Kai's POV
Nainsi waves me over excitedly and introduces me to a pretty brunette girl named Cinder who apparently reads and writes fanfiction. I've got to give my sister more credit. Leaving me with a beautiful girl around my age who loves reading as much as I do because Nainsi "saw her friends"? The little matchmaker is sneaky.
"What's your username?" I inquire again once I witness Nainsi safely slip into a tent. A rosy blush floods Cinder's cheeks.
"Um, it's QueenSelene16," she says to the ground, shuffling her feet.
I can only stand there gaping at her like an idiot. She is my favorite fanfiction writer. Nainsi's favorite too. We've both read all of her fics.
"No way," I gasp when I pull myself together – a little. "That's my favorite writer. You're my favorite writer."
Cinder looks surprised and her blush deepens. "You read my fics?"
I nod enthusiastically. Just because I don't want Nainsi to know I read fanfiction, doesn't mean I have to pretend in front of this girl. "They're amazing. The stories are all so unique and the characters are captured perfectly and – " I halt my rambling. I'm not helping myself impress this girl at all. She doesn't seem to mind though. A slight smile appears on Cinder's face and she bites her bottom lip to hold back a laugh.
I scratch the back of my head like I always do when I'm nervous or in an awkward situation. What do I say next?
"Why did you pick Selene instead of Cinder?" I ask.
"My best friend, Iko, and I used to play a game when we were little where we would pretend to be queens and make up names, and I was always Selene," Cinder explains with a shrug. "Also, Cinder isn't a very common name so I need a fake one in case someone who knows me reads my writing and tells my stepmom or stepsister about it."
"Why keep it a secret from them? Your writing is brilliant."
Cinder keeps silent for a moment, pondering how to phrase her next words. "They don't appreciate literature in any form, and knowing about my writing would just be another part of my life they want to take away or a joke for them to use against me."
I consider her family problem and admire her for pursuing her passion with very little support from the people who are supposed to help her through life but seem to be dragging her down instead.
"So do you – "
"Kai!" Nainsi shrieks, running towards me at full speed with a pleading expression on her face. What could she possibly want now?
I started school this week and have been super busy with volleyball so updates will be every few days. I'll try to update on the long weekend. xoxo- Livy