Chapter 2

       One thing I really hated about being an introvert was when one of my teachers told us to pair up for a project that we would have to work on out of school, and that I wasn't allowed to pair up with Kingsley.

       Which happened right now.

       I was in my psychology class when the teacher told us we were going to have to get into pairs. Normally, she was fine with any pairs, but apparently not me and Kingsley.

       "Rhys, Kingsley," she said before she told everyone to get into pairs. "You two aren't allowed to be together."

       "What?" Kingsley asked. "Why not?"

       "Because I've noticed that every time you two pair up, Rhys ends up doing all the work," she said.

       "So? He doesn't mind," Kingsley said. 

       I would actually tell that teacher that I really didn't mind doing all the work, in fact I would prefer doing all the work, but I was way too introverted to even speak up in front of the class to the teacher.

       Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't listening to it and told us to find other partners. I wouldn't mind as much being assigned a partner, but finding one myself was too hard.

       So I was just going to sit here, hoping that someone would actually ask to be my partner.

       Highly unlikely.

       The teacher told us to get into pairs and sit down beside them, so Kingsley sighed and stood up. "If it's any consolation, I'm still not going to do any work," he said.

       "Why would that be any consolation?" I asked.

       "I said if, not that it will be, geez," he said before going to find a partner.

       And now I was sitting in awkwardness.

       "Hey," a voice beside me suddenly said. I looked over to see Eleanor standing there. "You want to be partners?"

       "R-really?" I asked.

       Eleanor smiled softly. "Yeah, really. Everyone I try partnering up with always makes me do all the work, so it will be nice working with someone who actually does their share."

       "Okay,"  I said, so Eleanor sat down beside me.

       After everyone had a partner, the teacher began explaining what the project was. Well, it was more of a paper that we were going to have to write. The teacher already had some topics picked out and she placed them in a hat before walking around the room for people to choose what their topic was about.

       When the teacher got to us, Eleanor picked a piece of paper out of the hat and opened it to read it. "Schizophrenia," Eleanor said, and the teacher wrote it down before moving on.

       "That should be easy," I said.

       "You know a lot about it?" Eleanor asked.

       "Yeah, I know someone with it and I see him once in a while," I said.

       "That will definitely help," Eleanor said. "Knowing it from personal experience will be a lot better than researching. Want to meet up after school to get started on the paper? I like starting my projects early so I don't end up procrastinating."

       "Yeah, me too," I said. "Where do you want to meet up?"

       "How about the school library?" she asked. "Most people don't like going there after school, so it won't be a loud place."

       "Okay," I said, right as the bell rang to end the class and start lunch.

       "Great!" Eleanor said with a smile before packing up her things. "I'll see you there."

       I packed up my things as well and left the classroom where Kingsley was already waiting for me. "I'm impressed," he said. "Getting Eleanor to partner up with you. You should ask her out."

       "Not happening," I said.

       "Why not?"

       "Uh, because she likes Zayden."

       Kingsley raised an eyebrow before sighing and shaking his head. "Rhys, my man," he said, resting his hand on my shoulder. "You're the only one that thinks that. Eleanor is just a friendly person."

       "She's always wishing Zayden good luck for his dance competitions," I said. "Not to mention she always goes to watch it."

       "And?" Kingsley asked. "Last year, I was in the group dance and she wished all of us good luck and said she was going to be at the dance competition. She loves going to dance competitions. Trust me, I know crushes, and she doesn't have one on Zayden."

       "What makes you so sure?" I asked.

       "The fact that she treats everybody the same way she treats Zayden," Kingsley said. "You just think she does because you like her and you're always feeling like you're living in Zayden's shadow, so you're worried that she'll like him over you, but she doesn't."

       "You really think so?" I asked.

       "Uh, yeah," Kingsley said. "I'm some sort of love guru."

       "Are you sure she doesn't have a crush on Zayden?"

       "Yes," Kingsley said. "Are you going to meeting up for your project after school?"

       "Yeah."

       "Where?"

       "The library."

       "And who chose to meet there?"

       "She did."

       "Then there you go," Kingsley said. "If she really did have a crush on Zayden, she would have asked if you could meet at your house just so she'll have an excuse to see him. You're being too paranoid about it."

       I sighed. "Sorry."

       "Don't be sorry," Kingsley said. "Everyone worries about their crushes. Ooh, and I forgot to congratulate you."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "For what?"

       "Uh, for coming first place in the dance competition yesterday," Kingsley said. I didn't say anything. "Come on, you think I wouldn't notice that you switched places? We've grown up together and I can easily tell the difference between my best friend and his crummy twin."

       "Hey!" Zayden suddenly objected. He had just walked over to us. "I'm not a crummy twin."

       "Well, anyone who isn't my best friend slash favourite cousin is crummy," Kingsley said.

       Zayden glared at Kingsley. "Thanks."

       "You're welcome."

       "So, what about being able to tell the difference between me and Rhys?" Zayden asked.

       "I was talking about your little switching act yesterday," Kingsley said. "As soon as you sat down beside me wearing glasses, I knew it was you, not Rhys."

       "How can you even tell the difference?" Zayden asked. "Our parents can't. The only reason they were able to tell the difference between us when we were babies was by the way the dressed us, and the fact that Rhys was clingy to our dad."

       I gave him a fake laugh. "Wow, so funny."

       "Simple," Kingsley said. "You just have that arrogant glow around you."

       Someone suddenly bumped into Zayden's shoulder while she was walking passed him. Zayden turned and glared at Echo Proctor, a girl who was also on D.A.N.C.E. "Do you have to do that every time you walk passed me?" he asked.

       "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there," Echo said before walking away. Zayden and Echo were always arguing about the simplest of things.

       Zayden sighed. "Is it weird that I find her cute when she gets mad at me?"

       "Why is she mad at you this time?" I asked.

       "Oh, because Dad thought it would be a great idea to make the two of us compete in the duet competition," Zayden said. "We were talking about it this morning since our teacher basically gave us a free class, and we couldn't agree on a song."

       See? The simplest of things.

       "Why would Uncle Ryder pair you two together for the duet?" Kingsley asked.

       "He said it was because our hatred could actually be used in the dance," Zayden said. "But knowing my dad, it's probably because he thinks I like her."

       "You do like her," Kingsley said.

       "No, I don't."

       "Right. Which is why you called her cute."

       "Whatever."

       "Whatever is a sign I won the argument."

       "I'm ignoring you now as I go to the cafeteria to eat food."

       The rest of the school day went by pretty fast and before I knew it, the bell to end the day rang. I told Zayden I was meeting up with Eleanor for our psychology project, so he told me to just text him when I needed a ride home.

       I went to my locker first before heading to the library where Eleanor was already sitting at a table.

       "You got here fast," I said as I sat down at the table, dropping my bag on the ground. "We were literally in the same class."

       "My locker is right by the library, so I only had to head into this direction," Eleanor said. "So, I was thinking in the paper, we could talk about the psychological aspect behind schizophrenia, the different kinds, and....what else?"

       "How about the way it's portrayed in the media?" I asked.

       "Oh, perfect!" Eleanor said. "I hate when mental illnesses are portrayed incorrectly or when people with mental illnesses are portrayed as the villains in movies and books, and I don't even have a mental illness."

       "Yeah, same here," I said. "Well, I know people with some which is why it's easier for me to hate the way mental illnesses are portrayed."

       "Speaking of, how old is the person you know who has schizophrenia?" Eleanor asked.

       "He's....about thirty-three, I think," I said. "He's my uncle's cousin and they're really close, so I do see him from time to time. And now, he's really open about his schizophrenia so if we ever want to know something and we can't find it online, we can ask him."

       "Okay," Eleanor said.

       We were only going to plan out the paper right now, then meet up again tomorrow to work on it. Apparently, we weren't going to be given any class time to work on it.

       "You know, you seem a lot different," Eleanor said while she was writing stuff down on our outline paper. "You don't really talk this much."

        "Yeah, I'm not really a talkative person when there's a lot of people around," I said. "I can talk to people easily when it's just one or two of them, but other than that, it's hard for me to talk. Unless they're my family, of course, because I have a huge family."

       "I bet, since you have an aunt and uncle a year younger than you," she said. "Is it from your dad or mom's side?"

       "My dad's," I said. "He has nine siblings."

       "Nine? Wow, that's a lot," Eleanor said. "I'm an only child, and both my parents only have two siblings. What about your mom's side?"

       "She has a sister, and a step-brother," I said. "But her step-brother is married to my dad's brother, so it's not really like a whole other family."

      "And those are Kingsley's parents, right?" Eleanor said. 

      "Right," I said.

      "Ah, got it," Eleanor said. "I have no idea who you can handle a family that big. Do you have a lot of cousins?"

      "Not really," I said. "Only five of my aunts and uncles on my dad's side are married, and they don't have much kids themselves. Kingsley's dads are the ones who have the most with four kids."

       "It's still a lot," Eleanor said. "Family gatherings must get crazy, huh?"

       "Oh, definitely," I said. "They're all known for their craziness."

       Eleanor smiled softly before she got a text message. She looked at her phone to read it. "Oh, I got to go. My mom's here to pick me up. She and my dad have to go out somewhere and she noticed I left my house keys at home."

       "Oh, okay," I said.

       "Should we meet her again tomorrow after school?" she asked.

       "Sure," I said.

      "Great," she said as she packed up her stuff. "It was really nice talking to you and getting to know you a bit."

       "You too," I said, smiling softly back.

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Lol, it's 1:20 AM OOPS. (i got distracted by playing sims then when i got off to write this, my brother wanted me to play a game with him)(my name was isak valtersen in the game because isak's a cinnamon roll)

Whenever I start a new Protector book, the first couple chapters are always a lot longer than I plan them to be. cx

And Kingsley is forever bae for knowing the Rhys was really the one performing. (get it? forever? because he's jerlan's son? *sobs in french*)

Some of you have been asking about an epilogue for Forever, and I will be writing one soon. :) Probably Monday at the latest.