Descendants has taken over my life. When the sequel comes out and I say that I will have been waiting for it since the premiere of the first ended on July 31, 2015, it won't be a lie. Kind of addicted. That being said, I've had this little idea rolling around in my head for a while now. This is probably the first fic of this length that I've ever really completed. The general idea of the story is there, but still lots of editing to do! I feel the first chapter at the very least is ready and good to go. To Allie, Sam, Cassie, and Carrie who I have sent this to, I thank you girls for reading as always. To new readers, I hope you enjoy this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants.
The cafeteria at Auradon Prep was filled with the usual buzz of the students chattering. Evie was gently blowing on her fingernails in an attempt to make her freshly applied coat of nail polish dry faster while Mal was looking through her spellbook in deep concentration.
"Wow, look!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening. "How cool is this? Here's a spell to automatically set anything on fire. Talk about pyro power! They literally have a spell and potion for everything in here."
Evie scrunched her nose in uncertainty, but curiosity got the better of her, and she peered over to take a peek in her best friends book. "You sure you should be looking at that stuff, Mal? I thought you were trying to be good. Setting stuff on fire doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing a good person would do."
Mal bit her lip somewhat guiltily, shrugging her shoulders. She closed the book slowly. "What fun is it to be good all the time? Besides, I think I've been doing a pretty decent job."
Evie gasped in delight. "You totally have and I'm so proud of you! I mean, it's been at least two days since you stole that chocolate covered strawberry."
Mal looked up towards the ceiling, shaking her head in remorse. "Curse those things for being so addicting. I did not let my temptation get the better of me today, though," she stated happily, pointing to her strawberry-free lunch tray.
"You might want to hold that thought," Ben whispered as he sneaked up behind Mal, placing his chin on her shoulder while giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
Mal jumped, startled by her boyfriend's sudden appearance. Ben started laughing.
"Hey!" Mal cried, her green eyes flashing lightly. "That's not very nice! On two accounts, might I add. First, you scared me and now you're laughing about it! I thought I was the bad one around here."
"Guess your ways are rubbing off on me," he teased. "So sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"
Mal shook her head defensively. "Nope."
The sandy haired boy placed a plate in front of her piled high with chocolate covered strawberries. "Not even for these?"
Mal licked her lips and reached for one of the juicy, sweet fruits. Stuffing it into her mouth eagerly, her lips were instantly stained a deep red. "You're forgiven," she assured him through muffled words.
"And to think... you were this close to avoiding your temptation," Ben chuckled, taking a seat beside her.
A look of regret crossed Mal's face. She finished the strawberry she was currently eating and wiped her mouth. When she was done, she placed the stem on the side of the plate with the others, gently pushing them away.
"I was only teasing. What's wrong?"
Mal looked down at the table in shame. "I, um...I kind of stole one a couple of days ago. I didn't mean to! And I was going to pay for it after lunch. Honest! But I was too ashamed to admit I made a mistake. You know me and my pride."
Ben touched her shoulder affectionately. "It's okay," he assured her. "Everybody makes mistakes. You can pay for it today. I'll even come with you to give you that extra boost of courage."
Mal smiled, a warm feeling that was still somewhat unfamiliar to her washing over her entire body. It seemed to happen the most when she was around Ben, and she had to admit she liked it. Other than knowing now that stealing was wrong in general, one of the reasons she was ashamed whenever she messed up was because she was afraid of disappointing him.
Suddenly, a brunette boy took a seat by Evie. "I have two tests today that I've barely studied for due to band, a ten page paper that I'm only half done with due tomorrow, and a presentation to prepare for by the end of the week. I don't seem stressed, do I? I'm not stressed. Needless to say I am stressed."
Evie laughed sympathetically, taking Doug's right hand in hers. "Aw, Doug. You'll be fine! You know you're super smart."
"Did I hear the word stressed?" Jane interrupted, pulling up a seat beside Doug. "Because I am being forced to audition for the school play against my will. I totally know the state of stressed. I would love to have someone to relate to right now."
Doug and Jane both continued to vent about their stress as Evie attempted to calm both of them down.
Jay walked up to the table, bumping into Audrey, who did not have her undivided attention on where she was going. She was on her cell phone posting a status about what time cheer practice was that day.
"Sorry!" Jay apologized as the phone flew out of Audrey's hands. He bent down to pick it up, checked to make sure that it wasn't damaged, and handed it back to the petite brunette.
It was then that they noticed the chaos. Their eyes darted back and forth at the dual conversations going on.
"Are you getting anything out of this?" Audrey asked him over the noise.
Jay shrugged. "Something about a stealing strawberry being in a play but it can't participate and it feels guilty because it has too much homework."
The two of them sat down in front of their friends, giving them a second to notice that they were there. No such luck.
"Hey, guys. How's it going?" Jay finally spoke up; Mal kept talking to Ben like they were the only two in the room.
"Jane, why are you being forced to audtion for the play?" Audrey questioned her friend; Jane continued to talk to Doug, making Audrey feel completely invisible.
Jay turned to Audrey, giving her an expression of defeat. Suddenly, a smirk formed across his lips, signaling that he had gotten an idea. He raised his fingers to his lips, letting out a loud whistle.
Mal, Ben, Evie, Doug, and Jane all turned to Jay. None of them seemed fazed by the whistle. "WHAT!?"
"We've been sitting here for, like, the past ten minutes trying to get your attention." Audrey pressed.
"Oh, we're so sorry that all of our attention was not completely focused on you, princess." Mal stated somewhat icily. "Next time we'll try to be a bit more compassionate. Forgive us for forgetting for a second that the world revolves around you."
"Ha, ha. Very funny," Audrey replied, giving the violet-headed girl a sneer. "You know, this whole being good thing isn't exactly working out for you. And for the record, I was talking to Jane."
"Now, now. Don't fight in front of Dude!" Carlos whispered as he walked up to the table. "It makes him nervous. Who's a good boy?"
The pace of the light brown dog's tail picked up as he gave Carlos a light lick on the cheek. Carlos smiled and patted the dogs head affectionately. "What's going on?"
"Everyone was basically ignoring us when Audrey and I walked up." Jay informed him. "We were trying to figure out why."
"Mal is having a meltdown because she stole a strawberry the other day," Ben explained.
"Told you the whole being good thing wasn't working out for you," Audrey commented snidely, giving Mal another glare.
"I'm having a meltdown because I have too much homework," Doug confessed.
"And I'm having a meltdown because I'm being forced to audition for the school play," Jane squeaked, clutching her stomach nervously.
"Yeah, and why is that?" Audrey asked again. "You shouldn't be forced to do something you don't want to do."
"Mother thinks I'm way too shy. She says this will, and I quote, 'let my inner star shine.' I don't have an inner star. People like me do not have an inner star! I'll pass out. I'm almost certain of it."
Mal pursed her lips in thought. "I'd try not to worry too much about it, Jane. Just because you're auditioning doesn't mean you'll get the part. Get through the audition as best you can and the rest will be history," she told her friend, waving her hand in the air as she had just solved every problem in the world.
Evie's gaze rapidly darted across the room. She crinkled her nose in distaste and let out a scoff. "Ugh, here comes King Arthur's gift to the world. Or so he thinks..."
Chad Charming reached the table, smoothly spreading his arm across Evie's shoulders. "So, my blue-haired beauty... you want to catch a movie this weekend? I know you do. Problem is I have about forty-five assignments due. Think you could handle it?" He flashed her his famous smile, but the sparkling pearly whites that used to leave her hypnotized now left her nauseous.
"Ew, no!" Evie proclaimed, moving Chad's arm from across her shoulder, repulsed. "Been there, done that. I learned my lesson. To be honest, Chad, I don't even really like you."
He pouted. "That's too bad." Then he turned to Carlos. "How 'bout you, De Vil? I'll pay you."
Carlos shook his head. "Chances are Dude would eat it. Not only that, but I don't want to," he emphasized, shooting him a fake grin. "Thanks anyway!"
Chad grit his teeth and turned to Doug. "How about you, Dopey?"
Doug let out a high-pitched laugh. "First of all, the name is Doug. Second of all, you have no idea how hilarious it is that you're asking. I have enough homework this week without worrying about yours. Plus, I wouldn't do it, anyway. You're on your own, Chad."
Chad crossed his arms in anger and turned toward Mal. She put her hand in front of his face in a swift motion. "Don't want to. Can't. Trying to be good. Cheating is wrong."
Chad let out an angry laugh. "Oh, c'mon! Won't anyone help me?"
Jane, Jay, Audrey, and Ben shook their heads.
"How is actually doing your homework helping, anyway? You'll never learn if you keep having people do it for you," Jane scolded.
"Just forget it. But mark my words, you'll regret this," he warned them, storming off.
"Humph, well... somebody's touchy." Evie acknowledged. Everyone laughed.
The conversations ensued, but this time, everyone was engaged. So engaged, in fact, that no one even noticed when Chad walked by and casually grabbed Mal's spellbook off the table.
To anyone who took the time to read this, I truly do thank you and love you all! Any feedback (a favorite, follow, but a review in particular) is much appreciated! But no pressure. At the very least, it will encourage me to post the next chapter faster. You know, if you're into that sort of thing. ;)