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“No, it’s fine really,” Evie promised, though a little disappointed. “It’ll make Friday all that much better.”
Valentine’s Day was coming up, next Thursday, to be exact, and for a couple in a long-distance relationship, it was the perfect excuse to see each other. That was, until Doug's mundane college physics professor decided the best date to give an exam was Friday, February 15th at 8 am, therefore ruining anyone in the class’s Valentine’s plans if they wanted a chance at passing.
Evie understood, though, she really did. The time it would take for Doug to travel to Auradon and back in one day would take up way too much study time. So she could suck it up and wait the extra day to see him again. It had been nearly two months since she saw him, so what was another day?
Doug apologized again over the phone, making Evie feel even more guilty about being upset before exchanging farewells and L-words for the day. She huffed as she let her phone fall to her side, looking around the room.
She spotted a picture she took last year on Valentine’s day after sharing a cheesy romantic candlelit dinner. Evie was smiling in the selfie while Doug was kissing her cheek. Looking at the image, the sad butterflies in her stomach stirred around slowly.
She missed him—a lot.
“Why don’t you go there?”
Dizzy’s voice brought Evie back to the present, having almost forgotten the projects she and Dizzy were working on. Her confused glance at Dizzy encouraged her to continue.
“I mean, you purposefully didn’t schedule any meetings for that weekend because Doug was supposed to be here, so you’re already free. Just leave a little early on Thursday, and I can finish up whatever you have that day.”
Evie turned her gaze to the calendar on the wall, with different colored scribbles covering most of the days with meetings, dress fittings, and more taxing activities that came with running a business. Dizzy was right; next weekend was the only blank spot for the entire month.
Looking at the calendar got her thinking. She had been so busy this year that her only reunions with Doug had been when he had come home. She hadn’t visited him at MIT (Magical Institute Training) since… she went with his family to move him in.
Her schedule was clear, Doug wasn’t expecting her, and she remembered enough about her initial visit to get her there if she wanted to. It sounds like enough to pull off a surprise, thanks to her perfect little assistant.
“Dizzy, you’re a genius!”
So on Thursday, February 14th, that’s exactly what she did. It was dark by the time Evie found herself wandering around campus, having just parked her bright blue car in the closest parking deck to Doug’s dorm. Her Find My Friends app showed Doug to be at the library (fitting), and she was currently doing the best she could to figure out how to get there.
Each step she took had her feeling a little giddier inside, knowing she was moments away from seeing him again. She only hoped he had studied enough not to be worried about his exam all night….
Doug scribbled “Linear Motion” atop his notebook paper as the words in his textbook began to blur together. He’d reviewed this section at least a dozen times, but he had to do well on this exam, the first of three, if he wanted to end with a decent grade overall.
His focus continued to dwindle as he heard some snickers coming from a couple a few rows behind him. Rolling his eyes, he tried his best to keep taking notes on momentum or energy or whatever the hell he was reading, but it wasn’t much help.
He missed Evie. And studying with Evie. And the couples who were fortunate enough to get to study together on Valentine’s Day were distracting him anyway, so maybe he should have just gone to Auradon for the night.
He picked up his phone, noticing not much time had passed since the last time he checked, and sighed when there was no new message from the person he wanted to hear from most. He tried giving her another call, but there was no answer. They had managed to talk a little earlier in the day, though she was probably still upset that he had to postpone their plans for dinner and a movie.
Back to the textbook, he thought, scribbling the next few vocabulary words for what felt like the fifteenth time. He chuckled to himself at how pathetic he was being. It was like he could see Evie’s blue hair falling over her shoulders while her nose was in a book. Her face would be slightly scrunched, unbeknownst to her, as she concentrated on absorbing the vast knowledge the book had to offer. Perhaps his daydream was getting a little too realistic; she wasn’t actually there for him to steal glances at.
Except when he heard a soft overdramatic sigh in her exact pitch, he had to look up.
Evie’s lips spread into a wide grin when their eyes meet, “Hi.”
“Evie?!” Doug breathed in astonished disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
Evie giggled quietly as he wrapped his arms around her, and she reciprocated. “I came to help you study,” she smirked. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Doug tightened the hug for just a moment, partly to make sure it wasn’t a dream, before kissing her cheek. “I missed you so much.”
Evie ruffled his neatly parted hair as he pulled back to look at her. “I missed you too,” she smiled goofily. “What do we have here?” She asked, looking towards his textbook and notes.
“Physics!” he exclaimed with fake enthusiasm and a weak fist pump in the air for good measure.
Evie chuckled softly, “Too bad it isn’t Chemistry…”
“Yeah,” Doug agreed, “that class was always your strong suit.”
Evie rolled her eyes playfully. “That’s not what I meant…” she teased, kissing his cheek. “But Physics will have to do.” She settled back into the chair, Doug’s arm over her shoulder and her hand resting on his leg. “Teach it to me.”
It was their best study method. Back at Auradon Prep, they would split the chapters they needed to study, learn the chapters like the back of their hand, and then teach it to each other. It was a scientifically-proven way to ensure you had understood the material, but it was also much more fun to learn from each other than Mr. Delay.
So Doug recalled everything he had been studying until that point and taught it flawlessly, considering he had been preparing for this exam since the beginning of the semester. And although Doug was losing steam after only the first chapter notes, Evie was soaking up everything his college physics class had to offer.
There was a part of her that missed school. Running a fashion empire was fun and amazing and fulfilling nearly every childhood dream she ever had, but she quickly learned once she arrived in Auradon that school could be fun and amazing too.
“I’ll be honest,” Doug began, “it’s tough to concentrate with you here.”
Evie raised her eyebrows. “You want me to leave?”
Doug realized his sentiment had come off far from how he intended. “No, no, not at all. I meant that I’m thinking about all the other things we could be doing together. I feel bad that you’re having to be lectured on the types of energy when we were supposed to be enjoying dinner and a movie…”
Evie’s face softened. “We have all weekend,” she reminded him. “I promise I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Doug smiled, pecking her red lips quickly. “I know, but still. I could be showing you around campus or something... like a romantic moonlight walk under the stars.”
Evie pondered his words for a moment. “You’re right… that does sound better than Physics,” she admitted. “Are you sure?”
“100%,” Doug beamed with excitement. “The exam will be fine,” he continued as he began to put his books away. “I am so glad I get to show you around.”
Evie grinned as Doug packed away his things. She was excited too, having only seen a few buildings when she was looking for the library, not knowing what any of them were. If she wanted to go to college one day, the thought sitting in the back of her mind, this is a place she would highly consider.
Doug took her hand as he stood up, his belongings now stowed in his messenger bag. “Ready?”
Evie took one quick look around the nearly-empty library before verbalizing her sudden idea. “There’s actually something I’ve always wanted to do in a library…”
Doug’s raised eyebrows were the greenlight for Evie to lead him through the shelves all the way to what felt like the back, without another person in sight.
“I think I like where this is going…” Doug whispered as Evie pressed her back against one of the shelves in the corner.
“Shh…” Evie reminded him quietly, her lips curling upwards. “We’re in a library.”
She let go of his hand so she could snake her arms to the nape of his neck, her fingertips brushing through his hair. Doug struggled to contain the hum that wanted to escape his lips when Evie captured them with hers. He settled by tightly winding his arms around her waist, doing anything he could to close the little space between them, feeling Evie smile as she kissed him.
Somewhere between the concealed satisfactories and fumbling hands, they had managed to knock a few books off the shelves. Evie chuckled softly as she looked at the discarded covers before returning her gaze to him.
“I missed this,” she murmured against his lips, resting her forehead on his.
“Me too,” he muttered huskily, capturing her lips once again.
Evie reeled in the sensation of finally being reunited, releasing a pleasant sigh at the feeling of his fingers combing through her hair once more.
Footsteps through the line of shelves ended the passionate moment too soon, Evie turning around quickly to peruse the shelve she was once pressed against, while Doug collected the books from the floor and pretended to read the titles printed on the spine of each.
Their interruptor scoured the shelf a few feet away, so when Evie finally had control of her breathing enough to look at Doug again, her eyes suggested that they leave, and he nodded in agreement.
Once they reached the cold air of the night, they couldn’t help but chuckle at their recent shenanigans. “Close call,” Doug chuckled as he pressed a kiss on the side of her head, swinging their hands between them as they walked. “Welcome to MIT.”
Evie beamed as Doug toured her around his favorite spots. Clearly, she was already familiar with the library, so they continued to the dining hall, science center, music hall, and Doug’s favorite area to study outdoors.
“You think I could go here someday?” Evie thought aloud, not even noticing how she squeezed his hand for support.
“Are you kidding?” Doug marveled. “They’d be so lucky to have you even apply to go here,” he encouraged. “When are you thinking?”
Evie shrugged. “Year after next, maybe? Then we could study together for real again.”
“Can’t wait,” he smiled as their walking pace slowed, and he enveloped her in a hug. “I’m just so happy you’re here.”
“Me too,” she blushed, leaning into him. She could imagine more days like this, wandering around campus together, study dates, and not-so-study dates. It brought a warm feeling to her soul, missing and wishing to mirror their days at Auradon Prep, without all the drama.
“Did you feel that?” Doug asked as he unwrapped himself from her. “I think it’s starting to rain.”
They began to walk faster towards Doug’s dorm, the final stop on their tour, but they weren’t quick enough. Raindrops started to fall from the sky at lightning-fast intervals.
“I can’t walk very fast in these shoes!” Evie squealed as it started to pour.
Doug quickly shifted his messenger bag and motioned for Evie to jump on his back. She quickly did so with minimal attempts, and Doug powered through the campus as fast as he could. It was comical, honestly, and Evie couldn’t help but laugh as the rain continued to dampen them both.
Finally, they reached his building, and Evie safely returned to the ground under the portico while Doug removed his messenger bag to search for his student ID. He stopped for a moment when Evie was wringing out the bottom of her dress, as it was already soaked.
“What?” she questioned when she caught him staring.
A grin slowly crept across his face, and Evie didn’t like where it was going.
“Doug…”
“I can’t pass up the opportunity to kiss you in the rain on Valentine’s day,” he argued, discarding his bag by the door but slipping the ID into his pocket. He reached for her hand as he backed out into the rain again, but she wasn’t budging.
“Doug!” Evie shrieked lightly. “Come on!”
“We’re already wet!” he protested, well out in the middle of the storm.
Evie sighed. Doug knew she was a sucker for clichés, and she couldn’t get into the dorm without his student ID and key anyway, so she went after him.
Doug chuckled when Evie joined him in the rain, her hair sticking to the perimeter of her face. Her dazzling brown eyes met his through fogged glasses, and her lips formed into their natural pout.
“I surprise you on Valentine’s Day, and this is how you repay me?” She teased.
Before she could sulk any longer, he brushed her away from her face and kissed the pout away.
Evie wrapped her arms around Doug’s waist and pulled him close to savor whatever body heat she could in the midst of what felt like falling icicles. His warm hands protected her cheeks from the cold of the rain, but everywhere else felt sparks as droplets covered their skin. The butterflies in their stomachs moved sharply to avoid the electricity.
Evie rested her forehead against his, shielding their faces from the water droplets that had slowed their fall.
“See? Worth it,” Doug whispered, causing Evie to crack a smile. He moved his hands from her face to reciprocate the hug she was giving him.
“You’re the worst,” she joked, rolling her eyes playfully and allowing herself to be spun off the ground. She couldn’t help but think back to the night of cotillion, dancing in the flood with him, their outfits nearly ruined, but still having the time of their lives. Even then, though, she never pictured that she could be this… happy. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Doug admitted, causing Evie to blush as she buried her face in his neck, a chill running up her spine.”Now let’s go inside before one of us catches hypothermia.”
In the blink of an eye, they were leaving a trail of water behind them in the lobby of Doug’s dorm. A few flights of stairs later and they were finally at room 328. It wasn’t much, just a desk opposite a slightly lofted bed with dressers underneath and a window in the middle of the back wall. He shared a small bathroom with the person in room 327, equipped with a toilet, shower, and two sinks.
It looked the same as when he had moved in, Evie thought, except with more books and clothes and a few decorations. She felt warm inside seeing pictures of them scattered around his desk, next to a bouquet and a red bag. And she felt warm on the outside when Doug wrapped a fresh towel around her.
“I also sent some flowers to your place today,” Doug added when he noticed where her gaze was landing.
“I’ll make sure Dizzy brings them in,” she cooed, wrapping the towel around her shoulders tighter.
“Let me make sure the other bathroom door is locked, and then you can take a shower,” he offered, disappearing into the other room.
Evie emptied her bag to see what needed to dry off and what was salvageable to wear to bed. Her pajama bottoms at the bottom of the bag somehow remained dry, but she hung up everything else to dry. Even her makeup needed to air out. Meanwhile, she heard some chatter from the other room.
“I’m just saying, it’s hard to believe you’re actually dating Evie if you’re never going to introduce us to her,” an unfamiliar voice said lightly.
“Ha, ha,” Doug teased. “I’m just glad you cleaned your side of the bathroom!”
Evie could tell the unfamiliar voice was just messing with him and that Doug knew better than to try and introduce her to someone when she did not have time to prepare her hair and makeup properly. Years ago, like that night at Cotillion, she would’ve cared, but right now, she figured it didn't really matter.
“Doug,” Evie chimed as she swung open the door she had been hiding behind. “I think I’m gonna need one of your shirts.”
Doug was beaming proudly as his roommates’ jaw was practically on the floor. “Evie! This is my roommate Brandon. Brandon, this is Evie.”
“Nice to finally meet you! I don’t know why Doug has been hiding you from us for so long,” Brandon admired in bewilderment. “I hate to do this to you, I really do, but my boyfriend is such a big fan of yours and-”
“I’d love to meet him,” Evie laughed, feeling a twinge of guilt at his previous comment for having barely visited. However, it diminished when Doug came to stand beside her, seeing how happy he was to introduce her.
“James, come here!” Brandon called into his room, and a second later, another man appeared in the doorway.
“Oh my gosh!” James exclaimed. “No way! It’s so nice to meet you. Your designs are absolutely amazing.”
“Thank you!” Evie beamed. It wasn’t often she got direct feedback from people who didn’t buy any of her outfits. “I’ll have to make you something sometime!”
James nearly fell to the floor but managed to express how insanely cool that would be. They continued to chat for a minute while Doug disappeared to retrieve the shirt that she actually did need.
“Brought you your favorite,” Doug announced when he returned, holding up a washed-out “Auradon Prep Marching Band” t-shirt in his hands, which Evie gladly accepted.
“Look at our little band nerd go!” Brandon cheered, with James echoing how adorable they were before both couples exchanged farewells for the night.
Doug returned to his room and changed into some dry clothes before retrieving his flashcards from his bag, which luckily had been protected from the rain as the bookmark to one of his books.
Evie returned shortly from the shower, sporting Doug’s t-shirt and a towel on her head, to hang up the still-soaked dress she was previously wearing. “You’re lucky this is a waterproof fabric,” she warned, earning a chuckle from him. “Your friends seem fun.”
Doug looked up from his flashcards, smiling as always upon seeing her in his tee. “Wait until you meet the band guys,” he joked, causing Evie to snicker as she joined him on the bed. “Thanks for that, by the way,” he said earnestly once she settled in next to him.
“Of course,” she smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited sooner.”
“Don’t be, Eve,” he promised, kissing her forehead. “You’re running a business all on your own… but thank you for coming anyway.”
His reassurance made Evie feel better, so she shifted to kiss him. “Need to do any more studying?”
Doug shook his head, adding that he would rather get some sleep.
Evie sat up so he could put his notecards away, making sure all his things were ready for the morning before shutting out the light and returning to the bed. He wrapped an arm around her as she settled down to be sure there was no chance of her rolling off.
“Goodnight,” Evie murmured, pulling the blanket to her chin. “Good luck tomorrow.”
“Love you,” Doug repeated into her hair. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
They both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.
Doug’s alarm woke him in what seemed to be not many hours later. He snuck out as quietly as he could, Evie only stirring slightly now that she had more space to occupy.
The exam went fine, but he started to feel a little sick around question fifty. He spent the rest of the test sniffling and trying to chase his chills away. He stopped by the coffee shop for a hot chocolate and Evie’s favorite tea on the way back to his room.
When he returned to his room two hours after he had left, he fully expected Evie, the early-riser, to be ready to head back to Auradon. So, he was shocked to find the room still dark and Evie still asleep.
“Evie?” he asked softly as he made his way over to the bed, her face barely facing him from under the blanket. “I have your favorite tea,” he coaxed, resting his arms on top of the mattress.
She opened her eyes slightly, yawning into a smile when she saw him. “What time is it?”
“Nearly ten o’clock,” he responded, chuckling at her surprised face. A shiver followed her yawn.
“I think I might be coming down with a cold or something,” she whined, refusing to remove herself from the covers.
Doug started to feel a little bit guilty. “Me too… I’m going to have to guess it had something to do with getting caught in the rain.”
Evie chuckled. “Don’t say getting caught in the rain as if you didn’t drag me back out there.” Though, she was sure he would've come right back if she protested a minute longer.
Doug laughed, too. “Sorry… I guess I owe you soup and movie nights for the rest of the weekend.”
“That sounds perfect,” she admitted, scooting towards the edge of the bed to kiss him from where he was standing, the steam from the hot tea warming her face.
Once she was warmed up enough, Evie finally got out of the dorm bed she never expected to be so comfortable to pack up her things and get ready to drive them both back to Auradon, though Doug offered to do at least half of the driving. She didn't forget her lovely flowers and gift that turned out to be this new sewing tool that she had wanted for weeks.
As she strode across the campus, hand-in-hand with the person she loved so dearly, she had a feeling this wasn’t going to be her last time on these sidewalks. Something about being on a college campus could really rejuvenate one's love for learning. With one of her new goals to be a student in the near future, she figured she would be back here quite a bit.