Chapter Thirty Seven


A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.

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Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!


Mal raced back to her dorm room, determined to grab Maleficent's spell book and start working on that antidote. After that performance, she knew it was only a matter of time before her mom found out if she didn't already know.

Gods, I'll be grounded until they find a way to kill a God. So basically forever, Mal thought as she entered her room.

Why?

Mal nearly jumped out of her skin at hearing her brother's voice in her head. Even after sixteen years, she still wasn't used to the mind link. Granted she only really started using the mind link when she was about thirteen so really it shouldn't be surprising that she wasn't used to it after only three years.

Hadie? What in dad's name are you doing?

Apparently finding out something that can get you grounded. I didn't know that was even possible. So…why would mom and dad ground you until they found a way to kill a God?

…you're not going to let this drop are you?

Nope!

I hate you so much right now Hadie!

Love you too, sis. Now you gonna quit stalling and tell me or should I just tell mom that there's something she needs to talk to you about while she's in Boreadon?

Mal sighed and shook her head. Fine. But you need to swear to me that you won't tell mom or dad. Pirate's honor Hadie.

There was silence on her brother's end and Mal couldn't help but think that she'd gotten out of actually telling her brother what had happened.

Alas, her luck couldn't have been that good as Hadie came on the line soon after.

…mom wants to know why Prince Ben was singing to you?

How does mom know about that?!

She said it was on Auratube, whatever that is? All the Gods are talking about it—it's quickly gaining views. Does this have something to do with why you'd be grounded?

…yes Hadie, it does.

I don't blame you for not wanting mom or dad to know. They still treat me like I'm an infant sometimes with their safety rules. I get they're centuries old Gods but they do have to accept that we're growing up right?

Mal had never wanted to hug her brother more in her life. Of course the innocent mind of her ten year old little brother would go more toward the slightly overly protective nature of their parents rather than something more cynical.

Like the fact that Mal had spelled Ben.

Hadie, can I get back to you? Mal asked as she grabbed Maleficent's spell book.

Sure thing. I'll just be here watching dad yell at Pain. It's amusing seeing how orange he can get.

You are so weird little bro.

Takes one to know one big sis.

Mal snorted in amusement as she closed her link to her brother and quickly whipped through the pages of the spell book as she searched for the antidote for the love potion she'd given to Ben. Smiling slightly as she found it, Mal dog-eared the page and shut the book, ready to go make the antidote.

Before she could turn to leave, however, her eyes caught a glimpse of Blueberry lying on her bed; her face covered by her pillow. Mal was no idiot, she could see that despite Blueberry's best efforts to hide it that the other girl was crying.

She must have left the stands the minute Audrey had announced that Chad was her boyfriend but Mal didn't remember seeing her leave. She remembered the feeling of wanting to murder the blue haired girl as she hung on Mal's arm, jumping around while Ben put on his performance. The only reason Mal had been standing next to Blueberry in the first place was because Lonnie saw her when they were on their way to the game and invited her to sit with them.

Lonnie, apparently, had been one of the girls who got a clothing makeover by Blueberry that Sleeping Brat had been up in arms about. Mal had rolled her eyes but tolerated the blue haired girl's presence in favor of cheering on Jay and Carlos, along with Akiho and Emir. And Ben.

Crying? Over Charming Jr.? Seriously? I mean I get you want a prince but have some standards woman! Mal thought, making sure that her mental link was secured and that she hadn't accidentally connected to anyone. Last thing she'd want was for her mom or dad to hear her.

Uma would be nice though, her snark would be well appreciated. She still missed her cousin, she couldn't hide it. Mal had a piece of paper under her bed that ticked off the number of days until Ben was king and he could start inviting more kids over.

Plus, Uma coming meant that Mal would no longer have to room with Blueberry. A win-win in Mal's book.

Still, watching Evie cry over Charming Jr., Mal wasn't going to lie —it was hard to watch. She was the only one who got to make Blueberry act like that. Female VK and forced roommate privilege.

"Blueberry, are…are you okay?" Mal asked and Evie lifted her head in shock. Mal didn't blame her, she was still shocked she was doing this. But evidently she was.

"Oh…yes I'm fine Mal," Evie said softly, quickly wiping her eyes. Mal shook her head.

"You're a lot of things Princess but a good liar, you are not."

"Why do you even care?" Evie muttered, glancing downward. "You've got Jay and now Carlos. You don't need me."

Mal sighed but walked up to the other girl's bed. "We're VKs," she said after a minute of silence. "I may not particularly like you but…we're the only VK girls here. Anyone messes with you, they mess with me. That sort of thing."

"You mean like…safety in numbers?" Evie asked, as if daring to hope what she was hearing was right. Mal couldn't help but smile a little at Evie's hopeful expression on her face.

Maybe she wasn't all bad, Mal thought and then paused. Oh Gods, I think Ben, Emir and Akiho are rubbing off on me. Still…maybe I had been a little hard on Blueberry all these years. Besides, being petty over not being invited to a party when we were six? What am I, the Dragon?

Shaking her head slightly, and wondering why she even cared over whether or not she'd been cruel to the other girl since she'd known her, Mal sighed. "Evie…no one's… no one's been giving you a hard time have they?"

"What did you call me?" Evie asked after staring at Mal in shock for a few minutes.

"Evie. Last I checked that was your name. Unless you want me to use your full name?" Mal shrugged. First Carlos, now Evie. Why was everyone shocked that Mal used their first names?

"I didn't know you knew my name, the number of times you and Uma would call me 'princess' or 'blueberry'," Evie sighed. "But…to answer your question Mal, no. Other than Audrey's comment about my not having 'royal status' and Chad playing me for a fool, no one's been giving me a hard time."

"We sure one of Gaston's kids didn't somehow get adopted by Cinderella?" Mal muttered.

"I…I don't see how that would be possible but Chad certainly acts like it," Evie sighed.

Mal nodded before taking a breath. Maybe she'd been in Auradon too long but it was time to at least offer an olive branch. At least while they roomed together—no one got to mess with Blueberry except for her.

Er…she meant Evie. Yeah, that was going to take some getting used to, the whole calling the bluette by her first name thing.

Wait, we're calling who by their first name now?

Do you ever have the mind link on mute Uma?

Of course not Mali! Now, why are we referring to Blueberry by her first name?

…not now okay? I'll explain everything later.

Okay. Hey, why is Aunt Steph asking me if you've said anything about Prince Beastie quote giving you his kingdom for just one kiss end quote?

I'll explain later.

But—

LATER!

"You know…I bet if Sleeping Brat had the ability to see like you do, she wouldn't need to put people down to feel better about herself," Mal said softly, ending the conversation with Uma and bringing herself back to her conversation with her current roommate.

Evie couldn't help but give Mal a slight smile at that. "I…I guess I am pretty talented."

"Don't take this to mean we're friends Evie," Mal said but the usual hatred or apathy was gone from her voice. "But maybe…we could stop being enemies and start being allies? After all, like you said, there's safety in numbers and we are the only two VK girls in Auradon."

"I'll take that," Evie said softly, looking over at Mal. "Anything's better than being terrified you're going to fry me when you walk into a room."

Mal snorted. "The thought may have crossed my mind but they frown on murder here. Plus my parents would have grounded me the minute your soul found its way to the Underworld."

"Mal?" Evie asked after a minute of silence. "If…If Lady Persephone and Lord Hades are your parents, as you said, why did you never say anything on the Isle?"

Mal sighed. "Look, I know you've got questions Evie but we're not there yet. Jay knows because we've been friends since I was five. He was there through it all. Carlos is in the same boat as you information wise."

"Oh," Evie said softly. "Okay, that makes sense."

"I'm…I'm not saying I won't tell you," Mal said after a few minutes. "Especially if my mom comes to Family Day. We're…we're not at that point yet. However, I can tell you that you're probably not going to have a smoke bomb come your way anymore. At least not one thrown by me."

"I'll take that," Evie sighed. "I probably won't be lucky enough to have the same deal from Uma when she comes over here. She'll probably be in the next group—I'm happy for her of course but…part of me wishes Dizzy could come over sooner."

"Dizzy?"

"Dizzy Tremaine," Evie elaborated and Mal nodded, knowing exactly who Evie was talking about. Dizzy, also known as Celia's cousin, was a ball of energy and had the most contagious smile that ever existed. How she was related to Anthony was something that confused all who met her.

Hey Uma?

Yeah? You gonna tell me about Prince Beastie wanting a kiss from you?

Not right now. Hey, do we have Dizzy under protection?

Considering she's Celia's cousin…yes.

And the Warf Rats know she's under protection?

Okay stop. One: why are you calling Tremaine by her first name and two: why are you making sure she's under protection.

One: because I also call Anthony by his last name and I didn't want to confuse the two and two:…Ben asked me to be his date to coronation!

…HE DID WHAT?!

Sorry Uma, got to go!

Oh no, you do not get to—

Mal quickly muted her mental link and tuned back into her conversation with Evie. She knew she'd probably pay for that later, either by a mom grilling or by a smoke bomb from Uma.

But it was worth it—the mental link was not the best place to try to explain to Uma that she was entering into a tentative alliance with Blue—with Evie.

"Hey Mal, Jane and I are gonna go grab dinner. You want to come?" Lonnie asked as she popped her head in.

"Sure," Mal nodded. "Evie, you in?"

Evie paused, as if not expecting an invitation. "I…I thought…."

"Evie, it's dinner. We may not be friends but you still deserve to eat," Mal said rolling her eyes. "Besides, the boys are probably off gorging themselves on victory pizza right now so it's not like we need to grab them."

"Speaking of boys…Mal, Ben's performance is the talk of the school," Lonnie said.

"Yes, and thank you Lonnie for whirling me around when I was trying to leave," Mal told her as the three girls started to make their way to the cafeteria. As Lonnie began to tease Mal and Evie started chuckling, Mal never realized that she had forgotten the main reason she had been rushing to her room in the first place.

The antidote to the love potion.

Well, Mal thought after triple checking that her mental link was on mute, I can always make the antidote tomorrow. Jay and Carlos are with Ben, it's not like…why did I already forget those two participated in that number this afternoon? Okay new plan, panic. But just not in an obvious way. Last thing you want is for people asking questions.

She'd resisted the temptation to murder Evie this afternoon. She wasn't sure how well her willpower would hold a second time if Ben continued to act the way he had.

Especially if Sleeping Brat tries to confront me, Mal thought as she walked into the cafeteria. I will gladly turn into a fireball if that's what it takes to get her off my back.

"Hey Jane," Lonnie smiled at a small girl with an unfortunate bob hairstyle. Mal nodded, she'd met Jane before but hadn't been the most welcoming of hosts. Considering Jane was paling around with Evie at the time and Mal…well maybe it's better if she didn't dig up the past.

"Hey Lonnie, hey Mal, hey Evie," Jane said with a smile as the other three girls sat down next to her. "How ridiculous was that game today?"

Mal bit back a groan as the other girls chuckled. She should have expected that.