𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹: 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿

Chapter Nineteen

I couldn't fall asleep that night. All I kept thinking about was finally telling Aidan that I was the girl that he was looking for. I knew that he was going to have a ton of questions like "Why did you run away?" or "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" but I was going to answer all of the questions when the time came. I just hoped that he would understand why I ran away and cause all the chaos.

The following morning, I could barely get out of bed. My feet felt like they had heavy stones attached to them that were pinning me down on the bed. I better get out of bed before Aunt Mary yells at me. I stumbled out of bed and changed into some nice clothes, and made their breakfast like usual.

"Did you see Aidan's live stream last night? He seemed so depressed!" Isabelle said to her sister, who was texting one of her friends. I assumed it was Ashley. "I know. I wonder if the girl is enjoying herself, seeing Aidan become stressed out about this," Alexa answered. I am not enjoying seeing Aidan searching night and day for me. I'm just scared you're going to follow through with your threat.

Alexa glanced up for a second, and her cold eyes met mine. I was still scared of her, but I was able to hold my gaze with Alexa for a full minute until she backed down. "Well, whoever the girl is, she should be ashamed of herself," Aunt Mary sighed as she took a sip of morning coffee. When Vanessa and Ethan picked me up, I told them that I had messaged Aidan and how we were supposed to meet each other in the cafeteria. They were happy that I had finally made communication with him, and I was now one step closer to revealing the identity of the modern-day Cinderella.

During Biology, I could see that Aidan was writing in his notebook very quickly. When I looked at the paper, I saw that it wasn't Biology notes. It was the lyrics of the song that I was singing at the auditions along with a note that said in black ink, "Meet SereneCinderella in the cafeteria during lunch. DON'T SHOW UP LATE!" Well, at least he's reminding himself to meet up with me.

The rest of the periods went by so slow, and I kept staring at the clock, counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until I would finally meet my idol. When lunch finally came, I sat down at my usual table with Ethan and Vanessa, and I waited for that DM from Aidan, asking where I was. "Are you nervous?" Vanessa asked. "Yep," I answered, nodding my head like a shaking bobblehead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Ashley and Alexa were staring at me. Trying to listen to what I was talking about with my friends. I felt my phone vibrate, and I pulled it out and saw that I had received a few DMs from Aidan.

Aidanrgallagher

Where are you?

I don't know what you look like. Can you give me a clue?

Sure, long blonde hair, blue eyes, light skin, and I'm sitting in the middle of the cafeteria.

I hoped that it was enough information for Aidan so he could find me. As the minutes went by, Aidan didn't appear. I was worried that I had left him clueless as to where I was. That was until Ethan cleared his throat and pointed behind me. I turned around, and I saw Aidan was standing a few feet away from me, holding a small tray in his hands. The purple notebook was in his left hand.

"SereneCinderella?" he asked, walking closer to me. I was speechless, I tried to open my mouth, but the words would not come out. After the wave of shock crashed over me, I nodded my head furiously, scooting away so Aidan could sit down next to me. Behind Aidan, I could see Ashley, Alexa, and the other girls shaking their heads at me, silently telling me not to tell him. Alexa held up the file containing the photos of my anorexia, and I looked away and looked into Aidan's green eyes.

"So, you said you know who's the owner of the notebook?" Aidan asked after a long moment of silence. "Yes, I do," I answered. Aidan glanced down at the notebook in his hand for a split second, then reconnected his gaze with mine. "So, who is the owner?" Just say it already! "Uh, Aidan. It's funny because I-" Before I could finish my sentence, Ashley yelled out to everyone in the cafeteria.

"Attention everybody! I have found some interesting pictures of my good friend Serena. And she wants everyone to see them! Come get them while they're hot!" she called out. Alexa opened the file and tossed the pictures in the air, and they spread all over the cafeteria. Laughter had filled the cafeteria as people looked at the pictures of me, and I could feel tears start to form in my eyes.

A picture landed on the table, and Aidan grabbed it and looked at it. "Wait, is this you?" he asked. I could feel a lump in my throat start to form, and I couldn't get a single word out of my mouth. Tears started to run down my cheeks. I had to get out of there before I cried in front of him. I ran towards the bathroom as people continued to laugh and point at me. I didn't stop until I finally locked myself in an empty bathroom stall, and I cried so hard that I could feel my voice almost give out.