(Evie)
The smile that graced Evie's features when she slid her hands over the finished project in front of her was one that made the entire lower half of her face ache pleasurably. It's perfect! She was whole-heartedly proud of the way it had turned out, and she was almost amazed by how similar it looked to its original. There were no visible differences, and she only had to worry whether she had gotten the type of leather correct. I hope she loves it. She didn't pray for this outcome because of how much time she had dedicated to recreating the jacket, like most people would, she prayed for it because she wanted the girl to be able to keep hold of the item that seemed to mean quite a bit to her; that's all Evie cared about.
However, despite the fact that the jacket laying in front of her looked to be utterly identical to the one Mal had shown up to Auradon in, Evie couldn't help but feel as though something was missing from the jacket. It's definitely not missing any zippers, she thought, fingers playing with the various zippers on the clothing article; she's got plenty of those. And many that aren't even for any practical use, they're just there for design. It's not that she thought it looked terrible, she just didn't understand the necessity of an abundance of them. Staring at the jacket intently, she attempted to figure out what her heart told her it was missing, but she only came up empty continuously.
Sighing, she rested her elbow against the surface of the table and plopped her chin into her palm, eyes scanning the room aimlessly as she called to mind an image of the girl's jacket in attempt to figure out what she felt she was missing. No matter how hard she tried to recall something about the jacket she had missed she couldn't change her image of it even the slightest bit, and it wasn't until something caught her eye that she realized what was missing. It wasn't anything that had been on the original jacket, in fact, it was something that the original jacket lacked as well, and although part of her warned her not to add anything to the girl's precious jacket her spirits raised even more.
She allowed her gaze to linger on the broken crown logo gracing the back of her own jacket where it hung up in her open closet, going over the designs she had sewn into the back of Carlos' jackets, as well as Jay's. Mal has a logo. Just like us. An image of the double-dragon tattoo inked into the girl's left forearm popped into her head with perfect clarity, and though she normally found herself wondering what dragons meant to her at the thought of the tattoo, this time she merely found herself beaming about the idea she had gotten.
And so she went to work again, selecting a piece of black fabric and matching it with a piece of bright-green. Working the black into the shape of a heart she sewed it into the pink of the jacket's back before going to work on sewing the dragon design in green over the black heart, a wide smile present on her face the entire time she worked.
Another Thursday had managed to sneak up on Evie, and she found herself spending it exactly the same as last week's, right down to the thoughts and worries bombarding her mind. She was confused about almost everything happening around her, she was stressed about her uncharacteristic inability to give her undivided attention to her education, and most of all, she was worried to the extent that the feeling made her nauseous. It was the worst she had felt since first arriving in Auradon.
Mal still hadn't woken. It had been – not counting that first Monday since she had been conscious for most of it – ten days that the girl had spent in a coma, not waking, not moving, and barely even breathing. Evie was beginning to worry with the rest of them, beginning to terrify herself with the idea of the girl never being able to wake again; though ultimately, she remained hopeful externally. And although she continuously tried reassuring herself that the girl wasn't in her current state because of her she couldn't help but feel the blame of the situation weighing down her shoulders, a deadly weight that no one else could see.
She visited the unconscious girl every day despite her friends' protests, the only two seemingly alright with her doing so being Carlos and Lonnie. Jay and Doug remained wary and judgmental of the girl while Chad and Jane felt she should ease down her visitations in order to get used to the idea that she might not wake. Still, she never missed a single day, and more often than not, Carlos went with her.
This time, however, she was going alone. She enjoyed visiting the girl with Carlos, but sometimes she wanted nothing more than to be alone with her because she felt utterly comfortable voicing her worries and thoughts out loud knowing no one would be there to judge her. Part of her warned her that the only reason there was no judgement was due to the fact that the girl she was speaking to was unconscious, but a more spacious part of her somehow knew – though she didn't entirely understand why she felt so sure about this – that Mal wouldn't judge her even if she were awake to hear every ridiculous word she spoke.
Glancing down, she peered into her bag to make sure the jacket was still folded neatly inside of it, a small, relieved smile forming on her lips when she found the dark-purple and bright-pink staring out at her. Calm down, Evie, she told herself, shaking her head for even worrying that the jacket would suddenly disappear; it's a jacket, what is it going to do? Run away?
When she looked back up it was just in time so reach for the handle to the infirmary doors, however, she was utterly confused when the door opened for her. Turning her head to the left she found Ben, his eyes crinkled as he smiled warmly down at her. I can't believe I didn't see him before.
"Thank you," Evie curtsied to the King, her own smile appearing on her face as she moved through the open door, waiting inside for the younger boy to enter.
"It's good to see you here, Evie," Ben said as they made their way passed the receptionist's desk together, offering the worker a small wave to announce their presence. "It's nice to see other people visiting Mal."
"I visit her every day," Evie spoke quietly, gripping the strap of her bag tightly. "And Carlos often visits with me."
Ben smiled brightly at this bit of information. "I think it's important that someone be there when she wakes, so she doesn't feel alone."
Evie nodded her agreement, her spirits lowering now that she knew she wouldn't get to be alone with Mal, that she wouldn't get to voice the overwhelming thoughts rampaging around her mind, worries she needed to relieve herself from by talking about them verbally instead of solely in her own head. Though she felt guilty for wishing Ben hadn't chosen this time of the day to come visit the girl she still hoped he wouldn't visit long, and that she'd get at least a brief moment alone with the girl.
"My mother's been thinking about unhooking her from the machines," Ben continued, clearly understanding that Evie wasn't going to respond with words.
"What?" Evie's head snapped upward so that she was looking at the boy, her eyebrows knit in worry due to the terrifying words she had just heard. "Is it… can't she… don't coma patients typically last extensive periods in a coma? Wouldn't it… taking her off now would be too soon. It'd be giving up on her too soon."
"I believe the same thing," Ben announced, reaching over to hold open the door to Mal's room. "But my mother seems to have good reasons to believe Mal won't wake."
"Surely there's nothing good enough to excuse taking away someone's life," Evie retorted, though she felt a pang of regret accusing Belle of pulling the final string that would kill the girl. She couldn't help it, though, she just wanted more time for the girl, and she knew that it would make all the difference. "Mal's going to wake up. I don't know why no one else believes that. She told me…" the strength in her voice faltered for a moment as she remembered the conversation she had had with Mal before everything had happened. "She told me that she's strong, that she's tough. She's going to make it through this."
"You seem to be incredibly sure about this," Ben pointed out as they entered the room, following Evie as she slowly made her way over to the bed Mal lie unconscious in.
Evie nodded. "I may not know her that well, but I know she's a fighter. She'll pull through in the end. I know she will."
"I think you're right," Ben agreed, taking her completely by surprise. "But all we can do is hope that she wakes before they make the final decision to take her off the oxygen."
The boy's words created an ache inside her chest. She didn't want them to take Mal off the oxygen, or to unhook her from any of the other machines helping her. She didn't want them to give up on Mal. From the first time she had been in the same room as the girl she hadn't been able to get rid of the undeniable desire to get to know the girl, she wanted to learn everything there was to know about the girl, she wanted to get under the girl's skin and find a place in her life. She didn't know if she simply felt this way because she was incredibly attracted to the girl, or if it had more to do with the fact that she reminded her of herself, of Carlos, of Jay. She may not know the reason – and maybe it was even a mixture of both – but she knew she couldn't push away the desire, the need; she had already attempted to and had only failed miserably.
Something burning deep inside of her told her that there were many sides to Mal, many sides that the girl refused to show due to fear of rejection, of judgment, of disapproval, the same things Evie had feared when first traveling to Auradon. Nobody wants to be alone. And something inside of her told her that was exactly how Mal felt; alone. Nobody wants to be alone, she repeated; but tons of people believe they are. Evie had had Carlos and Jay while experiencing the overwhelming changes of transferring to an entirely new area, Mal had no one she was familiar with, and so Evie craved to show the girl that her arriving in Auradon alone didn't mean she was by herself. She wanted to be there for the girl as she adjusted to new customs and laws because she had gone through the same exact thing only a year ago.
She wanted to be there for Mal because of the glimpse she had seen of her on that hectic Monday, the glimpse she had seen of a vulnerable girl desperately craving for someone to care, for someone to look after her, for someone to stay. The girl she had left lying there, wounded and broken.
Amongst these thoughts she had found her answer; it wasn't because Evie found Mal irresistibly and undeniably beautiful that she wanted to get close to her, it was because she wanted to give the girl the support she had needed to get through those first couple of months in Auradon so the girl could do the same. She wanted to give Mal the friendship everyone needed to make it through the most challenging parts of their lives sane.
Finally managing to pull herself from her internal ranting, Evie moved around the bedside chair and lowered herself into it, crossing her right leg over her left and setting her bag on the ground beside her. Ben remained standing near the foot of the bed, his eyes trained on the unconscious girl. Evie focused her attention on Mal as well, leaning close enough to watch the slow, faint rise and fall of the girl's chest, worry forming a thick lump in her throat at the sight. She's barely even breathing. Her chest ached with the thought of the girl's breathing only lessening from where it was at now, the idea of anyone losing their life twisting her heart painfully.
"It's almost strange," Ben spoke up suddenly, and Evie listened while keeping her gaze on Mal. "Looking at her for so long without receiving a snarky remark."
At first, Evie was confused, having spent a good amount of time with the girl receiving much more than snarky, or sassy, remarks, but then she was reminded of the way Mal had treated Ben each time she had seen him with her.
"Do you know why she treats you the way she does?" Evie asked, the different ways the girl spoke both their royal titles coming to her mind.
"Not entirely, but it's clear she's struggled with high-rulers in her past, or at least something along the lines of a high-ruler," Ben explained, checking the IV the girl was attached to. "I understand her dislike of Kings and Queens, not everyone has pleasant experiences with them."
"You still speak of Kings and Queens as if you're not King of all Auradon," Evie pointed out, touched by the boy's continued humble behavior.
At this, he chuckled nervously. "I still don't feel like a proper King, if I'm being perfectly honest."
"You act like one," Evie stated, attempting to reassure the nervous boy. "You're a benevolent King."
"Sometimes I wish I wasn't the King of Auradon," Ben revealed honestly, smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheet covering the bed. "Sometimes because I think Auradon would be better off with someone else ruling them. Sometimes for personal reasons."
"Everyone's allowed to have moments of self-doubt," Evie told the boy, reaching out to brush her fingers over Ben's hand comfortingly. "And the fact that you still do only proves that you're a great leader. No one wants to be led by an arrogant King."
"Thank you," Ben said quietly, smiling warmly down at her as he squeezed her hand gratefully. He turned back to the girl lying unconscious before them. "I just wish that she didn't see me solely as King."
"She just hasn't been given the time to get to know you," Evie replied, not thinking twice of the way Ben spoke specifically of Mal. "She seems to need time to warm up to all of us."
"Yeah, that's to be expected," Ben chuckled lightly. "Still, I think she'll see me more as King than as the seventeen-year old boy I truly am," his voice was soft as he checked his watch. "Excuse me, I have to go."
Evie nodded, letting his hand slip from hers as he made his way out of the room, casting one last glance over his shoulder at Mal. And that's when everything clicked into place for her. Ben likes Mal. She turned to stare at the doorway the seventeen-year old boy had just disappeared through in wonder, curious as to why he would be so entranced by a girl who did nothing but doubt him simply because of his royal standing. Turning to face forward again she locked her gaze on the girl before her, a small smile forming on her face; it seems you've managed to catch the interest of multiple people already. She couldn't blame the King for finding interest in the girl considering how abnormally gorgeous she was, and she certainly didn't blame herself for finding that same attraction toward the girl.
Now that she was alone with the girl she brought her chin down to rest on the empty space beside Mal's arm, her gaze never leaving her face. She studied the structure of it; the way her cheekbones stuck out the slightest bit, the way her chin came to a point, the way her jawline traveled back far, giving it an almost sharp appearance. She studied her features; the soft skin of her eyelids, the weak bridge of her nose, the chubbiness to her cheeks. And one thing she found herself missing were the dimples that made themselves unmissable with even the slightest movement of the girl's cheeks.
She couldn't help herself when she brought her hand up to slip into Mal's, allowing her fingers to curl around the other girls', her tan skin contrasting beautifully with Mal's pale.
"You're going to get better, you are," she promised the unconscious girl, lightly brushing her thumb over the girl's knuckles. "You're going to wake up soon, and you'll finally get to see that you're not alone."
And she spent a few minutes like that; her hand in Mal's and her gaze never leaving the girl's face as she reassured her, enjoying the tingling sensation she felt prickling the skin of her hand where she touched Mal.
Remembering what she had brought with her she reached down into her bag, closing her fingers delicately around the fabric of the jacket and slowly pulling it from its confinement. Studying the logo on the back she ran her fingers over the intricate design of the dragons, sighing as she lifted the jacket to place it carefully on the end of the infirmary bed, logo-side up.
"I'll come back to see you later," Evie promised, not being able to stop herself before she leaned down to press her lips to the girl's forehead, her lips tingling from the contact with the girl.
She didn't want to leave, but she had promised Jay she would meet up with him shortly after school ended, and due to that promise she had decided to keep her visit short for the time being. After she spent time with Jay she planned on bringing her homework to the infirmary to work on while keeping the girl company.
Grabbing her bag from the floor she hoisted the strap over her shoulder before heading toward the door she had entered through, telling herself the entire time that she couldn't stay any longer than she already had, her original plan having been to drop the jacket off then head over to meet Jay. Walking through the main room she offered the receptionist a polite wave as she pushed open the door, her feet immediately coming to a stop when she found Jay standing just to the right of the doors. I didn't really take that long… did I?
"Jay, I was just coming…"
"I know," Jay interrupted her, smiling as he pulled his hands from his pockets. "I figured I'd meet you here instead. It's faster."
"How'd you know…"
"Are you really asking me that question, Evie?" Jay questioned, arching his eyebrow. "Come on, you're almost always here if you're not at school."
Fair enough, she sighed. "You've got a point."
Jay gestured for Evie to lead the way, and so she did, beginning the journey to the dorm buildings with Jay in step beside her. At first, they walked in a comfortable silence, neither of them really sure what to talk about, however, when a topic was finally chosen it proved – within seconds – to be the worst possible one.
"You know Mal's not going to wake up, right?" Jay asked, speaking of the girl's state as if it were the most casual conversation they could have.
"You don't know that," Evie replied without a moment's hesitation, keeping her voice smooth and calm despite the bolt of panicked pain that had shot through her.
"And yet you're going around telling everyone that she's going to wake," Jay stated, bringing the attention back around to her.
"That's different, Jay," Evie spoke quietly, trying her best not to become angry with the boy.
However, the second she felt a low throbbing in the middle of her chest accompanied by an unsettling heat she knew her attempts to remain calm would be to no avail.
"No, it's not, Evie," Jay argued, clearly irritated that she kept hold of such high hopes for the girl's recovery. "You don't know she's going to be okay, and despite the fact that everybody is saying holding onto that hope is no use you're still convinced that we're all wrong. Is that what it is?" Jay asked, bringing his gaze to lock on Evie. "We're all wrong because we don't agree with you?"
Evie shook her head, covering the fact that his words had stung. "I'm just trying to keep a positive attitude. I don't think it's right to give up on her after only a week, many coma patients remain unconscious for much longer."
"Well, yeah, but they show improvement. Mal hasn't shown any sign of improvement," Jay stated, getting frustrated. "Belle and Carlos say she only keeps getting worse, that her breathing fails more and more each day."
A sharp, powerful pulse went through her chest and she snapped, turning around to face Jay just as they reached the doors to the dorm. She was frustrated, she was furious, and she definitely wasn't in good enough a mood to deal with Jay constantly making her feel idiotic for having faith.
"Okay, just stop!" Evie exclaimed furiously, having had enough. "You're only saying all of this because you want her to be dead. You wish she had died in that accident. You never had any faith in her even before all of this happened, treating her the exact same way you wished Auradon wouldn't treat you when you first arrived," as she went off the necklace shot a steady pulse of heat straight into her chest, only feeding her anger. "Do me a favor and stop trying to make me feel like an idiot for wanting to give her that chance we all wanted. She's not dead, you'll see that soon enough, you all will."
And without waiting for the boy's response she turned around and pushed through the doors, moving quickly through the main room and up the stairs that would lead her to her room, well aware that Jay was following her. She didn't slow her stride to allow him time to catch up, however, the necklace did slow with each step she took, her anger draining from her body as the erratic pulse dissipated, leaving her heart to beat normally.
When she finally reached her room she opened the door and made her way over to her bed, so she could throw her bag onto the soft mattress in frustration. She reached up to cover her face with her hands, gently pressing into her eyes as she let out a breath, acutely aware of the boy's presence in the middle of the room. Oh my goodness, what is happening to me?
Sighing, she slid her hands from her face and brought her gaze to meet Jay's. "Jay, I'm so sorry, I didn't…"
"It's alright," Jay shrugged, waving his hand in dismissal as a light chuckle escaped his lips, the sound slightly disturbing Evie with its arrival in this kind of conversation. "You're right, Evie," he stated the obvious, though part of her really wished she hadn't been right about anything she had accused him of. "I don't like Mal, not even the slightest bit. I know I don't know her that well, and I know that when I went through the same thing as her I wished people wouldn't judge me so quickly, but I also know that they had the right to judge me."
"Nobody deserves to be judged so quickly upon first introduction," Evie stated, believing that with her entire being.
"Yeah, I know," Jay agreed, sighing lightly as he leaned his backside against the table behind him. "But that doesn't mean people won't continue to judge, we have a right with the whole freedom thing to feel anyway about others that we want to," he held her eyes with an intensity that had her averting her gaze before he finished. "You may not want to hear it, but Mal's dangerous. She's not like us, and I can't explain it, but there's just something different about her, something almost non-human."
Evie had no idea what Jay meant by the words he spoke, and she was just about to argue that it didn't always take a human to possess humanity, but something else caught both of their attention, dragging them away from each other.
It was Carlos; his face flushed and his clothes torn, heavy breaths moving his chest at a pace quick enough to make him seem as though he were choking, struggling to breathe.
"Carlos?" Evie questioned, hurrying over to the boy and getting there before Jay despite having been further away. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"It's… it's…" But he couldn't speak, he seemed too distracted, too tired, and maybe even a little terrified.
Evie had never been more worried about him.
"It's okay, man," Jay spoke softly, gripping tightly onto Carlos' shoulder in fear of him collapsing; Evie did the same. "Take deep breaths."
"It's… Mal," Carlos forced out, his light-brown eyes locking on Evie's red-brown ones, and she finally recognized the emotion coating the boy's eyes seconds before he spoke the words she had been waiting to hear for over a week. "She's awake."
She didn't hesitate after that.
Evie slipped through the vacant area between Carlos' body and the door, heart pounding anxiously against her ribcage as blood rushed to her ears and tuned out the world around her. Mal's awake. She's fine. She's not dead. Fingers clasping tightly around her elbow yanked her back into reality as her body was pulled backward, bringing her face-to-face with Jay.
"You're really going to go see her after everything I just said?" Jay questioned disbelievingly, frustration laced thickly through his voice.
She pulled her elbow from his vice-like grip. "You're not always right, Jay."
With Carlos beside her, and knowing her response had struck deep inside Jay due to their conversation, Evie hurried down the hallway and away from a furious Jay, only focused on one thing. Mal's awake.