The Right Side of Wrong

Nothing Has to Change

Evie held up a finger, signalling that she wanted to surprise little Dizzy when we walked in.

I glanced around and found her hunched over a table in the back of the room. It was past closing and Lady Tremaine was no doubt back upstairs.

Evie tiptoed over, slowly leaning over Dizzy's left shoulder. The girl jumped, first in fear, but soon she realize who was beside her. "Evie? Evie, you came back!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the girl.

"Hi!" Evie smiled broadly.

It was sweet. I knew that both Evie and Dizzy had been through a lot in their time on the Isle. They were each other's optimistic side. And they both had dreamed of the day they would finally get to see Auradon.

"Is it all just like we imagined?" Dizzy demanded, pulling away from the hug. "Do they really have closets you can walk into? Have you been to a real swimming pool? What does ice cream taste like?"

"It's cold, and it's sweet, and if you eat it too fast, it gives you a headache," Evie explained, tapping the girl's temple.

"Really?"

Evie nodded, leaving Dizzy lost in the thought. It was weird to think that there was a time neither of us knew what ice cream tasted like either.

She gasped in realization. "I saved your sketchbook for you!"

"You did?"

Dizzy ran off to get it. Evie glanced up at me, looking close to tears. That book used to be her life, but because we had to leave the Isle so fast, she never got the chance to get it back from the young girl. She didn't even have time to say goodbye to Dizzy.

I glanced away when Dizzy came back with the giant book, placing it on the desk and insisting that Evie sit down. It was hard to watch Evie like this. She was so happy and so very sad at the same time. She missed the preteen with the wacky hair who would sit and talk to her about dreams for hours. Dizzy was basically her little sister.

I stepped away and grabbed a plastic bucket and some disposable gloves. I knew that it would take a minute for Evie to focus up and get to work with me, but I could at least start it.

As I approached some of the chemical vats, trying to remember which ones we needed, Dizzy said loudly, "I knew it! You can take the girl out of the Isle, but you can't take the Isle out of the girl!"

Evie went quiet.

~ ~ ~

"You got it?" Evie asked, before pouring something steamy and blue into one of the disposable gloves.

"I got it," I confirmed.

Evie was much better at the chemistry part of the operation, so I sort of just did what she asked and tied them all up.

"That's five smoke bombs," she let me know as I dropped this one in with the others.

"I think that's enough, right?"

She shrugged. "If it's not, then I doubt more smoke bombs will help anyway."

I sighed, picking up on what she was saying. Weapons. These were a diversion. But if something went wrong, we'd need bows and slingshots and swords. Not smoke bombs.

"M, how amazing would this look with my shredded tee and my heart purse?" She held up a small headband with red jewels on it. No doubt one of Dizzy's.

"Very amazing," I told her, not entirely sure what shirt she was talking about.

"Take it!" Dizzy insisted. "Take a bunch!"

"Oh, Dizzy!" Evie walked over to place the headband in her purse and Dizzy grabbed random accessories off her desk to give to her. "Oh my gosh. Thank you."

Dizzy dropped a handful of jewelry into Evie's bag, saying, "it would make me so happy to know that you were wearing something of mine in Auradon. Almost like me being there myself."

Evie pulled her in for a hug. "I really wish I could take you with me," she confided.

"At least one of us had her dream come true, right?"

That sent a blade right through both of our chests.

Dizzy deserved so much more, I thought. And here I was. I had had a life so many only dreamed of and I was running away from it. Running back to the Isle of all places. But maybe someone who deserved it more would take my place. Someone like Little Dizzy.

"E, we gotta go," I said, pulling her from her thoughts.

She blinked at me, almost in confusion, then nodded. "Okay."

We peeled our gloves off and waved goodbye. As we were leaving, Evie paused in the doorway and watched Dizzy flip through her old sketchbook.

"She's gonna be okay," I insisted.

"Yeah," Evie breathed out. "But she could be so much more."

I reached out and grabbed her hand, knowing that I couldn't do anything to make this better for her. "Let's go."

She soaked in Dizzy and the shop for what was possibly the last time, then followed me back to my apartment.

~ ~ ~

"You don't find it... scary? Being back here?"

I shook my head. As we walked, I glanced up, my eyes drifting between the rooftops. "My mother taught me that the only thing to be afraid of was her... and she's gone now. It's weird how different it is now. But this place is my home."

"I feel suffocated here," Evie told me. "When I stepped into Auradon, it was bright, and beautiful, and clear. This place is a dark maze that swallows people whole."

"Not if you don't let it," I insisted.

"You don't make any sense sometimes, Mal."

"Well, I'm traumatized," I joked.

She chuckled slightly. It was the first time I felt actually comfortable to talk about something like that with her. Sometimes I didn't want my past to become a difficult subject. And when you were on the Isle, nothing was a low blow. Nothing was a difficult subject.

"You know, I really thought that true love was what you and Ben had."

We slowed to a stop next to the stairs. I glanced at my shoes, unsure what to say.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah. I'm not coming back, Evie. I can't. I really tried to tell you."

"If you're staying, I'm staying, too."

Ugh. My friends were too stubborn. "No. Evie, you are an Auradon girl. And I am... and will always be... the girl from the Isle."

She looked away from me. Because she knew it was true. Evie couldn't possibly live on the Isle once more. Not after having her dream life in Auradon. She practically had a business, and friends, and a boyfriend, all waiting for her when she got back.

A tear slipped down her cheek. "I thought you were fine. Why did you have to hide this?"

I gave her hand a quick squeeze. "I didn't want to let you down. I was trying so hard to show everyone that I was going to be alright. Because you had worked so hard to make me feel welcome in Auradon."

"I won't stop you. But I... I'm going to miss you so much."

"Even though we've changed?" I asked.

"Nothing has to change," she assured me. "You're a part of me, M."

I grinned and she returned it through her tears.

"Let's go save Ben."