"you do realize she's going to find out who you are right"
"well, when in rome."
"we're in new york but okay."
i refer to everyone (aside from people who, to my knowledge, have spoken up about their discomfort with it) as their real names.
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THIRD POV
jude looks up in surprise, watching as the trio of people walk into her new york apartment.
"heyyy." alex says as he walks in, immediately going into her fridge for some of the cheesecake jude made the previous night. minx walks over too, getting her own fork to help him eat it.
niki walks over to where jude has started reading a book.
"what are you reading?" she asks her, sitting next to her and snugging into her side.
"you bitch fucking move!" is heard from a few feet away.
"it's called flipped," she starts, only to be cut off.
"no! fuck you!"
"it's the book about these kids, about 14 or 15, they fall in this sort of puppy love but the guy is kind of a coward and the girl is head strong. it's also in the 60s. her chickens from this science fair lay eggs and she gives some to his family, then he throws them away but won't tell her until she catches him on the way to the trashcan. it's cute though and has a movie."
"that sounds actually really interesting for a book about middle schoolers." minx comments from beside alex by the counter.
jude smiles softly, "i like the female protagonist because she's smart, headstrong, and hates liars, yet she's pretty understanding."
niki nods, leaning into her side more and sighing. she closes her eyes as jude starts to give her a head message, scratching her head slightly.
"so say, hypothetically, someone had been lying about something to you for a while like he did, how would you react." alex asks, minx looking at him and shaking her head.
jude nods, closing her eyes as she sets down her book. "i hate liars, you all know that. it would depend on what it was. no matter what i would be mad but depending on the severity of it, i might be mad for longer."
from behind her, alex and minx share a look. as mad as they are at him, they don't want her to hate him. and this is a pretty big lie, like something he has kept up for weeks. something he involved alex in. something he knew was wrong as soon as he said it. something he told no one but his closest friend.
but still, something he chose to do. he chose to lie. he chose to bring alex into it. he chose to keep it up. it's something he has to deal with, something he has to feel guilty about, not them.
and so they give each other a simple nod of understanding. he will tell her, whether he likes it or not.
the group sits there, alex and minx joining on the sofa, and watches a few movies, orders some food. by 6 it's time to get ready. jude points alex to morgan's room.
