Surprise

(Day 105: Saturday Morning)

When Evie sees the bright light she opens her eyes and glances at the clock, "It's only seven A.M." before she picks up the small mirror and the light disappears. "What're you doing?" It shows her the number seventeen. "Yes. I know it's my birthday today." She notices Mal turn over in the other bed and whispers, "Which is why I should be allowed to get my beauty sleep." The image turns into a present. "I don't understand." The present glows. "Yes. The present," Evie irritably responds. "I see there's a present." The present moves down, before the word 'me' and an arrow pointing towards it hovers over it. "Wait," Evie smiles in realization. "You have a present for me?" It gives her a thumbs up, and she excitedly questions, "What is it?" The thumbs up is replaced with a question mark, and she sighs. "Okay. I get it. It's a surprise." She grins, "So, how do I get it?" The mirror shows a map, and Evie squints at it. There's a red x, but the mirror is so small that it makes the location hard to see. "Where is that?"

The mirror writes, "Near home. The forest."

"You mean where Mother used to live?" Evie asks, and then the mirror gives another thumbs up. "But that's so far away. How are we supposed to get there?" The mirror shows a picture of Doug, "Really? You think he can help?" He gives her another thumbs up, and she inwardly groans. "I wish you could just talk to me." He shows her a picture of Mal, and Evie glances over before shaking her head, "No. I can't do that. I wouldn't even have a place to put you, and if something goes wrong…" She frowns, "I don't want to lose you." and then it shows her a shape of a heart. She smiles again, "I love you too."

Mal looks up at her with squinted eyes, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, you know." Evie excuses, "Just some self-encouragement."

"Right," Mal tiredly plops her head back onto the pillow.

Evie stands from the bed, "I'm going to hang out with Doug. You don't need me, do you?" She makes an indistinct sound, and Evie translates it to no. "You sure?" she questions as she walks around Mal's bed towards the bathroom. "Not even for that hair?"

"My hair's fine."

"It has knots in it," Evie points out, before she remembers to go grab an outfit. "I keep telling you to braid it before going to sleep."

"Not long enough," Mal loudly mumbles.

"Of course," Evie comments as she pulls items out of the dresser. "You should when it's long enough, though." She walks to the bathroom again, but she can't help but look back at Mal, "Are you sure you don't need help brushing it or anything?"

"Nah," she slowly states. "I want to sleep, and there's a spell. I think."

"Okay, then," Evie smiles before shutting the bathroom door, laying the magic mirror upside down on the counter, and undressing to take a shower.

"Hey," Evie finds Doug dishing up in the cafeteria.

He smiles at her, "Hey, Evie."

"So," she brightly smiles as she twists a piece of hair. "I have a favor to ask."

"Oh." He laughs, "And what would that be?"

She eyes up, "If someone were to let's say want to visit the area their mother once lived." before she looks at him. "How would one do that, exactly?"

"Well, the train is the cheapest, most reliable option," he informs.

Evie grins, "And how might someone get onto one of those trains?"

"Well, um." He adjusts his glasses, "I could show you, if you like?"

"That would be perfect."

"Really?" Doug unsurely asks.

"Totally," she flutters her eyelashes. "So, when would that be?"

"Well, the train leaves at nine," he thinks.

"Perfect," she confirms. "So, you will take me then?"

"Yeah." He clears his throat and stretches the collar of his shirt from his neck, "And, you know, if you needed an escort— Not that you need one. I'm sure you can take care of yourself. But, if you wanted someone to help, then, uh…" He meets her dark brown eyes and lets out a breath, "I, uh…"

"I would love for you to come with," she continues to smile.

"Really?" he questions in surprise.

"Yeah," she reassures. "That would be so cool of you." She brings her hand up to check her nails, before her mouth opens in thought, "So cool, in fact, that you should sit with us."

Doug glances at the usual table, "Uh. I hate to break it to you, Evie, but it looks like you're the only one having breakfast today."

Evie looks off at their table, but no one is there, "Right. Saturday." before looking back at him in remembrance. "What about Ben?"

"Right." Doug takes a moment to think, "I really need to explain this to you, don't I?" He faces her with a frown, "I don't want you mimic any of Ben's behavior. I know it looks like he never eats, but…"

"But?" Evie frowns.

"He just has this weird idea that he can catch up on eating, I guess," Doug slowly explains. "And he does eat, so I don't want you like competing with him or anything."

Evie's eyes shift, "I'm not competing with him."

"No. I'm sure you're not." Doug purses his lips, "It's just, I read that eating disorders can be competitive, and with how you left the table when he did that one time—"

"Doug," Evie quietly interrupts. "I'm not competing with him."

"Okay, then." Doug looks away as he slowly nods, before he faces her again, "So, we're sitting now?"

"Yes," she nods.

"And you don't want any juice or anything?" he makes sure.

"No. Thank you," Evie hurriedly states.

"Alrighty, then," Doug uncomfortably continues, nodding over to the empty table. "Let's grab a seat, then. Or two. I meant a couple— not that we're a couple."

"Doug," Evie evenly interrupts.

"Yes?" he answers.

She tries to smile again, "Let's just sit down."

"Yes," Doug immediately responds. "That's a great idea."

"Thank you," Evie slowly accepts the compliment, before they sit down across from each other at the long table.

"So, where are we going exactly?" Doug questions, as they sit at a booth in the train.

Evie takes the mirror out of her purse, "Mirror, mirror in my hand, please show me the land." before the map it had shown her earlier appears and she faces the mirror towards Doug.

"And where is that?" he questions.

Evie sets the mirror down, "Do you know where Snow White's castle is?"

"Uh, yeah."

"So, it would be in the woods near there," she informs, and then his mouth gapes. "What?"

"What?" Doug disbelieves. "How about how the woods you're probably referring to is the dwarves' reservation site." Evie frowns. "You're using me, aren't you?"

"I mean, yeah," she softly answers. "But why do you think I'm using you?"

"It's a gated community," he lets her know. "You need me to get in there."

Evie glances at the mirror, "Look, Doug. I didn't know about that."

"Then why am I here?" he insists.

She glances at the mirror before meeting his green eyes, "Because I asked the mirror how I could get there, and it told me you could help." but he fails to speak. "The mirror wanted you here, Doug. I swear I didn't know about any of this."

"The mirror wanted me here," Doug repeats in frustration. "It's not alive, Evie."

She gives him a long look, "Don't you think I know that?"

He deeply frowns, before he sighs and rubs the back of his neck, "Just tell me what you need." She doesn't say anything, and he looks back at her. "You're going there for a reason. So long as I'm here, just tell me why." She looks down. "Please."

When she looks back up her glossy lips part, "It's my birthday."

"It's your birthday?" Doug questions, and after a minute he asks, "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Cake for starters," Evie confesses. "I just didn't want my birthday to become an excuse for people to completely obsess about food and forget about me."

He sees her tear up, "Right. I'm sorry."

Evie shakes her head, "It's not your fault." as her eyes widen. "People like food… It's just what they do." She moves her hair behind an ear, "But, anyway. You wanted to know details, right?" He merely nods, and then she nods in return. "Well." She shakes her head, "You're going to think I'm crazy."

"I would never think that," he reassures.

Evie looks around the nearly empty compartment, before she faces him, "Most people know my mother is a witch."

"Yes," Doug confirms.

"I'm a witch too," she lets him know.

It takes him a moment to process that, "Okay."

"And my magic mirror is actually a witch's glass," Evie says as she places it between them. "It has a spirit in it."

He looks down at it, "That thing has a spirit in it?" and then he sees her nod. "But you carry it with you all the time."

"If it breaks, he dies," she firmly addresses, before she sighs, "Again." She frowns at him, "I can't lose him."

"Okay," Doug unsurely continues on. "So, what does this have to do with you going to the reservation?"

It takes her a minute to answer, "He has a birthday present for me. Wherever it is, it must be on the reservation." She hears him let out a loud breath. "What?"

"It's just." He gestures to the mirror, "Do you even know who this spirit is?"

"Of course I know who he is."

"Then who is it?" he questions, but she merely looks at him. "What? You can't tell me?"

"It's bad enough you even know he exists," she firmly comments. "Do you know how much more danger he's in now?"

"How is it putting him in danger?"

"No one cares about mirrors," Evie quickly answers. "Sure. Breaking mirrors is bad luck, but people still break them all the time. He's a lot safer if people think he's just a regular mirror, or even just an old, magic mirror." Her voice raises, "If anyone knew that this mirror has a spirit in it— a spirit who has a personal connection to me— then all they would have to do to get back at me is to kill him."

"Evie," Doug attempts to settle her down. "Whoever this spirit is, he's already dead. He can't die again."

She leans back in her seat and folds her arms, "You're only proving my point."

He sees the tears in her eyes, "Who was he to you?" but she merely looks out the window. "I mean, he's not like your brother or anything. Is he?"

"This is making me dizzy," Evie complains, before she pulls the curtains shut and faces him again. "No. Not my brother."

"Then who?" he questions, but she still doesn't speak. He looks down at the mirror, "Who are you?" and after a moment he reads the name. "Mark. Your name is Mark?"

"Congratulations," Evie unenthusiastically comments. "He likes you." She takes the mirror and places it back in her purse, "Sorry." She feels the heavy sensation before turning back to Doug, "And he's not my boyfriend, if that's what you're wondering."

"I wasn't wondering that," he softly denies.

"Really?" Evie questions. "Because, you're really tense all of a sudden."

"I was getting answers," he defends. "Come on. Don't you trust me?"

Evie stares at him for a long moment before sternly stating, "Not on his life."

Doug slowly nods, "Okay." before he faces her. "I can accept that."

When the gate opens Doug and Evie walk forward and a blond woman smiles, "Nice to see you back. Do your parents know you're here?"

"Uh, no," Doug realizes. "It was short notice."

The woman hollers over her shoulder, "Genevieve, come here. You wouldn't guess who's shown up."

"Oh, no," Doug breathes, before Evie sees a brown haired woman in a dress step out of the garden and walk towards them.

She smiles as she meets them, before she hugs Doug, "Oh. I missed you so much."

He hugs her back, "You too, Mom."

She lets go of him and sees Evie, "Ah. And who might this be?"

"That's Evie," he introduces her. "She's a friend."

"She's a pretty friend."

"Thank you," Evie smiles.

"You're probably taken," she assumes.

"Sort of," Evie admits. "I mean, I could have a boyfriend, but I already have this friends with benefits thing going on with someone else, so…" She half laughs, "It's complicated."

"Well, then uncomplicate it," she encourages. "The sooner you realize he's not the one, the sooner you can get to my little Doug here."

"Mom," he quietly interrupts, before she looks at him. "I'm not really sure if she likes me like that."

"You're sweet," Evie compliments, before faces his mother. "but I have really, really high standards. Like mirrors. I would want to have mirrors."

"Of course," she acknowledges. "Every girl has to have a mirror, and we do have them," she reassures.

"Mom," he says again.

"Come on, pumpkin," she smiles at him. "I've been telling you to get out there, and now that you've brought a girl here I can't ask about her?" She looks back at Evie, "It's just impossible to date here. Everyone here is related, you know."

"Not to make it sound incestuous or anything," Doug frowns, "because it's not." He faces Evie, "She just means that anyone here my age would be related to me."

Evie smiles at him, "I thought that."

"You must have had a long journey," the mother realizes. "Took the train?" Evie nods. "And it will be another three hours back." She looks between them, "How about the two of you come in and wash up for lunch?"

"Oh, uh," Doug glances at Evie, before he faces his mother. "We're actually here for a reason. It's a little, um, time sensitive."

"And you can tell us all about it in the house," she adds on, before she begins to walk and waves an arm for them to follow.

Doug sighs, "I'm sorry." as he sees Evie's horror. "But if it's lunch it's probably just going to be salad or sandwiches." He scratches his neck, "We don't have a lot of choices around here. Oh, and, um, we harvest most things ourselves, so no preservatives." Evie looks down, fidgeting with her nails. "You can just say you're not hungry."

"Because I had such a big breakfast," Evie sarcastically replies, before she shakes her head. "Like she said, six hours would be missing an entire meal. I'm not getting out of this."

Doug places a hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay." but then she shakes her head. "Yes. It will. Because, I'm going to be there for you."

She looks off, "You're not Ben."

He takes his hand off of her, "What does Ben have to do with this?"

"You're not him," she meets his eyes. "You're not going to help me the way I need to be helped. You're just going to watch me as I fail."

"Tell me," Doug thinks. "What would Ben do?"

Evie is quiet for a moment, "He would get me out of this." before she looks away from Doug's shock. "He would keep me from suffering through this and then offer me something small later, when it's just the two of us."

"It doesn't get much smaller than a salad," Doug softly inputs, before he sees her begin to cry and wipe the tears away with her hand. "Hey."

"I can't do this," Evie shakily breathes.

"I couldn't do what Ben would do even if I wanted to," he states. "The table is small and filled with people. This isn't the kind of thing where you can just hide food in a napkin to throw away later… which I would ask you not to even try, because throwing away food is wasteful and we really don't have the resources here."

"Then let's skip it," she solves. "We could just go look for my present right now."

"Evie," he begins.

"Ben would do it," she desperately asserts.

"I don't doubt that Ben would skip a meal with you," Doug firmly counters, "but I'm not like you guys. Okay? I can't just skip a meal whenever I feel like it, because I don't feel like it." He nods back towards the cabin, "And these are my parents. Okay? And they're not like Ben's parents. No matter how embarrassing they are, they've always been just really, really nice to me, and I haven't seen them since I left for school this year. So, since I just so happen to be here, I would like to spend a little time with them." Doug sees her guilt and then sighs, placing a hand to his head, "Look. I'm sorry. I know this is hard for you." She looks back at him. "What about a plate of plain lettuce? Can you handle that?"

"Maybe," Evie whispers.

"Okay," he nods. "Let's go, then. Maybe we can still catch my mom before she makes it." He begins to walk, and she follows; however, it's then he stops and faces her. "Oh, um." He hesitates, "If it comes down to it, would you not want them to know about your eating disorder?"

"Yeah. Of course," Evie answers, before she looks off. "But if they have to…" She looks towards the ground, "I guess."

"How about this?" Doug settles. "If things get too hard, you can just say it yourself."

"I don't know if I could." She places a hand on her arm, "I don't think I've ever really said it aloud before."

"There's a first time for everything," he hopefully responds. "And like Jay would say, if you really have to, then you will." She nods and then they continue walking, "So, you will be seeing my mom, dad, and Uncle Doc. My uncle is the one with the glasses." Evie nods again, before they walk up the stairs and open the front door, "Here we go." but as soon as they enter the narrow kitchen the cleanness suggests that no one's cooking.

After they take a few steps a man's voice is heard, "You're just in time." and then Evie looks through the square archway into the dining and living room. On one side of the wooden table there's Doug's mother, a bald man, and then a white bearded man with glasses, and the empty side reveals the large, yellow bowl at the center with a pitcher on either side, one filled with milk and the other filled with ice water.

"Evie," Doug says, before she looks back at him. "We have to wash up."

"Of course," Evie merely says, before she follows Doug to the kitchen sink.

After he turns the water on he comments, "I'm sorry." as he washes his hands.

"Is that dish soap?" Evie questions.

"Don't worry about it." Doug reassures, "It's antibacterial and safe on hands."

When he goes to wipe his hands on the white towel Evie takes the bottle, and as she reads the label she quickly finds that's exactly what it claims. "It has moisturizer?"

"Pretty awesome, right?" he smiles. "Saves us a lot of money."

"Do you not have a bathroom?" she questions.

"We have a bathroom," he evenly answers. "It's in the hallway."

"You have a hallway?" Evie disbelieves.

Doug frowns, "Yes, we have a hallway. As Ben would say in his exhausted, delusional state, that's where the bedrooms live." He shakes his head, "And, yes, we have a bathroom. We're hard on money, not homeless. Legally speaking, this entire forest belongs to us."

"Sorry," Evie whispers.

Doug lets out a calming breath, "It's fine. Just wash your hands so we can eat, please." before she turns to turn the water back on. "And you really don't have to if you can't. Just tell them why you can't if it becomes too hard. Okay? They won't judge you."

"Why am I pretty?"

"What?" Doug questions.

"Your mother called me pretty," Evie says as she forces her hands to stay under the hot water. "Why am I pretty?"

"She was just trying to compliment you," he starts to explain.

"So, I'm not pretty," Evie assumes.

"I didn't say that," Doug denies.

"What is it?" Evie turns to him. "Am I really as bony as people say or do I just have fat in all the wrong places?"

"Evie." He sighs, "You're beautiful just the way you are." before he glances down. "I would kiss you if that would prove it to you, but I don't know how Mal would feel about that and I really don't want to get on her bad side."

"You can kiss me."

"Evie," Doug says again.

"If she can have a boyfriend, so can I," she reasons.

"What happened to you wanting to get a prince and a castle?" Doug reminds her.

Her eyes shine, "I'm not going to get a prince if I'm ugly." and he stares at her in silence. "Are you going to kiss me or not?"

He places a hand to her cheek, and when she shuts her eyes the tears fall. He wipes one away with his thumb before moving in to kiss her, and when the moment is over he reassures, "You are beautiful, Evie. Inside and out, and I don't care if you gain twenty pounds or lose another five." He moves her hair behind her ear, "Nothing could take away your beauty." before he lets his hand drop to his side. "It's in your eyes. They sparkle when you smile."

Evie nearly laughs, "Thank you." before Doug moves to turn the water off.

He smiles at her, "Let's go." and as they walk to the dining room Evie makes herself presentable.

"There they are," Doug's mother comments. "What was taking you kids?"

After they take their seats Doug excuses, "Just talking, you know."

Evie watches as Doug uses the tongs to fill his plate with the green salad, before she cautiously points to the bowl, "What's all in here?"

"It's mostly just lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and peppers," the brunette answers, and Evie takes the tongs to put a small amount of salad on her plate. "You can have more, you know."

"Mom," Doug interrupts. "She can always have seconds if she feels like it. She doesn't need to have it all on her plate right now."

"Of course," his mother agrees, before she smiles at Evie. "I just wanted to make sure you had a chance to enjoy it."

Evie pokes her fork at the salad, "Is that ranch?"

"Oh, uh, yes," Doug observes her.

"I don't suppose it's the nonfat kind?" Evie questions.

"Around here," Doug slowly informs, "our problem actually tends to be not getting enough calories. So, no. It would just be the regular." Evie nods in understanding. The ranch alone would be a hundred and fifty calories. She moves a piece a lettuce and sees a giant glob of white, then realizing that it's probably more.

"You're not allergic to anything?" the mother worries.

Evie shakes her head, "I don't think so." before she starts to separate the ingredients.

"You know," the woman continues, "if you don't like carrots, then you should have told me. I could have made it differently."

Evie continues to stare at the salad, "I'm just organizing it."

Doug says, "No. She's not a carnivore." and then Evie looks up just in time to watch his father sign again. "No. She's not a vampire." Evie watches as Doug's mouth gapes. "Okay. First things first: it's studied that most vampires aren't actually that thin. A lot of them find it hard to fulfil their hunger, so they just end up eating everything. And secondly, a vampire who is actually eating well wouldn't be so pale." He signs again. "I know you're just asking, but you had to point out those things with her sitting right there?" He does it again. "And what if she could? Or, even if she doesn't, what was I supposed to do? Just act like it wasn't happening?" Evie moves a few more red pepper pieces to their group, before Doug says, "I'm not getting defensive." She uses the knife to cuts up the large lettuce pile into fourths. "She's not my girlfriend. Even if she were a vampire— or any other carnivore— you wouldn't need to worry about that." Evie makes two more cuts, turning the lettuce into nothing more than thin, rectangular pieces. "Why isn't she eating?" Doug repeats, and when he looks at her the others' eyes follow. She feels the tension, clanking her fork down to the plate, before she stands and starts to leave. "Evie," Doug desperately says, before she exits through the front door.

"She has an eating disorder," his uncle answers, before the others turn towards him. "How she was asking about the food, the way she messed with it, her paleness and low weight, it's clearly anorexia."

"Yes," Doug frowns in confirmation, before he shakes his head. "And the only real reason we're here is because it's her birthday and we think someone might have left something for her nearby." He stands up and hopelessly comments, "So, I'm just going to go help her look for it." There's nothing but silence as he makes his way to the door, and when he steps out to the stairs he sits next to Evie.

She unsteadily comments, "You said they wouldn't judge me." as her long, blue hair conceals the tears running down her face.

"They wouldn't have," he softly reassures. "My father was just worried about me."

"He thought I was a vampire." She sadly laughs, "But I don't even remember the last time I had meat." She lets out a long breath. "And blood?

"I know it's probably not the easiest thing to be compared to," Doug slowly comments.

"Not the easiest thing?" she turns to him in disbelief. "Humans see vampires as a disease. Is that what I am? Do I look diseased?"

"Evie, um," Doug hesitates before meeting her eyes, "anorexia is a disease." She looks away from him. "There's a biological component to it." He adjusts his glasses, "Actually, generally speaking, people are more likely to develop an eating disorder if they have a family history of eating or mood disorders." She hunches over as she brings her hands to her eyes, sobbing. "Hey," he hurriedly attempts to reassure her, as he places a hand on her back. "This doesn't define you. You're more than this."

"Am I?" she whispers.

"People get sick." He reassures, "People get sick, and then they get better."

"And if I don't want to get better?"

"Evie," he softly says, before he moves his hand to her shoulder and she turns to him.

"It's been there for me when no one else was." Her light eyeshadow sparkles over her face, but the mascara and eyeliner has not yet smeared. "And I hear it. It's telling me not to talk right now, actually."

"Evie," Doug says again, this time with more concern.

"Sometimes it's my mother's words, but mostly… it's just its own." She looks past him, "And it's different than mine, but…" before meeting his eyes. "Sometimes I can't tell the difference. Sometimes I hear it tell me something, and I think it's my own thoughts." He fails to speak. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No, Evie," he shakes his head. "Of course, not." He takes his hand from her shoulder, "But I think you need some serious help."

"I don't want help," Evie denies. "I'm fine."

Doug hears her tone, "No, you're not. You're scared." and she looks off again. "What does it feel like?" he inquires. "What's it like to… to deal with what you're going through?"

"Mostly?" Evie starts to tear up. "It's dark. Really dark, but it's there for you. When you need it, it's there." She mumbles, "But it's always there, and it's like it wants me all to itself. It's like don't do this, don't do that. They're going to think you're crazy. It'll make you fat." Evie lets out a long breath, "And no one understands. It's like I could be around everyone, and yet I just always feel so distant, cold, and alone." Doug nods acknowledgement, before she half smiles, "Except for Ben. It's like he just gets it somehow." Her breathing calms, "When we talk about it he's never surprised or frightened. He never makes me do anything either. It's always just this comfort, and these solutions, and… It's just really nice having someone who isn't blocked by that barrier, who can actually see the abyss, and just…"

"Face the darkness with you," Doug quietly finishes.

Evie thinks for a moment, "Well, yeah, actually. Most people don't even see that the darkness exists. They don't see the abyss." She looks down to the ground and sighs, "All they see is a girl not eating, and everyone just seems to think that the solution is to just tell me how sick I look, how beautiful I am, or that I just need to eat… as though that solves anything." He doesn't speak, so she looks back at him, "What is it?"

Doug faces her, but it takes him a minute to say, "I don't think you and Ben are good for each other."

Evie rolls her eyes, "He's with Mal, Doug. There's no need to get jealous."

"This isn't about jealously," he asserts, and then Evie's mouth slightly gapes. "I know you think it's nice to have someone who knows what you're going through, but what help has he actually been to you? Getting you out of meals, telling you what's safe and not safe to drink, and what else exactly?"

"Just ways to keep up my energy," she quietly answers, before her eyes shift. "And this app. He showed me this app."

"What app?"

"The app he uses to document his eating." She explains, "He thought that if I knew what I was eating, then I would be more likely to eat it." He continues to frown. "What?"

"Nothing," Doug irritably responds. "I just didn't know Ben counted calories."

"I think it's like protein and stuff too," Evie comments.

Doug meets her eyes, "So, Ben's been helping you. How've you been helping him?"

She squints in confusion, "What?"

"He used to eat with the guys from tourney every day," Doug informs, "and now he doesn't."

"And you think it's my fault?" Evie's mouth gapes. "You don't think quitting the team, having a girlfriend, being king, or forgetting the English language might have had something to do with that?" He sighs. "You can think that I have a disease, but this isn't contagious."

Doug notes the sternness in her words, "You're right. It's not." and then she eyes him up and down. "I'm just saying that your eating disorder and Ben's weird eating habits, that you two might be making things worse for each other. I mean…" He meets her eyes, "It's not like either of you are telling each other to stop. You're just adding fuel to the fire."

Evie stares at him for a moment, "Ben makes me feel like I'm not alone. If you really want me to get through this, you will let him help me."

Doug slightly nods, letting out a breath, "Okay." before he looks away. "It's getting late. How about we go find your present? We can finish this conversation later."

After he stands Evie stands as well, firmly commenting, "There's no conversation to finish. It's done." He frowns at her. "Ben makes me feel like I'm not alone in this, and you're not going to keep him from me." She stares him down, "Right?"

"Right," Doug uneasily says, before he changes the subject. "So, uh, how do we find your present." and then he watches as she takes the mirror out of her purse. "Cold?"

Evie frowns down at it, "You weren't listening, were you?" but then the word changes to 'walk'. She steps down the stairs, Doug following her lead, before the mirror changes back to the first word. "Oh," she grins. "I get it. You want to play a game." She looks at Doug, "You know this game, right?"

"Yeah," he evenly responds. "I think I do."

She continues to walk forward, before she reads, "Super cold." and turns back to walk around the cabin. "Cold." She looks up, "It's in the woods."

"Can't it just tell us where?" Doug complains. "We're never going to find it like this."

She smiles at him, "What are you saying, that I shouldn't be able to play games on my birthday?"

"No," he sighs.

"Good." Evie walks toward the white birch trees. "Because, I like this game."

- First off, just to unconfuse people, the fact that Evie turned the mirror upside down in the bathroom probably doesn't affect what the mirror actually sees. As a spirit it can probably see anyone anywhere (I think in the novel I would only let it see through other mirrors, but I'll think about that again when I get there), which I feel like I should clear up for later on. She probably just turned the mirror upside down to feel more comfortable, like how some people don't like having their pets see them using the bathroom. Secondly, I wanted the reason as to why Mal's hypnotism didn't work on Evie to be that she's wearing contacts and a barrier like plastic or glass would affect the light coming off from Mal's eyes; however, then I remembered Mal's hypnotism worked on Doug while he was wearing glasses, so this is just something else I'm going to have to fix in the novel translation... Although, the hypnotism is going to be less glowing eyes and more like theoretical snake hypnotism so... I'm not sure the same physics would apply. Let me know... In this fanfiction, you can assume that any hypnotism of any kind just wouldn't work on a witch, which would be why Mal's mother told her to respect witches. Now, my original intent with that was more along the lines of a witch's unique abilities and the suffering they've endured over the years for all magical people, but whatever works, right? You probably could have rationalized these mistakes yourself, but as someone who's trying not to be sloppy in writing I had to rationalize it myself too. Hopefully I don't make any contradictions with these statements.