Taking a deep breath, Evie began to close the distance between their mouths. Her heart hammered in her chest, drowning out all the sounds around her. Her eyes fluttered closed, her long lashes kissing her cheek bones. With a surge of courage, she placed her mouth against Doug's, molding her lips into the kiss. She let her lips linger for a moment before moving away, anxiously holding his hand. Her big brown eyes were wide, her lips mouthing incoherent words like a prayer. Moments ticked by, the leaden feeling in her chest worsening. She gently placed his hand down on the floor, a strangled sob escaping out of her mouth. She crawled back, wrapping her arms around her legs and buried her head in her thighs, her body shaking as the sobs wracked her lithe frame.
'Evie," Mal breathed, racing over to the taller girl. She wrapped her arms around her, and Evie let her pull her into her chest, her sobs getting more frantic as the pain worsened.
"It didn't work. He doesn't love me," she said is a broken whisper, the sound cracking Mal's heart.
"Maybe true love's kiss takes a while, he could still come around," Mal tried desperately to cheer her friend up, despite the sinking feeling in her chest.
"Mother was right, I am unlovable," Evie whispered, barely audible.
Tears welled up in Mal's eyes, her ears just catching what her best friend said. The cracks in her heart widened, as if the words were an earthquake that shattered the remains of her heart. She wanted to say something, to deny it. She wanted to turn into a dragon and fly back to the isle, and roast Evie's mother alive for daring to put such nonsense in her friend's head. She couldn't even muster any words around the rock in her throat so instead she just held her best friend close to her, trying in vain to keep her own tears at bay. She caught Uma's eyes, seeing her own sorrow reflected in them. Sure, she was not close with Evie, but the bluenette had a way of creeping into your heart despite your best efforts, Mal knew that firsthand.
"Hey guys-" Celia started to say, racing into the room, "Err, what's wrong?" she asked, her childish inquisitiveness shining through.
Evie took a shuddering breath and removed her head from Mal's chest. She turned around and wiped the makeup smeared around her face. She was grateful that Mal didn't try to touch her again, respecting that she needed some space. "I just got something in my eye, Celia. Why don't the three of you go in the other room and I'll be there soon," Evie said, her voice strained despite the happiness she tried to inject into it.
Uma and Mal met each other's eyes, with Mal giving a tiny nod. "Okay E, we'll be in there," Mal said, her voice softer than usual.
Evie gave a stiff nod, digging a nail into her palm to keep the tears at bay. She heard the three of them leave, and pulled out her pocket mirror, refusing to look at Doug. she busied herself with getting rid of most of the smears, knowing she didn't have time to reapply. "Just more evidence of my failure," she muttered, focusing on taking deep breaths. Finally she had gotten rid of most of the evidence, though there were faint black streaks that were only noticeable if you looked closely. Knowing that it was the best she could do at the moment, she stood up, and brushed her skirt. Taking a deep, steadying breath she looked back at Doug, taking another breath to stop the tears that were welling from spilling over.
She walked over to him, slightly wobbly in her heels, she blanked her mind and with difficulty managed to get him standing. She eased him onto the table, helping him lay down before she moved his legs onto it. She spied his jacket and bunched it up, placing it gently under his head. Just because he obliterated her heart, doesn't mean she should leave him to be uncomfortable. With one last longingly look, she turned on her heel and walked back to the girls, making sure her head was high despite the shards of her heart feeling like they were at her feet.
Mal and Uma looked up when she came into the room. Evie just kept her expression impassive, the perfect mask like her mother taught her. She could see the concern in Mal's eyes but she ignored it, knowing that if she addressed it, her soul would shatter along with her heart. Hearts are fixable, souls are not. It didn't matter that her best friend was the daughter of a death god, not even she would be able to put it back together.
She could tell that Uma wanted to say something, but one stern look made the Sea Witch close her mouth. Even Celia looked at them curiously, and Evie managed to muster a small smile that didn't come close to reaching her eyes for her. She could see Mal as beginning to open her mouth when she heard a thud, followed by others in rapid succession. She looked up, only to see Celia at the window, frantically trying to push boards away. "Guys!" She called, making Evie and the others snap to attention.
"Audrey is getting more powerful!" Mal exclaimed, her eyes flashing emerald green.
"Let me try, maybe I can get my shadow to make them move," Celia suggested, and the other girls nodded, the conviction in her tone stopping any argument.
Celia stepped back and moved into the darkest part of the room, she bent her head to face the floor, and took a deep breath. The shadows around her seemed the writhe and swirl, reacting to the pour she was outputting. The temperature seemed to drop, the light being eaten by the shadows as they slunk out and danced around the room. Celia lifted her head, the blacks in her eyes completely taking over, shining with a dull light. The other girls swallowed their fear, instead focusing on their curiosity, since they had never seen Celia's magic before. The shadows seemed to twirl and dart through the air, getting a mischievous personality of their own. They made their way over to the boards, trying to slip through them, only to slam into a barrier.
Celia groaned when they made contact, physically recoiling from the impact. Mal looked at her with concern, especially when the younger girl tried again, this time instructing the shadows to be more cautious. The same thing happened, the shows being repelled by an invisible force. Celia, seeing no other choice, retracted the shadows, placating them when they grumbled at being returned. The light gradually infused the area, the shadows releasing their light hostages as they returned. When all the shadows were retracted, and Celia released her magic, her eyes returning to their usual colour, she slumped to the ground, her energy drained.
"Celia!" Mal called, jogging over to her.
The girl groaned as she came two, leaning heavily against Mal on the floor. She blinked the remaining darkness from her eyes before looking up at Mal, a small smile on her little face. "So that didn't work," she said, making Mal chuckle despite her worry.
"It appears not, but your magic is impressive," Mal said, smirking at the little girl.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up at the compliment.
"Definitely, I had no idea you could do that, little miss Shadow," Uma added, smiling with her arms crossed.
"I've been practicing, You should see Freddy, she is a lot better. Her magic is stronger with animation and voodoo, whereas mine is shadow manipulation and fortune telling," she added, smiling sadly when she thought of her sister.
"We'll get her over here, Cel, don't worry," Evie said, recognising the expression on the girl's face and managing to push away the stormy emotions.
"But to do that we gotta get outta here, you wanna try?" Uma said, looking at her nails.
"Sure," Mal said, helping Celia stand up. She walked over so she was standing in the middle of the room, stretching out her hands. "You've caused my friends pain and fear, we've had enough, now disappear!" she chanted, her eyes glowing.
"You guys, I'm sorry, my magic isn't working. Audrey's magic is getting stronger," mal said panicking, looking around desperate for a solution.
"Come on, let's try together," Uma suggested, clutching Mal's hand. They held their hands up between them, chanting the spell with all their energy. Mal's eyes glowed green and Uma's shell glowed gold, making the boards shake a little, although they ultimately remained.
"God what are we going to do! Celia, are you up for a spell?" Mal asked frantically, begging Celia to say yes.
"No, I'm sorry my magic is wiped," she said, looking down sadly. Her mind was ticking away, before she gasped and looked up excitedly. "Get Evie to do it with you both!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands and bouncing on the spot.
"Um Celia, Evie doesn't have magic," Uma said, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
Mal just stood there, her mind ticking away. Sure, Evie hadn't shown any express forms of magic, but her mother was a powerful witch. Her mother had even told her that she was one of the most powerful witches in all the lands before she was captured, especially with poison, mirror and trickery magic. It might be a long shot, but Evie had her mother's blood, and should be able to tap into that magic.
"E, I know it sounds like a long shot, but your mother is a powerful witch, you should be able to use magic." Mal said, desperation beldinging with excitement.
"What? No Mal, my mother wasn't. She could make potions ure but nothing that strong." Evie said, growing despite herself.
"Actually Mal is right, your mother is an incredibly powerful witch. She just didn't tell you and the entire Isle was sworn to secrecy. She blamed her magic for her failure and renounced it," Uma added, thinking back to a conversation she had with her mother years ago about who had magic and who didn't.
Evie just stood there, doing a fantastic impression of a statute. Surely if her mother had magic she would have told her? And if she had magic she should have felt it when she went through the barrier? Mal sure did, and even Jay could feel the prickle though he ignored it, not seeing the point until he found a lamp. She had felt nothing, just plain ole Evie. sighing, she looked up at Mal, and saw the desperation in her eyes, being able to read her emotions like an open book.
"Fine, we can try it. I guess it won't hurt." Evie signed, walking over to the girls and getting in line with them. She was in the middle, one hand clutching each girl's. She ignored the weirdness of that and just closed her eyes, searching inside her for even a flicker of magic.
"Ready?" Mal asked, getting a nod from each. "Say the following, you've caused us all pain and fear, we've had enough, now disappear," Mal instructed, getting a nod from both girls.
They turned their gazes on the wood, determination setting their eyes aglow. "You've caused us all pain and fear, we've had enough, now disappear!" they shouted.
Celia watched transfixed. She always found the way that Mal's eyes glowed green breathtaking, and the radiant glow of Uma's shell was running. This time though, her eyes were fixed on Evie, her body being sheathed in a reddish purple glow, the colours blending into a beautiful tapestry. She knew that Evie didn't notice but she saw both Uma and Mal glancing at her, small smiles on their faces. As soon as the last word of the spell left their lips the wood all fell off the building as if it was aflame, taking the glow of Evie's magic with it.
"E, you have magic!" Mal shouted in excitement, her grin contagious.
"No I didn't, I didn't feel anything," she said, a puzzled expression on her face.
"You were glowing a reddish purple girl, if that isn't magic then I don't know what is," Uma added, smirking at her.
Evie let a small smile form on her face at those words. She had magic that opened a whole new world for her. Who knows what the limits were with it, who knows what she could do with it. These thoughts swirled through her mind until she caught a glimpse of the doorway leading to Doug, all happiness draining out of her.
Mal caught her friend's expression, at the same time as Uma and both girls frowned, not liking the somber look on the normally peppy girl. Mal went to say something when Celia squealed from the doorway.
"Oh Maaal," she sang, turning to the girl with a devilish expression, "your bae is here," she finished, grinning at the girl.
Mal gasped, all thought being replaced with the desire to see her man. Her feet refused to move though, when she saw the sadness etched on Evie's face. She instead walked over to her and grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze.
"Go see him, he'll want to see you. I'm a big girl Mal, I'll be fine," Evie said, squeezing her friend's hand.
Mal went to argue, but when she heard Ben yell her name she couldn't stop herself. Her feet had a mind of their own and she sprinted out, taking a flying leap into Ben's arms. Uma followed her out, racing to her friend's. Harry gave her a brotherly one armed hug, checking she was okay, before passing her over to Gil, who held her closely for a few moments. Carlos and Jane made their way to the seats, where Carlos gave Jane his gift. It was heartwarming to see, and Evie just remained in the doorway, averting her eyes and blinking back tears.
"What is this," Mal teased, running her hand through the facial hair that had grown on Ben's chin.
"You like it?" He asked, grinning at her proudly as she flirtatiously stroked it.
"I could get used to this," Mal flirted, tracing the outline.
"What about those?" Uma teased, coming over and drawing attention to Ben's new incisors.
"Yea no," Mal said, the same time that Ben said that he liked them.
"Okay so Ben we think she might be at Fairy Cottage, did she ever take you there?" Mal asked, looking at her boyfriend.
"Only every Fairy Godmother's day," he said, rolling his eyes slightly at the memories.
"Okay so we need a team of people to go there, a team to go look for Fairy Godmother and a team to stay at Audrey's, just in case she returns there and perhaps a team to stay at the Museum." Mal declared, looking at everyone.
"Dude can likely smell out Fairy Godmother, so we can go with Jane," Carlos offered, getting nods.
"We need you to stay at Audrey's Carlos, you are sneaky and can hide well," Mal said, and after prodding from Jane, he agreed.
"But only if Jane brings some brawn as well," Carlos said, "and not Hook," he added, glaring at the flirty pirate.
"Yea, I'd feel better," Jane said, getting agreement from Ben and Mal
"Hey I got muscles! I'll go," Gil said, smiling at everyone like he had just uncovered the secret to immortality.
"Sure thing, strong man," Uma teased, grinning at the pirate.
"There is a lake at the cottage, so Uma would be helpful there," Ben said, getting a nod.
" Okay, Ben and I will join Uma and Celia can join Carlos, she can help them hide in the shadows if needed and he can set up some traps," Mal said, getting a nod.
"Guess that leaves Jay, me and the princess, at the Museum," Harry said, smirking and getting eye rolls from the others, except Evie.
It was then that Jay and Carlos realised how quiet the other girl was. They shared a look before looking up at her, still loitering in the doorway. They glanced at Mal who shook her head, showing them that it wasn't the time. Carlos frowned, worried about his self-claimed sister, remembering every time she had been there for him. Jay was frowning too, not liking the sadness in her eyes. The happiness suits her much better, he thought, shifting uncomfortably.
"Okay, so keep your phones on you and we will meet up when we can." Ben said, nodding.
Carlos gave Jane a quick kiss on the cheek and after giving Evie one more concerned expression, he followed after Celia, knowing that the sooner they finished this mess, the sooner he could figure out what was going on with his sister.
Uma and Mal shared a glance, before Mal went up to Evie and gave her a quick hug, which the other girl didn't even return. Mal sighed, giving her a squeeze before walking back to Ben, shaking her head when he looked at her with concern. Uma looked at her sadly before giving Harry a warning look, telling him with her eyes not to mess with Evie. She followed after Ben and Mal, disappearing into the forest just as Gil, dude and Jane raced off.
Jay sighed and took off his beanie, running a hand through his hair. He walked up the stairs and wound an arm around Evie's waist, jarring her from her thoughts. "Eves, you okay?" He asked gently, his eyes soft.
"Jay? When did you get here?" she asked, frowning slightly.
"For a while, gorgeous. You Harry and I are going to the Museum so we should get going," he said gently, before noticing the faint dark smudges on her cheeks.
Harry came over, sauntering with a big grin. The grin faded when he saw how lost the girl looked, the faded tears catching the light. "We can wait a moment princess if you want to get ready, though you stunning already, my little duckling," he said, exaggerating his flirting to hopefully make her smile.
A whisper of a smile did form on her lips and she shook her head to rid it of the fog. "Give me a few minutes, got all sweaty and my makeup ran," she said with bravado, though Jay and Harry didn't believe it for a second.
"No problem, we'll wait here okay," Jay said, giving her a lopsided smile.
Evie just nodded and disappeared into her house, gently shutting the door behind her. She deliberately ignored the room that Doug was in and made a beeline for her bedroom. She shucked off her clothing, leaving her clad in her lacy bark blue bra and matching g-string. She raced into her bathroom and took off her makeup, quickly going through her normal routine. She deftly braided her hair into a side braid, wanting it out of her face. She made a beeline to her wardrobe, pulling out a pair of skintight black leather pants, with two sets of diagonal slanting silver sips on the upper thigh. She pulled on her cropped fishnet long sleeved top, pulling on her bright red velvet boob tube over it, leaving her dark red belly button gem gleaming. She pulled on her dark blue and red skull design stiletto heeled ankle boots, a black cross cross design made with ribbon on the heel, ending with a big black bow at the top. She pulled on her black and red jeweled earring cuffs and her navy velvet choker, deeming that good enough. For a moment she considered putting on her tiara, but decided not to.
She quickly strode out the room, once again ignoring the room where her- clearly not- true love lay. She opened her door and stepped out, the boys bickering immediately stopping once they saw her. She shut the door behind her and hurried down the steps, her steps sure despite the height of the heels.
"My, don't you look delicious," Harry said, checking her out.
"Where's your tiara?" Jay asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Doesn't matter, we have to go," she replied, though she did touch her head frowning at the lack of weight.
Jay smiled and walked over, deftly placing his red beanie onto her head and pulling it down. "Not a tiara, but better than nothing," he said, smirking at her.
"Thanks Jay," she said, a small smile on her lips.
"We had better get going, I might even be able to grab my mirror while we are there," Evie said, internally thinking she could use it to find out where Audrey was.
"After you, princess, think of Jay as I as your body guards, and what a body it is," Harry said roguishly, smirking at her.
Despite the pain in her heart, the action cheered Evie up a little. Her small smile that Jay caused grew into a bigger one, and Harry had to internally admit that it suited her much more than the sad expression.
Jay and Evie walked up to her, either side. In a grand gesture both boys pretended to bow at her, in a prince-esque manner. "Shall me, ma'lady?" Harry asked, a cheeky grin still on his face.
"We shall," Evie said, his antics helping some of the pain ebb.
Without another word, both boys threaded their arms through her and strutted out of her property. Evie could still feel the pain in her chest, though she couldn't he;p but admit that these two made it feel a little more bearable. Her mother's voice was strong in her mind, but at least these boys helped dull the sound a little. Harry kept his slightly unhinged grin on his face. Sure, he was kind at first due to his captain's unsaid warning, but he had to admit the girl was growing on him, and he wanted her to smile. It could light up a room, and it didn't hurt she was a looker. Jay just wracked his brain for what could have hurt Evie, knowing she was incredibly strong. Coming up empty, he internally promised himself that he would get to the bottom of it, and make sure that beautiful smile of hers never dimmed again.
I really should not be starting another story, but Evie, Jay and Harry are my One True Throuple and I couldn't stop myself. I'm considering leaving this as a one shot, but am also considering turning it into a multi chapter fic. Leaning more to a multi chapter but we shall see.
Regardless, thank you for reading my rambling and I hope you enjoyed this! I am working on a multi chapter rewrite of the first movie, so if you liked this give it a read, though I warn you that one is darker.