- Mia White -

"Ewww!" Ben cried, dropping his burger. Luckily, it landed on the wrapping on the table, and not all over the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"There's a pickle in there."

I sighed. "Really Ben? You got scared because of a pickle?"

"I hate them in my burgers!"

I groaned, telling him to just take it off, but he refused. Sighing, I grabbed a plastic fork and took the pickle off of his burger.

Ace and Levi were in the office, having a nice chat with the principal. I don't know what it's about, but it doesn't really matter. Those two, and sometimes Ben, got called into the office more regularly. They were usually for stupid reasons though.

While they were in the office, Ben and I were in the cafeteria, eating peacefully. Well, that is until someone's hand slammed on our table, causing everyone's eyes to look at them.

"Where's Ace?" Mindy demanded.

"It's really none of your business," I replied, eating another fry.

"Listen to me, White," she hissed, narrowing her eyes at me. "I could ruin your pathetic little life with the snap of my fingers. I've already told you to stay away from Ace. He's mine. I practically own him."

Ben snorted. "You can't own a person. Besides, we're Ace's best friends. You won't be able to take us away from him."

"Watch me," she threatened, before walking away with her minions following behind her.

I don't understand why she can't just accept the fact that Ace doesn't like her. I've known Mindy since freshman year, and she's always the same mean, selfish, and self-centred person. But doesn't someone have to go through something to become like that?

Or maybe I'm wrong and she's just naturally mean.

I smiled when I saw Jacob walk into the cafeteria. After he told Ace that he was gay, Ace was - let's say okay - with us hanging out.

As long as we didn't get too close.

Speaking of Jacob, his parents found a house they plan on moving into soon. Ace was more than thrilled when he heard the news.

Jacob sat down beside Ben, knowing that Ace wouldn't want anyone else's sitting beside me besides him. Jacob became used to Ace's possessiveness, just like Levi and Ben, but they did like to tease him about.

Soon after Jacob arrived, Ace and Levi walked in. Once Ace spotted me, he smiled, and speed-walked over to me. He took a seat beside me, making sure to pull me close to his side.

"What did the principal say?" I asked.

"That we should stop hiding rotten food in his office," he shrugged, reaching to take one of my fries.

I slapped his hand away, and he pouted. "Can I please have one?"

"No."

Jacob and Ben laughed when they saw his face, earning them a glare from Ace. They immediately shut up, but I knew they were dying of laughter inside.

Lunch slowly started to end, and we were back in class, but before the five minute warning bell rang, I went to my locker to get a few textbooks. Like always, Ace followed me with his arm around my waist. People moved out of the way as we walked, and when I was the smirk playing on his lips, I rolled my eyes.

Especially when we heard a few people talking about us. I know that he was more than satisfied with their conversation.

"She's hot," a blonde haired guy said to the girl beside him. I could feel their eyes on me, and Ace's grip tighten.

"Yeah, I know. I'm kinda jealous..." replied the girl. She was fiddling with her black hair as she looked at me.

"I'm gonna ask her out."

The girl slapped his arm. "Are you crazy? You're asking for a death wish."

"What's so wrong with me asking her out?" He questioned.

"Everything! You just can't."

"Why!?"

"Because she belongs to the king."

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Ace's smirk widen. When I grabbed the textbooks I needed for the rest of the day, Ace and I headed toward our next class. Jacob was already there, waiting for us. We all chatted - mostly me and Jacob - before the teacher walked in.

A few minutes passed until there was an announcement.

Everyone's eyes landed on me as I stood up to walk out the door. Even if there were so many pairs of eyes focused on me, I could feel Ace's eyes burning the back of my head. I knew that once I came back, he'd ask me questions.

As I walked to the office, I wondered what I could've done to get in trouble. Or maybe I wasn't in trouble and they needed help with something. I am president of the student council, so maybe there was an event that they wanted to host.

When I stepped into the office, Mrs Tinmich told me that there was someone waiting to talk to me in the room to her left. I asked who it was, and so my surprise, she said it was Mr King.

I opened the door to see Mr King sitting on a chair, his hands intertwined together, and he looked deep into thought. That is, until I closed the door, and managed to somehow break is chain of thoughts.

"Mr King, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about something," he replied. "But please, take a seat."

I sat on the chair across from him. Thankfully, there was a table between is. There was a vase on it, with beautiful flowers, and looked like they were arranged by a professional.

Mr King looked nervous, and I've never seen him look like this until the day he sighed a contract for his son and Mindy to get married.

"You know about the arranged marriage between Ace and Mindy, correct?"

I nodded.

"Look, I know that you and Ace are close. Very close in fact. You've been best friends for as long as I can remember," he stated. He was completely avoiding eye contact with me as he spoke, and I knew that he was going to ask me to do something.

"This is hard for me to say, but I need you to distance yourself from Ace for now on. Because Mindy and Ace are engaged, I'm going to make sure that they spend some quality time together."

My eyes widened. "Mr King, you can't just ask me to stay away from him. He's my best friend, and you know what happens when we're apart. Why can't you see that Ace doesn't want this? He doesn't want to marry Mindy," I argued.

"We know that you did something wrong for you to sign the contract, Mr King. So what exactly did you do? What could you have possible done to force your only son into marriage?"

Mr King's body tensed, and he suddenly stood up. "That's none of your business," he stated in an angry tone.

"Now, be a good girl, and listen to my orders."

Before I could say anything, Mr King walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

••• - ••• - •••

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