"Sara? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your graduation show? How do you have time to come to a place like this?" The man fired off a barrage of questions the moment he approached.
"Why aren't you talking? Didn't you say you'd prepare properly?" His tone was accusative.
Janelle frowned deeply. "What do you mean? What kind of place is this? If you can be here, why can't Sara?" She disliked his aggressive tone intensely.
Sara grabbed Janelle's hand. She didn't want to cause a scene.
"Go back and draw! Or do you want your graduation show to be a disaster?" the man continued. "Don't get corrupted hanging out with bad people." His gaze swept dismissively over Janelle. This woman clearly wasn't respectable; why was Sara associating with someone like her?
Janelle hadn't even moved yet. Sara suddenly stood up, launching herself at the man.
"What the hell are you? What gives you the right to talk about my friend like that?" Sara screamed, her voice raw.
She liked him. He could say whatever he wanted about her. But she absolutely would not tolerate anyone speaking ill of Janelle. Janelle was better than anyone. She was the best person in the world.
"..." The man was completely taken aback. He knew Sara liked him. Sara was talented; sometimes, when he couldn't finish his own designs, she'd draw them for him.
The woman with the big waves walked over and linked her arm with his. "What's wrong?" she asked, glancing between Janelle and Sara.
"Nothing. Let's go." He turned back to Sara. "Sara, I'm saying this for your own good. Think it over carefully." Sara liked him; she would surely come crawling back. He saw her little crush clearly.
"Get lost!" Sara spat, furious.
The man didn't say more. He turned and left with the woman.
The moment they were gone, Sara couldn't hold back her tears. Seeing her like this, Janelle handed her a tissue.
"Do you want me to go beat him up for you?" Janelle couldn't stand seeing her cry. Sara was such a pure-hearted girl.
Sara clung to Janelle and cried. Her secret crush was over. He had a girlfriend, and that woman seemed to be the "white moonlight" from his social media. Sara had seen her pictures.
"Don't go." Sara held onto Janelle tightly. Seeing her friend like this, Janelle genuinely wanted to turn that man's face into pulp.
"Okay, okay, I won't go. Please stop crying, alright?" Janelle's heart ached for her.
Sara ordered a cocktail. Feeling terrible, she wanted to drink.
Erik and Jiang Chao had smoked two cigarettes outside before coming back in. When they entered, they saw Sara crying, her eyes and nose red. Respecting the girl's dignity, neither asked what happened. Instead, they joined her for drinks.
Sara liked drinking but had a low tolerance. After three drinks, she was drunk.
"Janelle, you guys have fun. I need to go home and draw," Sara declared, standing up unsteadily. Janelle wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.
"Let's go," she said to the two men on the sofa.
The four left Nightfall. Jiang Chao was leaving tomorrow, so Janelle told him to head back to his hotel to pack. Erik drove them home.
"Do you need me to handle it?" Erik asked quietly. She cared most about Sara. Seeing Sara so hurt, she must be furious.
Janelle shook her head. "Don't do anything." Sara still liked that man. Janelle would only act if Sara asked her to. Friends needed boundaries. No matter how close she and Sara were, she couldn't make decisions for her.
"Okay," Erik didn't press further. He dropped them off at Sara's place. Sara, drunk, grabbed paper and pens, insisting on drawing. Janelle had no choice but to let her rampage.
"You head back," Janelle told Erik. She was definitely staying with Sara tonight. Her best friend was heartbroken; she needed to be there.
Erik pulled her into his arms, wrapping them around her waist, and held her for a moment. She'd spent the last two nights here with Sara.
"What?" Janelle tried to push him away.
"Nothing. Just your bed partner feeling useless, that's all," he murmured, reminding her of his current status.
"You can find someone else," Janelle stated flatly. They weren't a couple; she wouldn't demand exclusivity. She'd never asked for that.
Hearing her words, Erik felt like biting her to death. This ungrateful little thing. Always ready to kick him to the curb, wasn't she? And he acted on it, biting down on the corner of Janelle's mouth, deliberately using force.
Janelle winced in pain, ready to retaliate. But before she could, he gently kissed the spot he'd just bitten.
"Don't say things like that, Janelle. I've never been a scoundrel." With her, he was always serious. Erik continued soothing her.
"I'm heading out. Tomorrow's Sunday. Anywhere you want to go? I'll take you." The weekend was only two days; she couldn't spend it all with Sara. Maybe Sara needed space too?
"I'm not going anywhere tomorrow," Janelle huffed. Was this biting her then offering candy?
Erik squeezed her waist gently. "Did I bite too hard?"
"Hmph." The girl remained aloof, refusing to engage.
Erik kissed her lips lingeringly before finally letting her go. "I'm leaving." Erik was several years older; he wasn't in a hurry. The girl didn't believe in love? He'd slowly make her believe. Life was long; he had all the time in the world to wear her down.
"Call me if you need anything. Don't shoulder it alone." She was only twenty. She could lean on him. And he wasn't just 'anyone'.
Janelle didn't see him out. He left and closed the door behind him. Janelle sat on the sofa, trying not to dwell on the confusing mess. His thoughts were his own.
Just then, Sara stumbled out of her room, saw her, and launched herself at Janelle. Thankfully, Janelle had trained reflexes; she caught Sara, preventing them both from tumbling off the sofa.
"Wahhhhh!" Sara wailed incoherently. Drunk Sara was truly difficult to handle, leaving one utterly helpless.
Janelle patted her back gently. "Alright, stop crying. The next one will be better. Or... I could introduce you to someone nice?" That guy she liked was clearly trash! What kind of things had he said?
"Mmh," Sara sniffled. "But Janelle, I still feel so awful. My heart still hurts so much. What do I do?"
"Trying to rip someone out of your heart hurts this much? Now I finally understand how much pain you were in back then!" Back then, Janelle had suffered betrayal from both love and family.
Sara wrapped her arms around Janelle's neck, tears dripping onto her skin.
"I want to go beat that man to death," Janelle stated coldly, the urge genuine.
Sara shook her head. "He just doesn't like me back." What was his fault in that?