Sacrifice

Chapter Sixteen

It was now Monday, an exact week since the beginning of school. Every time Crybaby waited for the bus, she would think about how much has happened in such little time. The bus hadn't arrived at its normal time, making Crybaby suspicious. She took a few long drags of air and tried to stop herself from thinking of the things that could've happened. The sound of a bus engine was soon faint in the distance, but it was a relief to Crybaby. When it stopped in front of her, she stepped on and rushed to Angelita. "Why did the bus take so long?" she asked her when she sat down.

"A few dumbasses in the back were fucking around and the driver pulled over to set them straight. Took a few minutes," Angelita explained with an eye roll.

"At least the drivers here will do something about it," Crybaby shrugged. Angelita nodded in agreement, then put her hand on Crybaby's thigh. Crybaby froze and stared at her hand with a blank expression for a moment and then smiled, like she had forgotten and then remembered to pretend. Angelita leaned closer to Crybaby in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Crybaby's response was delayed again. She swallowed, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just..."

"You're just...?"

"Maybe I'm just not used to this."

"This?" Angelita pat Crybaby's thigh.

"Yeah," Crybaby faked another smile, "I'm good though. It's fine."

"Only fine?"

"Stop overthinking," Crybaby put her hand on Angelita's shoulder. She truly didn't want Angelita to overthink, not only because of the stress she would put herself through, but because she couldn't catch onto Crybaby's act. "Sorry, you know I'm an overthinker," Angelita said and then looked out the window, trying not to think too hard. Crybaby loved her back, didn't she? That's everything Angelita wanted. When the bus came to a stop, Angelita made sure to stay right behind Crybaby so that they wouldn't become separated. As always. Crybaby let out a sharp, overwhelmed sigh. She hopped off the bus stairs and waited, letting her hand rest at her side because she knew Angelita would hold it. On their way into the school courtyard, they passed Celeste, and she gave Crybaby a glare that could kill. Crybaby looked confused but also worried as Celeste approached them. "Hey, Celeste!" Angelita greeted and let go of Crybaby's hand, going to give her friend a hug.

"Hey, girl!" Celeste pulled her into a tight hug, "I missed you. Glad to see you so..." she paused and looked at Crybaby over Angelita's shoulder, "...happy." She pulled back from the hug and walked over to Crybaby. She gave her a short, weak hug, not really wanting to touch her. Angelita raised an eyebrow after seeing their interaction. "Let me talk to you real quick," Celeste told her quietly. Crybaby responded with just a quick nod. "I'm going to borrow her for a sec, okay?" Celeste grinned at Angelita before aggressively dragging Crybaby to a different spot on the courtyard, leaving Angelita standing there in confusion. Once they were out of Angelita's sight, Celeste faced Crybaby and took her wrist in her hand tightly. "Ow," Crybaby whined as she tried to pull her wrist away. Celeste didn't let her go. "What the hell are you doing with Angelita?" she asked angrily. Crybaby's face went blank as she stared at Celeste for a moment, "I- I'm making her happy?" she stuttered.

"How happy is she going to be when she finds out everything is a lie?"

"She's not going to find out if you don't tell her."

Celeste scoffed, "What are you talking about? You mean this will go on forever? You guys are going to get married and have kids, and she'll never find out?"

Crybaby stammered.

"That's what I thought. Listen, the longer this goes on, the more in love with you she'll become and the harder it will be for her when it ends. Just drop it, Crybaby."

"I can't. How could I break it to her that I don't love her that way, and ruin her right after I made her so happy?"

"You'll have to do it at some point. Stop treating her like your puppet and be honest with her, sooner rather than later. I can't watch one of my best friends manipulate another."

"I'm not treating her like my puppet. Everything I'm doing is for her!" Crybaby raised her voice. Celeste just looked at her in rage, her hand becoming a bit tighter around Crybaby's wrist. "Let me go," Crybaby grunted as she finally pulled her wrist out of Celeste's hand. She took some deep breaths, trying not to let the tears that were welling up in her eyes fall. "Weren't you the one who suggested I put on an act?" Crybaby mentioned.

"Don't you dare try to put this shit on me," Celeste nearly yelled, "I would've never suggested you toy around with Angelita's feelings like this. I said you should've kept it on the low, made sure she felt safe, and let her confess to you on her own. But I specifically said not to trick her!"

"I'm in a really hard place right now, okay? I'm trying to get this shit sorted out," Crybaby looked at up Celeste sadly. "Are you still my friend?" she asked her.

Celeste shook her head, "I just can't be on good terms with you right now."

A single tear fell from Crybaby's eye. Celeste's heart sank a bit, but she showed no sympathy. Crybaby wiped her face and stared at Celeste for a few last seconds, then sighed and made her way back to Angelita feeling more alone and saddened.