Doug gives Evie a little boost of confidence before she meets with Ben to tell him about Mal's recent disappearance.
"Evie, are you in here, love?" Doug asked before knocking on her bedroom door. He could hear Evie's sewing machine tapping at an alarming rate. After hearing no response, Doug slowly opened the door only to find Evie sewing in a matter he liked to describe as "stress sewing." She did it when she was anxious, stressed, angry—any emotion that wasn't happy, really. He walked over to his girlfriend and kissed her temple. "Babe, any faster and you might-" the sound of Evie's shirt catching the sewing machine made him sigh, "get caught."
Doug could see a piece of paper that was slightly wrinkled, as if it had almost been crushed. Then he saw Evie's usually beautifully kept blue hair flying out of place. When Evie finally turned around, he faced an expression Evie so rarely showed—broken. "Help?" Her plea brought him out of thought as soon as he heard sniffling and Evie's frustrated sighs.
Doug placed his trumpet and book bag down so quickly to catch her, causing a slight bang on the wooden floor. The machine suddenly stopped as it ate Evie's shirt. Doug quickly grabbed the miniature sewing scissors and snipped a small piece of fabric off the machine. "Evie, what's got you so upset?" A short moment of silence passed before Evie explained in between sobs, "Mal's gone Doug. She went back to the Isle."
His eyes widened, before he brought his girlfriend to his chest, "I'm so sorry Evie, I didn't know. What can I do to help you feel better?" He hugged her tightly, then gently kissed her hair. He could still smell the strawberry shampoo Evie said Mal had sworn by. As he held the girl, his heart sank a little, he had never seen Evie so broken before. There had been a few times when he saw her vulnerability—the incident on Family Day a few months ago, when she had video calls with her mother, their first fight—Doug sometimes forgot she had this side to her, a side only she'd express with him and her best friends.
Evie's frustrated cries broke him out of thought again, "I can't believe she just left without saying goodbye. I'm heartbroken Doug, and angry. Really angry!" Doug nodded his head, trying to understand the pain she would've been feeling. Mal and Evie were inseparable to say the least, and for Mal to leave so abruptly made him scratch his head. I hope she's okay, he thought to himself. Ben was one of his closest friends, and he knew how much the young king lived for Mal. It was tiring for him to wrap his head around. As he held Evie, she kept saying, "Auradon is so much better than the Isle, why would she even bother going back." Evie sounded defeated, as if she had given up on her reasoning as to why Mal could have left too. It was no surprise that Mal was not as expressive as other people about her emotions, but for Evie to not know her reason for leaving was alarming. Evie then began to tear up again, "And now my shirt has a stupid hole."
"Eve, you love holes in your shirts," Doug gently reminded her, "because they give you that Isle-esque edge." He played with the small hole in her shirt as he asked, "Are you going to get her?"
After a few moments of silence again, Evie shook her head. "I don't know. I-I wouldn't know where to begin and…"
Doug interrupted, "I know you've been thinking about it Evie. She's your best friend who's pretty much your sister. If you had just left, I know she'd go through hell and back to find you." I would too, he thought.
"I know but," Evie paused, swallowing her pride, "I'm terrified to go back to the Isle."
A lightbulb flickered in Doug's head. That was why she couldn't muster up the confidence to go back to the Isle of the Lost. He had a feeling of what could've caused Evie's faltering confidence. She began to say, "I don't—I can't see her," hiccupping as she wiped her tears.
"Your mom?" Doug asked. Evie nodded slowly, making Doug hold her hands steady, "Hey, Evie listen to me okay? You're not her. You're not going to be evil like her. You chose good remember?" Evie kept looking down so he continued, "If you're going down, I'll be out there waiting at the gates of the barrier if I have to." Doug trying to be as brave as he could be made Evie smile. They brought out the best in each other, always seeing the other's potential. Doug may not have been born a prince, but he was still the descendant of a hero.
When he saw her eyes light up a little bit, he continued to ramble, "You are Auradon's youngest most successful business woman with the demand of 'Evie's 4Hearts.' You're an Honors Student. Not to mention Eve, you've only turned seventeen. Not many people could accomplish what you've done." When Doug finished his little statement, he was out of breath. He chuckled at the fact that even when he talked about her he was winded. He was so proud of his girlfriend and he needed her to know she was absolutely more than capable of facing her fears. She needed a push.
"What if I can't leave again?"
Doug never thought about what could happen if Evie went back to the Isle. Her going back to a place that caused so many painful memories worried him. His brows furrowed at the idea of her going, but instead of worry he wanted to show her he'd be her rock. "I'd use my resources to get to the Isle and rescue you, even though I'm very sure you'd be the one rescuing me." Evie started to giggle. That's my girl, Doug thought, a wide smile coming across his face.
"You know, for a person who isn't a prince, you say some pretty princely things."
"I can promise you I've heard my Uncle Doc say that about my dad," Doug told her with a slight smirk on his face. Evie's laugh was music to his ears.
"I lov-" Evie began to say but then stopped. It wasn't new to Doug, she had tried to say it before but she couldn't. She always stopped herself because she truthfully didn't know what this kind of love was, but that was what Doug was there for, to guide her and show her. Her head fell in disappointment again.
"Hey, I love you too," Doug said without hesitation. Even though Doug was able to convince Evie to follow her instincts and follow after Mal, he couldn't help but think of the worst. She'll be fine, he had to repeat in his head.
Going to Ben was the next thing on her list; he had every right to know. She wanted Doug to wait for her while she talked to him in his office. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts at the moment. Doug agreed, saying he didn't want to leave her alone either.
Later that night, he helped Evie pack some stuff for her and the boys. As she was getting ready, Doug received instructions about how to handle the boutique while she was away. Evie wouldn't be gone for long; she wanted to believe it, but things were also unpredictable on the Isle. Before they knew it, midnight had struck.
"You ready?" Doug asked Evie, as she reapplied a coat of lipstick and fixed the small braid in her hair while looking at the mirror. She hummed a yes while Doug walked behind her and stared at her reflection. She could feel his nervousness without even looking back, instead she extended her arms and hugged him tightly. Evie was beyond grateful for her dopey knight in shining armor.
A knock on the door made the pair jolt, breaking their hug. "Evie, it's Ben," the young king's voice called out, "We're ready if you are."
Doug turned on his heel to get the door, but Evie stopped him. When Doug was about to ask what was wrong she began kissing him, holding onto him and almost pinning him to the door. She brought their bodies as close as they could be at the moment, deepening the kiss. Doug was stunned, but he was able to gain his senses and began kissing her back. He could feel his cheeks growing hot and rosy. It was his body's physical reaction to a fire that could never be burnt out when he was with Evie.
"Thank you for believing in me, in us," she whispered. Doug nodded, unable to catch his breath in the moment. He wheezed in a small voice, "Anytime."
She pecked his cheek and opened the door for herself. Doug gave a nod to the boys before he closed the door behind them and went to his dorm, seeing the four of them run through the halls made him wish for nothing but luck to them, and safety for Mal.
A/N Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing this! I love Descendants and I thought Devie was adorable. You can read another Devie oneshot under my other account koalaisland called Domestic Devie. As always, favorites and follows are great.