The Beauty Queen

The Beauty Queen - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

In spite of the fight over Nate, and despite my guiltiness for having liked his kiss... I couldn't help but notice how adorable Nate was while he was sleeping.

Oh gosh, it's worse than I ever imagined.

I brought my hand up to my face and sighed deeply. I'm such a selfish, lovesick, stupid, idiotic girl. Here I am, about to cry over a guy I have a huge crush on, when my family's having extreme money issues, and I'm the only chance they have.

But then again, it's not like I was even gonna win in the first place.

I mean, let's be honest here. First of all, I'm just a tomboy. I've never worn a swimsuit or heels in my life, let alone together. And I barely have a good talent. It's cute and whatever, but it's totally cliche. Isn't singing overdone in these pageants? If it wasn't so overused in the past years, and if I wasn't even in a stupid pageant, singing would be the best talent in the world.

I groaned internally. I was having mental warfare with myself. I felt my eyes start to water.

Oh great. Now I'm even resorting back to crying.

I curled up in the leather chair I was sitting in, burying my face in my knees. I'm so self-centered. I doubt Nate even likes me, yet here I am, waiting for him to wake up, instead of doing my best to practice to win five hundred thousand bucks and become Miss Junior New York... whatever. It seems as if I've chosen Nate over my own family.

"Not again."

I immediately recognized Nate's voice. Even though that comment was usually impatient or annoyed, his voice was soft and full of concern. It only made me want to become one with my inner armadillo even more than I already had.

"Danielle," Nate said. The softness of his voice almost made me want to look up. Almost.

Gosh, and I'm bipolar too. I came here for Nate, but now I can't even look at him.

"Danielle," Nate repeated, a little more forcefully this time. I felt his warm hand touch my cheek. Instinctively, in response to that, I slowly looked up.

Nate's hazel eyes were full of concern, instead of the usual amusement. His jaw was clenched, and his lips were pressed together. It was a huge change from his normal, naturally obnoxious self.

But what really caught my attention was how close he suddenly was.

"What are you crying about now, Danielle?"

I swallowed a lump that had crept into my throat. I wanted to hide in my little ball again--and never come out.

"She said--" was all I managed to choke out. Nate's gaze hardened.

"Penelope? She said what?"

"That you--and I--we--" I stopped when I saw Nate's concerned expression turned into one of... amusement?! He grinned crookedly at me, his eyes dancing in the dim light. He kept his hand on my cheek. And not only was his change in mood completely inappropriate, but he laughed, too. But my mood changed along with him. Not for better, but for worse. I flushed with anger, jumping out of my chair.

"What the hell, Nate?! What's so freakin' funny about this?!" I shouted. I clenched my fists, letting my face turn redder by the second. But before Nate could reply, it dawned on me.

"Oh, I know. I know, Nate. I'm such an idiot," I said, partly to myself. "This is all just a joke. You kissed me because it was a prank, right? I mean, I'm just some poor girl that needs to win this for money. You've got richer, prettier girls to date, and I'm supposed to believe that you'd pick me? Oh my gosh, I'm so stupid. But you're just a pig for playing such a sick joke on me."

I was fuming. I was ready to burst into flames, and Nate was just looking at me, his face going blank. I waited for him to reply, to say or do anything... All he did was put on another annoyingly adorable lopsided grin. I let out a frustrated shriek.

"I never want to see you again!" I cried, feeling tears rush back into my eyes. I stormed out the door and started running back up the halls. The door clicked closed behind me.

Of course. Everything was just a joke. A sick prank. Probably Krista's scheme to get me out of the competition for being so heartbroken.

The worst part is, it actually worked. Once I reached those double doors to freedom, I'll be gone.

I rounded a corner. I was about to reach the door leading outside, but a hand caught my wrist. I almost fell forwards from the abrupt stop. Nate spun me around and pulled me towards him, and he caught me with his other hand. I tried pulling away once I noticed that stupid grin was still on his face.

"Get away from me!" I squeaked. But Nate just wrapped his arms around me and held me there. He waited until I stopped thrashing and trying to hit him. Even though I was trying to rearrange his face, Nate was practically hugging me. Eventually I got so frustrated that I stopped. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do, so I slammed my head into Nate's chest. He didn't move. I didn't, either.

"Danielle," Nate said, saying my name for abouth the billionth time today. I kept my head down. This was becoming a normal routine. Nate let out an exasperated sigh.

"What's wrong with you and not wanting to look at me? Am I that ugly?"

That made my head snap up, my head accidentally colliding with Nate's chin. I hissed in pain, once again trying to pull away. But once again, I had no luck in escaping. Even only Nate's left arm was enough to hold me where I was. He was using his other hand to rub his chin.

"You've got a hard head," Nate said, sounding amused. Oh geez, he didn't know how close that hit to home. I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Let me go," I said darkly. I glared at him. Surprisingly, he actually let go. So naturally, I turned to run again. And so naturally, Nate had to grab my arm again.

"Stop running!" he said. "Danielle, do you hate me that much?"

I gulped. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to tell him the truth.

"No," I choked out, "it's actually the opposite."

I meant it. I don't know when I established this with myself, but I didn't just like Nate anymore... I think I'm in love with him. Ohh, even better. And the feeling's not even mutual.

Nate was silent. I couldn't see his face, but I bet it went blank again. I was still facing the doors to freedom. If only I could just get to them...

"Danielle," Nate said softly, tugging on my arm. It wasn't a hard enough pull to bring me back, but I involuntarily stepped backwards, closer to him. He spun me around, putting his arms around me again. His face had gone serious, and there was no trace of a smirk or grin anywhere. Just a clenched jaw and a soft gaze.

"Please don't think I wanted to hurt you. I'd never do that," Nate said quietly. He brushed my bangs from my eyes. "None of it was a joke, I promise. I like you because you're different."

"Different how?" It came out as a squeak. Nate didn't seem to mind.

"You blush instead of flirting. You're shy. You don't throw yourself at me. You don't care about your clothes or your hair. You act like yourself. You don't follow anyone. You're... beautiful without even trying."

I didn't know what to say. Nate thinks I'm... beautiful. Now it was my expression that went blank, along with my entire mind. I couldn't form words with my mouth, it just hung open like a broken car door. I wanted to reply. I just couldn't. Nate smirked.

"And you're always speechless when you're with me."

And then Nate kissed me... for the second time in the whole week.