His Weakness✔

Chapter 7

Tea Time

"He carried himself with so much confidence. As if he could do no wrong. It didn't seem like he would hesitate to kill anyone. He's very intimidating."

"Looks?"

"Handsome. Very handsome. It's a pity he's such a monster," Evelina mumbled as Ruby took her plate away and placed it on the diner's counter. Ruby returned quickly and sat in front of her friend.

"Handsome huh?" She whispered. Ruby didn't know how to feel about her friend thinking a demon was handsome, and it seemed like Evelina caught onto Ruby's weariness, for she shook her head.

"Looks can be deceiving, Red," Evelina replied and drank the rest of her coffee.

"What are you going to do later? Are you really going to go for tea with him?" Ruby asked in disbelief. Evelina huffed before giving a small nod.

"Not like I have much of a choice. He said if I didn't go I would regret it. Whatever that means, it can't be good," Evelina said and Ruby nodded understandingly. Then, Ruby smirked at Evelina playfully.

"How're you going to tell Pan you don't even like tea?"

~

Evelina was not prepared for what was to come.

Snow dressed her up again before she left and at that point, Evelina questioned, why even bother?

Evelina knew she wasn't going to impress him. She wasn't trying to flaunt or tease. She was simply afraid of him. He frightened her, just by his simple walk.

Snow was kind enough to place out nice clothes for Evelina. This time, a black circle skirt that ended at her knees with black tights underneath, a pair of pretty dark brown boots Evelina's father had gotten her, and a nice button-down blouse on her upper body which she tucked into her skirt. To top it all off Evelina wore a long coat and braided her hair into a simple side French braid.

"Don't slouch, you'll hurt your back," Snow reminded and Evelina frowned.

"I know," Evelina grumped. The young girl was in no mood to be happy and was fairly grumpy towards everyone.

Piles of snow were scattered throughout the apartment because Evelina was having trouble controlling her emotions. Nobody bothered to say anything and instead, everyone in the loft just wore thick jackets and wool hats. David even went out to buy a shovel.

"Evelina? It's time," David said and Evie instantly felt like jumping out of a window and running in the opposite direction until her legs fell off.

Instead, she nodded plainly and walked out of the loft with Snow and Charming.

The town was still gloomy. Nothing had changed. If anything it looked fairly worse. Evelina walked alongside Snow and Charming. Both adults sensed the girl was off and decided against engaging in conversation.

Evelina wasn't just afraid of what would happen this afternoon, she was questioning why it was even taking place, to begin with.

Why did he invite her for tea? Why was he so interested in her? Why couldn't she just run and hide in a hole underground and die there? And why in the world did he think she liked tea?!

Too many questions, not enough time for answers... or tea.

~

Evelina gulped as she twirled the hem of her skirt in her dainty fingers.

"We'll be back to pick you up in an hour. Use the cellphone we gave you to call us if something goes wrong," David said once they were in front of the Town Hall. Evelina's body stiffened as she glanced up at the building. Her expression hadn't changed since she left the loft.

And it didn't seem like it was about to change anytime soon.

With a solemn face and a nervous body, Evelina gave one last glance at Snow and Charming.

And thus she began the longest walk up to the main City Hall door. Once she had stepped inside, the same boy from the day before greeted her.

"Welcome back, Miss Frost," the blond greeted. Evelina said nothing. She gave a loud huff.

"This way," he said simply and began leading Evelina to the garden outback.

Regina always had such a lovely garden, and she had always mended to it with care. Evelina remembered she used to spend a lot of her afternoons in the gardens playing swords with Henry.

And now she was off to meet some villain for tea; a drink she didn't even like.

The boy led Evelina through the gardens towards the gazebo, where she could already see Pan waiting.

"Miss Frost."

"Bastard" she growled under her breath when she was finally before him. She hoped he hadn't heard her, and her assumption was correct when the smirk swiped across his mug still shone brightly. He really was getting on her last nerve.

"Away with you Felix," Pan said and the blond disappeared with no other word said.

"Come." He led her to the glass table that was under a pure white gazebo. Set on the table where beautiful teapots and various biscuits sat around, tempting her with hunger. Many plates and teacups were scattered neatly as well. It reminded Evelina of a wonderful tea party she once had with Jefferson, the Mad Hatter. Even though she didn't like tea, Jefferson had made an exception and made her lemonade instead.

"Take a seat," Pan said as he pulled out a chair for Evelina. She sat down heavily and even nudged the table, causing the silverware to rattle. Pan took no notice and took his place across from her.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked, already pouring a glass for the girl. It was at that time that Evelina had to embarrassingly admit that she didn't like tea. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat awkwardly.

"I don't like tea," she mumbled under her breath. She thought she would have had to repeat it, but she didn't have to. Pan heard her.

He raised an eyebrow at her and frowned. He looked away and cleared his throat.

"Well, what would you like then?" He asked and Evelina could sense he was annoyed. She didn't want to add to his annoyance, so she quietly answered, "Milk will do," and Peter Pan summoned for a jug full of milk just for her.

Evelina watched as Peter Pan poured her a full cup of milk. He also served her a couple of sugar cookies and biscuits.

"How has your day been, Evelina?" He asked, slowly with his deep British voice that made Evelina want to hide under the table.

"Fine, I guess" she grumped. Evelina heard him chuckle while he poured himself his own cup of tea. She finally gathered up all of her courage and looked up to meet his eyes. Her breath hitched when she noticed he was staring straight back at her. Evelina's eyes slightly widened and Peter Pan was sure only he would've noticed.

As much as Evelina hated to admit it, and she will NEVER say it out loud, Peter Pan had beautiful eyes. They were a beautiful dark green, almost as if he had captured a mysterious blooming forest in his mere eyes.

Evelina remembered a saying that Snow had once told her, "they say the eyes are the windows to the soul."

Never in her life had Evelina felt the need to wear sunglasses.

Pan stared at her curiously as he gobbled down a biscuit. Usually, Pan was pretty good at reading people. It was a talent he had developed over the years and he was determined to know Evelina's story before she exposed herself.

"Well, Evelina, if it's alright with you, I would like to know everything there is to know about you. Everything."

And Evelina knew she was now trapped by the demon.

*unedited*