Sophie’s POV
This was the kind of day I lived for. The festival was in full swing, and everywhere I looked, people were laughing, playing games, and stuffing their faces with food. The air was filled with the smell of fried snacks and cotton candy, and I was loving every second of it. I had already eaten too much, but who cared? It was a festival, after all. The diet could wait.
Lily had been running around like crazy all morning, making sure the booths were set up right, and Khian? Well, he was doing his usual thing, acting like the world would end if everything wasn’t perfect. I rolled her eyes just thinking about it. He really needs to loosen up.
But today wasn’t about stressing. Today was about fun. And I was going to make sure I, Ella, and Lily had the time of their lives.
“Come on, guys, let’s hit the games!” I yelled, grabbing Ella by the arm and pulling her toward the game stalls. Ella looked a little distracted, probably thinking about Ethan again, but I wasn’t going to let her mope around. Not today.
Lily followed behind, still clutching her clipboard, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here. “I swear, Sophie, if you make me play one of those ridiculous games—” Before she could finish what her saying I quickly speak up.
“Oh, come on, Lil! Lighten up!” I shot back, practically dragging her over to the dart-throwing game. “You’ll have fun. I promise.”
I can see her narrowed her eyes but reluctantly agreed. “Fine. One game. But if I lose, I’m blaming you.”
I grinned. “Deal.”
The three of them lined up at the dart game, and of course I went first, taking aim at the rows of balloons pinned up on the board. I threw the dart, and... missed completely.
“Well, that’s embarrassing,” Lily said with a snort. I rolled my eyes and pouted “Beginner’s bad luck! You try.”
Lily sighed but took her turn, aiming carefully before releasing the dart. It popped two balloons in one go, and the booth worker handed her a stuffed animal as a prize. Lily smirked and held it up. “See? Told you.”
Ella laughed softly, shaking her head. “You’re too good at this.”
“Years of practice,” Lily said with a shrug. “Now, let’s see you give it a try.”
Ella took the dart and aimed it carefully. She was always so focused, even with something as simple as a game. I watched as the dart flew through the air and hit dead center, popping three balloons at once. The booth worker’s eyes widened, and he handed her the biggest prize, a giant teddy bear. My mouth was so shocked that a while burger can fit. What the heck? That's freaking amazing!
Ella blushed, looking a little embarrassed as she took the bear. “I didn’t expect that,” she said with a shy smile. Same girl!
I gave her a playful nudge. “See? You’re secretly a pro.”
We spent the next hour hopping from game to game, laughing and joking around. I made sure to take part in every single one, even if I was terrible at most of them. I didn’t care. It was about the fun, not winning. At least, that’s what I told herself.
But then something unexpected happened.
---
They were walking toward the Ferris wheel when I spotted Ethan standing off to the side, talking to someone. At first, I couldn’t see who it was, but as they got closer, my stomach dropped.
It was Katherine.
And not just 'talking' they were laughing, and Ethan was leaning in close, like he was telling her something funny. Katherine, of course, was eating it up, flipping her hair and smiling in that flirty way she always did. I stopped dead in my tracks, eyes wide.
“Uh... guys?” I said, pointing toward the scene.
Ella’s face froze when she saw them. “What the—” she started, her voice trailing off.
Lily raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s... unexpected.”
I didn’t know what to think. I had seen Katherine flirt with a lot of guys, but this was different. This was Ethan 'Ella’s' Ethan. What the heck was going on?
Ella’s expression shifted from shock to something else, something more like hurt. My heart sank as I watched my friend’s face change. I didn’t know what to say. Was this... was this something she hadn’t seen coming?
“Maybe it’s not what it looks like?” I said weakly, though even I didn’t believe it.
Ella shook her head, biting her lip. “It doesn’t matter,” she muttered, turning away and walking quickly in the other direction.
Lily shot a look at my direction, clearly as confused as I was. “We should go after her.”
I nodded, but my eyes lingered on Ethan and Katherine for a moment longer. Whatever was happening, it didn’t feel right. Something was off. I just couldn’t figure out what.
---
They caught up to Ella near the food stalls. She was standing by a bench, her arms wrapped around the giant teddy bear she’d won earlier. She wasn’t crying, but obviously I could tell she was close. Her eyes had that glassy look, like she was trying really hard to hold it together.
“Ella, hey,” I said softly, reaching out to touch her arm. “You okay?”
Ella nodded, but she didn’t say anything. She just stared at the ground, hugging the bear tighter. I felt a knot form in my chest. This was supposed to be a fun day, and now everything felt like it was falling apart.
“It doesn’t mean anything,” Lily said, trying to sound calm. “It’s just Katherine being Katherine. You know how she is.” I nodded my head to reassure and to make her feel s bit better.
Ella let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, I do.”
I looked around, trying to figure out what to do. I really hated seeing Ella like this, and I hated even more that Ethan had anything to do with it. Why was he talking to Katherine like that? Was there something going on that they didn’t know about? 
“I’ll go talk to him,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Ella’s eyes widened. “No, Sophie, don’t—”
But I was already turning around, marching toward Ethan and Katherine. I didn’t know what I was going to say, but I wasn’t going to stand by and let this ruin Ella’s day. No way. 
---
When I finally got closer, Ethan looked up, his face surprised. “Sophie? What’s up?”
She crossed her arms, glaring at him. “What’s up? Really? 'That’s' what you’re gonna say?”
Katherine raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my sudden appearance. Oh no girl, don't you even there. I hate every guts your body have.
“Well, this just got interesting.” She finally spoke. What a pick me girl you are.
“Shut up, Katherine,” I snapped, not even looking at her. My eyes were now locked on Ethan, who looked confused but also kind of guilty. He should be.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, my voice low but firm. “Why are you here with 'her'?”
Ethan frowned, glancing at Katherine and then back at me. “We were just talking. It’s not—”
“Not what it looks like?” I cut him off. “Because it sure looks like you’re flirting with her while Ella’s over there thinking you still care about her.”
Ethan’s face paled. “What? No, Sophie, it’s not like that. I swear.”
I rolled my eyes. I wanted to believe him, I really did but something didn’t add up. And Katherine was standing there, not helping the situation at all, with that smug look on her face.
“I wasn’t flirting,” Ethan said, running a hand through his hair. “We were just catching up. Katherine asked me about the piano, and we were talking about that, that’s all.”
I glanced at Katherine, who shrugged. “He’s telling the truth. I was just being friendly.”
But I wasn’t buying it. Not completely. “Well, maybe you should think about how it 'looks' next time,” I snapped. “Ella doesn’t deserve this, not even the boy you had become now.”
With that, I turned and stormed off, leaving Ethan standing there, looking like he didn’t know what just hit him.
---
I marched away from Ethan and Katherine, my heart pounding in my chest. I could feel my hands shaking, whether it was from anger or frustration, I didn’t know. I just couldn’t stand the look on Ella’s face when she saw them together. It didn’t matter what Ethan said, he should’ve known better than to be all chummy with Katherine when Ella was around. 
By the time I got back to where Ella and Lily were, I could see Ella still sitting on the bench, holding that huge teddy bear like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. My stomach twisted. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. We were supposed to be having fun, not dealing with drama like this.
I sat down next to Ella, leaning forward on my knees. “I talked to him.”
Ella looked up at me, her eyes a little red around the edges. “What did he say?”
“He said it wasn’t what it looked like,” I muttered, not really wanting to say more. “They were just talking, about the piano or something.”
Lily, standing nearby, scoffed. “Right. Just talking. Like Katherine’s ever ‘just talking’ to anyone.”
Ella sighed, her grip tightening on the bear. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like we’re... I don’t even know what we are anymore.”
I frowned. This wasn’t like Ella. She was always the one who had everything together, always calm and steady. Seeing her like this, doubting herself because of something so stupid it wasn’t right. I wanted to fix it, but I wasn’t sure how.
“Come on,” I said, nudging her a little. “Don’t let this ruin the day. We’re here to have fun, remember? Forget about Ethan for now. Let’s go play some more games, ride the Ferris wheel, anything. Just don’t sit here and let it eat you up.”
Ella gave me a weak smile, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. Still, she nodded and got to her feet, hugging the bear one last time before setting it down on the bench.
Lily crossed her arms, watching us with that sharp look she always had when things weren’t right. “You really think she’s gonna let this go just like that, Sophie?”
I glanced at Lily, then back at Ella. “I don’t know. But we can’t let her sit here and mope.”
Ella opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a loud voice cut through the crowd, calling out our names. I turned around and saw Khian walking toward us, his expression as serious as always, but there was something else there too, something like concern.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking between the three of us like he knew something was up.
“Nothing,” Ella said quickly, her voice tight. She wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Khian.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t push it. “The festival committee needs me, but I saw Ethan and Katherine... together. Is that what this is about?”
Lily snorted. “Wow, news travels fast.”
Ella’s face flushed, and I shot Khian a look, trying to tell him to drop it. “It’s fine,” I said, standing up. “We’re just trying to enjoy the day, Khian. No need to make it worse.”
Khian’s eyes lingered on Ella for a moment before he nodded. “Alright. But if something’s wrong, you should tell me.”
Ella didn’t say anything, and I could see her trying to pull herself back together, even if she was hurting. I hated that this had to happen now, of all days.
Khian didn’t stick around long. He had festival duties to deal with, and honestly, I was glad. As much as I liked the guy, his intense, protective energy wasn’t what Ella needed right now. She needed a distraction, and that’s exactly what I was going to give her.
I grabbed her arm again, forcing a smile. “Okay, enough of this. We’re riding the Ferris wheel, and you’re going to have fun, got it?”
Ella tried to protest, but I wasn’t hearing it. I dragged her over to the line for the Ferris wheel, with Lily following behind, shaking her head but not saying a word.
As we waited in line, I kept glancing at Ella, hoping to see even a little bit of the sadness lift off her face. But she was quiet, too quiet, and it made me worry.
When we finally got on the Ferris wheel, the three of us crammed into the tiny little car together, and the view from up top was actually pretty amazing. You could see the entire festival from up there, people playing games, kids running around, lights twinkling from all the booths. It was like we were floating above it all, like the world was just this happy, colorful place for a moment.
But even up there, I could tell Ella’s mind was somewhere else. She stared out at the view, but I knew she wasn’t really seeing it.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I said, trying to bring her back to the moment.
Ella nodded but didn’t say anything.
Lily looked over at me, then leaned in closer to Ella. “You know, if Ethan really cared about you, wanted to catch up to everything he had miss this year's, he wouldn’t be wasting his time with Katherine,” she said bluntly. “He’d be here, with us, where he belongs.”
Ella blinked, and for the first time in what felt like hours, she actually smiled. It wasn’t a big smile, but it was something. “Thanks, Lily,” she murmured. “You’re probably right.”
Lily shrugged. “Of course I am. Now, can we please stop talking about boys and just enjoy the festival?”
I laughed, and for a second, it felt like everything was back to normal. The Ferris wheel creaked as we started our descent, and I could see the bright lights of the festival below, reminding me that there was still plenty of fun to be had.