Chapter 7: One Complicated Fairytale

"Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused." –Paulo Coelho

Never in my life did I ever come to the conclusion that I'd be sitting inside Derrick's apartment, sharing old high school memories as if we'd always been on good terms. Then again, I'd never thought I'd be dating Derrick behind my sister's back. Yup…we've been dating for three days now. Thanks to the paparazzi, though, those dates consist of watching old movies in his apartment.

"I still remember that time you didn't bring your permission pass for our school field trip and you had to stay behind. I pretended not having one either to keep you company," Derrick told me, a spark in his warm eyes.

I smiled. "Yeah…we were such nerds that we kept fighting over which Ancient Greek city was better –Athens or Sparta. I don't know why you kept insisting on Sparta, though."

"Because in those times, strength was better than brains."

"Well, if you didn't have brains, then how would you come up with a good war strategy?

Derrick chuckled. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Of course I have," I replied.

Derrick lifted his eyebrows in a questioning matter.

I hesitated. "Well…I'm not as competitive as I was before."

Derrick pressed his lips together, fighting back the smile that was forming in them. "I still have my doubts on that."

"You shouldn't," I insisted, smiling back.

Derrick gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Don't worry, as competitive as you are, I'll still be with you. Remember, even though you made your hatred toward me more than obvious back in high school, I still liked you. And I don't think that will change."

I looked down, smiling. After a while, I looked up, my eyes reflecting nothing but playfulness. "I still think Athens is and will always be better than Sparta."

Derrick laughed, softly pushing me away. My smile grew as I watched him laugh.

"Anyways, I was thinking you and I should give the park a visit tonight," Derrick announced as he stood up to stretch.

My smile disappeared. "Someone could see us."

Derrick looked down at me, grabbing my hand. "No one wanders the park at night…especially when it's snowed in."

I remembered the paparazzi chasing Derrick's motorcycle that night. The snow certainly didn't stop them. "Maybe"

"Come on!" Derrick protested, plopping down next to me. "When will be able to do it?"

I looked into his pleading eyes. "Give me some time to think, okay?"

In that moment, The Man Who Can't Be Moved by The Script filled the room. Derrick took out his phone, and I realized it was his ringtone.

"Good choice," I told him, before heading over the table to grab some popcorn Derrick had made for me earlier.

"Oh, hey Mass," I heard Derrick answer as he glanced at me quickly.

I stood frozen in place, my good mood vanishing completely. Now, every time someone mentioned my sister, this happened. But instead of feeling guilty, another feeling was always present –a mixture of anxiousness and jealousy. Instead of eating my heart out by guilt, I felt like clawing Massie's eyes out for being able to call Derrick hers. Deep down, I know what I'm doing is wrong. But I just can't help it.

"Don't worry, I'll pick up Kristen on the way," Derrick informed Massie on the phone. "I'll see you then."

I gave him a questioning look, which he responded with a wait-a-second glance.

"Yeah, take care. Me too."

More jealousy began to bubble inside me. I was sure that that 'me too' was a response for an 'I love you'.

"Massie needs help with the flower bouquets," Derrick explained, ending the phone call. "She says she'll be waiting for us in Adele's Garden."

I nodded in understandment. "Massie has always wanted to choose her wedding bouquets from there. She says they've got the best selection of flowers."

Derrick looked down, uncomfortably.

After a while of hesitation, I opened my mouth to speak. "When are we telling her?"

"Huh?" Derrick suddenly looked up.

I fiddled with my fingers. "You know we've got to tell her someday about…about us."

"We'll tell her soon, I promise," he assured, taking a step closer to me.

I shook my head. "You're getting married in two days…we can't wait any longer."

"I know." Derrick sighed. "We'll tell her, okay? Just…not now."

I remained silent. After a while, I grabbed my stuff and began to head over to the door.

"We should get going."

"Yeah."

Derrick hurried next to me, and placed his hand on my back. "Everything is going to be okay, Kris."

I couldn't help but smile. I liked it when he called me by my nickname. "I hope so."

Derrick pulled me closer, giving me a brief side hug before heading outside. I was greeted by the sharp, cold air, which instantly made me shiver.

"I told you that that sweater wouldn't be enough for the afternoon cold," Derrick said, an amused smile edging in his lips.

"Who says I'm cold?" I lied, trying hard not to rub my arms for warmth.

"Your face," Derrick replied, taking off his jacket.

"You don't need to do that," I said, stopping him.

"If I don't want you dying of hypothermia, then yes I do."

Derrick placed the jacket around my shoulders, smiling down at me. I smiled back, tightening the jacket closer around me.

"Thanks."

"Anything for you," Derrick replied. Then he added playfully, "My love."

I slapped his arm softly, feeling my cheeks turn red. I guess he still remembers when, after reading Pride and Prejudice, I'd told Claire that, even though I hate it when guys call you 'babe' and stuff like that, I would tolerate 'my love'. Derrick overheard us and didn't stop rubbing it in my face for nearly half the year.

The ride to the flower shop was pretty uneventful, except for Derrick confessing that he still slept with a teddy bear until seventh grade.

"You're finally here!" Massie exclaimed once Derrick parked in front of the shop. She ran toward the car, greeting Derrick with a kiss on the cheek…which made me burn inside. "Where's your jacket?"

"Your sister stole it," Derrick replied, closing the car's door.

No, you gave it to me, I wanted to correct. I fake smiled. "Sorry, but all I had on was this sweater."

Massie rolled her eyes. "I've told you a million times that you should stop wearing that sweater in winter. The weather will end up murdering you. Now, come in, I've already got some bouquets chosen."

I followed Massie inside, ignoring Derrick's gaze. I wasn't in the mood for his apologetic looks. Once inside, there were eight flower sets –four choices for the bridesmaids and four for the bride.

"There's two days left and you still haven't chosen them?" I said, taking off Derrick's jacket.

"Sorry, but the cake and table centers are really important," Massie justified. "Now, I think that calla lilies would be perfect for the whole winter theme. And I saw this picture on the Internet consisting of those and frost covered pinecones, which looked gorgeous and so elegant. But then I saw one of white peruvian lilies with red hypericum berries and I just loved…"

As Massie kept droning on about types of flowers (her favorite subject) and color schemes, my gaze shifted over to Derrick, who looked extremely focused on what Massie was explaining. Even though he promised me he'd tell Massie about us soon, he did look serious about the wedding. And maybe he truly was.

I looked down, examining Derrick's jackets in my hands. The wedding would be soon. Derrick and Massie would be pronounced husband and wife in a bond that could only be broken by death. Was Derrick seriously planning on telling her, or was I just a fling for him? Maybe I should stop this right now. But the horrible feeling that settled in my stomach after I thought that made me want to take back my words. How could I do dump Derrick? I bit my lower lip, wanting to crawl right back into my attic. Things always had to complicate themselves whenever they shouldn't.

"Kristen, are you listening?"

I snapped out of my thoughts, just to find Massie with two flower bouquets in her hands and a worried look on her face.

"Huh…oh…um, I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I asked.

Massie smiled playfully. "Thinking about Josh again?"

I tried to crack a smile and act natural at the same time. "What? Of course not."

Massie grinned. "Mhmm."

I quickly glanced at Derrick, whose eyes were now narrowed and his lips pressed together. Good. He was now feeling what I felt whenever Massie and him were together. But then again, Josh and I weren't getting married…for some reason, my cheeks flushed as I imagined Josh and I in a wedding reception as bride and groom. I quickly shook away those images and focused on Massie.

"I was asking if you'd be happy holding white anemones and blue lilies on my wedding day," Massie repeated, holding up a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

"Of course," I replied with a smile.

Massie smiled, glancing down at the flowers. "This is so amazing…everything's going perfect."

As Massie admired her flower choices with that happy look in her eyes, a tiny bite of guilt returned to haunt me. I was acting like the antagonist of a book. But one more glance at Derrick's radiant smile made me forget all about guilt and being the bad guy.

Well, not entirely.

Massie handed the bouquets to the worker. "Alright, guys. I want you two to head over to our house. We need to discuss the wedding rehearsal night. The rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen will be there, too. Oh, and Kristen?"

I looked up.

"I won't forgive you if you get sick for extreme exposure to cold, so put Derrick's jacket on," Massie informed me, laughing.

I cracked a smile, slowly putting on the jacket.

On the way home, Derrick and I barely exchanged any words. I was too busy thinking about my role on the book –whether I was the antagonist or the protagonist. I was leaning for a little bit of both.

"We're here."

I looked out the window and realized that we were parked in front of the front porch.

"Oh, good," I sighed, unbuckling my seatbelt.

Derrick placed a hand on my shoulder. "Kris…are you made at me?"

I looked at him, pursing my lips. "I…well, I'm more mad at myself than anything else."

"Why?"

I exhaled, not finding words to explain my inner dilemma. "Well…I'm not sure if I'm the evil witch standing on the way of Prince Charming and the princess getting their happily ever after."

Derrick looked at me, his gaze traveling across my face. "Kristen, I chose this too. I truly care about you…and that's been a fact for a long time now."

I didn't dare to look up. His words hadn't convinced me entirely.

Placing two fingers under my chin, he brushed his lips against mine. I kissed him back, placing my hand on top of his free one. Once he pulled away, I gave him a small smile, trying to forget any unsettling thoughts. He gladly returned it.

"I'll see you inside?" Derrick asked.

I nodded.

After he left, I remained on the car, thoughtful. It was obvious that what I was doing was wrong…but if Derrick and Massie called off the wedding and broke up, would it still be wrong? After giving it more thought, I stepped out of Derrick's car, pulling his jacket tighter around me.

And then I looked up.

Josh was standing there, his arms crossed across his chest and a frown on his face. His eyes gave off a mixture of shock, disappointment and anger. It couldn't be more obvious that he'd seen the kiss.

"Josh," I began, feeling the dread bubbling up inside me.

Author's Note: It's been, like, three chapters in which I've apologized for updating late. And as annoying as it might get, I'll still do it.

I'm SO SO SO SO SO sorry.

I've been so busy with homework and extracurricular activities. You don't know how stressed out I've been. Plus, this is the time of the year when all of my friends have birthdays. But I promise I'll try to finish this story without any long waiting periods in between. I've already got half of chapter 8 written, so I think that by Wednesday or so I can update this.

If you didn't hate Kristen before, I'm sure that at least half of you want to rip her hair off. She's sort of bipolar right now...you know, feeling guilty but jealous at the same time. Remember, she's confused.

And, this is so out of context, but I just need to share right now: I just watched The Hunger Games...and for those of you who are huge fans of the series and just watched the movie, I'm pretty sure you're feeling the same as I am: excited, ready to marry Peeta (LOL) and completely mindblown. I admit it, I wasn't completely into The Hunger Games until the movie was announced (please don't kill me) but I LOVE it now! Too bad the idiots next to me didn't stop talking about some vacations they were going to :/

Sorry for the extremely long a/n, by the way :P Review telling me what you think! Once again, I promise to update as soon as I can.