Chapter 2

Sebastian and I had been childhood sweethearts. We grew up next door, went to the same preschool, and had never been apart. Not until high school. Not until Madison.

She was brash, loud, more like one of the guys. She ran with every boy in the class, Sebastian included.

They started sitting close together. They played the same video games, talked trash to each other nonstop, had endless inside jokes. They ate lunch together, studied together. Even the walk home, which used to be just the two of us, became the three of us.

At first I didn't think anything of it. The more the merrier.

Then one afternoon, Madison and Sebastian were horsing around and knocked my water bottle off the desk. It shattered.

It was the matching bottle to Sebastian's. We'd picked them out together.

Madison's eyes went wide. She apologized in a rush. "Sorry, sorry, let me buy you a new one. Please don't be mad."

I shook my head softly. "It's fine. You didn't mean to. It's just a bottle. You don't need to replace it."

Madison leaned in close, voice dropping just as soft. "I'll still buy you a new one. I know your type. Girls like you smile to someone's face and then whisper behind their back."

What was that supposed to mean?

That I was the kind of person who talked trash behind people's backs?

The girls nearby suddenly looked at me differently.

My face tightened. "I said you don't need to replace it."

Madison pointed at me and raised her voice for the whole room. "See, see, she's mad now. It's a bottle. If you wanted me to replace it, you should have just said so. I hate this two-faced nonsense. Girls who can't say what they mean drive me crazy."

She shoved Sebastian's shoulder. "Go on, beg your princess for forgiveness. Otherwise somebody's going home in a bad mood."

Sebastian actually chimed in. "Come on, don't be petty. I'll just buy you another one. It's not like it cost much."

"Sebastian. You think I'm petty too?"

I felt my chest close up. My face went flat. "I'll buy it myself. I don't need you to."

Sebastian realized he'd said the wrong thing and was about to apologize when Madison threw an arm around him.

"Dude, what kind of grovel was that? You just made Her Highness even angrier. Abort, abort. Come back after the princess cools down."

And just like that, I had a nickname in class. Princess.

If I handed out papers for the teacher, they'd sneer, "Mr. Harper, don't you know any better? Don't wear our delicate little princess out."

If I went to the bathroom, they'd line up outside the door in mock formation. "Make way for Her Highness."

Every hallway I walked down was full of stifled laughter and sidelong glances. Every face said something dirty without saying a word.

Sebastian saw it. Sebastian did nothing.

And eventually, when he was in a bad mood, even he started using the word.

"Enough, stop throwing princess tantrums. You don't have the crown, but you sure have the complex."

That's when the cold war started between us.

And Madison, for reasons I couldn't figure out, started coming at me harder.

"Oh my God, Ava, is that a cartoon charm on your backpack? Do you actually think you're a magical girl?"

She finished it off by striking a Sailor Moon transformation pose.

The boys around her howled.

After lunch, I wiped down my desk the way I always did. Madison rolled her eyes so hard I saw white.

"Ava, you're so fake. Do you seriously think everything in this classroom is dirty except you?"

"If we're all too gross for you, go get a private tutor at home. Why are you even at school with us commoners?"

The girls in class started looking at me like I was something they'd scraped off a shoe.

At our weekly desk rotation, I was carrying a stack of books I couldn't manage in one trip. Madison leaned her elbow on the books I had left on my desk and simpered in a baby voice.

"Ugh, I'm wiped out. Any loyal servants want to volunteer to carry Her Highness's books?"

The whole classroom cracked up. The sound was sharp and ugly. It drilled straight into my skull. Some kids were laughing so hard they doubled over. Someone imitated the way I carried books.

Sebastian didn't turn his head. He said quietly, "That's enough."

Madison rolled her eyes again, harder. "Oh sure, sure. Someone's feeling bad for her now."

Sebastian snapped. "Who's feeling bad for her? I wouldn't waste pity on a spoiled brat like that."

Madison laughed and chimed in. "Oh relax, relax. We're just toughening Ava up a little. She's too sensitive. Overthinks everything. How's she going to survive in the real world?"

Sebastian hesitated. "It's okay for a girl to be a little soft, though..."

Madison punched his arm. "Oh, so you're looking down on me now? I'm not like that, am I?"

Sebastian's head turned toward her, and his eyes were full of warmth and trust.

Something inside my chest split open.