Disclaimer: I don't own Disney Descendants or any of their characters, however Adelaide Tremaine and Petey Pan are my OCs

A/N: First chapter of what I hope will be one of my most successful stories to date. This fanfic might have a bit of a slow start but if all goes according to plan then it will all be worth it in the end, so please stick around!

Chapter 1: Prepping for Auradon Prep

Anastasia Tremaine grumbled to herself as she watched her daughter pack her bags. The teenager grabbed fistfuls of red, black and white clothing, neatly folding them to perfection and arranging them into the large suitcase. Years of acting as the household maid had taught Adelaide Tremaine how to prepare clothes in the tidiest way possible.

'What's the point in going?!' Anastasia snapped. 'What could you possibly do in Auradon that you can't do here?!'

Adelaide tucked a few strands of her blonde hair behind her ear and sighed quietly. 'You don't understand, mother. This is my one chance to make proper friends and… be good!'

The red-haired woman glared at her daughter. 'I don't know where I went wrong with you. You are a villain, and you should act like one. Don't you know what people say about you, Adelaide? They call you weak and sick-minded. Villains are not good, you stupid child. You're weak-willed, just like your father.'

Addie stiffened and paused momentarily. "Don't listen to her," she thought to herself, "you aren't weak-willed. You are strong."

'Father was a decent man, unlike you,' Addie retorted. 'He liked helping people. He liked doing generous deeds. He was everything you weren't.'

Anastasia bristled. 'And he was also an idiotic, simpering fool that met his end due to trying to help people. Helping people brings nothing but pain, child. Surely you remember that? Or do I have to lock you in the cupboard for another two days?'

Addie's heart sped up, thumping erratically in her chest. Her nimble fingers dug through her suitcase and scrabbled around in the bottom, eventually closing around a small, plastic night-light in the shape of a pumpkin. As a small child, only five years old, Addie had encountered a sickly baby sparrow in the garden. The creature had pitifully tweeted to the other birds in the sky whilst unable to move. Feeling a tugging in her heart, Addie scooped the bird up and hid it underneath her bed for several weeks, smuggling in worms and seeds from the garden for it to eat. In time, the bird was ready to fly into the open sky.

Unbeknownst to Addie, her mother caught her setting the bird free and realises what had happened, so she locked the child in a pitch-black broom cupboard for 48 hours. Addie developed an irrational fear of the dark from the incident and from then on had to sleep with a night light, which she would ask Jay to steal for her from various markets.

'I hope you realise that if you go to Auradon and "become good" then you will not be welcome back in this house. Dealing with your father's terrible attitude was painful enough and I will not condone my daughter behaving in the same way.'

Anastasia sighed heavily and left the room. Adelaide placed the last few dresses in her suitcase and zipped it shut. Her handbag lay open on the dresser. The white paint was stained yellow from age and it was flaking away at the edges. Inside the handbag was several books from the sparse bookcase, a hairbrush and what little makeup she owned.

'ADELAIDE!' Anastasia bellowed from downstairs. 'THE CAR IS OUTSIDE!'

With a very deep breath, Addie picked up her bags and took one last look at her shabby room. The floorboards were damp and creaky, her bed little more than an iron frame with several sacks of straw as a mattress and a moth-eaten jumper as a pillow. The bookcase had been assembled in a rush and was nearly collapsing as a result, despite the fact that little to no books had ever lived on it. The stench of damp was prevalent and Addie had made sure to spray herself with her best perfume so she could make a good impression on Auradon.

Standing at the front door of their tumbledown house was a large, beefy, bald man with black sunglasses and a black suit. He silently grasped the large suitcase from Addie's hand and effortlessly slid it into the boot of the waiting limo. He opened the door and gestured for Addie to get in.

'Well,' she said, turning to face Anastasia, 'I guess this is goodbye for now, mother.'

Anastasia said nothing and instead glared coldly at her daughter.

'I'll write to you, but… well, I hope you'll write back.' She offered an awkward smile before climbing into the limo with downcast eyes. The leather seats were plush and comfortable, making Addie's knotted back rejoice. Her blue eyes felt heavy and she struggled to fully look at all of the sweets that rested on the little bar opposite her seat. Unable to resist the comforting warmth of the vehicle, she curled up on the seat and quickly fell asleep.

Mal woke up that morning to a gentle yet heavy hand tracing patterns up and down her arm. She smiled slightly at the ticklish feeling, knowing instantly who was doing it. Her mind was too fogged with sleep to realise that this meant the person had unlocked her door, snuck in and sat on her bed without waking her up – a very impressive feat.

'Are you awake now?' a light-hearted voice teased. 'I've been doing this for ages.'

Rolling towards her boyfriend, Mal giggled sleepily. 'Well you should've woken me up properly.'

'Well, yeah, but then I couldn't have watched you sleep. And that's too good to miss out on.'

'You dork,' Mal replied, sitting up and yawning. Her hands moved to her hair, smoothing down the purple tangles. Ben reached across and grasped the hairbrush from the nightstand. He pulled Mal onto his lap and started pulling the brush through her dark tresses. Looking across the room revealed that Evie was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling underneath the pink duvet.

'Her and Doug were out until late last night,' Mal whispered. 'She came in just before curfew and collapsed into bed.'

'What were they doing?'

'Trust me, I don't think we want to know,' Mal chuckled darkly, remembering the giddy smile that was plastered across Evie's face and the way her eyes were clouded over in sheer bliss. 'Let's just say I don't think they spent their entire date "studying".'

Ben caught on, his mouth opening into a shocked circle. His cheeks blazed red and he shook his head furiously to rid the image of one of his close friends getting a little too up-close-and-personal with Evie than is allowed.

'A-Anyway,' he stammered, quietly clearing his throat, 'the plans for today. As long as the driver we sent for your friend has kept to the schedule – which he should have, they're normally pretty good at that – she'll be on her way here now, which leaves us about an hour to get ready.'

'AN HOUR?!' Evie shrieked, bolting upright in her bed. Her blue locks were a total mess, almost as if someone had been raking their hands through them the night before. Mal watched her best friend in stunned silence as Hurricane Evie zoomed towards her wardrobe, frantically throwing t-shirts and jeans over her shoulders as she searched for the perfect outfit.

'Well, thanks for the wakeup call but I think me and Evie can manage ourselves from here,' Mal joked. 'I'll meet you at Carlos and Jay's dorm in 45 minutes.'

Ben laughed as he stood up, stretching his arms out. 'Alright, alright, I get the hint. See you soon, Mal.'

'Bye, Benny Boo!' Mal teased as she shoved him out of the door and slammed it behind him. Turning around, she saw that Evie had already thrown what she deemed to be a suitable outfit on her friend's bed. Not bothering to argue with Hurricane Evie, Mal gathered up the clothes and slinked off to the bathroom to get changed, leaving Evie screaming to herself about whether she should wear a dress or not.

Not long later, Mal emerged from the bathroom to find a significantly calmer Evie gazing lovingly into the wall-length mirror as she brushed her hair.

'Oh, M! I know those clothes would look amazing on you!' the princess chirped. She shifted to the left on her footstool so Mal could see her reflection. Her black leather jacket, the same one she'd worn on her first date with Ben, warmed her bare shoulders. The black tank top, emblazoned with Maleficent's twin dragons logo, was a new addition to her wardrobe (most likely something Evie had stitched a few days ago and never mentioned). The outfit was completed with black, ripped skinny jeans and her faithful combat boots.

'Not enough spikes,' Mal said to herself, digging through her jewellery box. She produced a black velvet bracelet lined with tiny metal spikes. Slipping that onto her left wrist, she also grabbed Ben's signet ring and slid it onto the second finger of her right hand. Her studded purple belt lay across the back of a chair nearby, so she grabbed that and buckled it around her waist.

'Fiercely welcoming,' Evie approved, finishing off her own ensemble with her signature silver tiara. Her ripped fishnet dress was a bold new move, even for a fashionista such as herself. Over the past two days, Evie had taken one of her old, midnight blue dresses and completely covered it in black fishnet tights that she never wore anymore. She still wore her poisoned apple necklace, a piece of jewellery that rarely left her person, and her silver bangles.

'I love the shoes, E,' Mal noted, shooting an admiring glance at the strappy black stilettos.

'Thank you!' Evie preened one last time in the mirror before looking at the clock that hung beside the east-facing window. 'Perfect, it's 9:43 now. By the time we get to the boys' room we'll be fashionably late.'

Mal rolled her green eyes and huffed irritably. 'I promised Ben we'd be there on time.'

'When is time?'

'Approximately two minutes from now. Let's move, Evie.'

Grabbing her purse, Evie flounced out of the room, her Poisoned Apple perfume wafting in the air. Mal tried not to gag at the sickly-sweet scent and locked the door to their room before strolling towards the side of the castle with the male dorms.

'How nice of you to grace us with your presence!' Jay called as Mal and Evie emerged through his door. 'Ben was about to send out a search party for you.'

'I was not!' Ben argued, straightening his immaculate blue suit. 'Do I look okay? I want to give this new student the first impression I didn't quite manage to give you four.' His fingers crept across his left shoulder, brushing away some imaginary dust.

'Your suit is gleaming, for God's sake, stop faffing,' Mal instructed, grasping his hand firmly. 'Can we go now? We'll be late.'

'Of course, mademoiselle,' Ben grinned, tucking Mal's arm through his own and leading her from the messy dorm room. Carlos rolled his eyes, making Jay snort with laughter. Evie tossed her hair over her shoulder and strode after her best friend.

'If you two don't hurry up then there'll be nobody here to welcome the new student, and that's the last thing we need right now,' she snapped, feeling rather stressed out.

The two boys dashed after the others, hastily locking their door. As the group of five travelled to the courtyard of Auradon Prep, they were greeted by various other students. Lonnie crossed their path briefly, stopping only to praise Mal on her "wicked cool" clothes before dashing off again to find Audrey. Jane bumped into them as she left the library, meekly but gratefully accepting Carlos' invitation to join them. Normally Jane would avoid any scenarios that involved being near her mother in case she drew any unnecessary attention, but even this socially awkward teen couldn't deny that meeting a new VK would be very interesting.

The two huge oak doors of Auradon Prep's entryway had been flung open, letting the late spring sunshine flood into the reception hall. Mal could clearly see the school's marching band lined up outside, warming up their instruments. As they walked through the path the band had created in their formation, Evie blushed as she locked eyes with Doug. He wore a dopey little smiley on his face, much like his father always did, as Evie gave him a tiny wink.

Fairy Godmother bustled over, quickly giving Jane a fond peck on the cheek before taking her customary place in front of Ben and Mal. She had to admit, although privately in her own head, that she much preferred the welcoming committee when it included the VKs and not a silly, simpering Audrey who was too busy bragging about Ben's royal standing to bother caring about a new student.

'Alright, everyone, get ready! Here comes the car!' Fairy Godmother declared as a sleek black limousine drove into sight. It looped around the impressive centrepiece fountain before drawing to a stop. The beefy driver quickly exited and held open the door.