Another Broken Smile

25- Confrontations

After a long debate with myself I decide to go to the cafeteria. Now it wasn't that the alluring smell of food had called to me or that I suddenly found being surrounded by people and waiting in lines calming. In fact when I entered the cafeteria during lunch hour it was filled with the usual clatter of plates and whispers of gossip spreading around like wildfire.

The only reason was that I was hoping I could catch Adeline and Alec and see what happens... I really wanted to reconcile our friendship. It wasn't like I was the only one who was wrong anyways and they need to chill their ass down, my life and my boyfriend.

The extra cheesy(at least that's what it said on the menu) slice of pizza still looked uninviting in my lunch tray as I slowly trudged towards our usual spot. Yesterday after the argument during English period I hadn't really seen both of them as I had no free classes. Today I had decided to walk to school instead of hitching a ride with Adeline. There were limits to humiliating me, and I couldn't tolerate any further.

Yesterday on the way back home Willow had tagged along with us and Adeline had the nerve to actually sit with Willow in the front while I sat like a loner in the back. That got me pissed, so today I just ignored Adeline's calls in the morning and decided to walk to school.

The walk was pretty pleasant though....

"Hello" I greet as I reach our usual lunch spot. Alec looks up and confusion swirls through him. He opens his mouth to greet me but then shuts it and settles for an attempted half smile or scowl. Adeline looks up and her eyes widen like she wasn't expecting me. I just sit next to her and don't wait for an invitation. I am done looking like a fool already.

A dreading silence envelopes the table. Thankfully Willow is still missing form her usual place. I poke and prod my food with my fork, hoping I could poke out the tension in the area too, but with no intentions of actually eating it.

"Listen guys" Adeline says drawing our attention to her but she continues, "Let's please, just talk this out. This sucks." Her voice is pleading and I nod. There is a short suffocating silence between us until I break it with the first thing that comes to my head.

"Where's Willow?" I question

"Seriously?" Alec asks in disbelief. I just innocently defend myself, "that's the first that came to my mind"

"She couldn't make it in today" Adeline states with her lips in a tight line. I feel like jumping in my seat and dancing on top of my chair but I don't think Adeline would appreciate that too much, so I keep the bubbling excitement within me.

Unfortunately, Daniel decides to pick that holy moment to enter the scene. He comes along with his lunch tray and is about to take the empty seat beside me when Adeline stops him, "We need some alone time." She states it with authority and a hard glare set on the boy in front of her. Alec just rolls his eyes and looks away in disgust and contempt

Daniel's eyes find mine and he looks at me in confusion as he stands there awkwardly.

"I'll see you later" I tell him softly. He gives me a soft smile and leaves.

"Why did you lie to us?" Alec asks, his voice surprisingly calm, right after Daniel is out of earshot. His face is once again blank and I cannot decipher his thoughts.

"It happened so quickly. I wanted to tell you guys but never found the right opportunity. Daniel obviously has a special place in my heart and once we actually talked about everything that happened, there was nothing holding me back, I love him and there's a lot more behind what happened that night" I explain

"Are you kidding me? This is the same guy who broke your heart and stomped all over it" Adeline nearly shrieks in disbelief .

"I told you, there's a lot that you don't know about" I reply curtly. I hate the fact that what she's saying isn't a lie and I can't come up with anything better to defend him either.