08. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

ACT TWO SCENE TWO

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

sahar glacé

PERSPECTIVE

I WATCH SOLAR look at me with an intense gaze, I could tell she was disappointed with me: siding with the enemy is a mistake. But what if Helius isn't our enemy? I can't help but think I'm targeting the wrong person.

"Do you know what? We could finish this another day, clearly hearing one tape has caused us to feel a little confused with the whole situation." Solar states, grabbing her bag, heading out my door.

"I guess we could, see you at school." I mutter, it was only Friday: we have the whole weekend but I guess Solar doesn't want to hear any more tapes because it's clearly impacting our friendship.

IT WAS NOW SATURDAY. Solar never ended up coming to my house which gave me a sign that these tapes really impacted her. Perhaps it was my mistake to defend a billionaire bad boys club member. Since I don't know who Helius Gray really is and it's rather idiotic of me to defend him after one tape.

I walk out of my house with zero sleep, spending my night researching about Helius was all in vain: the boy had nothing on his name, there was absolutely no dirt. I rub my eyes, I can't help but wonder; is Helius a good guy?

But he can't be. He's a fake.

"Where are you going?" I pause, the sound of my mother's voice causes me to stop walking. I turn around to face her, she had a permanent frown imprinted on her pale face. My mother disliked the fact I'd leave without a warning, she also disliked the way I looked and acted.

"To get some coffee." I respond curtly, not looking at her judgemental eyes. My mother sighs, walking towards me slowly: the harsh sound of her heels clicking on the floor causes my body to stiffen.

"What did I tell you? That stuff is not good for your body, you don't want to gain weight Sahar: people will laugh at you and our family name!" her words cause me to frown, I look down at the floor with guilt. How could coffee cause weight gain?

"You of all people know how much I struggled to get us to the top of the hierarchy of wealth, so much sacrifices and here you are destroying your body with things like coffee." she snaps, I knew she was going overboard with her lecture. Coffee doesn't do much to your body, it's just something I need to keep me awake.

"It's just coffee."

"Just coffee? Many people suffer making this coffee you drink calmly, don't you ever think once about them?" my mother shouts, grabbing my bag. "I'll be taking your cards and cash, don't think of eating today: I don't want you gaining weight right before the midsummer ball."

The mid summer ball. The event where all the rich kids of Devon Academy and their parents come together to build bigger businesses, in other words to make the rich get richer. In this ball, some parents arrange alliances and force their children to date people they have no romantic connections with at all: its all for business purposes only.

"It's our first time going to this mid summer ball, we want to make a grand impression." my mother states, watching me with her hawk like eyes. "Don't be stupid and think of getting chubby, your thighs are already big enough."

Her words did hurt but they didn't hurt as much. I was too used to the names she'd call me, the words she'd use to describe me. It's all repetitive cycle, she continues to degrade me for no reason. That's why I felt sympathy for Helius, my mother does the same exact thing to me.

Forcing me to be someone I'm not.

"When is the mid summer ball?"

"In a week, this year the Valdez family are hosting it." my mother states bitterly, for some reason her change in expression was suspicious. The way she stated the Valdez family was out of spite, as if they did something to her. Luca seemed to act weird around me too; is this some family enmity?

"Who are they to us?" my question causes my mother to look at me with a disgusted gaze.

"Disgusting individuals, they all deserve the worst and you're going to do that for me, Sahar." my mother's words cause me to frown.

"How?"

"You're going to that party to impress Luca Valdez, if you don't then I'll simply take everything away from you, do you understand?" her words cause me to still, it's funny, it's funny that even my own mother blackmails me.

"I said, do you understand?" she snaps.

I nod my head. "I understand."

I WALK ALONE. It was sad, sad how my mother expected me to be this perfect person to walk this Earth. It's pathetic how she talks about being poor and then suddenly getting rich. She even states she made sacrifices but it made no sense at all. What sacrifices did she make to reach the top? How did she get rich? It makes no sense as nobody becomes rich over night just like that.

"Is there a reason you seem so upset?"

I turn around to find Helius, the presumed golden boy watching me with an elysian gaze in his molten eyes. He throws me a radiant smile, walking towards me gracefully as if he was made out of gold itself.

"I'm not upset." I mumble, turning around. I don't want to talk to him, since the more I find out about him, the more similar our situations are. I don't want to relate to a billionaire bad boys club member. I just couldn't.

"I can tell when people fake their happiness, I know exactly how to pull it off but people like you don't know how to pull it off at all." Helius states, his words were provoking me. He doesn't know how I feel, he can't relate to me. We're practically two different people yet I hate how similar our situations seem.

"I'm not faking anything." I murmur, my back still turned against Helius. Quite ironic of him to be asking if I'm faking my happiness, he always does it like an ongoing cycle and I know he gets sick of doing so in the process. That's why I felt guilt for him because I feel the same way. But I can't feel the same way as him, Solar and Normani are trusting me to take the billionaire bad boys club down.

They want me to expose their secrets because this club hurt them, they hurt everyone. Normani lost her place in Devon Academy and lost her house yet Helius paid for everything without giving her a proper reason why; it's crazy how Normani still hates him after what he has done for her.

I felt Helius grab my hand gently, turning me around to face his golden gaze. I watch as he looks at me with an dainty frown, his touch felt warm just as warm as his flaxen heart.

"Just a few minutes ago I saw you wiping a tear from your face, now tell me Sahar; is that not you being upset?" his words cause me to still, he saw that. Helius chuckles at my stunned expression, smiling brightly placing the celestial beings above to shame. "Then suddenly you smiled, covering the fact you were just crying."

"There's many flowers and I'm allergic to pollen." I lie, my words cause Helius to shake his head in disappointment.

"Really? I see no flowers around here."

Caught in a lie.

"I don't understand; why are you so concerned about me?" I question, watching Helius with a suspicious gaze: it was rather odd of a billionaire bad boys club member to show care towards a person that is not a member of their ignorant club.

Helius runs a hand through his winsome brown hair, his ethereal eyes glimmer under the bright sun. "I'm not concerned Sahar, I just don't want you ending up like me." he mumbles, turning around. "If you think it's concern then I guess it doesn't bother me as long as you don't become the person I am today." with that, Helius walks off.

I watch as he enters his rather exquisite car, the windows slide down and his elysian face appears. He had a beguiling smile on his prepossessing face once more, he places his expensive sunglasses on and gives me one last nod before driving off.

His motto was to fake it till you make it. But in Helius' case he was faking it because he knew he could never make it: he could never be happy being this golden boy everyone loves.

And that's why I felt guilt for him.

The both of us are the same. We'll never make it if we continue to listen to our parents mindlessly.

do you like helius? and perhaps do you think he's misjudged for everything? and the way sahar's mother treats sahar and hates luca's family: do you think there's a reason behind it? who are your ships!

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