Love Thy Enemy

Chapter 3

Review Replies

Guest 1: I definitely plan on continuing this story.

Guest 2: Due to a review from another reader for the first chapter, the Doug/Evie/Ben love triangle is going to be turned into a Doug/Evie/Ben/OC love square, so I hope you will enjoy that just as much.

DoricWolf: Yes, Audrey is a main part of the story, along with Pete, Mal and Jay, with the others being more secondary. I hope that you continue to enjoy the story.

21stCenturyDragonRider: As I mentioned in the reply to your review, I have no ill feelings towards you for not liking Evie and Doug together. I'm fascinated by the idea of Ben and Evie together, and will definitely have them interact in the story, so I hope that satisfies you.

I have a job to do. It's not overly complicated in what needs to be accomplished, and it seemed like it would be easy enough to do when I was given the job, but after arriving in Auradon, what seemed like it would be a quick 'snatch-and-run' job has become a lot more complicated. For starters, I never imagined that a guy would ever show interest in me, let alone have that guy be the son of the very woman who my mother cursed. And I certainly never imagined that I would have the stirrings of "butterflies" in my stomach because said guy was showing an interest in me. But back to my job.

My mother tasked me (and my friends, but mostly me) with retrieving Fairy Godmother's wand and bringing it back to the island so that the villains could get what they saw as rightly theirs. And that's great and all, find the wand = freedom from the retched rock, who on the island- that I am unfortunately required to call home- wouldn't want that? And my friends all seem to understand that that is something that we need to achieve, but upon arriving at Auradon, Jay's already hooked on the daughter/sister of the woman that my mother cursed/brother who is showing interest in me; Evie has two guys (yeah, not one, but two- a half dwarf and a prince) making eyes at her as if they are undressing her in their minds (uh, gross much?) and she seems to be reveling in the attention (especially from the prince who made the proclamation for us to come to Auradon); and then Carlos and I are kind of left on our own. Carlos hasn't seen anyone that he likes, and I'm stuck with the son of my mother's enemy trying to see if there's any good in me. How are we supposed to concentrate on the job that we were allowed to come here to do if within 5 minutes of arriving, half of the team definitely has some romantic like feelings for the goody-two-shoe kids of this stupid kingdom? (Oh, that's right... we aren't.)

Carlos is the only one that still seems focused on the task at hand. We just need to get Evie and Jay back on board so that we can proceed with actually finding Fairy Godmother's wand. So of course, as Evie's band geek, half-dwarf crush, leads the way around school showing us where things are, Carlos and I are trying to get our friends' heads back in the game. Long Live Evil. That's our motto... at least, that's the motto of the island. Our motto is Rotten to the Core. But even with our persistence at getting them back on track, it doesn't seem to set in, so eventually Carlos and I give up. At least for tonight. There's nothing more that we can do with a half-dwarf, a gaga eyed prince and a seemingly love sick enemy hanging around us. However, the seemingly love sick enemy might be worth my time...

"It's Peter, right?" I ask as I actually let him catch up to me without me walking away.

"Pete is fine. I'm sure you don't like many people calling you by your full first name." Pete replied. His relieved sigh did not go unnoticed.

"No one calls me by my full first name because my mother doesn't think I deserve it." I replied bitterly. It's Maleficent, but until I prove myself "evil enough" she isn't going to deem me worthy.

"What is your full first name?" Pete asked.

"I can't even say it." I said as I looked away.

"Why not?" Pete questioned. He asks way too many questions.

"Do you always ask this many questions of a girl?" I countered.

"Do you always avoid questions that you just don't want to answer?" He countered back. Someone of the opposite sex that is at par with my banter. Of course, Jay and Carlos do not count.

"Why do you want to know what my full first name is?" I asked.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" Pete returned. He wants a volley? He'll get a volley.

"Why don't you just trust that I can't say it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. My friends, and his friends, had stopped walking and had turned to watch us. This will be interesting.

"Who says that I don't trust you?" Pete questioned.

"Why would you trust me? My mother cursed your mom." I said, my voice starting to raise.

"We already talked about that!" Pete exclaimed.

"It's something that is always going to be there, so it's going to be a recurring topic!" I exclaimed back.

"I know this might be a new concept for you, but not everyone in Auradon hates you and your friends for what your parents did to our families. Some of us, God forbid, feel sorry for you lot and are trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Sorry for trying to leave the past where it belongs!" Pete yelled before turning and walking away from the group. I glanced around me before I ran off myself. 'Don't let them see you cry. Don't let them see you cry. Don't let them see you cry.'

It's not working. Telling myself to not let the goody-two-shoes see me cry is just egging the tears on. I never cry. Even when my mother called me a disappointment over and over again after freaking Diablo came back with Dragon's Eye. I had grabbed it when my friends and I had gone to the Forbidden Fortress, but it had somehow disappeared after I touched it and apparently, it had been Diablo the Raven, my mother's stupid familiar, that had taken it from me. But now, here I am, about to cry over some stupid argument with some stupid guy who is the son of my mother's enemy, someone who I should definitely not be crying over.

Luckily, the first few tears don't actually fall until I slipped into mine and Evie's room. I vaguely take in the décor (it's pink, bright and soooo not my taste) before I throw myself into the bed closest to me and cry into the frilly pillows. Seriously, what the hell did Peter Dormir do to me that is causing me to uncharacteristically burst into tears. Was I embarrassed by our argument? No, of course not… I don't do embarrassment. Was it the fact that he was actually trying to give me the benefit of the doubt even though there is a history between our families? Possibly… he was right to say that that is something I'm not used to experiencing. I'm still crying and mulling over my thoughts when there's a tentative knock at the door.

"Whoever it is, go away!" I yelled.

"Mal, it's Pete." The one person I especially don't want to talk to.

"I don't care who it is. I told you to go away!" I yelled again.

"I'm not leaving until you give me a chance to apologize." Pete said with a sigh. An apology? Something else that I'm not used to.

"I really don't want to talk to you right now. Can you try again tomorrow or something?" I suggested.

"Yeah… tomorrow…" Pete trailed off.

The fact that I don't hear footsteps walking away from the door make me angry. Why can't he just leave me alone? Getting up, I storm over to the door and yank it open. Pete's standing there, eyes looking determined and arms folded across his chest like he knew I was going to open the stupid door for him.

"Go away!" I snapped.

"Not until you allow me to apologize." Pete replied.

"I told you to try tomorrow. I'm not in the mood to talk to you any more today." I said with a huff.

"And I'm not going to come back tomorrow. Either you hear me out now, or you spend the rest of your time here in Auradon being miserable because no one other than your friends will talk to you. Your choice." Pete threw back.

"Fine. Make your apology." I said.

"Are you going to invite me in?" He asked.

"Nope." I said simply.

"Fine, whatever. Mal, I'm sorry I tried to push you into telling me your full name. I wasn't trying to insinuate that you just didn't want to tell me, I was just trying to figure out why you wouldn't. No matter how it came out, it was wrong of me to do, and I'm sorry for it. I'm sorry for making you upset, and while I can't guarantee that it won't happen again, I can guarantee that it won't happen on purpose again. Can you forgive me? I really do just want to leave the past in the past." Pete said.

To say that I was stunned would probably be an understatement. He wasn't just apologizing, but asking for my forgiveness as well. If apologies were forbidden on the Isle, then forgiveness was toxic and unheard of. I honestly had no idea what to do. Should I forgive him? Why would I? All he asked was for me to hear him out. Surely he wouldn't have everyone in school avoid my friends and I even more since I technically did what he asked, right?

"Give me tonight to think it over." I said before slamming the door in his stupid face.