EVELYN BRADSHAW WORKED at a bakery in London. It was only small, being managed by her best friend Leona Quinn after she'd found the empty property on the sales market. At the time the friends were lost in what to do. Of course, Evelyn was lucky enough to find some desperate modelling jobs across the city, but she knew that wouldn't be enough - especially when her heart laid elsewhere. That was when Leona had the brilliant idea of running a small, local bakery in a cheap, rundown shop in central London.
They spent thousands of their savings decorating the place to their liking, and after opening, they quickly found themselves at a steady pace. Customers were returning weekly, reviews were skyrocketing, and the two girls were earning an income exceeding their expectations. It was like a dream come true.
Evelyn had grown up baking muffins and scrolls in her family kitchen. Her parents would always scold her for dropping dough on the floor and getting flour in her hair, but all she would do was laugh. From school baking competitions to local cupcake-making contests, the blonde would continuously walk home with a gold prize. While it wasn't all she had in her, Evelyn was applauded time and time again for her cooking feats. She loved it every single time.
As of that August, the bakery had been open for four months. Leona, as the manager and overall owner of the store, had employed others over the span of the bakery's life, yet everyone knew the two girls were the main workers. There were other bakers for when Evelyn needed help or had a modelling gig booked, but Leona always relied solely on her to get the job done. Only because she knew the blonde had it in her, of course.
One summer afternoon, as Leona and Evelyn were closing the shop, the blonde's phone rang from the inside of the pocket. The two girls had a rule - whenever the shop was open, phones remained unanswered - but since the door was locked and customers were no longer allowed inside, Evelyn plucked the device out of her back pocket.
"Who is it?" Leona asked from the other side of the counter, mopping the floor.
Evelyn furrowed her brows, muttering his name before quickly answering the call. "George Clarke."
Leona stopped for a moment, sparing the confused girl a quizzical look, before resuming her mopping and humming a soft tune to stop herself from eavesdropping.
"George?" Evelyn almost asked as she took off her apron with her spare hand, walking to the separate room at the back of the store for staff only. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything's great." The man spoke quickly through the phone, his calm voice travelling through to Evelyn's right ear as she hooked the apron onto the back of the exit door. "I just wanted to ask if you were busy tonight? Alex and I are gonna have a get together for the new house, so . . . yeah, that was it, really."
"Is Max gonna be there?" Evelyn grinned, laughing aloud as she heard the boy on the other end of the phone groan.
"I hate it when you two are together, you always gang up on me," George said with annoyance.
"I'm only joking, Clarkey. Of course I'll be there! Text me the time and place," the blonde smiled softly. She tugged her hair out of the bun she'd messily done earlier that morning.
"Will do. See you soon," George said before hanging up the call. Excitedly, Evelyn bounced back into the main part of the store, a wide grin adorning her face. Leona looked up with raised brows.
"Guess who got invited to a party?" The blonde laughed as she bounded the corner, arms up in the air in triumph. Leona laughed as she placed the mop back into the bucket. A splash of water landed on her coffee-stained converse. "Do you wanna come? I can ask if you can come?"
"No, no, I'm too tired for partying. You have fun though, but not too much," Leona teased with a tilt of her head. Evelyn smiled as she leant over the clean counter.
"Do you want me to stay back?"
"I'm almost done," Leona shrugged. "I got it."
Evelyn grinned, leaning over to kiss her friend's forehead with a loving smile. "You're the best. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Evie. Don't miss me too much!" She shouted to the girl who was already half way out of the store. The blonde span on her heel with a bright grin.
"I'll try not too!" She yelled back before letting the door shut softly behind her.
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new instagram post from eviebradshaw
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eviebradshaw two hours ago I was covered in flour
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view all comments . . .
leonaqueen i would die for you
ᄂ eviebradshaw i wouldn't let you x
usera your outfits are always SO HOT!!
georgeclarkeey pregaming with champagne? interesting choice.
ᄂeviebradshaw sorry not sorry
imallexx so your the friend
ᄂeviebradshaw yes i am the friend (it's you're btw)
ᄂimallexx piss off
ᄂeviebradshaw i like you already
userb next modelling post?
ᄂeviebradshaw coming soon!
ᄂuserc i'm so excited!! yay!
max_balegde hurry up bitch
ᄂeviebradshaw i'm coming bitch
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EVELYN THANKED THE uber driver as she exited the vehicle, letting it speed away as she glanced up at the house on the side of the London road. Nerves tingled throughout her body, the buzz from her previous champagne giving her the surge of confidence needed to enter the bright building. She could already hear the faint music sounding from within the house, lights flashing through the windows shielded by the curtains. This was the time when she missed Leona the most. She had to stop herself from reaching out and taking the hand of the girl that wasn't even there.
As soon as she pushed open the door she was blasted with a rush of warmth, allowing the freezing girl to breathe as she quickly shuffled inside and tugged the door shut behind her. Almost immediately, she was greeted by George and another tall man who Evelyn couldn't recognise.
"Evelyn! Welcome, welcome!" George cheered, stepping forward to pull the smiling blonde into a hug. "When was the last time I saw you? Monday? Wednesday?"
"You saw me yesterday, George," Evelyn laughed, slowly pulling away as her eyes shined in the LED lighting.
"Oh yeah, I did too," he laughed, craning his head forward like he did whenever he found something funny, before he suddenly remembered who was standing beside him. "God, I almost forgot. Evelyn, this is Arthur Hill. Arthur, this is Evelyn."
Arthur stuck his hand out, politely shaking the girl's hand. "Nice to meet you, Arthur Hill," Evelyn smiled, lighting up as the man barked out a laugh.
"Same to you, Evelyn. Sorry, there's another Arthur around here somewhere," he quickly explained as he redacted his hand, eyes scouring the crowd of people behind the cheery blonde.
"Mr Television," George laughed, resting his elbow against Evelyn's shoulder. She looked up at the boy; unimpressed. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you down there."
"I'm going to find something to drink," Evelyn mumbled, warily eyeing the amount of people around as she began to walk away.
"Was that champagne not enough?" George shouted over the loud music. Evelyn didn't turn around, only throwing up the bird behind her back. She heard George gasp before she completely left the hall.
She found the kitchen easily enough, it being quite literally in the centre of the house. Standing by the bench surrounded by a plethora of unfamiliar people were Max and a man Evelyn could only guess was George's housemate, Alex. With a smile, she approached the two in the midst of pouring alcoholic beverages.
"Got any recommendations, bartenders?" She asked with a hidden laugh, her eyebrows raising as both boys looked up with completely different expressions. Alex had furrowed brows, quickly piecing together who it was that was talking to the two of them, while Max's mouth was open in a gasp - eyes wide.
"Evie! Evie, come here!" He shouted, quickly rounding the bench with his glass in hand as he swiftly pulled the girl into a hug. Evelyn could tell he was already tipsy.
"Hey, Max. I can't believe you started without me," Evelyn laughed, tightening her hold on the blond for a moment or two before they let each other go. Max skipped back around the counter with a bright grin.
"Hello, Evie Bradshaw," Alex smiled, raising his drink in the air as he sent her a nod before taking a sip.
"Hello, I'm Alex," she greeted with a tilt of her head, grin not faltering.
"Okay, Evelyn. What do you want to drink? We are the best drink-makers in 'ere," Max grinned, pointing a finger between himself and Alex. Alex laughed, throwing his head back as the sound floated around the room.
"We're not that-"
"We are good! We're great!" Max declared, cutting the boy off by shoving his hands in his face while maintaining eye-contact with Evelyn. "What do you want?"
"Whatever you think I'll like," she smiled. Max grinned, rubbing his hands together, making Alex and Evelyn share a concerned look. That couldn't be good.