After paying off the remainder of her rent as well as all of the hospital bills, Evie was ecstatic to realize that the Delany family budget now allowed for Ella to have a proper birthday party. When Evie told her the news, Ella's crazed grin was enough to convince Evie to bring Devon an entire box of cream puffs for himself the next time that she saw him.
"Can we eat at the mall, Evie? And then the boys can go home and maybe the girls could come over for a sleepover-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Evie interrupted, staring at her sister who was still excitedly prattling on about how her 15th birthday party was going to be the talk of the school. "You want to invite boys?"
Ella stared at her like she had grown a second head. "Well, yeah."
"Like boyfriends? Or just friends that are boys?" Evie asked uncertainly.
"Evie," Ella sighed, her smile dropping as she looked at her sister. "I'm turning 15, remember? I think I'm old enough to start seeing people."
Evie nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "You're right. But that doesn't mean that I want to see my baby sister rubbing up against some random boy."
"Just let me invite them to dinner ok? They don't have to come to the house but I think the girls would really like to see some of the guys too."
Evie sighed but one glance at her sister's bright eyes had her agreeing to everything.
"Fine. But you can only invite 10 people, remember?"
"Yes Evie," Ella said, rolling her eyes as she began the short walk to her room. Just before she closed the door, she hesitated and turned around and staring at her sister with a questioning look in her eye. "Thank you for letting me have this party, Evie. I don't know why since I haven't been able to invite more than one friend over for a sleepover for the past few years but, thank you."
"You're welcome, El," Evie said, her heart fluttering at her sister's praise. "Now go text your friends ok? Let me know exactly how many people are coming."
That night, Ella ran into Evie's room screaming while clutching her phone tightly.
"EVIE!" Ella screeched, running up to her sister who was now up on her feet and staring at her with wide eyes. "Michael said that he could come to the party!"
"Calm the crap down Ella," Evie mumbled, still dazed by the sudden disruption in her studying.
"Evie! Focus! Michael frikin Handerson is coming to my birthday party! Do you understand that?"
"It's just Michael Ella-"
"Evie! Michael is not just anybody! He's, like, the hottest guy on the planet."
"TMI, El," Evie mumbled.
"I need a new dress for this Evie. There's no way that I can risk him seeing me in something that I've already worn."
"Ella I'm already paying for the party-"
"I'll pay for the dress. I've got some money that I've been saving for something special and this is really important to me."
Evie looked at her sister, confusion clearly written on her face.
"I really like him, Evie. He's not a jerk and he always helps me with my math homework when you aren't around and he throws out my trash when I'm done with lunch," Ella said quietly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Evie sighed.
"Fine," She said. "I'll take you shopping the day before the party ok?"
Ella's face broke into a smile and she squealed, running over to hug her sister tightly.
"I love you sooooooooo much Evie!"
"I love you more," Evie whispered quietly.
~
As the week went by and Ella's birthday drew closer, Evie worked like a madwoman to make sure that everything went according to plan. Carla agreed to cater desserts and Evie went out and bought color coordinating paper plates and cups for the sleepover.
The only thing left for Evie to do was prepare the house. Ella was at school and since they were going shopping tomorrow and the sleepover was the day after that, Evie took it upon herself to transform their flat into a teenage girl paradise. She took the day off from Carla's, instead choosing to go into town and shop at the local stores to find the perfect decorations. In the end, she ended up being several tablecloths, streamers, glitter confetti and several posters of popular icons including one of Tina and Devon that Evie couldn't stop herself from buying. Upon seeing it, Evie had burst into laughter attracting the stares of many older ladies in the store. She also sent a photo to Tina and Kennedy. Evie had a feeling that Kennedy would be returning to the store later to buy herself a copy.
After stopping at the grocery store and having a quick visit to a hotdog stand, Evie returned home. She was so busy searching for her keys as she walked through her apartment lobby that she didn't notice the dapper young man that walked up next to her.
"Need some help with those?" Devon asked, smiling at Evie's shock.
"Devon! Hi! Yes-well- I mean, if you don't mind-"
"Just give me the bags Ev," Devon said, reaching his hand out.
Evie smiled gratefully and dumped her load of party supplies onto him. He carried them with ease and followed her as she directed him towards their elevator.
"So, what are you doing here?" Evie asked, curious.
"Well, I remembered you saying something about Ella's birthday coming up and I wanted to help out."
"That's why you came here wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses right?"
Devon's face flushed as he kicked the torn up elevator carpet. Evie rolled her eyes, used to seeing the royal children running around all over town. However, most of the time it was Tina sneaking out and not Devon.
"So," Evie said once the elevator released them into the hallway. "Want to tell me the real reason you're here?"
"Mother and Father are talking about military school."
Evie turned to face him as she unlocked the door to her flat, smiling when the prince immediately began helping her put away the groceries.
"But haven't you known that you would be going there for, like, ever?" Evie asked.
"Yeah, but hearing them talk about it made it all so real you know? Like this is it, Evie. In less than 10 years I'll be sitting on that throne, running a country full of people who deserve the best."
"You are the best, Devon," Evie insisted, grabbing his hand and smiling at him. "You're smart and you're one of the kindest people I've ever met."
Devon smiled back at her and gave her hand a squeeze before he seemed to remember their current status and stepped back. Evie inhaled sharply as his warm hand slipped away from hers but pursed her lips .
"You should get back to the palace," She said, turning her back on the man that she had once loved. "The guards will start looking for you."
Devon nodded slowly before walking out the door, leaving Evie to drown in her sea of thoughts.
A/N- Oof school is killing me guys! I'm taking a lot of challenging, but very fun, classes. I have had barely any time to write though! Looking forward to catching up on it this weekend. See y'all later!
-Maddie