Nicole used the trick her mom taught her, wetting the brush first and then brushing the hair. Luna had a lot of it too—long, fluffy ringlets that had probably seen better days. After pulling it back into a ponytail, she sectioned off a portion of the loose hair and began to twist all the way down.

“Can I ask you something?” Luna said in a tiny, sleepy voice. “Do you trust Stella?”

“I just met her. Same as you,” Nicole said. “But I’d like to.”

“Alex told me what she said about me. And she’s kind of weird. She talks like she grew up in a TV show.”

“I don’t know her well yet, but I don’t think she was lying when she said she didn’t have any friends. Friends can normalize you. No, not normalize, that’s not the right word. They balance you out, I guess. Really amazing friends can enhance the good parts of you. They can shape and sharpen your personality into something that fits in while still being unique. I think she’s only had herself.”

“I don’t have that many friends.”

“But you’re not her. Everyone adjusts differently. You make silent videos, but you also write a lot, so you found your people online. She’s really sheltered, talks too much, and copies behavior she thinks is right. She’s just so aggressive and good at pretending, most people can’t see how hard she’s trying.”

“Did she tell you that?” Luna yawned, long and loud.

“No. I’m one of the people who can see it.”

“Are you studying to be a psychologist or something?”

“I’m—just an actress who takes her craft seriously. I could be wrong. It’s just what I think. All done.”

Luna inspected her hair in the mirror. “Thanks. Um, I’m gonna go talk to Alex now.”

“Okay, if you need me, for anything at all, I’m right across the hall.”

As they walked back into the bedroom, one more thing tugged at Nicole. She warred with herself, deciding quickly if she should say something. Sometimes, all someone needed to break free was permission. Someone couldn’t make a different decision if they didn’t know they had options in the first place.

“Hold on,” she said, waiting. Luna stopped immediately, turning those big trusting eyes on Nicole. “You know it’s okay to say no to Jewel, right?”

“About what?” Luna frowned.

“Anything. You don’t have to do everything she says.”

Nicole focused on reading Luna’s reaction—her gaze shifting to the left as she looked off to the side. She disagreed but wasn’t going to say it.