Night of the Masquerade ~ An Aru Shah AU

Chapter 5: Ice Cream with a Sprinkle of Advice

After ordering ice cream, (Aru got a scoop of Birthday Cake and a scoop of Superman. Mini got one scoop of Pistachio, making sure it was organic. Brynne got two scoops of the blue one. As for toppings, Brynne took plain old sprinkles and Mini decided on nuts and fruits. We are not even going to talk about Aru's mess of toppings.) They sat down at a bench and ate in silence for a couple of minutes before Brynne decided to break it.

"Okay, now we really need to talk." Aru groaned.

"About what?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"You and Aiden." Mini answered, looking meaningfully at her. "And.... Kara." Aru sighed.

"Nothing really, Kara likes Aiden and Aiden likes Kara. Simple."

"But you like Aiden." Said Mini gently.

"So? It's not like that's going to change.... anything." Aru's voice ended in a whisper. Her sisters looked sadly at her.

"Aiden's being an idiot." Said Brynne, gruffly. "But so are you. Why are you even helping Kara anyways if it hurts so much?" Aru shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"It's just.... Kara is so sweet and they like each other and they are meant to be together, I mean it's almost like fate, and Kara asked for help so how could I refuse?" Aru blabbed. Brynne gently shook her and looked her in the eyes.

"Stop. Helping. Kara."

"Fine. I won't help her AS much." Brynne and Mini didn't look satisfied, but nodded.

"You know, if you're so sure Aiden doesn't like you already, you should just confess to him. It's the best way to move on." Said Mini.

"Exactly. Treat it like a bandage." Brynne added on. Aru thought about this. Maybe she would.

"If I have the guts to do that. But can we stop talking about my boy problems and eat the ice cream already? It's a wonder it hasn't melted already!" Her sisters laughed.

"Yes, yes. But remember what we said." Brynne said, grinning and draping an arm over Aru's shoulder.

"And we are always there if you want to talk more about this or need more advice. Or just in general, you know." Mini softly added, squeezing Aru's hand. Aru smiled.

"I know." Mini, Brynne, and Aru finished their ice cream and skipped to Aru's place to drop Aru off before going to the hotel they would be staying at while in the country. As Aru took off her cardigan, she heard sobs from Kara's room. She immediately rushed there and banged on the door before barging in and was met by Kara's tear-stained face.

"It failed." She mouthed.

A/N: Soooooooo what did you guys think? Also, thank you so much for reading, I really appreciate it! See you guys next chapter! Constructive criticism is appreciated too!