FOUR

"Who could she be?" Liam said out loud without realizing it, gaining everyone's attention, which included the person who just entered the van.

"Who could who be?" He asked, but there was no answer.

They didn't know what to say or where to start, nor did they know how their manager would react to it. It wasn't a long silence, and that's when Lucas spoke up.

"It's nothing. James showed us a video and Liam was curious about the woman in it." He turned to James, earning a nod from him, leaving the rest of the boys confused by their reply to their manager.

Bad lie, but however, to Nicholas, their manager, that sounded pretty convincing. "Whatever boys, entertainment aside, remember you're having a flight tomorrow and a concert the day after we reach New York. So, get practicing once we get there, alright?" He said and the men nod before they leave for their hotel.

________________

"Now what was that?" Evelyn said to Amelia once they saw the van disappear.

"Don't even ask.." Amelia replied, not believing what she had just done.

"What do you mean 'Don't even ask' huh?!" Evelyn raised her voice at the elder, which wasn't usual at all.

"Now look at the mess you've gotten ourselves into. What do you think we're supposed to say to dad if he gets to know about this?! And do any of those dumb men look like they're gonna keep their words?- Oh... What if Lauren gets to know this? Wouldn't she be mad at you?" Evelyn said in a sarcastic tone, "After all, you blindly rely on and listen to that woman which is so annoying-"

"Will you shut it?" Amelia said, looking at the distance before she averted her eyes towards her succeeding business partner. The younger said no more as she realized what she'd just done.

To Amelia, Lauren was someone who she would always look up to. Someone who'd been working for her family for a long time, and someone who had taken part in raising her. In short, Lauren was far more than just her father's secretary.

But it wasn't the same for Evelyn. To her, Lauren was always this suspicious woman who Amelia would always rely on before thinking twice. And the thing that annoyed her the most was the elder informing her about whatever they do wherever they go when it was obvious that both their fathers are either not gonna be knowing it or they already know it. But whenever Evelyn tried to talk to the other about this, she always got mad and it would leave the younger with more questions than answers. And this was one such attempt.

"I know what I'm doing. And I don't think they'll leak this matter, even after you've threatened them like that. Even if they do, I know very well how to handle it." She said, looking at her phone and then at Evelyn after some time, holding her phone in front of her face before she said. "See? They'll be performing a concert in New York tomorrow, and it looks like an important one. And you expect them to make an issue at a time like this? This would affect them in ways more than one if they do. On top of that, I bet we're something like bounty hunters to their eyes... I don't think they'll choose to open their mouths anytime soon." She said before her gaze turned cold "And don't you dare talk about Lauren like that again." Amelia warned and the brunette sighed from the inside and just nodded.

Since Evelyn wasn't a big fan of awkward silence- especially with this person beside her, so she decided to change the topic.

"...So, about those men.." She cleared her throat "You mentioned 'anytime soon', what makes you think they'll not keep their words for too long?" She asked knowing exactly what the latter would say but still did because if there was one thing Evelyn knew very well about the elder, it's that she gets distracted easily when you question her if she isn't concentrated on anything at the moment. And soon, what she predicted was said by Amelia,

"What would you do if you were in their shoes?"

Evelyn tried hard not to chuckle. No matter how clever the elder was, how moody she could get, and how cold she could sound, Evelyn never failed to find those silly imperfections of hers. And so, Amelia continued,

"No matter how busy they could be or how tight of a schedule they could have, eventually, they'll inform the authorities or whoever it could be. And since we've gotten ourselves into another unnecessary problem, we have to do the necessary to keep their mouths shut," She said, earning a hum as a response from the other.

She turned to face her and saw her making arrangements for them to leave the place and decided not to say anything and just looked away.

But it just took her solid three seconds to look back at her, realizing she'd fallen for her tricks, again. She rubbed her temple while slightly biting her lower lip.

'𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦-' She thought before her expression got replaced with a sly grin, '𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺?' As Amelia got lost in her thoughts, the younger noticed her staring.

"What's up with that look? You're creeping me out."

"Nothing, just realized how dumb I was to answer your question earlier."

"You always were," Evelyn said mockingly, followed by the latter nagging her the whole time until they left the place.

________________

Amelia plopped herself down on the nearest chair as they enter the hotel room, and Evelyn locked the door behind her.

"It sure was a tiring day, wasn't it?" She asked, removing her shoes before placing herself on the chair in front of Amelia.

"I know, right? Everything happened so quickly I couldn't even focus on a particular thing. It was just so... chaotic." She said as she laid back on her chair, staring into the ceiling.

"Psssh," Evelyn rolled her eyes, "C'mon Foxy, ain't our lives always chaotic?"

"That's another thing, Evie-..." She sighed, "... And don't call me that, you make it sound weird."

"Do you realize you've been saying that since day two?" She let out a small chuckle, "How long has it been? Seven years?... Maybe Eight?"

"Woah, really?" Amelia said before looking back at her friend, "I thought it has been Five..." She smiled, slightly amused by how time flies.

"You thought Five?" Evelyn scoffed, " You forget things easily. Don't you remember? I was Sixteen back then and I guess you were... Nineteen?"

"Eighteen," Amelia said, averting her gaze to the wooden floor.

Just Eighteen.

Evelyn noticed the change in the atmosphere and decided to change the topic.

"Aren't you gonna shower first?" She said, gaining her attention.

"No."

"Well then, I'll get going first," She said, getting off the chair and entering the bathroom for a quick shower only for her to storm out in a few seconds with utter disappointment written all over her face.

"What's the matter?"

"What kind of Hotel doesn't provide a bathrobe in the shower?!" She made her way to the door.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I saw a store down the street." She said, "Gonna go get myself a bathrobe before-"

"You're not going anywhere." The elder stated, making Evelyn raise an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

"Not now. We didn't inform anyone that we're here, remember? Let me talk to Lauren about it and get some information about our surrounding and then-"

"Fine. I'll go get some sleep. Let me know when it's safe to step out of this place." She said, leaving to find a place she could rest, totally avoiding the elder's eyes.

"Okay then, let me know if you want something," she said, earning a hum as a response.

'What's gotten into her all of a sudden?' She thought before she heard the door slam shut.

She rolled her eyes and sighed.

'I wonder why she gets moody all the time....I'll just let her be, she'll be fine.'

And after a good Two minutes, there she was, knocking at Evelyn's door.

"Come in." There was a response from the inside.

The older walked in, closing the door behind her to find her friend's face buried on a pillow. She walked closer and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Hey..."

"What?" She said, her face still on the pillow.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

"Fine. What now?" Evelyn said after she got up and sat in front of Amelia. "Did Lauren say something? Can I go out now? Or are we locked up here for another week?" She rolled her eyes.

"Evie," She took a deep breath, "I didn't call Lauren. I'm not going to."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, I get that you find it annoying to inform someone before you do something and always being told what to do. But Lauren isn't a stranger, alright? It's just that-"

"She might not be one for you, but she is a stranger for me," she said, finally looking the other in the eyes.

"Stranger or not, she's there for our safety," Amelia stated.

"Really?" She replied in irritation, "I feel much safer when she's not around."

"And the question is, why?"

"That's because she--....." There was a pause.

Truth be told, there was this gut feeling inside of her that made her feel strange whenever the subject was about Lauren. It felt as if something's going wrong. And if there's one thing Evelyn was always certain about, it was her gut feeling.

After some minutes, Evelyn gave up looking for reasons that can make the latter understand what's on her mind because Amelia always looked for 'logic' in what is being spoken. She let out a sigh.

"....I don't know Amy, I just don't. It just....doesn't feel right," She said, knowing that she'd disappoint her friend. But the total opposite happened.

"It's okay," she said before a sigh, "It isn't your fault to think so...you know, we all take time to trust people." The younger hummed as a response.

"And that's why I've come up with something that probably might satisfy you," She said, making the younger raise an eyebrow in question.

"This time," she took a deep breath, "we're not gonna depend on Lauren for anything."

"And by 'anything' you mean?" She said, making Amelia mentally facepalm.

"I mean, this time," she said, "this journey we're going to go on— the one that's gonna change everything— is gonna be without Lauren's help." And that made Amelia witness the brunette's eyes widened like never before. She continued, understanding how surprising this could be for the younger.

"This also means no more updating Lauren before the next move, no more sharing our location with her- Nothing. This time, everything's gonna be done by the two of us, just the two of us," She said before saying the last thing, which made Evelyn speechless. "And that's a promise."

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Amelia asked, looking at how speechless the younger was. "What's wrong--" Her words were cut off by Evelyn hugging her all of a sudden, which was so not something she usually does.

"Thank you." It was barely a whisper, but for Amelia, it was loud and clear. A smile appeared on her face, but she decided not to show it.

"Ew, get off me"

"Just shut up and hug me back."

The elder did as she was told to and said, "Anything for my shorty." Which made Evelyn break the hug.

"Now that was cheezy... and don't call me that."

They chatted for a while and suddenly,

"Oh my God, do you realize we're wasting time?" Evelyn blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"Since we're doing all the planning by ourselves for going back to New York and the stuff we are gonna do there, why not start now?"

"Hmm...I like the sound of that." Amelia replied.

"Okay! So the first thing I wanna do is to go find a good place for dinner!" She said, excited.

"Don't you know anything other than eating?" Amelia said, secretly admiring the puppy in front of her.

"I'm a woman of many, but eating is one thing I know best." She proudly stated.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!!" Evelyn said, dragging the noirette out of the room.

"Good heavens, Let me go!!" Amelia said as it caught her off guard. "You're forgetting your laptop and backpack!!"

"Oh, right." She finally let go of the elder who went to fetch her purse. "Then, off we go!" She said, shutting the door close behind them.