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Chapter 33: Prince Nicolas

I spent the entire week trying to figure out a way to approach Janine.

According to the sequence of Nolan's breakups, Janine was the last girl he dated before the mysterious "eighth breakup" of his. Since Hestia was leaving tomorrow because her spring break was over, my parents decided to go out for a family dinner at some local restaurant.

I didn't mind family dinners at all.

I simply minded going out.

Couldn't we just order take out?

"Helen, get ready quickly," Mom ordered.

"We're going out to eat," I emphasized. "I doubt anyone's worried about how I look while eating . . . not even me."

"I care," she replied sternly. "C'mon, move it."

Groaning, I got off the couch and asked, "Are you related to Hitler, by any chance?"

"Young lady, your great-grandfather died in the Holocaust because he was Jewish."

Oh shoot, I forgot about that.

Sheepishly, I left the living room and changed into simple dinner attire.

Hestia and I spent the next hour waiting for our parents to get ready and go to Olive Garden. Settling in a small booth at the back of the restaurant, we ordered our food and quietly chatted.

"You remember that cop who came with those vandalism photographs?" Mom said. I nodded, frowning slightly. "He called me this afternoon and said that they got a lead on who it might have been."

I swallowed hard.

Even Hestia gave an uneasy smile and gulped down the water in her glass.

"Lead?" I prompted casually.

"The girl was wearing your school's Science Olympiad's shirt," Mom elucidated. Was I seriously wearing that shirt? The last time I participated in that club was in tenth grade and I only wore the shirt as casual attire. I didn't know people paid that much attention to the clothes. "It even had the year she participated in that club--two years ago."

Luckily, the waiter came right on time and served our food.

Hestia and I exchanged uncomfortable glances. We had lost our appetite already.

Keeping my eyes on my fork, I quietly ate the chicken, allowing the level of guilt to rise with each bite. Furthermore, swallowing turned into a difficult art form.

"You okay there, girls?" Dad asked concerned.

"The spaghetti is a bit bland," Hestia said quickly. "I'll just add more salt."

Why don't you add salt to our injury?

From the sneaky glances Mom stole, I already knew she had suspicions arising in her head. Did she figure out it was me? Should I start packing for jail?

Wait, are prisoners allowed to bring things with them?

Especially for female prisoners . . . They better provide sanitary pads and bras.

"Helen, is your food also bland?" Mom inquired.

Was this payback for the Hitler comment?

"No, it's fine," I said and plastered a fake smile on my face. The whole situation was making me queasy and I feared I'd throw up if I consumed any more chicken.

The dinner resumed with our parents constantly bringing up the vandalism incident and those photographs. They didn't stop, not until after dessert. Out of fear they might have put all the puzzle pieces together, I looked at my sister for consolation. Her face was even worse. Unlike me, who had mastered the art of lying, my sister did not. This nineteen year old person was the worse one to depend on.

Losing my faith in humanity, I ended up watching the breaking news on the TV screen.

Why the news channel was up was beyond me.

"The Royal Family's Heir In Maryland?" They couldn't find better headlines? A blonde news reporter further informed, "Rumor has it that Prince Nicolas, the sole heir to the Royal family has been spotted in Eastern Maryland, location not specified. We have a photo of him with his grandfather . . . "

I tuned her out as soon as the photo of the heir displayed on the screen.

For a moment, my heart tried to escape my ribcage.

It was Nico!

In a formal black suit with an older woman in a black dress. The guy never told me he belonged to a royal family! Let alone he was a prince! He certainly didn't act like one. Naturally, we were going to have a long chat the next time we met.

"These news channels use baseless rumors to make money," Mom said, shaking her head.

If she only knew.

"Hey, is that . . . Jason?" Hestia whispered, narrowing her eyes at the family passing by.

Who, what, where, when . . . why oh why?

Fortunately, my parents didn't hear her. The Principal's family had to choose a Saturday to go out to Olive Garden too? There were six other days to eat out, but no. They just had to pick today.

Hestia's ex boyfriend, Jason, was the only one who actually spotted us. His eyes lingered on my sister's face, before he turned away remorsefully. My older sister's eyes fell down on the melting ice cream. Three and a half months ago, I couldn't understand why she would cry over a regular teenage guy.

Now, I could relate to her situation.

When you invest a lot of time in another person, you feel the propinquity effect. The more time I spent with Nolan the closer we grew. The more I saw of the heartbroken guy, the more sympathy I had towards him. The more proximity I experienced, the more attracted I felt towards Nolan.

Almost near the end of high school, I allowed a guy to enter my world.

He literally turned it upside down.

Now, imagine how my sister felt when she dated Jason since freshman year, only to break up at the middle of senior year. Jason tore her heart because he thought she was cheating on him with some guy she tutored.

My eyes followed Kay Pal's family and I saw Janine leave for the restroom. At the same time, I excused myself. It was my chance to gain answers. I entered the bathroom and saw her fixing her makeup in front of one of the sinks.

"Hey," I said, nearing her.

She was startled for a moment before she saw me and smiled. "Helen, what's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?" She nodded. "Did you break up with Nolan because of his S.C.?"

"I don't want to talk about him," she said bitterly. "He ruined my relationship with Kayden and had the audacity to come back and apologize for everything. You can't erase a typo after everybody has seen it."

"I'm sorry about that," I said. "But I think he dated someone after you and she made him the way he is now. If you could just tell me who she was--"

Janine finally met my gaze.

"Are you serious? Why don't you ask your sister?"

She picked up her purse and left me standing there in confusion. Why would Hestia know anything about Nolan? She was dating Jason. Maybe Janine just didn't want to answer my question.

Disappointed, I left the bathroom and met my parents who were ready to leave.

"Is that . . . your principal?" Mom asked, her eyes scrutinized at the back of the aforementioned man's head.

"What? Who cares?" I said. "Let's go. I have to do my AP Calculus homework--"

"Next week is spring break, Helen," Dad pointed out. "Let's just say a polite hello to the famous Kay Pal."

"Fine, but I would rather keep my sister away from Jason. We'll wait outside," I said. Grabbing Hestia by the elbow, I dragged us both out of the restaurant into the parking lot. An encounter with the principal wasn't what I wanted right now. Knowing my parents, there would be more than a "polite hello."

"Thanks," Hestia mumbled.

"No problem, sissy."

"Helen, what exactly is going on, by the way?" she asked, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe we should come clean about that vandalism thing."

"Oh yeah?" I whispered in outrage. "The only person who'll get in trouble is me. You might not care about my future, but I do. By no means am I going to lose Princeton because of something that happened during winter break. It's spring break for me this week!"

Hestia sighed, leaning back against the trunk of a car.

"Who even snapped photos of you egging the Principal's house?" she asked rhetorically. I bit my lip and debated responding. It wasn't like she'd snitch on me or something. And Janine did say something about Hestia being involved in the breakup mess.

"Nolan."

A wave of emotions crossed her pale face before settling on confusion. "Are you talking about Nolan Milesblue?" I nodded, biting my lip. Alright, something was definitely up.

"My idiotic half boyfriend," I said tiredly. "Those pictures got me into a bigger mess than the police, trust me."

"What?"

Making sure no one else was around, I scooted closer next to her and launched into my sob story. My sister listened without interfering even once. Trusting her, I didn't omit out a single detail.

"And now, I am stuck trying to figure out who was his eighth breakup," I concluded.

She slapped her forehead. "Why didn't you tell me everything earlier?"

"You have enough boy troubles of your own," I mumbled.

She opened her mouth to respond, but stopped short seeing our parents headed our way. Those two spent a good ten minutes inside. My sister and I got in the car quietly.

The drive home only lasted ten minutes, though it felt like ten hours.

I was ready to crash into my bed from all the stress, however, my sister decided to come in.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Can I sleep next to you, tonight?"

Scowling, I shook my head. "Do you know how loud you snore? I can hear it in this room, even though your bedroom is on the other end of the hallway." She rolled her eyes, plopping down on my bed. Maybe I was slightly exaggerating, but this girl gave competition to the worst of the sleepers. "Go away, Hesty!"

"I'm leaving tomorrow, brat!"

"So what? Go sleep in your own bed."

"I know something about the eighth breakup," she said smartly. "Do you really want me to go now?

My droopy eyes suddenly lost all traces of drowsiness.

"Welcome to my bed," I said and shifted over, giving her space.

She laughed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, how exactly do you know Nolan?"

"Where should I start?" She exhaled loudly. "He's the reason why Jason and I broke up."

What?

"Nolan was the guy you tutored for one of your clubs?" I asked for clarification.

She nodded.

That guy, I swear, broke apart couples even before he blackmailed me!

"Did you date him?" I inquired.

It'd be a strange situation if he was my sister's ex.

"Oh hell no, I wasn't that crazy," she said almost disgusted. Nolan wasn't that terrible, now. "Helen, sit quietly and listen. What I'm about to disclose is not something anyone else can tell you or vice versa, okay?"

"Aye aye captain."

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A/N

To anyone wondering, there's only two or three more chapters left. Though the story begun on a selected premise of just 15 chapters, it'll end up with maybe 35. I wanted it to be a short story series with Helen's story and then maybe a spin off to Nico's tale, but let's see how this goes.

I'm gonna trying finishing the book by the end of June. ("Try" being the key word).

What do you think Hestia knows?

All y'all who guessed she was involved in this mess, you are right. *pats your back* *hands out Jolly ranchers and Kit Kats*

Will everyone find out Helen was involved in the vandalism?

This story is put in the Wattys2016, so your support will help a grand deal. Thank you for all the votes, comments, and shares you guys have already done for me.

Love ya, peeps <3