A/N: Here we go with the next chapter, I'll try and post a new chapter every Monday, unfortunately I work in hospitality so we've been pretty slammed lately. But fear not I have no abandoned this story, so lemme know your thoughts :)
Evie stood with Mike, Emily and Mia while Jayden and Kevin sparred with their swords in full morph and she had to admit Kevin was very good, he was almost a match to Jayden.
"He's got mad skills. I'm impressed" nods Mike.
"Yes, Jayden's one of the best that's ever been" agrees Ji.
"I was talking about Kevin. He's right up there with Jayden" replies Mike.
Evie bites back a laugh as she sees the look on Ji's face.
"He's so graceful with the sword" notes Emily before looking at Evie, "But like differently to how you are you know, you always remind me of a dancer" she says.
"He's stronger than me, it's a different kind of fighting, and like you said, a different sort of grace" nods Evie.
"Yes Jayden's always had that quality even as a child" agrees Ji.
Evie shakes her head knowing full well that Emily meant Kevin and not Jayden.
"I meant Kevin" says Emily.
Ji looks confused as he glances at Emily.
"Kevin's technique is better" adds Mia.
"They're both excellent swordsmen" huffs Ji stepping forwards and Evie hides her laughter behind a series of coughs as she tries to restrain her smile at how obviously annoyed Ji had gotten.
"Practice sparring is one thing, but the skill shown in battle is what really counts" says Ji.
"I'd hate to see what would happen if they really had to battle each other" notes Mike.
"That'd never happen" assures Mia. "Nothing could ever make Kevin fight against a fellow ranger" she adds.
"He's true blue" nods Emily.
At that moment Jayden makes it through Kevin's guard, his sword slicing across Kevin's stomach.
"Good match Jayden, I obviously need to practice more" says Kevin.
"Hey don't beat yourself up over a lost point. You were giving me a run for my money" assures Jayden.
"Okay, let's go again" says Kevin standing up.
"Fine by me" nods Jayden as they begin again.
"That was a sneaky shot by Jayden there" notes Mia.
"He's spent the last decade training against the queen of sneaky, he has to have picked a few things up" smiles Mike nudging Evie.
"I prefer supreme commander, but I'll take queen" smirks Evie.
As Kevin and Jayden finish their sparring session with Jayden once again taking the point the power down, and Ji looks at Evie and Mike.
"Why don't the two of you go" he says.
"If the supreme commander is up for it" nods Mike with a smile.
"She is" replies Evie with a laugh as they walk up to the training area and both morph.
"And Evie, no whip" warns Ji.
Evie crosses her heart before pulling her sword and settling into her stance, her sword held behind her.
Emily moved closer. She was trying to study everyone and do as Evie said and figure out what fighting style worked against who, and what Emily herself thought she could employ in battle.
Evie studied Mike through her helmet and as she expected he attacked first, bringing his sword down towards her.
Evie stepped back and bent herself backwards, so the strike missed her completely.
Mike pulled back to try and put himself back on balance but Evie dropped to the floor sweeping Mike's leg out from under him.
He stumbled as Evie brought her sword forwards for a strike, but Mike manged to throw his sword up and block it, using the moment he pushed Evie back giving him time to straighten up and with surprising speed he came at Evie again.
She blocks the hit but the force of it sends her back, however she uses the momentum to flip out of the way.
Mike follows after her and she slides into the splits bringing her sword up in both hands she blocks Mike's hit and brings her back leg forwards as she spins kicking Mike's sword out of his hand and reaching up she grabs his hand and slides between his legs flipping him onto his back as she comes to her feet and turns the point of her sword pointing at his throat.
"Point to Evie" nods Ji.
Evie sheathes her sword and holds her hand out to Mike who takes it and lets her help him up.
They both power down and Mike nods, "supreme commander it is" he says.
"You had me going a little there, I had to think fast, you've gotten better" compliments Evie.
"That trick with the splits was kind of awesome" says Mike.
"Thanks I got the idea from a movie" smiles Evie.
"Nicely done" nods Ji, "Emily, Mia, your turn" says Ji.
The two step up, morph and begin to spar.
"You've been waiting to break out that move haven't you?" asks Jayden as Evie stands next to him.
"You never gave me the opportunity, Mike did" shrugs Evie.
"It's not exactly standard samurai style" notes Kevin.
"We can't all have your perfect form and technique Kevin. I have my own style" smiles Evie.
"Can't have been that perfect" notes Kevin.
"It really was Kevin, it was impressive, everyone thought so" assures Evie.
"I agree man, that was impressive" nods Mike.
Suddenly the gap sensors go off, they move inside and bring up the map.
"Out in the forest, that's odd" says Ji.
"Very, let's go and see what he's up too" says Jayden.
The other four morph and they head out to the Nighloks signal.
"Stop right there Nighlok" orders Jayden as they see him stood in a clearing.
The Nighlok turns with his weapon.
"We're going to whip you into shape" says Evie.
"Do you really want to tangle with me? I'm Metamot, the baddest of the bad from the Sanzu river. I'm a bad, bad man" smirks Nighlok.
"Let's see if you can back up that talk" says Mike.
"Hmm, having back up is a good idea" nods the Nighlok as he hits the ground, "here kitty kitty" he calls.
The ground shakes as something comes out of the dirt.
"Is that the tigerzord?" asks Evie.
"Yeah" nods Jayden all of them in shock.
"Surprised? When the Earth cracked open and you sealed Master Xandred in the Netherworld. Your tigerzord fell into the crevice too. I saved him and made him my pet kitty, or should I say pet tiggy?" Metamot asks with a laugh as the tigerzord growls at them.
"Your pet? No way" gasps Mike.
"We've got to get it back" says Kevin.
"My spell on him is too powerful" gloats Metamot. "He's mine" he says as his face begins to glow.
"Everyone duck" yells Jayden as he pulls Evie down with him.
Kevin goes to but sees Mike hasn't ducked.
"Mike get down" he yells shoving him out of the way and the spell hits Kevin full force and he drops to the floor clutching his head.
"Kevin" calls Mike dropping next to him only for Kevin to attack him and throw him to the floor a short way off.
"Mike" gasps Mia rushing over to him.
"What was that all about?" asks Mike standing up.
"He's in a trance, I've tamed a new pet. I'll call him blue, now sick 'em" orders Metamot gleefully.
Kevin launches forwards attacking Mike and Mia.
"What's wrong buddy?" asks Mike trying to stop him.
"The spell, Kevin's under the Nighloks spell" realises Mia just as Kevin slashes across her chest sending her backwards as he knocks Mike back.
"Kev stop" cries Emily.
Kevin turns to her and Jayden runs forwards dodging Kevin's hit and jumping over his back, stepping onto it and kicking him as he landed behind.
"Oh a rabble-rouser is it?" says Metamot as Jayden rushes towards him. "One red ranger puppet coming up" he adds as he shoots his spell at Jayden.
"Symbol power" yells Jayden as he draws a counter symbol and the spell is deflected and Jayden brings his sword down at Metamot who brings a shield up and blocks it but Jayden continues to attack him and manages to knock him to the ground.
"Hey no one beats me, chew him up tigerzord" orders Metamot.
Jayden turns and rolls to the side managing to avoid the blast from the tigerzord.
Meanwhile the others were trying to fend off Kevin, Emily gets thrown to the ground and Mia and Mike rush to her.
"I can't fight Kevin" gasps Emily.
Kevin goes to activate his spin sword sending his dragon splash attack against the others, but before it makes contact Evie appears in front of them and draws a symbol and the attack is deflected to the side.
"Wow Evie" gasps Emily.
"I really don't want to hurt you Kevin, but I will if I have too" warns Evie.
Kevin surges forwards to attack again.
"Fine then" says Evie as she switches her sword into her whip, "this is how you make one of these look good" she says as she flicks it over her shoulder before sending it at Kevin.
He deflects it and grabs hold of it trying to pull Evie forwards.
"Not today" she smirks as she wraps her end of the whip around her wrist and brings her foot up stepping down on the whip hard, and Kevin stumbles forwards releasing the whip and being knocked off balance. Evie pulls it back before sending it out again with a flick of her wrist and it wraps around his ankle and with a sharp yank his feet are pull out for under him and he lands on his back with a groan.
"Get hold of him and we can get him home and figure out what's wrong" says Evie.
The four of them move forwards only for Kevin to suddenly grab his sword and rolling to his feet he attacks Mike sending him flying into Evie. And Evie gasps as the wind is knocked out of her completely as they both smash into a tree.
With his advanced skill Kevin soon sends the other two to the floor as well and once again activates his spin sword, "dragon splash" he calls.
Evie weakly tries to draw the symbol again but Kevin's blast hits them before she can and the four of them are thrown across the clearing each de-morphing as they land groaning in pain, Mike once again landing hard on Evie.
Jayden turns as he hears the cries of pain and sees Kevin advancing on the downed team.
Kicking Metamot away he jumps in front of them, "time to blaze a trail out of here" he says as he pulls out his disk and behind the cover of his fire blast he transports them all home.
As they arrive Jayden powers down and they all pull themselves to their feet and Ji rushes out, and Jayden fills him in before ushering them all into the house.
"What happened to you? You were fine when I checked?" asks Jayden looking at Evie.
Evie points to Mike, "how about you be the middle of a sandwich between a tree and him being thrown into you" retorts Evie before looking at Mike, "no more pizza for you" she adds.
"Sorry" says Mike.
"This isn't good" sighs Ji as they all sit down. "It's going to be very hard to break that monsters spell on the tigerzord and Kevin" he adds.
"We need a plan" nods Jayden.
"And Jayden you have to be ready to make tough decision if need be" reminds Ji.
"I know" sighs Jayden before he sees the concerned looks on the others faces, "but lets figure out a way, to break the Nighloks hold on Kevin before it gets to that" he says.
Everyone separates off to tend to their injuries, Evie walks into the bathroom and takes off her jacket and her shirt checking her back and stomach and as she expects she finds bruises forming on her back and on her ribs.
She pulls her shirt and jacket back on when she sees Jayden grabbing his in the mirror.
Walking up to the door she leans against the doorframe, "you're planning something" she says.
Jayden jumps guiltily and looks at her, "what would I be planning?" he asks.
"Something stupid yet annoyingly noble, as per usual" she replies crossing her arms with an unimpressed look on her face. "Like say maybe trying to go after the Nighlok so the only person who gets hurt is you and the others won't have to fight Kevin" she adds.
Jayden sighs, "am I that obvious?" he asks.
"Only to the supreme leader of sneaky, and someone who's known you for over ten years" she assures. "What's the plan here Jayden I mean seriously?" asks Evie pointedly.
"Evie" starts Jayden.
"No, tell me you have a viable plan and I'll let you go, otherwise not happening" interrupts Evie.
Jayden nods, "my resist symbol counteracted the Nighlok in the woods. If I can get close enough to use it on Kevin, I think I can break the spell. But it's not going to be easy, Kevin is good I'll need to get close enough to ensure its effective" explains Jayden as he pulls out the disk he'd channelled the resistance symbol in to.
"Huh for once you've actually thought this through and aren't just being a dumb hero type, I'm impressed" nods Evie.
"You make me sound like an idiot" protests Jayden.
"Sometimes you act like one" points out Evie, "but why are we doing it in secret?" she asks.
"You saw what Kevin did to the others Evie. I can beat him, but I'll have to hurt him and none of the others can" replies Jayden as he pockets the disk.
"I think you'll find the one putting Kevin down today was me. Let's be honest here Jayden if anyone on this team can hurt someone for the greater good, it's me" corrects Evie.
"You might like to act like it but you're not a bitch Evie and you don't like hurting people" argues Jayden.
"But I'll do it if I need too. So, if we go, we go together, you might be the red ranger but I'm not just your arm candy, and I can still put you on your back and not in the fun way" she says.
Jayden snorts, "no one could ever mistake your for anyone's arm candy" he assures.
"Good, then let's go" replies Evie.
"The others aren't going to like it" reminds Jayden.
"I know, but they'll understand once it's done, now let's go, maybe while you're distracting him I can take out the Nighlok" answers Evie.
As they slip through the house they walk out the front door and are met by Ji.
"We were just going to walk" says Evie.
"I know what you're doing, the Nighlok is heading for the construction site out of town. Do what you need too" replies Ji.
The two of them nod before racing out of the gate, Ji watches them go with a sigh, this was one of the toughest challenges they'd faced yet, he just hoped it ended well for all rangers involved.
They arrive at the sight, "you go up first, the best way to do this with minimal damage to Kevin is if he's only focused on you. I'll wait for my opportunity" says Evie.
"As the supreme leader commands" replies Jayden.
"I really like that name" smiles Evie as she separates from Jayden and slips around the equipment ensuring she keeps out of sight of the Nighlok and Kevin.
Jayden meanwhile just walks up to the two of them.
"Ah red ranger about time" smirks Metamot.
"Kevin, please wake up" pleads Jayden as he looks at him.
"Not going to happen red" assures Metamot. "Make this fight count or I'll have blue turn his sword on himself" smirks Metamot.
"Jayden, we're here to help" call the others as they run up behind him.
"Hold up, where's black?" demands Metamot.
"She took the brunt of Kevin's hit, she's still recovering" answers Jayden without a quiver in his voice.
The others quickly catch on and don't say anything to the contrary.
"And no one else is taking part in this, I'm not risking anyone else" says Jayden looking at the other three.
"But Jayden" starts Mia.
"No" he says firmly before turning back to the Nighlok. "You want a show, I'll give you the show of your life Nighlok" says Jayden as he morphs.
"I wish I had some popcorn, blue attack" orders Metamot.
Kevin draws his sword and advances on Jayden the two circling each other.
"I can't believe this is happening" sighs Mia.
"And where the hell is Evie?" asks Emily.
"Home as far as the Nighlok is concerned and we need to keep it that way, let the supreme leader of sneaky do her thing" replies Mike quietly as he looks between Jayden and Kevin.
The fight begins and everyone watches with baited breath, Evie searching for an opening to either take out the Nighlok or Kevin, hopefully without doing too much damage in the case of the latter.
Jayden tries to reach Kevin as they continue to duel. But it seems to be to no avail as Kevin continues to battle, and Jayden felt like he had one hand tied behind his back, because he didn't want to hurt Kevin if he could help it.
"Man this is so not cool. Stop" yells Mike.
"Shut your pie hole" shouts Metamot as he turns and blasts the three of them.
Evie has to stifle the urge to run to them and reveal herself.
Suddenly someone else walks into the sight and Evie looks at him in confusion, who the hell was this guy.
"Looks like we have a winner" says Deker as he stops just in front of them.
"Who are you?" asks Mike.
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matter is who's winning, and its not the man in blue" he answers.
"How can you tell?" asks Mia.
"Because he's fighting like he's trying to win a training point and not a real duel" he replies as they all watch the duel continue.
"It's very different when you're fighting for survival. You fight with instinct. You have to watch your target like a hawk. It's easy to get tired in a long fight when there's no one to say stop" he adds just as Jayden slices a chain and brings a piece of equipment down causing Kevin to dive out of the way.
They move around to continue observing and Evie does the same, noting the distraction she creeps towards the Nighlok.
"The red ranger has a good stance. It reduces arm fatigue, he'll stay strong. And when the blues goes for the point, the red will see his opening and he'll strike. He's looking for a decisive blow, and that is the difference between the two. And while that is happening, black will be taking down Metamot while his focus is elsewhere" nods Deker.
"What?" ask Emily.
"The fox is always the craftiest one, and she fights the same way. There is a certain strength in stealth" replies Deker.
Seconds later Jayden blocks Kevin's hit and activates his spin sword, "this'll break the spell" says Jayden as he makes the strike.
Kevin is engulfed by red electricity and Jayden's symbol flashes up for a moment, before the spell leaves Kevin's body and he slumps to the ground de-morphing as he does so, the others race over to him and Evie sees her opening and moves so she's directly behind Metamot and morphs sliding her disk onto her sword.
"No my puppet" cries Metamot right before he's blasted down onto the ground and Evie is stood where he had been, she activates her spin sword, "metal strike" she yells as she flips down from the mound and lands behind Metamot sending the strike right at him at point black range.
He's thrown onto the floor where he surges with electricity and Evie knows he's finished.
"The red ranger is the perfect opponent for Urumasa" nods Deker before his gaze slips to Evie as she walks over to Jayden, "but something tells me that the black ranger will be a challenge all her own" he notes.
Evie smirks and walks over to Jayden.
"Told you I had a plan" he smiles.
"Not bad, not bad at all" nods Evie proudly. "Looks like mine worked too" she adds nodding to Metamot before he exploded behind them.
"Nice work too" agrees Jayden.
"Now, go tame us a tiger and let's take this guy down" says Evie as Metamot grows to mega size.
Jayden nods and activates his zord before launching himself into it and knocking the tigerzord down and transferring over to it, ensuring that it was fully back under ranger control while Evie runs over to the others.
"What happened?" groans Kevin.
"Oh the usual Nighlok causing problems" says Mike.
"Yeah it's a long story and right now we've got some work to do" adds Evie as she stops next to them.
"How did Jayden break the spell?" asks Emily.
"He transferred his resistance symbol into a disk and used it to break the spell on Kevin. But because Kevin is so good, he had to be sure he was close enough to use it to maximum effect" explains Evie.
"I was fighting Jayden?" asks Kevin in confusion.
"Yeah" nods Mia.
"We'll give you all the details later, right now, how about you use those skills and we take down this guy once and for all?" asks Evie nodding to Metamot who was already attacking Jayden who was in the tigerzord.
"Sounds good" nods Kevin.
They watch as the tigerzord deals a bad blow to Metamot as he split the ground underneath him and he falls down into it.
"Let's do this" smiles Emily.
The five of them activate their zords and Jayden casts the combine symbol, the five of them becoming the megazord while he kept control of the tigerzord temporarily before transferring back to the megazord cockpit and combining the tigerzord with the main megazord.
"Tiger drill megazord, armed for battle" they cry as the Nighlok comes at them again.
"You're nothing but a hair ball" he says, "my shield is the real deal" he adds as he attacks.
"I think we can take out his shield with the tiger drill, get ready" orders Jayden.
They activate the megablade and using the tiger drill take the Nighlok down once and for all.
"Samurai rangers, victory is ours" smiles Jayden.
"Damn straight it is" nods Evie.
They head home and Evie settles down with Mike, Mia and Emily to play a board game with their zords. As Evie's passes Mike she nudges him out of the way.
"Hey" whines Mike.
"You're in the way" smiles Evie with a shrug.
Mike rolls and gets sent back to almost the beginning while Mia shoots ahead.
Kevin looks at them and sighs, "after today I don't feel much like playing" he says.
"It wasn't your fault, that Nighlok was the one playing games and using us as the pieces" assures Jayden as he pulls out the tiger disk.
"The tiger is one of our toughest allies, and even he couldn't resist that Nighloks spell" he adds.
"But I raised my sword against you" reminds Kevin.
"And I raised mine against you" points out Jayden. "Sometimes we can't avoid putting each other at risk. Even if the thought terrifies us" he adds looking over at Evie, he didn't doubt her abilities, but it terrified him to send her into battle.
"But we have to do what's best for the greater good" says Kevin having not noticed Jayden's focus shift.
"You sound like mentor" chuckles Jayden nudging him.
"Hey we're starting a new game, come one" smiles Mia.
They both walk over, "fine but I'm blue" smiles Kevin as he pulls out his zord and sets it down.
"Yeah but watch out for the fox, its just as sneaky as Evie" chuckles Mike.
"Not sneaky, you were just in the way" repeats Evie.
"It pushed me off the board" argues Mike.
"It was an accident" shrugs Evie.
"Accident my ass" retorts Mike.
"I will put you on your ass unless you quit whining and start playing" warns Evie.
"Yeah, hand them over" nods Kevin.
They continue to play until Ji calls them for dinner.
"Okay I agree the fox zord is a little mean" says Kevin.
"Not to the ape" says Emily.
"Or the turtle" agrees Mia.
"And I know it never actually means it to the lion" nods Jayden.
"Guess it's just the dragon and the bear then" chuckles Emily.
"Maybe she senses weaker prey" teases Mia.
"A dragon and a bear are somehow weaker than a fox?" asks Kevin sceptically.
"Looks can be deceiving" smirks Evie.
"And I have learnt to never underestimate Evie" smiles Jayden.
"We should never underestimate any member of the team" advises Ji as they all grab their good and settle around the table.
"But today the resounding heroes have got to be Jayden and Evie" smiles Mia.
"Absolutely, Metamot never even saw Evie coming, even if that other guy did" notes Emily.
"Who was he?" asks Mike, "he seemed really invested in the fight" he adds.
"I've never seen him before" says Jayden.
"What was he saying to you?" asks Evie looking at Mike, Mia and Emily.
"He was commentating on the fight, he realised Jayden's plan before we did. He really seemed to know what he was talking about" replies Emily.
"And he seemed quite interested in who was winning, especially when it became clear it was Jayden" adds Mia.
"And like I said, he knew what you were doing, somehow" agrees Mike looking at Evie.
"A new player, we don't know his name and he seems to know what he's talking about in regards to swordplay, an unknown entity, we will need to keep an eye out and see what he's after" advises Ji as he sits down with them.
"An unknown, I don't like that" says Evie as she starts idly playing with her knife, the point resting against the table while she spun it without thinking about it.
Everyone eyes it nervously.
Jayden wordlessly reached over and rested his hand on top of hers pushing it back down to the table.
Evie looks at him and blinks as she realises what she was doing, "sorry" she says letting go of the knife.
"We can't do anything tonight, so everyone take it easy, it's been a difficult day" suggests Ji.
Everyone nods and finishes up their food before separating off to do their own things.
Evie walks into her room and grabbing the remote turns on her music while she starts putting her washing away singing along to the song not noticing Emily paused in the doorway having come to ask Evie something.
As Evie turns she jumps as she sees Emily, "oh hey" she says.
"You have an amazing voice" smiles Emily.
"Thanks, what can I do for you?" asks Evie.
"Oh I was wondering if you'd accidentally ended up with a couple of my cardigans" replies Emily.
Evie checks through her pile, "mhm, here you go" she says pulling them out and handing them to her.
"Thanks" says Emily sitting down on the bed and taking them looking unsure.
"You okay?" asks Evie.
"Just thinking about today, it was so horrible seeing Kevin like that. And the way he was fighting Jayden" sighs Emily.
Evie sits down next to her and wraps her arm around her shoulder, "I know, it wasn't easy for anyone. But it worked out, and Jayden was able to save Kevin without having to hurt him. And none of us got hurt in the process, which is why Jayden didn't let anyone else help" soothes Evie.
"He was good" nods Emily.
"He was, and he is" agrees Evie.
"The other guy said that Jayden was fighting better than Kevin, because Kevin was trying to earn a point, he really is the best isn't he" says Emily.
"In that aspect, yes today he was. But he's not unbeatable, don't put him up on too high of a pedestal" chuckles Evie.
"You're good too though, it was so cool how you took out that Nighlok today" smiles Emily.
"He wasn't paying attention, and that was my advantage over him. You need to figure out where you have an advantage over your opponent" replies Evie, "and that is how we're going to win, because unlike the Nighloks, we know how to think around them, and because we'll be just that good" smiles Evie.
Emily nods, "damn straight" she agrees with a smile. "Now how'd you get so good at singing, did you do lessons?" asks Emily.
"No, I've just always liked singing, and since I don't seem to sound like a drowning cat neither Ji or Jayden have ever minded" shrugs Evie.
"You should do it more, it sounds good" compliments Emily.
"Maybe we can find something on your flute that I can sing too?" suggests Evie.
"I like that idea" beams Emily.
"Me too" nods Evie.
"Okay I'll go look some stuff up" says Emily as she bounces out of the room.
"Nicely done" notes Jayden from where he was leaning against the bathroom doorframe.
Evie turns and looks at him, "what do you mean?" she asks.
"Emily was upset and worried and you somehow turned it right around" smiles Jayden.
"It wasn't intentional" admits Evie.
"And that just proves how much we're bonding as a team" replies Jayden.
"Oh anyone would cheer Emily up, a sad Emily reminds you of a kicked puppy and I'm definitely not that cruel" answers Evie crossing her arms.
Jayden walks over, "no, you care, you Evie Kai, have bonded with someone other than me" he says.
"Alright fine" admits Evie.
Jayden smiles and takes Emily's vacated spot and wraps his arm around Evie, "its alright to care, I know I do" he says.
Evie leans into him, "I feel closer to the girls, but I think that might be because I'm used to being the only one and it kind of feels nice to have girls my own age. You know to talk about the stuff you don't care about" explains Evie, "but I'm still not sure on Kevin and Mike, Kevin is dedicated and good yes. But his over dedication is sometimes a little annoying. And Mike, he's the complete opposite, he's a joker and sometimes that's fun in social situations. But in training and in battle you want more reliability" sighs Evie.
Jayden nods, "I agree, Mike is a wild card, and that could be a problem" agrees Jayden, "but we need to find ways to work through our quirks and our differences to be more cohesive" he adds.
"Like we did" nods Evie.
"Like we did" echoes Jayden, "but we had a lot more time and a lot more of a gradual process to do it" he smiles.
"Plus you know, you like me a lot more" say Evie cheekily.
Jayden leans down and kisses her, "a lot more" assures Jayden. "We'll just have to keep learning" he says.
"We will" nods Evie.
Evie felt comfortable with Emily, and also with Mia, but on the boys, she was still forming an opinion, she'd just have to see how things went, but of the two of them she found she probably had more in common with Mike than she did with Kevin. But that might not necessarily be a good thing.