School was finally over, and all Evelyn wanted to do was go home, take a long bath and a relaxing nap. When she walked to her locker, Evelyn found another pink rose taped to it. 'Argh not another one…' She pulled off the rose from her locker with annoyance; she was not liking this game. Evelyn opened the note and read it mentally. 'Just as promised a dozen roses will be delivered right to your door, you better expect something more. You're a special girl and nothing I'll give you will be cheap. Sincerely, Your Secret Admirer.' Was this guy serious, did he actually think that just by buying her expensive gifts she would automatically fall deeply and uncontrollably in love with him? Oh boy was she pissed off now, Evelyn crumbled the note and threw it with the rose to the nearest trashcan she slammed the door to her locker and stomped towards the parking lot. All of Evelyn's frustration flew away with the wind as she saw her best friend, Kristine and Student Council President, Jonathan laughing like a couple of elementary school kids while playing with each other's hands. Evelyn was left with her mouth wide open, she tried to speak but no words came out, she was in complete shock.
"Jona asked her out last period and Kristine enthusiastically said yes." Evelyn was expecting Nat to be the one behind her speaking of the amazing news, instead it was a male's voice.
"Dean…?" Evelyn said his name with a confused tone as she turned around to see the boy who had just spoken.
"The one and only." Dean said with a playful smile on his face. Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows; his smile looked so familiar; she was sure she had seen it somewhere but exactly where? "Are you okay? You seem confused…" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. Evelyn was brought back to reality and rapidly nodding her head.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Uhm, you're talking to me, why?"
"Uh…?" Now the confused one was Dean.
"No, I mean, you and I had never actually talked before. It's weird." Evelyn scratched the side of her arm as she looked down at the pavement.
"I don't find it weird." He said with so much confidence and sincerity that it caused Evelyn to look at him, their eyes immediately meeting one another. "I actually find it a loss that I hadn't spoken to you sooner." Evelyn couldn't say anything; he had leaned in closer to her face, his eyes piercing. She found herself being hypnotized by Dean's icy blue eyes, unable to look away.
"Hey Evee guess what?!" Kristine yelled from across the parking lot, bringing her dazed friend back to Earth. Evelyn blinked a couple of times, able to look away, turning her sight towards Kristine.
"I… I got to go…" Evelyn walked past Dean but before she could walk away, he held her softly by the wrist.
"Wait, promise me this won't be the first nor last time you and I talk." Dean said with a serious and hopeful tone of voice while his eyes searched for an answer in hers.
"I promise." Evelyn gave Dean a reassuring smile and he let her go.
"I'll see you around, Evee." Dean replied with a playful smile which caused her to blush. The way he called out her name made something swirl around her stomach. She felt weird, nothing like that had happened to her, she didn't know what was going on. Evelyn walked away and towards Kristine as she shook the strange sensation aside.
"So, you two are a thing now." Evelyn stated once she had reached her friend, hoping that her face wasn't flushed.
"Yes!" Kristine replies with a giggle, while Jonathan blushed.
"I'm so happy for both of you. Jona you better make her happy, Kristine is a genuinely nice girl and one of my best friends if I ever hear that you upset her." Evelyn paused. "Well, I think she'll deal with you first, but trust me I'll be second in line, got that?" Jona laughed and patted Evelyn's head, making her feel like a child.
"Evelyn don't worry you'll little head off, I'll definitely treat Kristy with love. I'm just disappointed in myself for not realizing Kristy's feelings sooner. I find it a loss." At that Jona wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's body and held her closer to him.
'Find it a loss; eh… didn't Dean use those words as well? Could it be…?' Evelyn turned to look back at the spot where she and Dean had been standing just a minute ago. He was no longer there. 'Nah I'm thinking too much.' She pushed the thought aside. "Hey Kris, where's Nat?" Evelyn asked, noticing that a twin was missing.
"She got hired to baby-sit the Jefferson's kid right after school." Evelyn gave her an 'oh' and left with a 'good-bye and good-luck'. She spotted Matthew and Alexander who were walking out of the school building surrounded by a group of girls and guys but mostly girls. As the group saw the goddess approaching them, they all suddenly disappeared. You could say it was an unspoken rule that no one could surround them once the goddess and gods were together. It was on rare occasions that people could join in, for instance the after-school practices. The twins though were the exception to that rule. They, being Evelyn's best friends, could be with the trio any time they wanted.
Matthew wrapped his arm over Evelyn's shoulder embracing her closely. "Oh, little sister how I love you so, being surrounded by all those people was giving me a headache. Why is it that you're never surrounded by a mob of people?" Evelyn turned to look up at his brother with a raised eyebrow.
"Is that supposed to be a tricky question?" Both Matthew and Alexander laughed at the girl walking in between them.
"Yeah, we know the answer to that, right?" Alexander patted Matthew's shoulder. They were the reason no guy dared to go near her, and why would girls want to surround her? Evelyn only rolled her eyes at her older brother and boyfriend. "By the way Ev, why was Dean Lyons talking to you?" Alexander asked now with a serious tone in his voice.
"He was the one that gave me the news about those two love birds." Evelyn replied, pointing a finger at the lovely couple Kris and Jona.
"Finally." Matthew replied as he saw the happy pair. Alexander only nodded his head before continuing to interrogate his girlfriend.
"Mmh, so why did he pull you by the wrist?" Oh boy, Alexander sounded jealous, and Matthew wanted nothing to do with it.
"Alright before you two begin having a lover's quarrel, allow me to go away." Alex gave Matt a death glare as he walked away towards his car. Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows and looked up, directly into Alexander's hazel nut eyes. Alexander ran his hand through his silky dark black hair and shook his head.
"We're not going to fight. I just didn't like the way Lyons was staring at you. I don't know much about the dude, but I still don't like the guy." Alexander gave Evelyn a worried look and stretched out his hand to cup her cheek, Evelyn unconsciously took a step back, avoiding his touch. The worried expression on Alexander's face turned into a confused one.
"I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized, realizing what she had done. "Alexander we're at school and…"
"You allow some random guy to hold you back, but you don't allow me, your boyfriend to at least touch your cheek?" Alexander said in a faint voice, only high enough for Evelyn to hear. So much for the 'no fighting'. Alexander couldn't believe that Evelyn had actually taken a step back, moving away from his touch.
"You're not suppose to be my boyfriend when we're at school." Evelyn spoke out on the same pitch as Alexander, only loud enough for the two of them. "Besides didn't you just say we were not going to fight?"
"We're not fighting!" He completely yelled out for the entire parking lot to hear. To those around them, the two looked like a couple arguing, which wasn't far from the truth, but that was exactly what Evelyn didn't want. That was exactly why she wanted their relationship to be kept a secret. They were popular, with popularity came gossips and with gossip came rumors and rumors tended to ruin relationships. 110% exactly what Evelyn didn't want.
"What has gotten into you, what are you so pissed off about?" Evelyn questioned as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and took another step back. One thing was for sure, now more than ever she was going to need that long and relaxing bath.
"Oh, for crying out loud Ev, do you really have to ask?" Yes, she had to ask. She had no idea about what he was talking. Alexander took a step forward, closing the distance Evelyn had created, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm frustrated, bothered, tired and I can't take this anymore!" A couple of bystanders turned their heads to see what all the commotion was about.
"Why are you yelling so much? All you're doing is attracting people. Why are you acting this way towards me?" Evelyn took a step closer, not wanting those around them to hear the conversation, of course Alexander wasn't making it any easier for her. She poked Alexander on the chest a couple of times wanting an answer from him. The third time she poked him, he firmly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "Alexander, it hurts…"
"Do you really want to know what's bothering me, Ev? The fact that you won't…"
"That's enough." Matthew finally interrupted, making his best friend release his little sister's hand from his tight grip. "Let's go before you end up saying something you'll later regret." Matthew ordered in a firm tone. The crowd that had accumulated around the scene began to disperse, mumbling to each other, wondering what the whole fight was about.
'And so, the gossip and rumors begin.' Evelyn thought as she saw Alexander looking away from her. 'Alexander…?' Matthew placed his hand on her shoulder and handed her the keys to his car.
"You take the car; I need to have a serious conversation with Ale before we head home." Evelyn took the keys and nodded her head; Matt knew what Ale was going to tell Evelyn and it had nothing to do with how the conversation turned out. "Walk Khinbert." Matt said while pushing Ale towards his car. Ale handed Matt the keys to his car on their way to it. Evelyn just watched as their backs were given to her. When the guys reached the car, she saw how Alexander walked towards the passenger side and slammed his fist on the roof of the car before getting in. Evelyn looked around her, a couple of students still staring at her, Kris and Jona included. Kristine was walking towards her best friend, but Evelyn stopped her with an 'its okay' wave. Evelyn walked towards her brother's car trying to re-think everything that had been said just a couple seconds ago, she got in the car, turned on the engine and rapidly drove off. The sooner she got home, the better.
"What in the freaking darn world happened back there?!" Matt demanded an explanation from his best friend once they had driven out of the school's grounds. "Are you insane, did you see my sister's wrist? That wasn't what you had originally planned! You were supposed to talk to her face-to-face, straight out, come out clean about how you feel towards the whole 'secret dating' thing. No screaming involved!" Matt screamed, giving his friend a lesson as he drove through random streets just to make time.
"Could you stop screaming at me? I feel bad as it is, and your screaming isn't helping much." Alexander had his elbow in the door and his chin in his hand while he looked out the window. "Look I don't know what came over me. When I saw Ev talking to the Lyons guy, for some reason I felt so frustrated. Useless as a boyfriend since I couldn't go up to him and demand him to stay away from my girlfriend." He turned to look at Matt who had stopped at a curb. "When I saw them staring at each other, I felt this weird sensation as if for some reason I knew I might loose Ev one day." He crouched down, placing his forehead to his knees and each hand to the side of his head. "It felt horrible. Matt, sometimes I truly wonder if cupid struck your sister as hard as it did me. Does she love me just as much as I love her?"
"Are you stupid or what Ale? How can you think that way, do you think if Evelyn didn't love you with all her heart, she would still be dating you after all these freaking long ass years? Seriously man, once my sister graduates, I can already see her planning the wedding. Yours and her wedding." Matt patted his friend's back trying his best to cheer him on.
"Argh! Our graduation has me this way too. Once you and I graduate who's going to take care of her? Guys, guys and more guys, they're always after your sister, my girlfriend." He sighed and leaned back into his seat. "Matt, we need to find the guy that's been sending her the pink roses before graduation. Finding him will be our only chance to show every guy in school that Ev is off limits."
"We better hurry then, graduation is just around the corner." Alexander nodded his head, wishing for the day he would have to leave Ev to never come. "Are you feeling better now, ready to go home and have the planned conversation with Evelyn? No fighting involved."
"Ready!" Matt turned on the engine. "But before, we need to pick up a little something from my house."
"I wonder what's taking them so long." Evelyn wondered while sitting on the single sofa, her legs pulled up to her chest, tapping her knees with her fingertips. Evelyn had taken her bath and put on comfortable clothing when she had gotten home, which had been about two hours ago. She heard the screech of a car and footsteps on the porch. "They're back!" She jumped off the sofa and ran to open the front door only to find herself, face-to-face with a giant teddy bear and a bouquet of red roses.
"Hello, I'm here to deliver this to…" The young boy paused as he read over a small piece of paper. "Evelyn McNealy?" The delivery boy said he managed to hold the bear and roses both at the same time without ruining the roses.
"That would be me." Evelyn replied unenthusiastically. "Uhm, excuse me is there any way you would know who the sender is?" She asked as the delivery boy handed her first the bear and then the roses.
"No, sorry. It was an anonymous order." Evelyn mouthed a 'thank you' and with a 'have a good night' the delivery boy left.
'With everything that happened, I had forgotten about the last note I received. Argh…' Evelyn threw the gifts to the floor, not even caring about damaging the bouquet. She walked back to the sofa and re-took her previous position, wiggling her toes and tapping her knees with her fingertips. Evelyn let out a sad sigh, it was a little past six, but she was still worried. School ended at four, it took the guys around two hours to sort things out. Evelyn turned on the TV, she was getting worried just sitting there doing nothing. She flipped through the channels trying to find something good to watch. So many channels yet nothing she liked. She didn't care, she just needed noise in the room, so she stopped at WB, Friends was on. Evelyn didn't quite like the show; then again, she hadn't quite seen any of the episodes before.
The only light, the only noise was that from the TV's, there was a marathon of Friends going on and after watching a couple of the episodes Evelyn was actually enjoying it. Worry came back to Evelyn's mind when she saw the time on the LED screen, it was eight-thirty-four at night and the guys hadn't gotten home yet. "What's taking them so long?" Evelyn questioned herself aloud. She jumped to her feet, looking out the window to see if the car would automatically appear in the driveway- but nothing, the street itself was empty. "I don't like this…" she said while walking back to the sofa, she was imagining the worst; she placed a blanket over her shoulders and hugged herself. Tears were forming in her eyes, fighting to get out. She took a deep breath allowing the tears to flow. Evelyn was now crying, feeling insecure and scared. The TV was still on, but Evelyn had blocked out all noise, she continued crying and hugged herself tighter. "Please come home already…" She begged no one but just as if someone had heard her the front door opened, and Matthew called out.
"Evelyn, hey we're home!" Evelyn tried to wipe away the tears, to no luck, they just kept flowing out. "Sis what's wrong?" Matthew questioned with concern as he kneeled down in front of his sister. Evelyn threw herself at Matthew, wrapping her arms around his neck, still crying no stop. "Evelyn?"
"What's wrong with her?" Alexander questioned as he placed two small objects on the side table and walked towards the siblings. Matt mouthed an 'I don't know' to his friend as he tried to push his sister off in order to see her face, but she only dug it in closer to his chest. "Hey Ev, baby what's wrong?" Alexander questioned with so much concern, so much love into his words. "Come here Eve, come on baby." Alexander pulled her to him, she turned to him and clenched to his shirt, digging her face now into his chest while still crying. "Matt…" Alex turned to look at his best friend and Matt instantly caught on.
"Got it." He stood from his place and pointed towards the staircase. "I'll be up in my room if you need anything." Matt left the living room, patting his sister's head and walked up stairs. Alexander picked his girlfriend up, he sat on the sofa Evelyn had been sitting on and sat her in his lap, embracing the still crying girl closer to him.
"Evelyn McNealy, the strongest most beautiful girl I have ever met, would you be so kind as to tell me what's bothering your enormous palpitating heart?" He asked while caressing the side of her arm.
"I don't… to… you…" She said in between sobs.
"What was that?" Alexander questioned, unable to hear what his girlfriend had just said.
"I don't… to… you…" She said once more.
"Baby with you speaking against my chest while crying your gorgeous eyes out, I can't understand what you're saying." Evelyn lifted her tear-stained face up to look at her boyfriend. "Good girl, now tell me why tears are being shed from your beautiful honey eyes?" He cleared a few tears away with his thumb while staring directly into her watery eyes. Evelyn shakily breathed before she spoke.
"I… I don't want… want to lose… you." She said in a stutter, but Alexander still understood her every word. He frowned at the thought of being apart from Evelyn.
"Loose me? Baby who said I was going to leave you?" He cupped her cheek with his hand, gently caressing it with his thumb; his left hand was still wrapped around her body. "Ev, I would never leave you. Baby girl, you're my life, you're my world, sweetie you're my all. I love you, Ev."
"But you were mad. Furious at me today at the school's parking lot." Evelyn's tears had ceased, her voice still a bit shaky.
"I'm sorry about that Ev, I was confused and frustrated. Graduation is in less than two months, and it brought me a lot to think about but mostly I couldn't stop thinking about us. We've kept our relationship on the down-low all these years. It made me worried that after graduation no one would know that you were my girlfriend, and they would try to hit on you knowing that no one was there to protect you. I was the one afraid of losing you." Evelyn weakly smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry Alexander." That caught Alex off guard, but he still wrapped his arms around her small body.
"What are you apologizing for?" He asked in a semi-whisper.
"For not realizing your feelings. I'm your girlfriend, we've known each other for such a long time and still I was not able to comprehend your feelings. I'm sorry." Alexander slightly hit Evelyn across the head. "Ouch what was that for?" She questioned, looking him in the eyes, traces of tears still staining her face. Alexander smiled and cleaned them off with butterfly kisses.
"I don't want you to apologize for a mistake I made. I hid my feelings from you; I was being dishonest with myself. Forgive me for being such an immature kid." Evelyn returned the smile and gave him a peck on the lips.
"You're forgiven." Alexander pulled her in for another kiss.
"By the way, what are those things laying on the floor at the entrance?" Alexander questioned with a raised eyebrow. Evelyn shrugged her shoulder, showing it was of no importance.
"It's just trash." She simply said. Alexander smiled; he had liked her answer.
"As much as I enjoyed your answer, I actually want to know who the gifts are from." Alexander placed an out of place hair behind Evelyn's ear.
"From my secret admirer, as he calls himself. On the last note he sent me; he reassured me that he was to send me a dozen roses and an extra gift. He sounded so conceited it pissed me off, I threw the note and rose away."
"That guy won't give up, will he? Matt and I need to find him and show him exactly who he's dealing with." Alexander was getting pissed and Evelyn sensed it. She lifted her hand to his hair and ran her fingers through it. Alexander looked at her and smiled. "He doesn't matter in our relationship, does he?" Evelyn shook her head in response. "Yeah. Baby I got something for you." He reached over to the side table and handed her the medium sized stuffed white bunny, her favorite animal. In its paws, it held a small black velvet box.
"Alexander…?" He took the box and smiled.
"It's a…" He opened the box only to show a shiny small object. "Promise ring." Evelyn's jaw could reach the floor and her honey eyes were wide open. Alex took the ring out and tossed the velvet box aside, he held Evelyn's left hand on his and stopped before placing the ring on her finger for her to reply. "So, what do you say? Would you like to marry me after you graduate?" Evelyn blinked rapidly; she had stopped breathing. "Ev, breathe!" She inhaled deeply and exhaled, her lips turning into an ear-to-ear smile.
"Yes, yes, YES! A million times, YES!" Alexander slid the ring on her finder; he held her from behind the head and pulled her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her body closer. The kiss deepened as each second passed and for once Matt wasn't the one to end the kiss, but the lack of air. "I love you." Alex smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I love you, too." He kissed her jaw line and went down to kiss her neck, he moved lower and started nibbling and sucking on her skin. Alexander wanted to mark her as his, but he knew that if he were to leave a hickey on her neck people would see and ask questions, so he marked her in between her neck and shoulder low enough for no one to see it.
"Alexander, I've been thinking about it, and I think its time to tell everyone about you and me." Alexander stopped his work and looked at his girlfriend who had a smile on her face.
"Are you serious?" Evelyn nodded. "So does that mean I can hold your hand, touch you, embrace you, and kiss you when we're at school?" Evelyn laughed and nodded her head again. Alex embraced her tightly and stood up swirling her in the air.
"Alexander!" Evelyn screamed as his action had completely surprised her. He only laughed, feeling happier at having her hold him tight. "Stop, we're going to break something!" Alexander stopped, staring up at his beautiful girlfriend. She smiled once he had stopped, her smile made him so happy, he was in love with this girl, and he wasn't going to let anyone steal her away.
"Wow you two look happy." Matthew commented from the living room entrance.
"Very." Evelyn replied with a smile while Alex placed her down. Matthew looked at Evelyn's left hand and smiled.
"You did it man! You finally gave my sister the ring." Matthew high five Alexander and patted his sister's head.
"Yeah…" He shyly replied while scratching the back of his head. "I'll soon be legally part of your family, brother-in-law." Alexander laughed as he mentioned the words 'brother-in-law' it sounded cool.
"Brother-in-law, uh brother-in-law. Mmh, Evelyn Khinbert… Alexander McNealy… Mr. and Mrs. Khinbert... I like how it sounds!" Matthew laughed while Evelyn and Alexander madly blushed.
"You're starting to sound like mother." Evelyn stated as she took the white bunny from the floor, it had fallen when Alex had suddenly gotten up.
"Mmh, I wonder how our moms are going to react about it." Alexander said as he grabbed the small velvet box he had thrown aside and handed it to his girlfriend.
"You guys shouldn't worry about it; I bet they will be thrilled that the two of you are finally tying the knot." Matthew patted his best friend's back before picking Evelyn up, placing her over his shoulder. "For now, all you two have to worry about is morning practice and tomorrow we all have one. Damn I hate Thursday mornings, we tend to have a worst practice only on those days, and the coach gets too hard on us on too." All three walked up stairs, well Evelyn was being carried.
"It's probably because we don't have practice on Fridays. Oh, and you two have your track competition on Saturday, so maybe that's another reason." Evelyn suggested, while having no problem of being carried to her room.
"Probably, but I still hate Thursday mornings." Matthew placed Evelyn down in front of her bedroom door. "Alright, go to sleep." He said while opening the door and pushing her in.
"Well good night to you, too Big Brother." Evelyn said, walking past her brother and towards Alexander. "Good night." Evelyn semi-whispered and tip-toed to give her boyfriend a good night kiss.
"Good night, Ev." Evelyn walked back into her room and closed the door behind her.
"Go to sleep, Ale." Matt ordered as he pushed Alex towards the guest room.
"Yes Sir, right away Sir." Alex laughed and walked inside the guest room, which was already his; the closet was already full of his clothes and the dresser had all his stuff in it. Mrs. McNealy had even put up a shelf for his own trophies. Matthew shook his head and walked into his own room, throwing himself onto his bed.
'Today was a rough day but it was worth it.' His last thoughts before dozing off the second his head hit the pillow.