Dedicated to TheEverAfterHeadcanons tumblr blog.
Dexter used to remember Raven as the girl who accidentally blasted a picture frame, which narrowly missed the young prince, during the first semester of freshman year. He used to know her as the girl who would grow up and poison his brother's bride. He used to recall her as nothing but evil.
He avoided her as much as he could during the semester, dodging through doorways and slipping through the cracks of school crowds, which always seemed to disperse after the witch entered the room.
Every time he felt gravitated towards her, every time he wanted to offer her a seat, every time he wanted to greet her in the hallway, every time he had even the faintest idea of interacting with her, Dexter pushed the idea to the back of his mind.
Raven Queen was evil.
Raven Queen was beautiful.
She was evil because she was destined to follow the same path as her mother, the most evilest of them all.
She was beautiful because she was most likely a temptress who would use Dexter for her own selfish needs.
All the while, Dexter did his best to stay away and avoid being reeled in.
There was no way out.
It was his fault, really. His fault that he lost his way. His fault that he wasn't thinking straight that day. His fault for absentmindedly colliding into the girl in whom he had been trying to avoid all year.
It was his entire fault.
He watched in shock as she tumbled to the floor, hitting it the same time as the rectangular object in her arms did. As if on reflex, Dexter knelt down, reaching out a hand to pull her up…
… before realising who she was…
… and promptly pulling the hand away.
"Sorry?" he said with an attempted smile. Maybe if he was polite, she wouldn't turn him into an amphibian or some sort of canine! With a shaking hand, he picked up Raven's purple, spiral-bound notebook covered in doodles that were most likely curses, hesitantly handing it over to her. "Uh… well… this is yours… oh, well…. uh… I'm sorry…"
That was pathetic. He took a step back, preparing himself for whatever spell she was going to put on him.
"It's all cool. No problem."
Did she really just shrug it off like it wasn't a big deal? Dexter had been expecting some explosions and eyes going all white. Maybe even a command to embark a three-year quest to reclaim his lost honour and dignity.
"Huh… wait, what?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "It's fine. Really. Are you okay?" She tilted her head to the side. "You look pale. Are you about to faint?"
"I'm… I'm fine. Really."
She laughed. It wasn't a mocking laugh, or a "this situation is awkward laugh", but a "you're cool. I like you" melodic laugh that was incredibly contagious. Dexter couldn't help but be infected by it, ignoring the other people in the hallway who shot concerned glances at the duo.
"I like you," she finally said, after the two calmed down. "You're cool."
As she left, she gave the prince a wave. While he nervously returned it, something in his chest fluttered.
Maybe she wasn't so evil as he originally though.
"Hopper? What do you know about girls?" Dexter asked as he punched yet another quadratic equation in his graphics calculator.
"If you flirt with them, they'll kiss you. If you don't kiss you, you're never going to get laid," his roommate replied.
Dexter sighed. "That's very helpful."
Daring managed to get Ashlynn Ella as Dexter's date for Thronecoming.
Dexter avoided Thronecoming altogether.
The second time Dexter happened to see Raven was in the stands during one of the many tourneys. She stood next to a girl with vibrant teal and magenta hair, huddling in a large coat over her silver sweater.
She smiled and waved as he rode a snow-white gelding into the arena. She continued to cheer for him even after he was knocked off the gelding in first five matches Dexter fought.
It didn't matter how many times dirt messed up his hair, or how many times he tasted the stale dust. He fought for those encouraging cheers and motivating smiles. He didn't want to disappoint. He didn't want those cheers and smiles to fade.
He finally unhorsed a prince on his sixth match.
Dexter felt his cheeks hurt as he heard Raven's voice ring over the loud crowd. His grin lasted the entire afternoon.
There was an error in the school timetable, so Dexter's schedule got switched around, landing him in the same Che-myth-try class as Raven.
The two took seats next to each other.
"Isn't taking electrons instead of sharing them… don't think that– that it is unfair to the atom that just became positive?" Raven questioned, marking crosses on an electron arrangement diagram.
"I don't think atoms are sentient," Dexter said.
"Still! What if you were an atom that just lost his electron?"
"Probably cling to my electron thief." The prince smiled, absentmindedly forgetting to balance an equation.
Sophomore Year.
First day of school.
Lunch time.
Raven sitting in at an empty table.
Dexter left his food and ambled over.
"Uh, hey Raven. You look gort."