Cupcake

Avoiding Rhys was far easier than I thought it would be. Two days later, I hadn’t even run into him. That was mostly by applying the following tactics: I stayed away from his and my lockers as much as possible, ignored his texts, and made sure to check around corners whenever I was traversing the halls. Piece of seven-layer cake.

“I still say you should talk to him,” Toni sighed.

“Why?” I asked, checking ahead before turning the corner. “My strategy’s worked great so far.”

“What strategy is that?” she said. “The one where you run in the other direction whenever you see him?”

I shot her a glare. “That was one time—and I hardly ran. It was more like a brisk walk if anything.”

“Ariel.”

“Toni,” I said back. “I don’t want to see him. Ever. Why can’t you understand that?”

My bestie shook her head. “Maybe it wasn’t as bad as you think.”

I scoffed. “Trust me, it was bad.”

“But you’re a good judge of character,” she persisted. “And you really liked Rhys. Don’t you think you would’ve suspected something before this?”

“I guess that means I’m losing my touch,” I said. “Or he’s a really good liar.”

“But—”

“Toni, whose side are you on?” I asked.

“Yours,” she said in surprise. “I always have your back, A. You know that.”

I nodded. “It was getting kind of hard to tell.”

“I just want my happy, innocent, totally lovable best friend back,” she said. “You’ve been stressed the past few days, and I’m worried.”

“I’m fine,” I said in a cool voice.

Toni held up the container of cupcakes I’d baked last night. It was one of five.

“Okay, I’m not fine,” I corrected. There was no hiding the results of my stress baking. “But I will be, no need to worry. Homecoming will be over in a couple of days, and I’ll be back to normal.”

“You think it’s that easy?” she said.

“Yeah. I mean, Rhys will forget about me—”

“He’s been hanging out at your locker a lot,” Toni put in.

“—and I’ll forget, too.”

I took a deep breath.

“Though I’ll probably have a harder time getting over him. Even if he is a jerk.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said. “Rhys was exposed to all your awesomeness. Mark my words, Cupcake—he’s going to find it very difficult to recover.”

Toni gave me a smile before heading to her next class.

Even if it wasn’t true, I appreciated the pep talk. I was still thinking about what she said, not paying attention, when I bumped into something—or to be accurate, someone.

“Princess,” Rhys said with a frown. “Long time no see.”

Exactly, I thought as I went to move around him, but he blocked my path.

“Is something going on?” he asked. “I’ve been trying to talk to you, but you never return my calls.”

“Everything’s fine,” I said.

“Did you break your phone or something?”

My brow furrowed. “No.”

Rhys leaned back. “Well, my mom loved the North & South movie you got her. She’s basically in love with that Mr. Thornton guy. Won’t shut up about it.”

“Mini-series,” I mumbled. “And I’m glad she liked it.”

“I wanted to see if I could come by your house tonight,” he said.

“What?” I squeaked. “I mean, why would you?”

He gave me a half smile, and I cursed my heart when it fluttered in response.

“To see how it ends,” Rhys said. “We only watched the first two hours, remember?”

“Now that your mom has her own copy,” I said, “I’m sure she’ll let you watch hers.”

Rhys shook his head slowly. “I don’t know about that. She seems pretty attached.”

Mr. Thornton would do that to you, I thought. Remembering how I’d picked the liar in front of me over him, I wanted to knock myself over the head.

“And besides,” he added, “I’d rather watch it with you.”

As he took a step closer, I backed away.

“Well, sorry, but I can’t tonight,” I said. Or any other night, I silently added.

“Why not?” he asked.

Because you lied to me. You made a bet with your friend and told him you’re embarrassed to be seen with me. Because it’s breaking my heart right now just looking at you.

Lana saved me from the painful truth. I caught sight of her coming toward us down the hall and remembered something I hadn’t before. I actually did have plans.

“I have a princess party to go to,” I said suddenly.

“Are you for real right now?”

“Yeah, it’s at Lana’s house.” I smiled at the other girl. “Can’t wait for tonight. Thanks again for inviting me.”

Lana seemed surprised I was addressing her, but she nodded.

“Don’t forget your pajamas,” she said. “And for the love of all that’s holy, please don’t bring your prince with you. This party is girls only.”

She kept walking. Her tone wasn’t overly friendly, but I swear I could’ve kissed her right then. Turning back to Rhys, I shrugged.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked.

“Having a movie night,” I said. It was the thing that convinced me to go in the first place. “We’re supposed to watch the Princess Diaries. It’s awesome, and appropriate for this week, too.”

Rhys nodded. “Maybe we can get together some other time, then.”

Or maybe not.

“Princess, I—”

He reached for my hand but let it fall when I pulled away.

“Rhys, we’re in public,” I said quietly.

“So?” he said.

“People can see. I just don’t want to embarrass anyone.”

The line between his brows grew as his frown deepened. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t think we should hang out anymore,” I said. “That goes for Homecoming, too—other than the required bits, I mean.”

“Hold up. Where is this coming from?”

I forced myself to meet his eyes. “I think you know.”

“I really don’t.” He looked so confused, I almost believed him. “Did I do something wrong?”

No, I thought. I did. I was wrong to fall for someone who couldn’t fall back.

“It’s not your fault, Rhys,” I said, realizing in some ways that it was true. “You can’t help how you feel.”

Before he could say anything, I left.

It was better this way, good that we had talked and put a definite end to things. Rhys had to be relieved that he didn’t need to pretend anymore, and I could begin the long process of healing my heart. This was for the best.

But then why didn’t I feel any better?