Evie came bursting through the door, slamming it behind her. It startled Doug and he peaked around the corner, sighing in relief upon seeing Evie's familiar midnight blue locks from behind.

Finally. She was supposed to be here an hour ago, not that he minded, it was just unlike her to be late; and he had started to become anxious of her whereabouts.

"Evie?" Doug called.

She didn't respond, instead she continued to walk down the hallway. This was unlike her. She would usually greet him with her usual enthusiasm (sometimes he never got a word in) and she would always tell him any little exciting things about her day. Especially since she had never been to one of Auradon's market places before.

Doug's mum had insisted on taking her without Doug being there. Apparently she wanted a little "girl time" with Evie. That didn't surprise him at all. Despite what both Doug and Evie thought, his mum had accepted her into the family with open arms. His mum had always been a kind and gentle lady and she knew that Evie made him happy.

Doug ran after her, calling her name. "Evie?"

She must have heard him, but chose to ignore him. She picked up her pace, walking faster to get away from him. Her head was down, which was never a good sign. Evie being Evie, was always confident, strutting her stuff; which always included having her head held high. She was confident and there was nothing wrong with that. To see her acting otherwise, was awful.

Something had to be wrong.

"Evie!" Although she was fast, not being in heels was an advantage for Doug.

He caught her arm, gently pulling her to a stop. She didn't try to escape him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, trying to catch her eye.

She didn't say anything or turn to face him, if anything, she was trying harder to avoid his gaze. She was shaking and cold.

"Evie?"

"Chad…" She whispered after a moment.

"Chad?" He asked. "What do you mean?"

"He… He…"

She still wouldn't face him and he was really starting to worry. What did Chad have to do with anything? Did he do something to her again?

"He was at the market place." She whispered.

He could now hear the pain in her voice. She had been crying, maybe she still was. So Chad had been at the market place where Evie had gone. He obviously had something to do with this.

"What did he do?" Doug asked, knowing full well how much of an ass Chad could be to Evie.

She just shook her head and her shoulders started to shake; she was crying.

"Hey, hey." Doug murmured, stepping closer towards her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. He would let her decide when she wanted to turn around, until then, he'll wait.

She stiffened up under his touch and turned her head away from his. She didn't want Doug to see her face. Did Chad… Physically hurt her? It almost broke his heart to think like that; to think of Evie being hurt in that way. But although Chad was a dick, Doug knew he wouldn't do anything like that. This was Auradon after all.

"What happened?" Doug asked again, getting more worried by her continuous silence.

She removed his arms from around her and turned around to face him. Her eyes were glassy and swollen and mascara had run down her face, all smudged around her eyes. Her gaze wouldn't meet his, instead being directed at his chest. He couldn't describe how awful it was to see her like this, all because of something Chad had done. The guy just couldn't put his stupid, pathetic grudge behind him. Couldn't he just ignore her, like she did with him? But no. He had to make her feel like shit, over and over again.

Doug was sick of it.

"He kissed me Doug." She whispered.

Doug suddenly felt like he'd been punched in the gut. A lump formed in his throat and he choked on whatever words he had planned on saying to try to calm her down. Out of everything he thought Chad had done, kissing Evie wasn't even on the list. Why would he kiss Evie? Did he like her in that way? Was it a shot at Doug? What the hell was going on in that douche bag's head? He had his chance at being with her and instead of treating her right, or even liking her in the first place, he used her and lost her forever.

"W-What?" He stuttered.

Ok, here was the plan: Doug was gonna storm right back down to that market place, find Chad and wouldn't stop hitting him until someone stops him or Chad loses consciousness. The anger had suddenly come out of nowhere, it was like a huge slap to the face. Doug knew Evie didn't like Chad in that way. She practically despised him.

He tried to tell himself that he needed to comfort Evie. He should. He had to. He definitely needed to do that first…

He will. He definitely will… right after Chad gets what has always been coming to him. He could pick on Doug, that's fine. He was used to it anyway. But… Kissing Evie… That had crossed the line.

"Where is this market place?" Doug demanded, going back to the living room to find his jacket.

"No! Doug!" Evie called after him.

He couldn't focus on what she was saying. He was too mad. He quickly threw on his jacket and made his way to the front door.

But she beat him. She now stood in front of it; looking beautiful and sad at the same time. It broke his heart all over again and he quickly had to look away.

"Evie, move."

He was fuming at this point and needed to hit Chad. She didn't deserve to be treated like this, why won't she let Doug hit him!?

"We're in Auradon remember?" She said quietly. "You can't hit people."

"Watch me." He said through his teeth.

"Please Doug, just don't." Evie pleaded. "Stay with me."

She reached out and took his hands in hers. Although he tried to hold onto it, he could feel the anger slowly melting away. He still wouldn't meet her gaze. Her beautiful eyes would snap him out of it instantly and melt him into a puddle at her feet.

He shook his head. "You don't understand how much I want to hit him."

"'I don't understand'?" She demanded. "Chad humiliates me every day. He won't let me forget how much of an outsider I am! I was stupid for wanting a prince for their riches and I know that now! I want to hit him a million times Doug, I really do, but I'm trying to be the bigger person."

She slid down the door and to the ground, resting her head on her knees and started sobbing again. Doug didn't know what to do. He still wanted to smash Chad's head in for everything he had ever done to Evie.

But he couldn't. Not now, not when she needed him.

He sunk down right beside her.

"You're not an outsider…" Doug sighed. "He's just an asshole."

He stretched an arm around her small frame and she leaned into him almost immediately.

"I'm sorry Doug." She sobbed. "I love you. I don't love him, I swear I didn't-"

"I know, I know. It's ok." He said. "I love you too."

He planted a kiss on the top of her head and she wrapped her arms around him tighter.

…..

They stayed in that position for what seemed like hours in silence. She had calmed down a lot, but remained silent, wanting to sort things through in her head. Doug had calmed down too and was now thinking that hitting Chad wouldn't be the greatest idea. He didn't know what the punishment would be if he did, because no one had ever done such a thing in this place. He would talk to Evie first and, if she approved, they would tell Ben about the incident and see what he could do.

Doug would have a private word to Chad as well. Nothing major, Doug just planned on warning him that if he ever did anything like that to Evie again, he wouldn't hesitate with smacking him one.

"I'm gonna go to bed." Evie sighed, pulling Doug from his thoughts. "We have that hike tomorrow and, you know, we need to rest."

"Yeah, that's a good idea." He said unwrapping his arm from around her.

He stood up, took her hands in his and lifted her up.

"Ok, well, goodnight." Evie said, giving him a small smile.

"Good night." He said gently.

She gave his hand a small squeeze and walked down the hall.

Doug didn't move. He wasn't tired, maybe it was from all that adrenaline pumping through his veins just before. He leaned against the door, deciding that he'd stay awake for a little longer. He zoned out, thinking of ways he could make Evie feel better in the morning. It was just the two of them for the whole day. He would take her out somewhere nice, after that hike Evie had insisted on going on (a full 13ks, Doug was going to be dead by the end of it.) A proper date was long overdue.

"Doug?"

The voice startled him. He looked up to see Evie in front of him. He hadn't moved from where he was in front of the door. Why? He just couldn't. He felt drained and alert all at the same time.

Her face was makeup free, with the smudged mascara now just a memory. She would hardly let him see her without makeup (insisting that she looked worse without it, which made no sense.) Of course she was absolutely stunning with it on, but he loved the few freckles spotted over her cheeks and nose. He loved how young and innocent she looked without it. He could see all of the "imperfections" across her face, but to him, she was always beautiful.

She had changed into a loose fitting t-shirt with 'Fairest' written across it. Her mini skirt and dark blue tights were gone too, now swapped for blue polka dot shorts. Shorts that came just below the middle of her thigh, exposing her beautiful long legs. The longer he looked, the more he thought he might drool.

"Hey." His voice croaked a bit and he cleared his throat. "I thought you were going to bed?"

She didn't answer him, instead, after a moment's hesitation, Evie came closer. He almost lost himself in the slow movement of her hips and quickly shook his head. He needed to stop thinking like this. She stopped when they were toe to toe and raised a hand to cup his cheek.

"Thanks for waiting up for me." She whispered. "I don't know how I would have handled it if you hadn't of been here."

He wanted to say something, but words escaped him.

She must have known, because after a second she leaned towards him and pressed her lips to his. It was only meant to be something small, and he knew that. But when she kissed him, he just couldn't help himself, he couldn't get enough. He kissed her whole heartedly, because he hadn't had a chance to in days. It was selfish of him, but his brain hadn't quite managed to think that far ahead yet.

She didn't pull back, much to his surprise. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck. Out of habit, he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her closer than she already was. They hadn't had a proper moment alone like this for almost the whole time they had been here (which was close to a week) and it had been killing him. Of course his timing, as usual, was perfect. Just after Chad had assaulted her, Doug chose to make out with her.

Wow. Good going Doug.

He pressed his lips softly against hers once more and reluctantly pulled away.

"I'm sorry, that was a real selfish thing to do." He said. "After what happened."

"It's ok." She said quietly.

He unravelled is arms from around her waist, expecting her to step away. She didn't move, instead she stayed exactly where she was, with her arms still looped around his neck. She rested her forehead against his. He couldn't breathe or even concentrate with her this close. She needed to move back, or he was going to kiss her again.

"Breathe Doug." She laughed quietly.

She was quite aware of her effect on him. Only because of that one time (their first kiss) he had forgotten to breathe and feinted. What do you expect? The most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on had kissed him. From then on, whenever they got into situations like this, she made sure to keep reminding him to breathe.

"I can't." He joked breathlessly, wrapping his shaky hands around her.

"We need to work on that."

"We?"

"Mhmm." She murmured. "Practice makes perfect, right?"

He'd be damned if he said everything about her didn't turn him on. But god, did her voice do the trick. That sexy purr that seeped into her voice did it; every time.

She brought his lips down to hers again. But that control she had before was gone, it was no longer just a good night kiss. She kissed him over and over; he just couldn't keep up. His head was still spinning from just before, now he was truly damned. She was a great kisser and by now, she knew exactly how to stir up Doug. There were certain things she did that just knocked the breath out of him, or worse, buckled his knees. That happened once. His knees literally gave out on him, which resulted in him falling to the floor, in front of her, after an intense make out session in the library.

Now that was embarrassing.

She bit his lip ever so softly and he just couldn't help but moan. Like that for example; she just knew how to get him riled up. He blushed (being totally embarrassed that that moan had escaped.) His hands had now come up to tangle through her hair. Ok, so maybe they both were a bit out of control, but Doug's parent's weren't due back for another couple of hours, and besides, they had a lot of catching up to do.

She gently pushed him against the wall and slid her chest against his. If he thought he couldn't breathe before, now was something else. There was no way she was getting away with that.

He quickly wrapped his arms back around her waist and spun her around, with her back now against the wall. She chuckled into the kiss and gripped onto the collar of his shirt. Doug didn't know why, but something about having her in this particular position, just made him want her more.

She tugged at his jacket and he happily obliged with her want to have it removed. He might have thought it through a bit more if he could manage to string thoughts together at all, but at this point in time, his brain had turned to complete moosh.

She broke away suddenly and chuckled. "Doug, breathe!"

"I just need a moment…" He said breathlessly.

Why had this beautiful girl picked him? Out of everyone she could have, (which wasn't a short list by the way) why him? What had he ever done to deserve her?

He was happy that, for now, what happened wasn't all Evie was thinking about. Those sorts of incidents can really mess with people's heads for long after it happens. He hoped she wouldn't get too down about it, but he wouldn't be surprised if she did. All he could do was be there and make sure she was ok. He would never stop making sure she was happy.

His legs felt weak and his head was truly spinning at this stage. He cursed at himself, while he felt his cheeks start to heat up. The things she did to him.

"I think we'll leave it at that." She chuckled. "Wanna come tuck me in?"

She took off down the hall, throwing a quick smirk over her shoulder at him. It took him a second to process what she said.

He quickly ran after her, closing the bedroom door behind him.