FicWad

The house where the party was held was large and the even larger backyard and garden suggested the owners were among the richer people of this town. The whole place stood right next to a large lake and beyond the lake was a forest.

Evelyn had decided after meeting Michael she would explore the garden. The garden was huge and was tucked away behind a tall, white, wooden fence.

She walked through the garden, breathing in the fragrant night air.

She finally reached the outskirts of the lake, right after coming out of the maze that was the garden. An old bench sat on a lip of land, before the land descended into the dark waters of the lake.

She took a seat on the bench.

It was quiet, with only the rustling of leaves and the gentle lapping of water to cut through the calm silence.

Evelyn stared at the water, watching the reflected glow of the house become mottled and blurred.

The sound of light footsteps on the grass snapped her back into reality.

The person sat beside her and Evelyn turned her head slightly to see who it was.

Her heart leaped.

"Michael, right?" she asked. She didn't realize that she was the one who had just spoken until it was a tad bit too late.

He smiled.

"I prefer Mikey."

She nodded and repeated the name to herself.

"And your name is Evelyn, right?"

She nodded again.

He smiled slightly and nodded.

They continued to talk for a while, just carrying on polite conversation so there wouldn't be any uncomfortable, awkward silences. And they found they enjoyed each other's company, they had similar interests and shared same views on some things that were happening in the warful world they lived in.

Enjoying someone else's company was rare for Evelyn and she found this whole thing somewhat surprising.

Then somewhere in the garden they heard, "Mikey, oh Mikey..come out, come out wherever you are..unless you're with someone..."

The speaker emerged from the garden, cheeks flushed, jet black hair slightly askew. Evelyn noticed that this person was the one Mikey had been talking to earlier. She also noticed he was quite good-looking, in a boyish, almost innocent way.

A giddy smile graced his flushed face.

His smile grew as he spotted Evelyn.

"Oh..hello." he said, looking at Evelyn. "And who might you be?"

"Evelyn," she answered, blushing slightly under his attention.

"Evelyn. Such a lovely name." he grinned. "My name's Gerard," he said.

He looked from Evelyn to Mikey, smiling.

"I came here to tell my baby brother that we've got to go," he said, still looking at Mikey.

"You go on ahead. I'll go home alone," Mikey said.

"You sure?" Gerard asked.

"Yes."

"All right. But don't blame me if you get mugged on the way back home," he said jokingly, brushing his fringe away from his eyes.

"I'll be fine."

Gerard nodded and turned to Evelyn.

"It was nice meeting you, Evelyn," he smiled at her again and with that turned and ducked back into the garden.

~~~


Later on that night, Mikey had introduced her to a few of his friends.

Ray, who was cheerful and polite, and had quite full lips. Frank, who had a mischivieous smile and was just as enthusiastic as Gerard. And finally Bob, who seemed quiet but was quite friendly. Evelyn was glad that she got to meet them.

By the end of the night, she had felt happier than she had in a long time and went home, spirits high and slightly tipsy.

~~~


As Mikey walked home, he gazed up at the starry sky and smiled.

Evelyn, he thought. His brother was right. It really was a lovely name.

And he continued to walk home, arriving safely and unmugged.