The days past very quickly for Evelyn, Benny still arrived on the same days, always with a small smile on his tanned face. As the two gained acquaintance they found it easier to chat beyond the usual polite small talk. Eliza's party quickly approached and Evelyn's temper was shorter and shorter as Amelia Richardson came up with a seemingly random assortment of duties for her to perform. This included cutting the birthday cake, greeting all the guests, and saying goodbye to them. Despite Evelyn dominant instincts to come up with a completely random excuse, Benny talked her out of it the day before.

"Look Evelyn, what's the worst thing that could happen? You have an awful time; you turn Amelia down next time and its fine. If you have an amazing time, it was worth it, simple as that Evelyn." Evelyn has smiled at him and sipped the dregs of her hot cocoa. She'd thanked him for the reasoning of her doubt and insisted on paying that round of drinks. Benny was the ultimate gentleman about things like paying for drinks with an "entertaining woman" like herself. The little arguments friends are prone to have about the silly little things that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things made her smile no matter what.

Soon the day of the party arrived and the dress Evelyn had put out for it the night before. It made to please the strict regulations of the Richardson family. They lived on Amity Ln. and Evelyn had been there before. It was a nice street, with two-story domestic residences that, ironically enough, had white-picket fences that were seemingly always beautifully painted. The Richardson residence was a brick house on the end of the street with a large emerald lawn and two puppies that romped happily about, yelping at any passerby. As her black-coated feet approached the emeralds, Evelyn saw a very familiar face mowing the lawn of his own house and resisted the temptation to wave. She was on business right now, and no friend should distract her from her "zone". That was the area of her mind she reserved for calming down before any sort of performance.

The click-clack of heels on the sidewalk drew Evelyn's attention. Amelia Richardson's feet continued their slightly hap-hazard route on the walk. She was slightly weighted down by the young child hanging off her long leg like a parasite. Eliza Richardson was short child whose skin could be tanned by any exposure at all to the sun it seemed. The pale child detached herself from her mother and latched onto Evelyn's red-brown dress hem. "Evie darling! How nice of you to show up! I can't wait to hear you sing dear." The pet names got to Evelyn the most, she was not named "Evie" she was named Evelyn. She was a full-grown woman who didn't need to be treated like a five-year old. Evelyn's sister solely had claim to that right.

Amelia ushered the flustered 20-year old into the parlor of her spacious home. The Greco-Roman aura of the place was mainly due to Mr. Richardson's love for the cultures of the Ancient Civilizations which he taught at the local college. Amelia forced Evelyn into a wooden stool of sorts and placed Eliza on her lap. Eliza immediately shifted uncomfortably, not liking the 2 foot distance between her mother and her own existence. Whimpering like an abandoned puppy, Eliza went to bolt to her mother and ended up flopping onto the tiled floor. At Eliza's cry of surprise, Amelia dashed in, two guests following with their own puppies by the hand. Evelyn took the opportunity to take some embarrassment off her hostess and followed Benny's advice on this topic.

"Hello, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet. "She proffered a hand "I'm Evelyn. I'll be responsible for the entertainment this evening" The couple turned out to be the neighbors and they decided to take Mrs. Richardson up on her offer of staying to hear the music Evelyn had wrought out of her mystical musical mind. Faking a pleased smiled she didn't feel, Evelyn approached the next guests, who brought 2 puppies with them.

Time dragged on.

Eventually the home became overstuffed and it spilled its contents onto the emerald of the lawn. Leaning against the white-picket fence, Evelyn sipped carefully from her water glass, longing for a good cup of Labyrinth coffee, or tea. Or really any hot beverage at all. A tap on her left shoulder drew her attention to the person on the other side of the fence, a blessed cup of coffee in his hands. "Benny!" Evelyn exclaimed joyously. Aforementioned man gave his traditional small smile and offered the mug to her grasping hands. Benny leaned forward against the fence as Evelyn turned her back to him and leaned back against the fence. Evelyn looked up.

"North star." She said suddenly.

"Pardon Evie?" Came the reply.

With the death glare Evelyn shot Benny, she repeated this time she extended a single finger towards the increasingly obsidian colored horizon "The North Star. It's right there." Benny smiled and examined the sky, finding his own constellation to identify "Well, Orion's Belt is over there."

"Orion's just above him, there."

"Aquarius is just to the left." Benny knew that was her star-sign. Somehow the subject of star-signs had come up about a week ago, and the back of Benny's mind remembered her sign. He turned his head to see her lopsided grin fall across the features illuminated by the porch light. Her facial shadow darkened most of her face from his view, but what he could see looked honestly amused. "You didn't strike me as an astrologist, Benjamin." Evelyn's grin grew when she got her revenge on him for calling her "Evie". Benny playfully flinched and nudged her shoulder with his own. "You didn't strike me as an astrologist either princess." The sarcastic nickname was an ongoing joke; Benny seemed stuck on never forgetting it. Evelyn's pride kept her going. "Aquila the eagle." Benny's eyes flew as he assessed the night void for a game-changing star group. He found it.

"Perseus." A pause "Libra, Taurus."

Her smooth voice flowed back to him and Evelyn's head craned to find a group to beat his. "Sagittarius. Virgo, Scorpius, Lyra." The grin melted into a smirk and Benny dipped his head in defeat. "You win Princess Evie." A sigh greeted his words and Evelyn handed him back his coffee mug. "Well Benjamin, since you seem so intent on gaining my attention, what can I do for you?" Benny grinned again and looked at down with his shoes suddenly meriting a good deal of his attention. Looking up again his eyes fell to the house whose puppy-like children had long since left but Evelyn's presence was needed to bid farewell to the mature guests of the party so she was still present.

"How bad was it, Princess?" He asked, more curious than anything.

"I've been to worse. At least the food was decent." Both chuckled and the back door of the Richardson's "humble" home opened and a golden beam spread across the front lawn like butter on bread. The duo flushed with the guilt of someone caught doing something they shouldn't have, even though they themselves were innocent. A voice called out a summons to Evelyn to stop stargazing and come in to say goodbye with multiple "dears" and "darlings" thrown in the mix. Evelyn turned to Benny and said quickly "Thank you for your help to prepare Benjamin." With a final grin and a flash of a wave, Evelyn dashed into the house, barely being able to control her excitement of finally getting to go home.

Benny watched her silhouette disappear into the bright atmosphere of the Richardson's home and tilted his head back at the sky. He found the constellations Evelyn had pointed out and filed them away for possible future astrological arguments. With a final glance at the back door, Benny turned away and strolled off, whistling an aimless tune.