plausible invincibility || s.hyde ✓

two ✿ the rain song

EVANGELINE STROLLS DOWN THE familiar street lazily examining each house as she passes. Nothing has changed since her family abandoned the neighborhood and didn't look back. Even their old house is unchanged, save for what seems to be a fresh coat of paint.

        The time-capsule that was her street both comforts and unnerves Evangeline. She can see her younger self biking down the gravelly street huffing as she lags behind her friends who had always been so much faster than she. Then she sees Steven, holding her scooter over his head and laughing as she jumps as high as she can, to no avail. Eric stands off to the side, cheering him on, but never actively engaging in any of his antics.

          Despite the immediate trauma of those events as a kid, she thinks back to her childhood fondly and holds a special place in her heart for this little town.

          Evangeline shoves her hands into her pockets as a cool breeze rustles the trees above her. She can feel a storm coming. It was something she had a knack for predicting; her grandmother said it was a sort of magical gift passed down through their family, though Evangeline suspected it was most likely intuition and experience in weather patterns. Despite the warmth her jacket brings, her shorts do little in the realm of insulation and the dropping temperature turns her skin to goose-flesh.

          "Evangeline?" The voice brings Evangeline's movements to a halt as she turns to face the shadowy figure semi-hidden in the foliage. Evangeline slowly approaches Steven. With a groan, he pushes himself up into standing with one hand, the other hand occupied holding a smoldering joint. "What are you doing out here so late?"

          Evangeline crosses her arms over her chest, the corner of her lips turned down in a frown. "I could ask you the same thing," she says quietly.

          "Well, I live here," he says, gesturing over his shoulder to the inviting house behind them, "but you're not living over here now, are you?"

          Evangeline shakes her head and pulls her lips into her mouth. "I'm staying with my grandma."

          Steven nods and closes his eyes as he takes another drag, the smoke he blows out from his nose barely visible in the dim light. After a few seconds, he reopens his eyes to see Evangeline studying him curiously. "You want some?" he asks, holding it out towards her.

          "No, I'm good," she says, shaking her head and pushing his hand away gently.

          Hyde puts the smoking mass to his mouth again. "You don't smoke?" he asks, the words coming out muffled from rolling the joint between his lips.

          "I did," she says, shifting her weight and pulling her bag in front of her body, "until a couple days ago."

          Hyde stares at her unmoving; Evangeline squirms under the intensity of his icy blue eyes. "Why'd you stop?"

         "I don't think that's any of your business." Evangeline lifts her wrist and pulls back the sleeve of her coat in an attempt to see the time, but the dim glare of the house lights do little to help. "It's late, so I should go—"

          "Why don't you stay?"

          Evangeline's head whips towards the boy who's sunken back to the ground, his back against the hedges, acting as if he hadn't said anything. "What?"

          "I'm about to go back inside, we can watch TV or something." Hyde shrugs and glances up at her for a brief second, but it's long enough for her crinkled nose and furrowed brow to make him smile. "I'll walk you back to your grandma's later."

          "I-I don't know, Steven, I mean, my grandma's already salty about me staying with her, if I come back late—"

          "Evie," Steven drawls, reaching up to tug gently on her flowy shorts, "can I call you Evie? Evangeline is a fucking beautiful name, but it's way too long." When Evangeline says nothing, Steven continues, "Look, just call her and tell her you've made a friend. It'd be nice not to be alone for once."