𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙀𝙉 (PATRICK HOCKSTETTER)

chapter twenty two

when eveline awoke the first thing she noticed was that her cheek stung.

it was only a second of blissful ignorance before eveline remembered all of last night. the dump, greta flirting, the beer, the drive, ted, all of it. she had the thought that it was all a dream but her cheek proved it was all real.

eveline sat in bed for a while.

her cheek really hurt.

she remembered refusing to ice it, instead going to her bed and passing out instantly.

"stupid me..." eveline mumbled as she got up.

she still had school today, she just had to deal with it and ignore ted.

that was her plan until she stepped into to kitchen and saw no ted, not even a seat for him.

back in la, whenever ted would run away, it'd be a big deal but in the morning he was always back, just slightly more grumpier then usual, so she expected him to be home by now.

she didnt care though, the only thing she was missing out on was continuing to ignore him and make him feel bad, but she could do that tomorrow.

she plopped herself down and ignored the stares that stephen and dennis were exchanging, deciding to fix herself a bowl of cereal.

stephen finally cleared his throat and eveline looked up at him.

"yes?"

dennis snorted at her bluntness but shut up when stephen glared at him, "you're not going to school today."

eveline shrugged, "ok."

both of the brothers shared a look, she always loved school and would rarely miss days.

it was an awkward silence for a while, stephen trying to figure out whether this was a sign of her being really alright or truely upset.

"im fine."

"uh-? yeah- of course."

eveline pouted, she knew that she looked the part, sometimes even was the part, but she wasn't an idiot.

"so why am I missing school?"

stephen didn't know how to respond, he didn't want to baby her while, y'know, still being able to baby her.

as stephen stumbled over his words, dennis rolled his eyes, "we don't want the cops at our door because one of your friends thinks you're getting beat."

stephen filled with relief, that wasnt exactly a lie, it just wasn't the full truth, he was glad dennis kept it a secret, he usually was the one to throw him under the bus for a laugh.

eveline's lips formed an 'o' before going back to eating. she hadn't actually thought of that, she assumed it was just her brother thinking her as fragile but it was a great point. similarly, feeling a peace within herself.

they were both feeling like they owed their respective sibling an apology.

"and stephens worried your gonna cry in the middle of class."

or not.

"dennis!"

"stevie!"

dennis laughed as he stood up, grabbing his now empty plate, a cheeky grin present. "she deserves to know. anyways i better get going, ill see you guys later." 

eveline didnt even say goodbye, "im not a baby!"

"i know you aren't!" stephen was quick to defend himself, "it's just..sometimes you act like...-"

"like a baby?" it was less of a question and more of an accusation that eveline yelled.

stephen through his hands up, "okay yes!"

"stephen!"

"i know!"

"you said you would stop babying me after we moved!"

"i know!"

"yet you're still doing it-!"

"i know!" stephen slumped against his chair as eveline pouted in hers. "it's just..." stephen turned his body more towards his sister, "you're always gonna be my baby sister, you could be as smart as dennis or as much of an asshole as ted-" eveline let a small smile break through her pout, stephen mimicking her for a second. "but no matter what, nothings gonna change that, just like how ted and dennis are always gonna be my baby brothers."

eveline frowned. "but you don't treat them like you treat me."

stephen sighed, "i know. but-" he struggled with his words for a second, "but dennis is so smart- not saying you're not smart! but everytime i wanna tell him something, he already knew it and more years ago! and ted is, well ted, i think if anyone treated him any less then god he would have a fit," both siblings let out a mixture of a grimace and a smile.

"but you- you still listen and you're eager to talk to me, you have interests that go further then cigarettes and videogames, you still talk to me after dinner an- oh god im starting to sound like dad, aren't i?" eveline nodded.

"ah- okay, i guess what im tryna say is that you haven't turned into an asshole teenager yet, and i just want it to stay like that forever."

eveline nodded and arose from her chair, making stephen do so too, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a great big hug, "im always gonna talk with you."

stephen laughed, "you say that now, but wait until you turn into ted."

a sad smile creeped onto eveline's lips, "he's gonna be home, right?" she mumbled as she was smooshed into her brother's chest.

"of course he is! this is his home, no matter how disappointed he may act with it, he'll always come back."

A/N i just realised a lot of yall probably pronounce stephen's name as stefen... (no im nawt gonna talk abt our almost half a year disappearance)