library magic

the night had not been kind to shiloh. between tossing and turning and not being able to fall asleep, shiloh had given up completely, venturing out of the tent to just walk around the campgrounds until she saw the sun coming up over the horizon. she hadn’t figured to return to the group’s campsite until she felt her stomach grumble with hunger. the fire caught her eye first, glad that at least someone else was awake, but she hesitated slightly when she saw that it was evie. their last conversation hadn’t been the best, but it wasn’t the worst, either. shiloh took a deep breath before continuing to walk over to the fire, taking a seat on the ground next to evie. “ good morning, “ she said simply, doing her best to put on a sincere smile.

brown eyes darted to the side to look at shiloh as she was seated. it wasn’t exactly how she wanted to start her morning, but at least she’d already had some time to herself. leaning forward, she grabbed another mug, pouring some of the freshly brewed coffee into it. they’d have a better chance at actually getting some food and substantial coffee if they got started before the guys woke up. setting the chemex down, she handed the freshly pour mug of coffee to shiloh. an olive branch of sorts - though words didn’t accompany the gesture. she stood, rustling around as quietly as possible to find the largest pot they brought. “have you ever made oatmeal on a campfire before?” she asked the other girl, setting the pot over the fire before filling it with water. once she located the dry oats, she added them in, too. 

A good portion of the day was spent setting up tents and making sure they had all the necessary supplies, and talking about who was sleeping where. After his tent was set up G explored the campgrounds a bit and made some friendly conversation with some other campers who gave him tips on the area. One of the tips was where the best spots to stargaze that wasn’t exactly advertised to visitors. Now that the sun was set and everyone was eating or had just eaten dinner and are lounging around the fire, he thought this would be the perfect time to take Evie to this stargazing spot. “Follow me,” He grinned, pulling her up to her feet. “I want to show you something.” He started leading her away from camp. “And don’t ask what it is. It’s a surprise.”

“Follow you? No offense, I love you, but you’re just about the last person I trust in the wilderness,” the brunette giggled, happily being pulled to her feet. Evie was happy to spend time with her most comfortable of friends. She followed him closely, keeping one of his hands in her own as they walked. The other reached up to grasp his bicep, eyes flicking up to G. “This is extremely unfair and I feel like you’re leading me to my death! Do I get even one hint?” she asked, eyes back on where they were navigating. It was dark and she just really hoped that G knew what he was doing - the tightened grasp on his hand was indicative of that. 

Evie slipped a sweater onto her arms, tugging it around her tightly as she slipped out of the tent. She’d slept just fine, but waking up in a lace like Joshua Tree made her giddy. It was quiet, serene, and it felt like she was settling her initial fears of being around her friends once again. She settled onto her knees by the fire, taking her time to figure out how to make coffee with the fire. By the time she had the coffee brewing in the ChemEx, the sun was threatening to rise. She poured herself a mug of coffee before wandering a little to sit on a rock and watch the sun peek over the horizon. Settled in, she heard the crunch of some gravel behind her, looking over her shoulder to see where it was coming from. 

after successfully setting up the tent that she’d be sharing with one of the other pact members, evie was pretty parched. the fire was lit, dinner was made, and the group was beginning to discuss a variety of things. she sat beside the fire, sipping on some water. it wasn’t insanely hot, but she knew she needed to keep herself hydrated in the desert. it was nice to be in surroundings similar to arizona. perhaps it was a bit comforting. she looked up as ji-ho approached, raising a brow before reaching up to take each of his hands. “what’s up, g?” evie asked softly, eyes meeting his. if anything would add to the comfort of the desert, it was ji-ho park. 

“Yeah,” Mason said with a sigh. He wasn’t an avid book reader but even the way the owner sorted them made him feel a little uneasy. Just by author seemed rather unorganized. “Of course, I couldn’t let you get crushed. We are too young to die in an earthquake.” He started placing the books back on the shelf and then went to pick up the fallen bookcase. Surprisingly the shelf wasn’t too heavy, maybe that’s why it toppled over so easily. “Just about a month. It’s easy money, and I was running low on that. Are you from around here?”

Evie listened to Mason as she stood on her tiptoes, slipping a book onto the shelf. She handled them with light hands, doing her best not to touch the paper within them. Oils from hands never did seem to do anything but lower the quality of a book. In all honesty, this was her happy place. A bookstore, organizing the various novels. It gave her the chance to see new ones she may never have picked up otherwise. “Working does put money in the bank,” she laughed softly as she continued to replace the titles that had fallen from the still upright shelf. “I am not - drove in from Arizona a few days ago to meet up with my friends from high school,” she explained simply. Though, it was far from simple. “Do you read much?” she asked, holding up one of the books. 

“the dream! there’s gotta be a dream. i’m a big believer in having a dream, but… i think everyone knows that about me,” roman commented softly. if only he could actually make his own dreams come true. he felt like a fraud preaching about dreaming to everyone from high school when he wasn’t accomplishing his at all - he was bartending in new york city. he laughed, “i’ll think on that one.” maybe life coach would be the next trial after bartender. “that’s fair. you gotta have a dream that fits you. but what are you loving right now?” he shook his head gently, “i haven’t. maybe i need to check it out.”

“don’t you think, though, for some people... their dreams are more of a feeling than a specific goal to accomplish?” evie asked, raising a brow. there was so much from her life that felt like it was a to do list and, in all honesty, she was just glad to feel like her overall goal was more of a desire to be happy and do something with reading and writing. it would all work out. “you seem to like other people’s dreams,” she pointed out. “making someone else happy by helping them get toward theirs or figure theirs out could be fulfilling for you,” evie grinned, playing with the fabric of her bikini. “writing, books, the podcast. all of which will launch me toward being happy,” she hummed, looking down at her watch. she gasped, looking to roman. “i owe my friend in arizona a call, but i don’t want to be rude... do you think you and i could continue catching up later? maybe for dinner or something?” 

“ yeah, well, it does, “ shiloh responds, probably a little too harshly than she should have. she squeezed her eyes shut, mentally kicking herself for being so rude. she had to keep reminding herself that neither her nor evie were the same people they were in high school and that she can’t hold this evie accountable for everything high school evie had done. shiloh sits in silence, glancing up abruptly when evie starts to speak. she hesitated for a few seconds, thinking it over. evie had a point, all of this high school business was stupid, but what evie did was essentially the last memory she had of the other girl and it was kind of hard to forget. but she figured that five years was long enough to hold some stupid grudge from high school. “ no, you’re absolutely right, “ she said, finally, taking a deep breath. “ we can move past it, i just – i’m sure you’re not the same person that i remember and i hope i’m not the same person you remember. “

they were young - in high school and now. mistakes would be made the longer they lived and the further they got from their high school selves, the more apparent it would become that who they were then was not who they’d always be. it was something evie was learning to cope with, who she was back when she’d lied to way too many people on the internet about who she was. catfishing in high school wasn’t murder, though, and it certainly wasn’t the worst thing the people in their friend group had done. for pete’s sake, roman sold pills! wasn’t that more harmful than evie’s attempt at figuring out who she was? even if it was through a deceptive manner. her last memory of shiloh wasn’t fond either, but it wasn’t affecting her perception of the other girl. clearly, shiloh couldn’t say the same. “maybe i’m not, maybe i am. i don’t fully know how far i’ve come, but shiloh? high school rarely crosses my mind and if it’s hard for you to come to terms with what happened back then, that’s fine. i’m not trying to invalidate your feelings,” she paused, slipping her book and sunscreen back into her bag. “i’m not going to talk about it, though. or fuel the fire, so if you’d like to be friends with 23 year old evie, she’s here,” evangeline spoke softly, slowly standing and picking up her towel - careful to make sure the sand blew away from shiloh. “but if you need time to get over what happened with 18 year old evie, take the time,” she encouraged, stepping to walk away. there was no need to continue this until shiloh got through whatever anger seemed to still lace itself through her memories. 

“Okay,” Mason nodded, an extra hand really wouldn’t hurt and he honestly didn’t want to be there well into the night just to try to get the shop back in order. “Um, just a heads up the owner organizes by author. Just by author. You know how big bookstores would go by genre then author, yeah it doesn’t matter the genre. Everything must just go by the author’s last name.” He looked around and started to pick up some books. “Hopefully it’ll be easy, the piles shouldn’t be too mixed up.”

Evie raised a brow at Mason’s admission that everything was organized by author. She wasn’t sure why, but there as suddenly a really uncomfortable feeling in her chest. “You said, by author only?” she asked, just to clarify. Slowly, she stood and looked to the bookcase she’d currently be beneath if it weren’t for Mason. He’d sort of rescued her from a bad situation. “Thank you for pulling me out of the way,” she spoke gratefully, looking to one of the still standing bookcases. There were only a handful of books that had fallen out. Reaching out, she arranged and moved books still on the bookcase before bending to pick a couple up. “How long have you been working here for?” 

“what is the dream, evie? what makes you tick? why are you getting that degree?” roman questioned softly. it was his favorite conversation to have with people, but it always seemed like most people didn’t think as deeply about dreams or the future. it wasn’t that people didn’t care, but most people liked to focus on the present - in his experience. he wondered if evie felt that way - did she live in the present or in the clouds? “these waves are fucking incredible. i love being here… these beaches are like… unbeatable. nothing on the east coast compares.”

“the dream?” evie asked, laughing a little. there’s not one ounce of her that is even a little bit shocked by the question coming from her old friend. he always seemed to be a fan of reaching for the stars. having a plan, goals he wanted to achieve. and it wasn’t that she didn’t - evie just wasn’t sure that sharing those with roman was the right idea. “you should really be a life coach if all else fails,” she cooed, smiling a little. “the dream is to love what i do and that’s that. more specific than that and i feel locked down,” evie shrugged, opting for an easy response to be able to hold some control over the situation. “have you been to the desert? it’s so odd to have a constant lull in the background. it’s much quieter in the nature in arizona.”

TASK THREE | PLAYLISTS | BLUES

“isn’t school the beginnings of yours though, evie?” roman asked softly, biting at his cheek. if only she knew that he was spending his nights bartending and listening to his customers tell him about the shows they had seen. nights filled with stories about the incredible experiences they’d had with stage doors and intermissions… things roman dreamed of. he shook his head, “i’m not bored, evie. i want to hear all about your life. i know we ended on… a weird note, but…” he shrugged at her question, “i like the weather. it’s absolutely gorgeous always… and it’s so fucking quiet. i’ve been loving that.”

“maybe,” evie shrugged. school sort of felt like it was a bit of a block for her sometimes. like it wasn’t all that needed, but that she loved too much to give up. perhaps that was sort of how roman felt with his dreams. that until he reached the very stop of his dream board, he didn’t quite have a reason to be proud of himself. she understood that. there wasn’t much pride running through her blood either. the girl quirked her head to the side, forcing her brows to remain down, an unbothered look on her face. a weird note? that was an understatement and roman had to know it. “i feel like it’s going to just be nice to be away and somewhere calm and serene. not that the desert isn’t those things, but this? I mean... you can’t beat the sound of these waves,” she nodded, opting to stay positive and to avoid any conflict. they didn’t need to talk about high school.

beck grinned and nodded at her question. “yeah, I do have a favorite. she gives tink the right amount of sass, you know?” he laughed lightly. the vibes that beckett was picking up from evie were definitely different. he felt like she had definitely been through something that had changed her, he could tell. “you know good and well that I am the funniest person you know, eves,” he said with a grin. when she still seemed skeptical, beckett chuckled softly. “I know you think i’m crazy but I stand by what I said,” he hummed playfully. when she questioned if the decision to come had been easy, he went silent for a moment. after a minute or two, he sighed. “I went back and forth but then I just kept thinking about ken and..she would have been so hurt if I didn’t come,” he shrugged, drawing circles in the sand. beck thought being here would be easier than it had been but if he was honest, he felt out of place. incomplete. “well, I hope that i’m not one of those reasons,” he said softly, looking at evie with a smile. 

“i suppose tinkerbell, in the films, is quite sassy,” evie agreed with a soft laugh. she wondered just how degrading it must be to have to play a woman at disney. the way that men were in general and then, on top of that, the way disney princesses were written in films. her mind wandered a bit to far, so she only caught the end of what beckett was saying about being the funniest person. she scoffed, wrinkling her nose. “i can easily say that bee is a much funnier person than you are, beck. unless something has drastically changed over the years,” she winked at him. there was something about how all of their stereotypes seemed to be true for multiple of them - they were all funny in their own way. or so she hoped. when the boy mentioned his sister, evie turned her head to look at him. kennedy. if she felt comfortable, she might’ve told him her true thoughts. that if kennedy was still around, she probably would’ve forgotten to show up. “not you, no,” evie sighed, running a hand through her hair. “but i get it. you just have to remember that it’s all about what you want now. it doesn’t have to be all about kennedy anymore,” she whispered at the end of her sentence, a little nervous for his reaction. 

“Mason,” He forced a smile, the ordeal of the earthquake made him forget that he hadn’t formally introduced himself. “No, it’s okay. It’s my job to keep this place tidy when the owner needs help. You can just sit there and relax.” Mason said, this time with a more genuine smile. “Were you able to find the book you were looking for? If not I’ll keep my eye out for it while I put this place back together.”

Evie wasn’t sure if it was the events that had just occurred or if it was this Mason character’s usual tendencies, but he was sort of seeming annoyed with her. At least, that was how she read his tone and demeanor. “Oh, no, I’d really rather help. I really need this book and I figure I can be a better help,” the girl assured him, sipping on the water once more. She was thankful that her heart rate was starting to slow. “I did, actually. But it’s now underneath that,” she pointed to the bookcase that she was thankful Mason had saved her from. A soft laugh left her lips. “Let me help.”

“ yeah, sometimes change is good, “ shiloh agreed, thinking back to the drastic changes she’s made to her life immediately after and since high school. she knew that if she had stayed in naperville or even gone back to visit a lot, she would never have been able to leave all the things that had weighed her down so many years ago – her falling out with evie, included. she likes to think that she grew exponentially as a person since high school, but coming face to face with some of things she’d been running away from is way different. and by the look on evie’s face, shiloh was right in her hesitancy to add on the comment about high school. it was stupid to have even said anything, but it was too late to take it back now. “ it kept me busy, which is good. so my program is kinda weird. i did a three years of undergrad, then two years of graduate school, if that makes sense, “ she explained. at evie’s response, shiloh let out a short chuckle and nodded. “ not surprising at all. you always had your head buried in a book in high school. “ 

“most of the time, in my opinion,” evie replied, her mind thinking of all of the changes each of her friends must have gone through since they left high school. even if they were small changes, they were still there. not that she’d know them yet and, in many cases, she didn’t care to. there was no chance she was the only person who felt that way, either. “definitely makes sense. i just hadn’t known it existed for that field,” evie pointed out, setting her book aside and sitting up a bit more. “i still usually do,” she nodded with a soft hum. a brief silence fell between the two girls before evie looked over to shiloh with a light sigh. “can’t we just... move past the high school stuff? i’m just not entirely interested in revisiting it. it no longer affects me,” she spoke honestly. “i just want to know who you are now.”

“good for you for even going to undergrad. that’s more than i’ve done,” roman commented softly, wrinkling his nose. he never saw the point in going to college - most actors ended up dropping out anyways. he’d never considered a scenario where he didn’t accomplish his dreams so he decided against college, and, if he was honest, he sort of regretted that decision. he raised an eyebrow at the woman, placing his hands on his hips, “i do care, actually, but if you want to be done, then by all means…”

“do you really think it’s comparable? you have the beginnings of what is your dream,” evie pointed out, smiling a little. he certainly was doing what she’d always heard him talking about. acting on stage, being in new york. those were the biggest things on his proverbial dream board. well, knowing roman, he actually had one of those. “i just don’t want to bore you with the details of my life when I know there are other people you’d probably rather be around,” the brunette pointed out. “what has been your favorite thing about being in california so far?” 

shiloh nodded as evie spoke. she had been to arizona plenty of times for her job, whenever the team had away games out in phoenix, but she decided to hold back on mentioning it. she didn’t want to seem like she was overshadowing evie’s experience with the state, no matter her feelings towards the other woman. while shiloh’s tendency to hold grudges was one of her lesser traits, one of her more positive ones was that she was never boastful. sure, she got excited about things and had a tendency to ramble on, she never displayed an ounce of arrogance on any topic. “ a full year of sun is a bit different from cloudy france, huh? “ she inquired, a quirked eyebrow as she glanced over at evie. “ i just finished with my master’s, yeah. i was working while i was taking classes, actually, so i’ve been pretty busy, “ shiloh hesitated for a few seconds before continuing, “ too busy to dwell on stupid high school things. “ at evie’s nervous laugh, shiloh let out one of her own, though it felt awkward and forced as it escaped her throat. “ what are you studying? “

“of course it is, but changing things up isn’t a bad thing,” evie mentioned. paris had been good to her until it wasn’t. the gloomy fall and winter creeped into her chest and sometimes threatened to swallow her. she was about to respond to shiloh when the other girl spoke about being too busy to dwell on high school things. evie wasn’t sure what the point of this added comment was. was she trying to express that their falling out didn’t have to apply here or was it more that she felt like all of them being back together was sort of dumb? the brunette wasn’t so sure how to respond. she looked away, brow furrowing for a moment before relaxing as she looked back to shiloh. “that sounds like a very difficult thing - working and going to grad school. was it just a one year program or did you speed through your undergrad?” evie asked softly, her fingers gently messing with the paper cover of her book. “lit and creative writing,” she nodded with a soft smile. it was probably an expected response from her. her hope was to be a writer and librarian. “i’m sure that’s not surprising.”