“Really?”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “As long as your mom feels the same too, then I think this could actually turn into something.”
“All this from just one night together?”
“Just think about how romantic it would be. It’s literally a Cinderella story. They met at the ball and everything.”
“I’d hardly call the Gatsby party a ball.”
“True, but around here, it’s probably the closest we’d ever get.”
“Bullshit,” I laugh. “If I even hinted to Colton that I wanted to go to some fancy ball, he’d have the party planners and caterers there within minutes.”
“Good point,” she laughs. “That guy has got it bad for you.”
I can’t help the warm, fond smile that stretches across my face. “Yeah, he kinda does, doesn’t he?”
“Understatement of the year,” she tells me. “We might not have really known each other during that masquerade ball but I was there, and I saw the way he danced with you, everyone did. And then that kiss … fuck me, if only I was that lucky. Everyone here knows what you mean to each other. There’s no denying it. At every party and even on that boat right at the beginning, he watches you. He’s so aware of everything that you do. You two are like a real-life Romeo and Juliet.”
I gape at her. “Romeo and Juliet died at the end of the story.”
“Yeah, well, take out that part and the whole families at war thing and then ...wait. I’m pretty sure there was an arranged marriage in there somewhere too. You know what, screw it, you guys aren’t Romeo and Juliet. That was a bad example. You can be a modern-day telling of Cinderella.”
“How did this conversation go from trying to set up our parents to figuring out what me and Colton are supposed to be? Can’t we just be us?”
Drix shrugs, looking less than impressed by the idea. “I mean, I guess you could just be you two, but that’s so boring.”
“Forgive me, I didn’t realize my life was supposed to be here for your sole entertainment. However shall I make it up to you?”
Her eyes bug out of her head. “WAIT. Cinderella had an evil stepmom and bitch twin sisters. Colton has that.”
I let out a heavy sigh. Here I thought the whole Cinderella comparison was over but it sounds like she’s only just getting started. Either way, it’s better than talking about rumors and somehow, it’s gotten my mind off my shitty weekend, so for now, I’ll play along. “True,” I tell her. “But then wouldn’t that make Colton Cinderella and me Prince Eric? I don’t know how he’s really going to feel about that.”
Hendrix gives me a blank stare. “First of all Prince Eric is from ‘The Little Mermaid.’ If you’re going to try and keep up with me, then at least get your stories straight. The prince you’re looking for is Prince Charming. And secondly, who gives a shit if he has to play the role of Cinderella? I’m sure deep down, Colton will get a thrill out of putting on a gown and acting like a princess for a day.”
“You know,” I say, thoughtful. “You’re not wrong, but if we really have to get into this, can’t we be Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder? Now that’s a guy I could get down with. He’s got that whole smoldering thing going on.”
Hendrix lets out a deep groan. “You’re ruining my whole point here.”
I give her a cheesy grin. “Sorry, but where I come from, we didn’t exactly grow up memorizing every Disney movie on the market. It was more like trying to figure out the easiest way to hit the concrete that’ll cause the least damage during a drive-by shooting.”
Drix’s eyes bug out of her head and I regret the words the second they come out of my mouth as I’m thrown back to standing outside the Widow’s clubhouse, only to have to face that exact situation. Kian didn’t stand a chance.
“Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately,” I say, glancing around the cafeteria and trying to shake off the fear that the memory invokes in me. Having bullets zooming past my face isn’t exactly something I’ll be forgetting any time soon. “Trust me, the people in Bellevue Springs wouldn’t last a few hours in Breakers Flats.”
“You’re telling me,” she scoffs. “Just the thought of a drive-by shooting is making me sweat. I wouldn’t even know how to respond to something like that. I’d probably panic and start running down the street screaming.”
I nod, knowing just the type. I've seen it before and believe me when I say, it’s not the response you want to have in a situation like that. When in doubt, always get down.
I’m just about to tell her that when the wicked witches of the west walk through the door with their adoring fans at their back. Hendrix and I instantly look their way along with every other girl in the school.