Evie was buzzing with excitement by the time she, Mal, Lonnie, and Jane got on the bus that would take them off-campus. Mal took the back seat of observing while Lonnie and Evie chatted about what was to come.
Jane seemed a little more confident in being around the two villain girls. She still spoke rather fast but she seemed to relax when Mal offered to try to fix her hair for her. Those were the only words exchanged with Mal regretting having asked since it meant Jane would have to go back to the dorm with her and Evie.
"And the fabric store?" Evie couldn't keep back the grin that formed at the thought of it. "Ben mentioned there's one that's run by someone his dad knows. Lots of material and my being able to ask about getting a secondhand sewing machine. Not that I need one but I read about them in one of the books on the Isle and it sounds like it makes the process go a lot quicker."
"Wait," Lonnie held a hand up to get Evie to stop rambling. "You mean to tell me you made what you and Mal are currently wearing?"
"I did," The blue-haired teen shrugged. "Along with Carlos' shorts and Jay's jacket. Why?"
"That's impressive," Lonnie grinned. "What about dresses?" She felt a pang of embarrassment upon catching the slight change in Evie's posture at being asked.
"Didn't have enough material to try," Evie glanced down at her lap. "The little bits I had were used for saving the shirts we wore. I got very good at reconstructing from scraps." There was a brief pause then her expression changed, the smallest of smiles taking over once she pulled out her design book.
"Here, look!" She offered the sketchbook to Lonnie, opening it to a page that had a dress design for Mal on it. "Now, this isn't the original idea. That one's back on the Isle, but it's pretty close. I based it off one of Jasmine's looks but decided it needed some Isle flare to it."
"What about the headpiece?" Lonnie lightly ran her fingers over the little scrap of fabric that was on the page.
"That's Dizzy's design," Her expression faltered upon bringing up the sister she left behind. "Drizella's daughter. She's got a knack for design as well. Brilliant at hair and makeup too. I let her keep my original book so she had a part of me to keep her company while I'm out here."
"That's so sweet," Lonnie sighed. "Can I turn to the next page?" Evie nodded, watching out of the corner of her eye while Lonnie glanced over the design for Carlos. "Seriously, you've got talent. I can't wait to see what you do once you get your hands on some fabric."
"Really?" Evie frowned at hearing that. Mal and Jay were always reassuring her that her designs were flawless but they were her friends. They were supposed to be supportive. "Mother always said I was wasting my time on drawing dresses I would never get to wear."
"Really," Lonnie nodded. "We'll have to go to the fabric store after Jane and I pick up our gowns for family weekend."
"Family weekend?" Mal asked, properly looking at Lonnie for the first time that day.
"When our relatives come up to visit. There's that, then homecoming, then the coronation," Jane answered. "Mom said they're working on a little something for you and the others since your parents can't visit."
"They don't need to do anything," Evie shook her head, earning a similar look from Mal.
"You must miss them," Lonnie added. "I know I miss my parents and my brother." Mal pressed her lips together to keep from saying anything sarcastic.
"A little," Evie wrinkled her nose. She hadn't exactly thought about her mother besides acknowledging that she and the others would get into more trouble than they had ever been in if they didn't get their hands on the wand.
"Not exactly," Mal shrugged. "It's nice not getting woken up by her yelling at people from the balcony."
"It's been almost a week since someone last criticized my appearance," Evie added with a soft laugh. "Which reminds me, I need to get tweezers."
Jane and Lonnie exchanged a quick look with each other, slight changes in their eyebrows being the only thing to give away their minor concern toward what was said.
"What about the guys?" Lonnie decided to press further. It may not have been the best option but she was willing to get snapped at for trying to dig a little deeper into life on the Isle.
"Eh," Evie grimaced. "Our parents weren't exactly overly affectionate with any of us." She wasn't sure what to say about the boys so that would hopefully suffice.
"There isn't much to miss," Mal added then shrugged her shoulders. "Mum tried her best but she and the others didn't exactly know how to parent."
"You can't be serious," Lonnie tilted her head to the side, choosing to ignore the warning look from Jane.
"Yes, I can," Mal nodded. "Mother isn't the lovable type. Dad didn't care enough about me to bother with showing up to birthdays." She paused to scowl. "Jay and Carlos didn't even get birthday parties."
"At least you were allowed to roam the Isle," Evie rolled her eyes. They were past that petty disagreement but it still felt necessary to remind Mal that a good chunk of her life was spent cooped up at home with her mother.
"That was only because you didn't invite me to your party," Mal gave a bitter laugh. "Like how Aurora's parents invited everyone from the goddamn countryside and didn't bother to ask my mom if she wanted to go. She said it was one of the highest insults anyone could have given me."
"Water under the bridge at this point," Evie cast Lonnie and Jane a reassuring smile. Mal gave a brief nod then spoke again.
"Things are just different on the Isle," She shrugged. "They don't really encourage the whole familial ties thing."
"Oh," Lonnie gave an awkward look at the two then turned back to Jane, uncertain about what else to say. "I just assumed — you know, even villains love their kids."
Mal and Evie's expressions fell, the look of unease made clear through their avoiding eye contact with Lonnie and Jane.
"Yeah," Mal deadpanned. "That's not something worth wishing for. Most of us figure out trying to earn their affection is a waste of time by the time we're old enough to speak full sentences."
"Wow," Lonnie muttered under her breath. She hadn't expected things to take as serious of a turn as they had. "Uh, right so shops?" She made a face and mouthed 'help' at Jane.
"The seamstress, the fabric store, and maybe the grocery store? Mum wants me to pick up something for dinner," Jane shrugged. "Any other ideas?"
"Those are all in one place?" Evie couldn't mask her confusion, finding it hard to believe one shop could carry that much stuff.
"Oh no," Jane shook her head. "They're separate stores. All pretty close together."
"And the street vendors?" Mal quirked a brow. They only ever got anything useful off the vendors. The stores were usually full of junk.
"Auradon doesn't have vendors, silly," Lonnie shook her head. "The stores get a designated building. There's seriously everything you could possibly think of."
"Grocery store?" Evie added once the others were done talking. "What's that exactly?"
"Seriously?" Jane was the one to give a confused look. "It's got every type of food you can think of."
Evie and Mal were quiet upon hearing that. They cast a sideways glance at each other then Mal decided to do the talking.
"I take it Audrey didn't mention what food looks like on the Isle?" She asked in the most casual tone she could force out.
"No," Jane blushed and glanced away when Audrey was mentioned. "She neglected to mention that."
"Let's just say Auradon doesn't really send…" Mal paused to let her words sink in. "Any of the food you regularly see in the cafeteria our way."
"If they don't, then what do they send?" Lonnie almost regretted asking the question. If it meant having a better idea of why the villain kids behaved the way they did, she would need to know.
"Canned goods and rotten fruit mostly," Evie shrugged. "There are a few people that would fish but the catches were rarely worth eating. Most of the fish are smaller than my hand."
"For Merlin's sake," Jane whispered. It explained why the four all looked as little as they did. "The King said they regularly ship out food and goods each month."
"They're treating the Isle like a trash can," Mal rolled her eyes. "It's been that way since I can remember."
The van came to a stop, parked on a street in downtown Auradon. The other passengers excitedly whispered and undid their seatbelts, quickly exiting the van. Lonnie and Jane looked Mal and Evie over, expressions clouded while one of them tried to find something to say.
"I'm sorry," Jane settled on saying once they got up to depart. Her words were met by Mal and Evie shaking their heads.
"Don't," Mal pressed her tongue against her cheek. "It's on the royals, not on you."
"I just assumed they must care about the people on the Isle or at least must have regulated it," Jane mumbled. "Have you mentioned it to Ben?
"It's whatever. He has an idea of things." Mal glared at her feet and exited the van, mouth agape when she saw what the shopping area looked like. She wasn't sure if she was impressed or mad since it put the entire Isle to shame. Evie gave an excited squeal from beside her.
"I must be dreaming," She gasped out and slowly looked around the street. They were surrounded by ornate buildings with too many storefronts for her to keep track of.
"You can't be serious," Mal grimaced. "Makes me wonder if our parents are the reason our home looks the way it does or if the king and queen gave a shit about any of them in the first place."
Evie's excitement quickly diminished, replaced with memories of needing to collect every container around the house to catch rain through the holes in the roof. Rag covered children running barefoot through the streets. Never feeling like there was enough food to go around.
"Probably both," She mumbled. "Seeing as most of the adults have destructive tendencies and the royals weren't big on checking in."
Lonnie and Jane didn't say anything. Jane awkwardly rocked on the balls of her feet, trying to find the correct way to phrase her thought.
"So the seamstress first?" She offered a forced smile and gave a nervous laugh. "That way Evie can get a few ideas before going to the fabric store."
Mal and Evie exchanged a sideways glance then nodded in response. Lonnie happily took the lead.
"Just wait until you see them!" She grinned, walking several feet away from the bus and taking a left down a different street. "She used to do all the outfits for the King's family — back before the spell was placed on the castle and way before Ben was born."
Evie and Mal did not bother trying to match Lonnie and Jane's enthusiasm. The two followed after them but didn't say much else, too focused on trying to assess everything around them.
"Here we are," Lonnie stopped outside a lilac-colored building. Mal and Evie raised a brow at the colorful exterior and eyed the window displays.
"I've never seen that sort of stitching before," Evie whispered, leaning in to the point where her nose almost pressed against the glass.
"Come on," The brunette called from where she held the door open. Evie hadn't realized Mal and Jane had entered the store.
"My bad," Evie winced and tore her gaze from the dresses and suits in the window. Stepping inside earned a stifled squeal. Mal rolled her eyes, going out of her way to make sure Evie didn't see it.
She would never understand the teen's excitement toward design. It simply wasn't something she was interested in. Seeing Evie light up, however, made tolerating the trip indoors worthwhile. She was far too used to seeing frowns on her friends' lips since the Isle didn't offer much to look forward to.
"Look at the coloring of this one," Evie took hold of Mal's hand and dragged her toward one of the mannequins. There was a moment of hesitation then Evie reached forward to touch the satin material. Her posture relaxed when no one threw anything or swore at her for touching something that didn't belong to her.
"I think it would suit you." She continued then moved on to the next dress. Evie was overly cautious when it came to examining things. She was sent jumping backward when the shop owner appeared at the counter near where she stood.
Evie immediately shoved her hands behind her back and looked down at her feet, shoulders shaking even though she was trying to convince herself she wasn't scared. Mal took on a similar stance and the two clenched their jaws in an attempt at bracing themselves for the screaming that was about to commence.
"Here to pick up your dresses, dears?" The woman asked in a soft tone of voice, gaze focused on Lonnie and Jane. They gave a nod and took a step back when the seamstress' gaze settled on Mal and Evie. "You must be two of the teens Ben and my husband mentioned."
Evie and Mal didn't say anything. The only acknowledgment toward her words was their looking at her out of the corner of their eyes. She didn't seem mean but the two knew looks could be deceiving.
"Your husband?" Mal avoided making eye contact with the stranger. They had met a handful of adults and she barely paid attention to who was who. The whole school week was a blur of mixed emotions.
"Yes, my husband," The blonde nodded. "I'm Babette. Lumiere's wife. He mentioned one of you has a knack for sewing and was interested in getting a sewing machine?"
Evie's head snapped up at that. Her eyes went wide and she rapidly nodded yes, needing to bite her lower lip to keep from excitedly blabbering.
"That was me," Evie offered a nervous smile. "I fear I don't know how to use one but the books back home made it seem like something I have to try."
The woman gave another nod, quietly studying the teenager. Having worked for the king while the whole castle was under a spell left her well aware that looks were deceiving. Her loyalty to Adam and Belle was certainly proof of that since she could have abandoned them and joined with one of the smaller kingdoms. With this in mind, she was left studying the blue and purple-haired teenagers.
They both seemed overly timid like Lumiere had said. Good manners except for the two not maintaining eye contact. They didn't seem overly talkative but she was willing to bet that would change once they got used to the place. Babette pursed her lips then nodded once more.
"I have one I can lend out," She announced. Evie's eyes lit up at that. "But I would want to give you a few lessons before allowing it to venture to school with you. Do you think we can make that work?"
Evie glanced at Mal. A slightly anxious look took over her expression and she pressed her tongue against her cheek. The Isle had the children well aware that adults could not be trusted. Being alone with an adult was practically unthinkable unless they were their parents.
"That depends," Evie steeled herself then made eye contact with the woman. "Would Mal be able to join me?"
"I don't see why not," Babette offered a smile. Mal narrowed her eyes at Evie then nodded. She didn't need to know how to sew so that time would be used to catch up on her drawings.
"Perfect," Evie sighed in relief. "Where are the lessons going to be held?" She asked in a softer tone of voice.
"Here seems like a good spot," Babette paused. "Perhaps Sunday afternoons since the shop closes early that day? You would be able to take the shuttle to and from here."
"Uh sure," Evie nodded then looked to where Jane and Lonnie stood. "Are we able to see their dresses now?"
"Yes of course," The woman nodded. "Trust me, I didn't forget about you girls. Give me a moment." She turned on her heel and disappeared through a door behind the counter.
"See, I told you she's nice," Lonnie laughed. "Wait until you see the gowns. I asked her for something that looks like it came from home and she — You'll see."
The girls talked excitedly among themselves until Babette reappeared. Mal and Evie took a few steps back so Lonnie and Jane could be the first to look.
"Can we try them on?" Jane grinned, face flushing since she hadn't tossed in a thank you at first. "I mean — They're beautiful but I- Could we model them for Mal and Evie?"
"Yes, please," Lonnie gave a rapid nod in agreement. "Assuming they're okay with it."
"Of course," Evie grinned. Mal looked rather uncertain then shrugged, "Sure, why not?"
Jane and Lonnie shrieked with excitement then took the dresses, quickly passing by the two villain kids in an attempt to keep things secret. They disappeared into the dressing area and changed, the only sound coming when Jane called out for Lonnie since she was struggling with zippering hers all the way.
Another moment of silence then the two reappeared, each grinning once they stepped out and spotted the full-length mirror.
"I think this is your best yet," Lonnie announced. "The colors remind me of my mom's uniform. I can't believe I let you convince me to accept pink in it."
Babette laughed softly then took a step closer to Lonnie, looking the gown over to make sure it didn't need any extra edits. "How does the zipper feel?"
"Perfect," The teen grinned. "I needed a little help getting it up. Good other than that."
"And Jane?" The blonde raised a brow at the other teen. Jane grinned and did a little spin in front of the mirror.
"It's perfect!" She laughed. "Beautiful as usual." She never had complaints when it came to new dresses. If anything, she occasionally wished that her mother would let go of the idea of dressing similarly. Babette always found a way to get the dress to seem more like her than something her mother would wear.
"Perfect," Babette nodded. "I'm glad to see we don't need additional alterations. Not that I was worried in the first place but you two were the first to get their orders in."
"Thank you so much," Lonnie and Jane said at the same time. The two disappeared to change out of their dresses and make sure the gowns were safely back in their garment bags. They returned a few minutes later.
"So fabric shop?" Lonnie raised a brow at Evie. The purple-haired teen nodded enthusiastically. The rest of their afternoon was spent shopping, with Mal and Evie arriving back at their dorm with a few bags of fabric, paint, and chocolate for the boys.
The following morning was marked by Carlos being up earlier than the rest. A brief talk with Ben after tryouts had them agreeing a few practices wouldn't hurt. The time was set early since Ben had to do brunch with his parents. Carlos knew better than to complain about it. He didn't want to seem ungrateful so going along with it was better than seeming anxious at the idea of waking up early on a weekend.
"Morning," Ben gave a wide grin when he spotted Carlos. The younger teen wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
"How are you so chipper?" Carlos wrinkled his nose and squinted at Ben. The sun was just coming up and he picked the wrong side of the field to stand on.
"I'm used to it," Ben shrugged. "Mmm, and coffee helps."
Carlos's ears went red at coffee being mentioned. He chuckled nervously then shook his head. "Yeah, M-Mal says I'm not s'posed to drink that."
"Why would she say that?" The prince arched a brow at him. Carlos laughed.
"Too much p-pent up energy as it is without it." He shrugged.
"Understandable," Ben nodded. "Just know your opinion on that will likely change once midterms and finals hit."
"Eh I survived Dragon Hall without it," Carlos shrugged. "Here doesn't seem nearly as bad. Uh… anyway. Training?"
"Yeah, training." Ben looked Carlos over, uncertain about whether or not he should question Dragon Hall. The change in subject was a reminder of why they were up and the only ones on the school field.
"I figure a few running drills to start? Count it as a warmup. Coach mentioned wanting to toss you into the kill zone to work on your reflexes but we'd need David to set that up." Ben ran his hand through his hair and wrinkled his nose. "How are you with sprinting?"
"Just tell me where to run," Carlos shrugged. "Got a lot of practice in it back home." There weren't any organized sports on the Isle but he could outrun bullies and his mother and her goons. That had been good enough on the Isle.
"We'll start with the first line and back, then add the next and finally the whole way across the field," Ben gestured at the lines painted on the grass. "Do you need a practice run?"
Carlos shook his head and walked to the end of the field. The first part didn't sound too bad - running a quarter of the way across the field and back. The distance would be manageable. He just wasn't sure if skipping breakfast had been a good call or not.
"Ready?" Ben called out from halfway across the field. He had a stopwatch in hand, clicking it on and shouting go once Carlos nodded.
Carlos took off running, easily getting the first two parts of the drill done. He was about to start the third when something started barking from behind him. One glance backward left him full out sprinting across the field and past the goal. A small animal took chase from several feet behind him.
He didn't stop until he found a tree that was quick to climb. His heart was pounding in his ears by the time he found a thick branch to perch on, shoulders shaking while he tried to regain control of his emotions. The creature was on its hind legs at the base of the tree, barking up at him and not appearing to want to back down.
It took a few minutes for Ben to locate them, the dog's whining having led him to where Carlos was. He looked surprised at spotting a terrified Carlos halfway up the tree. Figuring out how to handle things proved to be his biggest challenge. Even his parents wouldn't have had a proper protocol for talking Cruella de Vil's son out of a tree to see a dog.
"Dude, down," Ben clicked his tongue when the mutt didn't come to his side. "Good boy."
"D-d-did you just call it a g-good boy?" Carlos cried out from where he perched. "Why would you do that?"
"He listened," Ben shrugged. Carlos didn't seem to approve of the decision.
"It's a — a rabid mindless eating machine," Carlos shook his head. "Didn't you see? It tried to—" The rest of his claim was lost to Ben stooping down to pick the dog up.
"It's going to attack your face," Carlos adjusted how he was sitting so he could cover his eyes. No sounds of dismemberment were heard and the dog hadn't barked since being picked up. Ben dared to chuckle at his comment.
"Who told you that?" The prince did his best to suppress the grin that was trying to spread over his lips. Carlos was taking the fear of dogs seriously and it would do neither of them any good if Ben poked fun at him for it.
"My mother, who else?" Carlos exclaimed and glanced down at Ben, looking rather wary since the dog was licking his face and Ben seemed unaffected.
"Your mother," Ben raised a brow. Carlos nodded then carefully moved back toward where the branch met the base of the tree. He wasn't ready to get down yet but the lack of screaming was certainly easing his nerves.
"Of course my mother," Carlos shook his head. "She's like- like a dog whisperer or something. Said they're pack animals that—" His trailing off earned a confused look from Ben.
"That what?" Ben gently scratched behind Dude's ears. He took a step closer to the tree so he could get a better look at Carlos. The teen still looked terrified.
"N-Nothing," Carlos winced. "It's unimportant." Ben shook his head, trying to find words of encouragement. There was an awkward silence between them.
"Carlos," Ben exhaled after a moment. "What did she tell you?"
Carlos squeezed his eyes shut. His knuckles were white against the branch of the tree, grip tightening since he was wishing a black hole would open up and swallow him. Luck was not on his side so he was left digging his teeth into his lower lip and cautiously glancing back down at Ben.
"They eat children if they don't behave," Carlos spoke softly. He shrunk into himself once the words were out in the open. Ben blinked up at Carlos. He was quiet while he carefully chose his words.
"I assure you dogs don't eat children," Ben sighed. It sounded stupid to say but the words caught Carlos's attention. "Are you able to get down? I'd like to introduce you to Dude. Maybe you two can take some time to get to know each other?"
Carlos's eyes widened. He stared down at Ben then looked at the dog he was holding. Dude hadn't bit or anything and he trusted the prince enough to doubt it was a setup of some sort. He needed several deep breaths before he skillfully climbed down the tree. His back pressed against the tree and he picked the route he was going to use if he needed to run.
"Here, he's not so bad," Ben took a step closer to the trembling teen. He held Dude to his chest then looked at Carlos. "Hold your hand out. He'll sniff you."
Carlos gulped then reached his right hand up, the left being the one he favored when it came to writing, and held it in front of the dog's face. He flinched when the dog leaned forward to sniff him, cold nose wet against his skin.
He was holding his breath, unwilling to move while the creature's attention was on him. A low laugh escaped when the dog opted for licking his hand.
"Now that you seem acquainted," Ben chuckled. "Carlos this is Dude — the campus mutt. Dude meet Carlos one of our..." His thought trailed off since he wasn't sure if he heard Carlos correctly.
"Like me," The words slipped out before Carlos could stop them. He blushed and looked down at his feet. Memories of his mother referring to him as a worthless mutt were flooding back.
"You okay?" Ben chanced gently brushing his fingers against Carlos' shoulder. The teen jumped then nodded.
"I'm the closest thing mum got to a dog," Carlos admitted with a shake of his head, unable to look Ben in the eye. "Let's just say she tended to go for kicking the runt instead of opting for belly rubs." His teeth dug into his lower lip after that and he reached out to pet Dude, looking slightly relieved when the dog didn't recoil.
Ben didn't know what to say so he put Dude down. A look of relief washed over when the dog nuzzled his head against Carlos' leg. The first meeting hadn't been the best but he had a feeling the two would be good for each other.
"I'm going to go ahead and say that practice is over," He sighed and gave Carlos a once over. "I'll let you two get to know each other a little better. He sort of gets free roam over campus."
Carlos gave a nod then flinched back suddenly, rapidly shaking his head. "B-Ben."
"Yes?" The prince was truly at a loss for handling the little bit of information Carlos gave him. Anything more and it would have to turn into his canceling brunch with his parents so he could talk things over with Jane and Audrey.
"I pr-promise I'm not going to do anything to him," Carlos spoke in a rush. He took a deep breath then slowly released it. "I'm not my mother and I don't— I wouldn't want to bring him back to her."
"Carlos," Ben tried to sound reassuring. "I wouldn't have offered to let you take him if I didn't think you could be trusted."
Carlos nodded, quietly blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Oh… kay. I just—" Another deep breath was needed before he could continue. "I know I have a rep because of my- Cruella. I'm n-not… Nothing like her."
"You don't need to defend yourself to me," Ben shook his head. "You and the others wouldn't be here if I didn't think you could be trusted with coming to Auradon. I have faith that we will make it through the term with little issue and you don't need to try to convince me you're not going to skin Dude."
Carlos gave a bitter chuckle at the last part then nodded. "Like I said… Not like her." Ben gave a nod at that then ran off. Carlos shakily dropped to the ground and let Dude lick the tears off his cheeks.
"If he only knew what Mal had planned," He mumbled and ran his hand through Dude's fur.