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[sub]Starring [color=ffc0cb]Stella Lambert[/color] and [color=#CCC6EA]Carter Newton[/color][/sub][/center][indent][indent][hr][hr][/indent][/indent][indent][indent]
To say that Carter was happy to see Stella would be an understatement; in fact, he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear when he spotted her waving at him from down the hall. He always smiled when he saw Stella; her positive energy was infectious, and she never failed to brighten his day. This time, however, something was a little off. She seemed to be a little more [i]fidgety[/i] than usual. He returned her hug with equal warmth, and then continued his stroll to class at a slower pace, this time with her by his side. [color=#CCC6EA]"Hey Ma,"[/color] Carter said, his smile slowly starting to fade, [color=#CCC6EA]"It was alright, I guess. I got to go back to Cali for a lil while to see the rest of my family. But I bet it was nothing compared to traveling [i]overseas[/i]. My parents stay leaving me behind whenever they go to some foreign country to handle their business or whatever..."[/color] 

When Stella brought up Chrissie, it didn't take long for Carter to connect the dots; it explained why she seemed to be so nervous. It was no secret to anyone that Carter and Chrissie weren't exactly the best of friends, so it made sense as to why she'd be a little skeptical about their earlier conversation. [color=#CCC6EA]"My conversations with Chrissie are always intense. It's Chrissie we're talking about,"[/color] Carter said slowly, carefully thinking about what he was going to say next. [color=#CCC6EA]"She was just telling me about your trip... something about Paris being the [i]'city for love.'[/i]"[/color] 

[color=pink]“O-oh, I see.”[/color] On that mention, Stella’s wide smile of an honest joy faded into something reminiscent of confusion. Her eyes blinked rapidly as if she was trying to process what Carter just told her (if he looked close enough, he might see it). As she tried to not let it get to her, the previous feelings of unexplainable rage resurfaced, the same rage she was certain faded when she saw Carter. But it was back and threatening to ruin the visage of a seemingly-calm Stella. [color=pink]“So, what did she say [i]exactly[/i]?”[/color] Stella asked, her voice on the verge of breaking but she managed to hold it together (for now).

Carter was too busy trying to piece his own thoughts together to notice that there was a certain shift within Stella. It took him a few moments to muster up the courage to say what he did next, and he almost instantly regretted doing so when it finally came spilling out. [color=#CCC6EA]"She said that [i]something happened[/i]. Nothing more, nothing less... but I can only assume from [i]how[/i] she said it that, you know... you met someone while on your trip to Paris and fell in love or whatever. And I don't mean to sound super hurt or jealous or anything, I just thought we had something going. But maybe I was just reading things wrong."[/color]  

Stella couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Well, okay that wasn’t accurate. She believed it. She knew her cousin inside and out. She knew Chrissie had a tendency to be dramatic but this? [i]This?[/i] She couldn’t even bother to fathom how Chrissie Perez McCoy could do this to her. Stella thought Chrissie valued her more. She thought that Chrissie loved her and thought the world of her. The one person she wanted to spill the tea on her Paris adventure was the last person she thought would betray her like this. What hurt her the most right now wasn’t really the fact she told the story about her vacation nor was it even the fact that she told Carter (okay that had her feeling a little jilted) but it was that she left key parts out and now gave Carter the inaccurate impression of what [i]really[/i] happened.

[color=pink]“No, that’s not--”[/color] Stella needed to choose her words carefully. Unlike her cousin with a loose tongue, Stella needed to make sure Carter knew the [i]whole[/i] story and not just the parts that painted Stella in a bad light. [color=pink]“Yes, I went to Paris for winter break, that much was true. And again, yeah I ran into an old friend of mine. Maybe, for a moment, sparks flew and I was almost swept off my feet, but Carter…”[/color] She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, making sure she had his full attention. [color=pink]“I can’t stress this enough that I didn’t do anything. Marcel kissed me, but I stopped it because I didn’t feel for him what I think I might feel for you.”[/color] She spoke as clearly as she could but Lord knew her hand was shaking and her chest felt like it was on fire with how fast her heart was beating. 

A wave of relief washed over Carter as he listened to Stella clear things up. While part of him was still a little jealous of this Marcel person, it felt good hearing that Stella might feel something for him. Of course, he believed everything that she said, and felt a little stupid for even entertaining what Chrissie had told him earlier. He gave Stella's hand a reassuring squeeze as he said, [color=#CCC6EA]"It's okay, Stella. I understand."[/color] But something still didn't sit right with Carter; Even after he spoke these words to her, all the young man could think about in that moment was Chrissie McCoy. [color=#CCC6EA]"I don't wanna sound rude, but maybe your cousin should mind the business that pays her."[/color] His tone was joking, of course, but he meant every single word that was said. While he and Chrissie always had their little feuds, this time she'd surely overstepped. Oh, how he couldn't wait to run into the little theater geek herself later on that day.

At his comment, Stella laughed. [color=pink]“She shouldn’t have blabbed about a story that wasn’t even hers to blab about!”[/color] She huffed, clearly still quite upset with her cousin. [color=pink]“I [i]trusted[/i] her with that. Literally she was the first person I wanted to tell because, like, Carter I felt terrible for leaving her all by her lonesome while I was having a blast in France. And we always — [i]always[/i] — swap stories about our adventures. But for her to do this to me?”[/color] Stella felt her head getting red hot with anger again. [color=pink]“I don’t even know. All I do know is Chrissie betrayed me and if she thinks I’m the same passive, naive girl I was before Christmas break, she has another thing coming.”[/color]

After her ranting episode, Stella felt a little better, though this was far from over. Paris did a lot for her confidence. Had this been last year, Stella might have been quick to forgive her best friend, or at the very least, try to understand why she’d do this. But now? Stella wasn’t going to be so naive.

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