The Aldean Chronicles: Hidden

The next morning, I receive strange looks from people in the halls. They're all pointing at me and whispering. I try my hardest to ignore thhem. I make it to my first class and take my usual seat at the back.

My classmates are all looking at me, some are giving me hard looks, some are giggling. A typical day. Derek walks in, notices me and smiles.

"Hey, you." He jogs up to me. "If it isn't the most popular girl in First year."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, fearing the worst. They don't know, do they?

"Tell me you haven't seen your pictures in Runway." He says. I know Runway, it's the most popular fashion magazine/blog in Aldean. But why am I in it? "You really don't know huh." He brings out his phone and shows me the picture.

It's me, Mika and Kat. The caption under the picture says 'From the left, Princess Katya, Mikayla Rosedale and Cassandra Flares.' "You're popular Miss Flares." Derek teases before walking to his seat.

I don't know what's worse, that my picture is there or that they spelled my last name wrong. I ignore all that and just get through the class, and every other that day.

Soon it's the weekend. I decide to take a break and read Secretary Davis' book. I'm unable to put it down and spend my whole Saturday reading it. It's really good, he talks about being the last of six children born to a poor family. His father was a factory worker, his mom a maid. He decided to be a very powerful person when he grew up and worked towards it.

He got a scholarship to Brimstone and worked to get into Blue Rose. He got rejected every year but finally got in his fourth. After graduating, he started his political career. He didn't have money or a family name to back him but he refused to let that stop him. He was able to rally support and donations for his first campaign, which was in his local district. Fifteen years later, he ran for Deputy governor. Then governor, then representative. Three years ago, the council recommended him for secretary and aunt Freya approved his appointment.

I get food from the dining hall and run into Tristan. I try to dodge him but he blocks the exit.

"If you weren't coming for training this morning, you could have at least told me." He says.

"We have exams on Monday. I thought it was implied." I argue, swerving past him.

"Are you still angry because I kissed you?" He follows me.

"Among other things." I adjust my coat. It's colder this time of year, I've been told that it barely snows in Aldean but winter is still colder than usual.

"What do you want me to say? What do you want me to do?" He asks.

"You can start by answering this." I stop walking. "Do you want to date me? And don't reply with what you think is best for me, just answer my question."

He looks around and shoves his hand in his pocket. "I do." He says. I wasn't expecting him to say that. "School lets out in less than a week and you're spending most of your break back home. Can we just pause now and I don't know...wait?"

I'm leaving the Monday after school ends and coming back a week before it starts. "Are you serious? Or am I going to come back in January and you'll deny ever saying this?"

"No." He chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm serious, I want to date you. I've wanted to for a while and I'm tired of making excuses."

I stare at him for a second. I'm not sure what to say. I've dreamed of this moment for so long and now it's finally here. When I see him, my stomach flutters and I know I still like him. But then why am I speechless right now?

I tug my coat closer around me. "You're saying what I've always wanted you to say. But it feels wrong." I sigh. "First, it's I'm too immature, then it's I need to sort out my life and you don't want to be my Jamie. And now it's let's wait for a month and hope there's still something there. If we're going to be together, it's because we both want to, because we're both ready. We're both really busy this week, maybe we can talk before I leave."

I walk away and feel both grateful and a little heartbroken he doesn't stop me. I mean, I think I said the right thing. I want this to be good, to be romantic. Just anything but, whatever that was.

I spend the week taking my exams, History on Monday. Chemistry and Languages on Tuesday. Biology on Wednesday. Geography on Thursday and Fire on Friday. I once again, aced my test, scoring the highest. I want to blame it on sheer determination and hard work but it's the Dragoit.

On Friday, I come back to my room and find Sara waiting for me. "Hey, Cassie, can we talk." She asks.

I'm shocked, she hasn't spoken to me since the incident. "Um, yeah, sure. Sara, what's up?"

She looks around uncomfortably. "Just wanted to ask how your exams were."

"They were good, the studying paid off." I laugh nervously. "What about you?"

"They were good." She sighs. "We're going home today." I nod. "So how have you been?"

"You mean since you dumped me and got all our friends to do the same," I say. "I don't know, what do you think?"

She plays with her fingers. "Please, it's not like you even noticed. You've been off with your new friends, getting ready for the party and having the time of your life."

"That's not an excuse, Sara," I tell her. "I get that I wasn't the greatest friend, and I'm sorry for that. But what you guys did was cruel. You abandoned me, it's like I never mattered to you."

She folds her arms across her chest. "What did you want me to do Cass. You treated us like crap. Lied to us, missed events, only cared about yourself. I know you're going through stuff but so are we." She scoffs. "And you kept talking about how you weren't interested in dating and that was your reason for pushing Jason away. But then you were suddenly open to a relationship with Tristan. I get that it's your choice who you date and who you don't but you could have at least been nicer to him when you guys hung out." She goes back to playing with her fingers. "It's just, I don't know, we cut you off in anger and before the dust could settle, you replaced us. Forgive us for not putting in more effort."

I sink to my bed. "Why are you telling me all this now?"

"I don't want us to end the semester on a bad note." She says. "I'm sorry for how I treated you, we all are. I just want the air to be clear when we come back next month. Maybe try this again."

"Maybe," I say quietly and lay back down on the bed.

"Have a nice holiday, Cassandra." She has two suitcases beside her, a big and small one. She stands up from her bed and grabs the two in each hand. She exits the room and I'm left alone with my thoughts.

I get up and pack the rest of my stuff, I got a head start last night. For the first time in forever, I started packing early. And it's a good thing I did, David arrives exactly on time. I drag my bags to his car and he helps put them in.

We arrive at the house around 3 pm. It's empty, with Lilian and Seb working and Grey in school till later that evening. I go up to my empty room and don't bother unpacking. What I do is run a hot bath in my beautifully large bathtub.

I stay there for a long time before getting out and wearing my black sweatshirt and sweatpants. I stay on my bed watching popular Aldean shows. I'll give Illyria points for its music, shows and books, basically for everything. The more I stay here, the more I realize that it's not that different from home.

Grey comes back by 6 and asks what I'm doing. He walks into my room and settles on the edge of my bed. "The Good Wife, a classic."

"You've watched it?" I don't look up from my laptop.

"A few episodes." He says. "The show has a lot of episodes."

"Six down, two hundred to go," I say. "I have an entire month for this. I have absolutely nothing else planned and for my sake, shouldn't leave my house this break."

"How fulfilling." He says sarcastically. "I on the other hand, have quite a lot to do this break. I miss the days when people didn't expect much from me. Why do I have to grow up?"

"At least you have some direction, lately I've been feeling lost. I know it sounds like I'm whining and only talk about myself, but to be fair, I'm on my mind a lot."

"I like your self-centeredness." He compliments. "You never ask about my life and I never have to explain myself."

I finally look up from my screen. "I didn't meet you before your big change. I've heard of the old Prince Greyson, Aldean's famous bad boy. Was he as extreme as the rumors claim?"

"Depends, what did you hear?" He asks. "I've done some socially unacceptable things."

"Like what?"

He shrugs. "Normal things; drinking, partying, the finer things in life. They're not that extreme, the media just loves overplaying everything. Sometimes, I think aunt Freya lets them, makes me look bad."

I'm not sure if I'll put that below her. "So who is the real Greyson Harrington then?" I ask mysteriously.

He thinks for a second. "Who knows who they are when they're 16?" I smile.

"Thank you so much for saying that." My heart relaxes in my chest. "That made me feel so much better about myself."

He smiles. "Glad to help. If you need me, I'll be down in the training room letting out all my emotions. See you at dinner." He stands up and without a second glance leaves my room.

I stay in there till it's time for dinner. We talk about our days during the meal, it's kind of nice. I spend the next day sleeping, I am so tired after all those all-nighters. On Saturday, Grey and I lounge around the house. It was a nice weekend, I didn't know it yet but it was going to be the calmest one I'll have in a very long time.