dedicated to chemicales for the fantastic trailer that is absolutely the bomb.dot.com
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"I...do we--how do you know my name?" Vincent stammered. "I'm sorry for bumping into you, I didn't mean to frighten you or anything. I'm looking for a Park Sparrow. If you could just direct me to where she is, I'll leave you immediately."
What the hell was he talking about? I'm Park Sparrow.
Oh, wait, my wig.
Before I could explain who I was, a flood of people began to poke their heads around the shelves due to my not-so-muffled scream. I have to get him out of here, I thought.
Logan appeared in a flash, pushing everyone out of his way as he arrived by my side, out of breath and a wild look burning in his eyes.
"What happened?" he demanded, grabbing my wrist. Logan's eyes went from me to Vincent and he straightened his posture, his clutch growing a bit tighter.
"Who are you?" Logan asked, his words sharp and cutting. "You're not wearing the uniform nor a guest pass. Do I have to call the cops?"
"No!" Vincent protested, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. "I'm just looking for..." His voice died off as he took a long look at my bodyguard, his dark brows scrunching together before a gleeful smile spread across his face.
"Logan Cross?" he exclaimed in Cimerian. "I've not seen you in ages, mate! I barely recognized you, it's so good to see a friendly face!" Vincent extended a hand and Logan's tense figure loosened up, and he gave me a bemused glance.
"Vincent?" the boy across from us said, pointing to himself. "Vincent Blackewell?"
Logan quirked an eyebrow, disbelief plain on his face. "Vincent?" he repeated in our language. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm looking for Pa--"
He didn't get a chance to finish that sentence because I lurched forward and clamped my hands over his mouth. "Let's get you to the principal's office," I suggested in a low voice, "before you say anything you'll regret." People were whispering to one another with bright eyes that warned of gossip.
The noble clans might not be recognizable on the spot, but there's nothing a quick snapshot and a search on Google couldn't pull up. If Vincent was identified, sooner or later, a connection could lead back to me.
I grabbed the sleeve of Vincent's black sweater and pulled him out of the library before I let him go. My pace was quick, and the fear I had casted upon Vincent kept him jogging right after me. We passed the entrance to the dining hall, where I saw Minnie and Alec standing together, both of them carrying shrewd looks as they caught sight of Vincent.
Zen appeared down a flight of stairs a few steps later, his eyes widening at the sight of the noble next tome. "Vincent Blackewell?" he asked. Alec and Minnie showed at that second, and they all shared equal looks of confusion.
"Zen!" Vincent cried out. "Alec, Minnie--wow, I would've never expected to see you here!" He held his hand out to Alec first. "I heard you returned and were at the Whitepine wedding. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you there, I was out of town and--"
"Why are you here?" Minnie interrupted, a frown on her lips as her gaze darted between Vincent and me. "How'd you even find out about this place?"
"I'm looking for Park," Vincent answered, and then he glanced over to me, gulping as a nervous smile flickered onto his lips. "But I accidentally got caught up with this girl."
Logan and I exchanged a glance before we continued on, heading straight for the headmistress' office. Once we were there, Vincent entered first and everyone filed into the circular office. Zen and I shut the doors and locked them just as Catarina Cross jolted to her feet.
"Vincent Blackewell?" she gasped.
"There's so many people here," Vincent half-laughed. "It makes me feel a little less lost."
Without a moment's hesitation, my fingers pulled off the red wig, allowing my braid to fall over my shoulder. Vincent blinked, gawking at me for a moment before a jubilant glimmer lit up in his eyes.
"Park!" he grinned, surging forward to pull me into a hug. I thought back to when we were little and how he'd always embrace me at the oddest moments, always out of the blue and for no other reason besides the statement, "You looked like you needed one."
We pulled apart, and while Vincent hadn't wiped away that smile, I was on my guard. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "How did you even know where to find me?"
"I haven't seen you for two years and you can't even say a proper hello," he joked.
"Vincent, you're putting me in a very compromising situation, showing up out of the blue. Who sent you?"
Finally, that happy-go-lucky attitude began to easy away. Vincent sucked in a deep breath and ran his fingers through his blond hair. The strands used to fall in curls down to his eyes, making him ridiculously clumsy. Now it was trimmed neatly and gelled upwards, allowing the blue of his eyes to shine. The baby fat he used to have had been erased, allowing strong cheekbones and a chiseled jawline to shape his face, and his skin now had the perfect California surfer tan.
But despite how handsome he'd grown, all I could remember was the little boy who tripped over Liliana Whitepine's cat.
"You grandmother sent me."
"Say what again?" I said. "Why would my grandmother send you?"
"She'd figure you'd take the news less angrily if it came from me," he explained, coughing after his sentence.
Then it dawned on me--there was only one reason why I would be seeing Vincent under such sudden circumstances. "Great." I blew out a breath. "What does your mother want now? We're already promising her an extension of the Blackewell land as well as a really big portion of my uncle's stocks."
Vincent bit his lip and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he delayed whatever he was going to say. Finally, he looked me in the eyes, an apologetic look about him, and said, "She wants to move the engagement up."
The silence that blanketed the office was almost stifling.
"How far up?" I finally asked, already fearing the answer.
Vincent rubbed the back of his neck. "I have to propose to you this December."
"December?" Minnie cut in, her tone resonating anger. "That's a month after her eighteenth birthday. That's a month of legal adulthood and she'll have to wear a ring on her finger that fast?"
"When was it supposed to be originally?" Alec asked, looking over at me.
"When my father became king," I answered, an anger brimming below the surface as I thought about how soon the engagement suddenly was.
"I don't understand," frowned Catarina. "Why does Abigail want to move it up so soon?"
Vincent shrugged. "I wasn't told why, I was just told I needed to tell Park. You know my mother, Lady Cross. It's not like she's known for being logical."
"This entire betrothal is illogical," Zen muttered.
"Did my grandmother send you here to get my permission? Like hell am I going to agree to this," I stated in a steel voice. This was utterly insane, and much too soon for my comfort."
"It's already signed," Vincent informed me. "My mother threatened to take away the deal and never sign over the private forces if your family didn't agree to it within the day."
"No one called me about this," I protested, running my fingers through my hair, yanking strands out of my braid. "This is my life as well!"
"Be honest to yourself, Park," Logan spoke up. When I looked over at him, his half-hearted smile seemed forced. "If it meant keeping your family safe, you would've agreed to anything."
"I think your grandmother knew you well enough to know there wasn't a point in a phone call," Zen added, and nearly everyone gave a short nod of agreement.
Another short moment passed where no one spoke. All that could be heard was the ticking of Catarina's grandfather clock positioned between two bookshelves. With every tick, dates flew by in my head until the word 'December' was burned into my mind.
I'm going to graduate the academy with a sparkling diamond ring on my finger.
Within a few seconds, the wig was secured upon my head and I was turning away from the group. "If you could all excuse me," I mumbled as I headed out the office. Surprise after surprise. Gods, what next? Archer shows up?"
As if, I thought to myself as I passed by a group of mathlete members up the stairs. By the time I reached my locker hallway, I felt the threat of tears burning the rims of my eyes. Archer's never going to come home.
"Park?" Logan called out.
"Just go," I said, waving my hand. "I just want to be alone."
"I can't really let you do that," he countered while I climbed onto the stone archways and let my legs dangle over the side. The autumn breeze brushed against my cheeks, sending a chill down my spine.
"You are the last person I want to see," I said as I sensed him coming closer. My harsh words didn't seem to stop him because suddenly, Logan was sitting on the same banister, his back against the archway with his feet scraping the floors of the hallway.
"Even after falling off a tree, you still like heights," he mused, looking over the edge with a grimace on his face.
"I always thought I'd have time to be a little reckless," I admitted out loud, my voice shuddering as I thought of the prospect of being engaged by the time winter rolled around, "but I guess time's run out. No more falling off trees for me."
Logan didn't say anything at first. I spent a few minutes counting the evergreens that lined the border of the academy campus.
"Vincent looks...different," he managed to choke out. "You'll be the envy of a lot of Cimerians."
"Maybe people will stop writing tabloids about my supposed affairs," I snorted.
"Breaking News: Park Sparrow is Finally Tied Down!" Logan announced, imitating an anchorman's voice.
"Rumors Reported That Park Sparrow is Cheating on Her Husband with Alec Darkwood, by Selene Marion," I said, gesturing a headline with my hands.
The two of us erupted into laughter and I felt the pressure lift off my shoulders for a second as we continued making jabs at the articles written about me. A sudden gust of wind caused the metal of the open lockers to groan and Logan started back into his senses, casting a wary look down the hallway before he decided Benjamin the Locker Ghost wasn't there.
Yet.
Our euphoria had faded by the time Logan looked back to me. "I think," he began slowly, "you'll need to find a new bodyguard around that time."
"You think the new one will last as long as you will?" I asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
"No way," Logan scoffed. "I'll bet you three weeks before they file a resignation form."
"Hey!" I protested. "I'm not that bad of a client."
"You're one of the worst clients I've had," Logan said in dead seriousness, but then he cracked a big smile. I don't know how much time passed, but the two of us sat in dead silence for a moment as I tried to memorize his smile. It had been a while since I'd seen him grin so many times in a row.
Logan exhaled, breaking eye contact for a second as he looked over the campus. "There's something I need to tell you," he confessed. "I think now might be better than later because it seems like we've run out of--"
Chances. Time. Whatever he was going to say, he never got the opportunity for a high-pitched voice rang down the hallway, calling out, "Logan?"
Sophia's voice acted as a splash of cold water on my mind and I resurfaced to reality. Logan and I scrambled off the archway, and I made sure to keep my distance as we faced Sophia.
"I'm going to go," I said quietly, giving Logan a look that told him not to follow me. I needed to make sure Vincent had a place to stay (and also grill him on what was going through his mind when he thought it'd be a good idea to wander the academy, asking for Park Sparrow). I needed to know if Elijah knew about this.
I was able to take a few steps past Sophia before her hand snatched my arm and pulled me back in front of her.
"You're not going anywhere," she stated.
I narrowed my eyes at the demanding tone she had. "Did you just tell me what to do?"
"You think I'm going to let you off after I caught you trying to get with Logan when you know that I like him?" she sneered. "Who the hell do you think you are, Alex Finch?"
"You just said the answer," I replied coolly. "I'm Alex Finch. Unless I have some other name that I go by."
"You think you're all that," she said, coming closer to where I stood. "Just because you act smart and say funny things, you think you can just walk all over whoever you want. Here's some advice, sweetheart: you're not that great."
"In my personal opinion, I'm quite amazing," I said. "So move out of my way, or I will be walking all over you, and believe me when I say I won't be doing it lightly."
"You're such a slut," she snapped, pulling out a card so random that it took me a second to process the low-level insult she just threw at me.
"Sophia, don't," Logan cut in. "Don't be like this towards Alex."
"What makes you think I'm a slut?" I asked, humoring her.
"I heard a boy showed up today and you were all over him just because he looked easy. Just like you've been trying to hook up with Logan since the beginning of school. You just can't handle rejection, and you're desperate for attention, so you'll go after anyone you want. Even when it's my boy."
"Sophia." Logan's voice grew dangerously low. "You promised me you wouldn't be like this."
"He's mine," Sophia claimed with a vehemence that could've rattled anyone's bones--but she was dealing with me. "He's always been mine. I don't care what you think you had in the past with him but it's over now. Don't touch him. Don't come near him ever again. We will always be closer than anything your insane little mind can cook up, so back off."
"I want it though!" a voice shrilled.
"It's my present!" I protested. "Archer got it for me, not you!" I tugged on the giant white teddy bear, but the girl yanked on it as well. She let out another scream, causing Archer and his friend to clamp their hands over their ears.
"You always get everything!" she whined. "It's not fair, why can't I get something I want?"
Suddenly, I was on the ground and I realized she had pushed me. A sting shot up my arm. My brother leapt off the couch and crouched next to me, gingerly touching the scraped skin before glaring at the girl.
"You hurt her," he growled. "Apologize."
"Don't be like this. Here, take the remote. You can pick what TV show you want to watch," the other older boy snapped, holding the remote to her.
"I don't want a TV show!" the girl screamed. "I want the teddy bear!" She grabbed the remote from the boy's hand and threw it in a random direction. It shattered against the wall. I caught sight of one of the tall men in black say something into the device lodged in his ear and he started forward.
The girl was already running around the room, pushing things over. A chair tumbled over, and all the stuff in her backpack spilled everywhere. A pink can bounced out and rolled straight into the fireplace.
"Watch out!"
I was sucked back into reality just as an explosion of red and orange flashed violently in my mind. I felt as though I couldn't breathe and there was a painful throbbing in my head, as though someone had driven a nail into my skull. I let out a cry as I pressed my palm to my temple.
Where the hell did that come from?
"See? What did I say? You're such an attention-seeker, Alex," she smirked.
And just like that, something inside of me snapped. Her voice, which was so similar to the girl in my head, had grated me down to my final nerve, and my tolerance snapped, unable to handle all of the confusion and frustration clashing in me.
"First off," I started, my voice like ice, "that boy you mentioned has a name and it's Vincent. He's not some easy boy. You can't call people easy like they're some kind of level on a video game."
I took a step closer to her, the anger pulsing in my veins beginning to show in my expression. Sophia's vindictive glare faltered.
"Secondly, I am not an attention-seeker. I don't need the attention nor do I want it, unlike the person I am talking to right now."
"And lastly," I said, watching the previous fearlessness of Sophia's nature fade, the arrogance in her eyes altering to fear, "the next time you insult me will be the very last time you'll be able to say anything."
Without another word, I stormed off, the headache growing worse with every step. I ignored Logan's calls, I blocked out Sophia's protests as she called him back. I had a guess at what this meant, and I needed to speak to Xavier Fell about it.
Holy shit, I couldn't stop thinking. I think I just gained a part of my memories back.
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first off, sorry about the late update. i'm back in school, so i don't have that much time for updates. i'll try my best, of course, but my update schedule gets screwed up majorly when i'm in school, so i apologize in advance. (also, i got distracted bc i got hooked on the 100)
regarding the casting list, here's what i've decided on as the cast--but keep this in mind: this should not dictate how you imagine the characters. if you want to think of the characters portrayed by different actors/actresses or just face blobs (bc why the hell not) then be my guest. this list is just what i imagine my characters as:
park sparrow - crystal reed
logan cross - grant gustin
alec darkwood - logan lerman
archer sparrow - andrew garfield
zen li - faceless blob (okay, i imagine lee jong suk, but he's korean, so i don't think that counts)
minnie bellamy - kat graham
vincent blackewell - alex pettyfer
elijah bishop - picture that really hot hipster barista at that obscure coffee shop that you'd totally date
again, this does not mean you should follow my cast. if you want to make a banner or trailer (and i'm writing this bc the trailer has logan lerman which i am totally down with) that has logan lerman or whoever the hell you want, go for it. if you want to continue the story believing grant gustin is the perfect logan or francisco lachowski is, i'm not gonna stop you.