Bea stopped in the hallway, just out of sight of the Ruffian's sight. The guard with her pointed to the cell, which belonged to the Copper siblings, Evelyn and Alejandro. "She's in there. Kid's asleep. Be careful of the company you keep." The guard spoke, Bea nodding. "Thanks." The guard walked off, leaving the gym leader alone.
Bea still didn't exactly know what she was going to say or even why she thought it would be a good idea to come. She clutched the bag of food she got from a nearby fast food place in her hand, sighing as she walked up to the bars of Evelyn's cell.
Evelyn was sitting on her cot, crosslegged. Alejandro was asleep, the boy laying on Evelyn's leather under the cot. Someone had given Evelyn a newspaper and she was tearing strips off of it, making paper airplanes. Bea could see that a few had already made their way across the cell, piling up by the wall. Evelyn hadn't looked up yet, but Bea knew she heard her. Evelyn tarred through the front page picture of Bea's face like she had been saving it until this moment.
"Nice to see you, too," Bea spoke, and Evelyn raised an eyebrow.
"Visiting hours are over. What are you doing here?"
"Felt like coming. Also, the perks of being a gym leader."
Evelyn scoffed a little. "Of course..." Neither of them said anything for a while. Eventually, Evelyn decided to speak.
"Did you know," She said, "That my mom taught me how to make paper planes? She knew hundreds of different ways to fold them."
"I didn't know there were hundreds of ways to make paper airplanes."
"Well, maybe I'm exaggerating. But I haven't used the same one twice so far today." The ruffian threw the newest one through the bars and Bea caught it. She looked at the right half of her face.
"Didn't think I'd ever be in the papers again," Evelyn shrugged. "Especially because of someone like you."
Bea gruffed a little before holding up the bag of food. "Hungry? It's the number four from Arby's."
Evelyn tilted her head. "What, no curly fries? A travesty."
Bea raised an eyebrow. "I'd be a little more grateful if I were you. I heard prison food is terrible."
Evelyn snorted, amused. "Oh, it's horrendous. Thankfully neither me nor Alejandro have an appetite. We get along just fine without food for the evenings."
Bea turned her attention to the sleeping figure of Alejandro under the cot. "Leaving your own brother to sleep under the cot, which I'm sure is far more comfortable than the floor, with nothing but a jacket? That's low."
Evelyn narrowed her eyes as Bea tossed her a water bottle through the bars. Nothing more, nothing less. "Fuck off, princess. He wanted to sleep under there."
Bea wanted to say something about the nickname said in a bitter tone but chose to leave it alone for now.
Evelyn then regarded the left half of the paper airplane. "I like you better this way. Back at Stow-on-Side, you acted like someone's caregiver."
"I am someone's caregiver." Bea pointed out, her gaze hardening as she knew where this was going.
Evelyn scoffed, tearing the paper and folding it again. "Right. That little coward you call your brother. Surprised he's even a gym leader."
Bea growled a little, the bag of food long forgotten on the ground. "Allister is not a coward. He's a great gym leader. Just like the rest of us." She snapped, wanting to defend her little brother.
Evelyn chuckled at that, which only fueled Bea's anger. She knew what the Ruffian was doing and she hated it. Hated that she was letting a petty criminal like Evelyn get under her skin. "Right. That's why he sounds like he's about to cry when you're not around. And when you are around, he cowers and hides behind you." Evelyn snarked, smirking a little.
"He held his own against Alejandro and his Gengar." Bea countered.
"Yet needed you to save him from a simple Shadow Ball."
"He's a kid for fuck's sake! Of course I saved him! He's my responsibility, I care about him."
Evelyn gruffed. "Oh, please. Alejandro's only a couple of years older than him and he doesn't need me to constantly follow him. He can take care of himself when I'm not around."
"And what? You don't bother to protect him when you are around? You dragged him into a life of crime." Bea spoke, her eyes glued to the Ruffian leader with a glare that was sharp as steel.
Now it was Evelyn's turn to act defensively. "Fuck off. If anything, I saved him from a life he would've suffered. Just because I love watching you and other people suffer doesn't mean I don't care about the little bugger. I love him to death. I trust his skills enough to believe he can defend himself but when he does need me, I will protect him. Whether it's from you or a god damn Legendary."
Bea paused. Admittedly, she was a little surprised at Evelyn's sudden quiet outburst. Nevertheless, she raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think a petty criminal like you had a sense of honor."
"Don't even talk to me about honor," Evelyn growled, throwing another airplane.
Bea caught it, holding it up. "It's funny how Alejandro is the kid, yet you act more like a child than he does." She remarked.
Evelyn shrugged. "Let's just say he didn't have a childhood. There's a reason why he acts more like an adult than a kid. But he's young, he has time to grow." She spoke. She paused for a moment before she continued, "At least I have a realistic world view. Am I wrong to hate people born into privilege?"
"Of course you are" Bea sighed. "It's not their fault. They didn't ask for it. It wasn't their choice."
"Maybe. But it's their choice on how to act about it." Evelyn crossed her arms. "Most of the time, they flaunt daddy's money around as if they earned it." She leaned forward, folding her hand together. "My granddad always said, 'If they're not a part of the struggle, they shouldn't be a part of the success.' And yet those bastards have the audacity to act like they own the world."
"Not everyone is like that. Some of us are raised right. When my parents died, I didn't buy my way to being a gym leader. I worked for it. I had to raise Allister. And I gave what was left of my inheritance to people who really needed it."
Finally, Evelyn stood up and stepped closer. "So now you're playing the idealist full-time, eh, princess?"
"And you're playing the cynic."
"Someone has to."
Evelyn reached the bars, but Bea didn't step back. The height difference between the two of them was noticeable now. The sharp silver gaze of the gym leader met with the fiery magenta stare of the Ruffian leader. Evelyn leaned against the bars.
"Mommy and daddy sure must be proud of their baby girl." She spoke, venom and sarcasm lacing around every word. "While they hang out with the Big Man up in the sky, looking down on you. They must've loved you, Bea Roswell."
Bea stayed where she was, not flinching. "Of course they did. And I loved them just as much as they loved Allister and me." She narrowed her eyes up at Evelyn. "Can you say the same?"
Evelyn narrowed her eyes before stepping back from the bars, shrugging as she walked over to the pile of paper airplanes. "Mom's dead, dad hates my guts, and granddad isn't any better."
Bea watched as Evelyn picked up one of the airplanes and tossed it again. The dented nose of the plane made it fall to the ground immediately. Evelyn leaned against the wall. "You said low lives like me don't know your story." She gruffed. "Well, privileged pricks like you don't know mine either."
Bea was a little taken aback by this. She didn't know what to say after that. But even so, it didn't really matter because Evelyn continued to speak, "Now if that's all you have to say, get out of here." She growled a little as she walked to the cot, laying down on it. Her back faced Bea. "I need to rest. We got community service because of you and your brother."
Bea was silent before turning and starting to walk away. Evelyn spoke one last time.
"Sleep well, princess."
Bea froze for a moment, her fists clenching before she shook her head and continued walking.
