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Evie had taken it surprisingly well, much to his displeasure. After ruminating about the situation, Doug wanted to take everything back. As a more logical thinker, it was odd for him to take as bold of steps as he did. This was similar to when he was at the bleachers when he noticed Evie and Chad.
Perhaps it was a sign that he didn’t deserve Evie. Maybe he was coming off as too needy or too attached. Despite being unsure of where his sudden relationship flaws were coming from, Doug set his mind to figuring it out. The feeling felt familiar, but it also felt strange.
He liked Evie a lot and was more than willing to be close friends with her, but his words earlier struck him the wrong way. As they probably did to Evie. Though she forgave him and laid the incident to rest, Doug couldn’t help but feel ashamed. He jumped to conclusions. And he ended up way too far off. He was sure she’d decide to break ties, but she wasn’t as bothered by the incident as he would have thought she’d be.
There was a knock at the door of his dorm and he sprang from his bed, confused as to who would stop by. With Chad away to figure out what happened to Audrey’s car, he was alone until the cotillion at eight. As it was four in the evening and he had delivered the gowns already, Doug took the remaining hours to himself. Approaching the door and swinging it open, there stood Evie. She smiled as his mouth curved a bit.
“Hi, what’s up?” He asked as she looked to the floor. He gestured for her to come inside and she did as so. In a blue glitter tutu and her hair simply held back with a tiara, she effortlessly looked like a Princess.
“Hey, I wanted to talk to you about well—you,” Evie admitted as she glanced anywhere but his eyes. Doug knew it as he had been pondering how things were going to end up between them. And just like this he was going to lose a friend, followed by the rest of the VKs. He was sure he would request to move schools if things spiraled into a disaster.
“Oh, sure. You can sit down,” Doug said offering her a seat on one of the two desk chairs. She glanced at the chair then to his bed. She pulled his hand and took a seat on the plaid duvet.
“This is more comfortable,” Evie giggled. “I also shouldn’t have phrased it like that either. I just wanted to get to know you a bit. We’ve never just sat down and talked about our lives and stuff. It’s usually about school or Four Hearts.”
Doug almost fainted. This was a first. He opened up to people gradually, and it was more so if they asked clique questions. No one except for Ben, Lonnie and Jane had ever taken the time to get to know him. Even then, they never asked about his past mostly because they had met him early on. Evie wanted him to confide in her. Even after his overreaction to her being MIA for nearly two days.
“I don’t think anyone has really decided to do this,” Doug replied as Evie cocked her head and a small smile curved on her face. She looked down to the duvet, Doug noticing her face falling ever so slightly before she looked up again. Her
“So what was your childhood like?” She asked, her fingers drawing shapes along the surface of the fluffy duvet.
“I think my parents had good intentions. I remember doing fun things with them around kindergarten. My dad doesn’t speak often, so we used non-verbals unless I did something wrong or very notable. My mom on the other hand focused on creating the perfect children. I couldn’t live up to her standards like Derek, so I kind of stayed out of her watchful eye for as long as I could. That continued after my sister was born,” Doug said, suddenly spilling more information than he expected. Evie listened intently and nodded her head. She focused on watching how he spoke and the expressions he made.
She assumed that due to a family that focused on non-verbals and emotions, he knew how to be expressive and convey a lot with his face and body.
“So you had the experience of the average middle child?” Evie questioned. He nodded his head slowly, seemingly remembering something distasteful. “If it helps any, I can relate to what it is like to have a parent who is looking for their child to live up to their golden dreams.
“My mom found my brother to be everything she wanted her son to be and Daisy was her perfect Princess. I did get room to breath, but not much. Thinking back, it very much felt like I was alone sometimes.” His voice lost its balance as Evie noticed a far away look in his eyes. Blinking a few times he looked to Evie whose cheeks turned rosy.
“What was it like as an only child?” Doug asked, trying to get the attention off of himself.
“Oh, you know. Lonely. Mummy always wanted me to be her clone—actually more like everything she wished she had been,” Evie said, quickly. She wanted to find out why he had made the conclusion he did. She had an inkling, but was looking to make sure that she was correct before explaining her thoughts. “Did you ever feel like you were abandoned? Or people did not give you very much attention? Did you ever try to earn their attention?”
Doug’s face froze and he stared at the wooden desk in front of them. He felt a warm hand over his and almost jumped at her touch. “I tried to master the things I was good at—academics and music. That’s where I must have gotten my intense focus on school from. My parents gave me attention, don’t get me wrong, but I have a much better relationship with my dad. My mom, on the other hand, was only really interested when I did something extraordinary. Mostly award related.”
“I guess I did feel abandoned. This possibility hasn’t crossed my mind,” Doug said. As he spoke those words, something clicked in his mind. “I hope it doesn’t make you hate me. I made the accusation against you because I felt as though I had been abandoned. Am I coming off as way to attached or clingy?”
He made eye contact with Evie who simply squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t hate you, and no. You aren’t. I have my own flaws. And I felt something similar during Family Day.”
“Oh, Evie. I am so sorry, again. I—”
“Don't worry about that. You’re smart so you’ve already figured out why I was here. I understood why you jumped to the conclusion that I was seeing someone else. I realized a long time ago that you never really had friends. It became very apparent to me how things rolled between you and others when you listened to Chad’s requests.”
“I had to speak with Fairy Godmother in private about my eating habits, or lack thereof and my self-esteem. I think our parents have made bigger impacts than we think,” Evie suggested.
Doug still had an apologetic look in his eyes as he glanced toward the wooden desk again. “I just feel so ashamed that I even thought you would do something as I wrongly accused you of. I truly apologize.”
“There are no hard feelings, Doug. That’s why I blew it off in the first place—and well you were very concerned and I wanted to ease your nerves. I knew that this couldn’t have just appeared in your mind. There had to have been other reasons. You’re a great guy. I’ll want to be here for you, like you are for me. That’s what true friends do,” Evie said, pecking his cheek again.
Maybe the two of them were just a little blind to their true blue feelings. Pecks on the cheek and suggesting that he was the ‘only prince she would ever need’ were not quite the components of a normal friendship.With an origin to where his behavior came from and more insight to his emotions, much like he had soon discovered about her, they were only making their relationship stronger. Conflicts were only natural between those who believed that their special someone was worth it.
As Evie stood up, she squeezed his hand once more. “I’ll see you in the lobby in a few hours?”
“Of course. Oh and Evie?” Doug said standing up as she approached the door. “Another factor may have occurred the night you went back to the Isle,” Doug began. Evie had discussed the entire trip with him as they delivered dresses and tuxes around campus.
“Jay and Carlos mentioned you went camping when I asked if they had seen you. I think my mind went off the deep end, knowing that you couldn’t have gone camping,” Doug chuckled, receiving a laugh from Evie who shook her head.
“They’re such doofuses sometimes,” she said, opening the door. “On a side note, camping doesn’t sound too terrible either. As long as I have a place to plug in my hair dryer, I’m all set.”
Doug smiled to himself, realizing that he really did know his close friend fairly well.
“I’ll see you later and again, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’ll see you later,” Evie replied as she slipped out the door and shut it.
Crossing his arms around his chest, Doug marveled at how lucky he was to have a friend like Evie. She was willing to mend the seams inside of him that had come undone. She was quite the girl and Doug was sure he didn’t want the feeling she left him with to end.