"I’m trying."
Maya only glared at him.
Evelyn laughed and followed her towards the living room.
Within minutes, the house became busy.
Tara and Lena argued over how much food they needed. The first deliveries arrived less than an hour later. Large bags filled with drinks, snacks, paper plates, cups, and decorations came first.
Then came the food.
Boxes began filling the kitchen counters, the dining table was covered with snacks, drinks were placed inside buckets filled with ice. Maya and Evelyn decorated the living room together.
At first, Maya barely spoke.
She kept looking at Evelyn every few seconds, still unable to believe she was standing beside her.
Soon, however, as Evelyn began talking, Maya started talking a bit more freely.
She complained about university, about professors, assignments, and the new contact-lens trend.
As the preparations continued, the other girls slowly became more comfortable around her as well.
Evelyn did not act like a celebrity either, she helped move light objects, placed cups on the table, and did any other thing she could do.
By the time the first guests arrived, the house looked completely different.
Music played through the speakers, the living room was cleared, food covered the dining table and kitchen counters, decorations were everywhere. The students walked in, their eyes fell on Evelyn, and the group froze.
Lucian repeated the no-phones rule again. The group nodded and quickly placed their phones on the counter.
More students came, every group reacting the same way.
Shock.
Silence.
Disbelief.
Then excitement.
Lucian repeated the rules every single time, the counter was now full of mobiles and the party finally started.
At first, things were a little awkward.
Everyone looked at Evelyn, no one knew how to speak to her, some thought they were standing too far from her, others whispered to each other, but as they watched Evelyn interacting politely with everyone who did approach her, they gained a little confidence as well.
Students began asking her harmless questions.
What music did she listen to when she was alone?
Did she ever get nervous before walking onto a stage?
What was the strangest gift a fan had ever sent her?
Did she really read novels and manga?
Lucian jumped into the conversation from time to time.
"I do read manga."
Evelyn nodded, Lucian appeared beside her and—
"She likes dumb main characters."
"He was not dumb!"
"He made terrible decisions."
"He was realistic."
"He walked into an obvious trap."
"You do that all the time."
"But I am funny.
So I can be excused."
Evelyn only stared at him, the students laughed.
Naomi watched the exchange from across the room, she saw how comfortable the two were with each other, how they interrupted and teased each other.
She saw how Evelyn looked at Lucian as though everyone else in the room did not matter, and how Lucian constantly watched her, how a part of his attention remained on her even when he was speaking to other people and how he appeared beside her whenever someone came too close.
"Would you like one?"
A boy approached Evelyn with two drinks in his hands and asked nervously.
Evelyn smiled politely, but she did not move.
She already knew what was going to happen.
The boy seemed confused for a slight moment but—
"She already has one."
Lucian appeared between them.
The boy looked at her empty hands, then back at Lucian.
"She doesn’t."
Lucian looked at him, then took one of his drinks.
"She will soon."
He smiled ’politely’.
"That was for her."
The boy frowned and Lucian just handed him a tray from the table.
"Excellent. Since you are already helping, take these outside."
"What?"
"The people near the garden need food."
"But I—"
"Thank you for volunteering."
Lucian smiled, his eyes glowing as he stared at the boy. The boy flinched, then, without another word, he took the tray and walked away without saying anything.
"That was rude."
Evelyn commented as he walked away.
"He was standing too close."
"Aww, are you jealous?"
Evelyn teased.
"I am not."
Lucian drank from the cup the boy had brought.
"I thought that was mine."
Lucian handed it to her, Evelyn smiled and drank from the same side.
Across the room, three girls stared at them.
"Did you see that?"
Maya grabbed Tara’s arm again with a strong shine in her eyes.
"I saw."
"She drank from the same place."
"Indirect kiss!"
"They are definitely together!"
"Kyaaaaa!!"
Lucian heard them very clearly, he chose not to react.
The party continued, and very quickly, the students were realising that it wasn’t just Lucian who was possessive, Evelyn was no different.
She might actually be worse.
"What kind of girl do you like?"
One girl who had been trying to talk to Lucian for a while asked openly and before Lucian could answer—
"Me."
Evelyn ’smiled’ at the girl.
And the woman-to-woman connection between them told the girl what Evelyn was actually trying to say.
’Piss off.’
The girl flinched and stepped away.
Later, another girl asked whether Lucian was free on weekends.
Evelyn ’smiled’ at her as well.
"He usually spends them with me."
And once again, the woman-to-woman connection was very obvious.
’I will cut you down if you don’t shoo away.’
The party continued, music became louder, people ate, some students danced in the living room, others sat near the garden and talked.
Hours passed quickly.
Around seven in the evening, it was time to leave. Some groaned, still wanting to stay, but Lucian had made it very clear from the beginning, he needed the house empty by eight. So he stood at the counter, giving them their phones back.
Outside, the guards checked the phones personally to make sure no pictures were taken. It wasn’t necessary since Lucian had kept a strict eye on everyone, but he still made sure nothing happened.
As students started to leave, many thanked Lucian repeatedly, this was like a dream come true.
The boys looked at Lucian with clear envy, Lucian smiled proudly and waved at them.
At this point, Evelyn sat on the sofa, a little further away from the crowd, no one approached her either, Lucian’s glare made sure of that.
Naomi, on the other hand, was gathering the empty cups and cleaning up.
Evelyn watched her for a while, then—
"Naomi."
She called out.
Naomi looked at her with a frown and Evelyn smiled.
"Let’s talk."
She finally addressed the elephant in the room.