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The next day at lunch, Kevin went to socialize with the other members of his crew and then came over to our table as our favorite redhead came into the cafeteria, wearing sunglasses. She sashayed over to us and then posed dramatically, flinging the glasses off.

"A star has arrived," she laughed as she sat beside me.

We stared at her in anticipation as she slowly unwrapped the lunch she had bought on her way here.

"Callie, you're killing us here. How did the audition go?" I asked, shaking her shoulders and she giggled.

She tried to drag out the suspense, but then failed and started gushing about her day.

"I almost didn't get to audition," she explained. "The director was all," she put on a French accent, "You haven't even left high school yet and you have zero experience, are you trying to waste my time?" She rolled her eyes.

"But you got to audition, right?" Melissa asked hopefully.

Callie nodded. "By the time they start production for the movie, I'd have graduated already, and the requirements didn't ask for experience," she shrugged. "So they couldn't really stop me."

Her eyes lit up. "Mila was there too," she cooed. "I was so nervous when I stepped into the room and she was sitting on the panel, but I did my best."

We all came down on her with crushing hugs. She laughed again and took a bite of her salad. She continued eating and smiling, but she was a lot quieter than usual.

I glanced at Melissa and Kevin and they looked uneasy too.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked Callie hesitantly.

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I'm super," she laughed, giving me a thumbs up and we saw through it that time. She was acting.

"You don't have to pretend when you're around us, you know," Melissa encouraged.

She just nodded.

"Come on," I said, gently nudging her with my shoulder. "Tell us what's wrong."

"If I stop smiling right now, I will just fall apart," she sighed. "And I'd rather not do that here."

We waited patiently as she finished less than half of her lunch and put the rest away.

"You're not going to finish that?" Kevin asked.

"I'm not that hungry," she admitted.

"Okay, let's go," he said and we all got up, dragging her up with us.

"Where are we going?"

We walked around to our usual gazebo and sat Callie there. She stared up at us, surprised.

"Now we're all alone," Kevin said, gesturing to the empty park.

"Guys." Callie let out a shaky breath. Her smile faltered as she stared at our concerned faces.

She finally let down her mask and that was the saddest I'd seen Callie look in a long while.

"I just..." she sighed, unable to find the words.

I comfortingly stroked her hair and her tears began to fall.

"It's because of him, isn't it?" Kevin hissed through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, but not entirely," Callie sniffed. "I talked to Demetri this morning."

"Demetri?" I asked, trying not to frown.

"I met up with him before the audition," she sighed. "And I told him that I saw Daniel yesterday." She cringed as she said his name. "He got hella angry and said he would break up with me if I brought him up again."

Now I frowned. "What's his problem? You haven't talked to him about Daniel since that time."

"I know," she agreed. "I thought he would have understood how I felt. I just thought talking to him would make me feel better, but I was wrong. We ended up arguing and he left. He said he was going to come to the auditions with me, but he just left."

Melissa shook her head at that. Demetri definitely wasn't earning any points in her book either.

"How were you even able to go through with the audition after that?" I asked in wonder.

"Like this." And she plastered on a smile that would fool anyone but us. "The show must go on, right?"

"If that jerk doesn't apologize to you, let me beat him up," Kevin offered.

"No, what are you a member of the mafia?" Callie laughed. "He's still my boyfriend and I like him. He's the one who saved me that day."

Kevin shrugged. "The offer still stands. I don't like him."

He glanced at me and Melissa before continuing. "We have a message for you from him."

Callie frowned. "What does he want?"

"He wants to talk to you..." Melissa trailed off. "He said he'd be in the Royal Realm today if you wanted see him."

Callie chewed her bottom lip in thought, but then she shook her head. "I don't want to get him involved in my life again," she decided hesitantly.

"But you should get a clean break," I suggested. "This might give you some closure."

She sighed as she thought about it. "I don't know..."

"Let's go to out tonight," Melissa proposed.

We looked at her and she nodded excitedly. "Let's go to Creamy Dreams. Whoo!" she shouted, trying to hype us up.

"Don't you have a date with Trey tonight?" Callie asked.

"Trey will understand if I can't meet with him tonight. Sisters before misters," she smiled.

"I can't meet tonight," Kevin frowned. "I have to go over to another city."

"Aw," Callie pouted. "You can invite Trey then," she suggested to Melissa.

"Has he ever been to Creamy Dreams?" I asked.

Melissa shook her head.

"We should initiate him into our sacred group," Callie said dramatically. "He's not officially your boyfriend until he's been there."

"Demetri hasn't been there either," she pointed out.

"Ignore the details."

"You could invite him too," Melissa offered unwillingly, but Callie shook her head.

"I don't want to talk to him right now."

"Remember, you both owe me gummies and cake," I laughed and they groaned.

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Callie waved at me excitedly as I stepped into the familiar sweet smelling parlor. The atmosphere instantly made me feel more relaxed. I was also happy that my parents had relaxed my curfew for tonight so that I could hang out with my friends.

I slid into the seat beside her. Callie stalked Mila's Instagram page while my eyes roamed the sugary menu. Melissa arrived with Trey a few minutes later. She held a bouquet of roses in her hand.

Trey greeted us cheerfully and pulled the chair out for her to sit. Callie grinned as she watched them. They were completely adorable together.

"I feel bad about crashing your date," Callie apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about that, I still get to spend some time with her. This place is pretty sweet... pun intended," he smiled.

We ordered our food after examining the menu. I finally got my cake and gummies. Trey stifled a laugh as he saw the packet of gummy bears.

"You are addicted to them."

"Wait, it's not what you think," I defended. "They owed me."

He laughed at my feeble attempt to convince him.

"It's true, you kinda are addicted," Melissa and Callie agreed.

"You're just hating on the gummies," I pouted as I popped some into my mouth and sighed happily. This was heaven.

Throughout the night, we got to learn a lot more about Trey. His favorite colour was purple, same as mine, and his family had moved to Crysauralia when he was sixteen. He was very courteous to Melissa too, always making sure she was okay. We could see that she enjoyed being with him.

"You're too cute, guys. You're making me jealous," Callie laughed as Trey sneaked a kiss at Melissa.

"Where's Demetri?" he asked. "You should have invited him to come too."

Callie pouted into her milkshake. "I'm not talking to Demetri right now."

"Did something happen?" he asked concerned.

"It's complicated," she said with a groan. "Kevin's the only nice guy I know."

"Hey, what about me?" Trey protested, pretending to be sad.

Callie giggled. "You're pretty great too, Trey. I'm glad Mel's dating you. She hasn't stopped smiling all night."

I looked over at Melissa, who still wore a smile as she took a bite of her cupcake.

"You're a great guy. Don't you have any brothers?" Callie joked.

"I do, his name's Dominic. But you're a little too late," he chuckled. "He's getting married in the summer."

"He's a Navy SEAL," Trey told us. "He's part of the reason why I want to join the army."

"You're joining the army?" I asked.

"Yeah," he grinned. "A lawyer and a soldier, I think we make a pretty great team," he motioned to Melissa.

"Where can I get one of him?" Callie laughed pointing to Trey.

"He's limited edition, sorry," she grinned.

"I hope things work out between you and Demetri soon. But you should do what makes you happy."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Demetri was not doing a good job of making her happy. It really wasn't my business, but she was my best friend. Naturally, I wanted the best for her.

Callie mulled over this. "What makes me happy?"

"Yeah, that way you won't have any regrets," he explained.

"No regrets, huh," she repeated, and then gave him a small smile.

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