This took entirely too long orz. Please tell me what you think :)

Prompt: Bickering + Harry realizing his feelings for Evie.

"Argh, it's you again," Evie spat bitterly when she noticed him leaning against her locker, looking entirely too smug to see her. His lips broke into a crooked grin as he stared at her, Evie roughly flinging open her locker door.

"Nice to see ye too Princess," he greeted as she kept her eyes trained on gathering her essentials, determinedly ignoring him. This didn't escape the pirate's eye as he only watched her in amusement, enjoying her little dramatics.

If there was one thing he enjoyed the most about being on Auradon, it was the fact that he could annoy the girl 24/7. She was in almost all of his classes, and with the added fact that he had quickly learned of her frequent places of visit, it was becoming easier and easier to track the princess down. She was too predictable, and this only worked entirely in his favor. He didn't know what it was about driving her up the wall, maybe it was because she had the best retorts to his words, or maybe it was because he knew he was the only one who get her riled up by merely being in her presence. Possibly the latter.

She didn't reply, instead adjusting all the books in her arms before closing the locker door shut. Without giving him so much as a glance, the girl strutted away, almost getting far enough until she felt a hand grasp around her wrist.

"That was pretty rude for a princess. Didn't they teach ye some manners in Remedial Goodness 101?" he remarked, pulling her back to face him. She reluctantly turned around, facing him with a heated glare that reminded him entirely of her mother.

"I only use my manners on those who deserve them. You are far from deserving," she said, trying to pull her hand away but he only gripped her tighter. Harry's grin refused to settle the longer he looked at her, taking delight in the light flush on her cheeks.

"Naww, ye wound me Princess. Ye really know how to make a pirate feel wanted."

She paused, glaring at him straight in the eye. "What do you want Harry? I'm gonna be late for class."

He raised a brow before moving his free arm to reach into his pocket where a small pocket watch lay. "It's only ten. Ye have half an hour till the class starts."

Evie scowled at him before grabbing his watch and reading it herself. Her frown deepened before she pushed it back to him, shoving the time in his face. "What are you on about? It's twenty past. I only have ten minutes left."

Harry shrugged, pocketing the watch. "Ten minutes ye say Princess? That's more than enough time to keep me company."

"My class is on the other side of the castle. I can't get there in ten minutes without brisk walking."

"Yer a villain E. Ye don't have to be there on time."

This time she pulled her arm away, shoving past him. "We're in Auradon now Harry, so we have to follow the rules. If you can't do that, then you shouldn't even be here."

As she hurried off, Harry only watched her contemplatively. It wasn't like he ever really wanted to go to Auradon. Sure he wanted to escape from the Isle at all costs, but he didn't fancy himself going to Bore-adon of all places. No, his heart yearned for adventure across the seven seas, and his destination would be Neverland. Not this stupid prep school where all the heroes and their kids lived their happily ever after. That wasn't a pirate's life, and that wasn't his life either.

But it was stupid Beasty Boy's fault. If it hadn't been for Uma persuading to come, he wouldn't have gone with her in the first place. He had always know she was rather bitter about not being picked to go to Auradon, and now that she had the opportunity to, she wasn't going to turn it down. Gil was a similar story, except it always seemed like he would fit more into the Auradon lifestyle than the rest of the pirate crew. It was only he that didn't find himself living up to the Auradonian ideals. It had only been a week living here and already he was getting bored. Yet that was why he enjoyed teasing the princess so much.

She gave him something to look forward to, especially when he was in those stupid Remedial Goodness classes.

He really hadn't been looking for her, but apparently he always had a way of finding her when he saw her walking along the edges of the field with Carlos in tow. He didn't really notice her until he heard someone hiss, "Oh my god, he's here!" before he found a familiar blue haired girl dragging a boy behind her as she scurried away.

Harry's eyes were full of mirth as he took in the scene, Carlos stumbling after her as he was unable to keep up. She was determined to get away from him, like he was the plague and that she didn't want to get infected. He decided to wait until there was a good distance between them before he stalked off after them, curious to see where she was leading them.

She paused by the back of the bleachers, Harry taking cover behind a tree nearby as he heard her speak. "I swear he's stalking me or something."

"Who? I didn't even see who you were talking about before you dragged me away," Carlos replied, rubbing his wrists to ease the pain.

Evie shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. I just needed to get away before he came to talk to me again."

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Who?"

She ran an exasperated hand through her hair. "Harry."

Carlos raised a brow. "You mean Harry Hook?"

"Is there any other?"

He shook his head, going silent for a few moments as he took in her words. Harry could see something click in the boy's eyes, knowing he was quite clever, as he eyed her curiously. "I don't get it. Why do you hate him so much? He isn't as bad as he was before he came to Auradon, yet you seem to have something against him. I wasn't going to bring it up, but I notice you argue with him more than I've ever seen you argue with anyone before."

At this information, a self-satisfied smirk crept up on the pirate's face. To the normal person, it would've been strange to find delight in something so backward, but Harry had never been your normal guy. This was an achievement, in every sense of the word.

Evie bit her lip in embarrassment, taking a few moments to respond. "He just— I don't know what it is about him but he just infuriates me. I've never been so annoyed with a person in my life. I don't know why but every time I see him or so much as hear his name get mentioned, I just get so irritated that it frustrates me. He hasn't really don't anything wrong since he got here, I admit that, but I don't know why he riles me up so much."

Carlos digested the information contemplatively, Harry curious to hear how he would respond. "Are you sure it's not because of something else you feel for him?"

Both pairs of eyes narrowed at him, eyeing him in confusion. "Something else? What else would I feel for him?"

He was about to reply when Carlos took notice of the time on his watch. He started frantically waving his arms around but the pirate didn't take the time to hear what was being said, instead walking off in the opposite direction as he stewed on the male's words. Something else? What else would the princess feel for him except for anger? To think it would be the opposite would ludicrous. Pft, her, like him? A pirate? In his dreams. That would never happen.

But that didn't mean the thought wasn't intriguing in itself.

He waltzed into the classroom twenty minutes late, leisurely taking his time to walk to his seat as he earned the annoyed glare of Mr Deley. "Nice of you to finally join us Mr Hook," he greeted as Harry finally sat down, pushing his two legs up onto the surface of the lab tables and crossing them.

This earned him the glare of not only Mr Deley, but Evie too as she rolled her eyes from the desk behind him, slightly impressed that he was able to manage it as the tables were quite high.

"The pleasure's all mine," Harry returned, placing two arms around his head as Mr Deley sighed, returning back to the lesson at hand. But all the information from one ear out the other as Harry stared blankly at the board full of numbers and chemical equations, completely zoning out.

"Mr Hook! Mr Hook, are you still with us?"

He was brought back by the sound of someone calling his name as he shook his head, fixing a little smirk on his face. "Ye, of course."

Mr Deley shot him a skeptical look. "Then tell me, pray tell, what are the products of a neutralization reaction?"

Harry eyed him nonplussed, unable to answer. Neutralization reaction? Why in the world did he need to know about neutralization reactions? As a matter of fact, why did he even take Chemistry in the first place? He didn't even like Science, and given that he could choose his own subjects, with the exception of the stupid compulsory Remedial Goodness class, he shouldn't have picked in the first place.

He heard a soft whisper behind him. "Salt and water," they kept repeating, Harry raising a brow.

He knew exactly whose voice that was, having chosen this spot because it was the nearest available seat to hers. "Salt and water," the pirate replied confidently, Mr Deley looking unamused at the correct answer.

"Stupid jerk," he heard Evie whisper under her breath in irritation, Harry's smirk only widening.

"Very well then. Now, as I was saying, we will be conducting a number of neutralization reactions to observe the numerous products they create. For this experiment, you will be required to work in pairs," loud chattering began to erupt around the laboratory as a face flashed in Harry's mind. "But before you all go choosing them yourself, I've already chosen for you." This earned a collective groan from the class, including Harry and Evie as they stared unhappily at the teacher.

Harry allowed his mind to switch off, letting the voices drown out until he heard his name being called. "…and Harry Hook," Mr Deley finished, Harry sitting up with a frown.

He was about to open his mouth to ask for his partner's name again before he was blocked by the view of an unhappy blue haired princess, who narrowed her eyes at him. "Princess?"

"You're with me," she said dispassionately, a smirk unconsciously growing on Harry's face in delight. It appeared he didn't have to choose after all. Apparently luck was on his side today. Three encounters in one day didn't happen all that often, especially when he was in such close proximity with her.

"Let me set some ground rules. Number one, you will follow all my instructions so that we get this experiment done quick, and I don't have to be in your presence longer than necessary," she began, Harry about to open his mouth but she shut him off with a glare. "And number two, don't question me. I know what I'm doing. So be a good pirate and do as I say."

He mock saluted at her. "Aye, aye Cap'n."

Evie rolled her eyes before she got to work, tying up her hair in a messy bun. Harry's never seen her with her hair up before, and watched in slight awe at how well the hairstyle suited her. It appeared she looked even more beautiful when she wasn't trying to be, Harry not even flinching at his word choice because it was true. Evie truly was beautiful, but she already knew that, said it to herself every single day.

"What are you doing just sitting there? Help me by getting the evaporation dish and beaker while I set up the Bunsen burner," she ordered, continuing to tie the apron around her waist as she placed on a set of safety glasses. Harry moved to reach the required equipment, carefully placing it onto the counter as Evie attached the Bunsen to the gas pipe.

Harry watched her curiously, awaiting her instructions as she continued the set up. It was only after she had set up the tripod that she noticed him standing behind her blankly. She frowned when she looked at him however, Harry misunderstanding this as him not doing anything as he opened his mouth to say something.

She cut him off however when she placed an apron over his head, moving behind him to tie the strings in place. He stood stiffly in place as she essentially dressed him, moving back to face him with a pair of safety glasses in tow. Without saying anything, she slipped them carefully onto his eyes, the pirate blinking behind the new pair of glasses as she stepped away and continued to focus on her work.

"Thanks," he muttered, the sides of Evie's lips curving only slightly as she motioned for him to grab the sodium hydroxide. Placing a measuring cylinder in front of him, she ordered, "Pour two millilitres of the acid into that."

He nodded, moving to pour the acid carefully. He was pouring it to the mark she said before he heard her gasp in shock beside her. "That's too much Harry!" she exclaimed, moving beside him to take the acid away.

"I did as ye told me to," he replied, Evie frowning as she pointed to the measuring cylinder. "This is twenty millilitres Harry, not two," she explained calmly, moving to grab another cylinder to pour the base once more.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry princess," he apologized softly, Evie almost taken aback. But she shrugged off her shock with a light shake of the head.

"It's alright. It's an honest mistake," she reassured him, pouring the two millilitres of base onto the evaporating dish.

She turned to hand him some indicator, motioning for him to add one drop of it the solution. Harry was able to do it correctly this time, dropping a small drop onto the base as she gathered the hydrochloric acid. Evie commanded him to start dropping the hydrochloric acid, one at a time, onto the base as she stirred the mixture.

It was during this time that she suddenly asked, "Tell me something."

Harry raised a brow. "What?"

"Do you know how to count?" He almost dropped more than he needed to into the mixture before he composed himself. He was about to protest until she added, "I'm not trying to insult you or anything. I just noticed that you seem to have difficulty when it comes to numbers. First the time, and now the measuring. I'm just genuinely curious."

At this, Harry heaved a resigned sigh, raking his free hand through his hair. This was one of his little known secrets that only Uma, and maybe even Ben knew about. It was something he had kept well hidden due to his reputation and often times, he never made a big issue out of it.

"I might have some trouble with numbers," he admitted softly, just as Evie motioned for him to stop. He moved the acid away, capping it with its lid before she placed the dish into the water bath.

"I see. So you never really learned?" she asked a little hesitantly, the male shaking his head.

"My Da never really taught me how," he replied. "But how about Serpent Prep?"

He shook his head. "Ye know better than anyone what they teach on the Isle. So no, I never really got a chance to learn."

"But then how did you manage all these years?"

"I didn't really need to use numbers on the Isle. If I did, it was usually Uma or Gil dealin' with all tha' stuff."

Evie frowned. "That seems a bit far fetched. We always need to use numbers."

Harry shrugged. "It is what it is Princess. I survived seventeen years without needing to learn how to properly count, I can do with a few more."

The princess' frown only deepened at his words. She didn't say anything for a few moments as she waited for the solution to evaporate to dryness before turning the Bunsen off, Harry removing the dish with tongs as he set it on the heat mat.

Evie turned to him with a shake of the head. "You won't be able to survive any longer without learning to count."

"Then who's gonna be willing enough to teach me? If anyone else finds out, they'd lose their fear of me," he remarked, the girl rolling her eyes before staring at him directly in his eyes, her eyes full of fiery determination.

"I'll teach you."

Harry raised a brow as he cocked his head to side. "You'll what?"

Evie nodded firmly in affirmation this time, hands on her hips. "I'll tutor you. I'll help you how to count, and I'll throw in some Chemistry too because I can see you're struggling."

Harry didn't bother retorting, knowing it to be true. But her? Tutoring him? And without him even asking? Harry didn't even know where to begin. But he did have to admit, he was rather relieved she didn't mock him about his difficulty with numbers. In fact she didn't even flinch, instead offering to help him remedy his weakness. If this had gotten out on the Isle, Harry was sure his reputation would be burned to pieces. But considering he was on Auradon now, he was able to save face, thanks to the princess of all people.

"Are ye sure?"

"I already said it twice that I'll teach you. Do you need it on documentation or something?" she asked in exasperation, Harry shaking his head amusedly.

"'Was just makin' sure ye weren't pulling my leg and ye weren't gonna back out."

"I don't go back on my word. And I'm not joking, I want to help you."

"But why," he implored, "I thought ye hated me?"

At this, the girl suddenly lowered her gaze, biting her lip as a small flush crossed her face. Harry watched her in bemusement, absolutely befuddled by her reaction as she lifted her head up to face him. "I don't hate you, not really. I decided that I don't want to keep arguing with you, and that I should call a truce instead. So, truce?"

She offered out a hand, Harry glancing at it before looking back at her. He smirked. "Naww, and I thought ye enjoyed our bickering."

Evie sighed. "I do, but it's getting tiring. So truce or not? My arm is getting tired," she pressed on impatiently, the male's smirk widening.

He took her hand and shook it in agreement, letting it linger for a little while before finally pulling away. "Truce."

A radiant smile broke out on the princess' face as she looked at him delightedly. "Great. Just tell me when you're free and we can start then. I think this should happen like twice a week, just so you can learn faster."

Harry shrugged. "Ye decide. Yer the one teaching me."

If it were even possible, her smile grew even widen. "Awesome. So twice a week, whenever you're free. Tell me as soon as possible so I can clear out my schedule for you."

Harry raised a brow but said nothing, nodding his head in agreement as the girl drew her attention back to the experiment. Clear out her schedule for him? As if she couldn't have been more amazing in his eyes.

It brought a warm flutter in his chest at the thought, the pirate's eyes dilating only silently in shock at the realization. Something else? Was this what Carlos meant by 'something else'?

And as he continued to observe her as she concentrated on taking measurements, the thoughts became clearer and clearer in his mind. Indeed, she really had him, dare he say it, hooked.