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"I'm not sure I like how that looks," Blair admitted. She and Ronan had taken the rest of the week, but they had finally pasted together the photos and videos of the band. It was a bit choppy and robotic, but Ronan seemed to like the strange contortions of their bodies and faces.

"Why don't you email a photo to them and see if they like it?" She quickly snapped a photo of the little icons on Ronan's computer.

Blair couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow as she wrote a quick message to Matty. They had graduated past the formality of a work email, and she knew that she would get a faster response via text.

What do you think?  the message read.

"Can you make it look less like those wooden pose-me dolls?" she asked.

Ronan spun in his chair to face her nervous lip biting. "Are you kidding me? Is this not what our research pointed us toward? They move just like Kryten! It's perfect!"

She leaned her elbows onto her knees and inspected the screen carefully. They all walked and played their instruments in choppy movements with faces that stretched like elastic. She rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure?" Her phone rang sharply.

"Let's see what he says, but I think it looks awesome." He leaned back, waiting for Matty's feedback.

"They like it!" She squealed. One hand reached out to squeeze his arm excitedly. "They want to see some sample clips but they like it!"

"If we split the work, we can have fifteen-second clips of each by the end of the day." He got back to work instantly.

Hamidi noticed the commotion from their desks and peered out of his office. "How are you two doing over there?" he bellowed.

"We are doing great!" Blair could not contain her excitement anymore. After all the preparation and the half-completed ideas from Matty, they had finally advanced. Maybe it was a good idea that Blair had accepted Matty's invitation to party over the weekend. She thought it made a good reward for a step in the right direction.

They finished an hour ahead of schedule, sending the clips and then having about an hour to plan meetings for next week and catching up with some last-minute emails. Eventually, it was time to go home. Blair offered an invitation to Ronan, but he declined.

"I've got like 5 episodes of Broadchurch I've got to catch up on. Mum will be mad if we can't talk about it on Sunday brunch." He cheekily waggled his eyebrows, "But you two have fun."

By the time she got home, Blair was met with a tense aura. Stella wasn't sitting in the living room like she normally did. Instead, she was behind the door of her bedroom. The only way Blair knew she was there was a soft thump of her music.

"Hello?" Blair called. No response. She tapped lightly on her door, but she again got no response. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yes," Stella finally replied.

"I'm going out tonight, would you like to come with me?" They spoke through the door. Stella was lying on her bed, staring up at a white ceiling.

"What are you doing?" She made no moves to get up.

"Matty invited me to a party. Why don't you join us? We haven't had a night out in a while!" Blair was now in her room, yelling across the threshold of her open door, just to have her voice bang against Stella's closed one. "Plus, I need your help picking out an outfit."

"I'll pass, I'm not feeling up to it," she admitted. Her voice grew weaker. Blair's brows furrowed quizzically as she pulled out a long, velvet dress from her closet and threw it on her bed.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She pulled out some trousers and a band tee from a pile on the floor. In the solace of her room, she made a vague weighing gesture with her hands as she let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sure," Stella replied. "And you should wear that satin blouse and those black jeans tonight. They're really cute."

Blair opened her mouth and then decided Stella was right. She buttoned her shirt to the top and tied her hair into a loose ponytail. Her ailing friend piped up from her bedroom again.

"But don't do it all the way to the top, darling. You're going to a party, not a work function." She rolled her eyes and unfastened the top two buttons. Then she undid a third.

"Thanks. I'll be back late, so don't wait up." She called. "Feel better! Love you!"

"Have fun," Stella called, but Blair was already out the door, stepping into the night.

ephemeral // matty healyWhere stories live. Discover now