She Could Be Mine || A Malvie Fanfic

XVI

Evie

I had to do it. I had to finally do it. I couldn't wait any longer. It would only break my heart -- and Mal's -- more if I didn't.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the 4Hearts door. I heard Doug say, "Just a minute!" and then the sound of papers shuffling around. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Doug. His face fell when he saw me. "Oh, it's you," he hissed. I pushed past him and into the 4Hearts room. I admired the dresses hanging as Doug followed me back in. He shut the door and turned towards me, arms crossed. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I need to talk you," I said.

"Okay, what's going on?" he asked.

"Um, I don't really know how to say this..." I stuttered.

"You finally decided?" Doug asked.

"Um, yeah," I hesitated.

"And you chose Mal," Doug finished for me. I looked down at my hands.

"Doug, I think... I think I'm... gay," I stumbled.

Doug looked taken aback. I only read it as one thing: he thought I might have feelings for Mal, but he never thought I'd be a lesbian. "You're... what?"

"I'm gay, Doug," I repeated with more confidence this time.

This time, it was Doug's turn to stare at the ground. He was speechless, so I spoke for him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Well, my girlfriend just told me that she's gay," he said, "so I'm going to go with no. I mean, I knew you had feelings for Mal, but I thought it was an... experimental thing."

"Doug, I'm sorry," I apologized. "But I can't help it." I smiled at the ground. "I really like her."

Doug sighed. "As much as I dislike it," he said, "I understand. And frankly, I'm glad that you finally decided. I'd rather not be in a relationship than be in one that isn't happy."

"Thank you for understanding," I said. "It means a lot. You have no idea."

"I just wish it hadn't taken you so long to figure it out," he sighed.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again. "There's just a lot of things I had to work through to get to this point."

"I could tell," he said. "I just wish it didn't have to end like this."

"Me too," I said. "I'm sorry it did."

"Well, I guess..." he stumbled over his words. "Good luck?"

I have him a small laugh. "Thanks," I said. "No hard feelings?"

"None," he agreed. "Also, I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I should've just heard you out rather than yelling at you."

"Yeah, you should've," I agreed. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."
"Okay, I guess I'll see you later, then," he said.

"Wait, when?" I asked.

"At Audrey's dress fitting?" he said. "I'm not fired from 4Hearts as well, right?"

"Of course you're not," I said. "I guess I'll see you later." I waved goodbye to him, and he left the room. I sighed and sat down in the desk, my head still spinning.

Mal

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door. "Just a minute!" I called out as I put away my art stuff. I ran to the door and swung it open to see Evie standing behind it. I laughed. "E, you don't have to knock; it's your dorm room too."

"I know, I just didn't want to barge in," she said. "I have something to tell you."

My heart skipped a beat. Was this finally it? Did she finally do it? "Um, okay, go ahead," I said, twirling a lock of purple hair.

"So I've been thinking about us," she explained while pacing the room. I smiled at the gesture. Evie paced when she was nervous, and it was cute when she was nervous. "And I talked to Ben like you suggested. He made me realize why I was so scared of letting us become a thing." She stopped in her tracks and turned her eyes to meet mine. "I was scared because of my mother. And I know it's irrational, but it was a huge fear of mine."

I sighed and sat down on her bed as she continued. "So um, I've been, um, doing some thinking..." she started pacing again. I almost giggled at it. "And, um, I did something."

"Just say it, Evie," I begged. "It's okay."

Evie

I took a deep breath and looked up into her emerald green eyes. They were so beautiful. How could I not have noticed that before? She was doing that thing where she twirled her hair when she was nervous. We both did it, but she did it more than I did. I smiled at it. "So?" Mal asked.

"Oh, right," I said, snapping back to reality. "I, um..." I stuttered. "I broke up with Doug!"

Mal visibly jumped in her seat. "You did?" she exclaimed.

"I did," I confirmed, giving her a big smile. She returned the huge grin and jumped up from the bed. She ran towards me and the her arms around my neck.

"I'm sorry, but that makes me so happy," she mumbled into my shoulder. I laughed and held her tighter.

"I can't breathe," I laughed. She apologized and let go of me. She giggled at looked at the ground. I had never seen her this genuinely happy before. She took another piece of hair in hand and started toying with it.

"So does this mean," she started, "you don't have a date to Cotillion?"

I laughed. "I thought you'd never ask," I grinned.

"Are you serious? You'll go with me? That's a yes?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, of course," I giggled.

She gave me the biggest smile I think I've ever seen. Without warning, she grabbed my face and placed her lips on mine. My eyes went wide with surprise, but slowly closed. I threw my arms around her neck and pulled her closer to me, melting into the kiss. I felt like I was floating, like I was on cloud nine.

I didn't want it to end, but sadly, she pulled away from me. She took both of my hands in hers and gave them an affectionate squeeze. "Evie Grimhilde," she smiled, "will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course I will," I laughed. Mal smiled back at me, and I pulled her back into another kiss. She closed the gap between us, and my heart skipped a beat in happiness. I never wanted this moment to end.