This chapter is a little longer, I hope it reads ok! I tweaked the original before posting but I still don't know how I feel about the direction of the story xx Also sorry if you got a notification that this was posted, I did originally post it but it came out as a bunch of jumbled numbers and letters

Eleanor dug her fork into her food angrily as she ate back in her room. How dare he treat her like that. Her brother Chad could be an ass at times but it was evident that Audrey's influence on him was quickly taking over. Waves of anger coursed through her veins and made her blood boil. She stood up and clenched her fist trying to contain her anger. She heard Mal and Evie enter the room behind her but she was too angry to say anything. She paced the room, her anger building. She normally wasn't one to get angry but Chad had a way of pushing her buttons like no one else could and that combined with Audrey's bullying, that was enough to tip her over the edge.

She felt a familiar burning behind her eyes. She continued pacing angrily before Mal's voice of surprise interrupted her thoughts of rage.

"Woah girl" Mal exclaimed. She looked up at the girl with a questioning look on her face. Both Mal and Evie were staring at El with a combination of surprise and confusion. She assumed it was because they'd never seen her angry or the fact that they had found out moments ago that Chad was her brother. Evie approached her slowly and led her to sit on a nearby bed.

"Eleanor, I don't know if you know this but your eyes… they're glowing"

Eleanor looked up at Evie quickly and the glowing faded as quickly as Evie had mentioned it. This wasn't news to Eleanor, in fact she had it for as long as she could remember when her emotions got too much for her to handle. No one had ever seen it happen and she was slightly embarrassed about it.

"Yeah I know… I wouldn't say they glow though…" She said quickly. "They change in colour all the time with my different emotions but everyone's eyes do that. I was probably just the light in this room" Eleanor gave them a small, reassuring smile that came out as a grimace. She jumped off the bed and resumed pacing, but instead of thinking about Chad, all she could think about was what a horrible job of covering up. She could tell Evie and Mal didn't buy it, they were looking at each other at what appeared to be silent conversation between the two of them.

She finally stopped pacing and collapsed on her bed with a deep sigh.

"God I could kill Chad '' Eleanor said quietly, shutting her eyes tightly. The anger had left her body but she was still nervous they would glow again. She was frustrated that she had let it get to her and that Mal and Evie had seen her eyes glowing. What if they told the Fairy Godmother? Or Ben? Or her parents? Or Audrey? No one would ever trust her again. Her family doesn't have a magical bloodline, so there was no logical explanation for why it occurred.

She heard the other girls move towards the bed and felt them sit beside her. She opened her eyes and sat up.

"Yeah let's talk about that. I never saw that coming... Chad your brother...Gotta love family, right" Mal said in a joking tone to try to lighten the mood. Evie frowned slightly before correcting it and sighed.

"It's hard to think I ever had a crush on him". Eleanor placed a hand on Evie's hand and gave a sympathetic smile to her friend.

"It's honestly ok Evie, so many girls have and I can understand why they do. I'm just glad you still aren't as I've seen many young girls get used and are left broken from my brother. He didn't hurt you, did he? Because I'll give him a piece of my mind".

Evie laughed and shook her head. "Only my pride, I've grown as a person since then and have moved onto better things".

Eleanor nodded sympathetically and sighed. "Deep down I'm sure he's as good and respectful as my parents have raised him to be but it's clear that Audrey's influence on him has been a bad one. I find it so weird that they are a couple. He's been chasing Audrey forever and she's never been interested". Something still bothered Eleanor though and it was clear to her friends as well as she was silent for a while, absorbed in her own thoughts. Mal and Evie didn't push for answers, they simply waited for Eleanor to speak in her own time.

"You know I sent him multiple messages and a letter like a week before I came back to Auradon Prep?" Eleanor spoke softly, her gaze dropping to the floor. "I organised this Welcome Home picnic for my parents and he hasn't bothered replying to me about that either. I mean it's typical Chad I know but I thought as his sister I would be a priority. We've never been close yet my parents still prefer him cuz he's better at keeping up appearances".

"Appearances are overrated" Mal piped up and both Evie and Eleanor laughed.

"You got that right"

There were a few moments of comfortable silence before Eleanor sighed deeply. She glanced at the pile of books still on her desk and groaned.

"I still have so much work to do." Eleanor complained loudly and the others laughed.

"That's fine, we were going to visit the boys anyway" Evie explained "That will give you some quiet time to study. Just message us if you need anything".
Evie smiled encouragingly at Eleanor. They had only known each other for a small amount of time however the three girls were becoming incredibly close.
"Thanks, you girls are the best. Tell Jay and Carlos I say hi" Eleanor replied sweetly.
Mal and Evie nodded and made their way out of the room as Mal called out behind them. "Good luck!"

Eleanor smiled after them gratefully and glanced over to her pile of textbooks with a sigh. I better get started otherwise I'll be here all night. She took out her notebook and lined up the stationery that she needed. She turned on her desk lamp and began and the time just slipped away...

(A few hours later...)

Mal and Evie returned to their dorm room a couple of hours later to find Eleanor slumped over a book sound asleep. Evie gave her a sympathetic look. She was trying so hard to catch up. Upon closer inspection, Evie concluded that she had gotten through most of her homework and grinned like a proud mum. Sure she hadn't known Eleanor long however she felt that they had instantly connected and was astonished by Eleanor's kindness and passion for helping others. She was definitely Cinderella's daughter. Evie still didn't know how Eleanor was related to Chad though.

Mal tapped Evie's shoulder and silently indicated she was going for a shower. Evie nodded and quietly made her way to her vanity to take off her makeup and get ready for bed. Since Mal normally took long showers, it wasn't a surprise that Evie could still hear the water running 10 minutes later.

Eleanor still hadn't stirred. Evie felt bad but she had to wake the girl so she wouldn't sleep there all night. Evie switched off Eleanor's desk lamp and placed a hand gently on her small shoulders and shook her gently.

Eleanor opened her eyes slowly and took in her surroundings.

"Hey Evie" she said sleepily "I haven't kept you up have I?"

Evie smiled and shook her head. "Not at all, we've only been back maybe 10 minutes. Mal is still in the shower"

Eleanor nodded and blinked a few times, waking up a little bit more. "Thanks for waking me, I better get ready for bed"
Eleanor smiled at Evie sleepily and Evie returned the smile. It was evident that Eleanor was still only half awake. As Eleanor made her way to her closet to change for bed, Evie went and settled herself in her own bed. She pulled out a small cherry red book and her favourite apple scented pen and began writing her diary entry for the day. She heard rustling and looked up to see Eleanor getting into her own bed across the room and instantly falling asleep. Evie chuckled softly and shook her head returning to her journal entry as Mal finished up in the bathroom.