Evangeline gave another turn around in the mirror, smoothing the blouse down over her torso. Brandon would approve of this, right? It was particularly cold that night so something showy was out of the question. Instead, Eva had went with a long-sleeved, tunic-like blouse and thick, fleece-lined leggings. Coupling that with some thick socks and cute winter boots, and she had a decent outfit!
Giving herself an approving nod, the young woman snatched up her coat, wallet and house keys before padding down the stairs. Brandon was almost always on time, and when he wasn't generally he was early. As if on cue, as soon as Eva's feet hit the bottom of the floor there was a heavy series of knocks that resonated through the front door.
"Woman, I know you're there! Hurry up or we'll miss the sales!" he called, as impatient as always.
"I'm coming! Geez, you're excited tonight" Eva chided, locking the door behind her as she stepped out.
"Of course I am! Right now all the best shops are having huge sales and I'm determined to do some editing on your wardrobe without breaking both of our accounts"
Evangeline gave a perplexed glance down at her clothes as they strolled down the street.
"What's wrong with my wardrobe?"
"Considering you haven't seemed to be impressing that guy you've been fawning over, something has to be wrong with it" the taller male stated, waving a hand out to hail a taxi for the two of them, "So what's he into? Maybe we can find something to give him a little eye candy"
Eva thought for a moment as the two of them settled into the car that had pulled to the sidewalk. Candy, huh? She had never really thought of herself as sexy, or that anything like that would really suit her in the first place. She certainly wasn't ugly, but not necessarily pretty either. At least, that's what Eva thought.
"Brandon, I really don't think-" she began to protest, however a particular look from the fabulous male made her words stop dead on her tongue.
"I swear, if you were about to say you wouldn't look sexy or that he wouldn't get a hard on if you did, I will throw you out of this moving vehicle" he bit with a tone that she had never heard from him before, "You, and any other woman, deserve to feel beautiful inside, and out. I don't want to hear that bullshit"
Evangeline sat in shock. Honestly, there was a bit of fear there too.
Another not to self: No downgrading herself in front of Brandon.
"Well, he is heavily into Japanese culture…" Eva quickly backtracked, trying to divert the subject back to safety.
"So, he's a weeb?"
"No, no! He and his family practice traditional martial arts. He just happens to be a bit more dedicated than his brothers" she corrected, staying careful to keeping any information as vague as possible, though it was proving difficult since Brandon was so easy to talk to.
"Oh~! See this is why you need to tell me more! Hell, I don't even know this guy's name" he commented while handing the driver some cash as they pulled over.
"Well, honestly, I think you might laugh"" Eva admitted, taking his hand when he offered to assist her out of the car.
"Oh god, is it something ridiculous? Like, Donald or Francis?" Brandon snorted as the two of them walked down a fairly crowded street, most of the shops having large sale signs and advertisements posted outside.
"Leonardo…." Eva hesitantly mumbled, giving into a gritted, sheepish smile.
"Like da Vinci? Leonardo da Vinci?" her companion asked in disbelief.
"Yea, and he has three younger siblings...brothers"
Brandon gaped, exasperated.
"Sweet baby jesus...don't tell me...the four masters"
"Yep"
"Girl, I'm going to pretend that's completely normal and we are going to continue this shopping trip without mentioning all four names, ok?" he stated, carrying on with his original pace, "I have the perfect place in mind"
Genuinely worried, and to say the least, hesitant, Eva followed her companion down the street to whatever destination he had in mind. The sidewalks were fairly busy on both sides, which wasn't surprising, with people traveling in and out of the shops. Personally Eva had made it a point to stay home this time of year simply because of the over crowded streets. The young woman made sure to stick close to her friend to avoid being separated.
"So, where exactly are we going?" she asked, stuffing her hands into the warmth of her jacket pockets.
"Hon, if I told you that it would ruin my fun" he practically giggled.
"I feel like I should be worri-" Evangeline began to chuckle, however right as the pair were passing an ally, something caught the hem of the young woman's coat.
Coming to a dead halt, something like a cold trickle melted its way down Eva's spine as she directed her eyes down to see an older woman in tattered clothing gripping hard onto the coat's hem. She sat on a dirty, thinned blanket with a singular bowl placed at its center. Unfortunately the darkness, and the shawl that covered the majority of her head, shrouded any chance of a clear description, save for one thing, her eyes. They were wide, almost fearful, like a deer in headlights, and as dark as ink. Her chapped lips parted, a faint mist from the cold escaping into the air.
"Danger" her thickly accented voice desperately cracked, "Save him"
Evangeline froze, eyes unable to leave the woman's, as the world, for just a moment, started to spin. Danger? Save him? It was all so sudden Eva hardly had time to absorb what had just been thrown at her. Right as it seemed the covered stranger was about to say something else, a strong hand jerked Eva away.
"For your troubles. We're leaving" Brandon stiffly snapped, tossing some loose change into the bowl at the center of the blanket. With that he drug his friend protectively away.
"W-what..." Evangeline mumbled, still reeling from what had just happened. She glanced back, only to see no one.
"Ignore it. We both know New York has some shady people. Come on" her friend assured, patting her shoulder as he continued to guide her away. Unfortunately, even with Brandon doing his very best, Eva couldn't shake what had happened. Something kept itching at her. It hadn't sat right in the pit of her stomach. She really tried, however to have the best time she could. They shopped for what seemed forever, attempting to keep it at bay.
Around 8:30, right as the two had decided to make their way back down the street, shopping bags and tea/coffee in hand, Evangeline's ears pricked to attention when a loud BANG, resonated through the thick pavement.
"Did you hear that?" She asked pausing to look in the general direction of where the noise had came from.
"Probably someone throwing trash out a few streets down" Brandon shrugged, carrying on toward home, thoroughly happy with himself.
"Yea…." Eva mumbled, following close behind.
"So, now that I have a name, I take it you're pretty into this guy, huh?" he started, grinning with his tea to his lips. Eva paused for a moment, feeling her cheeks heat up at the very thought of the blue-masked ninja.
"Yea...I guess I realized it recently. I really feel like I...I might..." she tried, however, it seemed like the right word wouldn't come out. It refused to leave her tongue.
"...Love him?" her companion softly teased with the slightest of giggles, watching Eva's face turn color, even in the dim lighting.
"Yea.." she replied in nearly an inaudible tone, earning a wider grin.
"Awe! Look at you being all in love and shit!" he cooed, making a kissy face toward the shorter female.
"I haven't told him yet"
"Well, you need to! I wanna meet this asshole at one point you know!" He protested while crossing his arms when the two paused at a crosswalk.
"They're pretty reclusive toward most people. Maybe someday.." she said, trying her best to bite her tongue down. It would have been nice to at least attempt to talk Leonardo into it, but with things how they were now, for Brandon's safety, it was best he didn't know.
"Yea, well, they need to-" he started to pout, until a loud ringing came from his back pocket. Bewildered, he brought the cell phone to his ear. Eva waited, watching Brandon mumble responses into the mic, his expression changing from confusion, to a visible groan before hanging up.
"Hon, I'm sorry to cut this short but apparently I'm needed at work"
Eva's eyebrows knitted together, glancing at her phone. 8:56…
"This late..?"
"Yea...apparently I'm needed for some emergency research or something. Gotta earn that paycheck, right?" he replied, hailing a taxi, "I'll text you later girl. Be careful getting home, kay?"
"Definitely..good luck" she replied with a light wave, watching her friend smile and hop in the cab. Once alone, Evangeline sighed and continued walking toward home, which was luckily not so far. Shifting her bags to one shoulder for better balance, her paced picked up to both avoid getting colder and prevent being on the street at night for longer than necessary. It was then that a harsh prickle, like dozens of needles, ran up her arms and into the young woman's hair.
You're being watched
Suddenly, something grabbed her wrist with such force that Eva was spun around to come face to face with the woman from before. Where had she came from? How had she been able to sneak up on her like that? Evangeline's heart thudded in her chest. Fear, confusion, and shock covered her expression as the woman's hand squeezed with surprising strength. Her eyes, those cold, haunting eyes, bore deep into Evangeline's.
"They have them" she pleaded, the old stranger's voice shaking, "They have Leo"
Evangeline felt her body go rigid.
The boys.
The bang from earlier.
Everything clicked into place.
Eva felt her mind become tunneled, her heart thudding up into her throat. She yanked her arm from the grip of the foreigner and took off in a dead run toward home. The boys were in danger! Leo was in danger! Eva's lungs burned from the cold, adrenaline pumping in her blood like hot, molten lava. April. Casey. She needed to call them! A new fear started swelling in her chest with the ache of pushing her body's limits. She couldn't lose them! She wouldn't!
'I'm coming. Please, just hang on'