𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏. my dreams are right in front of me

      Evette's finger twirled a strand of her curly hair, proceeding to readjust the white floral clip that pulled the top half of her hair up and out of her face.

      She raked her hands along the rich purple silk dress that clung to every inch of her body, making her feel all the more elegant.

      After finally pulling her heels onto her feet, the hair on the back of her neck stood up at the sound of a knock at her door.

      Not knowing whether or not to play it cool or play it excitedly, she decided to wait a solid three seconds before hurriedly racing over to the door.

      Xavier stood with a pleased smile over his lips, his dimples indenting deeply into his smooth skin. He could've sworn that he almost felt his eyes light up at the sight of Eve, concealing it by forcing his gaze to his white dress shoes.

      Eve noticed the purple dress shirt tucked beneath his white suit – a fashion recommendation that she had hurriedly given him.

      "You look beautiful," he finally spoke, growing aware of how long it had taken him to finally form words.

      Eve circled the moonstone ring on her finger and suppressed her giddy smile with a faint laugh. "So do you," she blurted out. "I mean– Yeah. You look– You look good, too..."

      Xavier chuckled at her timid expressions and laced a purple corsage around her wrist. "You ready to go?"

      Eve nodded, intertwining her arm with Xavier's as they made their way to the Rave'n dance.

      The white lights seemed to beam at them from nearly a mile away. She found her breath quickening up as a result of her anxiousness. Xavier noted the way she began to pick at her nail beds as they approached.

      "Hey," the soft tone of his voice echoed in her mind as he took both of her hands into his own. "What's wrong?"

      "I haven't gone to a school event ever since the accident. I got too caught up in fearing what people thought of me, I guess."

      Xavier brought her hands to his lips and pecked them, providing her with the reassurance that she needed.

      The couple finally entered the room full of white and ice blue decorations. They were aware of how they stuck out in the crowd after disobeying the dress code, but all of their worries washed away once Ajax approached them with his date on his arm. 

      The group made their way over to an empty table while they waited for the rest of their classmates to show up. Eve found herself watching the entrance for a particular raven–haired girl but she was almost certain that Wednesday wouldn't be making an appearance.

      Xavier flicked at his glass full of spiked punch, his gaze only diverting between the glass itself and Eve who sat beside him with her hands folded in her lap.

      "You don't dance?" she asked.

      Xavier shook his head. "Nope. I'm not any good at it."

      Eve slouched her shoulders in disappointment. "What's the good in going to a dance if you don't even want to dance? It kind of defeats the whole purpose, Thorpe."

      He paused for a moment, cursing himself for already ruining her night. "If you want to dance, by all means, don't let me hold you back."

      She replied with a disappointed sigh. "Fine," Eve replied while standing up from her seat. "Maybe I'll find someone on the dance floor who doesn't plan on sulking their night away."

      His eyes remained glued to her as she traveled over to the dance floor, Enid greeting her with a wide smile and open arms. Xavier's jaw tensed at the sheer amount of gawking eyes that followed her, along with his own.

      Even with Eve's reluctance to acknowledge his true feelings for her, Xavier still found himself lost in everything that was Evette Monroe. He didn't want to distance himself from her – quite the opposite, actually. He desired to be near her, almost as if it was a necessary component of his ability to function.

      Xavier wasn't ever one to want all eyes to be on him, and Eve commanded the attention of everyone near her simply by existing. He considered it to be a profound talent of hers that he wasn't sure she was even aware of.

      "Wearing purple is definitely a fashion statement," Bianca spoke as she took a seat next to Xavier.

      Xavier straightened his posture and gave her a cold gaze. "Yeah, my girlfriend has really good taste," he replied.

      "No need for the hard exterior," she replied. "I only came over here to check on you, believe it or not. You've been watching Eve dance with her friends for the past ten minutes with the saddest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen."

The pair turned to the dance floor, realizing that Wednesday Addams confidently stepped onto the dance floor and was using quite a unique dancing style. Her date, Tyler Galpin, stood in awe of her performance.

Even with such a sight, Xavier couldn't manage to pull his focus away from Eve.

      "So?" he replied, his tone coated with attitude.

      "So, why don't you dance with her?" she spoke as if it was obvious. "I know I would if I was you."

      Xavier's eyebrows pinched together in confusion. "Since when do you care about my relationship with Eve?"

      Bianca shrugged. "Since I realized that I don't want to live my life holding onto one–sides grudges. Making amends is the first step, I guess."

      "I appreciate that," he replied.

      "I really do mean what I said though. You're kind of bringing down the mood of the room by brooding in your own secluded corner," she joked. "By the way, I think Benjamin is about to sink his fangs into your girlfriend."

      Xavier turned his view towards the dance floor, his jaw immediately tensing at the sight of the vampire making conversation with Eve.

      "This guy really can't take any hints, can he?" Xavier spoke as he stood up from his seat and made his way onto the dance floor.

      Benjamin attempted to speak to Eve over the deafening volume of the music speakers and wasn't getting very enthusiastic responses.

      "You– You look really nice!" he exclaimed over the volume of the music, pausing to try and find the quieter points of the song.

      Eve contorted her face in confusion. "What?!" she yelled back.

      "I said you look nice!" Benjamin attempted to speak again before being lightly bumped in the arm by Xavier's shoulder.

      "Right? Tell me about it," Xavier spoke while paying no attention to the male standing next to him.

      Benjamin scoffed and disappeared into the crowd of dancing students – leaving Xavier and Eve standing parallel to each other. A calmer song came over the speakers, allowing them to hear each other.

      Eve rolled her eyes at yet another one of his jealous displays. She found it to be ironic that the only thing that got Xavier on to the dance floor was the idea of her dancing with somebody else.

     "You have a lot of nerve," she said through an annoyed scoff. "You can't just scare off every guy who tries to speak to me."

      "Oh, I'm sorry, is there a rule saying that I can't?" Xavier replied, mimicking the way she often brought up their set of rules.

      "Now there is!" she exasperatedly spoke. "Rule number seven, dipshit! You can't decide to go full–fledged jealous boyfriend on every guy I talk to for no reason."

      Xavier took a shot to his ego and nodded. "You're right. I just don't like the idea you with another guy."

      "How big of you. I'll only forgive you if you dance," Eve replied. "Unless you'd rather me call Ben back over here."

      He swallowed his smile and nodded his head before speaking again: "You're impossible, Monroe."

     "Please, you can't get enough of it," she hummed, shrugging her shoulders.

      The pace of the dancing student slowed as Sparks by Coldplay soothed the loud noise coming from the speakers. A violet hue of light fell over the dance floor, somehow so soft and delicate yet intense.

      Eve's arms snaked around Xavier's neck, closing the distance between them as she rested her head against his shoulder. He responded by immediately enclosing her in his doubled arms, holding her as close to him as he possibly could.

      Xavier rested the weight of his head against the side of hers, relishing in the way that all of his worries faded away by the presence of the girl in his arms. Her eyes fluttered shut, giving him her trust by allowing him to be her eyes.

      The pair felt their hearts beating in synchronicity through the other's chest in a calm, peaceful manner. This dance was the first moment in what felt like forever that both Xavier Thorpe and Evette Monroe felt completely and entirely safe.

      Xavier and Eve hadn't ever been in love – that was something that they could confidently say. They never knew what love was supposed to feel like.

      But in this moment, they knew. Even if they wouldn't dare to admit it out loud, they both knew.

      "You're right about one thing," Xavier's voice spoke lowly into her ear.

      "And what's that?" she replied.

      "I won't ever be able to get enough of you," he replied while stroking her lower back with his thumb.

      Eve picked her head up from his shoulder to face him, her eyes still managing to glisten in the dim light of the room. Or maybe they didn't in actuality. That didn't matter, because to Xavier, Eve always shined.

      "You mean that?" Eve asked.

      "Of course." Xavier nodded his head slowly.

      The couple swayed softly to the beat of the song, Xavier still managing to step on her toes once with every few steps he took. 

      "Sorry. I told you I'm not very good at dancing," he said through a timid smile.

      The side of Eve's lips tugged upwards into a grin before she spoke: "I can teach you."

      "You must really like me if you're volunteering to get stepped on by my two left feet," he said.

      "I never said that," Eve laughed. "You just need some lessons, that's all.."

      "You didn't not say it," Xavier speculated.

      Eve bit back a smile and dropped her head. "There's a lot of things I don't say to you that I probably should," she replied.

      "Like what?" Xavier questioned.

      "I think I'll have to save it for another time," she replied. "I don't want your ego to inflate any more than it already has."

      Xavier chuckled. "Oh, come on. Don't leave me hanging here, Monroe."

      "Fine," she hummed. "I like being like this with you. A lot more than I should."

      He smiled down at her, his grip loosening on her as the song soon came to a sweet end. "I'll take what I can get."

      Eve let out a breath that she hasn't realized she was holding and pulled her arms back down to her sides, provoking him to do the same.

     The temperature of the room seemed to rise exponentially, but it might've just been Eve losing a small amount of control over her powers. Either way, her body and mind were both telling her to take a break away from the noise.

      "I'm gonna go get some air," she spoke before exiting the room.

Eve sat on a bench, attempting to relish in the natural coolness of the room.

Wednesday stumbled out of the ballroom and took a seat beside Eve, an annoyed scowl playing over her face.

"Whoever invented high heels clearly had a side hustle as a torturer," she remarked.

Eve laughed softly. "Beauty is pain, right?"

Wednesday halted her movement and spun to face the girl who sat beside her. "Speaking of being in pain, where's your date?"

"He's still inside," Eve replied with a nod. "I just needed a break from the dance."

Wednesday narrowed her eyes at the girl. "You had that weird feeling, too, didn't you?"

"How did you know?" Eve replied.

"I get them too. I've gotten them along with visions ever since I arrived at this forsaken school," Wednesday complained. "I can't explain them. Perhaps that's what infuriates me. My therapist tells me that it might be because I can't stand the feeling of not being in control."

"I'd believe it."

Wednesday's face remained relaxed and emotionless as she stood up from the bench. "As much as I'd love to leave Tyler to be uncomfortably surrounded by outcasts, I better get back."

As the black–haired girl began to reenter, she paused and turned back to Eve.

"Remember what I told you, Evette. Stay vigilant."

Eve draped her arms around Yoko (a friend of hers that she hadn't been around much in recent months) as they danced to the upbeat song that blared over the crowd of students.

Davina and Enid carelessly swayed their arms into the air, much like the rest of the crowd had been doing.

With faces covered with toothy smiles, a loud blood–curdling shriek forced everyone to come to their senses.

A red substance began to fall from the fire sprinklers, coating all of the white decorations and dancing students alike with the color.

In a frenzy, students surrounding Eve screamed as they slipped on the paint–stained floors and ran from the ballroom.

"They couldn't even spring for real pigs' blood," Wednesday complained. "It's only paint."

Eve stood still, her eyes wide and her movements halted. She couldn't move. The sounds of shrieks and red paint coating her skin brought her back to a time that she preferred to not visit.

She heard the sound of a male calling her name. In reality, it was only Xavier trying to find her through the crowd of rushing students. But in Eve's mind, it was Daniel. It was Daniel calling for her, begging for her to save him.

Her mind flashed back to the memory that she had drove herself mad trying to suppress:

Eve and her older brother strolled through the woods, keeping their eyes peeled for a mystical wishing well that Ms. Thornhill told her about.

Evette had always been one to indulge in conspiracy theories to try and test out if they were true or false, a habit that she had picked up from her oddball of a father.

"We've been out here for hours, Evie. I doubt the well even exists. I think Thornhill is just a bit... off her rocker," Daniel joked.

Eve scoffed. "Five more minutes then we'll turn back, alright?"

The siblings ventured further into the forest until Eve saw a tall cemented well with colorful leaves and flowers scattered around it.

"There!" she exclaimed, taking off running towards the fixture. "It isn't a myth, after all."

A strong rustling in the trees made Eve jump, forcing her attention into a crowd of thick bushes.

"Daniel?" she asked, getting no response.

She spun around to look behind her, realizing that her brother was nowhere to be seen. Almost suddenly, the sound of her brother's agonizing screams echoed through the bushes.

Eve gasped and rushed into the wooded area, moving each branch in her path out of her way with her mind. She continued to call out his name, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Tears coated her waterline as she spun around in circles as if the shrieks of her brother were consuming her whole. Suddenly, the sound of gurgling replaced the shrieks and a monstrous roar was sent over the forest followed by the sound of heavy running.

Eve rushed back towards the well, resting her weight on it because her legs could hardly even support herself. She peered into the deep well, almost simultaneously feeling her soul crush at the sight.

"No. No, no..." she spoke through her hyperventilating voice.

Daniel's body rested at the bottom of the well, his eyes still forced open and his Nevermore uniform soaked with his own blood. Eve couldn't bring herself to look again, almost as if she was afraid that seeing the body twice would make it all too real.

Eve slumped against the well as her sons and pleas overpowered her. She sat there until nightfall, clinging onto the rim of the well and repeating her brother's name dozens of times as if he could hear her.

Hours passed before the Jericho Police Department had finally found the Monroe siblings. An accidental death, they ruled.

No one listened to Eve when she told the Sheriff about the sinister shriek of an inhuman being in the woods, instead, they ruled her theory out entirely.

Little did they know that she was right.

      Eve burst through the door of her room, her eyes blurred and stinging as a result of the red paint and her own tears.

      She slipped out of her dress and discarded it on her bathroom floor, turning on the shower head and sinking into her bathtub in a fetal position. Her breathing was erratic just as her mind was.

      Evette would've preferred to never think about her brother's death for as long as she had lived, but she always knew that she wouldn't have the luxury of doing so.

      She angrily scrubbed away at the red paint that covered her skin, the bristles of the brush beginning to feel like sandpaper as a result of how hard she had been raking it along her tender skin.

      Eve stood up from the tub and watched the last of the paint swirl down the drain. She believed that she had finally ran out of tears to cry and exited the bathroom, dressing in a satin night down and throwing herself into the coldness of her untouched bedsheets.

      She wondered if Xavier had gotten out of the ballroom while simultaneously thinking about if he had been thinking of her too. Eve couldn't bring herself to feel a singular weak emotion as she clutched onto her pillow and stared into the distance.

      Only numbness ached within her.

      A soft tapping sound was heard at her window. "Hey, are you in there?" Xavier called.

      Eve used her power to unlock the window and open it from the same position in her bed. He took it as an invitation to sheepishly enter her room, shoving his hands into the pockets of his plaid pajama pants.

      It was evident to Eve that he freshened up before he decided to visit her. His pale skin was still tinted red even after taking a shower, his damp hair fell on top of his shoulders.

      Xavier crossed the room and took a seat at the foot of her bed. "I was looking for you everywhere once the blood started pouring from the ceiling."

      "I'm sorry for leaving you there," she tiredly replied.

      He shook his head. "You don't need to be sorry for anything, Eve. Are you okay?"

      She bit roughly on her bottom lip and shook her head before replying: "I had a vision about my brother. I relived the day he–" she choked on both her words and her sobs. "The day he died."

      Xavier's gaze softened as he looked at her saddened features. "God, I'm so sorry."

      Eve didn't trust her voice enough to speak, so she didn't. Instead, she pressed her head back onto her pillow. She motioned for him to lay next to her, which he easily obliged to at the chance of it making her feel any better.

      He enveloped her in one of his arms and she rests her head on his chest, hearing the soothing sound of his steady heartbeat.

      "Sometimes I thought that they were all right about me. That maybe I am just another mad outcast who lost her mind to her abilities," she whispered.

      Xavier softly rubbed her back. "Don't say that. You're so much more than just your powers. They're definitely amazing, but they aren't what make you who you are. What happened that night wasn't your fault. You know it, I know it, and so does everyone else."

     "That's what I try to tell myself," she replies. "I'm waiting for the day when I finally convince myself."

      The two rested in silence for a few minutes, finding comfort in the sound of the other's breathing.

      "Can you stay with me tonight?" Eve asked.

      Xavier tightened his grip on her in his arms before surely replying: "Always."

      With the reassurance of his words, she found herself drifting off into a light state of sleep. Eve wouldn't have ever imagined that Xavier would've been the one to give her so much comfort to the point of allowing her to sleep without a night of tossing and turning for the first time in months.

      Xavier studied the girl who slept soundly on his chest, realizing that dreaming wouldn't be necessary for him anymore. He had all that he wanted in his arms. He was unafraid of the consequences of being caught in a female dorm or being with Evette in general.

      "God, what are you doing to me, Eve?" he said through a faint sigh.

Notes.
Eve: Adamant on rejecting Xavier
also Eve: *willingly melts into his arms at any given moment*

sooo I guess this is one of the first big reveals of the entire book. #ripDaniel you didn't deserve that, mb king 😔 now that she had her first big vision, Eve is about to set out on her mission to find out wtf killed her brother & stuff is gonna get unhinged realll quick 🙏🙏

ty for reading & a special thank you to my non–silent readers, you all give me sm motivation to continue this fic <3