The Kings

9

♕ c h a p t e r n i n e ♕

— break his heart

a r i a h a l e

﹉﹊ ♕ ﹉﹊

I walk into school only to find Reuben sitting on top of the roof of his car with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed as they fall on me. I don't make any attempts to talk to him, after all, he hates my guts.

"Aria, " Reuben exclaims, his loud plummeting voice irritating my eardrums. "I know you can hear me." he mumbles as he finally catches up to me.

"I know that you know that I know that I can hear you," I say rather fast, Reuben furrows his eyebrows as he tries to make sense of what I had just said.

"W—Never mind, Carter said that I have to escort you to class since you're crowned," Reuben said bored out of his mind, he didn't seem like he wants to do any of this.

"I'm quite capable of walking on my own two legs, Reuben." I tell him, walking ahead of him. But Reuben pulls my wrist lightly before pushing me into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind him.

"Trust me Aria, if I could stop you from being fully crowned I would, but you're stuck because what Carter wants he gets," Reuben says quietly, looking around the classroom wearily.

"Why can't you stop this?" I ask, looking at Reuben who seemed awestruck at my response.

"He has more power than me, there's no way I could possibly stop him from going through with his plans," Reuben tells me, his eyes holding a glint that seemed unreadable.

But he speaks again. "But there is another way you can get away from Carter's stupid crowned rules but I'm not sure if you're going to want to do this."

"I'll do anything to get out of this, it's clearly a hassle for me to be spending time doing things for other people, I'm not a special servant and a person that likes to be taken for granted." I snap, I won't let any guy take advantage of me with blackmail ever. I'm not the type of girl to be messed with.

Reuben sighs. "Look, Carter is still very angry that you ruined his expensive coat, " Once those words leave Reuben's mouth I can't help but to scoff. Is this what this King holds grudges on, a damned coat?

"He's also angry with the fact you're not fazed by his actions, it irritates him how you seem so casual with him when he's someone of a higher rank than you." Reuben explains, from his explanation Carter seems like a douche who keeps useless grudges.

"So?"

Reuben sighs. "But he's intrigued, he likes how you're the only girl that seems to challenge him, it's something new and Carter likes people associated with the word new," he mutters, it's amazing how Reuben is spilling things that I didn't know I needed to know.

"That's why he crowned me? Does he happen to have a little crush on me, come on Reuben why would a playboy like Carter even want a girl like me when he has several girls begging on their knees to be with him?" I say, watching the several students rush to their classes through the large tinted windows.

"Carter didn't crown you because he has a little crush on you, he crowned you because he wants to mess with you, he wants to teach you how to respect a King." Reuben states bitterly, it seemed like he didn't like Carter a single bit.

"So what do I have to do to get out of this crowned situation?" I ask him, there was no way I was willing to abide by a set of rules that acquired me to respect people I despise with a passion.

"You have to show Carter you don't have feelings, that there's nothing in you to break so he would move on and not bother you." he tells me, but I made it very clear to Carter that there's nothing in me to break.

"And how will I do that?" I ask.

Reuben suddenly becomes uncomfortable, the look on his face made it seem like he wasn't sure whether to tell me what he wanted to.

"Mess around, or at least pretend to break people's hearts." he whispers quietly.

I look at him dumbfounded, there was no way I could do that to a person. I know I hated the Kings but I wouldn't go around breaking hearts just to get rid of a stupid crowned contract that they made.

"I don't think I can do this Reuben." I tell him, looking down at my shoes. I hated being weak but what's worse is being cruel, there's no use of doing acts with bad outcomes.

"If it makes it easier I have another suggestion." Reuben says suddenly, I look up to meet his cold irises.

"And that is?"

"Break my heart."

﹉﹊ ♕ ﹉﹊