Chapter Text
Unpredictability was not something Doug was particularly fond of. He liked when things followed a known and reliable pattern. Science and math, for example, were the perfect subjects. There were rules and explanations for everything. If something went wrong all you had to do was find the problem and fix it.
People are not predictable. People were irrational, their patterns were dependent on so many different variables, most of which were impossible to know or observe, that you couldn’t predict people without devoting a lot of time to figuring out their individual patterns. It had taken Doug years to relax fully with Ben, spending the first few years overthinking what he should say and how he should say it. Even after becoming best friends there were times Doug would find himself unsure of how Ben would react to a situation or surprised by one of his actions.
All that to say, he was standing in front of Maurice Hall trying to convince himself to go inside. Heart fluttering, and a pit in his stomach, Doug stepped aside before he got trampled as a group of woodworking students left the Hall.
Evie. Daughter of the villain from his family’s past. She was someone he should want nothing to do with. Yet he felt drawn to her. Everything about her was so composed and elegant, never a hair out of place or makeup smudged. The sharp brilliance behind her eyes as she watched everything. Her voice, so clear and smooth, drowned out everyone else around him until it was all he could hear.
“Doug?”
Sometimes he could even hear it when she wasn’t around. A soft sigh escaped him. Ben was right. He was smitten.
“Doug? Are you alright?”
A hand waved in front of his face and he blinked.
Evie stood in front of him, sketchbook in hand, brow furrowed as she studied him. Cheeks heating, Doug swallowed before rubbing the back of his neck.
“Sorry. I was just thinking,” he said. Then, curious, he added, “I thought you would already be working.”
Blue eyes deeper than a sapphire bore into him like a pick before the princess smiled, once again disguising her sharp intellect. “I forgot my sketchbook in the dorm,” she explained. “So I had to go back and get it. There are a few materials I want to work with, but I need to make sure that they’ll compliment my designs.”
“Making sure the construction works,” Doug nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Exactly!” she beamed, brushing a strand of hair behind her hair in a way that made it highlight her slender neck and elegant cheekbones. It took all his self-control to focus on her face.
“I’ve never had a good understanding of fashion,” he admitted. “But I’m curious to learn more about the processes and how it all comes together.”
“Your taste in sweaters is on point,” Evie giggled.
Doug melted inside. It was just an act; he knew that. She was just being nice, it was just a normal sweater, but his cheeks warmed regardless..
“Would you like to join me?” she offered. “The others are all busy, so I’m alone today.”
“I’d be happy to,” he told her, feeling a little light headed; it was exactly what he wanted but now that it was happening he had no idea how to react.
“Wonderful! I always prefer to have company. There’s only so much I can do to entertain myself.”
Another soft giggle and she led the way inside, passing a couple of underclassmen closer to the door, to a table at the back of the room. As she began to arrange her supplies on her work station, Doug borrowed a chair from an unoccupied station and sat across the table from her. The two other students gave him a quick glance at the noise before returning to their own projects.
“I still can’t believe that I’m allowed to work here,” Evie commented as she sorted through a variety of cloth: something sheer, something that looked like silk, and, the only one he recognized, velvet. “Though I never would’ve had a chance if Ben hadn’t brought us to the mainland.”
“That’s part of the reason he made the declaration,” Doug told her. “He wanted all of you to have the chance to follow your dreams, to be whoever you wanted to be.”
Humming, Evie paused in her work to rest one hand on her hip while tapping a finger against her lips in thought. “Ben did mention something like that when we had lunch with him the first time. Something about giving the Isle kids a chance to live here. He didn’t give us any details though.” Lashes fluttering, she met Doug’s gaze. “Do you know anything about it? You seem like good friends.”
Later he’d have to remind Ben to find a time to speak with the VKs about the decree in more detail. For now, he’d try his best to answer her questions.
“I know some things. He’s been preparing for this project for a long time and we talked about it a lot,” he nodded. “I can try to answer some questions if you want?”
“Really? Thank you!” Smile returning, the blue-haired princess returned to her materials.
“Of course,” Doug smiled. “What would you like to know?”
With a hum, Evie paused in her work, twining a strand of hair around her finger. “Why us? There’s a lot of kids on the Isle.”
Doug nodded, that was a perfectly reasonable thing for her to want to know, but he couldn’t tell her all of the reasons, those were very personal, and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. He may not be the most socially conscious person ever, but he did manage to learn tact from Ben and Lonnie, eventually. “There were a variety of reasons for picking the four of you. In the end it’s because of who your parents are. We knew the most about you because of that and what better way to prove this will work than to bring the children of some of the worst villains on the Isle. If this worked with you, then we could convince the council to let us bring the rest of the kids on the Isle here.”
Blinking, Evie glanced at him and he tried not to squirm under the deep blue gaze. Then she giggled softly. “That makes sense. We’re definitely the most well-known on the Isle.” As she began tracing patterns, she asked, “How will you know if this works? For the council? To bring other kids over?”
Huh, he had never actually talked to Ben about what success would look like. Tilting his head to the side as he thought over what he would say, then he hesitantly started to talk, “Well, as long as you behave and don’t get into any trouble, that would be success.”
“What does that mean? Like, what counts as behaving and what kind of things will count as trouble? It’s just…Auradon has so many different things they do we don’t know anything about,” she said, frowning as she peeked at him through her lashes, playing with her hand and watching him nervously.
“Hmmmm, well, not killing anyone, no stealing, ahh, no raping,” he choked out, he didn’t want to say it, but probably better to be thorough and honest on this one, “no being cruel, and no enchanting people without their permission.” Actually there was a better way to sum it all up. “Basically if you wouldn’t want someone to do it to you or your things don’t do it to other people and their things. It’s called the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” He nodded to himself, yeah that was pretty accurate.
“Golden rule,” she repeated, a slight crease wrinkling her forehead.
“Exactly.”
“Okay…We’ll do our best.” Frown deepening, she glanced at him. “What happens if we make a mistake? A smaller one but still a mistake? Are we going to be sent back immediately?”
“Oh no, we wouldn’t send you back for a little mistake. No one is perfect and even we make mistakes. It is about doing it over and over again without good reason or showing remorse for those mistakes. There’s also a matter of context and severity. Hurting or even killing someone in defense of yourself or others is more socially acceptable and understandable, killing someone because they said a rude comment, which is not really okay either but also isn’t something that can be prevented, is wrong.”
Slowly, she nodded, thinking, and he frowned. He hadn’t meant to worry her, just help her understand what they needed to worry about and what not to do. Of course, he wasn’t convinced she and Carlos were capable of getting into that much trouble. Neither of them were as reactive or sharp-edged as Jay and Mal. No, Evie had a sharp mind, not sharp edges. “That’s good to know. Thank you. I just hope we can fit in here.”
“All of you are already showing good signs of adjusting to life here,” he assured her. “With the consistent and healthy meals you’re all healthier and more confident.” Cheeks warming, he added, “You’re even prettier than when you arrived.”
“You’re so sweet,” she giggled, fluttering her lashes. “There are so many beautiful princesses here.”
“None of them compare to you,” he blurted out, and immediately regretted it as his face heated.
Smile blinding, Evie reached out and touched his hand. His heart stuttered, mind going blank. Her hand was soft and warm and he couldn’t believe she was touching him.
“I-I, um, should probably get going,” he stammered. “I have some homework I should really get done and-”
“Thank you for keeping me company. I hope your homework goes well,” Evie told him with a final smile before she turned her attention back to her project.
It took all his self-control to walk to the stairs. As soon as he was out of view, however, Doug sped up until he was almost jogging. He had just talked with Evie alone. Not only that, but he'd complimented her openly and he was grateful that Lonnie wasn’t there to tease him.