i don't bite

   cole smelled her long down the hallway, there were lingering scents even earlier but he was certain it was evan in his place when he listened to the heart beat.  he couldn’t help the soft sigh that passed out as her casualness in his place, evan was an entertaining kid and it definitely amused him how easily she got comfortable. “i would but you need to tell me what we’re drinking to-” he responded setting the bottle a little further from her before putting his jacket and bag away. cole couldn’t admit it but he did want evan to feel at home in his place, it wouldn’t be his much longer at least not living in it anyway. “-good or bad?”

Evan gave him a fake angry look when he took the bottle and set it just out of her reach. A sigh escaped her lips when she knew there was no point in hiding that she was obviously drinking for a reason. “Is it possible to be both?” She questioned and adjusted herself on his couch to sink further into the cushion. Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip for a beat and then she let it go and sighed once more. “I found some letters from my brother. From when I was -- when i was on the run,” she explained. “They had no address and they mostly just said --” she had to pause and tear her eyes away from him. “-- they mostly just said how much he needed me. I’m -- I’m happy he still wrote to me but I feel so bad for not being there when he needed me, y’know? But -- but I don’t think he’d want me now. Not now that I’m a freaking werewolf.” 

Swallowing, she snatched the bottle back and took a long drag. “So tonight I drink to pretend I’m not angry with who I am and how scared he’d be of me now a days and we’re going to drink and be merry, yeah?” 

  noah, never seemed to leave the faes heart. perhaps it’s why she was rather a hopeless romantic. their time together was long over and years had passed but when someone did even the slightest thing that could be ‘red flagged’ she ran and it happened to be all noahs fault. there was much more than a young love, he was a confidence builder. it wasn’t every day someone would remind another of their worth. those things were over now, he support there but she still had the words lingering in her mind. so when his little sister reached out it was a bit heart racing. there was no hesitation in responding to the text, bolting over to the household. what could he have left behind that would matter to her?

     “eva holy hell you look so big.” junos words slipped out when the door was opened. a large smile on her lips when she pulled them into a quick hug. “you know you don’t need to use noah as an excuse to see me. i happen to be aware i’m lovely company.” teasing as the fae stepped inside.

Evan had to try really hard to hold back her emotions when junos arms wrapped around her in a quick hug. So quick she almost didn’t have time to hug back. It felt nice to be in her embrace again and for a second she let herself pretend it was a movie night with her and Noah before she had to pull herself from the memory. Noah wasn’t here and Juno unfortunately wasn’t here to watch movies and eat too much popcorn. “Thanks,” she laughed. “I know I just -- I thought that you -- that you might want...these...” She trailed off.

Her fingers tightened around the envelopes in her hand as she rose them to show Juno. There was at least 30 letters, all written to her. Evan had found the pile of unsent letters to herself with no address and her heart break with the realization that her brother was hurting without her and she did nothing to help. She swallowed the lump in her throat and held them out to her. “I -- I think he would want you to have these.”

Lettie was at the counter, nursing a coffee and trying to avoid going back to her apartment. It wasn’t a bad apartment, it was just empty and being alone made everything a little harder. She was still working on that, being alone. It was one of the harder parts of sobriety. And there was nothing to do. She’d cleaned obsessively, re-organized the little furniture she owned, and alphabetized her record collection, before switching it back to by musical category and year of release. Boredom let to mistakes, and she wasn’t making mistakes anymore. Or at least making different ones. 

She’d already paid the waitress, and had just made her mind up to hit the bathroom and take off, when a couple came in and sat down. Poor waitress. Lettie had waitressed, and last-minute customers were the absolute worst. When the waitress came by and offered her a top-up, she gave her a lop-sided smile. “Bet they wanna sit and talk after their meal too.” She had the perfect excuse to stick around now, to support the waitress, whose name tag said Evan, in her time of trial. “You been doing this long?”

Evan wanted to groan out loud when the couple simply asked for some water and a coffee and said they’d need at least five minutes to look over the minute and the wolf could already tell that this was going to be a long ass night. She gave the couple a tight lipped smile and went to go get their drinks. She set them down on the table and then left the couple to do their thing. As she went back to the counter, she offered the woman sitting there a top-off. 

Another tight lip smile. “Yup,” she said in a slightly stained voice, though she tried her best to keep it controlled. “They need 5 minutes alone to just -- to just look at the menu,” she whispered to her in hopes that the couple didn’t hear her complaining. That didn’t make for a good tip. Evan leaned against the counter and nodded at the question. “Been waitressing since I was 16 and bartending when I was -- uh -- when I was 18 and I’ll be 23 soon. You’d -- you’d think I’d be used to it by now but -- but ugh, I’ve been here since noon. I’m ready for bed.”

Nights could be a mixed bag for Toni. He slept better than he had a few years ago, that was for sure, but sometimes it was still hard to get to sleep or at least stay asleep for the whole night. He normally tried to deal with it in healthier ways than he used to, like going for a run instead of turning to the bottle, but he slipped up every now and then. Tonight, though, when he woke up and couldn’t get back he made the good choice and just headed out into the woods. It was nice, getting out into nature like that, and he was just thinking of shifting and trying to forget things as a wolf for a while when he caught a familiar scent and heard his name called by a voice he definitely wasn’t expecting. Blinking, he came a little closer and saw that his nose and ears hadn’t lied to him because it was definitely her. 

“Mia? Here I thought you were back in Miami.” Then again, she probably thought the same of him. First Dora, now Mia. Were people from his past just going to keep popping up here because that would be super weird if so. Still, he wasn’t unhappy to see her, just surprised. 

     Mia. Evan almost visibly laughed at the name. She hadn’t heard that one in quite some time. Hitchhiking to avoid her family -- her brother especially -- meant taking on new names to avoid being found. She knew if her brother found her he would convince her to go back and it seemed as though he knew everyone no matter where she went. Hence the name Mia that she had given her old drinking buddy.       “It’s uh --” this time she did laugh before continuing, “it’s actually Evan....” Well, this was one way to face your past. “I thought you were -- well -- anywhere but...but here.” She blinked at the man before slowly rising. She used her arm to support herself on the tree as she stood and then stretched while her bones gave a satisfying ‘pop’. “This is my hometown. What are -- what are you doing here?”

Despite the fact, he had been coming to this diner since he was a kid Leo continued to look around with widened, glossy blue eyes.  “Your mom?  Where?”  He asked.  Some part of him was nervous that she might have said his mom.  When she mentioned he was getting the last slice, he couldn’t help himself. He lifted his hand and gently wrapped his fingers around her arm as he looked up at her.  “You’re a Godsend.”  At her next question, he nodded.  “Absolutely, either strawberry or chocolate.  Whatever seems right with everything else.”  He commented.  “Also, you look super cute tonight.”  For Leo, he truly believed women should lift up other women, so he always tried to compliment.

      Her eyes widened and she made a face at the thought of her mother being around. ‘I always knew she’d come back to haunt my ass,’ she thought to herself with slight satisfaction at the thought of her mother still disapproving of her life. It meant she was living it right. “Hopefully six feet under?” After a beat she realized how morbid that sounded before she backtracked. “I meant, like -- she’s dead -- so -- so I hope she’s not back to haunt me just yet,” she said with a genuine laugh at her own words and shook her head slightly.        “Ha -- that’s what I’m here for.” She gave him a smile and couldn’t help but giggle as well. “It’s pecan so I think chocolate should work.” She’s seen him in here plenty of times before and has even had the blessing to serve him and he always made her feel so comfortable and -- oddly enough -- pretty. “Why -- thank you -- so do you. Your hair is exceptionally shiny today it seems.” Another grin split across her face as she placed her hand over his gave it a small pat. 

Cassidy gave a nod, “what do you say Lil?”  The tiny girl looked up, grinning from ear to ear.  “Thank you!”  It was obvious, she was ecstatic for the cupcakes.  Although Cassidy wasn’t a fan of sweets, it appeared his youngest had a sweet tooth.

Inside, he looked at her.  “Oh, I see how it is.  Gang up on the guy.”  Cassidy teased as he lifted up the little girl in the air and held her as he headed towards the couch.  “Still, I appreciate it.  It gets wild sometimes trying to juggle everything.”  Not that he was complaining, it was just a matter of fact.  The warlock then flipped it to Disney Plus, piggybacking off someone as he turned on the movie.  Lily sat there quietly, staring at the film and getting excited to see Maleficent.

As he leaned back, he smiled.  “So what’s going on?  Anything new happening?”               

     Evan couldn’t help but smile when the little girl did and was happy to snag a cupcake for herself. It was a simple vanilla cupcake that was simple yet absolutely delicious. A recipe she’s worked on for years to perfect and one she hopes to use when she opens the bakery of her dreams. 

     “Of course -- who else would we gang up on?” Lily and Cassidy were one of the few whom didn’t seem to make Evan trip up on her words as often as others. She was comfortable here and it was hard not to feel like she was in a safe space when at this household. “Yeah, no problem, always here to help.”      She plopped herself down on the edge of the couch, shifting slightly to get comfortable before leaning against the arm. “Um --” she pondered for a second before continuing, “I got an A on my math exam!” That was a subject she wasn’t the best in and of course it was something baking relied on. Thankfully she had a helping hand, though. “My professor has said that I’m on track to graduating with honors at this point.” Highschool was not something she thrived in, so doing well in college was something she was hellbent on doing and she thanked Cassidy profusely every time he helped her on her homework or studying. 

       Dusk simply shrugged, honestly since her call with him she wasn’t sure what to say to him, which was partially why she’d brought Aiden. He couldn’t bring up anything difficult to talk about in front of him. It was somewhat of a relief he wasn’t there, having phone sex with him on New Years wasn’t something she regretted persay but it blurred a very firm line she had placed with him that she would not keep sleeping with him if he wasn’t going to give her what she needed in a man. Technically she hadn’t actually slept with him but…well, that’s why the line was now not so firm.

       “I’m sure people swear at you all day,” she reasoned of Evan potentially having sworn. She definitely got sworn at working at the bank. It made sense, the bank had a lot of dumb rules and she was always being told to push certain things that they would want to get high interest on or potentially put people into debt that always made Dusk a little uncomfortable. “I don’t know how people think they’re just allowed to yell at random people who work for someone else.”

        Aiden didn’t roll his eyes the way he would have at his mother when Evan said she’d actually put the hot sauce in, instead he just adjusted himself in the seat, obviously having a harder time of retaining his chill when he was around someone like Evan. If he knew she liked his Dad he’d probably be less inclined to the behaviour but he didn’t know Evan much, she was just a pretty person he got to be near for the moment.

          “Yeah, not a hard find,” Dusk chuckled a little, running her hands over her jeans. “We can definitely give you a lift, you shouldn’t be walking home on your own.”

     Getting sworn at was for sure nothing that Evan wasn’t used to. Customers get cranky -- especially in the morning before their coffee and before a slice of pie. “Yeah, that -- that is for sure,” she chuckled. “The guy who just left was cussin’ at me ‘cause of us being out of pie.” She rolled her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. “I don’t -- I don’t know either. I could never even -- even think about doing that.”       The temptation to ruffle the younger boys hair like her brother once did to her was very high, but she resisted the urge and settled for giving him a glance and a secret smiling. Obviously she wouldn’t put the hot sauce in it, even if the thought of doing so was almost too good to pass up. She’ll leave that up to Dusk to accomplish, she thought to herself.       “I -- thank you, really.” It was getting colder out and not having to walk home after a double seems like an absolute godsent. “Let me go get that food for y’all.” And with that, Evan turned on her foot and went to go put their food in and make their milkshakes.

       Before her brother Noah left to go defend the world --- or whatever it is he’s doing -- he was hopelessly in love with a girl named Juno. Evan could see how happy she made him and could feel the excitement all the way in her room whenever he would write her another love letter. She wasn’t much a writer herself, but she remembers very vividly that her brother wrote like he was running out of time. And, now that she looks back at it, he was. After 2 years of dating, Noah broke it off with Juno for he didn’t want her to wait around for him when he didn’t know when -- or if -- he would be back. What no one really knew, though, was that he still wrote her letters. 2 years stationed in Iraq were filled with thoughts of her and he did everything he could to let her go. He wrote letter after letter that he never sent and then tucked away in his childhood desk, never to be seen again.       Until Evan came back, that is. She found her brother’s letters while cleaning out his room to make in to a study and her heart dropped slightly. Oh how she wished she could see him again. Without a second thought, she shot off a text message to Juno. She got lost in thought for a moment and was ruffling through the letters when a knock could be heard through the small house. Hurrying down stairs, letters in hand, she didn’t hesitate before opening the door. “What took so long?” she joked, fingers brushing her brother’s handwriting. 

Who: Cole

     At the sound of the door opening, Evan finally looked up from the book in her lap and shot the male a cheeky grin. They grew close when she met him downtown and he’s been the big brother that Evan has longed for since her own shipped off to the military years ago. It helped fill a hole in her chest that the young werewolf refused to admit out loud that was there. But being here, in his apartment (having broke in with her lock picking skills) helped calm her anger about the current events of her day. Picking up the bottle of Fireball placed next to her, she hands it out to him. “Drink with me?” Her eyes spoke of weariness and the need of a distraction. 

    "Well -- I -- I don't....know?" She had to think about the question for a second, racking her brain for an answer that might possibly make sense to someone that wasn't her. "I guess -- I guess I'd just have to -- uh -- follow my ....heart?" 'Fuck, that sounds so cheesy,' she thought to herself. "I don't -- I don't think I'll know the answer until -- uh -- until I actually get into that situation -- ya'know?"

     Evan couldn't help but throw her head back with a laugh, wild curls bouncing at the motion. "Thanks, darlin'," she replied with a wink. "Not sure what I did this time, though."

     'Only one?' she thought to herself. 'I wish I could stop drinking, I wish I could control my anger, I wish my parents loved me before they died, I wish my brother would just come home, I wish I could go back to West Virginia, I wish I didn't get turned into a werewolf?' So many possibilities rushed through her head, yet the one she decided on was, "I wish I had my own baking and pasty shop." She let herself smile at the thought of finally getting her dream. "Yeah -- yeah I uh -- I think I would be really happy if I finally had that happened.

     A blush crossed her cheeks before she hesitantly replied with, "I actually -- uh, I don't have any...." she trailed off for a moment and then realized that perhaps she should explain herself. "With that I mean -- like -- I don't --" she gave her head a small shake as she gathered her thoughts "-- I wasn't allowed to believe in that type of thing growin' up. Haven't even seen that one movie -- what was it -- Harry Pepper? Potter? Potter! Harry Potter." A small smile graced her lips in accomplishment due to remembering the name. "I just started to - uh - to get in to that stuff and so far -- so far Spiderman has my bet."

     She pondered on the question for a moment, lingering on the thought of what she may actually believe to be true. Does she? She remembered her last relationship and how it was weaved with toxicity and jealousy and anger but yet still can't seem to regret any part of it. Jealousy meant someone cared, right? That's what she always assumed, anyways.      "I --well, yeah -- I guess," she mumbled before clearing her throat and speaking up more. "I don't mind it. But -- like -- only if it's warranted." With a blink she shrugged and said, "Any way that isn't -- well -- anyway that isn't violent would be preferred."

     The young woman leaned back against the tree, head bouncing slightly as she went too fast. A sigh of inconvenience brushed past her lips at the small headache that went as fast as it came. Perks of being a werewolf, she assumed. She was in her usual spot when she was trying to catch a minute or two of sleep. Trying to sleep in her parents’ old house mixed with the crushing reality of insomnia didn’t help, yet the presence of the trees was the only thing to calm her.      Just as she was about to get comfortable and let her eyes fall closed, her senses perked up to a familiar scent. A scent she hadn’t really smelt in quite some time and it seemed to lack the usual booze trail that followed but it couldn’t be, right? She hadn’t seen him since -- well, since Miami from what felt like ages ago.      Evan watched as the figure came in to her view and she froze, head cocking to the side at the site of the male before her. “---Toni?”