THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER

Chapter 8

Beverly's POV:

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    It has been two weeks since I have been secretly seeing Asher and his friends. I could feel the growing feelings between us. I know I like him- a lot. I am always so excited when we meet each other at night. Mike and James still haven't found out about my little mischief and I am planning on keeping it that way. I do not plan on letting them ruin the friendship I have with them or the relationship between Asher and me. Although we haven't said how we felt about each other to each other, we still knew. Even Aiden, Steve and Collins also noticed what is going on between us. Aiden and Steve will sometimes throw a knowing smirk at Asher, while Collins will just shake his head while giving us knowing looks. We still always meet the green river and it is still always by 10 PM.

    I felt bad about hiding the truth from James, Mike and Ashely but I just have a feeling Asher and his friends will not be happy about me telling anyone. Also for some unknown reason, I don't want to tell them, even if Asher and his friends want me to,  Mike, James and Ashely have, however, noticed something different about me. They are always pointing out that I am always staring into another dimension. I smile a lot more, even to myself, I sometimes have a blush on my face(which happens when I think about Asher but they do not need to know). Ashley actually brought up the notion that I must have met a guy, but the three of them laughed about it and disregarded the thought since Mike and James are always following me around and I have never seemed interested in anyone. They immediately thought it was impossible. Oh, if only they knew.

    I would be meeting Asher again tonight. He had said he would come to see me once he is done with work and I was hoping he would come alone. I had told them I was good at weaving and they wanted to see some of my work, which brings me to what I am doing presently.  I decided to weave each of them a few pairs of shirts. I have been weaving them for about an hour now.

"Why exactly do you need to make so many shirts? You already have enough made that will be enough for a week", Ashely said as she sat beside me on my bed. I decided to take a break from work today and Angel thought it would be a good idea to give me an off day today since I never take a break and according to her, "It's not good for the face".

"I just feel like making more. Besides, I am trying to make a few new designs. And you know I always run out of stock quickly. With the number of people always coming to my store every day, this will just be some backup", I lied as I laid the final shirt on my bed. I was about to get up from the chair beside my bed to get some water when Ashley suddenly held my wrist with her hot palm due to her powers. I looked at her.

"You are not hiding anything from her, are you?", she asked as my throat went dry at the question. Does she know?

"Why would I hide anything from you, silly?", I responded with an easy smile.

"I do not know. But I have this feeling you have not been completely honest with Mike, James and me. I feel like you are hiding something. Why I am feeling this way, I don't know, but I do not like feeling like you are not been truthful with me. No secrets, remember?", she said, looking into my eyes as I felt my heart literally skip a beat. What should I do?

I held her hands with my warmer ones, "I am not hiding anything from you. I have always been truthful and forthcoming with you guys and nothing has changed. I guess my sudden behaviour is what called all these suspicions, for which I am sorry. I myself, cannot seem to explain why I have been acting weird. But you know I always tell you everything and I will not stop. So stop worrying", I said to her as I felt a sharp pain in my chest as I bluntly lied to one of my best friends.

    She smiled at me as she pulled me into a huge hug, "I'm so glad. I thought you had a secret you were not telling us. I should have known you would never lie to us. We are all best friends, after all, and we do not keep things from each other. I was worried for nothing", I could not stop the feeling of remorse and regret that overpowered me at her words. I will have to tell them the truth one day, but not yet. For now, I still want to explore what is really going on between Asher and me. I do not want to jump to a conclusion and simply believe he also has feelings for me. I could be a mere attraction for all I know.

"I have to go home now. My parents are waiting for me", Ashely said as she suddenly stood up.

"Why? Is something wrong?", I asked worriedly. Ashley's parents are not one of those great parents out there, They hardly have time for her. Although they always give her what she wants, they are hardly there for her to talk to which results in her staying at my house for long hours, sometimes she even spends the night. So, them suddenly seeking her presence is worrying.

"It's nothing serious. The Queen is hosting a ball in about two months for Prince Asher to choose his bride and an invite was sent to my family. They are only inviting Nobles and Royals", she said with an eye roll.

I laughed, "Lucky you. Mike and James did mention the Queen hosting a ball to me. Besides, do you expect them to invite commoners? Do you really think the Queen and King will accept for their son to marry a commoner? Do you even think the Prince will want to marry a commoner?", I said

"I know but I don't want to go. I do not want to be a Queen. Assuming he wasn't the heir, I would have happily agreed to go, but he is the crowned Prince meaning whoever he chooses will become the Queen, And that is one responsibility I do not want", she said as she picked up her bag and kissed my forehead, "Anyways, I have to go. See you tomorrow. Bye".

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    The rest of the day was spent with me doing different house chores before my parents return. Jack has run off to someplace I do not know and I do not plan on looking for him. He will return home when he feels like it. Hopefully, he does not pick a fight with anyone again. He has been doing a lot of that lately. Just yesterday, he had pissed off a giant who was ready to crush him but thankfully, James showed up there on time and save him before things got ugly. I guess it had to do with growing up. Teenagers.

    When I looked at the time, it was already 9;55 PM. I got ready to leave. I know James and Mike would not be showing up tonight since they are on extra patrol duty tonight. I grabbed the bag that was filled with the shirts I made and made my way towards our meeting spot.  When I arrived at the river, I noticed the three of them were already there.

"Hey", I greeted.

"Hi", they all replied. I sat on the floor beside Asher as I handed the bag to Aiden. He set the bag on the floor and began to marvel at the shirts. They all complimented me as they chose the ones they wanted. After a few minutes of discussing, I turned to Asher, "How come they always come with you?"

I noticed him tense at my question, "They are just very protective of me. They believe I am the weakest", he said with a small smile as the three of them smiled.

    I nodded my head and did not ask anything else. I felt like he was not completely honest, but I did not push it.

"Anyways, tell us about your day", Aiden said.

    I began to fill them on how my day went, "and Ashley got invited to the ball the Queen is holding for the Prince, but she doesn't want to go. I have a feeling she will run away that day".

"The ball?", Asher asked tensely.

"Yeah. James and Mike told me about the ball the Queen is holding for the Prince to choose his bride" I responded.

"What do you think about it?", Collins asked.

"I don't know much about royalty to judge. Besides, it's only for Nobles and Royals as expected so my opinion is not necessary", I said with a shrug.