Page 27 of Yearning Difficulties

‘That was balls!’ spat Dave, as soon as the wooden doors closed behind us and stewards were there to take the horse’s reins. ‘He should be kicked out. He’s supposed to stay in character!’

‘Actually,’ I said, smiling in spite of myself, ‘I think he really did.’

Ten

Arena

Today’s Track: ‘I’m on Fire’ by Bruce Springsteen

When the first night of the Medieval Faire was over, the crowd all poured into the town square to enjoy the food trucks and grog booths. As I congratulated Dad on a great first show and changed out of my princess dress, I spotted my fake boyfriend with his twin and their colourful cousin. As I made my way over to them, Cherry’s face lit up.

‘You were ace!’ she yelled. ‘Arcade?’

There was something about her carefree attitude that reminded me of my best friend. And then I started to think about how far away Max was from Lake Pristine.

It made me want to hide.

‘I’m tired from princess business,’ I lied, trying to sound light-hearted. ‘Maybe after the next one.’

I knew Killian was watching me, and as I set off towards Molly’s, I heard him jogging to catch up.

‘Fake boyfriends don’t have to walk fake girlfriends home, it’s fine,’ I said breezily.

There was a beat of silence and when I glanced back at him, he was giving me a guarded look. My attempt at flippancy had come across as coldness.

‘Sorry,’ I added. ‘I do that sometimes. I don’t mean to sound . . . I don’t know – dismissive. I just don’t need—’

‘I’m walking you home, Red.’

And he did. We moved away from the crowd and wandered towards Main Street, without any sense of urgency.

‘So it’s probably a good idea to talk out some more ground rules,’ I heard myself say, and then suddenly remembered the conversation I’d overheard earlier. ‘I’ve . . . I’ve actually been thinking. It would be totally okay if you want to call the whole thing off.’

He frowned at me. ‘Why would I want to do that?’

‘I sort of . . . trapped you in this thing.’

‘No. No, you didn’t.’

‘And it’s not fair to you. You have your own applications to worry about.’

‘Zella, it’s not wrong of you to point out my family’s connections. My parents have loads. Too many, in fact. It’s a bit embarrassing. It’s no trouble. I want y— to help you. I do.’

I stopped walking and he did the same. ‘What about Mystery Girl?’

‘What Mystery Girl?’

‘The girl you like. What if she hears about it? I know you said—’

‘That she doesn’t know I exist. And, Red? She doesn’t. So it’s fine.’

‘I don’t want to step on some other girl’s toes. Especially for a lie.’

‘Huh. Well. You won’t be. Chris and I are both hung up on people we can’t have.’

He blinked, as if he was surprised at his own honesty.

‘Okay,’ I said, a little awkwardly. I wasn’t sure which script I should follow. ‘Ground rules then?’