Trauma

08 | Do I like him?

"Hey, Ev," her mother walks into her room, interrupting Evelyn's movie bingeing session. "Wanna go shopping?"

Evelyn gasps, pausing the movie. "Of course! I'm always up to shopping!"

"Great, be ready in 10," her mother says, leaving the room. Evelyn jumps up and rushes to change into a cute outfit. She decides on wearing this one:

As Evelyn gets ready, she ponders which stores her mother is going to take her to. Forever 21? Urban Outfitters? The possibilities are endless and that makes Evelyn even more excited. She hurries downstairs, her mother waiting by the door.

After driving for around 10 minutes, they arrive at a big mall. "Where do you want to go first?" her mother asks Evelyn and she thinks for a moment before deciding on H&M.

While they shop, the two of them converse about Evelyn's school life. "Are you getting good grades? You haven't shown your dad and I any of your tests."

"Yup, all As with an exception of two Bs."

"Good, good. How about drama, how's that going?"

"Um, fine."

"Is there a reason why you bailed on your partner?"

"No . . . well, yes. I was panicking and had flashbacks of Lily getting shot right in front of me. The memory is still so vivid and acting there with Timothée was almost exactly how it felt when I acted with Lily."

"I see," she's silent for a minute, looking through clothes. "So, Timothée is your partner's name?"

"Mhmm."

"And he's that friend you talked about?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'd really say he's my friend anymore. We barely even  know anything about each other."

"And do you have any other friends?"

"No."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because everyone else seems to be judging me based off of who they think I am and who my parents are. I don't want those types of friends."

"I understand."

They finish picking out clothes and go to the counter to purchase them. Suddenly, as they are walking out of the store, they hear clicking and turn towards the sound. Standing there are a few paparazzi snapping photos of them. They start to surround Evelyn and her mother. "Should we just go home?" Evelyn whispers.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"Hey! Alisha, what movie are you working on right now?" one of the paparazzi questions.

"Look over here!"

They head back to their car and hop in, closing the door after them. Evelyn's mother is careful not to drive over one of the paparazzi standing in the middle of the road, honking at him. They escape the madness and relax. "Sorry that we had to leave early."

"No, no, it's okay. It's just a side effect of fame."

Her mother nods and then asks randomly, "Your friend, Timothée Chalamet, do you like him?"

"Yeah, I mean I wouldn't be 'friends' if I didn't-"

"No, I mean like him."

The silence is deafening, Evelyn surprised by her question. She is puzzled by the amount of thought she has to put into answering it. Surely, the answer would be no, but that is not the case. She realizes that maybe she does like Timothée. I mean, he is always there for her and is extremely talented, good-looking, and gentle; everything she looks for in a partner. "I don't know."

"I think your answer is yes based off of the amount of time you took to answer that simple question," her mother chuckles. 

"It's not that simple though," Evelyn mutters under her breath, her mother unable to hear it.

"I would like to meet this boy before you two start dating though."

"Mom!" Evelyn exclaims, burying her face into her hands in embarrassment. "Nothing is going to happen between us! We're just friends."

"Really now?"

"Yes, just friends."

"Well I can bet you that will change soon."

A/N

Hello again!  I'm so sorry I missed a week or so of updating! The first semester at my school just ended and I completely forgot about this story! I will update the missed parts now.

Anyways, this was kinda a filler chapter but I promise we'll get more Timothée and Evelyn moments soon (like the next chapter). I hope this story isn't too boring or confusing. I'll answer any questions you have in the comment section so feel free to ask!

- M