Played For A Fool

Death of the Prince

The weekend had come and gone and Cinder still hadn't emailed Kai. She was worried that he was mad at her for turning him down, but she had a legitimate reason. It was Monday and Cinder decided that she would find Kai after school and tell him. It was the kind of thing that you did in person, not through an email.

School seemed to go by faster that day, while Cinder's nerves were buzzing. She was anticipating the worst. She couldn't really imagine a positive response to her burns and she was worried that he wouldn't even look at her again. Or spread rumors. Or tell people. Or- Stop it!

She thought, remembering all of the encounters she had ever had with Kai. Kai wouldn't do any of those things, and that she was positive of.

Before she knew it, the bell for the end of school rang and it was time for Cinder to go and find Kai. She walked to Iko's locker, knowing that he passed by there at the end of school. She wasn't stalking him, it was just that it was where she met Iko at the end of the day and she knew that he passed by there.

When Iko saw Cinder, she gave her a suspicious look. "Who are you looking for?" She questioned, trying to be casual, but giving up. "Is he hot? Who is it?" She started yelling, and Cinder had to put her non-gloved hand over her friend's mouth to quiet her.

"Shut up Iko!" Cinder whisper yelled. "I'm not looking for anyone... Okay, maybe I am looking for someone, but please don't ask who!"

Iko gave her a confused look. "How am I not supposed to ask? Since when do you talk to anyone besides me? Wait! Do you have a secret boyfriend that I don't know about? Are you-"

"Iko!" Cinder cut her off. "It's not anything like that! Just please, let me do this and I'll tell you about it later?" Iko looked exasperated and nodded her head slightly while giving Cinder a death glare.

"I expect every single detail, young lady!" Iko pointed a finger at her for emphasis before running off, out of the school building. That's when Cinder spotted him, surrounded by a bunch of of his friends. She sighed, this was going to be harder than she had planned.

Cinder walked as quickly as she could to catch up with Kai. She couldn't decide whether or not she wanted to go and ask to talk with him while his friends were there, or follow him until he was alone. She decided to go with the first, because the second option was just plain creepy.

Walking up was easier said than done. His friends all gave Cinder an amused expression as she approached Kai, who was seemingly oblivious. "Kai." Cinder said, but he didn't seem to hear. "Kai!" Cinder said louder.

Finally hearing her, Kai turned around with a puzzled expression on his face, but broke into a smile when he saw that it was Cinder. "Hi Cinder!" Kai exclaimed. Cinder forgot what she was about to tell him for a split second and her face cracked into a smile. It was so amazing to see him.

"Hi Kai," Cinder said, a bit breathlessly, "I was wondering if I could talk with you." He looked confused and Cinder silently cursed herself. "I have something really important to tell you, but I can't say it here." She looked down at her gloved hand and absent-mindedly pulled her glove up higher. Kai watched this motion and Cinder tensed.

"Okay, I'm free this afternoon. Is this more of a parking lot thing or a go and eat ice cream thing? You're being a little mysterious and I'm not quite sure what I'm expecting." He smiled flirtatiously and Cinder rolled her eyes while her stomach did backflips. He was so weird, but adorable at the same time.

"Can you just come with me to my car or something?" Cinder asked, instantly feeling like an idiot. She didn't know where else to go. She didn't want to do this with Thorne teasing her and she certainly couldn't do it in a public setting. Luckily, Kai just nodded curiously and they headed towards the parking lot.