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.the ass in assassination.
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.chapter 10.
.solved and unsolved mysteries.
Tristan had said he’d meet me at the nearest Starbucks after school. It was only a few minutes away, and since Aven had agreed to give me a lift, I allowed myself to dawdle awhile. I’d always hated sprinting from the classroom to the locker and then towards my other classroom. Life shouldn’t have been spent in a hurry, but apparently, the person who had created the bell schedule thought otherwise.
I hadn’t seen or talked to Cade ever since I had left his house yesterday. He had apparently decided to cut French today, so while the other groups were busily working on their respective projects, I was snoring away. Loren had come over to question my progress, and I had innocently convinced her that we were well past the rest of our peers. I was a good liar, but it hadn’t exactly helped my situation.
I peeked into my locker and shuffled around the items in there. Which notebook was I going to take home today?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure clad in a polo shirt and dark jeans approach. I had no idea why Aven decided to look so formal today, but it figured. He always had a strange sense of style that only he managed to pull off.
“I still think you treat me as a chauffeur,” he said, the second he was in hearing distance. I glanced at him and noted the frown. “You only talk to me when you need something.”
“Not true. I talk to you at home.”
“But that’s at home,” he protested. “Not at school. There’s a big difference. It almost seems like you’re avoiding me or something.”
I yanked out the large binder that had gotten stuck in the locker and placed it in Aven’s hands. He took it without protest. I had a feeling that he was still upset over the matter at hand. Was the boy feeling neglected?
“You’re right. I am avoiding you.” I slammed the door shut and faced him. “I really have no intention of seeing you and Giselle making out like there’s no tomorrow. Seriously. When are you going to get rid of her?”
He suddenly grinned. “Haven’t thought about it actually. She has pretty good connections.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “That’s only an excuse.” I suddenly let out a dramatic gasp. “Are you…are you actually falling for that girl?”
Aven looked appalled. “Hell no! What are you talking about, Tess? That girl’s a leech!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand dismissively. “No need to feel embarrassed. If you actually like her then go for it. Not that I approve or anything, but…”
“On a second thought, just shut up.”
I stuck my tongue out. “Make me.”
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Real mature, Tess. Real mature.”
“I thought you always hated followers.” I cocked my head. “You know, those types of girls who practically sprint towards the newest leader of fashion or something. Giselle is even worse. You could really invest in something better.”
He looped an arm around my shoulder and started half-shoving half-pulling me towards the parking lot. “Now investing is an interesting thing,” he remarked cheerfully. “You have to know what’s worth the risk and what’s not. And I personally think that Miss Leech is actually worth the torture.”
“Oh?” I lifted an eyebrow and wrapped an arm around his waist. A few girls gave us appraising glances as we walked by. “And why is that, Mr. Savior-of-the-World?”
“I’m getting more information out of her than you’re getting out of Lovaine.”
I shrugged, not denying the truth in that. Cade and I have been doing nothing but arguing for the past few days, not to mention the French project that’s due in a few weeks. I tossed my backpack into the car and let myself in before Aven got to the driver’s side. He huffed at me and drove out the parking lot and towards the neighboring Starbucks that Tristan had named.
“Thanks.” I jumped out of the car when Aven parked, but turned back at the last minute with a wide smile. “So…do you want to pick me up?”
He glared. “What would you do if I said no?”
“I don’t know. You’re probably going to come anyway.”
“I really should just teach you a lesson and leave you here.” Aven drove off without another word. I laughed to myself and walked into the café. Tristan was already there, sitting in the corner on one of the red couches.
He stood up with a small smile. “Hey. I hope I’m not pulling you away from something important.”
I shook my head. “Nope, not at all. If I were busy I wouldn’t be here, would I?” I grinned and motioned him to sit down. “Goodness Tristan, no need to be such a gentleman. Only men in the Victorian Age stand when a lady comes.”
“Lady?” His eyes were twinkling. “Where?”
I laughed and threw myself onto the loveseat in front of him. “So, what did you want to tell me?”
“I guess it’s more of what you want to know,” he said quietly. Tristan glanced up at me. “I can tell you’re curious.”
I didn’t bother suggesting otherwise. “Of course I am!” I protested. “Cade acts like he knows you guys and you guys hate him for some reason other than the fact that he’s popular. Why? There has to be some history behind all this.”
Tristan didn’t hesitate like I expected. “You’re right. There is history…though I’m not sure you’ll believe me even if I tell you.”
“I’m willing to believe anything right now. I just want some type of explanation before I come up with some wacky assumption of my own.”
He cracked a grin at that. “Funny, Tess.” He sobered up and regarded me seriously. “Cade Lovaine may be the governor’s son, but he wasn’t always like this.”
“This meaning…”
“Meaning he never used to be so arrogant or haughty. He was certainly friendly and he always had quite a bit of friends because he was the governor’s son. But he was…well…” It looked like it hurt Tristan to say this, but he did. “Nice.”
I was sure that my jaw completely unhinged, but I didn’t bother to check. Cade Lovaine…nice? It wasn’t completely surprising, as he had been considerably nice before, but I was quite surprised all the same. If I could pull out all the adjectives to describe him, nice would not have been even in the top thousand choices.
“You’re shocked,” Tristan said softly, his voice amused. “I’m not surprised. But yes, Cade was nice. He was amiable, friendly…well, your typical Golden Boy. And well…I guess his personality was really quite attractive, because most of the female population fell for him…including Neely and Aero.”
I actually let out a gasp here, too shocked to say anything else. Neely and Aero fell for Cade Lovaine? Was he talking about the same Cade…the one they hated? “In…in love?” I managed to choke out.
His smile was somewhat wry. “Yes.”
Now that explained everything…why they hated him so much. It made sense, considering what he had turned into today. “And?”
“I don’t think Cade ever liked either of the two more than a friend. He never mentioned a word, continued to remain friendly, until there was news of the governor’s near assassination.”
I chewed on my lip. Again? Usually it was the president, but why was Governor Dominic Lovaine so popular? Why did everyone want him dead? This was yet another thing I had to ask Liana when I got the chance. Now, I merely observed Tristan with faint questioning.
“So he was reincarnated into a bastard?”
His lips curved. “In a way, yes. He left school for a while and when he came back, it seemed as if he had gotten a personality change.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Neely and Aero were devastated. They even got into a fight over him before they realized that he wasn’t worth it. And this is where the hate comes in.”
Things were finally beginning to make sense now. The reason why Cade knew them, why they hated him…
“So none of you talk to him anymore?”
For the first time in my life, I saw Tristan with a sardonic look. I bit my lip in realization. The question was rather stupid, now that I thought about it. But I couldn’t help it; it had just fallen out and now Tristan was about to reprimand me for it. “Tess, use your head,” he chided gently. “Do you think we even have a chance to talk to him?”
I sighed. “I suppose not.”
“And you suppose correctly.” He frowned thoughtfully. “Though I don’t think anyone would volunteer if the opportunity came up either.”
“It’s just…strange I guess,” I muttered. “I never thought things were so complicated, and Cade just seems like he was born with that haughty personality.” I paused to mull things over. In a way, it made sense. There were moments, brief moment when Cade had turned out slightly different from what I had thought he was, but those moments were too short to be taken into account for. I thought of something. “Are the others going to get mad at you for telling me all this?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t really care.” I couldn’t hide my surprise. Tristan smiled amusedly. “I may be quiet but I’m not exactly frightened of what Aero or Neely would do. It’s not like they’ll murder me for telling you about this. I doubt Silver or Myra would care, and Trent knows that I’m going to tell you sooner or later. Besides, you deserve to know.”
I blinked. “I do?”
“After getting caught up in all the drama and having Aero shoving insults down your throat, I think you fully deserve an explanation.”
I smiled then. “Thanks Tristan. You have no idea how much your explanation means to me. I actually understand some things now.”
He chuckled. “Don’t mention it.”
“Well,” I said, after a strange pause. “I’m going to go now. Lots of information to digest, and I have to start on my stupid French project.”
“You’re working on that with Cade, right?” There was no hint of disgust in Tristan’s voice. In fact, now that I thought about it, he had never regarded Cade with anything akin to dislike. It was curious, and puzzling so. “Wait, Tristan. One last question.”
He inclined his head. “Go ahead.”
“Do you hate Cade?”
“Hate?” He sounded surprised. “No, of course not.”
Now it was my turn to look shocked. He didn’t hate Cade? But… “But all your friends do. Why not you?”
“Trent doesn’t exactly hate him either. He’s upset that Cade left us, but there’s no hate. Myra is bordering on the edge. But there’s no doubt that Aero, Silver, and Neely do.”
“But why?”
Tristan lifted an eyebrow. “Why they hate or why…”
“Why you don’t.”
“There’s no reason to. No matter what everyone else says about Cade Lovaine, I’m certain that he had reason behind what he did. Besides, he’s not exactly downright cruel to us. Aero and Neely are provoked easily because of their…well, past infatuation with him.”
I laughed then. “Oh Tristan, you’re so saintly!”
His grin was wry. “I don’t know whether that was a compliment or an insult.”
“Compliment,” I affirmed and then left the café with a wave and another thanks. Miraculously, Aven was already waiting outside when I got to the parking lot, and I gave him a playful kiss on the cheek as I hopped in. “You’re on time!”
“And you’re cheerful,” he returned. Aven looked at me curiously. “Why the happy face?”
“Just figured out some stuff, is all.”
“Stuff,” he repeated slowly, turning on the left signal light. “You’re hiding loads of information with that word.”
I nodded, unable to wipe the huge grin off my face. I had finally figured out something that had been bothering me for the past week or so. Finally! I practically felt like a new person. “I’m just rejoicing.” And then a question that had been suppressed during the conversation with Tristan popped back into my head. I turned slightly in my seat. “By the way, do you know why Dominic Lovaine is so popular?”
Aven cast me a quick glance. “Maybe he takes after his son?”
I swatted him on the head, despite the fact that he was in the middle of driving. “Yeah, I’d really like to see that happen,” I retorted. “Dimwit.”
“Hey! It was just a suggestion, all right? No need to get so defensive.”
“I’d rather you not suggest anything at all if that’s the suggestion you’re going to give me.”
He huffed moodily. “Well if you had given me a legitimate question then I would’ve given you a legitimate answer!”
I gaped. “How was that not a legitimate question? We’re already the second group of people to make an attempt on Dominic Lovaine. Why is it that he’s so wanted?”
“Oh, is that what you were trying to ask?”
My nostrils flared. “What else?”
“Well then you could’ve said something like, ‘Why do so many people want to assassinate Dominic Lovaine,’ and then I would replied, ‘He has a chance of becoming the next president’.”
My mouth closed. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” he retorted. “Oh.”
“So if that does happen…then Cade’s going to be the president’s son? As if his ego needs any more boosting!”
Aven nodded. “So we’re trying to kidnap him to prevent Dominic Lovaine from attempting the next presidency.”
My eyes narrowed then. Somehow, it seemed as if I was quite left behind on this specific tidbit of information. “How is it that you know this and I don’t?”
He lifted an eyebrow as he pulled up into our garage. I crossed my arms and waited for the reply even though he had already cut off the engine. Aven smiled and patted my head reassuringly. “It’s you not doing your homework. Liana gave this information to us in one of her files.”
I blinked in surprise. “She did? How come I didn’t see it?”
“Once again, you’re not doing your homework.” He winked and grabbed his bag and hopped out the car. I followed him in. I had to take a look at that file if I had indeed missed this vital information. It made quite a bit of difference.
I dropped my things in my room and headed towards the room that contained all our folders of information. I yanked open the file cabinet and took out the manila folder labeled ‘Lovaine’. Aven was lounging in the desk chair, feet propped up on the desk, and eyes wandering around to where the answering machine rested, a red light flashing to indicate unread messages.
“Oh look,” he said, sitting upright. “Someone called us.”
I snorted. “Wonderful.”
He pressed the button and leaned back. I continued rifling through the papers until I heard Liana’s sharp voice resound in the room. She sounded urgent, a little annoyed, and slightly displeased. “Tess, Aven, I have news for you. It appears as if the Lovaines have heightened their security. They’ve hired new guards, though we have no information on them.”
Aven and I exchanged a look.
“We don’t know what they’re planning or what’s going on, but we have to hurry and finish the mission before they can interfere.” Liana’s voice grew firm now—firm and deadly. “I want the two of you to know the Lovaine household inside and out. We’re pushing our plans forward.”
There was a pause. Aven looked shocked. “Again?”
I only shrugged and bit my lip in hesitance. The situation was getting quite serious.
“In two weeks, I want everything done. I want Cade Lovaine captured and a ransom note sent to Dominic Lovaine. Of course, that part will wait till later when we have the initial stage completed. Understand?” There was another pause as Liana took a breath. “Don’t disappoint me.” The message ended.
It seemed that with Liana’s message finished, the tension in the room zapped. Aven let out a whoosh of air and slumped back into his seat. He seemed exhausted, though I didn’t blame him. The situation was pressing. Capture Cade Lovaine by the end of two weeks? That was crazy…
“This is so messed up,” Aven muttered, closing his eyes and placing a hand atop his forehead. “How are we supposed to do that? Liana’s gone mad!”
“She’s not happy,” I realized grimly. “Haven’t you realized? She’s furious even, though it seems like she’s more pissed off at the new security people that the Lovaines hired.”
He opened his eyes and shot me an annoyed look. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not so happy either. Two weeks! Hell, how’s that even possible?”
I threw my hands into the air. “How am I supposed to know? I don’t even know what happened to that ruddy tracker we stuck on him!”
Aven froze at that. He looked blindingly shocked, which I found rather amusing. “You lost the tracker?!”
“Hey, hey!” I protested. “I didn’t lose it. It’s just not on him anymore.”
“Are you suggesting…”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just stating a fact. It’s been bothering me for a while now.”
Aven frowned and tugged on his hair. “How long has your tracker stopped working?”
“I just noticed it a few days ago, but I’m not exactly sure exactly when it was removed. I’m certain that it’s not broken. Either I didn’t clasp it on tightly enough and it had fallen off, or someone took it off.” Truthfully, I preferred the latter explanation to the former.
He caught the look on my face and snickered. “I can tell you’re thinking too deeply into the situation.” He shrugged. “If you ask me, I bet he just took off the original necklace and put on another one.”
I observed him thoughtfully and couldn’t help but smile. “You know Aven, I really am in awe of you.”
That perked him up and he automatically grinned. “I always knew you were. I was just waiting for you to outright admit it.”
I just stared at him. He eventually sighed. “Okay, okay. Tell me. Why are you in awe of me?” The sentence sounded rather arrogant, even though Aven had inserted a wary sigh in between his words.
“You never take things seriously.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “So that’s a good thing?”
“Now it is. Other times, not so much.”
“If you weren’t a girl, I’d hit you.”
Sadly, no one believed him.
Still, hearing Braelin’s sickeningly sweet voice was annoying enough for me. Being in class with her was getting close to impossible, and now that she was sitting a table away from me during break, I was close to tearing my hair out. She was blabbing to her loyal followers about how she couldn’t sleep the night before, trying to decide how she could choose either Cade or Justin without hurting the other. And what was worse? They were hanging onto her every word.
It was absolutely disgusting.
“So then Justin called me, you know,” she said, adopting a mournful expression. “And you know how I can’t abandon Cade. I was so heartbroken when I had to tell Justin that we could only be friends and nothing more.”
Girl One let out a sigh. “I know it’s hard, Brae. Just let it all out. Here.” And then she handed Braelin a handkerchief.
Braelin dabbed at her eyes gently. “Justin was actually quite understanding. He told me that we’d always be friends, that I could go to him whenever Cade was being a bastard.” She smiled then. “But Cade will always be my loyal boyfriend no matter what.”
Girl Two looked confused. “But I thought Cade broke up with…”
Braelin’s eyes flashed and she stood up. “Of course not! How dare you say that?”
Girl Two cowered in fear. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…well, you know how the rumors go.”
“Rumors are not to be trusted.” Braelin seated herself again and smiled at the girls rather brightly. “This isn’t for certain yet, but I think Cade’s going to ask me out to dinner later. Just to be prepared, what should I wear?”
I lifted an eyebrow. Cade was going to ask her out again? Oh please. I didn’t know whether she was too dimwitted to understand that he wasn’t interested in her, or whether he was pathetic enough to keep up his little relationship with her just because she was Queen Bitch and he was King Bastard.
I suppose I thought my thoughts too loudly because the next second later, I found the three girls staring at me with different expressions. Girl One and Girl Two just looked confused and rather neutral, but Braelin appeared as if she wanted to skin me alive.
“Hey, isn’t that the new girl who hangs out with Aven and the group?” Girl Two said.
Girl One tilted her head bemusedly. “What’s her name again? And why is she staring at us like that?” The last sentence was said with a tint of disdain.
Braelin smiled sultrily and headed towards me. “Tess Tyler,” she said, sounding disgusted and pleased at the same time. I had no idea how she managed it. “And how are you doing today?”
I shrugged. “Not bad. And you?” This was pointless talk.
“Peachy.” She took a seat next to me, her eyes glittering. “So did you hear the news?”
“About Lovaine, you mean?”
“You must be devastated.” I had to hand it to the girl—she actually sounded distressed on my behalf. If I were a wit stupider, I would’ve believed her false sympathy. “I’m sorry, Tess. Truly I am.”
I raised both eyebrows and gave her a look that suggested she had gone somewhere wrong in the head. “Why should I be devastated? And why should you be sorry?”
Braelin pursed her lips. “Oh…well, if you don’t understand, it’s all right.”
“Is it?”
“Of course.” She licked her lips and smiled again. “Cade can never and will never like you, Tess. I don’t understand why you would think otherwise, but I suppose since you’re still rather new here, I’ll forgive you.” Her stance became hard and her eyes flashed. “Cade Lovaine is mine, you hear that?”
I put on a face of confusion and cupped my hand to my ear. “Sorry?” I leaned in closer. “I seem to be experiencing a moment of deafness. Could you repeat that, and louder please?”
Oh dear. Was I making the poor girl mad? “What?” Her tone had taken on a frosty edge.
“Well, what I mean is…” I stopped and pondered my next words. “I don’t know if I heard you correctly. You see, I happen to know that Lovaine doesn’t like you. And if I heard right, he broke up with you yesterday, and…”
Braelin’s hand lashed out. I ducked and spun around. She was confused for a moment before my hand promptly connected with her cheek. I watched in amusement as she let out an enraged ear-piercing cry and jerked up, her dark hair flailing about her.
“I’ll get you for that one, Tyler!”
I blinked innocently. “For what? I didn’t do anything.”
She lunged at me. I jumped to the side and watched with satisfaction as she stumbled past. I scratched my head. First Aero and now Braelin? Why did I get into fights wherever I went? Apparently, Girl One and Girl Two finally caught onto the situation and they joined in. I whirled away from Girl Two’s fist and grabbed her hair before she smashed her face into the metal lockers. Even I wasn’t that cruel.
Girl One took this as her chance and attacked from the back. She took off at a run and then leapt towards me, rather gracefully I might add, before she crashed into the wall right beside me. Bad distance judgment.
Braelin came back, her hands wielding her ammunition, also known as her bright yellow high heels. I spared a glance at her bare feet and saw that her toenails were painted orange. Very strange color coordination. I was entranced for a moment and only managed to dodge out of the way of one flying shoe. I breathed out a sigh of relief and stuck out a feet, sending the girl flying into Girl One, who had just pulled herself up from the ground.
Girl Two stood to the side in shock. She seemed too startled to move.
When I made sure that Braelin and Girl One wouldn’t be charging back anytime soon, I finally took note of my surroundings, and realized for the first time that I had gained quite an audience. The previously deserted area was now packed with students, some fascinated, others amused, and the rest disgusted. I smiled sheepishly and scratched my head.
Woops. Guilty.
Dave stepped forward and observed Braelin, Girl One, and Girl Two. He was one of the fascinated ones. “Holy shit, Tess.”
“Umm…” Yeah, brilliant response.
“Why exactly were you attacking her in the first place?”
“She attacked me first,” I said. “I just defended myself.”
He laughed and shot me an amused grin. “I don’t think that really qualified as defense, Tess. You flattened them like pancakes!”
Since there was nothing I could think of, I just said, “Nice analogy.” I doubt Dave heard me. He was too busy amusing himself with the sight of the once composed Braelin Snow and her two faithful sidekicks.
“The teachers are going to be here any minute,” Victor spoke up. He was leaning against the lockers. “You’d better scram for it, Tess.”
My eyes widened. Teachers? Oh crap. I had not thought about that. I couldn’t afford suspension now. I needed more time with Cade, and suspension would not…
Dave jerked to attention. “Vic’s right.” He looked around and gave me a push towards the crowd. “Get out of here. I’ll…no, wait.” Her raised his voice. “Cade! Aven!”
Aven’s voice cut through the din as she shoved his way forward. “Right here!” He appeared a second later, dragging a very pissed off Cade right along with him.
“Get off me, Conroy,” he snapped.
Aven released his arm. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, and then turned his attention to Dave and Victor. “What’s going on?” And then his eyes fell on me. “Tess? What are you doing here?”
“I…”
“No time to explain,” Dave said hurriedly. He pushed me towards Cade and tugged Aven forward. “Cade, take Tess and go hide somewhere. Aven, we need your help.”
“What?” Aven blinked. “Wait…what?”
Victor took over for Dave. “Tess here got herself into a rather tight situation with those three of there,” he pointed over to where Braelin, Girl One and Girl Two were, huddled in the corner, “and we need to take care of things before the Principal Denton comes.”
Aven’s jaw dropped and he whirled on me accusingly. “You…you fought with them?” He paused to glare. “How could you?” From the way he sounded, it seemed as if I had killed his cat.
“She provoked me,” I snapped. “I had a reason.”
There was a loud whistle that sounded from somewhere near the office, followed by pounding footsteps. Teachers had clearly gotten wind of this, or at least heard the commotion, and they were charging forward.
Dave sprang into action. “Victor, Aven, grab the girls and hide them somewhere and make sure they won’t be able to charge back until we’re done.” They nodded and quickly left. I briefly saw them tugging the girls around the corner. “Quinn, get over here.”
Quinn Lee smiled and stepped forward, his eyes bright. “You called, Master?”
Dave groaned. “You’re the best at talking. Calm the crowd.” He turned around as if to yell at some more people, but he stopped upon seeing Cade and me standing next to him. “What are you two still doing here? Cade, get a move on!”
I looked at the dark-haired boy and found that he didn’t find the situation the least bit amusing. He observed Dave with an irritated expression and remained adamantly still, his arms crossed and posture leisure. My eyes narrowed. It didn’t seem as if he cared whether or not I got my butt kicked out of the school.
Well, if he didn’t care, I did. I would take matters into my own hand. I nodded toward Dave. “Thanks. I’ll pay you back for this.” And then I grabbed Cade’s arm and sprinted off in the opposite direction from where the teachers were supposedly coming.
To my surprise, he didn’t resist until we were a good distance away. Then he wrenched his arm away and headed towards one of the benches outside the cafeteria. I gaped when he sat down and placed his arms on the back of the bench.
“Excuse me?” I said incredulously. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Sitting down.”
“Well obviously,” I snorted, peeved. “But aren’t we supposed to be hiding?”
Cade looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Hiding? Why would you want to do that?”
He really was stupid. “Maybe because the teachers are after me?”
“If Dave sorts everything out, there should be no problem.”
I thought this over. If Aven and Victor did their job, Braelin wouldn’t be able to say anything, and then Dave could explain. And if Cade forced Braelin and the other two to keep their mouths shut, I had a feeling they would. I almost clapped in glee. The situation would be averted and I wouldn’t have any trouble at all. With these happy thoughts in mind, I seated myself next to Cade and allowed myself to enjoy a breath of relaxed air.
Unfortunately, peace only lasted two minutes. It was tragic when I lifted my head and saw Aero and Neely heading towards the cafeteria. It was even more tragic when I realized that they would inevitably pass by our bench on the way there. It was the most tragic, however, when I saw Aero’s passive face change into one of pure fury and Neely stiffen when they noticed us.
Cade, on the other hand, seemed perfectly relaxed and was basking under the sunlight with his eyes closed and head tilted back. I wondered if I ought to warn him that his ex-lovers were coming along, but before I could toss a coin or make up my mind, the two had already approached us. I swore that time seemed to fly by rather quickly at times.
Tense silence ensued…well, tense silence for the three of us. It appeared as if Cade was no longer part of the conscious world.
Neely was the first to break it, bless her soul. “What are you doing here?”
Well, that was an easy question. “Sitting.” Yeah, okay, stupid answer.
My simple and innocent answer did not satisfy Aero’s ferocious temper. “You think you’re being funny, don’t you, Tyler?”
“Not really,” I said truthfully. “I was just answering the question.”
“I meant, why aren’t you in class?” Neely amended. Her voice was still impassive, though I didn’t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. Her eyes trailed to Cade’s sleeping figure before flickering back to me.
“It’s my break period.” Another truth. “I guess I felt like getting something to eat.” A lie.
Aero’s eyes narrowed. She sneered and then looked at Cade with disdain. It was hard to imagine that she had actually fallen in love with him before. She looked like she’d rather eat him alive than kiss him senseless. “So why is lover boy here?”
I blinked and glanced at Cade. “Him? Lover boy?” I looked at him again and frowned. “I don’t think so. He’s not attentive enough.”
To my surprise, he actually opened an eye at my comment and smirked. “And what if I was attentive enough?”
“This is disgusting,” Aero spat, glaring at the two of us. She turned to Neely. “Come on, let’s go. No need to waste our time.”
Cade’s smirk widened. “Leaving already? No good-bye kiss?”
My eyes widened. I turned to him in complete shock, but he didn’t acknowledge me. His gaze was still focused on Aero and Neely, who had both stiffened at his comment. Aero was the first to react. She stormed back and, to my surprise, brandished a rather large rock in her hand. I swore she didn’t have that a moment ago. Had it been in her pocket all his time? And furthermore…why the hell was she carrying a rock around in the first place?
“Say one more word, Lovaine, and I will not hesitate to mash your head in.”
The rock actually did look rather lethal.
Cade didn’t seem perturbed at all. He just smiled. “I’d like to see you try.”
Aero’s eyes flashed. “Don’t tempt me.”
“But what if I am?”
I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t that I was particularly worried about Cade, but still, the situation was suspenseful. Aero would’ve been crazy if she actually thought about beating Cade’s head to a bloody pulp. And the scary thing was, I had no idea whether she would or not. If it were Neely, I knew she would do no such thing, but Aero was in a whole category of her own.
And to my ultimate surprise, she did.
Her hand swung in an arch, her hands clenched around the rock. It was aimed straight towards Cade’s head. And yet he didn’t move; he didn’t even flinch. The rock came down, he closed his eyes, and I knew I should’ve moved…I should have…but I didn’t. I was caught in the moment. And then at the very last second, when the rock had already collided with his bangs, it froze.
Aero’s arm was poised in the air, outstretched and steady. And then her hand released the rock. It hit the bench and clattered onto the ground.
I could finally breathe again.
Cade’s eyes opened.
“Lovaine, if you ever say something like that again…” Aero gritted out. She whirled around and stormed away, towing a very shocked and alarmed Neely with her.
I watched as they disappeared from sight, and then glanced at the insane creature sitting next to me. He observed me with a cocked eyebrow and snickered. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
“One more millimeter and you would’ve been a ghost.”
He had the nerve to chuckle and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re so sure Aero wouldn’t have struck?”
“I’m sure.” And he did sound sure.
“How do you…”
Cade rolled his eyes and gave me an exasperated look. “It’s common sense, Tyler. She wouldn’t risk expulsion just because she wants to eat me alive.”
“Why do you tempt her then?”
He shrugged and his gray eyes glittered. “It’s amusing.”
I scowled. “You’re disgusting.” He didn’t respond. I squinted up at the bright sun and then back down at the ground. I could see black spots in my vision now, but I wasn’t bothered by it. Truthfully, I was hoping that he would say more on the matter. I wanted to know what went through his mind the day he decided that he would ditch his friends and join the Pop Preps. Did popularity matter that much to him?
Cade glanced at me out the corner of his eyes and a corner of his lips lifted. “Why so quiet? Cat got your tongue?”
“No,” I huffed in annoyance. “I’m thinking.”
He shifted in his seat so that he was looking straight at me. His gray eyes, normally tinted with arrogance, were glittering in amusement now. I wondered.
“About what?” He paused and smirked. “Oh, I get it. You want me to say more, don’t you? Was my answer not satisfactory?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.” I narrowed my eyes. “You’re so complicated, you know? I used to think you were naturally born with a gigantic ego…until I had a talk with Tristan.”
He snorted. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I nearly yelled, rounding on him. “Okay? That’s even worse than saying ‘it’s amusing’!” I grumbled and crossed my arms. “You really are a person of few words.”
Cade laughed and shook his head. I shifted in my position a little. Had he just laughed? I really must’ve gone delirious. I didn’t quite think that he was capable of such an emotion. “Or perhaps you talk too much? Have you thought of that before?”
I just glared. “Now that I think about it, I actually like you better when you don’t talk.”
“You just want to know how I feel about Aero and Neely, don’t you?”
“If you’re willing to tell me,” I confessed. “I’m curious. You know…you know that they…um…” I wasn’t sure if he had realized this part yet, and if he hadn’t, then it probably wasn’t wise for me to spill the beans. “That they…you know.”
His lips curved. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t a smirk. “They liked me? Yeah, what about it?” Aha! There was the long lost smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“What?” I sputtered. “Of course not! What are you talking about?”
Cade leaned back and undid his tie, throwing it to the empty spot next to him. He yanked up the sleeves of his shirt and tilted his head back. “I never liked them, if that’s what you’re wondering. We were only friends.”
“Well the feeling not being mutual is one thing, but taunting them like that is another. No wonder they hate you. You have absolutely no consideration for others.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps not.”
I hissed in annoyance and jabbed him in the shoulder. “Tristan really was right. You did get a personality swap.”
“Not a swap,” he corrected. “I merely altered the proportions a little.”
“That’s just an excuse. You…arrogant peacock!”
Cade blinked in surprise and then slowly smiled. He shook his head and turned back with a sigh. “You are so strange.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. Talking him out of his disgusting personality was clearly a lost cause. Cade wanted to be rude and arrogant and cocky. It would take years for me to figure out how his mind worked. In the meantime, I had to figure out the mystery with the tracker. But the problem was, I couldn’t exactly go right out and ask him if he had taken the tracker off.
There was a sudden commotion and I tilted my head to get a clearer sound. There was quite a bit of yelling, but there was one voice that I was sure belonged to Braelin. She sounded mad all right. I wondered what Dave had told the teachers. I hoped that he had made up a good story, else I’d have quite a bit of explaining to do.
A plan suddenly popped into my head. I inwardly laughed at its brilliance, took one glance at Cade, and put it into motion.
I made a show of craning my neck to peer in the direction where the voices were coming from and gasped. “I think Braelin’s trying to tell her side of the story.”
Cade’s voice was bland. “Really?”
“Yes. Let’s go see!” I jumped out of my seat, made sure that I landed slightly crookedly and then proceeded to collapse onto the ground with a wail. Of course, I hadn’t expected to hit the ground, but apparently, Cade was less of a gentleman than I had thought. I felt skin meet concrete and let out another gasp of what I hoped sounded like pain. “Ooh…argh…the pain.”
Cade blinked and glanced at my figure sprawled on the ground. “You know, if you wanted to kiss my shoes, you could’ve done it with more sophistication.”
I glared up at him and grabbed my ankle for good measure. “I’m not bowing before you! I twisted my ankle.”
Now he looked amused. “Did you?” He sighed. “Well that’s too bad.”
And the stupid, aggravating, idiotic, he-who-thinks-he-rules-the-world boy just stood up and walked away. This was not how it was supposed to go!
“Lovaine! Hey, Lovaine! L-O-V-A-I-N-E! Get back here!”
“Glad to hear you can spell my last name,” he called over his shoulder.
I gritted my teeth. If worst came to worst, then…well, I’d think about it when the worst did come to the worst. For now… “Come on! I need help here! Lovaine!” I paused and took in a deep breath. “Cade! Please?”
He stopped, turned around, and smirked. If the situation had permitted, I would’ve stuck my tongue out. He headed back towards me. “Well why didn’t you say so?”
I gaped. “I can’t believe you’re so childish!”
“And I can’t believe you’re such a klutz.” He paused. “Wait, never mind. I can believe it.” He grabbed my hand, wrapped an arm around my waist, and tugged me up. I landed on both feet, took a second to decide which one I wanted to be sprained, and then started hopping madly around on my right foot.
“I don’t think I can walk.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed drastically and his lips turned down into a frown. “Well then what are you suggesting?”
I grinned wickedly. “Carry me.”
His eyes practically bulged out of his head. “What?” He suddenly released my hand, and since I had been leaning most of my weight on him, I lost my balance and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t grabbed me in the last minute. “You’re kidding me,” he groaned.
“Nope.” I shook my head. “Give me a piggyback ride.” And then for good measure: “Please?”
He looked at me, gray eyes dark with annoyance. I could tell he really didn’t want to do what I was asking, but hey, I had to check if the tracker was still there, and at the same time, I could squash down his pride a bit. It was killing two birds with one stone.
“Fuck you.”
I smiled sweetly. “So you agree?”
He sighed and in the next moment, dropped down into a kneeling position on the pavement. I couldn’t hold in my burst of laughter and hopped on, wrapping my arms around his neck. He stood up without any effort and began the trek back to where Dave and the ground probably were.
I laughed giddily and patted his hair, which was remarkably cool even under the sun. “I can’t believe the governor’s son is carrying me.”
“Say one more word and…”
“Fine, fine,” I retorted dismissively. I gave him another pat on the head and focused on the back of his necklace. I scanned down the length of the chain on one side and then the other side. Like I had expected, the tracker was gone.
But then again, there was still Aven’s guess. “Hey Lovaine?”
“What?” he snapped.
“Did you change necklaces ever since you met me?”
Now he sounded confused. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Just answer.”
“I don’t think I did.” There was a pause. “Why?”
I needed to play this off cool. “No reason. It just looks different from what I remember, that’s all.” I pursed my lips in thought. If he hadn’t worn another necklace, and if the tracker wasn’t here, then that meant either he had removed it himself or it had fallen off. I felt something touch my left foot and kicked it away impatiently. Did that mean Cade knew who I was? But surely that was impossible. How could he have figured it out?
“Hey Tyler.”
“Hmm?” I replied half-heartedly. Did Aven and I do anything suspicious?
“How’s the injured foot?”
But we hadn’t done anything remotely related to the mission yet…at least not in public. “It’s fine.”
“Good.”
The situation was getting rather unnerving, and… “Holy crap!” I yelped and thumped onto the ground. Cade had loosened his hold on me, and was now smirking and observing my pathetic position on the ground. The guy had practically thrown me off!
“You really need to work on your faking skills, Tyler.”
I could only glare at his retreating figure.
Damn him.
and thanks for your lovely review :) you guys made my days and really, it's all your kind words that helped me get this chapter out. so another thanks goes to all of you!!!
glacialangel: there's more aven in this chapter! haha. i added in a special part just for all you aven lovers. hope you enjoy this ;) and thanks for all the support. and wow. you got an account on fictionpress! haha. wonderful.
Krimzonrayne: tess can be both, you're right :) i'm not sure if she was more mature or less mature here...i'd guess a little bit of both. at least, that was what i was going for.
TopazEyes1: you like long stories? how about long chapters? haha. i hope you enjoy this, even though it's extremely belated. but still, it's long!
LethargicLove: i added more cade in here, so i hope you get to know him better. i'm trying to get under the surface of his personality and let tess realize that there's more to him than just the arrogant persona that he puts up. haha. it's getting a little difficult at the moment, but i'm working on it.
Pieces of the sun: cade isn't as cold-hearted as tess thinks ;) but i guess he's still an arrogant asshole most of the time. and as for the kidnapping thing, well i'm getting a lot of new ideas now. it's kind of interesting to realize how much i've deviated ever since i first started this story. i'm not sure if things will go as you hope, but i guarantee a good ending...at least i think it'll be a good thing x) i hope. haha.
Essevera: no, it wouldn't hurt to add in recaps. i'm sorry i forgot to add them into this one, but i will for the next chapter.
Hannahdoll: aww, thanks. i'm sorry about the late update, but i definitely haven't given up on this story. it just takes me a long time to get another chapter out. i'm hoping to finish it by 2008 though x)
IcBlue-Dmoness: sorry for this late update!! but i am happy that you like this story :)
XMizzFeFeX: thanks!
October Rose: i'm glad to hear that. at the same time, i hope you like this chapter as much.
loveSZbrownie: you don't remember what you wrote? haha. that's all right. as long as you like this story and the characters, i'm happy. tess and cade are quite cute together :) they just have to get together though. haha. that's gonna take a while.
everlastingxwish: enough romance in here for you? i think they're getting somewhere, despite how slow it is x) hope you like it.
Blueberry Sparkle: it would be interesting to see how cade's mind works, but no, you won't get to see his pov in this story, mainly because it's first person pov. you'll realize how smart cade really is by the end, i'm afraid. i can't write too much about it in the beginning simply because it would ruin a lot of things. haha. after all, tess has to realize it for us to realize it ;)
psychotic aiba lover: tess and cade do make the best pair huh? and yes, you get to see that tristan doesn't hate cade as much as the others do. and there's an explanation for everything too ;) haha. i'm pleased you like cade so far, even though he has been rather...asshole-ish.
jointedlegs: looks like taking more time to churn out this chapter is a LONG time. heh. my bad. i'm sorry. anyway, this chapter is much longer, so i hope this compensates for everything. assassin stuff will come rather soon, since liana pushed forward the due date to 2 weeks ;) i'm trying to figure out how to organize this story still, but i do hope to bring forth the assassin/action stuff as well.
Jase: oh dear. my apologies. i'm not german and i don't know the language, so i got it off an online translation. those things are hardly ever accurate. bah. sorry once again.
ski bird: you know, i think i should take you up on that offer ;) i'm getting quite bored right now, and i'm spending so much time in the bookstore trying to figure out what books to buy. thanks for the recommendations.
No Ordinary Girl: i praise cade's ability to remain cool and calm in tess's presence. still, i bet you're right. they're gonna have a showdown one day. haha.
Skeptic-Critic: cade is an asshole right now, so don't worry about it. and hey, it's perfectly normally not to like the lead character. it's usually the girl i'm annoyed at, but oh well x) haha. there's more cade information here, so i don't know if that will change your views or anything. still, thanks for commenting. as for how long this story is going to be, i really have no idea. i'm estimating around 25-30 chapters. or maybe shorter. it depends on how i plan things.
sanzo-reload: thanks!
Liviana: i have no idea how she can be afraid of books x) though i am afraid of textbooks. those things are icky. regular stories, however, are okay ;)
Randomisation: more cade and tristan in this chapter, though it's not really...cade and tristan. i am thinking it'd be interesting to write an interaction between the two of them. haha.
Leah: yeah, the guy does need to learn some manners. he's an ass, but you'll realize that he isn't that bad as the story develops.
Kohlomere: i'm glad you found it funny :)
naningxoxo: well there's more aven in this chapter. i'm still trying to fit in some action and the whole assassin thing, which is why i pushed things forward a little. haha. i think i'll manage to insert it somewhere around chapter 15 or so ;)
Agent Raindrop: aww thankies! i'm pleased that it's not as original as ever x) haha.
strawberryice: you're right. i think i'm dragging it, so this chapter has more information about cade and his past history with aero and neely and the gang. i'm trying to speed things up right now, so i should be able to add in some assassin stuff.
SapphireEyes16: cade is pronounced...kayd :) and i'm happy you like tess. haha. she's cute.
Dianna: sorry about this late chapter. but at the same time, i do hope you like it.
troryfan3007: evil books! haha. well, only some books are evil. haha. thanks.
Laughing In the Night: thanks.
PeterMoore: you figure out why they want to kidnap cade here :) it's a little more typical of the older days, but hell, ransom works no matter what century we're living in. haha.
A.K.A Writer's Block: hey, i love your penname x) it expresses my thoughts. haha. anyway thanks! this update was late indeed, but it's long!
MizuMegami: i suppose tess could attempt to learn french at home, but i don't think she really up to it right now. there's too much on her mind and learning french is not at the top of her list ;) and i suppose cade might get suspicious, but if he's not thinking too much into it, he won't realize much. besides, this is from tess's pov, and cade may be a very good actor. we'll never know. haha.
MEEE: i'm sorry for this incredibly late update!!
atreyu love: you get to see what happens here! or rather, what happened btetween cade and the rest of the group. tristan just happens to be more forgiving than others. i think i revealed a decent amount of information here, though i am trying to push the story forward. it's getting a bit slow, which is probably one reason why it's taking a while for me to think up what will happen in the next chapter. heh. thanks for the support though :)
thanks to all once again!! and much love ;)
-faedora
