Yet another gorgeous day had begun. Beth had already woken up and gotten dressed. She, Mal, Evie, Audrey, Jane, and Lonnie were all supposed to go Christmas shopping today. The others had said that it was best to get the shopping out of the way. Christmas shoppers could be insane. Whatever that was supposed to mean.
"You ready?" Mal asked as she walked into Beth's room. She was wearing a purple plaid coat, black jeans, and a pair of black boots.
"You know it," Beth responded as she went to give her friend, and future sister-in-law, a hug. She was wearing her own blue coat, white jeans, and light brown boots.
After their hug, the two headed to Evie's room, hand in hand.
"There you two are!" Evie screeched as she pulled them both into her room.
"Were we lost?" Mal asked sarcastically as Beth giggled. They moved to sit on Evie's bed.
"I didn't feel lost," Beth added Evie glared playfully at her friends.
"Oh, be quiet," Evie instructed as she pulled two scarves off a mannequin. "Here, I made these just for you two." Evie tossed the emerald green one to Mal and the winter white one to Beth.
"Thanks, E. You ready now? Everyone is waiting for us," Mal commented as she wrapped the scarf around her neck.
"They can wait a few more minutes," Evie stated as she sat in front of her mirror. She started to apply a hint blush. Not that she needed anymore makeup, or any makeup at all. Evie was a natural beauty.
"Good luck telling them that." Beth moved to sit on Evie's perfectly made bed.
"I'll only be a minute. Promise." Evie put down the blush and moved on to her hair.
Mal pulled out her phone and started timing her blue haired friend. Evie rolled her eyes as Mal shrugged. "You said you needed a minute. So, after a minute, all three of us are going to down to join our friends."
"Yes ma'am," Evie answered sarcastically as she brushed through her long blue hair. The timer went off just as Evie finished her last brushstroke.
"Alright, Princess Blueberry, time's up," Mal joked as Evie placed down the brush and stood up.
"Haven't heard that nickname in quite some time. I have to say, I don't miss it," Evie said as she gave herself one last look in the mirror. "Alright. I'm ready." She gave her friends a smile as she grabbed both of their hands and pulled them towards the door and then down the stairs. They were greeted by the rest of their friends at the door.
"E, you know I love you, but you're taking fashionably late to a whole new level," Lonnie stated as she crossed her arms.
Evie put on a pout, "Oh, Lonnie, it takes time to look this good." Evie flipped her hair as she strutted past the Chinese girl. Lonnie shook her head, but she had a smile on her face.
"Come on ladies, let's not get catty," Someone stated as the girls turned to find out who. They already knew who it was based on their voice, but they turned anyway.
"Babe, you know us better than that. We could never be catty," Lonnie said as she walked towards her new boyfriend. They had only just started dating. The group was ecstatic that the pair had finally come together.
"Unless someone hurts our family," Mal said with a serious face.
"You said it," Evie agreed.
"No one is going to hurt any of you on my watch."
"How sweet of you, Jay." Lonnie placed a kiss on Jay's cheek while he leaned against the doorway.
"So why is it that we can't go with you?" Someone else asked.
"Because we need a girls' day, Carlos," Audrey responded as he, Ben, and Lumiere entered the room.
"And you can't know what we're getting you. That would ruin the surprise!" Jane added as her cheeks turned a soft pink. She glanced in his direction before her eyes darted back down to the floor.
"Your bags, ladies," Lumiere said as he held out three bags. One for each Mal, Beth, and Evie
"Thank you Lumiere," Beth thanked as she accepted her tote bag. Lumiere gave a nod as Mal and Evie accepted theirs.
"Any time, your highness."
"Lumiere, you know I prefer Beth." He gave her another nod and a smile before disappearing down the hall. "Oh! Before I forget, Chris said he was going to drop by to hang out with you guys while we're out."
"Great! I needed another opinion on my invention!" Carlos piped in as Mal rolled her eyes.
"Haven't you already asked all of Auradon about that thing?" Mal sarcastically asked as Carlos blew her a raspberry. "Real mature." The group broke out into a laugh.
"Seriously though," Ben began as the laughter died out. He headed over to his girlfriend and sister. "If you girls need anything, anything at all, give us a call. We'll be there in a heartbeat."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Mal teased as she gently elbowed his side.
Ben gave her a serious look, "Mal…"
"I know, Ben. There's no need to worry. If we need something, we'll call." Mal gave Ben a hug before she headed to Beth's side. "I promise."
"Okay," Ben reluctantly stated as Beth and Mal hooked arms. He smiled. He was glad that his sister and his girlfriend were such good friends. "Be safe."
"We will," Audrey assured her oldest friend and former boyfriend as she took Jane's hand. "But we should really get going. We want to get there before the afternoon rush." Audrey steered her friends towards the door as they all waved goodbye to the boys.
They got into the limo and Jane immediately voiced her doubts. "We are going to be okay, right?" She had never gone out into town with so many princesses and famous people before. Audrey, Beth, and Evie being princesses, Mal being Ben's girlfriend and future lady of the court, and Lonnie's parents being war heroes. She was dull compared to them. But that wasn't her main concern. It was more of an afterthought. Her main worry was about the paparazzi swarming them. She just had a bad feeling about today.
"Yeah. Of course, we will be," Lonnie reassured as she gently rubbed Jane's arm. "What makes you think otherwise?"
"It's just, you're all pretty famous. What if reporters find out where we're going?"
"They won't. And if they do, we'll take care of each other," Audrey stated firmly. She had a determined look on her face. "No one should go anywhere alone though. Just in case." The other girls nodded their heads in agreement. That made Jane feel a little better. Knowing that her friends, some of the most popular girls in Auradon, had her back. She liked to believe that she had come a long way from the extremely shy girl that would do anything to make herself prettier. She was still a little self-conscious. Honestly, who isn't? But now that she had her friends, she knew she was beautiful just the way she was. If only she believed in herself.
By the time the group of girls reached the market, it was late morning. The driver dropped them off and drove off to an unknown location. He promised he would be back in a few hours to pick them up. Or whenever they called.
"How about we go to the sports store first? There's bound to be something in there that the boys will like," Audrey suggested as the other girls nodded in agreement.
After a little bit of shopping around, they had gotten Carlos some dog accessories and toys for Dude and a new shield for tourney. They got Ben a small tourney set up for the castle, so that he could still play with his friends every now and then even though he could no longer be on the school's team. For Jay, Lonnie suggested that they get him a fencing sword, so he could practice for the upcoming R.O.A.R. tryouts.
Once they had gotten everything they needed, Mal and Beth decided to break off from the group and head to a shop a little further down. They thought it would be a good opportunity to get some new sewing materials for Evie and some new accessory making materials for Audrey. And maybe even a new journal for Chris; he loved to write. Evie had showed Audrey the wonderful world of jewelry making and she absolutely fell in love with it. The two girls spent a lot of there free time together coming up with new outfit ideas and talking about diverse ways they could style Evie's new outfits. They scoured the racks before they decided on a shimmery blue fabric for Evie, pink jewels for Audrey, and a blue journal with gold accents.
"I think that was a success," Mal commented as they finished paying for their items.
"Yeah," Beth agreed as they headed for the exit. "Let's head back to the others and see how they're doing."
"Good idea."
The two girls left the store and headed back the way they had come. Back to the sports store. They barely made it halfway down the road when a group of reporters came up to them and started asking questions.
"Mal! Are you and the King still official?"
"Is your mother still a lizard?"
"Princess Beth! Are you planning on taking the throne from your brother?"
They had taken the girls by surprise. There were so many questions flying at them that they didn't know which to answer first. The crowd of reporters grew until it became overbearing. The flash from the cameras was blinding. Beth latched onto Mal's arm. They took a few steps back while the reporters continued to crowd around them. They could feel the brick wall behind them, and that's when the panic set in.
"Uh… Yes Ben and I are still together. Yes, my mom is still a lizard. No, Beth isn't planning on taking the throne from Ben." Mal tried her best to answer all the questions that were being thrown her way, but it was clear that she was flustered and uncomfortable with the sudden attention. She didn't know where to look, or who to answer first. Beth, on the other, couldn't keep up, and she stopped trying to. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. To her, the sound was so loud, she was sure that everyone around her could hear it as well. Her breath caught in her throat, making it hard for her to breath. Her palms were getting sweaty and she knew she was shaking when Mal moved her arm from Beth's grip to help comfort and steady the older girl. Mal could see a pop of blue hair in the background and just prayed that they would be rescued soon.
"Are you and Chris planning on getting married after high school?"
"Will there be a double wedding?"
"Are you going to keep the purple hair, Mal?"
"Are the rumors true? Are you pregnant?"
Mal just stood there with her mouth agape. She didn't know how to respond to these ridiculous questions anymore. The reporters were crowding around them and not giving them much room to breathe, or to even think. She was getting more uncomfortable by the minute and she could tell that Beth's breath was becoming shallower. She immediately recognized it as a panic attack. She had had plenty of her own to recognize the symptoms.
Beth could feel the tears forming in the back of her eyes as her vision blurred, and her eyes became glassy. She willed the tears not to fall, especially not in front of these cameras and reporters. She didn't need, or want, the extra attention. Black dots started to dance across her vision. She felt extremely lightheaded. She swore she would have past out if it weren't for the strong arms that steadied her.
"Oh! King Ben! How's that new trade agreement going?"
"Are you planning on bringing more kids over from the Isle?"
"What do have to say about the rumors of a dragon attacking Camelot?"
"Is Mal pregnant with the future heir to Auradon's throne?"
"Prince Christian, are you and Princess Beth getting married in the foreseeable future?"
"Enough! That is enough questions for today!" Ben shouted over the crowd as he moved to stand in front of his girlfriend. Mal held on tightly to Ben's arm. Beth turned and buried her face into Chris's chest. He securely wrapped his arms around her and refuse to let go.
It took a minute, but the reporters finally dispersed with defeated looks on their faces. Audrey, Jane, Lonnie, and Evie immediately pushed aside the stragglers and rushed to their friends' sides. Evie and Lonnie hugged Mal tightly while Audrey and Jane tried to comfort Beth, who was now crying.
"Let's go," Ben instructed as the two boys ushered the group of girls towards the awaiting car.
"Gladly," Chris muttered as he kept his hold on his distraught girlfriend.
Hey guys and gals! Sorry for the update delay. 2018 is off to a crazy start. I hope you all are having a good new year so far.
Anyway, I know it's no longer the winter season, but I don't really care. I'm going to continue o update this story.
Thanks to all of you who followed, favorited, or reviewed. Thanks for just reading. It means a lot. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully, the next one won't take so long. But we'll see.