"KEEP ME UPDATED," Remiel warned, wagging her finger at Livia as they stood on the street outside the Wong mansion, the adults helping move her luggage into the taxi behind them.

Livia let out a snort. "Can't guarantee anything."

Pamela grinned, tilting her head. "I definitely can, though."

Remiel nodded approvingly at Pamela while delivering Livia a scathing glance, which she ignored, as usual. "At least one of my cousins is still willing to listen to me."

"Oh, I won't be keeping you updated just because you asked me to," Pamela retorted, shaking her head, "simply because I know it'll vex Livia."

True sisterhood, of course, was all about annoying the living fuck out of each other, but loving the other one at the end anyways. Livia rolled her eyes while Remiel frowned.

"I mean, I guess it's better than nothing," Remiel finally said with a sigh. "But seriously. Livia. Your goal for this summer from me. Get this sorted out. Talking terms would be nice, you know."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Remiel!" their mother walked over then, patting Remiel on the shoulder. "Your stuff is ready. We'll miss you."

"Aww, I'll miss you too, aunt. But I'll see you guys soon! Promise." With the blink of an eye, the tough-as-nails, always-getting-her-way Remiel was gone, replaced with the charming, obedient Remiel Wong every parent knew and loved. And everyone fell for it. Every single person.

"What a sweetheart," their mother sighed as Remiel climbed into the taxi, waving as the car drove off into the distance. "Why couldn't you two be more like her? Look at her grades. And she has a boyfriend from the mainland now! She showed us pictures, he looks very handsome!"

Pamela glanced sideways, face twisted in confusion. "Ma, you and baba have like, told us since we were babies that we weren't allowed to date until we were eighteen."

"Your sister is eighteen now," their mother said, raising her head.

"Just you wait until I get to university," Livia shot. "The moment I actually get a boyfriend, you're just going to start hating and regretting everything you ever said."

"No, you are a big girl now. I would not do that. Alright, come back in now. It's going to get cold outside."

Livia and Pamela exchanged an incredulous glance. It was dead in the summer, and even at night it would not be cold at all. Clearly just an excuse for them to stop standing in the middle of the streets.

Either way, they were both heading to Rory Madston's party tonight. Pamela and Anya were to hitch a ride in Livia's car (which had thankfully actually returned to her use, since Remiel was gone and could no longer claim authority over it due to her superior driving skills). Since Anya's house was on the route to Madston's anyways, Livia was just going to stop and pick them up on the way. Brie and Lila had their own ride.

Livia listened to her mother and went back inside, going up to her room. Once she'd closed the door, she stared at the dress she'd laid out on her bed, and then at the piles of makeup she'd already taken out and placed on her vanity. All for later, of course. But there was still three hours left before she had to leave for the party, so there didn't seem to be much of a point in starting to get ready right now. There was plenty of time for that later.

It was almost August, the middle of the summer. An entire month had already gone by while she was here in Briarville. It felt ridiculous, but it was true. Time had passed far too quickly, and Livia wasn't sure what to think about it. On one hand, she was happy that this would all be behind her soon, distant memory. On the other hand...

She wasn't ready to let go.

She could lie to herself all she wanted, but she knew very well that she was not ready to let go. Was anyone ever truly ready to give up on their childhood, on the things that had so naturally been theirs for most of their life? Livia didn't think so. It had been nerve wracking enough, actually turning eighteen. The idea of anything more just terrified her.

University was exciting, of course it was, but it also meant being away from her parents, an entire country away. Just because she had already boarded before did not mean she was used to being oceans away from her close family and friends. She'd have to meet new people, lose some old ones along the way. It was scary, and that time was already almost here.

At seven o'clock, Livia and Pamela walked out to the garage. Livia unlocked the car, and the two girls, already dressed and properly cleaned up, got in. Pamela leaned backwards with a yawn while Livia attempted to start the vehicle.

Two attempts later, however, Livia's brows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Pamela asked, glancing sideways.

"Car isn't starting," Livia muttered. "That's weird, it was working yesterday."

Pamela looked taken aback. "What do you mean the car isn't working?"

"I mean that the car literally just isn't reacting to me. At all."

"Well, shit. Should I get Mum and Dad?"

Livia gave it another try, but still, the car didn't make a single sound. She winced, turning to Pamela. "Yeah, I think that's a smart idea."

Five minutes later, the entire family was gathered together in the garage, staring at the car and trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Their father shook his head. "Think it's best if someone brings the car to a repair place sometime soon. Not much we can do about it right now."

"What about the party, then?" Pamela asked anxiously. "We need a ride there. And we already promised to pick up Anya too."

Their mother glanced at Livia. "I don't think it's quite safe for you to take the bus dressed in full party wear."

"No," Livia said solemnly. "And we do need to pick up Anya. Not precisely safe for her to go alone, I think."

Nai nai tilted her head. "Are the Calvert-Egerton boys going? Ask them to drive you, eh? Even with both of you, the twins and Aurelius, Anya can still squeeze in. You're small enough."

Livia and Pamela exchanged a glance. That would work, technically speaking. Pamela immediately whipped out her phone, walking to the side, probably dialling one of the boys' numbers.

Turns out it was Aurelius she called.

"What's up?" Aurelius's voice blasted through the speaker phone. "Are you guys not heading to Madston's party?"

Pamela replied, with a sigh, "Our car broke down. Could you guys give us a ride?"

Aurelius paused for a moment, and there was some chatter on his side of the phone as he probably consulted his older brothers. When he came back, he asked, "Just you two?"

"And pick up Anya too, if you don't mind."

Some more chatter, and then: "It's going to be crowded if we pick up Anya as well, but we can drive two cars over if you want. Threes and threes."

"That works," Pamela said, lighting up as she glanced over at Livia, nodding furiously. "That definitely works. Thank you so much!"

"Come over in five," Aurelius told them. "We'll be ready by then."

And so, five minutes later, while Livia stared at the still-bright sky, they made their way over to the Calvert-Egerton house. Everyone was already gathered in the garage, lounging around. Victoire was glaring at Amphion, clearly fresh out of some argument that was a classic in the household, while Aurelius leaned against his car, shaking his head.

"Who's driving?" Livia asked, tilting her head.

"Me and Aurelius," Zeth said, strolling forward. "The fuck happened to your car?"

Livia shrugged. "God knows. It's fucked, though. Completely fucked. Wouldn't even start. We'll bring it over to the repair place tomorrow if we have time."

Amphion glanced over then, as if he finally noticed they were there, even though his glance over at their direction when they first entered hadn't betrayed him already. "Is Remiel gone?" he asked, cocking his head, ignoring Victoire, who crossed her arms and continued after him.

"Gone," Livia confirmed. "Victoire, baby, what happened to you?"

"He's a dick," Victoire growled, jabbing her finger at Amphion.

"That's not news," Livia sighed. "What did he do to you?"

Amphion rolled his eyes. "Just ignore her. I'm refusing to drive her over to Crawley next week for her little playdate with friends because, you know, I actually have things to do that day, and now she's annoyed at me."

"You can literally get back in time for your volunteer session."

"Volunteer session?" Livia asked, raising a brow. She'd never heard about that before.

Zeth let out a laugh. "Amphion here has randomly decided to start contributing to society. He's volunteering at the community farm, you know, the one we went to once when we were kids."

"The one where we got the apples?"

"That's the one," Amphion sighed. "It's actually quite enjoyable. I'm doing it once a week."

"Amphion?" Pamela laughed incredulously, "working in a farm? Unbelievable. I just cannot imagine you ever doing that."

"Well, I'm doing it," Amphion said, offering a shrug. "It's genuinely fun. I just help with moving stuff around and cleaning up piles of messes people leave behind in their slots."

"And he's refusing to drive me to East Surrey because he thinks he won't get back in time."

"Victoire, I'll be lucky if I manage to get back here by three. And that's when my session starts. The farm itself is half an hour by car away. There's no way I'm getting there in time."

"Well, Mum and Dad are busy and Zeth is out too and Aurelius's going out with his friend so what am I going to do?"

"You could take public transportation like a normal person."

Livia frowned. "Victoire, if my car is fixed by then, I can drive you. But I can't promise anything. That's just a last resort, okay?"

Amphion glanced over at Livia, disgust on his face. "You're far too nice to her. Literally, I've already offered to drive her to the train station. It's such a short ride to Crawley too, and her friends can bring her to wherever they're meant to be at the station. But no. She insists on me driving her."

Livia raised a brow. "It's genuinely not that long a ride to Crawley," she offered. "Victoire, it's a way easier option."

"But I don't want to take the train."

"I don't think you have much of a choice," Zeth said sympathetically, patting his sister on the shoulders. "The driver is with Mum and Dad, and everyone else is busy. I can drop you off at the train station that morning, there's nothing to worry about."

Victoire's response to that was a pout.

"Oh right," Jason straightened himself, offering the two girls a smile. "We should actually set off now, before we're too late to the party. Pamela, you're in my car. We'll pick up Anya, let the older kids go in the other."

Zeth flashed Livia a smile. "You haven't been in my car for a while."

"The last time it happened, I almost puked."

"He's improved," Amphion muttered. "Not much, but he's improved."

"So, why is he the one driving?" Livia asked, raising a brow. "Seems like either of us would be a better option."

"Because I want to drink, and the car isn't yours," Amphion shot back. "Therefore, he's the driver." Which was fair enough.

Aurelius jabbed a finger at them. "I hope you know that I won't be able to drink just because of you two."

"You're sixteen, Aurelius," Pamela shot. "You're not meant to drink alcohol in the first place."

"Ha, like you've never had some."

"I've only ever had any at home, in a safe setting, under the supervision of my parents. I've never drunk at a party before."

Aurelius narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe that."

"It's true as far as I'm aware," Livia supplied. "Like, I've never actually seen her drink alcohol outside of home. And that's only a couple sips."

"If Livia ever saw me drinking, she'd skin me alive," Pamela pointed out. "So to avoid that, I just don't do it."

"Fine," Aurelius said in disgust. "Fine. Just get in the car so we can go."

Livia slid into the backseat of Zeth's car, while Amphion went in the front with his twin brother. It was silent as they set off into the evening sun, Livia staring out of the window at the reddening sky above the ocean. At this time of day Briarville was at its most beautiful. Nothing, no sight in the world could compare to it. In the distance she could see the off-coast wind farm, silhouettes in the oil painting Nyx made as she went on her way in her chariot across the dome that surrounded them all. Tranquillity, peace, a world all to themselves. This was the magic she felt every summer. In the backseat of the twins' car, watching the rest of the world pass by, knowing they would be untouched no matter what happened.

Of course, that turned out to be fake. But the cracks had started from inside, not outside.

"Nice dress," Zeth commented. "Forgot to tell you earlier."

"Thanks," Livia replied half-heartedly. "Got it recently with Lila."

"You two love heading out together, don't you? What about Brie?"

"She was busy. With practice."

"A true athlete," Amphion sighed. "Not unlike me."

Zeth snorted. "Please. Like you'll be doing any of it once you're in university. Only place you'll be hitting for sports is the gym from now on."

"I'll still play football and basketball," Amphion protested. "You're the one who'll be living in the gym twenty-four seven, Zethus."

"Shut it, both of you." That was Livia. That was how she'd always been like. Between the three of them, she'd always been the leader. Not Amphion. Always her. Maybe that was part of the reason they don't get along now. Amphion was not the same guy she could boss around without too much of a fight. He'd always put up a fight, of course, but back then, Livia always won in the end. She wasn't sure about it anymore. She wasn't the person in control of this relationship, and she didn't really like that. Maybe that was why she was so scared of seeing him sometimes. Not just the embarrassment of a failed crush gone wrong, now exposed to the light.

Surprising even herself, both boys stopped. Amphion looked slightly disconcerted for a few seconds afterwards. They must have had that exact conversation thousands of times before, and the sense of deja vu was something they could not escape even though there was so much between them they could no longer cross.

This was history.

No one spoke as the car continued on. Livia's fingers skimmed the leather surface of the seats. Finally, she said, "This car is new."

Amphion glanced behind her, bemused. "You only just noticed?"

"I'm sorry I don't notice anything about cars."

"You own one," Zeth pointed out.

"That's what my parents say, but it's not actually mine, is it? Half the time it's nai nai driving it, since I'm not here. Or Remiel, when she's here. It's more like a family car that's mostly used by me."

"Fair enough," Zeth muttered. "It's broken?"

"Don't know what happened to it. Don't ask me. Ask my Dad if you need to."

"No thank you," Amphion scoffed. "Your dad is actually scary."

"He's just Asian."

"I don't know how to respond to that without potentially seeming racist."

"Well, don't then."

Yes, they were far more comfortable with each other than before. But every time they seemed to lose themselves, every time they seemed to settle back into that comfort of the past, something in their heads would snap and they'd go right back to the same awkwardness and tension again. It was a cycle neither of them could break. And if Livia had to be honest, she didn't want to break it either. This was comfortable right now. They could talk and act like everything was okay, even though they both knew it was not.

That was fine. They could keep on pretending. They could keep on pretending for a long time. The rest of university, maybe. The rest of their lives. If it meant they could stay friends, maybe Livia was okay with pretending after all.

Remiel was right. She wasn't over him. It wasn't like she was still in love with him, no, nothing like that. But she wasn't over him in the sense that he was still the first person she'd notice in the room. In the sense that she still noticed everything he did and got disappointed when he didn't pay her any attention, even if it was a barbed insult. That was what she wasn't over, and she was so bloody embarrassed about it. This wasn't Livia Wong. This wasn't her at all. It was not something she'd ever do. It was embarrassing, it went against her pride, it was humiliating.

Yet these were very much her feelings, and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

She despised it.

That was why she was so scared of facing him. She was never at the advantage when near him. Not just because of how he'd changed, but because of how she was unable to move on, and seemed to be the only one to fail at that. Not that he was ever truly affected by it in the first place. Livia bet he rarely ever even thought about it.

That made it even worse. To know that what she spent so long worrying about, he might not have cared about at all.

Livia let her eyelids shut.

"Don't fall asleep," Zeth warned, probably having seen her through the front view mirror. "It's not a long fucking drive, Livia, and I don't want you getting saliva all over."

"You should be more worried about me smudging up my makeup."

"You'll look fine with or without it smudged," Amphion snorted. "The car is more important."

"Aww, I'm glad you think I'll look hot with mascara running down my face."

"You probably will," Amphion said with surprising honesty that briefly took Livia off guard. But then he continued, "If anyone asks, tell them it's the latest trend in China. I'm sure they'll believe you."

"I will stab you."

"Not in the car," Zeth interjected. "Not in the fucking car. Just because your car has broken down, Livia, does not mean you get to destroy mine too."

"Killing him won't destroy your car."

In the front view mirror, I saw Amphion's brows creased. "I thought you were just going to stab me, not kill me."

"The two are interchangeable."

"Fucking rude."

"As much as he deserves it," Zeth announced, eyes on the road, "not in the car. You can drag him out onto the street if you want to."

"But then I won't have any privacy."

"The beach."

"The beach is such a beautiful place, I wouldn't want to ruin it."

Zeth's eyes narrowed. "But you're okay with ruining my car."

"I think you're focusing on the wrong thing," Amphion suggested. "She wants to kill me. She's threatening me, Zeth."

"Not the first time. And honestly, if we weren't in my car, I'd hand her the knife and act as alibi afterwards."

"You're a horrible twin."

"Do you think I'm a horrible twin, Livia?"

"No, you're a wonderful one, Zeth." Livia offered her most innocent smile. "Amphion, you should be so pleased that you have such a twin. Not many people are so fortunate."

"If you want him, feel free to take him. Then maybe next time he's moping over Brie when she goes back to Mark Arron again, you'll be the one dealing with him."

Livia opened her mouth for a retort, but then she realised what Amphion had just said. "Brie's back with Arron?" she demanded. "When?"

Zeth had gone quiet, but Amphion wasn't going to stop just yet. He knew she wanted that information. It didn't take a genius to tell that neither Lila nor Livia appreciated Brie's relationship with Arron. "Yesterday. At the market. They were together, alone. Mark was tucking her hair behind her ear and everything."

"We'd just talked to Brie a few days ago about how she should never go back to him again."

"It's her personality," Amphion said with a sigh. "She's always going to go back to him until he does something that completely crosses the line. And by then it's going to be too late. It's pointless trying to convince her to leave him."

"I'm her friend, I'm not just going to watch as she gets hurt again and again by the same guy. Lila and I already dealt with Arron once. Lila slapped him."

Amphion blinked, nonplussed. Zeth seemed startled as well, though he didn't show it as much. "When was this?" Amphion asked.

"Taliyah Neumann's party. After we left you guys. We had a pleasant conversation with Mark."

"Where Lila slapped him."

"Where Lila slapped him. Precisely. Not the first time she's done something like that anyways."

Zeth asked, quietly, "Is she in love with her? Because he isn't. He's been messing around with Diana Vargroves on the side."

"She's infatuated with him," Livia said pointedly. "Love is a far stronger word than that, I think. No, I don't think she loves him. She's just fascinated with him, and that's why she can't stay away. He's using her, and she acts like she doesn't care but cries her eyes out every time something happens."

"Something needs to talk to her."

"We've tried, she doesn't listen."

Amphion glanced at his twin. "Maybe you should talk to her," he murmured. "She might listen to you. She's always liked you."

Zeth's hands were clenched around the steering wheel. "She doesn't like me enough for that."

"What, so you're just going to watch her continue on this endless cycle, again and again?"

"Not much I can do about it, is there?"

"Zeth. If you want to at least give this a try, this summer is your last chance." Livia let out a sigh. "I don't think she has that kind of feelings for you, I really don't. I have to be honest. But if you want to at least have a chance, no matter how small it is, this summer is your chance."

Zeth's voice was hoarse when he began, "You think I don't know? But I don't want to ruin our friendship. I've seen the damage things like that can do."

Now, it was Amphion and Livia's turn to be speechless. Yes, they did know what damage feelings could do to a friendship. They knew it firsthand.

Livia cleared her throat. "It's your choice, Zeth."

"Take it, bro," Amphion said. "Take it. At least try. Or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."