(Direct continuation to Soulmates in Hiding)

———

“I know your secret.”

Bell’s heart drops.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she tries to cover herself. She doesn’t have to hear herself to know that it’s not convincing.

“When I revealed I don’t have a soulmate, you looked like a deer in headlights. If you didn’t have one, you would’ve looked relieved to know you aren’t the only soulmate-less person. Instead you looked terrified. Then at lunch just now, it snowed. And you looked equally scared. And we all know you love snow.” Wow. She was entirely right. When it’s laid out like that, it’s obvious.

Bell is shocked by her. She never heard Amelie say so much at one time. From every accurate piece of evidence, she begins to rethink Amelie not having mind powers.

“I don’t have to have mind powers to figure that out. I’m just really observant,” Amelie clarifies. Bell must have said that last part out loud.

“You’re right.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Amelie has her arms crossed, frowning like Bell isn’t getting whatever she is trying to say.

“Umm….so what is your goal with this? With confronting me? Are you blackmailing me?” Bell asks.

Her eyes widen and immediately responds, “No! I’m not trying to blackmail you!”

“Then what is this?” Bell gestures vaguely between them.

“I guess, I just feel like it’s unfair. You paraded around here without a soulmate and you were fine with it, and of course the universe decides you get to have one.” Amelie isn’t a mean person, Bell knows this. She knows all too well about the struggles of being without a soulmate, so she feels for her. She really does.

“You’re upset. Because of Cross?”

“Yes. No matter if you and Cross are soulmates, you would have gotten together anyway,” Amelie declares in a tone that sounds like she is very sure of what she said. No room for debate.

And to be fair, she’s probably right. Bell can’t help but think that they would’ve found a way to each other without being soulmates. They kinda did since they never knew they were up until the kiss.

“Are you jealous of me?” It was a foreign word for her. No one envied her. She was the girl without powers or soulmate.

A huff escapes Amelie’s mouth, “I don’t like the way you put it, but jealous of the fact that you have a soulmate, not necessarily just you.”

“But almost everyone has a soulmate. That means you envy a lot of people.”

A deadly glare is shot her way from her green eyes. “Way to rub it in my face.”

Bell waves her hands to show she meant no harm. “Sorry. I meant that it just seems like a lonely life. Being envious all the time of everyone.” It sounds really sad.

Even when she didn’t know about Cross being her soulmate, she wouldn’t say she was upset about not having a soulmate, but maybe that was because she hrew up with Cross. She can’t imagine the life Amelie has lived.

“Weren’t you?” Her voice is softer, vulnerability seeping into her tone.

“I think I was jealous but for a different reason. Like you said, I always had Cross, so not in the way you are. More in terms of like not being normal. Everyone had powers and soulmates to talk about. I just felt left out. Weird,” she confesses. It was something she never has voiced to anyone before, even Cross.

“I get that.” She hangs her head, her chesnut hair shielding her face, but Bell doesn’t need to see her to know what she’s feeling.

Now she understand why they’ve always had a strange friendship. Because they just got each other.

A knock surprises both of them, Bell jumping from the noise.

“Bell? You’ve been in the bathroom a long time. We just want to make sure you’re ok,” Lou’s concern is audible even through the thick wooden door.

“I’m fine!” Bell answers. Both her and Amelie look at each other in panic, not knowing how to deal with this situation.

“I hope she doesn’t think we believe that,” Roman says.

“We’re coming in!” Jeremiah warns right as the door opens.

“Oh hi Amelie,” Lou greets, clearly surprised from her wide eyes, eyebrows almost reaching her hairline.

“So what’s going on? Did Amelie lure you here?” Roman asks, not having a care in the world that she was in the room too.

Amelie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I somehow created a scenario where she would go to the bathroom first, then follow her, and acost her.”

Bell could see the tension between the two and she knew she had to defuse it before it got out of hair. Neither of them would get into a physical fight, but they wouldn’t hesitate and verbally assault one another.

“Guys, it’s ok. She didn’t lure me here. We just talked,” Bell insists, hoping that they drop it.

“What do you have in common?” Lou inquires, eying both of them as if trying to physically see what they would say to each other.

She realizes she can’t tell them about Amelie not having a soulmate since they think Amelie has telepathic powers and Bell doesn’t have one.

Risking a glance at her, she sees the desperation in her stare. Even if her friends know about Cross, she can’t tell them. It isn’t her secret to tell.

“We were partners in English. We found out that we share similar views,” she says instead.

Both Lou and Roman appear to be mulling over her answer. Bell and Amelie hold their breaths as they await a response.

“So should we go back to lunch? I’m totally not just saying that because I’m still hungry,” Jeremiah jokes, also trying to ease the tension. Thank heavens for him.

The other two nod in agreeance.

Bell sighs in relief. Now just one more thing left to do.

She turns to Amelie and says, “Amelie, do you want to eat with us?”

———

(Since I forgot to ask about appearances, I’m taking some creative liberties, but Skye, if you had a certain appearance in mind for Amelie, I’ll adapt to that!)