Steampunk Shenanigans

Evie was used to breaking in places, though it presented a unique challenge to have to steal something when another person had to remain within twenty feet of her. Damien said this Hawkins guy liked to trot out his invention to impress people. So she could probably use a bolder approach to take the crystal. She’d just get him to show her the invention, and then they could take the crystal from under his nose.

“I think I have a plan,” she said as she and Damien walked back to his house that evening. “I just need you to direct me to your buddy Franklin Hawkins tomorrow, and we’ll have ourselves a moon crystal.”

The next morning she put on a frilly cream-colored blouse and tucked it tightly into a rose pink skirt. She’d been tying her curls back or pinning them up to go with the sensible student look, but now she just ran a brush through them and shook them out so they swung around her face. She stepped out of the bedroom and Damien blinked, seeming a little taken aback.

“What?” she frowned.

“Uh, nothing. Let’s go.”

They walked down to the campus, to the more recreational area where they had a small cluster of cafes and bookstores. They walked through the cobbled little courtyard for a while, and eventually Damien spotted Franklin Hawkins.

“That’s him,” he said, nodding toward a man stepping out of one of the coffee shops. Evie smirked, nudging him.

“You might wanna get that look of disdain off your face,” she said. She studied the target, taking in his well-tailored and expensive suit and perfectly slicked hair. He oozed self-confidence and Evie knew he wouldn’t be hard to fool. The hardest part would be keeping up a facade of interest in listening to him talk about himself.

“Well, let’s do this,” she said. She walked a little ahead of Damien, quickly catching up to Franklin Hawkins and “accidentally” colliding with him. He dropped the danish he was carrying.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re-“ He turned around with a scowl, but it smoothed out when he saw Evie standing there, doing her best to look sheepish.

“Oh,” she gushed. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you. I tripped. I’m just such a klutz sometimes.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” Franklin said, offering her an easy grin.

“But I’ve made you drop your breakfast,” Evie insisted, pouting. “I feel just awful. You must be on your way somewhere terribly important.”

“Well, you can make it up to me by joining me for breakfast,” he said. He finally seemed to notice Damien standing slightly behind her and raised an eyebrow.

“Hart,” he said, sounding bored. “How are you? Heard you’re teaching in the fall.”

“Yes, yes I am.”

Franklin glanced between Damien and Evie when Damien didn’t leave.

“I’ve been assisting Dr. Hart with some research in his lab,” Evie explained.

“Oh really,” Franklin chuckled. “I don’t know how anyone could get any work done with such an enchanting creature around to distract them. Do you have a name to go with that pretty face?”

“Evie Kipling.”

“Franklin Hawkins.”

Evie extended her hand for a shake, and then he planted a kiss on her knuckles

“It is truly a pleasure to meet you,” Franklin said and Evie forced her most charming smile.

“Please do join me for a replacement danish,” he insisted. He glanced up at Damien again. “You don’t mind, do you, Hart? I’m sure your research can wait a while.”

“Of course not,” Damien said stiffly. Franklin offered an arm to Evie and she accepted it as he walked her into a cafe. Damien followed behind them, slouching into a seat while Franklin continued to chat Evie up over coffee and pastries. She pretended to be fascinated, smiling and managing not to roll her eyes. Damien however was radiating irritation. She supposed he was still harboring a bit of a grudge against Franklin for all their competition. And the guy was pretty pretentious.

“So, you’re an inventor too?” Evie asked, propping her chin on her hand and trying to look impressed.

“Yes.” Franklin preened like a prized peacock. “In fact I found a way to run a car using crystals instead of steam power. It’s not as fascinating as teaching I suppose,” he added with a chuckle. Evie saw Damien’s fingers tighten a little around his mug of coffee.

“Well, Damien is a very good mentor,” Evie said, feeling a compulsion to come to his defense.

“I’m sure he is. Who wouldn’t want to keep you around? I might even try to steal you away.”

“Do you think I could see this amazing car you designed?” Evie asked, trying to change the subject before Damien broke his coffee mug. She widened her eyes a little, looking imploring. “It just sounds too incredible, I need to see it for myself.”

“Of course,” Franklin said without hesitation. “I’d be happy to show you right now, my house isn’t far.”

Evie felt a stir of excitement that victory was so close. If the crystal could really help get her cuffs off, then she was more than a little eager to get her hands on it. It’d be nice to get away from Franklin and go back to the lab with Damien anyway, even if he did seem grumpy.

Franklin practically strutted into a small, detached garage to the side of his oversized mansion and revealed the car to Evie and Damien with a flourish. She again resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead acted suitably impressed as he turned it on.

“Fully powered by the moon crystal,” Franklin said proudly.

“How extraordinary,” Evie said, circling the car. Damien hung slightly back.

“You haven’t been able to use any of these crystals yet, have you, Hart?” Franklin asked, smirking.

“No,” Damien said. “My research is still primarily focused on actually inventing things, not just slapping a power source into it that does all the work for me.”

“Well I suppose one has to make that their focus, when they can’t actually obtain a power source like a moon crystal. They don’t exactly just hand them out to school teachers.”

“No, they go to people whose fathers pull strings to make them look better,” Damien shot back.

“Can I see the engine?” Evie asked hurriedly, trying to diffuse the tension. Franklin and Damien were glaring at each other so hard she worried their eye sockets might break. Franklin turned his gaze back to her, his glower turning back into a flirty grin. He came over and lifted the hood of the car, and there Evie could see the pulsing blue-violet light of the moon crystal. Franklin jabbered on for a bit about how it worked but she was having a hard time continuing to listen to him.

Franklin moved around to turn the car off, and she seized the opportunity to snatch the crystal so fast it was hard to be sure she’d even moved. She flipped the hood closed, keeping the crystal tucked into the folds of her skirt.

“It was so nice of you to treat me to breakfast and show me the car,” she said. “But we should really get out of your hair and be going.”

Franklin seemed disappointed. “Perhaps some time we can see each other again, just the two of us,” he said, emphasizing the last part. “I have a lot of other things I could show you.”

“I’m sure you do,” Evie said, trying to usher Damien and his dark expression out of the garage. He was quiet on the wall back to the University, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Once they were safely in his lab, she uncurled her hand and presented him with the crystal.

“Success,” she said. Damien flashed her a small smile but it didn’t last long as he sat down. She frowned.

“Damien, what’s the matter? We got the crystal, why are you so sulky?”

“I’m not sulky,” Damien said, sulkily.

“Yes, you are.” Evie pulled up the other chair and sat next to him, setting the crystal on the counter.

“I just can’t stand that guy,” Damien mumbled, aimlessly shifting some tools around on the counter. “He has a stupid face and he probably spends an hour every morning slicking all that pomade into his hair. Some of us just have better things to do with our time.”

“You can’t put pomade in your hair,” Evie teased. “You run your hand through it when you get really focused on something.”

“Would you want to see him again, when your cuffs are off?”

“What?” Evie asked, startled.

“He wants to see you again. And you…I don’t know, I thought you maybe wanted to see him too.”

Evie rolled her eyes. “Damien, we needed the crystal, so I got it. This is my skill set. All I’m good for is sneaking around and looking pretty, remember?”

“That’s not true,” Damien said, with a force that surprised her. “I mean, you are pretty,” he went on, ears going a little red. “But you’re a lot of other things, too. What you’re not is a rat or a decoration.”

Evie was quiet for a moment, her cheeks pink and her stomach full of butterflies. Damien’s face was pink too, though he was still looking a bit sulky as he continued fussing with his tools. He almost dropped them as Evie steeled her nerve and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.