Disney's Descendants Diaries

Chapter 10 - Having Doubts

{~} Evie {~}

On a gloomy Sunday afternoon, I sat alone by the window in my dorm room in absolute boredom. The space around me was entirely quiet except for the sound of a pencil scraping against paper. That sound had actually been coming from myself. As part of my desperate need for something to do (and something to keep Mal's nightmare off of my mind), I just had to busy myself with sketching out clothing ideas. What I actually wanted to do was spend the weekend hanging out with Mal, but Ben beat me to it.

Knock, knock, knock!

My first reaction was to freeze in that one spot. Who would show up here of all places, and more importantly, why? At this time, everyone should be too preoccupied to even realize or take notice to the fact that I wasn't hanging around. After coming back to reality, I calmly stood from my seat and went to answer the door. Much to my surprise, Doug was standing there with an awkward smile.

"Well, at least I know one person cares about my whereabouts today." I let out a giggle as I spoke, thinking back to an earlier moment of the day where I longed for someone to come find me. I'm surprised I hadn't actually gone insane being alone in this one room for so long.

Doug nodded with a chuckle. "I'm guessing that means I'm the first one to notice your absence, then."

"You most definitely are, apparently," I verified with a sad smile. As a gesture for him to come in, I left the door open and walked away from it. He didn't really question it. He understood perfectly enough that I was inviting him in. I heard a faint clicking sound from the door before Doug joined me at the same window I was staring out of before. I stayed silent as I stared outside, unaware that Doug had been watching me in slight concern.

He cleared his throat after a while, catching my attention. I honestly had forgotten I let him in minutes before, so it came as a shock more than anything else. "You seem stressed right now. Is there um... something bothering you?" He asked.

"Ah... no. Not at all!" I lied, making the real answer sound all too obvious.

"Are you sure? I mean, if you were planning on isolating yourself the entire day today--" He began as he stood up.

I don't know if the instinct was something immediate or just desperation taking over, but I got a hold of his wrist before he even had a chance to step away. Stopping himself in his tracks, Doug turned around and looked directly into my eyes.

"Stay," I simply demanded in a calm voice, causing him to widen his own eyes.

{~} Doug {~}

Just before I was about to walk away, Evie stopped me. The grasp she had on my wrist was extremely tight, but I was able to withstand it. I turned around and in her eyes, I could tell that she was pleading with me. She uttered the word "Stay" in a calm tone, leaving me awkwardly surprised.

Silently, I sat back down and Evie released my wrist. Then, she scooted her chair closer to mines and wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. I returned the embrace with a shy smile as I intently watched her facial expression. Though she was seemingly looking ahead, her eyes didn't cross paths with anything but the floor below. The aura that revolved around her was just as gloomy as the afternoon weather itself.

"Do you believe things will change for the worse in the future?"

The question -- so abrupt for me -- knocked both my thoughts and observations off balance. Evie's eyes never shifted from their position, but she tried her best to make the words sound as normal as possible. I knew this was one question that she, nor anyone else, could ask so nonchalantly.

"No, but I do believe you should let the future take care of itself, Evie."

"But, doesn't the thought of it faintly cross your mind every now and then?"

"Yes, and I choose to push it away whenever it does. The future is an unpredictable subject," I replied.

Evie sat up and faced my direction. This time, she locked her eyes onto mine without holding back at all. "In that case, I need you to encourage me that the future, though indeed unpredictable, arguably holds a more positive fate than I think. Because right now, I'm inclined to believe that this school and everyone in it can and will turn upside down when the time comes."

"Whoa. Where is all of this even coming from, Evie?" I asked a bit puzzled and taken back.

"Some secrets are best left untold." She lowered her voice as the words came out, standing from her chair and stepping closer to the window in front of us so she could silently watch the rain that was now pouring down outside.

How did she expect me to be the perfect candidate to persuade her into thinking otherwise if her beliefs were so firmly and thoughtfully set already? An even better question is, who or what made her contemplate the future so severely that she allowed skepticism and negativity to overcome her in the first place?

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{~} Mal {~}

"Ben, I think your parents still don't trust me," I said as I followed him hand in hand down one of the long hallways of the castle.

When Ben said he was taking me to parts of this building that was off limits to most Auradon Prep students this morning, I was more than happy to tag along. There was something that bothered me though. Just one tiny thing. His parents were acting rather shady and they seemed... uncomfortable with my presence. Not to mention, they were watching us wherever we went.

"Why wouldn't they? You've proven that you are a trustworthy person," Ben replied.

"You're just telling me what I want to hear, aren't you?"

"Ah, well... yes and no?" He hesitantly answered.

I stopped myself instantly, letting go of his hand and (childishly) crossing my arms. My voice was converted from normal to more of a warning tone. "Ben..."

A sigh escaped from him as he, too, stopped to face me. The readable expression in his eyes was enough to tell me that uncertainty existed in him, and that small amount of uncertainty seemed to be creating stress for him. "Fine. I definitely trust you to the fullest extent, but my parents may need a little more time to get used to the change of environment before they can fully see you as less of a threat."

"Hmm. I guess you're right about that."

Ben took both of my hands and held them in his in a reassuring way. "Of course I am. Just promise me you'll let me handle any situations with them, OK?"

Somehow, through my annoyance, he was able to convince me that he had things under control. I stubbornly wanted to protest, but I just couldn't. By the time I finally escaped my thoughts, I realized that the two of us were strolling down the hall yet again. Although I had been unconsciously walking, I didn't care too much about it. I was just happy that I didn't run flat into a wall or anything else in the moment, and I was even more happy knowing that I was with someone who wanted me to stay positive, even if he temporarily lost the positive spirit himself.

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A/N: Welp, I don't know what to say here. Okay, lemme just start off by saying that I should've been working on releasing a chapter to my other fanfiction since that was my personalized pattern, but so many ideas came for this one that I had to really pick and choose through them all in order to get the most logical choice.

Bye for now. Love y'all! ❤