Rewrite The Stars - 13 Party

Leo kept his eyes on her as she made her way down the stairs and mingled into the crowd. He was next to the window so the stairs were a ways away.

Regulus turned to look at Leo who seemed a bit dazed. “I’m going to go meet my brother.”

“Oh I’ll go with you.” Leo snapped out of his thoughts, “I heard he was a good lawyer.”

“The best.”

They weaved their way through the crowd, occasionally stopping and greeting acquaintances and business partners. Regulus made his way to the food table and found Sirius piling up a mountain on his plate.

“Ten bucks you came just for the free food.” Regulus said as a greeting.

“Wrong!” Sirius held out his hand. “Ten bucks.”

Regulus sighed but forked it over, “If you’re done being a pig, this is my boss, Leo. Leo this is my brother Sirius.”

“Hey.” Leo held out a hand.

Sirius sized him up and shook. “Hi.”

“Sirius!” a girl’s voice called. “Come over here and stop being a pig!”

“You come here!” he shouted back, “There’s food here!”

Sirius realized he was still holding Leo’s hand and let go. “Sorry about that.” he said with a sheepish smile.

Regulus groaned and held his head in his hands.

“So I heard from Regulus that you worked as a lawyer?”

“Oh yeah.” Sirius set his plate down and grabbed a business card from his wallet. “It gets boring though. I never get a good fight.”

Leo kept the card and raised his eyebrow, “Really?” he was going to ask more but was interrupted by two girls that appeared from behind him and started talking with Sirius. The girl with the blonde hair was arguing animatedly, waving her hands in the air while the brunette was quiet and observing her surroundings.

Leo’s eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing. It was the girl from earlier! She turned to look at him before swiftly turning away.

What is he doing here? Adeline screamed in her head. She remembered this event in her past life vividly because she had wanted to attend and she knew for a fact Leo didn’t go.

Schooling her features into a neutral look before turning around and smiling thinly at Leo, “Didn’t expect to see you here.” she said politely.

“Well I didn’t expect to come either but it was not much of a choice considering my other option.” Leo said.

Adeline nodded and turned her attention back to Emilie and Sirius’s squabble, trying to ignore the burning stare she felt drilling into her back.

Leo stared brazenly with his mouth agape. Remus had to nudge him and close his mouth before he snapped out of it. Adeline had never payed attention to her appearance and in all the years Leo knew her, she had never dressed up like this.

Adeline tried to focus on the conversation happening between Emile and Sirius but she could feel Leo’s intense stare and sweat began forming on her back. Unable to stand it any longer, she excused herself to the restroom and escaped from the party.

Shutting the stall door behind her, Adeline let out a sigh of relief and she felt her heart begin to calm down. She was about to leave the toilet when she heard voices coming down the hall and she quickly hiked up the hem of her dress and balanced on top of the toilet.

The door slammed open and a familiar voice echoed in the bathroom. “Ugh all those slimy old men out there make me want to puke.” Carina made a gagging noise

“Did you see Leo Estes at the ballroom?” an unfamiliar voice squealed.

“Don’t even think about it. He will be mine.” Carina snapped at the girl.

Adeline couldn’t see the conversation but she could imagine how the girl had recoiled after hearing Carina’s viper voice. She herself had been bewitched by her honey sweet voice and saccharine smile.

She heard the door slam. Then silence.

Adeline walked out from the bathroom stall and fixed her hair in the mirror. The almost encounter with Carina had shaken her.Seven years of watching the love of her life chasing down some other girl really strained her emotionally.

She frowned at herself. Did she still love him? It had been such a one sided love and now that she was given a second chance, she promised herself that she would never love him again. Dragging a hand through her hair, she resolved to think about this after the party.

Sirius and Emilie seemed to be having a grand time while Adeline was in the restroom. They had a small group of people surrounding them and as she made her way towards them, she heard their hearty laughter.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and she whirled around to see who it was.

“Hi.” Leo said sheepishly, “You look nice, Adeline.”

She blinked at him. Out of all the people in this room, he was the last person she expected to approach him. Well it was better than some slimy old guy looking for a hookup.

“Hello.” she replied, not knowing how else to respond.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Okay I guess. Trying to find a new job and house right now.”

Leo nodded, “Then who are you staying with?”

Adeline jerked a thumb at Emilie behind her. “An old friend.”

Leo glanced behind her, “I think I recognize her. She went to the same college as us right?”

“Yeah.”

“Leo something urgent came up.” Regulus emerged from the crowd, looking at his phone. “We need to leave now.” he glanced up and tugged on Leo’s arm. “Nice seeing you here Adeline.”

She nodded at them, “See you guys.”

“Bye.” Leo managed to get out before he was whisked away by his assistant.

Adeline drifted over to the food and picked at the small cluster of grapes in her hand, wandering around and greeting anyone she recognized. Some were fascinated by her dress and was surprised when she told them she altered it herself.

By the time she met up with Emilie and Sirius at the lobby of the venue, she had at least a dozen contacts interested in her work.

“Good time?” Emilie saw the glint in her eyes and smiled.

“Great.” Adeline showed her all the people who handed her their cards.

“I had a good time.” Sirius butted in, “Great food, who catered?”

Emilie shoved him gently. “Go get the car.”

“Alright, alright.”

“So,” Emilie turned and looked at Adeline, “I saw Carina earlier.”

Adeline nodded, “Almost ran into her in the bathroom too.”

Emilie winced, “I saw her getting hit on by some guy. I gotta admit, her way of dealing with him was great.”

Adeline nodded, she had seen the whole thing go down too. As much as she didn’t like Carina, she had to admire the way she dealt with the unwanted guy. Direct and too the point. Probably crushed his ego in the process but he’ll live. Would probably stop hitting on girls twenty years younger than him in the future.

“Oh Sirius has the car pulled up in the front and he’s waiting for us.” Emilie said after her phone buzzed with a text. A quick honk was heard right after. Adeline and Emilie rolled their eyes at each other and walked out. Slowly.