4- Or I Could Just Be Paranoid

When I woke up, it was already 11 a.m. Since it was a Saturday, I didn't need to go to the office. As I went out of my room after showering and brushing, I saw Evie sitting on the sofa, watching the TV.

"Good Morning!" she greeted me brightly and remembering my promise to myself last night, I greeted her back too.

"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked, not in the mood for nonsensical chit-chat.

"Um.... about that... Adrianandhisfriendsarecomingforbreakfast," she completed in one breath, looking extremely nervous and continued, "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you..." she trailed off.

I stared at her, not able to register her words for a second but when I did, I scowled at her so fiercely that she flinched in her seat.

"Why is that asshole and his friends coming? Who invited them?" I asked calmly, trying to reign in my temper. It was not good to get so worked up early in the morning, if you can call 11 a.m early morning.

"Mom and Dad had to go to Paris for a meeting last night. Adrian's friends' parents are my parents' partners, so their parents are also not at home... Those useless boys can't do anything on their own, so I invited them for breakfast?" she said, sounding extremely timid and unsure.

"Well since you are the one who invited them, you should be the one to make their food," I said nonchalantly, while shrugging my shoulders.

"Oh no! You know I can't cook! Please help me, Lina. Pretty please with a cherry on top!" she begged," I promise I will never do anything without asking you again. Please please please pl-"

"Fine!" I cut her off. I was seriously reconsidering my promise of being civil to her.

As if on cue, there was loud banging on the door.

"Evie! Open the door! Are you planning on starving me- the great Ryan Sinclair?" I heard an unfamiliar voice say on the other side of the door.

I sighed and went to open the door and found three starving boys, at my mercy, on the other side of the door. Maybe I was a sadist, but I had the sudden urge to make them suffer for ruining my Saturday.

"Hi pretty lady. I'm Ryan. I'm sure you've heard about me. We go to the same uni," said the black haired, green eyed guy cockily. I'm sure I saw surprise and recognition flash on his features when he saw me but it disappeared so quickly that I wasn't sure if it was there in the first place.

"How do you know that?" I asked him coldly. He looked taken aback for a moment but composed himself the very next moment.

"That guy there," he said pointing Adrian," wouldn't stop babbling about a 'gorgeous girl' whom he had- ouch!" He was interrupted by Adrian hitting him sharply at the back of his head and glaring at him.

"Geez. Fine. No need to get pissy with me," he mumbled and Adrian's handsome features twisted into a scowl. My lips twitched as I watched the exchange but stopped myself from smiling at the last moment.

"Ignore those two. I'm Mason Masters," said the blonde guy with golden brown eyes, stepping forward and extending his hand for a handshake. I ignored him and stepped out of the way to let the three enter.

"Uh... well... Ok," he muttered, dropping his hand awkwardly to his side.

"Don't worry. She takes time to open to people. She behaves only a little better with me," she looked quite proud of this achievement and continued,"She's Evangeline Campbell but don't call her Eva."

I had no idea why she was behaving like my mother and treating me like a 6 year old but well, everyone has their whims and fancies, so I let her do whatever she wanted.

"You should try to be a little more grateful," muttered the bastard just when I had started wondering why he hadn't passed a rude comment yet.

Looking confused, Ryan said, "That's not what you were saying yester- ****!" he hissed when he was cut off with not one but two sharp hits to his head by Adrian and Mason.

Ryan looked extremely sullen after that and I marvelled at how an adult could behave like a petulant child.

Then remembering Adrian's comment, I drawled," I'm not sure it's me who should be grateful. After all, you guys are the ones who have come here to have breakfast, which will be prepared by me."

He clenched his jaw and said, almost growling with frustration," Let's go and have breakfast at some restaurant." Although he said this to his friends, his eyes never left me.

I felt myself growing warm under his blatant stare, so I said," I'm sure you would've done that if you could but something has still forced you to be in my debt, you ungrateful prick."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryan and Mason stifle a laugh, while Adrian's cheeks coloured. Now this was surprising. Why would the big bad wolf blush?

Evie laughed and said," He is a momma's boy. Mom instructed everyone not to eat junk food, so here he is. I mean, she didn't stop us from eating it completely but asked us to not eat junk food all the time- for breakfast, dinner and lunch. We can it as snacks of course!"

This was too much for even me. The golden boy of MIT, the guy who appeared so cool and the person whom so many girls wanted- was a momma's boy! So, I burst out laughing. Soon, I heard Mason and Ryan join in the laughter.

But all of a sudden, I remembered the company I was in. I could not get close to them. The thought instantly sobered me up and I stopped laughing.

I glanced at the Knight siblings and was surprised to see Adrian looking a little dazed as he stared at me. Evie was standing with her mouth open in amazement.

"This is the first time I've heard you laughing. Oh my God!" she squealed.

This made me scowl. Mason smiled at her and said," You always get excited at small things."

Evie blushed profusely as she stole a glance at Mason and mumbled," This is not a small thing."

Did my eyes deceive me? Did the loud and sparkly Evie just blush and behave shyly? My eyes darted between Mason and Evie. Something was going on here.

Adrian and Ryan smirked as if this was normal and that was when I realised that Evie had a crush on Mason! I will have to ask her about it later on. I smiled evilly inside my head but my mood plummeted as I realised that I was trying to interfere too much in their lives. This was not good for me.

Steeling myself, I walked to the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?" I asked the others while tying an apron around my waist.

"Waffles" came the response in unison and just like that the four of them started laughing. I shook my head in amusement.

As I made the breakfast, every now and then I would feel Adrian's eyes on me, making me feel nervous. What bothered me more than that was the nagging question- Why was I so aware of his presence?

I didn't bother to join in their conversation and served the waffles to the four of them quietly.

As I sat down to eat, I noticed that everyone except Ryan had poured maple syrup on their waffles. Ryan and I were the only ones who had drowned our waffles in chocolate syrup. Adrian also seemed to notice it but he said nothing.

Ryan asked me in between bites," God! How do you make these? They are delicious!"

I raised my eyes and remarked," Do you really wanna know? I think you're just interested in pigging out."

Ryan choked on his waffles as the others laughed. Even Adrian laughed at my comment. What was the world coming to?

"Sis, you see these babies?" asked Ryan flexing his biceps," This is all muscle. I don't look like a pig from any direction."

Ryan was sounding like a whining baby now. I was just about to tell him that when Adrian intervened," If you had been so confident of your looks, you wouldn't need to justify yourself."

Mason chortled and said," Maybe you've always had this complex but never shared it with us. Don't worry bro. Even if you look like a pig, we will be you friends."

Ryan looked highly offended and dramatically placed a hand on his heart,"Thou stickest a dagger in me."

I had read Shakespearean dramas many times. They were my only solace- my only means of escaping cruel reality for some time. So, without thinking, I commented," Why are you quoting Shylock in Merchant of Venice?"

"You understand my reference. What does that say about you?" Ryan asked smirking.

"Do you like Shakespearean dramas, Lina?" asked Evie, her eyes shining with excitement. Adrian leaned forward as if anticipating my answer. Ryan and Mason also had their full attention on me.

This was getting too personal and things were hitting too close to home, so I did the thing I had mastered over the years- avoiding the subject.

I quickly scarfed down my last bite of waffles and stood up with my plate in my hand. Everyone looked startled at my abrupt action.

"I forgot that I have some stuff to do. I have to go to the office and collect my research papers," I said, as I walked to the kitchen and placed my plate in the sink.

I could fell everyone's eyes on me. Speed walking to my room, I grabbed laptop and bag and went up to the four still sitting on the dining table.

Then glancing at my wrist watch, I said, "I'm getting late. I need to collect the papers on time."

Then with one last glance at everyone, I muttered a quiet bye and walked out of the apartment door.

As soon as I went outside, I heaved a sigh of relief. I knew that I could have handled the matter better and had only dug my own grave by making them more curious about me, but the topic of Shakespeare had rattled me. I panicked and made the first excuse that came to my mind.

It was not a complete lie either. It was true that I needed to collect some papers from the office for my research work but it was certainly not an urgent matter. The work was required at the end of the week and I had plenty of time.

But now that I had already walked out, it was better for me to go and do some productive work. So, I headed to Knight Corp.

But I could not erase the image of Adrian's unreadable eyes or Ryan's sad eyes as I made the hasty excuse and walked out. Adrian's presence was affecting me in ways completely foreign to me, so I have to increase my guard around him.

And Ryan... he seemed to recognise me from somewhere but I was sure that we had never met. Have we really met before? Ryan doesn't seem shady to me but I can't shake off the nagging feeling that he knows me.

Or I could just be paranoid.

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