Ch 25:
"So, I hear you had a busy day yesterday." Anthony noted as they entered the Mad for Tea Café. "Ben said you stopped by his office in the afternoon about something."
"Oh, yeah. Well, since Evie was helping Ben put together a list of kids to bring over, there were a few names I wanted to suggest." Chloe answered as they sat at the couch inside the small café. She gave Motley the 'down, stay' command, so Motley tucked herself under Chloe's legs, between her feet and the couch.
A waitress stopped by and took their orders. Chloe ordered a White Rabbit Mocha and a chicken wrap, and Anthony ordered a Mad Hatter Latte, a turkey sandwich, and an order of watercress sandwiches for them to share.
"So, who did you suggest to come to Auradon?" Anthony asked curiously after they'd ordered. "If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't mind." Chloe smiled. "I mainly wanted to make sure Ben knew about my cousin Diego and Harry and Jace helping me the other day on the Isle."
"How'd they help you?"
"Well,…" Chloe glanced around uncomfortably. "You remember how I said I was kinda the…getaway driver?" she asked. Ben had given Anthony more details about what went down on the Isle, but Chloe hadn't discussed it with him since.
"Yeah."
"Well, while me and Motley were waiting in the limo, we were attacked by my mother's henchmen, Horace and Jasper. They dragged us out of the car, and they were about to bash Motley over the head with a pipe." Chloe admitted, glancing sadly down at where Motley was resting by her feet.
"Well, they clearly failed. She's fine." Anthony reminded her gently.
Chloe nodded. "They did. Partially because I slashed Jasper with a knife Jay gave me, but mostly because Diego, Harry, and Jace showed up and bashed Horace and Jasper over the heads, knocking them out."
"And Diego, Harry, and Jace are…?" Anthony urged curiously.
"Diego's my cousin, and Harry and Jace are the sons of Horace and Jasper respectively. I asked Ben to add them to the list of kids to bring to Auradon. I think they'll be chosen eventually, considering what they did the other day, as well as them all being in the Anti-Heroes Club."
The waitress chose that moment to arrive with their food, which they thanked her for.
Anthony took a sip of his drink before asking, "So, who are some of the other kids on the list?"
Chloe hummed, swallowing her own sip. "Well, Evie definitely put Dizzy on the list first thing. I think there were a few others I remember like Freddie and Celia Facilier, the Smee kids, Jade, Yzla,…and several others I can't remember or don't know." she admitted sheepishly.
Anthony laughed. "That's fine. That sounds like a lot of names to remember. Anyway, how'd the vet appointment go yesterday?"
"It went really well. The vet confirmed that Beelzebub is pregnant, and she said the kittens look healthy. It was hard to tell for sure on the ultrasound, but the vet thinks there's about three or four kittens."
"That's good to hear. Did she tell you when they might be born?"
"Within a few more weeks. The vet said to make sure she has plenty of food and fresh water, and make sure she has plenty of peace and quiet, and if she wants to be alone, to leave her." Chloe explained.
Anthony nodded, chewing a bite of his sandwich, which he swallowed before speaking again. "So, it's probably good that you moved Dude to Carlos' room." he joked lightly.
Chloe laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, definitely."
They continued to eat and make small talk, and Chloe tried watercress sandwiches for the first time. It had more flavor than Chloe thought it would, the watercress had a peppery taste that balanced out the plain bread's flavor.
"So, did Ben ever say why he hadn't brought more kids to Auradon since you?" Anthony asked curiously. "I mean, I know he's been busy with King duties, but it's been six months since he brought the first four here, and about five months since he brought you, right?"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, and that was one thing we discussed yesterday. It's something he hadn't really thought too much on until Uma said something when she captured him, and now he can't stop thinking about it. He'd planned on bringing more kids here, especially after he…well, after Carlos told him how bad things were for us over there." Chloe trailed off for a moment. "But he's been crazy busy with all kinds of King stuff, and nothing goes quickly with politics I guess, there's always people against the idea, and to some degree he has to get approval from the Council of Sidekicks. But him and Evie are going to start the process on bringing some more kids over, and he's going to push it through the Council as fast as he can."
Anthony nodded. "That's good to hear. But he might have to do quite a bit of pushing. With Uma being at large some of the Council may not like the idea of bringing over more VKs."
Chloe nodded in understanding. She could understand that better than anyone. Not every kid over there was good. She'd been bullied and tormented and assaulted by dozens of kids her age over there. But there were also good people over there, too. Like Dizzy, Diego, and Harry and Jace.
"Maybe for the first group he should pick kids that we know are good. Like, they've already earned it; proven they aren't evil." Chloe suggested. "That might be better than picking kids who need the most help being good. At least for the first group."
Anthony nodded.
"Anyway, enough about all that." Chloe decided. "What else should we talk about?"
Anthony smirked in amusement. "I don't know. What do you think we should talk about?" he joked.
Chloe huffed. "I don't know. I don't know what people talk about on dates."
"And you think I do?" Anthony laughed. "This is the first time I've ever been on one."
"Really?" Chloe asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." Anthony shrugged. "I guess I was always too focused on my music to think about dating. And I never saw a girl pretty enough to catch my attention." he grinned cheesily, making Chloe blush and fight a grin.
"You're a horrible flirt." she laughed. "Okay, fine. Um,…what do you want to do after school?" she asked.
Anthony leaned back onto the couch, looking up thoughtfully. "I'm not completely sure." he admitted. "Something with music, probably. But I'm not completely sure."
"Music teacher?" Chloe suggested curiously.
"Ack! No. Definitely not." Anthony answered quickly, making Chloe laugh in surprise. "I don't think I'd have the patience for teaching."
"Really? Because you've been great teaching me and Motley." Chloe pointed out.
"Well, that's different. I like training dogs. Actually, I just like dogs in general more than people." Anthony answered, partially joking. "But it also helps that I like you as a student. I mean, can you imagine having to teach someone like Chad or Audrey?" he asked, wrinkling his nose slightly in distaste, once again making Chloe laugh.
"That's fair." Chloe agreed. "So, not a teacher."
"I'd like to do something with writing my own music, like a composer of some kind. I just don't want to be stuck in my dad's shadow. I love my dad, and I've learned a lot from him, don't get me wrong."
"But you want to be your own person." Chloe finished. "You want to be known for your accomplishments, not your dad's."
Anthony stared at her for a long moment. "Yeah. Exactly. How did you…?" he trailed off curiously.
Chloe shrugged, leaning back and cupping her mug in both hands self-consciously. "I guess I can relate to that, just in a different way. I want to be my own person, not just Cruella's daughter. I don't want to just be known by all the horrible things she's done." she admitted, glancing down at the Dalmatian curled up by her feet. Anthony followed her gaze and nodded, understanding perfectly.
"So, what kind of composer would you want to be?" Chloe asked curiously. "Are there different kinds?"
"Kind of. They do different kinds of things, in a way. Actually, I always thought it would be cool to compose music for movies." Anthony admitted.
"That would be so cool." Chloe agreed, grinning. "Can you imagine watching a movie and just knowing the music playing was music you wrote? That would be incredible!"
Anthony laughed. "Okay, what about you? What do you want to do after school?"
Chloe paused, thinking about it. "Um,…I have no clue." she admitted.
Anthony tilted his head. "Well, you like drawing. Would you want to do something with that?"
"What kind of jobs would that be?" Chloe asked curiously.
"There's a bunch of jobs out there for artists." Anthony answered. "You could be an art teacher." he joked, referring to their earlier conversation.
Chloe laughed, lightly pushing at his shoulder. "Not happening."
"Maybe you could help Evie with designing?" Anthony added. "Or any kind of designing, really."
Chloe hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe." she agreed halfheartedly.
"Or maybe there's something else you'd rather do? Something that's not drawing?" Anthony suggested, sensing her hesitation.
Finally, Chloe shrugged, her shoulders up near her ears. "Honestly, I have no idea. I've never thought about it. I've never had a reason to think about it."
Anthony nodded. "That's fine. Most teenagers don't know what they want to do until after graduation. And even then some people don't know. There's no deadline to figure that stuff out. And you may change your mind twenty times before finding something you like."
Chloe nodded, relieved. "Oh, good."
Anthony nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "So, next question. Um,…what's your middle name?" he asked.
Chloe wrinkled her nose, looking down at her drink in distaste.
"Oh, come on." Anthony laughed slightly at her expression. "It can't be that bad. Mine's Sebastian." he added, as if trying to make her feel better about her middle name.
Chloe stifled a snort, peaking up at him. "Like the crab?" she teased.
Anthony laughed. "No. Sebastian is the middle name of Bach, one of my dad's favorite composers. I suppose I'm lucky my mom didn't let him give me a first name like Ludwig or Wolfgang."
Chloe snorted again, almost shooting the sip she just took out her nose. Anthony laughed with her until they finally settled down. Chloe sighed.
"My middle name's…Inca." she admitted.
Anthony tilted his head. "That doesn't sound so bad. What's wrong with Inca?"
Chloe pursed her lips. "My mother picked it after the Peruvian Inca Orchid." she paused to glance at him again. "A breed of hairless dog."
Anthony pressed his lips together, trying extremely hard not to laugh. But when he saw Chloe's own lips twitch in a small, albeit self-deprecating smile, he burst out laughing. Within seconds Chloe's laughter joined his.
They went back and forth for a while, asking and answering questions long after they finished their sandwiches. They ordered a small order of chocolate truffles, which Anthony was convinced Chloe would like.
He was right.
It didn't feel like they'd been there that long, but soon the lunch crowd faded to the dinner crowd, and they decided they should probably at least leave the café. They made the semi-long walk through town back to the school, passing through a park and letting Motley off leash, so to speak, so she could play like a normal dog for a few minutes.
It was early evening by the time they reached the school and headed up to the dorms. Since they snacked quite a bit while at the café, Chloe planned on just eating a snack in her dorm while studying instead of eating dinner.
Anthony walked Chloe to her door, as he usually seemed to do when they hung out.
"I had fun. I'm glad I stopped being scared of, well,…everything." Chloe chuckled awkwardly. "I'm glad we did this."
"I'm more than glad." Anthony admitted, grinning widely. "I'm guessing we'll do this again some time?" he asked hopefully.
"I would like that." Chloe answered, smiling.
"Great." Anthony's grin widened. "Well, I've got some homework I need to finish, so I'll leave you be."
"Sure." Chloe agreed, opening her door slightly while still facing him. "Have a good night, Anthony. I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Anthony returned before ducking down and kissing her on the cheek like he did after Cotillion.
Chloe blushed, almost feeling lightheaded from how much blood rushed to her head. She smiled shyly, which Anthony returned before heading down the hallway.
Chloe turned and hurried into her dorm, practically slamming the door shut behind her and Motley.
Chloe's butt hit the ground hard enough it would probably bruise as she plopped down onto the ground in front of the door. Motley sat down in front of her, head tilted curiously and her near-all-black ear hanging down. She couldn't seem to decide if Chloe was having a panic attack or if she was fine. Leaning forward, Chloe played with both Motley's speckled ears, smiling widely and kissing the dog's cold nose.
"Don't worry, girl. I'm fine." she assured her. "I'm happy."
AN: Well, there you go. Their first date. I hope everyone liked how it turned out. And now you know that Beelzebub is really pregnant, and you know Chloe and Anthony's middle names. Let me know what you all thought of this chapter! Thanks!