CHAPTER 163: TALK TO BECCA

Andria’s POV

"What’s the sarcasm for?" I shot back.

"Well, since you abandoned your friends for the Alphas you complained about throughout the section, I find it quite interesting," she retorted.

I walked towards the sofa where she sat, and plopped myself beside her. "I didn’t intentionally miss Becca’s show; I was carried away with activities that I forgot."

"It’s evident the kind of activities that must have carried you away. I mean, look at that glow, and you walking into the hall with Aven, it’s enough evidence, Ari," Mel replied, this time a little bit calmer.

I twisted my lips a little. She actually made me speechless at this point. "Becca must be so upset if you are this upset."

"I mean, we came upstage to sing with her, but we sought for you and we couldn’t see you. She already announced our names, so it was disappointing that you weren’t around, not even backstage.

We thought something bad had happened to you until you showed up with Aven in that manner; our fears and speculations turned to anger. I mean, we searched for you, and were already close to raising a false alarm, but you appeared," Mel complained.

I exhaled and leaned back into the couch, pressing my palms over my face. "I know. Mel, I know. I messed up. I didn’t mean to disappear or make Becca feel abandoned. I swear, I didn’t."

Mel crossed her arms, her brows furrowed tightly. "I know, Ari, you aren’t the one to mess things up this way, you aren’t the one to stand your friends up, I know you, Ari. What happened? Where did you go? Becca is upset, and I was upset earlier, I won’t lie."

Her words hit deeper than I expected. I slowly dropped my hands and looked at her. "You know, I was backstage, and then I got a call from Aven, he said he wanted to talk about the previous night, which I understood why he would want to talk about that. His sister fell into the hands of an evil ex with his new mate. Aven just wanted to thank me, and one thing led to another, and I found myself in his apartment."

"You what?" she cut in, her tone sharp. " You left for Aven’s apartment, in the middle of a show, from a thank-you-for-last-night talk. That’s quite interesting, Ari. I knew it, Ari will someday fall for these Alphas, but she kept her head so high like it was beneath her, but look at her now, dishing her friend’s performance to be with one of them in his apartment.

Do you know Becca cried? She felt a little embarrassed. Did you ever stop to think about Liara’s expression? How happy and fulfilled would she feel that you disappointed Becca?"

My heart sank. I wasn’t even thinking about Liara; all I thought about was Becca. "She cried?"

Mel nodded, her voice softening, though her frustration was still clear. "She said she’s used to people picking you over her, but she never thought you had to be the one to do it, choose the successors over her. And honestly, I can’t even defend you.

You came in with such a cheerful face, stepping in with Aven, forgetting you just missed your friend’s performance. You know that whatever discussion or whatever business you wanted to have with Aven could wait at least until after Becca’s performance.

And if you say you forgot, why didn’t you save the date?. What triggered her even more was the performance Damon displayed with you on stage. I mean, come on, if you were in her shoes, you would feel the same."

I swallowed hard, guilt burning through my chest like acid. "I didn’t know she felt that way. Damon’s demonstration was planned, and I actually regret forgetting her show. Like you said, this isn’t like me to leave my friends behind for the males."

"Well..." Mel said quietly. "And honestly, I don’t think anyone would think something was wrong between us if they saw what had happened today. You missed Becca’s call on stage, just to appear on stage when Damon called."

I looked down at my hands. Staring at the mark on my wrist, the one Damon had left when he held me tight on that stage. It made my stomach twist. "I didn’t even plan it, Mel," I repeated. I had nothing else to say; I could have just shut up, but I still found myself talking. "Damon just...he called me out in front of everyone. What was I supposed to do when I was present?. I didn’t even know Becca also called me out."

"Maybe you could have come to us immediately you stepped into the hall..." Mel shot me a look. "You could have just walked away from Aven, Aria. Maybe if you had stayed with us, things wouldn’t have looked as awkward as they seemed.

But instead, you went along with it like it was some fairytale moment, I guess that was even what made Damon call you upstage. I already know how petty they can be when they are jealous. Do you know how that made Aven look? Or how it made you look?"

Her words stung, but she wasn’t wrong. "You think I haven’t been asking myself that since it happened?" I whispered. "Everything just happened too fast. One second, I was sitting backstage, the other I was at Aven’s apartment and the next on the stage with Damon."

"And you forgot everyone else existed," Mel finished flatly.

That silence afterwards was heavy, awkward and suffocating. I didn’t have any more excuses; in fact, I wasn’t supposed to have any excuses at all. I messed up, and that is all.

After a moment, she sighed and looked away. "You need to talk to Becca, Ari. Before this turns into something you can’t fix. She values you too much to cut you off completely, but if you keep letting the Alpha drama bleed into everything, she will stop trying."

"I’ll talk to her tomorrow. But tell me, Mel, are you still pissed off with me? You know you guys got my heart," I said, pouting and batting my eyelashes at her.

"I was pissed, but I don’t feel that way anymore, Ari. I get it —you are at that stage with your mates where everything feels even more confusing than it ever has.

That felt quite understanding, and for a moment, the tense atmosphere calmed down. "I will try to handle the chaos between my mates and the chaos I have created between my friends. Because, as of now, all I feel is chaos."

"Well, that would be a challenging thing to combine, Ari, especially with the Alphas," Mel stated, clicking her tongue.

"Why do you say so?" I replied, squinting my eyes and raising my eyebrow a little at her.

She gave a half-laugh, half-sigh. "That’s because you are trying to keep everyone happy. You can’t. Not with them. They are possessive Alphas, Ari. Each of them wants to be your center, and you are trying to orbit around three suns. You’ll burn out."

I tilted my head at her, a small smile tugging at my lips. "That’s poetic, Mel. When did you become so wise?"

She smirked. "Probably around the time my best friend started collecting Alphas like shiny trophies. I mean, haven’t I seen a lot to get wiser? I was the one who attempted to take her own life, a decision taken so impulsively. But it made me stronger, and wiser, I guess."

Mel has truly grown a lot. She wasn’t that shy, over-dramatic, excited Mel; she carried out duties smartly and fast, and now she actually talks wisely. "I’m so happy for you, Mel. I’m so glad you didn’t die."

Mel chuckled, then leaned her head back. "Yes, I’m too, therapy did a great job, but let’s not deviate." She turned her gaze toward me, her expression soft again.

"I think I’m fed up with the topic after all, I’ll talk to Becca, and the Alphas will figure themselves out if they want to have me," I replied, waving my hands dismissively. "Now, can we watch something interesting?"

She turned on the television. "Let’s watch something scary and funny at the same time," I suggested.

"I totally agree with that, horror and comedy. I think that’s what we need at the moment."

We laughed and screamed at the top of our lungs as the movie progressed, and soon we got exhausted and drifted off to sleep on the couch.

*************************************

"Wakey, wakey, sleepy head," Mel called out to me. "I thought you said you had an appointment with the student council today concerning the outcome of the fundraiser."

I must have slept for a long time. I mean, I’ve never slept this well in a long time. "Yes, I actually do, I should head to my room to prepare now. Good morning, by the way."

"Good morning. Don’t forget to have a conversation with Mel today," she called out behind me.

I walked to the bathroom, hurriedly tidied myself, got dressed and stepped out. I was already running late.

"Tell me the result of the exercise, I want to know how my kissing booth fared," she said.

I nodded, closing the door behind me.

With the way the crowd pulled out for the talent show yesterday, I fear the kissing booth wouldn’t surpass.