To say things were tense between her and Mal was an understatement. Since their argument yesterday, Jay and Carlos were giving them as wide a berth as possible whenever they could. And Mal was more on edge than usual after Magic Basics that morning. Which led to their rather bizarre seating arrangement at lunch.
Carlos grabbed the seat between Flynn and Jay while Rapunzel sat across from him, the two pouring over Rapunzel's books in search of a name for the dog while Flynn and Jay threw playful insults at each other over Carlos's shoulders. Mal sat across from Flynn forcing Evie to sit either beside Rapunzel or Jay. The blonde princess didn't even flinch as Evie took the seat next to her despite the fact that it meant she was essentially surrounded by two villain kids.
Normally Evie would question such calm trust, but there was something about Rapunzel that made it acceptable. It was the same way when Rapunzel ran up to her, grabbed her hand, and led her straight to Carlos after he ran from Philosophy. Evie knew better than to trust people outside her pack; Jay still wore the result of that kind of mistake on his skin. But she was having a hard time remembering Rapunzel was still a potential threat. Even Flynn didn't feel like as much of a threat as he should. They were both still mainlanders… Mainlanders that didn't see them as outsiders. Ben, Lonnie, and Doug were trying, but it was obvious they still saw the four of them as strange and hard to understand.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
Blinking, Evie looked up to find Carlos glancing between her and the distinct lack of a plate in front of her. "Oh," she realized. "I guess I got distracted." With a quick smile, she rose and slid away from the table. "I'll be right back."
As she walked away, she felt Carlos watch her for a few seconds before going back to his conversation with Rapunzel and she silently scolded herself. That was a stupid mistake. To be fair, she meant to get food after they'd claimed their table; she'd just gotten lost in her thoughts for a while. But if she wasn't careful, she knew her pack would realize she wasn't eating as much as they were and start asking questions. Even though they had good intentions, they didn't always understand the standards she had to keep herself to. And she'd already ruined those standards. She wouldn't do it again.
Slowly, she picked through the options, finally settling on a ham and cheese sandwich and a variety of fruits. It was more than she wanted, but she'd already drawn attention to her eating habits and she couldn't risk Carlos noticing the small portions. For a split second, she considered grabbing a cookie to distract him, before dismissing the idea. She refused to make a habit of manipulating her pack like that.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched a flicker of a very distinct pink disappear around a corner. A very distinct pink worn only by one person on campus. Curious, Evie wandered in the same direction, taking advantage of the little buffets as an excuse. Once she was close enough, she nibbled at the fruit while taking a seat at a mostly empty table. The students there didn't even glance at her.
"They're saying what?!" Audrey hissed.
"That you've been…fooling around," another girl whispered. If Evie was right, it was Melody, Ariel's daughter. "The rumors are everywhere."
There was a long moment where all Evie could make out was the hiss of air through teeth and the soft click of pacing heels. "When I find out who did this, they'll never be able to show their face in public again," Audrey finally snapped. "Their reputation will be in shambles. Anyone foolish enough to associate with them in any way will be ruined. That will teach them to dare challenge me." Taking a deep breath, Audrey went silent and Evie imagined she was smoothing out her dress and expression. "Are our rumors at least doing well?"
"They've, um…"
"Spit it out. They've what?"
"Fallen off. No one's really talking about it anymore."
"By the gods!" Another deep breath and Evie hid a smile by biting into her apple. "Very well. For now we need to focus on damage control. We can worry about those villainous ingrates later."
Satisfied, Evie rose, gathered her plate, and returned to her pack's table. When she sat down, Carlos glanced away from Pascal to meet her gaze. Giving him a small smile, Evie nodded and began to eat.
"You took awhile," Jay commented, popping a bite of bread into his mouth.
"I happened to overhear Audrey talking with one of her friends," Evie replied. Mal's attention snapped to focus on her. "She was quite troubled about some rumors going around recently."
"I've heard a few of those," Flynn chuckled, earning an exasperated "Eugene," from Rapunzel. Head carefully tilted to hide his smirk, Carlos gently nudged Evie under the table while Jay laughed.
A faint smirk curved Mal's lips. "How unfortunate," she said. "Rumors are the worst."
"It's like playing with fire," Evie agreed and Mal's smirk sharpened.
"Good thing we know someone good with fire."
"A good thing."
The tension eased and as Evie focused back on her lunch, she listened to Mal trade thieving stories with Jay and Flynn. It was a small victory in the grand scheme of things. Especially when compared to the threat on their lives. But she was more than happy to take the win. Anything to make her pack smile.
And anything to take that bitch down a few pegs.