Chapter 17

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 queried.

“Shh… lower your voice, he'll hear you.”

Ledger grabbed his food, deciding to ignore them all and head straight for a table. He had only just taken his seat when he was joined by Alison, Freddie,Silas,Zeke and Kylian, Alison's fiancé.

“What do you think you're doing, grabbing a table without your lackeys?” Freddie joked. His eyes suddenly landed on Alison. “Huh? Prez, what are you doing here?”

Alison leaned against her chair. “What do you mean by that? Can't a sister come to see her baby brother?”

Ledger groaned. “What are you doing?”

“You’re gonna graduate this year. I don't think it makes sense to keep hiding it.” Alison answered.

“Hiding what?” Zeke asked. 

“There was a rumour about you two dating last year. Don't tell me that is true.” Freddie remarked with a grin.

Both Alison and Ledger looked scandalized. 

“Ew.” Alison said at the same time Ledger said, “gross.”

Alison shot Freddie a death stare. “Did you not hear me say baby brother right now? My true name is Alison Rivers. I'm his older sister. Dating my ass.” She added, a little louder than she had intended. 

The whispers surrounded them instantly. “Sister? They're siblings?”

“Does that mean the student government will vote for Cassie and Ledger as Monarchs?”

“Isn't that unfair?”

“Ah… These idiots.” Ledger muttered.

“That's enough.” Alison ordered. Her voice carried even though she hadn't raised her voice. Kylian took her hand gently and began to rub her palm in a circular motion.

The action didn't go unnoticed by Ledger. His mind drifted towards Cassie once more and his mood soured further. “Stop shoving your relationship into my face.” He said quietly, though it was loud enough for his sister to hear.

Before Alison could respond, Freddie spoke up. “So, you two are siblings?” His eyes shifted towards Ledger. “And you didn't tell me?”

Ledger glanced up at him. Though he had felt guilty at having to keep it a secret from his best friend, the truth was that… “It wasn't my secret to tell.” He said simply.

Freddie stared at him for a moment longer, before looking away with a nod. Ledger couldn't tell if he was offended or not. “Sure, we've only been best friends for years.” 

Ah, so he was offended, Ledger thought. “Look, let's talk about that later. I can't deal with this right now.”

With that, he shoved his chair backwards and left the building. He had only taken a couple steps towards his bike when his sister called him. “What do you want?”

She nodded sideways towards her vehicle. “We’re about to go visit Cassie. Why don't you come with us?”

Ledger's eyes brightened. He had dropped by a place several times since she excused herself from classes on the grounds of being sick, but she had refused to see him. He had tried waiting by her apartment and still, nothing. 

He'd even tried to get her mum on his side, but it hadn't worked. “I'm sorry, son. She really doesn't want to see you. I would let you in, but I'm still working on mending our relationship and that would betray her trust.” Mrs Monroe had said, rubbing her face. “She didn't even agree to see Jade when she visited, and she won't talk to me.” She had glanced at Ledger. “Don't worry, I won't ask you what happened. I'd rather hear it from Cassie.” Then with a sympathetic smile, she added, “Just give her some time. She can't avoid school forever.”

The memory caused Ledger to lose some of his brightness. “She has refused everyone else, what makes you so sure she'll agree to see you?”

Alison smiled knowingly. “Why don't you tag along and find out?”

Ledger narrowed his eyes, before letting out a breath. “Fine.”

They were on the road within a couple seconds. Throughout the drive, Ledger couldn't help but feel anxious. Though he tried as much as he could to hide it.

“I've never seen you like this.” His sister commented suddenly. She was watching him through the rearview mirror. “Are you sure this is merely a fake relationship?”

Ledger was sure he had been hiding it well. His sister was really just that perceptive. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“You've been in a foul mood for about three days now. You didn't even care when Lauren threatened to commit suicide if you didn't date her.” Alison pointed out. “But this girl doesn't reach out to you for three days and you're suddenly pining after her? I thought you might be acting at first, but now I know you really do like her.”

Ledger frowned. “I'm not pining.” He argued weakly. “And Cassie is not Lauren.”

Alison watched her brother briefly. “Yeah, she's obviously not.

“We're here.” Kylian announced, pulling into the parking slot in front of Cassie's home.

Ledger couldn't help but perk up. 

“Wait here, for now.” Alison instructed. “Once you see her pop up by the entrance, approach us.”

“Mrs Monroe will answer, not Cassie. I told you before…” 

“Just trust me, for once.” Alison cut in.

“Fine.”

Alison got out of the car and walked to the front porch. She rang the bell and spoke into the intercom. “Hey, Cassie. It's Alison from Monarchcrest. Mrs Owens asked me to bring you some notes from the classes you missed.”

The door opened to reveal Cassie just as Alison had expected. She knew that Mrs. Monroe and her son had returned to their home a few hours earlier. Quentin had to return to boarding school now that mid-term break was over.

But Mrs. Monroe would return around noon.

Cassie didn't look worse for wear, for someone who was ‘sick.’ 

“You didn't have to do this, but thank you.” Cassie said, offering Alison a smile. “This gives me ample time to catch-up with school work.”

“Don't worry, I understand. I'm also the studious type.”

Before Cassie could respond, Ledger revealed himself. “Hey, Cassie. Can we talk, please?”