Behind the stage, Harper continued her self-loving to the other students awaiting their cue. She proudly lied and boasted that she'd written and memorised the script for her speech all in the days’ notice. Atlas had the energy to roll his eyes at her and she noticed, giving a vicious tug on the string between them. Sure, she would have memorised it, given that she had no script with her, but he highly doubted that she wrote it herself.

"Oh, I actually used some of Atlas's speech, he never finished it, but I liked the vibes so I kinda stole it." She admitted to the group backstage. Most of them laughed at the absurdity of her statement, but it only made Atlas sigh and roll his eyes yet again. His eyes were starting to hurt now. It didn’t help that he was on the verge of tears.

However, this time Harper didn't care or see, as it was nearly time for her to appear on stage. The chairman of the ceremony approached the microphone on stage, clearing his throat to read his script.

"Thank you to Emily Hevero for the academics goal speech, we look forward to seeing the progression in teaching here at SilkenArts.”

There was an applause for the aforementioned speaker, and Harper joined in despite not knowing Emily or what she had spoken about.

“For our last item tonight, we have a student from SilkenArts here to give a speech on success in the field. Please welcome from Class A-1 of the dance and theatre sector, one of the top-performing students, Harper Valentina."

Harper gleamed with pride and took her steps from behind the curtain onto the brightly lit stage. Atlas could see the undisturbed confidence in her stride and presentation, and it unsettled him. Perhaps she was really going to get away with murder after all. She was probably the worst case of 'teacher's pet' the world had ever known, he speculated.

The crowd applauded for her arrival, and she strutted out with a smile and wave at the audience. Taking her spot in the centre of the stage, which was nicely marked with an X for her, she faced the bright lights above the stage and waited for the noise to die down. Carefully, she took hold of the microphone and gently adjusted it down an inch for her height before she began.

"Good evening fellow patrons and accomplices, my name is Harper Valentina, and I would like to thank the academy for inviting me to this auspicious event tonight."

Atlas stood next to her in the light, staring into the pitch-black audience that was barely recognisable. Someone on the lighting team had the lights far too bright. He would have had it fixed if he were the one in the spotlight. As Harper started her speech, he looked down at her with a grimace. She really did steal straight from the speech he had half written in his room. That only meant that she'd been through his journal and that upset him more than anything.

"You dirty thief...that's my speech."

He made sure to speak at a normal volume, just enough so that it would have distracted her. She took a breath at the end of her phrase, clearly unsettled by his presence and power in the situation.

"Firstly, I'd like to apologize for my dance partner, Atlas, who unfortunately couldn't make it here tonight and needed a replacement. He's passed on his thanks to the academy also."

Atlas crossed his arms and spoke a bit louder.

"Yeah, you would try and build up some sort of excuse for yourself, huh?"

Harper must have expected a response like that from Atlas because she completely ignored it this time and continued speaking.

"I'll begin with speaking about my experience at the academy and how the instructors have helped me pursue what I love."

As Harper's plagiarized speech went on, Atlas made comment after comment, hounding on every little detail she made up.

“Yes, look at me, riding on the coattails of Atlas Holatia, my murder victim.”

He hoped that one of his comments would be picked up by her and cause her some sort of embarrassment, but it wasn't working for him. The speech only went for about three minutes total, which Atlas saw as a shame, both as someone representing SilkenArts and because his time of fun was over.

"And again, I would like to thank everyone who made this possible for me. My friends, my family, the instructors, and of course my dance partner."

The heartbroken Atlas took a step towards her, this was his last chance to stop her deceptions.

"Tell them the truth, Harper. You can’t hide it forever. Go on, say it. 'I killed him!"

There was a pause, and Harper struggled with her words for a moment, clearly trying to hold back.

 “I killed...him."

A gasp rang out around the auditorium, but it was faint. Audience members shuffled in their seats, unsure of what she had said. Immediately, she went bright red and tried to cover herself for a third time that night.

"I mean I killed him for not being here tonight, oh goodness, sorry for the crude analogy, but he should have been the one standing here tonight, not me."

There was a slight unsure laugh from some in the audience. Harper panicked within herself at how informal the mood of the speech had changed too now, feeling the embarrassment rise to her cheeks. Standing behind her now in the dark, Atlas only smiled at his success. This was a beautiful sight to behold. He didn't even need to listen to whatever pathetic conclusion she'd conjured up, he knew his mission had been accomplished. He had made his impression on the world through her words, and he knew that no one would forget a confession that bold.

With her speech hastily concluded, Harper took her leave off the stage, heading right back to the dressing rooms without making eye contact with anyone. As the crowds of people around her lessened, she picked up the pace, making a sprint for the front exit of the theatre.

“Thank you...Harper for that awe-inspiring speech. With that, our ceremony concludes, I'll hand it over to....”

Atlas could hear the echoes of the final speech as they wrapped up the event. He knew Harper would have wanted to escape before she was caught in a conversation about her speech. He smiled at the thought of that possibility.

Dashing past the security staff at the front entrance, she made a turn to the left where the local park was. She headed straight for the public bathroom, a small concrete block, lit up by one solitary streetlight. Atlas was highly concerned about what she was doing in such an open place, but he ran with her, nonetheless.

He couldn't have expected what he saw next.

She ran to the bathroom and started filling up the sink with water, using her left palm to clog the drain. Plunging her face beneath it all, she attempted to scream into the water to let out her frustrations. She rose for air, choking and spitting the water out, then went in again. Atlas rushed to her side and managed to pull her out of the water by the shoulders.

“What on earth are you doing?? Are you crazy??”

Harper pushed him back and shot a growling response back.

“If you haven’t noticed, yeah!!!”

Atlas looked around cautiously, hoping there wasn’t an innocent bystander in the building. He quickly ducked his head into the stalls to check before continuing with the issue at hand. Harper had her head in the sink again, so he pulled her back out, somehow managing to make contact. He didn't understand how the rules of being a ghost worked yet.

"Harper, you're insane. Are you drowning yourself in shame now? I don’t think that’s any way to face this head-on."

She shook her head of water before glaring at him.

"I'm trying to wash your evil words from my mouth, so leave me alone."

“They might be evil, but at least they’re the truth you need to hear. Maybe you should just face what you deserve for the crime you've committed."

He raised an eyebrow, fully expecting an excuse to be thrown back at him.

"I didn't do anything wrong." She denied in defeat, emptying the sink.

"Harper you killed me, you're a murderer! How is that innocent in any way??"

She shook her hands of water and took a deep breath, turning to face him.

“Atlas, even if that’s what you believe, I…I still did this all for you...”

She paused, only to take hold of his translucent wrist. He grimaced, stepping back with an unsure expression.

"Why? Why would you do this? It's messed up. How could you just dehumanise me like this? Like I’m not worth anything?"

There was a short pause between the two before a response was uttered.

“Atlas, I love you.”