Silvia didn’t know what to do here. Her girlfriend had been drugged and almost assaulted by her evil ex-girlfriend.

But here they were at lunch, trying to pretend that it hadn’t happened.

Jason sat across from them, chatting about how he liked this girl and didn’t know what to do.

“You can say, Luci,” joked Olivia. “We already know it’s her.”

“I’m not talking about her.”

“Suuurrrreee.”

“Then who?” asked Silvia, trying to figure out how to navigate the tenuous space between them. She tried to hold Olivia’s hand, but every time she reached for her, Olivia subtly pulled away, finding something to do in her bag or on her phone. Olivia just avoided Silvia’s touch altogether.

“I don’t—”

“The only other girl I see you spending your time with is Amelia,” said Olivia, taking a sip of her milk.

Silvia stared at Jason, eyes bugging out of her head. “Jason, no.”

“She likes me, okay! And I like her—”

“You like her because she likes you. That’s not really a reason to start a relationship,” muttered Olivia.

Silvia looked at her girlfriend, catching how her tone had shifted. Was she trying to imply something?

“No, I do like her. She’s cute and sweet, and we have a lot in common.”

“Have you forgotten last year? This is not going to end well,” said Silvia, trying to ignore the rift between her and her girlfriend.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? Wait for Luci to get over Cyrus and Matthew.”

“She and Matthew weren’t really a thing.”

“Oh, they were something, and we all know it.”

Silvia wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. Something had grown between those two. But what? Matthew was entering a new relationship, and Cyrus…well, he was just being Cyrus. Luci wasn’t even talking to Cyrus at the moment.

“Too much drama,” said Silvia, who decided it wasn’t her circus and that her attention was better spent focusing on her SATs.

At least she was trying to focus on herself and her relationship. Someone in this friend group had to have their shit together.

“Jason, I really don’t think you should pursue a relationship with her,” said Olivia, leaning her head on Silvia’s shoulder. Silvia relaxed at the touch, thankful that they were still a thing. Maybe she was reading too much into Olivia’s behavior. Something terrible had almost happened to her. Obviously, she needed her space. And Silvia would give it to her. No matter what, Silvia would be there for her.

“Well, who asked you?” muttered Jason, looking away.

“You did!” jumped Olivia, throwing her hands up in a way that made Silvia smile. “You’ve literally been sitting here asking us what you should do about this girl. You’re just pissy because we figured out who and are so totally against it. Right, Vee?”

“100%. Do not date her.”

Jason huffed about it, but he shut up about it. Olivia rolled her eyes. Silvia sat there in silence, waiting for the bell to ring. Was everything okay with them? Or was their relationship in trouble?

Maybe she should just take a page out of Luci’s book and focus on her SATs.

***

Blake sat alone in his photography class, lost in his thoughts. Having seen Olivia the way she had been, a victim of Evie, stirred something in him.

He couldn’t believe someone could be so vile. How did that happen? How did someone become so cruel?

But then he remembered, there was a time he had almost been that cruel.

Blake winced, remembering the memory of him and Luci in the stairwell freshman year. God, he disgusted himself. It was why he pushed every girl away, every girl interested in him, instead choosing to crush on the one girl who wouldn’t have him.

Sighing, he decided to focus on the subject of his midterm project.

He thought about a lot of things, but he kept circling back to his friends, specifically the girls: Lucita, Becca, Silvia, and Olivia. Somehow, he thought he could rectify something in their lives by showing them how he saw them, maybe even highlighting the wonderful relationship between Silvia and Olivia.

It made him jealous thinking about them together. But he wanted to highlight them.

They were all supposed to hand out later at the complex pool, so maybe then.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. He could tell that no one else in the class was taking it seriously. The teacher really didn’t. But Blake wanted to do something. He wanted to do something more with his life than be the person he used to be.

“Hey, Blake!”

Blake stopped short in the hallway. Amelia made her way towards him, a smile on her face.

“Amelia. Hey.” She was not his favorite person.

“Can I ask you something?”

He crossed his arms. “Depends on what it is?”

“How hung up is Jason on Luci?” He didn’t like how she said her name as if it were a curse. Maybe for her, it was.

“Well, can I ask you something first?”

“What?”

“How serious are you with your boyfriend?”

She glared at him. “We broke up.”

“Did you? Huh. Well, I guess an answer deserves an answer. Don’t waste your time with Jason.” He walked past her, only to stop short when she called after him.

“Well, he asked me out on a date, so whatever to you.”

Blake didn’t turn back to face her, just listened to her skip down the hall.

“Fucking idiot,” he muttered to himself.

***

Blake and Luci moved two tables together, fixing the umbrellas so they could all be shaded while doing their homework. Much of their workload overlapped as they were all in AP or Honors classes.

Blake looked at Silvia; she had photography, the same as him, just at a different time. He wondered what the subject of her project would be.

“Hey Vee, what are you doing for your photography project?”

Confused, she looked up at him as she sat next to Olivia.

“Oh, I hadn’t given it much thought. That class is pretty much an easy A.”

“Well, yeah, but I kind of wanted to do something meaningful.”

“Like what?” asked Luci, sitting cross-legged in the chair beside him.

“Well, I wanted to photograph you guys.” Saying it out loud made him want to blush.

“Us,” asked Becca.

Blake rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, you guys. Separately and together.”

“That sounds so cool! Imagine it, Becca, he could get some pictures of you surfing!” Lucita clapped her hands together. “Oh, I am so in!”

“Okay, Becca surfs, and you read or write. What about Vee and Olivia?”

“We can just be adorable,” grinned Olive.

“Exactly! I just want to capture you guys. I thought it would be cool.”

“Okay,” said Becca, “Some cool surf picks would be great for surfing competitions.”

“Oh, this is gonna be so cool!” Blake grinned over at Luci. He wanted to capture her happiness. He wanted to show them they were all more than how they saw themselves.

***

Silvia sat in her room thinking about the photo project. Blake was doing all of them. It had given her an idea. Maybe she should focus on Olivia. If Olivia could see her the way she saw her, beautiful and strong, maybe she would find a way to stand up to Evie should she ever try to hurt her again. Silvia wanted Olivia to see herself as more than just a victim. Silvia just wanted to help her regain her agency.

Silvia picked up her phone and called Olivia, but Olivia didn’t answer. She tried again, but nothing happened.

She sent her a quick text, hoping for a reply, but again, nothing. Where was she?

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