LIVIA WAS STARTING to get comfortable with the group when a new voice interrupted their animated discussion of universities around the area and their reputations. Livia's spine jammed straight before she forced herself to relax, slowly turning to meet the eyes of Amphion.

Despite him talking to Jason, who he evidently was friendly with, his eyes remained on Livia. Something like rage flickered through them, and Livia met him head on, chin raised. I'm not scared of you. I've never been scared of you.

Livia's gaze moved past him, and she realised that Sarah Hepburn was standing right there, brows creased, studying her. Livia, in an effort to be polite, offered a nod in greeting. Sarah stiffly returned it.

"Amphion, my guy!" Jason exclaimed, walking forward and clapping him on the back. "Zeth! This young lady is?"

"Sarah Hepburn," she replied with the sweetest smile. Tonight, Sarah was dressed in an emerald green dress that accentuated her flame red hair. She looked like the main character out of a fairytale. While Livia's features were more of the striking category (though Pamela still beat her in that), Sarah's were always softer, more princess-like, more sweet and pleasant. When she was eleven or twelve, Livia had been jealous of that, until she grew into her own face and became more comfortable with it.

They all envied what they didn't have, until they realised that their own flowers bloomed just as brightly and beautifully as anyone else's did. That was how people worked, it was how people had always worked.

"I'm Jason," Jason replied. "This is Eunice, that's Victor. I believe you know Livia."

Livia's lips curled upwards in a small smile. "We've met."

Sarah blinked, nonplussed, before her expression morphed into one of coldness. "Yes, we've met."

"You're neighbours, aren't you?" Jason asked, gesturing to the twins and then to Livia.

"Yeah," Zeth replied casually. "Practically grew up together, you know."

Livia let out a small "hmph" in reply. Zeth's smile froze on his face in awkwardness before he slowly lowered his head.

While Jason seemed to remain blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, his cousin seemed to pick up on it, eyes darting between the group, brows creased. Livia met her eye and slowly shook her head. Don't ask. She hoped Eunice got the message.

The girl gave a slow nod. Livia took that as confirmation that Eunice would not pop that particular bubble any time soon. She'd confront this situation eventually, but it would not be in front of half the teenage population of Briarville. It would be somewhere more private, more secluded, where they could leave and act as if nothing had happened at all in the first place.

Yes, that was the plan. Though whether or not it'd come into fruition, or if Livia was just going to avoid them all throughout the summer, she hadn't quite decided yet.

"What are you guys talking about?" Amphion asked, apparently unaffected by the awkwardness in the air.

"Oh, just random stuff," Jason laughed. "You graduated this year, right? Are you going to university? Or gap year?"

"Uni," Amphion grinned in reply. "I'm going to the same school as her." At that, he nudged his chin in Livia's direction, and she squirmed uncomfortably as multiple pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. Sarah's brows visibly creased, displeasure taking over her expression.

"Different majors, though," Livia said lightly.

"What are you studying?" Jason asked, glancing at Amphion. "Let me guess, something to do with business?"

"You guessed right," Amphion laughed. "I'm majoring in business."

"What about you?" Jason asked, turning to Livia. "You look like the science-y kind of girl..."

"Because I'm Chinese?" Livia laughed. "No, god no, I'm shit at science. I'm doing History and Politics."

Victor whistled. "That's pretty fucking cool."

Jason nodded in agreement and then turned back to the trio. "What about you, Zeth? You too, Sarah?"

Sarah answered first. "Art," she replied, and Livia wasn't surprised. Though she'd always excelled academically, Sarah's true passion had always laid with the canvas. When they were all younger and got along, Sarah would beg them to model for her portraits and pictures. Livia vividly remembered forcing herself to sit still for what felt like eternity as Sarah tried to paint her. She still had a painting somewhere stashed in her room. She had no interest in locating it. That was past them now.

Eunice's hand flew to her chest. "A girl after my own heart. I would have taken Art, honestly, if I could, but I ended up going for Psychology. I don't regret it, but damn do I wish I could have picked both sometimes."

Sarah laughed. "I've always loved art, it didn't take much thinking for me."

"I'm taking law," Zeth murmured. "The goal is to become a lawyer."

That had been unexpected. Livia glanced at him, slightly nonplussed, and he met her eyes just in time before she could look away. Not wanting to seem weak, Livia kept that eye contact, and he raised one brow in reply.

Livia lifted her chin. He continued, "What do you take again, Jason?"

Jason jabbed his finger at Victor. "This fool and I, also our friend Quentin, though he's in the bathroom—" he turned slightly to Livia, who'd given Quentin the instructions "—we take engineering. Biggest mistake of our lives."

"No, that's just you," Victor mused. "I quite like it."

Jason glowered. "Well, I don't. But it's a bit too late to change majors now, I'm too invested. Might as well stick it through."

"Tough luck, man," Zeth said sympathetically.

"Why'd you choose it in the first place, then?" Amphion asked incredulously. "Or did you change your mind midway?"

"The latter," Jason confirmed glumly. "I honestly thought it was my thing, until I realised it really wasn't. I'm actually quite shit at it."

"He's not," Eunice chuckled. "He still gets really good grades on it, he just doesn't want to put in so much effort, that's all."

"Isn't that everyone?" Sarah asked archly. "Who'd want to put in so much effort if they could achieve the same thing by doing only half the work?"

"Precisely," Jason said with some satisfaction. "Are you someone with a similar plight, if I may ask? Or someone who simply sympathises with an unfortunate man such as myself?"

Sarah replied mischievously, "The latter, I'm afraid. Now, my younger brother, though, he suffers from the same syndromes as you. It's an infliction I named laziness."

"Oh!" Jason's hand flew to his chest. "You wound me, Sarah, you would me!"

"Perhaps," Livia observed shrewdly, "you should have signed up for drama instead."

Eunice turned to her, mirth in her eyes. "You know what? He has always been a dramatic. And an excellent actor, if I do say so myself."

"It is something worth thinking about," Livia murmured. "Perhaps all hope is not lost, and your university career could be salvaged after all."

Amphion snorted. "You're just going to let them mock you like that, Jason?"

The man in question pulled a face. "What other choices do I have? If I try to retort I'll get shredded into pieces. Vicious creatures, women in a mood like this."

Eunice glared daggers at him at that, while Livia let out a small laugh, slightly more comfortable than when the trio had initially approached them. It did hit her that she was caught between two worlds right now—the twins and Sarah clearly came here together, and she wasn't precisely a member of Eunice's group either.

It should have put her in an awkward situation, but perhaps it was her horror at having to speak to Amphion and Zeth and act as if nothing had happened at all—a skill that, in all honesty, would come in very handy very soon—that diminished her disgust at anything else.

In comparison to that, her awkward position seemed like a trivial matter that could be ignored or solved without issue.

"Livia!" a new voice chirped from the inside of the house, and Livia turned to see Lila Anderson walking out. Her lips were slightly bruised, her hair mussed, but no one commented on it as she strolled over. When she noticed the twins and Sarah, she gave a moment's pause, but quickly recovered. "Amphion, Zeth, Sarah. Been a while."

Zeth smiled kindly in return. "A whole year, Anderson."

"Yes, it's been a long time." Lila's gaze returned to Livia, and then past her to Quentin, Eunice and Jason. "Your new friends?"

Livia made the appropriate introductions. Upon hearing Lila's name, Eunice's eyes lit up. "You're Lila Anderson? Like, the daughter of Helena Anderson?"

"That's my mama," Lila said with a roll of her eyes. "In case you're wondering, she's here, yes. If you want autographs I can arrange it."

"I'm a huge fan of her work. Blue Shadows is one of my favourite movies of all time."

Livia lowered her head. Lila had, at many turns, expressed displeasure at that movie. It had been the first movie her mother had starred in after her parents' divorce, and thus her family had been placed under mass scrutiny in the immediate aftermath. Thus, Lila's bad impression of it. It wasn't a bad movie, it wasn't a bad movie at all. It had gone on to win an Oscar, in fact, but it had never quite changed the sour taste it left in Lila's mouth.

Lila smiled, though it was weaker than usual. "That's nice, I'll tell her."

No she wouldn't. Lila dealt with this kind of situation every day, she'd long established a pattern and a script of words she'd use to diffuse the situation without hurting anyone's feelings.

Quentin's brows were creased. "No offence but... which one is Helena Anderson again? Sorry, I don't really watch movies."

"That's alright." Some of Lila's energy seemed to return to her. "Have you watched the Rebel Mark music video before? My mother played the lead female character."

"Oh!" Quentin's expression lit up. "I love that song!"

"I can tell," Lila murmured, nudging her chin at his small bag, slung over his shoulders, There was a keychain on it, which upon closer inspection showed itself to be the merchandise of the band Dianne's Dilemma. It was a relatively well-known rock band, though if Livia remembered correctly, it had gone on an indefinite hiatus around two years ago.

And everyone knew what indefinite hiatuses meant.

Livia was someone who'd gone through the pain of those two words many, many times.

Quentin remarked, "You're very observant."

A smirk was Lila's response. "It was kind of hard to miss. I had lunch with Dianne Rangald two weeks ago."

Quentin's eyes widened. "No way."

"I did," Lila laughed. "She's really good friends with my mum, comes over quite a lot."

This was, of course, no news to anyone who knew Lila before tonight. The twins, Sarah and Livia had all forced Lila to lay out all her celebrity connections before, which Lila had truthfully done. That had been an exciting night that felt like many lifetimes ago.

And in a way, Livia supposed that it was ages ago.

It was slightly terrifying how much time had passed between then and now. It was strange to think that they were all adults now rather than children, and that they were going to university and leaving their parents and getting scattered across the world. In a way, Livia had always assumed this was the way it would always be—all of them heading to Briarville every summer to spend time together that she forgot how irregular this arrangement was in the first place.

How strange it was for these families with so little in common to meet up together every year and spend two whole months together, and then act as if it had never happened the moment August passed and the September month came.

It was almost fantastical.

The conversation continued on. It moved on from the conversation about Lila's mother and moved onto more interesting topics, like university and how they were going to get there and live there. Sarah was going to be living in a dorm, she declared. As expected, Amphion was renting an apartment, and Livia was too. Zeth was still deciding, he announced, and that he might spend his first term in a dorm before moving out in the second. It was a prudent choice, Jason told him, a very wise one. He encouraged him to go through with it. Lila was still thinking about it as well, but she said she might choose a dorm just for everything to be more convenient.

Livia's reason for choosing an apartment over a dorm was simple. She wanted to be able to cook her own food and take care of herself privately and independently. Having spent half her life with her sister and the other half sharing dorm rooms at her school in Hong Kong, privacy was something she oftentimes craved. She just wanted to be left alone some days, and an apartment seemed like an excellent option for that.

Part of her loved her family, and the other half just desperately wanted to escape.

It wasn't an uncommon infliction, that conflict within a person coming of age, so it wasn't something spent a lot of time thinking about. She'd have to leave them sooner or later either way. Whether she or Pamela would be the one inheriting the company (or both) was still up to airs. In fact, the company might not stay in the family at all, if neither of them were up to standards or interested enough.

Somehow, though, their conversation turned into a panel for university preparations. It was useful to some of them, she was sure, but not for her, who already had the next three years more or less properly planned out. She knew her goals, her objectives, and she knew how she was going to reach each of them. There was nothing for her to do about it anymore.

Lila commented about this. "Wow," she said halfway through the conversation, "you really do already have everything sorted out, don't you?"

Livia offered a small grin. She watched Amphion's eyes darken. That difference had been the start of many conflicts, and they both knew that. People liked to say that opposites attract, but there were clear exceptions to that rule. They must be one of them. Even when they'd been best of friends, all their arguments would start because of how their ideologies and philosophies clashed against each other.

"Of course she does," Sarah said, some coldness in her tone. "That's how she does everything, don't you remember?"

Livia raised her head silently in response. Silence came over the group. Quentin had returned some time ago and had been introduced to everyone.

Turning to Lila, Livia quietly asked where Brie had gone.

Lila's response was not encouraging. Apparently, Brie had run into Mark Arron, a boy who she'd had a brief fling with over the summer. It had ended quite in an ugly fashion. The fact that the two had disappeared together...

Livia's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps we ought to locate her before she makes a mistake she regrets."

Lila's eyes darted momentarily to the group around them, her brow raised quizzically when she turned to look back at Livia. The silent question was clear. Do you want to get out of here?

Livia nodded briefly.

Lila bit her lips, getting into the character of a concerned friend, though Livia knew she probably couldn't care less. If Brie ended up heartbroken or infatuated again, Lila would deal with the consequences. She wasn't one who cared much about prevention.

"Yeah, we should probably find her," Lila murmured, before turning back to the rest of the group.

Eunice, Jason, Quentin and Victor remained blissfully unaware of what was going on. But from the way a small sneer had settled onto Amphion's face, at Zeth's wordless disappointment, at Sarah's relief, Livia could tell that they'd figured out Livia's wish to escape. Perhaps it seemed cowardly, but it also did truly feel like a waste of time to spend any more time here in this conversation she herself did not particularly want to contribute to.

Without any complications (and a quick exchange of social media handles), Livia and Lila headed off back into the house, where they attempted to track down Brie. While Lila might not care, Livia certainly did, since they'd have to be the ones suffering the consequences of Brie's heartbreak afterwards. Mark Arron was a heartbreaker. He'd gained a reputation for it since he was fourteen years old, and for some reason Brie had never quite let that fact sink in. With boys like him, it was fine to flirt and laugh and tease, but the moment you got feelings, it was all over for you.

It was a dangerous game, and one that Brie Carmen fell for every single time.

After fifteen minutes they located Brie. Unfortunately, it was in the restricted upstairs area, which wasn't very restricted anymore. They located Brie and Mark at the very end of the corridor, deep in embrace, tongues practically down each other's throats. Livia winced, and Lila marched forwards. "Hey! Carmen!"

Nonplussed and taken by surprise, the two jumped back from each other. In a way, Livia could understand why Brie fell for Mark. He was insanely handsome, probably even beating the twins in terms of attractiveness. A mane of blonde hair, the bluest eyes with long lashes that she was insanely jealous of, pale skin and a smiling mouth that could fool anyone until you heard about his reputation.

He reminded her of Mr Wickham from Pride and Prejudice, if she had to be honest. Right down to the personality and character.

Did that make Brie his Lydia? Though Brie was far less annoying than the youngest Bennet sister, she somewhat shared the same enthusiasm and thoughtlessness. Much like what Zeth was to Amphion, Lila was the brains behind Brie's charm. The two step-sisters complemented each other, rounding out each other's faults.

But when separated, their personal flaws started to show.

"Oh my gosh," Brie exclaimed, eyes widened with alarm. "What are you two doing here?"

If Mark was embarrassed, he didn't show it. He was perfectly nonchalant as he straightened his hair, his shirt, and then dusted himself. "Lila. Livia."

"Mark," Livia greeted sharply. "How nice to see you here."

Brie's eyes jumped between the two. "Livia, no—"

But it wasn't Livia she had to worry about. "Can't believe you still had the nerve to show your face here," Lila started, "after what happened last year."

"It's a free country," Mark remarked. "I can do whatever the hell I want, you can't stop me." He raised his chin defiantly, uncowered by the two girls standing opposite him.

Thing was, Brie might be able to overlook how he'd treated her last year. Lila and Livia couldn't. The two girls had installed themselves as Brie's protectors long ago, and nothing was going to be changing that. They were her silent sentinels, watching out for her when she couldn't herself. When she was too blinded by her own feelings to make the rational choice, they were more than happy to stand out and defend her.

"Fuck off." Lila was blunt and straight to the point. Livia would have chosen to be slightly more tactful and indirect. But she supposed it all came to the same effect.

"Lila—" Brie seemed to have realised who was the true menace in this room. Not Livia, who might say the nastier things and had the more barbed tongue, but who'd never really laid a hand on anyone in a fight; but rather Lila, who might seem silent and taciturn most of the time, but was more than willing to start a brawl. Lila had learnt karate and martial arts since she was a little girl, so it wasn't like she couldn't win anyways, even against someone Mark's size.

"Not a word from you," Lila commanded, raising her chin. "We'll discuss this when we get home."

Brie visibly swallowed. Both Livia and Lila chose to ignore her obvious fear. She knew getting involved with Mark again was stupid, she knew that very well. She just chose to go through with it anyway because she kept thinking she'd be different from the other girls Mark flirted and played with. It was human nature, but from the view of a passerby, it was pure stupidity.

Livia's eyes turned back to Mark. Any warmth had vanished from her expression leaving only iciness. "Get out of here right now, and never let us see you again."

"Fuck off, Wong, fix your own problems first before you come yapping around like a—"

Before he could even finish that sentence, Lila was a blur as she launched herself forward, and a well-aimed slap landed itself on the right side of Mark Arron's face.

"Get away," Lila seethed, "from my sister before I destroy you."

Brie's eyes were widened, frozen in shock as she watched this scene unfold. Before Lila lost control over herself, Livia strolled forward and held her back slightly, eyes lifting to meet Mark's startled, but unsurprised ones. This wasn't the first time Lila had gotten into a physical altercation in Briarville, much less at a party. She had a reputation for it, despite her petite appearance. It was rage that fuelled Lila, Livia had recognised long ago, rage that kept Lila going on every day. They'd never dared ask about what her father had truly been like, but the news reports and gossip rags had said enough. Lila had plenty of rage kept up in herself, and it was in moments like these that she let it all out.

Every container reached its capacity. And when the walls were made of glass, it was going to hurt someone. Right now, Lila's target was Mark Arron, and nothing was going to be stopping her.

"Bitch," Mark hissed. "She was the one who came up to me."

"Yeah right," Lila snarled, an animal left off its leash, pure anger and fury with nothing other than Livia's light hold keeping her in check. "Fuck off, Arron, and never let me see you around my sister again, or it won't just be a slap next time."

"My parents—"

"Oh please," Lila sneered. "You think my parents won't be able to dig me out of whatever I get into? Aren't you a naive one? My advice would be to turn away right now and pretend none of this ever happened. That way, maybe you can still stay in this town in peace."

The scary thing was, Lila wasn't precisely lying. Despite her somewhat being unpopular due to her reserved (and slightly terrifying) personality, Lila and her mother still held plenty of influence. People listened to her. And if she managed to twist it into something about Mark hurting Brie (which wasn't precisely false either), most of the people they knew would rally against Mark. Everyone loved Brie. She was the ray of sunshine that kept everything and everyone going. In their darkest hours, she was who'd kept them moving on as a community.

It was why they always had her back.

Mark Arron seemed to have finally gotten the message. "You're a fucking unhinged piece of shit, you know that, Anderson?"

Tauntingly, she replied, chin raised, "Tell me something I don't know." Her face was red, her hair still mussed, but her eyes were laser-focused. She looked like an Amazon in the heat of the battle, waiting to cut down her opponent without a second thought. But this wasn't Ancient Greece. This wasn't the Trojan War, and there'd be no slaying today, no matter how angry Lila was.

In a softer, but still chilling voice, Livia told Mark, "I think you should go."

And this time, he seemed to get the message. With a snarl and a few more select words, he slammed past them and went for the stairs. Livia could only hope that he would get discovered by Taliyah and be chewed out for having broken her rules, though he was hardly the only person to have done so.

Livia sucked in a breath. Brie was still breathing heavily, not quite recovered from the confrontation. Lila seemed to get back into her usual state much faster, as she steadied herself and removed Livia's grasp, turning to her step-sister with a blaze still burning in her eyes.

"What were you thinking?" she seethed. "Messing around with him of all people again?"

"It's like you just said, it's just messing around. I'm not in love with him or anything!" Brie protested, irritation clear.

"You said that last year too," Livia reminded her. "I think we all know better now than to trust you when you say you haven't gotten feelings for anyone. I thought you were better than this, Brie."

"He's fun," Brie spat out. "He doesn't expect anything."

"You know that, yet who always ends up sobbing on the ground? You. You do, Brie Carmen," Lila hissed. "And I'm tired of cleaning up your fucking messes for you. If you know he's a fuckboy, then don't mess around with him. You're far too soft to be playing with someone like him."

"Oh, I'm sorry I don't have a heart made of stone like you two!" Brie yelped. "I'm actually human, okay? I make mistakes, and I learn from them! I'm not going to fall for him again."

Livia wasn't offended. It wasn't the first day she'd known that her friends didn't always view her or Lila as completely human, but rather as figures carved out from marble who didn't share the same flesh and beating heart. But it was still disheartening. She shook her head in dismay. "A whole town of people to choose from, and you go back to Mark Arron again."

"He's—"

"Changed?" Lila mocked. "Grown up? Not the same person as last year? Oh please, we all know those are just excuses. Earlier today you were telling me you'd never, ever want to get back with him ever again. Look what happened now. I'm just disappointed, Brie."

"Oh, screw that!" Brie huffed, throwing her hands down. "You're always like this. You're not my mother!"

"I'm not, that's true. But clearly you're unable to take care of yourself, so I have to do that for you until you finally learn how to." Lila didn't spare another look for her step-sister, instead turning away towards where the stairs were. "Let's get downstairs before Taliyah Neumann finds us here and kills us."

Livia casted a quick glance at Brie. She was angry now, but knowing her, she'd forgive them both within an hour or two's time and realise how wrong she had been. Of course, it won't keep her from making the same mistake a few more times, but eventually she'd get the message. Eventually she'd learn and stop going back to him. Brie always went through that process, it was nothing they hadn't seen before.

That was how they left the party. Livia, in the driver's seat. Lila, next to her, unwilling to utter a word. Brie, at the back, arms crossed, silently oppressing tears and probably playing the confrontation over and over again in her head trying to figure out what she should have done, how she should have handled it.

Livia dropped the two sisters off at their house. The sky was already fully dark at eleven o'clock. They'd arrived at the party when it was still somewhat light outside. Much had happened within four hours.

She drove back to her house, then. Her parents had already gone to sleep, and Auntie Xu had left a note telling her that she'd made egg tarts in the fridge and Livia could microwave them if she felt hungry. Livia did that with one, leaving it in her room before going to clean her face.

An eventful night, she liked to think.

She'd made new friends, ran into old enemies, and then witnessed Lila Anderson slap Mark Arron. She wondered if that would get out tomorrow, if Mark would tell some of his friends, who'd tell some of their friends, and so on.

But that was all to worry about tomorrow.

She was tired, exhausted. And she still wanted to wake up at her usual time tomorrow. Not to mention the dinner tomorrow night.

Oh, fucking hell. The dinner was tomorrow night.

That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all.

It was with those complaints in mind that Livia fell asleep, her troubles still plaguing her even as she fell into deep slumber.