♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 13//: I give up♕✿~♕✿~

Ahren's POV

I pace in front of Alexis' room door. Memories of another similar moment that happened a long time ago flood my mind. I remember when, at the beginning of the Choosing, I had decided to stop by Alexis' room. It didn't end very well for me back then, and I had a feeling history was going to repeat itself.

Gregory is standing in front of me as I pace, watching me. He's been doing so for the past ten minutes because I've been trying to find excuses to not have this date with Alexis. But every time, Gregory would remind me that this would help gain the support of the people and that this was going to help me in the long run.

"Your Majesty, are you ever going to knock?" Gregory asks with boredom laced through his voice. I stop from my pacing to look at him with a look that said no, and I never will.

But I can't always do what I want. Before I can stop him, Gregory knocks on Alexis' door and quickly turns away, walking down the hallway at a fast pace.

"Gregory!" I hiss his name as he continues to ignore me. He turns a corner, no longer in my line of sight. I contemplate running after him and forgetting about this date that I wasn't interested in but before I can do so, the door opens.

Alexis stands in the doorway, dressed casually in a navy blue shirt and white jeans. I stare at her clothes in slight surprise. Alexis was always one to enjoy wearing eye-catching dresses.

I clear my throat, my heart hammering and my mind screaming at me to stop the charade. But I couldn't leave now that Alexis had seen me.

She gives me a polite smile and curtsies. "Your Majesty," she greets me in a small voice, different from her usually confident tone. When she straightens up from her curtsy, I can see her face is shadowed. It was easy to tell she was distracted. But by what?

I realize she's still waiting for a reply, so I hurriedly nod my head and murmur, "Lady Alexis" in a greeting. We stand in silence for a moment. I realized, in that silence, that I had absolutely nothing planned for our date.

Guess I'll have to come up with something soon, I think as I offer Alexis my elbow. She lightly places her hand in the crook of my elbow as she simultaneously closes her room door.

I muster a smile in her direction and start to lead her down the hall with no destination in mind.

I mentally sigh. This was going to be a terrible date, I already knew it.

♡

Needless to say, I was right. The date was absolutely terrible.

As a result of my wandering, Alexis and I had ended up in front of the movie theater. I had no idea as to where we should go and in my moment of desperation, I had brought her into the movie theater.

But as soon as we walked in, my eyes had landed on the popcorn machine and my mind had brought forth memories of my date with Madison. This then lead to me being plagued with thoughts and worries of Madison for the rest of the date.

The date just got worse when I had put on a movie. Alexis had said she didn't have a specific preference for a movie, so I had turned on the first thing that I saw: a comedy.

Perhaps it should have eased the tension a bit, but it only thickened it. We were both silent throughout the whole movie, not looking at each other nor watching the movie because the both us were tormented by our own thoughts.

After the most awkward hour and a half of my life, we exited the movie theater only to be badgered by cameras. I had to force a smile on my face and hold Alexis close to me, all the while thinking about Madison.

Those few minutes of posing made my stomach churn.

After having escaped the eager paparazzi, I was now leading Alexis back to her room. I didn't have to be a Whisper to know that Alexis definitely thought this date was a fail: it was written on her face.

We stop in front of her room, both of us silent and not knowing what to do after such a terrible time.

Finally having had enough of the silent tension, I clear my throat and say, "I hope you have a lovely rest of your day, Lady Alexis." And let's never have another date or talk to one another ever again to avoid any future awkwardness, I add silently in my head.

I turn to leave, glad to escape, when Alexis stops me. "I actually need to tell you something," she tells me.

I turn back around to face her, curiosity filling me. "What is it?" I ask her, a bit wary.

Alexis looks at me boldly, her eyes filled with raw determination. For the first time throughout our date, I can actually recognize the Alexis that I had expected on our date: a fierce, powerful girl who was also dangerous.

"I give up. I don't want to be in the Choosing anymore," Alexis blurts out, getting straight to the point.

I start, a bit surprised and shocked at what she just said. But then I feel relief. One less girl I have to deal with in this competition. I school my features back into nonchalance before Alexis can see my relief. "If you wish it, then I will let you leave the Choosing." A moment's pause before I add, in an attempt to appear more polite, "It has been a pleasure having you in this competition."

Alexis lets out a bitter laugh. She quiets down after a few moments, a sad smile on her face. "You don't have to lie for my sake. I know I was a nightmare to deal with," she tells me. Interestingly enough, she doesn't say this with acidity in her tone. She says it with acceptance.

Well, at least she knows it, I think before I can stop myself. I curse myself in my head as I notice Alexis' lips purse. Of course she had heard that thought with her being a Whisper. Shame and embarrassment causes my face to pale.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to think that," I quickly apologize to her. But she shakes her head, stopping me from saying anything else.

"No need to apologize. It's the truth. And anyways, you're not the only one who thinks like that," she tells me. This time, her voice comes out a bit sharper, like this knowledge bothers her greatly.

We lapse into silence once more. And again, Alexis is the one to break it.

"Why are you doing this anyways?" Alexis demands. I tense up a bit at the harshness in her voice as she asks the question.

"Doing what?" I ask in confusion, my eyebrows furrowing. "Continuing the Choosing," Alexis clarifies. "It's obvious you aren't happy by doing so."

I stay silent, at first refusing to tell another person other than Gregory of my weakness. Of how easily I was willing to bend to the will of the people. But the words were building up inside of me, begging to be let out. But I clamp down on my tongue before the words rush out of me.

I expect Alexis to give up, to leave instead of wait for me to give an answer. But she stays in the same spot, persistent. You can tell me. I'll listen, a voice says into my head. I jolt, my heart racing, as Alexis whispers inside my head. For a moment, I fear that she will get the answer out of me by shifting through my thoughts. But right after I hear her voice, I feel her presence inside of my head leave. Surprise rushes through me. I had thought that Alexis would just invade my mind instead of actually giving me a choice to tell her.

The words were now yelling to be let loose. But I don't think I will ever live in a world where I trust someone from the Merandus family, especially Alexis. However, it was clear she wouldn't leave until I gave her some sort of answer.

"It's what the people expect," I tell her vaguely, hoping she'll be satisfied with this answer and won't prod.

She stays in the same spot, mulling over my words. Then she says, in an incredulous voice, "Seriously?"

I look at her sharply. "What do you mean 'seriously?'" I ask her, my voice getting a bit defensive.

Alexis scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're doing something that doesn't make you happy because people expect you to? I think you're better than that," she tells me.

I stare at her, a bit taken aback as her words start to sink in. "Well, you thought wrong," I tell her quietly.

She shakes her head at me. "No, I don't think I did. You can still choose to cancel this whole competition. Anyone with a brain can see you were quite taken with Madison." At this, I feel myself blush but I try to hide it. "This whole competition is pointless at this point. You aren't going to suddenly fall in love with one of the remaining girls. But I understand the pressure from the public. You want to live up to their expectations. But trying so hard to live up to their expectations will just destroy you. So don't waste your effort on it." Alexis gives me an encouraging smile. "Sometimes, you just have to say 'fuck it' and do your own thing."

Throughout her small speech, I stay silent and take the time to take in her words. Alexis was right. I shouldn't be wasting my effort by doing what the public expects me to do. I shouldn't let their expectations control me. And it was about time I started making my own decisions and doing what I wanted. And that definitely wasn't continuing the Choosing.

The realization must have shown on my face because Alexis lets a satisfied smirk show. She knew that her words had gotten to me. And for some reason, that had made her pleased.

"Good luck, Your Majesty," Alexis tells me, curtsying one final time before turning away from me without another goodbye. She opens her room door, letting herself in before shutting the door.

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

I hope all of you Americans had an awesome Fourth of July, and all of you Canadians had an amazing Canada Day. And also, thank you guys for 2k reads!! :))))))))) I really appreciate all of the reads and votes and comments. You guys rock!

Well, Alexis is out of the Choosing. Haha, I can just imagine a lot of your guys celebrating. And now that Ahren has realized he shouldn't let expectations dictate his choices, let's just hope he doesn't do anything too crazy.

Hope you all have a great week!

Glass_Sword