NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

Beatrice was angry, that was undeniable.

Kyle could see it clearly in her eyes, in her stance and the way she practically snarled at him. He found this new face of Beatrice particularly interesting. Never before had he ever seen Beatrice like this as she was always unemotional and stoic. Except for those eye twitches, of course.

Sure, she had changed a lot in the year that he got to know her but still, she was still 'Beatrice'.

Right now, however, as he watched her get up and stomp to the place Sam had confessed to Betty, he had to suppress a grin. She walked over to the nearby tree and started kicking it. Kyle just stood by closely, seeing as she needed to vent.

"Stupid, idiotic girl! Why is she always like this! Dumb broad. Stupid. Imbecile! Zero brains!" Beatrice was grumbling angrily under her breath with each kick.

Scenes of Sam's confession flashed through her mind. Betty rejecting him cruelly. Sam walking away so hurt. Betty crying her eyes out and fishing out the gift he had wanted to give her.

The more she thought about it, the more she was angry about it. Until the anger was all gone and it was replaced with an intense sadness and emptiness that she couldn't explain. She didn't know when she stopped kicking the innocent tree and had started punching it.

All she knew as the anger dissipated, someone took her by the shoulders, turned her around and she was engulfed in a warm hug. Instinctively, she resisted but when those strong arms wrapped itself around her and held her close to his warm, firm chest, she started crying.

It was as if a dam had been broken. She had been sad before, but now, it was the sort of sadness that ate at her soul. She slowly wrapped her hands around Kyle's waist, hugging him back and enjoying the warmth and comfort that his prescence gave her.

He didn't say a word, but just held her tightly to him and let her be. He would rub her back, in a consoling manner, as she continued to sob into his chest.

When Beatrice finally stopped, she stepped back and Kyle released his hold on her. She looked ruefully to the extremely wet patch of his shirt and mumbled an apology.

"Don't worry about it," Kyle assured her, taking her hand and then made her sit down on the ground next to him. He unbuttoned his shirt so that the wet patch wouldn't stick to his chest, and it allowed the shirt to dry a bit as it flapped in the wind.

"So have you decided what you wanted to do?" Kyle asked.

"How long have you known?" Beatrice asked instead.

"About what?" Kyle asked back.

"About how I felt for Sam," Beatrice clarified, "Was it so obvious?"

What was Kyle to say? That he observes everything and everyone around him? It wasn't so much that Beatrice made it obvious, but that he could tell because he was looking out for it.

"No, it wasn't," Kyle said.

"So how did you know?" Beatrice pressed on.

"I just do," Kyle replied, looking in the distance, "That isn't important though, is it? The main thing here is, now that you know how Betty feels and why she did what she did. What are you going to be doing about it?"

"In truth, I'm furious. I'm angry that she never told me how she felt about Sam," Beatrice said, looking on the ground, "And I'm sad that Sam doesn't feel anything for me. I'm also feeling ... betrayed."

"That Betty somehow cheated on you?" Kyle asked.

"No! Not that," Beatrice said with a sigh, "That I didn't know. I thought we were close."

"So your sense of betrayal isn't from her stealing your man, but from her not confiding in you like you did?" Kyle said, laying it out clearly.

Beatrice thought about it and nodded.

It was true. She was extremely upset at Betty, but not for the fact that Sam likes her. That hurt a lot, of course, but it wasn't Betty's fault. Like Beatrice falling for Sam. It didn't make him, hers ... it hurt, but it's a fact.

"You know what? There is a basic misconception about what a love triangle is. People feel that it's when two people like the same guy, right? So three people make three points of a triangle," Kyle said seriously, "But think about it."

"A triangle should be equal in size and form, right? So to me, a true love triangle means A loves B, who loves C, who is in love with A. That's a triangle. Yet, it isn't," Kyle said, talking as if it was a lesson, "The proper definition of a love triangle currently is when one person can't choose between the two who are interested in him or her. I still don't agree with this, but it's still better than two people being in love with one."

"Wait. Isn't that the same?" Beatrice asked, all confused.

"Hardly," Kyle said, "In the former, A cannot decide between two potential partners, B and C. For the latter situation, A's thoughts and feelings aren't even taken into consideration and that's just plain stupid."

"If a love triangle is dependent on the 2 people being interested in one person, then what about me? I have so many people out there are in love with me right now."

"Oh please ..." Beatrice was about to say 'you're so conceited' when she saw him looking at her seriously and she stopped. He was right. She couldn't brush off the fact that there were tons of people in love with Kyle. Just the Valentine's Day Event itself was clear evidence about it.

"So the moment I like a girl, then I'd be involved in a whole ... I don't know? A milluangle*? Milltupangle*? " Kyle said, his hands put up in exaggeration, "Does that make sense?".

Beatrice's lips curled up in a smile at that, "No. Not a milluangle. Centuangle*, maybe."

"But you get my point, right?" Kyle asked.

Beatrice nodded, looking down again. Kyle put his arms around Beatrice and brought her close. She laid her head on his shoulder, thinking that she was really lucky that Kyle was here. If not, she would not have found out about Betty's feelings.

"In your case? It's not even a love triangle. You're the outsider here," Kyle pointed out mercilessly, "Sam and Betty have mutual feelings for each other. You're the one who is the third wheel."

"Savage," Beatrice mumbled, hurting but not moving away from Kyle's warm embrace.

Beatrice knew Kyle was right and she was thinking the same thing.

Just that, she would most likely have taken longer to figure it out as she would have been too consumed with her own hurt. She was also feeling that it was fortunate that he was there to comfort her during this time. He had a very comforting presence.

"Just don't fall in love with me on the rebound, okay?" Kyle's voice broke into her thoughts.

"As if!" Beatrice said with a laugh, "Do you think I'm the type that falls in love easily?"

"No, you're the type that falls hard and takes time to find love again," Kyle said softly.

"Sarah was right. You'd make a great boyfriend," Beatrice said, then gasped, putting her hand on her mouth.

"I know I would," Kyle admitted shamelessly, "Any girl would be lucky to have me."

Beatrice laughed to cover her nervousness as she looked at Kyle's face. Nothing seemed amiss. She felt relieved and thought that Kyle just took it at face value - and not due to Sarah having feelings for him.

Of course, Kyle knew Sarah had feelings for him. He was just pretending to be oblivious about it. He made sure to treat her kindly but not in any way that could be misinterpreted as 'loving' care. He wouldn't encourage her but he wouldn't be mean to her either. If she confessed, then she would join the ranks of those he had to reject firmly.

"So ...." Kyle said, "You have yet to answer the question. What are you going to be doing about this?"

"I'm going to knock some sense into Betty," Beatrice said with conviction, "I don't need her sacrificing for me when Sam likes her so much. As you said, I'm the unwanted third wheel. Fighting for the guy you like is fine if the guy had no one he was actually interested in."

"Yes, and if he really was easily seduced away from Betty by you, is he really worth it?" Kyle asked, "You would always be wondering if some other girl out there would be able to seduce him away from you in return."

"Wait, are you his friend or what? Why are you maligning him that way?" Beatrice asked in shock.

"I'm not," Kyle said. Which was true. He had no doubt that Sam would never be swayed in whatever manner, once he had chosen. Kyle said it simply because it had to be said.

"Well, if I can seduce him away from Betty, then he doesn't deserve either of us," Beatrice said firmly.

"Of course," Kyle agreed.

Then, he looked at her seriously in the eyes as he asked the question that he had been leading this entire conversation to, "So when are you going to confess to Sam? Isn't now the best time when he's at his lowest?"

"Wait, what?!" Beatrice gasped. How did the conversation turn into this??