EVALINE.

I met Julie Moore before my sister did. We met at the mall in Cairnview, in the public bathroom on the second floor, the one right beside the Bath&Body Works.

Later on, Julie would tell me that it would end the way it started.

With blood.

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Evaline Clarke had just gotten her period. That left her stranded in the cubicle, bleeding, and insanely uncomfortable.

She reached out for her bag, searching for that savior-stick of a tampon, only realizing that she did not, in fact, have one.

"Motherfucking cunt, why, on all days, do you choose to bleed today,"she began, but cut herself off when she heard a voice from the cubicle beside her.

"Excuse me?"

Startled, Evaline looked up. "Uh, sorry, wasn't talking to you."

"I mean...were you...I have a tampon."

"You do?"

"Uh-huh, I could slide one over to you." The other voice coughed demurely. "I mean, if you like."

"Oh, yes. Yes. Please."

She saw a light, tanned hand reach out from the stall beside her, and place a tampon right there. Beaming and grateful, Evaline picked it up, did the deed, and said, "Hey, thanks!"

She walked out of the stall, extremely grateful for her luck. Evaline examined herself in the mirror, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear and then glossing her lips with balm.

She heard a flush, and through the mirror, saw a pretty girl saunter up to her. She was tall, and had dark waves for hair. Her warm brown eyes met Evaline's green ones through the mirror, and it sent a ripple of warmth through her body.

She smiled, and her eyes creased at the corners, giving her a glow Evaline hadn't seen in anyone, or at least, not in a long time. Sure, the girl was cute, but it was the aura of warmth that she seemed to wear as a halo that drew Evaline to her. The girl adjusted her glasses on the rim of her nose and said, "Hi."

"Hey," Evaline said, smiling back at her. She was beautiful, lithe and tanned, probably half-Asian, and seemed to be brimming with kindness. "I'm Evaline."

"Evaline," the girl said, trying the name on her tongue. Evaline had always hated her name, awkward and painfully girly, nothing at all like her, but the way the girl said it made it sound pretty, and it made Evaline feel pretty. Boys tossed the word around her so often that she'd become numb to the meaning and unaware of her own good looks, but all this strange, kind girl had to do was say her name, and somehow, it was enough.

"I'm Julie."

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a/n: yall!! ill be doing shorter chapters for part ii because i think the flow would be smoother and because otherwise it would be draggy and tbh this isn't the most important part of the book? and i think it would be easier for me to updated also lol. hope you guys are enjoying thus far :)