Walking around the town was interesting to say the least , Evan still got looks of wariness despite his hair not showing. He'd blame it on the fact that walking around with a hoodie over his head probably made him seem suspicious. He shrugged off the looks, realizing that if his hoodie was off, he may get even more looks. With a sigh, he simply focused on the surrounding stores in awe and delight.
From the corner of his eye, he could spot a sweets store named Alba's Sweet-Tooth and that was all he needed to read before he was jogging towards the store. Something he'd noticed was that at times, the old Evan's personality and traits would overtake his without notice. For example, sometimes he'd have the urge to cuddle some stuffed animal even though he himself had no interests in such a thing. It didn't necessarily bother him, in fact it made him happy.
He hated feeling as though he truly replaced all that was Evan and knowing that there was still a part of him somewhere brought him immense comfort. All that was Jacob existed through his own personality and that was a sure fire way of remembering who he was before he was murdered.
With his thoughts becoming a bit more somber, he opened the door to the tiny shop that was a pastel pink. The entire store screamed adorable and sweets all in one. As he walked within the store, he first noticed the checkered pattern on the floor that continued throughout the entire floor, as well as the massive amount of sweets and goodies that occupied the shops shelves and displays.
There were treats that seemed so similar to what he knew before and yet, so different at the same time. One sweet that caught his eye was something that seemed to be fudge but he couldn't really be sure. It looked really good but Evan had to be mindful of how much he spent as he needed enough for the groceries he was supposed to get.
He peeked down at the tiny bag of coins that remained in his short's pocket. In this world, there was paper money but it was mostly circulated in the larger cities or capitals. In the more suburban areas and smaller towns, the currency they had was in coin form. There were copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins, all with different values.
1 copper coin was the equivalent of a quarter in a sense. 10 copper coins gave someone 1 silver coin. 100 silver coins created 1 gold coin, while 1000 gold coins created 1 platinum coin. Only noble families, such as royalty, or the wealthy had any platinum coins as it was difficult to amass that amount of wealth.
Evan stared at the price tag of the fudge-looking treat, 5 copper coins, and then looked straight back at his coin bag. He could get 1 treat, before needing to use the rest for groceries. A smile graced his face as he walked towards the counter, where a tiny old man with tanned skin and dark hair waved at him.
"Hello! I'd like to get that treat over there," he said as he pointed at the fudge-ish treat. He didn't need to act like the old Evan as no one seemed to have recognized him.
"Alright sonny, coming right up." The old man quickly brought out the treat and wrapped it up in a cute pink wrapping paper. "That'll be 5 copp-sorry it'll be 10 copper coins for one like yourself." He quickly corrected himself.
Unbeknownst to Evan, a piece of his hair had become visible and the shop owner noticed it, quickly becoming on guard. Evan felt anger coil within his guts, leaving him to throw 10 copper coins onto the counter and grab the treat. He escaped the store, needing a place to calm down. He knew the discrimination had been bad, but to even raise the prices because of something he had no control over? It was complete bs and Evan wanted to kick something.
He looked down at the treat in his hand which had been unknowingly crushed when he ran out. Sighing, Evan opened up the wrapping paper, wanting something sweet and possibly familiar to really rein himself in. He walked away from the store, towards the town center which housed a beautiful fountain, featuring a representation of what the humans believed their god looked like. He stared up at the statue, before flipping it off.
He was glad no one had noticed what he'd done because he was sure someone would've been upset. He took a second to breathe, sliding down onto the nearest bench.
Lifting his hand up to his mouth, Evan took a bite of his treat and was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't actually fudge at all, nor could he truly describe the flavor, but it tasted amazing. He moaned a bit, feeling like he was in heaven from the taste alone.
Across from where he sat, an unknown person recognized him and quickly walked over.
Evan, unaware of the other person, continued to live in his own little world of happiness. Food, no matter where one is, will always be a source of comfort, or to Evan at least. He was about to take another delightful bite out of his treat, but just as it entered his mouth, he felt a slap on his back and promptly dropped the treat.
Despair was all Evan could feel. He was just so happy for a bit, finally having just had a moment of blissful joy in his new life but now, it was gone. At the speed of light, Evan turned around and glared at the offender, intent on forcing them to purchase another treat for him.
However, once he was fully turned around, recognition flashed within his eyes. The person in front of him was Cole Hebein, the old Evan's supposed "friend". He was around 5'11", had short dark red hair that fit well among his chocolate skin. His eyes were a bright yellow and had he not known any better, he'd think Cole was a cat. His personality was mischievous to say the least and found that chaos was absolutely endearing.
"Awh~ Don't give me that look. I'll get you a new one. Anyways, I haven't seen you in so long, i've been deprived of your lovely self." He pouted, before an unknown emotion passed through his eyes. Evan, none the wiser, was just ready to go off on this guy. If he was his friend, how did he not notice the depression, the bullying, or anything that just seemed off?
Evan knew that his anger had been building from earlier, finding it so disheartening that he'd be discriminated against just for the color of his hair. He also knew that realistically, if he went off, it'd be breaking the old Evan's character and he really planned to distance himself from the timidness once he was at the academy. At least there, he wouldn't have to worry about others recognizing him.
In the end, his emotions won over his rationality. He stood up from the bench and stepped in front of Cole, readying himself.
"You're the worst kind of friend! I was depressed, heartbroken, and bullied all the damn time! You claim to be a friend and yet, you ignored it all, only really wanting to be around so that you could have some form of power over me, well, NOT ANYMORE! I don't need a friend like you who acts like a friend when they find it convenient." Evan had more to say, as he used his finger to harshly jab Cole in the stomach, however before he could continue, something else happened.
Cole had harshly grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards a bleak, dark alley, hidden away from knowing eyes. In the span of a second, he was thrown against a wall, causing him to clench his eyes in pain.
A hand wrapped itself around his neck and all Evan could do was look up in fear, wondering what the hell was about to happen.