Author's Note: I don't own anything other than my original characters. I know this one is shorter than previous chapters, but the upcoming chapters will be longer.
"I'm going to start calling you 'Lef.'" eight-year-old Evie declared, smiling at her best friend. The blonde frowned in thought, thinking the nickname over. "Is that okay?"
"I've never had a nickname before." Lefi admitted, knowing that the names her mother called her didn't count as nicknames. Evie smiled slightly. "It'll take some getting used to."
"Are you okay with it?" Evie asked. Lefi thought for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah, I am." she said. Evie hugged the blonde.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Evie struggled with the way Heather interacted with her girlfriend. She barely managed to keep from confronting the girl. The only thing stopping her was the fact that Lefi wasn't reciprocating.
Walking into the library with Mal, she narrowed her eyes as she saw Heather talking to the blonde. "You have got to be kidding me." Evie mumbled, glaring at the redhead that was currently flirting with her girlfriend.
"E…" Evie turned to the purple-haired girl.
"Don't 'E…' me, okay? I've put up with a lot from her and I'm sick of seeing her flirting with my girlfriend." she said. Mal nodded.
"I understand that, but you can't attack her in the middle of the library." she pointed out. Evie sighed.
"I wasn't going to attack her." she mumbled. Mal chuckled, looking over just as Heather brushed some hair out of Lefi's face. "That's it."
"E, no." Mal said, stepping in front of her best friend as she stepped forward. The commotion caused Lefi and Heather – as well as everyone else in the library – to look over in confusion. Seeing her girlfriend and sister, Lefi raised an eyebrow as she saw Mal pushing Evie out of the room.
As she was pushed out of the building, Evie sighed. "What did you do that for?" she asked.
"You can't cause a scene." Mal said, earning a roll of the eyes from the taller girl just as Lefi appeared.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking over at her sister.
"Nothing." Mal said before Evie could respond. Watching her girlfriend, Lefi sighed and sat down next to her. "Evie just had a little panic attack."
"Panic attack? Are you okay?" Lefi asked. Evie nodded.
"Yeah, just a big paper due tomorrow." she said, only partially lying. She did have a paper due the next day, but she was already finished with it. Smiling up at her girlfriend, she squeezed her hand. "What are you doing with Heather?"
"I was studying with Lonnie and Jane, Heather just sort of showed up. Lonnie was helping her with a homework assignment." Lefi explained, leaving out the part about Heather flirting with her. Evie raised an eyebrow at the omission, but didn't press on the subject. "I was actually about to head back to my dorm. Do you want to work on your paper there instead?" Evie sighed.
"Actually, I think I'm just going to head back to mine." she said. Lefi nodded slowly. "I would love to walk with you, though."
"Okay, let me just go get my bag." the blonde said, squeezing her hand before disappearing back into the building. When the door closed, Evie turned to her best friend.
"Heather has been here for three weeks and I'm already over her." she mumbled.
"I've never seen jealous Evie before. It's kind of adorable." Mal teased. Evie glared just as her girlfriend reappeared. "I'm going to head inside. See you guys later."
"Bye." Smiling at her sister, Lefi turned to the blue-haired girl. "Come on, Eves."
"Okay." Evie whispered, grabbing her girlfriend's extended hand and standing up. Managing a smile, she pressed a kiss to the blonde's cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Lefi replied, a soft smile on her face as they began walking. She knew that she was going to have to eventually tell Evie about her past with Heather. She only hoped that the girl didn't react the way she thought she would.
"Hey, Eves." Evie looked up at the nickname, smiling softly. "What?" Lefi asked.
"You've never called me 'Eves' before." Evie pointed out. Lefi shrugged, sitting down next to her best friend.
"You started calling me Lef, I thought you should have a nickname, too." she explained. Evie grinned. "Do you like it?"
"Of course I do. It's cute." the taller girl replied. Lefi smiled as Evie hugged her.