Played For A Fool

Date?

The next few days were a blur of homework and guitars. Cinder was still grieving, but somehow everything felt better after Kai had comforted her that night. Cinder had called Iko and talked things out with her too, and everything seemed to be settling down again. Of course, there would always be a gaping hole in Cinder's heart from the loss of Peony, but she would learn to live with it.

Cinder poured her grief into her work at Rampion, and even found some fun in the job. Thorne had hired a girl named Scarlet to work at Rampion too. She was a senior at Commonwealth High. She was feisty, with curly, fiery red hair, lots of freckle, soft hazel eyes, and a curvy build. Scarlet and Cinder struck up a fast friendship together and had lots of fun on the hours that they worked together.

On that day, Scarlet was working with a tricky customer while Cinder was fixing a Rampion guitar. It was built the same as most guitars, but had something special about it that made them one of the most desirable brands. Cinder would never admit it to Thorne, but he knew how to make a good guitar.

At that moment the door swung open and a familiar pair of copper eyes locked on her own chocolate ones. Kai smiled as he walked towards Cinder and stood in front of her work station. "Apparently, I have a certain guitar that I am supposed to pick up?" He asked, although she knew it was a rhetorical question.

"Ah, yes. The magnificent Fender awaits, now that it has been restored to it's former glory." Cinder put as much sarcasm into her words as she possibly could and rolled her eyes. Kai laughed and Cinder's stomach did a backflip. "It's back here, let me just go and grab it." Cinder stood and walked back into her garage.

She spotted it immediately where she had left it just days before and picked it up. As she walked pack to her repairs counter, she was surprised to see Thorne standing there and talking to Kai. Thorne got up, winked, left as Cinder approached and Kai looked grateful for it. Cinder eyed him suspiciously and Kai rolled his eyes, "Don't even ask."

"I'm sorry, he's a real pain in the-" Cinder was cut off by Thorne yelling across the room.

"Cinder!" Thorne waved his arms around his head, "You can't flirt with the customers, okay? It's against our policy!" He winked and turned around. Cinder let out a snort and Kai turned a furious shade of red.

"You're one to talk!" Yelled Scarlet in her french accent across the room, "You flirt with every girl who walks in here! You even flirt with the two of us! I'm surprised you haven't started flirting with your shop."

Thorne grinned. "Oh believe me, I have." Scarlet rolled her eyes in unison with Cinder. Thorne was the most ridiculous human being. Kai looked awkward as he looked down at his hands and chuckled nervously, still blushing.

"Thanks for fixing my Fender." Kai said sheepishly, with a hint of red still on his cheeks. "I was wondering if you would maybe like to go out sometime?" He grinned up at her with his signature smile and Cinder looked down. That was surprising. Did Kai like her? Or was she just confusing his friendship for something more?

"Um... I'm sorry, but I can't." Cinder said apologetically. She absentmindedly pulled her gloves up even further and looked down at the ground. Kai looked confused, like he had not considered that she would say no.

Cinder felt awful. She wanted to go with Kai, but what if he saw her grotesque hand or leg and didn't even want to be her friend. That would hurt too much. She wouldn't be able to take another person leaving her, at least not right now.

Kai smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Okay, that's totally fine. I'm sorry if that was awkward or anything, but if you, you know, change your mind, the offer will still stand." His grin widened and he walked out the door, leaving Cinder in a stunned silence.

Thorne mimed barfing onto the counter and Scarlet punched him. Cinder rolled her eyes and got back to her work, head still reeling. What the heck was that? She thought to herself. Cinder didn't know how that most idolized kid in school had just asked her on a date! This must be some messed up universe.

Cinder was still thinking about Kai when Thorne decided to grace her with his presence. "Aces, that poor soul. He didn't even know how to get a girl on a date. How pathetic." Thorne laughed and Cinder punched him. Thorne knew why Cinder couldn't go out with Kai, why did he have to be such a moron about it?

"You know exactly why I can't go out with him! He doesn't know about my burns. He'll just be grossed out, just like everyone else." Cinder frowned, remembering how she got teased when she first went to school without her hand covered. Iko was the only one who had shown any kindness to Cinder.

Cinder wanted to believe that Kai was different, but she had learned at a young age that people aren't always what they seemed. "Anyways, what were you doing cornering the poor guy? What were you guys talking about?" Cinder asked.

"Ah, that." Thorne grinned, "I was just making sure that he knows who he's messing with if he messes with you. Don't worry about it." He winked at Cinder and then left as a new customer walked through the door. Cinder rolled her eyes. Since when was Thorne one to give the older brother speech?

Cinder was fixing her last project of the day as Scarlet came and sat down next to her. "Why did you turn him down? He seemed nice enough." Scarlet said. Cinder sighed. She had yet to tell Scarlet about her burns but knew she should. Scarlet was different than most people. She wasn't quick to judge others, and always gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was one of the qualities that Cinder like most about Scarlet.

Sighing, Cinder pulled off her left glove and lifted up her hand. Scarlet looked slightly shocked to see the mutilated pink flesh of Cinder's hand, but she didn't jump away or look disgusted. "When I was eleven years old," Cinder started, "I got in a really bad car accident with my parents. Both of them were killed and I was pinned down in the car as my left side got burned. I have third degree burns up my entire left leg, hand, and some of my side." Cinder paused to take in Scarlet's expression and saw only sadness there.

"I was adopted by Garan Lihn, but he died of letumosis shortly after my adoption. My step mother hated me from the moment I walked through her front door. When I went to school, all of the kids made fun of me and would refuse to sit next to me in class. My teachers would treat me like I was some kind of freak." Cinder sighed and looked down at her hand. "All I ever wanted was to be a normal person. Be treated like a normal human being. Have a normal family that actually loved me. Have friends who accepted me like I am."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Scarlet took her burned left hand into her own and looked into Cinder's eyes. "I'm really sorry Cinder. That's no way for someone to be treated and I can see why you've built such a strong wall around you. But you need to stop hiding. If people can't accept this, then they aren't good enough people to be bothered with in the first place. I mean, look at Thorne! He's an idiot, but he's still a good person. You may think that everyone is going to run away from you, but I can assure you that not everyone will. I think that Kai is a good guy. You should give him a shot, and if he's a idiot and can't handle it, then it's his loss." Scarlet stood up and smiled down at Cinder.

"Thanks Scarlet." Cinder smiled.

"Anytime!" Scarlet exclaimed as she picked up her things and left for home. Cinder realized that Scarlet was right. She should give Kai a chance. He was a good person and surely wouldn't hate her because of a few scars.