Evie || Descendants (tigressheart) wrote in thecityof, @ 2018-02-27 21:52:00 |
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Evie had a lot on her mind lately, but she was looking forward to getting together with Hadie. He was one of the friends that she had made on the Isle that hadn’t seemed to be hurt by her going to Auradon -- and was another one she had wanted to be able to bring with her when Ben started making his changes. And in spite of the way things had been here, she still believed that Ben was sincere in making changes and freeing more kids from the Isle. She would continue to fight for everyone to be free and be given a chance that they had not been given due to their parents’ crimes. Today, though, she was focusing on the way things were going here and how so many things just seemed to be going wrong. She’d given Hadie the address of one of the coffee shops near her work where they could meet after her shift. They had some good things on the menu and there was nothing that was overly sweet as like the other -- besides Dizzy -- sweets were really not something she was used to, yet. When she arrived after work, she didn’t see him, so she got them a table off to a corner so that too many people wouldn’t bother them and they could talk and just… be. -- He was running late and it wasn’t on purpose. Hadie had stopped to give Dizzy all of the leftover candy he had acquired for Valentine’s Day and had lost track of time listening to her talk. He had finally managed to pull himself away when he said he was meeting up with Evie. Everyone knew that Evie was Dizzy’s favorite person so clearly it was fine if Hadie left to hang out with her. He glanced at his phone and winced slightly at the fact he was at least ten minutes late. Not a stellar start. He shoved open the door to the coffee shop and felt his lips curl into a faint smile. His apartment smelled like coffee every morning since his sister seemed to need it to survive. The smell was comforting in a strange way. His ice blue eyes glanced around before he spotted the familiar blue hair. “Hey,” he said a bit breathlessly as he slid into a seat across from her. “Sorry, Dizzy was talking my ear off about her school day. I promised to bring her a treat.” By Evil, it felt good to just sit down. Life in LA was chaotic and he just felt tired. His misstep with Kol Mikaelson had affected the entire pirate crew in the form of Harry losing some memories. Uma swore it wasn’t his fault, but he felt guilty. He didn’t even have Elsa to turn to now so he was stuck just dealing with things himself. “So, friend, what seems to be weighing your mind down?” -- “Don’t worry about it, Hadie,” Evie said with an easy smile. “It’s easy to get lost in Dizzy’s enthusiasm about just about anything. It’s something that I hope she never loses and I will fight that off for as long as I possibly can. I ordered some coffee and since I didn’t know how you like yours, she’s bringing it black with milk and sugar stuff on the side.” Evie wasn’t sure what to make of Harry losing some of his memories. She didn’t like him having his mind messed with and she knew that it also hurt Uma, Gil and Harriet -- who were part of her family, now. She’d been researching as much magic and spells as she could possibly get her hands on to help, but so far she was feeling like a failure in that aspect. Uma and Harry had invited her in and she was failing them the first time they really needed her. Plus there was the tension between her and Mal. She knew that Mal didn’t like that she was with the pirates even though she had said she would support Evie no matter what. It didn’t seem to be true since there was a gulf between them and mentioning the pirates at all bothered Mal. Plus, what she had said to Carlos when Dizzy arrived had hurt Evie very deeply. Add into that Jay’s girlfriend becoming a vampire who could hurt him and worrying she was letting Carlos down in some way, and the blue princess wasn’t feeling like the fairest. Her smiled dimmed quite a bit when he asked her what was weighing on her. “So many things are messed up, my friend, and I have no idea how to fix any of it. And that’s odd for me because I am usually good at coming up with solutions of some kind.” -- Sugar stuff. Hadie merely quirked an eyebrow upward at the mere idea of sugar. He drank his coffee black and bitter since he couldn’t quite stomach sugar yet. At this point in his life? He wasn’t sure he would ever grow to like sweet things. Elsa wasn’t around to bake him things in an attempt to find something he liked so he wasn’t going to keep up that game. What was the point if he was playing by himself? He leaned back slightly in his chair as he studied the princess in front of him. “You are trying too hard,” he said bluntly. “You are too invested because this is affecting people you care about. I know because I have already made the same mistake in error. You have to look at everything without clouded eyes,” he tapped next to one of his own eyes with a black painted fingernail. Rings glinted in the overhead lights as he let his hand drop to the table. He slowly drummed his fingers against the wood as he got a thoughtful look on his face. “This place, friend, is not the Isle or Auradon. Our normal way of dealing with things will not work here and we need to adapt. The problem is, how do we adapt? What are we willing to change about ourselves to survive?” Hadie had learned the hard way he couldn’t use force to get what he wanted. He was going to have to be more cunning, more like his father, and he wasn’t sure how far down that path he wanted to travel. --- “That’s one of the problems, Hadie,” Evie said quietly. “I am finding my own ways to adapt and no matter what I do someone I care about is going to be upset with me. How many ways will I have to bend and reshape myself to keep the peace for other people before there is nothing of who I am left?” She peered into her coffee wondering if she should add some sugar instead of just the milk she added to make it a little less bitter. It probably also didn’t help matters that she got incredibly lonely sometimes but there was no way she could tell any of her friends or those she cared about that she felt that way. After all, she was surrounded by people that cared about her on all side so how could she be lonely? “And now Jay’s girlfriend is a vampire and he’s hurting because of it, Harry has lost parts of his memory… and there’s nothing I can seem to do to help any of them. I’ve researched and researched until my eyes hurt so much I want to cry -- but I can’t because this is too important.” It wasn’t often that Evie was letting herself slip to anyone that she wasn’t as cheerful as everyone expected her to be and it was a testament to how tired and how strained she was feeling that she said anything. --- Hadie frowned faintly as he listened to Evie talk. “Take a step back, this isn’t all on you, Evie.” He meant the words. “We are all going to help, but we need to rely on each other. Going it alone isn’t going to get anyone anywhere in this place.” He picked up his cup of black coffee and took a cautious sip. Burning his tongue wasn’t fun, but it was something that healed quickly for him. Luckily he didn’t burn himself as the bitter ambrosia passed his lips. He was silent for a moment as he held the coffee. Evie had a big heart and he had been glad she had been one of the few that got off the Isle. Now her big heart was causing her some problems. “Evie, you are hurting just like the rest of them. Have you told them or are just locking yourself up with tomes of knowledge in an attempt to solve problems? Sometimes the best thing we can do for people is actually be there for them. Talk to them, be a shoulder to lean on. They need you and it doesn’t have to be a smiling you.” He set the coffee cup down as he fixed her with a look. “We’ll figure this all out together.” --- Evie ran her hands through her hair, sighing quietly. Hadie was one of the few that she knew would always just tell her the way he saw things and if he thought that she was overreacting to things. However, he wasn’t telling her that she was overreacting. Instead he was reminding her that she wasn’t alone in this place and she didn’t have to keep trying to find solutions by herself. But there was one thing that kept swirling around in her head. “Hadie… how can I tell Uma I’m upset when she is going through a nightmare where the guy she loves has had his mind messed with?” She looked down at the table, trying hard to keep her emotions under control. “How can I tell Jay that I’m upset about things and sad when he lost his girlfriend to a vampire? What right to I have to be upset, sad or lonely when two people I care so much about are hurting like they are?” She took a drink of her coffee and swallowed. “No. I haven’t told anyone that I’m in pain, Hadie. Yes, I’ve been spending every minute I’m not at work or school trying to find a way to get Harry’s memories back. Or I’m trying to find a way to help Jay get his girlfriend, Shannon, back like if I can find her soul or something.” She looked back at him, failing to hide the fact that she was closer to tears than she had been in awhile. “What do we do, Hadie? How do we help everyone?” --- She had missed the point entirely. The Princess had focused on the wrong part of what he was trying to say and he merely raised an eyebrow at her. Evie was all sorts of wound up. Hadie pursed his lips together for a moment before blowing out a slow breath. “You didn’t hear what I said or, rather, you fixated, friend. My point is that in this time the best thing you can do is be there for them. Locking yourself away like Rapunzel isn’t going to get you anywhere,” he jabbed the table with a finger as he leaned forward slightly. “I don’t care if you tell them you are hurting, that you are so twisted up with emotions that you are drowning, I care that you are there for your friends. A cup of coffee, a hug, anything, Evie. I am telling you to talk to them, interact with them. Taking the books you are reading with you if you feel that is the most vital thing for some reason, but just be around them.” The sight of her unshed tears had him leaning back slightly in his chair. Okay, even the demi-god of death wasn’t a fan of a girl crying. “Evie, take a step back. You are wearing yourself out and you aren’t going to see things clearly anymore. It might feel like a betrayal, but do you really want to add to their pain? Don’t make them worry about you too,” he may have been using a slight guilt trip on her there, but she did need to slow herself down. Making herself sick wasn’t going to do anyone favors. “We make alliances,” he remarked simply. “Jay’s girlfriend is from a different world and there are people here from that world. We work with them, we don’t do it alone. As for Harry’s memories...they were compelled away, but that means we can get them back. They aren’t just gone.” --- She took a deep breath, trying to get everything back under control as she tried to focus on everything her friend was saying. She knew that he was right, knew that sequestering herself to find answers to everyone’s problems was probably not the healthiest for her -- no matter her intentions. She had been focusing so much on finding answers that she had become more isolated than she had ever wanted to be. The problem was, she had hidden away in order to keep everyone from knowing how messed up she was feeling inside. “I’m not sure Uma would appreciate it if I hugged her, but I can do a few other things for her.” Her expression saddened a little more before she tried to shake it off. “Mal and I… not important right now. I can feed Jay -- make sure he’s taking care of himself. Dizzy and I can make a few things for everyone. That used to please friends.” She nodded. “We do need to make alliances, but we need to avoid Klaus from what everyone has told me.” --- “Uma doesn’t even like it when I hug her and I’m her cousin,” he teased softly trying to lighten the mood now that it seemed Evie was no longer going to burst out into tears. The remark about Mal had his lips tugging down into a faint frown. That was a discussion for another day. He wasn’t looking to solve all of Evie’s problems. At least not today. There was enough going on that needed his attention. By Evil, he wished he had Elsa to rely on. She always had things to suggest, but now that source of wisdom was gone. “Yes, avoid Klaus and the Mikaelsons,” he agreed. “Align ourselves with people and we stand a better chance. First things first, Evie, focus on your friends. Then we can work on getting alliances.” He picked up his coffee again and took a swig. They were going to manage somehow. Things might have looked doom and gloom at the moment, but they’d find a way. He was going to talk with some of the Auradon kids and see if they had any ideas. Well, if they were willing to talk to him. --- Her lips did quirk into a slight smile when he said what he did about Uma not even liking him hugging her and how he was family. She had honestly not planned to tell him everything that she had and she wasn’t even sure why she had let so much pour out of her. “Yes, from what I have heard, their family is dangerous and complete trouble.” Trouble like none of them had even come close to dealing with on the Isle. Things were hard, but they didn’t have anything like Klaus to deal with. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with her hands, twisting it before letting it fall from her hands. She could do this. They could do this. Hadie was right. Together, all of them could make alliances and work with each other to solve the problems they were facing. “Thank you, Hadie. You’re a true friend.” She took a drink of her cooling coffee. Now she needed to decide where to start, but at least now she had some clarity with how to proceed. --- |