'He doesn't like me.'
Standing side by side, Lily and Iain watched as people busied about. There was a clamour of noise, something that grated on her straight away. It was a formal occasion, and many were suited and dressed up appropriately. They stood close to the corner, escaping any inevitable attempted conversation for two minutes, if no longer.
'He just doesn't show his feelings,' She replied, accompanying this with a lengthy sigh. 'I am sure he likes you, or he will. You have only just met.'
'I may be thick, but I'm not that thick. It's the signs I'm getting.' He pulled a face, sceptical.
'Maybe you're overanalysing.' She took a gulp of wine this time, swallowing it without so much as a grimace. As she did so, Feng looked over. She caught his eye and managed a half smile. He just looked her up and down with a slow shake of the head, before casting his eyes back around to talk with some guests. Tears pricked her eyes and she looked down quickly.
'What's wrong?' Iain looked up from the buffet table, his cheerful expression quickly dropping.
'Nothing, can you watch my drink?' She asked, voice sounding odd, almost strangled.
'Sure, but it's a posh do, no one's going to spike it.' He replied. She flounced off, heels clopping against the floor as she went. The scent of her perfume lingered, delicate yet overpowering in its own right. Iain associated it with her, but she only wore it on special occasions. One of those occasions happened to be their hearse get-together.
At a loss of what to do, he turned back round to examine the buffet table. An array of food was spread out, and it looked beautiful, if a little too much so. Any event of Lily's family that he'd been invited along to seemed to be very over the top; planned down to the very last minutiae. Caviar on Italian crackers, fancy cheeses, stuffed vine leaves, amongst more dishes that didn't look edible. He guessed it was partially culture that brought them to such measures he would deem extravagant (the platters and the sushi), but some things were just unnecessary. The sort of food that people buy if they have buckets of money lying around. Choosing wisely, he opted for a small glass of fizzy wine and a rather suspicious-looking sandwich. Full of paste and brown bread of course, but he felt grimly thankful that bread even existed in the room, full-stop. It had started to go curly at the edges, but it seemed like the least offensive option. He wasn't prepared to experiment with the manner of exotic foods that faced him. It was glaringly obvious that the items Iain expected - cocktail sausages and cold pizza - weren't going to show their faces any time soon.
As he gingerly chewed the sandwich, a woman approached him. She was dressed in white from head to toe. The bride, he guessed.
'Hello! You must be Iain!' She smiled warmly.
'Mm!' Iain managed to respond, posting the rest of the sandwich into his mouth in a most undignified way. He was only thankful Lily wasn't there to witness it, as he knew he would never
hear the end of it, had it been the case. He swallowed hard. 'I am, sorry.'
She looked amused. 'Katie.' She introduced herself.
Iain furrowed his brow before he could control it. 'Katie?'
'Oh, because it's not a Chinese name?' The woman asked, quizzingly raising her eyebrows.
'No! No, sorry.' Iain shook his head, going slightly red. 'I do apologise.'
'It's fine, don't worry. I get it a lot. Lily's probably told you. I'm her cousin. My dad - Bohai - is Lily's dad's younger brother. He moved to England when he was 18, and my mum Cathy is English, so I'm mixed.' The woman gushed.
'I see. She mentioned you, yeah. You look... lovely. Who's the lucky fella?' Iain asked, making a conscious effort to be more polite.
'Oh!' She blushed. 'My husband Chris is over there.' She gestured at a large crowd. Iain nodded back at her, despite the fact he couldn't possibly tell who her husband was. 'Lily's lucky herself, you are nice. You're good for her, what she needs.' Katie nodded.
Iain gave a laugh. 'Thank you, thank you. That's kind of you.'
'I mean it. It'll be you two next.' She smiled. 'I best go find my husband. Sorry, I've said husband so many times! It just feels so weird.' She exclaimed.
Iain smiled, nodding. 'Nice to talk to you.'
'And you!' She called, but she was already off in the direction of the dancefloor.
Lily reappeared at that moment, quietly joining Iain's side. Peripherally, he noticed her. 'Ears burning Chuckles?' He gulped down the last piece of the sandwich, turning to look at her. Her eyes looked red and sore, noticeably puffy from crying. He glanced over at the dancefloor, noticing everyone beginning to move towards it.
'Do you need a good dance to cheer you up?' He asked. She just shook her head quickly. 'Don't be miserable, it's a wedding. Weddings are happy occasions, no?' She gulped again, tears forming once more. He exhaled, trying to read her. 'What's brought this on?'
'Nothing.' She whispered.
His fingers formed a loose bangle round her wrist, and he gently pulled her towards the corner of the room once more so they were away from public eye.
'Lily?' He spoke carefully, concern carrying in his voice. She mumbled then, an incoherent response that was drowned out by the loud music. 'Speak up, I can't hear.'
More mumbling, but a distinctive 'my father' and 'glared'. Iain puffed out his chest, looking over to where Feng was standing.
'Why did he do that?' He asked, trying to understand.
'It was the wine or you...' She spoke softly, yet he managed to catch every word. Iain just shook his head, eyes scanning the room.
'Don't say anything to anyone. He's always been that way.'
'I know, but it's not on. I'm not just going to sit by and let you be made to feel like shit. Whether it's him or anyone else.'
'I understand why you feel that way, I do. I love him though. It was probably because he disapproves of me drinking.' She explained.
'You're an adult, Lily.' Iain's voice was scathing.
'But to him, I'm still his little girl.'
He took her hand and squeezed it. 'I say we go find some more wine.'
'To prove a point?' She asked.
'Yes and no.' He shrugged, a smirk appearing on his face. She just nodded with a smile.
'Come on then.' He put an arm round her shoulder as they walked back to the table.