(A/N): We're back with Vi, Hettie, and Pip (Evie is mentioned as being nearby, but isn't physically present in this chapter).

Trigger Warnings: Vi and Hettie suspect that Evie is lying about what happened the previous night, concerning the possible sexual assault/rape, which isn't a good look for them.

January 16th, 1966

Vi

Hettie and I returned to the living room soon after our conversation with Evie and Pip- though it was more like an argument with just Evie- ended, and the second we were alone and out of hearing range, we shared a look that, I think, perfectly conveyed our feelings about what had happened in the kitchen. "What the fuck was that?!" Hettie hissed, which- yes, that, too.

"Hm." She eyed me strangely for my noncommittal hum, so I forced myself to explain a bit more. "I'm... conflicted." A bit, but not a lot.

"Conflicted how?" Hettie asked, brow slightly furrowed, and I shrugged.

I dropped into the armchair I'd vacated earlier, and stared up at her. "I mean... I'm glad that Evie is feeling more comfortable- and that she wasn't... forced to do anything she didn't want to do-" Hettie's eyebrow arched, which was a clear sign that she wasn't sure whether we should believe Evie, either. I didn't want to doubt my sister, but Evie was obviously hiding something, so I couldn't be absolutely sure that she wouldn't lie to my face about this. "-but she can't keep acting like this. It isn't fair to you guys, and it isn't who she is. Though... maybe that's the point."

Hettie made a face. "What do you mean?"

"Evie's always been... She was a teenager when our parents died- still in secondary school, when mum-" I had to pause to compose myself, and the corner of Hettie's lips curved downward sympathetically. "I wasn't exactly... I was older, I should've stepped up, but I just. Couldn't. Deal. It wasn't fair of me to let Evie take care of everything, but- That's not what this is about. I'm saying... I had the chance to- y'know, mess around and make mistakes trying to find myself. Evie never had that, so what if... What if the Evie we know, isn't who Evie is? What if it's just the person she feels she has to be, to take care of us?" Hettie frowned.

"I don't think that's the case. Not entirely, at least. Maybe she has room to grow and change- I'm sure she does- but... I can't see Evie changing all that drastically. Everything she does is based on her wanting to take care of people, and be a good person- even if she goes through a spate of uncharacteristic callousness, I'd think it's just her finally feeling secure enough to try to challenge the role she's assigned herself as 'the caretaker'. Or... something like that."

I stared at her for a long moment, honestly kind of stunned by her insight, and she looked slightly embarrassed. "So you think this is... a good thing?" She shrugged.

"I think it could be. If Evie couldn't explore herself back then, but she feels like she can now, then... I see that as a good thing." I... suppose so. "And... if meeting these new people is what it took, then... maybe they aren't so bad." I shot her a look chock-full of concern, and she sort of optimistically grimaced. "Assuming, of course, that Evie's telling the truth."

The door swung open quickly, and for a split second, I was worried it was Evie- that she'd been eavesdropping and was now coming to scold us for our lack of faith, once more- before I realised that the body coming through the door was a lot bigger than Evie's. Pip threw himself into the room and closed the door carefully behind him, before turning to us with an incredibly worried and more than slightly confused face. "Evie's lying." Hettie and I shared a look.

"Would you... care to elaborate, on that?" I asked him, and he blew out a long breath as if to calm himself down.

"The phone rang," He said, which- yes, we'd heard that, but what did that have to do with the possibility that Evie was lying? "Evie answered it, and there was very clearly a bloke's voice on the other end." Uh oh. "She never said anything, he spoke constantly- but her face was... confused, then excited, then confused again." What sort of person could render Evie silent like that? What sort of person would? "She didn't end the call, so he must have. I asked her who it was, and she said it was Joyce."

My eyebrows furrowed deeply, and Hettie wasn't far behind. "That's not like her..." Pip held up a hand.

"It gets weirder." How? "The phone rang again," Yes, we'd heard that, too. We hadn't thought much of it, to be honest, but now that he'd brought it up, I suppose that was quite odd. "And she picked it up and said, 'Hi, Joyce'-" Pip's impression of Evie was surprisingly admirable. "-and this time, it actually was Joyce on the other end." Hm... "Not just a female voice, but you know how Joyce is-" He cut himself off, failing to be able to describe Evie's coworker and friend, Joyce.

I nodded. "It's pretty distinctive, that high energy bubbliness. We know what you mean, go on."

"Evie waved me away, and I tried to fight her on it, in case something else weird happened. She got firm with me and told me she'd be a while, but she reassured me that she wasn't in any danger alone in the kitchen, and told me to come check on you guys. I told her to be on her best behavior, which she didn't seem too impressed with." Yeah, I bet. "Do you think it was that bloke from last night? It has to be, right? But... from what I could hear, it didn't sound like him- well, what I imagine a guy like that sounds like, anyway. Who else could it be, though?" Who else, indeed? Hettie moved closer to Pip and rubbed his shoulder with her hand.

"She'll be fine. If she feels the need to be alone with Joyce on the phone, then maybe..." She glanced between us, one eyebrow raised pointedly. "Maybe she just wants someone with a bit of distance- and you know Joyce is... well, she's a breath of fresh air. Maybe Evie needs a bit of fresh air, y'know?"

Pip nodded, albeit somewhat weakly. "I don't think that's... something she'd want to talk about over the phone, though." True. "Maybe it's something else entirely. Maybe I'm reading too far into things-" Unfortunately, I didn't think so. "-maybe it was just someone else from the bank, and she didn't want to have to explain it. The real test will be whether she continues to lie about it." Hettie rolled her eyes at him rather fondly.

"And let me guess- you want us to 'test' her on it, don't you?" He winced sheepishly.

"That may be... the long and short of it, yes."

(A/N): So, when I started writing this arc, I didn't plan any of these characters out, so they were pretty much made up as I went along. As such, I really didn't expect two of my favorite characters to write about to be Hettie and Pip. At the moment, I have three different categories of favorite characters, which tend to have quite a bit of overlap. 1) most interesting to write 2) the ones I like the most as people 3) the ones that are the most fun to write. You might be wondering how 1 and 3 differ, well... let's just say that Sebastien is number 1, but not number 3 and CERTAINLY not number 2; Pip is always 1 and 2 but only usually number 3, and Hettie is pretty much always all three. Leo is obviously number 1 and 2, but sometimes doesn't qualify for number 3... get it? Oh, and Jerremyah is all three, all the time, because he's my (and Lisbet's) bastard trash man with a heart of gold.

Also, I've been having a bit of trouble writing chapters for this story (don't worry, I'm still over a 13 months ahead), but in the past four months I've come up with 10 more fleshed out ideas for new book series, and at least 4 that are just general ideas, at this point. I also managed to complete a plot outline for one of them, which is the first time I've ever done that for any of my stories. I'm honestly quite frustrated, because pretty much any time I have a thought, it turns into an all consuming IDEA (tm), and I just wish I could turn my brain off for a bit- or at least turn it back to this story, since I'm stuck on chapter 598, which is just... writing blue balls, basically.

Also also, the line about Pip's body being noticeably larger than Evie's was what made me have to come up with heights for this particular group. They are as follows: Evie = 5'5 1/4", Vi = 5'6", Pip = 5'10" (ish), Hettie = 5'7 3/4", Lou = 5'8". So in order of height, Pip's the tallest, then Lou, then Hettie (not by a lot), then Vi, and then Evie's the smallest, but still about average height (though above average for the time period). I thought it would be funny to make Lou the tallest girl, considering she's the one trying to shrink into the shadows the most, other than maybe Evie. She's quiet and unassuming- and tall. I would list their corresponding significant other's height as well, but I feel like that might give some things away... especially if I happen to mention them in other arcs, or when said character is introduced.