QUEEN OF THE DEAD

CHAPTER 3

In my mind, you're my lord

I dreamed of love and first sight with my betrothed Prince, fate weaving our paths together and it turns out to be a perfect love story. We'd all live happily ever after. Instead, I woke up to a questionable love-hate relationship with Carvalle's most precious Heidi Levough.

"Heidi, let go of me! This is kidnapping! We're not supposed to skip class just because you hate the teacher!" I kept slapping his hand but it kept a firm grip on my arm. "And if you skip class, leave me out of it! Heidi!"

"I asked for permission," Heidi replied nonchalantly. "And Heidi will get me out of trouble."

Unbelievable!                                                     

"You grabbed me out of there and said we both have simultaneous headaches because we're soulmates! That was unnecessary!"

"Seriously, I did that because that one guy was eyeing you, and it wasn't one guy, it was three!" He screamed the second part in another language yet again.

"Rant in English! I can't understand Korean!"

He gave me a look. "That was Japanese."

"You may speak 15 languages, but I speak only 2." He finally stopped, so I finally can catch my breath. "Barely. I got C- in Spanish. But the point!"

"Can we please get Belgian Ice cream?" This guy.

Heidi did not seem to mind the many fans of his making a ruckus. Those two girls were holding their phones up and it's annoying me. Other than his fans, he does not seem to care about my frustration.

We did get Belgian Ice cream, now sitting in a bench at the gorgeous plaza with fake grass. There he is waving appreciatively at the few girls that said hi to him excitedly, while I stared at nothingness thinking about the grade I lost for escaping PE.

Heidi’s not going to get in trouble because he's, well, Heidi. But I'm Percy Addams and I don't have a father who owns Carvalle to back my mischief up. Heidi somehow noticed my mood.

"You don't like that flavor? Try this one," Heidi offered his ice cream to me.

"No thanks."

"Come on, try it. It's strawberry!" He pushed it further.

"Heidi, no--" I can feel something cold and soft on the corner of my lips and I gave Heidi a death glare.

"Ooh," he looked away, looking apologetic with his exaggerated pouty lips. Not cute, only annoying. He went back to licking his ice cream innocently.

"I honestly don't know how people would like you for being the neighborhood i***t," I blurted out, to which he only laughed at as usual.

"I don't know either. And I don't care, too. What I do want to know is what it takes for you to fall for me."

I was taken back for wherever the heck he got that from. Where does he learn how to be cheesy and sneakily doing it? But I have to be honest. Heidi has given me two years of Carvalle. With full meals, my own dorm room, and allowance. I didn't spend anything; and despite my attempts to get a job, he says 'tutoring him' is my job and payment for Carvalle.

As if this perfect prince needs a tutor after his consistent top rank even before he met me.

"Heidi, let's go to class." I stood up to leave, but halted when he yelled something out.

"Percy. I don't even know what's perfect to you, but I try. I really want to be... perfect for you..." He's saying this now at the plaza?

Why do I feel so bad hearing this voice from him? It's not the normal Heidi voice and it actually hurt me. I'm a terrible person for rejecting him after all he's done. Still, I took a deep breath before speaking.

"Heidi, these people like you because you're perfect. The thing is, I'm just like the other girls that would also love a Prince Charming. That's you. But if I don't feel it, I don't." I gave him a shrug, before walking away not waiting for him. "Besides, I'm not a Princess."

I can't face Heidi right now. My heart's going crazy. From guilt, from anxiety... why am I so terrible. I call him spoiled but I'm the one that's actually being spoiled here. But I can't help it; I don't think it will work. There will be a lot of prejudice... a lot of judgement, not to mention Heidi is the heir of Levough Empires. Everyone is expecting so much from him; and I'm not worth their expectations.

While entering the hallways, I met up with Student Council President, Tori de Valle.

"Heidi?" He inquired.

"By the plaza, second bench," I replied, immediately passing by the well-known admired person that I don't want to talk with further because people are judgy like that.

"Percy," he called out, making me pause and curse slightly because I really don't want anything to do with Tori de Valle. Honestly, he scares me.

"Yes?" I turned around. He looks so gentle and tame, but Heidi hangs out with him and I've known him to be scary. He's the only one that can get Heidi under control... and one can only imagine what he actually is if the shameless Levough is afraid of him.

"Heidi’s been sniffy lately."

That made me scoff. Since when was he never? Yet, Tori was completely serious.

"Do him a favor and... maybe make him a sandwich. Any gesture that'll stop him from sulking and putting red food coloring in the pool."

He did what? "Wait, when did he do that?!" But Heidi was already out searching for the missing Heidi.

I didn't need confirmation, Heidi gets away with being mischievous. He once replaced the teacher's PowerPoint presentation with a bad porn intro all because that teacher woke him up when he slept in class.

Oh, I didn't mention that Heidi is a little devil. I debated on revealing that because I honestly don't want to ruin his perfect image. But he's somewhat evil and is one of the reasons I'm being harsh during the tutors because... I can't handle him, he's an evil Prince Charming. 

=

"Hey new girl, I heard you have a crush on Heidi Levough." I hear someone say behind me. It was Fey Montgomery; her father is the head of National Security and her Mom is a famous celebrity.

She and her girls were talking to the recent transferee. I hear her parents are big in the sports industry. Fey and her friends never talked to me at all, mainly because I'm a nobody. Aside from snarky comments made because of my affiliation with Heidi; they never did anything else that hindered my experience her.

"Heidi...?" The transferee timidly says. Why am I eavesdropping, is this a habit? Terrible. But we have to wait for the teacher and my earphones are broken, so I have nothing else to do but let my ears work. Besides, it's not like I mind if she likes Heidi.

I looked back to see Fey flipping her thick, ironed straight black hair. "You know, the blonde hair with green eyes earlier? I heard you saying 'wow' earlier when he passed by."

Another one giggled, "Can't blame you, green eyes makes his skin glow."

"So do you like him?" Fey persistently asked. Poor girl, she seemed to be a very timid person.

"Uhh... if I do...?"

"So you do like him!" Fey exclaimed, before I hear a smack of a bubble gum. "I dated him in freshman year, so did Angela here and Kylie."

"Okay..." I can hear the 'please,  I don't care' tone in Rose's voice and by God, I feel bad for her. These girls wear Heidi as their badge of honor, as if him dating and breaking up with them makes them better than all these girls.

"So you're really pretty, and I think he'll definitely go after you..." What is Fey saying?

"He... will?" Now Rose is sounding curious and I'm sounding really annoyed. But I can't stop listening; this is Heidi they're talking about.

"There's something you need to know about him if you plan on getting with him. It's just a rumor, but technically everyone knows it."

Oh, no. It's that rumor.

"You should be careful of Heidi," Fey says, "He is the heir of the Levough Empires, and that company is very shady. Owning and funding Carvalle schools around the world is just a front; they say the Levoughs are actually rich because they control the black market. Shady underground stuff and all. And they have the power to kill you. I mean... there were a lot of missing students here in Carvalle before. A lot."

"You trying to scare me?" I can't help but snort at what Rose replied. She sounded so disinterested and somewhat so bored and it made me look back to see the look on Fey's face.

"Uhh... no, I'm trying to warn you. Heidi Levough is shady, and his family is too rich to be real. There has to be some Illuminati crap going on. It's just a warning, Sis."

What Rose said next honestly made me impressed. "I don't believe rumors. Especially the ones you tell the brand new people at the earliest time. I also don't like Heidi Levough. I said Wow because I thought boys' earrings were forbidden, now I know better since he is wearing one. He's not shady, as far as I've known, he's not bad. He gave someone a scholarship here, right?"

By breath hitched as I look away. Fey scoffed, "Oh yeah. Charity case over there. She cleans Heidi’s toilet to get him to keep her here. Waste of scented air."

The other girl said, "We're just trying to warn you, Rose. So you can watch your back around Heidi and that Charity case. But it's easy to ignore her; she's just a little suck up pulled out from the orphanage."

Not taking it any longer, I stood up just as the teacher arrived. I excused myself to go to the bathroom to avoid snapping back at the girls who are clearly above me. I am not in the place to defend myself; they are the royalties, and someone like me isn’t even anywhere near their level to talk back.

Untrue, untrue, untrue. None of those rumors are true. Fey and the others are just trying to drive the new girl away from Heidi to get rid of the competition. Rose is actually a very beautiful girl, I can see why they badmouthed Heidi to her. She is amazingly pretty, period. That's why Fey must have felt threatened.

I have so much to do. Heidi’s lesson plans, Physics atom model, that thing about tangents... how many more coffee do I need to ingest? After taking a deep breath and assuring myself that I will never, ever snap back at the royalties, I turned to exit the bathroom.

Upon getting the air I need from the scented hallways, the lockers around me spun into an unknown destination, and I was brought along with it. I couldn't feel my knees, and I couldn't feel my consciousness. Unbeknownst to myself, I had passed out in the hallways.

the sign that gets my sensitivity wet

I had a dream where I was madly in love with the Prince I was to be bethrothed. No cliché issues about our marriage; no falling in love with peasants  and movie plots that make the our engagement life interesting. My life as a Princess was simple; I am about to be crowned, and I have my bethrothed Prince beside me.

But like any dream; I had to wake up. This time comfortable with what the layers upon layers of silk on my back. I wanted to go back to sleep because of how comfortable it is; until I realized the familiar smell of Ethyl Alcohol.

I woke up in the school clinic; still a peasant; with the Prince not even remotely bethrothed to me.

Speaking of; I see his blonde head beside my arm sleeping on the mattress while he sits beside the bed. What is Heidi doing here at... I checked the wall clock... 2:05 in the afternoon? He has classes to attend to.

"Heidi," I buried my fingers in his hair; which of course is silky and quite deep since this hair is sophisticatedly gelled up. After taking a hold of his scalp, I moderately shook him awake.

"Huh? Huuu?" Heidi looks like a toddler rubbing his eyes after getting his sleep interrupted. The rubbing made his eyes red.

I sat up. "What are you doing here. You have music lessons."

"What do you mean what am I doing here--you almost died!"

"If I almost died, I would be at the hospital and not the school clinic," I said, giving him a look. "Besides, I probably... wait, what happened again?"

"You fainted in the hallways. The football team saw you and rushed you here. They said you were hot--so I freaked out and almost smashed the fire alarm--but turns out they were talking about your slight fever. I'm still pissed."

That story actually made me laugh out loud. Something about Heidi acting all worried, then pissed, then annoyed at the miscommunication all in one sentence just amuses me.

Yet he gave me a look, something I vaguely describe to be between amused and weirded out. Or to be clearer... that look he gives me whenever I do something that seemed cute to him.

"I could be punishing you for laughing at me, but I enjoyed the view so keep going," he grinned.

I lightly sliced his neck. "Don't you talk about punishment, I owe you one because you missed an assignment from me."

"That Philosophy worksheet is crap, don't blame me for sleeping on it when you gave me that boring thing," he chuckled. Somehow, his eyes seem more halfhearted than normal.

"We should skip today's session," he says, removing his genuine smile and replacing it with a nervous, forced one.

"You're not being too lazy now, are you?"

"What do you mean, I'm hard working as all hell," he chuckled, still forced. I see his eyes going everywhere except mine. "But you're overworked and stressed out... and uhm... I think I'm bothering you too much."

Whoa, is Heidi Levough actually feeling bad for annoying me? First time.

"So... you blame yourself for bothering me too much?" I asked the mischievous Prince.

"Psh, no. Pft." He snorted fakely. "Look, Percy... I really just don't like you fainting and all that... it's dangerous, especially with the football team bringing you here... "

"What was that? " even though I heard what he said, he looked really cute while being... jealous.

This time he gave me a genuine smile, this time softer and warmer than the usual charisma he always held around him.

"You know I can't just let you get exhausted. I'm responsible for you, so it kills me to not be there when you suddenly need me."

I felt goose bumps from the soft look in his eyes. Stop making my heart hammer! Despite my lack of reactions, he laughed at my face.

"Are you blushing?"

"I'm not, it's the fever."

"Aww, I made you red!"

In my embarrassment, I pressed the pillow to his face. "I'll make you purple, Levough!"

But he resisted my attempt at suffocating his arrogant lungs, so he pushed the pillow back to me. Despite giggling and being silly, this was serious competition on who can kill who. Eventually, once Heidi stood up and used full force he pinned me back to the bed with the pillow on my chest.

I glare at him as he gave me a goofy smile of victory.

"Purple's my favorite color," he says. "I'd like it on your prom dress when we got together."

"Get off," I grunted, trying to push him and the pillow off but to no avail.

"No, I like it this way... you're so close, but not enough to headbutt me." He glances at my lips every once in a while and it made me burn even more. The cocky Levough then continued with, "You're always beautiful this close up. The only difference today is... you're awake."

"You creepy stalker!" I finally used both my knees to attack Heidi’s sides until he removed himself from me.

"Ow--hey, it's not my fault you sleep during sessions! You're supposed to be on the job."

"Well, you take too long to answer the quizzes," I defend, throwing him the poor and abused pillow. How dare he watch me sleep.

It took him half a minute to laugh at my annoyance, with me glaring at him knowing that he's going to find a way to tease me. Heidi’s a bully only to me. I am used to his antics, it's just that he's getting too close for comfort and it's making me feel something else other than the need to duck tape him.

I should be professional at all times. No feelings.

No feel... ing the way he looks at me. After being satisfied with my reaction, he stares at me with softness in his eyes that I can't help but admire. His genuine smile makes his visuals all the more charming. I can hear my heart now... so please stop, it's a dangerous health issue.

Before I could wrap my head around what I'm feeling, Heidi spoke while patting my closed fist.

"I know you're so independant, Percy. You don't really need me at all." His hand remained on my fist; his thumb caressing my knuckles. "But I need you to depend on me for once."

"Y-you've already done too much for me, Heidi." He did give me education on the best school in the world... And all I had to do was tutor a prodigy such as himself, which is actually unnecessary.

"Giving you a place in Carvalle was all I did," he replies, this time serious. "You staying here... was all you. And I'm not just talking about material things, Percy. I--"

My heart is going even crazier seeing him sad and serious like this. How can he even change such emotions? I'm not used to his eyebrows doing that sad expression.

"I want you to lean on me; something you haven't done for the past two years."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me stuff. What you're feeling, about your classes. Anything at all---look, I just want to be friends with you. Please stop treating me like a client."

But he is a client. "Heidi, you are my friend---"

"Then why this wall between us?" He cut me off. "Why do you only see me as your pupil? Why do you only see me as a Prince, but you look at yourself and see a peasant? Percy, if you're going to think of me as a Prince... please think of yourself as a Princess, too."

"But I'm not," I struggled to breathe in a stable manner. With him this close and with our scents mingling... it's difficult.

"I can make you one," he grinned,  leaning down probably to tease me and get me to punch him in the temple as usual.

I don't want to give him the reaction he wants; even though an ice pack is nearby. I just tightly closed my eyes and my fists, hoping he would just pout and move away.

A tense ten seconds went by, and I felt something light on my lips. So light, almost nonexistent; but the soft touch was enough for my knee to fly up and hit him in the stomach.

He did move away, only muttering an "Ow."

"Don't you 'ow' me! That is rape!"

He snorted, "Oh cool, let's take it to court, Sleeping Beauty."

I gave him a death glare; Heidi ignoring my annoyance by taking my hand like traditional courtesy. This entitled brat just stole a kiss, even if we were just 0.1 millimeters apart. But maybe I owe it to him... it's not a big deal, he has asked me for a kiss multiple times--countless.

Still, it makes my heart go wild and I'm not in the mood to breathe knowing I probably have feelings for someone I'll never have.

"Hey Percy," Heidi called out, making me awkwardly look at him. He still has this gentle smile on, much more different than his charisma-driven flirtations.

"Do you love me, now?"

Oh. That question.

"Heidi," I inhaled sharply. "I don't know."

There it is; that answer.

He is so used to those three words that it didn't bother him too much. I can still see his disappointment, but there's still a hopeful glow in his eyes.

"You know, we're Graduating this year... I kind of want to know what you plan on doing after leaving Carvalle..." He mumbled his last words, "...and basically not needing me anymore."

I put on a positive attitude and nudged him. "You know, I think I'll be coming back here after I graduate."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"I just think I will," I smiled at him, this time a genuine act of fondness.