Julia's POV

When Ivy, Blade and I walked into the ballroom, it was huge and incredibly intimidating.

I was suddenly faced with hundreds of people who were all pretty dangerous.

There were men in suits and woman in amazing ballgowns, I felt quite out of place.

Ivy obviously sensed my tension as she reached over and took my hand, squeezing it tightly whilst giving me a comforting look.

"You're okay." she whispered as I took a deep breath.

We quickly made our way over to the bar where the rest of our friends were waiting. Cyrus, Ethan and Tris were all wearing incredible designer suits whilst Kayla stood in the most stunning purple ballgown.

It was beautiful and the colour matched her hair perfectly. It glistened in the light and she honestly looked stunning.

"Kayla, you look gorgeous." I said, walking up to greet her with a hug.

"She does, doesn't she." Tris gushed beside her.

"Thank you. You both look amazing too." she said, indicating towards Ivy and I.

"Excuse me? What about me?" Blade joked, posing in his suit.

Before anybody could reply, the lights suddenly dimmed as the music came to a stop.

Everybody's eyes were directed at the two huge double doors at the entrance as they opened slowly.

The room was completely silent and you could literally hear a pin drop, as Reed entered the room.

He walked slowly into the room, with a face like thunder. To anybody else, he was probably seen as looking truly terrifying, but to me, he just looked jaw dropping.

Dressed in a fitted designer suit, he entered looking absolutely incredible. Any girl would drool at the sight in front of them and honestly, I could see a few women around the room doing just that.

Reed's eyes glanced across the whole room as he subtly looked around at all of his guests.

His eyes then landed on mine and we stood staring at each other for what seemed like hours, but couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

Just a single gaze made my knees go weak and I wanted more than anything to run into his arms.

I almost couldn't believe that the man in front of me, was the same man cuddling with me in bed in Italy just a week and a few days prior to this.

My hypnotic daydreaming was then rudely interrupted by Reed's fiance running up to him and linking her arm with his.

She was wearing a big red ballgown with gold heels and a gold clutch. I hated to say it, but her dress was stunning. It made my appearance feel quite underwhelming.

He looked down at Evelyn, attempting to seem in love but I knew that it wasn't genuine.

However, I still felt a harsh stabbing pain in my chest every time I saw them together.

It physically hurt me that we couldn't be together and I just couldn't help the way I felt.

I quickly swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and I knew that I wouldn't make it through the night without crying at some point.

Just at the right moment, my eyes were drawn away from them as I felt an arm around my shoulder, hugging me into his chest.

I looked to my right to see Blade and then Ivy appeared at my left, squeezing my hand once more.

"We're right here newbie, don't you worry." Blade said, looking down at me as I leaned into his embrace.

"And you're not allowed to be sad tonight J. I worked too hard on that makeup and your mascara isn't waterproof." Ivy shrugged making me chuckle slightly.

"There's that smile we love to see. Now let's get you something to drink and we can go and enjoy our night, yeah?" Blade said before leaving a small kiss on top of my head and walking off to the bar as he squeezed my shoulder.

Once he'd gone, Ivy leaned over and brought me into a full affectionate hug, whispering in my ear.

"I know it's hard but we've got you...always."

~

We all found a large table to sit at, helping me get my mind off of Reed and Evelyn.

An hour or so into the night, I saw a friendly face from across the room, heading towards me. A smile crept it's way onto my face as I rose out of my seat to walk across the room.

"Julia, you look incredible!"

"Thank you Zach, you're looking very handsome yourself." I smiled, wrapping my arms around his tall frame to give him a hug.

"How are you feeling about...?" he asked, obviously referring to Reed and his fiancé.

"I'm...okay." I lied. "But I should be the one asking about you. How's everything going with Ethan?"

"It's been pretty good actually."

Just at the right moment, I saw Ethan leave his seat at our table to walk over to Zach and I.

He approached us with his hands in his pockets, looking more nervous than I'd ever seen him.

"Hey guys." Ethan said. "Julia, I see you've met Zach."

"I have actually. We've become quite good friends recently."

"Oh really? So you know about..." he asked, pointing between the two of them.

"I do." I laughed.

"I may or my not have told her all about us." Zach smiled mischievously.

"Do you think Reed'll be cool with it?" Ethan asked me.

"Reed? Is that who you're worried about?"

"Well, yeah. He's the gang leader and you never know how he'll react with these things. He can be pretty unpredictable."

"Trust me, I know." I sighed. "But, I think he'll be absolutely fine E. Just tell him when you're ready."

"Honestly, I think he'll be pretty relieved. He seems to think there's something going on with Julia and I." Zach chuckled.

"Seriously? Is that why he's been acting so shitty recently?"

I nodded at him.

"Damn babe. You should feel lucky to be alive." Ethan laughed at Zach.

As I looked at the two of them, I could already see a new, happier side to Ethan.

Everyone around me seemed to be in an amazing, loving relationship. Apart from Cyrus of course, but he didn't like social interaction.

I constantly saw all of my friends so happy in their relationships and I just wanted to feel a fraction of their happiness.

I always seemed to be the one who was alone. The one who was treated badly and I just wanted to know the feeling of true love.

I'd never felt it with Logan or anybody else...and the one time I really felt myself falling for somebody, I couldn't be with them.

I looked around me, seeing Ivy and Blade, Kayla,Tris, Ethan and Zach and finally Reed and Evelyn, as well as all of the other, unknown couples around the room.

I felt so alone in this huge room full of people.

But on the bright side, at least I'd be going home with Reed tonight and everything would be going back to normal soon.

"Hey, you okay?" Zach asked, waving his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance.

"What? Yeah, yeah of course. I'm perfect." I rambled.

Suddenly, my attention was pulled away from the two men in front of me as I saw Reed walking up to us.

"Guys, do you mind if I just steal her away for a second?" he asked Ethan and Zach.

They both just nodded politely before walking back to our table.

Reed stood in front of me, in all his glory with a negative look painted across his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." he said, clearing his throat. "I just came to check on you. Are you okay? Are you having a nice time?"

"Yeah, it's all...great." I said awkwardly. "Blade and Ivy have been making sure that I have a good night."

"Good. I just-I just want you to be happy Jules." he said, looking down at me intensely.

It sounded as though he was talking about more than just the ball.

Something was wrong and he was seriously worrying me.

I could tell just from his facial expression that something was going on and it wasn't good.

Just as I was about to question him, a man who looked to be in his late 60s got up on the stage.

He held a glass of champagne in his hand and was making a toast.

I turned around to face the stage, with Reed stood directly behind me.

"Attention everybody, attention." he said, clinking a piece of cutlery against the wine glass. "I'd just like to thank Mr Reed Eastwood for hosting us all today. I think we can all agree that this night has been a great success and I'd just like to make an announcement."

I then heard Reed swear under his breath. "Shit."

Alarm bells began to ring in my head and I knew that whatever this man was about to say...it wouldn't be good.

"Tonight, my daughter Evelyn and her amazing fiancé Reed Eastwood have set a date for their wedding! She will be moving in with him within the next two days and they will be getting married in just two months. How exciting! Of course you will all be invited to the wedding. So let's make a toast to Reed and Evelyn." he said, holding up his champagne.

"To the future Mr and Mrs Eastwood." they all chanted.

I turned around slowly to face Reed as I processed all of the information that I'd just been told.

In that singular moment, my whole world was crashing down.

All of the fears I'd had over the last couple of weeks were coming true.

Reed's face was pain filled and sad. He looked me directly in the eye, biting his lip in regret.

I stared up at him with tears filling my eyes as my whole body began feeling weak.

It felt like everything was going in slow motion and I didn't know what to do.

"I-Is he telling the truth?" I choked out.

"Jules I-"

"You're kicking me out of the house?" I squeaked.

I watched as his face stayed still, filled with all of these sorrowful emotions.

Before I could say anything more, my legs were carrying me out of that hall quicker than I'd ever gone before.

"Julia, wait!" he shouted after me.

I lifted my dress and ran as fast as I could out of the hall until I got outside.

It was pouring down with heavy rain and the air was cold. I took a deep breath in to get the refreshing air into my lungs.

Soon enough, I couldn't tell the difference between the tears running down my face and the rain drops.

I ran down a small path down the side of this huge building and sunk down against the wall.

I was sobbing more than I ever had and the worst part was that I'd tried to prepare myself for this very moment.

But nothing could prepare me for this feeling of true heartbreak. It'd all just been made a reality.

They were really getting married and she was moving into the house that I'd been calling home.

They'd probably share a room and go on a romantic honeymoon...

My whole body felt physically sick and I felt as though I could barely breath.

Where am I going to end up?

I was sat in the wet mud, completely ruining my dress but at that moment I couldn't care less.

All of a sudden, I heard multiple voices from around the corner.

They were screaming my name. Looking for me.

I could hear Blade, Ivy and Reed distinctly as well as a few of my other friends like Zach and Kayla.

They'd all run after me...but I didn't want them to see me like this.

I just wished that I could go back to my old apartment and forget all of this had ever happened.

I wanted to run away.

I didn't think that I could physically or mentally handle this situation.

It was all far too much.

I didn't know what to do or where to go.

So I just stayed where I was...sat in the cold, wet mud.