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Doug pulled his phone from his pocket as it buzzed, trying to balance Jane’s birthday present with one hand the best he could. Evie’s name flashed across the screen, covering the picture of the two of them his mom had taken at graduation.
“Hey,” he answered, continuing to walk the path to her house. “I’m almost there.”
“Okay, good,” Evie huffed, sounding concerned. “We have a bit of a situation.”
“Is everything alright?” Doug asked. Everyone had been on edge since the barrier fiasco regarding Hades and Mal, and now the Crown and Maleficent’s Scepter had been stolen. He should've known a pleasant afternoon at Jane‘s birthday party was too good to be true.
There was some rustling on Evie’s end of the phone, and Doug could make out the voices of her friends in the background.
“I’ll explain when you get here,” Evie finally said, coming back to the phone. “Please be careful,” she warned, hoping Audrey was far from her cottage now.
“I will,” he promised, beginning to walk faster. “See you in a minute.”
Doug couldn’t help but watch his surroundings extra cautiously as he approached Evie’s house. He didn’t know what exactly he was supposed to be looking for but hoped he didn’t have to find out on his own.
Luckily, he made it to Evie’s without complications. The door was unlocked, so he walked inside, startling his girlfriend, who was already dressed head to toe in red leather.
“Sorry, I should’ve knocked,” he apologized upon seeing her jump, both of them opening their arms for a hug.
“It’s okay,” Evie sighed, “I’m just glad you made it.”
Doug noticed her squeeze him a little tighter before letting go. From the other room, he could see Carlos and Jay helping a figure walk through the house, rather slowly. “What’s going on?”
“Turns out Audrey was the one who stole the crown and the scepter,” Evie explained, taking the gift from Doug and putting it with the others that she hoped would eventually make it to Jane. “She was just here and turned Mal into a-“
Evie was cut off by the sound of her now-aging friend yelling at Jay and Carlos to stop rushing her as they approached the doorway. Doug’s eyes widened as he recognized Mal.
Evie nodded as she continued to explain the situation. “The only way to reverse that, and stop Audrey from reigning terror on all of Auradon, is to get Hades Ember from the Isle.” She gestured to her current look. “Celia is coming with because she knows where to find it. I need you to stay with Dizzy and the twins.”
“Of course,” he said nervously. Hades didn’t seem like someone you would want to mess with, but Evie seemed confident that he wouldn’t try to hurt them.
She breathed a “Thank you” before squeezing his hand and leading him towards the couch, where Dizzy and the twins were watching TV.
Evie knelt by Squeaky and Squirmy. “You two remember Doug, right? He’s going to stay here with you guys until we get back.” She hated to leave them now since they had barely spent any time in Auradon, but she trusted that they were in good hands. The twins only nodded in response, still seemingly clinging to Dizzy.
Doug smiled at Dizzy, who looked relieved to know she wouldn’t have to be in charge of them all by herself. The two had finally met after hearing so much about the other. Soon after her arrival, Evie and Doug took Dizzy and Celia to swim at the enchanted lake, while Mal attended a royal meeting and Jay and Carlos tried to teach Squeaky and Squirmy how to play Tourney. It was nice having Dizzy here now, as she was part of Evie’s inspiration for bringing kids from the Isle to Auradon. Doug could tell Evie was beyond excited to have all of the new VKs in Auradon after working on it for so long.
Evie walked back over to him. “Please lock the doors as soon as we leave,” she urged. “And don’t take them anywhere. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys...”
“We’ll be right here when you get back,” he promised. “You guys please be safe, too, alright?”
Evie nodded and kissed his cheek quickly before gathering the others and heading towards the door.
Doug wished them luck as he waved them off and locked the door as he was told. He heavily sighed as he made his way back to the kids. It wasn’t easy watching someone you love attend dangerous missions so often- and seeing Hades almost drain Mal’s powers the other day didn’t make it any easier. He had never been to the Isle, but he knew it wasn’t the safest place. Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos still covered themselves in leather every time they visited for protection, and well, he didn’t want to think about why they had to do that.
They were tough, though, and he knew that, but he can’t say what he would do if something went wrong. Maybe he should’ve said something to Evie... those few little words they both had been too afraid to say.
He was feeling a little more confident about it after Ben proposed to Mal, as he was pretty sure that Evie almost said those three words herself before replacing it with movies instead. Doug agreed- though he was referring to both their movie nights and the word she didn’t say. He swore it was in her eyes, though, and before she left to go back to the Isle under high stakes probably would’ve been a good time for him to say it finally.
On the other hand, maybe it would’ve caused too much distraction. She didn’t need to be anything less than focused as they searched for the ember. Plus, what if she didn’t feel the same way? That wouldn’t make the situation any better.
He sat down on the floor by the couch, his back resting against the arm as Dizzy, Squeaky, and Squirmy focused on the movie. He tried to shake his worries about Evie away as he stared at the screen but to no avail. It was one of their movie-night favorites.
It had been a few hours since Evie and the others had left, and Doug was really hoping they would be back soon. He spent every few minutes checking his phone for texts from her, knowing good and well there wasn’t much service through the barrier.
At Evie’s, they had already finished one movie, made a bunch of snacks, and settled in for the next flick. Doug already introduced them to so many Auradon foods, which they found exhilarating. He did have some prior experience introducing VKs to Auradon foods, after all. He silently wished Evie wouldn’t notice the missing sweets when she returned home.
While the kids were starting the next movie, Doug decided to venture into Evie’s design studio. She had been working hard recently, so he knew it was a bit of a mess. Plus, there was a pretty good view of their surroundings from all of the windows, and he wanted to make sure Audrey didn’t try and come back before the crew returned.
He started to straighten some things up, making sure everything was in the right place. He had spent so much time in there that he knew just where everything belonged.
Doug paused as he noticed the two small Polaroid pictures taped to the top of Evie’s mirror and smiled, thinking back to when they were taken. Evie had borrowed Jane’s camera for a science project and had used the last two prints on him when they were on a quick lunch picnic before band practice.
Clearly, nothing he did in Evie’s house was going to distract him from worrying about what was happening on the Isle.
Just as he finished his thought, a pink cloud caught the corner of his eye. It was traveling rather quickly towards the house and stretched across as far across the lawn as he could see.
Doug tried to run to the other room but began to feel sluggish, his legs not moving as quickly as he wanted. He started to lower towards the ground, grabbing the pillow off of Evie’s desk chair before drifting off to sleep.
Evie beamed as she walked towards her house again. She never got tired of showing off her new and most prized possession. Uma of all people complimenting her achievement brought a smile to her face.
“I got a really good deal,” she glimmered.
She walked inside, followed by Uma, Mal, and Celia. They found Dizzy and the twins asleep on the couch, shivering. Though the day hadn’t been exactly what she expected, she was relieved to see them all here, safe and in one piece.
Evie watched Celia tell them what happened as they snoozed, making sure to cover them up with a blanket. Celia may have been a piece of work at first, but Evie knew she was a good person, and she was already seeing signs of progress through their busy afternoon.
Her heart swelled at the thought of these four becoming family as she had with Mal, Jay, and Carlos. They were everything to her, and she was more grateful every day that Ben had chosen them to bring over to Auradon.
Evie’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard a snore coming from the other room, immediately remembering that she hadn’t left the kids here alone. She ran off to see where he was, followed by Mal and Uma.
She found Doug in her studio, asleep atop the rug on the floor. It seemed strange that he would have chosen this place to doze off, but she tried to wake him anyway, hoping it was just one of his tricks.
Mal and Uma’s chatter behind her confirmed that her suspicions were correct, though, he was spelled, and their reminder of what needed to happened didn’t relieve any of her worries.
“True love’s kiss, works every time...”
It seemed so simple, she had said it herself so many times. Yet, when it came to her own relationship, she wasn’t so sure. It was weird, she thought, to be this nervous about kissing her boyfriend, something she regularly did without hesitation. But true love? That was a lot of pressure, considering neither of them had ever used the “L-word.”
She was conflicted, so she, well... sort of... maybe... panicked... a little.
Evie’s past relationships had been nothing like her relationship with Doug. She was used to flaunting her looks to get what she wanted, a trick she learned from her mother. It worked too: Evie always got what she wanted, whether it be free food for the times she and Mal would spend weeks at their hideout instead of going home or a barely-passing grade in her science class after not paying attention all year.
With Doug, in Auradon, it was different; he saw her talent, her potential, her worth.... so much so that she was able to see it too.
She was smarter than she ever imagined, acing just about anything she put her mind to, from chemistry tests to running her own fashion business. It felt good, not having to rely on anyone else, but through it all, Doug had always been by her side, supporting her every move.
She loved that about their relationship, getting to be her own person. She had also started to realize that she might love him too, despite the way she stopped herself before the words ever left her mouth.
The way she felt with Doug was new, contrary to the emptiness present in her other relationships (if she could even call them that). She thought it was love, but then again, she wasn’t sure. How was she to know how true love was supposed to feel?
Oh, how it would be easier if he would just say it first.
Time was up, though. Evie had to know. “Here I go,” she whispered to herself as she leaned closer to Doug’s sleeping face. She softly pressed her lips to his, waiting for his body to move, but he stayed motionless.
Evie stood up quickly, feeling embarrassed as her cheeks turned red, and Doug continued to snore. She turned towards Mal and Uma, who were just as shocked until they saw a slight movement beside her.
It was him; he was awake. Evie smiled slightly before remembering he tricked her. She sat up next to him with her arms crossed and huffed, refusing to face him.
Doug smirked at Evie, until realizing she might not have thought his prolonged awakening was that funny. He moved closer to her, nudging her shoulder slightly, watching the corners of her lips turn upward. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back at her, both of them realizing the events that just unfolded.
“I think this calls for some cake!” Mal cheered, to which Uma agreed and followed her into the kitchen.
“So...” Doug started, “True Love’s Kiss, huh?”
Evie snickered as her arms uncrossed and fell to her sides. “Who would have thought?”
Doug’s smile widened as he put her hand in his, the concerns of his recent sleeping spell slipping away.
“I love you, Evie.”
Evie put her other hand on top of his and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I love you too.”
He kissed the top of her head, but the loud conversation from the other room soon interrupted their moment.
“Mind telling me what I missed?” Doug asked as they turned towards each other.
“Where do I start?” She chuckled, fiddling with his fingers as she spoke.
She told him about the Isle, losing their bikes and how Harry and Gil had followed them out of the barrier. She told him how they all agreed to work together in hopes of bringing all the other kids over from the Isle. She told him about how everyone was asleep when they returned to Auradon, and how she was worried when she wasn’t able to reach him or Dizzy. She told him how they were still searching for Audrey, and how the boys were off trying to find a missing Ben. Her favorite part, of course, was telling him how they all defeated the knights, the alliance between the two rival groups flourishing.
Doug smiled as she told him of the events that had unfolded. He was really proud of her for bringing them together, and he made sure to tell her before they saw something else flying towards the house.
Evie’s head turned quick as planks of wood began to board up the windows and doors of her abode.
“Audrey!” She exclaimed, pulling Doug along as they ran into the kitchen to find the others.
Mal and Uma were trying to out-spell the newly wicked princess, and only when they joined forces were they successful.
Evie looked over at her boyfriend and grinned, proud of her progress mediating Mal and Uma’s rivalry.
“Heyyy, it’s your bae,” Celia called out, as the rest of the boys approached the door.
Evie giggled as Mal ran towards the door and her “bae,” before joining hands with her own and leading him outside to greet the others.
A few moments and a new plan later, they were already beginning to split up again, one group to find Audrey and another to find Fairy Godmother.
Doug peeked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend as he was whisked away by Gaston’s muscular son.
Evie blew him a kiss and waved as they walked off with Jane. She was glad Gil was going with them, as they all admitted. Evie actually quite liked Gil; he may have been part of Uma’s gang but was certainly not as evil as expected.
She fell in line with the others as they headed to Fairy Cottage, hoping to put an end to Audrey’s terror for good.