chapter ten ; The caterpillar

The twins left you confused. *Why would I leave them? Or...what do they even mean by 'leaving' them?* You sighed a raked a hand through your hair. Just as you were trying to figure out your own thoughts, a voice interrupted your train of thought.

"What are you thinking about?" You spun and saw Lay, who had his head tilted curiously at you. Lay. Your best friend, besides Tao. The one who listened and gave the best advice because he was so blunt.

"Oh," you muttered in surprise, blinking at him. "Just something the twins said." Lay moved closer to you with a small smile, head still tilted. "And what did the twins say?"

"Something about me belonging to one of the kings once I marry them." You looked away from Lay's intent, probing gaze. "Except I'm not going to belong to either one of them. I will belong to me."

"So you do not wish to be queen of the Red or White Palace?"

"No. I mean, tons of girls my age, if there were any in Wonderland, would love to be in my place, right? They'd love the idea of being queen, of marrying a handsome king such as Kai or Kris. And I'd answer to them, you can take my place." You sighed and moved to Lay, resting your forehead on Lay's shoulder, causing his heart to race. *She doesn't even know what she's doing to me right now.* Lay smiled softly and closed his eyes.

"What should I do?" you murmured, your hands in Lay's shirt. Lay patted your back with a small smile. "You do what your heart tells you. Even if it tells you not to pick anyone and remain single your entire life, perhaps collecting cats as a hobby." You pulled back and looked at Lay with an eyebrow raised. "Was that supposed to be comforting?"

He laughed, ruffling your hair. "To an extent. I was saying you're going to be a crazy cat lady."

"Aigoo." You punched Lay's arm lightly, causing him to smile wider. "You call that a punch? I think I need to teach you how to fight." He chuckled and grabbed your wrist, pulling you to him and wrapping his arms around your waist. Your heart did a funny flip-flop. It was similar to the kind of feeling that you had with Tao, only not as strong. You frowned in thought.

"Now what are you thinking about?" Lay grinned and moved your arms around your neck. "Cat names?" You rolled your eyes at him and had the urge to punch him again. Lay laughed again. "Whose ball are you going to?"

"I told Kris I'd go to his but..." You looked down at the floor. "I don't think I want to go to his." Lay tilted your chin up and tilted his head. "He's going to name you his queen."

"I know."

"Kai is too."

"Maybe."

"He will." Lay let go of your chin and sighed. "Of course it's you Ari. Of course they'd name you their queen." You pulled back and blinked at Lay. "What do you mean by that exactly?" He smiled softly and shook his head. "You don't need to worry about it."

"Ari." You turned to see Tao, staring at you with an undreadable expression. You blinked and tilted your head. "Hey Tao." You stepped away from Lay as Tao held out his hand. You took it, causing Lay's heart to squeeze.

"You're done?" you asked Tao. He nodded, eyes on Lay. "I'm done. Let's go."

"So what did you talk to Lay about?" Tao asked, lacing your fingers together. You bit your lip, feeling electricity run up your arm from the contact with Tao as always.

"J-just about my visit with the twins and...the kings." Tao's steady and probing gaze on you made you nervous. He tilted his head at you and brushed one of your curls away from your face, causing goosebumps to rise on your skin. "What about the twins and the kings?" he murmured, gaze intent. *I want her to talk to me. I want to listen to every word she says.*

"H-he was telling me that b-both the Kings were going to name me their q-queen." You looked away from his dark eyes. "The twins were p-pretty much telling me the same thing."

Tao tilted his head. "Why are you stuttering?" he asked suddenly. "It's not like you to stutter, Ari. Something wrong?"

You shook your head and sighed. "No. It's just that everything recently...has been so stressful. The balls, the kings, their queens, and the way everyone's been acting recently and how I've been just--" You cut off suddenly, not wanting to say anything more.

"How you've just been what?" asked Tao, raising an eyebrow. You shook your head stubbornly and Tao sighed, poking your side. "Tell me, Ari. I won't make fun of you. I might even be able to help you, you know."

"It's nothing," you said quickly, shaking your head with a reassuring smile. "I'm just stressed." You gave Tao's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go eat. I'll make you dinner, okay?"

Tao suddenly chuckled. "Your cooking is terrible."

"You've never tasted my cooking! How would you know?!"

He smirked at you and winked. "I am a cat," was his reply.

AUTHOR'S NOTES; Rawr. keke hai

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