That night, I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. My mind was full of the good and bad memories from that night. Aidan kissing my cheek before walking away. The cops showing up to question me about the abuse I went through. Everything was being thrown all at once. It felt like my head was going to explode if it continued like this. Eventually, the memories faded, and I was allowed to sleep for about half an hour before I felt Vanessa shake me awake.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Vanessa whispered in my ear. I let out a frustrated groan at the thought of having to go back to school and possibly face Alexa, Isabelle, and Ashley. I had no idea if the cops had been to Aunt Mary's house last night, but I was praying that they didn't know about the investigation yet. "Alright, I'm up!" I sighed as I slowly rolled my head around on the pillow. "Mom's got breakfast on the table," Vanessa said before closing the bedroom door behind her.

I quickly changed into a pair of black leggings, a white t-shirt, and black flats with a slight heel. Just as I had finished brushing my hair, my phone started ringing, and I saw Aidan was calling me.

Serena: Hey, Aidan. What's up?

Aidan: Morning, Serena! I just finished eating breakfast. How are you?

Serena: I'm good, I just finished getting dressed and about to eat breakfast.

Aidan: That's cool. Are you feeling better?

Serena: To be honest, I'm nervous.

Aidan: About Ashley and your cousins?

Serena: Yeah.

Aidan: Don't worry. They are not going to say anything to you and even if they do. We'll keep walking.

Serena: I like that.

Aidan: Okay, so I'll be over there in a few.

Serena: Wait, what?

Aidan hung up the phone, and I just stared at myself in the mirror with wide eyes. Did he say he's coming over here in a few? I knew that Vanessa and her mom would be concerned if Aidan randomly showed up at their house. So I told them about Aidan coming over to pick me up. "Wait, he's taking you to school?" Mrs. Young asked. "I think so. He just said that he would be over in a few," I answered after I took a bite of my scrambled eggs.

"Well, I guess me and Ethan will have to ride to school without you," Vanessa sighed. I had a feeling that she was a little hurt and maybe jealous by this, but even though Aidan and I were spending time together, nobody could ever replace my close friendship with Ethan and Vanessa. They would always be my best friends. "Vanessa, you and Ethan will always be my best friends. And hanging out with Aidan won't change that," I promised.

Vanessa started smiling slightly. And then I heard the sound of a car honk from the front of the house. "That must be him!" I smiled. I grabbed my bag and walked out to see Aidan. He was looking out from the window of a black Lexus. When I got in the car, he smiled at me and told me that I looked nice. I couldn't believe that I was riding to school with Aidan. I looked out the window and saw Vanessa and her mom were waving at me and smiling.

"Is that your friend and her mom?" Aidan asked, glancing out the window. "Yeah," I smiled. The car started moving, and the whole time we were in the car, Aidan and I looked at each other for a few moments before looking out the window. The driver had asked us if we were doing okay, and we said that we were doing fine. During the drive, I pulled out my notebook and continued working on my song, and I started to imagine what it would be like to sing it with Aidan when we put it all together.

When we pulled into the drop off at the school, Aidan thanked the driver, and we walked into school together. All eyes fell upon us, and I felt my knees begin to buckle, my heart pounding a thousand miles an hour. Suddenly, I felt Aidan take my hand in his, and I was trying my hardest not to blush.

"It's her! She's the girl from the stream!" One girl shouted. Everyone started crowding around us as we made our way to our lockers, and girls were calling out to Aidan and me. From a distance, I could see Ethan and Vanessa were leaning against their lockers and watching this. They started smiling and waving at us as we passed them. "How do you deal with this on a day to day basis?" I whispered as the girls continued screaming with excitement. "You'll get used to it after a while," he chuckled.

We grabbed our stuff from our lockers, and people were beginning to ask us questions as we walked to Biology. I felt weird that everyone was paying attention to me now that they knew I was the mysterious Cinderella they talked about online. It felt like my reputation went from 0 to 100 within a day.

The chatter continued with the girls in Biology, and I was relieved when Mr. Sutherland came into the room and ended it. "Alright, keep the voices down. Today we're going to be taking a quiz on Meiosis and Mitosis," He said. Everyone in the room let out disappointed sighs while Aidan and I looked over at each other for a moment before looking towards the front of the room again.

A/n: Sorry I haven't updated for a few days! I was working on another story and trying to get it wrapped up, I will try to update tomorrow, but I can't promise that.

Love you all!

Duskprincess89