I was worried I wouldn't have this chapter done in time. At the very end of August I had to have an appendectomy, and it took me like 2 weeks before I felt up to writing again.

But here we are!


"Hi. Three tickets to uh… Mirror: Impossible IV please." Raven says to the man behind the ticket kiosk. She hands him a few crumpled bills from her wallet and he in turn gives her three movie tickets still hot from the printer.

Raven slips the tickets into her purse, and sits down on the bench by the front door of the new multihex theatre. She takes out her MirrorPhone and swipes through her home screens without selecting any of the apps. There's nothing she needs to do on her phone, she just wants to keep her hands busy while she waits for Dexter and Maddie.

She arrived at the theatre early, by design. She told Maddie and Dexter it was to avoid the long lines and to get away from Faybelle. While those were both true, her main reason was that she had to beat Dexter to the ticket booth or else he would force her to suffer through Spelless in Seapple, a romantic drama that looked so sappy it made her want to barf.

Dexter tried his hardest to cram as much romance into this date as possible. His eagerness was palpable, and Raven felt bad every time she had to tell him he needed to tone it down. That didn't however detract from her annoyance that he didn't seem to know the definition of discretion. His first idea was to have a candlelit dinner at the most expensive restaurant in Bookend. Grimm, it would have just been easier to tell Duchess they were going on a date.

They couldn't get caught on this date. She could not get caught on this date. She's not sure which would be worse, having to confess that her relationship with Apple is a lie, or that she cheated on her with Dexter.

To avoid that horrifying situation Raven suggested going to the movies, where it would be easy to hide away in the dark, and they should bring Maddie with them to make it look even less like a date. Dexter agreed, though she could tell by his wavering smile that he wasn't totally satisfied with the arrangement.

"Raven!" She looks up from her phone to see Maddie standing on her tiptoes and waving at her with an enormous grin on her face. Dexter stands next to her, also smiling and holding a bouquet of deep, purple roses with his good arm.

Raven grimaces, and resists the urge to smack her forehead. After countless lectures on how they could not make this look like a date, he goes and buys her flowers. She thinks back to when she visited him in the infairmary and he called Cupid's bouquet of roses "friendship flowers". He sure seems to know the difference between friendship and romance now.

"Hey you guys!" She says with a smile plastered on her face.

"Raven, wow you look amazing. Here, these are for you. " Dexter stares at her with an awed expression. He thrusts out his good arm holding the bouquet, and holds it a few inches from her face.

Raven takes the flowers and holds them at her side in a loose, unsure grip. "Wow… thanks Dexter. You're so sweet. But uh… I thought we agreed to keep this low-key."

Dexter's cheeks tinge pink, and he flashes her a sheepish grin. "I know, I just wanted to do something special for you. And look, I got a little something for Maddie too."

Maddie holds up the tendril-y, purple passion flower she has strapped around her wrist. "Don't worry Raven, this way it looks less suspicious." She leans in and says to her in a mock whisper.

Raven looks around the crowded multihex. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of people mill about the lobby. She even recognizes a few of the faces as their classmates. She feels all their eyes on them. She bites her lip, and gets a sinking feeling in her stomach that someone will notice them, see through their act, and alert Duchess or Kitty. Or even worse, Blondie and her Mirrorcast show.

They are so doomed.

"Anyway, I bought the tickets." Raven says. She retrieves them from her purse and gives one to each of them.

Dexter raises his eyebrows. "Mirror: Impossible IV? I thought we were seeing Spelless in Seapple."

"It was sold out. Sorry." She lies.

"Aww… gort." Dexter pouts.

Since Raven bought the tickets Dexter agrees to buy the snacks. He stands in the long line for concessions while she and Maddie head to their theatre to choose a place to sit. They decide on a spot near the back of the theatre, towards the left of the big screen but still with a decent view. Together they spread out their picnic blanket and take a seat.

"Why did you lie and tell Dexter Spelless in Seapple was sold out?" Maddie asks.

Raven gawks at her. "How did you know I lied? Were you listening to the narrator's again?"

"Yeah, but I didn't have to know you lied. I just looked at the time board. There's five showings of Spelless in Seapple tonight, but none of them were sold out."

"Well, uh… it's just not really my kind of movie."

Maddie rubs her chin, and considers her response. "Why are you on this date with Dexter when you're not really into him?"

"Maddie keep your voice down, someone could hear you!" Raven says in a sharp whisper.

She does a glance around the theatre to make sure nobody overheard them. The groups of people around her seem too engrossed in their own conversations to be paying attention to them. Raven breathes a sigh of relief before giving Maddie a hard stare. "And who says I'm not into Dexter? I like him. I wouldn't be here doing this if I didn't."

Maddie shrugs. "I guess that's true, but it's clear as day you like Apple more."

Raven scoffs. "What? No I don't."

"Someone's in denial!" Maddie says with an annoying sing-song lilt.

Raven starts to deny that she's in denial, but before she can finish she spots Dexter ambling into the theatre. Somehow he's able to balance their gargantuan tray of concessions in his good arm. Raven clamps her mouth shut and grabs her MirrorPhone from her bag. She pretends to be engrossed in it as Dexter makes his way over.

"Okay, I've got three large cherry Hexi's, chocolate mints for me, sour gummi-bears for Maddie, and a jumbo bucket of popcorn for us to share." Dexter hands out their snacks and turns to her with a broad smile. "Are you sure you don't want anything else Raven? I could get Snow-Crowns, or Licorice Wands, or Chocolate-covered Goblin Bites?"

Raven shakes her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

Dexter plops down on the blanket next to her. Raven goes back to her MirrorPhone. She hopes he doesn't notice she's just swiping through her home screens. As she nibbles on a handful of popcorn she feels a thick fabric drape over her shoulders. She looks behind her to see Dexter, and furrows her brows.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"Giving you my jacket. You looked cold."

Raven swats the jacket off her shoulders. "Dexter I'm fine, really. You don't have to fuss over me."

Dexter's smile falters as he gathers up the crumpled jacket and pulls it back on. Before he can suggest anything else, like cooking her a four-course meal because she looks hungry, the lights in the theatre dim and the first preview plays on the big screen.

Raven tries to focus on the movie, but Dexter and the high-pitched whistling noise his nose makes every time he breathes in grates at her nerves. He won't stop sniffling. Raven's grip tightens on the handkerchief in her purse. Once she can't stand the sniffles any longer she thrusts it in his direction. He blows into it, emitting an elephant-like noise loud enough for the entire theatre to hear. The couple in front of them actually turn around to shush them.

"Sorry Raven, it's allergy season." He whispers as he hands the snot-coated handkerchief back to her.

Halfway through the movie Raven reaches into the popcorn bucket and grabs something warm and fleshy. Dexter's hand. He starts to lace his fingers around hers, but she lets out a high-pitched yelp and yanks her hand away. Popcorn kernels fly into the air and she spills the whole bucket in her lap.

Afterwards Raven catches Dexter eyeing her hand a few times. His palm twitches, but he makes no further attempts to touch her. Raven breathes a relieved sigh when the end credits roll and Dexter didn't try to put any more moves on her. She reasons her apprehension is disgust at how germy his hands must be from blowing his nose, but she can't shake the feeling that there's something more to it.

On their walk back to campus they're accompanied by some classmates who were in the theatre with them, and they chatter about their thoughts. Most seem to have come to the same conclusion about the movie as her. That the effects were good, but the story was predictable and the villain a cliché. Still, a halfway-decent action flick beats a hokey melodramatic romance movie like Spelless in Seapple.

When they get back to school their classmates wish each other goodnight and file up the two main staircases to the dorms. Maddie yawns and stretches her arms high into the air.

"Well I'm going to hit the hay. Good night you two."

"Night!" She and Dexter say in unison.

Maddie waves back at them once more before heading upstairs. She and Dexter are now the only two people in the hallway, and a tense, uncomfortable feeling forms in her stomach.

"Well that was fun." Dexter says. He rubs the back of his neck and grins at her.

She nods. "Yeah, I had a good time."

Dexter leans in closer. Alarm bells go off in Raven's head as she worries he's going to kiss her. She considers sprinting up the stairs without another word, or jumping out the window next to them, but her feet won't move. She stands still as stone while Dexter gives her a quick, gentle hug. Torrent of relief washes over her as she realizes that's all he intends to do.

"I'll see you around." He says as he bounds up the stairs two at a time.

Once Dexter is out of eyesight Raven's smile drops. She chucks the bouquet of flowers into the nearest trashcan before heading back to her dorm. She wishes she had the key to the spellevator so she wouldn't have to climb the stairs. She's exhausted. Mentally drained. All she wants to do is put on pajamas, listen to some tunes, and not have to think about her messy love life.

Her mind flashes back to yesterday and her date with Apple. It's hard not to compare how opposite the two ended. Dexter's was the one she most looked forward to, Apple's the one she dreaded. Apple's was fake under the pretense of being real, Dexter's real on the pretense of it being not. But the thought swirling around at hyper speed in her mind is that Dexter's is the one she doesn't want to repeat, and Apple's was the one she does.

Sure, her date with Apple started out a tad awkward. Most of that awkwardness stemming from her sourness at being forced to confront these feelings she did not want to confront. As the night wore on though, she let her guard down had fun. Too much fun. There were a few too many points she had to remind herself this wasn't a real date. When she said good night she wanted to kiss Apple so bad it ached.

All this is making it difficult to keep reassuring herself she has only friendly, platonic feelings for Apple.

It doesn't make sense for her to like Apple. She's just so... Apple. She's the girl whose constant cheeriness used to annoy her to no end. Who talks nonstop about destiny and Prince Charmings. Who thinks of her as her 'frenemy', emphasis on the enemy part. Sure, Apple's grown on her since the beginning of the school year, but there's no way her feelings for her could have evolved into a full-blown crush.

Plus, Apple is straight. Raven's certain if she looked up heterosexual in the dictionary, she'd find a picture of her and her perfect, blonde curls. Raven should focus her feelings on the sweet, handsome boy who likes her and not the beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful, unattainable straight girl. It'll save her an awful lot of heartache in the long run.

Raven can hear Faybelle's bubblegum pop music playing a whole floor below. The ceiling above her vibrates from the sound. Quiet hours have already started for the night, and Raven wonders if anyone's complained. Not likely. Complaining to Faybelle would get the door slammed in your face and the music cranked up even louder.

As she approaches her door she can hear howls of laughter coming from inside. Two howls of laughter to be exact. One of them honky, like a goose. Or a swan.

Duchess and Faybelle sit cross-legged on her bed, which is covered in candy wrappers and beauty magazines. They each wear an identical, green facemask and are painting each other's nails. The bottle of black polish looks identical to one she bought last month. Raven glances at her vanity and confirms that her bottle is indeed missing.

"Duchess is sleeping over tonight." Faybelle says, not taking her eyes off of Duchess's hand.

Raven purses her lips. "Thanks for the heads up."

Faybelle responds by rolling her eyes and cranking the Taylor Quick song up even louder.

Raven can feel her body tense as she changes into her pajamas. She can't find a comfortable position to relax in her bed. Even through her headphones she can hear Faybelle's awful music blaring.

She groans, not caring if Faybelle and Duchess hear her. She can barely tolerate Faybelle and Duchess on their own. But the two of them together? She needs to find somewhere else to sleep tonight.

Raven scrolls through her contacts. Briar had offered for this very occasion, and she's sure Cedar and Cerise wouldn't mind either. Or Ginger and Melody, or Cupid and Blondie. She has a whole host of friends she could ask for a place to temporarily spend the night. And she ends up picking none of them.

Sent to Apple White today at 10:01 PM

SOS! Faybelle and Duchess are having a sleepover in my room! Can I crash with you tonight?

It's a dumb idea. Apple will probably send her back a hext about how the two of them being in the same room after curfew violates rule 45 part b or whatever of the Ever After High code of conduct. But Apple is the person she wants to see right now. As if talking to her and seeing her smile will make this sucky night a little bit better.

Sent today at 10:02 PM

I think we can work something out! Meet me at the west balcony in 10 minutes. Bring your sleeping bag! J

Reading the response Raven breaks out into a grin, and she clutches her phone to her chest.

"Is that a hext from your girlfriend?" Faybelle teases from across the room.

"Maybe." Raven responds, feeling her cheeks flush.

"Ugh… you two are gross."

Duchess scowls at Faybelle, then at her. "You can drop the act here Raven. We all know you aren't really dating her."

"It's not an act." She says. And this time, it's true. Her gleeful response was genuine.

Raven leaves her room feeling reenergized, and bounds up the stairs to the balcony. When she arrives she can smell freshly popped kettle corn wafting through the air. She looks around to find the source and spots a large purple bowl piled high with kettle corn. Next to it sits four bottles of pink lemonade and a medley of chocolate candies. The wrappers all read the names of her favorites.

Apple's set up a cocoon of crimson blankets and pink pillows. A few moths fly lazily around copper lanterns she's placed along the outside. It looks soft and cozy, and Raven wants to hide away inside.

Apple is seated not in the cocoon, but cross-legged on the stone bench, looking up at the night sky. Even in flannel pajama pants and with her hair in a messy topknot she looks like she belongs on the cover of a magazine. She's mastered the art of making comfy look chic. If Raven tried to steal her style she would end up looking like a disheveled mess.

Apple pushes her glasses up to keep them from falling down her nose. Raven has to do a double take to make sure she saw that right. She can count on one hand how many times she's seen Apple wear her glasses like she's supposed to. Raven can't understand her dislike towards them. She looks just as good with them on as she does off. Not that she would ever tell her that.

Raven sets down her sleeping bag and sits next to her. She puts her feet up on the bench and rests her head on her knees.

"What are you looking at?" She asks.

"I'm trying to find The Big Dipper." She says. She keeps her eyes fixed to the sky. The lantern lights reflect off her glasses.

"I didn't know you were an astronomer."

"I'm not really. It's just something I used to do when I was a kid. I liked looking up at all the constellations and hearing my dad tell their stories." Apple chuckles, and her eyes widen. The bun on her head bobbles as she points at the sky. "There it is! Do you see it?"

Raven follows Apple's finger and squints up at the imaginary spot in the sky. Her heart beat quickens as she tries to focus on the stars and not the scent of Apple's cherry blossom shampoo. She hopes Apple doesn't notice she smells like sweat, movie theatre popcorn, and the cologne Dexter applied a liberal amount of. She should have taken a quick shower before coming up here.

"Look it's that bright spot right here." Apple nudges her with her shoulder, and draws a circle with her finger in the air.

Raven gives the sky another hard look, and shakes her head. All the stars look equally bright to her.

"Sorry, I'm still having trouble."

Apple gives her a soft, strange expression. Raven thinks there's a blush on her face, but she can't say for certain in the dim lantern light. Slowly, Apple takes her hand and folds down her last three fingers so only her index still points straight. She then slides her hand down to her wrist and guides it towards one of the stars.

"This is the handle." She says, and traces out three more stars in a curved line. "And here is the bowl." She points out four more stars in the sky that form a square. "If you follow this line right here you can use it to find the North Star."

"That's Polaris right?"

"Hexactly! Polaris is the tip of the handle in the little dipper. Want me to trace out the rest of it, or do you want to try finding it yourself?"

"Show me." Raven says with a soft smile. She doesn't want Apple to let go of her.

Apple scoots closer to her. Raven can feel her body heat as her shoulder rests against hers. She watches the sky as Apple traces out the Little Dipper with her finger.

"Can I show you Orion?" Apple asks.

"Sure."

"Give me a second to find it. It's easier in the winter, and when there's less light pollution." She scans the sky, squinting up hard at the stars from behind her thick glasses. She moves her finger to a different location. "There it is! You see those three stars right there?"

"Yeah, I see them." Raven says, studying the line. She wouldn't have given it a second glance without her pointing it out.

"That's Orion's belt. Above it are his shoulders, and that bright orange star is Betelgeuse. Below it are his legs, and the bright star on the right is Rigel."

Raven works out the constellation as Apple describes it, and tries not to get distracted at how soft her palm is. They're already sitting shoulder to shoulder, but she wants to pull her even closer.

"That's all my knowledge of the night sky I'm afraid. I could look up some star charts on my MirrorPhone and try to find more if you want." Apple says. To Raven's disappointment she lets go of her wrist.

"Actually, I have one trick for you." She takes Apple's hand and guides it to the only thing in the night sky she can identify. "That right there is the moon. Did you know it's made completely of cheese?"

Apple giggles. The bun on her head bobs up and down. "No it's not. It's made of nickel and sulfur. Weren't you paying attention when we studied it last year?"

"Science? Nah, I went straight to the source and asked the cow who jumped over it. She swears it was made of cheese."

"You're right. I can't argue with that logic." Apple says. She frees her hand and gets off the bench, stretching her arms high into the air. "Do you want help setting up your sleeping bag?"

"Nah I've got it."

Apple settles into her cocoon of blankets and opens up her MirrorPad while Raven unrolls her black sleeping bag next to her, within arm's reach of the kettle corn and pink lemonade.

"Need any hextra pillows?" Apple asks as she takes off her glasses and puts them back into their case. Raven shakes her head. Once she's got everything in its place she lies down and reaches over for the kettle corn.

"So why'd you pick this place to camp out?" Raven asks, her words somewhat garbled from the food in her mouth.

"Well we couldn't have a sleepover in my room with Bunny thinking we're dating and all, and we certainly couldn't have it in yours. There aren't a whole lot of other options. You don't have a problem with this spot right? Because I'm sure we could find another place if you want to."

"No this is fine. It's the best place to watch the sunset."

Raven bites her lip. She remembers saying that exact thing to Dexter earlier in the school year. She feels a sharp pang of guilt stab her in her stomach. She has to remind herself she doesn't have anything to feel guilty about. Apple gave her permission to go on the date. Not that Raven even needed it, since they aren't dating and they don't have those kind of feelings for each other.

"So you do stargaze here?" Apple says with a lilt. Raven looks over at her and sees she's wearing a huge grin. Her smile falters upon seeing her flummoxed face. "Stargaze? You know, because the sun is a star?"

"Oh right." Raven gives her a half-hearted smile. Apple's cheeriness isn't helping this guilty feeling go away.

"I guess I just like this place, you know? It's peaceful."

"Yeah I get that."

"My mom told me stories about how her and my dad would sneak up here when they went to Ever After. This is where they had their first kiss." Her eyes widen and she lets out a quiet gasp. "Not that this is an inherently romantic spot! I've come up here with my friends before plenty of times."

"Yeah me too." She lets out a nervous chuckle and looks away from her.

"So… how was your thing today?" Apple asks after a considerable amount of silence passes between them.

"What thing?"

"Uh… the very important thing you had going on today. You didn't really go into specifics about it so..."

"Oh! It was good." Raven resists the urge to smack her forehead. Of course Apple meant the date. Which she intentionally avoided elaborating on to her when she asked.

"What did you end up doing?"

"I just went to the new Multihex theatre with Maddie and uh… Dexter. I guess it wasn't really that important."

"Oh, that's all? Well, it sounds fun! What did you guys see?"

"Mirror: Impossible IV. It was alright. Too many explosions, not enough exposition."

Apple nods. "Yeah, I heard the critics weren't too fond of it either. You should have seen Spelless in Seapple. I heard Rachel McAbracadabrams was phenomenal."

"Maybe next time. So, uh… what did you do today?" She asks, deflecting the attention away from Spelless in Seapple and away from her.

"Well mostly I worked on the Royal Student council's annual club review and budget allocation. It's taking forever to get through. And uh… what else did I do today?" Apple taps her chin. "I had dinner in the castleteria with Cedar and Blondie, straightened my dorm room, did some laundry. That's about it really."

"Wow, that was incredibly boring. You didn't like, go around helping old ladies cross the street or saving cats stuck up in trees?"

Apple laughs. "Nope, not today. But yesterday I caught a spider and let it out my window."

"You know most house spiders aren't accustomed to living outdoors, so releasing it outside is basically the same as killing it, except slower and more painful?"

Apple gives her a blank stare. "I'm going to pretend you never told me that, and delete that information from my mind."

Raven smiles. She remembers those disapproving looks Apple would shoot her every time she squashed a spider in their dorm. How she'd lecture her that spiders shouldn't be punished for wandering into a place they don't belong. Raven always rolled her eyes, but she was secretly in awe at how much she wanted to help people and do the right thing. Even if it was a little misguided.

"Hey Apple?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you take your glasses off when you sat down?"

She bites her lip. "Oh, I just didn't need them anymore. I was only wearing them to look at the stars clearly. You weren't even supposed to see me in them."

"Yeah, but now you can't see as well."

"I can see just fine."

Raven frowns at her. "Apple, you're squinting at me right now."

"Because it's dark!"

"Why are you so embarrassed by your glasses anyway? I mean, you look just as spellbinding with them on as you do off."

Raven covers her mouth. She can't believe she said that out loud. She hopes Apple doesn't notice her blush. She probably doesn't, because she's buried her head in one of her pillows to hide that her own face has turned a furious shade of red.

"You're just saying that to be nice." Apple says. It comes out muffled from behind the pillow.

"I'm not. Swear it. Besides, Rosabella's destined to be a princess too and she wears glasses."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Beauty's supposed to be bookish in her story, so Rosabella can get away with wearing glasses. Snow White has a different image to project."

"And what's that?"

Apple lifts her head from her pillow. "Perfection."

"So what? Glasses show that you have flaws? Everybody has flaws, Apple."

"I know, but I can't show that I have flaws. To the world I'm supposed to be a perfect, pretty princess, and I can't do anything to contradict that." Apple lets out a cold laugh under her breath. "And how pretty I am is all I ever hear. It's not hard to be pretty. You just have to wear the right clothes and smile a lot. I'm destined to be a powerful Queen, so why is it that all I am to everyone is a pretty princess?"

Raven locks eyes with her. She wants to tell her that she's smart, kind, caring and so much more than a pretty face. But she doesn't out of fear that her compliments would sound fake and forced in context.

Apple frowns at her. "Sorry I shouldn't sound like I'm complaining. It's an honor to be Snow White, and I'm proud to carry on her legacy."

"No, it's fine. You have a right to be unhappy with your destiny."

"But I'm not unhappy with it."

"But it's okay to be. Haven't you ever questioned your destiny, Apple?"

"No! Of course not! I… Maybe." It's barely a whisper, like this is the first time she's admitting it aloud. "Raven, what if I'm the wrong person to be Snow White?"

Raven has to stifle a laugh. Not that she finds her statement is funny, it's just such strange thing for her to worry about. Apple? The wrong person to be Snow White? If she can't encapsulate the role, then there isn't anyone more qualified who can.

"Apple where in Ever After would you get that idea? You're the perfect Snow White."

Apple looks away from her and plays with a lock of hair that's fallen out of her bun. "Lately I haven't been so sure."

"Why's that? It's not your hair is it? Because it's fine just as it is. Blonde suits you."

"No, it's not my hair. It's… it's other things."

"Such as?"

She hesitates, opening her mouth to speak and then closing it. "It's nothing. Forget I mentioned it."

Raven wants to push her further. She wants Apple to share everything and not feel like she has to hold back. Instead, Raven gives her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, it's okay. All the pressure people put on us to be the perfect villain or princess or whatever can really mess with your head."

"Is that why you're so spellbent on rebelling against your destiny? Because you think you're the wrong person for it?"

Raven frowns. "No, it's kind of the opposite actually. I… I'm worried I might be too perfect for the role."

Apple knits her brows. "What do you mean?"

Raven swallows. She's talked at great length about how she doesn't want to follow her destiny, but she hasn't gone much into why. Most people assume it's because she doesn't want to do all those cruel acts in her story. While they're not wrong, there's a bigger, more sinister side to it she's never shared with anyone.

"It's just- I can barely control my evil magic. It would be so easy for something to go wrong in our story."

"Don't worry Raven. I promise that when I'm Queen I'll pardon you for your crimes. Then we'll all live happily ever after. That's how it always works."

"Yes, but what if something happens? What if I turn out like my Mom and go into a power-crazed rage? What if when I'm faced with poisoning you, I can't control myself and I end up hurting you? I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, or any of the people I love."

Apple reaches over her mountain of pillows and gives her a delicate, caring look. She cups one hand to her cheek, and rests the other on her shoulder.

"Is that what you're worried about most, Raven? Losing control?"

Raven breaks her gaze away from her and nods at the ground. "That and turning out like my mom. I think about the horrible things she did as The Evil Queen, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't know how I could ever bring myself to be so cruel."

Apple lets go of her shoulder and cheek, only to wrap her arms around her and pull her into a tight embrace. Raven's eyes widen at the sudden movement, but her body quickly relaxes in her arms.

"You're nothing like your Mom Raven. You won't make the same mistakes she did."

"How can you be so confident?"

"When my Mom mentioned yours in her stories about Ever After, she'd say how she was a cold, sadistic loner who didn't have any need for friends, or even seem to like people save for your dad. You're nothing like that Raven. You're friendly and warm and witty, and overall, you're a good person with a good heart."

Apple pulls away from the hug, and holds her face in her hands, forcing her to look her in the eyes. Raven can see a faint blush on her face.

"Raven, I care about you a lot, you know that? You, Raven Queen the person. Not your legacy or your destiny, but you. I- We all love you too much to ever let you become full evil."

Raven blinks, and reaches up to wipe tears forming in her eyes. She can't remember anyone being so kind and reassuring towards her. Telling her what she needs to hear to feel safe and loved. Raven can sense from her soft touches and firm voice that she meant every word of it.

Raven pulls Apple back into a tight hug, which she reciprocates. She wraps her arms around her waist and rests her head on her shoulder. Raven closes her eyes and breathes in the comforting scent of her cherry blossom shampoo. Neither of them say anything for a while. They both sit their in each other's arms, listening to the crickets chirp and the gentle, night breeze swirl around them.

"I brought my MirrorPad. Do you want to watch something?" Apple asks once she's pulled away.

She nods. They prop up the MirrorPad between them and Raven scrolls through her Hexflix queue. Apple adjusts the pillows and blankets so they're both enveloped together in her cocoon. It's not long into their movie that Raven's eyelids feel heavy. She feels Apple breathing rhythmically beside her.

"Apple?"

"Hmm?" She replies back sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes.

"I'm going to turn off the MirrorPad."

"Okay."

"Good night."

"Night Raven."

Raven lies on her back facing up at the stars. She tries to find the Big Dipper, but finds she can't do it without Apple's assistance. Instead she studies the stars and makes up new constellations in her head until she falls asleep.


I cannot believe I had to type the words "Apple is straight." It feels so wrong.

You guys this is probably my favorite chapter in the entire story! Let me know if you liked it too!