"Call him!" Camille said excitedly. "You know we can't go alone, Eva. And our neighbor, Caleb, is so distracted that I can't really count on him to do much."
"Yeah, well, I can't promise anything. He probably has more important stuff to do than come with us anyway."
"Just call, ask him to do you a favor and that's it!" Rose sighed, pulling out some blankets from the mahogany closet and throwing them on the bed.
So Evangeline grabbed her phone from the table and dialled Damon's number, nervously waiting for him to pick up.
"Hello?" his deep voice quickly reached her ears.
"Hi Damon. Uhm... are you busy or something?" she smiled to herself.
"No, I am bored to death. I'm glad you called, actually. Wanna go somewhere tonight?" he asked and she fidgeted with her fingers a bit. She had been feeling weird ever since she rested her head on his shoulder the previous night... anxious and excited for no reason at all. And now, talking to Damon, those feelings were back, gnawing at her insides.
"Uhm... y-yeah, sort of. A couple of my friends and I want to have a sort of campfire. Are you in?" she bit her lip while waiting for his answer.
"I guess. Yeah, why not?" Damon replied, a small smile evident in his voice.
"Ok then." Evangeline chuckled and checked the watch secured around her wrist. "It's half past 5 now. I'll come to pick you up in 20 minutes or so, is that fine with you?"
"Yeah, anytime you want." came the reply and she smiled contently to herself.
~
When she arrived at his house, he was already leaning against the porch, slowly eating some marshmallows.
"I kind of couldn't wait until we have to roast them so, uhmm..." Damon chuckled as he got in and shut the door. Evangeline gust grinned and drove off to the place where they were to meet.
"Do you want one? he asked, licking his thumb and moaning at the sweet taste.
"I'm driving." Eva replied shortly, concentrating on the road, as it was getting dark outside, light fog surrounding them, and even with the headlights on she couldn't see well.
"So what? You can chew and drive at the same time, right?" Damon shrugged, taking a marshmallow in between his index finger and his thumb and feeding it to her.
"What are you dmhpf-" she mumbled as the sticky sweet taste hit her mouth. She tried to say his name but it only came out as a mutter.
"Say 'chubby bunny'!" he laughed.
"Damon..." she warned, struggling to chew on the whole marshmallow in her mouth.
"Come on, just once. I promise."
Evangeline loved seeing him his like this, smiling and excited, so she sighed and reluctantly said: "Mhp-kay... Chubby bunny."
~
"We're here." she said, parking the car next to the one Rose, Camille and Caleb drove there with. "Will you help light the fire, please? Everything is in the back."
"So that's why you called me. You need a guy to carry stuff and make the fire, huh?" he said jokingly and she just smiled, getting out of the car.
"Hey Damon!" Rose waved and he smiled in return.
But then the smile died on his lips as he turned his head, his eyes meeting with the sight of Caleb.
"Hi..." the other guy said quietly. The girls frowned deeply, wondering what it was all about, while Damon grinded his teeth together and, snorting, he went back to the car to bring the bag of charcoals for the fire.
"What's wrong?" Evangeline went to him and whispered with concern in her voice. When he ignored her, she put herself between him and the car and repeated her previous question.
"He used to be my friend. Until... you know."
"Oh..." she mouthed, looking down. "So you two had a fight or what?"
"They all left me when I needed them the most. Including him." Damon said in a harsh, loud whisper, getting angrier the more he thought about it. "What the fuck am I supposed to do? Just walk around pretending everything is picture perfect?"
"No!" Evangeline cut him off, cupping his face into her hands. "You just have to forgive." she murmured pleadingly.
They were so close to one another that their breaths mingled in together and all they could do is stare into each other's eyes. And all Evangeline could think about was yet how much distance was in between them, how she would have liked him to run his fingers through her hair, how much she wanted him to kiss her again, just like he did on that night when he was drunk.
She loosened her grip and took a step back, her previous thoughts dizzying her completely. She was numb emotionally, confused and frustrated. Yet her heart was whispering to her something she couldn't quite understand and something she refused to accept.