Life, Love & Cupcakes (Rewritten)

Life, Love & Cupcakes 18.

As soon as Belle walked into the cafeteria and saw me sitting at my table alone, she ran over and sat next to me.

"What's wrong?" She asked, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Nothing," I lied. That morning, once the sun had risen completely and I'd finished crying, I had brushed the knots out of my long hair and put on more make up than usual to cover the bags under my eyes. Belle wasn't convinced, though.

"For some reason, I don't believe you," she said suspiciously. When I didn't reply, she decided to change the subject. "Um...where's Sam?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

"What? But you two are always together!" She exclaimed.

"I suppose," I said quietly.

"Oh, never mind," she said slowly, looking behind me. "He just walked in."

I looked at her in shock, then I spun around in my chair to follow her gaze. Sure enough, Sam was standing in the doorway with the junior boys he'd been dancing with last night. They were laughing and joking around with each other, and Sam was chuckling too. He actually looked...happy.

"Why is he acting so carefree?!" I thought out loud, and Belle gasped.

"Did something happen between you and Sam?" She asked worriedly, and I cringed. Shoot.

"Yeah," I finally admitted. "We sort of...I don't know."

"You what?!" Belle cried. At first, I thought she was just trying to get the latest gossip, but then I saw her eyes. They were filled with worry and sympathy.

I sighed, then I told her the story. I have to admit, I did feel a bit better now that someone else knew. She listened patiently, and by the end, her mouth had dropped open in shock.

"That's awful," she gasped. She bit her bottom lip, and I could tell she was deep in thought. "Well," she began, "maybe he's just trying to get over it all..."

"By acting like it didn't even happen?" I snapped. I didn't usually get angry, but when I did, it spread through me like a virus.

Belle flinched at my harsh tone, then she nodded. "Believe it or not, that's sometimes the best way to get over it."

I groaned and rested my head on the table in front of me. "Why is this so difficult?" I asked quietly.

"Maybe because it needs to be," Belle said quietly. When I looked at her in confusion, she sighed. "Okay...maybe a story will help. Let's pretend there's a girl. She's a pretty lucky girl, with lots of friends and an amazing family, but she's always felt like she's missing something. Then, during a typical day at school, she meets a boy. He's new to her school, and they don't exactly get along at first. She thinks he's a snob, and he thinks she's spoilt. They refuse to talk to each other, and they reckon they'll be enemies forever. One day in math, their teacher decides to do a pairing activity, and he deliberately pairs the girl with the boy so they can try to get along. They finally talk to each other, and when they do, they actually get along amazingly well. They've been...very close ever since."

"That's a sweet story," I smiled. "But I don't get how it relates to me and Sam..."

"All I'm saying is, everything happens for a reason," she explained gently. "If the boy and the girl weren't enemies, the teacher would have never paired them together. They would never have formed such a close bond."

I sighed, understanding what she meant. "So I just have to...act like it never happened?"

"Well, not necessarily," Belle answered. "That may be Sam's way of dealing with it, but it doesn't have to be yours. You don't have to shrug it off completely...but that doesn't mean you can't go on with your life."

I sat still for a minute, thinking it all over. When Belle noticed I wasn't replying, she gasped.

"I'm sorry!" She cried. "I feel like I'm telling you to be heartless or something..." She cringed, then continued. "I jumped into solutions too quickly, I'm sorry. I forgot that you must be so upset."

I looked up at her and gave a halfhearted smile. "No, I understand. I'm actually feeling better now that we've talked about it."

"Phew, that's a relief," Belle sighed.

I turned around to look at Sam again. He had sat down with the boys on the other side of the cafeteria, and they were still joking around and laughing. Was this really how he got over it when terrible things happened?

"You're doing the singing classes today, aren't you?" Belle asked suddenly.

I turned back around and nodded. "Wow, I'd nearly forgotten about that. So much has happened in the past twenty four hours..." I found it hard to believe that Sam and I had only left for camp this time yesterday morning.

"Tell me about it," Belle said with a sigh. "Not only did I come to an awesome drama camp, but I also made friends with one of the best people I've ever met." She gave me a bright smile, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I actually don't know how you can be so nice," I replied. "It's, like, completely crazy. You're too nice for your own good!"

She let out a round of giggles. "Oh, stop it, darling!" She cooed, flicking her hair dramatically. Suddenly, something behind me caught her eye, and she stared at it intently.

"What's up?" I asked, turning to see what she was looking at.

"I'm supposed to attend a breakfast date by the river," she said sheepishly. I didn't understand what she meant, until I saw Dimitri in the doorway. He sent a dazzling smile our way, and I couldn't help but cringe. He reminded me so much of Sam.

"Will you be okay if I go?" Belle asked.

I looked back at her and tried to smile again. "Sure, go have fun," I said as happily as I could. I hoped she didn't notice the pain and jealousy behind my words.

"Alright. Chin up, you'll make it through," she said sweetly. She stood up and started to walk away.

"Wait, Belle!" Something had suddenly sprung to my mind. "There's one thing wrong with your story about the girl."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What is it?"

"Why would she think the boy was a snob, even though she'd never met him before?"

A mischievous smile crept onto her face. "Oh, that's easy." She looked back up at Dimitri and giggled. "Because he was English."