Here is the next chapter!
At a certain part of the chapter, there is a bit of foreshadowing, so keep an eye out for it. I was going to end this story at Audrey's graduation, but I had come up with a cute idea in the middle of making this chapter that will extend the story another chapter or two. I'm actually not sure how many chapters are left now because of that.
No matter what the results are with the poll this week, this story will be finished first before I start on the others. Be sure to leave a review on what you think of this chapter.
Enjoy!
At the end of the week, Audrey held a meeting as promised to reveal the results of the cheer tryouts. Although, that wasn't the only thing she revealed. After listing through who made the team and who didn't, Audrey handed the paper and her whistle to Jane, promoting her as the new cheer captain. The teenagers whispered among one another, wondering why the perfect princess would give up her position.
Then Audrey announced her 'resignation', officially quitting the team. She walked out before the gaping teens could interrogate her.
They didn't need to know her personal business.
Out of all of those girls, about twenty-five or more, only one was genuinely concerned about Audrey. She couldn't believe Audrey would give up her position as captain or her position on the team willingly. There must have been something seriously wrong with her.
That's why Jane decided to voice her worries to Ben, since he seemed to know her better than most.
Ben did seem surprised that Audrey quit the team, but merely shrugged afterwards. He disclosed to the concern Jane that Audrey has always hated cheer. She probably wanted to quit her senior year so she didn't have to go through something she didn't want to do.
Jane seemed somewhat convinced and evidently dropped the matter.
However, Ben wasn't convinced.
He decided to wait a few days before he brought the subject up to Audrey. However, he made the mistake of bringing it up on a certain day.
Family Day.
-0-0-0-
Now, I know what you may be thinking: Family Day? Why would there be a Family Day when school has yet to start? When is Family Day since a date has never been specified in any story or movie? Did she realize she broke the fourth wall? The author is a girl? (a/n: a lot of you readers think I'm a guy. a while back somebody had sent me a pm that started with 'Mr.' and I thought it was hilarious)
You see, back when Auradon Prep first became a school, Fairy Godmother thought it would be a good idea to have one day at the beginning of the month dedicated for the students' families to visit them. The first Family Day is always held the weekend before school starts so the parents could say 'good-bye' to their children until the next Family Day or a school holiday.
So, while all the students were getting ready to spend the day with their families, Ben decided to pay Audrey a little visit.
After knocking on her door three times, Ben walked right on in, quietly closing the door behind him. Audrey was no where to be seen, but heard her faintly shout from her personal bathroom, "I'll be right out Uma! Just drying my hair."
Ben chuckled. "I'm not Uma," he called back in amusement. "I don't have blue hair like her."
Audrey stepped out the next second, her damp hair tossed over her shoulder as she used a towel to dry it the best she could. "Sorry," she apologized with no sympathy. "Ever since a month ago, Uma knocks three times like you did before she barges in."
The princess lobbed the towel in the bathroom before standing in front of the mirror to braid her hair. Ben knew she was only doing that to hide the unnatural highlights from her grandparents, so they won't complain about it all day.
Once finished, she turned on her heals to look at Ben. "Do you need something?" Audrey wondered as she straightened out her dress—a beautiful shade of pink that had a slight poof to the skirt. "I'm supposed to meet Uma and I'm running late."
"Why did you quit cheer?" Ben interrogated.
Audrey sighed as she drooped her shoulders. "Who told you?"
"Jane told me first," he revealed as he sat at the end of her bed. "But then the whole school started talking about it. A rumor started that Uma is blackmailing you so you were forced to quit."
Audrey shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that they don't believe that Uma and I are really friends, best friends, actually."
"I told Jane you hated cheer from the start and you needed a good excuse to quit," Ben claimed. "So, what's the real reason?"
Audrey sighed once again in defeat. "There's a chance I might be . . ." She paused for a moment so Ben could get the hint. "Gil and I thought it wouldn't be safe if I was."
"Are you sure that you are?" Ben interrogated. "I mean, I call dibs on being the god-father, but have you taken a test yet?"
"We can't decide how to get a test," Audrey insisted as she sat on the edge of the dresser. "If either Gil or Harry get it, rumors will say it's for Uma. If Uma gets it, rumors will say it's for herself. If you get it, rumors will say it's for Mal and you two do not need that. If Mal or even Evie get it, rumors will say it's for each other; same theory applies for Jay and Carlos."
"What about telling Fairy Godmother?"
Audrey snarled her nose at the idea. "She'll tell my parents, who will tell my grandparents. Gil and I will get in trouble for breaking a number of rules which could result in both of us getting expelled."
"How about my parents then?" Ben suggested helpfully. "They know about your Act and Gil's. Gil and I can talk to them today and they can get it for you sometime soon. Gil can grab it whenever he comes to my place. It won't be suspicious since he's visited the castle before."
Audrey pondered on the idea for a moment or two. It wasn't a terrible idea. The press wasn't really concerned about King Beast or Queen Belle since they retired.
"Fine," she relented, "but only if Gil's agrees."
"I'll go ask him now and let you know soon."
Ben stood from the bed and walked to the door, but stopped when Audrey called his name. When he turned around, she was smiling from ear to ear.
"If you want to be the god-father," she began with an amused tone, "you may have to fight Harry for it. Harry asked to be the god-father the evening of tryouts and practically begged us when we said we weren't sure if we would want one. When I commented that I may not be . . . you know, he said 'That's fine, but I still want to be the god-father when you are.' "
Ben raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like Harry."
"Because you don't really know them," Audrey retorted truthfully. "Trust me, under their hard exterior, the Sea Three are nothing but softies."
Ben chuckled. "And I'm glad you were the one to find that out."
-0-0-0-
Within the first ten minutes of the event, Audrey 'disappeared' so she wouldn't have to see her grandparents. She informed the Sea Three where she'll be if they needed her or if any of her family started looking for her.
Just like Audrey predicted, twenty minutes later her father started to search for her while his wife was busy talking to her parents. Instead of asking one of Audrey's old cheer teammates, he went straight to the Sea Three.
"Hello," King Philip greeted them kindly. "Would you happen to be Uma, Harry, and Gil?"
"That's us." Uma answered before tilting her head. "And you are . . . ?"
"Audrey's father," he introduced, "Philip. My daughter told me all about the three of you."
"So, you know about the rumors?" Uma wondered. "The ones of me supposedly blackmailing her?"
"My wife and her parents heard it from the news." Philip commented with a sigh. "I knew Audrey was quitting the team a couple days before she actually did. She absolutely hated cheer and only endured it for her mother and grandparents."
"Is Audrey secretly a tomboy?" Harry questioned curiously.
"She just doesn't like the stuff that her grandparents put her through," Philip commented. "My little princess is very much a 'girly-girl'. Do you happen to know where she is?"
"She's at her secret place," Gil answered. "I can go get her—"
"You have to talk to Ben's parent," Uma reminded as she nodded to said family. "They're waiting on you."
Gil nodded reluctantly before he respectfully shook the royal's hand. "It was nice to meet you King Philip."
"Just Philip," the king insisted with a smile. "My daughter told me a lot more about you than the others. Maybe one day soon you'll be my son-in-law instead of just my daughter's boyfriend."
"That's if she'll take me," Gil slightly joked before he excused himself to complete a certain objective.
"I'll go get Audrey instead," Harry offered.
Uma snarled her nose at the idea. "Why you?"
"So you can stay here and learn embarrassing stories about her to tease her later." Harry insisted with a small smile. "We'll be back in about ten."
-0-0-0-
Audrey found her 'secret place' the first week of the first summer she stayed in Auradon. She had been roaming the rose garden when she discovered an unusually bare spot in a section of the large rose bush, which stood close to ten feet tall. Being curious, she crawled through the hole and in the few moments made to the other side, where stood a large wooden gazebo fit to be an outside wedding chapel.
That is where Harry found Audrey reading a set of books that she kept stashed.
You see, back when Audrey and Gil first became a couple, Audrey led her beloved to her secret place so they didn't have to worry about anyone catching them in the middle of the night. Once Uma and Harry discovered their relationship, Audrey showed them her secret place so they would trust her a little more, or if they needed to hide from the world for a little while.
"Princess!" Harry called once he made it to the other side. "Your presence is requested in the real world!"
Placing a bookmark to keep her spot, Audrey closed the book with a soft sigh. "Hey, Hook," she greeted as she reluctantly stood. "My grandparents looking for me?"
"Your father," Harry corrected. "Your grandparents are busy talking to your mother."
Audrey rolled her eyes. "They live in the same castle, see each other almost all day, yet they can't stop talking to one another. I'm surprised they haven't run out of things to say."
"Maybe they have and are repeating all of their conversations to annoy you."
Audrey laughed since it was a major possibility. "Yeah, maybe you're right." She gestured to the passage. "After you, Hook."
Obediently, Harry crawled through the hole with Audrey right behind him. Harry helped Audrey through the rest of the way before they set off toward the event. A handful of minutes later when they arrived, the two 'conveniently' bumped into Chad Charming.
"There you are, Audrey!" Chad exclaimed, using his same oblivious tone that he always uses around the cameras. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Audrey snarled her nose. "Why?"
"Your grandparents asked me to a couple minutes ago." He insisted before he turned to glare at Harry. "Why is he with you?"
"Because her father asked where she was over ten minutes ago and I offered to get her for him." Harry tilted his head almost mockingly. "I'm surprised you couldn't find her before me since you were 'everywhere' in only two minutes."
"Harry," Audrey scolded. "Don't start a fight. Let's go to my father before he starts to worry."
The two attempted to keep moving forward. They had even walked past the prince, before he obnoxiously grabbed Audrey's arm and forcefully jerked her back. "Now hold on a sec—"
A second later, Chad was on the ground holding his now bloody nose while Harry stood protectively in front Audrey with a balled fist. "The next time that you lay a hand on Audrey," Harry growled threateningly, "I'll break it and you!"
Quickly, Audrey dragged Harry away before he could do something that could potentially get him expelled from Auradon Prep before the school year even starts. Once they were only another minute walk to Audrey's father, Harry joked, "I guess I'm in the lead for the god-father?"
Audrey laughed despite the tense situation. "Yes, you're in the lead."
-0-0-0-
The two greeted Uma and King Philip when Uma was in the middle of laughing at the story Philip was telling about young baby Audrey. The princess tried getting her friend to confess what stories her father has told her, but Uma couldn't stop laughing from the story he just finished telling. Eventually, Uma's laughter had become so infectious that Audrey soon started to join her—
Which caused some unwanted attention from Audrey's grandfather, King Stefan.
King Stefan was perhaps one of the oldest kings in Auradon, turning seventy just over a week ago. His once silky raven-black hair was now consumed by shaggy coarse grey hairs, almost extinguishing the black. His beard, once neatly trimmed, was now a scraggly mess with the same coloring as the hair on his head. He bore many wrinkles from his past experience, mostly frown lines and almost no laugh lines. What do you expect from such a ruthless king?
King Stefan scoffed at the girls' laughter. "Pathetic," he insulted, causing the girls to abruptly stop. "How can you do such a thing?"
Audrey narrowed her eyes at her grandfather. "Do what exactly?" She interrogated, squaring up like she was challenging him. "Laugh? Have fun? Have friends when you have none?"
"Look around you Audria!" King Stefan shouted as he gestured to the Sea Three. "Your friends are villains!"
"So. Are. You." Audrey declared loudly and clearly, making sure everyone could hear her. Sadly, there were no paparazzi to catch that moment. Bummer. "You have no right to scold me for the friends I have when you are personally no better; ten times worse in fact. If you can't accept my friends, then you can forget about ever being a part of my life."
With that bold announcement, Audrey turned on her heels and trudge off to the school with Uma on her tail. Once she caught up, Uma nudged Audrey slightly before wondering, " 'Audria'?"
"My real name," Audrey muttered glumly. "Only my grandparents and mother call me by that name. The name sounded too complicated for a young kid to say, so I asked if I could be called 'Audrey' instead. Of course, grandparents said no, but my father argued that it wasn't their decision to make. He makes a point of calling me by my nickname in front of my grandparents."
Uma smirked. "I know what I'm going to call you now when you get annoyed."
Audrey rolled her eyes, but it had a certain playfulness to it. "Whatever, Shrimpy."
