“Look at you, unnamed citizen number 3.” Abigail was draped over me as we peered at the bulletin board. To no one’s surprise, Wells was casted in the male lead role, and Jen as the female lead. What was more surprising, was to find my name up there in the first place. Abigail was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she saw it. “I’m so proud of you.”

“It’s a nothing role.” I ducked under her arm, watching as she glanced around looking for a specific someone. I knew it was Jen. Abigail had even shown up at my house twenty minutes early to make sure we wouldn’t miss her. I didn’t want to be here when she started rubbing it into her face. I sensed it was going to be inevitable.

“A nothing role that’s going to get Queen B to shut up for a while.” She picked at something underneath her nail. “An invaluable contribution to this friend group, truly. We owe you our lives.”

“Who owes who?” Nia popped up, having been summoned from the depths by Abigail’s ceaseless texts. I could never understand how she managed to text so fast on the dial pad. If I looked at Nia’s phone, I wouldn’t doubt there being twenty texts minimum from her.

Abigail motioned dramatically at the board, “Our beloved Cinder got a part, can you believe it?”

“Yes. You texted me a million times about it.” When Nia looked at me, she gave a much warmer smile. “Congrats though. I’m impressed you managed to actually force yourself to walk on stage.

I wasn’t quite sure how I managed to do that either, “Well, I’m glad I managed to be of some use. I don’t know if Jen will keep her word but…”

Abigail’s eyes snapped up. She raised her hands and cupped her mouth, “Hey Queen B! Will you keep your word?”

I whirled and there she was. Jen walked up to the board without so much as looking at us. She only peered at it for a second, nodded, and then turned towards us. Rather, she turned towards me.

There was only ice in her eyes, “I should have made the conditions harder. Even someone whose never acted before can be a lineless background character.”

“A deal’s a deal my dear. No backing out now.” Abigail planted herself in front of me, breaking off contact. “Now promise to leave Nia alone until you graduate and we’re even.”

“I-I’d prefer if it was all three of us—”

“I’ll leave Nia alone, then. She can continue on prancing around practice if she likes. As for Cinder, we’re going to have plenty of time spent together. We have rehearsals to show up to now, don’t we?” When I peeked out from behind Abigail, Jen’s eyes were glaciers.

She gave a curl of her lip, a promise of what was to come. I’d gone from someone she never noticed to her newfound target. Abigail tensed, and I already knew the kind of words that were going to be said.

I rushed out, “I-I look forward to working with you.”

Jen eyed me, “I look forward to seeing you, then. At least you’re not as disappointing as I thought.”

She turned on her heel and left. Abigail’s hands had curled into fists, and I tapped her shoulder once. Although she didn’t turn her gaze away from where Jen had gone, she let her fingers relax.

“Why can’t she ever have a decent attitude about anything? I think she’d be so much easier to get along with if she wasn’t always attacking people for no reason.”

“I guess people really do hate people that mirror themselves.” Betrayal flashed through her face as Nia gave a lazy grin.

“I’m nothing like her! When I attack someone, there’s always a reason behind it.”

“Well, you can ignore her now, right?” I cut in, desperate to drive her attention away from Jen. “Ah, I may not be able to walk home with you much now, though. I’m going to be busy attending rehearsals…”

“And I’m so proud of you for doing so! Now you can face your next challenge.” I leaned away from Abigail, slipping from hiding behind her to inching behind Nia.

“What would that be—?”

“Obviously to get you more confident for—”

“Oh! Hi Wells!” I cut her off just in time as I noticed the dark haired boy stroll down the halls. He blinked at me, eyes blurry from sleep. He was so put together in class, I barely recognized him like this.

He gave a nod, “How’d you do?”

“I got a part! You did well yourself.” Much like Jen, he only glanced at the posting briefly. Both of them had to have been confident in their abilities to not even make a big fuss of it.

“Congrats. I’ll see you in class.” It was as brief as I’d expected. I waved as he continued on his way, only after noting the bright grin on Abigail’s face. I had a million questions, and I didn’t think I’d like the answer to one of them.

“Didn’t mean to almost sell you out to Kade’s bestie over there.”

I couldn’t get a pulse on their relationship as it stood, but I think it was still far away from that. It wasn’t convenient to correct her, “I don’t think he’d tell but…it’d still be really awkward for him to know.”

Plus, with how perceptive he seemed to be I was terrified he’d see through it. I could already imagine him asking me if I really had a crush on Kane in class, like how he’d asked if I’d listened in on them at the library. I was more likely to melt than I was to be able to lie my way through that one. It was easier to do so with Abigail and Nia, because they wouldn’t even think I’d lie to them.

What did it say about me, that I was using their trust against them?

//

“Actors usually sit in front.” Jen stood over me, hands folded across her chest. Whispers cascaded around me, with looks being through my way by the other stage hands. It wasn’t like it was unusual for us to audition and get parts. People switched over all the time, especially sophomores after they learned the ropes freshman year.

But I’d cemented myself as such a wallflower with so little interest in acting, that everyone who even knew me for a second was caught in a state of shock. With a spotlight on me, I carefully picked myself up.

“Right.” She looked at me before walking towards her usual spot. I trailed after her, breaking off near the middle area while she headed right towards the front. She said nothing more and sat with the usual group she tended to be around.

I had never learned the name of her friends. The three of them sometimes reminded me of me and my friends, but watching them gave a completely different feel. She may have been the leader of the group like Abigail almost felt like to us, but her friends were both so loud. Nia wasn’t an introvert, but she always tended to fall on the quieter side. I myself was an introvert in every sense of the word.

From here, being closer to them than before, it was weird to see. They sounded like they were tumbling over each other’s words, trying to say sentences faster than the person before them. The more I watched, the more I realized that Jen was the quiet one between the three.

I hadn’t ever thought of it before.

Wells walked in a moment later, still looking as tired as he had earlier. I couldn’t help but look at him in concern, and he slid into the space next to me. “Are you…ok?”

“Hmm, stayed up too late.” He discarded his bag in front of him and pulled his legs up to his knees. I noted his wrist was adorned with a watch, the plastic cover broken but the arms still ticking.

He tilted his head at me and I scrambled, “S-sorry you’re tired.”

“It’ll be fine.” As the bell rang overhead the teacher descended to the front. I was aware of Wells movement beside me, or rather, the lack of it. Once his body curled into position, it stayed there for most of the class. I did my best to do the same, only moving to start exercises and practice.

Even though Jen had called me ‘actor,’ I had a grand total of one line in the play. It was a lot more than I had been expecting, considering I’d slotted myself into voiceless extra, but it wasn’t something that required all that much practice or fuss. Wells still paired up with me, despite my feeble protests.

“I’m used to working with you by now.” At that, I went quiet despite the desire to protest still heavy within my chest.

I figured this would start to be a new routine now. Jen doing what she could to slowly get under my skin and practices with Wells during class, while watching him act out actual scenes in rehearsal.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

If it wasn’t for Jen, I didn’t think I’d mind it. But I was as acutely aware of her as I was Wells. It was like a cloud that hung over me. I only went on with class, and did my best to ignore it.

“Right, I lost the other day.” Wells said near the end of class. I blinked, having been so lost in through I’d forgotten about that entirely. “I wonder when Kade is free.”

“He normally walks with me after school now. We could meet up and decide? I’m free today if you and Kade are.”

He nodded, “I’ll meet with you by the gate.”

“Yeah, see you then.”

The bell rang overhead, and I paused for a moment. The tiredness still hadn’t left him. But it wasn’t my business. I didn’t want to pry. I wished him goodbye before my curiosity could get the best of me.

//

“It feels like you got a second friend group.” Abigail walked with me towards the front gate. The statement threw me, because I hadn’t considered it like that at all.

“Does it…?”

Her arm brushed against mine, a bright smile on her face, “That’s good! I think this is what it feels like to be a proud mother watching her child blossom.”

“P-please no.” She laughed, careful in the sound. I tried to turn her statement over in my head. Were we becoming friends? Wells was distant in a forward way, and Kade was distant in an avoidant way. I was still just a few steps above stranger in my head. The path to friendship wasn’t even in my field of vision no matter how hard I looked for it.

Wells was already waiting by the gate when we arrived. Abigail waved in greeting, “Hello Actor Boy.”

“Ah, hello Cinder’s Friend.”

“Touché.” She clapped her hands on my back. “I hope you know I’m disappointed that the two of you didn’t beat her in the end.”

Wells’ expression didn’t even twitch, “You gave that job to Kade if I’m remembering correctly.”

“I have a few words for him when he gets here about that. He was supposed to beat my long time enemy. Oh, how bitter my heart weeps.”

I nudged her hands away, “It’s just when it comes to games. You’d beat me in anything else.”

“Maybe I’ll ask Nia to go one-on-one with you in a basketball game! She can reclaim my honor then.” I wouldn’t stand a chance against her, and Abigail knew it. I was so short that Nia could block any throw I’d attempt, and it wasn’t like I had any sense of aim or arm strength to make it to the target besides.

It was too harsh a punishment, “I’d rather not. I’d feel almost sorry to Nia for making her play with me.”

“Better yet…” She spun me around so I was suddenly face to face with Kade. He stepped back in surprise as I pushed back against Abigail. “Since Cinder beat you in gaming, you have to beat her in soccer.”

“Wha—”

“…I see.” He exchanged looks with Wells who merely shrugged in response. “I don’t mind a match.”

“I-I’ve never played a game in my life.” His and Abigail’s laughter overlapped and I scooted away towards Wells. “It’d be over before it even started.”

“If you say so.” She ruffled my hair before I could stop her. “Now that the gang’s all here though, I should get going.”

“Ah, that’s right. Why are you here Wells?”

Kade turned to Wells, who said, “Loser buys snacks. I lost didn’t I?”

“Oh right! I would have let you go if you hadn’t reminded me.” He glanced away as Kade grinned. “Do you want to tag along, Abigail?”

The mischief was back in her eyes again, “Nah, I’m busy. You kids have fun, though! I’ll see you later Cinder.”

She waved and ran off ahead. I watched her merge into the sea of other kids leaving, feeling my head spin. I knew she wasn’t going to be upset about it, but her supportiveness still surprised me. Whenever anyone asked why we were best friends, I could tell them I knew this for a fact. She would always be here for me.

“What do you guys want?” Wells wasted no time. I hadn’t thought of it, with my head wrapped up on so many other things. Kade was right, if Wells hadn’t mentioned it I doubt I would have remembered the bet at all. Especially with how the night had ended.

Kade’s response was immediate, “Slushies from seventy-seven.”

With an immediate eyeroll, Wells turned on his heels and started walking down the opposite way of where I normally walked. Despite living here my whole life, I was a lot more familiar with my side of town than the other half. The other half was more the boogie area, filled with large houses and gated homes. Even the parks had looked nicer when my parents drove through it to take me to doctor appointments growing up. It was a far cry from our cramped house, that was always overflowing with my parents, my sister, and I’s belongings.

Most kids came from that side of town, seeing as Aster Academy was a private school. Papi had known some people and pulled some strings, and Abigail had gotten in on scholarship. While I wasn’t familiar with how much my parents were paying, I had tried to keep my grades up to prove it was worth it. It was why my math grade haunted me so.

“What about you?” Wells cast a glance back at me, and I realized I had gotten lost in thought again.

I quickly shook my head, “I-I’ll probably decide on something when we get there.”

Seventy-seven was an indiscreet building with beige painted walls and a brick foundation. There were a few other kids in Aster Academy uniforms milling about or walking out of the store with their own different colored slushie combinations. I hadn’t even know it existed, and it was only a few minutes away from school.

Inside, there were a collection of snacks and candy. Drink machines were in the back and Kade made a beeline for it, excited to get whatever combo he was going to get. I felt myself smile despite myself, before looking around. I hadn’t even thought this place was a sweets shop based on the name. it sounded closer to a corner store than anything.

I wandered around, thinking about what I wanted. In my head, I added this as another place I needed to take Nia and Abigail to soon. Hopefully we’d all be free and have time to go. It’d been a while since the three of us had time to hang out after school.

“Ah, is there anything you like Wells?” Too overwhelmed with the unexpected choices, especially since they were different than what I was expecting, I turned to him.

He walked up next to me, barely noting the selection. I got the feeling the two of them stopped here often, “Depends on what you’re into.”

“Anything fruity, or extra sweet. Or sour.” I rattled off my preferences. “What are you getting?”

“I wasn’t really going to get anything.”

“Really? You can pick something and we could share.”

He waved a hand over one of the clear plastic containers in front of us, “I normally just grab sour strips, if I’m going for sour.”

“That’s fine! We can get a mix.” I grabbed a plastic bag, arm brushing against Wells as I reached for it. He stilled a moment, before taking a step back. As I tore the bag off the spiel, I pulled back. “Ah, sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He glanced away from me. As I formed a question on my tongue, Kade appeared in front of us.

In his hand was a mixture of colors. I counted at least four, and I wondered if each taste was indistinguishable from the next. Wells frowned, “Disgusting.”

“Ah, it tastes good you know.” Kade offered it with a half-grin, and Wells shook his head.

“Can you even taste each flavor at this point?”

“I promise it’s fine.” He held it out to me. “You?”

As my brain bluescreened, my embarrassment must have shown on my face because Kade immediately pulled back, his eyes slipping away. I swallowed, “U-um, it’s alright.”

His ears were a hint red. I stared for a long minute as he turned away, focusing on them. Just as suddenly, I spun around and focused only on filling my bag. There was something not right about the sight. It made me remember a crucial detail that I’d been forgetting about this entire time.

It was a failure if I didn’t fall for the person in question either.

There was nothing in my heart like that. There had never been feelings like that in my heart for anyone. There had been plenty of those that I had admired but they had never spilled over into the realm of romantic. The reminder that Kade’s sudden and inexplicable blush conveyed wasn’t quite what I had been expecting. I hadn’t gotten any readings that he liked me either.

“Right, well, we should go pay.” I spun the bag to seal it shut and grabbed one of the green ties.

Wells looked like he couldn’t be more excited to leave. It was the most emotion I’d seen on his face outside of acting today, “Let’s go.”

Wells paid, and we headed out. There were still other kids from school around, but Wells continued walking down the road. Kade followed, closer to Wells then to me, and I couldn’t help but keep my distance from him. This was going to end up as an automatic failure for me. I didn’t know Kade well yet, but I felt it in my heart I wasn’t going to feel anything for him like that.

Was acknowledging that going to lead to a dead end? I paused, as I realized that. There hadn’t been any clear indication of when a failure would occur. The Headmaster had said I’d only have a limited amount of time after a failure to fix things. But did personal feelings have a slower failure time than the villain winning?

I wasn’t sure.

Wells sighed, “Don’t get distracted.”

“R-right! Sorry.” I hurried to catch up, still trailing right behind him. The three of us came upon a park and a look crossed Kade’s face.

“I haven’t been here in a sec.” The park wasn’t anything special, despite it being pretty big. There was a long field of grass on one side, with the play structure on the other. Kids were running around, having been set free from school and burning off energy.

In this autumn weather, it was a scene out of a kind of postcard.

Wells collapsed at one of the tables, and I slipped onto the side across from him. I untied the bag and set it in the middle, having gotten enough for all three of us to snack on. I pulled out a strip first, just so I didn’t have to talk.

Maybe thinking the same, Wells pulled out another one. The sour crystals stuck to our fingers, shiny in the sunlight. It’d been a long time since I had some of these. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone to a candy shop, and normal places only had cheap sour straws. The flavors were completely different.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve said that a lot to me.”

“W-well, you’ve helped me out a lot Wells. I really appreciate it.” I reached for another strip. “But if it’s annoying, I-I’ll stop.”

He shook his head, rubbing away the crystals. I watched as they fell, “It’s not that.”

I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. Kade had gotten his composure back at some point, and filled in, “You won this fair and square.”

“Still…” It felt wrong just to take it. Wells didn’t even have to agree to this, since it had been me and Kade’s idea. “Thanks.”

Kade reached out and pulled out a sour strip himself, “Yeah, thanks.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” Wells grumbled, focusing his attention out on the other people around us. I looked at everyone, too, and I couldn’t help but enjoy the energy. As a kid, I hadn’t really been the one to run around on the playgrounds, Abigail had pulled me along everywhere.

Seeing some of the kids made me wish I had been. Abigail was always talking about the friends she would make for a day while playing, and I was never one to leave my house, always watching the outside world from my window. Even though she tried, I’d still managed to keep to myself.

I turned back to look at them, only to catch Kade’s gaze. Like before, I’d expected him to look away, but he didn’t. I didn’t either. A soft smile showed on his face for a moment, and I wasn’t sure how to react.

When I smiled, I felt the way it wobbled on the edges. This was leading him on. Not in the false way I heard boys complain about, but in a genuine way. I needed to draw the line. I knew I did. I wasn’t meant to complete this story, anyway. It would be better in the end.

Before I knew it, I felt a tap on my foot. It wasn’t Kade, I knew that instantly. I tore my gaze away and directed it to Wells. He wasn’t looking at me, not fully. But the expression on his face was the inscrutable one from before. Like he was watching me and always noting my actions.

I didn’t know how to take it, so I only took another strip. I returned to people watching. I let all these revelations slide off of me.