Chapter 7
1416 Words
Just Pretend - Chapter 7
The live broadcast wrapped up, and after a few final interviews with the spectators, Evelyn and her team packed up to head back.
Yet, despite the smooth evening, Evelyn couldn't shake a strange feeling—like something was off.
Sitting in the backseat with Declan, she turned to him and asked, “Hey, Dec?”
Declan responded instantly, “Yeah?”
Evelyn was still wearing her mask. “If you saw me on the street like this—wearing a mask, in clothes you’ve never seen me wear before—”
She paused before asking seriously, “Would you recognize me?”
Declan thought for a moment. “Just the mask? No sunglasses, no hat?”
“Just like this.”
Declan answered without hesitation. “Of course I’d recognize you!”
“…”
“Eve, I swear, I’ve never met anyone prettier than you,” Declan said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “The first day I saw you at work, I legit thought you were a lost celebrity or something.”
From the passenger seat, Jen chuckled. “She is pretty.”
Even their usually stern senior, Walter, joined in. “Eve, do you have a boyfriend? If not, you should meet my son sometime.”
Jen laughed. “Come on, Walt. Your son’s still in elementary school, isn’t he?”
Declan grinned. “Then how about me?”
Evelyn didn't get annoyed at their teasing. Instead, she smiled and quipped, “Let’s talk after your New Year’s wish comes true.”
Declan groaned. “Eve, come on.”
Then, as if remembering something important, he leaned in and whispered, “Oh, by the way.”
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
“I was so touched that you gave me a hand warmer today,” Declan said, his eyes wide with exaggerated sincerity, “that I made a wish for you, too.”
She laughed. “And what exactly did you wish for?”
“That you’d find an amazing boyfriend—someone who treats you like a queen, has his life together, and—” Declan clenched his fist dramatically, “—looks as hot as that guy we saw today!”
“….”
Evelyn finally got home around 2 AM.
She was used to staying up late, so she didn’t feel particularly sleepy—just too exhausted to move. Kicking off her shoes, she collapsed onto the carpet by her bed and mindlessly scrolled through her phone.
Thanks to the group message she had sent earlier, she had a lot of unread notifications and missed calls.
She skimmed through them, replying here and there—
Until she reached the bottom of her inbox.
West.
Still no response.
She clicked into the chat.
Her last message glared at her:
[Or not. Either works.]
“….”
Now that she was looking at it again, it felt different.
At the time, she had meant it as a joke—something casual to lighten the mood.
But now?
Now, it felt like she was challenging him.
West had already made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her, and she had still sent that?
Feeling secondhand embarrassment for herself, Evelyn let out a long sigh.
She absentmindedly thought back to his conversation with his sister earlier—then even further back, to their high school days.
Back then, neither of them had been great students.
Evelyn had gotten into Westport High through her dance credentials, which meant her academics were always a struggle. West, on the other hand, was the definition of a lopsided genius—he crushed math and science but practically refused to study anything else.
So his report cards always looked like they had been attacked by a wild animal.
Almost perfect scores in STEM.
Everything else? Barely passing.
Every time they got their grades back, he’d take one look at her math exam and start smirking.
It happened so often that even her patience wore thin.
“West,” she had sighed one day. “Looking at my test won’t help you. You need to find the problems in your answers.”
West had lifted his gaze lazily. “Eve.” He tapped a glaring red ‘X’ on her paper with his pen, grinning smugly. “My tests don’t have these.”
“…”
Evelyn snapped out of her thoughts and headed to the bathroom to shower.
She could understand why West was pretending not to know her.
She had probably reminded him of all the stupid things he had done as a reckless, impulsive teenager.
And honestly?
If she were in his shoes, she wouldn’t want to interact with her own past mistakes either.
But then she ran through the sequence of events from his perspective.
—A former crush suddenly shows up at his bar, and the first thing she says is basically, “Are you a host?”
—She conveniently leaves behind a bracelet, ensuring she has an excuse to come back.
—She randomly sends him a New Year’s message out of nowhere.
—And then, by pure coincidence, she physically bumps into him.
“…”
Oh, for God’s sake.
She could only imagine what kind of insane narrative he had built in his head.
New Year’s Day came and went.
Evelyn continued apartment hunting.
But finding a place in Westport wasn’t easy.
Most of the listings in her budget were either exactly like her old place—aka, communal nightmares—or inconveniently far away.
Then, one of her coworkers, Jo, suggested an alternative: roommates.
Splitting rent would allow her to live in a much better area without breaking the bank.
But Evelyn hesitated.
After the disaster that was her last neighbor, she wasn’t willing to live with a complete stranger.
She needed someone she trusted.
On Thursday afternoon, she ran into her coworker, Lily, in the bathroom.
Lily had been at their station for three years. She was a few years older than Evelyn, with a soft voice and an effortlessly sweet persona.
When she saw Evelyn, she beamed. “Eve, what lipstick are you wearing today? It looks great on you!”
Evelyn blinked. “Oh—I’m actually not wearing any today, but normally I use—”
“Come on,” Lily interrupted, giggling. “Don’t be shy! We’re all girls here. I’ll tell you my brand if you tell me yours.”
And with that, she pranced out of the bathroom, leaving Evelyn staring after her in confusion.
“…I really didn’t put any on, though.”
Later, in the office, Lily perched herself on her desk, chatting with another coworker, Jo.
Jo turned to Evelyn. “We were just talking about Lily’s New Year’s trip.”
Lily waved a hand. “It was nothing special—just a romantic getaway at a resort with my boyfriend. Dinner, hot springs, the usual. Oh, and he sent me $5,200 as a gift. So boring, right?”
Jo gave her an exhausted smile. “Anyway, Eve—you find a place yet?”
Lily perked up. “You’re looking for a place? That’s perfect! My old roommate just moved out! Want to move in with me?”
The offer caught Evelyn off guard.
She knew Lily could be a lot, but she wasn’t a bad person. And her apartment was in a nice building.
“I… can come take a look,” she agreed.
The next evening, after checking out Lily’s apartment, Lily insisted on taking Evelyn out to dinner.
But before they could leave, a black car pulled up.
The driver rolled down the window, grinning. “Hey, babe. Get in.”
Evelyn turned—
And immediately recognized the driver.
So did he.
“No way!” he laughed. “Eve?! Damn, it’s been forever—wait, s**t, I’m blocking traffic. Get in!”
“I—”
“Just get in!”
Before she could refuse, she was ushered into the backseat.
Where another person was already sitting.
Leaning back, eyes shut, arms lazily draped across the seat—
West.
His presence was heavy.
And just as Evelyn registered what was happening—
The driver grinned at the rearview mirror.
“Yo, West—wake up, man!” He nudged him with a laugh. “Your first love just got in the car!”
Evelyn: “…”
- Writer
