Frowns give you wrinkles, she reminds herself as she pushes the fabric through her machine.

But she couldn't help it.

She hadn't been this worried since they'd run.

Since they faced the fear.

The worry.

Could they be sent back to the Isle?

But it only made the heaviness of the situation even more cumbersome.

Made the guilt that settled in her stomach sharper.

Dizzy, Deez, T, and so many others were still there.

Suffering.

Hungry.

Terrorized.

Her teeth sink into her lower lip.

As horrible and scary as it was, they only had two OVs to fear.

They were lucky only to have two when the Isle had all the rest.

Weren't they?

There were so many worse than her mother and Cruella.

At least when it came to the others.

Those two had always kept the abuse to their family.

To just her and Carlos.

So, it was selfish to be this scared.

She shivers.

Wasn't it?

She lifts her foot from the peddle as she turns to the Isle.

Selfish that she wanted nothing more than to have T with them when so many others needed him.

But-

T wasn't here.

He was where he was needed.

Needed.

And that was part of what had her as brave and fearless as she knew Jay was-

He knew his limits.

And she knew he'd never do something so, so-

Stupidly impulsive as attacking an OV.

Not if it meant leaving them alone and unprotected.

To save them? Sure.

After all, he'd jumped in the middle of the room to draw dragon Maleficent's attention when he feared for them.

Took a face full of green fire, trusting her spell would protect him.

But seeking them out?

Seeking Cruella and her mother?

Hunting them down?

That just wasn't his style.

Another sigh passes her lips.

It felt so selfish.

So self-centered.

Hadn't she grown out of that?

She rests her chin in her hand as her eyes trail to the bag her mother had packed for her.

She hadn't picked up the mirror in months.

There hadn't been any point.

It had been useful when they'd first arrived but, after giving up on trying to obtain the wand all, she'd tried to do with it was see past the barrier.

To see Dizzy and the others they'd left behind.

But despite how many rhymes and spells she'd tried to cast, it still couldn't pass the barrier.

Her teeth sink into her lip again before her eyes widen.

She knew what would help her.

Surely she still had it.

It wouldn't actually help their current predicament-

But it had slowly turned into a security blanket of sorts.

Made her feel prepared.

Secure.

Like she had some power, some way to protect herself.

She pushes away from the table before she rushes to scoop it up before she spills the contents on the bed.

Old makeup.

The mirror.

A sad sewing kit.

And-

A wide smile pulls at her lips as she spots it hidden under tubes of lipstick.

She sighs with relief as she plucks it up and pulls it to her chest.

Thank god! She still had it.

"Evie?"

She blinks, heat rising to her cheeks.

Rude.

That had been so rude.

How had she forgotten about Doug.

"Sorry," She sighs, "I just-" She glances down at her clenched fist. "Remembered something."

"Oh? What did you remember?" Doug asks as he smiles down at her before he blinks and holds a hand up nervously, "Unless you don't want to talk about it-"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Her curls bounce as she shakes her head, "It's just-" Her eyes travel to the couch where Carlos, Roy, and Jane had been playing Crown of Duty, her cheeks heating up when she realizes they were watching her in concern.

So were Jay and Lonnie from where they were looking over sports magazines.

Doug's brow furrows before he slowly reaches out and pulls her to him, putting himself between the others and her as he walks her back to the table. "It's okay." He whispers as he helps her back into her seat.

"Thank you," She whispers at his gentle support as more heat rises to her cheeks, "Sorry." She offers louder as she glances around the room, "I didn't mean to startle you guys."

"To be fair, you seemed more excited than worried to me." Doug grins as the others slowly go back to what they were doing, and he resumes his seat next to her, "So, what did you remember?"

"I was," She admits self-consciously as she pulls the tube away from her chest and offers it to him. "I feel silly for not thinking about it sooner, and I mean, I know it won't help- But it always used to make me feel better to have it on me when we were back on the Isle. Like I had some sense of control..."

He nods soberly as he takes the small tube in his hand, "Lip gloss, right?" He asks as he carefully unscrews the top.

"Yes," Her eyes narrow, "well, kinda," She continues thoughtfully, "Carlos and T made it for me."

He tilts his head before he twists the top closed. "What does it do then?"

"Makes people sleep."

Doug frowns as he stares at the tube intently before he hands it back. "That's some protection." He smiles.

"It is." She smiles softly, her eyes drift to Jay, "I know how to defend myself. Can fight with a blade," she sighs, "but, pulling a blade is just an invitation for others to draw theirs." Her teeth sink into her lip again, "And mother isn't a bundle of laughs when she's angry."

Doug's eyes slowly narrow before he presses his lips into a thin line as he reaches forward to rub his thumb along her cheek, "You had to be careful to not get scars." He whispers.

Her eyes fall to his chest, "Princesses are fair. Flawless. And domesticated. Not fierce. She'd have been... agitated if she'd found out I knew my way around a blade."

"Snow's pretty fierce when she wants to be." Doug smiles, "So is Belle, and she's the Queen of Auradon."

She nods, "I know that now but…"

"It was hard to know that back then?"

"Yeah," She breathes softly as a wave of sadness washes over her.

Doug bites his lip before he takes her hand in his, "I'd love to see you spar sometime if you still enjoy that."

She looks up at him, "I've always enjoyed it."

"Oh hell yes!" Lonnie claps her hands together excitedly, "Sorry, rude much, I know, but you said sword and I couldn't help myself."

Despite her mood, she grins and titters, "It's okay, Lonnie."

"I'd love to spar against you when you feel up to it. Jay and I could show you how to use the ROAR equipment." She bumps her fist against Jay's shoulder, "Right?"

Jay chuckles as he nudges her back before he turns to her and smiles encouragingly. "It'd make me feel better."

A soft smile pulls at her lips, "Then I guess I don't have a choice."

"Lonnie promised to show me some of her moves, so I'm invited, right?" Carlos grins as he leans over the back of the couch.

"Am I hearing that right?" She asks, amused by his enthusiasm, "I've never heard you volunteer to train before."

"He's getting better at parkour too." Jay rolls his eyes.

Her eyes light up, parkour? She'd never dared to try it on the Isle for fear of scraping something, but- "Can I, can I join you next time you guys go?"

"Oh fuck yes," Jay bounces up from the bed before he punches his fist into his palm, "We are getting the fuck over being stuck in this room if that's how you guys feel. What do you say, Roy? Jane? Doug? You wanna join in?"

Roy snorts, "Don't be dumb."

Lonnie snorts.

She looks up at Doug curiously.

"Oh, a chance to see my Warrior Princess in action?" Doug presses his lips to her knuckles, "I'm there."

His? She blinks before she smiles brightly.

She liked the sound of that.

Warrior Princess?

She'd been given the moniker of several different types of princesses, but that was certainly a new one.

A new one she liked the ring of.

She tilts her head and presses a chaste kiss to his jaw, "I do hate to disappoint."

He blinks, mouthing wordlessly as he shakes his head.

She giggles before she turns to lean her back against him and pulls his arm over her stomach.

Hi ho indeed.

"I um, I don't know what parkour is, but um-" Jane slowly turns to fully face the room, "If you really mean it, I'd like to see what all the excitement is about."

Jay smirks, "It'll be good for you."

Carlos groans at Jay's old creed.

"It's still true for you too, pup." Jay snorts as he rubs his hands together, "Now we just have to rope Mal and Ben in on this. Maybe Hiro and David too. And our moms. Lilo would be down," he tilts his head to the side before he snorts and shakes his head, "maybe even Cobra."

She can't help her snort at the thought of the giant bulk of a man attempting something so... agile. She shakes her head, "Snow totally isn't going to do such a thing, and neither would Florian."

Jay sighs, "As much as I wish, I already knew her and Fairy Godmother weren't going to be cool about it. But Snow has guards and her prince, and FGM has magic. So I'm less worried about them."

Lonnie smiles as she claps him on the back, "So the idea is to train everyone until you feel better?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jay agrees, unashamed.

"I still need to make Belle's dress, Jay," She reminds him pointedly, "And I know how you get."

"Invested? Like you do?" Jay crosses his arms over his chest.

She sniffs indignantly as she turns her head, "I'm not responding to that."

"Calm down E, I wouldn't dare come between you and sewing."

She smiles at the acceptance, "Then I accept, whatever time I can manage, I'll join you. Promise."

"Promise what?" Mal asks as she slips into the room with Ben right behind her, "Seriously, I was gone for a few hours and you guys start promising shit?" She raises her eyebrow, "That gets E away from sewing?" She looks at her in disbelief.

She shrugs, "I need the exercise."

"We're all getting back into sword training and parkour practice," Jay turns his glare on Mal, "including you two."

A slow grin tugs at Mal's lips, "Sounds good to me."

Ben grins, "I'll be sure to let you know when I have to call meetings, but I'd love to join."

Her eyes light up, "Perfect," She turns to Jay, "Consider me on Ben's schedule." Ben had meetings half the week. That should give her plenty of time to work and train.

"Perfect, because I was going to see when you would want to start attending meetings with me." Ben nods in agreement.

She turns to Ben and looks him over.

What was sleep?

Surely she'd remember it fondly.

"I'd love to." She nods. Distractions were exactly what she needed right now.

"I'm looking forward to having you with me to represent the Isle," he continues, "Speaking of the Isle though, I've been working to put together a notebook to send back to Deez. Would any of you like to add letters? And I would really like to include a section to introduce everyone in this room as well as other heroes who are in full support of bringing them over."

Mal turns to him, biting her lip as she looks up at him with an expression she wasn't used to seeing on their alpha's face, "The Isle doesn't have social media-"

Carlos snorts, "The Isle doesn't have media. Period."

Ben chuckles, "No, it doesn't, but wait until you see why she mentioned social media." He gestures Mal forward.

"You guys are gonna love this," Mal smirks before she turns to Jay, "Speakin' of," Her smirk turns wicked, "consider the cunt a non-issue."

"Also, this doesn't leave this group or this room." Ben adds somberly, "It was my dad's only request." He pats Mal on her shoulder, "But I would love to include it in the notebook too."

She tilts her head as she studies Mal for a moment.

Oh.

Now that look she was familiar with.

This was going to be sinfully delicious. She could just tell by the gleam in her eyes.

She giggles as she races Carlos and Jay to the phone, arriving first due to Jay and Carlos's squabbling.

Mal's smirk looked dangerously close to the same one T often wore as she hands her the phone.

She studies the picture before the image registers, "Oh!" She beams at Mal.

Carlos slowly shakes his head, "That's not-"

"It totally is!" Jay struggles to point out through his laughter, "Look at the eyes!"

Lonnie snorts as she leans against Jay's back to see the phone, "Is the lizard flipping the camera off?"

Mal nods with a malicious smile of delight, "Yeah, she is."

"Huh." Carlos frowns, "She does not look happy."

"Exactly, isn't it beautiful." Mal's smile widens.

"The most," She agrees as more of her tension dissipates.

"Dude, bein' a lizard suits her," Roy snickers, "Matches her cold ass dead stare."

She catches Mal's eye as the others continue to laugh and pass the phone around.

And by pass, she meant fight.

But Mal looked so much better than she had when she'd left with Ben.

She'd been so worried when Ben had pulled her into the bathroom, and the two hadn't returned to the room for over an hour.

But now?

Mal was smiling.

Laughing.

Leaning against Ben as she watched the room.

She was so proud of her.

For her.

She slowly inches closer until she can clasp hands with her, squeezing in silent support.

Mal's mother had shown up to Auradon and turned into a dragon to fight them, to hurt as many people as she could in the hopes that they'd back down and just give her the wand.

But Mal stood up to her.

They all stood up to her.

A dragon.

A green fire-breathing dragon.

And won.

Won.

Deez would've tripped over herself to write that.

Deez and the others would love to hear about it.

Deserved to hear about it.

She looks up at Ben, "I'd like to add my own letter if that's okay."

The others needed to hear about it.

How they'd defeated the OV.

Ben smiles, "It's what I was hoping for, honestly. I feel like she would love to get letters from you guys more than she would from me."

Jay snorts, "I mean, we're awesome and have that history with her and everything, but she's going to freak when she sees things from you." He tilts his head to the side, "But I'd like to add a couple of letters too."

Ben chuckles, a light blush dusting his cheeks, "I really hope so."

"And hey, we know she'll actually get it now." Carlos points out with a grin, though it wavers when he eyes Mal.

"Exactly," She nods.

Mal snorts as she gestures to her phone, "It's not like the Goblins have anyone else they're loyal to anymore."

She looks at Mal with a wicked smile, "You're forgetting something- Or rather someone." She sing-songs.

"Yeah," She glares back, "Willfully."

Jane tilts her head to the side but closes her mouth and drops her eyes.

"You're willfully forgetting that they work for T now?" Carlos asks as he holds up a hand, "Or did I miss something?"

Mal groans as she hits her forehead. "Seriously, pup? How can you be so smart and so oblivious?"

"Got it! Got it!" Carlos frowns as he backs up, "Just checking."

Ben frowns as his pocket dings three times, "Excuse me." He apologies as he pulls out his phone and steps away.

She watches him for a moment before she turns back to Mal, "Don't be like that," She wraps an arm around her, "It's not that bad."

"The fuck it isn't." She huffs.

She giggles, "So you don't like being right now? I hadn't realized Auradon had-"

"Finish it," She challenges.

"So, which is it?" Jay grins as he slides up to them and pokes Mal's shoulder playfully.

They were all so lucky Mal's glare couldn't actually kill, or she and Jay would be six feet under right now.

Mal closes her eyes as she grumbles something under her breath and then groans, "fuck you both,"

She blinks before she looks at Jay.

Had Mal just-

She would bet her best purse on Mal saying T damn, but she also didn't want to be the one to test that right now.

Just in case her glare could actually kill.

Ben sighs before he tucks his phone into his pocket, rubbing the middle of his forehead with his other hand as he takes a deep breath.

Oh no, she studies him in apprehension.

What had happened now?

Had someone else been attacked?

Was it one of the students?

She could feel the blood rush from her face. Wast one of their parents?

Their new parents.

Ben blinks when he turns and catches her looking at him.

She bites her lip nervously before she pulls herself from the others to walk over to him. "What is it?" She whispers, hating the way her voice shook.

The way she rolled the hem of her shirt in her fingers.

"Nothing bad, I promise." Ben quickly explains as he takes her hand and wraps it around his arm, supporting her like a princess, "It's inconvenient, but we knew the story would leak eventually."

She sighs unable to help the relief that floods her, "News does travel fast on both sides of the barrier."

"Well, Auradon knows that we've accounted for Jafar's whereabouts." He pats her hand on his arm, "And that we're looking into the other two as possibly being loose from the Isle."

She stiffens at the reminder.

Her mother.

Cruella.

He sighs as he continues, "The leak itself is important, because so few people know about it, but with the information getting out, it's almost impossible to confirm a possible theory. Cobra is not going to be happy about this."

No, she was sure he wasn't.

The man was working so hard to find them.

Working on theories.

And probably more that she wasn't aware of.

"I'm sorry." She breathes, "You're already dealing with so much."

"We're all dealing with a lot." Ben points out, "And I'm sorry I explained that the way I did. Believe it or not today was a highlight for me, so I apologize for getting flustered the way I did."

"Everybody gets flustered Ben," She shakes her head, "Also please don't stress about it, you're giving yourself enough stress lines as it is."

He smiles, "Thanks for worrying about me."

"Of course," She nods. "That's what friends are supposed to do after all, isn't it?" She turns to look at the others only to blink when she finds Doug in front of her.

"Doug." Ben nods as he passes him her hand.

"Ben," Doug grins, before Ben walks over to the others to share the news.

She looks up at him in confusion.

"You looked worried," Doug explains as he holds out his hand, uncurling his fingers to show her the lip gloss in the palm of his hand.

"Doug," She looks up at him in appreciation as warmth unfurls in her chest as she takes it, and pulls it to her chest, "Thank you."

She'd have to be blind not notice the way his eyes follow it.

To not notice the fear in his eyes.

The worry.

Concern

The questions he was too afraid to ask.

She closes her eyes and leans against him, happy when he protectively wraps an arm around her.

And it was protectively.

She could feel the tension.

She sighs as she turns to look up at him, "I'm not actually sure how long he looked after me, it was hard to tell whose eyes were on you." She bites her lip, "But the first time I met T, like really met T, was because I was being stupid-" She holds up her hand when Doug goes to correct her, "Not like that- It's just, on the Isle you have to, no need to constantly be aware of your surroundings, and that night I was just giddy from spending time with Dizzy and Deez."

She can't help her smile at the memories of the three of them shopping, or having picnics, or just pampering each other.

She shakes her head, "And after we separated, mind you, like we always did- A man attacked me." Her breath hitches at the memory, "And I froze." She closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath, "It was the first time an adult had paid me any mind," Her teeth sink into her lip. "And it scared me. I wasn't sure what to do, or what was happening- I'd just closed my eyes and hoped he wasn't trying to kill me- Then, he was off me. I heard the scuffle, but I'd already curled in on myself." She sighs as heat rises to her cheeks.

"Next thing I knew, someone grabbed me by my arm and yanked me to my feet." Her lips twitch, "Then this shadow started berating me for being an idiot." She continues, "Which took me off guard because Jay and Carlos had never mentioned the Ghost of the Isle being cruel. So I wasn't sure what to do, and despite him saving me from-" Her eyes drop, before she shakes her head, "Anyways, I snapped back, even as he was pulling me towards my house."

"Then when I finally got free of his grip-" Her eyes narrow, "Or rather he let go of me, he bent over and got sick. Violently sick." She bites her lip, "And this boy had just saved me." She frowns, "The last thing you ever wanted on the Isle was to be indebted to someone, so we switched and I started dragging him and snuck him to my room."

She tilts her head to the side, "Now that I'm thinking about it, I must've been the first person to see him without his hood- But," She shrugs, "Despite his protests, which honestly, he was so weak, they were more concerning than anything else, I helped clean him up, and took care of him for several hours before I tried to get him in my bed." She shakes her head, "But when he started up again, I gave in and just made a nest for him on my floor."

"Mal would've killed me if she'd known I passed out with this stranger on the floor of my room but-" She shrugs again, "I was so exhausted from caring for him." She sighs.

"Next thing I know I'm waking up in a clean room, and honestly thought I'd just dreamt the whole thing."

She shakes her head at the memory.

"But then he came back. The Shadow approached me a few weeks later, awkwardly shoving this brown bag into my hands. I wasn't even sure what was happening. No one ever shoved things at you, they usually just tried to swipe things off you. I can still remember the way he shifted, so uncomfortable it had made me nervous. He stayed though. Waiting until I opened it."

"I was shocked when I pulled this out," She pulls the tube closer to her heart. "After all, we were already even. He saved me. I cared for him. But-" She smiles, "He apparently hadn't seen it that way. He told me not to get it in my mouth or he'd be pissed. It confused me, but by the time I looked back up he was gone. Which," She smiles, "Totally T by the way."

"Thankfully he left me with a note from him and Carlos, explaining what this was and what it was for, along with how to use it properly. So that's how I got it, and that's how I met T. I've only had to use Knockout a handful of times, but it's been a real lifesaver."

A second passes.

Two.

Another beat of her heart.

And then she finds herself pressed to Doug's chest, feels his arms tight around her as he lightly rocks her, his lips at her temple whispered over her skin though she couldn't hear anything.

Heat rises to her cheeks as his lips continue to brush against her.

Silent.

Not even a sound.

What had she been thinking?

Why had she told him that?

She thought it would assuage his fears but-

She swallows as a lump forms in her throat, her eyes stinging.

What had she just done?

This was exactly why they kept things to themselves.

She shifts before she hides in his shoulder, seeking solace while she still could.

This so wasn't how she expected their relationship to end.

Not that she wanted it to end in any way.

God!

She was such an idiot.

"Thank you." Doug finally voices as he hugs her tighter. "First. Just, thank you."

Thank you?

She blinks until the burning subsides before she pulls back to look up at him.

"I, I know how much you hate talking about the Isle." Doug smiles sadly, "But, I'm here for you to talk to. And I can't promise that I'll have a perfect reaction every time. I mean, sometimes just the thought of you having to face that much danger every day just-" He shakes his head, "Pisses me off."

She blinks.

Doug could get pissed off?

Her Doug?

Her kind, patient, caring Doug?

"But I promise I will always listen, if you'll trust me too."

She acts before she thinks about it.

She flings her arms around his shoulders to press herself close and kiss him.

On the lips.

For the first time.

When they break the kiss Doug slowly blinks before he takes a deep breath and cups her cheek, "I'm glad you had people to look out for you, and that you had people you looked out for. That you had those things. I'm glad you and T were able to help each other. That's what I was trying to say."

Her face was on fire and she had to look away from his earnest green eyes or risk burning up, "Thank you."

"I wasn't joking when I said I look forward to seeing my Warrior Princess. I know you are more than capable of protecting yourself. I know your pack has your back. I just never want you to have to, and I want to have your back too."

Her eyes slowly return to his, her nerdy dwarf.

God, how she adored the way he looked at her.

Still looked at her despite her sharing something he was out of his depths with.

Like she was the only person in the room.

Like she was his moon.

"I love," Doug blinks before he takes her hand in his, "that you felt comfortable enough with me to share that story."

She ducks her head into the crook of his shoulder.

Had he been just about to say he loved her?

"Thank you for not judging me for it." She swallows, "and still looking at me like you do."

"Nothing will ever change the way I look at you," He grins as he squeezes her hand, "I can promise that."

She smiles as she hugs him as tightly as she gripped Knock Out.

"Unless you want to count how I might look at you in awe. Cause it's gonna happen." Doug grins and shrugs, "That's a change, but not a bad one."

She can't help her giggle as giddiness fills her. "I can live with that."

Aww!

Another cute ass chapter.

You're welcome.

This was the first time I've ever really gotten into E's headspace so deeply. It was definitely an experience, and one that I hoped you guys enjoyed. It's usually my job to main E and Mal but sometimes Dark has to step up. With E at least. Mal is totes' way more in my wheelhouse.

Evie's just so many layers and so much subtle trauma. Trauma Disney tried to pass off as shallowness. And, yeah. I get it. But, it's so hard to sum up that kind of psychological abuse in words. In my own experience it's so much worse than just the physical, mental, and emotional bull shit I dealt with. It worms its way into your being, constantly whispering horrible thoughts and shaking the foundation of your core values, and reality. It just sucks. And since we mainly focus on Jay and C, it's harder to really demonstrate it. But, there's a reason C and E are so fucking traumatized by some of the lesser OVs.

And we already balance so fucking much in this story, and already drop so many balls. It would've added like 15 to 20 chapters in these books. Books, as I've mentioned before, weren't supposed to exceed 30 chapters. But I mean, look where we are. Chapter 68 in like a two to three month span. We can't really afford to cover all the things, and when we took that poll on Jay, Ben, and C ranked the highest so that's who we did our best to follow.

Sorry, if you were hoping for more Mal and E.

But we've done our best to add chapters from their PoV, and the others as well. But c'mon, we write from,

Ben

Bubbles

Carlos

Evie

David

Doug

Lonnie

Hiro

Mal

And Roy's

PoV, and that's a lot of characters to get into the headspace of. Even if there are two of us. It takes a lot to keep track of, and keep shit in mind for.

That being said,

Thoughts on this chapter?

Did you like that E named the lip gloss? I mean, all lip gloss and sticks have names right? So why not Knock Out? I loved coming up with that.

I've always loved me some double meanings.

And, I think this is the first time a VK has opened up and shared anything this freely with an HK.

I mean, yeah, with their counselors. But not with their peers.

What did you think about her clinging to Knock Out though?

Make sense?

Did her wishing T was there make sense?

Did you agree with her assessment about what he'd be doing right now?

We wanna know (Well, I do anyways, not gonna speak for Dark)

Fave Quote:

"Dude, bein' a lizard suits her," Roy snickers, "Matches her cold ass dead stare."

What can I say? I'm a fucking sucker for Roy and Hiro. *cough*full-of-myself-much*cough*

What was yours?

Much love and shit,

-Twisted