𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓-𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐃; arthurtv

six

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ONCE THE NOTIFICATION of being tagged in Evelyn's instagram story popped up at the top of his phone, Arthur immediately swiveled his head to stare suspiciously in her direction. The girl, having locked eyes with him for a brief moment, began to rub the back of her neck as she swiftly turned her head, seemingly finding the roof to be particularly interesting. He let out a quiet laugh mixed with a scoff before he actually clicked on the icon and seen the picture of himself and the video of chess playing on his phone.

"How long were you watching that?" He asked lightly as he turned back around to face the blonde, a grin gracing his face. She shrugged.

"I wasn't watching the entire time, I just noticed that in the time it took Leonardo DiCaprio to interview three different patients, you were still watching the same video. That's insane," Evelyn expressed passionately, yet she remained quiet. She was aware of the others in the room chatting between themselves and paying attention to the film - unlike the two on the furthest couch.

Arthur laughed gently. "Okay, and I find it insane that you wake up at two in the morning to bake cookies. Cookies!"

"I bake other things," she tried to argue. Arthur only stared at her in response, raising his brow. She sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. I see your point."

"Thank you," he said. "And chess is fun, thank you very much."

Evelyn almost felt like she'd chocked. "I'm sorry . . . what?"

"Not that I was eavesdropping," Flo said from the armchair beside the two, glancing over with a grimace. "But did I just hear Arthur say chess and fun in the same sentence again?"

"Again?" Evelyn exasperated. She looked over to the culprit, watching him roll his eyes as he leant his head back against the top of the sofa cushions with a smile. "Wait, were you playing chess when I walked into the room at the party?"

He shot her a look, a completely, irresistibly guilty look. Evelyn's mouth dropped. "I can't believe that . . . I didn't really know people like that actually existed."

Arthur shot up with a loud laugh, mouth wide in a grin. "What do you mean?" He asked incredulously, causing Evelyn and Florence to throw their heads back in laughter. The other three looked over with concern, Darcy's laughter almost bubbling up at the mere sight.

"No, no," Evelyn hurried to say as she continued to laugh, reaching forward to lay a hand on the man's shoulder. "Nothing against you, I think it's cute, I've just never met someone who genuinely loves chess."

Arthur didn't know what to say. With her hand on his shoulder, that feeling that erupted beneath his skin, on his skin, all because of a touch, left his mind in a useless puddle - disarranged. And he couldn't forget about the fact she'd called him cute. Typically, he wouldn't care less, but coming from her, Evelyn, it didn't sound real. The boy only continued to laugh, pretending not to notice the way her fingers lingered with their touch before disappearing entirely. He pushed all his energy towards hiding the disappointment that crossed his muddled mind when she pulled away.

An hour later, they'd switched the movie to Flo's recommendation, Tangled. Of course, Evelyn had seen the film at least fourteen times, but she was just as excited to watch it as she grabbed a spare blanket from the floor beside her, draped it over her knees, and adjusted her spot on the couch. 

In the end, she ended up resting her head on a pillow leaning against the arm of the sofa, her back flat against the couch while her legs were bent in a way that left her knees in the air. This was so Arthur could lie down too, leaning his back against her knees comfortably. Without them noticing, Chris and Shannon shared a look. They could see exactly what the two in question couldn't.