This chapter was not set to come out today but I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow so I figured I'd put something up before I leave. That being said, don't expect an update for at least a month. I won't be back for a week and a half and then I have stuff (like school) to prepare for so things are going to be very hectic.

Thanks for the reviews that were left on the last chapter. I think all of us writers know how we love a good review!

10-Confrontation

On Monday after second block, Caleb saw Cornelia walking in the hallway in the direction opposite him. He waited until she reached him and then turned and began walking in line with her. "Hey." He said, feeling like she hadn't even noticed him.

She didn't slow or speed up her pace, but she didn't look at him either. "Hey."

Caleb let his eyebrows knit together. He took a few quick steps to get ahead of her and stopped. "What's wrong?"

Cornelia shook her head, "Nothing."

"Don't lie to me. Something's wrong."

Cornelia made a poor attempt to sidestep him, but failed. "I don't think we should be friends anymore."

Caleb took a moment to process her words, "What?"

Cornelia tried to sidestep him again, this time getting passed. She didn't respond. When she was at least ten steps away from him, Caleb called after her, "Look, I'm sorry I overreacted at the party. I shouldn't have said what I said!"

Cornelia stopped and forced herself around. She looked Caleb in the eye, "It's not about the party, I just…I can't be emotionally involved yet."

Caleb threw his head back and stepped forward a few paces, "Okay. After what you tell me on the beach now you tell me you can't-"

"I don't expect you to understand how scary this is for me! I've never felt like this about anyone."

Caleb noticed heads beginning to turn in the hall, but he didn't care. "To be with me?"

Cornelia shrugged her shoulders. "Like I said, I don't expect you to understand." She then turned, looking almost as if she didn't want to, and continued down the hall.

... ...

Caleb recounted the entire story to Will, Matt, Taranee, and Irma. They listened closely and when he finished, Will was first to ask a question.

"So…she just left?"

Caleb threw his head back, "Yeah, that's what I said."

Will bit her bottom lip, "I get it."

"I don't." Matt still looked confused.

"You wouldn't." Taranee replied, "It's something you need to be a girl to understand."

"I'm with Caleb on this one," Irma said. "I told you she was only trouble, and she was probably just annoyed that you showed absolutely no interest in her. Now that you do, she's done with her little game." She was silenced when both Will and Taranee glared at her discreetly, and when she noticed Caleb's distant expression. "Sorry." She muttered. "Yeah, it's a girl thing. You wouldn't get it."

"So explain it, then." Caleb said.

"Well, she's just scared Caleb. And you can't push her into anything, which I think you get. Chances are she just got out of this relationship and she isn't ready to commit again." Will said. She considered telling Caleb what Cornelia had told her at the hospital. That she and Cedric used to date. But she decided against it, figuring it would probably be safer to go with what Caleb thought was a guess but was really the truth.

"Hey guys!" Hay Lin's cheery voice always lifted the mood even when nobody wanted lifting. She joined the group on the bench and directed her attention to Caleb, "Remember the play practice after school today!"

Caleb groaned and rolled his head back again, "I should have never joined that play."

Hay Lin glared at him, but kept her bright aura, "Too late now." She said, standing up, "I'll see you guys later. I have to go pass the message around."

When Hay Lin was out of hearing distance, Matt turned to Caleb, "You gonna go?"

"I think I have to," Caleb replied. "Hay Lin's super nice until it comes to the play. If I miss one practice she'll rip my head off."

Matt shrugged, "Good point. Good luck." He arose from his spot, the wind picking up at the same time, "Let's get to class Will." He extended his hand for Will to take, which she did with a pink flush spreading over her cheeks.

When the two began to wander towards the school, hands still entwined, Irma said in a suspicious voice. "Anyone know what's up with those two?"

Caleb tried to hide his grin by turning his head away from Irma and Taranee and shrugging his shoulders. "Nope," he said. "Not a clue."

... ...

After hearing about the play practice just after school ended, Cornelia headed to her car in the parking lot to put her books away before going to the drama room. The parking lot emptied with cars quickly, and Cornelia's was one of the last sitting there. When she arrived, however, she did not expect to find Irma waiting by the passenger door.

"Hey…what are you doing at my car?" Cornelia asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

"Why are you leading on Caleb?" Irma quickly retorted, and Cornelia found herself taken aback.

She didn't know what o say other than, "I don't know what you're talking-"

Irma let out a snort to silence Cornelia, "Declaring your feelings for him at the party and no less than two days later telling him you can't even be friends?"

"Oh…" Cornelia was embarrassed quickly. Not just for herself, but for Caleb as well. If Irma knew the rest of them did as well, and if she were in his position, rejection would be humiliating. "Irma, listen. I can explain."

"No, you listen! Have you not seen the way he looks at you? It's the same way you look at him."

"I-"

"I don't get it Cornelia!" Irma's voice was raising, showing just how frustrated she was. "Do you really have feelings for him, or is it just some game, some plan to steal yet another guy from me!" Her voice cracked upon her last words.

"Wait." Cornelia said softly, something just dawning on her. "D-do you have feelings…for Caleb?"

"As if you didn't know!" Irma's eyes were beginning to do something Cornelia had only ever seen once. A light mist was beginning to cover them. They were beginning to water from both the frustration (and from what Cornelia could now understand) from the sadness. Even through her tears, Irma continued. "I'd give anything to have him look at me the way he looks at you. But that's never going to happen because I'm just Irma. Irma, the girl who's like…any other girl! So if you really do have feelings for him, tell him now!" Her voice held strong throughout her words. "Because he is the last person to deserve to feel the way that I feel when I know I can never have him."

Cornelia was once again at a loss for words. She stayed silent until the words just began to spill out. To Irma, she was about to explain everything. "It was a game, at first. I wanted him to like me because he didn't even notice me." Her ears burned hearing such words come out of her mouth, and she hated that she had to say them out loud. "You should have seen the look he gave me after helping me up from the floor the first day I saw him. He looked at me…like he was disgusted by the person I was. I'm so used to being looked at like I'm something amazing and I was being a spoiled self centered brat for thinking that way, but at the time, I just wanted Caleb to think of me like any other guy would!"

She was surprised that Irma had stayed silent through her explanation, and she didn't stop there.

"So yes, it was a game…at first. But not anymore! My feelings for him are real and they're more than anything I've ever felt before! But more than that, me feelings for him scare me and that's why I can't be with him!"

Irma was still, and then slowly, she began to nod her head. "You have to talk to him." Her voice was quiet, "Because I can't stand to see him hurting, and I don't think you can either." She shrugged her shoulders in the smallest motion and brushed past Cornelia, leaving her standing alone. Cornelia sighed, not knowing if it was because she had confessed the truth about why she wanted Caleb so badly, or if it was because she was afraid to face him and tell him what she had just told Irma.

... ...

Caleb took a seat on the opposite end of the room that Cornelia was usually on. Less than two minutes after he took his seat, Cornelia practically stumbled in, looking flushed, and when she looked to Caleb, she wore an expression like she had just seen a ghost.

"Okay," Martin started quickly. "We weren't planning on rehearsing any of the songs until about a month into rehearsals, but Cornelia," He turned to face Cornelia before continuing, "You've got a big song to sing. It's basically the most famous song of the movie and we need you to nail the emotion and the power that Meg portrays. Starting you today with a run and a vocal coach could really do wonders for the real performance."

Caleb couldn't help but notice Cornelia's expression. She had her mouth slightly open and was staring at Martin like he was crazy. After a few seconds she shook her head, "Are you sure? I mean, I'm not exactly prepared. I-I haven't-"

Martin shook his head. "Like I said. We start your practice on it early and the better it will be for the play. Now, you've sung in front of an audience before, this shouldn't be a problem for you."

Cornelia looked at Caleb from the corner of her eye and replied quickly, "Yes, but I've never sang in front of some of these people. They're new, and that's nerve-racking."

"If you aren't comfortable today, we can try next practice, but it's going to happen. And like I said," he repeated himself once again, "The earlier the better."

Caleb watched as Cornelia once again turned her head in his direction. The moment they locked eyes, she threw her bag to her side, "Fine." She mumbled under her breath and proceeded to the front of the room. For someone who starred in several plays before and performed in front of audiences twenty times the size of the one now, Cornelia looked very uncomfortable when she took a poised seat on the chair set out for her. Martin hit the play button on the computer at the back of the room and the instrumental kicked in.

Cornelia took in a deep breath at her line and shut her eyes, concentrating. At the perfect moment, she opened her mouth and began the song.

Caleb could only think of how angry and embarrassed he was about their encounter earlier that morning, but when Cornelia finally opened her eyes at the chorus, she looked directly at him, and his feelings changed. The entire song she trained her eyes on him, as if she were singing the song to him. About him. If it wasn't for the emotion in both her eyes and voice, Caleb felt he would have thought this really was just an act.

After practice, and shaking off all of her nerves after having to perform so suddenly, Cornelia left the room in a hurry. It had been a mistake to think of Caleb the entire time she sang the song, much less look at him. Who was she kidding? It hadn't been a mistake. Just looking at him brought out the exact feelings Meg had had for Hercules, and that's what brought her such great reviews from everyone watching today.

If Cornelia hadn't been so lost in thought about her performance, she could have stopped what was coming next. Right next to the main office, she felt herself being pulled by her arm against the wall. When she looked up to see who it was, she saw Caleb and she froze.

"Don't walk away this time," Caleb hadn't let go of her arm yet, and she didn't blame him. All she had ever done was run away.

She shook her arm from his grip and crossed them in front of her. She looked up at him cautiously.

"I don't mean to bother you like this," he started, "but I really need to know what's going on." Cornelia could tell that he noticed the cautious expression she was wearing because he took a step away from her. "I'm sorry about what happened at the party. I overreacted but I don't think I deserve you completely ignoring me!"

Cornelia felt as if her mouth was taped shut. She couldn't open her mouth, and even if she could, she wouldn't know what to say.

"You're telling me we can't be friends but there…just now in practice…that song…" Caleb trailed off slowly before spitting out the words in a jumbled mess. "You sang it not like it was memorized, but like you were really meaning it. Really feeling it…and the entire time you were looking at me. Like you were singing to me."

Again, Cornelia didn't know how to reply.

"So if you can look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't have any feelings for me, then I promise, I'm gone. You never have to deal with me again!" He continued, "But if you can't do it, I'm sticking around." He couldn't help adding on a mild sense of humor; extreme situations like this were intimidating, so he added, "So you're just going to have to deal with it."

This time, although after a long silence, Cornelia opened her mouth and said one word. "I-" and she stopped herself. She knew she couldn't say it.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept, Cornelia?" Caleb said. He decreased the amount of space between them, and Cornelia backed herself into the wall to keep herself from falling. "Just say it. Because if you don't, I will."

Just say it. She knew he was no longer talking about her denial of her feelings towards him, but her admittance. He wanted her to say those three impossible words. Cornelia knew how she felt, yet she couldn't bring herself to admit anything.

"Fine," Caleb drew back again and took in a deep breath. "Cornelia Hale, you are the most confusing, insane, girl that I've ever met! You're bipolar and bratty but you're also…beautiful and…and funny, talented, and smart. And for all those reasons, I love-"

"Don't!" Cornelia blurted out. She held out both of her hands and threw them over his mouth. "Don't say that!"

Caleb grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her hands away from his mouth. "Why not?"

"Because…because if you say it I'll want to say it back and I don't know if I can yet."

"You don't have to say it back-"

"But I'll want to," she said. She knew she was confusing him. Guys were always confused by a girls logic, so she shook her head and went on. "Look, I don't think I can say it yet. I don't even know if I can generate that feeling anymore, but I need you to understand that with you, I think soon I might. So just wait a little longer, okay?"

Caleb listened intently to the words she spoke, and nodded his head towards the end. "Alright."

Cornelia offered one of her tiny smiles and hugged herself, "Thank you." She said, and she stepped passed him, ready to leave and breath again. That was the one problem with her being around Caleb besides that her heart seemed to race a mile a minute; she had to hold her breath whenever he was near.

When she was just half a foot away from him, she felt him take her by the arm and spin her around to face him. In a quick, fluid motion, he closed the distance between them. Pulling her body to his, he brought his face down and placed his lips on hers. She didn't even make an attempt to pull away. Almost as fast as he kissed her, she kissed him back on his soft lips until they had to pull apart for air. When Cornelia looked up at Caleb's face, he shrugged his shoulders with a grin. "But for that, I couldn't wait another second."

AHH! Finally, the long awaited kiss! Even I was excited for this moment. Hope this chapter was good enough to cover for the long wait prior to my next update.

Here's your preview for the next one:

... ...

"And I'll have you know I bear witness to Cornelia Hale admitting she has feelings." Irma shoved her chair backwards. "For you. So get your too cool ass out of that chair and open up to that girl, because I hate to admit it…but she deserves someone as good as you." At that Irma stood with her bag under her arm and walked quickly out of the cafeteria, leaving Caleb and everyone else stunned at her sudden change in attitude; at her sudden argument for Cornelia.

... ...

Anyone else notice the last word of almost all my little note things at the bottom of every chapter is 'review'?