The Unwanted

Chapter Eight

Word Count: 1282

Everett's POV

"Hi! How are you?" Scarlett smiles but it seems like she was a little choked up as she harshly blinks a couple of unshed tears away.

"I'm good, how about you?" I reply with my very rehearsed answer.

"I'm glad to hear that. Is it just you today or did your family already wander off?" Scarlett looks around me as if I had a family or really anyone to bring with me. I shook my head no, feeling the pain of her word choice. It's always just me.

"But we're glad that you're here, Everett!" Lizzie cuts in to try and probably save Scarlett, but I still feel the hurt behind it.

"Of course, do you wanna join in on the games or I can grab you something to eat or drink?" Scarlett changes the topic of conversation.

"I don't mind, either works for me," I try to be nonchalant but I would much rather not join in on the games, at least not now.

"Well, I could definitely use a drink, Everett, care to join me?" Lizzie offers, pulling my attention away from the crowd of games.

"Um sure," I oblige waiting for her to take me to wherever the drinks are.

"Mind if I tag along?" Scarlett asks.

"I don't, do you Everett?" Lizzie checks with me, which makes me feel kind of warm inside like she actually cares what I think. It's an unfamiliar feeling since not many people do.

"It's fine with me," I agree, unsure of why they'd ask. They seem like friends after all so why does it matter what I say.

Lizzie leads me to another table that's filled with drinks in buckets of ice. There's everything from juice boxes to sodas and even some iced coffees. It's like the wonderland of drink heaven.

"What do you think juice box or La Croix?" Lizzie says holding up her two options.

"I don't know I've never had a La Croix," I shrug.

"Do you wanna try one?" Lizzie asks offering the one in her hand.

"Um, it's okay, I'll stick to what I know," I dismiss the offer.

"If you don't like it, we can pour it into a cup, and Lizzie or I can finish it. You don't have to worry about wasting it," Scarlett kindly offers. Okay, now I'm worried that both are mind readers.

"I guess, I can try it," I give in as Lizzie hands me one.

"This is my favorite," she says handing me a tangerine-flavored one.

"Oh okay, thanks," I accept the can and carefully crack it open so to the high carbonation. I take a small sip and instantly note its lack of true flavor. There's like a hint of flavor instead which is okay but not my thing.

Scarlett noticed first as I heard her chuckle at my facial expressions. "It's okay if you don't like it, I can grab a cup," she offers.

"I'm sorry," I start apologizing quickly feeling bad that I didn't like Lizzie's drink and that I don't want to waste it.

"It's not a problem at all, Evie," Scarlett says turning on her heel to go find a cup but I couldn't help but notice the new nickname she's found for me. It warms my heart but at the same time confuses me because we only just met.

"Another person against La Croix?" Lizzie dramatically sighs.

"I'm sorry I just don't like the hint of flavor, I'd much rather it be like an explosion of it," I try to explain my reasoning.

"I meant that as a joke, it's totally fine. They aren't everyone's cup of tea which means more for me," she flashes me a warm smile.

"Oh good," I mutter feeling relaxed that she wasn't angry.

"Well do you want a new drink recommendation from me or wanna to play it safe?" She asks motioning to the full table.

"Do you have a new recommendation?" I ask feeling bold.

"Of course, if you like a strong flavor but wanna go kind of healthy the Arizona teas are pretty good. Juice boxes are a staple. Soda is great but my favorite is Diet Coke, although I don't drink it that often," she points out each of them on the table. I'm not allowed to have soda per Bridget and Frank and would love to avoid any more conversations about their disappointment in me. Juice boxes felt a little childish in front of all these people so I grab a tea out of the ice bucket.

"Raspberry or the half and half are great. Both are a little sweet but not too crazy," Lizzie explains to me once she noticed my examination of the tea flavors.

I read the label on the half and half first, making sure it was safe before opening it to take a small sip. She was right, definitely flavored correctly and kind of refreshing.

"Better than the La Croix?" Lizzie asks as I screw the cap back on.

"Is it okay to say yes?" I tease slightly feeling comfortable with her.

"Yes! I won't hold your distaste for La Croix's against you," Lizzie smiles.

"Oh thank goodness," I chuckle.

"Is Lizzie being nice still or do I need to kick her out?" Scarlett announces her presence as she sets two cups on the table.

"Hey," Lizzie whines with a pout making me laugh again at their silliness.

"Do you wanna pour and I choose or vise versa?" Scarlett offers.

"You pour I choose, I don't need you pulling anything over on me today," Lizzie decides for them as Scarlett starts distributing my abandoned La Croix into the two plastic cups.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," I say trying not to apologize again even though I still feel bad.

"Not a problem at all, we drink these like water, so we should be thanking you for the hydration," Scarlett answers.

"Yeah hydration is important," Lizzie agrees but her attention seemed to be taken across the room behind me, where an intense ping pong game had broken out with Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively matched with two kiddos on opposing teams.

The kids look happy, and at ease even in this room full of celebrities who I don't even know. Cheers rang out loudly as Blake scored the last point before jumping up and down and high-fiving her teammate. Ryan had a very large frown on his face as he congratulated the other team before whispering something towards his teammate who instantly perked up at whatever he said to them.

"Liz, your turn," Scarlett redirected our attention.

"Left," Lizzie asked without looking.

"But what if the right one has more," Scarlett smirked.

"You're left-handed, you tend to always put more in it," Lizzie proudly picked up her cut.

"Cука," Scarlett mutters before quickly taking a sip of her drink.

"What was that?" Lizzie raises an eyebrow at her.

"You heard me," Scarlett grins. I was at a loss for both their banter and whatever that word was. It didn't sound English.

"Real mature," Lizzie chuckles, "Everett, how about we meet some nicer people?"

"Uh sure but Scarlett is a nice person also," I amend the offer, not wanting to offend anyone.

"Thank you! See I am nice," Scarlett complains.

"Everett, you say that now but just wait," Lizzie laughs before walking towards the small group of people with me following.

———

Well, how are we feeling about our first interactions? There's more to come for this event like meeting Ryan. But let me know and ideas are definitely welcome but might not always be incorporated.

See you in the next one friends!