It was nearing the middle of July, Evelyn realized vaguely one day as she simply sat in her living room watching TV. She had started watching TV again following the movie outing she'd had with Takuto just a couple days ago. Evelyn figured it would be a good idea since she was starting to become certain of the fact she'd be coming off her hiatus once her 9th session with him came and went. So, in preparation, she was catching up on the news in the entertainment industry that she had missed the past two months. Apparently things had been relatively quiet and peaceful, which was strange considering every other week there was usually some kind of scandal going on. Well, whatever, as long as she wasn't the topic of any scandals or news, she couldn't find it in herself to care about any of the news.

More importantly, school for her little brother was going to be out soon for summer break, which meant that, unless he was purposefully avoiding her, he could start visiting her again. She'd started texting him more the past couple of days, making sure not to spam him with messages but also not refraining from talking about anything on her mind. It was mostly because she wanted to make up for how she had ignored him recently herself, still feeling bad about how she had done that to him. Truthfully, Evelyn felt like she was finally starting to get out of the slump she'd been in for what had felt like much too long but was only two months, and it was all thanks to the still sprouting feelings for Takuto Maruki that she now fostered in her heart. She'd even begun calling him only Takuto in her mind, quite affectionately at that, and had been daydreaming of all sorts of sweet fantasies involving them together. Things like them holding each other's hands, hugging each other, sitting so close to each other that they were practically snuggled up to each other.

Since their "movie date", as she'd started calling it, he'd texted and called her a few times, and she had to try so hard to keep the affection from her voice whenever she would say his name while talking to him. Her feelings for him were developing at an alarmingly fast rate, and she should be worried, but she just couldn't bring herself to care. After the two months of hell she'd been through because of this damn hiatus, she wanted to take whatever happiness she could take. If letting her feelings run rampant in the privacy of her mind would make her happy, she'd let that happen. The one thing she wouldn't let happen, however, was to let Takuto catch on to her feelings for him. If he ever found out, it would ruin everything and just end up breaking her. Him finding out about her feelings would ruin everything good that had been happening recently for her, and might even ruin her chance to get out of her hiatus prison. Not to mention, the last time she'd let someone find out about her feelings for them, it had broken her heart because they had rejected her harshly.

Anyway, Akira had texted her asking if he could come over that night, and she had agreed almost immediately. She had missed him so much, despite how petty she had been to him. She was hoping he wasn't too upset with her. In the meantime, she'd mess around on her computer with her go-to music making program. In no time at all she comes up with the instrumental to an upbeat pop song that perfectly describes her mood for that day. It felt nice to make music again, actually, but before she knew it, it was time for Akira to arrive.

She couldn't help herself from hugging him tightly once he was inside, his own arms awkwardly wrapping around her in a return hug that was just as genuine as hers. He seemed to have missed her as much as she had missed him, and she wastes no time in joking about that.

" Haha, guess I wasn't the only one who missed their sibling! "

Akira let out a soft chuckle at her teasing, reaching his hand up to mess with a strand of his hair." Of course, and I'm sorry it's been so long. School and things got a little…hectic. "

She smiled, shaking her head at him, hoping it would reassure him that it was okay. " No worries, if anything I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry I basically ignored you for a little while there…. "

His head tilted to the side, an unreadable expression on his face. She took a breath before continuing.

" I…kinda felt like you had been ignoring me, so I got upset and childishly did the same thing I thought you were doing. I know now that it was wrong of me to do that; I hope I didn't end up making you worry or anything like that…. "

Another soft chuckle left his lips and he shook his head, an understanding look forming on his face. " Looks like we both need to apologize. I was busy, sure, but that wasn't an excuse to not at least let you know that I was busy in the first place. That probably would have made you feel better about it. "

" No! No, no, you didn't owe me even that, even with me being your sister. If you're too busy to text me then that's fine! Like I'm trying to say, it was one hundred percent my own fault that I got upset with you and ignored you. "

He pauses, his expression becoming unreadable again. " Alright. "

An awkward silence falls between them for a couple of minutes, with Evie shuffling her feet slightly and Akira reaching up to play with a bit of his hair again. Clapping her hands together, a bright smile suddenly hits her face, and she lightly shoves at him, barely making him even budge. " So! What say we start dinner? I felt like actually cooking tonight so no delivery for us this time! "

Smiling at her, he nodded, moving to set his bag down near where he had taken his shoes off. " Sure. What're we having? "

Giggling, she turned around and started walking to the kitchen. " Something NOT Japanese! "

" Is that the only hint I'm getting? "

" Not exactly, because you're going to help me cook it! Or well, more like help prepare it! "

" So then, what are you cooking? "

She could hear the amused exasperation in his voice, and it only served to make her giggle again. " Beef stew! It's a super simple recipe, and this is actually gonna be my own spin on it! "

Taking the ingredients out of the fridge, she sets them where they need to be and starts working on peeling some carrots. " I actually only like it with just potatoes and carrots mixed in with the meat, so that's how I tend to make it. Think that'll be okay with you? You can tell me if that's too simple even for you, hehe. "

He stands there, watching her begin to work, still smiling softly at her. " Nah, it sounds delicious. Can't say I've ever had it, but I'm sure it'll be fine. "

Grinning at him, she bounced on the balls of her slipper clad feet, already having finished peeling the carrots and beginning to cut them up. " Great! Then, can you peel and cut up the potatoes for me? Make sure they're not too small as you cut them up. If they're too small while the stew cooks, they can basically get all mashed up before you even try to eat them! "

Not surprisingly, they make a good team when it came to preparing the ingredients for the meal. She was going to put it all together in a pressure cooker in order to save time; he couldn't be there all night waiting for it to cook after all! While they work, she finds herself gushing about the movie date she'd had with Takuto, though she made sure to call it an outing as she talked about it. As she gushed, her brother regarded her with an amused expression, chuckling every time she gushed in a particularly high-pitched voice. Eventually, all the raw ingredients had been mixed into the pot with the wet ingredients that would then go inside the pressure cooker, and they then retreated to her living room until it was done. As they sat down, Akira suddenly proposed that she come over to where he was staying for once, to spend time with him there, and maybe even his friends. He wanted her to meet his friends, as well as Sojiro.

" Are you sure? I wouldn't mind it at all, I'd love to meet your friends, actually. And I need to make sure myself that Sojiro is actually treating you right. But isn't Leblanc a business? Would it be okay to gather there and just loiter around? "

He laughed at that, a somewhat surprisingly loud sound, coming from him. " It'd be fine, trust me. Sojiro doesn't get much business usually, anyway. "

A sound of incredulity was her reaction to his statement, wondering if he was hiding a thinly veiled insult at the man who currently had guardianship over Akira. " Wow lil' bro, that was so mean! Make sure he doesn't hear you say anything like that around him, haha! "

He reached up to rub at the back of his neck, acting like he was being scolded by her. " I promise I won't talk like that where he can hear me, then. "

" You better! I wouldn't be able to defend you from his wrath if he did hear you! "

They both laughed, then, boisterous and loud. It felt so nice, to laugh like this with Akira. Suddenly, a beeping goes off, and she stands up immediately upon hearing it. " Oh, it's done! "

Rushing to the kitchen, Akira following behind at a slower pace, she checks the pressure cooker to make sure it was truly done cooking the stew, before turning the lid to then let the pressurized air come out of it. A delicious smell immediately hit her nose and her stomach growled loudly in response to it, earning a laugh from both herself and her brother.

" I hope you like it, it's one of the few things I can make really good after all! "

After scooping some stew into bowls for the both of them, they return to her living room, now sitting on the same couch as only one of them had a coffee table in front of them so they could set their bowls down whenever they needed to. He loved it, it turned out, if the way he was wolfing it down was anything to go off. She was glad he liked it, and even offered to send him home with some leftovers if he wanted some more for later. He declines, surprisingly, saying he isn't certain if Sojiro had any room in his fridge in the café to store it there. Plus, that fridge was for the ingredients and food made for the care, not for his personal use. She understands, and instead offers to make it for him again, or whenever he wanted, if he promises to come over more often.

" I'll definitely try to, though I can't make any promises. "

" That's okay, you don't have to if you honestly can't. If I had to, I could make it and bring it to you for dinner here and there. Maybe we could start spending some nights at Leblanc instead of only my place. You did already say you'd like me to come over tomorrow, after all. "

A pause filled the air as she finished the last of her own bowl of stew, sighing in delight as the last of the savory flavor touched her tongue. Swallowing before speaking again, she shoots a grin at him for what seemed like the one hundredth time that night. " Speaking of, what time did you want me to come over tomorrow? "

" Close to noon, if you can. You could even order Sojiros curry and coffee for lunch before I get there with my friends. That work for you? "

Giving him a close eyed smile in affirmation, she nodded, before standing up and holding her hand out to take his bowl along with hers. He offers it to her without a word, and she goes to the kitchen to rinse them out. She'd wash them properly once he actually left, which would be very soon now that she realized it. Walking back into her living room, she looks just a little sad over him having to leave soon. She'd really enjoyed spending time with him that evening, but at least they could finally start spending more time together. Hopefully, at least.

He stands up after checking his phone, giving her an apologetic look as he walks to the entrance of her home, starting to put his shoes back on after taking the guest slippers she'd provided off. Suddenly, she can't help herself, and she gently throws herself at him in order to give him a tight hug. Her arms now around him, he didn't seem to waste any time in returning the hug. Despite him being laughably taller than her, the top of her head reaching a little below the bottom of his chin usually, she didn't really feel like the older sibling in that moment. They say nothing as they hug, and it only lasts a minute or two, before she initiates pulling away, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

" I love you, lil' bro. Don't be a stranger, okay? "

He smiles down at her, his eyes shining just a little as well. With tears or something else, she didn't know, but she could see the warmth in them as he looked at her. " Love you too, I promise I'll come see you more often. And if I can't come to you, we can come to each other. "

With the sweet words of sibling affection exchanged between them, Akira finally left for the night and Evelyn had to lean against the front door after she had closed it behind him. Things were finally looking up, weren't they?

. . .

The next day comes and, for once, Evelyn is up bright and early. It was mostly because she'd wanted to have time to think about how to possibly interact with her brothers friends, going over multiple scenarios of how it could go down or what type of people his friends even were. She had already decided to dress in a flashy way, picking out an outfit one would expect a celebrity to wear not only because it looked expensive, but because it was unorthodox. As usual, her stomach was hidden by shapewear, and the outfit she had chosen did nothing to show off her stomach either, ensuring a double layer of protection. Of course, she's also chosen a hat and sunglasses to go along with her outfit for the time being, the accessories being her go to options when it came to hiding her identity. It was funny, however, considering what she had chosen to wear that day. She'd still be noticed even if people didn't know exactly who she was, but she didn't think she'd mind it. She'd have to start getting used to it soon enough anyway, once she could end her hiatus.

Café Leblanc was a decent distance away from her home, so she would have to have her private driver take her part way to it, and then she would walk the rest of it. Without meaning to, Evelyn had arrived thirty minutes before noon, a bit earlier than she had intended to arrive. At least it would give her time to eat in peace before Akira and his friends got there, right? The man who held guardianship over Akira for now, Sojiro, greeted her as she walked in. He seemed to know who she was immediately, which made things easier on her end.

" Hey there, Evelyn, right? He told me you'd be coming here today. "

She nods politely, taking off her hat and sunglasses, putting them inside her bag as she sat at the counter instead of one of the booths. " Yes, hi! Did he also tell you I'd probably want lunch while I was here? "

Sojiro chuckled at her enthusiastic greeting, nodding as he already started to busy himself with preparing what she believed was a cup of coffee.

" He did. So, how do you take your coffee? "

" Unfortunately, with tons of cream and sugar. Unless you've got a milder coffee that won't be that bitter? I'd still need some cream and sugar though. I'm not that hungry right now, though, so you can hold off on the curry for now! "

" Heh, I'm used to accommodating various different types of coffee drinkers, so no worries there. I've definitely got something you'll like. "

Smiling softly, she rummages in her bag for her phone, checking the time on it briefly before opening a social media app to scroll through for a few minutes. She makes idle conversation with the older man as he prepares her coffee, and then as he moves on to preparing her curry, her thoughts wander to Takuto. Every time she thinks about him lately, she couldn't help the blush that came with this name in her mind, and she was sure that now wasn't any different than any other time when she thought of him. Imagining them holding hands and picturing them holding each other in a tight embrace were the usual things her mind would jump to when daydreaming about Takuto and herself together. A clinking sound tore her away from the fantasies playing out in her mind, blinking her eyes and looking down to see the coffee she had ordered was now in front of her. Sojiro looked amused, for some reason.

" Talking to your boyfriend? "

The question caught her off guard, and she almost had half a mind to tell him it wasn't any of his business, but she didn't want to sour the pleasant mood of the café and simply shook her head. The blush was still on her cheeks, and she hoped it would be gone before her brother got there, but even if it didn't, she could just use the excuse of the coffee making her face feel hot.

" Ah, I don't have a boyfriend. "

Gently picking up the cup of coffee, taking in the smell before sipping at it, a warmth began to spread through her chest as she swallowed it. Ah, good coffee was such an experience, and this coffee was very good. Almost too good, actually. True to his word, he'd chosen a very mild coffee for her, but had also put very little cream and sugar in it as well. This didn't detract from how good it was, however. Maybe she would have to start coming here more often, because damn, this coffee was good!

The bell of the café chimed suddenly, and it was just loud enough to startle her. Looking to her right, where the entrance of the place was, there was her brother along with a group of four other teenagers. Ah, he'd finally gotten back! A little early, if the time on her phone was correct.

" Akira, hi! "

She greets him first, her face lighting up in a happy greeting. He smiles softly in reply to her, lifting a hand up in greeting. It's silent for a beat, but then the blonde girl to his right is the first to introduce herself.

" Hi there, I'm Takamaki Ann! Akira's told us so much about you! It's nice to finally meet you! "

The boy to her brothers left, somehow taller than he was, lifted a hand in greeting as well. He had a much more serious look about him than the blonde boy to Akira's right.

" I'm Kitagawa Yusuke, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Evelyn. I've been told you're quite an accomplished musician, and I've been eager to meet with another artist of a different field than mine. "

" Yusuke, dude, you're gonna creep her out, talkin' like that! "

It's the blonde boy who says this, though she notices there's a slight blush on his cheeks and he keeps glancing nervously at her, even before he had spoken up to reprimand the taller boy. " But, uh, I'm Ryuji. "

" Nijima Makoto, it's nice to finally have a face to connect to all the things I've heard about from him about you. " The only other girl with the group is shaking her head, an exasperated expression on her face, her brown hair swaying slightly with the movement of her head.

There's a beat of silence, where Evelyn shakes her head in amusement as the tension that was filling the air. That's usually how it went when people met celebrities in more private settings, and this definitely wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before. Not that this was annoying or anything like that. On the contrary, she found it funny and cute.

" Relax, guys. I don't know how many of you, if any, have ever met a celebrity before, but I promise you can relax around me. It's nice to meet you all, and, ah…..Yusuke, was it? You're an artist too? What exactly do you do, if it's okay to ask? "

Her speaking to them seemed to open a flood gate of relief, and she could see all of them visibly relax. Well, minus Yusuke, who seemed to have been relaxed from the moment he'd walked in.

" Yes, I am indeed an artist! I paint, to be more specific, but please!" He takes a couple steps closer to where she was sitting, intense interest shining in his dark eyes. " Will you tell me of your process of creation? You make music, yes? I've always found it fascinating how musicians can simply create new melodies, never before heard by man, and weave them together with other melodies to make something people can never seem to get out of their heads! I believe the proper term for such a phenomenon is ' catchy ', correct? "

Okay, even Evelyn had to admit that now she was slightly overwhelmed by the interest from Yusuke, his question, followed by his short speech, made her blink rapidly in confusion for a moment. Ah, so he was that kind of eccentric artist, was he? Well, she'd dealt with plenty like that before, so this wasn't anything new to her.

" Um, well…. "

Her single second of hesitation is enough for the blonde girl, Ann, to lift an arm up and lightly tug at the back of his shirt, trying to pull him back a little closer to their group. " Sorry about him, he's a little weird but I promise he's not a bad guy! He's just….really passionate! "

She laughed lightly at the blonde girls comment, lifting a hand to wave in the air in a gesture of assurance. " Ahaha, it's fine, I promise! I can't say I wasn't overwhelmed for a second there, but I'd be more than happy to indulge in his questions! In fact, if any of you have any questions about anything regarding what I do, feel free to have at it! "

That seems to finally put all of the teens fully at ease, with Evelyn doing her best to appear open to anything they might want to ask her about. Clearly, they were curious about her, and she honestly didn't mind indulging their curiosity. Her brother was smirking in the middle of the group, having not said a word as the others had introduced themselves and Yusuke had his little outburst. Ryuji, Makoto and Akira sit in a booth behind her, while Yusuke and Ann sit next to her. Both of them were seemingly starstruck by her, though Ann did a better job of hiding it than Yusuke did. Yusuke wastes no time in repeating his question of how she goes about her creation process, and she can't help but laugh again before replying to him.

" I'm not sure if I have a specific process, nor can I really explain how music just kind of….pops into my head, and I just kind of make it real in reality. I mainly focus on electronic and pop music, but I've done other genres of music as well. I just have a preference for electronic music. Ya know, like techno? " She takes another sip of her coffee before continuing. " Yeah, I don't think I have a creative process, I just kinda….do my thing. It's hard to explain, honestly. I'm sorry if that doesn't give you much insight, Yusuke. "

He shakes his head at her apology, appearing grateful despite how vague she had been. " Not at all, Miss Evelyn! I often find that merely witnessing the way people talk about their passions can provide insight in a different way. I can see you're clearly very passionate, and I respect that immensely! "

" Ah, please, you don't have to speak so formally with me. You can talk to me the same way you talk to my brother, if you feel comfortable doing that. "

Ann is the next to speak, her eyes shining in adoration, for whatever reason. " Akira said you started out really young, can you tell me what that was like? Do you maybe have any advice for an aspiring model? "

Reaching up to awkwardly scratch at her cheek, Evelyn thought for a second before answering. " Honestly, in the beginning, it was actually really scary. Mom and Dad weren't happy that I wanted to be an idol, but I was lucky that they didn't try to stop me. They supported me enough to where I could get a start, and I was just lucky that the start I got took off enough for me to keep going until I finally hit it big. "

Her coffee was cold now, though there also wasn't much left of it in the first place, but she found she now wanted a soda to sip at instead of another cup of coffee. She asks Sojiro if he has soda, to which he says he does, and so she orders a cup of soda before beginning to address the request for advice from the blonde-haired girl.

" I'm not just a model, but I do a lot of photoshoots for single and album covers, as well as magazines and photobooks, but hmmm….. I'm not sure if I can offer any good advice to you, Ann. I guess what works for me is just the fact that I have to feel confident in myself if I want a photo to turn out good. "

Suddenly, a question occurs to Evelyn and she turns around to address her brother for a moment.

" Hey, have you seen Takuto lately? I mean, for counseling. I know you're also kind of seeing him, just not as regularly as I do. " A pause. " To be honest, Takuto hasn't texted me yet today and I'm just a little worried…. "

She doesn't miss the smirk on her brothers face as she asks about Takuto, but she can't really figure out why he was smirking at her.

" Nah, since school's almost out for break soon, a lot of students have been going to see him lately, plus he's been too busy to see me recently…. Since when were you on a first name basis with him though? "

The question seems innocent enough, but it's enough for a light blush to plaster itself on her cheeks, and she desperately hopes no one notices it.

" Ah, right! Well, do you want me to tell him you said hi? I see him again tomorrow so I can totally do that! "

He chuckles, shaking his head. " No, that's okay. "

Makoto and Ann share a look, which Evelyn notices, but she chooses to ignore it and check her phone for a second. Ack, it was already that late? Had they really been talking for almost four hours? It hadn't felt like it at all, which must have meant she'd been having fun. Still, she realizes she's very tired, suddenly. Evelyn thanks her brother for introducing his friends to her and re-iterates how nice it was to meet everyone, but she needed to get home because her social energy had been spent. It would take at least forty five minutes to get there with the late afternoon traffic about to start, so she decides to leave for now. Everyone thanks her for coming and expresses the hope that they can all meet up and hang out again soon. Before she leaves, however, she reaches out to give her brother a hug, mostly so she could see if it'd embarrass him or not. He doesn't seem to care about being embarrassed, and reciprocates her hug immediately, even as Ann coos over how cute it is and Yusuke puts his fingers into the shape of a rectangle. Was he trying to take a mental picture or something? Eh, who cares, she needed to get going, and so she removed her arms from around her brothers figure, making a show out of leaving the café.

Once she's home, she notes that she feels light as a feather, so calm and happy, that she thinks she must be floating. She knows she'll have sweet dreams that night. Was this what bliss felt like? Surely, if she was this confident that her life was going to go back to normal soon, it had to be.