Shut Up, Cinderella

Daydreaming

The secret was out.

Cinder closed his eyes, steeling himself for the inevitable rejection. Any moment now Gem would piece it all together, the lies, the betrayal. Any moment now...he would get furious.

He waited, but nothing came. No anger, no insults, no beloved voice furiously demanding him to leave, telling him he never wanted to see him again. Gem was just...silent.

With the faintest glimmer of hope Cinder opened his eyes.

The look of shock and confusion still hadn't left Gem's face. "You," he said softly, his voice riddled with disbelief. "You were the masked stranger...and the masked stranger was you?"

There was no accusation in his voice. Not yet, probably. Once it sunk in, he would be furious, Cinder knew.

Still, while he wasn't...maybe Cinder still stood a chance.

"Yeah," he said heavily. "That was me." He set his jaw. "Will you hear me out?"

He fully expected a no. He would have forgiven a no. He would have understood it more than any other response. After being lied to like this, who could possibly still forgive what he had done?

But the no didn't come.

Cinder glanced up again. Gem did look hurt...but he also looked like he was restraining himself. Like he wanted to listen, wanted to understand, wanted to hear the whole story before getting angry at Cinder.

His chest felt tight. You've grown up so much.

"I have to warn you," he said, looking back down. "The story I'm about to tell you...if somebody else tried to tell me, I wouldn't believe it. But I promise you it's real. You know I don't have enough imagination to make this up."

Gem hesitated, then he gave a nod. "I'm listening."

His voice was strained. Cinder didn't try to ignore the pang of guilt. How had he let it come to this? What had he done?

"The explanation for all this," he said, "the costume, the missing coat, the disappearance...you were right." His eyes flitted up. "There was magic at work."

Gem was so shocked he completely forgot to look confused or betrayed for a second. "I knew it existed!" he exclaimed. "But...wait." His expression darkened again. "You said you didn't believe in it."

"I'm sorry, Gem! I have my reasons." Cinder played with the mask in his hands. "What happened is...I got sent to that ball of yours against my will."

Gem didn't answer. He just listened.

"Hestia and my sisters all kept bugging me to go," Cinder continued, "but I hate social events, and I didn't want to waste money on good clothes for just one night. So...in the end I stayed home. And that's when she appeared."

"She?"

"Sugar Plum. My godmother. This part wasn't a lie," Cinder admitted. "Hestia said she's a fairy my mom made a contract with. She transformed my clothes and forced me to go here." He grimaced. "But the spell only worked until midnight, so..."

"...you ran away," Gem completed the sentence. "And that's why the coat disappeared!"

Cinder nodded. "The rest did too. Everything except that shoe I lost on the stairs."

"D'you know why?"

He pondered the question. Idiot, he told himself. Why didn't you ask Sugar Plum that too when you had the chance?

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe there's a different spell on it or something. I have to ask Sugar Plum."

Gem didn't answer, and Cinder continued. "In any case," he said, "I'd lie if I said I liked you much back then. You seemed pompous and...obnoxious, really. I guess I just saw the worst side of you," he added with a small smile. "But back then...I just never wanted to see you again."