I sighed as I backed away from the painting that I was doing since I decided to do another one but for myself this time. It was currently Sunday and my mother and grandmother had gone shopping for dresses to wear for the masquerade New Year's Eve event we were invited to. It was mostly for my mother. They asked me to go with them but I turned the offer down. Right now, I wasn't up for going out plus I have enough dresses in my closet that I can just wear one I own rather than buying a new one that I'm only going to wear once. The only thing I really need is a mask, which I was going to get later this week on my own.

I was brought back to reality when I heard a frantic knock at the front door. I quickly dropped my paintbrush in the jar of water and rushed to open the door.  I was surprised when I saw Ruby standing there, huffing and puffing with her cheeks red. She held up her index finger when I opened my mouth to ask her why she was here. She put her hands on her knees and hunched over to catch her breath. She was in her pyjama's since she was wearing fuzzy pyjama pants that had grey cloud imprints on them and she had a matching grey cloud plush sweater. She was wearing chestnut ankle-high UGG boots. It's as if she just woke up and ran here, which is clearly the case at this point.

"Do you want water before you tell me why you ran all the way here in your pyjamas?" I offered. She simply nodded, still taking deep breaths. I walked into the kitchen and poured her a glass of water before handing it to her. I leaned against the benchtop, waiting for her to calm down so she can explain what's so urgent that she had to run all the way here from her house in her pyjama's. 

"Ok, now I can talk" Ruby sighed, slamming the glass cup on the benchtop. I flinched, thinking it would break but thank god it didn't. She looked at me apologetically. "I ran all the way here because you weren't answering my calls, again may I add, because you see Kylee needs us like now, she's having a mental breakdown and we need to go, call to action, we are needed elsewhere" she explained in a rush. Damn it, I shouldn't have left my phone on silent while I painted because this is really important.

Note to self: Apologise to Kylee for not answering my stupid phone

I didn't bother to change like Ruby, I just followed her in running out of the door, down the street, in the direction towards Kylee's house. It's lucky we don't live too far from each other or we would have passed out. Once we got to Kylee's house, we didn't even have to knock because she threw the front door wide open for us. I stepped back in shock at how distraught and dishevelled she looked. It felt horrible seeing her like this. Kylee had mascara tracks down her cheeks, her hair was sticking up as if she had been running her fingers through her hair, tugging and pulling at it. 

Her eyes were glossy as if she were ready to cry all over again. I was correct when she let out a sob as she threw her arms around us both, pulling us into a hug while crying. She was clutching the back of our shirts tightly. Ruby and I wrapped our arms around her in return but looked at each other with a worried frown. We led her inside, closing the door behind us. We decided to sit her in the living room since her house was empty. I don't know where her parents were but I didn't question it because there were bigger issues than that at hand. We waited for her to stop crying while sitting next to each of her sides and hugging her. 

"We've got you, Kylee, you're not alone" I reassured her. 

"You can tell us anything" Ruby muttered. Kylee just nodded, continuing to let out heartbreaking sobs. It took a while until her cries subsided to just sniffles. Ruby gave her some tissues to wipe her eyes as we patiently waited to hear what had caused her to be so upset. 

"I'm sorry guys, I hate that you have to see me like this but I really needed someone, I didn't want to be alone," Kylee said with a shaky breath. 

"Don't ever apologise for feeling Kylee" I advised sternly. 

"We all cry, it's what makes us human, we get upset at shit and it hurts but it's how we know we're living," Ruby shrugged.

"Someone is being wise" Kylee joked.

"Oh hush and tell Mumma what's got you so sad and who do I have to hunt down and kill?" Ruby demanded. Kylee sighed, staring down at her legs to avoid eye contact with us.

"It's Axel" Kylee mumbled. It was inaudible but we heard her. Oh no, what could have happened now? I thought she hadn't seen him since she dumped him. He's a dead man either way for whatever it is he could have done for making her cry.

"You're ex? What did he do now?" I scowled. Kylee went silent again, frantically brushing her hair back before clutching a handful of it in her fists while shutting her eyes.

"What happened Kylee? You're scaring us" Ruby asked with a frown. Kylee huffed.

"He came over last night and said he wanted to apologise so we ended up talking about why he did what he did and just when he was about to leave, he said that he still loved me and kissed me and the next thing I know, one thing led to another and...." she trailed off. 

"You didn't!" Ruby and I gasped simultaneously. Kylee covered her face and nodded frantically. 

"Then what happened?" Ruby urged.

"This morning I woke up to an empty bed with a note on my nightstand that said 'thanks for an amazing night, that's all I really wanted from you' with a smiley face at the end and that's it" she finished, sniffing. 

"That motherfucker" Ruby fumed. He was an asshole who deserved karma at its worse. How could he do that to her? Does he have any decency? That dumbass is probably proud of himself and gloating about his 'accomplishment' or some shit. 

"And on top of that, this was after I turned down Atticus when he asked me on a date yesterday before Axel came over" Kylee added. 

She gave me a side glance with a look of regret. I'm guessing either because she regrets turning him down or because he is kind of my friend. I'm not upset or anything with her decision to turn him down so there's no reason to regret her choice for rejecting him unless she wanted to go on a date with him. As much as I would love them to be together, I'm glad she did turn him down. If she were to go on a date with him, I would have been worried she didn't have any feelings for him and only agreed to get over Axel because she still loved him. I didn't want Atticus to get hurt either, even if he is the kind of tough guy who says nothing affects him. 

Axel was her first and only love Kylee told us about. She'd always hide her feelings from everyone else but to Axel, she felt comfortable and like she was able to be herself but he betrayed the relationship they had. I guess he only stayed for that long because he was hoping for some action. He got what he wanted but only after the crap he pulled when she was at her most vulnerable. Kylee always puts up a front but the break up made it hard for her to do so now in public. Only we know and have seen her at her worse. Evelyn hasn't seen her when her walls are down. Ever since the fight, the two don't trust her, which is most likely why she's not here now. 

"I knew he was lowkey a dick" Ruby seethed. I nodded in agreement.

"And now I feel like shit, I've been crying for hours even though I'm the one that let this happen to myself because I fell for his words, that he regretted his actions and that he still loved and missed me, fuck, what a fool I was, there goes my first time, what a shit experience" Kylee growled. 

Well, I didn't know that. Now I feel bad for being all upset about my own 'drama' in my life when it seems like Kylee has had it much worse and all because of Axel. That must be shit for your first time to end like that, with the bastard leaving nothing but a note as if it were a good joke or some game. This will probably take her time to get over but I know Ruby and I will still be there for her to make sure she gets over Axel.

"You're not a fool Kylee, we make mistakes in our lives but we have to learn from them, I know you can do so much better than him and you will, one day he'll regret his actions but it'll be too late because you'll be moving on with your life where he isn't in it anymore" I comforted. "Plus, I'm sure karma will bite him in the ass and if not, I'm sure Ruby will" I added jokingly. Kylee let out a slight chuckle as Ruby grinned mischievously.

"Oh don't worry, I'll get him either way, he better watch out because when Ruby is pissed, you fucking run, I will castrate that motherfucker" Ruby declared with a bit of sass. Kylee and I laughed as Ruby snapped her fingers. I don't doubt that she will do something to injure him. People think that she wouldn't hurt a fly but they are in for a rude awakening once they see her out for blood.

"Thanks, guys but Ruby please don't do anything because I know you will and you suck at being sneaky," Kylee said, looking at Ruby. Ruby gaped in shock and mock offence. 

"Well fuck you too, I am perfect at being sneaky!" she exclaimed.

"You once tried to sneak into the boy's locker room and got caught the second you stepped in by the football captain, you're lucky it wasn't the coach" Kylee reminded. 

"Wait you what?" I asked while raising a brow at Ruby. Ruby blushed in embarrassment as Kylee and I laughed. Why am I not surprised at this information? It sounds like something she would do.

"You promised you wouldn't bring that up! Harmony wasn't supposed to know about that!" Ruby whined. 

"Too late now, I'm never going to let you live that down" I smirked. Ruby stuck her tongue out at me and I did the same. Kylee rolled her eyes with a smile. 

"Thanks, guys for cheering me up, I needed a good laugh," Kylee said. 

"What can we say? We're miracle workers" Ruby joked with a shrug.

"Ok ignoring Ruby here, you know we're not going to judge and that we're going to always be there for you right?" I reminded. Kylee nodded and wrapped her arms around both me and Ruby's neck, pulling us towards her in an awkward hug.

"Thanks guys, I'm glad you two didn't judge me" she muttered.

"If you noogie me, you'll end up six feet under" Ruby threatened, trying to get out of Kylee's grip. 

Kylee let go of me but kept her hold on Ruby and started to rough up her hair. I laughed as I watched Ruby and Kylee start to playfully fight each other. It seems like all is forgotten for now but I know Kylee is still most likely hurt. Knowing that she is, Ruby and I are most likely going to sleepover at her's tonight even though we have school tomorrow. At least this will give me a sort of excuse to avoid going home because if I do, then I'm alone at some point of the day. I'll end up thinking, which leads to memories, which leads to me wanting to curl up into a ball and cry, and I just deal with it on my own because I don't want to tell anyone. 

Right now it's all about Kylee and trying to make her feel better while she goes through this heartbreak. I pushed any thoughts about Daniel out of my head and focused on hanging out with Ruby and Kylee. Once the two had finished fighting, which all they did was mess up their hair and pinch each other's arms and legs to be silly, Kylee went to the bathroom to wash her face and change. Ruby and I decided to sit in the backyard while we wait for her. Once Kylee came out, we decided to play some poker while we talked. 

We avoided the topic of Axel so we decided to talk about the camping trip and what we were planning to do on the holiday. Kylee and her family were going overseas for Christmas whereas Ruby was going to celebrate with all her extended family at home. However, for me, I had completely forgotten that Daniel was invited to celebrate Christmas eve with us. I don't know how that was going to go but I decided not to think that far ahead because I didn't want to think of the worse scenario. 

Once it became night, Ruby and I had an idea to set up the backyard for a movie night using the projector that we know Kylee had but didn't use. I was going to cook with Kylee while Ruby did the decorating since that was her specialty and she tends to shove people away whenever someone does the wrong thing. Kylee and I kept laughing every time we tried to flip a pancake since we both attempted many times but failed. It would always flop onto the counter so we decided on ordering pizza instead. By the time the pizza arrived, Ruby was done with the setup. We went out to place the pizza and other snacks and drinks down.

"Wow this looks amazing Ruby" Kylee complimented, staring in astonishment as she sat on the blankets spread out on the grass, in front of the screen. 

"Why thank you, it's my specialty" Ruby grinned proudly as she bowed. I sat on the floor in-between the two. "You ready ladies!" she exclaimed, raising her fist in the air. Kylee and I did the same.

"We're ready" we shouted in unison with excitement. 

"Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road!" she shouted.

Ruby played the movie from Kylee's laptop before we dug into the pile of junk we had, occasionally laughing and chucking food at each other. That's how it was for the rest of the night. Her parents came home quite late, near midnight. They greeted us quickly before they went to sleep. We stayed outside until we got sleepy, that was when we decided to move into the living room. We fell asleep on her L shaped couch peacefully with the electric fireplace running in the background to keep us warm from the cold breeze that had decided to settle in so late into the night.