Chapter 21 - The Plan

“So, aren’t you gonna ask me about my plan?” He says, pulling me back to reality and away from my train of thoughts. I blink a couple of times before I fully grasp what he asked me.

“Do I want to know?” I ask back and he grins so widely, so vividly. The only times I’ve seen him like this is at the ball, when we were laughing… and when we were horse riding. He really looks excited.

“Of course you wanna know! I’ll tell you, even if you don’t,” he replies sticking his tongue out at me and I can’t help the smile on my lips. It’s nice to see him this cheery.

Niall grabs my hands and pulls me away from Ares, away from the stalls. Woah, I underestimated how happy he is.

“I have the mask she dropped when she ran away, so I’ll make every blond girl I see try it on and that’s how I’m going to confirm it’s her.” I bury my heels in the ground and stop him from pulling me further. “I know that once I see her eyes through the mask there won’t be any doubt about it. I’d make you try it on, too, because you’re blond and everything and have the same eyes, but you say you didn’t go to the ball and why would you lie to me about it? Plus, Harry confirmed your alibi,” he winks at me and I step back, my heart racing in my chest, scared, not,! Even worse, terrified! “So I know I’ll find her and we’ll get to know each other better and it’ll be great.”

I fight as hard as I can to put myself together, to breathe normally once again instead of freaking out and storming out of the stables. He doesn’t even suspect it’s me, or if he did, I killed those suspicious when I told him over and over again that I didn’t go to the ball. And running into Harry the morning after the ball only helped. Now Niall won’t even make me try the mask. For sure he’ll never find out who the real mystery girl is.

I shake those thoughts away. This is for the best. He’ll get tired of the unfruitful searching and everything will be back to normal.

“So,” I start, my voice a bit shaky, so I clear my throat before carrying on. “So you’ll go around like the prince in Cinderella, looking for the owner of the glass slipper?” I inquire, trying to sound as sarcastic as I can. Using the analogy of the fairy tale actually helps, it makes me mad.

Niall chuckles, though, as if I just said the funniest joke ever. “That’s a way to put it, although I’m gonna be using a mask, but still. The intention is what counts. I guess I’ll be looking for my Cinderella, then.”

“I may puke,” I say out loud and he laughs even louder. “I’m serious. You’re so cliché is not normal. I thought Charlie was made of fluffy Disney movies, but you win.”

“Oh, come on!” Niall exclaims, stepping closer to me, excitement bubbling from every pore of his body. “Being sappy is okay, it’s natural. And just picture it,” he adds, stepping even closer, his hands rise to my face and I freeze. “Imagine that moment I put the mask on her and I look her in the eyes, like I’m looking at you. Right into her green eyes and it’s like in that night.” I gulp when he says that and my heart races when his hands cup my face as if like that he would be holding the mask on my face. “And I would smile at her, because I finally found her. And she’d be happy that I finally found her. That can’t be something bad, can it?” He asks, taking a step even closer, his hands still cupping my face and I think I have my heart hammering in my throat.

I can’t speak, I can’t move, I can only look him in the eyes, breathing heavily. It’s like at the dance all over again, that moment before he kissed me and I feel this force pulling me closer. And then Niall loses his smile, but his eyes are still on me and he strokes my cheek with his thumbs and my heart jumps in my chest and it’s like all my body jolts and I do the unthinkable: I lean closer, standing on my toes as he lowers his head, right when Ares snorts, demanding for attention. And that’s my wakeup call.

I pull back in one fluid movement, horrified for what I almost did. I’m shaking, my breathing is even heavier and I take my hand to my chest, as if like that I could keep my heart inside, beating as it’s supposed to do, but it seems like it’s going to break loose in any moment.

Niall blinks confused and looks at me but can’t hold his gaze, I focus on Ares, the beautiful horse that saved me from ruining everything. Kissing Niall would’ve made everything even more complicated. I can’t afford myself that.

I walk up to Ares and put my forehead against his, needing his calming effect so I can think straight again, but even Ares can’t work his magic that fast.

“Ella,” Niall calls and I shiver, scared. What is he going to do? Did he realise I’ve been lying —omitting certain information— to him all this time? “You know, it’s okay to be cheesy,” he says next and I snort before chuckling. “I’m serious. You should embrace your cheesy side. Fairy tales are nice.”

“I’m sorry but I have enough of fairy tales,” I reply still not looking at him. “I have the bad part, though. The evil stepmother and idiot stepsisters, orphan and slave of her family. Excuse me if I don’t like fairy tales because in reality, happy endings don’t exist.”

“Maybe you need your prince charming, then.” And I laugh again, out loud, so I don’t notice him approaching until he’s next to me, stroking Ares. “He must be out there.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” I start, looking at him only briefly. “But I’m a strong and independent woman and I ain’t need no prince charming.” He laughs at that but I’m serious. “I don’t need a prince to rescue me from this life. I’m gonna make my own ‘happy ending’ on my way, doing what I want. I just wanna finish with my business here and then I’ll leave. That’s what I need, not a prince charming.”

“But don’t we all need love?” He asks me and I look him in the eyes this time, intently.

“That’s not the only kind of love, Niall. Some of us don’t need that kind of love to be happy. You go and find your Cinderella and I’ll keep working, waiting until I can be free.”

Besides the fact he’s a celebrity, besides the fact that he doesn’t even see the real me, I really don’t want a prince charming or a boyfriend or whatever. I’m done with cliché fairy tales, I’m so done with all the idea that a man needs to safe the princess slash lady in distress. No, that’s not what I want. I want my freedom, I want my happiness, my dreams. And I can’t let someone else bring that to me, I have to seek it on my own.

Charlie says I should fight for my ‘prince charming’, but why should I do that? I should fight for myself, to fulfil my dreams, to do what I want. And fine, I do have feelings for Niall, he makes me feel like I’ve never felt before and my heart beats faster and I feel butterflies and all those cliché things you read in books; but if I put all those things in a balance against my dreams and the peace of being alone… the latter wins. I know that seeking for something with Niall would cause me endless problems with Rhonda and the twins, and I don't have the time for that.

And if Niall really liked me, he wouldn’t be looking for the mystery girl. He would just stop that nonsense and, I don’t know, ask me out. Even if I have to turn him down later.

Waiting for prince charming to come and solve all my problems is pointless. Waiting for Niall to want me only if he knows I’m the same girl he kissed at the ball doesn’t feel right. Things are better this way. They are not perfect, but they are better off like this.

“I’ll find my Cinderella, you know?” He asks and I sigh as I shake my head. It was best when he called her mystery girl.

Oh… I called myself her. I guess I feel less and less like the girl I pretended to be during that night. I don’t even see her as myself anymore. Mystery girl, Cinderella, whatever you want to call her… she is not I anymore.

“And I wish you both happiness,” I say sarcastically. “And the most cliché, cheesy ending you could ever see.” I try to smile at him, but my expression is sour, like my voice.

“Really, you need to get over your rejection to the cheesiness. It makes things nice from time to time. You said it, happy endings don’t exist in real life, then why would you deny the possibility of a nice, sappy moment?” I don’t reply because I don’t really know how. “Let’s do this,” the blond boy adds next and I furrow my eyebrows. “I know you don’t even believe I’ll find my Cinderella, so I bet you I will. And when I do, because I will, you’ll have to embrace your cheesy side and you’ll enjoy it.”

“How so?” I demand, folding my arms in a defiant posture and he smirks.

“I’ll see later, but you’ll have to do something cheesy with me. Prepare because this will happen soon.”

I roll my eyes because I’m two hundred per cent sure he will never find his Cinderella. If he won’t make me try on the mask, then the cause is lost. So I have this victory already, reason why I accept.

“Fine. But what do I get when I win this bet?” I know it’s kind of cheating what I’m doing, but he started it. It’s not my fault.

“You have to think of that,” he replies so I try to think of something to make him do once he finally gives up.

I could make him go out on a date with Jenny, but I think that’s too cruel. Maybe I could make him accept something on twitter so his millions of followers would laugh at him forever. Or maybe I could make him post a video of him dressed up as the cliché prince charming so he would finally understand how stupid that idea is…

Yeah, I like that.

“Got it,” I say, a smirk of my own set playing on my lips and he raises his eyebrow. “You’ll have to shoot a video of you dressed up as prince charming and say that prince charming doesn’t exist, that clichés are overrated and sappiness should be considered an illness.”

“Woah, isn’t that like cruel or something? I have followers, many of them are girls and they still kind of believe in prince charming. Sorta,” he really looks worried so I roll my eyes.

“You’d be making them a favour. They need to know the truth and you need to man up. You started with this whole bet so now you can’t back off.”

“I won’t,” he says defiantly. “And it doesn’t really matter because I’ll win.”

“Fine then. You have two weeks to find your Cinderella and if by then you haven’t, then we’ll be making a video for the whole Internet.”

“I’ll find her even sooner,” he says and I roll my eyes again.

“Yeah right.”

I have this victory in my pocket. In two weeks I’ll make him accept that this whole idea of prince charming and Cinderella is stupid and I won’t have to worry again over him finding out it’s me because by then he would’ve completely given up.

I think I’ve managed this situation pretty well, now it’s a matter of time and everything will be over and closed. I won’t even have to worry about my feelings for him because surely seeing him looking for ‘another’ girl will have killed all my feelings by the time the bet needs to be paid. Everything will fall into place and I’ll have my so beloved peace. And the summer will be even closer to be over and I’ll be closer to start living my life.

I can’t wait.

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Dedication to @chancesdreamsandlove because I missed your comments so much! And I liked all your cliché fantasy of Nella's wedding xD hahaha

Bel, xx