A/N: Enjoy the first new chapter of 2022! Hope you enjoy it!
Evie yawned and stretched as she stumbled out of bed. She gasped once she saw that the time was later than her usual wake-up time on her phone and she was rushing a bit since her alarm hadn't gone off while Henry was already up and ready for school while Regina seemed to be already gone.
"Evie. What are you doing?" Henry called to his sister.
"I gotta get ready or I'll be late for school!" Evie panicked. "Hurry up and get dressed and I'll take you to Granny's as quickly as I-" she then looked over to see that he was already dressed, had his backpack, his storybook, and just about everything else he needed for the school day. "...You're already ready."
"Mom woke me up and had to get going after breakfast," Henry replied. "She left something for you in the microwave though if you're hungry for a late breakfast."
"Oh..." Evie said softly.
"She said you were sick," Henry then said. "You don't look like you're sick."
"Well... I feel a little sick actually," Evie replied. "Let's just say I need a mental health day. Do you know what that is?" she then asked.
"You're crazy?" Henry guessed.
"Henry..." Evie chuckled softly at that answer before shaking her head. "No, I just need a little day-off to collect myself so I can go back to school tomorrow. Don't worry though, it's not contagious."
"Okay then," Henry replied. "Well, I won't bother you and get going by myself to school."
Evie looked soft. "...No, let me go with you," she then said. "I'm not sure I feel comfortable about you going to school by yourself. I know nothing will happen, but I just feel better when you have company on the way to school."
"Well... All right," Henry said. "I'll sit with you while you eat if you want."
"...Sure, okay," Evie nodded before she went to the microwave to heat up the leftover breakfast that was left for her. "Do you know where Mom went?"
"Emergency at the office, I think?" Henry shrugged. "Just please hurry while you eat."
Evie gave Henry a sly look. "Someone's in a rush to get to school today," she then noted. "Something on your mind?"
"I have to show Emma something." Henry explained truthfully, knowing he could trust his sister with the secret.
"Ahhh..." Evie said before nodding.
"...Do you wanna see too? As you're part of Operation: Cobra too?" Henry then asked before he took out the book to put on the table.
"Sure," Evie shrugged. "I suppose there's nothing wrong with that."
"I thought so," Henry replied. "I just hope I won't be too late once I meet up with Emma before school."
"Is that why you wanted to go Granny's?" Evie guessed as the microwave soon beeped a few times to indicate that the food was ready and she popped open the door to to take the food out which were three sunny side up eggs, some toast, hash browns, and a small bowl of cut up apples on top of the microwave as "dessert".
"Uh-huh," Henry nodded. "I found something I didn't see before."
"Oh? Do tell." Evie replied as she set the plate down on the table and sat across from Henry as she got her food ready.
"I will." Henry nodded as he opened the book and began to flip through the pages.
"Also, I thought you were gonna leave your book at the Sheriff's station so that Mom wouldn't see it?" Evie then said.
"I was, but something happened, I'll tell you later if you wanna meet me at the diner with Emma." Henry replied.
Evie thought about it before nodding. "Helps you save your breath of talking about it twice," she then suggested as she began to eat up her breakfast. "At least tell me what you saw that wasn't there before."
"Okay," Henry said before he found the page and pointed out to a picture of a sea storm that had an elderly man on a raft with a young boy who appeared to be wooden with a whale about to eat them. "Do you recognize anything interesting?"
Evie looked over, seeing the illustration before nodding. "Looks like Pinocchio to me." she then said knowingly.
"Exactly," Henry said. "That wasn't in the book before."
Evie looked curious. "This isn't a Never-Ending Story. How did it get there?" she then wondered.
"I don't know," Henry replied. "It must be part of the curse or something like that."
Evie shrugged before she looked down at her food. "I can't eat all of this," she then said. "Do you wanna help me? I just have no appetite right now."
"Okay..." Henry said before he took out a fork to help his sister out with her food. "Are you sure you're not sick sick, Evie? You look a bit pale."
"I'm always pale," Evie said before trying to smirk jokingly. "My mother is the step-mother of Snow White after all."
"Very funny." Henry replied with a small smirk as he soon began to eat with her.
Evie chuckled warmly as they began to eat up together.
"You owe me a hot chocolate in exchange for this favor." Henry soon said.
"All right," Evie nodded. "It'll be my honor to give you a well-deserved hot chocolate."
Henry smiled thankfully to Evie as she smiled back at him as they continued to eat.
Soon, after eating breakfast together, Evie wore her casual clothes and then walked with Henry to Granny's Diner to meet up with Emma who was already inside and looking around. Emma then saw the Mills siblings entering the diner and began to approach them to figure out what was going on since Henry had told her to come by.
"You go ahead and talk to Emma right now," Evie told her little brother. "I'll sort out your hot chocolate."
Henry nodded to her as he then looked up at Emma as he held his book in his arm.
"Hey. What's the emergency?" Emma asked the boy once she talked to him.
Henry then quickly shushed her. "Shh! This is sensitive." he then whispered.
"If it's sensitive, why are we at Granny's, out in the open?" Emma then asked, giving him a rather odd look.
"Evie owes me a hot chocolate," Henry explained. "Who else knows that we hide the book at the Sheriff's station?" he then asked cautiously.
Emma looked a little soft. "No one. Why?" she then asked.
"Someone changed it. There's a new story in it." Henry then explained.
"Why would someone add a new story?" Emma then asked.
"To tell something we need to know about the curse." Henry explained as Evie spoke with Granny for a few moments before she then came back over to her little brother and new friend.
"And what would that be?" Emma then asked Henry.
"I don't know. The story isn't finished." Henry then explained.
"Hmm... That's peculiar..." Evie noted as she stepped back over. "What did I miss?"
"Not too much luckily." Henry told her.
"Why would someone go to so much trouble to add a new story, and then not bother finishing it?" Emma soon wondered.
"That's what's weird," Henry said before he showed Emma what he had shown Evie earlier. "The story's about Pinocchio. Everyone knows how that ends."
"Well, maybe that's why it was left out?" Evie shrugged. "Everybody knows the story, why bother adding more to it when it's first grade knowledge?"
"Or, maybe, there's more to it." Henry suggested.
Evie squinted her eyes a bit about the older man in the illustration as he looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it right now. She knew there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head that was telling her the obvious and honest answer and she knew once she would realize who it was that it would make her feel like an idiot for not knowing right away.
"Guys, you are going to be late for school. Let's go." Emma then said in denial.
"Actually, I'm not going to school today," Evie spoke up. "I'm sick."
Emma gave Evie a very doubtful look on her face. "Funny, you look fine to me." she then said to the teenage girl.
"Evie needs a mental health day," Henry explained to Emma. "Mom said so."
"Oh... I see..." Emma then said.
"Besides, Henry needs his hot chocolate real quick and then I'll take him to school and go do what I can back home." Evie added.
"Well, okay then," Emma replied. "Maybe you can help us with this case of Pinocchio then."
"I'll have to see what I can do," Evie shrugged. "Depending on what I do for the day."
"Maybe you could visit Graham?" Henry suggested.
Evie flinched before looking at Henry with wide eyes.
"Just an idea," Henry then added with a shrug. "I can tell that you miss him at least a little bit. Sure, he wasn't your dad, but he took care of you and cared about you a lot."
"...I'll see what I can do." Evie then said softly, feeling a bit guilty at the mention of Graham. Even though a lot of others had moved on from his passing, she still felt an ache on the inside, especially due to that scary dream she had last night about the man.
"Well, it might help make you feel better," Henry replied. "You don't have to do it, Evie, but it just might be a good idea."
"I'll think about it, but thank you, Henry." Evie then nodded at her little brother.
"Of course. You're very welcome, Evie." Henry said as he flashed his sister a small smile.
Evie smiled back a little bit as they continued to sit at the booth together until Granny soon came by with Henry's hot chocolate. "Thank you, Granny." she then told the older woman.
"My pleasure," Granny nodded. "You folks just better make sure you head off to school in time. Kiara's already left of course, but I'll see her for lunch."
"Don't worry, Granny. School is no problem for us." Evie reassured.
"Very good," Granny replied before walking off. "You complain about school now, but once you're my age with bills, responsibility, and rent with Mr. Gold, you'll learn to appreciate it a little more."
"...Yeah, I guess so." Evie shrugged a bit as Henry blew on and sipped his hot chocolate.
Emma gave an amused smirk between the Mills siblings as she continued to sit with them until Henry would finish his hot chocolate.
Soon, after Henry finished his hot chocolate, Evie took her brother to school, dropping him off and began to contemplate on what to do for the rest of her day as Henry rushed over to see Dee Dee and the Zimmer twins along with Kelly and Tommy. Evie took a deep breath and soon left the elementary school grounds as she felt her mind getting heavier by the minute as she pondered on what to do next for herself since she wasn't going into school today.
"Ms. Blanchard. I see you're back." Regina greeted the other woman as she stepped over on the blacktop to see her with a lunchbox in her hands.
"Yes. Isn't it wonderful?" Ms. Blanchard replied thankfully. "Everything worked out."
"Henry forgot his lunch. Have you seen him?" Regina then explained herself as she looked around.
"He's with his mother." Ms. Blanchard then said, obviously referring to Emma and not Regina herself.
Regina noticed something rather odd. "Ms. Blanchard, is there a problem?" she then asked as patiently as she could.
"Not anymore," Ms. Blanchard stated calmly. "Though, someone did go to a lot of trouble to make it look like I had done something horrible, but they failed."
"Yes, Sidney Glass. Who's safely incarcerated." Regina nodded.
"If, it was Sidney." Ms. Blanchard retorted softly.
"Well, ask your roommate," Regina defended. "He confessed."
"Of course he did." Ms. Blanchard then replied.
"Are you insinuating something?" Regina soon asked.
"Yes, I am, but I forgive you. Even if you can't admit what you did, I forgive you anyway," Ms. Blanchard retorted as strongly as she could, crawling out of her shell as the sweet and maternal elementary school she believed herself to be. "Your life must be filled with such incredible loneliness if your only joy comes from destroying everyone else's happiness. It's so sad, Mayor Mills, because, despite what you think, it won't make you happy. It's only going to leave a giant hole in your heart with or without even Evie's love or support," she then added before looking over. "There's Henry now." she then decided to leave as a rubber ball bounced over and Dee Dee was on her way to get it along with Henry.
Henry then looked over and saw his adoptive mother. "What are you doing here?" he then asked her.
"You forgot your lunchbox." Regina then said, showing his TRON lunchbox to him.
"Thanks?" Henry replied before he took the lunchbox away from her.
"Where's your sister?" Regina then asked. "Was she still asleep when you woke up?"
"I saw her before I came to school, so she walked me," Henry explained. "She said she needed a mental health day. Whatever that is."
"I see..." Regina replied.
Henry could see that something was on his adoptive mother's mind, so he looked over at his best and only friend. "Dee Dee, why don't you go keep playing with Kelly and Tommy?" he then suggested. "I'll try to make this quick."
"Okay." Dee Dee said softly before she took the ball and ran off to go back over to the other kids on the blacktop so that Henry and Regina could talk more in private.
Henry looked over before looking back at the woman. "Okay, Mom, what's really going on here?" he then asked.
Regina sighed and took a deep breath before she cut straight to the chase. "Henry, it's time for a change. I think it's time to transfer you to a new class with a new teacher." she then explained.
"Why do you want me out of Ms. Blanchard's class?" Henry asked suddenly in accusatory. "Is it because you framed her?"
"Henry! Do you really think I'm capable of doing something so horrible?" Regina frowned in response.
"Of course. You're The Evil Queen." Henry defended.
"Enough. Those fairy tales are not real. Ms. Blanchard should never have given you that book," Regina scolded. "She should be grateful I'm not trying to get her fired."
"Go ahead and try. It won't work," Henry scoffed a bit. "No matter what you do, Snow White will have her happy ending. She and Prince Charming will be together and Evie will get together with Doug even though she's The Evil Princess and his father is one of the seven dwarves. The curse will end. Good will win. And I'm not transferring classes." he then told his adoptive mother assertively before he decided to stalk off and away from her.
Regina blinked, feeling a bit stunned as she wasn't sure what else to do right now. At least, it appeared to be that she was defeated, but probably wasn't going to be forever.
Meanwhile, Evie had decided to watch a little TV. She looked at the time and saw that her mother wasn't going to be back for a while, so she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as she just felt like her soul was slowly escaping deep inside herself before she turned off the TV for the time being. She then decided to get her jacket and slide on her shoes and went to go and take a walk in the park. It was soon the afternoon, so she thought about getting something to eat while she was out, collecting her own money on the way out as she tried her very best to relax as today was a bit of a weird day for her.
"Evie, surprised to see you here," Kiara said to her fellow student. "Are you a part of The Work-Study Program too?"
"Uh, no, I was taking a day off from school actually." Evie replied.
"Playing hooky?" Kiara guessed as she walked inside and Evie followed behind her.
"No... It's just complicated... Can we talk about it right now?" Evie then said.
"...Sure, okay, Evie," Kiara said softly. "...I'll shut up."
"No, I'm sorry, Kiara. I didn't mean it like that," Evie said softly with a weary sigh. "I just have a lot going on right now and I don't just mean Emma in Storybrooke."
"Ah... Graham's death?" Kiara guessed.
Evie's stomach turned, but she nodded as that was the main issue that was wrong with her right now.
"I suppose that makes sense," Kiara said thoughtfully. "Would you like anything special to drink? You look like you could use a double chocolate milkshake or two."
"I think I'll just take one of those... A-And maybe a burger and fries?" Evie then requested.
"Well, it sounds good that you have an appetite again," Kiara chuckled. "You've been on a diet lately... Trying to fit in with The Pinkettes anyway."
"Yeah, maybe that's part of the reason why I feel so sick again." Evie said bashfully then before she went to go and sit down in a booth.
"All right, lemme get you that real quick. You just sit back and relax." Kiara nodded as she walked off to tell Granny and Ruby about what Evie wanted.
"Thank you." Evie said softly as she tried to sit back and do just that, taking a deep breath mixed with a yawn.
Kiara gave a small smile and winked at Evie as she went to continue her job as a young waitress outside of studying in school. Evie smiled back at her acquaintance from school as she tried to relax and soak up the chill atmosphere that came with visiting Granny's Diner. Since she couldn't book an appointment with Dr. Hopper on short notice, she decided to just think to herself about what had been going on in her life lately as a 16-year-old. She thought about the obvious problem that was Graham's death... She thought about Emma's arrival into town which they both believed to only be at least a week... She thought about how she didn't want to be the next mayor of Storybrooke even though her mother clearly wanted that for both of them... She then thought about how she would basically be inheriting a throne since Henry went on about the fairy tale curse with Regina as The Evil Queen and Evie as the next one due to her being Regina's descendant. She tried her best not to make a big deal out of the curse, but Henry was making more and more sense about it being real, especially with Graham being the huntsman and getting killed as a result of finding out the truth.
Kiara soon came back with the chocolate milkshake, pulling Evie away from her thoughts. "Your burger and fries will be done soon," she then said. "If I remember correctly, you liked your burger with applewood bacon with a hint of mustard, right?"
"Huh?" Evie blinked once she slowly came back into reality before nodding. "Yes. Yes, I do. Thank you, Kiara."
"No problem," Kiara said with a small smile. "Suppose it's better than when Ben comes to get lunch for his dad on the weekends... That guy really loves his ketchup."
"Well, some people believe that ketchup is this world's greatest magic." Evie smiled softly.
Kiara chuckled before she then nodded to Evie. "You look like you have a lot on your mind, Evie." she then said to the girl.
"I do," Evie admitted. "If I could I'd get an appointment with Dr. Hopper since he talks with Henry all the time, but I don't think I could just walk into his office and get one just because I'm the daughter of Mayor Mills."
"Actually, since you're her daughter, you probably could," Kiara replied. "I have stuff on my mind too."
"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Evie then wondered.
"Well, sometimes I just wanna have big and grand adventures outside of Storybrooke, ya know?" Kiara replied. "Granny and Ruby say that the outside world can be dangerous if you're not too careful."
"I suppose that makes sense," Evie said thoughtfully. "Even though Ruby wants to explore the outside world too?"
"Oh, for sure," Kiara replied. "Let's just say that outside of Storybrooke is beyond our border and we must never go there. Something about the great circle of life or something like that."
"The circle of life..." Evie said before nodding. "Well, they are like family to you, so I guess they just wanna protect you from whatever might be out there."
"Basically, yeah," Kiara said before looking over. "Oh, do you want ketchup for your fries at least if not on your burger?"
"Can't have fries without ketchup, Kiara." Evie chuckled and nodded.
"Okay, I'll get you a bottle real quick." Kiara then said as she dashed off briefly.
"Sounds good." Evie said with a small smile.
Kiara grinned as she ran off and soon scrambled a bit before she soon picked up a ketchup bottle and went to give it to Evie, stretching her arm out a bit.
"Thank you, Kiara." Evie then said as she accepted the bottle.
"No problem, Evie." Kiara said with a small smile and nod.
Evie smiled back, taking the bottle, but she couldn't help but glance down a bit as she saw something on Kiara's bare arm she didn't think she had seen before. "Wow... Nice lion head tattoo... Where'd you get that from?" she then asked curiously.
"Huh? Lion head tattoo?" Kiara asked before looking at her right arm to see what Evie was exactly looking at. "Oh. That's not a tattoo. It's actually a birthmark."
"Really?" Evie asked with raised eyebrows and widened eyes.
"Yeah... Birthmarks are funny things though," Kiara chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It's probably nothing."
"...Yeah, probably not," Evie said thoughtfully, though she now had to wonder if Henry's storybook would have anything about lions in it somehow, such as Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf. "Heh... Mine's a strange blot below my waist, but it's probably an apple."
"Yeah, maybe." Kiara chuckled a bit warmly.
"Kiara!" Granny called sternly from behind her post. "If you wanna gossip with your friends, you can do it in school on your own time, but not when you're supposed to be at work! It's bad enough when Ruby flirts with customers during her shift!"
"Uh, yes, Mrs. Lucas! S-Sorry!" Kiara replied nervously before she looked back at Evie. "I better get back to work. I'm here during school hours for a reason."
"That's okay, I understand," Evie nodded. "It's my own fault anyway for chatting you up."
"Okay... I'll talk to you later, okay?" Kiara then said as she decided to go and tend to someone else to avoid Granny's wrath.
"Talk to you later, Kiara." Evie nodded.
Kiara flashed a small smile at Evie before she took off to go back to work as part of the school program she had signed up for. Evie smiled back as she continued to relax as much as she could and slowly closed her eyes as she let her mind wander a bit until her food arrived as she sipped down on her double chocolate milkshake. After a little while, Kiara soon gave Evie her food and let the other girl tuck in and relax during her lunch break as other people, mainly adults with jobs, came in for their own lunch and luckily Evie beat the rush even if she was supposed to be in school right now.
After eating her lunch and taking a second double chocolate milkshake to go, Evie paid the bill she was given and then went to leave the diner. Kiara waved goodbye to Evie who nodded at her, seeing as they couldn't talk real long anyway and Evie soon decided to relax and let her food digest at the park. It was so peaceful as she sat down on the bench and she sipped her milkshake and soon found herself slowly drifting off on the bench due to her full belly and the atmosphere all around her and couldn't even keep her eyes open much longer and just decided to take a nap in the park. She was sure no one would try to get her anyway due to it being the middle of the afternoon and a weekday.
Much, much later, at Mr. Gold's pawnshop, Ben was shown to be there and dusting up his father's shop. He then glanced over and ducked behind one counter as a certain someone had come in the store as his father was talking with the man known as Marco Lorenzini.
"Ah, Mr. Booth. I'll be with you in a moment." Mr. Gold greeted the younger man as he dealt with a certain older man who had something special with him.
August nodded as he looked like he was about to turn away.
"On second thought," Mr. Gold then suddenly said as he suddenly had a better idea. "Tell me, as one admirer of antiquities to another, do you think it's worth my while having this clock repaired?"
August said nothing as he stared at Marco while Ben tried to do a bit of spy work from where he was hiding with his head between the display cases of a beautiful Christmas angel tree topper and a musical instrument known as either a piccolo or a fife, depending on where you were from.
"I'll take your silence as a yes, then." Mr. Gold then said to August.
"You know, I'm very busy right now," Marco soon spoke up, sounding a bit soft and nervous around Mr. Gold. "And, uh, I'm just a one-man shop, but, uh, I'll get to the clock as fast as I can."
"I wouldn't ask for anything more." Mr. Gold nodded at the older man.
Marco then picked up the clock and went to leave. "Good day." he then said as he mysteriously left then.
August looked over and looked like he was trying to speak with Marco somehow. "H-How are you?" he then asked the man, only for him to abruptly leave the shop.
"First time seeing dear old dad since you arrived at Storybrooke?" Mr. Gold soon asked August suddenly.
August flinched before looking back over at Mr. Gold with wide eyes. "I'm so-sor-" he then started to stammer.
"You know, what surprises me is, why a man who claims to be at death's door can't even bring himself to say hello to his father," Mr. Gold continued with a creepy smirk while Ben kept trying to hide and listen in as no one seemed to notice or hear him. "What are you afraid of?"
"That's, uh... That's my business." August replied.
"Oh. Fair enough. Let's talk about ours," Mr. Gold nodded before he spoke a bit more, seeming to know more about August than the younger man had expected or would even hope to expect. "You claim to be the only person who can make Miss Swan believe. That you could get her to do exactly what she was brought here to do. And yet, for a man who's running out of time, you don't seem to be in much of a hurry."
"It's not me slowing us down. It's her," August retorted as bravely as he could. "All she can think about right now is getting custody of her kid and his sister."
"Sounds like Sheriff Swan needs a course correction." Mr. Gold replied.
"She's coming to you for legal advice." August informed.
"And you want me to steer her toward you?" Mr. Gold then asked.
"I can get her there," August replied bravely. "To believing. Trust me."
"Ah. I'm sorry. It's just that, knowing who you are and your nature, trust is a big ask," Mr. Gold replied. "Fear not. A gentle nudge I shall provide."
August looked over and then decided to leave in silence, not sure what else to do or say in response.
Mr. Gold nodded at that, watching the younger man slowly leave his shop before he smirked a bit. "Benjamin, it's not polite to stare at people you don't know." he then said without looking.
Ben flinched and grunted before hitting his head against the counter he hid under, then rubbed his head. "How did you even know I was doing that?" he then groaned.
"Fathers know everything, Benjamin," Mr. Gold smirked before facing his teenage son. "I suppose you remember that younger gentleman."
"Yeah, August Booth is his name I believe," Ben nodded as he stepped out before bowing his head at his father. "Sorry that I was eavesdropping, Dad. I just wanted to make sure that guy wasn't dangerous."
"It's my job to worry about you, Benjamin. Not the other way around," Mr. Gold advised, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. "He shouldn't hurt you or anyone else around here though. He's not who I thought he was anyway."
Ben looked curious about that. "What does that mean?" he then asked his father softly.
"It's a long story," Mr. Gold replied before he checked the time on his mantle clock that was beside a teapot and a very old looking candelabra. "You've been working for a while since you got out of school. Why don't you take a break and get some fresh air and when you get back, you can do your homework?" he then suggested.
"Oof... I don't really like homework." Ben groaned a little.
"Well, no one really does, Benjamin, but it has to be done so you can go to a good college and one day you can run this store," Mr. Gold replied softly and wisely. "You do want to run this store someday, don't you?"
Ben hesitated in answering that question. He had really wanted to say "No", but his brain told him to agree with his father to make him happy, but his heart disagreed even if the truth would hurt a little.
"Don't you?" Mr. Gold then repeated, adding a bit of pressure to his question to his teenage son and only heir. As for as everybody else in Storybrooke knew anyway.
"Yes... Dad," Ben soon answered, though in a strange tone since he was lying through his teeth. "Anything to make you happy because you're father and you know best."
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," Mr. Gold nodded. "Now go and take a break and we can talk a little more when you get back. I don't want you to worry anymore about Mr. Booth, all right?"
"Yes, sir." Ben said with a small nod.
"Good boy," Mr. Gold then said. "Now run along and don't hit your head on your way out." he then added as a small joke as he smirked a little.
"Yes, sir." Ben said again before he then put down his feather duster and soon went to walk right out the door.
Mr. Gold watched Ben go before he sighed sharply to himself, still having a bit of a pain in his mind that he hoped he would have the courage to talk to his teenage son about someday. If only he wasn't such a coward on the inside even though he was the one who created cowards in town on the outside probably even more so than Regina on a bad day.
Evie was fast asleep on the bench as animals from the forest seemed to surround her. It almost looked a lot like how in the end of Disney's Snow White movie that the animals and dwarves gathered around to say goodbye one last time until she was saved by Prince Charming's kiss so that they could live happily ever after. However, as the animals such as bunnies and bluebirds got closer, they were quickly scared away as a certain someone then walked by.
"Hey! You're not sick." Ben said as he startled Evie awake then as she shot up on the bench with wide eyes.
"Ben?!" Evie gasped before looking over and clutched her heart before sighing. "Phew... You scared me a bit."
"S-Sorry," Ben said softly then. "...Why did you skip school today if you weren't sick? I kinda thought your mom would see right through that if you lied to her about feeling sick."
"I needed a mental health day," Evie explained as she moved her legs over off of the bench to sit instead of lay down on it. "It's a bit complicated... Just... Emma being in town... Henry lying to Mom because he believes in a fairy tale curse... My dreams... Everything."
"Oh... Evie..." Ben frowned as that sounded horrible before he stepped over to the other side of the bench. "...Mind if I sit?" he then asked.
"It's a free world." Evie shrugged as she decided to let him sit there.
Ben then sat down right next to her, giving her a small smile.
"So what's up?" Evie then asked him. "Why aren't you in school?"
"School got out an hour ago." Ben replied like it was obvious.
"Whoa..." Evie muttered. "I guess I kinda dozed off."
"You look like you needed the rest," Ben said with a nod. "You haven't really been yourself lately."
"Well, like I said, I've had a lot on my mind," Evie said before taking a deep breath in and then slowly letting it out. "Especially about Graham... I wanna talk to him and say that I'm sorry for how I used to treat him, but... I can't... I just can't..."
Ben looked soft. "Evie, I know Graham passed away beyond anybody's control, but if you need to talk to him, you still can," he then said, trying to give her some advice. "I mean, Jane talks to the air about what's going on like she's talking to the parents she never got to meet."
"I just wish he could talk back," Evie then explained. "I want him to be here... With me right now. I really took him for granted and now he blames me for his death."
"How can he blame you for his death?" Ben asked out of confusion. "How would he-" he then stopped before pausing and thinking about it until he had an idea. "Ohhh... Have you been having dreams about where he's mad at you and he says it's your fault he died?" he then guessed.
Evie's eyes widened. "Uh, yeah..." she then said. "How could you tell though? I thought only Freddie and Creepy Claudine claimed to see the future?"
"I don't see the future, Evie," Ben said before chuckling until he added more so that she wouldn't feel like he was making fun of her. "But I can tell that you feel a little guilty about what happened to Graham. I don't know what he would do or say, you don't know either, no one does... Or if there's even an afterlife or what's out there when we die," he then added as he looked up into the sky before looking back at Evie. "But you could try to imagine that you two are talking so you can just get things off your chest and properly say goodbye to him. That's what I would do anyway."
Evie looked a bit soft and thoughtful at that advice.
"I mean... I've never met my mother... But sometimes when I go to sleep, I dream about a woman singing me lullabies or reading her favorite stories to me," Ben said softly. "I like to think that the dream in my head is probably who she was... I don't even know where she is... How she is... Who she is... But I know that she's somewhere special." he then pointed at his chest.
"In your heart?" Evie asked softly.
"Yes..." Ben nodded. "Now Graham can be alive in your heart, but I think if you properly talk to him and say goodbye to him at his grave, then you'll feel a little bit better," he then said comfortingly. "I'm sorry I can't bring him back for you or do anything like that, I can't do it for my mother either... But that's the best advice I can offer to you right now."
"...I'll think about it," Evie said thoughtfully. "Thanks, Ben. I never knew talking to a guy friend would feel this good. This is usually girl stuff talk... I mean, no offense."
"No, it's all right. I understand," Ben reassured. "Plus you've had ups and downs with girl friends in school, but you seem to be doing all right with Melody and Kiara."
"Yeah, they're pretty alright so far," Evie nodded. "We should hang out again sometime, you and I. Like when we were little."
"Well... I'm up for right now if you are." Ben offered.
"Really? Are you sure?" Evie then asked. "Doesn't your dad want you back in the shop?"
"I'll just have a word with him and I should be fine," Ben replied. "He's loosening up a little. Not enough to let me take the whole day off, but I'll just tell him that this is a friendship emergency."
"Well... I hope he understands then." Evie said with a shrug.
"I'll see what I can do," Ben replied. "Why don't you walk with me just in case?"
"Sure... All right..." Evie said with a nod. "I just hope that Henry will be all right for a while."
"I think he can manage." Ben replied with a small smile.
Evie smiled back as she soon walked off with Ben out of the park as she went to pick up her milkshake cup and throw it away. "So, did I miss anything big in school?" she then asked curiously.
"Nothing much, except that Piper Geiger might like a certain someone." Ben then said.
Evie raised her eyebrows curiously. "Yeah?" she then asked. "Who would that be?" she then asked, though was hoping that maybe Melody would be that girl in question.
"Sorry... I promised I wouldn't tell," Ben replied. "At least not until he finds the courage to tell the girl how he feels."
"Oh... Well... Okay," Evie said before shrugging. "Did Jordan Glass spy on him by any chance?"
"I think you already know the answer to that question." Ben said with a small smirk.
Evie chuckled a little before sighing. "Poor Jordan though..." she then said. "With her father being in trouble."
"I'm sure she'll find a way to get through," Ben replied before he opened the door to his father's shop. "Uh... Dad? You in here?" he then asked.
"Well, the door is unlocked and it is my shop..." Mr. Gold muttered sardonically to himself as he was checking over his items before looking over his shoulder. "Coming back to work for a little while, Benjamin?" he then asked before seeing that his son had company. "Ah. Young Miss Mills. How do you do this afternoon?" he then asked Evie softly.
"Erm... I'm okay..." Evie nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Gold. And yourself?"
"I'm well, thank you," Mr. Gold said with a small smile. "Benjamin, you have something to say?" he then asked, sensing his son had a question on his mind.
"Well... I have a friendship emergency," Ben said to his father as calmly as he could. "And... Erm... I was wondering if I could help Evie out a little?"
"Oh?" Mr. Gold asked.
"Yes. It's very important, Mr. Gold," Evie then added to help vouch for her friend. "We'll try not to be too long."
Mr. Gold looked thoughtful before he then nodded. "Very well then," he then said softly. "I suppose you two could spend some time together. It's been a while for you two, hasn't it?"
"You have no idea." Ben and Evie mumbled together before glancing at each other with wide eyes in shock.
"Very well," Mr. Gold then said. "I'll let you run off, Benjamin. Take as much time as you need and if it gets dark before you finish, come straight home and I'll have your stuff in your bedroom."
"Yes, sir," Ben nodded. "We'll try not to take too long."
"See that you don't," Mr. Gold replied. "Off you both go then."
Ben then cracked a smile, relieved that his father let him take some time off to go and hang out with Evie. "Yes, sir." he then said, very eagerly.
"Thank you, Mr. Gold." Evie then added.
"Good day, children." Mr. Gold told them as he cracked a small smile at them.
"Good day." Ben and Evie nodded before they left the shop together.
Mr. Gold hid a smirk as they walked off together before they shut the door and he sighed a bit to himself before going back to work until he would call it a day for himself. He then decided to pack up his son's things ready to go back home in advance as he knew that Ben would take as much time and advantage as he could with his time away from work to go and enjoy "the great outdoors" and "freedom as a free-spirited teenager". He knew that he was very hard on Ben most of the time and had a reason for it, but he soon felt like his reason for treating his teenage son the way he did was probably no excuse and would probably have to explain himself later when he would get the chance and find the courage to do so.
"So, Evie, you wanna go talk to Graham right now or later?" Ben then asked his childhood best friend.
"Probably later," Evie replied. "Just so I have some time to think about what I wanna say to him."
"All right, Evie," Ben said softly with a nod. "At least you're going to do it so you can feel better."
"Yeah... I think it might help too..." Evie replied. "So, what should we do?"
"Well, how about we-" Ben started to say before looking over. "...It's that guy."
"Huh?" Evie asked before looking over to see where Ben was looking to see that two certain adults were talking. "Emma!"
August and Emma then turned around and looked over to see that Ben and Evie were near where they were before the four soon walked up to each other to talk with each other.
"Emma, what's going on?" Evie asked the adult woman.
"August is about to help me out with something very important," Emma explained. "Are you feeling any better?"
"So far, yeah," Evie nodded. "Uh... Do you want some company?"
"Oh, that's all right, kids," August said, seeming to not want to involve the two teenagers. "You don't need to get involved. Besides, we'll be going on my motorcycle, so you won't be able to catch up with us."
"Unless you have a ride." Emma added.
"Actually, I do." Ben replied rather smugly.
"You do?" August and Emma asked in surprise at that answer.
"Yeah! Just give me five minutes," Ben said before looking at Evie. "And you can ride with me. It's a motorcycle built for two after all."
"Huh. Never took Gold to be the kind of guy to give his kid a motorcycle." Emma remarked in surprise.
"It was a gift for myself for my birthday," Ben replied before he dashed off. "I'll be right back!"
Emma and August then looked over before looking back at Evie.
"Do we really have time for this?" Emma then asked Evie.
"Just give him five minutes, guys," Evie defended about her childhood best friend. "I trust him after all."
"Hmm..." August paused thoughtfully.
Eventually, about four and a half minutes passed as Ben was riding by on his very own motorcycle, then pulled it to a stop. He then took out an extra helmet that was white with blue and gold stripes on it to give to Evie. "Here, you can use this," he then said. "If you have a problem with bad helmet hair though, I can't help that."
"Fair enough..." Evie playfully pouted before she put on the helmet. "Looks like we can join you, after all, Emma."
"Yeah, I guess you can." Emma said before nodding.
"All right. All right. Let's go." August then said out of defeat as he got on his own helmet, then gave Emma his extra.
"Gladly." Ben replied out of determination about the mystery behind August, especially with his father.
"Let's kick it," Evie said before she sat behind Ben and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Lead the way, August."
"Just try and keep up, kids." August nodded before he took off on his own motorcycle, riding off ahead of Ben and Evie.
Ben then revved up his own motorcycle before riding off after August and Emma. This was definitely going to be the start of a brand new adventure.
After a while, the two motorcycles soon approached the boundary of Storybrooke.
"August, you going to tell me where we're going, and how it's going to help me beat Regina?" Emma soon demanded impatiently.
"We're going on a trip, Emma, so I can tell you somebody's story." August replied.
"Whose story?" Emma then wondered.
"Mine." August replied.
They then drove past the Storybrooke sign, leaving the town. Ben and Evie saw that they were nearly leaving town and looked nervous, especially since it was starting to get dark due to the colder season and just hoped that their parents wouldn't be very worried about them and the worry would then turn into anger due to how parents could get sometimes.
Soon, the two motorcycles arrived at their destination, which turned out to be a diner at the side of the road.
"What the hell is this?" Emma demanded.
"Uh... Chantey's Lobster House?" Ben replied with a shrug as he saw the diner that appeared beside them.
"Last I checked, it was a diner." August replied suavely then.
Emma was getting fed up and impatient however. "No more screwing around. I am not a character in one of your books. What the hell are we doing here?" she then demanded.
"I think you know," August told her before he took out a newspaper article to show to the blonde woman. "You've been here before."
"What?" Evie asked, feeling confused.
"This is the diner you were brought to when you were found as a baby." August then explained to Emma.
"Emma came from a diner?" Ben asked as he scratched his head a little.
"Apparently so." Evie said with a shrug.
"So, you found an article about me. So what?" Emma scoffed in response to August. "I thought this trip was supposed to be about you."
"It is. This is my story, and it's your story." August replied.
"And how is that?" Emma then firmly demanded.
"That seven-year-old boy who found you... That was me." August replied.
"What?" Evie and Ben asked with wide eyes.
"Allow me to explain a bit further," August replied. "To our next destination."
"And where would that be?" Ben then asked.
"Into the woods." August told them.
"Oh, I love that musical!" Evie beamed.
August gave her a look for saying that and Evie just shrugged bashfully.
"Very well," Ben replied. "Lead the way, August."
August nodded before he soon took Emma and the two teenagers into the woods to get more answers about what was going on.
"Why are we in the woods?" Emma soon asked August, still looking a bit frustrated.
"All the answers you've been searching for are right where I found you." August replied.
"See? You're not that seven-year-old boy," Emma scoffed. "I wasn't found in the woods. I was found on the side of a highway."
"She does have a point," Ben added. "You even showed us otherwise."
"Why do you think that? Because you read it in the newspaper?" August retorted. "Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, that seven-year-old boy lied about where he found you?"
"No, but it occurs to me that you've been lying to me about everything." Emma retorted.
"...I guess he is Pinocchio." Evie whispered to herself.
"What?" Emma then asked and looked at Evie.
"Nothing?" Evie shrugged, though Ben gave Evie a thoughtful look.
Emma glanced at her before shaking her head. "Whatever. I'm done listening." she then said, looking ready to leave.
"When I found you, you were wrapped in a blanket and the name 'Emma' was embroidered along the bottom of it," August defended then. "That wasn't in the article, was it? How would I know that unless I was there?" he then rhetorically asked.
Emma narrowed her eyes slightly. "Okay. Let's say you were that kid. Why lie about where you found me?" she then asked.
"I lied to protect you." August explained.
"From what?" Emma asked.
"That." August replied, pointing to a tree.
"A tree?" The other three asked then.
"You've read Henry's book, right? You know about the curse, don't you? Your role in it?" August then told the blonde woman. "It's true, Emma. We both came into this world... Through this tree."
"I remember seeing that when Henry first got the book..." Evie whispered to herself thoughtfully.
"You're asking me to believe that you are a fairy tale character?" Emma then asked.
"Pinocchio." August nodded as Evie beamed to herself that she was right about her hunch about him.
"Right, of course. Pinocchio. Explains all the lying." Emma then replied.
"It was you then..." Evie soon said, remembering about this morning. "You're the one who added the story to Henry's book."
"Yes," August nodded to her. "I needed Emma to know the truth."
Emma was still stubborn, however. "The truth is, you are out of your mind, and you're not even a very good liar," she then scoffed. "Why not write the end of that story?"
"Because this is the ending, and we're writing it right now." August clarified.
"And how does this story end?" Emma then asked.
"With you believing." August replied.
"Not gonna happen," Emma glared before she started to leave. "Save yourselves, you guys." she then added to Evie and Ben on the way out.
"Emma? Emma, wait!" August called as he attempted to chase after Emma, but the pain in his leg caused him to suddenly fall down. "Augh!"
"Whoa!" Evie gasped and stepped aside. "Uh... Erm... Are you okay, sir?" she then asked in concern.
"Does your leg hurt?" Ben added.
"I failed." August grunted.
"What are you talking about?" Emma then asked.
"It doesn't matter. You don't believe." August replied.
Emma rolled her eyes in response. "If you think that by making me feel sorry for you that something's gonna change, you are wrong." she then added.
"I am not screwing around here. Whatever you believe, or don't, this is real, Emma," August replied. "I am sick."
"That's an understatement." Emma snarked a bit.
"...Are you sure you're okay?" Evie asked.
"Not really..." August said to her. "You ever been to Phuket? It's beautiful. Amazing island, full of pleasures. The perfect place to lose oneself. That's where I was when you decided to stay in Storybrooke." he then continued to explain.
Emma gave August a bit of a look then. "How do you know when I decided to stay in Storybrooke?" she then asked.
"Because at 8:15 in the morning, I woke up with a shooting pain in my leg. That's 8:15 at night in Storybrooke. Sound familiar? That's when time there started to move forward again," August explained. "I was supposed to be there for you. And I wasn't. Because I was halfway around the world, I got a painful reminder of just how far I'd strayed. If that tree won't make you believe, maybe this will." he then pulled up his pant leg suddenly.
"Whoa!" Ben cried out and turned away.
Evie flinched before she looked over and gasped. "LOOK!" she then pointed out.
"Do I have to?" Ben asked before he slowly turned around before looking a bit confused at what Evie was making such a big fuss about.
"Don't you see that?" Evie asked as she seemed to see something that Emma and Ben didn't seem to see.
"See what?" Emma scoffed. "How does that prove anything?"
"Look." August urged.
"August, I'm looking." Emma calmly told him.
"...You don't see it, do you?" August then asked.
"See what?" Emma asked.
"Here, let me show you," Evie said before she took out her phone and took a picture of August's leg. Once she got a good picture, she then decided to show Emma and Ben before nodding. "Look at this."
"...That's a nice picture, Evie, but I still don't get it." Emma replied.
"I don't think I get it either." Ben added.
"What...? No! Guys..." Evie frowned once she saw that Emma and Ben couldn't see what she and August saw.
"Your denial is more powerful than I thought," August then said to Emma. "It's preventing you from seeing truth."
"Okay, one of us is losing it here, and it's not me," Emma then said. "And look at what you've done. You've gotten Evie, who is probably the smartest kid I know around here involved with your delusions." she then added.
"Emma, no." Evie frowned in defeat.
"You don't wanna believe," August said to Emma. "After everything you've seen, why can't you just do it?"
"Why is it so important to you that I do?" Emma scoffed a bit.
"Because I, the town, the descendants... Everyone needs you." August defended.
"I don't want them to need me." Emma retorted.
"Well, that's too bad, because we all do." August reflected.
"You're saying that I am responsible for everyone's happiness? That is crap!" Emma glared.
"Emma!" Evie pouted.
"No, you listen!" Emma defended. "I didn't ask for that. I don't want it."
"Right now. A little while ago, you didn't want Henry, either, but then, he came to you, and now, you are fighting like hell for him." August then reminded coolly.
"For him! Because that is all I can handle right now," Emma snapped. "And I'm not even doing a good job at that! Now, you're telling me I have to save everyone? That is beyond ridiculous. I don't want any of it."
"Well, that's too bad, Emma, because that doesn't change the truth," August then said softly. "You are our only hope."
Emma frowned before she turned away. "Then you're all screwed." she then said before leaving through the forest then.
Ben and Evie then looked at each other before looking down at the ground as they weren't sure what to do right now, especially Evie.
Later on, Ben drove Evie back into town before they were about to pass the cemetery.
Evie saw that coming up and soon looked down. "Ben, can we stop real quick?" she then asked.
"We have to get back home, Evie," Ben reminded urgently. "It's getting pretty late."
"We're about to pass the cemetery." Evie then told him.
Ben looked thoughtful for a few moments before he then nodded and decided to stop his motorcycle then. "So... You gonna go do what I think you're going to do?" he then asked softly.
"Yes... It's time to talk to Graham..." Evie nodded. "I think I know what I have to do say now."
"All right, Evie," Ben replied. "You want me to go in with you?"
"No thanks, Ben," Evie said. "Just wait for me and we can go back home together, okay?"
"I understand," Ben replied. "Just don't take too long or else my dad will probably bury me alive and dance on my grave."
"I don't think he would go that far, Ben," Evie said with a bit of a smirk before she removed her helmet and stepped down from his motorcycle. "I'll try to see what I can do."
"Thanks, Evie." Ben nodded.
Evie smiled warmly at Ben before she then took a deep breath and walked right into the cemetery to go and do what she had to do to help put her mind and soul at ease. As she came over to Graham's grave, she saw the rose she had left there last time and rubbed the back of her neck, trying to ease any guilt that she had while sitting in front of the grave. "H-Hey, Graham... How are you?" she then spoke softly and a bit shyly while trying not to cry or feel bad.
Of course, there could be no answer, so Evie pretended Graham would be there with her and she tried to imagine what he would say if he could answer her right now.
"I... I've been doing okay... I've had better days though," Evie said softly then. "I... I think I'm slowly becoming friends again with Ben... If you remember him..."
There were still a few more moments of silence as Evie kept trying to figure out what to do or say in this rather painful and tear-jerking situation.
"...Yeah," Evie said before she took a deep breath. "Graham... I don't know if you can hear me... Or if you're even there... But... I just wanted to let you know that I'm s-sorry..." she then said, twitching a little as she spoke her apology. "I know you weren't trying to replace the father I barely even got to know and you were only looking out for me and Henry... And I appreciate that... You were especially right about Chad. I'm just really sorry that I got mad at you for m-m-meddling..." she then said before she covered her face and broke down into tears. "I-I'm sorry..."
As though to be a sign from above, the wind began to gently blow all around Evie, seeming to be an attempt to comfort her somehow, but she couldn't be sure.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Graham! I-I'm really sorry!" Evie soon broke down crying as she hugged the former sheriff's gravestone, sniffling and blaming herself. "Please... I'm really sorry..."
"Evie?" Ben's voice soon called from behind.
Evie flinched before she turned around and looked at Ben with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh... Evie..." Ben said softly before he soon knelt down and hugged his childhood best friend. "It's okay, Evie. It's okay."
Evie continued to cry as she hugged Ben, nearly squeezing him. Ben let her do that for as long as she needed to, understanding and even gently and non-romantically stroking her hair as he sat with her as long as possible before they would leave the cemetery to get ready to go back home as it was a school night after all. Soon, they left the scene as it was getting really dark out and their parents would probably be expecting them to come back home at any minute now.
"Well, Evie, today was pretty adventurous," Ben said to his childhood best friend. "It was nice to hang out with you though."
"Yeah... I liked it too," Evie said with a nod. "Also, thank you for helping me say goodbye to Graham. I hope that he appreciates it."
"I'm sure wherever he is, he's proud." Ben then said before giving Evie a big, brotherly-like/friendship hug.
"Oh... Thank you, Ben," Evie said, hugging him right back. "Looks like I have a lot to share with Henry tomorrow."
"Yeah," Ben said with a small smile. "Good night, Evie."
"Good night, Ben." Evie then said with a nod.
"Take very good care." Ben replied as he soon went off on his motorcycle to head back home as it was rather late for both of them.
"You too, Ben." Evie then said before taking out her phone as it suddenly pinged after she had taken a picture of what looked like a wooden leg. She then turned on her phone and saw that she got a text from her mother asking her to go and pick up Henry from the church and to go straight to bed due to the late hour after getting herself some leftover dinner which was lasagna that she cooked in her children's absence.
Soon, at the church, Evie knocked on the doors and out came the head nun in charge. "Oh. Good evening, Evie." she then greeted quietly.
"Good evening, Mother Superior," Evie replied. "I'm here to come and pick up Henry."
"Yes, of course. Right this way." Mother Superior said as she led the way inside to go and show Evie where her little brother was.
"I was a bit busy myself, so I hope Henry wasn't too much trouble." Evie said.
"Not at all." Mother Superior said quietly.
They soon made it into the room where Henry was as Mother Superior knocked on the door.
"Henry, you ready to-" Evie began to ask aloud until Mother Superior shushed her and pointed over to keep her voice down a bit. The teenage girl then looked down and over into the corner of the room as Henry and Dee Dee were both fast asleep on the floor together and seemed to be holding onto each other while quietly snoring.
"I guess they tired each other out," Mother Superior softly said to Evie as they looked at the two resting children. "All this talk about spy missions and how Miss Swan is going to save us all from Regina or something like that."
"Oh... Look at those two..." Evie cooed as she looked down at Henry and Dee Dee.
"Yeah... Promise me Regina will never take Henry away," Mother Superior said softly then. "Henry and Dee Dee are so crazy about each other they'd be heartbroken."
Evie looked soft as she looked down at Henry and Dee Dee. "I gotta take Henry home," she then said. "Thank you for looking after him."
"Yes, of course." Mother Superior nodded.
Evie then walked over and knelt down a little, gently shaking her little brother awake. "Henry~... It's time to get up..." she then said as quietly as she could without roughly waking the younger kids.
Henry grunted before he looked up and then yawned before rubbing his eyes. "Evie? ...What time is it?" he then asked.
"Time to go home," Evie said. "I hope you were good for Mother Superior."
"Of course I was... It's me..." Henry said before looking over as Dee Dee was still sound asleep. "I just did some undercover work with Dee Dee."
Evie cupped her mouth, quietly snickering as that sort of sounded "mature", but she knew Henry didn't mean it like that.
"What's so funny, Evie?" Henry then asked.
"Oh, nothing... Let's just go back home," Evie replied. "Have you already eaten?"
"Yeah... Mother Superior got us burgers from Granny's," Henry nodded as he went to leave with his sister before looking at the woman. "Thank you for letting me stay over."
"No problem at all, Henry," Mother Superior said with a small smile. "We're helping out Jane and Carlos, so we'll gladly help you and Dee Dee out too. Good night."
"Good night." Henry nodded.
"Good night, Mother Superior. Thanks again." Evie then said as she went to bring her brother back home and get him ready for bed.
"Get home safe, both of you." Mother Superior nodded, letting them go before she then went to go and get up Dee Dee to get her into bed too.
Soon, the Mills siblings made it back home as Evie brought Henry to go to bed while she would have some leftover lasagna. She looked curious as there were two plates in the sink that was clearly from when Regina had dinner on her own earlier, but did she have company that the kids didn't know about? Evie decided to try to ignore it as she ate up her lasagna and after she heated it up in the microwave and ate it, she put her dish in the sink and washed it before helping herself get up and get ready for bed. However, little did the Mills siblings know, that this night was going to be a real game-changer for Storybrooke.