EVALINE.

Julie Moore and I would later that day exchange numbers. We would text. We would meet up. We would find a friend in each other. Every day, we would meet at the Joe's Bagels - the cafe on the corner of Faitstreet - and after, talk for hours on end on the telephone.

One day, she would tell me how glad she was to have met me, and I would echo her words. We would find comfort in each other, and we would cry in each other's arms, whisper secrets in the dead of night, laugh over the dumbest things. Julie and I would form a bond that no tide could erode, no sea could wash away - because we were the sea and the shore. We would find each other, always.

But with the seas and shores come the wind; and little did I know that the strongest tides could wash away the best things.

+

She sauntered in a year after Evaline had met Julie, with her blond hair floating like a halo above her, the wind teasing her hair, chafing her cheeks until they were red. She came with a smile, and with eyes like blades of grass. She came, and she took, and she went.

Evaline knew her before Julie did. She knew her well. She loved her well. She would brush her hair, tangled golden strands and all, and she would dress her up, prints and pieces almost identical to her own. In a way, Evaline knew she was being selfish, trying to keep the two worlds apart. But there was only so much the shore could do to keep the wind from changing the tide.

Later on in the story, Julie would tell Evaline that she was a bridge. She was the bridge between Julie and Everett, and joined them so well.

Evaline wanted to say that some bridges connect, and others divide.

It was a Wednesday afternoon that Julie told Evaline about her sister. They were in their usual seat at Joe's Bagels, a caramel latte for Evaline and a warm cup of coco for Julie.

"So," Julie began, a wide smile on her face, "I met Everett."

"You met..Everett? As in, my sister, Everett Clarke?" Evaline had spluttered, eyes widening a fraction. "How?"

"We're in the same year at Cairn High, remember?" Julie said. "You guys look, like, identical. I saw her at the canteen, all alone, and I thought she was you. So I like, went up to her, and called her Evaline, and she was so shocked. And I was so shocked, because you never tell me anything about her."

Evaline shrugged, panicking a little. She had kept the two apart for the simple reason that they would get along so well. She had no doubt in her mind that Everett and Julie would click, and their closeness in age would undoubtedly leave Evaline out. Some people called her selfish, she called it self-preservation. "Everett and I aren't all that close."

Julie cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Because she told me that you guys are like, thick as thieves."

"Evie exaggerates."

Julie shrugged, thinking little of it. "Anyway, she's the only reason I've been surviving Freshman year. Well, her and Anya."

Evaline gulped. This was another one of her fears - Julie thriving in High School. It was another reason why they were so drawn to each other at first; loneliness was like magnetism. Julie was home-schooled throughout Middle School, and Evaline was a bit of a lone wolf in High School. If it was just Evaline who needed a friend..."Anya?"

"Anya Kovsky," she said simply, as if it were supposed to ring a bell. "This adorable Russian girl. She's tiny and maddeningly hilarious. Full of snark, like a perpetually angry marionette." She laughed at the inside joke, and Evaline already felt like an outsider.

"You make C-High actually sound fun," Eva said dryly.

A small smile tugged at Julie's lips and she nudged her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I mean...it kinda is. I never really knew how fun school could be." A laugh escaped her lips. "I sound like such a loser."

"Gee," Evaline said, trying to stop herself from sounding too bitter. "A week and a half into Cairnview and already so full of school spirit. What, trying out for cheer next?"

The smile faded from Julie's lips, but Evaline didn't notice. She continued, "Everett wants to, you know. She thinks being 'ra-ra' and tying her blonde hair in a ponytail will guarantee her lifelong popularity." She snorted. "Try lifelong regret. That crowd is a crowd I don't get. Keelian George, Jennifer Ann, Louise Cary - absolutely substance-less. Carrying their fucking pom-poms like they own the school, giggling over boys and make-up -"

"You know," Julie said, so soft that Evaline almost couldn't hear, "Just because it isn't your thing doesn't mean it's a bad thing."

Evaline could feel her slipping through her fingers. It felt like she was clinging onto sand, and no matter how hard she held on, pieces still slid through the cracks, until all that was left is air. She coule feel the tide changing and turning, and she realized that even the calmest seas had the power to become a tsunami. Even the softest tides, coupled with gusts of wind, could breathe disaster.

Even Julie; soft, sweet, kind Julie - could look Evaline Clarke in the eye, turn around and leave.