Ela was torn to either rush to the table and make a fool of herself praising everybody, or turn around and run to the stairs even if that caused her death, at this point, she could die happy even if it meant embarrassment and looking like a maniac, unfortunately for her, she did neither because she basically couldn't move. If breathing wasn't an automatic body motion, she probably would have stopped a few minutes ago.
The eyes were still fixated on her, god why didn't have a drink before this, was all Ela could think about, but somehow she managed to compose herself and walk toward the table, when she was close enough Paul stood up and greeted her with a light hug, Oh god, I've been casually talking with Paul Anderson?, Jesus save me, have I gone mad? Ela was losing her cool thinking about it, and then Paul's laughter brought her out of her thoughts "So, figured it out already ha? In which part of your freak-out are you?" Ela blinked a little and reminded herself she HAD indeed been casually talking to Paul, he seemed extremely normal, this was uncommon, and surreal, and wonderful, and a dream come true, but normal all the same, they were still just people, she breathed in and let her muscles relax a little and just laughed alongside him, yeah this is at least worth a good laugh.
"You could have at least hinted who you were! I must have looked like a fool!" said Ela now calm and collected and everyone chuckled but then Alfie or Tom to be exact said, "And miss that look on your face Paul just gifted us? not a chance!" Ela laughed but looked at Tom Hardy a bit weirdly tilting her head a little "What is it? Remembering where else have you seen such a good-looking block?" said Tom a bit proud of himself and his looks, "Oh... not exactly..." said Ela looking a bit ashamed "Come on Hardy, don't be so much yourself, you'll make Ela blush" said Paul. Ela raised her eyebrows a bit sarcastically but the one who frightened and aroused her the most noticed and spoke with the most melodious voice, god if he only knew how many movies and interviews I've seen of him Ela thought"Was that it then Ela? you find Hardy handsome?"
She raised her head a little and then she saw him, just like she had watched him so many times on a screen, but now in front of her, he looked even more magnificent, with outstandingly pitch black hair, that infamous Birmingham haircut, dressed in a full black suit except for white Adidas, lips a bit wet from the beer on his hand, and those eyes, those irradiant frozen blue eyes that had obsessed her senseless on his many performances, those eyes that were looking at her piercingly, his mouth almost forming a grin but remaining serious.
Ela was intimidated, but also excited from the energy that built up in the pit of her stomach, so she answered "Not exactly, I was thinking Mr. Hardy is so muscular he might just kill anyone in the room from a simple hug, so I hope is not me" everyone else on the room laughed, but him... his grin expanded into a smize but only briefly enough to be noticed by Ela, then it returned to all seriousness while he answered "Well, that's a concern I think we all share regarding Hardy to be sure, welcome to the land of fears Miss", Ela smiled a little, "Call me Ela Sir" she said while holding a brave face but dying inside. While both were still only looking at each other Paul interrupted "Oh yeah, so rude of me, introductions first, Everyone this is Ela, Ela this is Everyone, I met Ela in a park a few days ago when Cubby fell head-over-heels for her, almost literally even" everyone's eyes widened a bit "Somehow that doesn't sound right Paul" Ela said while trying to explain a bit better "Cubby tripped on my bag in a park, I offered a kleenex and some kind words, now we have a date next week" Ela said, everyone looked even more puzzled, "that didn't come out well either" Joe said with a bit of disbelief in his voice, "Oh c'mon, obiously Ela means that after she helped to console Cubby tripping on her bag he developed a crush on her, and now he's most likely using his kiddo charms and Paul to get close to Ela managing to set up an ice cream date" Natasha said very articulately and now everyone was looking at her "that was quite specific Nat" Steven point out "Of course, who do you think was Cubby's previous Crush? the Ice Cream dates are his signature move" everyone bursted out laughing wholeheartedly but Cillian was the first to gain his composture, god he's even more collected than I realized Ela thought.
After that, the men stood up to greet Ela properly with a handshake and a check-with-cheek kiss, Hardy even threatened a hug but not going through with it when he saw almost fear in Ela's eyes, he did chuckle though, the girl was afraid of his arms, an interesting change of dynamics for him to be sure. Cillian was last and Ela felt her hand growing cold, he did take it and noticed it was cold and covered their joined hands with his free one while noticing the girl really did seem to like purple, her whole attire demonstrated it and he liked it a lot more than he was ready to admit, without noticing the corner of his lip lifted a bit in a half smile, Ela cursed herself for wearing that strapless blouse, his touch and smile got to her, she felt her chest and neck growing red, Cillian very carefully looked down at her chest and immediately let go of Ela's hand when he noticed she had gotten red, she seemed to dislike his touch, of course it had been improper, they had only just met, when he removoved his hand, it was almost too fast, Ela was so embarrassed about it that she quickly accepted Natasha's offer for a drink, Guinness seemed to be the right choice, but then the cocktails also tasted very good, and everyone was having a good time setting them up in the bar, which helped Ela get over most of her uneasiness, then Steven announced he would be going downstairs to present a quick speech, shake a few hands and he'd be back afterward.
Everyone proceeded to seat, Ela took a seat between Paul and Sophie, she was so nice Ela thought, she asked Ela about her life and truly listened while she shared her stories, being interested in what Ela had to say, sometimes Paul laughed at the anecdotes, and people were mostly talking in pairs or trios, Ela was glad since it meant she could avoid looking at Cillian, he was too intimidating, and she was embarrassed enough, even when their eyes did meet she'd make an almost angry gesture and move her head. She hated herself for not hiding her attraction better, everything got a bit more complicated when Steve returned since he managed to integrate everyone into the same conversation, so Ela had a few glances with Cillian where she squished her eyes a bit looking a little upset, which kept causing Cillian to believe she was actually angry at him, maybe he had been rude removing his hands from her earlier? but he had only done it because she had already gotten upset and that's why she had been flushing red. He was truly getting confused by her, she seemed to like everyone else, and be enjoying herself with all the others, was she only upset by him?
As the evening progressed, Ela was having a great time, she was so glad they all were so normal, like regular people, none of them talking about anything exotic really, no fabulous vacations in the French Riviera, no antique cars auctions/collections, no redecoration of mansions, only talk about their partners' quirks, their kids' grades, family reunions, a homemade meal went wrong, it was completely unexpected, and yet outstanding, now Ela loved them even more; while she was thinking about this Joe spoke up "Alright Ela, we might have gotten you fooled with us talking about such regular stuff, but now it's game on lass" she looked at him funnily while he spoke and everyone rolled their eyes lovingly "this is a one-person focus group experience, and now you must answer all out burning questions with your honest opinions, of course about the show, let's see how much of a real fan are you, although considering you missing out on Paul being an actor I would say you'll fail this miserably" me? fail? never! Ela's competitive side got the best of her and shift her posture while saying "You're right, missing Paul was my bad indeed, seeing him so much in his signature mustache on the show and now without it got me fooled, not anymore though, shoot!" Joe smirked devilishly and everyone but one seemed to feel excited about the proposal "alright then, let's make it interesting, what about we start easy and make it harder if you can take it, I'll begin". Ela was nervous but confident in her Peaky Blinders knowledge "You go John Boy" said Ela in quite the Birmingham accent she didn't even know she could do Uhhhhhhhh everyone said, everyone except the only one in the room that was making Ela jitter by his almost non-responsiveness but inquisitive icy stare.
-"How is Mr. Hardy introduced to the show?"
-"Easy, Mr. Solomons is introduced when there's an imminent war with Mr. Sardini's people, as he controls Camden Town, he's paid a visit seeking an alliance benefiting both parties, while meeting his bread business" Ela grinned and everyone cheered, an awfully good start she thought.
-"Alright, alright, quite good, but too easy nonetheless, let's go harder" Joe smirked "How did the mess with the Changretta Family begin?"
-"Tricky question, some would say it was when Vicente was kidnapped and killed, others would say it's when John and Arthur had that disastrous tea party with them, others that it was when they hired a man to Kill Grace, I for one believe it's all of the above but it started with Natasha here when Lizzie mentioned she liked a son of Vicente and you as John instead of taking it lightly burned the man's property and then beat him up", everyone cheered again.
"She's beating your ass, Joe! better drop it while you can" said Sophie while laughing.
-"I won't retreat! alright fangirl last round for the easy questions, "What was Tommy thinking about while he and Lizzie were conceiving Ruby?"
-"Well everyone including Lizzie believe he was thinking of this girl who seemed to be his first real love who died before he went to war, but in all honestly, I think he was thinking of Lizzie too, even more about Lizzie than the girl, I think he was reliving grief by such sad memories amongst other terrible feelings, and he yearned to be comforted while going through it, but him being who he is, could only disclose so much, so he tried to find that comfort through sex".
-"What do you think Steve? Is that alright with you?" said Joe, Steven's smile reached his eyes and looked at Ela like he was proud "Excellent Ela, that's just it, you got it" everyone cheered once more, even Joe got up and did a reverence "Well Ela, you do really know about the show, marvelous opinions too, but we're not done, why should I be the only one to have all the fun, what about you mates? I propose we finish the game with a round of rapid-fire questions ey? everyone has a chance to try and outsmart Ela" Everyone agreed enthusiastically, of course, everyone but Cillian, just smiled and nodded calmly.
Ela set her glasses in place and let out a comic breath while relaxing her neck as if she were about to enter a fight.
"Okey mates. Are your questions at the ready?" Joe is taking his newly discovered role as a games host pretty seriously Ela thought "Yeah!" they all said in unison. "Alright! We'll do this in turns, Paul you go first, Natasha second, then Sophie, Hardy, myself, Steve, and Cillian last, ¡GO!".
-"What do we say when we think we're about to die?"
-"In the bleak midwinter!"
YES!
-"Name who Lizzie has slept with on the show that we know of"
-"Hahaha Tommy, John, Mosly"
YES!
-"What is Ada's party affiliation?"
-"Ammmm First communist, later socialist"
Yesssss!
-"What particular jewels is Alfie obsessed with?"
-"Oh! Faberfé Eggs!"
Yeahhh!
-"What did John think of Gina?"
-"Trick question! They never met because he was already dead!"
Whooo!
-"How did Tommy manage for the Chinese to stop selling Opium to Arthur?"
-"He threatened them with a bomb on a briefcase"
Perfect!
Everyone had been cheering her on, and were excited for the game, it was just so much fun. But then they were down to the last question.
Ela tried to look at Cillian but she couldn't, she just looked to the wall beside him, she felt her chest and neck start heating up again and closed her blazer so no one would notice but he did, she know he did, so she almost glared at the wall, and was reprimanding herself in her head when he spoke.
-"Would you like for it to be a new season?"
Everyone got a bit more serious, Steven smiled a bit more, but the environment changed a bit as if the question was more important than it should, even as if it reflected something Ela was not aware of.
"C'mon Cilli, that's not a show-related question," Paul said with a smile trying to lighten the mood, which was a bit somber now.
"Joe involver opinions earlier, I want to hear what she has to say"
-"I would like it, yes" Ela said honestly.
-"Why?" said Cillian, very focused, and serious, leaning forward on his seat, his head resting a bit on the top of his hands. His gaze was too penetrating, Ela tried to look away but she couldn't, his eyes were magnetic, pulling her towards his soul but it seemed to have darkened, his pupils were expanding and his eyes getting blacker by the second, swallowing her carefully, but Steven broke the enchantment a bit with a slight cough and Ela got back to her senses answering.
-"Because I would like to see Tommy finally fighting for what he desires, not what he wants, he's always done that and achieved it too, but business has always been in the way of his desire, and his greed for power obscures him, I think... I think he deserves one more chance to fight against it to recover what he lost a long time ago... his soul".
Everyone turned to look at Cillian, who smirked a little while his eyes recovered the blue to them little by little.
"A happy ending you mean, with his wife and children, living till old age"
"Not at all, I hope he dies, and he'll die young enough surely, but it should only happen after recovering his humanity, welcoming death as an old friend, parting as equals".
Everyone was quiet for a moment, they all felt something important had just happened, the energy of the room shifted once more, lighter but heavier, a real duality.
"that's it then?" Cillian spoke with little to no feeling in his voice.
"Well, I bet everyone would also like to see a new storyline for the dog Cyril" Ela said with a totally straight face, and even at that Cillian could not resist, he did chuckle while everyone else laughed, the energy of the room was restored to a light setting, and Cillian raised his glass "Well played Ela".
Everyone raised their glasses to Ela as well, and even Joe did a reverence, but she just couldn't stop looking at Cillian, she didn't even care she was burning hot her chest showing a deep red color from it, anyone might confuse it with adrenaline from the game or pride for winning, maybe even the alcohol could be blamed since all of them had drank copious amounts, not even he could confirm exactly what it was, only she knew it was because of him, his presence, his glances, his movements, the way her name had sounded when it rolled out of his tongue, she was mesmerized by him, and he kept looking back, a mixture of intrigue, excitement, and worry could be seen in his eyes, What's that look? Ela thought while staring back, but when he noticed she was trying to decipher him, he looked away and walked over to the bar.
She didn't even conceal her head moving in his direction, although nobody seemed to care, everyone was a bit tipsy from drinking and excited about the events of the evening to pay much attention to it, she noticed, Cillian was lowering his head and almost having an inner monologue arguing with himself, she was puzzled by it, and since her system was flooded with liquid courage she decided to reach him at the bar without her anxious mind screaming it was a terrible idea.
Cillian drank a bit more of his pint while leaning on the bar, trying to figure out why were Ela's looks and words having an impact on him tonight, he was getting tired of not understanding her, she seemed to hate him while getting along with everyone else, but then she also loved the show and had some pretty interesting ideas about it, however every time she looked at him, she either looked away, looked through him as if he was translucid, or glare at him for no reason, but then again, why did he care? why were her reactions upsetting him tho?
While he was trying to reconcile with the fact that everything might be related to some heavy drinking on everyone's part, he felt a finger on his shoulder and turned around to meet the very purple Ela.
-"Hey".
