AN: Another Devie oneshot. This is canon-divergent because I pushed back the timeline on when the new VKs were allowed to go to Auradon.

Hope you enjoy!

Doug knew he was one of the luckiest guys in Auradon. A fresh graduate from university, with a lot of leisure time spent playing various instruments, and appointed as one of King Ben's Royal Advisors alongside his beautiful and smart girlfriend.

Evie, being her amazing self, was able to juggle finishing college at the same time he did while running her fashion business, and earned herself a spot with Doug by King Ben's side.

Doug was truly, truly a lucky guy.

The subject of his daydream snapped him away from his thoughts. "Doug?"

He turned to see Evie with a small frown on her face. "Yeah?"

"I might skip this one out… Mal's having one of her, uhh - "

"Temper blasts?" To call it a tantrum would be an understatement. The purple-haired girl had the ability to transform into a dragon, after all.

Evie nodded. "Update me on what the council says, okay? I really wanted Dizzy here like yesterday."

"Sure, no problem."

"You're the best." She landed a swift kiss on his cheek before leaving to find her friend.

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"I don't know what happened, man. We were talking about the new VK living arrangements, then she went off," said Ben, shrugging his coat off and throwing it on the back of the sofa where he sat. "Carlos texted she's with him and Evie now."

Doug sank on the sofa chair across the King. "What did she say?"

"Nothing. It was a lot of grunts and eye rolls." He tried to run a hand through his hair, but stopped when he felt his crown. He removed the item and set it down beside him, thankful for the privacy of his study.

"Okay. What did you say?" Time spent with Evie and her friends had him learn a lot of things about dissecting certain events and their respective non-verbal cues. He knew the VKs each had little triggers that would either awaken a childhood trauma or an inner demon that was previously sound asleep.

"That Evie's house couldn't possibly house four more VKs, since Mal and the others also live there, so I suggested we have a Plan B for the council. Then I told her about the time I slept over at Fairy Cottage and Flora couldn't figure out how to accommodate me."

"Flora, as in Aurora's fairy godmother?"

"Yeah." Ben nodded his head. Doug has been his friend since they were kids, he should know this.

He wanted to smack the King in the face. "Flora, Aurora's fairy… Aurora, as in Audrey's mother? Audrey, your ex-girlfriend, Audrey?"

"Yeah!" he glared. Did he have trouble recalling their history or what?

"She got jealous." He sighed, leaning back on the chair. "You should control your tales. Mal's gotten better, but there are still going to be days like this." He couldn't empathize with Ben whenever he described how "bad" it can get when Mal got jealous because he was lucky Evie never got jealous, and she never had a reason to be. Thankfully, his wonderful girlfriend taught him a thing or two about understanding the enigma that was Mal, so hopefully he could help Ben out in times like these.

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Evie's heels clicked against the stone path as she rushed to the sound of Mal's screams. She rounded the corner and found Carlos sitting on the lawn looking up at a pacing and angry-as-hell Mal.

"Did you bring it?" mouthed Carlos, to which Evie nodded.

She waited until Mal faced her before taking her hand out from her bag and throwing a sandwich at her friend.

Mal instinctively caught it with a raised brow. "What is this?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Bite it and find out."

Her bright green glare disappeared after two bites of what she discovered was a strawberry jam sandwich.

Evie sank down to the grass beside Carlos, who was sighing in relief. A few more minutes of Mal screaming at him would have had him wishing for his mother instead. The bluehead handed him his own sandwich. "Thought you'd want one too."

"Thanks, Evie."

When Mal finished her snack, she sat down with her companions. "So…" she started with a guilty glance at Carlos.

"Hangry episode, I figured," said the boy, mouth full with the sandwich. That's why he texted Evie to bring any food she could find and shove it down the half-fairy quick.

"I didn't even realize the time. One thing was Ben and I were talking about the new VKs, then the next he was talking about a sleepover with Audrey from years back." She scoffed, knowing that she might have overreacted a tiny bit. "And I saw green."

Evie nodded in understanding. Jealous Mal rarely came out, thus the reasons for her to come out were scarce as well. So far, what triggered all of the previous 'Jealous Mal' episodes was Ben talking about Audrey, but the real reason was something else: hunger, as in this case, or someone sneaking up behind her, which she hates more than anything in this world.

"How do you deal with jealousy? It's so foreign that it sneaks up when I'm annoyed at…" she puffed out air, the strawberry jam still lingering in her tongue, "something else." It was unfortunate Jay was still playing pro in-season and wasn't due back in another month. Mal missed his straightforward feedback.

"I don't know what it is either." Carlos shook his head. Back on the Isle, they were taught jealousy was a 'good' thing as it fuels the desire to achieve greater things.

Evie shook her head too. She's never been jealous. She grew up with her mother teaching her jealousy was an ugly trait so she never bothered with it. It was always 'leave first before you get ugly' and that was her world, until Doug.

When Doug entered her life and her heart, she realized whatever jealousy was, it didn't matter - not because it was 'ugly', but because the right person would never make you feel jealous. Whatever 'jealous' really meant, anyway.

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It felt like she was being slammed against a brick wall even if she was half-aware that she was standing still, at the side of the tourney field, with no wall in sight. Her breath hitched and she force-swallowed the lump in her throat, her lips parted slightly.

Jay and Lonnie had come back for their off-season break and she went off to find Doug so they could all hang out. Carlos, who was on his way to his last class for the day, informed her he last saw Doug headed for the tourney field to practice playing out in a wide space.

That's definitely not an instrument he's holding, she thought, glaring at the two other people in her line of sight a few feet away. They were too wrapped up in whatever they were doing to even notice her.

Was she hurt at the scene in front of her, like how she first felt after Audrey kissed Chad? Looking back, when Audrey kissed Chad on the bleachers all those years ago in front of the whole school, it was the wake-up call she needed that Chad was a jerk.

Now, however, with Doug leaning against some unknown girl's shoulder and said girl hugging him tight, on the very same bleachers, she didn't know what to make of what she was feeling. Was she hurt too? Or was this anger?

Sure, physically, it felt like she was being slammed against a wall over and over again. Mentally, it felt like a hundred chemistry questions all thrown at her in one go, but… what was it? What was this? She felt like she wanted to vomit. She slapped herself twice, as if doing so would make the scene in front of her disappear, but it did nothing.

Her chest felt constricted, and her leather jacket became too much for her to handle. Evie turned tail and ran away from the field before the pair even realized she was there. She ran as fast as her legs and her shoes would allow and zipped back home in record time.

"Jay!" she screamed from the entrance, door slamming closed.

The boy ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. "Hey."

Mal, who had been lounging in the living room, looked on in curiosity.

"We're swapping the door knobs and locks. Now."

"Huh?"

"Are you deaf?!" She stomped off to where they kept the toolkit. "We're swapping the locks!"

Mal and Jay looked at each other in panic. Evie never stomped. Evie strutted. Evie glided, she never, ever stomped. Now she was stomping worse than when Gaston got too drunk at the pub. They followed their friend to her studio where she was kneeling in front of the glass door, already halfway through taking out the door knob.

"Make yourselves useful," she huffed, pointing to the spread out toolkit on the floor, "and take out the knob of the front door, and the side entrance. I'll take the garden entrance next. Then we swap the knobs and reattach."

"What's going on, E?" asked Mal, but nodded at Jay so the boy would follow Evie's command. He grabbed some of the tools and went on his way.

"Doug has a spare key to all the doors, but once he tries one out and it doesn't fit, he'll just think we changed it all and leave." She set the door knob down on the floor with more force than was necessary.

"We're not done talking about this," muttered Mal, taking a tool and helping Jay take out the other door knobs.

Once all the knobs were collected, Evie reassigned where each should go and asked her friends to reattach the door knobs to their new places. When the princess was done, she pursed her lips and wiped her hands against each other.

While the other two were still working on their respective tasks, Mal started formulating a plan on how to breach this conversation. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Jay finished with the front door and was on his way to her next. She smirked to herself, momentarily distracted by the pride she felt.

If there was anything the Isle kids could do, it was to tinker quick and fast. As she stared at her seething best friend gathering the toolkit, she knew even Evie hadn't lost her touch.

"Care to tell me now what's going on?" she asked when she finished.

With another huff, Evie stomped back to her glass studio and locked the door. Jay and Mal followed. They stared at her with raised brows, waiting for an explanation. Mal wondered how many times did she have to ask before Evie answered her properly.

"Not here," said Evie, assessing the glass and walking out of her studio. If they stayed in the studio for long and Doug happened to appear, he'll see them. Evie sank down on one of the seats by the kitchen counter, with her friends doing the same across from her.

She tapped her nail on the wood, trying to think of a way to sort whatever she was feeling based on what she saw back on the tourney field. "Will someone tell Carlos about the rearranged keys? He's about to be dismissed." Time. She needed time.

"I did already," said Jay, leaning back with his arms crossed. This was a whole new Evie. No one could blame him if he was ready to jump out at a moment's notice.

Mal pursed her lips then smacked them together soundly. "So… this is about Doug…" she prodded.

Nostrils flaring at the name, Evie's glare resurfaced. "He's not welcome here anymore." As if sensing that he was being talked about, Evie's phone started to vibrate and it was an incoming call from him. Her eye twitched as she hurled her phone to the other side of the kitchen.

"Whoa!" Jay jumped out of his seat, widely avoiding the flying device. He's definitely never seen this Evie before, and a glance at Mal's confused expression showed she's never seen this side to Evie before either.

Mal left her seat as well. She reached inside one of the shelves to grab a handful of sour candies, Evie's favorite, and laid them in front of her friend. That was the only thing she could think of right now which would hopefully lessen the violent outbursts. Evie never stomped, and never got violent. It was Mal who did those things and it was freaky seeing someone like Evie acting like her.

"He - " The usually demure girl ripped out two of the wrappers and popped them in her mouth, chewing forcefully. "He had another girl." She swallowed the candies down her throat, relishing the flavor. "In his arms."

"What do you mean 'another girl in his arms'?" Jay knew Doug. Jay had a lengthy conversation with Doug before he left to play pro to not break Evie's heart or he will break his limbs.

"Exactly what it means! I don't even know her! And she… she…" heat pooled in her eyes and she grit her teeth, hoping to stop the tears from coming. Princess don't cry. Crying is for ugly commoners, her mother's words rang in her mind.

Shit. Mal sprung to Evie and wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders. "We're here, E."

She turned and hugged Mal, letting the tears leak free. "She's so pretty. She's probably a princess. A real princess," she whispered, her voice breaking, her insecurities coming to light once more. It has been years ago since she last became insecure about her lack of royalty here in Auradon, but seeing Doug with that girl brought it all back.

Jay furrowed his brows at the sight. All of them had childhood traumas, insecurities, and triggers, and this was one of Evie's: to not be the fairest in the land. It had been a journey for her to accept that they loved all her ins and outs, makeup or no makeup, but apparently there were still unavoidable triggers such as this: finding Doug with another girl. He surreptitiously sent a text to Carlos: "Go straight home. No AKs."

"I only have myself to blame," continued Evie. "I'm getting busier everyday, I even wear less makeup now." She extricated herself from Mal's hold and buried her head in her arms on the counter.

"No," said Mal, tugging a strand of her blue hair. Her friend was beautiful, even without the makeup. If only she saw that.

"Doug couldn't be that stupid," muttered Jay, fists aching for a place to land.

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It took all three other VKs, a whole pack of sour candies, and a shattered plate to coax Evie from her slump on the kitchen counter and into her bed to rest her puffy eyes.

Carlos sighed as he clicked Evie's bedroom door closed. He followed Mal and Jay down to the living room. "I've never seen her before either," he said in a hushed tone, settling down on the floor.

Jay decided to pace, while Mal sank down on the couch.

"But not to rank or anything, she doesn't hold an apple to Evie."

"Tch. No one can hold an apple against Evie," said Mal. If there was one thing the Evil Queen got right, it was Evie's genetics.

"What were they doing?"

"Walking, her hand was on Doug's arm." Carlos used to really root for Doug. "Good thing you texted me, so I jumped out of sight when I saw them."

"She almost threw her phone at me that time."

Carlos chuckled. Poor Jay, he definitely didn't expect his first day back home to be this crazy.

"What do we do now?" asked Jay, eyes straying to Mal's.

"Give me a minute." She stared up at the ceiling. Back on the Isle, whenever someone messed with Evie or Carlos, she and Jay would run after that person and steal everything he possessed, maybe even break some of his things. They couldn't do that in Auradon. Hmm. Could we do that in Auradon? She shook the thought out of her head. No. "We can't steal everything he has," she eyed Jay, "or run away as usual because this castle is our hideout." She admittedly needed a new strategy, all her usual ones can't work.

Jay shrugged. "We could go to the Isle." When they looked at him as if he'd grown another head, he added, "Just for a few days, to clear out the air here."

Mal snapped her fingers. "She could visit Dizzy."

"Guys, we can't open the barrier again just because," scolded Carlos.

Both Mal and Jay groaned at the reminder.

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Jay spotted Doug and the unknown girl from the moment they reached the top of the hill leading to the castle. "Hell no." With Carlos in class and Mal off to rearrange her court schedule to free up more time to comfort Evie; Jay was left to guard the blue-haired princess in the meantime, who was holed up in the training room beheading all of Jay's training dummies with a sword.

He stomped down to the living room with gritted teeth and waited for the inevitable doorbell, since Doug will discover within the first few seconds that his key no longer works. He smirked at the confused noise by the front door and waited with bated breath.

The doorbell rang, and Jay sprang into action. He threw the front door wide open and leaned against the frame to block the entrance.

"Oh! Hi, Jay! Welcome back! I must have brought the wrong key to- "

"Nah," he said, exaggeratedly shaking his head, "Locks were all changed. What are you doing here, Doug?" he stared down at the other man, decidedly ignoring his companion.

"I came to see Evie? She hasn't been answering my…" he swallowed the lump in his throat, uncomfortable at Jay's hard stare. He adjusted his bowtie. "I wanted to introduce, umm…" his eyes strayed to his side where his quiet companion stood.

"Hi," she cheerfully said, extending her hand to shake Jay's. "I'm - "

He crossed his arms close to his chest, narrowly avoiding her fingers. "Not interested." He eyed Doug again. "This is your only warning: leave. Now."

"Why? What's going on?"

Maybe Doug really was that stupid. Why would he dare to bring over the girl here, anyway? Jay couldn't stop his hand from reaching over and grabbing hold of Doug's collar. He lifted the thin man off the ground, his muscles bulging as he gripped tighter.

"Stop! Stop!" protested the unknown girl, and Jay had to stop himself from pushing her away and inevitably hurting her.

He narrowed his eyes, a small part of him enjoying how Doug was squirming in his grip. "No one messes with -"

"Doug?" came a voice from behind Jay.

He released Doug from his grip and the latter dropped to the stone ground, taking deep breaths. "Evie, I got this. Go back inside."

"What's going on?" Doug asked again, breaths shallow and forcing his vision to focus.

Evie gasped as she saw the unknown pretty girl drop to Doug's side and rub her hand down his back. She stomped to the front door, sword still in hand and swung it down in Doug's direction, which the two 'guests' avoided at the last second. She glared at Doug, her shoulders shaking as she hefted the sword in the air again, ready for another swing. "Why are you here? With… with her!" She struck the sword down on the ground again, almost hitting Doug's foot and the girl's knee had they not scooted back again.

Jay stood back with a proud smile. This new Evie was not so bad, after all.

"Her?" Doug blinked up at his girlfriend, who menacingly held the sword she was trying her damndest to strike at him, then to the trembling girl by his side. "Selena?"

"I don't care what her name is!" She lifted the sword again and this time swung straight for Doug's chest.

He narrowly avoided it by leaping to his feet and onto the grass. He raised his hands in front of him. "E-Evie!" He's never seen her like this before. She was beyond angry with a hint of hurt and disappointment, and another emotion he couldn't quite place. He shouted the first thing that came to mind, "Whatever it is, I'm sorry!"

"I'll give you sorry alright!" she charged at him, all one hundred eleven pounds and heels against grass, sword swinging in the air. She had to give the boy some credit, he was avoiding her attacks like a pro.

Doug heaved short breaths as he dodged and jumped away from Evie's blade, years of defending himself from bullies coming in handy at his raging girlfriend. "Evie!" Who knew she could fight like this? "Evie, what's going on?!" he jumped up then ducked at the last second as the sword almost hit him in the ear.

"You even dare bring her here!" she screamed, gritting her teeth to focus on something else other than her tears threatening to fall. "With her pink cheeks and her small pinkish nose," she huffed, attempting to strike Doug's arm, which he turned to avoid, "and her pink lips!" Her mother's face and her all-too-often speech about her cheeks not being pink enough or her lips not red enough came flooding to the forefront of her mind like an avalanche.

"Ah!" he tripped on his own foot as he landed, rolling flat on his back on the ground.

Evie slammed her shoe on his chest, the tip of her sword dangerously close to his nose. The hand that held the hilt shook slightly, but her glare was as dangerous as her mother's poisoned apples.

He raised his hands up in surrender. "Pinkish nose?" Of course, Selena had a pinkish nose. That was the way genetics worked.

She gripped the sword tighter, debating whether to strike him or not. "I know," she gasped out, thankful that her tears are kept at bay, "She's prettier than me, but you didn't have to bring her here," she choked out, "I saw you two."

"Saw us what?" he squeaked out, eyebrows drawn in confusion. Why was she bringing up Selena being prettier? His eyes widened in realization. "Selena's my cousin!"

"What?"

"She's -" he gulped as the blade neared his chin. "She's Uncle Sneezy's daughter."

Evie looked back when she heard footsteps near, her blade still hovering over Doug.

"Yeah, umm, hi," approached Selena, hands tight against each other, but still keeping a safe distance from her cousin and her cousin's armed girlfriend. "It's nice to meet - " she sneezed softly, handkerchief quickly covering her face, "you." She proceeded to take a pill from her pocket and popped it into her mouth. "Stupid allergies."

That explains the naturally pink complexion. Evie's mind connected the dots and everything she's seen. The hug they had at the bleachers was no different from how she hugged Jay, Carlos, or Ben sometimes. She blushed then looked down at her boyfriend's goofy grin.

"Am I safe now?"

She threw the blade away and helped him up. "I'm so sorry."

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, his hand cradling the back of her head. "I never knew you could fight like that." She never ceased to amaze him.

She scoffed, her breath hitting his throat. "Don't be surprised I tinkered and changed some of the locks too."

Now he understood Ben whenever he said how "bad" it was when Mal got jealous. Doug made a mental note to never make Evie jealous again, whether unintentionally or not.

AN: Stay safe, everyone!