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Evie smiled fondly as the lead characters on the screen reunited, running into each other’s arms for dramatic effect. This particular movie was Jane’s recommendation, and it was Evie’s turn to pick for her and Doug’s movie night, though “night” was a bit of a stretch. They were lounging on her bed in her dorm, the sun still peaking through the curtains, after they had finished their last exam of the midterm season.
Evie’s head rested comfortably on Doug’s chest as she lay on her side, his arm curled around her back and down to her waist. This had become a bit of a routine in recent months, with Mal spending a lot of time at Ben’s, it gave Evie and Doug time to themselves to chill in the few spare moments they weren’t working on Evies4Hearts.
The movie was just about over, and Evie was grateful for the relaxing hour and a half of her day. Truth be told, she hadn’t been feeling all that great today, energy probably dwindling from how busy they had been recently. An afternoon laying in bed was just what she needed- Doug there beside her was the cherry on top.
Doug pressed his lips to Evie’s forehead as the main characters kissed on the screen in the final shot. When his lips touched her head, though, he was surprised to feel a damp warmth on her skin.
“Do you feel okay?” Doug asked as the credits began to roll. “Your forehead’s a little warm...” He trailed off as he watched her shrug the blanket off of their legs.
“I’m probably just hot,” she stated plainly, not wanting to worry him. Though he was right about her not feeling well, the heat from her face melted away with his kiss.
There's no way Evie was truly sick- VKs didn’t really get sick. Growing up on the Isle, you have a fully developed immune system by the time you’re five. Either that or you’re always sick and never really “well.” Lucky for Evie, she fell into the first category.
So maybe all she needed was Doug’s lips on her skin again and his fingers in her hair. It typically worked when she was worried or stressed- he had this calming way about him. Just thinking about it already had her mind buzzing with excitement. It was certainly much more fun to ponder than the headache and nausea that she thought she felt earlier.
“To be honest, I think I just need a break from school and stuff,” she continued as Doug nodded. “You’re making me feel better, though,” she cooed, craning her neck upwards so she could kiss him on the mouth.
Whatever sick feelings she had faded into the back of her mind as she felt his hand move from her waist to gently scratch the back of her neck and support her head. She smiled when he mumbled “Then I’m not going anywhere,” against her lips. She was right, this was exactly what she needed.
She wasn’t sick, she was stressed. Constant studying, tests, and science experiments—on top of running a business—were getting to her. She loved it, of course, but she wasn’t used to it yet. That kind of stuff took mental endurance that she was still building.
These sorts of activities, though, she already had the endurance for.
Evie slid one leg across Doug’s torso to reposition herself on top of him, his other hand sliding up her leg to her waist. Chills followed his touch before ascending her spine. Contented sighs escaped both of their noses.
Her hands moved to cup his face, as she pulled herself forward, pressing Doug further and further into her bed. Her new position straddling his stomach shifted his hands from her waist to her lower back, inching lower as Evie moved closer, a heat rising in both of their cheeks.
Doug moved his hands up her back again, his ever-present nervousness making sure he was still being respectful, while Evie tried to disregard another kind of heat that was returning to her body. And the chills that were starting to feel less like passion and more like she wanted to wrap up in a blanket and go to sleep.
Doug seemed to notice something was off as she slowed slightly. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” He asked, breathlessly, breaking their kiss. As much as he didn't want to stop, she wasn’t usually this... well... he couldn't think of a word for it, but he knew her mind was preoccupied.
Evie moved her hands down his neck to his chest, kissing his jawline up to his ear, nodding and promising that she was indeed fine. However, as soon as the assurance left her lips, the icky feeling returned much stronger, this time into her stomach.
She sat up quickly (too quickly actually) needing to regain control of her sudden nausea and dizziness, though her speed only worsened it. She heard Doug’s concerned voice asking her something, but it sounded so muffled she couldn’t figure out the words he spoke.
Doug watched as Evie hazily tried to steady herself, despite already being quite still. Nevertheless, he moved his arms to support her to the best of his ability. He wasn’t complaining a minute ago about how her body sat atop him, but now it was preventing him from sitting up fully with her. He didn’t want to move too much either, especially since she hadn’t responded to him. With one arm propping himself up a bit, he kept one hand reaching out to her so she knew he was still here to help.
After a moment, Evie felt stable again, though still unwell. She tried to focus herself back on the present moment, feeling her heartbeat flutter and slow from its previous racing rate. The texture of Doug’s shirt beneath her palms. His hand on her upper arm, his ribs between her knees. Her body rising and falling slightly slower with each of his breaths.
“I guess I’m not feeling so great,” she mumbled, moving her body back to her original position lying next to him. It wasn’t very graceful, but luckily Doug helped catch her, one of her legs still sprawled across him. She let out an annoyed groan, wishing it was a different kind.
“What can I get you?” He asked quickly. “Something to drink? Some medicine?”
Evie shook her head. “Nothing... just don’t move.”
Doug did as he was told, and just let his fingers stroke through her hair, which seemed to calm her slightly. His free hand slowly found one of hers and laced their fingers together.
Evie tried to distract herself from just how terrible she realized she was feeling. Luckily, the silence was quite nice, only listening to her breath and heartbeat, feeling Doug's fingers gently grazing her head.
Breathe in… Breathe out…
After what felt like a few minutes of repeating this breathing mantra to herself, she finally had enough energy to slide her leg back from its straddle on her partner’s hips. In doing so, however, she quickly learned that her plan to feel better might have backfired, feeling something hard beneath her. Though she was flattered, she mentally cursed her irresistibility.
Doug’s face turned beet red when he saw Evie’s realization, helping lift her leg over his lap. He became embarrassed that he was going to make things awkward, when she was already feeling ill. This whole third-base thing was still pretty new to them.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, shifting his own legs slightly. He had gotten pretty good about hiding this sensation when he needed to (since he met her to be exact) but evidently, he had gotten so distracted and focused on her current state that he forgot.
His bashfulness made Evie giggle, though, and once again, her feelings of sickness subsided. “It’s okay,” she soothed, sitting up again slightly. “We can finish.”
“What?" Doug questioned, utterly shocked by her response. "No, Evie, you’re clearly not feeling well,” he urged before she could say anything else. Though he would usually not resist Evie’s advancements, it was obviously not the time.
“It’s fine,” she continued slowly forcing herself upright. “I don’t want you to hurt.”
Doug furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, contemplating her comment. “What do you mean, hurt?”
Evie looked at him with bewilderment. “I don’t want you to hurt because we didn’t finish.” She explained, sweetly, knowing what she learned personally on the Isle was certainly more advanced than what he learned here. “I started this anyway.”
Doug’s mind wandered back to middle school, health class, and the inappropriate whispers that traveled the halls. Auradon’s sex education was definitely far from perfect, but there were parts he suspected were more accurate than what Evie would have learned on the Isle. Or from her mother. This being the perfect example.
“Uh... that’s... that’s not really a thing. Or well... it is but it’s not anything for you to worry about. I’ll be fine. Do you want to lay back down? I think you might have the flu...” He rambled, truthfully and thoughtfully. He watched the rest of the color drain from her already paling face.
Evie processed Doug’s words, not sure if she needed to ask any follow-up questions, but feeling sicker to her stomach with each passing moment.
Come on, Evie, you can't leave me like this.
Evie tried to choke back whatever was about to come out, tears or otherwise. Whether it was the flu or the memories of past coercion in fooling around on the Isle, she knew she was going to be sick.
She quickly got up and ran to the bathroom, her stomach churning as she muttered for Doug to show himself out.
Of course, he trailed behind her instead, hearing her stomach lurch as he reached the doorway. He grabbed a scrunchie from her counter and pulled her hair away from her face the best he could. Apparently, he could’ve used more practice with his younger sister’s hair, because this ponytail was far from looking anything like the way Evie usually did it.
She was thankful, nonetheless, for her hair tied away from her face and his hand tracing across her back as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Once she was finished, Doug helped her sit back against the wall before straightening up the area from her previous urgency. Then, he carefully plopped down next to her.
Doug turned his head to face her, though following her eyes, he noticed that she stayed focused only on what she could see in front of her. He could spot a small tear forming in the corner of her eye before it eventually fell down her cheek.
“Come here,” he whispered as he closed the space between them, Evie shifting towards him as well.
With his arm around her shoulders and her knees pressed to her chest, she leaned against him.
“This is so embarrassing,” she groaned into his chest, a small laugh escaping her sad sighs. She felt disgusted, in more ways than one.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed,” Doug assured her, his thumb brushing across her arm. “Everyone gets sick sometimes.”
After he said it, he wondered if that was even the part she was embarrassed about, her usual advanced intimate knowledge having failed her. She neither confirmed nor denied his statement, but there was probably more to it that she didn’t feel like talking about. Doug only knew a little about her time on the Isle, and her past relationships there were not often what was discussed. It was usually stories of her and her friends, told lightheartedly, but would also make most Auradon kids shudder.
Doug was right too, Evie didn’t want to discuss any of this further, though there was more that eventually would need to be discussed. She would need to be fully cured before she could stomach talking to anyone about this. For now, she stayed in his arms, pushing away the memories of what she now realized were lies from the boys on the Isle.
They stayed like that for a while, before Doug realized Evie might want to actually get some sleep to rid of this flu she had caught. He carefully helped her stand up after asking if she felt up for it. He led her toward the bed, after pausing slightly at the sink to wet a washcloth for her feverish forehead.
“Thank you,” she muttered as she pulled the comforter over her body, Doug turning off the lamp beside her. With the washcloth on her forehead, she adjusted her head to the pillow and finally closed her eyes.
Doug closed the blinds fully, to block the sun that was still shining and filled up a glass of water to place on Evie’s nightstand. While searching for his phone or a book to read at her desk until curfew, he heard her stirring from underneath the covers.
“You can lay here,” she murmured, patting the space next to her. She knew he wouldn’t get back in the bed without her permission, nor would he disturb her slumber to ask.
Doug chuckled quietly as he made his way over to the bed, climbing up cautiously without the intention of moving her. It didn’t matter anyway, because she drifted towards him, wrapping her arm around his.
Propping his free arm behind his head, Doug began to fall asleep himself, after he confirmed multiple times that Evie was already in a deep dream.
Only when he heard the curfew warning hours later did he carefully unwrap his body from hers, wishing he could stay longer but texting Mal to keep watch when she returned. Mal often snuck back to the dorms past curfew given that her boyfriend, the King of Auradon, could pull rank on Fairy Godmother.
He stood quietly, moving to put the washcloth back in the bathroom, checking to see that her fever appeared to be gone. He placed one more kiss to her head on his way out, thankful that she did not wake.
However, his phone dinged before he reached her door. It was Ben, who had obviously been with Mal when she received the text about Evie being sick. He asked if Evie was okay, and then proceeded to explain that he didn't want Mal to catch what Evie had by sleeping there tonight, even though Mal was worried about her (she sent a text confirming this). Doug understood, given all the traveling Ben and Mal had coming up, but he also didn't want to leave Evie by herself the entire night in case she started feeling worse again, following up Ben's message with this sentiment.
Doug drummed his fingers on his phone, waiting for Ben's reply. He technically could stay- students only really got caught for being out after curfew when they were in the hallways. If Doug never left, then how would anyone find out? Other than his roommate, of course.
Ben's reply finally came through, stating that he would cover for Doug if he wanted to stay in Evie's room overnight, giving Doug some sense of relief. Surely Fairy Godmother would understand these circumstances anyway, if she ever did find out. It wasn't like they were doing anything she would disapprove of- at least not anymore they weren't. He just wanted to make sure that Evie was going to be okay.
Doug slowly walked back toward his previous spot on the bed. His re-entry wasn't as smooth as his exit, though, because this time Evie stirred next to him, eyes fluttering open.
She smiled slightly when she saw him before it turned into a small yawn. "Planning on breaking curfew?" she teased, groggily.
"Actually," Doug whispered, turning to face her, "Ben said he would cover for me so I don't have to leave you alone if that's okay... in case you, you know, need anything..."
Evie grinned, nodding as she snuggled up next to him again. She was certainly feeling much better than she had earlier, ready to sleep off the rest of this bug with Doug by her side.
Doug dozed off not long after she did, happy he was there to take care of her. Fortunately, she felt much better in the morning.
At school the following week, though, Doug did get called into Fairy Godmother's office, where she lectured him on following the rules that were there for a reason. He silently cursed the new hallway cameras that saw him leaving Evie's room in the morning, sending him to the headmistress' office for the first time in his life.
Evie thought it was hilarious, her and her friends teasing him lovingly about his new "bad boy" reputation. She was grateful for his heroic gesture nonetheless, and that Fairy Godmother understood his reasoning, the lecture being his only punishment.
Even when Doug came down with the flu a couple days later, it was all totally worth it.