Irreplaceable
It was hot sunny Friday afternoon. The kind of days that had students sighting loudly because instead of making the most of the amazing weather, they were stuck inside a classroom instead. That also made them nervous and unsteady.
Mal was indeed nervous and unsteady, but neither were related to the sun's invitation to chill outside.
Her gaze was locked on the only empty chair inside the room, right in the front row. Evie's chair. Her girlfriend's chair. Evie never skipped classes, let alone chemistry, her absolute favorite subject and also the one no one could beat her at. On Fridays, it was the only subject they shared, as Mal had Arts, Carlos had Programing and Jay had Coaching as their specifics. Evie had History of Fashion and then they would all meet at Chemistry class and that was it. There were no more classes entering the weekend.
"...Any questions?" The teacher asked, not really expecting an answer. Evie was the only one who ever asked any questions.
"All right you're free to go, have a nice weekend and don't you forget your homework!"
Mal stood and ran off the classroom, waving Carlos and Jay goodbye as they went to the Tourney Field for practice. She entered the dorm room and tossed her bag somewhere near her bed.
"Evie?" She called. She wasn't in the dorm room. Except her things were there, including her phone. Mal scanned the room and her head snapped to the bathroom door. Being half dragon had its perks and training her magic with Fairy Godmother gave her control over little things like her hearing, her vision, the speed of her movements or her reflexes. She still had trouble in identifying what the sound was exactly, as a normal human's hearing spectrum wasn't as accurate as hers. Yet, it was enough. She didn't want to startle Evie, so she gently knocked on the door.
"Evie?" She called again, just as gently.
No answer.
"E, I know you're in there. It's kind of a dragon thing you know. Are you ok? You weren't in class I mean."
Mal only heard a muffled sound that sounded a lot like a sob and that worried her.
"E, I'm coming in."
Mal carefully opened the door and stepped inside. Evie was sitting right next to the door, hugging her knees close to her chest and face buried in them. Mal could only see her blue hair covering it all up. Mal dropped on her knees, in front of the blue haired princess and gently touched her hands. She didn't move which was a good sign, Mal guessed.
"E, what happened?" Mal asked and she could hear her own sad tone even though she basically whispered the question.
Evie shook her head without lifting it up.
"Hey, look at me."
Nothing.
"If you think I'm going to leave you here like this, then you don't know me at all." Mal firmly stated. "Please E, everyone's worried,"
"No, they're not." Evie's voice muffled by the wall of hair finally reached Mal's ears. She sounded angry. Mal furred her eyebrows in confusion.
"What?"
Evie lifted her head to look at Mal. Mal's stomach dropped when she saw Evie's blood shot eyes, her makeup running down her face and the hurt in her eyes that made her complexion look so sad and so broken.
"Evie..."
Evie threw herself at Mal and started sobbing. Mal's anger started boiling inside her gut. Whoever did this to Evie was not going to get away without some blood spilling. But Mal dropped it for the moment. Evie first. Always Evie first. She hugged Evie tighter while brushing a hand through her pretty blue hair and waited patiently for her to calm down.
Evie eventually did. Crying was a draining task. Her breathing became steadier and she nuzzled her face against Mal's neck. Mal loved when Evie did that, because she'd usually fall asleep like that and her soft breathing would give Mal the most uplifting peaceful mindset. But right now, neither of them was peaceful.
"I'm so disposable." Evie said against Mal's neck.
"What!?" Mal stopped herself from yelling just in time so her voice sounded really high pitched.
"Disposable. Useless. Dumb."
"Evie, stop!" Mal voice came out trembling from the anger building up inside her. She shifted so she could face her girlfriend and cupped Evie's face with her hands.
"Evie, that's not true in the slightest! What is going on?" Evie's eyes were down, unable to face Mal's bright green eyes. Tears started to roll down Evie's face again and Mal wiped them away with the gentlest touch.
"E, how about we go sit on the bed. Then we talk. Is that ok?" Mal proposed.
Evie nodded her head. Mal helped Evie get on her feet, and with a firm grip on Evie's waist, they walked to Evie's bed as it was the closest. After they both sat, Mal waited.
"You need to promise not to freak out, or do anything stupid." Evie said while playing with her hands. Mal already wanted to. However, she nodded. "I mean it. I don't want you to be expelled. I can't lose you." That last sentence was a loud whisper. Mal heart felt tight.
"You will always have me E. I love you and my place is always beside you." Mal assured giving Evie a soft kiss on her cheek.
Evie nodded, more to herself than to Mal but the tiniest of smiles creeped out.
"So, I was on my way to class and ran into Chad,"
'Chad. That little prick.' Mal thought to herself. She kept quiet though. It had taken her almost an hour to get Evie to talk and she wasn't going to mess it up by making any kind of remarks.
"And he wanted me to see his new jacket, one his dad bought him. He told me he was done waiting for me to fix his old one. I told him that I had a lot on my plate even before he gave me the jacket and told him that it would take a while. He said- " Evie stopped closing her eyes. Mal brought herself closer wrapping one arm around Evie's waist and her other hand rested gently on Evie's leg. Evie relaxed a little, feeling the warmth of Mal's touch.
"He said he didn't need my useless services anymore and to keep his old jacket so I could throw it in the trash, where all my clothing line belonged." A broken sob escaped Evie's mouth and Mal could taste the blood from biting her cheek so hard. It was either that or murdering Chad. Mal managed to keep her mouth shut, knowing Evie wasn't done.
"I was so upset that I never made it to class. Or lunch. Or any other class. I came straight back to the dorm. But no one seemed to miss me, because my phone did not ring once even though I was supposed to deliver some clothes and tutor some people." Mal stomach dropped. She felt like Evie was accusing her and broke eye contact feeling incredibly guilty. Evie sighted but when she looked at Mal from the corner of her eye and saw how Mal retracted herself, she immediately lifted her chin back up.
"I didn't mean you of course. I know you never touch your phone during Arts class, because it's the only class you actually take seriously and you've been using acrylics so you don't even take it out of the bag so it doesn't get paint or anything on it. We don't have the same lunch time on Fridays, you didn't know. You were expecting to see me in Chemistry and when I didn't show, you wanted to leave but you also need the presences or else the teacher won't let you take the exam, so you payed zero attention and impatiently stayed until the end. Then you rushed here. Did I get it right?"
"You know me all too well." Mal gave her a small smile. One Evie gave back but the frown was back a few seconds later.
"I just-I felt really bad Mal. What if Chad is right? If I don't do my job right, might as well not do it at all. It's useless. I never miss any classes. And today I did, and no one seemed to care."
"I care." Mal said, a little offended.
"I know you do."
"Carlos and Jay care." Mal stated. Evie nodded.
"And that brain-dead moron is nothing but a spoiled little brat who thinks he's entitled to do and say whatever he pleases because his daddy has a castle. He's trash and you know it E. Don't listen to his rubbish." Mal firmly stated.
"Yeah but- "
"But what?"
"I-I felt out of place. I felt like I didn't belong anymore. I felt like if I left, no one would notice, no one would even care."
Mal wanted to protest but Evie wouldn't let her.
"I know what you're going to say. But hey, you went back to the Isle and everyone cared. I never told you this. But, of course people noticed your absence in the time gap we had to gather our things and go after you. People asked all around for you, wondered if you were sick, tried to call you even though you left your phone right here in this dorm. And when you came back, everyone told you how they missed you and how they worried you wouldn't be back, and how glad they were to see you were back safe and sound. You and Ben of course, he's the king after all. Do you know how many people were worried about me, Carlos or Jay? No one. The only person that came to me was Doug and he brought a cheating accusation with him." Mal felt sick for real. She felt like if she moved she would throw up on the spot.
"I don't blame you M. None of this is your fault. I know you care. I know you love me. I know that this sounded really awful. I'm sorry I even said all this. I'm such a mess right now. Can you-Can I please be alone?" Evie was feeling incredibly guilty for saying those things when Mal was just trying to help. Mal was her girlfriend for crying out loud, what was she doing?
Mal eyes widened and she suddenly felt like crying.
"Evie..."
"I just don't want to say anything else that might hurt you. Please M, please."
Mal had never seen Evie so…what was the word? Not herself. No wait, that was two words. Mal silently let go of Evie, got up and left the dorm room without another word. She stayed there, staring at the door. Evie's self esteem had been crushed. It took her and the boys so long to get Evie to believe in herself, to gain some confidence in her abilities and to embrace every part of her. Only for a plain vanilla boy to ruin all of it in a single blow. Because everyone else cared for Evie. Well not Audrey, but she knew not to mess with Evie, or she would have to answer to Mal, Jay and Carlos all at once. She was smart, she wouldn't dare. But Chad had nothing in the place where the heart or the brain should go, so of course he was an insensitive prick and attacked Evie's biggest insecurities and it was eating her alive. A voice pulled Mal of her thoughts. Carlos, followed by Jay.
"Hey wh- "
"Quiet!" Mal warned in a hiss.
Carlos blinked in confusion.
"Not here. Let's go to your dorm, I'll explain." Mal sighted.
And so, it happened. Mal waited for Jay and Carlos to shower and put on some dry comfy clothes and after they were settled, Mal told them what just happened. Both Carlos and Mal had to hold Jay and keep him from his plan of gouging Chad's eyes out with a fork.
"We have to do something." Carlos said sighting.
"Absolutely." Jay agreed.
"I know." Mal sighted. "I just wish she could see how amazing she is, how much we love her, how there are things no one can do but her."
"Right." The boys said in unison.
Then Mal felt like a lightbulb turning on.
"I just wish she could see…" Mal repeated.
"Mal?"
"C'mon you guys, I just had an idea. We need to go to Fairy Godmother now."
"But Mal- "
"No but's, let's go."
And there they went.
/
Mal snuck into her dorm room somewhere between 5 and 6 am after staying the night with the boys. They were up for the big game and Mal took the cue to get her lazy ass away from bed. Evie was fast asleep, in Mal's bed. She looked peaceful but she was hugging one of Mal's pillows. Mal's heart skipped a beat. Evie probably waited for Mal to come back and ended up falling asleep on her bed. It was endearing in fact. But Mal wasn't there to stay. She quickly did her thing, grabbed a pair of jeans, a shirt, her signature purple leather jacket, a comb and her toothbrush as she was planning to change back in the boys' dorm, not wanting to wake up Evie. She tip toed over to her own bed, dropped carefully on her knees right in front of her blue haired sleeping beauty. Mal left a soft kiss on Evie forehead.
"I love you so much you beautiful human being. My life would completely and utterly suck without you." Mal whispered.
And Mal left the room, not knowing that Evie was awake and fell back to sleep smiling into the pillow that smelled of strawberries.
/
Evie woke up a few hours later, feeling a little better. The early night of sleep did some good to her. She got up and got dressed. If she hurried she could still make it to see Carlos and Jay in action. She didn't really want to be anywhere near a crowd but she felt like she owed it to the boys. She also owed an apology to Mal. So, she made her way to the door, only to hear a knock.
"What the- "
Evie opened the door to find Fairy Godmother on the other side, smiling at her.
"Good morning Evie. I'm glad you're here, I was worried you were already at the Tourney Field."
"I-Good morning Fairy Godmother. What's this about?" Evie asked. But she immediately noticed what Fairy Godmother had in her hand.
Her little magic mirror.
"Why is this here?" Evie asked in confusion. She had donated her mirror to the museum and they had strict orders to never let those artifacts leave for any reason.
"Well, they are cleaning that wing of the museum, they do it once in a while, so they have to take the artifacts somewhere. My office is full of stuff, unpredictable stuff. And the mirror can be a source of information, especially if not working correctly, mixed with other stuff or in the wrong hands. So, I came by to ask you if you could hold on to this, just for today? I'll collect it as soon as they're done. If someone can keep it safe, it's you." Fairy Godmother gave her a serious look.
"…Ok, I'll take it." Evie answered a little unsure. Fairy Godmother gave her a warm smile and excused herself. Evie sat on the bed looking at it. There she was, back with her mirror in her hand. After a few seconds she made a decision. She was going to use the mirror to find Mal and then she'd just leave the mirror inside her bag until the day was over.
"Magic Mirror in my hand, show me my girlfriend in this land."
And the mirror complied. There was Mal, near the bleachers. She was with Jane and Lonnie and no sign of the crowd. The game was over and they were probably waiting for Jay and Carlos. They were chatting and Evie wished she knew about what.
"Magic Mirror in my hand, allow me to hear, it is my command."
And now she could hear them, loud and clear.
"Why are they taking so long?" Jane asked.
"Probably scrubbing off 10 pounds of sweat." Mal's snarky voice was heard and both Lonnie and Jane laughed.
"Hey Mal, where's Evie? Didn't see her yesterday." Lonnie asked.
"Yeah I didn't see her either. She was supposed to meet me in the library for my chemistry tutor session, but she never showed." Jane added.
Mal immediately frowned.
"Mal? Is everything alright with her?" Jane's voice reeked of worry.
Mal shook her head. It wasn't her intention to melt into a puddle of emotions but she couldn't tame the tears in her eyes and in a second Lonnie was hugging her.
They all sat down. Jay and Carlos arrived just in time and immediately wrapped their arms protectively around Mal. Ben was with them and also sat down looking worried. Mal took a deep breath and explained what was going on.
"This is ridiculous!" Lonnie protested.
"Outrageous!"
"Lies!"
"That's what I said." Mal sighted sadly while trying to wipe away her tears. "She seems to disagree. I for one would legit not be here right now if not for her."
"Listen, if not for her I'd be failing half my classes. I understood a total of zero things yesterday in Chemistry and we have an exam in 10 days!" Jane blurted out.
"Literally no one understands Chemistry. We'd all be failing if not for her. I reckon I'd be failing everything, even PE." Jay added with a chuckle.
Wanting to understand why there were a bunch of people in the field, more people joined in. More members of the team, Audrey plus the cheerleading team, even Doug.
"It's not just that though." Lonnie said. "I mean it's great that Evie can literally fix any piece of clothing and god knows we're a pain in the ass with our ripped equipment from sword practice, yet she always pulls through. But that's not the main reason why I love her. She's the kindest person. She will help you always. No but's."
"And she always knows what to say. She also gives the best hugs." Jane added with a smile.
"She taught me how to be a villain, while dancing and singing. That's pretty badass." Ben chuckled. Jay and Carlos couldn't contain a laugh, while remembering the amount of embarrassing moments Ben went through during said singing and dancing.
"I know I'm not the nicest person, but she's always nice to me anyway." Audrey said and it was surprisingly genuine.
"She made me realize I was good enough. Even if we're not together anymore, she taught me to love myself." Doug fondly said.
More compliments came from other people who weren't really Evie's friends but there they were praising her. Evie had tears running down her face and couldn't possibly look away from what was happening. There were a few people left who hadn't said anything.
"She was the first friend I ever made. I was nothing more than a scared little boy, back on the Isle, and she was the first person who was nice to me. I'll never forger the day we met. I was scared and bleeding and she took me under her wing and took care of me. I kept wondering why and when I finally asked she said 'you were hurting. I had to help'. She did not know me, she didn't even know my name, she could've done whatever she felt like with me, and she chose to be kind. I owe my life to her." A lot of cheers and applause were heard at the end of Carlos' speech.
"I think her kindness rubbed on all of us. I met her for the first time when Mal introduced us. Before she was a part of the team, we didn't really know how to be kind? Or how to appreciate a gesture of kindness, because they usually came with second intentions. That's a lesson I learnt with her. You can be kind and not expect anything in return. Pure kindness is one of her best traits and I'm glad I am lucky enough to be on the other side of that kindness." More cheers after Jay spoke.
There was a silent pause. Mal stood up.
"I have so much to say that I feel we'd be here all day. I owe more than just my life to Evie. I owe her my soul. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her. Like everyone's been saying, she is the kindest human being. And she had it all along. I thought that to survive I had to fight my emotions and be cold hearted. And I could be. I still can be. But she was always nice to me, even when I wasn't so nice myself. But she didn't just show me kindness. She showed me love. It wasn't just a pat in the back. She offered me more than just a smile. She offered me her heart and trusted me, of all people, with it. I'm really not that good with speeches. But she is so much more than all of this. She's more than I could ever be. Most of the times I still feel like I'm not good enough for her, that I don't deserve her. I still wonder how did I get so lucky that she chose me. She hates it there you know? The Isle. She never really belonged there. And when I was a coward and ran away, she was the first to go back to get me to pull my head out of my ass. I never really thanked her properly for that. She is so much more. She's so smart, so kind, so selfless, so brave, so regal, she can and will conquer the world and everyone will bow to her without thinking twice. Evie is my girlfriend, and I could not be prouder of her. She was able to touch so many hearts. Look at us now. She's irreplaceable and we will always miss her when she's not around. I know I will when she leaves to take over the world." Everyone made agreeing noises. "My life was and still is full of uncertainties but one thing I am sure of. If true love really does exist, that's what she is. My true love. I love her with all my heart. The fact that she's impossibly beautiful is just the cherry on top. It's one hell of a cherry though." Mal couldn't pinpoint the exact moment where she started crying, or where she struggled to get the words out because she was choking on all the love she held for Evie. Everyone cheered, clapped and hugged Mal. Evie sobbed loudly over Mal's beautiful words. Evie felt so lucky to have Mal by her side.
All of her friends loved her so much. Mal loved her beyond words. In that moment Evie cried tears of absolute joy. She felt like her broken heart magically healed. She looked at her phone and realized it had been on silent all day. There were texts and missed calls from Jane, Lonnie, Jay, Carlos and Mal. Evie felt so bad for thinking they didn't care. Most people then left, leaving Mal, Jay, Carlos, Ben, Lonnie and Jane.
"What is going on?"
Another voice was heard and the group turned their heads. Jay and Carlos immediately stood up, but Mal was already up, five steps in and punching Chad right in the face. Evie gasped.
"If I don't do something he won't live another day."
Evie grabbed her bag, tossed the mirror inside and ran to the Tourney Field.
/
"What is wrong with you?!" Chad yelled trying to stop the bleeding coming from his busted lip.
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?!" Mal yelled right back. Her fists were closed and her eyes were glowing dangerously. She grabbed him by his collarbone and lifted him in the air. His feet were touching the floor only because Mal was way shorter than him. Then she slammed him against the bleachers and held her arm against his neck making it hard to breathe. Chad was petrified with fear and confused at to why no one was helping him.
"Look at me you bastard!" Mal growled. The dragon inside her was growling and the sound was ringing in her ears, like an echo.
Chad faced Mal's glowing green eyes and his face was one of realization.
"Took you long enough." Mal spat. Her voice was like poison. She looked like a snake about to devour its prey.
"Listen to me and listen very carefully because I don't like repeating myself. Don't you dare to ever, ever speak to my girlfriend like that again. Actually, don't ever speak to her at all. Next time I won't be so gentle. Next time, I'll break every bone in your body and I'll feed you to the Isle sharks. Then I'll send your parents what's left of you in a matchbox- "
"Stop! Mal, that's enough!"
Mal's hands were off Chad almost before she heard Evie's voice. He fell on his knees gasping for air and the glow on Mal's eyes was gone. The group went over to Evie and she got hugs and smiles from each and every one of them. And Evie couldn't help but feel so happy and so loved. Mal collected herself, waited until everyone was done and when they turned to her, she gave Chad a light kick on his torso, as he was still petrified on the floor.
"Get lost." She spat.
Mal didn't have to say it twice. Chad got up and ran as fast as his legs allowed him. The group laughed in unison.
"Ok, how about some ice-cream?" Jay proposed knowing the girls probably wanted some time alone.
"I bet I can race you there!" Carlos challenged, taking the hint.
"You both know I'm so winning this." Lonnie said and started running, with Jay and Carlos sprinting right behind her yelling at her and Ben and Jane just jogging after them, leaving Mal and Evie on their own.
Mal made a mental note to thank all of them but couldn't think of how because Evie threw herself into Mal's arms almost tackling her. They stayed there. Just there. Evie felt loved in the dorm hearing the beautiful things everyone had to say, she felt loved when her friends were so thrilled to see her but she felt the most loved in Mal's arms.
"I love you M." Evie whispered, not really knowing what else to say without giving away that she had heard their entire conversation. She felt Mal smiling against her chest.
"I love you too E."
"I asked you not to freak out or do anything stupid and what do you do? You almost kill Chad!" Evie pulled away from the hug, but not from Mal.
"Yeah, almost. So, what if he lost a few blood cells. He deserved it. Besides, you should know by now that I never listen." Mal shrugged.
Evie couldn't really argue with that.
"So, how about we give that mirror back to Fairy Godmother?" Mal proposed.
Evie sighted.
"Yeah, we sh-Wait, what? How do you know about the mirror? Wait, was the mirror your doing?" Evie asked many questions at light speed and looked at Mal who now wore her signature smirk.
"C'mon now princess. Do you really think they actually clean the villains wing? They're afraid to go in there!" Mal remarked, still smirking. Evie's face was priceless, a mix of emotions that Mal was trying to decipher.
"But Fairy Godmother…"
"I asked her for the mirror and before she could say no, I told her why I wanted it." Mal explained. "But I couldn't be the one to give it to you and I couldn't leave it for you to find because you'd know it was me. So, I asked Fairy Godmother another tiny favor."
Evie's jaw dropped.
"So…Everyone knew?"
Mal could almost hear Evie's doubts coming back. She dropped the smirk and replaced it with a soft smile.
"No one knew. Not even Jay and Carlos. They knew I went to Fairy Godmother but that was because I didn't want anyone to come in while I was in there so I had them at the door. Never told them what happened in there. Didn't tell anyone else either."
"How did you know I was going to use it?" Evie asked, the nasty feeling of doubt vanishing.
"I didn't." Mal quietly answered while shrugging. "I had to trust that you'd eventually use it to find me, because I never came back last night. But there was always a chance you'd just drop it. When you showed up to stop me from beating Chad up, that's when I knew you used it."
"You knew I'd stop you." Evie half laughed.
"Yeah."
"Mal?"
Evie rested her arms on Mal's shoulders and their foreheads touched. Mal's hands travelled to Evie's waist.
"That was beautiful." Evie whispered with tears of joy in her eyes.
Mal chuckled nervously.
"You heard that?"
Evie smiled widened.
"I heard all of it. Wasn't that the whole point of the mirror?"
"Well yes, I wanted you to see that everyone misses you, everyone notices when something's not right, everyone cares. I just didn't know it would end up with everyone giving up big speeches."
Evie's smile was so big it reached her eyes and a single tear dropped. Mal wiped it away from Evie's cheek.
"Yours was my favorite." Evie kissed Mal's nose which caused her to giggle.
"It better be." Mal teased.
"Thank you M. For lifting me up, once more. For believing in me even when I don't believe in myself. For helping me tackle my fears and fight my demons. For reminding me that I'm surrounded by the best group of human beings and for being the best girlfriend a girl could ask for. Just so you know, my life would also completely and utterly suck without you."
Mal gasped louder than she intended to, mainly because her heart skipped at least a dozen beats and she went red in the face at that last sentence. Evie giggled at Mal's reaction and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
"That was what got me out of bed today." Evie confessed. Mal's heart was hammering in her chest after hearing that confession.
"You were awake the whole time?" Mal managed to ask, eyes dropped to Evie's lips.
"Not the whole time. But I wasn't in deep sleep, so when you kissed my forehead I woke up. And when you left I fell asleep with a smile on my face. So, thank you for that."
Mal smiled widely because little did Evie know that Mal would always whisper that exact sentence whenever Evie wasn't listening.
Mal let her lips touch Evie's in a soft, delicate and meaningful kiss. Evie gave it all back to Mal and they both smiled.
"C'mon my beautiful girlfriend, let's go for a strawberry ice-cream. My treat." Evie said locking her and Mal's hands together.
Mal smiled giddily like a 5-year-old child at the mention of strawberry ice-cream.
"Whatever the princess says." Mal replied.
And strawberry ice-cream it was.