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"i just... i just don't think you're that special."
***
EVELYN COULD ONLY LOOK AT HERSELF IN THE MIRROR. She was making an effort for what? For Peter? A guy she hardly knew that randomly approached her in the library one afternoon?
Apparently, she was. What a waste of usually unused makeup and jewelry.
Evelyn hadn't worn earrings since her uncle's funeral. She didn't associate the accessory with the event, but it had simply been a while.
She had thrown on a nicer shirt and some jeans that weren't painfully washed out. The boots she had decided to wear were going to absolutely murder her feet, but she disregarded that.
"No, I don't think Porco would want to deal with me either."
She kept thinking about it. Over and over. The thought wouldn't leave her mind. Evelyn was realizing just how right she was.
As far as she knew, Porco had given up on his little quest to make her happy. To save her.
She was by no means aware that he was taking a different approach. Porco himself hardly knew what he was doing with this approach.
He was just going to let whatever happened, happen. There was no stopping anything from happening, there was no point in him trying so hard.
Evelyn sighed and walked out to the kitchen.
"Are you going somewhere fancy?" Porco asked.
Evelyn nodded before chugging down a glass of water.
"Yeah. I should be back later tonight. I won't miss the show later." she said.
Evelyn's favorite game show, the children's Jeopardy game was on tonight.
"Alright. Call me if you need anything." Porco said.
"Well, it's not like you can just drive to wherever I am." Evelyn said as she adjusted her earring.
Porco frowned and crossed his arms.
"Rude ass." he muttered.
"You know I'm right. I'll see you later." she said as she walked out the door.
Porco had pieced it all together. He knew exactly where she was going. A face of makeup, jewelers, and nice shoes?
Evelyn was going on a date.
He was just going to sit back and relax. This had nothing to do with him.
Evelyn was an adult, she could do whatever she wanted.
"You look gorgeous, Evelyn!" Peter exclaimed like an excited little child.
"Thank you." she replied.
The two sat down and looked over restaurant menus. Evelyn was doing everything she could to be interested in this dinner.
But something just felt off. It didn't feel right.
"So, Peter, tell me about yourself. What was your life before college?" she asked.
"Well, I was actually pretty quiet in high school. I only lived with my dad. My mom died when I was young." Peter said.
Evelyn felt like that explained why he didn't know how to talk to women. It made sense.
After they ordered their food, they continued to talk. Evelyn learned that Peter himself was an extreme bookworm and had his own podcast.
She wanted to give him a fighting chance. Maybe he was nice, maybe he did want to deal with her.
Not once did Peter ask about Evelyn's lack of reaction or ask her to react differently.
Porco did. He pulled a reaction out of her by angering her. Porco then declared to save her, as if she needed saving in the first place.
But that was the thing.
While she didn't need saving, having someone even try meant something. What did it mean? Evelyn didn't know.
But it meant something special.
And Peter?
To Evelyn, Peter just wasn't special like that.
Porco heard the door and watched Evelyn walk in with half-lidded eyes.
"I'm tired." she said.
Porco frowned.
"Well, are we still gonna watch Jeopardy?" he asked.
Evelyn nodded and reached down to slip off her boots. She then took out her earrings and massaged her ears for a second.
"Don't ever let me leave the house wearing earrings again. My head hurts because the ones I wore are too heavy." she said.
Evelyn retreated to her room for a few minutes and returned to the living room in sweatpants and a t-shirt. The makeup she once had one had been wiped off and she pressed her hand to her forehead in light pain.
"Did you take some painkillers?" Porco asked.
"Yeah, they'll take a while to kick in." she said.
Evelyn sat down and curled up into her respective corner or the couch. Porco grabbed the remote and switched the channel.
The show was starting.
Porco was invested. This particular episode was really interesting and the kids were on top of their game.
But he turned to see Evelyn sound asleep. Porco sighed and reached over.
He originally planned to pick her up and take her to her room so she could sleep comfortably.
But Porco froze for a moment when Evelyn's head fell onto his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment, but wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
