《Unknown》Twelve: Cinderella Fairytale
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Zoe's POV:
As I waved a goodbye to Ali a tidal wave of anxiety washed over me as I turned around and realised I had to go back there and explain what happened, which I don't want to do, at all.
For one, Caspar will be there, up to no good and the twins will have questions, which won't be fun as then I'll have to explain to everyone.
Maybe it's best if we just go back home, give myself time to think things through, let Joe know.
Oh no, Joe. I have to tell him, how will I be able to tell him that his room mate and best friend ruined Ali's secret. Maybe I should wait, I already told him that Ali is Caspar's girlfriend or supposedly since he mustn't care for her much if he dropped that bombshell.
As I turn to face the entrance I let out a few deep breaths in attempt to calm myself down so when I go back in I can be in control of the situation.
When I get back I can just see the twins sat there on a bench and Louise stood up talking to someone on the phone, she looks up and sees me and gives me a small smile. The first thing I notice is a vacant space, Caspar the coward is gone, no surprise. I let out a sigh and walk over with a smile on my face, you get used to the ability to give fake smiles after a while, as if everything's okay and nothing's wrong.
The twins stand up and before I give them the opportunity to even ask questions I signal for them to follow me. Without another word they do so, and so does Louise, we get to the car park and I unlock my car, get inside and start the engine. The three of them look at each other then get in, the whole journey back we all remain in silence, I feel so on edge and that's never a good sign.
As we arrive back to my house I walk in and call for everyone to come downstairs into the lounge. Alfie walks in first and notices I'm tense, he gives me a long hug which doesn't make me feel at ease in anyway, I pick up Nala and give her a hug, dogs always make things better, sometimes they give better hugs than boyfriends.
Everyone comes in and sits down, Marcus and Niomi, the twins, Louise, Tanya and Jim, Alfie, and Dan and Phil just exchange the same look of confusion. An empty seat on the end of the sofa where Caspar should be sat, since it is his fault in the first place.
"There's something that I have to tell you and I have no idea how I'm supposed to well explain." I started, trying to think of how I told Louise and Alfie and how Ali and Joe told Caspar. Yet nothing comes to mind, its up to you now Zoe, all on your own.
"Remember in the Disney film Cinderella how her step family kept her away from the Prince and having her happily ever after, what if they kept her away because it's what she wanted, forget the fact that they were evil and hated her guts but focus on the idea that Cinderella had a choice; to either stay away and remain the person that hardly anyone knows, or become a princess that everyone will know about. You with me so far?" I ask looking around at everyone, I see Jim trying to figure it out and re explaining it to himself and Niomi just sits there slightly dumbfounded along with the others, whereas Alfie does nothing, he looks as if he is barely breathing.
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"So anyway, the point is there is a real life Cinderella and she had the choice to stay hidden away from the prince, and she has a loving family who respect her decisions and trust her completely. Except word got out when her family had friends who found out about her in different ways, they were trusted with her secret as it's what she wanted. One day one of these friends told some people about Cinderella and were confused, they tried and tried to ask her family but they didn't want to go against Cinderella's choices. But when worst comes to worst, all you can do is tell the truth. Which is what I'm doing right now." I paused for a moment, letting all the information sink in, metaphorically speaking, Ali is the Cinderella in my story.
"I know a Cinderella, I have a Cinderella. Only a few people know of my Cinderella as she wants to stay away from the fame that me and Joe have in our lives, we respect her choices and followed her rules. But when someone unexpectedly breaks those rules you have no choice but to take action on behalf of Cinderella." I sit down on a chair in front of everyone at that point and everyone shares a look, slowly putting the pieces together and Louise gives me a supportive smile, she understands how difficult this is for me and how impossible it must seem for everyone to even believe that there is another Sugg.
"What I'm trying to say is in my family you know my parents, my brother, Percy and Pipin and the newest edition to our family Nala. Yet you don't know my other sibling, my younger sister Ali Sugg." The words I never thought I would have to say in front of my friends, who my sister is and the fact that I do have another sibling.
No one speaks, they all just sit there, some stare at me whereas others stare at the floor. This silence was bound to happen, I just didn't expect Alfie to do nothing like he is. "If anyone has any questions I'll be willing to answer them." I told everyone, they must have questions, I know I would if my friends had a hidden sibling I never knew existed.
Dan let out a cough and everyone raised their heads and looked towards him, he looked towards me. "Have we ever met her before? Any of us?" He asked then sat back down next to Phil, who was still unresponsive.
This was going to be difficult to answer, as it involves some friends and others may feel as if they aren't as important or as trusted. "Well, three of my friends knew or well two of my friends knew. Louise was the first to know as she was introduced to Ali from the beginning when we became friends, she understood and respected Ali's decisions. Then Alfie accidentally found Ali when he came round to my old apartment and went into the wrong room leaving me to explain to him, he being my boyfriend kept the secret as well. Then there was Caspar who is the reason why you are all here now, he told the twins who Ali was as they met her beforehand, Dan, Phil you've met her too, here's a picture of her for you to see." At that moment I got a photo of the Sugg Siblings together, they exchanged looked and Phil pulled out his phone and showed me a picture he had with Ali.
"That's your sister?" Phil asked and I simply nodded.
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"Why haven't we been introduced to her before? We could've kept the secret, she wouldn't have to be involved with YouTube and she could still have been made known to us." Niomi speaks up.
"As Ali's sister I wanted to respect her choices, which meant no involvement with YouTube at all, not the website not our pages, not you guys." A big sigh came out of me, as if it was all building up and had just crashed down for the first time.
I heard the doorbell go just as Jack stood up to ask a question, being in an uncomfortable situation, I hope I can have a long conversation with who ever is at the door. As I opened it I saw my broseph. "Joe? What are you doing here?" I asked dumbfounded by his sudden visit.
"I'm worried about Ali, she hasn't spoken to me all day or contacted me, and after that phone call with you I wanted to make sure she's okay." He looked past me raising an eyebrow and as I slowly turned I saw everyone looking over the door frame listening in.
"Come with me." I mouthed and Joe nodded, I glared at everyone and they all went back into the room, and I could vaguely hear them talking about Ali, calling us 'bad people' for not letting Ali in on the limelight.
As we reached my office I shut the door and sat down on the sofa, letting out a sigh. Joe came and sat next to me, patiently waiting for an answer.
How was I supposed to tell him and let him down easily? With Ali being MIA, Caspar is with the devil and now Joe turning up wanted answers. "So firstly, is Caspar... dating Ali?" He struggled with his words as he got them out, he had a look on his face as if he wanted to take the words back and force them back, not exactly a flattering look.
"Well, there is more to it than that, but I don't think so." Joe let out a sigh of relief but if I were him, I would save any sighs of relief for another time.
"So, what's so bad then?" He asked.
I stood up and turned my back to him, thinking it may be easier to tell him if I don't face him. "Caspar may not be dating Ali, but he told the twins who Ali was, which led to me just telling everyone who is staying here who Ali is as well." I blurted it all out, then once I was finished I turned to face Joe who looked mad.
Joe isn't one to get mad, he can get irritated but it passes but he never gets mad. I call out his name a few times but there's no response, I move towards him and sit down next to him but as soon as I do so he stands up and walks away from me. "How dare you. All these years all we had to do was be careful, ensure our sisters wishes were kept. I kept them, and when people ask me why I don't do daily vlogs it's because if I'm with Ali I want to spend time with her, I don't want to make her shy or nervous. But you Zoe, you could've sorted it out but you've gone and told everyone, and Ali is no where to be seen nor heard of." He finished and I just sat there, not making a sound.
It was all true, I just didn't know what else I could do, now Ali is missing and she won't answer anyone, not even her own family.
"Where's Caspar? I'm going to kill him." Joe mumbled kicking the sofa in frustration then swore to himself.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Caspar hasn't been seen for hours Joe, the last time I saw him was when he told the twins, then by the time I got back-" Joe cut me off.
"What do you mean 'got back'?" He asked raising his eyebrows.
"I went to go find Ali, luckily she was still there, I spoke to her, talked about what to do, she simply drove off never telling me where she was headed. She could be anywhere." I raised my voice slightly at the end, Ali could be anywhere by now and the fact that no one knows is worrying, especially since she has been acting odd lately.
"Has she been taking her medication?" Joe asked, the atmosphere was low, neither of us were in the mood to argue as we were concerned now about the same matter; Ali's health and wellbeing.
"I didn't get the chance to ask, it's not something you spring into a conversation." I told him sarcastically, it's not something we really talk about.
Ali takes her medication, we always made sure of it growing up if mum and dad were ever away then I would watch her take her medication then she would be fine. But if she didn't, it could sometimes get scary, even now as a grown up I worry about her, as at one point when she was 18 she believed the medication made things worse so she stopped, that's when her spiral started and didn't stop for 4 months when she ended up in hospital for two months being closely observed.
Even though that happened four years ago we all still worry, it's just natural. It's how siblings care, the majority of people can relate to prioritising siblings in desperate times.
Now that Joe is up to date it seems fitting to head back downstairs and face them all, at least now I have Joe with me.
As I reach the lounge I see everyone stood up in discussion but they all go quiet as they notice me and Joe stood there. All of them sit back down together in the same seats as before, I scan the crowd yet there's no Alfie, I look to Marcus who shrugs his shoulders and I quickly walk to the front door and head outside. I ring him and it goes straight to voicemail, where has he gone?
Alfie's POV
All he had to do was not spill the secret, he had one task and he failed me. How dare he mess this up, if it wasn't for him and Ali none of this would've ever happened.
Flashback:
"One beer please." I ask the bartender as I sit down waiting for her to show up. Luckily Zoe thinks I'm in Wales and Marcus thinks Niomi is having a girls night with her friends, now naive they can be sometimes.
The bartender handed me my beer and I started a tab, I'll probably need it and so will she. As I looked around the club I saw lots of people, some stood out more than others, then from the doorway I saw her enter, she looked more beautiful than I could describe. She had that sort of beauty which you couldn't take your eyes off, I was mesmerised.
"Alfie." She simply said as she ordered a martini, Niomi had a tight red dress on with black high heels, her makeup was done to match, and her hair was flowing down her back. I felt myself gulp for a second, thinking about Zoe when she had long hair. But Zoe doesn't matter now, neither does Marcus, it's about the two of us, right here right now.
"Is this wise?" She asks as she flips her hair back moving it out of her face, showing her whole face and how beautiful she really was.
"It's not like this is the first time, we both know what we're doing and the consequences so why worry?" I replied to her, I wasn't worried, I didn't feel any self doubt at all.
She took a large sip at her Martini and ordered another, every time this happens we have a lot to drink, just like the first time. We've been secretly dating for eight months now, and no one has any idea, nor will they ever.
As time past more drinks were drunk, for a while I saw other girls pass by and wink or smile, one stood out to me as looking familiar, she went up to an attractive women and was yelled at, I couldn't quite see her face so I shrugged the thought off.
"Alfie, look at me." Niomi grabbed my face and forced me to look at her, I looked deep into her eyes and slowly lent in. Even with my eyes closed I can't help but feel a burning sensation from behind me.
After our long kiss Niomi winks at me and stands up, she begins to walk through the crowd of people and makes her way to the door as if it was effortless.
I quickly pay the tab and the bar tender winks, I nod to him then walk off calmly, not trying to seem like I'm desperate to get to her.
Once I get outside of the club I meet Niomi round the corner, we get a taxi and decide to get a hotel room. "Are we ever going to confess?" Niomi asked, biting her lip.
I placed my hand under her chin and lifted her head, she seemed sad but it quickly passed as I smiled to her. "It's more fun when it's a game of secrets." I whispered and then gave her a small kiss before we arrived to the hotel.
End of flashback.
How dare she, Zoe has officially ruined it, now I can no longer hold up my end of the deal and blackmail Ali.
All I want to do is go up to her and tell her how I feel, or more specifically how I don't feel. Seeing Niomi in there sat with Marcus hand in hand made me want to punch a wall, but all I could do is sit in silence as Zoe made her speech about family.
I pulled out my phone and rang the first person I could think of that could help me in a situation like this.
"Hello?" He asked, as enthusiastic as ever before.
"Caspar, don't hang up. I'm still mad but since you're apart of my plan there's something you still have to do for me." I told him and smirked to myself, knowing exactly what I had to do to break Ali Sugg.
"Fire away." He replied.
"You need to fall in love with her and break her heart."
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- In Serial64 Chapters
Wildling
Blurb: Silas--a scavenger living off the ruins of humanity--has spent his entire life fighting tooth and nail to provide for himself and his crew. But when a scavenging run goes awry and he's snatched up by an android patrol, he finds himself thrown into a cage and priced to sell as a pet. And when a suitor comes calling, he fears the worst: that he'll be turned into a Domestic, a human lapdog brainwashed into total obedience. Instead, he discovers an equally disturbing truth: that the creatures who stole his world have created a videogame the likes of which Earth has never seen; a sprawling, game-like theme park where humans are the Avatars and androids are the players who control them. And to make matters worse, his android guide is as hopeless as they come, having gotten all of her previous Avatars killed in record time. So if Silas wants to regain his freedom, he'll not only have to fight his way through a world that was specifically designed to murder him in brutal fashion--he'll also have to convince his android guide that he should be the one calling the shots. FAQS: Q: Who are you, handsome stranger? A: I'm Kyle Kirrin, the author of Shadeslinger, book 1 of The Ripple System, published by Portal Books, and I write crunchy LitRPG. Q: What is Wildling? And is it complete? A: Wildling is a crunchy LitRPG mash up of Fantasy and Science Fiction. And yup, Wildling is already complete at 64 chapters, or about 120,000 thousand words. You're looking at something like a third draft here--it's fairly polished, but it hasn't been picked over by a copy editor yet nor has my developmental editor seen it. Q: Upload schedule? A: 5 initial chapters today (2/15/2021) and one chapter a day for the next month. After that I'll probably slow down to 2 or 3 chapters a week until the story is complete. Q: How crunchy is it? A: It's pretty crunchy. I'd put it on the same tier as Ascend/The Land/RSSG, but it might be a bit crunchier than those three? Q: Is this the first book in a series or a web novel or what? And what are your plans for it? A: It's currently a standalone with series potential. Full disclosure: this story may head the way of my publisher eventually, but will be available on RR for quite a while no matter what. Likely several months after it's complete with plenty of warning before/if it's taken down. Q: What kind of build does the MC create? A: Sword and board! Q: Crafting? A: Plenty! Crafting isn't as center stage as it is in The Way of the Shaman, but it's close. Q: Base building? A: Two fully separate, distinct bases, both of which play a major role in the story. Q: VRMMO? Portal? Reincarnation or what? A: This one's a bit tricky. Basically an advanced race has created a game-like world that closely resembles a theme park. Think Westworld but with copious amounts of loot. And the MC has to fight his way through that to earn his freedom. Q: Permadeath? A: Nope! The MC gets 3 lives to play through the entirety of the game world, and death is extremely punishing, but not fatal. Q: Harem? Or romance? A: No and no. Q: Cursing? Blood? A: Quite a bit of cursing, yeah. There's blood, too, but it's not a gory book by any means. Q: How can I support? A: Instead of a Patreon/donations etc, I'd ask that you consider giving my debut LitRPG Shadeslinger a chance. It's free on Kindle Unlimited and the audio is already out narrated by Travis Baldree. It's an epic fantasy VRMMO where the main character gets 3 days of exclusive access to a new game plus a snarky, talking axe to guide him through it in exchange for agreeing to become the target of a serverwide manhunt once the Head Start period ends. Q: How's it similar to Wildling? And how's it different? A. The crunch level is very similar, but Shadeslinger is a much lighter, epic fantasy take on the genre. It's also VRMMO, but without any real world components aside from the first chapter. The MC is very different--he comes off as a bit of a jerk early on and can take a bit to warm up to, especially before his backstory is revealed--but he's also got a talking axe that constantly puts him in his place. Shadeslinger's a much more humorous story in general, and it's a great deal more polished as well. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy Wildling!
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His Luh' Baby (Urban)
Nothing was perfect, the odds were slim, but whatever it was; it was real."That crying shit not it. You been feelin like this then we could've talked. I ain't tryna dwell on the situation but I ain't tryna be on nothin' fucked up either." I spoke to her as she nodded.I stood up and pulled her into me as she laid her head on my chest."I love you Nia. Never forget it."Rah and Nia. Jan 31st 2021
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