Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visit
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC
Lauren was flicking through her spell book when a letter fell into her lap. Curious, she opened it and read
'Dear Lauren, your cousin Mal is coming to Miss Grimwood's Finishing Academy for Ghouls for a week to visit you. Her friends Evie, Jay, and Carlos are coming with her. They will be arriving tomorrow. I know this is short term but Maleficent thought it would be good for Mal to spend some time with you. Love you, father.'
Lauren squealed with delight. She loved her cousin Mal and her aunt Maleficent, her father's sister. That's when Lauren noticed the P.S. at the bottom of the letter. Reading it, she saw it read
'Mal and Evie may or may not be sharing a room with you because I've already talked to Miss Grimwood and she's not sure there are enough rooms for them all. If it's any comfort to you, Jay and Carlos will be sharing a room beside yours. Don't forget to do your school work and be on your best behavior.'
"Psh." Lauren laughed to herself. "My best behavior, eh? My best behavior with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, children of four of the biggest villains in the world. Oh yes father I promise to be a perfect, little angel." Lauren muttered to herself, putting the letter in a drawer on her nightstand. Looking around her room, Lauren picked up all of her valuable items and placed them on her bed. Flipping through the spell book, she looked for the alarm charm. She knew Jay had promised to never steal from any of his friends, Lauren included, but she couldn't risk it. Upon finding the spell, Lauren pointed at the pile and chanted "If touched by any but my hand, may a siren sound throughout the land." It was a bit cheesy but it was the best she could find. Once that was said and done, Lauren put all her valuables back up and strayed upon the remnants of her Halloween candy. Peering inside the bag, Lauren saw it was still over half full. She dragged it over to the foot of her bed so she wouldn't forget it when her cousin came so she could give the four of them the candy.
Wiping her hands together, the only thing Lauren could think of that was left to do was warn the Cadets. She slipped her phone in the back of her pocket, the spell book in the other pocket, and walked out of her bedroom door. She glided down the stairs of the school, walked across the grounds, hopped the boundary wall that separated the two schools, and proceeded to walk towards the military school. She knocked on the door and was greeted by a very surprised Colonel.
"What are you doing here, young lady?"
Lauren sighed before saying "I was wondering if it would be alright if I talked to Tug for a moment? I promise it won't last long."
The Colonel thought about it for an agonizingly long moment before saying "Yes, all right, but make it quick, will you?"
"Yes, sir." Lauren replied smartly. She leaned against the door frame and rolled her eyes and smirked at Calloway's back.
He came back a minute later with Tug, who was having a hard time suppressing his smile in the Colonel's presence. "Make it quick, Roper." Calloway said before departing.
Lauren pushed off the door frame and said "Walk with me." Tug eagerly followed as she turned away from the school. She lead him over to the wall that had been built between their schools and sat down on the top of it, Tug following her example.
"So what do you want to talk about?" he asked her, fingering a strand of Lauren's hair.
"Well, tomorrow, my cousin and three of her friends are coming to visit for a week, maybe longer, at my school." Lauren began, not sure how exactly to prepare him for the children of some of the worst villains throughout the world.
"I bet you'll still be more beautiful than she is." Tug reassured her.
Lauren snorted, she couldn't help it. "I'm not worried about you becoming smitten for my cousin! I'm worried about... well, it's kinda hard to explain."
"You can tell me anything." Tug reassured her.
Lauren looked him in the eyes then and said "My cousin and her friends are a bit… different, compared to me and you, that is. They like being rude, obnoxious, and mean. I love them like family, but they take a lot of pride in stealing candy from babies, I know, I've witnessed it. So, what I'm saying is... just try and keep a low profile at your school for the next week or so. The last thing they need to stumble across is a military school. The things they'd do to you guys, ugh. I'll try to reign her in, I promise, but I still thought you ought to know. But hey! I might be making a big deal out of nothing, so you might not even need to be worried."
Lauren tried to put an optimistic twist on it, but Tug was still worried. The way Lauren talked about the four of them made him a bit anxious. Well, a bit more than anxious if he was being completely honest with himself. 'I mean, who actually enjoys stealing candy from babies?' Tug thought to himself.
Lauren smiled grimly. She could practically read his thoughts, witnessing the internal conflict going on in his brain. Tug had been at military school for over six months and his brain was programmed to have a strategy for any event, no matter the severity of it. Lauren looked at him for a second before leaning in and kissing him squarely on the lips. Tug's brain instantly snapped off and his primal instincts took over. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body up against his to deepen the kiss which Lauren allowed him to do. She knotted her fingers in his scraggly hair and molded their faces together. Finally, the two needed air so they pulled apart but left their arms around each other. "One more kiss before you go?" Lauren asked.
Tug smiled brilliantly and said "You read my mind." and they leaned in for another one. This one was shorter and sweeter, and when they broke apart, Lauren hugged him, let go, and slid off the wall before walking back towards the school. Tug watched her go, admiring the sway of her hips, before jumping down the wall himself and going back to school himself.
