(A/N) As we all are very much aware, Eva's back, baby! Thus, I find it necessary to give Eva another chapter, lest we avoid the comments pointing it out if we merely skipped over her and onto Trent. Besides, I totally want to put the romance aspect of EzekielXEva in a deeper context. So, without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy Eva's second chapter!
The challenge was over. Leshawna was the victor, and Eva had almost everyone voting for her, with the exception of Duncan who really had no fear of the muscular girl. Eva thought she had stricken enough fear into the hearts of her competitors to keep her safe, but the exact opposite was true in that it was there fear that was to be her eventual downfall come the ceremony.
After casting her vote, Eva decided to spend a little time by herself on a secluded section of the beach. Little did she know that a familiar face was awaiting her.
"Hey there." Said the raven haired woman to Eva when she arrived.
"YOU! What are YOU doing here?" spat Eva angrily.
"What? You're not happy to see me?" said the woman.
"Yeah," said Eva sarcastically, "I'm really happy to see the last person I saw when I got voted off the last time! Future self or not, you've got to have some sort of weird vibes going on or something! I think it's more than coincidence that I got voted off when you happened to come around!"
"Eva, Eva, Eva!"Said he future self, "First of all, it's not bad vibes. It's knowledge. I did, after all, already live through all this. Don't you think I would know when I would get voted off?"
"So why are you here now?!?!" snapped Eva.
"That's my second point!" her future self snapped back. "Did you even listen to me the last time I was here? For crying out loud! All the anger management classes in the world won't help if you don't get it together. You should know that by now!"
"Hey! Those guys respect me because I don't take crap from anybody!" yelled Eva.
"No, they are afraid of you because you SCARE the crap out of EVERYBODY!" Eva's future self shot back.
There was a moment of silence.
"What's the difference, anyway?" asked Eva calmly and, actually, sincerely.
Eva's future self folded her arms, closed her eyes, and smiled as she gently shook her head, "You really don't know, do you? Hey, I never knew before it happened."
"You mean when you lived through this conversation?" said Eva coldly.
"No, the other it." Said her future self as she began telling Eva the story of the psycho. The beginning and middle was just a lightly detailed summary. This action was mainly due to the fact that Eva's future self wanted to bring particular attention to the ending.
Flashback:
When the group ventured inside the abandon warehouse, they started to look around them. There was a large main area that they entered into. It was basically the place where the goods were stored. Of course, being abandon for so many years, the warehouse was 100% empty, with nothing on the ground but dirt, leaves, and debris.
In the upstairs section, there were offices lined up side by side, also completely empty. After everyone was done exploring, they all gathered in the main area.
"So tell us again what you're big plan is, homeschool." Said Duncan.
"Stop calling me 'homeschool', eh. How'd you like it if I called you 'Ju-V guy' all the time, eh?" yelled Ezekiel.
"Sheesh! Sorry!" said Duncan as he put his arm around Courtney's shoulders. Courtney smiled at him.
"Names aside, dude," said Geoff, "What exactly do you got in mind? This guy doesn't exactly give off a 'I'm easy to beat' vibe, if you know what I mean."
Ezekiel walked away from the group then turned around to face them all, "Just hear me out, eh. We all were stuck on Camp Wawanakwa for a full summer, right? In that time, you all were all fighting against each other. But being the first one voted off, I had time to think, to observe, to realize what everyone could do, eh. I spent a lot of time reviewing re-runs of the show while at the resort, I realized that every single person had something about them that made them valuable."
"Oh really." Said Eva, "Even the girls? Or did we just have useless talents that make us inferior to you and the guys?!?!"
Ezekiel walked straight up to Eva and, although he knew it was dangerous, glared at her dead in the eyes. Eva shot a glare right back at him. Everyone was silent, waiting to see what would happen.
Finally, Ezekiel spoke, "Did you see what you just did? You stood up for yourself, eh. You don't take any crap from anybody, no matter what! Sure, you tend to more or less scare the crap out of everyone, but maybe with a little time, you could learn to relax and trust people. And besides that, you're the strongest person I've ever seen, eh."
Eva's glare lessened with every word Ezekiel said until it had completely vanished from her face.
Ezekiel addressed the rest if the crowd, "And Eva isn't the only one, eh. Look at Bridgette. She has a strong will. The way she refused to eat the dolphin hotdog, despite Heather's pressure. That had to be a tough thing to do! And Geoff, nobody can ease the tension in a crowd like you can. Whenever people are worried or stressed out, you can make the anxiety in the air virtually disappear. Izzy, well, let's face it, you're kind of a freak, eh."
Izzy shrugged and said, "I've been called worse!"
"But you also have a drive and a passion like nothing I've ever seen, eh. And DJ, I know you're scared of a lot of things like heights, water, and snakes, but the fact that you were willing to face them for the good of your team was incredible, eh. Trent, you have more tolerance for pain than you realize. Despite all the things that fell on you, injured you, and embarrassed you, still got back up on the horse. Gwen, you're a survivor, eh. As much as you hated that camp, you never gave up. Heather, as maniacal and cruel as you were, you were very smart and strategic, eh. Not only did you play the game, but you planned ahead, something no one else thought to do, eh. You know how to keep a plan on track. And Noah, sports may not be your forte, but general knowledge is. You probably know more about stuff than all of us combined, eh. Sadie, as much as it hurt you, you were able to cope with sudden change. When Katie left, you were heartbroken, but you kept going. And Justin, let's face it, eh. You're really a good looking guy. You can freeze a person in their tracks just by having them look at you! Duncan, you are a really hard core guy, eh. You have the rare ability to put emotions aside for the time being to get what you want. And Courtney? You may be uptight at times, but you are the most organized person I've ever met, eh. And Owen, besides me, were the last person people expected to win, eh. That's really impressive. And Cody has technology skills, Katie has sewing skills, and Harold has, well, a lot of skills, eh."
"You bet I do!" agreed Harold.
"Leshawna doesn't let anyone push her around, Lindsay is good at following directions, Tyler never lets the pressure of others keep him away from what he wants, Beth is an independent spirit who doesn't care what others think of her. All of you have something special that you can contribute to our team, eh."
"You've talked about everyone, else, Ezekiel. What about you?" said Gwen.
Ezekiel looked down to his shoes shyly. "I know since I got kicked off first because of my big mouth, I never really came off this way to anyone, but I'm actually smarter than you think I am, eh."
"What do you mean?" asked Beth.
Ezekiel was quiet for a minute, then out of nowhere, he blurted out, "Nunca avisé a nadie, pero puedo decir ocho lenguas diferentes." Everyone just stared in shock. Ezekiel continued, "Je peux être ignorant, mais je suis élégant. Je sais que ce n'est pas une excuse à que j'ai dit au camp, mais j'ai l'intention de changer mon attitude, aussi." Still silence, Ezekiel kept speaking, "Vertrauen Sie mir bitte. Wenn wir unsere Unterschiede beiseite legen und zusammenarbeiten können, weiß ich, dass wir gewinnen können! Sind Sie mit mir??"
The room was now full of weird stares.
"Uh, what did that white boy just say?" said Leshawna.
"Ow! My head hurts!" cried Lindsay.
"I said that I never let this on to anyone, but I can speak in eight different languages, eh. I may be ignorant, but I'm smart. I know it's still no excuse for what I said back at camp, but I intended to change my attitude as well. Please, just trust me, eh. If we put aside our differences and work together, we can win! Are you guys with me?... Oh, in Spanish, French, and German, eh." Translated Ezekiel.
After a little collaboration, everyone agreed to Ezekiel's proposal to work as a team. After all, if the psycho wanted them in his army, there must have been a reason. And if there was a way to take this guy down, they were gonna find it!
End Flashback*
Eva, after hearing the story, was a little shocked.
"Homeschool actually said that?" she asked in disbelief.
Eva's future self nodded her head, "When he has a plan, he can be a real head strong person."
"Well, why should it matter to me anyway?!" snapped Eva.
"Because, Ezekiel is…" Eva's future self's voice trailed off.
"He's what?" asked Eva impatiently.
Eva's future self sighed, "Look, it's not something that I'm at the liberty to tell you now. But behind that geeky exterior and heavy accent, there really is a sweet guy underneath. Remember that the next time you try to plow his head into the ground, Eva!"
Eva huffed and said, "Yeah, whatever! I'm outta here!" and with that, Eva walked away."
Eva's future self just stood there. She didn't attempt to chase her or call her back. She had already said what she wanted to say. Making here come back would just be a waste of time.
When Eva disappeared from sight, she took the diamond ring from her pocket and put it on her right ring finger. Walking down the beach and thought about her husband back in the future as she continued to adore the crystal on the band of gold. Finally, she found what she was looking for: Chris's Jet Ski.
With a few seconds of re-wiring, she was able to start the engine. The sky was becoming darker and darker, but it was still in the earlier hours of the evening. She skidded across the darkened water until she reached the five star resort a few miles away. She snuck her way onto the luxurious island without being spotted. As she peered over a boulder from near the water's edge, she spied Ezekiel sitting in a beach chair scribbling in a beat up notebook, occasionally looking up only too look back down at the paper.
"Ezekiel, you had a lot to learn about the real world." whispered Eva's future self. She looked again at the notebook Ezekiel had, which happened to be his secrete journal. Ezekiel was close enough and Eva's future self had a good enough eye sight that she was able to read the writing that he put into the notebook. The page Ezekiel happened to be on read:
… and not to mention that she's almost fearless! Nothing bothers her, nothing intimidates her, nothing ever gets to her. Her strength isn't only in her body, but in her fierce spirit. And even though I know I deserved the abuse she gave me, I feel that it's really something more than my moment of stupidity that's bothering her. She tries to put up a front that she's perfectly okay with the world around her, but I can just tell she's not. In fact, almost no one on this show is really happy. But Eva, I can tell, is the most upset. I'm guessing that she lives in an atmosphere that thinks the way I used to: that girls can't really do anything compared to guys. It wasn't until I met Eva that I realized that the statement was wrong!
I just wish I could get close enough to Eva to talk to her. Maybe then she would open up. Maybe then she would see that people can change. I know that if I could change, so could the people in her life.
But, there I go, dreaming the practically impossible again. If I even looked at Eva, she would probably kill me on the spot! I really feel for her, you know. She's so angry at the world, that she's shut the door and refuses to open it. I think she's scared that if she does open that door, whatever's on the other side is going to hurt her. So she locks herself in with her anger, her frustration, her hatred. I think that she wants out of that shell, though. Who wouldn't, eh? But she's so accustomed to her world of isolation, she's unwilling to trust people.
But I have high hopes for Eva. She has a fierce spirit beneath all that anger. That spirit will take her far in this world. It's the spirit I wish more people had. It's the spirit I wish I had my self. It's that spirit that makes me love her so much.
Yes, I love Eva. If only I deserved her.
As Eva's future self finished reading the page, a lump grew in her throat. She had heard Ezekiel say those things to her before, when they started dating and eventually got married and such. But to think that Ezekiel felt this way so early in their acquaintance of each other was beyond her wildest imagination before now.
"Yes, you had so much to learn, Ezekiel." She paused to wipe a tear from her cheek. She looked back over to Ezekiel. "Class dismissed."
And right as she finished speaking, her watch beeped and flashed blue, summoning her to come back to the future. And so, with the blanket of the night to hide her, She left her hiding spot, found a secluded location nearby, and projected the portal back home.
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Eva walked back into the future, deep in thought. She had a moderate smile on her face and a small tear was welling up in the corner of her eye.
When she saw her husband coming her way, she quickly wiped the tear away and slightly widened her smile.
"Hey, honey." She said as she kissed Zeke on the cheek.
"Hi, baby." He said back, "How'd it go, eh?"
"Well, she recognized me." she said.
Zeke gave her a knowing smile and said, "And…?"
"And…" she sighed and smiled, "Babe, let's face it. I was as hard headed as I was insane."
"Oh, I don't think you were that bad, Eva."
Eva smiled, "Thanks, Zeke. Hey, uh, do you mind getting me a bottled water?"
Zeke nodded and went to go retrieve one from the kitchen area. As he walked away, Eva whispered after him, "Zeke, you silly boy. Haven't you realized that it is I that doesn't deserve you?"
Aww! How sweet. Wow, I just gotta say thank goodness for online translators!!! There's no way the flashback would have worked without it! LOL! Stay tuned for the next chapter! It's gonna be AWESOME!