Caroline is shocked to see the waitress standing in front of her recognize her. As much as she'd like to lie to her and tell her that she's wrong, she can't. The other woman would insist and probably call her out for not wanting to reach out to her. But what's the point for her to even talk to the same girl she saw hand in hand with Jack?

Probably, she even hates her, but doesn't want to admit it. Still, this isn't the place to fight her or try to ridicule her. She has to be the better woman. Nonetheless, she's surprised to see that Evangeline is anything but hostile.

"You don't need to be shy, love," says the latter, winking at Caroline and leaving her confused. "I mean, we're all supposed to have a great time, after all. No pointless bullshit, no trouble, no worries. Do you agree?" Caroline nods, much to her own relief. After all, Evangeline has just made an interesting point, so there's no reason why she shouldn't listen to her advice.

In a span of about thirty minutes, Caroline finds herself sipping an ice cold beer with Evangeline, enjoying the strip show and dancing at the rhythm of a slow jazz. This is her dream night, and she doesn't want to wake up. She doesn't long for the crude reality, made of an obsessive quest for perfection and Treasa's pathetic attempts of controlling her love life.

For the first time in years, Caroline feels like she has found her place in the world.

***

Rienna knows that turning back isn't an option, but Minka's call is too important to reject. The chance of hearing her confession comes before anything else, even a night with Treasa. Hopefully she'll understand. I mean, she and Minka must be good friends, too.

Shoving away the thought of the girl she loves for a while, Rienna finds herself in front of Minka's door. Even at night, the green surrounding the little semi detached house is shining, perfectly contrasting the brightness of the white lilies and roses.

Rienna, although she's stunned by the beauty of the garden, knows that she can't afford any further distraction and gently knocks the door. Minka opens it immediately and greets, "Rienna! Here you are. Come in." As she closes the door behind her, the two girls enter the dainty little living room and sit on the couch.

Minka takes a deep breath. "Okay, Rienna, listen, the thing is... as I told you on the phone, I have an important confession to make." As she pauses herself, Rienna gasps. What could be so dangerous that it needs to be revealed behind closed doors? Does it have to do with her well being? Or does it involve romantic feelings?

Rienna is doing her best to repress the questions that are forming in her mind, but to no avail, or at least until Minka breaks the ice. "Rienna, I think I'm into parties. I mean, everyone believes I don't do them because of that incident with Caroline Minnett, and-"

She can't really continue her discourse. She doesn't know how to tell Rienna the true truth without the fear of being judged. Still, the girl sitting next to her is anything but judgemental, so the only thing she has to do is to gather some courage, be honest and tell the truth as it is, without worrying about anything else. After all, Rienna is there to listen.

"Rienna, when I spilled my tea on Caroline's shirt, I thought she'd hate me. And I was right, unfortunately. She's never been nice to me. The point is, I was into Treasa, but couldn't tell her what I felt for her because of Caroline." Rienna nods as Minka keeps narrating, but fails to repress a gulp. Perhaps she should've been more considerate of Minka's feelings.

"I hate the way Caroline tries to make herself look good just to prove other people that Treasa is reckless and irresponsible. The problem is, she is the only one who thinks so. What happened at that party drifted the three of us apart and made me feel iffy at even talking to Treasa. This is why I barely talk to her and, when I do, I snap at her."

"Because you're nervous, I guess," points out Rienna, wearing the biggest smile Minka has ever seen. "But you don't need to at all. Treasa is a good girl with a big heart, so you don't need to be shy around her." She grins as she goes on, "And I guess she must've told you about the surprise she's planning.

Minka nods. Only now she's realizing that the surprise is supposed to be for the girl she dislikes the most. 'Treasa did a great job at convincing me. She's definitely the sneakiest girl I've ever met... Oh, God... What have I got myself into?'

"Anyway, I left Treasa behind," says again Rienna. "I thought that I could call her and we could go to this strip club I know all together." She glances at a confused Minka, who doesn't know how to explain to her interlocutor that she has never been to a strip club in her life. But, before she can even voice her worries, Rienna intervenes, "You don't need to worry. You're not alone."

That said, Minka stands up and stares outside the window, wondering where the stars are hiding, as Rienna picks her phone to make a call.

***

Treasa wakes up as she hears her phone ring loud. "Oh, it's Rienna," she notices. "She must've left a couple of minutes ago. Let's see what she wants." As she presses reply, she's immediately met with her girlfriend's cheerful voice. "Hi, Treasa! Are you sleeping or what? Let's go clubbing instead," she suggests.

"Clubbing? You don't need to say it twice. Where are you, by the way?" she asks, wondering whether she has stumbled upon Caroline yet but not saying it directly.

"I'm at Minka's. Are you okay with meeting us at the strip club? You know, the one on Seventh Street?" Treasa knows that place very well. There, she snuck at a bachelorette party, took part in a modeling competition (although she landed in the bottom five) and almost got in a fight with Jack, who had no hesitation in breaking Caroline's heart.

"Okay. See you later."

After hanging up, Treasa runs through her wardrobe to see if there's anything that shouts "sexy" and "confident." After all, she's not just going clubbing and getting excited for a stripper. She's trying to forget Caroline's promises of talking about their future. After all, life is to be lived only once and she's never planned anything, not even her college choice.

At last, she finds a short emerald green dress with lace sleeves and a pair of flaming red killer heels. She's so going to take the scene on the dance floor, and there's no discussing it.

As she leaves her house and locks the door behind her, she's taken aback by finding the guy who ruined her sister's life standing by the porch. "What the fuck do you want? Caroline's not here, so you can go and fuck off!" she exclaims.

Jack, however, doesn't flinch. He just leaves, knowing that he's not done with his purpose and that he'll hunt both Caroline and Evangeline down to give them their dose of sufferance.