Reflections
(Day 66: Tuesday Afternoon)
"Hey," Evie comments as she walks into Doug's dorm.
Doug turns in his seat, "Hey."
Evie sits next to him at the table, "Mal and Ben needed to, uh, get reacquainted." before she looks at his laptop. "What's that?"
He quickly lowers the lid, "Nothing. It's, uh, nothing."
"Ah-hmm," Evie hums. "What? Did I interrupt something?"
"Interrupt?" Doug asks in confusion.
"Maybe you were looking at something to think of for later," she insinuates.
His mouth gapes, "Ah, no." before he uncomfortably smiles. "I was just, you know, researching and stuff." She smirks at him. "No. Really. I was."
"Then why don't you prove it?"
Doug sighs before lifting up the screen, and as he watches Evie glance over it he scratches his temple with a finger, "I thought I would just brush up on it. You know, because of relevance and such."
"How to talk to someone about an eating disorder," she disbelieves, before she turns towards Doug. "I don't need anyone to try and save me."
"Yes, you do," he denies. "This is dangerous stuff, Evie. Malnutrition. Bone loss. Heart palpitations."
"I know," she sternly interrupts.
It's silent for a moment, as he sadly stares at her, "You're so beautiful— and smart. Emotional issues or not, how could you do this to yourself?"
She's quiet for a minute, before she softly responds, "Because I am unsure of myself." She tries to smile, "That's what I like about you. You have this energy, like you know exactly who you are and you're completely content with it."
"Well, I mean," he lifts his glasses up and down, "I wouldn't say completely content, but—" He halts, as she kisses him. "Heigh-ho. What was that for?"
"For being you," she sweetly smiles. "You know, I was thinking we could work on some Chemistry together."
"Chemistry?"
Evie's smile widens as she takes her Chemistry book and notes from her dark blue bag, "Yes. The assignment is due tomorrow, and I've just been so distracted with everything…"
"Oh." Doug laughs it off, "Of course. The— The assignment."
"Do you think you could help me out?" Evie shows her whitened teeth, as she holds the pencil to her lips.
"Ah, yeah. Of course."
"Great," she immediately responds before opening the textbook. "Now. I've got the questions on anions and cations, but I don't understand how that's supposed to translate to these other things."
"Hold on," Doug lifts a hand. "I just remembered." When she looks at him he turns away for a second, "Can't your magic mirror tell you the answer?"
She laughs, "I can't rely on him for everything, silly. I need to actually learn this stuff."
"Him?" Doug questions.
"What?"
"You said him. Your magic mirror," he explains, "you called it a him."
Evie slowly shakes her head as she looks up, "No. I said it."
"I'm extremely sure that you called it him," Doug asserts.
She gives him a look, "Why would I do that? It's just a mirror." Doug doesn't respond, before she smiles again. "Come on. I know you can help me much more than a piece of glass."
"Maybe having dinner out wasn't a great idea," Mal comments as she notices the stares, wandering eyes, and phones.
"I promised you dinner," Ben reminds her, before they are guided towards the back. "Besides, I got us private seating." He moves her chair out and smiles, "My lady."
Mal nearly rolls her eyes as she sits down, "Thank you, but you really don't need to try that hard."
Ben sits down in his own seat, "I'm just being polite." and his expression falters. "It's supposed to be romantic."
She shrugs, "Yeah. Okay." as she shuts her eyes for a second. "It just seems…"
"Odd," he inserts.
"A little weird," Mal unsurely finishes. "I can sit down myself, and if I move the chair too then it would probably be faster."
Ben wets his lips, "If it bothers you, I can try not to do it."
It takes a minute for Mal to respond, "Maybe just not for something as simple as a date? It's not like this is an anniversary or anything. I mean, we're not celebrating anything."
"On the contrary," he smiles. "We are celebrating your release."
Mal slowly smiles, "I guess we are."
When the waitress comes in she questions, "The usual?"
"Yes," Ben answers.
"Soda, wine, or milk?"
Ben looks at Mal, "Do you like soda at all?"
"Never had it," Mal slightly furrows her eyebrows.
He turns back to the brunette, "Fat free milk should be fine."
"Hey," Mal interrupts, and when Ben looks at her again she stresses a smile. "Didn't you just say we were celebrating?" She glances up for a second, "I think I remember you saying that wine is used to celebrate."
Ben uneasily laughs and awkwardly grins, as he gestures, "You don't drink."
"What makes you think that I don't drink?"
"Because," he slightly frowns, "you didn't even touch the wine last time."
"I did too touch it," Mal denies.
Ben stares down at the silver cloth for a moment, before he turns back to the waitress, "The milk will be fine. Thank you, Bridget."
"What?" Mal disbelieves.
When Ben turns back to her he sees an almost hurt expression on her face, and then he takes her hand, "Look. I'm just trying to respect your wishes."
"Respect my wishes," Mal exasperates as she takes her hand from his.
"Yes." Ben reminds her, "Last time you didn't want to drink the wine. You said that just being together was enough."
"Okay, well, and now I'm saying," Mal tensely grins, "that I'd like some wine too."
Ben clasps his hands together, glancing down at them before he meets her eyes, "No."
"Why not?" she complains.
He takes a calming breath, before he slowly explains, "I don't want to say you're unwell, because I know that people don't like to hear that—"
"I'm not sick," Mal interrupts, but with a seemingly disappointed look from Ben, Mal silences as she feels a deep hole suddenly dig into her being.
"You're stressed," Ben softly speaks. "When people are stressed they are not themselves. They act different, and they regret the things they do during that time later."
Mal frowns, "It's just wine."
Ben is quiet for a moment, before he admits, "When I'm more stressed than usual I can drink an entire case of soda in a day— sometimes even an hour." He nods once, "Now, if I were to have ordered wine, how much do you think you could have gone through?"
She shakes her head, "You would have only ordered one bottle. One bottle wouldn't have hurt anything."
Ben hesitates, "I don't think that's true." before he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but you're not well and I'm not going to offer you something you previously denounced when you're unwell." He looks at her, "My answer is no."
Mal furrows her eyebrows, shaking her head, before she stands from her seat, "That's it. I'm out of here."
Ben grabs hold of her wrist, and when she turns back to see he sternly remarks, "Look. You can hate me all you want, but I need you to come sit down and eat with me."
"Why?" she counters.
"Because, you haven't had a decent meal in weeks," he asserts, before he lets go of her wrist, slightly shakes his head, and mumbles, "And, also, if you leave, I'll probably just end up eating the entire thing myself, and I really wasn't planning on doing that right now." Mal doesn't speak. "Please. Just have dinner with me. That's all I'm asking."
Mal looks towards the door arch and then back at him, "Okay. I'll have dinner with you."
"I still don't understand why you couldn't just let me walk home," Mal complains.
"I was coming back to the school too," Ben evenly answers. "It's just more practical."
When he knocks on the door Mal comments, "Yeah, but isn't walking me to my dorm just a little too much?"
"Just another thing that's supposed to be considered romantic," he answers before Evie opens the door. "I got you a gift," Ben jokes. "I hope you like it."
Evie smiles, "She looks very nice. Thank you." before she guides Mal inside. "Come on. I have the perfect movie for us to watch."
After Mal is safely inside Ben taps on Evie's shoulder, and when she looks back at him he whispers, "Mal hasn't really been herself tonight. Maybe you should keep an eye on her?"
Evie places her hand to his hair, "Oh, sweetie. We always look after the little dragon." before she moves the hand down to his chest and pushes him, causing him to stumble back a step. "You should know that."
Ben looks down for a moment, before he slowly comments, "You're still mad at me for not keeping an eye on her that night."
"Wow," she unenthusiastically comments. "You are perceptive."
"Look." He takes a step forward, "Had I known—"
"You would've done what?" she interrupts. "Not use that medicine? Not sleep?" Evie notices panic in his features, "You still haven't told her, have you?"
"She just got out of jail," he tries to reason.
Evie furiously whispers, "She's your girlfriend. She deserves to know."
"I will," Ben whispers back. "Just not right now."
"Then when?" she questions. "During your next sleepover? After she finds your stash? When you're married and she's with child? When?" Ben opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. "It is genetic, isn't it? At least a little, the whole no sleeping thing?"
"I mean, considering that my parents tried to give me the same supplement my father uses," Ben begins, before he justifies, "but it's probably just so bad because of stress or something. Like, because of the life I have, it makes the insomnia worse. I don't think the extent I have it would be genetic."
"So, that makes it okay for you not to tell your girlfriend?" Evie raises her eyebrows.
"I'm going to tell her," Ben reassures. "I just need to find the right time."
Evie nods, letting out a loud breath, before she looks over him, "What about your medical condition? Does she at least know about that?"
Ben shuts his eyes for a moment, "Evie."
"I knew it," she spats, before she shakes her head. "You need to tell her."
"I will," he promises. "Just not right now."
Evie huffs, "I swear, all you guys are alike." before she shuts the door on him.
"Like what?" Ben asks the door, but with no response he's forced to take a step back and head up to his dorm.
- Broken03 I'm so glad to hear you felt like you were reading a real court case in the last chapter. Because I don't have any personal experience with court, it was something I was a little insecure about. It's great to know that I didn't completely mess it up. Thank you for reading and commenting. Also, Elizabeth Annette thank you for saying you like my writing style. I know it's not for everyone, and even though I have gotten compliments on the story, I feel like the way that it's structured and written has unsettled or confused some people. It's a lot different than the traditional main character, sidekick(s), and one external plot with romantic subplot. I'm glad that someone has been able to keep up with it and enjoys the way it's written.
- DeathCrawler Thanks for answering my question on how the person could die without illness or injury. I didn't think anyone would answer it, just because it isn't pertinent to this specific story... I think that because I didn't give out specifics that not all of the answers you gave are possible. To give out just a little more detail, it's not Mal or the others from the Isle that I was asking that question for... Actually, because Mal is the only remaining member of her hybrid species, I don't think an organ donation or blood transfusion would work that well, and, therefor, it would probably be really easy for her to die if she came about a situation where she'd need one of those things... I find this whole thing pretty interesting. If you feel like discussing any of these things further, then feel free to message me. I can go into detail there if you wish. If not, then you can just continue reading and commenting at your own leisure. I hope you're enjoying the story.
- Question: So, I know I already covered this in the story, but I want to know what the realistic situation would be. In the story it's been stated that Evie's natural hair color was black but that her mother bleached it by force. If that were to happen in real life, does anyone know what her hair color would look like afterwards? Would it be hard to dye? And what about the overall damage: would it be hard to grow, and would there have been any remedies for the damage caused?... I know that the last question could probably just be looked up, but as far as the others go I think it would be hard to research. If anyone knows, then let me know. Thank you.