Eight

"June!" I squealed as she let me go.

It had been three months since she left for the funeral and I had missed her so much. My summer had been more boring than usual without her to drag me out of bed.

I had a theory that her mom prolonged her trip in order to keep us apart. I didn't have any evidence though so I couldn't say anything. Besides, it didn't work either way because June and I talked for at least three hours everyday.

"What the hell did they do to you? You look stunning!" She replied, gaping at me.

I shrugged. "Well thank you and it was these three that made me look this amazing. This is Jeane, Kayden and Rachel."

The three of them greeted June as they made a few more adjustments to the dress.

"Are y'all sisters?" June asked bluntly.

I inwardly cringed. June had no filter and half the time she came across as rude but she honestly wasn't. She was just born with a big mouth.

"Yeah, we're actually quadruplets. Our brother is somewhere outside." Kayden explained.

"That white-haired angel is your brother? Oh my gosh he is gorgeous!" June turned to me with wide eyes.

I nodded as the three sisters laughed at her reaction.

"Dude I know! He is so beautiful! His name is Jonathan by the way." I offered her the information I just knew she was dying for.

"You got his name? Ok did you get Instagram handle? Is he single? Is he looking? Will he be your stylist for the movie? Details, May, give me details." She was begging at this point.

I sighed. My best friend was a massive kpop fan and she was obsessed with everything Asian. I almost felt sorry for poor Jonathan.

"Dude, I just met him! I didn't ask!" I told her.

"Well he is single if you're that interested but I doubt he's looking." Rachel said.

"And if you really want to know so bad then go ask him yourself for his number." Kayden commented as she added an extra flower to my hair.

"Number? What do you take me for? I want to stalk him not date him. I have too many biases so I have no time for actual boys." June replied, making herself comfortable in the sofa.

"Well," Kayden started, "I'll tell you his Insta handle but don't tell him it was me. The idiot deserves it for stealing my chocolate anyway. Take out your phone. It's JJ_Kim. Capital letter Js, an underscore then Kim."

June typed it into her phone then squealed in delight.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, enveloping Kayden in a hug.

"Cheonmaneyo." Rachel laughed back.

June visibly brightened, confirming that she understood what Rachel had just said.

I didn't get it and I honestly didn't want to know. Korean was definitely a complicated language.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Are you guys done?"

It was Jonathan.

I turned to the mirror while the girls called him in. I'm sure I heard June sigh as he swept in which caused everyone to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh nothing. Just ignore them." Kayden replied.

"Oh kay. Let's get a move on then. Oh, May there's someone here to see you. He's right-"

I looked out of the door, feeling my heart skip a beat. There was no one there.

"He's gone!" Jonathan exclaimed.

I steadied my breath, calming my heart.

"Oh it's fine. Let's go." I said.

We left the trailer one by one and let Jonathan lead us to the set building.

"Your hands are shaking." June said as she linked her arm with mine.

I gulped. "Yeah, I'm nervous."

"Why though? It's just like when we take gazillions of pictures with my camera except well, there's more people and stuff." June said.

I shook my head. "No, not that. I'm nervous because after I take my individual shots, I'm going to do the shots with Ace. Prince Charming."

She nodded slowly. "And you think it will be Jason?"

"I don't know." I admitted, omitting the fact that I hoped it would be him.

Three months after meeting him and I still couldn't stop thinking about him. Maybe June was right and I should've given him my number when he asked for it.

She took my hand and kissed it. "Don't be nervous, babe. Even if he's not here, I found him on Instagram so we can dm him and see."

My eyes widened. Was she serious? I was about to ask but then Jeane spoke up - I think it was the first time I actually heard her speak.

"I didn't know you two were dating." She commented quietly.

"Married, actually." June replied.

I rolled my eyes. "I would never marry your crazy ass. No, we're just really close and June's a clingy person."

June wasn't even ashamed, she just smiled and squeezed my hand tighter. Jeane just smiled her tiny, beautiful smile and turned away.

All four siblings were beautiful but Jeane was by far the most stunning. And she rarely said a word all day, preferring to let her siblings take the spotlight.

I wanted to ask her more about her for the sole purpose of getting to know this mysterious being but I didn't. She was a private person and if she was going to be part of my glam squad anyway, I'd get to know her over time.

We followed Jonathan into a metal door that opened up to a cool, narrow hallway. June and I kept our arms crossed in the narrow hallway until we emerged into a large, spacy room with cameras and lights everywhere. It was nerve-wrecking to be honest but I wasn't really focused. I just kept searching for him.

Ms Green came up to us and barely looked at everyone else before she grabbed me. I said a quick goodbye to June and let Ms Green lead me to the left corner of the room where black silky fabric covered the wall. Someone had pinned the fabric in places so that it looked like a silk waterfall tumbling from the ceiling and falling in an inky mess on the floor.

It was so simple yet so beautiful.

"Oh you look stunning! Ok this is where you will take the individual shots. Prince Charming and his sidekick will be here soon with Maia." Ms Green explained.

A middle-aged balding man with tired eyes and a warm smile came up to us and introduced himself as the main photographer. He told me to listen to his suggestions and that I was free to pose however I wanted. I was Sapphire Royale, after all. As he talked about angles and other mumbo jumbo that flew out my head, people dressed in black adjusted the lights just so they could blind me and moved the cameras around so that I felt surrounded by black mechanical eyes.

Great.

I nodded when they asked me if I was ready and then, we started.

As soon as Lucas (the photographer) got behind the camera and Ms Green disappeared, I wasn't sure what to do with myself.

"Come on! Let's see a badass millionaire who doesn't care what people think of her." Lucas suggested.

I had no idea how to do that considering my mom and I barely lived above the poverty line.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then thought of the first time I read TWC. Sapphire was bold and unafraid. She was nothing like me but I knew her as well as I knew the back of my hand.

I opened my eyes and let her personality shine through. I thought I was ridiculous to be honest but Lucas was loving it. As I stared and smirked, he yelled encouragements and gave me pointers. Turns out modeling is a lot like acting as well.

Just fake it till you make it, May

I faced the lights, tilted my head, tried complicated poses and laughed way too hard at his dry jokes. By the time I was done, I felt confident and had nearly forgotten all about Jason.

It wasn't until Ms Green yelled for Prince Charming to jump in next to me that I remembered. The lights were too bright and so it hurt my eyes to look anywhere but directly at the cameras. As a result, I couldn't see him as he walked towards me. All I saw was his outline against the light.

As he stepped closer, I noticed that his hair was curled just like how the book described. Technically Ace was supposed to be blonde but that didn't matter. Movies always changed the characters' appearance anyway.

I felt my heartbeat quicken and my toes tingle. Could it be him? The boy that had been invading my thoughts and causing me to smile at random moments?

He inched closer and at this point I wanted to yell, asking if it was him.

My heart stopped when he finally came close enough so I could see his eyes.

"We meet again May... or should I say Sapphire?" He smirked.

I couldn't believe it. "You're Prince Charming?"