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Lie: an intentionally false statement.
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Eleanor walked into the room with a bright smile on her lips and a steaming hot chocolate in her hand. She carefully placed the hot chocolate on a metal coaster near Richie, and sat down next to him, her smile not faltering.

She looked at him with kind eyes, "Do you want to talk about it now?" Eleanor almost whispered, and brushed a piece of her hair behind her pierced ear.

He found it hard to believe, though he would never tell her so, that she was royalty. As his mother has always told him nobody royal should ever get piercings. She just seemed so different from people he usually was with.

"Um," Richie started. "Can I ask you a question first?" He squeaked out. Seeing her have pierced ears made him want to pierce his too. She probably wouldn't let him, but it was worth a shot. They are removable as well, and he's always wanted pierced ears so what would be the worst thing that could happen?

"Of course!" She replied enthusiastically. "Go ahead."

He hesitated for a moment, before deciding to ask, "Could I maybe..." He trailed off, unsure where to take his question. "I really would like to have my ears pierced just like yours. Mother always said it showed bad character, but I love them!"

Eleanor didn't even blink an eyelid in shock, her smile just grew wider, "Definitely, if that's what will make you happy. But I think, no offence to your Mother, having earrings is not what shows bad character. Pointing it out and being unnecessarily rude, that's what shows bad character." Eleanor ranted, now twirling with the golden hoop placed neatly in her ear.

Richie was sure her face was going to fall off by the amount she was smiling so much.

"Thank you!" He told her with excitement in his voice.

"But don't think that this gets you out of this conversation. You don't have to tell me what's going on, but you can if you want. I want to make sure you're happy here." She said sincerely.

Richie, upon reflection, decided he should probably tell her most everything he could. After all, then he could get some advice that'll help him through his new school life. Though he had his new friends at school, he didn't really know them that well. It was nice to have someone to talk to, who he knew he could properly trust.

Eleanor moved away from her family to here when she was only a little girl. Her sister, Richie's Mother, was considered a more 'likely' queen. People knew of Eleanor's existence, but have never seen her face or heard about her. It was like she wasn't even there at all, and then soon, people just forgot.

Every time she saw Richie and he asked, she always said she was glad about it and happy for Richie's Mother. Eleanor told him that she wasn't fit to be a leader, and couldn't handle the pressure and all the publicity. Though they lived in a small place and are  hardly known, their people knew them all very well. So in a way, it was kind of dangerous.

Richie didn't have a choice, but he doesn't mind it deep down; he tells himself that, anyways.

"Right okay," Richie took a deep breath. "So I met this guy in a bookshop when I went shopping a few days ago. He was really sweet, and gave me his number. He said I could hang around with him at lunch with his friends because we are in the same year." He explained.

Eleanor narrowed her eyebrows, "Sorry for asking this, but what's so bad about that?"

Richie shook his head, "No, it is not that part that is bad. I'll continue."

"So then I hung around with them today and they were so kind and funny," he paused. "Welcoming," he added. "and I really liked them all. But however, I told them so many lies. Already." Richie sighed, placing his head on his hand.

Eleanor cocked her head to the side, "But you need to lie, Richie. Don't feel bad about it. If you didn't lie then you'd have your identity exposed, and let's be honest; you've known these guys for a day, who says they won't tell everybody?" Eleanor comforted, rubbing Richie's arm softly.

He hummed, "I guess you're right." He mumbled quietly. "I'm doing it for mine and their safety. I guess I'm doing them all a favour."

"Exactly!" Eleanor nodded, proud that she had got Richie to feel less terrible about himself. After all, it was just white lies, and it was for good reasons.

"But, talking about safety..." Richie trailed off, sending a goofy, forced smile at Eleanor. "I might of done something bad, other than lying."

Eleanor sighed, "What did you do?" Her eyes widened when Richie remained quiet. "Richie, tell me! What did you do?" She said a little louder.

He looked down at the floor, "At time I thought I was being a good friend, now I feel like it might backfire." He finally said, keeping his eyes locked his feet.

Eleanor stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. She always knew that in the few times she'd met Richie, he never liked pressure.

"These people were bullying and picking on my new friend, the one I met in the bookshop, so I decided to take action. After school, when I was sure he was gone, I kind of...payed them to be kind." He told her, hearing hear gasp.

"You've know him for a day, Richie! How do know that he wasn't friends with them? How much did you pay them?" Eleanor frantically questioned.

"£50 each." He whispered. "But I don't regret it, I have so much money, why not help someone in need?"

She shook her head, "How many of them were there?"

Richie shrugged, "I'm just going to take a thousand pounds to school tomorrow, just in case. It's fine, I'm doing it for him! That's what friends do, right?"

Eleanor sighed deeply, before bringing him into a hug, "Please be careful. It's okay to tell a few white lies to protect you, but if you keep telling them, it's going to get out of hand fast. Don't hang around with those boys, they sound like bad news. Promise me you won't tell anymore unnecessary lies or ever speak to those boys again?"

"I promise." He lied.

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