The jacket lay on the sewing table. It was made of red and yellow leather. There was a long rip right along the seam of the left shoulder. Evie had considered mending it by hand sewing, but she knew it likely wouldn't stay sewn that way.

Jay was active and athletic, and he was rough with his clothes, always climbing walls or flipping off railings or running along rooftops, which was how the jacket sleeve had ripped in the first place. He'd been running over a wooden beam in the rafters of an outdoor building and his shoulder had caught on a piece of metal sticking out from another rafter. He'd continued running as the sleeve had caught and torn, hearing the sharp ripping sound, not checking the damage until he was safely back on the ground. It was a miracle he hadn't gotten hurt. But then, Jay had been practicing parkour since he could walk, making him a skilled stuntman of sorts. He'd dropped by the girls' dormitory earlier that afternoon, the jacket slung over his shoulder, asking Evie if she could fix it.

Now Evie readied her sewing machine with a needle and thread to mend the ripped seam. She held the jacket over her arm and studied the slender opening in the shoulder of the sleeve. The rip in the jacket was sort of how she felt at that moment – open and exposed. It was a slender rip, one that wasn't very noticeable unless you looked closely. Only instead of a seam in a sleeve being opened and exposed to be seen by those who paid enough attention, she felt that was her heart.

She set the jacket down on the table and sighed. She had told Jay she could have it fixed in ten minutes. That was twenty minutes ago. He'd be back to pick it up any time now.

She needed to focus on the task at hand, not her messed up love life. Or what was left of it. Which was basically nothing, since she'd broken up with Doug. Since the night of the royal cotillion, something had changed for her. She didn't know exactly when it'd happened; maybe it had begun before the cotillion.

But somehow, somewhere along the way, she'd realized that she had feelings for someone else, feelings that gradually grew stronger than her feelings for Doug. She knew it wasn't fair to him to remain in a relationship with him when her feelings for him were shrinking in comparison to her growing feelings for someone else.

So one day, not long after the cotillion, she'd pulled him aside and asked to speak with him. She'd gently told him that she'd developed feelings for someone else, and that it wasn't fair to him to stay together. He was disappointed, and he was hurt, but he'd understood, and he'd took it well.

They'd remained friends, though not quite as close as they once were. She didn't tell him who, exactly, she'd developed feelings for. She hadn't told anyone; not even her best friend, Mal, or their good friends Carlos or Jay.

She just couldn't.

She had feelings for Jay.

She kept it secret because she didn't want to risk losing his friendship, especially if he didn't feel the same way about her. And she was fairly certain that he did not.

Jay was a flirt. He'd always flirted with all the girls. Since arriving in Auradon, he'd pretty much become the most popular bachelor among the girls at school. He freely flirted with every girl but had never actually dated any of them. He could date any girl that he wanted to, if he ever found a girl that he really liked. He'd gone to the cotillion solo just so he could dance with all of them; yet he'd spent a lot of the night dancing with Lonnie.

If there was any girl that was his match, it was Lonnie. She was spirited and athletic, like Jay, and she had even bested him at fencing when she'd challenged him one day during practice for the swords and shields team. He'd stepped down as captain of the fencing team in order to make her captain so that she could join the team, finding a loophole in the boys-only rule.

Lonnie had made Jay and Carlos take her with them to the Isle after Mal had fled there, and Lonnie had proceeded to win a swordfight with a pirate barehanded. Lonnie was fearless and bold and not afraid to take risks, like Jay.

Evie was just Jay's close friend that he'd known since they'd lived on the Isle. Jay cared about her, and he'd grown to become protective toward her, like he had toward Mal. She was more like a sister to him, the way that Mal was.

Back on the Isle, not long after they'd met, he had flirted with her. He'd called her gorgeous; not pretty, not beautiful, but gorgeous. He'd given her back her necklace that he'd stolen from her, and the former thief had never returned anything he'd stolen before. He'd confronted Chad when Chad was mean to her the day before the coronation.

But those moments had been several months ago, just mere memories now. Evie had realized too late what she felt for him. She didn't stand a chance. So she kept her feelings hidden, and she was determined to keep her feelings hidden until he showed that he felt the same way toward her. And he hadn't. If he hadn't by now, then he wasn't going to.

So even though no one else knew that Jay was the reason for her breakup with Doug, she still felt about as exposed as that ripped seam. Only one couldn't fix a broken heart by sewing it.

Evie picked up the jacket and held it up, gently poking her finger through the ripped seam. She lifted the jacket closer to her face and caught its scent. It smelled like Jay. It smelled warm and good and like boy.

She sighed and carefully lay out the jacket on the table, lying the sleeve on the sewing machine, carefully lining the open seam beneath the sewing needle. But her hand trembled slightly and she had trouble lining the fabric exactly underneath the needle. Her hands were always steady.

She let go of the jacket. It started to slip off of the table, so she pushed it farther back beside the sewing machine.

She stood up and stepped away, clasping her hands together. She looked down at her hands, which were encased in her fingerless leather gloves, her signature red leather. The gloves stood out nicely against her shimmery blue dress, which was just a shade darker than her cerulean blue hair. She sat down on the edge of her bed.

What was wrong with her? It was just a jacket. A jacket that belonged to Jay. The boy she'd fallen for somewhere along the way. The boy she couldn't have. The one who saw her as only a good friend.

Doug was a sweet guy; she had really, really liked him. He had treated her well and he'd really liked her. But she couldn't change the way she felt.

Maybe her feelings for Jay had always been there, buried somewhere deep underneath the surface, and finally grew strong enough to break through to her conscious. It was messed up. She no longer liked the boy who liked her, but she liked the boy who didn't like her. That was what was wrong with her.

There was a knock at the door. Evie looked up as the door opened and Jay stepped in.

"Hey, Evie, have you finished my jacket?" he asked.

Evie bit her lip. She felt a lump forming in her throat as Jay waited for her to say something. He was wearing a leather vest, brown and red, and it showed off his muscular arms nicely. He had a beanie over his long dark hair, which hung loose around his shoulders. He looked really good. She lowered her gaze to his combat boots.

"No, not yet," she said. She tried to clear her throat but it came out as more of a choked sound.

Jay's brows furrowed as he frowned in concern. "You okay?" he said.

Evie nodded, not meeting his eyes. She heard Jay close the door behind him, his heavy footsteps coming closer. She looked up to see him standing in the middle of the room.

His brow was still furrowed as he studied her. "What's wrong, Eves?" he said.

And that's what did it. She felt a wetness behind her eyes and tried to blink it away. Jay was at her side in two swift steps. He sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. She felt the bed dip beneath his weight.

"Hey," he said softly, "do you want me to get Mal?" Jay wasn't one to normally talk about emotions. He wasn't very good talking about his feelings. But he cared about his friends, and he wasn't afraid to show that. He was always willing and ready to help when they needed something.

Evie closed her eyes, shaking her head. She opened her eyes to find Jay's warm brown eyes on her. His face was concerned, and her breath hitched. He was sitting really close to her. She stood up and quickly brushed her hand over her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'll finish mending your jacket."

But Jay's hand grasped her wrist and he gently pulled her back down to sit on the bed. She looked down to see he wore black fingerless gloves, his own signature leather, and he let go of her hand.

"You're not fine," he said.

Evie felt a fresh wave of tears and wiped her hands at her eyes. Jay set his hands on his knees.

"Do I need to beat someone up?" he asked.

Evie tried to laugh, but it came out sounding strangled. She shook her head, not meeting his gaze.

Jay was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was low. "Is it Doug?" he asked.

Evie looked down at her hands on her lap.

"Did he do something?" Jay sounded slightly angry, accusing.

Evie's eyes widened as she looked up to meet his gaze. "No," she gasped. "I…did."

Jay's brows scrunched together in confusion. "What? You didn't do anything wrong." He sounded so convinced that Evie couldn't help but give him a shaky smile.

"I broke up with him," she said.

Jay still didn't look convinced she'd done anything wrong. "Yeah, but I figured it was his fault," he said.

Evie frowned. "No, it was me," she said.

Jay's face softened as he watched her. Doubt and concern flashed over his face. Like he still didn't believe she'd done anything to be in the wrong.

Evie let out a shaky breath, looked away. "I broke up with him because…" She bit her lip. Her voice came out quiet, nearly a whisper. "I like someone else."

Jay remained silent, pondering this. Evie braved a glance back at him. She could tell he was racking his brain, trying to think of who it could possibly be, but he was coming up empty. He really had no idea.

"Who?" he asked.

Evie's breath caught in her throat. Did she dare tell him? Did she dare risk losing his friendship? He clearly didn't have a clue, which meant he clearly didn't feel the same way, and telling him now would only make things awkward between them. Evie looked away.

"It doesn't matter," she said.

She heard Jay sigh. "Of course it matters, Evie," he said softly. Something in his voice made her look back at him. He wore a faint smile, and there was only concern in his soft warm eyes. "It's making you cry and...you shouldn't cry."

Evie felt herself getting lost in his concerned gaze, so she looked away again. "I can't tell you."

She felt Jay's fingers lightly touch her arm. She met his gaze again.

His face was serious. "You can tell me anything," he said.

Evie felt herself wavering beneath his soft, warm gaze and the concern in his eyes and his fingers brushing her arm. She slowly opened her mouth. She knew there was fear in her eyes. Her voice came out a whisper. "It's you," she said.

Jay's hand fell from her arm. His expression was unreadable. She couldn't tell what he was feeling, what he was thinking. Then something flashed in his eyes, so briefly, she'd thought it'd looked something like…hope.

"Aw, Evie," he whispered, his voice husky. His face softened, but she still couldn't read it. But by the tone of his voice, she knew it hadn't been hope she'd thought she'd seen there. He felt sorry for her. Sorry that she felt that way, sorry that he didn't.

She felt her heart sink in her chest. This was it. This was where he told her he didn't return her feelings.

He held her gaze for a moment. Then he sighed. She watched as he frowned, his mouth set in a firm line. That wasn't a good sign. Was he angry with her? He glanced away.

Evie swallowed. "Jay," she said softly. She made herself speak. "I'm sorry…I…"

His face turned back to her, his mouth softened from its firm line, and she saw determination flash in his dark eyes. "Don't be," he said firmly.

She was confused. It must have shown on her face. Because Jay slowly leaned closer and gently cupped his hands over her cheeks. She froze. His gloved hands, his bare fingers, felt warm on her face. His mouth formed a soft smile, and that determination flashed in his eyes again. He leaned in, placing his mouth on hers in a gentle, soft kiss. Evie kissed back, and then he broke away. She looked to see him smiling softly at her.

"What…I thought…you didn't…" Her words couldn't catch up with the thoughts in her head. "But…I thought you liked Lonnie."

Jay's eyebrow rose in question.

"You danced with her at cotillion," Evie said.

Jay softly smiled. "You were with Doug. I was trying to forget about you." Jay paused, becoming serious. "Lonnie's great. But she's not you."

Evie's heart sped up. She tried to speak. "Since when?" she asked.

Jay arched an eyebrow, his mouth forming a soft smirk. "I'm not sure. Maybe since we got back from the Isle after Mal left. Maybe before then."

Evie frowned. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

Jay frowned softly. "You were dating Doug," he said. "He's a decent guy. I would've felt like a jerk."

Evie was still trying to catch up with her brain. "I broke up with Doug because of you," she said.

Jay reached out and brushed a lock of her soft blue hair behind her ear. The gesture was so gentle Evie felt as if she were melting. Jay's warm eyes shone down at her. He leaned back in and met her lips with his. She put her hand over his cheek and returned it. After only seconds, or maybe forever, they broke away.

He leaned his forehead against hers. She felt his warm breath on her face. She heard the smile in his voice. "I guess I'm just that lucky," he said. She leaned back to look up at him. He wore a slightly satisfied smirk on his face. She couldn't help but smile.

"We should break the news to Mal and Carlos gently," she said. "Soon."

He arched his eyebrow at her. "Won't be soon enough for me," he said.

Evie stood, placing her hands on her warm cheeks. Jay stood too, smirking at her. "Your cheeks are pink," he teased.

Evie turned away from him, embarrassed. "I know! Now I need to finish your jacket," she said. "Get out of here, you're distracting me." She walked over to her sewing table. She looked up to find Jay staring at her, that cocky grin in place. "A good distraction, right?" he said.

Evie laughed, pointed to the door. "A cocky distraction. Now go!" she said.

Jay rose his eyebrow at her, looking perfectly satisfied with himself. Then he sauntered out of the room.

Evie felt herself still smiling as she sat down and picked up his jacket sleeve. Her hands were steady as she lined the seam with the needle. But she felt her heart dancing in her chest.