Sacrifice

Chapter Nineteen

That Tuesday at almost four o'clock in the afternoon, Crybaby was getting ready to meet her friends at the plaza. She was wearing a plain mauve shirt that hung loose on her, grey leggings and flat shoes with a buckle. Her hair was loose; half her hair was nearly beige, the white color it used to be now fading. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment making sure she looked okay. It was 4:04 now and she was about to leave. She grabbed her small crossbody handbag and draped it over one shoulder as she walked to the front door of her house. Then she exited, locked the door and began walking. She smiled to herself at the realization that she'd be seeing Ben.

When she arrived at the water fountain in front of the plaza, she was met with Celeste and Fleur. They greeted her, and they waited and talking until others got there. In a couple of minutes, Ben arrived and a smile grew on his face when he saw Crybaby already there; he became even more relieved as he noticed Angelita wasn't there yet. "Hi," Crybaby said in a sweetly bashful manner when he approached her.

"Hey, cutie," He chuckled and gave her a long hug, taking advantage of that moment. Crybaby hugged back and clung to him tightly when he tried to pull back. He laughed and rested his head on hers. Eventually, the hug ended and Crybaby smiled widely until she noticed Celeste's face. Celeste hardly needed to scowl. She stared at Crybaby and Ben with a blank yet fierce expression for a bit before sighing and shaking her head while she looked away. It left Crybaby feeling unsettled. She turned to Ben again.

"Hey, Maggy," Fleur said as she and Celeste greeted Magnolia to the hangout. Crybaby turned around and went up to Magnolia. "Hey, Mags," She said happily and hugged her, picking up a few of her dreadlocks because she thought they were fun to play with. Magnolia laughed softly. Angelita was now the only one left to wait for. They sat on the circular wall of the fountain and waited, occasionally making jokes about how long she was taking to show up. "Hey, Crybaby?" Ben looked at her with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah?" Crybaby responded warily as she noticed the look on his face.

"What if I...?" Ben started as he playfully reached across her torso and lightly pushed her backwards towards the water. "Stop!" Crybaby laughed as she hurriedly sat up straight.

Ben laughed, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to let you fall," He gestured to his other arm behind Crybaby to support her. She rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" Angelita walked up to them from behind the other side of the fountain.

"We've been here forever!" Magnolia groaned playfully.

"I'm sorry!" Angelita giggled. Crybaby noticed Ben's smile slowly fade. Along with her own. "Sorry," She mouthed to him. He nodded in understanding. She got up and went to Angelita, "Hi," She smiled at her. "Hey, Baby," Angelita hugged her. She looked into Crybaby's eyes for a few seconds once the hug was over.

"You look cute," Crybaby said to break the silence. Angelita grinned and leaned in to kiss her cheek. Crybaby 'jokingly' dodged her kiss, making Angelita giggle before she successfully kissed her.

"Alright, cut this mushy shit," Magnolia joked as she stood up and approached the two of them. Angelita laughed nervously as Crybaby watched in silence.

"I'm kidding. It's cute," Magnolia said. Angelita and Crybaby smiled again. "Where are we going?" Fleur asked everyone.

"How does ice cream sound right about now?" Crybaby asked her friends. Everyone answered at once, all saying it sounded good. "Then let's go get some," Crybaby smiled and started walking. They all followed her to the familiar ice cream shop, Sundaes & Cones.