"Good morning, Bell." Lena whispered to the timid girl as she entered her classroom, the interaction the same as the two had every morning all year.
Bell looked up quickly, then back at the ground and smiled, "Hello Mrs. Adams Foster."
"How was your weekend, love?"
Bell shrugged, "It was yet another weekend, I suppose."
"Hey Bell, Hey Lena!" Aria said as she walked into the classroom. "How was your weekend?" Aria asked her friend.
"Um good." Bell quickly glanced towards Lena and then back to her friend, "Wanna go somewhere real quick before class starts?"
"Sure" Aria said following her friend out the door. "See you later ma- um Lena" Aria called out behind her.
Once the two girls left the classroom, Bell looked up quickly and saw that the hallway was empty enough for her to lift her head, "I still don't get why you call her Lena instead of mom?"
"So what did you want to talk about without Lena over hearing" Aria said avoiding her friends question.
"Ah yes, dodging the question. How I have not realized this in all the time we've been friends?" Bell chuckled, "Nothing really, just last time we hung out was weird so I wanted to make sure we're still... you know... friends?"
"Dude, why wouldn't we be friends?" Aria asked.
"So are you going to answer my original question?" Bell smirked pulling the same avoidance tactic that Aria was so famous for doing.
"No" Aria said as the bell rang. "Ill see ya later" Aria called after her friend as she made her way to class.
Bell rushed back into her classroom and smiled at Lena to try and calm her worried look as the bell rang and Lena began her lecture to the class. Almost as soon as the bell rang ending class Lena stopped Bell from leaving, "What was that about earlier?"
"Oh, nothing. Just getting your daughter into trouble, as always." Bell flashed a devilish grin and went running off into the halls to find Aria again.
"How was class?" Aria asked as Bell caught up with her.
"Oh you know, history or biology or something happened. Clearly I'm still doing fantastic with that whole getting good grades thing." Bell rolled her eyes, trying to be overly dramatic, "What about you?"
"Boring as hell, so the usual" Aria said.
Bell tried being casual as she made her way over to a locker a few down from Aria's where a poster was hanging. "So... Have you seen these around? How lame is that, the popular kids don't have enough chance becoming prom queen so now we need a winter ball too, huh?" Bell was stuttering along her words and was silently praying that Aria would interrupt her with a snarky comment or a joke or something so she would stop making a fool of herself.
"Sure." Aria seemed to be looking for her locker and focusing more on that than the rambling.
"Well I mean... Maybe it actually won't be lame?" Bell moved away from whoever's locker she was blocking, "Maybe it could be really fun. But... we'll never know unless one of us goes to check it out... or maybe both of us could check it out. Like, together? If you wanted?"
"Sure. I think Lena is volunteering at it" Aria said grabbing books from her locker as the bell rang.
"Wait. Really?" Bell's voice seemed to go up an octave, "I mean, yeah cool why not. Uhm, yeah I gotta get to class. Bye." She mumbled running off in the opposite direction.
When Lunch Rolled around Aria sat at a table by the volleyball courts waiting for her friend.
"Hi." Bell whispered as she fell into her seat next to Aria and winced. "So, I've been thinking, maybe the dance is a dumb idea after all."
"I want to go. I think it would be fun. Also my friend Jacob is going and I do want to see him dressed in a penguin suit" Aria said laughing.
"I suppose seeing all these people dressed up could be worth it. Besides, I'll go if I can finally met the infamous Jacob." Bell giggled, "What about your siblings, are they gonna go so we can make fun of them?"
"I don't know" Aria said. "Ill bring it up tonight at dinner." She added. "Oh, that reminds me, when you said go together did you mean as friends or more then that?" Aria asked quietly.
"At the time. I'm not sure. Now I think maybe just friends is good." Bell whispered looking at the ground, "So that no one else will have a problem with it."
"Okay" Aria said as she began to eat her lunch.
"Why..." Bell looked up quickly, "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I would be okay with it either way" Aria answered truthfully.
"Well then." Bell bit her lip trying not to stutter, "Why don't we just see how it goes when it comes to the night of the dance?"
"Works for me" Aria said.
"I do have a very important question however." Bell tried to keep from cracking a smile, "Can you do me a huge favor and see if Mariana or someone would be willing to go dress shopping, because that is not my thing..."
"Don't worry, I will. I need to get a dress as well" Aria said.
"Perfect! I shall see you later and now I'm off to find your fabulous sister!" Bell half bowed and then winced again but giggled to cover it up before walking off to find Mariana.
"Hey Mariana! I have a question for you!" Bell cried out as she made her way across the beach towards the young girl doing her make up in an hand held mirror. "I need your advice on something."
"What's up girl!" Mariana motioned for Bell to come sit with her, "As long as this isn't about my sister..."
Bell giggled at Mariana's disgusted face, "It's not. Well not directly, it's about finding a dress so that she'll hopefully dance with me at the winter ball. I think I've found one but in order to wear it, I need your advice on a concealer and all that other makeup to go with it."
"Show me the dress!" Mariana called out before Bell shushed her and motioned to Aria who seemed to be walking in their direction.
"Hey Aria!" Bell called out closing her phone's lock screen so her friend couldn't see her winter ball dress. "I had a question for you."
"Okay?"
Bell took a breath and before saying anything, winced and blacked out as she fell to the ground.