The end to an era of innocence

Evie's mother had promised her daughter that nothing would happen following their initial conversation. That Evie would always and forever remain her daughter regardless of whom she chose to love. That Evie would never lose her family because of something she could not control. And Evie wanted to believe her mother so desperately, of course she did. How could she not believe the woman who had always cared for her, how had wrapped her in such an incredibly tight hug at the words. Yet there was something that felt a little off about it all. It sounded horrible in her own head, but Evie could not stop herself from thinking that perhaps her mother was only stating these things as a way to almost make up for what she had just dumped on her youngest daughter. It was the horrible doubting that Evie had found herself doing so much of in the last few months that had led her to ponder just whether her mother was hiding her true feelings about Evie's own secret just like she had hid the many secrets she had shared that evening and the many more she still hid from her daughters. Though Evie knew the reality that she needed to believe her mother and that she was being truthful in the support for her daughter. After what had happened, still having her mother by her side was one of the few things keeping Evie going. Everything felt normal when her mother was by her side still. As if these last few months hadn't occurred. As if everything was going to be okay no matter what happened.

 Evie knew despite the sudden urge she had to just stay at home in her mother arms, that her twin sister was expecting her to meet them so they could go out together and celebrate being 18. She really didn't want to go and that was before tonight. It sucked that she was going to hang out on her birthday with her twin sister's friends and not her own. But in reality Evie didn't really have any friends of her own who weren't originally Clary's friends. Not anymore. And even if Evie rather have spent the evening in her room watching films and eating pizza, she knew that her sister had been excited about going out for the night, spending the time together as sisters for their birthday. And therefore, Evie could not back out of her promise to her sister to go. She could only hope that they would not stay out for that long and could return early so she could retreat to her room and retreat back into her own emotions. 

She had to start getting ready for the evening she knew that despite telling their mother they were going to just sit about the poetry slam that they were going clubbing instead. And therefore, she had to dress appropriately for the club, otherwise there was no chance she was going to get in considering the state of her fake ID. Therefore, she had to ensure her outfit would get her in. The easiest solution to this was to wear the outfit that Dot had gifted her earlier on it logically made sense. It seemed the perfect outfit for the club almost as if the older woman just knew what the twins had planned for the night.

"Don't forget to take your birthday presents with you when you go. Do you need help concealing them?" The voice of Evie's mother drifted through her bedroom door as Evie stood there dressed and staring at herself in the mirror. Where was any of it going to fit? There was a lot of skin on show.

"Firstly, never underestimate the power of a simple jacket. Provides warm and hiding space." Her mother spent a small amount of time explaining the best place to hide Evie's new weapons for her to leave the house with. It was strange that she had the intent to enter a club with probably very illegal weapons all over her body.

"Oh sweetie, there was something dropped off for you this morning. I'll grab it before you go out. Give me a second." Her mother dashed off back in the direction of the kitchen before returning with a final wrapped gift. This final gift had no label on the front to say whom it was from and considering she had all of the gifts she had expected so far. Evie had no clue who this could be from.

The present was a small box from the looks of the outside, the wrapping paper was blue and covered in little robots. Also not much of an indicator of who could have sent it to her. Rather she could only open it and hope what was inside indicated who sent it. Upon removing the wrapping paper the box seemed to look like a jewellery box. It was rather plain and lined with a blue velvet material on the inside. Perched in the middle of the box was a small silver locket. Evie ran her fingers over the locket before opening it up. Within an instant she had sat down on the bed just a few steps behind her. Tears clouded her vision and that urge she had to stay inside tripled.

For inside was a photo of her and the person she missed more than anything. The person she wished she could trade places with. The person she wanted by her side more than she wanted to breathe. The photo the locket contained was one of the last ones they ever took together. Evie had been stood with her knees slightly bent as the slightly shorter woman stood behind her holding Evie in the gentlest of embraces from behind. An embrace that Evie wished she could still feel in that moment of time. The pair looked so content and Evie just wished it was still like that. There was a small inscription on the other side opposite the photograph. 

Happy Birthday Angel,
G x.

That was enough for the tears to freely flow down her face as she held onto the locket. When had the other girl got the chance to get this made up? There was no possibility unless this had been planned months in advance. It physically made no sense at all. Yet all of that the logical side of it, none of that mattered. She had gotten something else so precious. That was all that matter she had received something she never even thought possible.

"Mom, can you help me put this on?" Her voice was weak, it shook as she spoke yet that was nothing she wanted to hide. All she wanted was to keep this little item close to her heart.

"Oh, Eve its beautiful." Her mother complimented the piece of jewellery.

"It really is, she thought of everything." Evie hiccupped at the end of her sentence as her mother closed the clasp. Her right hand went straight to hold onto the locket and she felt almost as if the other girl was still there with her. 

The longer she sat on her bed absorbed in the gift and the girl it was from, the less time Evie had to get to where she was supposed to be meeting her twin. At the rate time was passing, she was going to have to rush her way there considering she would rather walk than dare ask her mother for a lift or catch a taxi. Anything to stay out a moving vehicle. Therefore, she needed to get her act together and get out of the house and in the direction of the club.

The dark streets of Brooklyn seemed more disturbing at night. As if there was something just ready to pounce on the unsuspecting. On more than one occasion Evie felt inclined to turn on her spot and peer over her shoulder. Each time she did it the racing of her heart increased and the sweat developing on her hands doubled. The sound of fellow footfall caused her to pick up speed as she rounded the final corner.

The loud neon sign of the club was the first thing that caught her eye. The obnoxious purple flashing sign that indicated where it was located could be seen from the beginning of the street. It was a club Evie had never heard of before Simon had suggested it, it wasn't one that appeared when you searched on google. Strange but Evie wondered if it was like one of those not quite secret, considering how little it was trying to hide, but places where people only knew about it from word of mouth and that was the entire premises the club was working on.

She noticed a very familiar van parked not far from the front of the club, surrounded by a girl with red hair the same shade of her own. Evie charged her way over the final distance of her walk causing her to feel a small burn in her thighs. She was unsure as to what her sister was doing by the van by the familiar smell of paint burnt her nostrils and she knew that something artsy was going on. The poor van that Evie could recall started its life in the Lewis family as blue was now an off shade of black that was patchy in areas and covered in doodles and words which were no longer distinguishable to the eye. From many failed attempts at joining the music industry and prompt rebranding Evie was never sure just exactly what was next.

Not for the poor van that was.

Evie settled in with small talk with the other girl at the scene who was not biologically related to her, Maurine. The other half of Simon's musical duo Maurine wasn't someone they had known for years. Actually she wasn't sure even how the musical duo met nor came to the conclusion to create their duo. She wasn't sure she had ever seen the two interacting in school, actually she wasn't even sure Maurine went to the same high school the other three had. Evie didn't want to even think at the possibility that she wasn't observant at the time, she was always observant and truly thought she knew at least the faces of every person in her year. Yet she must have been wrong if she couldn't remember Maurine attending their school. She wouldn't dare ask the other if they had any classes together though, because if the answer was yes that would be more embarrassing than just not knowing.

The small talk Evie had been having with Maurine had developed into an actual decent conversation, rather about the local mall and the newest shop to have opened up. Brandy Melville never had and would probably never be Evie's style, but it didn't mean she wasn't interested in the opening of the new store. Or that she wouldn't take some time to have a browse around the store. Maurine rather, this was her style and Evie could slightly see the tag of the girl's cardigan which did in fact read 'Brandy Melville'. Therefore, just talking about something as simple as clothing not only was a nice way to bond but also a nice distraction. It felt like forever since Evie had spoken with someone for such a length regarding clothing but she was not upset about it. In fact it was one of the things she had missed greatly in the last 12 weeks. Sure she had never dressed overly girly but she still loved clothes nevertheless. She didn't have to be the overly feminine one anyways. Or she never had to be.

Evie's attention was finally drawn back to her older twin sister, she would never live those 20 minutes down, who was suddenly storming off in the direction of the club. Her jacket had been shrugged off, and tossed in Simon's general direction and she was off. Marching away like an angry duckling towards the bright neon lights and the front of the queue. Did Clary forget you were supposed to queue to enter the club, she can't have the line was decently long. Yet the bouncer took one look at Clary and just let her in, no checking of the rather horrendous fake ID or anything. Maybe he just didn't want to be on the other side of an angry ginger.

Evie turned to the other two around her, neither of which had made a move to follow after the shorter ginger. Rather they stood there with perplexed faces. Therefore, Evie made the big girl decision and headed in the same direction of her twin sister. It was probably for the best either way considering Clary's insane ability to get herself involved in something she should never be involved with. Approaching the same bouncer with the most confidence and charm Evie could muster in total she prayed he would just let her through like he had done her sister. But just to amp up the chances she attempted to push up her non existent cleavage and gave what she hoped was a flirty wink and smile. Regardless 

of whether it was actually helping her case or not, Evie was very quickly let into the club. She pondered for a moment just why, there was no asking for an ID no actual checks, heck if there had been the other person would have found the throwing knives she had attached to her person.

The next part of the tiny little mission Evie had set her upon would be locating hair just as fiery as her own. However, first she had to get through the sudden stench of alcohol and sweat. And the gyrating bodies. The beat pounded in her head and she was sure that the only way the music could really be enjoyed is if you were drunk out of your mind. It felt as though the floors were vibrating and Evie wished she wasn't sober in this current moment in time. Maybe she could have come here once, willing, if the events of the last few months had not occurred. But she probably would not come here willingly ever again. That's if she considered this willingly she was still craving that pizza and those 2000's chick flicks. Yet here she was.

Hating the club aside, though she was sure she could speak for hours about the decor, Evie attempted to find her significantly shorter twin. Clary stood about half a foot shorter than Evie at 5 foot 3 inches and Evie stood proudly at 5 foot 9 inches. And therefore, Evie knew she couldn't pick her sister out from the crowd using the other girls height, she would have to enter the crowd and scan for her twin.

There should have been no shock to Evie that she was easily distracted as she looked through the vast crowd. A crowd of which could have easily been confused for a gathering of supermodels as there were way too many attractive people all in one place. A little too many to not be suspicious. Therefore, when she set her eyes upon one particular girl in the crowd, Evie found herself unable to stop and take a moment to properly study her. She was absolutely stunning, and her outfit highlighted this fact for certain. The other woman, yeah she could call her a woman, seemed almost the same height as Evie with the deadly looking stilettos she was wearing, and what she wore holy smokes. Gosh did Evie love women. She was in this very, very tight latex outfit and man did it just make her look so beautiful. The way the white contrasted with her skin tone, that darker more tanned colour, could make Evie faint. Her platinum white hair as well, despite Evie once saying she would never ever feel attraction to a blonde, was also outstanding. There was almost an urge for Evie to head over in this woman's direction. It was a compelling urge she was almost certain she would give into.

Until she was hit with a sudden overwhelming feeling of guilt. Like a bucket of cold water and ice, Evie was snapped out of this mindset. And she went almost numb. The sudden cold she felt and the immense amount of guilt made her almost crumble to the ground. How could she feel this. How could she do this to her. What kind of person was she being in this moment. Not someone she was happy to be that was for sure.

"The fuck was that about Evangeline?" She questioned herself quietly. Lucky that the loud noise in the club was able to hide her talking to herself Evie refocused on trying to find her twin, more desperate then ever to be back at home. The entire day had been a rollercoaster of emotions and she wanted nothing more than to sleep them off.  

Evie didn't have to look overly hard for her sister, not when a rather familiar and quite girly shout rang throughout the dance floor. There she was, well kinda. Evie hadn't exactly pinpointed her sister but she didn't have to. Because all of a sudden everything around her just changed. Shifted into almost a completely different reality. For those she had been ogling around her because they were so unnaturally attractive, were suddenly not exactly human anymore. She wasn't sure exactly what they were. But they definitely did not look the same anymore. She couldn't even describe them, but as she tried to recall anything from the tiny little lesson her mother had given her just hours ago Evie prayed she soon found an answer. But she couldn't even think what these could be.

It was almost as if these, she didn't want to say creatures because that was rude, people had sensed that she was not like them. And all of a sudden their attention turned onto her. Evie thought her best option was just to slowly walk her way back and out of the dance floor and hopefully in the right direction of her sister. Yet she made the mistake of making eye contact with one of them. And it wasn't that nice little sweet amount of eye contact you make with a stranger on the street and then all is forgotten. No it was the kind you made which was way longer than necessary and bordering on uncomfortable.

"This is not ideal Evie, not ideal at all." And there she was again talking to herself. As if she could answer her own comments. Or as if there was someone else she was talking to maybe was narrating to. Like characters in the Office. Then she remembered she was armed and only prayed the years worth of self defence she had taken were going to work. Launching the throwing knife which had once rested against her left thigh, she aimed towards the one she had made eye contact with. It landed where intended and Evie just assumed it was the other persons heart, which upon taking a second to think made her sound very psychopathic. It appeared as though she was indeed correct considering the person began to convulse before they fell to the floor in a pile of ash. Rather anti climatic really. If Evie's life was not at as much risk as it currently was she was sure she would have spent just a little more time considering the performance, but with everything at stake a good 4/10.

She moved slightly towards the now pile of ash to reclaim her throwing knife otherwise she was sure they would only last a night. However, this did not help her current circumstances for the moment she looked up from reclaiming her knife the attention which had only really just been on her had now doubled. Her body seemed to know just how to respond to this current predicament and it was like she switched on autopilot and she began to rapid fire her throwing knives at those around her. Between the use of her throwing knives and the other skills she had picked up through her years of different martial arts, Evie was slowly able to neutralise the threat she had been met with.

Upon seeing that there was no more of the what she still assumed at present to be people surrounding her, Evie finally went to collect the final throwing knife she had used before going back to looking for her twin sister. Clary wasn't that hard to spot anymore considering the dance floor had almost completely emptied once the attack had started, in fact she was sure she could not count more than 10 people left in their close proximity. Meaning that her shorter twin was easily identifiable as she spoke to some blond which loomed over Clary making her look like a small child being reprimanded for misbehaving.

Looking closely at the pair, one would assume it was a very heated argument. However, Evie was sure she had just seen her sister do the strange wink thing she did whenever she was attempting to flirt. So this man had obviously caught Clary's attention. Evie pondered why but knew it was because Clary had always had a thing for blondes. Hence why it had never developed between Clary and Simon because he was not her sister's type. Clary always had a thing for those who replicated the Captain America ideology in both looks and personality wise.

Clary suddenly turned away from the man only to make immediate eye contact with Evie. The pair spoke no words as they both headed out of the club and onto the street outside. Neither mentioned about what they say or what had just occurred. Rather they stood there taking in the sudden chill of the cold air outside, before seeming to mutually decide to head home.