Suzanne stood up and shuffled over to a shelf filled with dozens of shoe boxes and picked one out, a black box in particular.

"I was saving these for a specific dress, and I think they might be your size, you need the right shoes for the right dress after all."

She handed Harper the box and sat down again. Harper quickly opened it, admiring the shiny black shoes with a gold flat sole. Her expression showed the immense awe they bestowed on her, especially since she was happy that they weren’t heeled shoes. Suzanne chuckled seeing her reaction but continued a bit solemnly.

"It's a shame that partner of yours had to leave this job up to you, without much notice too. At least you get to dress up nice though."

Harper nodded with a grin in response. Atlas sighed soon after, rolling his eyes but immediately focusing his sight on the situation again. He was getting a bit mad at being blamed for everything that was out of his hands.

“He’s dead…" Atlas whispered in a condescending tone, admittedly trying to mock her by opening and closing his hand like a puppet mouth.

Harper responded to Suzanne with a bright smile instantly.

“He’s dead.”

Immediately, her smile dropped, as well as Suzanne’s. Harper quickly rephrased what she’d said in a flurry of fear, deploying the damage control for her outburst of a statement.

“Dead to me I mean, oh goodness, he’s left me for dead here, having to take over his prestigious role.”

Atlas stared at the girl. Did she mean to say that? Or were his words placed into her mouth like some sort of possession? He wasn't too sure. He decided to test something just in case it was a coincidence.

"He deserved what he got."

He spoke again quite loudly, but this time nothing happened, and Harper continued with her conversation.

"I mean, I don't even know what to say when I'm up there. I'm lost!"

She frowned and Suzanne put a gentle arm around her shoulder, comforting her with a sweet smile.

"Oh dear, I'm sure something inspirational will come to you once you're up there. It's not that hard to make a speech you know!"

Atlas huffed a sigh at his failure and spoke again, the frustration in his voice extremely evident. There was no reason to dismiss speech writing as a simple thing and it infuriated him.

"I'm too stupid to write a speech I just steal all my work."

Harper paused and choked her next sentence out like a cat cursed with hairballs. It was as if she had no control over it happening.

"I'm...too stupid to write a speech...I just steal all my work."

Harper flicked her sharp gaze to the side to glare at Atlas sitting on the ground, her expression was flat, but her widened eyes showed fear amidst anger. Somewhat of an unstable fear, as if she were about to snap from the realisation of what was happening. Atlas smiled gingerly and shuffled back on the ground, feeling her gaze pierce into the back of his mind. Suzanne simply laughed at Harper's uncharacteristic remark.

"Oh no no, I'm sure that's not true. You're wonderfully talented, everyone knows you and Atlas were the best at SilkenArts. You know how much I heard from running the craft and design classes there…"

Harper closed her eyes in frustration and nodded.

"I'm aware. You've told me all about it."

Very abruptly, she ducked down and away from the woman's arm and brushed herself off, her expression suddenly calm and composed.

"I'll be on my way now, thank you for the outfit, I hope you can make it to the ceremony tonight."

Suzanne nodded eagerly and marched her way back to the front counter. Harper followed quickly, hoping to leave before another conversation started.

"Why yes, I was just about to lock up after all. I only stayed open after hours for your special order anyway, 'cause you're worth every penny my dear."

She tapped away on her desktop computer while she spoke, printing out a receipt for Harper's order.

"I don't expect you to carry the receipt around so feel free to pick it up tomorrow. Just have fun tonight, alright love? And say hi to Atlas for me, would you? I know you'll still be in contact with him, even after all this kerfuffle."

Atlas had followed them up to the counter and he wondered how this woman knew so much about him, but he assumed it was only because of his relation to Harper. Although, he supposed that Harper only had unpleasant things to say about him at this point. Harper nodded, wary of being too obviously suspicious.

"Sure...I can, if I ever see him again."

Suzanne chucked and waved goodbye, but it was already too late because Harper was out of the front door in a flash. The doorbell rang harshly as she pushed through and down the street once again.

The sudden exit had Atlas barely able to keep up as he tripped over at the pace that Harper was running at. He wondered how she did that in such delicate shoes. He cried out to her, his voice shaky and unsure.

"H-harper! You're insane, slow down! Don’t you realise what just happened back there??"

Harper gave him no response and continued sprinting down the street. Without an immediately obvious reason, she suddenly made a sharp turn and dashed for the nearest alleyway. Atlas barely had time to react, but he didn't even have to make the turn himself. He was soon dragged through the corner of the wall by the string tie between them, like a knife through butter.

With the world spinning around him like a dreamscape illusion, he suddenly felt himself being pinned to the wall by his throat. A strong hold of the girl’s hand held him there, frozen in fear. Harper manifested a small pocketknife from somewhere on her person and held it to his neck, her eyes wide and her stare penetrating. Atlas felt that if he even thought another thought, she would hear it and go ballistic. He had no fear of being killed now, after all, he was a lifeless illusion in this reality. However, the look in her eyes, the aggression in her actions, that was the stuff that scared him.

Harper held the knife close to the faded illusion that was his neck, shaking ever so slightly from the tension in her fist.

"Listen, Atlas, I don't want you pulling any more of that funny business when I'm around someone, okay? That wasn't amusing, wasn't hilarious, wasn't helpful, wasn't...look, I won't go on, but you get it. I have a reputation to hold up, 'kay?"

Atlas simply nodded, despite how restricted he felt in his position. Even if he wanted to use this power he’d found, it probably wouldn’t have been wise for the time being.

“We’re both just as bad as each other, Atlas. We’ve got our faults, yours don’t outweigh mine at all, not by a longshot. So don't plan on ruining my image just because you think you're so perfect the way you are. You might be dead, but it doesn't mean I can't hurt you in some way."

She stepped back after unloading her threats and threw the knife haphazardly down the alleyway where it disappeared. Atlas watched it bounce across the concrete but was quickly disturbed by the pull on the string once again.

With Atlas trailing behind, Harper made a beeline out of the alleyway and down the street. The shopping district strip was busy with its late-night scenery and bustling social groups but with ease, she wove her way through the crowds and traffic. Atlas had nothing much to worry about, simply phasing through everything he passed. He wished he had this ability normally.

“I honestly cannot believe this…”

Harper mumbled under her breath, causing Atlas to focus on her over the loud street life.

“You’ve gotta go and ruin everything for me, don’t you Atlas…turning up like this. All ‘ghostly’ and whatever. Let me enjoy my time in the light, my plan can’t be all for nothing.”

Atlas didn’t respond, distracted by the dozens of people that Harper had pushed out of her way in desperation. Additionally, he was still mentally shaken and didn’t have much to say.

Through the graceless crowd dodging and waiting at streetlights, the pair eventually made it to the theatre. Standing at the entrance and in line at the door, Atlas looked up at the height of the building while they waited. A large neon sign bearing the name of 'The Watchdown Theatre' was engineered into the black and white bricks of its street-facing wall. No matter how many times he saw it, Atlas was impressed with the grand presence of the theatre and how excited and nervous it made him feel.

Although this time, he wasn't very excited at all.

The line moved forward and eventually an attendant spotted Harper in the crowd, waving to her to join the VIP line. She skipped over, pasting on yet another fake smile.

"Right this way, miss. The dressing rooms are upstairs and to the left. I'm sure you're aware."

With a nod and a thank you, Harper hastily made her way up the stairs, each footstep placed precisely so she didn't stumble. Atlas followed behind, distracted by the crowds of people funnelling in through the entrance. He wondered how many people expected him to be on the stage tonight. How many of them would be disappointed or confused?

In the stairway up to the dressing rooms, Harper passed her three friends who were also in the class, they exchanged greetings. Atlas had recognised them, but he didn't care enough to know them by name. In all honesty, he found them rather annoying.

Harper reached the hallway of dressing rooms to find her dance teacher waiting there for her. Mrs. Phrenzite was a stern woman, but she had a heart for her students, especially Harper and Atlas. She gave Harper a polite smile and waved to her, speaking in a sharp and well-enunciated manner.

"Harper, thank you for arriving so promptly, unlike some of the other students tonight. Your dressing room is number two. Feel free to prepare yourself for the time being, but please be behind the stage at ten past eight, exactly."

Harper yet again nodded and smiled, leaving no room for conversation before she dashed into the second dressing room.

She closed the door behind her with a gentle nudge and leaned against it just to make sure no one busted in suddenly. Atlas had the door closed on him, and for a moment he thought he wasn't allowed in, but he was suddenly tugged inside the room. It was weird seeing a cross-section of the door as he passed through, but that wasn't the height of his concerns. Harper, who was across the other side of the room now, had pulled him in for once sole reason.

She wanted to talk.

“Okay so…” She began, taking a small silver bag of makeup from one of the desk drawers, “We need to make some ground rules, Atlas my dear.”

Atlas swallowed nervously; he dreaded the incoming commands.

“When I'm up there tonight, being the top performer as I deserve to be, you're not gonna say a word, 'kay?"

She pulled a quick smile before focusing on the mirror to apply some lipstick. Atlas grimaced. He didn’t want to continue her train of thought, so he changed the topic. Something that concerned him far more than her long-awaited time in the limelight.

“Is any of this actually real, Harper? You’re saying all these crazy things, doing some even weirder things. I’m just so confused...scared…are you really going to take my place tonight?”

Harper huffed out a laugh, obviously displeased that he spoke up.

“Of course it's real, why wouldn’t it be? I wouldn’t be having so much fun if it weren’t real. It's all very real to me at least."

She scowled, applying a heavy amount of spray to her hair. Atlas didn’t see anything fun about that.

“No, I mean is this reality or is it some sort of test? In a simulation, or a weird dream?"

He backed off slightly, seeing the twitch of frustration in her eye.

"If you're going to keep asking stupid questions then I'll tape you to the wall, Atlas. Leave the hard questions for later, I don't want to think about it."

She dug through the makeup bag for something else to distract herself, giving off a somewhat irreverent attitude. Atlas took this as his cue to stay quiet.

Everything was starting to feel a lot more real now. Looking down at his hands, he decided that even with the advancement in technology, something like this would be impossible to replicate. A sudden wave of shock hit him, and he backed into the furthest corner of the room. Sliding down the wall onto the ground, he wrapped his arms around himself, he had to keep some sort of grip on reality. He wasn't sure if he was even real anymore. His eyes were wide with fear as he realised the severity of Harper's sharp and maniacal change.

A swarm of thoughts clouded his brain, buzzing and stinging, he was too shocked to even voice them.

"So, Harper is different, crazy even. I... I'm invisible to everyone. I'm phasing through things yet also not at the same time. Somehow, we're linked...by this...blue string. Oh goodness, I can't go about this forever. If I'm not already dead, then hearing her speech tonight might just be the nail in the coffin. I've been replaced. I've been removed."

He focused on the back of Harper's head, watching her prepare for the next twenty minutes or so when a thought hit him like a brick. Confused by it, he mumbled to himself.

“The voice thing...that thing that happened in the store. What was that? How can I use that to get out of this? How does any of this work? I'm so confused. Goodness, this is worse than an improv performance. I thought those were scary, but this takes the cake for sure. Why do I even bother trying to work it all out?

He held his head in his hands, ruffling his hair in frustration. He’d never felt such hopelessness in his life. And now in his death, it overwhelmed him more than he could handle. The line had been crossed here; no amount of stage fright had ever stunned him as much as this before.

"Somebody please...help me…"

He whispered without expecting a response from anyone or anything. Like a record player, Harper responded, a strange robotic quality to her voice.

"Somebody please help me..."

She turned to Atlas with a scowl. He was far too curled up in his arms to notice her, so she continued applying makeup. It wasn't like she cared about how he was feeling anyway. She was the most important person in that room at that moment. Debatably, the most alive too.

After a long break of silence and a few circuits of pacing the room, Harper realised it was time for her to be backstage. She pulled a smile at herself in the mirror and dashed out of the room, slamming the door behind her in excitement. Atlas was suddenly dragged along with her, even though all he wanted to do was sit in the corner and hide forever. Unfortunately, that wasn't on the schedule for tonight.