Chapter 13 - Prince Charming

Sleeping is good. Sleeping is great when you haven’t gone to bed in over twenty-four hours. Sleeping is my homie. I love sleeping. It makes the world look like a brighter place when it’s not so good. After you finally sleep, you look like a human again and you can smile and do your chores without the risk of killing yourself. See? Sleeping is the best.

“Ellaaaaaaa,” I hear someone calling as I make my way through the halls with my cart, smiling just because I had a good night of sleep.

I stop and turn around just to find Charlie running to me and catching me in his arms immediately, making us swirl around. “Charlie, what are you doing?” I scream, trying to make him put me down. “Stop!”

“I’m so close to find your prince,” he says and all that happiness I felt for sleeping goes away.

“Charlie, not again this shit,” I say pulling back and folding my arms. “I already told you I have no in—”

“Yes you do want to know but you’re too proud to accept that you like a celebrity. I know you. That’s why I’m doing this for you. I’ll find him and I’ll reunite you two and you’ll live happily ever after.”

I raise an eyebrow at his words selection and stick my hips to one side; he blinks like nothing is going on. “Charlie, have you been reading fan fictions again?” His eyes shoot wide open at my question and I burst out laughing.

“That was one time because Michael dared me to do so!” He defends himself and that only makes me crack up even more.

Two summers ago Michael, one of our classmates and friend of us, dared Charlie to read Harry Potter fan fiction. Michael is also our gay friend and he has no problem with that, and he ships Drarry and he made Charlie read Drarry fan fictions. The outcome of this dare? Charlie spent the whole summer reading fan fictions and he ships Drarry although he doesn’t want to admit it out loud because it questions his masculinity. He is straight, just in case you doubted it, he’s just really open-minded.

“Anyways, it doesn’t come to the case, so don’t mention it. And I’m not reading fan fictions anymore! Don’t look at me like that, Arabella.” I hold the chuckles when he uses my full name. “I was saying that I will find your prince because it’s a mystery for all of us and I like solving mysteries and you have to know who he is. Plus, it’s fun! Come on, accept it.” I don’t say anything and he sighs, frustrated. “Okay, fine. But I’ll still look for him. I’m hearing all the conversations and so far no one has said anything, but I have my suspects. I’ll keep you up-to-date.”

“Don’t bother,” I tell him, but Charlie shakes his head from side to side, dismissing me.

“You’ll see,” my best friend promises in an ominous way and it’s my turn to shake my head, but he turns around and leaves in the same way he came: running.

The problem is that he does keep his promise. He keeps searching for my ‘Prince Charming’ although I don’t want to find him. He says he’s making progress but doesn’t tell me anything. I don’t accept this, but as days pass, I’m growing curious. Liv and Charlie are working together but they won't tell me whether they found him or not. Sometimes I surprise myself waiting for the news, but then I yell at myself mentally. I said I didn’t want to know, I have to be consequent.

I hate my friends because instead of helping me to forget everything about Mystery Guy, they keep talking about what happened at the ball and finding him and that makes it even harder to forget about him. I relive that night in my mind, that kiss. I still feel bad for kissing him when he had just broken up with his girlfriend, but I don’t feel that bad because I really, really enjoyed it.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Charlie and Liv do find my mystery guy. I don’t know if he is trying to find me or if he totally forgot about what happened and got back together with his girlfriend. It scares me to think about the possibilities and to go deep into what I want.

One week after the ball I don’t have to wonder anymore, because Charlie and Liv come to me at dinner, big smirks on their faces and mischievous looks sparkling in their eyes. For a second I think of running away before it’s too late, but each one grabs one of my arms, looping theirs around and I’m trapped.

“Dear, dear Ella,” Liv starts and I’m actually scared.

“Our investigation has come to an end,” Charlie continues and I squeeze my eyes. These two have been rehearsing this, I know it.

“We’ve found your prince charming,” Liv finishes and I feel my guts giving a twist. I feel like puking in that moment and my skin gets goose bumps. I don’t know whether to feel excited or scared. I’m not sure how this information will change things now and I’m scared to know which celebrity I kissed.

“Great, you resolved the mystery. You don’t need to tell me, stay with the satisfaction of finding out his identity and leave me out of this,” I beg, looking from one to the other with pleading eyes.

“Nope,” Charlie refuses. “We worked hard collecting evidence and we’re a hundred per cent sure about this.”

“You need to know this, Ella,” Liv adds and I feel sick, I really do. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I can’t help it.

Someone save me, please!

My friends laugh, enjoying my misery in that moment and I groan, wanting to run away so badly, escaping from the truth. Not knowing his identity gave me the excuse to pretend it never happened, that I didn’t kiss a celebrity; but now I won’t have that and I don’t know what I’m gonna do. What if I run into him? How am I supposed to react? I’ll know who he is but he won’t.

Oh shit.

“Ella, relax. You’re hyperventilating. It’s not a big deal,“ Liv tells me and only then I blink, realising I’ve been freaking out in my mind when they haven’t even told me yet.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to collect myself and prepare for this information that will make things so uncomfortable for me.

“Please, don’t tell his name. Don’t make this harder for me,” I beg one more time and I look at Liv, because I know that out of the two of them, she’s the only one who would actually pity me.

I make eye contact and I use my best set of puppy eyes trying to break her heart so she’ll spare me this problem, and I know it’s working, I see her cracking. “Please, Liv,” I try again, pouting and she looks at Charlie, with desperation.

“Liv! Put yourself together!” He scolds her and I groan again because Charlie snitches me away from her grip and takes me away, not trusting Liv anymore.

I’m about to start begging to Charlie again when my walkie-talkie beeps and soon I can hear Rhonda’s voice. I’ve never been happier to hear her.

“Arabella,” her voice sounds through the gadget. “I need you in my office now.”

“Coming!” I reply immediately and then I look at Charlie. He seems pissed. “I gotta go. Bye!”

And I run, as fast as I can, escaping from the knowledge. Although there’s a part of me who wants to know, because I’m curious myself, there’s a bigger part telling me I have to keep running, this will change everything and I’m not ready. I have enough with Rhonda and the twins still nagging me to give them more information about One Direction.

I put all these thoughts aside and head to Rhonda’s office. By when I get there I forget how grateful I’m that she had the best timing to interrupt when I needed it the most. Seeing her in that office makes me feel like it always makes me feel: Angry, nostalgic and sad, terribly sad that my dad is not there, where he should be.

“You called,” I say, trying not to think of that either. Keep yourself busy, I tell myself, clenching my fists.

“Yes. There has been an ‘accident’ in the room one-oh-seven. They need you there. Take your cart because you’ll need it,” she tells me with a smirk and I cringe. That can’t mean something good.

“The eight third is not in my section,” I tell her because she knows I only clean the last two floors, and the building is a six-storey one. One Direction are in the fifth floor, but I switched that one with Cami and I clean the fourth and second floors. Still, the third is not my responsibility.

“Yes, but Brianna is busy and can’t do it,” Rhonda explains and I curse internally. Brianna cleans the ground and first floor whereas Cami cleans the second and third floor —well, now the second and fifth—. “So you’ll do it because I know it’s your break, so you have the time.”

I frown, hating her because I bet she only made me do this to ruin my break. “Fine,” I say just because this will keep me away from Charlie and finding out who Mystery Guy is.

Rhonda seems surprised that I accepted without further arguing, and maybe she wanted that.

“Something else?” I inquire and she shakes her head, still taken aback.

I don’t say goodbye, I just leave the room and go for my cart to clean room one-oh-seven. I hope it’s not a nuclear disaster or something.

+ + + + +

When the day is finally over, I go to my room, ready to fall asleep. I don’t even bother with dinner, I’m just knackered and I’m avoiding my friends. Plus, room one-oh-seven was indeed a nuclear disaster and I spent a whole hour cleaning. The guest got food poisoned and threw up everything she had during lunch. It wasn’t pretty and I almost got sick myself.

I can’t wait for my contract to expire.

However, when I walk into my room I curse all the known gods because not only Liv is there, but also Charlie. And here I was, hoping I could avoid them. I should’ve known better.

“Did you know your prince charming is looking for you, too,” Charlie says, flipping through the pages of a magazine. He’s not even reading it, he’s just pretending. I know him.

“No and I don’t wanna know,” I say closing the door behind me.

“Well, he is. He apparently has your mask. I’ve heard him asking around if someone lost her mask,” Charlie tells, ignoring my previous statement. My stomach twists at the knowledge of what Mystery Guy is doing. “Also, I’ve seen him with his girlfriend. I don’t know if they got back together, but they don’t look like things are going fine, either.”

But they are talking, trying, I say mentally.

“I’ve also heard him talking to his mates about you and how he needs to find you,” Charlie adds and now my heart races in my chest.

“And I’ve heard his girlfriend talking,” Liv adds. “Complaining that it was hard before but now it’s like he doesn’t even see her anymore. They’ve been having trouble in paradise for a long time.”

I look away. I don’t need to know this, I don’t want to know this.

“Do you already know whom we’re talking about?” Charlie asks and this time he puts the magazine aside and stands up, approaching to me.

“No,” I say through gritted teeth.

“You hit jackpot, Ella. He’s probably one of the biggest stars of the moment,” he says and that makes me feel sick, so sick. “Your prince charming is Niall Horan.”

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Dedication to @MakeMeBeautiful11 for the beautiful comment.

Bel, xx