AN: Literally exactly what the chapter title says: just some bonding time between Balvie. Kinda filler but still with some foreshadowing stuff. Party chapters are probably gonna be around this length.

Trigger Warnings: highly toxic relationship.

It was just after 8:20 and there was something around eighty people at Audrey's house. Some were playing video games with Doug in the lounge room; others were playing either foosball, ping pong, pool, darts, or air hockey in the game room; and the rest were just hanging out as in chatting, eating, dancing, etc. around the house.

Everyone in the cast and crew had brought at least one plus-one, which made Audrey happy. Though she'd wanted to take back her words the day before when Anthony had challenged her, she really had been hoping that her other guests would feel completely comfortable coming and bringing whomever they wanted.

Speaking of him, he, Ray, Luke, Robbie, and whoever the hell they were bringing were the only ones still missing, which meant Evie was also still not there yet. Last she'd texted, they were just about three or four minutes away though.

Audrey couldn't wait, not just because she was eager for her best friend's arrival but because she was sure being stuck alone in a car with Anthony and his Neanderthal friends for even just two minutes was unbearable.

The party hostess was just chatting with Ruby Fitzherbert, Ally Liddell, and their plus-ones when the doorbell went off. She nearly jumped in excitement, but she was luckily able to contain herself before accidentally embarrassing herself. She instead politely excused herself from the conversation to go answer the door.

It didn't surprise her that Lonnie and Jane eagerly joined her as they too were anxious to finally see Evie, especially after she'd filled the other two girls in on what had been happening so far with their best friend.

Audrey opened the door and the good news: it was Evie's group on the other side. The bad news: it wasn't specifically her.

The girls were immediately greeted by nine huge guys, all either football or hockey players, including Luke and Robbie, excitedly hollering and barrelling inside like rhinoceroses. They would've been completely trampled had they not stepped aside just in time.

"Um, excuse you!" Audrey yelled after them, really not appreciating the lack of civility.

"I'll handle them!" Aziz assured, having seen the ridiculous discourtesy, as he patted Jay on the shoulder, silently asking his half-brother, who'd luckily only had a drink or two so far, for backup.

The party hostess thanked the pair as they followed the rowdy group of guys to the kitchen, wherein they were all practically wrestling over pieces of pizza and bottles or cans of beer.

She then turned back around, coming face-to-face with the one person she actually wanted to see, looking a bit flushed and jittery for some reason, and two people she wanted to slap, who surprisingly wore stupid grins on their faces (Well, Anthony's was more so a little upward quirk of his lips, but it was categorized as a smile for him no less).

"Your friends are very…charming, boys," Audrey quipped sarcastically to Anthony and Ray.

"Hey, it's a fucking party, Rose. The boys just wanna have fun," Ray retorted, a subtle drawl to his words.

"You're drunk already," she scoffed with a shake of her head and then demanded, "What the hell?"

Ray scoffed in turn and replied, "Unlike probably all of your other guests, I'm no fucking lightweight, sweetheart. We just had a little pre-game at my place. I'm tipsy at most"—he smirked and quirked an eyebrow—"For now.

"Speaking of which, you, my man"—he clapped his hands onto Anthony's shoulders—"need, uh, fluids in your system."

"As always, my friend, you're right. Come on, Evie," Anthony agreed, tugging demandingly on his girlfriend's waist with the arm that'd been practically holding her against his side the entire time.

"Um, actually, baby, I'm gonna stay here with Audrey, Lonnie, and Jane if that's okay?" Evie literally asked her boyfriend for his permission to stay instead of going with him, "You guys go ahead. Have fun, but please be careful. Remember that it's Audrey's house, not yours."

The girls worriedly awaited Anthony's inevitable refusal. They waited for his expression to darken and for him to either repeat himself more sternly or straight-up drag her along with him anyway.

However, his response absolutely floored them. It still annoyed them because of his incessant rudeness towards his girlfriend, but it shocked them more than anything.

Anthony simply scoffed and replied, "Whatever. I could use a break from your nagging. Come find me when you've loosened up a little, babe. Then we can have some actual fun together. In the meantime, Ray, buddy, let's get crazy, man!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ray hyped his best friend up, "Hey, don't forget your keys."

"Ah!" Anthony said, handing his keys to the other blond, who then tossed two sets (both Anthony's and his own) at another guy who had literally just walked through the door and just barely managed to catch them before they hit him in the face, "Don't fucking lose my keys, Nakamura, or I'll kick your ass! And Evie, you're mine! Remember that!"

The duo, Anthony, at the last second, grabbing his girlfriend's face and stealing a sloppy kiss from her, then ran off to join their friends, who were still raiding the kitchen and trying to ignore Aziz's and Jay's attempts at keeping them in check.

The boy who remained was a seemingly athletic but slightly skinnier guy than the others, a bit like Carlos but taller. He was probably between Jay's and Aziz's heights, closer to the latter's though, who was the taller of the two.

He had kind of shaggy black hair that almost fell in front of his eyes and a few but not solely Asian facial features, indicating that he could be mixed race. He simply stood in front of the door, a mostly unimpressed eyebrow cocked, before shoving the keys into his pocket.

"Don't want me to lose them, don't risk it by giving them to me," he mumbled sarcastically to no one in particular, "Still don't understand why I need to be the key caddie as well as the forever DD, but sure. No problem."

"Hey, Ethan, can I actually hold onto those please?" Evie requested politely, "Just since I'm gonna be driving them home anyway and this way, there's no chance of him being able to blame you for anything."

Ethan shrugged and handed the girl the keys, "Cool. Thanks, Evie. See that makes more sense anyway. Why he gave them to me instead, I have no idea.

"Uh, hey, s-so, you want a drink or something? I can go get you a soda or pizza or…something. I'm going over there anyway."

"That's so sweet, Ethan, thanks for offering! But I'm good, thanks. I'll get something later, but you go ahead. I hope you have fun tonight even if you can't drink," the brunette replied genuinely, even though she was slightly distracted with putting her boyfriend's keys into her purse, missing the slightly disappointed look on Ethan's face.

"Yeah, no. Cool. Cool. Thanks. Uh, you too. I, uh, I'll see you around," he said before leaving a little awkwardly, feeling very dejected.

Evie's friends eyed her curiously, Lonnie hesitantly asking with a subtle point towards the black-haired boy, "Uh, and that guy is?"

"Oh, his name's Ethan Nakamura. He's our age and he just moved here from NYC and transferred to Auradon High this past fall. He's a lacrosse player like Ben and Harry," the tallest brunette explained, "He's actually Anthony's first and only friend I don't mind being around.

"Don't worry. He's nothing like Ray, Luke, and Robbie"—and Anthony—"He was kinda standoffish at first, but he's actually pretty sweet once you get to know him. I think they only keep him around for when they need a DD or something though. It's actually a little sad. I kinda feel bad for him. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah, a nice guy who totally likes you," Audrey slowly pointed out to her best friend.

She wasn't worried that this Ethan guy would get in the way of her Balvie hopes. Evie didn't even seem to notice his obvious crush on her and she was too into Mal and Ben to even consider anyone else.

She was worried about the guy himself. Sure Evie claimed he was a nice guy, but they'd believed Anthony was a nice guy at one point and with him being in the older boy's entourage, there could be no time before he became or revealed himself to be another Ray, Luke, or Robbie.

"What?" Evie scoffed with a light laugh, "No. He barely knows me and we barely even talk when we're hanging out."

Lonnie nodded slowly and carefully questioned, "Is that because you're only ever hanging out together when you're with Anthony and the others?"

The lead actress sighed, knowing that her answer, even if she tried lying to them, which she always hated doing and so avoided resorting to it as often as she could manage, would tell them everything they wanted to know anyway. "Yes."

Audrey pursed her lips and nodded, simply saying in a downhearted tone, "Yeah."

"Hey, girls, come on. Let's not start this party off like this. Hey, Eve, Mal and Ben are here," Lonnie told her best friends, trying to bring the mood back up.

"Yeah, so is Carlos. And their friends, Uma and Harry. And everyone from the cast and crew brought a friend or two," Jane added.

"That's good. I'm glad this is turning out so well for everyone so far. Great job, guys," Evie commended, before attempting to apologize for her earlier absence, "And I'm-I'm so sorry I couldn't get here in time to help—"

"Hey, you did help. You helped plan all of this. You helped make the baked goods. Look. These decorations? All you, babes. You did your part, so you have nothing to be sorry about. Besides, no one's mad at you. We all get it…kinda. And if anyone did have a problem, I'd kick their sorry asses for you," the girl reassured her best friend.

"And I'd help," Lonnie added.

"And I'd hold their rings," Jane chimed in.

The girls laughed and Evie replied, "I have the best friends ever."

"Very true," Audrey commented jokingly, earning good-natured eye-rolls from the other three.

"Hey, Evie! You're finally here!" a new voice jumped in excitedly.

The girls turned and found Ben walking over with Mal as well as Uma, Harry, and Gil. Ben had two slices of pizza on a plate and Mal had a cup in either hand.

"Hey, Evie," Mal's greeting was a bit more relaxed and controlled than her boyfriend's, "We figured you wouldn't really wanna try getting in the middle of…all that"—She pointed towards the kitchen still cluttered with Anthony and his now only slightly calmer friends—"so we figured we'd swipe something for you"—She and Ben handed over the pizza and one of the cups she'd been holding—"Just pepperoni and lemonade still your favourites?"

"You remembered," Evie grinned and blushed shyly and adorably, trying really hard not to overly gush at the pair's sweetness, "I feel so bad. I feel like you guys know so many little things about me, but I don't know that much about either of you."

"Well," Audrey quickly interjected, jumping at the opportunity she was just presented with, "tonight can be the beginning of changing that, yeah?"

"Of course! I'd love to get to know both of you better—I'd love to get to know all of you better! I barely know anything about any of you," the tallest brunette girl enthusiastically agreed, not wanting to make anyone feel excluded even though she mostly wanted to talk to Mal and Ben.

"Oh, babes," the party hostess internally sighed, wanting to shake her head.

Her poor best friend was such a sweetheart, but she could be so oblivious, specifically when it came to noticing and realizing how people felt about her.

Everyone but Evie, Mal, and Ben exchanged knowing looks, then made up some lame excuses to leave so that the three were alone and could bond on their own.

Evie furrowed her eyebrows and asked in genuine concern and self-consciousness, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No! No, Evie, never. You-you never say—you never do anything wrong," Ben immediately reassured the girl.

"You're like a literal angel," Mal concurred with her boyfriend, "Seriously, where do you hide your halo and wings all day every day?"

Okay, maybe Mal and Ben had a bad habit of holding Evie on a pedestal, but it was so difficult for them to find flaws in her and even the few they did happen to find, they adored anyway.

The lead actress laughed and denied their statements, "Guys, come on, that is so untrue. I am definitely not an angel. Once in fifth or sixth grade, I got into trouble for talking too much with Aud, Lon, and Jane and my teacher gave me a 'pink slip.'

"I was so terrified to tell my mom because that was, like, the first time I'd ever gotten into trouble at school and I wouldn't be able to handle her disappointment. I even, like, borderline panicked during recess. So I tried not to tell her. It was the first time I'd ever tried lying to her.

"But she picked me up at the end of the day and just right away knew. I still have no idea how, but I swear to god, she's got, like, maternal instinct superpowers."

"Oh my god. Same! I legit can't hide anything from, really, either of my parents," Ben added, "I could probably count on one hand how many times I've tried to lie about something I felt guilty about and each time, they just basically already knew the truth before I even opened my mouth."

"Wow. You two sound like pure evil," Mal said so sarcastically and flatly that her tone alone made the other two laugh, "My dad literally still has possession of a video of me hanging out with Uma when we were little. She's asleep and I straight-up just keep dropping a fucking shoe onto her face."

Evie's mouth fell open in an adorably hilarious mixture of amusement, shock, and horror and Ben just laughed, having heard this story a couple times before but always loving it.

"My dad," Mal somehow finding it within herself to continue through her crush's endearing giggles, "you can hear him saying behind the camera, he's laughing and he's saying to me, 'Mallie, honey. Honey, you can't do that.' And I'm just staring at the camera with, like, the evilest grin and I'm just like 'Ha ha ha! Yes, I can!' just, dropping shit onto her face.

"And that was when I was fucking two years old! So compared to me, not only are you a literal angel, Evie, but so are you, babe."

"So then I guess it's really true what they say: opposites do attract," Evie commented without any forethought, though her smile slowly dropped and she kind of regretted her words immediately after they'd left her mouth.

She still wanted to keep her distance because it was still really difficult for her to be around Mal and Ben without being with them the way she truly wanted to be.

However, now that they were just talking with each other so easily and being around each other so naturally, she wanted nothing more than to just stay with them all night and spend the entire party with them.

It was one of the most irritating conflict of emotions she'd ever experienced.

Evie awkwardly cleared her throat and changed the subject, "Um, so you've known Uma for a really long time then, yeah? Jay too, right? And Carlos and Harry?"

Mal and Ben did notice the fleeting moment of discomfort, though they let it pass, not wanting to spoil the good mood they'd been getting from their crush so far, as the former answered, "Uh, yeah! Yeah, so Jay, Uma, and I actually all met each other at around the same time.

"Uma's dad and my dad are old college buddies, so they introduced the two of us when we were, like, still crawling around in diapers. And then a little bit later—I can't remember if it was days or weeks, but it was something that short—we both discovered Jay at the park near all of our houses.

"It was a…rocky start for our little trio, heh. Our parents told us that we could not stop competing with each other. We were constantly racing, wrestling—just anything we could turn into a competition, that's what hanging out with each other was for so long.

"Our parents were so worried we were gonna grow up to be rivals or something and resent each other instead of be friends. But honestly, the competitiveness that we all shared, it actually bonded us, I think. It was never mean-spirited. It was always friendly competition and it eventually evolved into actual, true friendship.

"Uh, and then, I'm guessing you already know about Carlos. The four of us met once we all started school. And then Harry and his family moved from Scotland and joined us when we were in the fifth grade. He and Uma made a special connection obviously and he even befriended Gil and brought him into our little circle too.

"And finally, Ben here! We'd had split classes for so long that we'd never even met until we were in the seventh grade. But then, we were all finally in the same class with everyone in the grade all together and he turned out to be one of the cutest and lamest and best people I'd ever met, but he also became one of the most important people in my life."

"Aww, I love you too, Mal! You're the same for me"—Ben hugged his girlfriend and kissed the side of her head. He wanted to say the same for Evie, but he worried it might creep her out, so he refrained—"Uh, and then the two of us began dating in late June just before we started at Auradon High and now here we are," he finished the story off for his girlfriend.

"N-n-n-n-no!" Evie immediately protested, shaking her head with an adorably goofy smile on her face, "Not 'and now here we are.' Not yet. What about you, Ben? How did things go over on your side of the school?"

The boy chuckled and replied, "Well, uh, as you know, Audrey and I were each other's first friend, but we obviously didn't end up going to the same elementary school. She went to yours. Uh, my parents and hers have been friends ever since theirs moved into the neighbourhood, which was before any of us. Until I'd met Mal, everyone was so sure that Audrey and I would end up together once we hit high school or something, but we truly only ever saw each other as best friends, nothing more nothing less.

"Throughout elementary…I mean, I'd met Doug in kindergarten and we were best friends until fourth grade when he transferred to a completely different school because of his crappy bullying issues. We stayed friends, but being at different schools, not seeing each other every single day at that age, we did tend to drift apart a bit at times, so I was really glad when we were back to going to school together at Auradon High.

"Interesting enough though, Doug and I became friends with Aziz when the two of us were in a 3/4 split class with him before Doug left, but I'd never actually talked to Jay before the seventh grade. I'd seen him around a couple times, obviously like at their house when Aziz would invite me over to hang out, but to me, then, he was just my friend's younger half-brother for years.

"And then even though I kinda eventually wormed my way into Mal's group, Aziz went to high school the year before us and met Dom Tremaine and other people actually in his grade, and Doug was off on his own, I've always considered them my closest friends, outside of Mal, Carlos, Jay, Uma, Harry, and Gil.

"Actually, you know what I just thought of? I'm kinda surprised I'd never met you, Evie, before high school. I'd met Jane in like the first grade, but then again, her mom and mine had met and become really close around then. But I'd only ever heard a lot about you, and Lonnie too, from Audrey and a little bit from Jane. I'd never seen either of you before Auradon High. That's why I hadn't recognized you when we passed each other in the halls that first day of high school."

Evie's face fell almost unnoticeably, but she nevertheless maintained her composure and pointed out with a little tilt of her head, "I mean, I'd never met Carlos's best friends—so you guys—either, so it goes both ways, you know?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Still, I wish we'd met you way earlier," Ben stated, sincerely having envisioned what could've happened had they'd met Evie when they were younger.

Or specifically, before Anthony. And he knew Mal thought about it too.

"I…I do too. I also wish we'd talked more during the first half of high school," the singer agreed, feeling incredibly guilty as she knew she was responsible for that, "but we can't undo the past. We just have to continue moving forward and I'm…I'm really enjoying moving forward with you both right now."

"The feeling is completely mutual, E," Mal said with a slightly dreamy smile.

However, her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed a bit all of a sudden at the nickname that'd just accidentally slipped from her mouth. Evie blushed a little as well and Ben grinned, full of optimism and adoration for both girls.

"Believe it or not, but no one's ever called me that before," the brunette girl revealed with a gentle smile, "To my mom, I'm, really, any loving, Spanish term of endearment, but usually I'm her 'corazón' or her 'cielito.' To Carlos, I'm 'Eves.' To Audrey, I'm 'babes' or something cute like that. To Lonnie and Jane, I'm 'Eve.' To everyone else, I'm just 'Evie.'

"I like the idea of being your 'E'"—her eyes instantly widened when she realized what she'd just said and hurried to rectify her tiny slip-up—"Um, I, uh, I-I mean, I like, like, the idea of being 'E' to you. Of…of being the E to your M."

Mal chuckled, both she and Ben silently agreeing to let Evie's little blunder slide so as to not further embarrass her and because it made them feel so giddy and stupidly lovesick that they didn't want to scare the poor girl away by fixating on it.

"No one ever really nicknames me anything, except for when Uma, Jay, and I call each other some kind of ass," Mal said with a light chuckle, "I usually don't like being on the receiving end of nicknames"—she smirked playfully—"but I think I can make an exception for the one and only Evie Grimhilde."

"I don't know," Ben goofily chimed in, "Don't get me wrong, 'E' and 'M' are great. I love them for you two, but I think I'd have to side with Carlos. 'Eves' is really cute. It's…it's perfect for you."

Evie was already blushing because of Mal, but Ben made even the tips of her ears turn pink. She was losing horribly in the battle to restrain her grin, so she ultimately just let it go, lightly biting her bottom lip.

She was, however, proud of herself for somehow being able to reply with a witty, "You'll have to request the rights to share it with Carlos from him."

Now, Mal and Ben knew they shouldn't really be flirting with a girl who was already in a relationship, but they couldn't help it! They loved it too much! It was so cute seeing Evie blush and making her smile so much and so widely. Plus, they were pretty sure the flirting or even better, they themselves were making her happy, so they weren't exactly wanting to stop very soon.

Therefore, Ben continued, remarking that "Carlos can name his price."

"Okay, okay. There will be no need for any intense auctions or negotiations. I have no doubt he'll let you. Carlos is a good sharer," Mal stated confidently.

"Well, that depends on what it is I'm sharing," said boy's voice suddenly sounded from behind Evie as the freckled teenager approached the three and came to stand beside his first friend, "Like, a pencil? Sure. Some lined paper? Cool. My school notes? Have at 'em. My boyfriend, dog, or chocolate though? Sorry, but they're all mine."

He then greeted Evie and gave her a side hug as this was the first time he'd seen her all night.

"So, Eves, when'd you get here?" Carlos asked as he sat down on the stool beside Evie's, which were the ones lined up at the (currently empty and locked up) bar in a far corner of the living room.

"Um, around 8:25 ish," the actress answered distractedly, apparently just then becoming aware of her surroundings, "Wait, what time is it now? When did we move to the bar? Did I finish my pizza slices already?"

The other three laughed and Mal questioned incredulously, "Wait, E, you didn't even notice we'd walked over here and you ate while we were talking for the past, like, 10–15 minutes?"

"…No?"

Mal, Ben, and Carlos laughed again. It was too adorable not to! Poor Evie didn't even really know where she was, getting all caught up and distracted by the former two.

The couple, however, couldn't help but internally swoon over the fact that first of all, Evie felt safe enough with them and she trusted them enough that she didn't feel the urgency to be hyper aware, unlike when she was with Anthony. And second of all, she obviously was as into their conversation as they were, if not, then more so.

"Okay, okay! Thank you!" Evie shushed her friends as she jokingly cupped her hand over Carlos's mouth in order to cease or at least muffle his laughter, her cheeks beginning to heat up for what felt like the twentieth time that night.

"Sorry, E," Mal apologized, though it didn't sound all too apologetic and she still had a cheeky, little grin on her face that really emphasized her dimples in the most endearing way, "Now, going back to the topic of conversation, Ben, baby, I believe you have a question for Freckles here?"

Ben merely hummed nervously, suddenly hesitant about asking Carlos for permission to use his special nickname for his best friend.

"Ben?" the younger boy prompted, trying to keep his own cheeky smile in check.

He'd heard the end of the nickname conversation, so he knew what was coming. He just wanted to see if Ben actually had the guts to ask him because it was almost an unspoken agreement amongst himself, Ben, and Mal in that moment that this was about more than just a nickname. It was basically Ben finally, officially asking Carlos if he was truly okay with him wanting to date his sister-figure.

The two boys had never actually talked about it before. Mal surprisingly had brought it up during their second semester of freshman year, once she'd officially determined that she liked Evie that way. She'd actually brought it up with both Carlos and Audrey, somehow rightly sensing that the other girl was to be approached as well if she wanted full approval. She'd asked them how they'd feel about it and her being one of Carlos's best friends and having the bravery and respect to initiate the conversation, it was an easy approval for him and a cautious one for Audrey.

Ben was basically in the same boat already. He was one of Carlos's closest friends and Audrey's first and he did already have both of their respect and approval, especially considering the ongoing, positive outcomes from his relationship with Mal so far. Audrey was so obviously in favour that it would be pointless to even ask. However, it'd never been fully established between Carlos and Ben.

It sounded ridiculous. Carlos and Audrey were just kids as much as Evie, Ben, and Mal were. They were only her best friends. They didn't have any actual authority over the girl's life.

What it was was that Evie didn't have a father anymore nor a blood older sibling (or any blood sibling for that matter) to grill her potential significant others for her. Therefore, Carlos and Audrey were the ones who decided to step up almost as a first defence before Evie's actual mom.

They'd failed to do it for Anthony and look at what had come from that. They may already know Mal and Ben and trust them, but they weren't going to just make an exception and drop it for them. They were fully committed at that point. They were not going to repeat their mistake.

"Uh, well, Carlos, uh, I wanted—I-I would like—I—Okay," Ben stuttered before taking a deep breath.

This was reminding him of when Jay and Uma had first approached him about his interest in Mal. Carlos may be his good friend and may not be nearly as intimidating as the other two, but the fact that he knew Evie so well and had known her for so long. After having witnessed just a fraction of how protective the younger boy could get over her, it was still pretty nerve-racking for him to be asking for his blessing.

"Carlos, would it be okay if I called Evie 'Eves?'" Ben requested, feeling both stupid and nervous at the same time.

Audrey had purposely remained silent, allowing Mal to squirm a little before having expressed her approval. Luckily for Ben, Carlos wasn't as mischievous.

He simply chuckled, lightly slung an arm over Evie's shoulders, and replied, "Yeah, Ben. Go ahead. You can call her 'Eves.' You could've for a long time now."

"Thank you, Carlos. Really, thank you," the brown-haired boy responded as he pat the other on the shoulder, feeling incredibly relieved.

Evie eyed both boys in confusion and commented, "Okay, that was a lot more dramatic than I'd thought it'd be. Was this some kind of secret code between you guys or something?"

Carlos simply encircled his friend with both arms in a loose embrace and told her, "Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go get yourself and these two refills, yeah? The footballers and puck-heads are off playing in the game room now, so the kitchen's vacant."

The pair stood and went off to do so, Mal and Ben laughing from watching Evie look down into her cup and exclaim, "Oh my god! When did I finish my lemonade too? What is wrong with me?" as they walked away.

AN: (The following AN is completely irrelevant to the fic. It's just my opinion on a movie, so feel free to just ignore it if u want.) So I finally watched Sofia Carson's latest movie Songbird for the first time a little while ago and, I mean, I liked it. I can understand why many don't: too soon, "predictive programming," weak plot, insensitive, etc. It makes sense to me and I can totally understand where the hate for the movie is coming from, but these are my personal opinions:

1) It's not really meant to be a political/moral statement on COVID-19, the pandemic, nor the current state of the world. Sure, it gets a couple little things in (like when KJ Apa's character is teasing the armed forces about keeping their masks on as he's walking past them), but it's not the main point of the film. It's a love story. It's a message of hope and resilience. Sof has said basically that, so that's what I, myself, am focussing on and interpreting it as I'm watching the movie.

2) I'm honestly super relieved that all of the reviews seem to just be dragging on the plotline of the movie and not the actors' performances because I think they all did well and wouldn't have deserved it. Sof especially for me (I'm obviously biased, but still). Her character, Sara, is like one of the cutest things ever and she goes through a lot but still takes a stand. And even though she can't leave her apartment, she doesn't just wait around for her boyfriend to save her. Yeah, she has no choice but to rely heavily on him since he can go out and she can't, but it's very much a collaborative rescue mission in my opinion. She does her part to get herself out of danger and he does his. She's a warrior princess, not some damsel in distress.

3) Yes, they filmed a movie during a pandemic, but they filmed as safely as they could as quickly as they could. Sof said that the crew was super limited. She said they had to take tests every day before starting. They filmed in like I think it was just a couple of weeks or so. Actors are barely even in the same room throughout the movie and if they are, it's either less than four of them without masks on or something and only during the takes or they made wearing heavy duty masks or even full-on hazmat suits work into the plot. There are literally two main characters who never even come into in-person contact with the rest of the main cast of like nine. I think they were actually really responsible when making this movie and as far as I know, it worked.

4) I'm super proud of Sof's performance, of course, but even more so of the fact that she has fully supported this project from the beginning to end and the most out of all of the cast and crew from what I've seen, despite all of the controversy. She's proud of her work and not afraid to show it and so I'm proud of her and I majorly respect her for that.

Anyways, as always, thanks for reading and wishing all of u a belated Merry Christmas and a slightly early Happy New Year! :)