"I swear, you'd think they'd want to learn something different from what you can read from every other interview we've had."
The rest of K/DA looked a little sheepish as the nearby studio staff turned in their direction after Evelynn's brazen comment. Ahri even shot some apologetic looks to some of the more senior staff as they made their way through the backstage exit, walking their way though the maze of corridors to the car park. Her expression changed once they were alone outside shooting a soft glare at her long-time friend next to her.
"Have some tact Evelynn..." She scolded.
"Maybe when they stop asking about the rumours of me going solo." Evelynn clicked her tongue. "Honestly, two years and one solo song and everyone jumps to a ridiculous conclusion."
"She's got a point." Akali shrugged, walking behind them, then chuckled. "People won't stop asking if Evie and I are an item too. Fukaina."
Evelynn shot a glance to Kai'sa, silently requesting a translation.
"Nasty." The dancer answered matter-of-factly.
The diva turned back to Akali with a look of mocked offence, a hand moving to her chest. "You wound me, darling."
The group finally reached the exit and Evelynn stopped when they set foot outside.
"My baby's this way, I'll see you at the penthouse."
She gave a lazy wave and strutted in the opposite direction to the others, where she had left her precious purple Lamborghini. She always drove separately to the rest of the girls, who were driven by the group's chauffeur, along with the security that would be assigned to them on their outings. It had been made clear very early on that Evelynn would never wish to be crammed inside a vehicle with that many bodies. Akali had recently tried to pull the same stunt when she had finally bought herself a motorcycle, but found herself to be much more controllable than Evelynn when Ahri put her foot down. The memory brought a smile to her lips. She outstretched a hand out to caress the top of her car once she reached it, greeting it with an affection she dare not let any of her group-mates witness.
"Eve!"
Evelynn raised her eyebrows at her name, stifling her surprise and turning to see Kai'sa coming after her in a light jog. She smirked lightly, knowing her reason for following her.
"Planning a detour are we, Bokkie?" She said with a teasing tone.
Kai'sa gave a slightly huffed laugh. "You know our detail refuses to go our appointments and back..."
"Tell me about it." She cocked her head in invitation. "Come on, I'll take you to your delivery girl."
Kai'sa hurried to the passenger side and got in, the pair pulling the doors down simultaneously, the engine roaring to life.
"Where you... stroking your car?"
"Not another word."
—
Evelynn remained outside the apartment block, keeping an eye on the dancer until she saw her Egyptian girlfriend answer the door and let her in. She didn't miss the light kiss they shared in their greeting, a fond smile forming at the sight. Satisfied, she rolled back out onto the main road and set a course for their shared home. She glanced down at her car's display, spying the digital clock.
21:30.
Evelynn hummed, rhythmically tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, mulling over what to do next. To be honest, she didn't particularly feel like going back to the penthouse just yet. The night felt young, and she most definitely was not content with only spending it answering mundane questions at a talk show. She pulled up her contacts on her dashboard and scrolled until she found the person she was looking for. The familiar trill followed until they eventually picked up, a gravelly male voice emitting from the speakers of her car.
"Evelynn, Dearest. To what do I owe the honour so late in the evening?"
Evelynn rolled her eyes at the man's formal way of addressing her.
"Karthus, Honey. I'm fancying another trip to that place we found. Care to join me?"
Karthus, the lead singer of Pentakill, audibly mused her invitation. "Kayle will no doubt chastise me but the thought of taking a break from this new album is most appealing. When are you thinking?"
At hearing Karthus' acceptance, Evelynn had already changed the destination of her drive. "I'm already on my way."
He barked a short laugh. "Then so I will be, too. See you there."
The metal singer hung up, and Evelynn turned on the radio to her usual channel just in time to coincidentally catch the middle of a song from Karthus' band, Pentakill. She quickly found herself singing and humming along. It was no secret, at least to those who knew her well, that Evelynn held a fondness of rock music, especially metal.
When it was revealed that she had a hand in helping write Pentakill's second album, Grasp of the Undying, the collab quickly became the top story of the music industry. It was common knowledge that she held the band's lead singer in high regard and initially took inspiration from him when she started her career, but their friendship had been a well kept secret until the announcement was released. It also just so happened that the fact was leaked around the time K/DA released popstars. Such a fortunate coincidence.
The pair shared an inseparable bond, and Evelynn had often perceived Karthus as a father figure, not that she'd ever admit that.
Evelynn spent the drive singing along to various pentakill tracks, the station apparently dedicating the evening to just Pentakill songs, until she pulled in and parked around the back of a grungy looking building on the outskirts of the city.
Their rendezvous point of the evening was a dive bar that they visit at least once a month, usually more should their schedule allow it, which hosted amateur rock artists regularly. In the more poor area of the city, it wasn't a place anyone would expect two superstar musicians to appear at, allowing them to put less effort in disguising themselves. This gave the pair a perfect venue to relax, catch up, and listen to the newest talent the city had to offer.
She immediately made eye contact with a portly asian person, though their androgynous features made it hard to discern much else. Their face lit up upon seeing Evelynn and they quickly made their way towards her.
"Gonjunim! How lovely to see you!" They took Evelynn's hand and shook it gently. Their boyish voice held a natural friendliness to it. "I'll set up your usual table."
"Always a pleasure, Kimmy."
They looked around. "Will your usual associate be joining you?"
Evelynn smiled as she allowed herself to be guided to a small table at the back of the bar by the 'Fluidity''s owner, appreciating the practised subtlety used.
"He'll be here shortly. It's a spontaneous visit." She sat, waving away the drinks menu Kimmy offered, shooting them a smirk. "You know what I like..."
"Both your usuals then." Kimmy nodded their head. "Enjoy you're night. I'll personally bring drinks over when your friend arrives."
Evelynn thanked the owner, pulling out her phone to fill the time while she waited for Karthus to arrive. She sent a quick text to Ahri letting her know she'll be back later than planned then caught up on her socials until a tall figure sat down adjacent to her.
"So, what brought this on, my dear?" Karthus queried with mirth in his voice.
He lounged back, crossing his legs and resting an arm on the back of his chair. A smile crossed his long features as he greeted his younger friend. The metal singer requires less subtlety that Evelynn, his fans rarely seeing his face without his make-up, like it was now.
"I refuse to have a boring, samey interview be how this night ends."
Karthus snickered at Evelynn's tone, and left the topic there. At that moment, Kimmy reappeared with Evelynn's cocktail of choice and a large tankard of beer for Karthus. Despite his theatrics on stage, the rocker was a simple man of simple pleasures.
"I think you'll like tonight's band." Kimmy addressed them both as they set the drinks down. "The singer especially."
Their words peaked the artists' interests.
"They're good?" Inquired Karthus.
Kimmy nodded. "They've only been here once before but the singer... There's something about this one."
The pair thanked the owner and watched them as they took to the small stage in the corner of the bar and began to gather the attention of the patrons. In the meantime, Karthus glanced at the cocktail Evelynn had begun to sip at.
"Aren't you driving?"
"Oh, hush." Evelynn rolled her eyes, savouring the burn that ran down her throat. "One drink is fine."
They silenced themselves once Kimmy began to introduce the night's band.
"Now, some of you may have seen these the first time they performed here a few weeks ago. Others, you're in for a treat." They stood to the side and waved an arm in the direction of the edge of the stage. "'The Sisterhood', ladies and gentleman!"
Karthus joined in with the rest of the crowd in applauding. Evelynn remained still, resting her elbow on the table and her chin on her wrist as she leaned forward to better see the band as they made their way up to the stage. First came the drummer, a short-haired woman with boyish features, ripped jeans and a patterned tank top, who waved to the crowd far too enthusiastically for her band's status. Next, two more woman together who appeared to be the bassist and guitarist, a pale redhead and tanned dirty blonde with matching plaid shirts and tan pants. They were too busy looking at each other to address the audience.
Nothing to gasp at, in Evelynn's opinion. They had the look and feel of simple wannabes. Her eyes switched to the final person taking the stage, and her brows raised. What caught her eye first was the brilliant white hair sat above a face far too young for what seemed to be her natural colour, held up against the back of her head in a messy, loose do. The woman's naturally tan skin held a stark contrast with her locks. She wore a simple white tee beneath a worn khaki jacket and black jeans, with boots of matching colour. At the first glance, her expression seemed blank, almost too neutral. Amber eyes, a shade much deeper than Evelynn's own, scanned the crowd as she reached the mic.
"Thanks for the welcome. And for having us again. Glad we made an impression." The woman thanked the crowd politely.
Evelynn was taken by her voice, lighter and softer than she had been expecting, with a touch of underlying huskiness. It was captivating. Next to her, Karthus was also observing, a hand stroking his small goatie.
"There's something about her, right?"
Evelynn blinked and moved her eyes, along with Karthus, to Kimmy who had come to stand at the back of the bar while one of their staff took care of the bar. They both met the owner's knowing eyes then looked back as the band finished up getting ready to perform. Evelynn watched as the woman pulled her own guitar around from it's place on her back, quickly tuning in before going back to the mic.
"We're going to start with a new song that I-" She was interrupted by a cough from the tomboy, who had found a perch behind a set of drums. "-we wrote. We put a lot of effort into it. Hope you like it."
Silence hung briefly as she took a steadying breath and started solo, playing a slow riff. Her hand danced along the neck of the her instrument, playing with practised fluidity, flowing through a pattern of pull-offs and hammer-ons. The bassist joined in as she raised the tempo, beginning to pick through a singular chord repeatedly. Evelynn noted the bandages wrapped around the woman's left wrist while following it's movements.
"She's good." Karthus muttered, observing her with scrutiny. Evelynn raised her hand to shut him up and he rolled his eyes.
"Fight the fight alone
When the world is full of victims
Dims a fading light
In our souls..."
Evelynn blinked when the woman began to sing, her eyes closed, taking hold of the mic stand as her bandmate took over the strumming. The drummer also joined at that moment.
"Leave the peace alone
Now we all are slowly changing
Dims a fading light
In our souls"
Her voice was a stark difference to how she acted before they began. While it held the same soft timbre, accented by her natural huskiness, it carried emotions contrasting heavily with her closed-off, polite speaking earlier.
"In my opinion seeing is to know
The things we hold
Are always first to go
And who's to say
We won't end up alone"
"She's very good." Karthus added on to his earlier comment.
He wasn't even acknowledged by Evelynn's hand this time as the song ramped up to the chorus. The singer's voice rose along with it, and she rejoined with her own guitar.
"On broken wings I'm falling
And it won't be long
The skin on me is burning
By the fires of the sun
On skinned knees
I'm bleeding
And it won't be long
I've got to find that meaning
I'll search for so long..."
Evelynn was transfixed with the woman singing with all her soul. Her words carried such emotion that it hit everyone listening and robbed them off the air in their lungs.
"Wow..."
—
Karthus had stood from his seat as he joined most of the bar in applauding the band as they left the stage. They had played a handful of songs, all of them originals, before the singer graciously thanked her audience somewhat breathlessly and they began to pack up their equipment.
"You were right, Kimmy!" Karthus addressed the owner who had remained near them for the entire performance. "That girl was something alright."
"I told you so." The owner shot him a grin and a wink, then left to resume their role at the bar.
"What about that then, my dear?" Karthus turned and spoke to Evelynn as he sat back down at the table.
He was once again ignored, at least at first, until it registered with Evelynn that he was speaking to her. She tore her eyes from the mic stand the woman had stood and looked to her close friend.
"Hm?"
Karthus shot her a pointed look. "The bassist, good. The other guitarist, alright. The drummer: missed a few beats here and there, but good." He chuckled. "That lass with the white hair though? Most of that crowd was cheering for just her."
Evelynn simply nodded. She couldn't help but agree. The performance had quickly reached a point for her at which she had blanked out the rest of the band and was solely focused on the woman front and centre, going along with the rest of the patrons being entranced by her singing. She took a sip from her drink, realising that she hadn't touched it once since the performance began.
"Looks like she made quite the impression on you." The Pentakill star teased, noting her clouded expression.
The comment caused Evelynn to snap her eyes to the man next to her, narrowing them.
"Don't make me accidentally spill my drink on you."
Karthus chuckled to himself again, until he paused and raised an eyebrow. At Evelynn's own raised brow at his sudden change in demeanour he nodded his head pointedly which she followed, soon spotting a figure in a worn khaki jacket hurriedly and haphazardly zig-zagging through the tables, the hood of their jacket pulled up and only just failing to obscure the white hair that poked out from beneath it. The superstar duo watched as the singer nigh on barged through the side exit of the bar that led to the alleyway.
"Wonder what that was about. You'd think someone would seem more cheerful after giving a performance like that." Karthus pondered.
The shuffling of a chair to his left earned his attention and he sighed upon seeing Evelynn stand and walk towards the same exit.
"What? I simply need the toilet." Evelynn looked back at him over her shoulder, humoured at his skeptical look he gave in return. "You aren't curious?"
She left her friend to roll his eyes and shake his head, and left the bar.
—
*Few minutes prior*
A foot tapped against the wooden flooring of the backstage room, which the performing act are offered, with no rhyme or rhythm, agitation heavy in Riven's body. Her hand habitually came to rest against her jacket's pocket, and the item held within, a finger tapping it anxiously. She looked to her bandmates, all sat across the room from her drinking an assortment of alcohol and exchanging banter. The bassist briefly looked in her direction and made eye contact before quickly breaking it and continuing their conversation. Riven sighed, pushing herself up from her seat and making her way to the door.
"I'm gonna go smoke." She pulled her pack from her pocket and waved it.
"Sure, whatever." The drummer dismissed her nonchalantly.
At least she replied. The bassist simply waved her off and the other guitarist didn't even acknowledge her. Not that Riven really cared. She left the room and quickly wove her way through the tables of patrons she had just sang for, nodding in acknowledgement at individuals who praised her performance. As she neared the alleyway exit two patrons in particular caught her eye briefly, mainly the unusually bright amber of the woman's eyes, before she snapped her gaze away. The seemed familiar for some reason.
When she finally reached the alley-side exit her fingers that had been dancing around the opening of her pack quickly flipped the lid and swiped a cigarette, placing it between her lips with practised precision. She leaned against the bar's wall and pocketed the pack, pulling out a lighter from the same pocket. A quick flicker of flame and she took her first deep drag, cringing at the unsavoury taste but finding comfort in the warm smoke filling her lungs. With the breath she released afterwards she felt her agitation leave with it, and she found herself in a rare moment of peace that seemed to only come in her moments shared between just her and the stick between her fingers.
"You keep that up you'll lose that lovely voice of yours you know?"
Riven flinched at the voice, looking to the woman standing in the threshold of the bar. The first thing she saw were the same amber eyes that caught her attention during her mad rush to the exit. They shone a playful gaze in her direction, piercing her own darker shade of amber, matching the expression on the woman's pale, angular features, framed by lavender hair that reached her mid-back. Going by her very unique look, the silken voice, and the clothes she wore that were far beyond what someone would normally wear at a place like this, it wasn't hard to figure who the woman was.
"I'm good, thanks." Riven took another long drag, this time disgruntled that her peace had been disrupted. "You're not someone I'd expect to be around here."
"Shh, it's a secret." Evelynn pressed a finger to her lips to emphasise her words.
"Yet you just show up in front of me. For what?"
"I've already said. You have a wonderful voice. Emotive too." Evelynn explained, moving ever so slightly closer to the amateur artist. "You sang wonderfully then stormed out here as if everyone jeered you off the stage." She shrugged. "Colour me curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"But satisfaction brought it back."
Riven clicked her tongue in annoyance, her smoking hand reach down to scratch her over the bandages on her opposite wrist, then rose to rub the white line of scar tissue on her cheek. The odd action didn't escape Evelynn's attention.
"Touché." Riven took a final drag of her cigarette then dropped it too the already filthy alleyway floor, grinding it into the ground with her boot. She sighed, one last breath of smoke escaping her lips. "Look, sorry to disappoint but you're a stranger to me. Regardless of how much we see in headlines. Don't stick your nose in my business."
The white-haired woman walked past Evelynn, angling to avoid nudging her as she did. Evelynn followed her, twisting her body to continue facing her.
"Will you be playing here again?"
Received a shrug in response.
"Depends when I'm next able to book a night." Riven scoffed, clearly done with Evelynn's curiosity. "Who knows."
The singer re-entered the bar, leaving Evelynn outside briefly before she also went back inside. She detoured slightly, arriving at the bar.
"Kimmy, sweetie. Could you let me know when that band will be playing next? I wouldn't mind listening to that singer again." She requested, leaning over the bar to speak to the owner with a hushed voice.
Kimmy nodded, smiling warmly. "Sure thing. I'll buzz you when they book next."
Evelynn smiled in return. "Many thanks, ciao."
She pushed away from the bar and re-joined her friend at their table.
"And?" Karthus queried, knowing Evelynn knew the context of his question.
"Oh, she's very interesting."