Evelyn
I felt terrible. I lay in bed with the lights off, despite the fact it was still early in the evening, like I often did once my energy crashed after a social event. The anxious embarrassment I had from killing everyone’s mood added a mild nausea to the mix that I really didn’t need right now.

Normally I read to help me relax. I loved fantasy and science fiction, anything to take me away from the reality of being a socially awkward college graduate with no career plans, but unfortunately, I was too tired and anxious to focus on reading. I knew that if I tried to force it I’d just miserably slog through what might have otherwise been a good book. So instead, all I could do was brood for a bit.

I really wished I wasn’t an antisocial mess. I know I should just do better or wherever, but I couldn’t help myself from falling back into bad habits. I always resolved myself to do better, but then I’d justify it by saying ‘well Grace deserves me to be mean to her, she’s being a bitch’.

Ugh, I had to get it through my thick skull that people are people, and me being a bitch isn’t going to help anything.

Hopefully it would get easier to chill out once I stopped stressing out about being unemployed.

I heard a knock from my door, followed by Jack’s voice. “Hey Eve you doing ok?”

I made what I hoped were affirming noises in response. I didn’t want him to see me like this, but I knew I needed help, and he had seen me in a worse state.

“I’m just tired from socializing,” I shouted back, “and from worrying about getting a job,” I added, a bit quieter.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, fine,” I sighed, rolling over in my bed to lay on my back so I wasn’t talking into my pillow.

He slowly opened the door and strode in and sat at the edge of my bed. “Is there anything you need?”

His gentle tone grated on me a bit, I didn’t need him babying me, “Shut the f–”, I stopped, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. I was doing it again.

I grabbed one of my pillows and hugged it to my chest, squeezing my frustrations out. “I’m sorry let me try again,” I said, extremely grateful for how much patience he had for me.

“I really am tired from socializing. I’m also very stressed about my career though and it’s just ruining everything else for me,” I tell him, looking away. I hated opening up but I knew if I didn’t talk with him now he’d be a pain in the ass until I did. I loved him for that.

"Alright, I think that's a really normal thing to be stressed about. I just want to make sure you’re not relapsing,” he said with a concerned look on his face.

I didn’t want to think about that. “I don’t want to think about that. Maybe I’ll go on a hike, exercise my stress away.”

“Alright, let me know if you want me to come,” his expression quickly shifted to a teasing smirk, “Maybe you could invite Grace, it seemed like you two hit it off even better this time.”

“Shut the fuck up asshole," I said in a teasing tone this time. I threw my pillow at him, “Get out of here.”

He caught it and lobbed it back with a short laugh and a wide smile.

I adopted a more serious tone, “Thanks for everything Jack, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Let me know if you need anything.”

He walked away, hand waving over his head behind him, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be happy if you make one friend.”

Goddammit, I walked right into that one. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad going on a hike with Brianna, she seemed friendly, and much more down-to-earth than her friend.

I pulled up our group chat, which I’d muted the minute the first message came through.

I typed up a message, ‘Want to go hiking tomorrow?’ and clicked on Brianna’s name to tag her.

I quickly sent it and shoved my phone into my pocket before I could overthink the whole thing and get anxious for no reason, getting up and heading into our kitchen for some water.

I saw Jack on his phone on our couch, some baking competition on the TV in front of him, volume turned down so as to be barely audible.

He looked up at me with a surprised expression, “Holy shit Eve,” he said, gesturing with his phone.

I looked back at him quizzically, “I’m getting water? That’s a pretty normal thing to do?” How bad did he think my mood was?

He shook his head, waving both hands in front of him now, “No not that, the message you sent… Did you really?”

I stopped and took my phone out, opening the chat. I read my message six times before I realized what he meant. There, at the top of my message where Brianna’s name was supposed to be, was ‘@Grace’.

“Shit.”

Grace
When I checked my phone while getting ready for work Monday morning, I was completely surprised by a message from Evelyn, inviting me out hiking. I loved spending time in nature, and going on a long hike, making and bringing supplies for a scenic picnic, it all sounded wonderful.

What didn’t sound wonderful was doing that with Evelyn. What was she thinking? I felt like we were on the same page about one thing, and it was how much we didn’t get along.

As I went through my morning routine, brushing and styling my long, wavy, blond hair, applying my understated makeup, and eating a bowl of oatmeal and dried fruit, I thought of an excuse to turn her down.

While I was locking my door, however, I made the unfortunate realization that Brianna would be a pain about this. I knew she would see whatever I responded with, and would be looking to get me to go.

She always told me I needed to make more friends outside of church, and although I agreed that making diverse friends was a good idea, I was a bit shy, and of all the people to talk to, Evelyn was certainly not my preferred candidate.

I also knew Bri would push the right buttons to make me feel guilty if I turned Evelyn down.

Worst of all, she knew I had work off tomorrow, because the church offices, where I worked as an events administrator, and where she had an internship, were getting electrical work done for the rest of the week.

I sighed. Maybe I could come up with the perfect excuse before Brianna came into the office for her shift as an intern.

—

I never came up with a perfect excuse. I had been busy with work the moment I came in and I found out one of our caterers canceled on us for our annual Christmas party. I’d been calling around, trying to find someone who would work the day before Christmas eve, and was available less than three weeks in advance, when Brianna walked into a smirk on her face.

“Oh you are so going with Evelyn tomorrow.”

I rolled my eyes in response, “Of course I’m going, I just hadn’t replied properly yet. I would never imagine denying plans with a wonderful friend of mine.” I figured if I wasn’t getting out of this I might as well make myself feel like it was on my own terms.

She gave me a knowing smile, “Alright, I’m looking forward to you complaining about it all to me afterwards.”

I made an undignified grunt at her and made a show of pulling out my phone and texting confirmation to Evelyn about what time we’d go. “Go do your work Brianna, you aren’t paid to socialize with me.”

She giggled her way out of my office and I sighed. At least I’d get to go home and cook something for the hike tomorrow, I just hoped we wouldn’t kill one another.