Page 41 of My Best Friend Prince Charming

15

Ryker

The rest of the California trip was pure torture. I should never have told Shannon how deep my feelings had gone. I should have known that she didn’t feel the same way about me. But I was a hopeless romantic and a fool.

Shannon spent the rest of the trip acting strange and distant. She kept herself glued to her laptop, working on her mysterious book, and barely spoke more than two sentences back to back.

When I saw her at school the Wednesday before prom, she was holding hands with Austin. That was the lowest blow of all. It was one thing for our relationship to be over, but she knew how bad Austin was. What was she thinking? I was furious.

Austin seemed to think it was hilarious. He’d stolen a girl from the brand-new celebrity. He was on top of the world and determined to shove it in my face as much as possible. It didn’t matter how much money I earned or how many films I appeared in; I couldn’t be happy knowing Shannon was being mistreated by that jerk.

What I didn’t understand was why she would ever want to be treated so badly. It just didn’t make sense.

I was going through the lunch line when I heard a voice behind me. “Looks like even fortune and fame wasn’t enough to convince Shannon to stay with you. Because you’re a loser deep down and always have been. Fancy new clothes and a bunch of followers on social media doesn’t change that.”

I whirled around and faced Austin man to man. I curled my hand into a fist to keep from pounding the guy’s face. “You’re scum deep down and always have been. It’s only a matter of time before Shannon sees through you. What kind of lies did you tell her? That you’ve finally seen the light? That this time you’ll have eyes only for her?”

Austin sneered at me but didn’t say anything.

“What? You have no response to that? Because it’s all true, or because you're too much of a coward to talk to me when we’re face to face? The only reason Shannon is with you right now is because you’re familiar, and she’s been through a lot.” And she was probably self-sabotaging. But I wasn’t going to tell him that. It was none of his business. I’d tell her that myself, but she probably wouldn’t listen to me.

She deserved so much better, and I planned to tell her that. I found her getting into her car after school.

“Why are you with Austin?”

“Well, hello to you too.” She gave me a sour look.

“Please don’t get snarky with me. I’m not the bad guy here.”

Shannon let out a loud, tired sigh. “I know, Ryker.”

“How did this even happen?”

“Does it matter?” She turned to look at me with a stormy look on her face. “You think I deserve better? You’re right. Austin isn’t the best. But he’s here. And you’re going to be swarmed by a bunch of girls. At least I know he’s with me and just me. I will never be able to have that with you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw your text messages. George said you needed to look single to the world so girls could dream about having a chance with you.”

“Well, you obviously didn’t see my response.”

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not going to be responsible for holding you back from your career. You’re about to leave anyway to live a life of fame and fortune, and I’ll be at UNC. We’re heading down two separate paths, and eventually, we’ll be so different, we won’t be able to relate to each other at all. It’s already started. That’s why I’m putting a stop to it before it goes too far. Before either of us gets too hurt. That’s why I’ve decided to go to prom with Austin, because I need to get back to my old life and familiarity. Austin isn’t the greatest, but at least I know what to expect. And we’re both going to UNC. It just makes sense.”

No. Nothing about her reasoning made sense. She’d changed too much to go back to her old life. It was only a matter of time before she’d realize that.

“And I think I need to take a step back from everything for a while. Let the dust settle.”

That, I could respect. If Shannon needed time, then she would get it. And I’d be waiting for her when she was ready to return to me.

I said goodbye to her and got in my car. I picked up my phone. “Gabi? How would you feel about experiencing a normal teenage rite of passage? I need a date to prom.”

“Ryker?” her cheerful voice came across the line. “Are you asking me to go to prom with you?”

“That’s basically the gist of it.”

“What about Shannon? I thought you were dating her.”

“Shannon broke up with me. She got back together with her old boyfriend, and she’s going to prom with him now.”

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