A/N: So, I had a prompt for this chapter earlier and I was gonna pair it with the game against The Pirates' football team for something later into the story and update it later when I had more ideas, but unfortunately, the document I saved into my computer was eaten by it when I had to reset against my will and it was lost when I tried t open it again to make sure it was still saved, so I had to start all over again. So this is a brand new update until after Thanksgiving again and I hope you like it okay and I'll see you in the next chapters after this one until this story ends and I start my sequel I shall call Ways to be Wicked.
Mal still had a lot on her mind after her first official date with Ben. Yes, he was very pleasant and he seemed like a nice boy, pretty funny, and very adventurous, but... Mal felt like she wasn't sure if she was in love with him or not. She wasn't sure what she was going to tell the others, knowing that Evie and a lot of other girls in school were going to ask her how her date went. Evie had a lot on her mind too as it was almost time to meet Henry for coming home from school and she was excited about having a girl's study group with herself, Mal, and a few other girls she knew pretty well: Jane, Wendy, and Lonnie.
She just hoped that Mal was on friendly terms with or at least knew them pretty well, though Jane was probably fair gain since Jane was the first student that Mal met in school, not including herself. Right now, Evie couldn't believe her luck as she was given a note from the one and only Chad Princely to meet her under the bleachers so that they could talk. She wondered what he could want, but how could she say no when she had the biggest crush on him?
"Mayor Mills has to be your older sister or something," Chad smiled as he stood across from the dark-haired girl. "There's no way she could be your mother, she's so beautiful."
"Yeah, well, she is my mother." Evie nodded and giggled bashfully.
"Well, I can see where you get your gorgeous good looks from." Chad grinned smugly.
"Mom says I'm the fairest in the land to her," Evie smiled bashfully. "How many rooms does your house have?"
"Oh! Too many to count," Chad grinned. "You really nailed that chemistry pop quiz today. You're gonna have all the nerds in love with you."
"I'm not that smart,." Evie blushed.
"Oh, come on." Chad replied.
"No, really, I'm not, but I'm... I'm really good at sewing and cooking and cleaning," Evie shrugged bashfully. "I usually help my little brother with his homework though. That stuff looks so much easier looking back on it than when I was Henry's age."
"Ah, kids..." Chad sighed. "Very simple, sweet, and naïve... Wouldn't you say?"
"Oh, uh, maybe a little," Evie shrugged as she rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Though Henry's a lot smarter than he looks. I think he's gonna grow up to be a detective someday."
"Hmm... Interesting..." Chad smirked.
"So, uh, you wanna go to a movie or something?" Evie suggested. "I'm sure we could find something, uh, interesting to see... Or we could see a play... Like My Fair Lady & the Tramp?"
"Oh, gee, I'd like that, I really would, but... I'm swamped..." Chad sighed in dismay as he looked frustrated for a minute. "Oh, gosh darn it to heck... Unless~" he then started with a smirk.
"Unless?" Evie asked, looking very hopeful then.
Chad smirked suddenly. "If you could knock all my homework out along with yours, then maybe we could get together sometime... Hang. You could come to the game and cheer me on." he then suggested.
Evie's heart fluttered as she blushed even more and rocked back and forth on her heels in excitement. "Okay~" she then said to him.
"Thanks, Babe." Chad grinned as he grabbed his backpack.
"Yeah... Bye." Evie nodded and giggled.
Chad smirked as he nodded and soon walked off to go across the football field behind the bleachers. Evie sighed dreamily as she looked very excited about spending some time with Chad as this felt like her biggest dream come true. After all, a dream was what your heart made.
"Ahem..." A bespectacled boy from Chad and Evie's science class was suddenly shown as he was climbing from the bleachers to go and see the dark-haired girl. "I couldn't help but overhear..."
"Are you stalking me?" Evie asked suspiciously.
"Technically... Yes," The boy replied. "I'm Doug... My uncle is Grumpy Leroy the janitor and my Uncle Tom owns the pharmacy? I'm in the marching band?"
"Uh-huh..." Evie blinked as she slowly nodded. "Well, Doug, can I help you with something?"
"Uh, yeah," Doug replied. "I think you should stay away from Chad Princely."
"What?! Why?" Evie glared. "Why would you say such a thing? I don't even know you!"
Doug flinched as that last part stung a little bit, but he tried not to let it bother him. "He's obviously using you," he then said. "Listen, Evie, I've known you for a long time in school and you probably don't remember me, but we held hands in second grade."
"We did?" Evie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why don't I remember that?"
"...Well, I had a 64 pack of crayons with the sharpener and you wanted to use some of my crayons, but that's besides the point," Doug said bashfully. "I know Chad and his type. He's just using you so he can get away with cheating. C'mon, don't you think it's suspicious that he wants you to do his homework?"
"Well, he's a very busy boy, Darren-" Evie retorted strongly.
"Doug."
"Whatever... But he is on the football team and he probably barely has time to do his own homework and if he doesn't get it done, he won't be able to stay on the team," Evie defended. "I think you're just jealous."
"Jealous of him?!" Doug scoffed. "Come on, Evie, listen to me. Chad is just-"
"Evie?" A young voice called.
"Oh! Henry," Evie blinked as she looked over. "I'm sorry, Henry, I lost track of the time."
"It's okay, Evie," Henry replied. "I just thought I'd come looking for you. It's not like you to miss meeting me at Ms. Blanchard's classroom to go home in Mom's car."
"I'm very sorry about that," Evie said as she wrapped her arm around him. "Shall we go then?"
"Yeah." Henry nodded.
"Okay," Evie replied before looking at the boy. "I'll see you around, Derek."
"Uh, Doug." The geeky boy corrected nervously.
"Doug... Right..." Evie nodded as she walked off with her younger brother then.
Doug looked nervous and bashful before sighing as he decided to get going himself.
"Oh, Henry, I miss being your age," Evie sighed softly. "The world seemed a bit more simple... A million questions but no answers and everything is taken care of for you."
"I do miss taking a nap in the middle of the day and having snack time with Mrs. Kitsis-Hororwitz sometimes," Henry nodded. "So is today the big day where you have that study group with Mal and some other girls from class?"
"Yes, indeed," Evie nodded. "Lonnie Hua Li, Wendy Darling, and Jane Fairgood."
"Pretty good group," Henry replied. "Just don't make too much noise or gossip about boys too much. I could probably do without that."
"I'll see what we can do, you little stinker." Evie smirked playfully.
Henry chuckled a little from that.
"I'm especially excited to hear about Mal's lunch date with Ben French," Evie smirked. "That had to had been a lot of fun."
Mal sighed sharply as she was just on her way out of the bathroom and was making sure her hair was decent as it was a bit frizzy right now, much to her strong dislike. She decided to fix it up as best as she could before she would end up looking like the school's riding and archery instructor: Ms. Merida. Now that woman had hair that was like a scarlet-colored tumbleweed. Jane soon stepped out of the bathroom and began to wash her hands next to Mal as both girls looked at each other in the mirror.
Mal then decided to try to befriend and be social with the plucky headmistress' daughter who was a bit shy and awkward, especially without the girl known as Wendy by her side. "Hi! It's Jane, right?" she then asked with a small smile. "Ah, always loved that name. Jane."
"That's cool." Jane shrugged as she dried her hands and was about to leave the bathroom.
"Don't go!" Mal begged and smiled nervously. "I guess I was just kind of hoping to make a friend. You probably have all the friends you need though, huh?"
"Hardly, aside from maybe Wendy," Jane shrugged. "We've been friends since the sandbox though."
"Really? I mean with your mother being The Headmistress..." Mal replied. "I mean, not to mention your own... Um... Personality."
"I'd rather be pretty," Jane shrugged sheepishly. "You've got great hair."
"Oh... You think so?" Mal asked.
"Well, yeah, you gotta," Jane nodded. "Especially since you're dating The King of the School: Ben French. Boys are gonna want you and girls are gonna wanna be you."
Mal frowned slightly at the idea of dating Ben. "You know what? I think I've got just the thing for that," she then said as she examined Jane. "Now, lemme see... You could use a bit of an upgrade... No offense, I mean."
"Oh... N-None taken..." Jane replied. "Some other girls say I could look a little more grown-up."
"Like Audrey?" Mal guessed, sounding a bit sardonic.
Jane nodded honestly and a bit nervously.
"Well... Let me try to fix that..." Mal said as she took her hairbrush out of her bag and soon took the bow out of Jane's hair and began to brush it as best as she could, making it a bit longer and more mature looking to match her current age.
The two girls soon took a look in the mirror behind them. Both looked very amazed at the makeover and Jane looked very delighted and thrilled with her new look.
"Wow! You almost don't notice your... Other features anymore." Mal smiled as she put her arm around Jane.
"This is amazing," Jane whispered. "You're like a hairdresser sorceress."
"Heh, pretty interesting way to look at it," Mal smiled. "That's a really good look on you, Jane. You look so grown-up."
"I can't wait to show Wendy," Jane smiled back. "So, uh, I guess I'll see you at Evie's place after school today?"
"Huh?" Mal asked before she then remembered that Evie reminded her to come to her place after school for the study group before nodding. "Oh, right. The study group. Yes, I'll see you after school."
"That sounds great," Jane replied as she nodded. "Well, thanks, Mal. This was amazing."
"Uh-huh," Mal agreed. "See ya then, Jane."
Eventually, the students with no after school plans in school made it back home and soon, the other girls who agreed to a study group had shown up. The girls helped each other with their homework while Mal enjoyed the distraction as much as she could as she wasn't sure what she was going to tell the other girls about her and Ben. She knew he was rich, popular, and important to the school and she didn't want to let the new friends she had down, so she decided to keep quiet about her date with Ben as best as she could.
However, that didn't last long as in typical teenage girl fashion, they started to gossip about boys as Evie checked the oven in her mother's kitchen as she left some apple tart treats for the girls to snack on in her absence as she had to meet Graham down at the Sheriff's station after school. Henry was occupied in his room, doing the homework that he could do on his own and if he was good and got it done on time, Evie allowed him to play video games because she would be busy right about now.
"Mom said, 'If a boy can't see the beauty within, then he's not worth it'," Jane quoted as she pouted and sank in her chair, trying to fit in with the other girls besides Wendy who was her best and pretty much only friend. "Can you believe it? What world does she live in?"
"Auradon Heights." Mal smirked playfully as she sketched in her diary since they were done with their homework.
"I'll never get a boyfriend." Jane sulked.
"Oh, Jane, you'll get a new boyfriend soon," Wendy smiled in deep support for her best friend. "I just know it."
"You have more of a chance than I do," Lonnie smirked. "My dad and big brother don't want me to start dating until after I'm married."
"How does that work?" Mal smirked back.
"I dunno, but those odds are concerning me." Lonnie chuckled a bit.
"Besides, boyfriends are overrated." Mal then said with a shrug.
"Easy for you to say, you got to have a picnic lunch with The King of Auradon Heights himself." Evie replied as she brought out the tray of apple tarts to her friends once they were cooled down enough after coming out of the oven.
Each of the girls soon took one, though Mal felt her stomach turn nervously as Evie just had to say that. She then quickly bit into the apple tart to change the subject. "Mm-mm! So good!" she then beamed to the other girls. "And your mother made these herself, Evie?"
"Well... Yes," Evie nodded. "You know my mom has her own apple tree in the backyard."
The other girls quickly agreed that the apple tarts were amazing.
"Oh! I forgot to do Chad's homework!" Evie soon realized as she set the apple tart tray down and went to reach into her backpack. "Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no."
"And that is exactly what I mean." Mal smirked towards Jane.
"It's okay though, Jane," Wendy smiled at Jane before blushing. "My parents are protective too. You know how to get sometimes."
"Believe me, I do." Jane nodded while the others, such as Mal, had to take their word for it since she didn't know Wendy's parents.
"Oh, Mal, I just love what you've done with Jane's hair," Lonnie smiled. "Do you think, uh, maybe you could do mine too?"
"Hey! I'm the fashionista of this group, not Mal!" Evie smirked playfully.
"Yes, well, I'm the hairdresser of the group, so there," Mal smirked back. "Besides, why would I do that?"
"I'll pay you $50," Lonnie suggested, taking out the money, getting a very wide-eyed and jaw-dropped expression from Mal. "...What?"
"Where did you get that kind of money?" Mal asked. "You got an after school job or something?"
"Oh... No," Lonnie shook her head. "This is part of the allowance I saved up from before my mother went away in The Army."
"Your mom's in The Army?" Mal asked.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that Lonnie is an army brat?" Evie asked, though meaning that in a good way and not making fun of Lonnie and calling her a "brat". "Well, yeah, she is."
"Yes," Lonnie nodded and sighed as she gave Mal the money. "Though Mom's bravery and efforts have motivated me into doing something amazing."
"Paying me to be your professional hairstylist?" Mal grinned then.
"No, silly goose," Lonnie giggled before sighing softly. "I'm gonna try-out for the next football, basketball, or even baseball team for Coach Jenkins. My brother was on his football team before he graduated and my mother taught me karate when I was 10-years-old. You should see me spar against him and I'm gonna teach Coach Jenkins that girls can be on his teams," she then decided strongly. "If my mother let a bunch of guys get her down and push her around, she wouldn't be in the war right now, fighting for everybody over here."
"Wow, Lonnie... I had no idea..." Mal whispered in amazement.
"Yeah, I'm sick of just jump-roping in the school gym," Lonnie nodded in determination. "It's time to bring honor to us all."
"Well, Lonnie, I gotta say, I like your spirit," Mal replied as she soon began to brush Lonnie's hair. "Now, uh, would you like any special style?"
"Lose the bun, maybe some layers, and some highlights?" Evie added as a suggestion.
"I want it cool," Lonnie replied. "Like Mal's."
"Really?" Mal asked, sounding touched.
"The split ends too?" Evie added, teasing her friend a bit.
Mal chuckled a bit as she soon did Lonnie's hair, making her lose the traditional bun and it was soon down and appeared to be longer. It was a bit curlier too and had more color into it and it reached over her shoulders. It was almost like a fairy tale transformation. Lonnie soon stood up from the chair and walked over to take a look in the mirror as she was stunned with silence and observed her new look.
"I know. I know. It looks like a mop on your head," Evie softly told Lonnie as she joined her at the mirror. "You know what? Let's cut it off, layer it-"
"No, no, no, no, no, no! I love it." Lonnie insisted.
"You do?" Evie blinked.
"It's just..." Lonnie breathed a bit before she then ripped her dress skirt, trying to be like a hardcore bad chick, smirking at her reflection. "Now I'm cool."
"Like ice." Mal added.
Jane soon tried to do the same with her dress skirt and suddenly shrieked at what just happened. "What did I just do? Mom's gonna kill me!" she then panicked.
"Oh, Jane!~" The others called playfully.
"I'll sew that up for you." Wendy offered with a small sigh.
"Thanks, Wendy." Jane sighed in relief.
"What're best friends forever and ever for?" Wendy smiled. "So, our parents won't be here for a while longer to pick us up in time for dinner? What should we talk about? Maybe Mal's date with Ben French?"
"Uh... Well... Erm..." Mal stammered nervously.
"Maybe Mal doesn't feel like it right now." Evie suggested.
"Yeah... Maybe I don't feel like it right now." Mal nodded assertively then.
"Okay, okay," Wendy replied. "Maybe we could talk about some boys we like."
"Boys~" Evie giggled as she decided to come to the door of the kitchen door. "Typical slumber party gossip, huh? Just a moment."
The other girls looked at each other and nodded.
"Henry, you might wanna put on your noise-canceling headphones," Evie suggested to her little brother as he played his video game. "It might get a bit loud."
Henry didn't say anything and soon brought out his headphones and put them on as he went back to his video game before the door shut as Evie told him that for his own sake.
"So... Cute boys... Like Chad Princely," Evie grinned. "I might be having a date with him after the game against The Barrie Pirates."
Wendy chuckled bashfully at the mention of that team against their school.
"We should really go to that game to cheer them on," Evie suggested. "Would you guys be okay with that?"
Jane and Mal murmured and shrugged, though Wendy and Lonnie both seemed eager about going to that game.
"Oh, Chad... I hope you marry me~" Evie sighed happily and dreamily.
Mal rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"I'm not sure if there's a boy out there that I like," Lonnie shrugged. "I never really get a chance to talk to the boys very much aside from maybe Ben. I guess I'd have to think about it."
"Yeah, I'm not sure if there's a boy out there that I like either," Jane added. "Not that any boy would wanna talk to me anyway."
"And what about you, Wendy?" Mal then quickly asked before anyone could get to her.
"Hm?" Wendy blinked.
"Do you like anybody?" Mal asked.
"Uh... Well... Erm... I-I might have a crush on a boy..." Wendy said bashfully.
"Well, no duh!" Evie smirked playfully. "Could you be more specific?"
Wendy chuckled nervously as she blushed a bit, rubbing her arm a bit.
"C'mon, you gotta tell us who this guy is," Mal smirked. "Do we know him from school?"
"N-No... You wouldn't know him from school..." Wendy shook her head. "Not from our school anyway."
"Ooh~..." Mal and Evie cooed and smirked, giggling a bit.
"Is this forbidden?" Lonnie asked. "What school does he go to?"
"I didn't know you liked a boy from a different school, Wen," Jane said to her best friend. "You never told me about that."
"Well, there are some things that you don't know about me, Janey," Wendy replied. "And I'm sure there are some things that I don't know about you."
"I-I guess that's fair enough," Jane said bashfully. "Can we at least know where this boy goes to school?"
"Is this a forbidden love?" Mal smirked. "I heard you guys are rivals with that Emerald Acres school place or whatever it's called."
"No, it's not Emerald Acres." Wendy shook her head.
"Um... Is it Avalon High?" Evie asked.
"Nope." Wendy replied.
"Arendelle Academy?" Jane guessed.
"Nuh-uh." Wendy declined.
"Uh, I don't know very many other schools," Mal shrugged. "Is he home-schooled?"
"No, he does in fact go to school," Wendy replied. "In fact, we're gonna be visited by his school before the weekend."
The other girls thought more about it until it finally hit them. "The James Barrie School for Boys!"
"Uh-huh," Wendy nodded bashfully and giggled sheepishly. "His name is Peter Banning~"
"Ooh~" The other girls smirked a bit.
"I-I'm not sure how I'd get him to notice me, but I'd love it very much," Wendy replied sheepishly. "Mal... I don't suppose you could help me out too?"
"Well... All right..." Mal replied. "I guess I could give you a little bit of help. We'll actually go to the football game and you can tell us how it went when you do get to see him."
"Oh! Thank you~" Wendy beamed and clapped in excitement. "Just don't tell my parents about this...?" she then requested. "They'd probably freak out on me."
"Well, I don't know your parents very well, so your secret is safe with me." Mal decided.
The other girls then promised and vowed to keep Wendy's secret safe for her.
"Oh, thanks so much you guys," Wendy smiled. "I'm so excited now. I know Peter goes to a different school, but I have very high hopes for the both of us~"
"You're my best friend, you're like a sister to me, so I have high hopes for you too," Jane smiled back. "Maybe he has a cute brother I could ask out."
The girls soon giggled as they looked hopeful and excited for Wendy now as they told her what to do and hopefully by the big game coming up this week, there would be something happening.
Eventually, some time passed and it was time for everyone to go back home. Today's study group went very well and Mal was surprised that she had actually enjoyed it.
"Well, I'm sorry I missed your study group, but I trust that it was fun," Regina said as she came home with a couple of bags of take-out food for dinner tonight. "I hope Shan Yu's Dim Sum is okay tonight, Evie. I'm afraid I don't have enough energy to cook tonight after that Town Council meeting and another one coming this weekend."
"That's okay, Mom," Evie reassured as she took one of the bags. "A little take-out once in a while never hurt anyone."
"So, uh, Ms. Mills, you'll be busy this weekend?" Mal asked.
"Yes, I'm afraid I need another meeting this weekend," Regina nodded. "I'm sure you can watch over Henry for me, Evie?"
"Of course, Mom." Evie nodded.
Mal soon nudged Evie as though to remind her about something this weekend.
"Oh... Uh... Mom, could I have a party this weekend?" Evie soon asked.
"A party?" Regina asked as they walked into the kitchen to get dinner taken care of and Henry soon stopped and saved his game, going to the bathroom to wash up for dinner.
"Yeah, you know, a party for us teenagers to just hang out and knock off from homework and stressful school days for a while," Mal advised. "You were a kid once, right, Ms. Mills?"
"That may be true, but I'm not so sure about that," Regina replied. "Especially a party around here. What did you have in mind?"
"Just some kids from school since our study group went so well," Mal defended. "I'm sure you can trust Evie."
Regina raised an eyebrow sharply.
"Don't you usually host parties around here?" Mal asked.
"Yes, but those are completely different," Regina retorted. "Those are town parties like for Halloween or Christmas. Mal, I'm not sure if Evie's ready to have a party here, especially without a chaperone or two."
"Oh, please, Mom? I'll be responsible," Evie put her hands together hopefully as she could tell that Mal really wanted this for the both of them. "If you have parties here with the grown-ups, isn't it fair that I have a party with some friends from school?"
"Well... I don't know..." Regina paused thoughtfully.
"She makes a good point, Ms. Mills," Mal added. "I'll even come over to help make sure that it goes alright. You won't be here and maybe Evie can have a fun Saturday night. Whatya say?"
"...Well, I suppose you could since I'll be out of the house-" Regina started to say.
"YES!" Mal and Evie soon cheered in excitement.
"BUT!" Regina soon continued, sharply saying that to get their attention. "Evie, you have to let your little brother come to the party and if any of your guests have younger brothers and sisters, they should come too so that he can have his own party."
"...Okay, Mom," Evie soon nodded. "That's fair."
"Yeah, Henry can come too and have his own party," Mal added. "It'll be lots of fun for all of us and I promise that everything will be intact."
"Oh, I sure hope so," Regina replied. "Also, Evie, if you need absolutely anything, call Graham. He'll be right over in a flash, you know that."
"Yes, Mom," Evie nodded. "I won't let you down."
"And neither will I." Mal added.
"I sure hope not," Regina replied with a small smile. "This is going to be an interesting weekend, I can tell."
"Oh, it sure is." Mal nodded as she soon texted Uma to let her know that the party deal was now set in motion.
It was now all up to fate and one had to wonder how the house party was going to be settled and what Uma had planned for it. There was also the matter of the big game against The James Barrie Pirates. How will that play out and what will happen for our plucky little Wendy Darling and her crush? Keep reading and find out more next time in Rotten to the Core.