Final Chapter. :P
Susie and Jeremy pulled a large tub of ice cream out of the freezer and set it down on the table. Everyone cheered when they saw it except for the Afton kids.
Evan frowned in concern. Michael and Elizabeth were staring at the tub of ice cream with matching looks of discomfort. When Gabriel ran over to the drawer and pulled out an ice cream scooper, Michael's eyes locked on the object, shifting to a shade of purple that was so dark, his eyes were almost black. Elizabeth's hand reached for his, as if she were going to take it, but she hesitated and pulled her hand back.
Just like Michael did to me when I was feeling down…
"Ev, you want some ice cream?" Fritz asked. Evan blinked a couple of times, looking over at his friend. Fritz was standing by an open cupboard, reaching in to grab some bowls. Charlie, Cassidy, and Susie already had bowls of ice cream. Jeremy was scooping some into a bowl for himself, two bowls filled with ice cream sitting, untouched. Those must have been for Gabriel and Fritz.
He shook himself slightly to snap himself out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'll have some," he said. He looked back at his siblings, fighting down his concern. "What about you guys?"
"No thank you," Elizabeth said, her voice a little small. Evan's friends didn't catch it, but Michael and Evan did. Michael's arm wrapped around her shoulders, making her wince.
"I'm good," he said, gesturing to the bowls. "You guys only have vanilla."
Cassidy frowned at him slightly.
"What's wrong with vanilla?" she asked. Michael shrugged.
"Nothing," he said. "Aside from the fact that chocolate is the best."
Everyone except Cassidy and the Aftons laughed. Cassidy gave him an offended look.
"Not in a million years!" she exclaimed. "Vanilla is better!"
Jeremy walked over to Evan, handing him his bowl. He nodded his thanks.
"Strawberry," he said. Cassidy and Michael both turned to him, giving him shocked looks.
"Vanilla!"
"Strawberry."
"VANILLA."
"Rocky road!"
Everyone now looked at Gabriel, who innocently put a spoon of ice cream in his mouth. This paved the way for a whole lot of screaming from everyone, everybody shouting what ice cream flavors they found to be superior.
Evan joined in, but he wasn't enjoying quite as much as he usually would. His eyes drifted back over to Michael and Elizabeth, who were muttering quietly to each other. He smiled softly before frowning to himself in confusion.
Elizabeth loved ice cream. That was one of the main reasons William had put an ice cream maker right inside of Baby, so that-
…oh.
Oh, no…
That's how she died, stupid.
He mentally facepalmed. Of course, she didn't want any ice cream. Her mind had probably gone back to the exact moment that Circus Baby had scooped her up.
Evan focused on his bowl of ice cream, frowning heavily, the image of his brother and sister staring at the tub of ice cream with something close to fear on their faces not leaving his mind.
It was movie night again. This time, Michael showed them three different Disney movie options. The kids voted on Cinderella.
Michael shook his head bemusedly.
"The whole point of me rewatching all these stupid movies is so you guys can watch the ones you'd never seen before," he said. Susie grinned at him.
"We have all the time in the world to watch all of them," she said. Michael put the movie in and rolled his eyes, making his way over to the blankets and sitting down on them. Evan handed him a small bowl of popcorn.
"We're not going to watch every one of them," he said. "Some of them are best left forgotten."
"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked. Michael shrugged one shoulder, picking up the remote and getting ready to press play.
"The sequels to these movies exist," he said. "...unfortunately."
"They couldn't have been that bad," Cassidy said. Michael winced, biting his lip.
"I don't know… Belle's Magical World existed…"
Everyone turned to him in curiosity.
"They made a sequel to Beauty and the Beast?" Susie asked excitedly. Michael nodded slowly.
"Yes… they also remade it in live action," he said. "I personally didn't care much for it. It just didn't have the same 'magic' as the original."
They left the conversation at that. Michael pressed play, and everyone got comfortable. Elizabeth was joining them tonight. She and Michael had been spending more time together, trying to get used to each other after everything that had happened to them. It was simple things, walking side-by-side or eating. One time, she, Michael, and Evan had been in the kitchen. Elizabeth was sitting at the counter while Michael cooked actual food. He'd been serious about getting them to cut down on sugar.
"But I haven't been here long enough for it to be a problem for me!" Elizabeth had complained. Michael had turned around and given her his most deadpanned expression.
"You've lived off of nothing but ice cream for years," he said. His eyes had narrowed slightly. "Don't fight me."
Evan had burst out into uncontrollable laughter at that. Back when they'd still been alive, Michael had been the one to take care of them- William was almost never around. Sitting there, listening to his siblings beginning to bicker… he almost felt alive again. He loved it.
Overall, he thought it had been going pretty well. It seemed like it was… Elizabeth wasn't shying away from him quite as much, and Michael was warm and friendly towards her.
He felt a slight pang in his heart. They were fixing their relationship so easily… and Michael had gone back to calling her 'Liz' instead of 'Elizabeth' almost immediately. But Evan was still grasping at straws, still waiting for his brother to slip up to be called 'Ev' instead of 'Evan'.
Everyone leaned back, getting comfortable. Elizabeth was sitting rather stiffly beside Michael, but their brother wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She obliged with a smile, eventually lying down on him. Evan clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to ignore them.
After a while, he felt something reach over and take his hand. He looked over in shock and saw that it was Michael. His brother was giving him a worried look.
"Everything alright, Ev?" he asked. Evan swallowed hard.
"Yeah, it's fine," he said. Michael's eyes turned a dull shade of indigo.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "You seem a bit… upset…"
Evan shook his head slightly, leaning back against the wall.
"I'm fine," he said. He felt his brother wrap his free arm around his shoulders and pull him in. Evan didn't fight him, nor did he say anything.
He felt Elizabeth take his hand and smiled.
They were fine.
Charlie smiled and paused the movie. Everyone looked at her in curiosity, but she put a finger to her lips and pointed at the Aftons. Everyone smiled, and Gabriel stood up to grab the camera.
Elizabeth and Evan had fallen asleep on Michael, who was sleeping against the wall, arms wrapped around his siblings.
Two weeks later:
"...Michael, do you regret salvaging me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if you hadn't known it was me, would you have salvaged me?"
"Oh. No, of course not."
"..."
"...that was mean. I'm joking, Liz. I still would have."
"Oh… ok."
"Listen, there's one thing you should know… I'm shit with words."
"Michael!"
"I am! I couldn't come up with anything else!"
"..."
"...but I never hated you."
"...you didn't? But I- "
"I blamed Circus Baby, but not you."
"But I'm Circus Baby…"
"No, you're Elizabeth. Circus Baby did bad things. Elizabeth never did."
"..."
"Elizabeth would never hurt me."
"...I thought you're supposed to be shit with words."
"Evan!"
"You're awake?"
"Forget about that- Evan, watch your language!"
"How do you do that?"
"Ev, I swear- "
"I know you do, I just heard you do it."
"I did too."
"...I hate you guys sometimes."
"We love you too, Mikey."
"Love you, Mikey!"
"..."
"I love you guys, too."
