Cream Puffs and Courtship

Chapter 7- The Saturday

"Alright. Here's 20 bucks, spend it wisely you know the rules. And make sure to thank Sara for the ride ok? And be polite and don't talk to strangers," Evie said as Ella was walking towards the door. 

"I know Evie. I'll text you if I need anything ok? And you better be having fun while I'm gone! No sitting in the house and cleaning for hours on end," Ella said.

"I'm planning on calling Kennedy to see if she wants to grab some lunch."

"Good. And remember what I said, no going in to work."

"Yes, Ella. Now go."

"Love you, Ev."

"Love you too."

Once the door was closed, Evie took a deep breath and walked over to their little kitchen. There was a tiny island that separated the kitchen from the tiny dining room table. The refrigerator was slightly rusty and the stove probably hadn't been replaced in 15 years. The countertops were the only thing that seemed slightly modern and even those had slight scratches.

Evie reached for her phone which rested near the stove top. Quickly going into her contacts she clicked on Kennedy's name and called the number displayed on the screen.

"Hey, Kennedy!" Evie greeted.

"Hey, Evs! What's up?" Kennedy said.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch today? Ella's with a friend so I'm free."

"Oh. I'm so sorry Evie but I can't today. I'm going into Carla's in like half an hour and then Kevin is picking me up and we're going out tonight. How about a rain check?"

"Yeah totally, it's fine."

"You could come and work today if you wanted. You know Saturdays are always busy."

"I would but Ella made me promise to take a day for myself."

"Smart girl. Well, I'll see you on Monday right?"

"Yup. I'll see you then."

"Ok. Have fun. Bye."

"Bye."

Evie groaned and slumped onto one of the wooden barstools around the island. She scrolled through her contacts and frowned upon realizing that she hadn't talked to half of the people listed for years. Then, as she was about to get up and go back to bed, she noticed one name that hadn't been in her phone for very long.

Tina Hart

Evie hesitantly moved her thumb towards the call button but then quickly pulled it back. After a moment of staring and twitching thumbs, Evie finally clicked the little call button.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Third time's a charm.

"Hello?" Tina's sweet voice asked.

"Hey, hey Tina. It's Evie. The cream puff girl?"

"Oh! Hi Evelyn! Or do you prefer Evie? I can call you that too."

"Evie's fine," Evie said quickly. "Ummm so I know this is kind of last minute but would you like to come over? We can make cream puffs."

"One minute lemme check with Carlos."

There was some whispered mumbling and then Tina's voice drifted over the phone once more.

"Carlos says that as long as there's a lock on the door and something to cover windows with, I can go!"

"Awesome," Evie said with a smile. "The address is 178 Brooks street. I'm in apartment #5."

"Ok, I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Ok! Bye."

"Bye."

Evie hung up with a smile on her face until she looked around. There were various throw pillows scattered on the floor and dust had accumulated on the shelves. Evie's bed wasn't made and she had various articles of clothing hung on her bed and chairs.

"Well, fudge buckets," Evie muttered to herself.

She ran around and tried her best to pick everything up but all too soon the doorbell rang.

She hurried over and barely moved her hand from the doorknob when a royal guard, whom she remembered was named Carlos, barged in. He immediately started pulling curtains over windows and examining the apartment.

"Sorry about that." Tina's voice said.

Evie snapped her head back to her doorstep where Tina was standing looking very different from when Evie had first seen her.

Her brown hair had been replaced by strawberry blonde locks and her attire was much more casual.

Skinny jeans and a black blouse took the place of the sundress that Evie had previously seen her in and, possibly the most noticeable change, was that there was no diamond tiara settled on her head.

"He's required to come with me and ensure that no one knows that I'm here," Tina explained.

"Oh," Evie said. "It's cool uhhhh what happened to your hair?"

"It's a wig," Tina said twirling a strand around one of her thin fingers. "I have to wear it when I leave palace grounds for protection and concealment."

"Oh. I think it looks nice."

"Thanks."

They stood in the doorway with Tina shuffling her feet while Evie bit her lip.

The only sound was Carlos' muffled muttering as he poked around inside.

"Oh! I'm sorry, would you like to come in?" Evie said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah, all clear Carlos?"

"All clear your highness." A masculine voice called from within the apartment.

Tina smiled at Evie as she practically skipped into the small space.

"Wow! Your flat is so cool!"

"Really? Thank you. It's not much-"

"No. It's perfect. It has character."

Evie smiled at Tina as she looked around the whole space with wide eyes.

"Is this your room?" Tina asked as she made her way to the back of the flat.

"No. That's my sister's room actually." Evie said with a smile.

"Oh. I thought you said that you didn't live with your parents anymore." Tina said, her eyebrows scrunching together as she turned to face Evie.

"Yeah, well I don't. My parents were actually in a car crash about a year ago so I take care of my sister."

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry Evie! I had no idea, I shouldn't have-"

"No, it's fine Tina really. It's just not something I talk about a lot so you had no way to know."

"Still. It was rude of me to presume things and I'm sorry."

"Well, you're forgiven but there really isn't anything to be sorry for. Now, how about we get started on those cream puffs?"

A/N- Hey lovelies!!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, please consider leaving a nice comment or voting for the chapter. 

Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you on Friday!