A couple of days before the party, Dia spent hours choosing the right dress. When the day finally arrived, Lisa helped her with make-up, but she could see something was on her best friend's mind and asked what was wrong.
"It's... Look, Dia, try not to freak out, but is your relationship with Alex going okay? Is he acting weird?"
Lisa worriedly asked her, and the truth to this question would be 'yes,' but for some reason, she lied and said everything was okay. Reassuring herself that since final exams were over and the basketball team had won nationals, their relationship would now go back to normal.
"That's good, and it's probably some meaningless gossip from some other girls." Lisa let out a breath of relief, but Dia became nervous, wondering what gossip was being passed around the school to make Lisa so worried.
"What are they saying?"
"Well... It's that, lately, Alex has been spotted hanging around a beautiful girl who goes to some uppity school. Saying that the two have been seen going on dates, with close physical contact, but these are just the rumors I heard today. Plus, those jealous girls could be spewing meaningless gossip to set you up if you say your relationship is good."
"Yeah, just meaningless gossip..." Dia tried to convince herself, not wanting to dwell on the thought of all of it being true.
Alex came from a wealthy family. So to celebrate his birthday, his parents decided to go all out, hosting his party at the most lavish hotel in the city. When she stepped into the festival room, her eyes spotted nothing but students sporting stylish formal wear. Dia clutched the strap of her purse, wishing she had Lisa with her, but the other girl had family problems that needed her attention.
Searching for her boyfriend, she finally spotted him sitting on a throne fit for a birthday boy, but paused when her eyes landed on the girl sitting on his lap. She shamelessly pressed her hands against his chest and whispered into his ear as Alex friends who stood in close range joked and laughed amongst themselves.
No one showed any surprise to their star player and friend chatting with a girl who was not his girlfriend.
Dia didn't even realize it, but her eyes stung with tears. She mindlessly walked forward as the group finally took notice of her presence.
"Alex...?" It took all her willpower for her voice not to break. Too bad the same couldn't be said for her heart.
"Sweetie, you didn't tell me your girlfriend was going to show up. Hello, I'm Alex's new friend Leena. Nice to finally meet you~!" said the goddess of a girl, who Alex and his friends couldn't keep their eyes off of. Adoration filled their gazes as she introduced herself to Dia.
"Friend...?" Dia mentally scoffed at the word, watching the girl smile, but her eyes were throwing insults.
She proudly took in the eyes of adoration that were positioned on her as if she was the goddess Aphrodite; she even had the looks to back up this statement—dolled in an exquisite high-low light pink dress with a sweetheart neckline.
"Dia!" At the mention of her name, Dia focused on her boyfriend, whose unloving gaze ripped her heart to shreds. Wondering how someone could change in a flip of a coin and become someone unrecognizable.
"Listen up 'cause I'm only going to repeat this once." The boy who always wore an easygoing grin had a bored look on his face with his menacing eyes staring at Dia as if she was an inferior peasant standing before a noble.
"It's over. Leena is my new girlfriend now. I have no patience for you in my life any longer." His words were cut-throat, straight to the point.
"We're over?" Dia couldn't believe what she was hearing!
"You were nothing but a plaything to me. Something to bypass the time! You didn't really believe that I had feelings for you, did you?" He had the nerve to scoff at her as if their blissful time together meant nothing to him.
"Look at me and look at you. What made you so arrogant to think someone like you is fit to be with someone like me?"
A rainfall of hot tears ran down Dia's cheeks upon seeing the sweet boy who would carry her books and sprout sweet cheesy lines disregard her so coldly. The beautiful girl's eyes gleamed with ridicule as she witnessed this tragic scene, and a burst of laughter spilled from her strawberry-pink lips.
"Oh, not only is she unpleasant to look at, but a crybaby! Sweetie, how about I nickname your ex-girlfriend plain Crybaby? A fitting name, don't you think? Hey, Crybaby, were you really that dumb to believe he actually had feelings for someone like you?!"
Towards this remark, the other invited students and Alex's friends began pointing and laughing at her. In contrast, less popular ones kept to themselves or shot Dia pitiful stares. Not wanting to waste another second being a laughing stock, she fled from the building and took the first bus home.
She trudged through the rain that began to downpour when she was dropped off a few blocks away from her house and locked herself in her room, where she cried for the rest of the night.
Back in reality, the girl spoke. "Gotta say, I wasn't expecting to meet you again like this!" She flashed a smile that showed off her fangs.
"You know, whenever I'm feeling down or angry, I just think back to that night. Recalling the look of humiliation etched on your ugly face. Those stupid crocodile tears, and let's not forget that cheap knock-off dress!" Spontaneous laughter spilled from the girl before her eyes turned cold and she set them on Dia.
"You were a weakling then and still are now. A soft-hearted little bitch; you can't do nothing but cry."
She viciously spat these words at Dia's scared face, sliding her fingernail down the trembling girl's temple to her cheek. Her gorgeously painted nail made Dia hiss with pain when it dug into her skin, causing a thin trail of blood to run.
"Who gave you the guts to steal something from me? You are weak! You are nothing! So listen to my friendly advice: Stay away from what doesn't belong to you."
The girl's rage-fueled eyes peered deep into Dia's, and she increased the grip she had on her hair, hurting Dia, when someone interfered between them.
"This is a friendly training exercise; why are you trying to start problems? I've got enough on my plate dealing with your stupid brother. Don't add to it, Leena," warned a female voice. What entered Dia's line of vision first was a curtain of scarlet hair, red as a bloody river.
"Tch, the princess is saving a commoner. How sweet." Sarcasm laced the girl who was bullying Dia's voice. Seeing that her fun was ruined, the girl, Leena, released her but not before throwing one last glare.
"I'll make sure I tell that little boyfriend of yours that you said hi when I see him later tonight~!" Leena shamelessly brought up Dia's ex-boyfriend, wearing the smile of the devil as she innocently waltzed away.
'She's a freaking psycho! What the heck was she talking about?!' Dia had no clue what she had done that made Leena threaten her in such a fashion. If she was talking about Dia's ex Alex, she could have him. Dia wanted nothing else to do with him!
With her bully exiting the scene, the one to rescue Dia finally graced her with a calculating stare.
'Wow! She's even more beautiful than Leena!' complimented Dia, snapping out of it when the other helped her off the ground and told their teacher that she would take her to the infirmary to check out her injury. Silently walking behind the girl in the red and black 'Gifted Student's' uniform, Dia was led back inside the building and down a long spooky hallway before they finally stopped outside a door.
The girl knocked on the door three times before they heard a male voice ordering them to come in. Inside the room were four empty beds, and at the workstation sat a tall lanky man who looked as if he hadn't slept in forever with a head of thick black curls.
"Princess of House Floarea? What brings you here?" the man drawled in a lazy, disinterested tone. The frames of his thick glasses blocked his eyes.
"This one here was injured during training practice. Seeing that she was hurt, I offered to bring her here but will now be taking my leave." The girl the man referred to as Princess got straight to the point, ready to head out the door when she paused and rested her eyes on Dia.
"Our world isn't meant for the weak. If you want others to stop trampling over you, wise up and get stronger 'cause next time I won't be there to save you." With these words of wisdom, Dia's eyes followed the girl out of the room, and she couldn't help but think the term 'Princess' was very fitting for someone who effortlessly gave off a noble air.