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I managed to make it to my class, but by that time twenty minutes had passed. I hurriedly pushed Kevin in the direction of his class before I entered mine. Everyone turned to stare at me in surprise, including the teacher.

I felt like a fugitive as I walked to the teacher and explained my tardiness. He accepted my excuse as if stuck in a daze. Was me being late that surprising to them? Well, I guess so.

I just sat in the nearest empty seat. There were just eight of us in this class, because for some strange reason no-one wanted to do Pure Math. Crazy right?

At least I didn't miss much. The teacher was just going over the homework questions. I pulled out my homework and tried to stay focused on what he was doing, but the students behind me felt like discussing the episode in the cafeteria.

"So Ashton broke up with Nicole for her?"

"Yeah, apparently. I've been seeing them a lot in the parking lot and Ashton's best friend is her best friend too."

"Maybe they were dating secretly before and just decided to come clean about it."

"That's scandalous. But her? I didn't think she was his type."

"She's cute."

"I mean yeah... but Nicole's pretty hot."

I turned around and forced a smile so they would know just how loud they were. They hurriedly got back to their work.

I sighed and turned back to my own work when I noticed another group side eyeing me and whispering. Just great. Did they really have to talk about this when I was just a few feet away from them? Although I couldn't really blame them, this was pretty much a shocker.

When the bell rang, signalling the end of the class, I heaved a sigh of relief. Just one more class and then I had a free period. After that, Ashton and I would to go to Kristof's house in the Royal Realm to meet his soulmate who was supposed to be visiting today.

I frowned at this. Was I making plans with Ashton too casually? I wondered if I was becoming too involved in his life and the kingdom. I was there almost every day. I didn't want him to get his hopes up because I still hadn't made a decision yet.

But the palace felt like it was a part of me. I genuinely liked going there and seeing everyone. I thought about this as I walked to my next class. Like, what if I ended up becoming too attached to them? I sighed and shook my head.

"Thinking about me?"

I spun around to see Ashton with a slight smirk etched on his lips.

"Uhh... I'm... I was just-" I stuttered as he leaned in closer to me.

Yes, I was actually thinking about him, but I wasn't going to admit that.

"You're weird," I mumbled, pushing him back.

"Your face is red... maybe you were thinking about me."

"Was your ego always this big and obnoxious?" I remarked.

He smirked and I huffed and hurriedly walked off without him. Our little conversation had attracted the attention of everyone in the hallway, and although they couldn't hear us, they were more than happy to imagine what we could be talking about.

I was getting all kinds of stares that held confusion, disbelief and disappointment. I was sure most of the girls were upset that Ashton was hanging around with me. But technically, we weren't dating, so he was still fair game.

I entered the classroom and everyone stared at me. There were a few whistles too. I sighed and found my seat. Ashton came in a moment after and the chatter got even louder. He seemed unbothered by it and went to his usual seat. Nicole wasn't there.

Callie skipped into the classroom reciting lines from Romeo and Juliet. She took her seat beside me.

"Nicole's skipping another class?" she asked as she glanced behind her at the empty chair.

"She wasn't in Math?" I asked suspiciously.

"No, she never showed up," Callie said. "But I don't care what she wants to do at this point."

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I kept waiting for Nicole to appear, but even as the bell rang, signalling the end of the class, she was still a no-show.

"Free period," Callie sang beside me and broke out into some weird dance move that she invented.

"Let's go to the gazebos," I suggested and she nodded, still doing her dance.

She was receiving some amused stares and I chuckled. It was too late to pretend I didn't know her.

"Ponytail," Ashton called after me as we left the classroom. I ignored him and hoped no-one realized that he was talking to me.

A girl brushed my arm. "Your boyfriend's calling you," she smirked.

I sighed and turned around to face Ashton. "What is it now?"

"You have a free period now?"

"Yeah. I'm going to help Callie run some lines though."

He looked over at Callie, who was still doing her weird dance.

"Sounds fun."

"If you have a free period you should come too," Callie exclaimed.

I widened my eyes at her. "No... no, he can't."

"I've been invited," Ashton grinned deviously at me. "Let's go," he said to Callie and they marched off.

I just stood there sputtering like a broken car. I wanted to put some distance between me and Ashton to divert the attention away from us. But if anything he was trying to be even closer to me now. I huffed and marched off after them.

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"B-but I l-love y-you," I stuttered as I recited the next line from the script.

I was reading the lines of Cordelia's love interest. Callie was reading Cordelia's lines. As you might have guessed, this was a romance script.

"You okay, Liz," Callie asked, looking up at me from her page. "You seem kinda glitchy."

Ashton smirked from his spot beside me. It was extremely awkward reading those lines with him sitting right there. I took a sip of my bottled water.

"I'm fine," I assured her and took a deep breath.

"I vow to win your heart no matter what it takes," I read mechanically, as he casually rested his chin on my shoulder.

"You've got to put more emotion than that, Liz!" Callie critiqued.

Oh no, her director side was coming out.

"You try saying these lines," I protested as my face heated up.

Callie sighed. "Fine, you do Cordelia."

I sighed. "You are the l-love of my life. I c-can't imagine life without you," I stammered as Ashton moved around on my shoulder.

I turned to him to send a glare his way, not realizing how close his face was to mine. I stared into his dark blue orbs shaded by his long eyelashes and accentuated by his perfect eyebrows.

My eyes travelled down the angular shape of his nose and down to his sculpted jaw-line that was so sharp it looked like it could cut just by touching it. A smirk played on his plump, pink lips. His face was like a sculpture of a Greek god. No, his face was definitely better. It was absolutely perfect.

"You should take a picture. It lasts longer," he breathed.

I blinked as he jolted me back into reality. How long had I been staring at him? I couldn't even remember. Was it seconds? Minutes? My face heated up and I shrugged his head off my shoulder.

"Go away," I blurted as I took a few more sips of my water.

Ashton grinned beside me and placed his head on the table in front of us. His dark eyes stared up at me mischievously. I held the script at an angle that covered his face. Callie smiled as she looked between us.

"You're both so cute!" she gushed. She flipped a page of her script. "You're a horrible actress," she said offhandedly.

"Hey, I'm trying my best here," I complained.

She narrowed her eyes at me. Right now she was back in director mode. She wouldn't accept any excuses. With her as the president, the theatre club had soared to new heights. Even people like me who couldn't act to save their lives had been able to move the hearts of crowds. When she was in director mode she was blunt and extremely difficult to please, but she was patient.

I smiled in admiration. I was sure she would accomplish her dream of being an actress. She could do any genre and improv any situation given to her. She was talented and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Her artwork was phenomenal. The pages just came to life, no matter what she did. I was proud of my best friend.

Callie glared at me. "What are you smiling about?"

"Just hyping you up in my head," I laughed. "You're amazing."

"I'm glad you know that," she laughed. "Now take notes," she said as she read the lines of both characters on her own. She perfectly captured the emotion of each character.

I played around in Ashton's hair, threading the silky, soft black strands through my fingers. I glanced at him, but he was fast asleep. I frowned, worrying that he wasn't getting enough rest at home. The dark circles were still slightly visible around his eyes.

I folded my arms and rested my head on them as I watched Callie's one woman show.

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