Work Text:
February
Evie sighed as she hung up the gowns she was working on for the night. She loved making dresses for everyone, but it was beginning to get a little overwhelming with graduation only a few months away. Not only was she focused on the gowns, but she still had a couple of exams to study for, and had to figure out how to bring some of the other VKs over to Auradon. She was exhausted by the end of each day.
She flopped onto her bed, looking gloomily at Mal’s side of the room. It had been pretty empty recently, with Mal being just as busy as Evie. Being a lady of the court was no joke- she usually had a meeting of some sort every day, in different parts of Auradon. She hadn’t used her spell book once since the whole cotillion incident, and Evie was proud of that. Not to mention, Mal was getting to spend a lot of time with Ben.
Evie pulled out her notebook and added another thing to her to-do list: Talk to Doug about the proposal.
Ben was planning to propose to Mal after graduation and asked Evie and Doug to be a part of the musical arrangements. Evie smiled to herself; she was so happy for her friends. Mal was going to love it.
She reached over to put her sketchbook back on her desk, but a few scraps of paper fell out. She knew exactly what they were before she even opened them.
Her name was written neatly across each folded piece of paper, which she kept inside her notebook for whenever she needed to be cheered up. They were her notes from Doug, ranging from poems to inside jokes to silly stick figure drawings.
Evie smiled sadly as she opened up one of the poems. Along with Evie being busy with her business and school, Doug had been practicing late with the marching band most nights.
Evie turned to look at her clock- 9:55. Doug was usually finished around 10, so she should have a chance to talk to him as he walked back to the dorms. For now, she turned back to the poem she held in her hand. This one was one of her favorites, but they all made her smile. Not many people knew it, but Doug was super talented. He had a way with words, could play almost any instrument, ace a chemistry test in his sleep, and was the perfect business partner (and boyfriend, of course).
Just as she finished reading the note, her phone rang.
“Hi!” Evie chimed, as she answered Doug’s call.
“Hey,” Doug cheesed from the other end. “What’s up?”
Evie told him about the dresses she was working on and how she had already crunched most of the numbers. Doug told her about his practice and the routine they were working on for the upcoming family events and graduation ceremonies. They liked to talk things out like this, as the other often had good ideas of what could be added or amended. It was nice having such a great support system.
“I’m back in my room now, so I’m gonna go shower,” Doug explained. “I’ll come by tomorrow, and we can work on Evie’s4Hearts stuff?”
Evie agreed, chewing on her lip as they said goodnight. She got up and changed into her pajamas before lying back down on her bed. She couldn’t fall asleep yet, as she knew what was going to happen next.
A few moments passed before she heard a knock on the door. She answered to see a squeaky-clean Doug with a smile on his face, a few water droplets falling from his hair.
“You know it doesn’t count as a surprise if you come to kiss me goodnight every night, right?” Evie teased, gesturing for Doug to come in.
“Oh, so you want me to stop?” Doug rebutted, grabbing her hand as he walked in, pulling her close.
Evie shook her head before hugging him back and burying her head in his chest, breathing in the clean scent. “Of course not.”
Doug smiled and he kissed the top of her head, something he could only do when she wasn’t wearing her usual heeled boots. Doug had noticed how Evie had been a little more down than usual. He sensed it had something to do with the talk of graduation starting to rise, but he wasn’t sure. What he was sure of, however, was that he was going to be there when she needed him. His nightly visits were his way of making sure she knew this.
Evie finally looked up and pressed her lips to his. “You should probably go before Fairy Godmother catches you out past curfew,” she mumbled.
Doug sighed and kissed her back one last time. “Goodnight, Evie,” he said as he started to move towards the door.
“Night,” she followed, closing the door behind him.
She turned back towards her bed, noticing a new folded piece of paper on the floor, her name written across the front in the same familiar handwriting.
She rolled her eyes, and her smile widened as she picked it up.
She felt so lucky.
March
Evie sat upright on her bed as Doug strummed his guitar from her desk chair. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him, so focused on the notes. Ben had wanted them to take the song that he performed for Mal when he was spelled and slow it down for the proposal. Doug had been working on the arrangement for a while, and he was playing it for Evie’s approval before he taught it to the band.
“It’s perfect,” she admitted as he strummed the last note. "MIT (Magical Institute Training) is so lucky to have you as their Drum Major.”
Evie’s smile fell slightly after she spoke. Graduation was approaching faster each day, and everything was changing so fast. Jay and Doug were heading off to separate colleges, Mal and Ben were embarking on a tour of the kingdom, and Lonnie was going to play R.O.A.R. as a professional. Thankfully, Carlos and Jane would still be attending Auradon Prep.
Evie wasn’t exactly sure what her future was going to look like, or even the next few months. Doug had spoken with her about this a little, but she didn’t really have a place to go. Evie wasn’t sure if she had enough money to buy a castle yet, but she wanted to stay in Auradon and continue working on Evie’s4Hearts and getting more VKs into Auradon Prep. She saw college as a possibility, but for now, her top priority was getting kids off the Isle.
“And Auradon is lucky to have you too,” Doug added, moving to sit next to her, "whatever that might look like next year."
"Lots of designing and council work to be done," she sighed. It was exhausting just to think about, especially when she didn't have a place to call home.
Doug could tell she was upset. He threw his arm over her shoulder in support. “I was gonna wait and tell you next weekend.... but I have a surprise.”
Evie turned to look at him, curiosity dazzling in her eyes.
“I know you’ve been worried about having a place to stay next year, but I looked over the numbers again and Evie, I think we can make it work. I found this one place that I think could be really great-“
Evie cut him off with a kiss. “Thank you,” She beamed, feeling lucky that he knew her so well. She had no idea that he has been looking at places, but one of his uncles was a Real Estate Agent, after all.
Doug pulled her over towards the computer, and as he typed, pictures of Evie’s perfect “starter castle” filled the screen. She stood behind him, arms hugging his chest and chin resting on his shoulder as they looked through the pictures, smiling and imagining the purposes for each room.
“I can’t believe it!” Evie cheered, standing up and twirling around her room. “I’m finally gonna have my own castle!”
Doug spun around and grabbed his guitar, strumming some notes and creating a silly “Evie’s getting a castle” song. They both laughed and continued to mess around until they heard a “Knock it off!” come from the hall.
They felt so alive.
April
“Okay, so that’s six new dresses,” Evie spoke aloud as she scribbled the orders furiously in her notebook. With much of her money going towards a castle, she and Doug had been putting in extra work with Evie’s4Hearts to make up for it.
Doug stood by the clothing rack, tagging her recent creations with one hand and calculating numbers in the other.
“Eve, you still have a month,” he reminded her, hoping to alleviate some of her stress.
“I know, I know,” she responded, even though a month really wasn’t that much time. She moved away from her desk too quickly, accidentally knocking her notebook onto the floor on the way. Her sketches scattered the room.
Evie let out a frustrated groan as she started to gather her sketches, Doug rushing over to help. She sighed and sat on the floor, back against her bed. “Maybe I need to take a lunch break...”
Doug smirked and sat on the floor next to her. “I think that might be helpful.”
She finally let out a small laugh and looked over at him, “When did our lives get so crazy? I swore just the other day, our biggest responsibility was studying for Chemistry!”
Doug laughed. “It has always been crazy since you, Mal, Jay, and Carlos arrived to liven things up,” he joked. “Plus, you’ve always been crazy about your sketches,” he added, pulling one out from the pile he had in his hands.
“That turned out to be a pretty nice dress, huh?” She smirked, admiring her old design.
Doug nodded, “But this one has always been my favorite.” He pulled a sketch of Evie’s cotillion dress out of the pile.
She chuckled, her cheeks blushing when she remembered how much fun they had dancing that night. “Making it short was the perfect call considering the amount of water that ended up on that boat...”
They continued to reminisce over some of Evie’s old designs until Doug pulled out one of the poems he’d written. He smiled to himself, knowing she kept them in her sketchbook.
“Now we can admire your work,” she beamed, picking up her favorite one.
“Oh, it’s really nothing-“
“Doug come on, this is really good,” she urged as he looked over it. “Have you ever... have you ever thought about writing songs?”
Doug pondered her question for a second. “Not really, but a few of us were thinking about starting a band this summer, you know, to stay in practice before we head off to school...”
Evie’s eyes widened. “Doug, that’s amazing!” She exclaimed, searching for more poems. “Here, take some of these. I know you could turn them into great songs!”
Doug couldn’t help but smile as Evie rambled on about what the band’s look should be. She was so excited to be able to support him in something, just as he had encouraged her these past few years. He took her hand and continued to listen, reading over the poems. Sure, they were pretty good, but it’s who inspired them that really mattered.
He felt so loved.
May
“Wow, all that castle for such a small price!” Evie exclaimed as she faced her new purchase.
“And it’s not that far from MIT,” Doug added, taking the “For Sale” sign out of the yard and joining her to admire the starter castle.
“Now I know why it was your favorite,” Evie teased, grabbing his arm. “But it is perfect.”
“I think Dizzy will like it too.”
Evie beamed just thinking about having Dizzy and other VKs staying with her here in only a few months, not to mention how excited she was for Dizzy to meet her friends at Auradon Prep, including Doug. “Oh, she’ll love it.”
Evie couldn’t believe she was here, about to graduate Auradon Prep and now the owner of her own castle in Auradon. She had dreamed of this ever since she was little, although, at that point, she expected to marry a prince to get her there.
“I’m so proud of you.”
Evie looked at Doug, snapping out of her own thoughts and processing his words. His cheeks were slightly blushed as he beamed over at her.
“I love- it!“ she started before catching herself, laughing off the word she almost said. “Let me show you my favorite part!”
Doug allowed himself to be dragged through the side door by Evie. There was a wing on the side of her new home with glass walls, letting in so much natural light.
“It’s the perfect new spot for Evie’s4Hearts,” she marveled, admiring the space.
“I can’t wait to see what you create in here,” Doug gushed, putting his hands on her shoulders and giving them a squeeze.
Evie blushed, turning around to face him. “I can’t thank you enough for believing in me,” she blurted, almost unaware of the words that had come out of her ruby red lips.
“You don’t have to,” Doug soothed, pulling her close. “I’m your biggest fan.”
Evie giggled. “Mal might argue with you on that one,” she teased, “but I’m your biggest fan.”
Doug kissed her quickly as they swayed in the middle of her new fashion studio. Evie’s friends would be arriving soon to check the place out, but for now, they enjoyed the peace that they knew wouldn’t last long in this house.
Evie was so excited, looking around the room and the halls beyond it. She could see the new VKs running through the halls, full of excitement and energy from trying ice cream for the first time. She could see Doug coming to visit for one of their movie nights, the two of them snuggled up on the couch. She could see Carlos and Jane coming over to share what’s new at Auradon Prep. She could see Jay coming to visit after one of his tourney games, and Mal coming over for girl time when she needed a break from being Queen. She could see this room full of her designs and creations that were still to come.
She knew this place was going to be unique, but she didn’t know it would be where she would have to wake Doug from a spell with true love’s kiss later this summer, or where he would play her his first song from the poems he’d written in just a few weeks. She didn’t know it would be where they came to celebrate after Doug’s band’s first show, or where she received a school acceptance letter a few years down the line.
Although her starter castle allowed her to stay and make many new memories in Auradon, she knew it wasn’t just the house that made her feel like she belonged, and for that, she was grateful.
They were home.
June (Bonus)
Evie laughed as she stood with her friends, all of them cloaked in their Auradon Prep graduation cap and gown. Mal and Ben had just been whisked away to take photos with Ben’s parents, while Jay and Lonnie were talking about their upcoming R.O.A.R. experiences.
“We’re going to miss you so much this summer,” Evie admitted, squeezing Lonnie’s hand.
“Yeah!” Jane exclaimed, hands intertwined with Carlos. “I mean being a professional R.O.A.R. player is cool and all, but girl’s nights at Evie’s won’t be the same without you!”
“I’ll be sure to come back and visit,” Lonnie promised with a smile.
“Please do, I’m gonna need a good sparring partner to prepare to play against these other universities,” Jay charmed.
Evie couldn’t help but feel anything but content looking around at her friends. They did it; they had graduated from Auradon Prep, something she never expected to do many years ago. They had come so far, really, all four of them. From wanting to take down the place to conquering all the opportunities it had to offer. She was so proud of them.
After a moment, Evie realized someone was missing. She could’ve sworn she had been holding his hand minutes ago.
As if on cue, Doug appeared from the crowd of students and parents, followed by his mom. Evie had to admit, she never got tired of seeing him in Auradon’s school colors, and the royal blue cap and gown atop his green collared shirt and khakis was no exception.
“I was just wondering where you had snuck off to,” Evie smirked as he returned to her side.
“My mom wants to get some pictures of us,” he explained. “Figured you wouldn’t mind?"
Evie eagerly agreed. Ever since she had realized that they were actually graduating and they were all going to be going there separate ways soon, pictures had become even more important to her. She followed Doug to an empty spot in the crowd, where his mom was standing.
“Congratulations, sweetie!” Doug’s mom called from a few feet away, camera in hand.
“Thank you!” Evie beamed, as Doug wrapped his arm around her waist and began posing for the picture.
Evie quickly fixed the position of his graduation cap before locking her fingers together on his shoulder and posing for the camera. She hoped the pale blue (almost white) dress she had worn underneath her gown was enough to distract from her matching cap and hair color.
“Do a silly one!” Darcy, his sister, called from where she appeared, next to her mother.
Evie waved upon seeing her, distracted from the photos, and before she knew it, Doug was pressing a kiss to her cheek. She was sure her blush and wide smile were caught on camera.
“Oh, so kissing me is silly now?” She teased.
“It made you laugh didn’t it?” He remarked with a smirk.
Evie couldn’t deny his point. She tried tucking a loose strand of his hair back under his cap, but it didn’t stay. It was almost hard to believe they had only met a few years ago, and now had already earned their diplomas.
“Can you believe we made it?” She whispered, hands resting on his shoulders.
“I always knew you would,” he smirked.
Evie rolled her eyes but blushed nonetheless. “Of course you did.” She thought back to their Chemistry days and all the times they had spent studying together. He really had always known.
Doug wondered if she could hear his heart beating out of his chest as he prepared to give her her graduation gift.
“I actually have something for you....” he started, one of his hands reaching for his pocket while the other remained on her hip.
Evie watched to see what he would remove from his pocket, certainly not expecting the small velvet box that emerged. She felt her legs getting wobbly as he raised up the jewelry box, confusion surfacing on her face. They had been so busy planning Ben’s proposal to Mal that she was far from ready for her own, amongst many other reasons. She looked up at him with worry, not wanting him to do this now, in front of a crowd.
“Doug...”
He chuckled slightly, seeing the look on her face. “It’s not what you think,” he promised, managing to pop the box open with one hand.
Inside the box was a dainty gold necklace, with deep Sapphire and sparkling Emerald stones wrapped together in a golden charm.
Evie’s face lit up, her jaw dropping slightly. She was glad he had been holding her upright this whole time.
“It’s stunning,” she gasped, taking in the blue and green glimmers in front of her.
“All gems mined by yours truly,” he shared proudly. “I wanted it to be special.”
“It is,” she awed, looking back up and kissing him again quickly. “Thank you, I love- it.”
Evie sighed in relief realizing she had saved herself yet again from getting tongue-tied and saying the thing she wasn’t sure she was ready to say. Though, for a moment, she wondered what would have happened if she did.
Doug was grinning from ear to ear now, as he used both hands to remove the necklace from its box. Evie moved her curls to the side so he could clasp the chain around her neck, the gems falling on her collarbone.
“That looks amazing,” Doug’s mom cooed as she approached them. Evie had nearly forgotten they had been posing for pictures just moments ago, but was glad that Doug was getting the attention he deserved from his family on this big day.
The whole family smiled as they looked through the camera at the photos of Evie and Doug, the two of them blushing profusely with sheepish smiles.
From afar, Doug noticed that Ben and Mal had returned to their group or friends. “Can you get some of all of us?”
“Of course!” His mom agreed, following the two back towards the others. “Everybody get together!” She called.
The eight of them smushed together- Jay, Carlos, Jane, Lonnie, Mal, Ben, Evie, and Doug- smiling wide in their gowns (except for Jane and Carlos, who still had another year).
“Say, puppies!” Carlos yelled, causing everyone to laugh.
Evie looked around at her friends- the people she could count on for anything- and smiled.
They were her family.