Chapter 7.
A couple of days later Evie was sitting alone at one of the wooden tables in the yard of the school. It was lunch time and she wasn't really supposed to be alone, but Ben had stolen Mal away for another picnic by the lake (this was becoming a regular thing for them and in truth Evie had been glad to let her friend run off with her boyfriend, as she knew how her smile was always brighter after a date with her prince) and Carlos and Jay were God knows where, but they had to eat too, she figured, so she was waiting to see if they would appear and come have lunch with her.
„Hello, beautiful." Someone called out behind her back and Evie almost smiled until it registered in her head that the sound of the voice was nowhere near as deep as she wanted it to be.
„What do you want, Chad?" Evie asked coldly, her face turning to stone the moment she saw who she was talking to, and she hurried to scoot away from him as the prince in question slid in the bench beside her without asking for permission.
After the confrontation that had occured between Chad and the four friends on Parent's Day, he had firmly been moved to Evie's no-no list of people. She didn't want anything to do with him anymore, she couldn't believe that she had ever liked this stuck-up two-faced bastard, she definitely must've not been in her right mind. Then again, she had changed a lot since first coming to Auradon, she reasoned. Her priorities had shifted entirely without her mother's influence and now she was gradually coming to terms with who she was, while also beginning to accept not only the fact that it was impossible to please everyone but that she didn't have to either.
„Aren't you happy to see me?" Chad asked, flashing her a brilliant smile, which, Evie thought, would've truly been charming, had it not been his horrible personality.
„Not really." She told him, shifting her gaze away, willing to look anywhere but him.
„You should be nicer to me." Chad said evenly and even though Evie wasn't looking at him she could tell by the slight hint of a cruel note weaving itself in his voice that he wasn't smiling anymore. What she didn't understand was how Chad could hate what she was so much one moment and then want to be around her the next. Damn, it's like he's bipolar or something, Evie thought with a sigh escaping her lips.
„Chad, I don't feel like arguing at the moment." She stated, turning to face him, wishing he'd just drop it and leave her in peace. An uneasy feeling was beginning to form in her stomach, but it was still too small for her to worry about it.
„Who's arguing?" Chad asked, the smile returning to his face, though it was more of a smirk now. „I just came to talk to you."
„Well, I don't want to talk to you." Evie responded, her hand reaching for her bag, which was sitting on the table, ready to stand up and leave, since Chad didn't seem very keen on leaving her alone. However, before she could take it, the blond's own hand shot out and grabbed the purse from underneath her palm, swiftly sliding it away and out of her reach.
„Chad, give me my bag." Evie demanded, the uneasiness in her belly starting to grow at his actions. It was one thing to annoy her, which she could take, albeit unwillingly, but this was bordering on harassment. Mal might be able to deal with this, but Evie was not as bold as her friend was and although she definitely wasn't helpless, she knew that she and Carlos weren't as street smart as Jay and Mal were.
„I don't see the one who's gonna make me." The prince said arrogantly, and Evie put on a stern face, hoping desperately that she hadn't let him see what was going on inside her head. In no way was she going to appear weak in front of this bastard.
„Turn around." A deep voice boomed out behind the blond prince and Evie immediately felt an enormous rush of relief at the familiarity of it. Chad's little smirk faded and his eyes shifted as he turned his head to the side to face the source of the sound. His light blue gaze clashed with Jay's dark brown one, which varied somewhere between irritation and smugness. „Now you see him." He told the prince, raising his eyebrows challengingly with an unspoken ultimatum in his eyes. Fight me or get lost.
Chad was about to retort something snarky right away but then his eyes fell on Jay's huge arms which were currently crossed angrily in front of his chest, and remembered how his shoulder had been sore for two days after the dirty thief had brutally rammed into it on that first day at the tourney field during practice. Now, as he stood tall behind the bench, Jay's whole stance radiated strength and authority and it made a look of disdain cross Chad's face, as he realised with fury that he was no match for the other boy. The fact that he couldn't do any damage to him made him want it even more.
The blond looked over at Evie, whose face gave away nothing, but her eyes shifted nervously between the two boys and a sudden thought crossed his mind. He grinned inwardly. Fine. If the thief wanted to protect his little princess so badly, then that's exactly where he'd hit him. Everyone had a weak spot and it seemed like he'd just figured out Jay's. He was the one who wanted to fight, after all. Fine, then so be it.
Satisfied with his inner musings, Chad sneered at Jay, giving a push to Evie's bag, so that it slid across the table and right into her arms.
„Lunch is over." He stated haughtily, as he stood up and slipped out from the space between the bench and the table. „Besides, I've got better things to do than to deal with bandits." Chad added over his shoulder, pronouncing the last word like it was filth, as he made his way towards the school.
Evie's gaze followed him until he entered the building and once he had disappeared inside, her shoulders sagged, making her realise just how tense she'd been the entire time. She felt Jay slide down next to her, occupying the space Chad had been sitting in only a minute ago.
„Thanks." Her voice was calm but Jay knew her well enough to notice the almost inexistant wavering in it. It made him even more pissed at Chad. He didn't like the guy in the first place, but after witnessing him bothering Evie, he felt down right homicidal.
„No problem." He replied, sending a grin in her direction and wiggling his eyebrows in hopes that it would make her smile. It did. He felt better instantly, it was like a weight lifted off his shoulders whenever she smiled. It was a crime, he decided, for her to be unhappy when smiling made her so radiant. And the only thing he loved more than her smile, he realised, was when she smiled at him.
„You know, Eve," Jay added after a while, giving her a pointed look. „Just say the word and I'll snap that punk in half." He told her and she laughed, the melody ringing sweetly in his ears. It's a good thing she doesn't realise how dead serious I am.
„I'll keep that in mind, Jay." She said, appreciating greatly that she had such a good friend who was willing to protect her and took care of her the way Jay did (and although she was secretly hoping one day they could be more, she never wanted to lose this, their friendship was way too important to her, even more so than a possible relationship). The truth was that Evie loved Mal very, very dearly but in all honesty, Jay was her best friend. He always had been.
„Good." Jay said satisfied. He knew Evie would come to him if she had any problems, or at least he very much hoped so. The two of them looked to the right when they saw Carlos approaching.
„Hey, what's going on?" The younger boy smiled, sitting across from Jay and Evie and biting into the green apple he had in his hand.
„Nothing." Jay and Evie replied in unison, after which they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
„Mhm, okaay…" Carlos mumbled, raising his eyebrows pointedly and looking away, as if he had just entered a mad house and two of the craziest patients inside had come up to greet him. Then again, those two had always been a little bit crazy, especially around each other, Carlos thought, smiling at his friends, who were still giggling.
The three of them talked until the bells sounded and it was time to go to lessons. Carlos and Evie stood up and were about to head to the school when they realised Jay wasn't with them. Turning around, they saw he was still sitting in his place.
„You coming, bro?" Carlos asked looking back and forth between Jay and Evie.
„Nah, I've got practice in a few." Jay explained, waving his hand dismissively. „You guys go."
„Okay." Carlos replied and Evie sent a small smile in Jay's direction, before her and Carlos began walking towards the building.
Five seconds later Jay felt two dainty hands on his shoulders and a head of blue curls leaned over one of them to give him a gentle peck on the cheek.
„Thanks again." Evie murmured, her soft breath tickling Jay's ear, making an unfamiliar emotion shoot up his spine, before she skipped along happily to catch up with Carlos.
No one understood why Jay was smiling to himself for no reason for the rest of the day.