Hey everyone! Happy Fourth of July! I mean, if you celebrate it. If you don't… well then… happy Friday. Anyways, here's the next chapter. This is where things start turning around. Sorta. I hope you guys like it. Really appreciate the support, and the reviews are great. Thanks to everyone, as always, and thanks to Tytonic, who has trusted me with this awesome idea of a story. If you guys go out for the holiday weekend, stay safe. See you guys next time!

-Skychip

Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.

Regalia High

Chapter 11: Truce

Gregor was supposed to be a sailor from back in the 1600's. He sails off from England one day with a purpose to see America. He gets lost during a storm and ends up far away lost somewhere.

Luxa was supposed to be the girlfriend that Gregor left in England that he promised to return to and marry. In the end, he does, and they live happily ever after. And it was that which bothered them the most.

Gregor and Luxa were going to have to be a couple.

-O-

The first day of rehearsals was absolutely horrible.

Gregor and Luxa were led into a large stage with some of the set pieces already in place. Other pieces were still off to the side behind the curtains. Some of the students were painting them, and thought they looked exhausted, Gregor felt jealous of them. What he would give to be in their place at that moment.

After a quick introduction from Mrs. Cormaci in which she told the other theatre kids about him and Luxa, Gregor was sent to the center of the stage to begin his rehearsing with Luxa.

Neither of the two ever even made eye contact. The anger was too much, and they didn't care how it looked like to the other actors or to Mrs. Cormaci.

Gregor and Luxa spent the entire time reading from their scripts and avoiding eye contact. The excuse that they didn't know their lines was valid for about half an hour, but after that, when it was time to repeat the scenes, it became obvious they didn't want to look at each other. They kept their eyes glued to the paper in their hands and did as little touching as possible.

Whenever Gregor hugged Luxa, he only patted her awkwardly on the back, and she only touched him over his clothes, never holding his arm or making contact with his skin. Which was perfectly fine with him.

The good news about all of this was that Gregor found out he didn't actually have to kiss Luxa. It was only a small relief though, because they still had to hold each other in loving embraces and pretend to be madly in love.

When Gregor read his lines, they sounded just like Luxa's. Every line sounded forced. He was pretty sure he said some of the lines through clenched teeth. Luxa was positively fuming while she said her lines, and sometimes she even coughed to cover some of the lines that were the most uncomfortable to say.

After a while, the other actors started giving them strange looks. Though it was obvious that they were dying of curiosity to know why Gregor and Luxa didn't get along, they didn't ask. Gregor thought that maybe they understood neither of them were in a good mood.

Things stayed the same throughout the first hour of rehearsal until Mrs. Cormaci finally got their attention.

"What is the matter with you two?" she asked.

Luxa didn't say anything and Gregor simply shrugged.

"Well, this isn't going to work unless you put a little more effort into it."

Gregor finally found Luxa's gaze, and her eyes were radiating anger.

"Remember, I have seen you both act before. You were absolutely wonderful! How about we try and work for that kind of chemistry again?"

Mrs. Cormaci's words caused both of them to roll their eyes, but this time, the teacher noticed. She folded her arms over her chest, tapping the ground impatiently with her foot.

"If it truly wasn't acting and you were only mad at each other, then I suggest you reach deep inside and learn how to work together. After all, this is for a grade. And I have no problem letting Mrs. Miravet know about this."

That got Gregor's face to turn serious again. He was so caught up in his dislike towards Luxa at the moment that he had forgotten the real reason he was there. Gregor had accepted to help the theatre club because he didn't want to get in trouble for cheating. Of course, that would mean exposing Aurora, who was the person he was getting in trouble for.

And the worst part of that scenario would be that his mom would be involved, being called out of work to talk to the principal. So Gregor decided that this was a lot better than all of that. He could try a little harder.

The acting improved, even from Luxa, and Gregor wondered what Luxa's reason was to not get in trouble. He didn't know much about her, but her reason must have been just as important as Gregor's to accept doing this.

Though it was better, it wasn't by much. Mrs. Cormaci kept an unsatisfied look on her face for the rest of rehearsals. By the end, both Gregor and Luxa were frustrated and tired, and they gladly went their separate ways.

-O-

Gregor collapsed as soon as he reached his bed. Having both track practice and rehearsal was completely exhausting. He hadn't been lying down for long before Lizzie came into his room.

"Bad rehearsal today?" she asked quietly.

"How did you know?" he replied.

"You don't look to happy."

"Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"Yea. But even if I couldn't tell by how you look, it's everywhere," said Lizzie.

"What do you mean?" he groaned. He didn't know if being tired could cause other people's words to not make any sense.

Lizzie responded by pulling her phone out of her pocket and holding it up for him to see.

"Oh," was all he could say. He hadn't thought of how easy it was for one of the other actors to post something about how he and Luxa had done at rehearsal.

Lizzie looked at him curiously. "Is it true you rejected her?"

"What?" he asked, leaning up on his elbows to get a better look at her. "Rejected who?"

"Luxa," she said, sitting down at the foot of his bed and looking down at her phone. "There's a rumor that she tried asking you out after the dodgeball tournament and that you turned her down, and that's why she hates you."

"That's not true."

"Well, that's what they're saying."

"Who?"

"Everyone."

Gregor sighed. High school was just too complicated sometimes. He was getting more than he could handle.

Lizzie seemed to understand that he didn't want to talk anymore, so she left his room after a moment, only stopping at the door to give him a quick glance before leaving. Gregor closed his eyes and fell into a sleep that he gladly welcomed.

-O-

School the next day was just like any other. It was funny how things had become so normal at that point. Luxa would ignore him and Ares would stare at him. There would be no violence from either of them, but it was still strange.

Strange, but normal.

Ms. Solovet's class went by slowly, especially since she handed out about six detentions throughout the class. Every time she handed out a detention, Gregor was grateful that his "cheating" incident hadn't happened in Ms. Solovet's class.

If it had happened there, he and Luxa would definitely be suspended. His mother would have been brought into this, and he would have been in major trouble.

Mr. Vikus had a short life lesson ready for them when they walked into class. All Mr. Vikus' class time allowed for was a short message, along with any other announcements from the school. This time, he spoke of procrastination.

He told them a story about how some guy had always put off fixing his boat, and in the end, it became too much and he couldn't fix it in time, so he drowned. Gregor thought it was a bit extreme for Mr. Vikus to tell them a story that ended with death, but he guessed not all stories had happy endings. It might be important, and it might have a good message, but people still had to die sometimes.

Maybe that's where his story would end. Hopefully not with death, but maybe it would end in a bad situation with a bad ending. With all the stuff that was happening so far, it might even be a relief. It didn't matter if it was a bad ending or a good one. Gregor just wanted all of this to be over.

Math was a little easier than usual. Graphs and charts weren't the hardest things in the world, and he could tell that the other kids thought so as well. Mrs. Miravet gave them a few minutes after the lesson was over to start on their homework, and Gregor was able to finish his worksheet pretty quickly.

When the bell rang, Gregor let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in and rose quickly from his seat. Just as he was picking up his things, Mrs. Miravet gave an announcement to the class.

"I will be in the Math Lab this afternoon to help with anything you may be confused about. If you're having trouble with the class, I suggest you make your way over there." She paused to look over at Gregor and Luxa. "And you two, stay after class."

Luxa dropped her things as soon as she heard Mrs. Miravet's words. On impulse, Gregor turned to look at Luxa, and she turned to meet his gaze. Luxa had a look of dread on her face, and slowly, they turned to Mrs. Miravet's desk and walked over to it while everyone else exited the room.

Angelina turned to give Gregor a questioning look, similar to the one Aurora gave Luxa. In the end, though, all they could do was walk out of the room, leaving Gregor and Luxa with Mrs. Miravet.

Both of them stood silently and a bit awkwardly in front of her. The teacher laid both elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands. After a moment, she sighed heavily and looked up at them from her seat.

"The report of your effort yesterday was given to me by Mrs. Cormaci. I must say, I was disappointed, to say the least. I thought that if I tried to help you, the two of you would try to turn things around and strive to fix things. You could have been punished, but I decided to give you an opportunity to not receive the low grade. I fail to understand your lack of motivation. So please," she said, gesturing to them with her hands. "Tell me."

Luxa, once again, had that extra pale look on her face. She didn't seem like she could speak. But Gregor saw something else in her eyes. Before, when they had first gotten in trouble, he could see hatred towards him and anger of the situation. Now, he saw sadness and fear.

Why? He didn't know, but for some reason, it made her seem almost… innocent. Gregor felt a lump in his throat, and he wondered why he felt so protective over her. He didn't even like her. In fact, he kind of hated her right now. It was her fault they were in this.

But seeing her sadness changed something in him. If she had turned to ask him to lie for her, he knew he would do it in an instant. He would do anything he could to keep the sadness away from her. Of course, Luxa would never ask him to do that.

Somehow, that made him want to help her even more.

Gregor decided to do the same thing he did with Aurora. He didn't want to think too much about what he was about to do, and before he could talk himself out of it, he spoke up.

"Luxa wasn't feeling well yesterday. It's not her fault."

Luxa, who was looking down at the floor, turned her head slightly towards him with narrowed eyes. The look of curiosity was very subtle, but he noticed it. She knew it wasn't the truth, but she didn't say anything.

"Not feeling well?" asked Mrs. Miravet, raising her eyebrows at Gregor. It was clear she hadn't expected that answer. Whether she knew the real reason or not, she only kept her eyes on him and continued. "Is that a reason to be completely infuriated with each other throughout the entire rehearsal?"

"She was mad because I told her to try harder. I didn't believe her when she said she was feeling sick. I thought she wasn't trying on purpose because she was mad."

Mrs. Miravet looked at the two of them several times back and forth before sighing again.

"I suppose your efforts will demonstrate a much better attitude today, then. The better you do on the play, the better your grade will be. It's possible to get an A, if you two try hard enough."

Luxa looked up at her in surprise after hearing this. "Really?"

"Yes. They really need the help. If they don't do a good job this year, the district will cut their funding."

"Why do you want to help them so much?" asked Gregor.

"I became the math teacher when the previous instructor retired. Before I took over, I was head of the theatre department. I may not be so involved anymore, but I still take pride in them, and I will do anything I can to make sure they don't get left in the dark by the district."

Gregor and Luxa nodded in understanding.

"I'm glad the two of you could work something out," she continued. "And," she said, looking at Luxa, "I hope you are feeling much better today."

The look Mrs. Miravet gave Luxa told Gregor that she hadn't believed anything from what she'd just heard. But if Mrs. Miravet knew they were lying, why hadn't she called them out on it?

Mrs. Miravet gestured them away with a soft motion of her hand and the two of them turned to walk away. As they walked through the hallway, Gregor could feel Luxa's eyes on him, but he didn't turn to her. She was just probably going to tell him that she didn't need him to get out of trouble and that she could take care of herself. He walked ahead of her and left her behind, not waiting to see if she was going to yell at him.

While Gregor was standing in the lunch line, he thought of what would happen that day. He had promised Mrs. Miravet that he would try harder at rehearsal, and he knew Luxa was forced to try harder as well.

But that meant he had to stare into her eyes while he said he loved her. It was one thing to say it, but he had do it in a way that made everyone who watched the play think that he actually meant it. Could he really do that?

Gregor grabbed his tray and started walking towards his lunch table, where Larry, Angelina, and Lizzie were waiting for him.

Before he got there, he caught sight of Luxa. He was surprised to see her by herself at lunch, but even more surprised to see that she was walking towards him. If she meant to yell at him for what he said in Mrs. Miravet's class, he didn't want to be near his friends. There was no need to get them involved in one of his and Luxa's screaming matches.

Instead of walking faster towards his table and trying to avoid her, Gregor stood in place and waited for her. The look on her face showed that she was genuinely surprised that he was waiting, but she had her serious expression back in no time.

When she was finally right in front of him, he raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to speak. She was the one that had come to him, so he wasn't going to be the one to start the conversation. He decided to wait and see how long it took her to say something.

Luxa looked around at the students that were now staring from nearby tables. No doubt she had heard the rumors Lizzie had told Gregor about, and she looked uneasy. It was making him a bit uncomfortable too. Luxa turned back to him and spoke in a cool, collected voice.

"Perhaps we should speak somewhere more private."

Gregor nodded, though he was a bit confused. What did she want to speak to him about? Didn't she sort of hate him right now too? Whatever it was, Gregor followed her out of the cafeteria.

While they walked out, he noticed the look Angelina shot Luxa. It wasn't a very nice look, and Gregor frowned at her. When Angelina saw his face, she instantly turned red and went back to talking with Larry. Gregor was sure Luxa had seen Angelina's stare, but she kept walking without so much as a second look.

Luxa's table also noticed that Gregor and Luxa were leaving together. Aurora gave him a warm smile and a small wave as he passed by. Now, it was Luxa's turn to shoot the death stare, and Aurora only looked down. Ares, who had been sitting next to Aurora, saw her greet Gregor and only turned away, his jaw muscle clenched.

It was honestly too much to take in, and Gregor just focused on following Luxa. They walked to a hallway far from the lunch area, where the sounds of people talking and laughing were drowned out by the distance. Whether Luxa was friendly or hostile at the moment, he agreed that it was better if no one was nearby.

When Luxa had chosen a place good enough, she slowed to a stop and turned to face him. Her expression was still serious, but her eyes showed a bit of nervousness. After a moment of standing around, she sat on the carpet floor with her legs crossed and put her styrofoam tray in front of her.

"Would you like to take a seat?" she asked, motioning to the spot on the floor right in front of her.

Slowly, Gregor lowered his tray and sat in front of Luxa, never letting his eyes leave her face. He was looking for something that would tell him what her true intentions were. She was being too nice, and he felt a bit wary of her behavior.

"I know that I have been blaming you for the situation we are in with the theatre club."

Gregor nodded, a bit surprised that she was starting the conversation this way.

"But it is not true. You are not to blame. It was my fault."

Again, Gregor nodded. He wondered if she was doing all of this to ask a favor of him. Usually when people were overly nice, they wanted something.

"You judge me for trying to get some answers from Aurora, and more for being unsure whether to help get her out of trouble or not."

"She's your friend," he said simply. "She was so ready to take the blame with you."

Now it was Luxa's turn to nod. "Yes, she is amazing." Her smile slowly turned into a frown, and she looked down at her tray of food. "But I was scared."

"Why? You've never been in trouble before?" he asked, even though they both knew the answer.

"This was different. It was for something that could get me in a lot of trouble. And I cannot have that. I must really focus on my grades."

"Your grades?"

"Yes. My grades are not the best as of late. If they do not improve, I would have to…" she said, trailing off.

"You would have to what?" asked Gregor. He noticed that the sadness had spread from her eyes to her face.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head slightly. She reached up and readjusted the golden band that circled her head. "Just know that my grades are important to me at the moment."

"Oh," he said. He wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Why are you telling me this?"

Luxa leveled her eyes with his. "I cannot afford to lose the entire grade. If we can make it up with the play, then we must. I need to pass this class. And I need to pass with the highest grade possible."

"So you brought me here to ask me to do better in the play? I already know that. I think Mrs. Miravet made it pretty clear."

"No," she said, looking away for a moment. "You heard what she said. The better we do, the higher our grade will be. I do not want you to be better. I want you to be the best. We must do the best we can."

"And how are we going to do that?" he asked. She seemed desperate to get a good grade, and although he wasn't, it was a good idea in general to do the best job possible.

"We can run lines after rehearsals. It would help greatly. I am not too good with remembering those. Perhaps we can help each other."

"Um, sure? Where would we do that, though?"

"Wherever you wish. The only place that is unavailable is my house. I live with my cousin Henry and his older sister Nerissa. She works until very late, and Henry is never home. He is usually out with Ares causing some sort of mischief."

"And it would be a little weird if we were alone at your house," said Gregor.

"Well… yes," she said, her face turning a bit red.

"My mom doesn't like me staying out really late. If we run lines after rehearsal, then I guess it's going to have to be in my apartment. That way, my mom knows exactly where I am and what I'm doing. If I told her I had to be out late every day with a girl, there would be all kinds of questions." As soon as he had said that, he felt his ears get warm.

Luxa's blush returned slightly as well, and she shook her head slightly, almost as if she were shaking herself out of a daze. "Your apartment, then?" she asked, as if finalizing things.

Gregor nodded. "We can walk there after rehearsal. It isn't too far from the school. Unless you don't like the idea of walking every day. We could choose some other place. I'd just need to check and see if I can."

"I do not mind walking," she said with a smile. It was the first smile she had given him in a long time, and he couldn't help smiling back.

"Okay then," he said, getting up from the floor.

Luxa stood up as well, picking up her tray of food. "Oh, and thank you for what you told Mrs. Miravet. About me not feeling well."

"You're welcome," he said, still smiling.

"I am glad you understand. I honestly thought you would refuse helping me."

Luxa stood up straight and extended her right hand for a handshake. Gregor thought it was a bit weird, but he realized it fit their situation perfectly. They weren't exactly friends, but they had agreed to do something together to benefit from the situation. Almost like calling a truce.

Gregor shifted the tray to his left hand so he could use his right hand. He reached out to shake her hand and was surprised by what he felt. Her skin was warm and soft, not at all like he had imagined it.

The previous night, when he had been mad at Luxa, he had gotten to a point where he compared her to a vampire. Vampires were evil, and he couldn't help but think that Luxa was evil for getting him into this mess.

Now that he thought of it, a vampire was a cruel comparison. It made him feel horrible for doing so.

But looking into her pretty eyes and perfect smile, he realized Luxa might be more like a vampire than he thought.

He had read somewhere that vampires were cold, pale and beautiful. Well, now Gregor knew that her skin wasn't cold at all. It was still pale, though. And she was definitely beautiful…

Vampire or not, Luxa was definitely two out of three.

Very pale, and very, very beautiful.

Happy Forth of July! I didn't even remember it was until, like, an hour ago, so that's kind of pathetic. Ok, so I did not expect Luxa to swallow her pride, and ask for help. Must have been hard for her. Somehow I get the feeling that the rumor Lizzie spoke of is going to affect the story later on in some way. Though, I cannot guess how. Well, I am very eager to see how this whole thing plays out.

Question: how good will Gregor and Luxa's performance be? OR will they add a kiss for a "better grade"? I'm sure it would help, but would Luxa have the guts? She's the one that needs the grade. That would be a very interesting scene.

Until next time,

-Tytonic