Chapter 2 – Dating

-:-:-

"Ben," Chad said as they were winding down from Tourney practice, everyone changing back into their regular clothes so they could retreat to their rooms and shower in privacy. "I think coach wants to talk to you."

Ben, who was half-dressed, gave him a tired blink. "Just remembered, huh?"

"Sorry." Chad faked an apologetic wince. "But seeing as you're team captain-"

"I'm going," Ben sighed, slipping on one of his spare t-shirts before he ambled out of the locker room.

"Oh shit," Aziz said when he was gone, the rest of the team coming to wide eyed halts. "Who fucked up this time?"

"That would be our boy Fritz," Chad said, growling through the smile he had plastered on. He walked past Carlos and Jay who both sported confused looks until he cornered one of the excess princes of the Southern Isles who spent most of his time warming the bench. "Hey, buddy."

"I didn't do anything," Fritz insisted, eyes darting around frantically. "I swear, I haven't talked to Doug in months."

"Yeah, but you did talk to Evie, now, didn't you?" Chad offered cheerfully, because word got around, especially word of one of Audrey's lackies mocking Evie's 'false title'.

Fritz tensed. "You're not actually dating her, are you? Because everyone knows you're dating Doug-"

"Have you seen her wearing my letterman jacket?" Chad asked, making the color drain from Fritz's expression. "Then I'm dating her, Fritz. And what did I say about the people I'm dating?"

"…not to fuck with them," Fritz mumbled. "Under any condition."

"Or?" Chad prompted.

Fritz's throat bobbed in a swallow. "Or else."

Chad did not get his hands dirty. Chad did not go for blunt attacks. Chad was more of a subtle guy, as much as that surprised people. He liked staying hands off as he arranged for the ruin and inconvenience of those that dared cross him or the few he had claimed.

"Now I'm going to be lenient," Chad began, making Fritz's gaze widen. "Because this is a new arrangement. Three people dating – that hasn't been done before, I get it. You didn't believe the rumors. But she sure as shit didn't steal my jacket, Fritz, I gave it to her, which means she's mine."

"I'm sorry-"

Chad cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to apologize to her. You're going to go up to her and say something along the lines of 'Evie, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I was feeling kind of low or vulnerable because-' and that's the part where you get to come up with your own excuse, and then you'll say, 'And instead of dealing with my issues I took them out on you, which is entirely wrong of me and nothing that you deserve, and I feel kind of awful about it. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I wanted to apologize nonetheless' and then you will take whatever response she gives you before never talking to her again, unless she engages you, in which case you will be her best fucking friend. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yeah, Chad," Fritz said, giving a few spastic nods. "Totally. I'm- I'm really sorry."

"Don't let it happen again," Chad said before taking a step back to address the rest of the team. "That goes for you guys as well. I get it, it's different, but you don't see me fucking around with your love lives, so don't try to fuck around with mine."

Or Chad would get an interest in their love lives, was the implication, and that was honestly the last thing any of them would want. Chad could be a vindictive soul when he needed to be.

"You heard the man!" Aziz said, cueing them all to move on. "Everyone get back to what you were doing!"

"Thanks, bud." Chad traded an easy high five with Aziz before he returned to his locker next to Jay and Carlos.

Jay just sort of stared at him. "Are you their boss?"

"This is Auradon, Jay, we don't have bosses," Chad explained gently, because the Isle worked on a crew system he didn't entirely understand, only that it ended with Mal being in charge of the four transfer students. "We do have a healthy understanding of the natural order of things, and the measures some of us are willing to take when our associates are unjustly accosted."

Before Jay could reply, Ben trailed back into the locker room, a weary smile on his face. "You misheard him, Chad," Ben sighed, patting Chad on the back. "He wanted to talk to Jay."

"Aw, my bad," Chad huffed, making Ben's grin broaden. "I'm so used to him looking for you that I must have zoned out on the first bit."

"Happens to the best of us, buddy," Ben said, ruffling Chad's sweaty curls because he was the only one who could do so without consequences.

This was a fact that Jay and Carlos seemed to understand, both of them watching with dubious expressions before they moved on, wisely deciding to say nothing.

Overall, it was a good afternoon.

-:-:-

"Fritz apologized to me," Evie excitedly informed them at lunch the next day. "Apparently he was dealing with some family stuff and he took that out on me, which he was very sorry for. We're meeting up with some of our classmates from English to review for our vocab quiz after school!"

"That's great, Evie," Chad said, giving her hand a careful squeeze. "I'm glad to hear it."

"People have been treating me nicer too," Evie continued.

"It's because you're coming into your own," Chad said. "They were worried about you guys at first, but now they realize how cool you are, and how you deserve the same respect as anyone else."

"I like it," Evie admitted with a flush. "It's… it's nice to hang out with people without worrying about their alternative motives."

"I'm glad you have that," Doug offered shyly. "You always should have."

"Sweetheart," Evie murmured, cheeks flushing hot before she leaned over and gave Doug a kiss on the cheek.

It made him flush spectacularly dark, so Chad didn't want to rip her eyeballs out for it.

-:-:-

"Heard you threatened a dude for Evie," Mal mentioned noncommittally between classes, acting like it was a pure coincidence that she was leaning next to his locker. "Said she was yours."

"I know she's yours, Mal," Chad said, because he might still be trying to reason out the VKs' dynamics, but he got that much. "That was just a power play. If they know she's associated with me-"

"They won't fuck with her," Mal deduced, eyes narrowed. "So what does she have to pay for this protection?"

"Nothing," Chad replied. "Same as Doug. I don't do it to get bargaining power, I do it because sometimes people are shitheads to innocent individuals that aren't harming anyone and that pisses me off, so I'm a bit of a shithead back." He closed his locker in a swift movement. "It takes the focus off the people that don't deserve it and back on the people who are willing to fight. Though, for the record, I know Evie can fight for herself, she just shouldn't have to deal with that bullshit."

Mal considered this, then eventually nodded. "If you ever turn your power against Evie-"

"I would only do that if she was actually evil," Chad interrupted instead of spouting mindless declarations that he wouldn't, because they both knew the world wasn't black and white. "But she's not. She's just trying to find her place in the world, same as everyone else, and she deserves to do that with the same dignity and respect as everyone else too."

Mal narrowed her eyes once more. "Doing good for the sake of it is such an Auradon thing."

"Your worth is static, Mal," Chad replied. "It's given to you from birth. The fact that you weren't given that is a slight against King Adam's broken prison system, but that doesn't mean it wasn't always your due."

"You're such a fucking prince," Mal spat, and then she was walking away, seemingly done with the conversation.

Chad supposed it could have gone worse.

-:-:-

Dating Evie was a bit of a process of trial and error.

To Doug's credit, she was breathtakingly smart, quick witted with an eye for implementing strategy, the princess seemingly able to evaluate and determine the best course of action in a fraction of the time most people would require to do similar things. Because of this, she realized that if she was going to get any ground with Chad, she needed to dote on Doug, which was what had her paying equal attention to her new boyfriends. If, in the slightest instance, she spent more time with one over the other, the person who ended up with more time was Doug, who always registered and seemed ecstatic by this turn of events.

"It doesn't mean anything, I'm sure," Doug would whisper when they lazily made out at night. "But it's um- it's nice, because I know she likes you, but she's treating me so- I mean, she's so nice."

"Yeah," Chad agreed before he slid an expert hand into Doug's underwear. "She sure is."

One of the detriments to Evie was that she seemed to have some sort of conditioning that motivated her behavior, making her determined to please them at all costs while hiding her intellect, as though this was not a thing both Chad and Doug appreciated.

"I think maybe we should discuss boundaries," Chad said during one of their private study dates – the three of them congregated around the table in Doug and Chad's dorm room. "Specifically with you, Evie. We'd like to know what you're comfortable with, what you would like to do now versus what you might want to do in the future. And, just for the record, if we never progress past handholding, that's perfectly okay. That wouldn't make us like you less, or want to date you less."

"You don't have to worry about that," Evie said, a seemingly planned response as she puzzled through his offerings. "You can do whatever you want with me."

"Right," Chad said, distantly registering the way Doug both tensed and flushed, appropriately unhappy with this response. "What we want is for you to be happy and comfortable. So right now we know you're okay with holding hands and hugging. Would you like to do anything else?"

"I'd like to kiss you guys," Evie admitted, her cheeks heating in a dark flush. "I… I haven't done anything more than that."

"And that's perfectly okay," Chad assured her. "You also don't have to do anything more than that if you don't want to. We'll go at whatever pace you want."

"Do you guys do stuff?" Evie asked, the bridge of her nose coloring in a dark flush.

Chad saw no point in lying. If anything, he saw an opportunity to establish his turf. "Yeah, Doug and I are… frequently intimate," he settled on, making Doug flush. "But we've also known each other for a long time, and had the chance to work our way up to a certain level of comfort."

Evie seemed to get lost in consideration for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Could I watch you guys, maybe?"

"You want to watch?" Doug sputtered, seeming torn between being embarrassed and thrilled by this request. "I mean- I'm okay with it, if um- that's what you want."

"And I'm okay with it too," Chad lied, because he wasn't going to sabotage this for Doug in such an obvious way. "Would you like to schedule something?"

"How about now?" Evie asked, surprising Chad with her gumption. "If you don't mind."

"I don't," Doug said, perhaps a bit too eagerly, but that was enough to have Chad smiling, because even if the musician was doing it for Evie, he was excited to be with Chad. That still counted.

"Okay," Chad said as he positioned his desk chair next to his bed, letting Evie take a seat while he and Doug sat next to each other on the mattress. "So again, Doug and I have had a lot of time to get to know each other's boundaries, but when we first started doing this, we used a color system. Green means good, red means stop, yellow means slow down. If we do stuff with you, we would use this system a lot. It's important to maintain a constant stream of communication when you're having sexy time to ensure everyone is actually having a good time. It's also important to be honest, because we can't have a good time if you're not comfortable. It sort of defeats the purpose."

"Okay," Evie said, making a show of taking all of this in, her flush getting darker the more Chad explained.

There was a chance she was taken by his basic consideration towards her, and if that was the case, Chad sort of wanted to storm the Isle and rip apart anyone that had stolen away the princess's sense of self-worth, because that was fucking bullshit.

"Sometimes we'll talk about what we want beforehand or during," Chad continued. "But our default is usually making out." He dragged Doug into his lap, the musician letting out a small squeak as he was settled. "As you know, Doug's half-dwarf, so his stamina is amazing."

"Chad," Doug whined, because he did not agree with this, even if he was obviously already starting to get aroused.

"He can come a couple times," Chad explained, cupping a hand between Doug's legs and listening to him moan. "It is the gift that keeps on giving."

With that, he started pulling Doug into a steady stream of kisses that the musician seemed shy to reciprocate, though he tried for Evie. He was embarrassed by having an audience, especially one as pretty as her, but eventually he melted into Chad the same as always, clinging to his shirt and baring his neck when Chad got rid of his bowtie and opened up his collar so he could suck dark bruises on the curve of his neck. Evie let out a small gasp when she saw the other array of bruises Chad had left over the week, and Doug whimpered in response.

Chad was eager by the time he started undoing Doug's pants, though he stopped when the dwarf-kin tensed, hands twitching against Chad's shoulders.

"Red?" Chad asked, shifting his hand to Doug's hip to give it a few soothing pets.

"Um," Doug hummed, gaze skittering over to Evie. "I um- maybe she doesn't want to see."

"Oh, Doug," Evie gasped, seeming touched at his modesty. "I'd be honored, but if you don't want to-"

"I want to," Doug said, immediately flushing afterwards, and with that encouragement, Chad worked his length out of the confines of his clothes.

"Oh," Evie said, and it was kind of funny, how she had the same overwhelmed reaction as Doug, her gaze zeroing in on his groin with a dark flush. "That's…"

"Yeah, he's real pretty," Chad hummed, beginning to work Doug up and down while he shuddered in Chad's arms. "You doing okay, Doug?"

"I'm um- great," Doug gasped. "Chad."

"I'm here," Chad assured him, kissing his shoulder. "I've got you, I promise."

"I'm um- I'm gonna-" Doug gasped, likely embarrassed that he was losing the thread of his stamina so soon, though it wasn't entirely unexpected, not when they had an audience. Not when that audience was Evie.

"You can let go," Chad said, working his hand faster, finishing with a hard grind that had Doug falling apart in a spectacular way.

"Chad!" Doug moaned, shuddering against him as Chad worked him through it. "Chad, Chad."

"Got you," Chad murmured, capturing Doug's lips so that he could swallow those delicious sounds, hoard them to himself. If Evie was going to watch, he could at least give himself that much.

"Oh," Evie repeated when it was over, her posture perfect and eyes half lidded as she watched Chad continue to tease Doug's softened length. "That um- that was- that was very nice."

"Thank you," Chad said, Doug seeming too out of it to respond.

"And he's going to get worked up again?" Evie asked, shifting uneasily in her chair.

"Yeah," Chad murmured against the curve of Doug's neck, intent to work on darkening the hickie he'd already established.

"Could… could I help?" Evie asked, seeming surprised by her own audacity but not backing down for an instant.

In Chad's arms, Doug shivered, letting out a low moan at the thought of it.

Did Chad want to share Doug? Absolutely not. But you made sacrifices for the people you loved.

"Doug?" Chad asked, even though he already knew the answer, it was important to demonstrate healthy habits now.

"Yes, please," Doug gasped. "I mean, she can- if she wants."

"I want," Evie said, and then she crawled on the bed next to Chad, leaning against his side while he started working Doug up again. "He's um- very big."

"Dwarf genetics," Chad said, practically preening while Doug let out an embarrassed noise of happiness. "What would you like to do?"

"Touch him?" Evie asked, her hand hovering near Doug's wet length. "And could I suck on his shoulder? Like you did?"

"Yes," Doug rasped. "You can- that's allowed."

"And kind of you to ask," Chad said, nuzzling her shoulder. "Go for it."

"Okay." Evie took a moment to gird herself, then dove in, her delicate fingers wrapping around Doug's length – a sharp contrast to Chad's tan skin – and she seemed determined to copy his movements, to echo what he was doing until Doug was wavering to life again. When that was settled, she leaned forward, biting at Doug's other shoulder while the dwarf-kin let out a broken noise of want, one that was mimicked right between his legs.

"Guys," Doug moaned when they really had him worked into a frenzy, Chad and Evie taking turns kissing his lips and biting his neck. "I'll um- I'm gonna-"

"Oh, please do," Evie said, the sweetest music to Chad's ears, and then Doug was falling to pieces, and Chad was pleased to note that Evie didn't even seem slightly perturbed at the slick that covered her fingers.

Normally, Doug could go more, but Chad had a feeling after getting his dream girl to touch him, Doug wouldn't be up for much more that night.

"You good, Doug?" Chad asked as he spread the dwarf-kin out on his back, cleaning him up with tissue and relieving him of his stained sweater so Chad could set it to soak.

"Thanks, Chad," Doug slurred, flushing when Evie eased him back into his pants and underwear. Bold minx.

"Do you need anything?" Evie asked when Chad got back from the bathroom, the princess' gaze falling between his legs to the prominent bulge he couldn't hide if he wanted to.

"Eh, it will go away in time," Chad said, waving her off. "I like doting, so…" He trailed off with a shrug. "Do you need anything?"

Somehow, Evie's flush seemed to darken.

"Could you touch me?" she asked, her voice soft, hesitant. "The way you touched him?"

Admittedly, Chad didn't have much practice with girls, seeing as the entirety of his focus had been Doug for a very long time. That didn't mean, however, that he didn't have a few practice sessions with Audrey under his belt from when the princess had wanted to work through the kinks in her wooing game – much like Doug, she didn't want to come off as inexperienced when she finally progressed to doing stuff with Ben.

Those had been interesting sessions.

Chad offered her a soft grin, sitting where Doug would have a perfect view. "I'd be honored."

It was different, kissing someone who wasn't Doug, holding someone who wasn't Doug in his lap, but it was worth it for the happiness it brought his roommate. He worked a hand under Evie's skirt and into her panties, teasing and stroking at her wet folds until he toyed with her clit, thoroughly rocking her world that way, choosing to avoid any kind of penetration that time.

"Chad," she gasped, her hips rutting into his fingers. "Oh, it feels so-"

She cut off with a whine, shivering against him, letting Chad know that she didn't actually masturbate on a regular basis because he wasn't doing much of anything and she was already falling apart. He eased her panties down when he thought she was close, Doug's gaze going wide and the princess whimpering until she suddenly gushed around Chad's fingers, everything ending with a happy sigh.

"Good?" Chad asked as he used a handkerchief to dry her off, Evie gasping at his consideration before he dragged her panties back into place.

He had learned a thing or two from Audrey, one of which was to never let a girl walk away with wet underwear when wearing a skirt or there would be consequences.

"G-Great," Evie hummed, flushing when Chad spread her out beside Doug so they could laze together.

"He does this," Doug sighed, tugging Chad's wrist until he was spread out between them, both of them moving in to use him as their personal pillow. "He'll rock your world until you're mush and ask for nothing in return. It's awful."

"I think together we could manage something," Evie said, her fingers straying towards Chad's groin, grinning when Doug's hand joined her as well, and then the two of them worked in tandem to drive Chad wild – Chad, who had been fine receiving nothing for the night – until he was coming in his pants like some kind of hypersensitive preteen.

"That um- wasn't necessary," Chad panted when they gave him twin looks of victory. "Even if it was nice."

"I think that's what makes it very necessary," Evie hummed, and of course Doug didn't disagree, so Chad just resigned himself.

Could he keep up with two book-smart individuals?

He supposed now he would find out.

-:-:-

Of course Chad took his new girlfriend on dates. He wasn't a chump, even if he was only dating her for Doug's benefit, and his roommate seemed to appreciate Chad taking the lead on date planning and execution since he was so very nervous.

It was what led them to the Central Auradon Museum of Cultural History one Saturday morning, Evie practically vibrating with excitement but trying not to be while Doug tried not to stare at her in wonder and Chad tried to herd his very enthusiastic nerds actually into the building so they could check out the new exhibit he'd scored special tickets to, something he'd had in mind for himself and Doug alone, but the way Evie stealthily went through books indicated that she would enjoy the opportunity as well, so he'd resigned himself and gotten her a ticket too.

They'd be getting lunch after this, then probably retreat to their dorm room to make out before parting ways so Doug could gush about the day, and then maybe crawl into Chad's lap to properly express his happiness. Chad was really looking forward to it.

At least he was, until three familiar individuals ambled up towards their modest procession.

"Hey, guys!" Ben chirped, like it was totally normal for him to be out on a Saturday with Audrey on one side and Mal on the other. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking out the new enchanted artifacts exhibit," Chad said, making no effort to hide their plans.

"Hey, we are too!" Ben chirped. "We're um- actually on a date."

Oh, really – how fucking bizarre.

"Yeah," Mal chirped a little too brightly. "Ben and Audrey asked me out, and I thought- when in Auradon."

"Right," Chad said, as though that was actually a phrase. "We're here on a date too-"

"Awesome!" Ben cheered. "We can double date!"

And that was that.

Chad dropped behind, waiting for Mal to snag Evie's arm before Ben and Doug fell in step with each other, Doug sharing shy small talk that the brunette prince soaked up like a sponge.

"Audrey," Chad hissed when he felt there was enough space between them. "I could have sworn I had the museum this week for nerdy dates and shit. I sent an alert to your phone and everything. What the hell."

"This is the only place Mal would concede going to," Audrey hissed right back. "At this time too, though it doesn't take a genius to figure out why she did that now."

Obviously she wanted to spy on Evie's date, further compromising the secluded atmosphere Chad had been trying to establish for this expedition, but there was nothing to be done for it now.

"Just keep Ben focused on Mal and leave my dates out of it," Chad grumbled, already determining how best to smoothly but casually press his way in between Doug and Ben.

"Yeah, like that's happening," Audrey huffed. "Pretty sure my girlfriend's more interested in your girlfriend than she is Ben."

"Then get to fucking charming," Chad shot back, even though he'd noticed the same thing. "Maybe flirt with Evie too – she might ditch me for a Ben upgrade."

"And leave me with two girlfriends?"

"Beast-Fae magnetism," Chad reminded her, and then they moved to catch up, Chad stealing Doug's hand with an easy laugh as they progressed to the new exhibit.

It was clear that out of all of them Mal liked Evie the most, which made sense, seeing as Evie was supposedly her BFF. She did seem to have a soft side for Ben though, smiling at his corny jokes despite herself, poking fun at him the way Chad normally would have. Audrey, she seemed less sure about, but she relented to having the princess' arm hooked through hers, played the part of a student being wooed very well.

Chad tried to watch Evie's progress with her, but once they were in the new exhibit, Doug and Evie were pretty much gone, leaving Chad to take pictures and videos of their babbled excitement as they traded theories with each other, Evie seeming to forget that she was supposed to play dumb, which Chad could only be thankful for.

Of course, Ben was interested in new info too and Audrey was interested in Ben, which somehow left Chad hanging out with Mal more than he expected.

"Yeah," Mal said, watching as he lined up another shot of smiling Evie. "She looks pretty awesome when she's excited."

"She doesn't have to play dumb, you know," Chad said, taking an educated risk. "Doug and I both admire her intellect."

"I think she knows that on a basic level," Mal said, somewhere close to approving. "But her mom is a real piece of shit."

"I'm sorry," Chad said, getting a strange look from Mal. "That she had to go through that. She deserves better."

"You don't know her," Mal scoffed, as though forgetting her friend's goal to woo a prince.

"I know she hasn't done anything to earn my hate or distrust," Chad said. "I know that no one deserves to be pushed into some mold that obviously doesn't suit their own wants and desires."

"No one?" Mal echoed, buying time so she could stew over his words.

"No one," Chad repeated, knowing she would get the implication – not even the villains deserved that. Not even Mal herself.

"You're such a shithead," Mal grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "But you're Evie's shithead."

"And Doug's," Chad reminded her, because for some reason, people didn't mention that.

But then Mal cackled. "Like I could forget that," she said somewhat mysteriously, and then she strolled forward, intent to capture some of those Evie laughs first-hand.

-:-:-

They ended up getting lunch together, Ben insisting on paying, trying to feed his girlfriends spoonfuls of ice cream and turning his attention to Chad when neither one of them gave him the time of day.

Chad humored him, because one didn't not humor the future king, and Mal was gleeful when she showed off the picture she'd taken of the exchange.

"If you draw that," Evie said. "Could I have a copy?"

"Could I have a copy?" Doug asked somewhat bashfully, and Mal was too busy riding the high of her artistic talents being in some kind of demand that she didn't register offense at an Auradon kid asking her for something, which was probably for the very best.

-:-:-

Endnotes:

In every story one must make fun of Ben. It is the only way ;)

Thanks to everyone for the lovely feedback! The excitement this random blurbing has garnered really makes my day, and I'm glad we're all here for some more salty Chad. He's just trying to cuddle his nerdy boo, team, the things he does for Doug ;D

Story notes:

Fritz is very much a character I made up for the sake of having someone play a minor villain. Shout out to that dude.

Until next time