Alisha sat down besides Eliza and scoped out the room. George had moved himself next to Eliza, Bryan sat on a two-person seat, in his lonesome, Annabelle was sowed together with her boyfriend, Fred was sitting next to the couple. She had never seen this group of people together, George was introduced to the group after Annabelle died, her husband didn't talk to them much after that either.
"Bruce, why don't you introduce yourself to me." Alisha started, even though she had already met him before. Annabelle smiled at him as he leaned a bit forward.
"Hi... Alisha! My name, as you know, is Bruce, I am Annabelle's boyfriend, I'm 22 this year and I am the CEO of LIT. Ummm, I have a puppy called Kimbal. That's really all there is to know about me!" Alisha felt like rolling her eyes but chose to hold back, of course the two business prodigies end up together, she thought.
She noticed that Annabelle had distracted him again, and that Eliza and George were getting their flirts on too. She decided not to interrupt them, so she turned to Fred. Before she could say anything, a shadow loomed on her. She looked up to see an impatient Bryan looking down at her. He sat next to her, which proved to be squishy on the couch they were on. She gave him a look, making him know that she didn't like it. Like a child, he pushed in even closer to her.
Alisha smiled slyly, got up, and moved to the two person couch after ushering Fred to go with her. To her despair, before Fred could move in next to her, Bryan squeezed in next to her, a larger grin on his face. She'd been played.
"Bryan, what do you want?" She asked bluntly. She couldn't be bothered with beating around the bush, Bryan was too scheming and honestly, too frustrating for her.
"I want to talk to my blind date, get to know you more. Why don't you like me?" He asked, he was being honest and Alisha knew this, but she hated his guts too.
"I don't like you because you're f***ing my stepmother. Is that enough information for you?" She retorted.
"You told me to continue, or else I would have broken it off if I knew that you knew." He responded, hoping to change her mind.
"Bryan, how dumb do you think I am? Before this continues you need to get something into your head, I don't like you. And, I am a person with my own feelings, respect the fact that I dislike you and stay away from me." She hoped she could stop his emotions here. Alas, for now at least, Bryan held back. He had a confused expression, almost pitiful. He stood up and sat next to George, leaning back on his seat, looking somewhat tired.
"Alisha, what did you do to that guy?" Fred asked after watching the scene. He couldn't hear them because of the loud music, but he noticed how dejected Bryan looked. He just wanted to know the tea.
"Don't wanna talk about him. Instead, let's talk about you. Fred, you're almost 21 and you're an amazing PA, but I think, just until my studies are done, you should get another job. Build your experience." She wanted to continue but Fred shook his head. She stopped and looked at him with a confused expression.
"Alisha, as much as I too would like to, I know that my current family situation wouldn't allow me too. I need to serve you until I'm 21 regardless of my will, two months and I'll do what you say." Alisha nodded as Fred's arms stretched over and hugged her from the side. George, Bryan and Bruce would find this intimate and romanticise the gesture, but everyone else saw it as normal. Alisha could be seen as the mother of the group, she was always caring for them.
Bryan's eyes felt like they'd been dipped in vinegar upon seeing her being hugged so intimately, he wanted to rip off Fred's arm and torture him to death. Dark thoughts loomed on his head and grew, but because of their ferocity and intensity, because of his heart beating, because he kept having to look at her, Bryan wondered why he felt the way he felt. Alisha noticed his gaze but chose to ignore it, he was glaring daggers at her friend. She expected a change, but wasn't surprised by his possessive behaviour.
Suddenly, his gaze changed, it was softer and it felt pink. She felt like she was being touched by the gaze of a rose, a gaze she was accustomed to receiving from the boys at Uni. Ugh, what a bore she thought as she raised both eyebrows at Bryan. Bryan blushed deeply simply because of her acknowledgement and didn't notice what her eyes were saying to him.
Alisha noticed that the closer she and more affectionate she was with Fred, the worse Bryan's mood became. So, like any scheming adult woman would do, she snuggled up into Fred, who took it naturally. She began whispering in his ear, which he justified because of the loud music, and somewhere a long the way she forgot about Bryan and had fun with Fred.
An expected result of losing her friends and family was that she appreciated them much more, she valued her time with them more than she ever did in the past. Bryan noticed a different aura around Alisha, he saw her smile, giggle and tease, she was having fun, she was happy. He felt his heart ache when he realised that she didn't feel that way near him, she truly despised him.
Change did occur that night, for Bryan made a decision. A decision he never even thought of in Alisha's past life, a decision that would change the course of the future. He was still possessive, and he would still want to keep her for himself, but he had new plans. He had a realisation, for he almost felt how he felt when his mother left forever.
He loved Alisha.