Life, Love & Cupcakes (Rewritten)

Life, Love & Cupcakes 22.

I walked around the camp grounds for a while, trying to clear out my thoughts. Ten minutes passed by quickly, and I didn't want to return to the auxiliary room when the tine was up.

After walking for a bit longer, I hesitantly made my way back to the building. When I stepped into the front room, no one was around. The session must have started already.

I walked down the stairs and peered through the door. The three teachers were sitting on plastic chairs on the other side of the room. Since the students were facing towards them (and away from me) I guessed I could sneak into the room without attracting too much attention.

I was about to walk in when I noticed someone sitting on the floor, against one of the walls. He wasn't a part of the bigger group of students, but he was still listening to the teachers' instructions.

Before I could stop myself, I stepped into the room and walked boldly towards him. Without giving it a second thought, I sat down beside him and took a nervous breath. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he wasn't even aware that I had joined him; his eyes never once looked my way.

"Sam," I whispered, not knowing whether to expect a reply. Would he answer me? Or would he just ignore me, like he had been doing all day? Surely he wouldn't do that, since there were only two of us there. He'd have no choice but to respond...right? I waited for what felt like an eternity before he finally spoke up.

"Rebekah," he whispered back, still looking into the space in front of him.

"It's good to see I exist now." I raised an eyebrow.

He waited for a while before speaking again. "You never didn't."

"Oh?" I asked, leaning closer to him. "Then why were you ignoring me?"

"I wasn't," he said calmy.

"Please," I whispered, rolling my eyes. "You never even said hi."

"Neither did you," he pointed out.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. He was right, as usual. I'd been so worked up about him not speaking to me, that I hadn't even realised I was doing the same thing to him. "You started it," I said pathetically. "When you went off with those boys after breakfast."

"Are you saying I'm not allowed to have other friends?" He asked in a low voice.

"Of course not," I hissed. I took a few deep breaths before starting from a different angle. "You didn't even look at me when we saw you in the front room."

"It's nice to know you were watching my every move," he said dryly.

"Unlike some people, I like to acknowledge others."

"By not taking your eyes off them?"

"No. By actually paying attention to them."

"Ah. And how's that working for you?"

"Why are you being so difficult?!" I hissed. My voice had raised in volume, and I realised we were attracting the interest of some students on the outskirts of the group.

Sam laughed humourlessly. "How am I being difficult?"

"This isn't even you!" I exclaimed, as quietly as possible. I turned to face him, but he still refused to meet my eyes. "You're never like this."

"You're not exactly acting like yourself, either." His lips formed a thin line. "Since when are you this aggressive?"

"Maybe since my boyfriend started being a jerk," I retorted, and I immediately regretted my words.

Sam's face remained neutral, but a quick flicker of hurt appeared in his eyes. "Thanks. It's good to know you still love me," he said sarcastically.

I was completely taken aback by his words. "What? Of course I still love you," I replied, almost pleadingly.

"Yeah," he frowned, "I can tell."

"Are you TRYING to push me away?" I asked.

"No," he whispered. "But it would probably be better if I did."

My mouth fell open, and I felt a stab of pain shoot through my chest. "What?" I breathed.

"You shouldn't hang around me," he said, almost forcefully.

"Oh?" I frowned. "And why is that?"

He struggled for a few seconds, trying to find the right words to say. "I'm not...good for you," he finally whispered.

His words confused me, and my frown grew deeper. "What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't hang around me," he repeated.

I narrowed my eyes. "Is this about what happened this morning?" When he didn't answer, I sighed. "Look, that's nothing we can't fix." Once again, no response.

I felt my earlier anger starting to rise up again. In one swift move, I moved my body so I was kneeling in front of him, and I tried to catch his eyes. Unfortunately, he was too quick. His gaze immediately shifted to the floor between us.

"Could you just look at me?!" I cried, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.

"No," he said firmly. By now, the teachers had started the vocal warm ups, so we wouldn't be heard over all the singing voices in the room.

I put my finger under his chin and gently lifted it up. "Look at me," I whispered.

Even though he was facing me now, he still managed to keep his stare on the ground. "I...can't," he frowned.

"Why not?" I asked, pulling back my finger. I rested my hands on my knees and tried to make my posture less intimidating.

"I...don't care about you," he whispered, keeping his face neutral.

Ignoring the pain his words caused inside me, I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. "I don't believe you."

"You should," he said slowly.

I sighed and looked down at his shorts. "If you don't care about me anymore," I challenged, "then why are you wearing my favourite shorts?"

"I am?" He asked, faking surprise. "Wow. I hadn't even noticed."

"Yeah, right," I frowned. "Of course you knew."

"Oh, I did?" He asked. "Just like you knew you were wearing your hair the way I like it?"

I was about to deny his comment, when a new thought crossed my mind. "You DID look at me today."

Ever so quietly, he groaned under his breath. Gotcha, I thought.

I sighed and reached out for his hand. "Look, Sam-"

"Rebekah, Samuel!" Mr Buckle called out to us, and I spun around quickly. "It's time," he grinned.