My Best Friend Stole My Royal Boyfriend

Chapter 18

It’s the next day of school, and I’m having trouble breathing. I’m even more nervous about seeing

Adam today than I was yesterday. Would he act as nothing happened between us just like the last time,

or would he do the opposite today? That’s the thing about Adam; he was unpredictable; it was like

meeting a new person every time that I saw him, with the same nerve-wracking feelings, of course.

The moment I start to walk through the halls, my heart rate increases with each step that I take. I know

that I’m not prepared to see him today; I’m not prepared for anything at all. I want to be stronger, I do,

but my heart and mind have been taking the lead lately. It’s too caught up in a series of emotions that

seems to be only growing stronger the more time that I spend with him.

I turn the corner, unsure what it has in store for me, but what I see next drags all of the air

out of my lungs.

I take a moment to take in the scene some more, but it does nothing to calm the pounding

in my chest.

Adam is leaning against his locker, but he is not alone; Lizzie is in front of him.

She has her hands on his chest, and she’s staring into his eyes. I feel an instant drop in my heartbeat

from seeing them in such a romantic position. I don’t know what I was expecting from him today, but

this was the last thing on my mind.

I’m both hurt and angry that they’re doing this in front of me. I know it isn’t intentional but

someone please tell that to my stupid heart.

I know that what happened between us yesterday was only him trying to help me but still, I didn’t

expect to walk in here today and see both of them so close. I’ve overheard a few girls talking, and from

what I heard, they didn’t get back together. But this ongoing display of

affection said otherwise. Did the girls not get enough information, or were they saying that

because they hated the thought of Adam having someone else?

He isn’t looking my way, and even though his intense gaze usually sends me into a whirlpool of

emotions, I feel a sense of emptiness now that I don’t have it.

What was wrong with me? I’d just gone through a nasty breakup and lost the two most influential

people in my life. And now I was pining over a guy I shouldn’t even be thinking about. A guy that my

parents would punish me for even looking his way.

Maybe my body enjoyed being hurt; that had to be it. Why else would I develop any feelings for Adam,

who has never once shown interest in me? I should be focusing on myself Bryan.

Maybe Bryan wasn’t the only one in our relationship that was not completely happy. I did not realize it

until now, but my feelings for him must have been very dull; I didn’t have anything

to compare it to back then.

Now that I saw what real passion felt like, I know what I had been missing. Was that why Bryan chose

to cheat? We didn’t have that passion in our relationship. It doesn’t excuse what he’d done, but now I

was happy that we were no longer together. I was allowed to feel

something that I never thought possible.

In fact, if I had remained with Bryan, I would have never known feelings like this existed. But the truth

was that it only lived because of Adam. I would not feel this way for anyone else; I knew that much.

But that was a big issue since he looked as though he was still in love with his

ex-girlfriend.

I turn and try to keep the disappointment from my face as I head towards the classroom. I open the

door and step inside. Abigail looks up when she hears the door and a bright smile forms on her face.

It’s nice to see that at least one person is happy to see me today. It’s not like it’s her first time seeing

me in the morning, however. I did sleepover by her last night.

“You look down,” Abigail comments the moment I take a seat next to her.

I shrug my shoulders, “I don’t want to talk about it.” I mumble.

Her gaze moves to the doorway, and I know without looking up that Adam had just entered

with Lizzie.

“You need not say more,” she says with a sigh. Though I haven’t confessed all of my

feelings to Abigail, my facial expressions must give it all away.

“Good morning, class,” Miss Stevens says. “We are now only a few days away from the fire fairy

festival. Who’s excited?”

Just like always, the room is filled with cheers at her question. I don’t even know why | waste my time

attending that festival every year. But if I asked my parents to sit this one out, they would go all crazy

on me.

“Every year, you’ve seen your seniors be tested, and this year it’s finally your turn. Every fire whisperer

in this room will have a chance to find out if the power has been within you all along.” She chimes

happily.

The class begins to laugh at the sudden addition to her earlier statement. Of course they would laugh;

everyone enjoyed seeing me in pain.

Why did I think that they would even consider testing me? Not that I wanted to be tested, even I didn’t

think that it was possible for someone that didn’t know how to create fire to be the

flaming whisperer.

But still, they should include me. I’m not an outcast, I’m still a princess, and I’m still someone that tries

very hard. So what if I can’t create fire? Does that mean that it’s okay for others to treat me like I’m

nothing? I don’t believe that it’s my fault that my body refuses to

obey every lesson I’ve been taught the past few years.

I want to get up and speak out, to tell them all that they’re pathetic and disrespectful for making me feel

like I’m less than them just because of my inability to create fire. I want them to know that one day I’m

sure that I will be able to do it, and they will all see for themselves.

There is so much that I want to say to them, but like always, I keep my mouth shut. It’s how I’ve been

taught to behave, not respond to the hate, not encourage arguments, let others

speak and listen, do not interfere when adults are talking. These are just some of the things my

parents have taught me. I’ve been like this all my life. It’s hard to break out of something that

you’ve been taught your entire life.

Only the few that had strict parents like my own would understand what I felt; everyone else would

continue to look down on me.

For the rest of the class, I keep quiet, bottled up in my thoughts. I had so many things on my mind. I

didn’t try to look Adam’s way again either, too afraid of the hurt I would feel while seeing him with her.

I breathe a sigh of relief when the sound of the bell signals the end of class. Abigail and I

rush to the cafeteria for some snacks.

As if I wasn’t already having a bad day, Aria chooses today to confront me once more.

I was beginning to realize that they weren’t ever going to leave me alone. “Can I talk to you?” she asks.

“If I say no, would that stop you from talking?” I ask sarcastically.

Her eyes widen, and I know that she must be in shock from how I’m speaking; I’ve never

been that way before.

“Bryan told me some disturbing information.” She says.

I’m sure that it’s something I don’t need to listen to, but I know that she won’t leave me

alone until she says what she has to.

“Is it true that Adam invited you to movie night. .. And were you crazy enough to go?”