Hello again. Sorry this chapter took a few days to write. I took Sunday off so that I could relax, plus do some yard work. I made this chapter longer to compensate. We are at the start of the second movie, so things are about to heat up.
I am using the song "Ways to be Wicked" which I do not own. Enjoy!
Three days before Cotillion, Ben woke up feeling excited. He couldn't wait to make Mal a Lady of the Court during Cotillion. And on Thursday, Mal was planning a picnic at the Enchanted Lake for him. He felt bad that he had been so busy lately that they haven't had time to hang out. Ben could feel that Mal was close to admitting her love for him. He could feel their connection getting closer to its peak. He was being patient with Mal even though time was running out. Ben was secretly glad that Audrey took the semester off so that she wasn't around him or Mal. He got up and walked over to his closet to change as he wanted to meet up with Mal. He couldn't go to any of his classes today as his kingly duties and preparation for Cotillion were taking up time which Fairy Godmother understood. He also needed to get Mal's present surprise taken care off. He walked out of the closet wearing his typical outfit of a blue suit and looked out at the Isle. "Something bad is on that Isle," Ben thought. "And I don't want it coming here."
Meanwhile, Mal was having another nightmare, curtsey of Uma. Mal was in a dark void with a voice whispering, "You think you can fit in with those pretty princesses. You are not one of them. You are evil. You were born to be evil. You are wicked." Mal looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing her old outfit from the Isle and her hair was purple again. She surprisingly smiled evilly as she walked toward a cauldron where Evie, Carlos, and Jay were waiting. She pulled out her spell book and said, "Let's give Auradon a test of evil. Wicked ways beneath the skin. Let all who taste it now join in." She looked over and saw that Carlos and Jay had buckets of apples as she laughed evilly and the four of them started to sing their wicked song as then went around Auradon Prep to spread their wicked ways,
(The Core 4)
We got all the ways to be
W-I-C-K-E-D
We got all the ways to be
W-I-C-K-E-D
C'mon hey hey hey hey hey
Hey hey hey hey (haha)
Hey hey hey hey hey
(Mal)
Crashing the party
Guess they lost my invitation
Friendly remainder
Got my own kind of persuasion
(Carlos)
Looks like this place
Could use a bit of misbehavior
Happily Ever After
With a little flavor
(Jay)
Bad to the bone
With even worse intentions
We're gonna steal the show
And leave them all defenseless
(Evie)
A fairy tale can be
Oh so overrated
So raise your voices
And let's get it activated
(Everyone)
Long live having some fun
We take what we want
There's so many ways to be wicked
With us evil lives on
The right side of wrong
There's so many ways to be wicked
Apple, apple
Dip, dip
Wanna try it?
Tick, tick
Take a bite
Come on, be bold
Change the way the story's told
(Mal)
This time the dark
Is finally getting your attention
(Evie)
We're wicked by the book
And class is back in session
(Jay)
You like it, steal it
Gotta beat 'em to the treasure
(Carlos)
A rite of passage
Bad just doesn't get much better
(Everyone)
Long live having some fun
We take what we want
There's so many ways to be wicked
With us evil lives on
The right side of wrong
There's so many ways to be wicked
(Mal)
Mother always knows best
(Evie)
Show her, pass every test
(Carlos)
Hear her voice in my head
(Jay)
Evil is the only real way to win
(Everyone)
We got all the ways to be
Hey, hey, hey hey
W-I-C-K-E-D
We got all the ways to be
Hey, hey, hey, hey
W-I-C-K-E-D
Yeah
Long live having some fun
We take what we want
There's so many ways to be wicked
With us evil live on
The right side of wrong
There's so many ways to be wicked
Hey, hey, hey, hey
We got all the ways to be
W-I-C-K-E-D
We got the ways to be
W-I-C-K-E-D
We got all the ways to be
W-I-C-K-E-D
We got all the ways to be
(Mal)
So many ways to be wicked
Mal grinned as she looked around at everyone affected as she heard evil laughter. She had one last apple in her hand and she looked over and saw Ben standing there. She kissed the apple and threw it to him. Ben caught it and looked at Mal with a sad look in his eyes. "See?" The voice said. "He will never accept you for who you are. You don't belong in Auradon. He doesn't love you."
"No!" Mal shouted as she woke up. She looked around and saw that she was in her dorm room. Evie had already left for the day as Mal sighed, "These nightmares are getting worse. Now I'm actually preferring the dreams with Solo and the brown haired girl." She sighed as she got out of bed. She looked in the mirror and stared at the new hair she had Evie do for her. She missed her old purple hair, but if she wanted to fit in with Auradon, she had to change.
Mal got dressed and put on some makeup before heading out for the day. She wanted to meet up with Ben, who was always patient with her and never put pressure on her. But she hasn't seen him lately as he was busy being king. She wanted to tell him about the dreams she was getting but never seemed to find the words. She walked out front and was stopped by numerous reporters. Mal sighed. The reporters started trying to get interviews with her when she started going to some events with Ben. But Ben always protected her from the press. But right now she was all alone. Cameras flashed as the reporters shouted, "Mal, Mal, Mal! Mal, please, over here! Only three days to the Royal Cotillion. Ever think a girl like you would be Lady of the Court? How does it feel to be the most envied girl in Auradon? Will you be King Ben's new betrothed? Do you like being blond? Is your mother still a lizard?"
Mal started to get overwhelmed by all of the questions. But out of nowhere, Ben appeared and cut through the reporters to get to Mal, who smiled seeing Ben here. Ben cleared his throat and said, "OK, all right. Excuse me. Uh, we will let you know if and when any situation from those questions change." One reporter asked, "Did you ever think you'd be with a villain kid?" Ben felt anger rising off of him that even Mal could feel. "How dare that reporter ask me that," Ben said. But before he could leet his anger loose, he felt Mal grab his arm slightly and he took a deep breath, glared at the reporter and said, "We're done here." Just as Ben started to pull Mal away, Fairy Godmother came to the rescue and said, "OK. This is still a school, so if you're here, you're either skipping or trespassing." As the reporters tried to ask more questions, Fairy Godmother shushed them and turned them away. Ben was glad as he said to the reporters, "Thank you guys." "Thank you," Mal said. The young couple nodded their thanks to Fairy Godmother, who smiled and walked away.
Ben turned to Mal and smiled. He missed being around her and savored the moment. He then said, "Don't pay any attention to them." Mal huffed and said, "Well, that's a lot easier said than done. Right?" Ben sighed and said, "I know. I know. You know, maybe we should something. We should go somewhere. Get away." Mal nodded eagerly, wanting to spend time with Ben. Her feelings for him have grown so much over the past six months and she was starting to feel love for him. Suddenly, Ben's watch dinged and Ben groaned saying, "I have a council meeting. I'm so late. I want to just stay here with you, but…" "Hey," Mal said, taking his hand. "It's OK. We'll hang out soon." Suddenly her hand was grabbed from behind her. Evie had appeared out of nowhere and said, "If we don't do a fitting for your gown right this minute, you'll be dancing in your bathrobe, OK?" Mal sighed, thinking, "That might not be so bad. I don't even know how to waltz anyway." Ben heard that thought and it made him a little sad. Evie smiled at Ben, then said to Mal, "Let's go." Mal turned and said, "Bye, Ben." Then Evie dragged her away. Ben waved meekly at Mal, still feeling sad. "She doesn't feel like her usual self," Ben thought. "It feels like she is holding something in that she wants to let out. I wish she could just talk to me. She's getting better at hiding her most personal thoughts." Sighing, he turned and walked away.
Evie had dragged Mal all the way back to their dorm room and had Mal put on the ball gown Evie designed for her for the Cotillion. It was yellow with blue designs all over it with a puffy skirt. Evie tightened the corset on it and Mal stuttered, "OK, Evie, I cannot breathe." "Well," Evie said. "You can breathe after Cotillion." Mal sighed and said, "I sincerely doubt that. Once I become a Lady of the Court, there are more events lined up for me. At least 20. And I can't even remember what a single one of them is." Mal turned and saw her old jacket hanging on a coat hanger. She thought back to the dream she had the night before and wondered if maybe the voice in her dreams was right. Does she belong there? Should she be evil? The darkness in her had started to grow again after the nightmares started but the light kept it at bay. She sighed and asked, "Evie? Do you ever think about what we'd be doing if we were back on the Isle right now?" Evie chuckled and said, "That's funny."
Suddenly their TV chimed as the news came on and Evie looked over and said, "Look who's on TV." Mal looked over and saw the news channel showing off parts of the kingdom tour that Mal took with Ben recently. Ben had wanted to show Mal more of Auradon and Mal saw the footage of when they were in Agrabah. The reporter on the TV said, "As the royal couple continues their tour of the kingdom, they dined with Aladdin and Jasmine. Six months ago, no one thought King Ben and his girlfriend from the wrong side of the bridge would last. As King Ben was betrothed to Princess Audrey before Mal arrived in Auradon, and now she is about to become King Ben's Lady of the Court. Mal must be counting the days until the Royal Cotillion when she will officially a Lady of the Court."
Mal suddenly remembered that she had to do something and she ran over to her bed as Evie was checking on her other dresses and Mal pulled out her spell book. She still hasn't turned it over as she felt that she needed her magic to help her fit in. She flipped the book opened and chanted, "Read it fast at lightning speed. Remember everything I need." She waved her finger over a book about lady manners and Evie noticed this and said, "I know Mal's secrets of fitting in and Ben wouldn't like it one bit. Haven't you guys had enough secrets between the two of you already? He's been truthful with you, even about Solo. Why are you still being secretive with him?" Mal sighed and said, "Evie, you remember what I was like before I started using my spell book. I mean, I was a complete disaster. Plus, I feel that Ben is still being secretive like I am. We both know that there are things about our pasts that we haven't told each other. And I feel that there is more to Solo than Ben is telling me." Evie sighed, knowing Mal had a point, since all of the VKs wondered about Solo as he would always mysteriously show up when they were in danger then disappear on them. Sure he is the protector of all of Auradon, but they all felt that Solo was being very secretive about his motives. Evie looked at Mal and said, "Well, personally, as your best friend, I strongly believe that this spell book belongs in the museum along with my mirror. Sure, the ban on magic is slowly being lifted thanks to Ben. But the spells in here are dark magic. You aren't that girl anymore."
Mal sighed and asked, "You don't ever miss running wild and just breaking all the rules?" "Like stealing and lying and fighting?" Evie asked. "No! Why would we? M, come here." She pulled Mal to her feet and dragged her to the window in their room. "Look at where we are. We're in Auradon. And we're Auradon girls now." Mal sighed, knowing that Evie has fully embraced Auradon. She heard the reporter on the TV say, "Since Mal revealed her love of strawberries, she has received hundreds of cartons from her admirers. Here she is, enjoying a cozy…" Mal smiled, liking the fact that she had supporters behind her and Ben's relationship. Evie smiled and said, "See, this is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want to be here. So please, let's just leave the past in the past, OK? Besides, I mean, look at the shoes. Look at them." "Severe," Mal said sarcastically.
Mal woke up the next morning a little groggy. She didn't have any nightmares from Uma, but she did have some dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl. But they could almost be nightmares with what she saw. She saw the forest again where Solo and the girl first met, but this time saw the huge explosions and Solo cutting down numerous people. She saw the snowy forest, but heard the girl scream for her friend, the dark one who was trying to fight off Solo but Solo was the better sword fighter and sliced the other man's back. And finally, before she woke up, she saw the girl standing on a balcony, looking out and seeing the old smuggler, who Mal saw with the brown haired girl a lot and sensed that the smuggler was a father figure to the girl, standing on a bridge with Solo, and Solo ran his lightsaber straight through the old man's chest, as the old man then fell off the bridge to the endless chasm below and the girl screaming, "No!" Mal started to cry as she lastly saw the girl having a conversation with Solo where they were clearly at different points in space and the girl said, "You're a monster!" and Solo stared hard at the girl and said, "Yes, I am." Mal woke up sweating and tears leaking down her face. Evie noticed and asked her if she was OK, but Mal put on a fake smile and said that she was fine, just reliving some old memories from the Isle. Evie seemed to buy it for now. Mal thought to herself, "Now these dreams of Solo and the girl are getting dark. Why is this happening to me?"
Later that morning, the Core 4 were walking around Auradon Prep. Carlos was in the front walking Dude, Jay was next to him, Evie was behind the boys, and Mal was behind all of them, worrying about Cotillion, Ben, her nightmares from Uma, which again she didn't know were from Uma, her dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl, and her future in Auradon. As the group walked, several girls said hi to Jay, who grinned and waved back. Carlos looked at Jay and asked, "Why do you torture them? Just pick someone to take to Cotillion already." Carlos was still trying to figure out how to ask Jane to Cotillion. They grew close as Carlos helped her with cheerleading tryouts, and he felt something special with Jane. But he was too nervous to ask her. Jay smiled and said, "I'm going solo. That way, I can dance with all of them." "Ah," Carlos said. "You're the expert."
He then stopped Jay, which made Evie and Mal stop, and Carlos asked, "Um, Jay. If you were gonna ask someone, what's the best way to go?" Jay sighed, put his hand on Carlos' shoulder, and answered, "Listen, all you gotta do, is look like me." Carlos laughed sarcastically and said, "Oh, ha, ha."
Suddenly Jane came up to the group, wanting to talk to Mal, and Carlos smiled and said, "Hey, Jane." Jane smiled and said, "Hey." Carlos then said, "I was wondering….uh…..if you liked the carrot cake last night?" Jane chuckled and said, "I had the pumpkin pie." "Oh," Carlos said. "Cool. Uh, uh…" Jay whispered, "Smooth." He grabbed Carlos and dragged him away, Dude following.
Evie stepped forward and said, "I have an opening for a fitting at 3:00. Who wants it?" Lonnie was behind Jane and said, "Me. Sorry, Jane." "Perfect," Evie replied. "Jane, I'll take you later. OK." Evie and Lonnie walked away as Jane stepped forward to Mal and said, "I hate to keep bugging you but the Decorating Committee needs more answers. So as much as I hate to, um, you know, um…" "Bug me?" Mal guessed. "Right," Jane said. Mal sighed and said, "Jane, I would love to. I just have to get to class." Mal tried to walk away, but Jane stopped her, "You know, just nod if you like it." Mal nodded as Jane pulled out her tablet and said, "Chair swags, entry banner, twinkle lights, napkin design, table bunting, and you still haven't picked the party favors yet." Mal sighed, trying to take it all in, and said, "Honestly, Jane, whatever…" "I mean," Jane interrupted. "We can do chains, key charms, pen toppers. I kind of love the pen toppers but, I mean, we can do all three." Mal's eyes suddenly flashed green startling Jane. Mal closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at Jane and said, "I say pen toppers." "Yeah?" Jane said. "You won't regret it."
Lonnie and Evie walked back over to the pair as Lonnie said, "I can hardly wait to see what your wedding will look like." "Me, too," Mal said, then she suddenly realized what Lonnie said and said, "Wait, what?" Jane smiled and said, "The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged." "I knew it," Evie said. "It's basically the engagement party before the official engagement party," Lonnie said. "Since you basically took Audrey's place as Ben's betrothed, this event is about you and Ben officially becoming a couple. Everyone knows it." "I didn't know it!" Mal said, freaking out. "How come nobody told me that? Is my entire life just planned out in front of me?"
What Mal didn't know was that Ben was walking up behind her. He heard what the conversation was about and was not happy that Jane and Lonnie were telling Mal what the true intention of the Cotillion was. "This is freaking Mal out," Ben thought. "I can feel it." He then stepped forward so that the girls could see him and stop the conversation. "Hi, Mal," Ben said. "Hi, Ben," Evie, Lonnie, and Jane said. Suddenly Jane tried to pull Ben away from Mal saying, "Oh, oh, quick moment." Ben pulled his hand away and said, "In a minute. I will talk to you after I talk to Mal. Alone. You can wait over there with Lonnie. I want to talk to both of you." Lonnie and Jane gulped seeing that Ben was clearly upset about something.
Ben pulled Mal away from the girls and whispered, "Are you OK? You seemed to be freaking out about what Jane and Lonnie told you." Mal sighed and nodded, not being able to find the words. Ben sighed and said, "I am sorry. I wanted to tell you gently about the purpose of Cotillion. I didn't want to put any pressure on you. Don't worry about what those two said. Just think of it as a party and we're the guests of honor. We won't be officially engaged since that can't happen until I'm 18 anyway. I just want you to focus on what we have now. Also, I'll tell Jane to back off about the Cotillion planning. I can tell it's stressing you out. Let me worry about it. Just know that I love you so much. OK?" Mal nodded and Ben kissed her forehead. He pulled away and said, "Never forget that." Mal smiled, feeling a bit lighter than before. "He always seems to rebalance me," Mal thought. Ben took Mal back over to Evie and said, "Can you please take her to class? I have to talk to these two." Evie nodded and hooked her arm around Mal and the two walked away.
Ben turned to Lonnie and Jane and said, "Why did you two tell her about the true purpose of Cotillion?" Lonnie shrugged and said, "I thought she knew. I'm sorry. I didn't know she would freak out like that." Ben sighed and said, "She lived on the Isle her entire life. She's still trying to find her place here. I have told her that I would never put any pressure on her. And what you two said did just that." The girls looked down as Jane said, "Sorry, Ben." Ben took a deep breath and said, "It's OK. Just be more careful around her. She's a little stressed out right now." Lonnie nodded as Jane pulled some materials out of her bag and said, "OK, you're almost finished with the surprise for Mal." She opened her tablet and showed a stain glass window that showed Ben and Mal. Ben was kneeling down in front of her and Mal was dressed in a beautiful purple dress with green designs and a gold crown. Ben smiled thinking, "This is the kind of princess Mal can be. Why did she have to dye her hair blonde? I liked it purple." Ben then said, "Make sure her eyes are green." Jane pulled out different green glass samples and asked, "Which green should I use?" Ben looked at all three and pointed to the darkest green saying, "This one."
Later that day, Chad was getting his cape fitting with Evie and Doug, who helped manage her dress studio. "What about peacock feathers?" Chad asked. Personally, Chad still wasn't a fan of the VKs, but he couldn't deny that Evie had talent in fashion. It was hard that Audrey was away for the semester, but they called each other a lot so that made Chad happy. He didn't like it that Audrey was still all for Ben, so he was trying to win her over. "Yeah," Chad continued. "I bet you nobody's gonna have those at Cotillion." Evie sighed, still having a slight grudge for Chad because of what he did to her when she first came to Auradon, but kept a professional face and said, "Chad. When I look at you, all I can think of is…King. And fake fur. Fake fur says it all." "Loud and clear," Doug agreed.
Jay came into the room to tell Chad, "Amphitheater in five." Swords and Shields practice was starting soon and Jay was chosen as captain to replace Ben. Jay stood outside the door as Chad whined, "Why did Ben make him captain instead of me? And coach agreed with that choice. I'm obviously better. King Chad though. I do rather like that. You know who else would like that?" "Who?" Evie asked. "Audrey," Chad said. Evie smirked and said, "She would." "Chad," Jay droned from the hallway. "Let's go." "Yeah," Chad said, stepping down from the pedestal, Evie grabbing the cape off of him, and Jay and Chad left for practice.
Evie and Doug chuckled and said together, "Not a lot of there there." Evie smiled and said, "Someone's obviously having some trouble dealing with his on off relationship with Audrey." Doug nodded in agreement as he looked at his laptop and said, "I've been doing the numbers. And after we collect from all the girls for their gowns, and Chad's cape." He showed Evie the amount of money they would make and Evie gasped, "Wow! No wonder people work. What am I going to do with all this money?" Doug smiled and said, "I think in the next few years, you could buy that castle you always wanted. That way you wouldn't need a prince." He grasped Evie's hand and looked at her with loving eyes. Evie smiled back and said, "You're right, I don't. Because I have you." The couple stared at each other for a while before they got back to work.
Mal was running to her locker trying to get stuff she needed when Ben suddenly appeared next to her saying, "Hi, Mal." Mal looked at Ben nervously, as her spell book was sitting in there and she feared that Ben would notice it and scold her. Ben smiled and said, "I have a little surprise for you." "Again," Mal said. "Wow. That's like every day now." "Or every other day," Ben retorted. "The even days. Because you're even more perfect than I thought." Mal chuckled and said, "That is me. I am perfect. I guess." Ben put his hand under her chin, closing her locker, and said, "Come on, let me spoil you. You didn't have a lot growing up." Mal sighed and said, "It's OK. We managed. That's what you do when you come from nothing. When you are nothing." Mal whispered that last part, but Ben heard her and said, "You may come from nothing. But you are not nothing. Not to me." Mal's heart melted at that statement, but she felt that she heard that statement before. She suddenly remembered a dream months ago she had of Solo and the girl when Solo asked the girl to join him. Solo said something similar to what Ben said to the girl.
But before she could really process it, Ben pulled her down to the end of the lockers and said, "Now, come this way. First off, Ta-da." Standing at the end of the lockers was a purple motorbike. Mal gasped as Ben asked, "You like it?" Mal chuckled and sarcastically asked, "Does an ogre like cheese puffs? This is amazing. It's purple." She admired the bike before looking at Ben and said, "I didn't get you anything." Ben smiled and said, "You don't have to get me anything. Me spending any minute I can with you is the only gift I can ask for." Mal smiled as here heart melted at that statement. "Besides," Ben said. "You're taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?" "Right," Mal said. "On Thursday. Two days away." "Mal," Ben said. "Tomorrow's Thursday." Mal realized that Ben was right and lied, "I knew that." Ben sensed that she was lying and said, "If you don't have it, it's fine." "No, no, no," Mal said. "I was fully messing with you. I knew that Thursday was tomorrow. I just have to finish baking one thing and put the final touches on the other dishes and then by this time tomorrow, I'm all yours." Ben smiled, still knowing that Mal was lying to him, seeing that she completely forgot as she seemed stressed out about Cotillion, and wanted to say something, but then Mal kissed him on the cheek and said, "I got to get to class. See you tomorrow." Ben stood there holding his cheek as Mal walked away. She had never initiated any sort of kiss and Ben had a lopsided smile on his face. He shook his head as he thought, "Mal's been using her spell book. I can feel its magic on her. It's surrounding her aura. I think she might use it for tomorrow's date. I just wish she would talk to me about her troubles. I know that Cotillion is stressing her out. But there's something else. Something that she's gotten good at hiding. Hopefully I can talk to her about it tomorrow. Force, this is hard."
Over at Swords and Shields practice, Jay was leading the team, "All right, boys, let's line it up. Carlos, you're with me, let's go." "Yeah," Carlos said as the team paired off. "Rassembler!" Jay said. "Salute! Lower the point. Masks down. En garde." The team started sword fighting each other, using the stage to move around. Jay was showing off different moves and giving tips to all of his teammates. Suddenly, a new person jumped onto the stage and Jay fought him off one on one. But their mysterious person was good, really good. Jay had to step up his game as the fight continued. "It's like I'm fighting Ben again," Jay thought. "But not as good." The mysterious person suddenly got hold of Jay's sword and mock stabbed him, signifying that Jay lost. Jay got his sword back as the mysterious person pulled off his helmet to reveal it was a she, Lonnie. "It's Lonnie," Jane said from the balcony as she was with the cheerleading team. The cheerleaders and spectators cheered as Jay said, "Not bad." Lonnie smiled and said, "You should put me on the team."
Chad suddenly came over and said, "Hey, what? No, no, no. We'll be the laughing stock of the league. And what's gonna happen next? We'll have girls playing Tourney. Come on, guys." "So?" Jay asked. "So?" Chad replied as her pulled out the Swords and Shields rulebook. "So have you not read the rulebook? Section 2, Paragraph 3, 11-4. A team will be comprised of a captain and eight men. Mmm? You should read the rulebook." Lonnie sighed and said, "OK, yeah, but you're down a man. You know, since Ben had to leave to do all that king stuff." "Exactly," Chad said. "We're down a man." Lonnie looked to Jay, pleading with her eyes. But Jay sighed and said, "I'm sorry. Coach trusts me. I'm not gonna stay captain if I just throw out the rulebook." Lonnie glared at Jay and said, "If Ben was still captain, he would have me join. And if my mother thought the way you do, she would have lost the war." Lonnie stormed off as Jay felt bad about the situation. He turned to his team and said, "All right, guys. Practice is over, let's go."
The team dispersed and Carlos saw Jane up in the balcony. He shouted, "Jane. Jane, hey." Jane looked down and said, "Hey, Carlos, what's up?" Dude barked and sat next to Carlos as Carlos said, "Not much. You?" Jane sighed and said, "Way too much. We were gonna go with the blue and gold banner for Cotillion, but now we can't find the right shade of blue." "Oh, yeah," Carlos said. "No, that's a bummer. Um, speaking of Cotillion…" "I know, right?" Jane interrupted. "It's all anybody is talking about. Cotillion 24/7. It's like they've never been to one before." "I haven't, actually," Carlos said. "Oh," Jane said. "Lucky. I always end up serving punch with my mom anyway. This year I got stuck on the decorating committee because Audrey went off for a semester and is on a spa vacation too with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather." "Jane," Carlos said. "Maybe we should just…." "Skip the whole thing?" Jane guessed. "I really, really wish I could. It's so nice to have a friend who's on the same wavelength." "Oh, you got me," Carlos said, sighing internally about Jane not getting what he was trying to say. Jane's phone went off and Jane said, "I gotta go. Great practice though." Carlos nodded as Jane walked away. He looked down at Dude who was staring up at him. "It wasn't the right time, all right?" Carlos told Dude.
Later after practice, Carlos was in his and Jay's dorm room looking at things on his laptop with the news on in the background and Dude was sitting next to him. "How to get out of the friend zone," Carlos said. He looked over at Dude and said, "I see you reading over my shoulder." Suddenly Mal barged into the room to avoid reporters. She had just come from the kitchen trying to bake some of the food items for tomorrow's date with Ben and to give Carlos a potion he requested. She turned off the TV and paced back and forth before her eyes flashed green as she was having a panic attack. "Whoa," Carlos said. "Easy, girl." "What?" Mal shouted. "You think this is so easy? You don't have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say "boo!" I mean, it's not that I could even say "boo" but, you know." "I'm sorry," Carlos said. Mal sighed and said, "Carlos, don't you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?" Carlos looked at Mal and said, "You're thinking of my mother. And I was usually on the other end of that. So, not really. No." Mal sighed. Even she knew that she only did that back on the Isle to hide the light in her. But times were so much easier back then. That's all she knows how to do, survive.
Carlos suddenly jumped up and said, "Oh, hey. Did you bring it?" Mal nodded as she looked down at the small container she brought with her. As she was about to open it, they heard the lock to the door turn and the door opened to reveal Chad. He snuck in and closed the door, then saw Mal and Carlos standing there so he awkwardly said, "Hi. Just came to use your 3-D printer. Won't be a sec." Carlos and Mal looked at each other. They both knew that Chad still wasn't a fan of them, so him sneaking into their room just to use the printer was odd. "How'd you get a key to my room?" Carlos asked. Chad looked at the key in his hand, then back up at the VKs and said, "Oh, I printed it off last time I was in here. You guys were sleeping. Look, I just….Your printer's so much better than mine. And you installed these hacks. And everything runs so much smoother than mine." Carlos pointed to the door and said, "Out. Now." Chad scoffed and said, "Fine. Fine." He turned to walk out but Carlos said, "Chad. Leave the key." Chad turned and left the key on the table and walked out the door.
Carlos looked back at Mal, who was spaced out. "Mal?" Carlos asked, getting Mal's attention. "My potion." Mal nodded as she pulled it out of the container and showed him a truth gummy. Carlos looked at it and asked, "So, this thing will make me say what I really feel to Jane?" "Yeah," Mal answered. "I mean, this is a truth gummy, so take it or leave it." "Perfect," Carlos said as he reached to grab it. But Mal pulled her hand away and said, "Hold on though. Are you sure that you wanna be taking this? Because this is gonna make you say the truth all the time, no matter what. And the only reason that I'm asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I would get myself sent back to the Isle. Which, it's not that that sounds super unappealing but, you know." Carlos looked at Mal. He had a feeling that Mal was hiding her stresses and he wanted to help her, but he wanted to take the potion and said, "Yeah. I'll take my chances, I guess."
Mal sighed as she lowered her hand. Dude jumped off the bed and ate the gummy out of Mal's hand. "Oh!" Mal said as Dude jumped back onto the bed. "Bad dog!" But then Dude started to talk, "Man, that thing was nasty. And you Carlos? You just gotta man up." Carlos and Mal looked at each other, shocked that the truth gummy was making Dude talk, while the dog said, "And while you're at it, scratch my butt." Mal couldn't take it anymore and said, "You heard him. Scratch his butt. I need to go figure out my date with Ben tomorrow." She walked out of the room and Carlos shouted after her, "Mal. You're just gonna leave me with him?" Carlos sighed as he looked back at Dude, who said, "Come on, you scratch your own all the time." Carlos sighed, thinking, "This is going to take some getting use to."
