I arrive at the front entrance of Julissa’s house, most of the people are already there. I enter the building and move past people to the stairs and head upstairs. I don’t really like the loud or lack of space that is downstairs, so I head up to her bedroom, which is left open and has only two people just talking. I want to head out to the balcony in her room for a bit. I overlook the horizon of identical buildings with the moon rising over them. The lights look pretty at night in Los Angeles. I feel a grip on my shoulder, tensing up and turning around. It was just Evelyn.

“Hey Harper.” She says, moving over beside me and looking over the buildings too.

“Hey Evy.” I say, being alone. I never really call her this in public because she prefers it in private. She smiles and turns to face me again.

“You look good tonight, that combination looks good on you.” She says. I smile, she’s always nice like this when we’re alone. 

“Thank you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress.” She was wearing a long plain black dress. "You look really pretty in it." She turns, her cheeks going a tiny bit pinker than usual.

“Th.. Thanks.” She looks towards the moon. After a few moments of the nice vibe betweens us, her smile turns to a more serious expression. “So, what happened?” I get a tiny bit uncomfortable, but ready to tell my fabricated story.

“Well, you know about Callie right?” I say, looking away from her. “She’s.. abusive.” I look down over the balcony, seeing someone with blond hair enter the building. Evy touches my shoulder.

“Oh, Harper. I didn’t know that was it. I thought it was your ex to be honest.” She grabs my other shoulder and embraces me. “I’m sorry you have to deal with that.” I return her embrace.

“I’ve gotten used to it by now, it’s just another thing now.” She stops hugging me, stepping back. She had an angry look on her face now.

“You shouldn’t have to be used to it.” She says, firm and pointed. I step backwards in shock. I stutter trying to find what to say. Her expression immediately changes to regret. “I’m sorry. I just don’t like hearing that from you.” She turns towards the black sky again. “I care alot about you, so hearing this makes me upset.” She turns back to me, determined. “I’m gonna help you fix this.”

“No.” It comes out more firm, precise. Her expression doesn’t change however.

“I don’t care if you say no. I care too much, and I don’t want to see this happening.” She turns to walk out. “I’m gonna help you.” She starts to walk away. I grab onto her arm, causing her to stop abruptly.

“Please don’t. I can assure you that whatever you do will result in her getting angrier.” The way I say it was fear, even for a lie. She turns to me, her expression still not changing.

“It isn’t gonna result in that, you can trust me.” She turns back around, removing my hand quickly but carefully from her arm so she can walk away. I stand there for a while, letting out sobs. Maybe I wasn’t lying to some extent, maybe that’s why I’m scared. After a bit I get my composure and start to go back downstairs. When I head down there, I see everyone crowded around one another.

Two people were yelling at each other. I recognized the voices instantly. It was probably the best thing if I stayed quiet, since their argument might change, and I don’t want that. I move in the middle of the multitude of people so I can’t be recognized.

“... are such a selfish bitch. You say you’re not coming then realise there's famous people here and come then, just for clout.”

“Evelyn, I am here to celebrate the release of the amazing sequel to Atenda, then you make a big scene. I don’t think I’m the one looking for clout here.” People ooo at that comeback. Evelyn stutters.

“I… I...”

“And by the way, I saw you on the balcony talking to her.” She laughs. “She’ll never ever return your feelings you know.” If someone was talking, they weren’t now. I was even shocked at that. Maybe this was going too far.

“Sh.. shut up.” Evelyn says in a low voice, defeated.

“What, the truth comes out so you stop now?” I look over the crowd. Chloe turns to walk away.

“You know what Chloe.” Evelyn says. “At least I care about her more than you do.” Chloe stops mid-step, turning to face Evelyn again. Julissa walks into the circle of people.

“Ok, maybe you two can stop now.” She says in an uncomfortable tone. Chloe turns to her..

“Stay out of this.” She shoots back, turning back to Evelyn. “At least I know when to stop something.” She laughs. “You know what I’m gonna do Evy, is that what she calls you?” Evelyn becomes stiff, tears forming in her eyes. “I’m gonna spend as much time with her as I can so you can spend little with her. Let’s see how you cope with that.” Ok, too far. Evelyn breaks, tears falling out of her eyes.

“Fuck you.” She says as she runs towards the exit, leaving the building. I turn and run after her. I hear Chloe gasp as I exit. I run down towards the figure down the street. I’ve always been a fast runner, so I catch up quickly. I grab onto her shoulder, putting her to a sudden stop. She turns to see me, tears covering her face, coming from her red eyes. She looks shocked, looking down to her feet.

“H.. how much of that did you hear?” She asks. I put an arm around her shoulder and led her down the road, continuing down the path she was going, but at a steady pace.

“Enough to know Chloe went way too far.” I say. She laughs.

“So, most of it?” We walk in silence for ten minutes before we arrive at a small burger restaurant. It’s around 6:30pm. Maybe food will help the situation.

“Are you hungry?” I ask. “I know I am.” I give a laugh to help reassure her. She smiles.

“Yeah, I am.”