Chapter 23: Revelation
Theo
As I walked through the entrance, I could feel the theme already, with the snowman at the front, the Christmas lights hanging everywhere.
The moment I saw the quad, I was immediately amazed, at the middle of it was a giant Christmas tree.
I looked around, admiring the decorations, the outfits of the students and the food. It had a chocolate fountain and many different foods you could dip, and many variety! The school has truly outdone themselves this time, and it all fits with the time, the night sky filled with stars.
I started looking for my friends, running into some classmates along the way and giving them a brief greetings.
I eventually found Mika and Wei together, holding a drink by the school's fountain. Wei clapped as I walked closer, her smile bright as I gave her a high-five.
"You look so good, Theo! Everyone's literally looking at you all envious!" She complemented,
I grabbed both of their hands and jumped up and down in excitement. "Guys, this is exactly what I dreamed of! It's so romantic and merry and everything!"
"Yeah, it's kinda obvious you're over the moon for this." Wei said with a teasing smile.
I hit her arm and took a long glance over the decorations, smiling like a little kid.
"Well. I'll see you guys later. I've got to find our other friends." I said.
"Okay, if you need us to cover for you to have some alone time with your prince. You know who to call." Mika said, shooing me away.
I smiled and nodded gratefully before walking away and to the food station. I already saw Athena's glimmering silver dress.
"Hey guys!" I found her with Masha and Luke. "Hey Luke! Haven't seen you in a while."
Despite his smile, I noticed the dark circles under his eye. "Yeah. I've been busy with some things, so I don't have time to hang around school." He said, giving his elbow a good scratch.
"Have you guys seen Hunter and the others?" I asked them.
"Not yet, I'm sure he'll come soon, and hopefully he wore that red suit." Masha said with a hopeful smile, running her hand through her blonde curls.
Athena and I shared a knowing glance. I nodded as I snack on some food, standing beside them.
I bid them goodbye as soon as I finished my food. I walked more before bumping to Rhea, Reign and Cielo. Rhea looked worried as she paced back and forth. Reign and Cielo looked at me, silently pleading with their eyes.
"Theo, thank god, please calm her down. I cannot deal with emotional thingies." Reign said, her expression like she was gonna give up.
I nodded before looking at Rhea. "Hey, you okay?" I said as I grabbed her shoulder, calming her down.
She looked at me, wide-eyed. "I'm really worried, what if Hunter's mad at me because they force him to match his outfit with me? What if he didn't want to come because--"
I stopped her with a laugh. "Okay, take a deep breath. He texted me earlier, asking me if I want a ride. That sounds like he's coming isn't he?" I said to her. She stopped pacing but she had a worried look.
"He could still be mad at me?" She said, rubbing her palms together.
"We all had lunch yesterday. You're fine." She finally looked at me in the eye, took a deep breath then plastered on a smile.
She then turned her gaze behind me, I turned around to see the king himself, Hunter, his hair blowing, his walk slow-mo, the whole school fawning over him.
No not really, but I imagined it. Although some girls were practically drooling, I would too if he's just not looking at me. Some were even biting their lips, well I hope they bleed.
As a mock to them, I stepped closer to Hunter as soon as he reached our group, I leaned closer, our cheeks almost touching and whispered. "Pretend I whispered something funny and laugh."
Hunter burst out laughing, the deep sound an orgasm in my ear.
"You always know how to make me laugh." He said between laughs, patting my shoulder lightly.
"Wait, that actually made you laugh?" I asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, you're the funniest person I've ever met." He said but before I could respond, a voice boomed through the quad.
"Now everybody, listen up. No doing stunts, if you're dancing just dance. No one do anything that could potentially hurt someone, no matter what it is. Have fun, and let's get this Ball started!" Cheers filled the air as people jumped up and down at the starting music.
Wei, Mika, Athena and Masha joined us, drinks in hand. We were scarfing down the buffet table while some of us joined the crowd to dance, I was with the food side instead of dancing. Ten seconds of being in that crowd and I'd probably faint.
Probably two hours into the ball, Rhea and I was chatting. "Yeah, my mom's forcing me to run for president." Rhea said with a frown.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "So... We're going against each other? I'll be joining too." I said.
She looked at me, eyes slightly wide. "Then I wouldn't stand a chance if you're joining. You're more fit for this job."
How would that be going? Her mom would want her to win so she'd do everything to fulfill that. I still don't have a good reason to run anyway so I'd just give her the spot. But I wouldn't want to anger Reign, she seems so passionate about this and I really hope I'd find out why soon.
We were talking about some other things when suddenly, someone just near me managed to pour their drink on me. I gasped and looked down at myself, the red beverage staining my suit.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry." I looked up to see Shane, her glass empty, her face plastered with fake shock. She then smirked. "That looks better, right girls?" She asked her minions, they all laughed and agreed.
A crowd was starting to form around us, trying to see what was happening.
"Seriously?" I said, raising an eyebrow at a smug Shane.
"Theo, your outfit!" Rhea said as she grabbed her silk handkerchief and started to help me clean myself up.
Shane grabbed Rhea's hands, keeping her from helping me. "Don't! It looks so much better on him!" She said then laughed madly.
A smirk formed on my lips. "Wow, I expected better from a Harrington! I wouldn't want to know what the press would think if they found out a Harrington is..." I pointed at her. "Like this... messy thing right here."
A few 'ooh' sounded from the crowd.
Her smile disappeared as she glared daggers at me. "What the hell did--" She tried to march towards me but Wei and Mika stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Get the hell out of my way." She threatened.
"Nuh-uh, honey. You don't lay a filthy hand on him." Wei said as the two of them stepped forward, which made her step backward.
"This is ridiculous! I'm being ganged up here! Help me here, girls!" Shane called out to her minions... who are being held by Rhea and Athena. Her eyes met mine, glaring when she saw me filming the whole thing.
"Desperation isn't a good look. If you're still mad from not winning Homecoming, that was two months ago. Get over it!" I said which made most of the people in the crowd laugh.
She looked at Rhea and Athena holding her friends... to Mika and Wei blocking her... to me... And then ran away.
Rhea and Athena released the two others who ran after Shane.
"Come Theo, we need to clean you up." Mika said before they accompanied me to the bathroom.
After I cleaned myself up, Rhea broke away from us since she had someone to meet.
We sat at the fountain with Cielo. "Hey, any luck on finding out Reign's intentions? It was tough getting something outta her." Mika asked, her brows furrowed.
I looked at their faces, and it was evident they really tried to know. "Guys, you don't have to do anything. I'll find out myself, don't worry." I reassured them.
"Do you have any reasonable idea of what she could be up to?" Cielo asked.
I looked at him for a long time before breaking contact and shaking my head. "Most credible reason is she just wants to embarrass me in the whole school. But so far, she hasn't done anything harmful." I said, my voice getting quieter as I slowly pushed the idea out of my mind.
"What could she be up to then?" Wei asked.
I shook my head with a shrug.
Athena took my hands, squeezing it gently. "We'll figure it out soon enough, Theo. We'll help you."
"Maybe sooner than you think." I heard a voice behind me. We all turned around to see Reign, her arms crossed and her face inscrutable.
"How long were you standing there?" I stood up and faced her, my chin lifted.
"Long enough." She went quiet for a few minutes, before sighing and looking at me straight in the eye. "Let's talk." She simply said.
"Okay." I reluctantly followed her.
I looked at my friends before we turned a corner. Into the school's garden, a hedge maze sat in the middle. We entered the hedge maze and found a swing in the heart of the maze.
"So... um. What are we gonna talk about here?" I said, my voice calmer than usual.
Reign could've led me into a trap or will murder me here. I started to grow wary as the seconds go by, Reign wasn't saying anything, instead, her hand was in her pocket, her eyes looking at the ground.
I was about to say something when she looked at me in the eye, her gaze meaningful. "Theo... The first day you saw me, I thought you'd recognize me, but you didn't. When we became friends, I thought you'd at least recognize my attitude or personality or how I talk... but you didn't." Her eyes held sadness, or somewhat hopelessness.
I looked at her in confusion. "Should I have recognized it?" I asked.
"Theo... do you know my full name?" She asked me, her eyes glistening a little.
I shook my head, confused but at the same time pitiful.
She produced a familiar necklace I've seen somewhere before from her pocket, and gave it to me. I noticed it can be opened, so I did. 'Maloreign Willshire' It read. The name sounded familiar, and not only because it had my surname.
My eyes widened as I finally remembered who it belonged to. It was Mal's, my cousin and bestfriend.
My brows furrowed as I looked at Reign. "How do you have this?"
"...You gave it to me when we were young." She said and that's when I pieced everything together.
"Mal?" I asked to her, she nodded with a smile.
My eyes widened, processing the information in mind and then I ran and hugged her tightly. "All this fucking time, you were here with me!"
"You did not recognize me at all, you ignoramus!" She said jokingly, I laughed and pulled away, taking her hands.
"What the heck, I have so many questions! Like, why I didn't hear from you, why you were Reign Pharsa? Why you didn't you say anything about it!" I threw my questions back and forth.
"Woah, calm down. Okay, first off, my dad found a job abroad and we had to come with him. We couldn't contact you at all! Second, I am Reign Pharsa, that's my dad's surname, my full name is Maloreign, so that's where Reign came from."
I couldn't process the information I was receiving properly, my head aching a little. "I still have so many questions! Why did you keep it a secret?"
She sighed. "Well, I know you so well you wouldn't believe me until I found that necklace. We lost it somewhere and when I found it, I tried to look for a opening to say it."
"When did you find it?"
"...Last week?"
"What?! That's a long time!"
"I know, I know. But it doesn't matter now. Come here." She opened her arms and I hugged her tightly again.
"Gosh, this is so weird seeing Reign nice." I said.
She laughed and pulled back. "Call me Reign from now on, or else, I'll call you... Dory." She requested.
I gave her a horrified look. "Gosh, don't ever bring that back. I hated that nickname." I said, she smiled which also made me smile. I sat down on the swing as we went silent.
She suddenly smiled at me mischievously. "By the way, I totally ship you with Hunter."
I raised a brow at her. "Yeah, right. Anyway, what was that about? How'd you manage to date Hunter?"
"Well, we of course met when we were in 7th Grade. In 8th grade, someone started a rumor he liked me and of course I didn't believe it. I also liked him, he was already really handsome back in 7th grade. Until one day, he confessed he liked me. Then we dated." She finished as I nodded in understanding.
"Wow, his feelings were swayed by the rumors?" I asked incredulously.
"Do you want me start a rumor between you too?" We laughed together wholeheartedly.
But then stopped when I heard hushed whispers. Reign and I shared a look, then quiet down to hear better. It sounded like it was in the hedge maze with us so we followed it.
The whispers turned out to be quiet voices as we got closer, I pressed a finger against my lips to Reign and tiptoed, successfully making no sound.
I peeked around the corner to see... Wei, Athena and Mika talking to Hunter with Cielo guarding the maze's entrance. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to reveal myself when Reign stopped me before I could even step. I looked at her all confused when I heard someone talk.
"So. You think you succeeded?" Wei asked then I saw Hunter's head nod.
"It's not only about succeeding, Wei. He's our bestfriend and we want what's best for him." Athena said then faced Hunter. "Are you really friends with him?"
"Yeah, it actually surprised me. I feel a strange connection to him." Hunter stated.
"I know Theo's over the moon about this so I'm happy too. Just know this is not a short-term thing, okay? Theo's happy and I wouldn't want to take that away from him."
What the hell were they talking about?
I looked at Reign with a questioning look, she shook her head with a frown then continued looking at them.
I was still left with confusion until Hunter spoke. "I just want to know why you wanted me to befriend Theo so bad."
And then it made all sense.