Plagg shook his head and said, "You're really clueless sometimes kid. Really clueless. Whatever. I'll leave you to figure it out. There's no way I'm not having any Camembert for a week." He flew back into my jacket before I could respond. Or ask him what he had meant by that. What did I not get? Whatever.
I'm just glad that he's finally back where he's supposed to be.
Kace's POV
We all sat in silence for a bit while watching Alan leave the cafeteria. I could tell he knew something suspicious was going on. He kept on looking back to stare at us. But he didn't stop. When Alan was completely out of sight, I turned back to face Liam, Jackson, Joseph and Jacob. We watched as Emma walked away from her friends too, before Alyssa, Kira, Irene, Iris and Maya came over to stand by our table.
"We all agree that Alan is completely clueless right?" Liam asked, breaking the silence. "No doubt about it." I replied. Alyssa, Kira, Irene, Iris, Maya, Jackson, Joseph and Jacob all nodded in agreement. "I mean, they've been friends for years. How does he not know Emma has a massive crush on him?" Joseph emphasized. "He's gotta be the blindest person I have ever met." Iris added, rolling her eyes.
"Well, we can argue about how blind Alan is later. If we want a 100% success rate, we need to start as soon as possible." Maya insisted, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Irene nodded and replied, "Maya's right. We need to start now. Emma and Alan need our help. ASAP." "Totally." Alyssa said, nodding her head. Small smirks appeared on all of our faces. Emma and Alan wouldn't know what hit them. The plan was set into motion.
"Project Emman is a go."
Emma's POV
I walked into the classroom with a heavy sigh. A bunch of girls were glaring at me while I walked past, but I just rolled my eyes and continued on my way. They didn't want to believe what I said, that's their problem.
"Hey Emmy." I opened my eyes, only to find Alan coming into the classroom and sitting down. OMG OMG OMG! What do I do? What do I say? DON'T DO ANYTHING WEIRD EMMA! (This is what Marinette would be thinking right now if it was Adrien. 😂)
I quickly calmed myself down enough to give him a small smile. "Your friends ditch you too huh?" Alan asked, turning back to face me. "Well, I wouldn't say ditch but... yeah." I replied with a small laugh. I was freaking out on the inside. I'm surprised I didn't say something stupid or embarrassing by now.
"Hey, um..." Alan's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. He was looking down at his hands, fiddling with them. Then he looked back up at me with an embarrassed smile on his face and said, "Uh... I'm sorry about this boyfriend-girlfriend thing that's going on right now. I know you weren't exactly expecting it when you agreed to do the photoshoot with me..." I didn't exactly agree to do it, but whatever.
"It's ok. Really. It's not your fault anyways." I assured him, a smile on my face. Alan was about to reply when suddenly, all our friends burst through the door, walking into the classroom together. They paused for a moment when they saw me and Alan mid-conversation. A moment of silence fell over the room before Alyssa said with a coy smile, "Are we interrupting a moment? Because we can always come back later."
"Alyssa!" Alan and I exclaimed in unison. I didn't know about him, but I was hella embarrassed. My face was turning redder and redder by the second. Alyssa, Maya, Kira, Irene, Iris, Kace, Jackson, Joseph, Jacob and Liam all had small smirks on their faces. This is the most humiliating moment of my entire life. They all shuffled into class, casting knowing glances at each other. "Alyssa! What the hell?!" I whispered harshly to her when she sat down.
"What? I didn't do anything wrong." Alyssa replied with a shrug. I am so pissed at her right now. "So... what did you and Alan talk about huh?" Alyssa inquired before I could say anything more, eyebrows raised suggestively, a smirk on her face. I felt my face blush all over again. "Not anything you're thinking we talked about you dirty-minded..." I can't even find the right words at this point. That was how angry and embarrassed I was.
"Mhm..." Alyssa replied, drawing it out, her smirk never leaving her face. I couldn't even deal with her right now. Luckily for me, Ms Bustier walked in just then, Carmen, Sara and Lexi right behind her. "Alright class. Let's begin." I was saved from more teasing and Alyssa was saved from a strangling. With a heavy sigh, I turned back to my textbook and tried to focus on that rather than everything else that's going on.
I just want to go home.
After school
"It's safe to come out now Emma. Though I think you're overreacting a little." Irene said as I came out from hiding behind a pillar. "You did not see what went down this morning. I don't need a whole ocean of jealous-driven girls coming after me." I argued, standing beside my friends. Ms Bustier had dismissed the class a little earlier than the rest of the school. And thank goodness for that. I don't think I would've made it out of the school otherwise. At least, not in one piece.
"At least we made it out." I turned my head to the left, only to find Alan standing there, smiling. I totally forgot that the boys were following us since Alan is also on most girls' wanted lists. Just as I was about to reply, the school bell rang. Distant sounds of talking were heard. My eyes widened in shock and I tapped my foot nervously. "Come on... come on..." I mumbled to myself. Why isn't Chimp here yet?! I needed to get away from the school before the hordes of girls realize I'm still here and tear me to pieces.
Liam poked his head around the pillar and reported, "Guys, everyone's coming closer. You two might want to make a run for it." "Oh no, oh no, oh no. Chimp isn't here yet!" I muttered to myself, my panic levels rising. I looked to my left, only to find Alan wearing a deep frown on his face, slight anxiety in his eyes. I guess he didn't want to relive this morning too.
"Alyssa, you gotta find a way to distract everyone. I don't know how but..." I faltered mid-sentence when I saw the look on Alyssa's face. Alan must've noticed that I'd suddenly stopped talking because he looked up too. "Alyssa... what's with that face..." Alan asked hesitantly, walking to stand beside me.
I looked past Alyssa, where Irene, Iris, Maya and Kira were wearing identical smirks on their faces. I looked behind us, where Kace, Jackson, Joseph, Jacob and Liam were also wearing identical smirks on their faces. It was creeping me out a little. "Guys... what's going on..." I asked cautiously, my panic levels continuing to rise.
I turned back to face Alyssa, whose eyes held a fire which could only mean bad news. For me and Alan. "Alyssa... I don't know what the hell you're planning, but you better not do it." I cautioned. The smirk on everyone's faces didn't go away. Neither did my anxiety. And to make things worse, the sounds of talking grew louder and louder by the second. We didn't have much time left.
"Alyssa..." Alan warned, taking a step closer to her. Alyssa ignored both of us and tapped her foot on the ground once.
Tap.
My eyes widened in semi-fear for what was going to happen. "Alyssa, I swear to god..."
Tap.
"What are you planning now?" Alan deadpanned, glaring at his sister.
Tap.
Oh no.
Right on cue, Alyssa, Maya, Kira, Irene, Iris, Kace, Jackson, Joseph, Jacob and Liam betrayed us in the most brutal way possible. At least, at that point in time.
"EMMA AND ALAN ARE OVER HERE!"
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Emma and Alan will thank them later.
Hey guys, hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 22 of Book 1: New Revelations. I'm so sorry I'm 2 days late, but I've been really busy preparing for the new school year. 😔😓 But on the bright side, this is my longest chapter yet! Yay!
The other chapter of this book should be coming out soon, so be on the lookout for them!
Remember to comment, vote and follow me on Wattpad, and I'll see you guys again soon!
Love,
Cheryl