"Well, everybody needs a break sometimes, I guess," Alyx says uncertainly. She rallies with, "My band is playing at this dance party at a squat, you and your boyfriend should totally come, it'll be fun."

"It's not a break. I'm not going back. Not once in the four years we knew each other did I go to a dance party I didn't hate." 

Alyx is not quite sure how to respond to this level of vehemence. 

"You seemed to have fun sometimes wit-- when you used to come to them. It's way less patriarchal than most dance parties, it's a queer-and-women-only space and it's themed around recovery from abuse culture through music."

"I told you Malcolm threatened to break my neck and you said it must have been a kink thing that I'd misunderstood." 

"Do you really want to talk about this right now? I was just trying to be nice and invite you to something you and your boyfriend might like-- what's his name anyway--"

"Lev Aarons. Founder of Yenta. You're the one who brought up recovery from abuse culture." 

Alyx's mouth opens in a perfect O.

"...you're dating who?"

"Lev Aarons. Founder of Yenta," he repeats, in exactly the same tone of voice as he'd said it the first time. 

"Sasha, that's-- I realize you and Malcolm didn't exactly have the perfect relationship, but do you really have to go date some cishet white billionaire who got rich off exploiting poor people?"

"Malcolm raped me and beat me and threatened to kill me. I left the movement and I'm staying out. And I love how you call my boyfriend cishet when he's dating me." 

"Straight men misgender people, Sasha! And surely you can find someone who you can have a healthy relationship with and who also didn't make billions off an app that commodifies human relationships without doing anything to help the proletariat."

"He's never misgendered me. I don't care if I could find someone else, he's my boyfriend and I love him. You have a weird definition of helping the proletariat if paying for people's vaccines and antiretrovirals doesn't count." 

"Charity only upholds the capitalist system, Sasha, you know this, I've seen you talk about it, the real answer is revolution--"

"I left. The movement. I'm dating Lev Aarons and it's the happiest I've ever been."  

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't respond in the best way to what Malcolm did, but you can't just support capitalist exploitation of the poor. Like, how can you sit in a giant mansion wearing designer clothes and sucking some billionaire's dick when you know there are people out there who are hungry or homeless because of people like him--"

"I was hungry and homeless and because of him I'm not. Malcolm raped me and threatened to break my neck and you told me I was overreacting." 

"I said I was sorry!" Alyx takes a deep breath. "Do you need help, do you need somewhere to stay, I have a friend who helps at the DV shelter, I'm committed to mutual aid and support for abuse survivors, you don't have to have sex with Lev Aarons to have a roof over your head."

"Like fuck am I trusting you or your movement again. And what part of 'I love him' did you not hear." 

"I'm just trying to help! Forgive me for thinking it's a little bit sketchy for a billionaire to start screwing a homeless trans guy--"

"I remember your fucking mutual aid and support and I don't want it." He turns. "Lev, cmon, let's go home." 

Lev looks up from the book he's reading, starts to ask what's going on, sees Sasha's face, grabs his hand, and walks out.

He just barely makes it to the car before he crumples. 

"Alex, go get a coffee or something. --Sasha, are you okay, what happened?" He hugs Sasha tight.

He leans into the hug. "Ex-friend — ex's friend — whatever you want to call her —" 

"Fuck her."