Chapter Text
It was an average night for the boys - Vinnie, Jeff, Evan, and Alex were hanging out in their private movie theater (aka Vinnie’s basement). The movie of the night was a cheaply-made zombie flick chasing the coattails of Dawn of the Dead. Evan began the tradition of watching a shitty horror movie every month, and this one was beating the last few months’ films by a wide margin. The four men kept yelling over each other, cracking jokes and heckling the last surviving humans. There was a loud, simultaneous cry of “Noooo!!” when their least favorite character escaped the clutches of a zombie at the last second.
Nights like this were everything to the crew. They always had these nights to keep them sane, to keep track of time, to laugh and be human despite the threat of a malicious stalker. If he really was always watching like the urban legends say, they could at least make him watch a ton of shitty movies to torture him back.
One survivor in the movie was standing against a door, holding it shut with all her strength.
“Oh jeez, I wonder if this will work…” Vinnie teased the screen, knowing it was futile. Evan felt a bit of unease - a disproportionate amount for the movie in question.
A zombie on the other side of the door breaks through the wood, grabbing onto the woman’s torso. It tears chunks out of her flesh. The rest of the movie used obviously-fake guts and bright, red blood the consistency of tap water… but this scene looked real. Evan was no amateur when it came to horror movies or special effects (he actually knew quite a bit about how the stunts are pulled off in these films), but he had no explanation for this scene. Vinnie, Jeff, and Alex all laughed, almost taunting him, as if they were watching a different movie than Evan was. Evan could see it all so clearly - flesh ripping and organs spilling out, blood gushing down - real, dark, oozing blood - he heard her wailing cries for help, over and over, screaming — Evan shut his eyes and clasped his hands against his ears, only to find that his hands felt wet and sticky against his skin. A voice that sounds eerily like his own pierces his eardrums. Isn’t it beautiful? C’mon, take it allll in. He can’t bring himself to open his eyes. He almost screams in retaliation when he feels something touch his shoulder.
“Evan, are you okay?”
Evan stops. The room is silent again, and his hands feel dry. His eyes slowly open. The movie is paused at a frame of the zombie tearing at the woman, fake intestines hanging out of her stomach in an almost nonsensical way.
“Yeah, just a… killer headache all the sudden…” Evan lies and grits his teeth. “I’m gonna grab painkillers, you guys can keep watching.”
“We can wait if you want, really. How will you ever find out what happens in this Oscar-winning film?” Vinnie jokes, trying to lift his spirits.
“If that conventionally attractive dude who’s boring as hell isn’t the only survivor, I’ll eat my shorts,” Evan grunts. A lump sits in his throat and his body feels heavy.
Evan could hear Alex say, “Man, these movies are so predictable!” as he leaves the room, his hand pressing against his temple in a weak attempt to calm himself.
Evan never spoke to the EverymanHYBRID crew about the voices gnawing away at his brain, or his growing distrust in himself. He figured that, until it became unbearable, there was a chance he could fight it away. Push it down till it never resurfaces, and no one would be any the wiser. But again, and again, these visions, these urges… and at his worst moments, it felt like he was being influenced by… something. He had a few lapses of memory here and there, and with each one he grew more worried of what he’d done in that time he forgot. Although he feared that voice in his head, his worst fear was that it wasn’t there at all - that it was a part of him all along.
It took till the crew’s next lead that Evan would find a confidant. Earlier that month, someone had pulled some sick prank on Evan that Vinnie and Jeff caught on camera. Amongst a creepy setup of hanging dolls and knives suspended by purple duct tape, was written the phrase “CAN YOU SEE THE WORDS?” After Vinnie posted the video, their YouTube fans had quickly found a Tumblr blog by the same name. But this wasn’t news to Evan. Some time before the prank, he found the blog while googling the symptoms he was experiencing. In his research, he found Damsel.
Evan read all of her posts in just a night. He didn’t even realize it till he reached the introductory post, and realized it had been hours since he began reading. There was something about the blog that made his heart rate go up, made his fingers itch. Damsel wasn’t facing the same troubles as Evan exactly, but she understood. She had faced that Man, she had experienced the dull ache of not knowing what comes next after an encounter with him. She had faced darkness, and continued to face it day after day. There was this way of writing that Damsel had… She could channel her feelings into prose. Feelings that Evan thought only he felt. He found such solace in being understood, even in this one-sided way. The screen lit his face in his dark bedroom like a beacon.
It wasn’t long before Evan sent Damsel an ask through the blog. He stayed anonymous, but would make a habit of it. He’d ask for advice most of the time, but would also send asks just to check in on her every now and then. Eventually, he sent the blog a private message - he wanted to have a conversation about their shared troubles and put the whole thing out into the open. Damsel was aware of the EverymanHYBRID crew, and she spoke about them directly once or twice. She talked only in vague terms, advising them to “not mess with shit they don’t know about,” but Evan wanted to hear what her experience was like. She responded with kindness and curiosity, to his surprise. He didn’t know what to expect, but for some reason he had worried about rejection. They talked online for a few weeks after that, and it felt so good. Having another friend to lean on was just what each of them needed. They both opened up to each other quickly, Evan being honest about his own troubles for the first time since they began. Damsel gave him tips based on her own therapy and treatment, and although they couldn’t rid Evan of the voices in his head, or the monsters stalking him, they helped him keep sane.
Some time into their friendship, they realized they lived in the same city and had mutual friends. Damsel’s closest friend was Jessa - Jeff’s girlfriend. It would only be a few weeks after this realization that Jessa would go missing. Damsel’s relationship with Jessa, paired with her own personal history of arson, unfortunately put her directly at the top of Jeff’s suspect list.
When Evan got the message from Damsel that she was being detained, he was in shock. Hearing that Jeff, one of his best friends, had gone so far as to tip off the cops, and accuse Damsel of having to do with Jessa’s disappearance… it angered Evan. He knew Damsel by now. He knew how much Damsel loved Jessa. She was always hesitant to bring up Jessa in their conversations after her disappearance, but Damsel ended up talking about her a lot anyways. Jessa was her first real friend, who cared about her and wanted her to be around. Jessa was so different from Damsel - she could fit in, be weird but still loved for it. She was Damsel’s anchor to normalcy. Jeff and Damsel had more in common than either one thought possible. And Evan was pissed that Jeff didn’t see that. Jeff and Vinnie, on the other hand, were certain that she was guilty. Even after Damsel’s interrogations led to no progress in Jessa’s case, it still took Evan a lot of convincing to get the other boys on his side.
Evan eventually broke through to the guys, which was how the breaking-into-the-mental-ward plan came about. Jeff and Vinnie figured it would be the best apology they could come up with. One heist later, and Evan and Damsel were sitting in the same car, driving on the long road back to Evan’s house. She was almost instantly bombarded with apologies and explanations from the boys once they were on the road. Damsel wasn’t sure of their intentions, especially keeping her distance from Jeff. But she seemed to be more at ease with Evan, even happy to see him. But all in all, Damsel was happy, worries and all… She had plenty of harbored frustrations with Jeff and Vinnie, but seeing Jeff full-body tackle a security guard for her really did earn him some respect points in her book, and Vinnie’s plan, although messy, did get them out of there just in time. She’d keep her doubts to protect herself, but people truly caring about her felt like a rarity she needed to cherish. And… it was a real relief to be out of there. After a long, anxiety-riddled car ride back to Evan’s house, the four shuffled out of the car. It would have been an awkwardly quiet shuffle to the front door - except Evan and Damsel got distracted upon exiting the car. In the thrill of breaking and entering, the two hadn’t taken the chance to actually take each other in. Their jarring height difference finally set in - Damsel, at a staggering six-foot-one, practically towered over the five-foot-three Evan. She couldn’t help but giggle a little at the realization, which lit a fuse in Evan’s head.
“What? Does the giant have something to say to me, huh?” Evan joked, seeing the humor in the situation.
“Hah- no, no, I just didn’t expect…”
“Go on, finish that sentence and then we’ll drop ya off back where we found you.”
Damsel continued laughing to herself at his reaction. Evan smiled, watching her finally let go after the stress of the past hour. Suddenly, Evan felt a timid warmth envelop him.
“Thank you guys… Thank you.” Steph embraced Evan with all her gratitude. Another body joined the hug at Evan’s left.
“I’m so sorry,” Jeff mumbled. His arms almost hover, with how careful he is to touch Damsel. Vinnie closes out the group hug on Evan’s right.
In that moment, Damsel was surrounded by warmth and love for the first time in years. She shed a few tears, overwhelmed by their kindness.
“Aww, c’mon Jeff, you made her cry!” Vinnie jeers at Jeff, and the two start bickering.
Evan watches the boys lead Damsel inside, following a few steps behind to hide his flushed face.
They spent the rest of the night in Evan’s basement, ready at any moment to hide Damsel away if cops came knocking. They were on high alert, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun. The boys decided against movies or video games (their usual go-to), because they didn’t want to get sucked into something and get caught off guard by police. They opted for card games instead, even though they all started yelling eventually anyways.
Damsel got along with the boys almost instantly, despite her lack in friendship experience. With other people (besides Jessa), she often found herself feeling like she was on a different page than everyone else. On top of that, she had a hard time opening up, having fun, letting go… but the boys made it easy. They included her in their inside jokes and banter, but never made her the butt end of a joke. Yeah, they could be lewd, and their sense of humor was sometimes a bit odd, but it was nothing that Steph couldn’t handle.
The boys all slept over at Evan’s that night, each taking shifts just in case. The next day followed the same pattern - the boys kept watch to make sure Damsel was really safe. They were pretty surprised that no one followed them or showed up at their house about the whole incident, especially with multiple witnesses. But they sure didn’t complain about it.
The next morning, Jeff and Vinnie left pretty early to check on Alex - leaving just Evan and Damsel. Evan woke up before her, and went straight to the kitchen to make them both breakfast. As he brought out eggs, bacon, and bread, he was deep in thought about the whole situation. Now that he didn’t have Vinnie and Jeff to lean on, he needed to think more carefully about what he’d say to Damsel. She’d just gone through a whirlwind of events, and possibly was about to reinsert herself into a supernatural phenomenon that she had already escaped from… If she doesn’t wanna talk, it’s not my fault, Evan thought to himself, over and over. He cracked a few eggs over the side of a frying pan. Don’t take it personally. Don’t take it personally.
“Good morning!”
Evan almost jumped from his place by the stovetop. “Oh shit, good morning. Thought you’d sleep in a bit more.”
“Sad to see me?”
“No, no - I’m just late on breakfast!” Evan glanced over at Damsel, who was just noticing the two places set at the table. Nothing fancy - it’s not like Evan owns placemats or anything - but it was enough to catch her eye.
“I didn’t take you for the cooking type,” She said after a moment. She held a curiosity in her voice.
“Are you kiddin’? I’m the resident expert on nutrition, you know. You lucked out - if you were staying with Vinnie, he’d just microwave pizza for ya and tell you to reheat it again for dinner.”
She laughed, and took a seat at the table. “So what’s your menu today?”
“Menu? Man, don’t get your hopes up that much. I’m making scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Should be done in a few.”
“No rush, I’m grateful for the food. Thank you,” The joking tone in her voice from before turned gentle and genuine.
Evan held his breath through a moment of silence. He never got this nervous around people, and he wasn’t sure how to break the ice. “How is- well, how are you? With, uh, everything.” He didn’t break eye contact with his pan of eggs.
Damsel took a moment to answer. For a few seconds, Evan wished he hadn’t said anything. Maybe she didn’t want to talk about it yet.
“You know, I was scared we’d get caught - I mean, I still am… but in all honesty, yesterday night was the most fun I’ve had since Jessa went missing.”
“You’re taking it way better than I thought you would!” Evan laughed, sighing out the breath he was holding in.
“If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s rolling with the punches,” Damsel took a sip of the coffee next to her plate. “Thanks for letting me crash on your couch.”
“Don’t think of it as crashing, you’re an esteemed guest. Uh, long-term guest, I guess. Depending.” Evan started tripping over his words once he realized he jumped a step ahead, assuming she would be staying.
Damsel didn’t even seem to notice. “Really though, thank you. I wouldn’t feel as comfortable at the other guys’ houses. They’re nice though, don’t get me wrong.”
The toaster dinged. Evan grabbed Damsel’s plate and loaded it up with the works, filling his own plate after. As he joined her at the table, Damsel started speaking again.
“You know… I almost forgot until yesterday, but I haven’t told you my real name yet. Unless Jessa or Jeff already told you all.”
“No, no they never said it to me.”
“Would you mind if I waited just a little longer? I want to tell you, but I just wanna be sure.”
“Of course! Take your time, I don’t even need to know if it makes ya more comfortable,” Evan responded quickly, shoveling down some eggs.
Damsel smiled and began eating. They ate in near silence, both a bit awkward at the table. It doesn’t take long for Evan to speak back up.
“I took work off today, and I don’t work weekends, so we’ve got a solid three days before you’re home alone. But while I’m here, you can call all the shots. You can pick the movies or anything, so go nuts. And we’ll be going to pick up your stuff from your house in a few days, but in the meantime, you can take your pick of the stuff in my closet. You’re probably closer to Vin’s size, but I got a lot of oversized shit. Also probably some of Vin’s clothes if you look hard enough.”
“Ah- oh, yeah. Thank you. Would you mind if I went and grabbed some clothes and used your shower?”
“Of course, yeah!” Evan almost bumped into the table, he stood up so quickly. He led her to his room upstairs. “Sorry, it’s uh, a bit of a mess…” He opened the door to a small room. The floor was littered with a few dirty shirts, and his bed wasn't made. The walls were coated in photos of friends, movie posters, and post-it notes.
“Nice Evil Dead poster,” Damsel mused, not bothered at all by his clutter.
“Oh- thank you, uh. The dresser is on the left there, take whatever.” Evan motioned to it, then stood back in the doorway. “You can use whatever’s in the bathroom, ah- I’ll leave you to it.”
20 minutes later, when Damsel comes down the stairs flaunting ripped jeans and a Motorhead t-shirt, Evan short circuits a little and doesn’t know why.
After a few hours of playing video games with Damsel, Evan’s finally more at ease around her. He wasn’t worrying as much, and he finally stopped thinking about how she was wearing his clothes. They were laughing like old friends already, and it just got easier from there. Before they knew it, they were both nodding off on the couch. Once Evan realized it, he got up to stretch. “Welp, I’m heading to bed. Goodnight, Damsel.” He started walking off, but turned back around when he heard her voice.
“It’s Stephanie. Or, well, I like just Steph.”
“Steph, huh? Alright, goodnight Steph.” As Evan walked away, he felt a twang in his heart, both of excitement and dread. It felt like the nail in the coffin to him - she was one of them now. And although he was happy that she trusted him… it felt almost bittersweet for some reason.