Note from Author: About the last chapter-when I uploaded it onto the site,
all the places where I'd originally had "."'s were replaced with just one
period, so it made some parts a little confusing. Just wanted to clear that
up. Thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far (chava, Raven Xavier,
Indigo Ziona, Phasera, Threshie, FairySpirite, MandELLA, Lizzy, Ivory, and
MackenzieW). I appreciate the feedback and I try to use to improve the
story.
Okay, I don't have anything else to say, so bye! hugs and kisses xoxoxoxo
Chapter 7
The following morning it was announced to everybody in the castle that Cynric and Annabelle were engaged. Annabelle declared that no work should be done that day (except for the preparation of food) and the celebration began. Everybody danced and cheered and got drunk. Scarlett and Mirra were trapped in the kitchen preparing food so I couldn't go visit them, and I doubted I could stand to be in the castle for much longer. Cyn was busy celebrating with his fiancée and his knights. Then I noticed that I wasn't the only one not celebrating. Will was sitting with Cynric and his fellow knights, but he didn't join in the laughing and dancing. He drank his rum and smiled when spoken to, but his usual happiness was gone.
I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to talk to anybody, and I wouldn't go into my garden either. I couldn't stand to be near anything or anyone happy. So I went up to my small room, and spent the day crying. I did the same thing the next day, too, and I would have done it the third day but by then I was starving, so I went down to get food.
The kitchen was back to normal, and Mirra and Scarlett let me pig out. After a while the other maids in there started to drift away to other places to celebrate, and soon it was just Mirra, Scarlett, and me in there.
"Where have you been?" they asked me.
"Crying up in my room."
"Why?" Mirra asked. Scarlett hadn't told her. I was glad she'd kept my secret. I looked over at Scarlett, her cue to tell Mirra my dilemma.
"In love with the prince? But Summer, you knew this would happen. You knew that Prince Cynric and Annabelle were meant to be together."
"If they were, then why hasn't the castle changed? The roses and ivy haven't disappeared from the castle, and by now it should be autumn, but none of the leaves on the trees outside have fallen. I'm pretty sure you and I would have difficulty leaving the castle if we wanted to. If nothing's changed, then what do you mean they're meant to be together?" I said to her.
"Maybe it won't go back to the way it was until after they're married."
"Speaking of which, when do they plan on being married?" Scarlett asked.
"Two months," Mirra answered. "Annabelle has persuaded the prince to have the ceremony here, so he's sending his knights back to his kingdom to announce the engagement and give invitations out."
"They really seem to be in a hurry to get married, don't they?" I said.
"That's a good thing, Summer. The sooner they get married, the sooner things go back to the way they should be."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days later I was in the library, trying to get my mind off the wedding by reading. Will, always wonderful with his timing, appeared. He greeted me and sat down in the chair next to mine.
"I thought that Cyn sent you back with the others," I said, puzzled.
"I told him I'd rather stay here."
"Why? Wouldn't you rather be back in your kingdom, away from Cyn the Fool and his evil fiancée?"
"No, I'd rather be here, making sure he doesn't do anything too stupid, and to make sure that you don't kill him."
"That's the last thing I had on my mind," I replied with a sad smile.
"I would think that you'd want to mash him to pieces."
"Ordinarily, I would. I guess maybe I realized that things might be better if they got married. Annabelle might not be as harsh as she normally is, and I wouldn't have to work for her anymore."
"Cyn said that you told him you'd stay with him when they got married."
"All I said to him was that I'd go the castle with him and I'd still be his best friend. I never told him I wouldn't go look for work elsewhere. The last thing I want is to be employed by that appalling aristocrat for the rest of my life."
"I never thought you'd describe Cyn in those words."
"I was talking about Annabelle, but who knows? After a few months of living with her he might be like her too."
"I doubt that. Cyn would never do anything to hurt you. You and I are his best friends."
"He's already hurt me. He got engaged to her."
"You wouldn't want him to grow old alone, would you? He needs a queen, and Annabelle will take care of him."
"What do you mean, she'll take care of him? She doesn't love him! I wouldn't be surprised if she happened to 'accidentally' slip some poison into his wine after they get married, so she can have his land and gold!"
"Summer, stop." Will looked at me with a warning glare.
"I don't want him to get hurt, Will." Plus I didn't want an evil imp like Annabelle taking care of him.
"She might learn to love him," he said hopefully. I didn't protest, because it wasn't worth it. Will knew as well as I did that the chances of Annabelle learning to love him weren't too wonderful.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next evening I went to my garden, still worrying about Cyn. It was twilight, and everybody was in the castle now. Twigs and dirt crunched beneath my slippers as I walked along the path. Every few feet or so, a firefly dangled in the air, providing the garden with magical lighting. Crickets in the underbrush granted gentle music, and a soft wind swept through the trees.
Before I reached my favorite part of the garden, I stopped. I'd heard something, a soft noise. Somebody else was here too. After a few seconds of standing there, I heard two voices, both of which I recognized. I quickly and quietly hid behind some bushes, and looked around until I saw the owners of the two voices.
Cyn and Annabelle sat on the stone bench in the center of the garden. They were talking, but the wind muffled their words. That was the same bench I so often sat on when I was sad. And here was the man I was in love with and his future wife, sitting there holding hands. That was bad enough. But what happened after that was worse.
I couldn't hear what Cyn said to Annabelle, but by the expression on his face, I knew it was something very sweet. Annabelle, whose face I couldn't see, said something back to him, and leaned in toward him. I glared at her, wishing that looks could kill. Cyn hugged her to him tightly, and a smile spread across his face. Then he kissed her.
The last time I'd seen them kiss was more than three years ago, and that kiss had been caused by the amount of wine Cyn had drunk. Then it had hurt, but I hadn't loved him then as much as I did now. Now it was a thousand times more painful. Now it felt like my heart was bleeding. Now I knew I'd never be the one Cyn loved. Now I wanted to die.
I couldn't stay there. I couldn't watch. I tried to be silent when I got up and went back to the path, but I'm not sure just how quiet I was. As soon as I was far enough that they couldn't hear me, I ran. Tears blurred my vision, and sobs choked me. I ran into the castle, up the stairs, and into my room, slamming the door behind me. This time I wouldn't leave. I didn't ever want to see Cyn again.
The next morning I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. I didn't want to get up, but if I didn't then whomever it was outside would come in without permission, because I'd forgotten last night to lock the door. I smoothed my hair down, wrapped my quilt around me, and opened the door. It was Cynric. I didn't even speak to him. I glared at him as fiercely as I could, and slammed the door in his face before he could speak. I locked the door, and crawled back onto my bed of straw. Cynric knocked again.
"Summer, please let me in. I really need to talk to you." Still I was silent. "Summer, please," he said, pleading. I choked back a sob, and sniffled, but didn't say anything. "Fine. Be stubborn. I'm leaving now." I heard him sigh before he walked away.
About an hour later I heard footsteps approaching my room. This time it was Will.
"Summer, for God's sake, open up the door. Why are you doing this? Just because you're upset about Cyn and Annabelle doesn't mean you have to shut us out like this."
"Please just leave me alone," I said, hugging my quilt closer to me.
"Don't do this. Please." Then he left.
I started crying again, and buried myself deeper into the pile of straw. When the waterworks were done flowing and my sniffles were starting to subside, I heard a noise in the room, and instantly flew to my feet. Before me stood a familiar woman. . . the same woman who had put the curse on the castle, allowed me to go search for Cyn, and told me to come home from the ball before one in the morning. Now she stood in the center of my small room, her arms folded and her face hard. Her look softened when she saw my puffy red eyes and sad face.
"Summer, what are you doing? Hiding here for the rest of your life won't work. You'll still have to face the world again one day, and besides, Annabelle has the key to your room."
"I know, but I can't face them. Annabelle doesn't love Cyn, and I don't want them to get married. I'm in love with him." The enchantress took out a wand and waved it in the air briefly. Two chairs appeared in the room, and she made me sit down in one of them.
"You're right," she said. "Annabelle doesn't love Cynric. . . so I'm going to give you the chance to make things right. I know everybody's noticed that even though Annabelle and Cynric are engaged, nothing has changed here. The ivy and roses on the castle walls that the gardeners still can't control haven't disappeared, and the weather hasn't changed, and none of you can leave the castle yet." She paused and squeezed my hand.
"Do you remember what I said the night that I put the curse on this castle?" she asked.
"Not word for word, but yes, I think so," I replied.
"Do you remember what I told Annabelle would make the curse end?"
"A stranger coming to the castle, falling in love with her, and asking her to marry him?"
"No. What I said to her was that the curse would not end until a stranger came to the castle and she fell in love with him."
I'd completely forgotten. Over the years my memories of that night became more and more blurry, and I'd forgotten what exactly the enchantress had said. Wait a minute. . .
"So then when Annabelle gets married to Cynric, nothing's going to change?"
"Correct," replied the enchantress.
"Will Annabelle fall in love with Cynric over time?" I asked. The enchantress gazed at me for a moment, unhappily.
"Annabelle and Cynric are just one of those couples that were never meant to be," she replied.
"So then even if by some chance I convince Annabelle to break off the engagement, we'll have to wait for ANOTHER stranger to come?"
The enchantress grinned, and let out a soft laugh. Then she grasped my hand again, and smiled optimistically at me. "I already know how it's going to work out," she told me. "I can see the future. You don't need to worry, Summer, because you won't have to wait even a third of the time that it took for the first stranger to arrive. In fact, it will happen so soon that everybody here will be amazed."
"How soon?" I asked.
"I'm not going to say exactly when, but I'll put it this way: VERY, VERY soon."
I felt a lot better when she said that. The invisible burden I was carrying was gone.
"Soon Annabelle will be coming up here, and so will Cynric. I don't want you to talk to her about this today. Give it about a week, and then tell her. Summer, listen to me carefully. If, when you tell her what I've told you, she decides to still get married to Cynric, I don't want you to do anything about it. I'll take care of it if that happens. Okay?"
I was puzzled, but I promised to obey. The enchantress smiled at me one last time, and then she and the chairs disappeared. I fell to the ground with a THUMP! I got up, rubbed my sore backside, and sat back down on my straw bed, to wait for Cyn and Annabelle to come. Within five minutes they were outside my door, and Annabelle knocked loudly.
"Just a minute," I called out, and unlocked the door. Smiling broadly (and falsely) I greeted Annabelle and Cyn. They glanced at each other, confused.
"Are you feeling alright?" Cyn asked me.
"I feel perfectly fine," I said, still grinning. "Why do you ask?" Maybe if I played dumb he'd let me get away with what I did.
"This morning you slammed your door in my face and locked me out," he said.
"She did what!" Annabelle exclaimed.
"About that," I said, before either Annabelle or Cyn could say another word. "I'd like to talk to you when you're not busy, Cyn."
"Sure," he responded, still a little confused. "I'll come back and get you when I'm ready, okay?"
"Fine. Is that all you came here for?"
"Yes. We're okay now." The two of them left me and walked off. I heard Annabelle muttering to him about how I should be punished for what I did, and I heard him laugh. The laugh comforted me.
Well. Things were a bit different, now that I knew Annabelle and Cynric probably weren't going to be married after all, though neither of them knew it at the moment. Next week I'd have my talk with Annabelle, and I'd hope that she called off the wedding. I had no idea what the enchantress would do if Annabelle didn't call it off, but I knew that the wedding would be cancelled either way. That was a very comforting thought. Now I just had to worry about how I'd get Cyn and Will to forgive me.
Not long after I'd shut the door on Annabelle and her beau, Cyn arrived for me. He told me that we should either go outside or to his rooms to talk. I decided to go to his rooms. The gardens still made me feel ill about last night.
Once we were settled in his sitting room, he asked me what I'd wanted to talk to him about.
"I just wanted to apologize for everything, getting so upset about your engagement and all the other things I did. I also wanted to know what it was you came to my room to talk about this morning."
"Oh. That. I just wanted to know how you were feeling." I knew he was leaving something out. He was terrible at lying.
"And. . ."
"And I wanted to say I saw you in the garden last night."
"Oh." I felt winded. I let out a very feeble laugh.
"I saw you behind a bush when I hugged Annabelle. Why were you hiding?"
"I went into the garden, and you two were there. I didn't want to interrupt, and I didn't want you to hear me, so I hid behind a bush until the coast was clear." My face was pink, and I felt incredibly embarrassed that he knew I'd seen him kiss Annabelle.
"I also have a small confession to make."
"Yes?"
"This probably won't seem too important to you, but I wanted to tell you that last night was the first time I kissed Annabelle. It kind of had something to do with you. I was angry with you, and I saw you watching. I know you how much you disapprove of my engagement, and I wanted you to be hurt, so I kissed her."
I smirked. "Well, you succeeded in hurting me. That's why I slammed the door in your face this morning." I looked up at him. He was blushing too. That made me feel a little better. "By the way, I'm sorry I did that."
"I deserved it," he said.
"I won't disagree, but I shouldn't have done it anyway. So will you forgive me?"
"On one condition."
"Yes, sir?"
"You have to make me popped corn."
Chapter 7
The following morning it was announced to everybody in the castle that Cynric and Annabelle were engaged. Annabelle declared that no work should be done that day (except for the preparation of food) and the celebration began. Everybody danced and cheered and got drunk. Scarlett and Mirra were trapped in the kitchen preparing food so I couldn't go visit them, and I doubted I could stand to be in the castle for much longer. Cyn was busy celebrating with his fiancée and his knights. Then I noticed that I wasn't the only one not celebrating. Will was sitting with Cynric and his fellow knights, but he didn't join in the laughing and dancing. He drank his rum and smiled when spoken to, but his usual happiness was gone.
I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want to talk to anybody, and I wouldn't go into my garden either. I couldn't stand to be near anything or anyone happy. So I went up to my small room, and spent the day crying. I did the same thing the next day, too, and I would have done it the third day but by then I was starving, so I went down to get food.
The kitchen was back to normal, and Mirra and Scarlett let me pig out. After a while the other maids in there started to drift away to other places to celebrate, and soon it was just Mirra, Scarlett, and me in there.
"Where have you been?" they asked me.
"Crying up in my room."
"Why?" Mirra asked. Scarlett hadn't told her. I was glad she'd kept my secret. I looked over at Scarlett, her cue to tell Mirra my dilemma.
"In love with the prince? But Summer, you knew this would happen. You knew that Prince Cynric and Annabelle were meant to be together."
"If they were, then why hasn't the castle changed? The roses and ivy haven't disappeared from the castle, and by now it should be autumn, but none of the leaves on the trees outside have fallen. I'm pretty sure you and I would have difficulty leaving the castle if we wanted to. If nothing's changed, then what do you mean they're meant to be together?" I said to her.
"Maybe it won't go back to the way it was until after they're married."
"Speaking of which, when do they plan on being married?" Scarlett asked.
"Two months," Mirra answered. "Annabelle has persuaded the prince to have the ceremony here, so he's sending his knights back to his kingdom to announce the engagement and give invitations out."
"They really seem to be in a hurry to get married, don't they?" I said.
"That's a good thing, Summer. The sooner they get married, the sooner things go back to the way they should be."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few days later I was in the library, trying to get my mind off the wedding by reading. Will, always wonderful with his timing, appeared. He greeted me and sat down in the chair next to mine.
"I thought that Cyn sent you back with the others," I said, puzzled.
"I told him I'd rather stay here."
"Why? Wouldn't you rather be back in your kingdom, away from Cyn the Fool and his evil fiancée?"
"No, I'd rather be here, making sure he doesn't do anything too stupid, and to make sure that you don't kill him."
"That's the last thing I had on my mind," I replied with a sad smile.
"I would think that you'd want to mash him to pieces."
"Ordinarily, I would. I guess maybe I realized that things might be better if they got married. Annabelle might not be as harsh as she normally is, and I wouldn't have to work for her anymore."
"Cyn said that you told him you'd stay with him when they got married."
"All I said to him was that I'd go the castle with him and I'd still be his best friend. I never told him I wouldn't go look for work elsewhere. The last thing I want is to be employed by that appalling aristocrat for the rest of my life."
"I never thought you'd describe Cyn in those words."
"I was talking about Annabelle, but who knows? After a few months of living with her he might be like her too."
"I doubt that. Cyn would never do anything to hurt you. You and I are his best friends."
"He's already hurt me. He got engaged to her."
"You wouldn't want him to grow old alone, would you? He needs a queen, and Annabelle will take care of him."
"What do you mean, she'll take care of him? She doesn't love him! I wouldn't be surprised if she happened to 'accidentally' slip some poison into his wine after they get married, so she can have his land and gold!"
"Summer, stop." Will looked at me with a warning glare.
"I don't want him to get hurt, Will." Plus I didn't want an evil imp like Annabelle taking care of him.
"She might learn to love him," he said hopefully. I didn't protest, because it wasn't worth it. Will knew as well as I did that the chances of Annabelle learning to love him weren't too wonderful.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next evening I went to my garden, still worrying about Cyn. It was twilight, and everybody was in the castle now. Twigs and dirt crunched beneath my slippers as I walked along the path. Every few feet or so, a firefly dangled in the air, providing the garden with magical lighting. Crickets in the underbrush granted gentle music, and a soft wind swept through the trees.
Before I reached my favorite part of the garden, I stopped. I'd heard something, a soft noise. Somebody else was here too. After a few seconds of standing there, I heard two voices, both of which I recognized. I quickly and quietly hid behind some bushes, and looked around until I saw the owners of the two voices.
Cyn and Annabelle sat on the stone bench in the center of the garden. They were talking, but the wind muffled their words. That was the same bench I so often sat on when I was sad. And here was the man I was in love with and his future wife, sitting there holding hands. That was bad enough. But what happened after that was worse.
I couldn't hear what Cyn said to Annabelle, but by the expression on his face, I knew it was something very sweet. Annabelle, whose face I couldn't see, said something back to him, and leaned in toward him. I glared at her, wishing that looks could kill. Cyn hugged her to him tightly, and a smile spread across his face. Then he kissed her.
The last time I'd seen them kiss was more than three years ago, and that kiss had been caused by the amount of wine Cyn had drunk. Then it had hurt, but I hadn't loved him then as much as I did now. Now it was a thousand times more painful. Now it felt like my heart was bleeding. Now I knew I'd never be the one Cyn loved. Now I wanted to die.
I couldn't stay there. I couldn't watch. I tried to be silent when I got up and went back to the path, but I'm not sure just how quiet I was. As soon as I was far enough that they couldn't hear me, I ran. Tears blurred my vision, and sobs choked me. I ran into the castle, up the stairs, and into my room, slamming the door behind me. This time I wouldn't leave. I didn't ever want to see Cyn again.
The next morning I woke up to the sound of knocking on the door. I didn't want to get up, but if I didn't then whomever it was outside would come in without permission, because I'd forgotten last night to lock the door. I smoothed my hair down, wrapped my quilt around me, and opened the door. It was Cynric. I didn't even speak to him. I glared at him as fiercely as I could, and slammed the door in his face before he could speak. I locked the door, and crawled back onto my bed of straw. Cynric knocked again.
"Summer, please let me in. I really need to talk to you." Still I was silent. "Summer, please," he said, pleading. I choked back a sob, and sniffled, but didn't say anything. "Fine. Be stubborn. I'm leaving now." I heard him sigh before he walked away.
About an hour later I heard footsteps approaching my room. This time it was Will.
"Summer, for God's sake, open up the door. Why are you doing this? Just because you're upset about Cyn and Annabelle doesn't mean you have to shut us out like this."
"Please just leave me alone," I said, hugging my quilt closer to me.
"Don't do this. Please." Then he left.
I started crying again, and buried myself deeper into the pile of straw. When the waterworks were done flowing and my sniffles were starting to subside, I heard a noise in the room, and instantly flew to my feet. Before me stood a familiar woman. . . the same woman who had put the curse on the castle, allowed me to go search for Cyn, and told me to come home from the ball before one in the morning. Now she stood in the center of my small room, her arms folded and her face hard. Her look softened when she saw my puffy red eyes and sad face.
"Summer, what are you doing? Hiding here for the rest of your life won't work. You'll still have to face the world again one day, and besides, Annabelle has the key to your room."
"I know, but I can't face them. Annabelle doesn't love Cyn, and I don't want them to get married. I'm in love with him." The enchantress took out a wand and waved it in the air briefly. Two chairs appeared in the room, and she made me sit down in one of them.
"You're right," she said. "Annabelle doesn't love Cynric. . . so I'm going to give you the chance to make things right. I know everybody's noticed that even though Annabelle and Cynric are engaged, nothing has changed here. The ivy and roses on the castle walls that the gardeners still can't control haven't disappeared, and the weather hasn't changed, and none of you can leave the castle yet." She paused and squeezed my hand.
"Do you remember what I said the night that I put the curse on this castle?" she asked.
"Not word for word, but yes, I think so," I replied.
"Do you remember what I told Annabelle would make the curse end?"
"A stranger coming to the castle, falling in love with her, and asking her to marry him?"
"No. What I said to her was that the curse would not end until a stranger came to the castle and she fell in love with him."
I'd completely forgotten. Over the years my memories of that night became more and more blurry, and I'd forgotten what exactly the enchantress had said. Wait a minute. . .
"So then when Annabelle gets married to Cynric, nothing's going to change?"
"Correct," replied the enchantress.
"Will Annabelle fall in love with Cynric over time?" I asked. The enchantress gazed at me for a moment, unhappily.
"Annabelle and Cynric are just one of those couples that were never meant to be," she replied.
"So then even if by some chance I convince Annabelle to break off the engagement, we'll have to wait for ANOTHER stranger to come?"
The enchantress grinned, and let out a soft laugh. Then she grasped my hand again, and smiled optimistically at me. "I already know how it's going to work out," she told me. "I can see the future. You don't need to worry, Summer, because you won't have to wait even a third of the time that it took for the first stranger to arrive. In fact, it will happen so soon that everybody here will be amazed."
"How soon?" I asked.
"I'm not going to say exactly when, but I'll put it this way: VERY, VERY soon."
I felt a lot better when she said that. The invisible burden I was carrying was gone.
"Soon Annabelle will be coming up here, and so will Cynric. I don't want you to talk to her about this today. Give it about a week, and then tell her. Summer, listen to me carefully. If, when you tell her what I've told you, she decides to still get married to Cynric, I don't want you to do anything about it. I'll take care of it if that happens. Okay?"
I was puzzled, but I promised to obey. The enchantress smiled at me one last time, and then she and the chairs disappeared. I fell to the ground with a THUMP! I got up, rubbed my sore backside, and sat back down on my straw bed, to wait for Cyn and Annabelle to come. Within five minutes they were outside my door, and Annabelle knocked loudly.
"Just a minute," I called out, and unlocked the door. Smiling broadly (and falsely) I greeted Annabelle and Cyn. They glanced at each other, confused.
"Are you feeling alright?" Cyn asked me.
"I feel perfectly fine," I said, still grinning. "Why do you ask?" Maybe if I played dumb he'd let me get away with what I did.
"This morning you slammed your door in my face and locked me out," he said.
"She did what!" Annabelle exclaimed.
"About that," I said, before either Annabelle or Cyn could say another word. "I'd like to talk to you when you're not busy, Cyn."
"Sure," he responded, still a little confused. "I'll come back and get you when I'm ready, okay?"
"Fine. Is that all you came here for?"
"Yes. We're okay now." The two of them left me and walked off. I heard Annabelle muttering to him about how I should be punished for what I did, and I heard him laugh. The laugh comforted me.
Well. Things were a bit different, now that I knew Annabelle and Cynric probably weren't going to be married after all, though neither of them knew it at the moment. Next week I'd have my talk with Annabelle, and I'd hope that she called off the wedding. I had no idea what the enchantress would do if Annabelle didn't call it off, but I knew that the wedding would be cancelled either way. That was a very comforting thought. Now I just had to worry about how I'd get Cyn and Will to forgive me.
Not long after I'd shut the door on Annabelle and her beau, Cyn arrived for me. He told me that we should either go outside or to his rooms to talk. I decided to go to his rooms. The gardens still made me feel ill about last night.
Once we were settled in his sitting room, he asked me what I'd wanted to talk to him about.
"I just wanted to apologize for everything, getting so upset about your engagement and all the other things I did. I also wanted to know what it was you came to my room to talk about this morning."
"Oh. That. I just wanted to know how you were feeling." I knew he was leaving something out. He was terrible at lying.
"And. . ."
"And I wanted to say I saw you in the garden last night."
"Oh." I felt winded. I let out a very feeble laugh.
"I saw you behind a bush when I hugged Annabelle. Why were you hiding?"
"I went into the garden, and you two were there. I didn't want to interrupt, and I didn't want you to hear me, so I hid behind a bush until the coast was clear." My face was pink, and I felt incredibly embarrassed that he knew I'd seen him kiss Annabelle.
"I also have a small confession to make."
"Yes?"
"This probably won't seem too important to you, but I wanted to tell you that last night was the first time I kissed Annabelle. It kind of had something to do with you. I was angry with you, and I saw you watching. I know you how much you disapprove of my engagement, and I wanted you to be hurt, so I kissed her."
I smirked. "Well, you succeeded in hurting me. That's why I slammed the door in your face this morning." I looked up at him. He was blushing too. That made me feel a little better. "By the way, I'm sorry I did that."
"I deserved it," he said.
"I won't disagree, but I shouldn't have done it anyway. So will you forgive me?"
"On one condition."
"Yes, sir?"
"You have to make me popped corn."