“Thank you so much, Alex and everyone who put this party together. I know it wasn’t for us, but it made us feel very special that we were invited,” Y stated with a respectful bow as he ushered the others out of the door the next morning.

            “We wouldn’t miss it for the world! You should invite us again, sometime!” Jangjun cheered, breaking the dignified silence set forth by Y’s charming and pleasant demeanor. Dee and Salem smiled softly before looking at Alex, not at all surprised that anyone this loud was her friend.

            “Whenever you guys get the chance again, we would love to,” Fay added mindlessly, her head still numb from the numerous drinks she must have consumed by the end of the night though she was not so far dazed as to ignore the fresh faced Joochan standing before her, a twinkling glint in his eyes. She turned to hide her face and the inevitable blush that ran across it.

            “We’ll text you all later. Be safe and please, let us know if you want or need anything. It would be our pleasure,” Tag offered before helping Y herd the rest of the members down the street to the van. Pleasure. For everyone but Alex, this night was pleasure, a party to never forget on a night it would be difficult to remember. Yet, Alex remembered everything, the scenes of Seungmin replaying incessantly in her mind. How naïve she was, how vulnerable, how angry. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as the members rounded the corner, though she noted that Talia could not bring her eyes off him as if once he had disappeared from sight, he would disappear from her memory, from her heart. Alex envied her, wishing it was that easy. She wanted to forget the warmth of his skin, wanted to forget the innocent glint in his eyes, wanted to forget the careless mistake he had made, wanted to forget the betrayed look on Talia’s face, wanted to forget that, deep down, she felt no remorse.

            Alex wanted to know what Talia and he had talked about, but whatever the outcome, she would be displeased, disgruntled, disheartened. Talia did not seem to falter and had not said a single word all morning. Granted, she was the last to awake, but when she did and saw Alex and Fay downstairs cleaning up the aftermath, she joined Fay’s side of the house without hesitation. Her lack of words was not so much daunting as it was haunting for Alex. Talia was not usually a woman of few words, but what she did choose, she chose wisely. Though Alex was a philosopher at heart, Talia was bound to be the best lawyer and as such, was more than selective with her words. It was the lack of words, the lack of voice that concerned Alex. If Talia had only mentioned that she slept well or that it was a fun party, then Alex would have been content, but the silence then, the silence now as they filed back into the house to finish cleaning and collect their belongings, was immense, heartbreaking. Yet, Alex knew that even this would be asking to much. Though it is likely that Talia took that room as her own, how could she be expected to sleep well next to the love of her life, the same love that might have very well vanished before her? How could it have been a fun party if one of her friends was missing for much of the night and she couldn’t remember why, but could only remember the potential heartache that came with it? Alex had certainly not slept well or enjoyed much of the party. For this, she would have to live vicariously through Fay who, with the brightest of smiles, had not a care in the world as she continued to clean as if she were Cinderella. If not for the biting sting of reality, Alex was almost certain singing birds and other animals would invade the home with  Fay’s demeanor as welcome.

            “Well, that seems to be all of it. I think we should be good from here,” Dee stated triumphantly, trotting downstairs with her small backpack of belongings.

            “Plus, we don’t pay them a cleaning fee for nothing. We did our best, but if they have anything else, unfortunately the maids will have to clean it,” Salem added, following not far after. “Did you all get your stuff already, too?”

            “We didn’t bring anything but ourselves to be honest,” Alex admitted, immediately remembering the lie she had told Seungmin to coax him into cleaning himself up. Again, she refused to look at Talia, though the latter should not begrudge her for doing the least humanity could offer in the moment. “I can’t wait to get home and take a shower. That, or eat,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose at the rumbling of her stomach. In the commotion last night, she had forgotten to eat and even the calorie-laden chips and alcohol were not enough to quell her usually insatiable hunger. She had adrenaline and heartbreak to thank for that, but, just as the memories would not stop nagging her, but now, neither did this hunger.

            “It was nice to meet you all. I had heard stories from Alex about you guys from when you lived together. I’m so glad we could have a good time because of you. You’re all too kind,” Fay gushed, no hunger, no malice, no envy ruining her ascent to and through Cloud Nine.

            “It was dope to see you and Talia again. We should do this more often. It was nice to meet you, Fay, and the rest of your friends. I hope they get home safe,” Salem grinned. “I have to get going, though. I forgot—or chose not to—study for this test I have tomorrow. If I can get through last night, I can get through anything,” she chuckled, slapping herself slightly before excusing herself.

            “I hate to say it, but same here. Summer classes are brutal,” Dee groaned. “Ya’ll get home safely and text us when you’re back. We have got to do this again!” she continued before also excusing herself.

            “Well, ladies, it looks like that’s our cue out of here. It was a fun night,” Alex began, pausing, unsure if she could continue with the weight of the falsehoods on her tongue, on her mind, “but, it’s time that we head back home. We need showers; we need food; we need to be anywhere but here,” she sighed, taking one last look around the house of memories, starting towards the stairs. “You guys should also take a look around to make sure you didn’t leave any jewelry, any wristbands or VVIP badges, anything like that,” she called from the top of the stairs before accidentally turning her attention to the room where it happened. Her legs became heavy and her words stalled. Yet, she didn’t want Talia to notice so she continued slowly, cautiously up the stairs as if he was still there, as if she would turn the corner and be face to face with her demons once more. She inhaled deeply, moving through the four rooms upstairs, checking anywhere and everywhere but there though she had not stepped foot into any other room that night. She begrudgingly entered that room once more, this time truthfully checking to see if she had dropped anything in the hurry upstairs. To her shallow relief, she had not. Her VVIP badge was still tucked nicely in the small concert purse at her side. Her earrings were still miraculously in her pocket. The one thing she had left in that room, she unfortunately had to admit, could not be taken back, or returned. It was best to leave it there, to let the next guests of the house party and enjoy life, enjoy the thrill of being alive and maybe in love without knowing the ghosts left in that room. She sat on the bed, trying to process her thoughts, the soft touch of the sheets the only thing reminding her that she was still here, that someone had been there. She looked up in her trance to see Talia standing at the door, just as she was a few hours before.

            “There’s nothing here,” Alex stated affirmatively, though this was far from the truth. He was not there, but to Alex’s knowledge, his heart was. Instead, now there were two friends, locked in a game of knowing and unknowing, cops and robbers of an adult scale. There were secrets floating about them, none of which either one of them wanted to know, but each one a weapon to one or everyone. There were tears soaked into the carpet and memories interwoven into the threads of the sheets. There was a heavy cloud of ignorance and regret, greed and retreat. “I just wanted to take a rest before the long drive back,” she added, springing up to her feet though Talia continued to look through her, through to the bed, through to him despite anything she said. She knew that Alex, her Energizer bunny of a friend, with her solemn demeanor was not true actress. Just as she loathed surprises, she could not keep one, could keep no secret. She was hurting, though Talia could not fathom why. She did not want to think about what had transpired between them before her entering the scene, but she did want to think about what had come next. Alex, with her startling insight that could almost be considered premonitions, could not truly understand how Seungmin felt that night. It was unfortunate, but it had been a misunderstanding on her part. This, Talia knew because, unlike Alex who had run into the night, run away from the boy who needed love the most, she had stayed, had given him her heart, given her all. While she thanked Alex for tending to him until her arrival, Talia had done so much more and thus, deserved more. She would make this known. It was her duty, to help her dear friend avoid any further misconceptions. Though Alex was usually known as the peacemaker—chaotic as she was—it was undoubtedly Talia’s goal to also ensure everyone was happy, even if that meant momentarily breaking someone’s heart in the meantime. Alex could handle it. Talia knew she had gone through much worse. Additionally, with Alex’s logic skills and tight grasp on reality, she would be doing her a favor. It was her turn to fall into the Unnie Line, her turn to direct, her turn to save—and to gloat.

            “We’re all good down here. I did find Y’s necklace, but who knows when I’ll be able to give that back. I can just text him-“ Fay sighed before biting her lip too late.

            “Text him? What? Did you get his number last night? I didn’t think you would stoop that low and try to steal Y from your mom,” Talia cooed coyly, the last syllable lingering tauntingly on her tongue as she trotted down the stairs, Alex following shortly after. Alex looked down the stairs at Fay who would likely do nothing but make the situation much worse. Fay did not work well under pressure, or under the gaze of her “aunt’s” glaring eyes.

            “You can tell her. It’s likely better if it comes from you rather than me, anyway,” Alex muttered, curious to see either reaction.

            “Well, the boys and us have a group chat,” Fay confessed, her words slow as she looked to Alex for approval, which she did not receive for Alex was in no position to give any. “That’s part of the reason they showed up here last night.”

            “And how long has this been going on?” Talia asked, monotone, her voice betraying no signs of hurt or excitement.

            “Since the Philly concert, I’d say. I got a text from them the night we went to KBBQ,” Alex confessed. “So, not long, but-“

            “Long enough,” Talia interrupted curtly. “And why wasn’t I invited?”  she challenged, grabbing her jacket that was thrown across the couch and headed to wait at the door by Fay. Every step to the door for Alex felt like a mile, but she knew it was better to leave this abandoned funhouse in favor of the car. At least in the car, they could put the party behind them and get to the next steps, steps all of them would take. Talia would not be such a willing participant.

            “Well, they did just text me. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was them, so I went home and I talked it out with them,” Alex began to elucidate, opening the door and ushering the two girls towards the car before slipping the key under the mat in the house and locking the door. There was no going back. There had never been. The only way was forward—forward and away. “Frankly, it caught me off guard just like the rest of you, but I e