“I am, I know. And I'm happy about that,” Evan nodded and bit his lip. “It's just hard to let go of something that you want. I'm sure you understand that. I wasn't going to say anything at all, but you asked.” He knew how the topic was with her. And just because the wound hadn't quite healed yet, didn't mean that it was that big of an issue. Evan, as a person, was always about giving in to what the people who cared about him wanted, no matter what it meant for him.
Had Evan any idea where her mind was, his mind would have taken a trip down a slippery slope of 'at least you have friends at all,' but since he didn't, he chuckled and shrugged. “Aside from Mari and your siblings, anyway,” he mused with a chuckle. “I'm pretty sure your brother would lynch me if I ever really tried to keep you to myself.” Said with a smile, but he wondered if Brandon would ever approve of him.
The wound was nothing but a raised scar on his side, and the incident was nothing but a distant, drug-hazed memory, but the embarrassment wouldn't fade until, or unless, by some miracle, someone forgot what had happened. The mention of Elliot made Evan smile sadly and nodded. “I did get a chance to thank him, but it doesn't feel like it was enough. I thanked him, but I couldn't provide him with a safe enough haven to keep him from being bitten. To keep him there for Rae and his son.” Talking about his friend still brought a lump to his throat and tears to his eyes, but he forced it away for now. “In light of everything that's happened, it doesn't seem like close to enough.”
He smiled softly. “I'm not going anywhere. And you didn't always kick my ass. Just sometimes.” He smirked a little.
Catching the diversion, Evan chuckled. “I don't know. I could argue that you've gotten more beautiful since hitting thirty,” he pointed at her and winked, sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close, pressing his lips to the top of her head.
Evan looked at his hand and blinked twice. “Mon dieu,” he whispered as his face broke out into a smirk. “Really? I... never thought I'd see this again.” He turned his attention back to her, placed his empty hand on top of hers and flipped their hands over, dropping the necklace back into her hand. “You know what? You keep it...” he told her. “You should... you should keep it. It makes more sense than me keeping it.”