DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, BUT I DO OWN MY CHARACTERS AND THE STORYLINE.


"Dad doesn't know how she will react," Gabriela whispered to them. "He wrote to me in a letter that it's better to keep it a secret to mum. We don't know what this kind of news could do to her, especially since mum is very religious. While he hates it too, he thinks all of our sakes should keep it a secret to her." She gulped down. "It's for the better."

"Do you agree wit dat?" Henrik questioned her.

The seven of them were in the Great Hall eating breakfast. While her, Diana and Henrik were talking to Gabriela, Christina, Edrick and Carter were trying to finish their Transfiguration homework. They had forgotten to do it last night and were trying to finish it as quick as they could. While Edrick and Christina were at the end of it, Carter seemed to be struggling.

"I have no choice," Gabriela muttered and Evelyn glanced at her. "I don't want to keep it a secret, but I'm in a situation where it's better to." She pressed her lips together. "It sucks keeping a part of your life a secret." At Gabriela's words, Evelyn glanced at Rabastan who was in the Slytherin table before looking back at her friends. "I hate keeping secrets from the people I love." She shifted as she was reminded of her conversation with Hart. "But I'd rather have a relationship with my mum than not have one."

Evelyn didn't say anything to her. While her and Gabriela's situations were very different, she understood her friend. She also had to keep too many parts of herself a secret not to hurt herself and people around. She had to keep her relationship a secret and most importantly, she had to keep her real identity a secret whilst showing a false persona.

"Maybe one day, things would be different." Diana tried to assure Gabriela.

Gabriela shook her head. "I doubt it." She muttered as she lowered her head. "Keeping secrets is horrible. That's why lying is considered a sin in many religions." Henrik and Diana hummed in agreement.

Evelyn found her shoulders tense and she nodded her head. While she wasn't religious, she agreed that lying was bad. After all, it was one of the basic lessons you got about life from your parents. Still, Evelyn lied a lot. She lied enough to consider it one of her biggest flaws.

"I agree." She said more to herself than her friends, but they all heard her.

At that, Diana turned to her. "Speaking about keeping relationships a secret, how did your talk with him go?" Evelyn found her shoulders tense even more at Diana's question. "Days have passed and you made no mention of it." The reason why Evelyn had made no mention of it was because of her talk with Rabastan. The two of them had agreed not to share their problems with other people.

"Fine," Evelyn responded before picking up her coffee and sipping it.

Diana frowned. "Just fine?" She asked. Evelyn didn't answer her. "You have to give more details, especially after the fight you had."

"I don't have to give you more details since it's none of your business, Diana." Evelyn snapped at her friends. "What's going on between me and Rabastan is our business. I don't have to share it with you or anyone else here." Diana shifted away from her before frowning.

Evelyn glanced at her other friends. Henrik and Gabriela had their eyebrows raised at her while Christina, Carter and Edrick were all staring at her. No one said anything about her response, they just stared at her.

She breathed out before she looked and put her coffee down. All of her friends had heard her response. While Evelyn thought she was right, she found that she had been too rude to Diana. After all, her friend was only trying to help her out.

Her body stilled when she remembered Hart's words. He had called her a ticking bomb waiting for her explosion. What if her explosion was coming close? What if she was going to lose herself and show her true colours to her friend? What if this is where it all started? What if this was the beginning of the end? She didn't know how long she could keep out this perfect persona. It was becoming quite difficult to be the perfect friend, girlfriend and student at the same time.

The first one to break the silence was Edrick. The auburn-haired boy cleared his throat. Evelyn glanced at him and noticed that he was done with his essay. Carter and Christina were still working on theirs.

"What are you all doing after classes?" He asked them. She was sure he was asking this to break the tension. "Because I think we should have some fun. Exams are starting in two weeks," Evelyn shuddered at the reminder. "and we need to relax once in a while."

"I'm free," Henrik muttered and Gabriela nodded her head.

"So are we." Christina pointed to her and Carter. The Quidditch season had ended a few days ago with Ravenclaw getting the cup for the third time in a row.

"Me too," Diana muttered.

At her response, all eyes laid on Evelyn. She pursued her lips before she shook her head. "I can't." She informed them. "I have to meet up with..." She noticed Christina roll her eyes before she ended her sentence. "With Sirius." At the end of it, Christina raised an eyebrow.

"Again?" She wondered. "Is that hard to decide what you're going to get Alphard?"

Evelyn shrugged. "Well, it took us a long time to come with an agreement." She lied to her friend. "We decided to buy him Cuban cigars and now, we have to see what kind. Then we have to order them." She explained to her friends. "I thought it would be easier, but Sirius is hard to work with." Again, she lied. If she had learned anything with this experience, it was that Sirius was easy to work with. Admittedly, she was surprised by it.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me," Christina muttered before she returned to finish her essay. Her friends carried on with their breakfast as well while Carter joined Christina in finishing her essay. Evelyn, on the other hand, was stuck doing nothing. The guilt of lying to her friends was starting to overwhelm her.


Evelyn crossed her arms together as she stood between James and Sirius. Peter and Remus were in front of her and they all had huddled over a desk in an empty classroom on the fourth floor.

"We have come to the conclusion that they meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays." Sirius began to explain to her. "The two most boring days of the week."

Peter frowned. "What about Monday? I think Monday is the most boring day of the week."

Sirius scrunched his nose. "Monday is the most dreadful day of the week. Nothing exciting happens in Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"We usually had Quidditch practise those days." James quipped. Evelyn blinked a few times before she glanced at Remus who was already shaking his head.

Sirius scoffed. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

James gaped, clearly offended. Before he could say something, Evelyn spoke up. "I can't do Tuesdays. I study with Lily and Diana that day."

"You study with Evans?"

Evelyn turned to James who seemed to be interesting to know more. She furrowed her eyebrows at him. He would be the last person, after Snape, to give information about Lily. She was worried that somehow he would find out that she had a crush on Henrik. She knew that would lead to Henrik being the subject of his pranks.

"As I was saying," She continued and Sirius snorted. "I can only do it on Thursdays." She responded. "Are you all free?"

Sirius hummed in answer. "We are." She sighed in relief. "You and I will stay together while the boys keep an eye on the door of Hart's office. When Zabni leaves, they will contact us and we will go to face Hart."

"How are they going to contact us?" Evelyn wondered. "They can be too late until they reach us."

He smirked at her. "No worries, Lynn. James and I have a way to contact each other easily." She noticed James and Sirius share a look while Peter and Remus snorted. She found herself being irritated by being left in the dark. However, she didn't voice out her thoughts.

"After that, we're going to face him and tell him that if he doesn't tell us why he had that talk with us, we will reveal his affair to Dumbledore." Evelyn winced which Sirius noticed. "It's just a bluff, Lynn."

"What are we going to do if he tells us to reveal the affair?" She muttered and they all frowned. "There's a chance that he could do that."

"If the affair is revealed, his whole reputation will go down." Remus reminded her. "Their affair might not be illegal, but there are elements of being morally wrong." Evelyn thought the whole relationship was wrong.

"He would be an idiot to do that," Sirius added. "This plan is going to work, Lynn." She could only hope for that. "So, we're doing it this Thursday. There's no time to spare here."

Evelyn nodded her head in agreement. "I agree." She needed to get this done with. She didn't want it to bother her during exam weeks. "What time?"

"After dinner," Sirius revealed. "That's where they meet as most students and professors aren't around at the time."

It was coming so near. It was Monday and they were going to face Hart on Thursday. It meant that was three days apart. She only had three days to prepare for it.

"Okay, we can do this."

James grinned at her. "That is the spirit, neighbour!" As soon as he said that, his friends groaned. "What?"

"You haven't shut up about Lynn being your neighbour since she told you," Sirius complained as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You don't get it!" James exclaimed. "All my life I've been surrounded by old people. I thought it was a miracle when I hung out with someone who was a kid, even a baby." she found herself snorting. "It's like all of you forgot how excited I was to come in Hogwarts," Evelyn remembered that day. While many of them had been nervous and excited, James had no hint of nervousness. He had shown that being ecstatic and loud. "It's good for me for Evelyn to be my neighbour. It's even better than we live closeby and that my parents are good friends with Ezra."

She raised an eyebrow. "They are?"

James turned to look at her. "Of course. My parents have dinner with him every two weeks." She tilted her head as she listened. "So, I hope that tradition continues."

"Were they in the same year or close in age?" As soon as she asked that question, all the Marauders started to laugh. Evelyn furrowed at their laughter.

"No, no. They're closer in age with his parents than Ezra." Her frown deepened. "My parents are seventy." Her lips parted at the news. She knew that witches were more fertile than muggle woman, but she had never thought that a witch could get pregnant in her 50s. Or she could, but the kid would end up having a lot of health problems. James didn't seem to have them as he was active and always full of energy. His only problem was his sight which was common in the magical world. "I was their miracle child."

Remus snorted. "Explains a lot, right?"

Evelyn hummed. If his parents were that old when they had him, it explained why James was who he was. "Yeah," she muttered. "It explains a lot." While Evelyn was happy to move in with Ezra, she had been upset by leaving her house alone. The thought didn't even exist anymore knowing that James was going to be her neighbour. She didn't know, but she found herself being excited and intrigued by it.


The next day, after dinner, Evelyn found herself sitting on the stairs of Astronomy Tower with Sirius. The two of them were waiting in silence to get the signal to head to the office.

At the thought of it, Evelyn's body was shaking, her knees were trembling, her heart was racing and she was sure she was going to sweat soon. She let out a shaky breath as she thought about the confrontation. This was what she wanted to do, but she found herself be stressed about it. She found herself preferring to live in the dark rather than know the truth. What was stopping from backing up were the consequences. She needed to know why she and Sirius were chosen. She needed to know the reason because it would cause more stress in the future.

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" Sirius questioned making Evelyn snap out of her thoughts. She turned to look at him. "I can hear it from here." Sirius was sitting on the other side of the stair.

"I'm just nervous."

"Nervous enough to have a heart attack?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Come on, it's normal to be nervous." She told him and he glanced at her. "This always happens to me. I can remember getting stressed like this at five years old."

"Why were you getting stressed at that age?" He snorted. "Were you working at the time?"

She crossed her arms and huffed. She had been stressed because she had been scared she would be behind with her studies. She knew that her dad would have been disappointed if she was.

"I just was." She muttered in response before looking away.

Sirius sighed. "Is there something that you can do about it?"

"Does it bother you so much?" She snapped at him.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "I have to worry about you having a heart attack right now." She didn't say anything as she felt her self getting hot. She played with the collar of her shirt. "So, what do you do?"

Evelyn was sure he wasn't going to drop it. So, he responded. "I calm down with time or I distract myself."

"How do you distract yourself? Should I summon some boring book for you?" He teased her.

She turned to face him to remark. When her eyes met his grey ones, she was reminded of their time in the Astronomy Tower. "You can always recite to me." She flashed him a smile and batted her eyes lashes.

Sirius froze at first as he looked at her. That lasted for a mere second before he started to laugh. "In your dreams, Lynn."

"Come on, Sirius. It would help me a lot." She pouted, but he didn't even notice. He was looking away from her. "You are so good at reciting the poem. If it was a job, you'd be number one."

"Stroking my ego won't help you." He tutted making her press her lips together.

Evelyn dropped her hands and sighed. "I should have known." She scoffed. "Although, it's not fair."

"What's not fair?"

"You go and recite me one of the best poems I've heard." She began to tell him. "You tell me it's Rumi and I try finding this poet in the library. I end up finding two of his poems in some old book and I'm pretty sure they are his shortest." she shook her head in disbelief. "I was basically teased."

Sirius chuckled. "By the poem?"

Evelyn nodded. "So, it'd be nice of you to recite me another one."

"I don't know another one by heart."

"How about the same one?"

He smiled. "No." His smile dropped and he looked away. She stuck her tongue out at him when he did.

They fell in silence again after that. While she wasn't sweating or feeling hot, her body was shaking and her heart was racing. She shook her head as she thought about Hart. She couldn't wait to see his face after they told him that they knew about his affair with Rosa. She wondered if he would bother showing any emotion. She always hated how he didn't show any.

As she was thinking to herself, she noticed Sirius pull something out of the pocket of his robes. She glanced at him and saw that it was a mirror.

"You can't stand an hour without looking at yourself in the mirror, huh?" Evelyn teased him.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It's a two-way mirror." He informed her and her eyes widened. She had read about them, but she had never seen her. Two-way mirrors were magically connected pair of mirrors that allowed the people who possessed them to talk to each other. Out of curiosity, she approached Sirius to get a better look at it. "This is how James will contact us."

"Where did you get this?"

"We got it at the beginning of the year. We thought it was the best way to stay in contact."

Evelyn snorted. "Can't stay a minute apart from each other?"

"It's for pranks." Sirius scoffed at her.

"It's okay to miss your best friend, Sirius." While Evelyn had meant to tease him, it didn't come that way. It didn't because her mind slipped to Don. She would love for the two of them to talk to each other like that. Whenever they needed each other, they would be a mirror away from each other. It would be perfect for them. "Where did you get-" Before Evelyn could ask the question, James appeared.

"It's time." He said to them and Evelyn almost felt her heart leap out of her chest.


As Sirius and she headed to the office, Evelyn was sure that she was going to run out of breath. Her breath was turning shallow and her lungs were tired from the recessive breathing she had done. On top of that, her heart was still racing and her body, especially hands, were starting to shake. She could even notice that a headache was going to come up soon.

"Are you ready?" Sirius whispered to her as they approached.

Evelyn took a deep breath, gripped her hands to stop shaking and raised her chin. "Yes." She responded.

He studied her for a minute. His eyes flickering all over his face before he neared the door and knocked on it. She bit her lip as she waited for Hart to speak.

"Come in."

Sirius opened the door, but he motioned her for her to enter first. She breathed out and stepped in the office. When Hart saw her, he showed no sign of emotion. She didn't say anything as she waited for Sirius to come in. However, when Sirius entered the room, he didn't seem to be bothered by it as well. She wanted to scream in frustration.

"Miss Sinclair King and Mr Black., to who do I owe this disturbance?"

"To yourself, professor." Sirius retorted.

Hart's eyes moved between them before he let out a scoff. "You two found out." He realized. "You two found out that you were the only students that I had a serious talk within the school and now, you're here for answers." He scoffed again. "I thought you both were smarter than that. No one gets answers that easily."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "We know, professor." She responded. "However, Sirius and I noticed something very interesting about you. Didn't we, Sirius?"

"Oh, yes. Actually, we noticed it just now." For the first time, Hart reacted. He shifted. "We just saw Rosa Zabini, a seventh-year Slytherin, leave your office. She looked quite messy, Lynn? All her clothes were in disarray."

"Yes, her hair was a mess too. It's as if someone had run a hand through it." Evelyn tilted her head and pressed her lips. "Her lips were swollen too. Did you notice?"

Sirius snorted. "How could I miss it?"

"I don't have time for childish games." Hart snapped at them as he straightened himself on the chair. "Tell me what you want and leave our office."

Evelyn glanced at Sirius and he gave her a small nod. She turned to the professor. "We wanted to know why us." She let him know. "Why Sirius and I of all people were chosen to talk with you? What was the reason behind that?"

Hart didn't talk for a few minutes before he shrugged. She frowned and glanced at Sirius. She noticed that he was squinting his eyes. "I don't know." He answered.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sirius spat as he took a step forward. "You were the one who talked to us." she was sure that Hart was just playing with them. She shook her head in disbelief.

"I said I don't know, Black." He repeated. "Also, don't talk to me like that. I'm your professor, you have to treat me with respect."

"Respect?" Sirius scoffed. "You don't deserve respect." Evelyn shuddered at Sirius's harsh tone. She didn't blame him though. Hart had gotten to her last nerve as well. "So, how about you tell us why you had that talk with us? Or we go and tell Dumbledore about your affair with a student?"

Hart rolled his eyes. Evelyn chewed on her lip while she noticed Sirius clench his fists. They didn't have the upper hand as they had thought, Hart did. "You're asking the wrong question."

His answer made both her and Sirius freeze for a few seconds. She gulped down and tried to realize what he was talking. They were asking about the reason behind having that talk with them. It seemed like the best question, right? They were asking why he had those talks with them.

Her eyes widened when she realized what was a better question.

"How did you know those things about us?" She asked him and he turned his attention to her. "I don't know about Sirius, but our talk was personal. You knew things that maybe I'm the only person who knows. Are you a Legilimens?"

"Close, Sinclair King, but not quite there. Seems like a habit of yours to do that." She narrowed her eyes at him. "I will answer your question though." He looked down. "I didn't know those things about you two. I'm also not a Legilimens."

Evelyn frowned. She glanced at Sirius whose jaw was clenched. "So, the question is who," Sirius muttered and her eyes widened. She didn't even have the time to think that over. When she glanced at Hart, she saw that he had a satisfied face on him. "Who told you those things about us?"

"I can't say," Hart answered him.

"That's nonsense." Evelyn hissed as she took a step forward. "Are you forgetting what we know about you? You won't get arrested, but yours and sadly, Rosa's reputation will have to suffer a massive blow. "So, how about you stop wasting our time and tell us who told you?"

"I can't say." He repeated. She shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe that he was risking his affair to get out just so he wouldn't tell them who was his partner.

"Why the bloody hell not? Is it that hard? Is it Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters?"

"I can tell you that the person isn't Voldemort or a Death Eater. Or associated with them."

"But you can't tell us who they are?" Sirius scowled at him.

Hart nodded. "As I said before, I can't tell you who they are."

Evelyn was about to snap at her professor. She had it with him. He had managed to get on her last nerves and she wasn't going to take it anymore. As she opened her mouth, he glanced at her. That glance made her stop and take in consideration what he said again.

Hart had repeatedly mentioned that he couldn't tell them. He could only tell them that this person wasn't associated with Voldemort and his followers. As she thought about it, Evelyn tilted her head. A few months later, she winced before speaking up.

"You aren't telling us because you don't want to, you're telling us because you can't." She mumbled before looking up to him. She couldn't help but notice the flicker in her professor's eyes. "You took an Unbreakable Vow with this person, didn't you?"

Sirius' jaw fell as he looked between her and Hart.

"I did."

Evelyn shook her head. "I can't believe this!" She exclaimed. "Do you know that Sirius and I are people? We're not toys to manipulate and being lied to."

Harts scoffed. "You're talking about lying, Miss Sinclair King? Don't be a hypocrite."

Her eyes flashed at his words. Not only had he said that, but he had said it in front of Sirius. "You are our teacher. Aren't you supposed to look after your students?"

"I'm supposed to teach you what I came here for, not babysit you." He snapped at her and she huffed. "Do you think your dad cares about his students? No, he just wants to teach them and get over with his day. I'm also not getting a meal lesson from a child."

Evelyn crossed her arms and looked away. She couldn't believe this. They had come this far only to get more questions. She thought that today would be the end of it. It seemed to have just started.

"You're a Defense Against The Dark Arts professor." Sirius pointed out. "There must be a loophole."

"Don't be stupid, Black." Hart shot him down. "There isn't." Evelyn breathed out and glanced at Sirius. His lips were curled in a snarl and he was glaring at Hart. She realized that Sirius could be seconds away from hexing Hart. "Now, get out of my office. You won't find your answers here."

Evelyn pinched the bridge of her nose and puckered her lips. She had been so foolish to think that this would be the end. More problems had been added in her life and she didn't know where to start. How could she prevent herself from exploding while trying to find out who this person was?

She turned her back and was about to leave Hart's office. She didn't want to see him for more than one second. She was glad that he was going to leave at the end of the year.

"This must hurt for you, Sinclair King." She stopped in her tracks. "We both know you hate failing. Don't worry though, this won't be the last time you will."

At that moment, Evelyn had to use all of her self-restraint not to scream at her professor. She had to grip her robes and bit her lip hard to the point she was surprised that it didn't bleed. She thought it was better to leave, but as she brushed her wand with her hand, she knew it was better to show him something.

So, Evelyn pulled her wand and pointed upwards. She breathed out, thought about her mother singing and closed her eyes. "Expecto Patronum!"

The silver light erupted from her wand. After that, it took the form of the tuxedo cat. She saw Hart raise his eyebrows as the cat started to run around the room as it lighted. She even smiled in triumph as she looked at her professor.

When the spell wore off, she put her wand down and left the office. As she walked out of it, she heard a few steps behind her. She turned around to see Sirius who looked shocked and confused.

They walked away from the office as fast as they could. When they were at the end of the corridor, Evelyn faced Sirius as her body began to shake.

"I thought you were going to hex him for a minute," Sirius spoke out of suddenly. "Which he deserved. I was thinking about doing it myself." His eyes shined as they landed on Evelyn. "However, I didn't expect you to conjure a corporeal Patronus." His eyes widened as he spoke. "Why did you even do that?"

"In the first class, he told me I wasn't great as I thought I was because I couldn't conjure a Patronus." She answered him.

"So, you learned how to do it?"

Evelyn hummed. "Yes, alongside Lily."

Sirius snorted before he chuckled. "I like that you did that. He might have shut us down, but you had the last word."

"We are a team, Sirius, We had the last word." He rolled his eyes. Although, at the end of it, she saw a smile cross his face. "So..." She trailed off as everything that happened settled in. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well, I'm going to find my friends, have fun and try to forget about what happened. Maybe I'll try drinking."

His answer took Evelyn off guard. She blinked a few times before scrunching her nose. "But.. But..." She was having a hard time to process this. "There is someone behind this and we need to find out."

"How, Lynn?" He asked her. "We have no leads."

"There must be a way, Sirius." She insisted. "There is always a way."

He let out a dry laugh. "I know for a fact that there isn't a way." He shrugged. "I'm going to forget this and try to live my life." As he spoke, Evelyn realized that whatever Hart had said to Sirius wasn't comparable to her. Sirius was no ticking bomb waiting to explode like her. "You can continue this on your own."

Evelyn didn't know how to say. While she could do that, she knew it would be harder for her. She knew that she would be alone facing this person. She had no idea what could happen.

"At the end of the day, I don't think it matters anymore. The person isn't associated with Voldemort and his followers."

"There are bad people in this world besides them." Evelyn reminded him as her voice cracked.

"I know, but I don't think I can do anything about this." He responded. So, I'm going to stop wasting my time and enjoy my life. I would suggest you do the same, but I know you won't listen to my advice." She looked down to her shoes as her body stiffened. "See you around, Lynn."

Evelyn didn't even respond to him, she only nodded her head. He left her after that, leaving Evelyn more confused than she had been a few seconds ago.


So, who do you think this mystery person is? We have one hint about it and it's that he isn't a Death Eater and isn't associated with Voldemort. If you have any clue, let me know in the reviews. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We're finishing the fourth year in two chapters and I'm quite excited about what's to come. Also, thank you for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing my story. It's very appreciated.

Guest your fan: Evelyn does love cats and has a cat as her pet. So, yeah, I get why you expected her to have some cat-like Patronus. I'm glad that you liked what her Patronus is. I try to write Rabastan as a complex character as much as I can. However, his behaviour has been shitty these past few chapters. We have a lot of Marauders and Evelyn moments in the near future. I hope you enjoyed their interactions in this chapter. I didn't do it for the other because it would have stolen me a lot of time. However, I did choose Elena's wand based on her personality and it's vine wood with a phoenix feather core, ten inches and a half and it's also pliable.

averyeve5: I'm so happy to hear that you are loving this story a lot. I try writing Rabastan as complex as I can. Yes, most of his behaviour can be explained from what family he comes from. He is being shitty towards Evelyn in these last chapters. Evelyn and Sirius are growing closer and are forming a bond as we go. It's a slow journey for them due to many reasons, but they're forming some sort of bond based on teamwork in this chapter. One of my favourite parts of the story to write is Evelyn's relationship with the Marauders as a group and as individuals. Every one of them is going to have a different kind of relationship with her. I hope you enjoyed how this plan worked (horribly, but it was fun to write).

Guest: Thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying the story!

The Booknerds: So happy to hear that you are enjoying how I'm balancing the plotlines. You are the first person to notice Evelyn and Rabastan's true nature of their relationship in this site. I get why many others didn't as this behaviour is usually normalized in our world and it's hard to notice (that's why Evelyn is in this position in the first place). So, I'm glad I portrayed it good enough for you to pick on it. Thank you for your constructive criticism. I get sometimes lost in my writing and forget about the characters around. I'm trying to improve this habit of mine, I promise you that. I should inform you when Evelyn is overthinking, she tends to blur everything around her, including people. So, that's done on purpose. As for your comment on Evelyn's friends not having a life outside the plot besides Christina, I don't get what you mean. I try my best to write them as nuanced characters with their problems. If you think that is not enough (which I totally get), there will be more about her friends and their development in later chapters. Don't worry about that :)

Next up, Eve In Wonderland (it's going to be an odd chapter)