ღ Finding Cinderella- 34 ღ

-Kylie-

"There they are!"

Tristan and I were peeping through a bush as we stalked our prey. Lucky for us, the mall was crowded since there was a sale going on, so I was confident we wouldn't be spotted easily.

Those two lovebirds had surely been enjoying their day. Lacey was practically skipping as she dragged Clark to several food stalls. As they rounded another corner, I quickly twisted my head to Tristan, who was looking exhausted, and grabbed his sleeve.

"Hurry before we lose them!"

We dashed into yet another hidden corner and poked our heads out just enough to see Clark getting a hot dog from a stall and Lacey smiling sweetly at him.

"Can't believe my baby sister is finally growing up," I said reminiscently. It hadn't been that long ago since Mom and I had had a terrible time getting her out of grass-stained play clothes and sneakers.

"Yeah," murmured Tristan. "Why don't you try it yourself?"

I elbowed him in the stomach.

Clark and Lacey could be seen making their exit from the food court. I decided to step out from the hiding place. At the same time, Lacey turned, her eyes pointed in my direction. I automatically sprang back and the back of my head hit something hard.

"Aw," both Tristan and I exclaimed.

Brushing my swollen cranium, I turned to him. "Could you move aside and stop blocking my way?"

"I wasn't blocking your way. Maybe if you could stop moving like a horse on caffeine, we'd have fewer injuries." His face scrunched up in pain as he pressed the bridge of his nose. "I think it's broken."

"What? Come on, the impact wasn't that strong."

He leaned in. "You fractured it. Look."

I pursed my lips, flaring my nostrils. He was doing it again, wearing that boyish, dimpled smile that made my heart go nuts. He leaned even closer to tease me, and I put my hand on his face to push him away.

"Oh, stop being a drama king." Ignoring my erratic heartbeats, I looked around and was bummed out that our target was nowhere to be found. "Darn it, we lost them."

"Or maybe they caught us and decided to hide from us," said Tristan.

"Then it makes this game more fun. Let's go."

I dashed in the direction they'd last been sighted while Tristan traipsed behind me like a sulking child. Along the way, I noticed that a lot of girls were looking at him twice. Leave it to Tristan for attracting dozens of people even by just doing nothing. I gritted my teeth.

It didn't take us long to find Lacey and Clark sitting by the fountain, talking and laughing with each other.

"Seriously, did you think you could hold her back forever?" Tristan said. "A bird's gotta leave the nest at some point, right?"

"Shh! Stop distracting me."

He let out a small laugh. His words lingered in my head, and they began to drain me of enthusiasm.

"You're right," I said in defeat. I turned away and leaned against the column we were hiding behind. "She's gotta leave the nest at some point, and that's the sad and scary part."

With that, a serious look washed over his face. "Why?"

"Well... from the day our dad died, I have one purpose: to keep her safe from anything and anyone. I know I'm taking my protectiveness to a whole new level, but back when we were kids, I'd seen some of her classmates harassing her and old creeps trying to approach her. It was scary. I was pretending that it wasn't, and I was putting on a brave face as I fended them off, but it was actually terrifying. Yes, she's older now and more aware, but I'm still... I'm still scared."

I drew a deep breath and exhaled a shuddering sigh. My chest clenched from all the anxiety that came with the memory, but I forced myself not to tear up. However, this crushing feeling gradually eased when I felt my hand being squeezed. I raised my head and found a gentle smile on his face.

"She'll be fine. I'm sure she's learned a lot from you that she knows how to kick people's asses like you do," he said, and I couldn't help but laugh. "And I'm also sure that wherever your dad is, he's proud of you for taking good care of her."

"I hope so."

Time seemed to stretch as we exchanged smiles and continued to hold each other's hand. It felt incredible. And annoying. And reassuring. My heart was in a battle with my mind again, but it didn't go on for too long when I saw a familiar figure far behind him. I narrowed my eyes.

It was Julianne!

She was standing by the entrance of a boutique, her hands hovering over the clothes rack. Her curly hair had been straightened, and she almost looked like a different person, but I didn't have the chance to process her sudden change of appearance because she began flapping her hands and mouthing, "Go!"

Seeing my frown, Tristan turned around and said, "Oh, it's Jules. Wow. She looks different."

Julianne craned her neck to look into the store and snapped her eyes back to me, flapping her hands even more vehemently. "Go, go," she mouthed.

"I... I think we should leave," I said and held Tristan by the wrist.

"What? You guys in a fight or something?" he inquired.

I didn't answer as I began dragging him away. If Julianne was here, it meant Ronnie was here, too. I certainly didn't want to deal with her at the moment. Not when Tristan was around. I could already imagine the trouble we'd go through if she saw us together.

Before long, I felt a series of vibrations in my pocket, and I pulled out my phone to see two typo-riddled messages from Julianne.

rONJIE SAW U OMG RUN

SHES LOOKINF FOR HIM BICH HIDE

Frantic, I yanked Tristan in the department store and tried to blend in with the crowd. He began complaining about stuff I didn't understand, but I paid no attention to him as I stole a glance behind me. Amid the rushing mob of shoppers, Ronnie stood out in her red and black outfit. And she, unmistakably, was in search of us.

Ripping my gaze away, I hissed to Tristan, "Duck!"

"Where?"

"No, you dumbass. Duck!" I reached for his head and made him dip along with me behind the display of clothes.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"We're playing hide and seek," I said, peeking again. Ronnie was whipping her head around and taking quick strides while Julianne was following her behind, appearing as though she was trying to stop the other.

"What—" Tristan began but I pulled him into the couture section until we bumped into a fitting room in a corner. Without thinking, I quickly shoved him into one of the cubicles and scanned the area, making sure no one had caught us, before I stepped inside and shut the curtain.

There. Unless she was as zany as Fiona, Ronnie wouldn't actually bother checking this place for him.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply and smelled Tristan's intoxicating scent. I snapped my eyes open and looked up. He was staring down at me, his face twisted into an indescribable expression. Oh fuck, we were too close.

"Kylie... what are we doing here?" he said in a hushed tone.

"We're hiding." My heartbeat sped up, and I was slightly panting. "From Ronnie."

"Why?"

"Too much trouble," I whispered curtly.

A soft chuckle escaped him. "Well, I'm flattered that you want to keep me to yourself."

I looked away and murmured, "It's... it's not like that."

It's kinda like that.

"You're killing me, Kyles."

"Oh... I'm sorry for dragging into this. Not just in this room but into this... whole spying thing."

"No, I mean, you're like that A Rocket to the Moon song."

"Which song?"

"Ah, you might kill me more if I make you listen to it."

"Hey, I'm—I'm not that evil." Our closeness was making my mind go blank, disabling me to come up with a good snarky comeback. I glanced at the wall mirror on my left and caught a glimpse of his smirk.

"Finally warming up to me, I see."

My cheeks flushed, and I willed my face to an aloof frown. "Don't press your luck, T."

"I don't mind pressing my luck when it comes to you, though."

Was he trying to be romantic?

Because shit—it was working.

Even though a part of me was protesting, I lifted my head and gazed into his eyes that seemed to be observing my lips. The hair on my skin stood on end, and the only thing I could hear was the fast and constant pounding of my pulse in my ears. The feeling reminded me of the Valentine Ball where he, blinded by his delusion, had tried to kiss me during the dance. (And I'd fucking peed myself, Jesus Christ.) It was all happening again, except this time I—

I felt another vibration in my pocket.

Flinching, I fished out my phone. "Oh, look, a text message," I blurted out with forced enthusiasm. Tristan stopped coming closer, blinking in surprise.

I opened the message that read: she gave up. u guys are safe now. just avoid the left wing going to dairy queen bc that's where we heading. boy, she's pissed.

I sent Julianne thanks and sighed in relief. "We're safe. Let's get out of here."

Tristan only hung his head down. I could hardly conceal my amusement.

I pushed the curtain to the side, and a saleslady, who was passing by and carrying a sparkling gown, almost jumped out of her skin. Gawking at us, she stammered, "Uh, ma'am, sir, it's not allowed—"

"Sorry!" I cut her short. I clutched Tristan's arm and bolted out of the fitting room, dodging startled people along the way and grinning like a fool. As soon as we exited the department store, I put my hands on my hips and huffed loudly.

"You couldn't have been less violent with me, could you?" Tristan wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he gasped. "Okay, what's next? What other crazy plans do you have up your sleeve?"

"I don't know. I guess it's—wait, Lacey!" I spun around, inspecting the area. "Where have they gone now?"

"Seriously, Kyles? I thought we got past that?"

"Right, right. She's fine. Clark's taking care of her," I said, largely to myself.

"You're too worked up," Tristan laughed. "Say... why don't we go somewhere else to cool down your head?"

I peered at him. "Somewhere else?"

"Anywhere you want," he replied with a cautious nod and a shrug as if he was afraid that I might reject him.

I broke into a grin again, and I was pretty sure I looked like the Joker. "Anywhere I want, huh? Okay. Let's go," I replied without a fuss. Not only was it hard to deny him this time, but also because I got another crazy plan for him.

I held his hand for the nth time of the day and tugged him toward the mall's exit door.

"Go where exactly?" he asked.

"To the place you love the most, of course." I threw a sinister smile at him over my shoulder. "The amusement park."

author's note:

grab an oxygen tank.