The next morning, Evelyn woke up with a small smile still lingering from the day before. Hamzah's words, his smile, and the lingering almost-moment at her door played on a loop in her mind. She couldn't deny it anymore, she liked him. And she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep pretending it wasn't obvious.
A text buzzed her phone.
Hamzah: "You free later? Thinking about grabbing lunch or something."
She bit her lip, trying not to read too much into it. But then again, it felt like more than just casual.
Evelyn: "Sure. Where are we going?"
Hamzah: "It's a surprise. I'll pick you up at noon."
At exactly noon, Hamzah pulled up outside Evelyn's apartment. When she got into the car, she noticed he had an extra pep in his step today, his smile brighter, his energy more electric.
"Okay, where are we going?" she asked, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Patience, Evelyn," he said, shooting her a playful look. "You'll see."
He drove them to a small, tucked-away spot by the waterfront. It wasn't overly crowded, just a couple of picnic tables, a little food truck that sold tacos, and a view of the sparkling water.
Evelyn's face lit up as she stepped out of the car. "This is perfect," she said, looking over at him.
Hamzah shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "I thought you'd like it. Plus, I figured we could avoid running into fans here."
They grabbed tacos from the truck and settled at a picnic table. The conversation came easy, as it always did between them. They talked about everything, the video from the day before, Claire and Chase's hilarious karaoke duet, Martin's inability to take anything seriously, and, somehow, none of it felt forced.
Hamzah leaned back, watching her with a soft smile as she laughed at her own joke. "You're cute when you do that," he said suddenly.
Evelyn froze mid-bite, her eyes widening slightly. "Do what?"
"Laugh at yourself," he said, grinning. "It's adorable."
Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at her food. "You're ridiculous."
"Maybe," he said, leaning forward slightly, his voice dropping. "But I mean it."
Evelyn glanced up at him, her heart racing. The way he was looking at her, like she was the only person in the world, made her feel dizzy in the best way.
After lunch, Hamzah suggested walking along the pier. The sun was warm, the breeze just cool enough to make it comfortable.
They strolled side by side, the conversation quieter now but no less meaningful. Evelyn found herself stealing glances at him, her chest tightening each time their hands brushed.
At one point, he stopped walking, turning to face her. "Evelyn," he started, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it.
She tilted her head, her heart thudding in her chest. "Yeah?"
"I—" He hesitated, running a hand through his curls. "Look, I don't want to ruin this... whatever this is between us. But I feel like I have to say something."
Her breath caught. "What is it?"
"I like you," he said simply. "I have for a while. And I don't want to keep pretending I don't."
Evelyn blinked, her mind racing. She hadn't expected him to be so direct, but then again, this was Hamzah, he wasn't the type to beat around the bush.
"I like you too," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
His face lit up with a grin, his shoulders visibly relaxing. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.
For a moment, they just stood there, the world around them fading away. Hamzah stepped closer, his hand brushing against hers. She thought he might lean in, his eyes flicked to her lips, but before he could, her phone buzzed loudly in her pocket.
The moment shattered as Evelyn pulled it out, groaning when she saw the name on the screen. "It's Martin."
Hamzah sighed, stepping back but still smiling. "Answer it. He's probably being dramatic about something."
Evelyn answered, putting the phone on speaker. "Hey, Martin."
"Where are you guys?" Martin's voice blared through the speaker. "We need to film, like, now. Mandy's already yelling at me, so just get here, okay?"
Evelyn glanced at Hamzah, who rolled his eyes. "We're coming," she said, hanging up.
Hamzah shook his head. "This is why I can't have nice moments with you."
Evelyn laughed, looping her arm through his as they started walking back to the car. "At least you got to say what you wanted to."
"True," he said, grinning. "And don't worry, I'm not done with you yet."
Her stomach fluttered at his words, the promise in them making her heart race.
By the time they got to Mandy and Martin's place, everyone was already setting up for the video. Hamzah reluctantly went to the computer setup with Martin while Evelyn sat on the couch with Mandy, watching as they prepared to film a chaotic gaming video.
Halfway through the recording, Martin turned to Hamzah with a mischievous grin. "Dude, what's with your hair?"
Hamzah blinked, reaching up to touch his curls. "What? What's wrong with it?"
"It's all messy. Like, someone was running their hands through it," Martin teased, raising an eyebrow.
Hamzah froze for a second, his ears turning slightly red. "It's always like this," he said quickly.
Mandy leaned in, smirking. "Sure it is. Totally nothing happened before you got here."
Evelyn, trying to stifle a laugh, looked away, her cheeks heating up.
The group burst out laughing, and the teasing moment ended up staying in the final cut of the video.
The comments section blew up as soon as the video went live:
"Why does Hamzah's hair look suspiciously disheveled?? 👀"
"Not Mandy calling him out in front of everyone 😂 we need answers!!"
"Evelyn laughing in the background says it all. They're so flirting."
Hamzah and Evelyn didn't respond to any of the speculation, but they didn't deny it either. And as Evelyn sat on her couch that night, scrolling through the comments, she couldn't stop smiling.
an: sorry about my little 5 day break i was having some time away to touch grass and stop writing a story about a man who is unaware of my existence😊
