Chapter 26: Fair chance

I sang violently in front of my mirror as I curled my hair in special waves.

Demi lavato- heart attack played loudly in my room. I sang along using my curling iron as a microphone.

I bounced,tossed and jumped around syncing perfectly with the rhythm of the song – I might be a bit louder.

You might be wondering what the fuck is going on? Well I'd be thinking that too if I were you.

After Klaus had mercilessly shattered my already fragile heart,I tried not to sob or dramatically cry myself to sleep.

I was way past that – at least that's what I told myself.

It really hurt. During rehearsals. Every time I stepped onto that stage and saw him across the room, my chest tightened like someone had wrapped a rope around it and pulled.

At first I thought about confronting him and giving him a huge piece of my mind but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

He made me … vulnerable.

So I did the exact opposite. I avoided him.

When he tried talking to me during and after rehearsals, I'd make up an excuse to ignore him.

After school I ran home like a criminal escaping from prison.

When he walked towards my direction, I turned the other way or walked faster avoiding eye contact.

And the worst part?

He acted like he did absolutely nothing wrong and that alone pissed me off the most.

It made me feel like I was simply mad at him for no valid reason.

I tightened the curl a little too much and hissed quietly before releasing it.

Did it hurt?

Definitely. I mean it felt like someone was repeatedly stomping on my heart.

Will I let it show?

Definitely not. If there's anything he'd taught me about confidence, it's “Strength isn’t the absence of pain. It’s refusing to let the world see it.” I said finishing up my curls.

And there's no way Nicolas Hayes would see my pain ever again.

And that's why I'm getting dressed in a cute dress with my hair curled into a bouncy and shining perfection and my face… glowing like the literal sun.

Why?

I was going on a date. A real date.

And with who?

The one person on this entire earth that Klaus couldn't stand.

His beloved twin brother– Ethan

if Klaus was so knee deep in pretending none of this mattered.

Like he didn't crawl through my window and kissed me.

Like he didn't say he loved me.

Like he didn't allow his friends to disrespect me.

If that's the game we were playing then game on klaus.

Game on.

I stood in front of the mirror, slowly turning from side to side analysing my reflection.

A simple short brown dress hugged my figure. It was giving the perfect effortless look. My hair fell in perfect curls– first time curling my own hair and the bounce was out of this world.

My face glowed softly under the light and the small wedge heels I wore gave me enough height to feel confident.

I looked perfect– a little too perfect.

If only it was Klaus.

I quickly brushed it off before the thought influenced my next action.

I blew a kiss at the mirror and went downstairs.

As I reached the living room, I froze and almost burst into an embarrassing laughter.Ethan sat stiffly on the couch directly in between my parents.

He looked like a baby red panda placed in a small cage with two curious zoo keepers.

My dad was studying him like he had come across some weird alien-like creature. He was looking at him the way he looked at ants transporting food in  a straight long line– with utmost concentration and surprising curiosity.

“Can you guys stop terrorizing him now” i said walking towards their direction “its a date, were not getting married”

My mom’s eyes lit up.“Oh good , you're ready” she quickly stood up “kitchen” she said using her head to signal me to the kitchen.

I nodded and followed. Ethan would survive.

The moment we stepped into the kitchen, she turned around and folded her arms, her eyebrows etched in worry which slightly confused me.

“Honey” she started calmly “he seems like a great kid tessa… but are you sure about him”

“Mom its just a date”

“I know but i dont want you to come home crying”

“I wont mom” i sighed and held her hands “mom, ethan is great”

“I know but he's not the kid that climbed through your window the other day”

My brain stopped working and I immediately dropped her hand and did a 360 with my right on my forehead.

“You knew,” I whispered loudly.

She raised an eyebrow and a smug smirk crawled on her lips.”well of course i knew, i saw when i went to throw out the trash” she said leaning on the counter “i waited for you tell me but i guess i now know why”

My face dropped “what's that supposed to mean?”

“It means you're using this very innocent boy to forget about the window guy” she paused “my advice, settle your differences because I don't need an investigation to know you don't feel anything for that boy”

It felt like a huge rock had fallen right on my head. I wanted to argue but she was right.

Should I walk in there and cancel the date?

But we decided on a fair chance.

But was I doing this for the fair chance or because I was trying to forget Klaus?

I took a deep breath and on impulse jumped on my mom in a tight hug.”thank you mom” i whispered.

When I stepped into the living room, dad and Ethan were already in a game of chess and it was intense.

I smiled. They looked like they were having fun and it made my heart melt.

There wasn't any harm in giving him a fair chance.

Right?