Chapter Seven: Study Date
"When were you going to tell me?" Roselyn slammed her hands onto the table in which Ben was sitting on the opposite side.
Ben looked up at Roselyn, feeling guilty. He knew he had forgotten something, and it was to tell his best friend, whom he tells everything to, that he loved Mal and they were now together. It all happened so fast and he was so in love with Mal that he completely forgot to tell Roselyn! He and Mal went out on a date Friday afternoon after the Tourney game; it was now Monday.
"I had to find out from Lonnie, Ben," Roselyn commented sounding hurt, "From Lonnie!"
"Look I'm really sorry," Ben apologised, "I was gonna tell you yesterday but I just forgot, I don't know what came over me."
Roselyn rolled her bright green orbs playfully before she sat down across from Ben, "You're lucky that you're my best friend, I could never stay mad at you!"
Ben chuckled at his best friend's response. He knew that Roselyn was joking with him, they rarely got into fights, but if they did get into one, they didn't argue about small petty things.
"So," Roselyn interjected excitedly as she shook a seat across from Ben, "Where did you take her? I want all of the detail!"
"Well," Ben started, "I took her out to the Enchanted Lake and set out a nice picnic for the two of us. We talked before I went for a swim, while Mal sat and ate all the strawberries. I saw something shiny at the bottom of the lake so I dived for it. I must've been under the water for a long time because Mal started to get so worried that she went into the lake to find me. It was after I saved her I found out that she couldn't swim."
"Wow, that sounds romantic," Roselyn commented, "Except for the Mal-nearly-drowning part, but in the end at least nobody got hurt."
"It was fun, we had a great time together," Ben nodded with a grin.
Roselyn smiled, "That's great, I'm happy for the both of you!"
After the two exchanged nods, a silence fell over the two. Roselyn began to fidget with her hands and wringing them; something was bothering her. Anyone who knew Roselyn well knew that when she played with her hair like that, she was keeping something from them but was afraid to say what was bothering her.
"You want to tell me something or are you just going to sit there and suffer in silence?" Ben smirked, reading her like an open book.
Roselyn was going to deny that nothing was bothering her but she gave in, "Okay, okay, fine, I have been needing to tell you something that has been bugging me ever since last Friday!"
Ben nodded his head, "Alright, shoot."
Roselyn proceeded to tell Ben everything about what happened last Friday after when Jay ate the cookie.
"That is quite the story," Ben agreed after he took all of Roselyn's story in.
"Do you think it was a bad cookie? You know, like it could've given him some sort of tummy issues? Was that why he was acting so strange?" Roselyn questioned, looking puzzled.
'Should I tell her that the cookie was laced with a love spell?' Ben contemplated in his head, 'No, what's the harm? The spell didn't affect me to its fullest extent. If anything, I say it made my made my feelings for Mal develop stronger. I could tell from the moment those two met that Jay and Roselyn had a connection. The love spell will eventually wash away and Jay will know how he truly feels about Roselyn.'
Ben shrugged, "I don't know, could've been anything."
"Maybe I was just imagining it?" Roselyn said for her own self-assurance.
"I highly doubt that," Ben chuckled.
"I could've been magic!" Roselyn suggested.
"I highly doubt that as well," Ben shook his head with a knowing grin.
Roselyn pouted, 'Then why was Jay acting so strange? Normally he's cool and suave around me, but for the first time last Friday he seemed to be really jittery around me.'
"Then I don't know what's going on with him," Roselyn sighed dramatically.
"Maybe he just really likes you?" Ben suggested with a genuine smile.
"Hmph, as if," Roselyn scoffed, "He can't love one girl; he has to like more than one!"
Ben shrugged again with a smile, "Maybe he's changed his ways?"
Roselyn didn't say anything but cross her arms over her chest in defeat.
"Anyways," Ben cleared his throat, wanting to change the subject, "Your parents were chosen to hold the Annual Auradon Charity Gala."
Roselyn's green eyes widened as her gaze met Ben's, her hands flew to her mouth to suppress a scream.
"You didn't know?" Ben asked raising an eyebrow.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Roselyn squealed excitedly.
"Guess not," Ben rubbed is neck, "It wasn't my place to tell —"
"This is literally the best news ever!" Roselyn shrieked giddily.
Roselyn could not believe it; her kingdom was chosen to hold the Annual Auradon Charity Gala, finally after years of wishing.
As much as Ben hated to interrupt her freak out, he asked all of a sudden, "So, who are you thinking about going with?"
Roselyn's squealing ceased as a blush appeared on her cheeks, "Well, I — um, I-I haven't thought about it yet."
"Would you consider Jay?" Ben asked with a smirk.
Roselyn's blush grew a deeper shade of red as she glared at her best friend dangerously, "No way."
Ben shrugged with a knowing smile, "Suit yourself."
Ben and Roselyn continued to talk until the clock tower signalled that lunch was over and the two friends parted ways as they headed off to their classes.
"Well done, Roselyn," Miss Fauna beamed as she handed back her test.
Roselyn had been eagerly waiting for these results for the past week. Roselyn grinned widely and she did a little victory dance in her seat as an A+ could be seen at the top right corner of the page.
"I'll see you after class, Jay." Miss Fauna said quietly as she turned to Jay and handed his test back.
Jay took the test from Miss Fauna and scanned it before he let the booklet drop onto the table carelessly before he ran a hand through his long hair while staring daggers at his score. 'If looks could kill,' Roselyn thought as she peered over at Jay's test booklet and spotted a D- in the top right corner, which meant that Jay was below average. Roselyn began to absentmindedly tug on a strand of hair and began to twirl it nervously. That score wasn't good and Jay knew it.
Sometime later, the clock tower signalled that it was time for lunch and the students started to pack up their things. Roselyn stuffed her books into her bag and got up from her seat, and headed towards the classroom door. Roselyn snuck a glance at a nervous looking Jay before she stood outside the hallway waiting for Jay to come out.
Roselyn really hoped that Jay wouldn't get into some sort of trouble with the teacher by saying something really stupid out of anger or annoyance, as detention was the last thing that Jay needed right now. After for what seemed to be only a couple of minutes, Jay appeared from the classroom door and started to stomp down the hallway in a hurry. He seemed to be in a really bad mood, but that didn't stop Roselyn from wanting to comfort him.
"Jay, wait up!" Roselyn called as she ran after him.
Jay stopped abruptly and turned around to face her, his rough stormy eyes softened at the sight of Roselyn. Jay couldn't explain it but he felt calmer whenever Roselyn was around him.
"W-What did Miss Fauna say?" Roselyn asked curiously, stopping in front of Jay, nearly tripping over her own two feet.
It felt awkward talking to Jay after what happened before the Tourney Game, it still played on her mind. But she had to push that awkwardness aside for now because she had to support Jay in whatever was troubling him.
"She told me that if I don't pass the next test, I'll fail the semester," Jay explained, his voice was laced with sadness and defeat.
That didn't sound good. If Jay failed the semester, he could possibly be sent back to the Isle of the Lost and she couldn't let that happen.
"Why don't I help you study?" Roselyn suggested.
Jay raised an eyebrow with a scoff, "Me, study? I don't think so."
As Jay was about to walk off, Roselyn grabbed his hand in an attempt to get him to stay and talk to her. Jay stopped and faced Roselyn in shock.
"Jay, wait a minute!" Roselyn told before she let go of Jay's hand, "Just — please, let me help you in with some areas you're having trouble with. Who better than to get help from the daughter of Rapunzel and Eugene."
Studying wasn't Jay's idea of fun, but if it meant spending time with Roselyn then he was all in. "Okay, fine," Jay gave in.
"Great! Meet me in the library around five-thirty, okay?" Roselyn smiled as she was about to walk off.
Suddenly, Jay's lips spread into a sly smirk, "This is a date, isn't it?"
"No, it is not a date," Roselyn told firmly as her cheeks burned, "Just, be there okay!"
"Okay," Jay held his hands up as if to say he surrendered.
Satisfied, Roselyn turned on her heel and walked down the corridor. Unaware of Jay's gaze that followed her until she rounded a corner.
"It's totally a date," Jay said, still smirking to himself before he strutted off.
Roselyn was surprised; never would she have thought that Jay would actually show up at the library. She assumed that he'd either be late or not show up and that he was lying when he agreed to meet with her at the library; but lo and behold; here he was.
"What is this?!" Roselyn gasped in false shock, which made Jay jump in fright but relax after he saw her walk up to this table, "Auradon Prep's rising tourney star sitting in a library? How scandalous!" Roselyn laughed, "I was expecting you not to show up."
"Why wouldn't I show up? I'd be an idiot if I didn't and besides, I get to see my favourite girl," Jay replied with a flirty wink.
Roselyn blushed from Jay's comment. "L-Lets just get on with this," Roselyn muttered as she took a seat beside Jay.
From what Roselyn could tell, Jay had already been trying to do a bit of studying beforehand and it wasn't going too well. "Could I have a look at your test booklet?" Roselyn asked politely.
Jay nodded hesitantly before handing the booklet over to Roselyn. She opened the booklet to the first page and her green eyes skimmed through the answers Jay had written.
"These answers are all wrong. They don't make any sense," Roselyn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Jay, have you even read the book?"
Jay's chocolate brown eyes didn't even meet Roselyn's green ones; he just stared at the ground uncomfortably before his gaze shifted around the library as if he searching for an exit to escape.
"Jay, have you or not?" Roselyn pressed.
After a while, Jay breathed out a deep sigh before he turned his gaze towards Roselyn. She sensed fear and a hint of embarrassment. Jay's gaze tore away from her again, "Yeah, I tried to but —"
"But what?" Roselyn pressed for a straight answer.
"I-I can't read," Jay mumbled, but it was loud enough so that only Roselyn could hear.
"You can't read?" Roselyn repeated in disbelief.
"I can, but I only know a few words," Jay told, slightly embarrassed.
'No wonder he's been failing in most of his classes,' Roselyn thought silently. "Well, that's okay, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Roselyn assured as she put her hand on his arm in comfort, "I'll teach you!"
Jay looked up at Roselyn in surprise, "You will?"
"Of course!", Roselyn nodded happily, leaning down to the left to pull an item out of her bag that was on the floor.
Jay craned his neck to try and get a better look at what Roselyn was taking out of her bag. She soon sat back up and placed a thick hardcover book on the table in front of them. The cover was a beautiful deep purple shade, with Corona's sun crest in the middle.
"This is my book; it was given to me on my first birthday," Roselyn stroked the cover gently, "ever since I could remember, my parents would read to me every night. I never got sick of hearing it being retold over and over again," Roselyn smiled fondly, "and every year on my birthday, my parents would release thousands of glowing lanterns into the night sky. I always looked forward to it," Roselyn's eyes lit up as the memories of her past birthdays flashed across her mind, "It's sort of became a tradition."
"Must be nice having a birthday," Jay said sorrowfully.
Roselyn gawked at Jay in shock, "Y-You've never had a birthday before?"
"Not really, my dad wasn't big in celebrations," Jay shrugged, "I don't even know when my birthday is, my dad never told me."
In that moment, Roselyn's heart broke into a million tiny pieces. How could a parent forget their own child's birth date let alone not even going to the trouble of making up one?
"Oh, Jay, I'm so sorry," Roselyn said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder in comfort.
"Yeah — uh, l-let's just get on with reading this book," Jay dismissed the matter, in which Roselyn complied.
"Right — okay, let's get into it!" Roselyn said excitedly, Jay only smiled at her.
Sounding out each word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter, the hours passed and Jay had gotten to the halfway point of the book.
"I think that's enough studying for tonight," Roselyn yawned as she rubbed her tired eyes. She was really worn out after analysing and explaining all the different elements of the story. "I'm impressed that you got through half of the book, but we still have a lot to get through."
"Yeah well, I'd still be on the first page if it wasn't for you," Jay exaggerated, "Thank you, you're a really smart girl you know."
Roselyn's eyes grew wide with shock; she never heard Jay say thank you to her before. "All I did was teach you how to read," Roselyn shrugged bashfully.
"Doesn't matter," Jay shook his head, "Anyone who knows how to read is smart in my books."
Roselyn's cheeks grew hot as a small smile spread to across her lips, her gaze shifted down towards the ground shyly before it returned to Jay, who was already staring at her with a soft genuine smile.
As Roselyn gazed into Jay's eyes, her mind was running wild, 'Ugh, what is wrong with me? Can't believe that I'm thinking this but I think I'm actually starting to develop feelings, Jay. I can't even — maybe it's the lack of sleep that's making me feel this way?'
After for what seemed like an eternity, Roselyn tore her gaze away from Jay's before she cleared her throat.
Jay rubbed the back of his neck, "Right, well, we should, um —"
"Y-Yeah, we should get going now," Roselyn said awkwardly getting up from her seat, "The library is going to close soon."
Jay got up from his seat as Roselyn hastily packed all of her school supplies and special book into her bag. The both of then smiled shyly at each other before they stood on the spot; both of them didn't know what to say to one another.
"H-Hey, you don't mind meeting up to study again, do you?" Jay spoke up as he rubbed the back of his neck shyly, "I could really do with your help again."
Roselyn beamed, "Sure, I would love to help you out!"
"Cool," Jay nodded with a smile, "Well, goodnight, princess."
Roselyn grinned at his new nickname for her, "Goodnight, Jay."
With that, they both went to their separate dorms and called it a night.