"I really like him, Angie! I'm just afraid that he's not gonna be my soulmate...."
"If he likes you back it won't matter if he's your soulmate or not," Angelica replied softly, pulling her sister closer to her. Was it bad that she didn't want Eliza and Alexander to be soulmates? Probably. The thought of them being created for each other made her heart sting, and the thought of her not wanting her sister to be happy made her chest feel heavy with guilt.
"Thanks, Ange," Eliza sighed. "Oh, here he comes! Act natural!" The two sisters began talking to each other about random things.
"Hey Eliza! Angelica."
"Hi Alexander," Eliza cooed, standing up and greeting her friend with a hug. Angelica watched on as Alexander's cheeks slowly turned red. She looked off to the side, a not-so-subtle ache settling itself in her throat and chest. "How are you?"
"I'm doing great, now that you're here," Alexander smirked. Angelica stifled a laugh. "And how are you both?"
"I'm doing great, Alex," Eliza's smooth voice rang throughout the almost empty hallway.
"I've had better days," replied Angelica, nonchalantly. "Now, we better get going. Lunch started, like, ten minutes ago."
***
"Why don't you ever sit with your sisters?" Peggy looked up, startled. Hercules had asked the question, and, although he tried to hide it, John looked curious. Peggy shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. She looked across cafeteria and saw her sisters hanging out with two other boys.
"Because you losers are better than them," she replied, shrugging slightly.
"I call bullshit, my dude," John said. Peggy sighed a bit.
"They just... don't want anything to do with me. At least not when we are at school. They don't want me to 'ruin their reputation' or something. It doesn't matter cause I got y'all." Her two friends looked at Peggy, sympathy plain in their eyes. "I swear, I don't care."
"I can yell at them for you," John suggested.
"No. I can take care of myself. And, for the last time, I don't need them."
"They are your sisters, Pegs. Of course you need them."
"Can we stop talking about this?" John was about to say something else, but Herc grabbed him by the arm and gave him the 'shut up' glare. Hercules was very, very good at said glare. John closed his mouth and settled back into his seat, a stubborn pout playing on his lips.
"Of course, Pegleg," Hercules said softly. Peggy nodded as if staying thank you, and went back to picking at the gross cafeteria food the school provided. Todays special was Mac-and-Cheese, which wasn't to terribly bad. It still sucked, but it tasted edible. Suddenly, the room was filled with applause. Peggy started clapping as well.
"Why are we clapping?" she asked Hercules.
"Look." Peggy looked across the room to see... Eliza and this random guy kissing. She didn't care to much about that.
"Hey guys, I'll be right back," she said while standing.
"Okay," John shrugged, taking a bite of his salad.
Peggy rushed off in the direction of- "Whats wrong Angelica?"
***
It all happened so fast. They were just sitting, talking. Angelica had been introduced to Lafayette, a kind young man with a French accent thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. Suddenly, Alexander and Eliza were kissing. Before she could stop them, tears slipped down her face. Everything went blurry, and she felt like she was going to throw up. "Whats wrong Angelica?" she heard a frantic voice call. She rubbed the tears out of her eyes before standing and rushing out of the cafeteria. The loud applause seemed to follow her.
I wish I hadn't met him I wish I hadn't met him I wish I hadn't met him were the only words that played in her head as she rushed down the hallway to the restroom. Once she got there she went into the biggest stall, slammed the door shut, locked it, and slid down the wall in the back of the stall. She was sobbing now, raspy breaths echoing around the room. It was the type of crying that hurt, the type so raw and painful that if you were even around to hear it it would make you tear up.
The clapping was so loud her ears were ringing.
Stupid stupid stupid.