“It seems like everything is in order.” Currently, we are in the student council meeting room, where Leo is trying to examine the documents that Chace has with him. Leo hands him the papers that he slides on the table.
“Thank you.” Chace smiles, a smile that I see him use a lot when addressing people that he simply wants to please publicly. “Will Stella be my guide? If not, may I request for her?” I glare at Chace, but he doesn’t seem to be paying me any attention and instead focuses on Leo.
Leo seems uncomfortable with his request. “I’m sorry, but Stella is not part of our committee. She’s just a regular student. She can’t-”
“It’s fine.” I cut Leo off. I already knew Chace well enough that he would still try to convince him even if he was declined the first time. Besides, I need to talk to him about this situation. “Chace and I are friends, and he is quite shy around strangers. Will it be okay for me to accompany him if you have my consent?”
Leo seems to be debating his options at the moment, but in the end, he finally agrees. “If it isn’t too much trouble, the council would like to ask for your help, Miss Stella. Can you show Chace around the campus?”
“Yes.” I say and turn to Chace with a smile on my lips but a murderous flare in my gaze. “It’s been a long time since I have talked with my friend, so I would like to take this opportunity to catch up with him.” Chace did not miss the poison behind my words; he immediately started to feel nervous.
Chace and I start to head out of the student council room. I waited until we were a good distance away before I turned to him fiercely and asked, “What the heck is this about? Why are you here?”
Chace starts to wave his hands before him innocently, like that is enough to fend me off. “You were skipping a lot of our classes, so I thought that your tasks in the human realm were becoming too heavy for you to carry. I just want to help you.”
“I don’t need your help, Chace. Right now, you just added more problems for me than reducing it.” I sigh. I don't think it would be fair for me to continue to be angry with him now that I know why he came here. He did this for me, so maybe I should go easy on him today. “Chace, how did you even get the documents to come here?”
Chace purses his lips as his eyes glide in another direction to avoid the topic. “Not your sister…”
“So it is my sister.” I had doubts that it was Rose since she’s the only one who knows about the rules of transferring schools in the human realm.
“Wait, Stella, I said that it wasn’t your sister!”
“Save it for someone who can still be swayed by reverse psychology.” I wave at him. I need to talk to my sister when I get home. “Speaking of which, does she know that I am skipping classes back in the other realm?”
“She only knows that you have missed two classes. I covered the rest for you.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Thanks. I owe you one.” I don’t need my sister to pry into my life, especially now that Kellar is starting to trust me a bit.
“If you feel like you are that indebted to me, then the least that you can do is to give me a tour of your human school. I am interested to see how this building is managing to stay upright without any magic.” To his credit, Chace does seem pretty excited and curious. Maybe it would not hurt to actually do my part and show him around?
“Fine, but you have to stay close to me. You don’t have a cellphone that I can call when we are separated. Also, don’t even think about using your magic here. It will cause an uproar.”
“Stick close and don’t use magic. Got it.” Chace repeats it, but whether he really understands it, I don’t know. For my sanity’s sake, I just hope that he does.
Having to tour a fairy prince in the human realm didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. Chace, admittedly, has a deadly charm that is literally out of this world. His silver hair alone is already enough to catch anyone’s attention. During classes, everyone has their unrelenting eyes on him. They were too entranced with his beauty.
Chace, who is already used to attention, still lavishes on the attention that everyone is giving him. Lunch time was even worse. Almost every girl in the cafeteria was looking at him with adoration in their eyes. The attention was starting to bother me so much that I was almost tempted to use my key to open a portal to the other realm and shove him back.
It was just too much!
“Chace, this won’t be something permanent, right?” I ask him while we’re hanging out in the school yard. The only private spot that we could find was somewhere in the gardens, behind one of the trees. I know that we should not stay here for long or others might get the wrong idea, but right now, I feel like I just need a little break.
“Why? Do you hate me being here?” He sounds a little hurt when he looks at me with withdrawn eyes.
“I don’t hate that you’re here. I’m just surprised. What I hate is how you draw attention. You’re even more popular than the student council president.”
Chace’s expression changes when he hears me mention Leo. He lays down and looks up at the sky like he is in deep thought. “His name is Leo, right? You seem friendly with him; is he your friend?”
“I don’t have anyone that I can call a friend in this academy.” I tell him truthfully. “Leo is just someone who looks out for me because he’s the student council president.”
“He sounds like an important figure in this place. Why would he look out for you?” Chace does not bother to hide the suspicion in his voice.
“Well,” I trail off embarrassingly. “Sometimes I tend to get myself into trouble, and Leo has to help me.” I laugh shortly, realizing that I must have burdened him enough. “Sometimes, I would just happen to meet him on campus, and he would greet me.”
“A coincidence, huh.”
I cast a narrow look at him because he didn't seem to be buying my story. “Whatever you are thinking, stop. Leo is just doing his job. Anything more than that is just an insult to him and I. We're the top students in the school. It would be disrespectful for you to think that our relationship is more than just one student helping the other.”
“I see.” Chace closes his eyes before getting up into a sitting position. “I’m just going to drop the topic since it would be hopeless to tell a dense person anyway.” He snickers and shakes his head. “While we’re here, I just want to ask you one more thing before we head back.” He glances at me. His eyes portray a nervousness that I can’t understand.
“Ask me what?” I decided to ask when he took his time and started to fiddle with the blades of grass that he plucks from the ground.
Chace bites his lower lip before taking a deep breath, as if he is gathering his courage. “Stella Antoinette Stan, will you give me the privilege of becoming my partner for my ceremonial ball?”