ON THE FIFTEENTH of October, at approximately seven minutes past eight in the morning, Evelyn was stuffing copious amounts of clothing into her duffle bag when she heard a knock on the door. She shouted out, telling them to hold on, as she squished the bag tight and managed to zip it up with a sigh. She ran towards her apartment door.
"Hey," she breathed out as she leant against the doorframe, watching Arthur study her tired figure with a quirked brow and a growing smile.
"You good?" He asked curiously, pressing his fingers together by his sides.
"Yeah, yeah, all good," the blonde nodded as she opened the door further and walked back towards her bag on the floor, allowing the man inside.
"I did tell you we were staying one night, right?" The brunette asked worriedly as he eyed the bag sitting by his friend's feet. Evelyn shot him a look as she moved towards the kitchen, tipping the remainder of her tea down the sink.
"Please tell me you're not judging my packing," she mumbled.
"No . . . I'm more so questioning the amount you need," he grinned with a tilt of his head while he bent down and picked it up. "Jesus, what's in this thing."
"Oh, don't worry, I can take it," she hurried as she left her mug in the sink and moved towards him. He only firmly shook his head with a bright smile, hiding the duffle bag behind his back smugly.
"I got it," he said quickly. "You lead the way."
Evelyn stopped for a moment, almost questioning him, before letting it go. As she walked past him, her hand brushed his shoulder in a movement of gratitude, before she locked her apartment after the man.
"So . . . where are-"
"Nope," Arthur stopped her verbally as they waited for the elevator to stop on their floor. "You already know I'm not telling you."
"If I gave-"
"No," he quickly said, laughing. "I'm not telling you, full stop."
She shook her head at him before the ding of the elevator arriving filled their ears. She stepped inside with a click of her heels, her tongue poking the inside of her right cheek. "You're no fun."
"Me? You're the one trying to ruin the surprise!" He argued cheerily, evoking a laugh out of the blonde beside him. She leant against the railing lining the elevator room.
"Whatever you say, Mr Television."
Immediately, his laughter stopped as his eyes moved to rest on hers; face stoic.
She pointed a finger towards him as a grin erupted brightly across her face. "That was fun."
When they got downstairs, Evelyn proceeded to nod at the receptionist, due to the building being a mixture of both apartments and hotel rooms, before exiting the building and trailing behind Arthur to his car. As she got in the passenger seat, he opened the trunk of his vehicle and gently placed the bag beside his own smaller version before slamming it closed so abruptly he scared himself. He furrowed his brows as he opened the driver's side door.
"You think it's shut properly?" Evelyn asked with a raised brow as she turned her phone off and let it rest comfortably in her lap. He shook his head with a moment of laughter.
"Okay, you're sure you've got everything?" He asked softly as he buckled his seatbelt, turning the car on. She nodded after taking a second to mentally check.
"Yeah, I'm sure," she responded. Arthur pulled away from the curb. "Can I at least ask how long this drive is gonna be?"
The man widened his eyes slightly, letting out a breath as the car in front of him turned a corner. "Around six and a half hours . . . maybe."
Instantly, Evelyn shut her eyes and pressed her head into the back of the seat with a groan. "Why didn't you tell me that before? I need to mentally prepare myself for a long journey," she teased.
"It's not that long," he shrugged. "It could've been longer."
Evelyn turned to look at Arthur completely, shooting him a look with raised brows and straightened lips. "Don't you start. It is way too early, so do not even start."
He pushed his shoulders back, a soft spurt of laughter stringing past his parted lips. "If it makes you feel better, you can hook up to the Bluetooth in here."
Instantly, Evelyn's entire demeanor changed. "Are you kidding me?" She asked dramatically, only getting a certain, yet laced with concern, shake of a head from the driver beside her. "Oh my god! That just made everything better. Have I ever told you how amazing you are?"
Once again, as those words always caused, Arthur couldn't help but blush as she began to fiddle with the stereo, not realising the hypnotic affect she had on him. The man had to hold himself back from straying his sight on the road to her perfectly-structured face - in his opinion, anyway. To Arthur, Evelyn Bradshaw was one, if not the most, stunning woman he'd ever had the pleasure of speaking to.
"Any recommendations?" The blonde asked as she scrolled through her phone. He glanced at her screen for a second, seeing the Spotify loading screen occupying the entirety of the space.
"No, whatever you want," he said. She looked at him strangely, yet in a way that was filled with absolute adoration.
"You, Arthur Frederick, have such a kind soul," Evelyn grinned before looking back down to her phone, letting her blonde hair fall over the sides of her face to hide her flustered expression. They'd made eye-contact, one filled with something that could only be described as utter awe. Sitting in a car, one driving and one not, they'd been caught single-handedly in a time Evelyn used to call a star-struck moment. She shook herself out of it as she clicked on a playlist, pushing her sixteen-year-old self out of her head. Suddenly, the Arctic Monkeys filled the car.
"Love is a Laserquest," the brunette read with squinted eyes as he looked at the screen, a soft melody humming in the background as they drove along a rarely-quiet London road. He looked at Evelyn curiously.
"Yeah, it's one of my favourites," she said. She began to hum along. "Do you still feel younger than you thought you would by now?"
Arthur spared continuous, quick glances at the blonde as she hummed along to the gentle song, slightly swaying, clearly mindlessly, in her seat as she let the music flood her brain. He smiled, enjoying seeing her in such a relaxed and at peace state.
To his surprise, once the song finished with an almost sad sigh from the girl beside him, the same band filled the quiet air once more. "God, is this the only band on your playlist?"
"No!" Evelyn defended herself as Do Me a Favour began to play. "I just love them . . . a lot."
Arthur laughed quietly as she she bounced her fingers above her knee alongside the rhythm, her lips soon mouthing the fast-paced lyrics. He scribbled a mental note within his brain as he stopped at a traffic light to listen to the band more often.
✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿
LEO 🦁
tell me when you get there
and where it is
and why
and who it's with
read 11:13am
ok, dont ask for too much
goddamn
but i think we're almost
half way there
read 11:13am
okay! im so excited for you
bc i know ur hating it
actually no ur not
bc arthurs there
read 11:14am
wtf
no
read 11:14am
evelyn . . .
read 11:14am
okay fine
not my fault hes attractive
read 11:15am
i knew it!!
girl, you've got him hooked
read 11:15am
pls dont feed my delusions
read 11:15am
ur not crazy, hes
totally into you.
everyone else agrees
i know it
read 11:15am
im leaving now
miss you
love you
read 11:16am
no come back
im telling you!!
delivered 11:16am
pls, i love you
evelyn bradshaw
delivered 11:19am
omfg
delivered 11:22am
ur unbelieveable
delivered 11:23am
✿.｡.:* ☆:**:. .:**:.☆*.:｡.✿
FROM THE MOMENT Arthur had driven them into the town, Evelyn had noticed a strange feeling brewing in the bottom of her stomach.
"Where are we?" The blonde asked skeptically as she eyed the eerie trees lining the desolate road.
"Chillingham," Arthur answered brightly. He was scarily energetic for a man who'd been driving for almost six and a half hours straight.
"No. That sounds fucking terrifying. Is this where we're staying?" She asked, eyes wide and nervous.
"Yep," he nodded with a grin, sparing her a look. "It's fine, we'll be fine. Trust me, the people we're meeting here are experienced people."
"Experienced how?" She asked as she toyed with her fingers. "And where . . . there's nothing here! It's just trees and the occasional house."
Arthur laughed as they followed the curvy road. "You'll be able to see it in just a second," he mumbled as they slowed down slightly, a gap within the trees finally opening. Evelyn leant forward in her seat to peer between the gap as they turned towards it.
Evelyn immediately shrunk, eyes wide. "Absolutely not. Arthur, you better turn this car around. Arthur. Arthur, I swear to God," she quickly muttered, stumbling over her words as the gravelly driveway crunched beneath the car tires. He laughed as he leant forward, hands resting on the steering wheel to try and get a better look at it. It was a castle, which Evelyn thought couldn't get any worse, but the mere fact that it looked haunted drew her off even more.
"That cannot be real," Arthur mumbled in disbelief at the sight, a grin gracing his lips as he continued to slowly drive closer. He was in awe the site truly existed, as from what he'd researched, it all sounded like make-believe. Meanwhile, he was well aware of the fact that Evelyn was staring, wide eyed, beside him.
"Is this all some sort of kidnapping scheme?" The blonde asked genuinely.
"What?" Arthur exasperated, looking towards her. "Of course not."
"Okay, good. That makes me feel better," she breathed out, not letting her sight stray from the castle. However, that quickly changed when she noticed another car pulled up out the front of the ancient building. Her softened manner quickly grew rocky once more when she recognised who it was. More so, who they were.
"Oh, fuck off," she hissed. "You've got to be shitting me."