Evelyn didn't expect her Saturday to start with Jasmine texting her an all-caps message at 8 a.m.
Jasmine: GET READY. YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN A VIDEO.
Evelyn: What?
Jasmine: Martin & Hamzah's channel. Don't argue. Just show up.
Evelyn: Jas, I don't even know what this is about.
Jasmine: It's a baking challenge. You're welcome.
By the time Evelyn arrived at Martin and Mandy's place, Jasmine was already there, setting up with Mandy while Martin and Hamzah adjusted a ring light. Evelyn lingered by the door, unsure if she wanted to step into the chaos.
"Evelyn!" Martin shouted, waving her in dramatically. "Our guest star has arrived!"
"Guest star?" Evelyn muttered under her breath, glancing at Jasmine, who only shrugged with an innocent smile.
Hamzah looked up from his camera, grinning when he saw her. "She's here to save us. I told Martin you'd be the one to make this video watchable."
"Oh, no pressure," Evelyn said, rolling her eyes as she dropped her bag on the couch.
The premise was simple or so they claimed. The guys were attempting to recreate a dessert Mandy had made for them once, but with a twist: they were going head-to-head while Evelyn judged their baking skills. Jasmine and Mandy were the "helpers," but everyone knew they were more likely to sabotage than assist.
As the camera started rolling, Martin's intro was loud and chaotic as usual.
"Welcome back to the channel! Today, we're baking absolute masterpieces with the help of our friends!" He gestured to Evelyn, his hand nearly knocking over a mixing bowl in the process. "Special guest alert: Evelyn! Give her a round of applause!"
Hamzah, standing next to Martin, clapped dramatically, leaning closer to Evelyn. "How does it feel to be here, judging two culinary geniuses?"
Evelyn smirked, playing along. "I feel bad for the kitchen. That's all I'm gonna say."
The filming itself was a whirlwind. Martin and Hamzah were predictably competitive, throwing flour at each other and arguing about measurements. Evelyn tried to maintain a straight face, but Hamzah kept looking over at her, throwing in comments like, "Evelyn, can you believe Martin thinks you whisk eggs like this?"
Jasmine and Mandy giggled in the background, whispering just loud enough for the mic to catch. "They're cute," Mandy said, nudging Jasmine.
"So cute," Jasmine agreed.
By the time they finished baking or rather, making a mess the two cakes were ready for judging. Evelyn's face scrunched up when she tried Martin's overly sweet creation, earning a dramatic gasp from him. But Hamzah's cake? While not perfect, it was surprisingly good.
"I hate to admit it," Evelyn said, looking at Hamzah, "but you might have actually done something right."
"Don't sound so shocked," Hamzah shot back, flashing a grin.
When the video ended, Martin and Hamzah started editing immediately, laughing at their antics and teasing Evelyn about how "natural" she was on camera.
"You might be our lucky charm," Martin said, winking. "The fans are gonna love you."
Evelyn didn't think much of it until the video went live the next day.
The comments section exploded within hours.
@Fangirl101: Who is Evelyn?? She's gorgeous!
@TeamHamzah: Hamzah totally likes her. Did you see the way he looked at her while baking?
@MandyandMartinStan: We need more Evelyn in the group. She fits perfectly!
@JealousMuch: Evelyn is cute, but I'm not ready to see Hamzah with someone else. 😭
@EvelynFanEdits: Already making edits. Ship name suggestions? HamEve? Evzah?
Evelyn's phone buzzed nonstop with notifications from Jasmine.
Jasmine: DID YOU SEE THE COMMENTS?!
Jasmine: The stans are obsessed with you.
Evelyn: Why are people making edits? This is so weird.
Jasmine: It's adorable. You're famous now. Congrats.
Evelyn scrolled through TikTok and Instagram later that night, surprised to find videos of her and Hamzah already trending. Fans had clipped moments of them baking together, pairing them with romantic music and captions like, "Just date already," or "The way he looks at her 😍."
Some fans had even found her Instagram and left comments like, "Queen energy" and "Hamzah's lucky."
At first, Evelyn wasn't sure how to feel about all the attention. It was strange being in the spotlight, especially when people were reading so much into what she thought was just playful banter. But then, she saw one particular edit a montage of her laughing, Hamzah sneaking glances at her, and the two of them teasing each other.
The caption read: "This isn't just a ship, I genuinely think they will last."
For reasons she didn't fully understand, it made her smile.
