I walked briskly to Ledger's car and got in without a word. He got into the driver's seat before turning to me. “What's wrong?”
“It's nothing.” I said, leaning my head against the seat.
I heard him exhale. “Look, I know we aren't really dating, but we can still be friends, right?”
I turned to look at him. Friends? Jade and I had been best friends for years. I, who was someone that rarely let people in, had managed to let someone get close. And in the end, she had betrayed me.
Thinking back to her stares during the meeting, there had been no remorse in those eyes. No regret. She didn't even seem to be thinking about the friendship we had shared. There was only hatred and envy.
I closed my eyes. “Just take me to the academic area, Ledger.”
Perhaps, letting people in had been the wrong thing to do. People will abandon you in the end.
“You don't have to face this alone, Cassie.” Ledger's voice came to me. It was the most gentle I had ever heard coming from him. “You're not alone anymore. I keep telling you, use me as much as you want.”
His phone buzzed just then, saving me from responding. “Yeah?” A pause. “Now?” Another pause. “Fine.” He hung up. “Something's come up.”
“Oh, are you gonna take long?”
“I don't know.” He said looking around. “Maybe I should call a cab for you.” He stopped, then smirked. “Actually, here.”
He suddenly tossed his key towards me. I barely caught it before it could hit my face. “You can drive there. I'll go with the team.”
What? “You're trusting me with your Audi R8 Spyder?” I said incredulously.
“Oh, you know your cars.” Ledger looked impressed.
“Thanks to Quentin.” I muttered.
“And yes. I trust you.” Ledger answered, grinning.
I rolled my eyes. Sure, trust. “You just want people to see me pulling up in your ride, don't you?” It was a rhetorical question as I already knew the answer.
He chuckled. “That too. Although…” He leaned forward, his expression suddenly serious. You would think he was a woman on his period with all these mood swings. “I do trust you.”
Then the cocky smirk returned. “Alright, don't miss me too much.” And with that he was gone. I watched him disappear into the café, pondering over his words.
There was no point dwelling on it now.
I got out of the car and headed towards the driver's seat. I had only just sat down when I heard a voice call my name. I looked up to see Otto jogging towards me.
“Oh, God. What does he want now?” I muttered under my breath.
“Wait!”
“What do you want?” I said curtly. The last thing I wanted was to listen to him.
He was momentarily taken back by my coldness, but he soon shook it off. “We need to talk.”
I cast him a questioning glance. “About what?”
He blinked, struggling to speak. “You know what?”
I inserted the key in the ignition and turned it right. “If you're gonna waste my time…”
Otto gritted his teeth. He probably wasn't used to me acting this way around him. “About what happened between us. About you and…” He stopped. A frown appeared on his face as he stepped back to take a look at the car. “Isn't this Ledger's car?”
I rolled my eyes. “I hope you don't add ‘pays attention to details’ in your CV. Your observation skills need work.”
I watched him clench his jaw before speaking. “Why are you doing this? If this is just a farce to get me jealous…”
I burst into laughter. The idea of doing this to make him jealous was just that ridiculous to me. “Oh, wow. I guess you got jokes now, huh?”
“Cassie…”
“This might be hard to comprehend, but my world doesn't revolve around you, Otto. Not anymore.” I jutted my chin to the side. “You better go before someone sees us. You wouldn't want them to assume there's something going on between us, would you?” My gaze darkened. “That's what you've always wanted. So, screw off.”
Otto stumbled backwards in shock. I guess I must have really worshipped the ground he walked on when we were together, trying to hold on to him. In a way, him cheating on me was a blessing in disguise.
I wasn't going to let anyone walk all over me again.
I took advantage of the room he had left and drove out of the parking lot. I have to say, it felt great putting him in his place.
Perhaps, I might put more effort in getting back at them after all.
“Monroe, wait!”
There was only one person who called me that.
I glanced back and sure enough there was Ledger walking towards me. Slow and deliberate. He shot Otto a glare as he walked past him but returned to smiling when he approached me.
Since the hood of the car was off, he leapt over the door to land on the first passenger seat. “What about your meeting?”
“Cancelled. We agreed to meet later.” He said happily.
“In that case, don't you want to drive instead?” I asked, confused.
“Nah.” He shrugged. His eyes were suddenly sweeping over me. “I have to say, you look good taking the wheel.” He remarked. The innuendo was not lost on me.
Jeez, I hope I am not blushing. “Don’t tell me the control freak likes being in the passenger seat.” I shot back.
A smirk. “Only for the right woman.”
“There's something we need to talk about.” I said, changing the subject.
“Oh? What about?”
“Masquerade King and Queen. It's an important tradition of our school, right? And the winners are only chosen from final years…” Ledger nodded as I continued. “Otto was hoping to run for it, and I know Jade is interested as well.” I gripped the steering wheel tightly in my hands. “I want to steal it from them, and I want you to run with me.”
I glanced briefly at him before focusing ahead. “Otto once told me that you aren't interested in events like that which is why he feels in has a shot, but I was hoping you would reconsi…”
“Let's do it.”
“What?”
“I told you before, I'm ready to help you with anything. You want to be the Masquerade Queen of Monarchcrest, it's yours.” He said like it was the easiest thing in the world. “It's in a month, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we better start prepping for it.”
Author's POV It had been three days since Ledger and Cassie announced that they were running for masquerade Monarchs. It had also been three days since she went to school. Fortunately, the incident had taken place on Wednesday so it had been easy to call in sick. Cassie's absence had been felt by the whole school, not just because her declaration to become Queen had made her famous, but also because her absence had caused Ledger to be in a foul mood these past few days.Even during the game night on Friday. He had played more aggressively than usual. It had resulted in the opponent's crushing defeat, but the team had been tense. “Move.” He said coldly. They were in Whitney's cafe, the usual gathering spot on Saturdays. The queue split apart to give him room to order his food.“Jeez, he's still like that. What's up with him?” Someone muttered.“I heard it's because his girlfriend is sick.” Someone whispered.“Aw, that's sweet, but why do we have to suffer for that?” The first voice
Author's POV “What?” Cassie choked out, her throat burning with emotion.“Alison, that's enough.” Ledger's voice hardened. He had known the chances of his sister working with them was 50/50, but everything was going downhill quickly, and he had promised himself that he wouldn't just sit by and let someone hurt her. Even if that person was his dearest sister. “You’ve done enough.”“No.” Cassie said softly. “What do you mean by that? What was obvious?”Alison glanced at Cassie and a strong emotion of pity grew within her. She took a step closer to Cassie. “No, Alison.” Ledger cautioned her, grabbing her arm.“She needs to hear this, Ledger.” His sister shit back, shrugging his arm off before making her way towards her. “Listen to me, Cassie. Otto was never yours to begin with. He's known to be a ladies’ man and he has slept with so many girls on campus.” She said gently. “You broke up with him because he was kissing your best friend? He's already done much worse with other women… whil
Ledger's POV The sound of another microphone feedback fills the hall. There was a low static. A pause. Then—“Good morning, Monarchcrest,” I began, voice smooth. “This is your favorite center, Ledger Rivers, coming to you live from the belly of the Snow Bear Den.”A couple of gasps echoed from outside the booth. I could already picture the heads turning.Cassie didn’t miss a beat. She leaned toward the mic like she had done this a hundred times. “And Cassie Monroe,” she said, voice dry, “not your favorite anything—but easily the most interesting person in this school.”God, I loved that line. Of course she’d one-up my intro.I smiled to myself. “We know your day’s packed with lectures, iced coffee, and passive-aggressive hallway stares—”Cassie cut in, tone sharp and playful. “—but we thought we’d spice things up.”We were killing this.“So, here’s the scoop,” I said, drawing it out just a little. “Cassie and I are officially throwing our hats into the ring.”“For Masquerade Monarchs
Author’s POVSomewhere in the academic wing.“Okay, let’s take twenty, then we’ll run the act from the top,” Zeke called out.A ripple of groans followed.“Quit your grumbling, people,” he added with a grin. “We’ve only got three weeks left before the performance.”Typical Zeke. Always trying to keep things light, even while running one of the most demanding productions of the year. As one of the department’s major directors, he had just enough charm to get away with it.The theatre space was packed. Thespians from freshman to senior year filled every corner, brushing shoulders, warming up, scribbling notes. The Masquerade Play was just as big of a deal as the Convocation Play, and participation wasn’t optional—every theatre student was expected to pitch in.“Good thing the convocation play’s ten months away,” someone muttered nearby. “Imagine jumping straight into that right after this.”Zeke pretended not to hear the complaint. “Great job, everyone. If we continue at this pace, we'
Cassie’s POVThe hallway was buzzing with people campaigning for their candidates for Masquerade King and Queen. Flyers were everywhere. Voices louder than they needed to be. It had been a week since I decided to aim for the crown.And how many campaigns have I done since then?Zero.Zilch.Nada.Why? Because Ledger had told us to lie low for the time being—wait it out, see who else was gunning for the throne.As expected, the favourites were Otto and Jade. Shocker. Alison wasn’t running either, which would’ve changed things, but as a med student, she still had one more year before she could even complete her B.Sc.No one else on the team was running, so naturally, they’d all rallied behind Otto. That might’ve been different if Ledger had announced his intentions sooner. But now, with a whole week of silence—“Aren’t you worried they’ll accuse you of trying to steal the spotlight from Otto?” I had asked him.“You don’t need to worry about that,” was all he said.No explanation. Just a
Cassie's POV I walked briskly to Ledger's car and got in without a word. He got into the driver's seat before turning to me. “What's wrong?”“It's nothing.” I said, leaning my head against the seat.I heard him exhale. “Look, I know we aren't really dating, but we can still be friends, right?”I turned to look at him. Friends? Jade and I had been best friends for years. I, who was someone that rarely let people in, had managed to let someone get close. And in the end, she had betrayed me. Thinking back to her stares during the meeting, there had been no remorse in those eyes. No regret. She didn't even seem to be thinking about the friendship we had shared. There was only hatred and envy.I closed my eyes. “Just take me to the academic area, Ledger.”Perhaps, letting people in had been the wrong thing to do. People will abandon you in the end.“You don't have to face this alone, Cassie.” Ledger's voice came to me. It was the most gentle I had ever heard coming from him. “You're not