mastermind [h.s.]

chapter 2

"Every character in a book serves a purpose." My creative writing professor covered that with us today. "We may not think much of their existence but at the very least, they leave our main character with an idea or a thought that could alter their path."

Next to Julia, I never really felt like the main protagonist of my own story. I was the sidekick, the supporting actress. I was the character who's existence was overlooked, but I played a major part in helping the main character. I don't know if I minded it very much. I don't want to call attention to myself, but introverts also deserve to be the main character in their stories, right?

Maybe.

But the story I wanted to live in right now, unfortunately was not mine. It was Julia Tate's and Harry Styles'. They were meant to be. They were like the type of characters you took years to write and develop so they can come to their happy ending and the world would tear up in joy. They were like the couple who the entire theatre stood up to clap for when they finally kissed.

Who was I to stand in the way of that? Not to mention, that was my own best friend's boyfriend.

You saw him first though. The jealous voice inside my head spoke.

But this isn't kindergarten. I would reply back. Those aren't the rules to the real world.

Sadly, the real rules in this world stopped me from even getting close to Harry. In another world, Harry and I easily could be best friends, something about him drew me to him and it's hard even in this world to keep us apart. But I need to keep us apart because Harry and I getting close would never lead to anything good for as long as I was friends with Julia.

"I'm home!" Julia's cheerful voice rings out as she steps in. The door to our apartment closes shut and she stands by the kitchen, grinning. I notice the copious amounts of shopping bags in her hands.

"Daddy sent you more money?" I ask bringing my coffee mug up to my face to hide my smirk.

"Oh, shut up," she grins wider, setting her bags down and opening the fridge door.

"What happened this time?"

Since Julia's parents divorced, she had been staying with her mother which meant she didn't see her father as much. She saw both of them even less since her and I moved out for university. Her father was really rich. And because he hardly heard from her, anytime she called him upset, he was quick to send his personal assistant with gifts for her or money.

He was actually the one who got us this apartment. It was in the nicer part of town and had a concierge and 24-hour security. The apartment itself was not too big though. The front door opens up to our kitchen on the right, and the living room straight ahead. If you go past the kitchen, on the right theres a very short hallway that leads straight to the bathroom, with my room on the left and Julia's on the right. Her mother had to fight her father to not get a bigger apartment because while her father was actively trying to buy her love, her mother was actively trying to keep her from getting more spoiled that she already was.

My parents on the other hand, were very grateful that Mr. Tate allowed me to stay with her and offered to pay rent but he dismissed the idea, saying I was like his own daughter. (I don't know how that works since he probably doesn't know how tall his real daughter is, much less what I look like, but I'll take it.) But I told him I wanted to pay, so he let me saying that learning how to manage your money is very important. Living with Julia was like being married. She shared her money a lot and paid for small things so I didn't have to. She had always been very cool with spending her money on me, ever since we were kids, it's just something I'll be forever indebted to her for.