Soft, muted light spills from a lone lamp in the corner, casting a warm glow over Junipers compact living room.
Thalia is sat on a well-worn sofa, adorned with plush throw pillows.
Finn sits beside her. A threadbare rug covers the wooden floor, where he taps his feet rhythmically.
"So," she begins, eyes fixed on the red haired girl facing her, "Lana, how did you and Jun meet?"
"Oh, we met a bookstore." She grins. Her voice spills out with a certain calmness to it.
Thalia can't help but furrow her eyebrows at the statement. "Since when do you read?" She gazes towards Juniper, who's perched on the armrest beside her.
They emit a nervous chuckle. "I'm not sure."
Thalia narrows her eyes, but pushes it past as Juniper simply behaving weird. It's nothing new.
As the conversation unfolds, Thalia takes the lead. She interrogates the poor girl, subjecting her to a barrage of questions.
Finn discreetly nudges Thalias leg with his own whenever her inquiries become overly condescending. For the most part, he remains quiet unless spoken to.
Gradually, Thalia begins to pick up on inconsistencies in the stories.
Once Lana mentions going on a trip to Bordeaux with Juniper last month, Thalias suspicions break the radar.
She leans forward, letting go of her relaxed manner. "Hold on a second. Jun told me they spent that time with their family."
The redhead begins to stammer. "Oh! Well... they did both. Visited their family and then took me to Bordeaux afterwards."
Thalia takes note to how Lana shoots a nervous look towards Juniper, silently pleading for assistance.
"Thalia, can't you just enjoy the moment without digging into details?" Juniper exhales.
"No." She crosses her arms. "Somethings not adding up here."
Finn feigns a cough, muttering "stop" under his breath. Thalia scoffs.
Before she's able to utter another word, Juniper throws her arms up. "Okay, fine! This... isn't my girlfriend."
Thalia swiftly turns her head towards them, furrowing her eyebrows. "What?"
"Lana is an actress. I hired her."
The room descends into silence, only to be broken by the sound of Finns high pitched giggles. Thalias jaw hangs open, hoping her ears have deceived her.
"You hired an actress to be pretend to be your girlfriend?"
Juniper sighs. "Yup."
"Was I believable?" Lana beams, her smile wide. "I've been practicing for this moment, it's kind of a warmup for this big part I have coming up on-"
Thalias expression shifts from confusion to mild annoyance as she rolls her eyes. "Alright. You can go now."
Making a shooing gesture with her hand, Thalia offers a feigned smile while Lana exits.
VIII.
Start from the beginning
