"CALLBACK!" Chad screamed, his voice echoing through the halls of Auradon High. "HOW?"

Calmly, Carlos and Audrey walked over to the distressed teen. Carlos read aloud from the sheet, establishing who would take part in a second round of auditions. "Callback for roles Arnold and Minnie, next Friday, 3:30 P.M," Carlos recited, raising a curious eyebrow at the names. "Chad Charming and Audrey Rose. Mal Fae and Ben Adams. Time is subject to change based on Tourney game and Art Relay Competition."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Chad demanded angrily. "They didn't audition!"

"Maybe they did," Audrey speculated with a careless shrug. "We did leave before everyone else. They probably waited so they didn't have an audience in case they embarrassed themselves."

"That's ridiculous!" Chad snarled bitterly. "I can't believe Fairy Godmother would allow them to do that!"

"What's the matter Chad?" Carlos interrogated with a sarcastic tilt of his head. "Afraid of a little competition?"

Before they could get into a verbal argument, a crowd of students gathered around them to see what the commotion was about. Among the students staring at the list was the notorious Sea Three: Uma, Harry, and Gil.

Seeing the names on the list, Uma raised an impressed eyebrow. "Well, damn," she cursed, much to the other students' dismay. "They actually did it. I didn't think they had it in them."


By lunch-time, the news of Mal and Ben's tryout for the musical spread like a wildfire throughout the entire school. The atmosphere was quite tense as students entered the cafeteria. After the last callback incident, they knew it was a matter of time before something dramatic happened. Almost like it was their attempt to prevent the blow-up, the students sat with their social cliques. Jocks sat with jocks, brainiacs with brainiacs, drama kids with drama kids, etc. Here or there, students sat 'irregular' of their usual spots due to them being in romantic relationships, which meant Evie felt even more out of place when she sat with Doug and his fellow band-mates.

At the head of the drama kids table, Chad conducted an 'emergency' club meeting to discuss the problem. Audrey and Carlos were blatantly ignoring him as Carlos tried helping Audrey study the material she learned a couple hours prior. Innocent Jane sat at the far end, listening to every word of the rant, but keep quiet as usual.

"How dare they audition!" Chad rambled on angrily. "How dare they join without my permission! I already picked out the colors for my dressing room!"

"They don't need your permission," Audrey retorted as she lightly glared at the irritated teen. "I'm the Drama Club President, remember? The club is open to everyone who wants to join. Personally, I'm glad they auditioned. I'm already behind on school-work as it is and them winning the lead roles could help me out."

"How can you say that?" Chad demanded with an incredulous expression on his face. "School work is for losers and freaks!"

"How have you failed your classes for the past three years yet still be in our grade?" Carlos challenged bitterly. "Because your parents pay to have you advanced to the next grade. In reality, you are the loser because you can't do anything for yourself."

"Carlos," Audrey scolded sternly. "What have I told you?"

Sighing softly to once again rid himself of his anger, Carlos adverted his attention back to Chad, warning, "You better be careful of how you speak of Mal. There are a lot of students at this school that will do anything to defend her. She's not someone you want to mess with, especially if parents get involved."

"I'm not afraid of her," Chad boasted with a light scoff. "Under that wig, she's nothing more than a fake."

Those at the table jerked their heads toward the accuser, surprised by the bold claims. "Wig?" Audrey repeated with a snarled nose. "What are you talking about now?"

Chad smirked mischievously, claiming, "How about I show you?"

Ignoring his club-mates protests, Chad dramatically stomped through the cafeteria and down the staircase. All the students stopped to stare at him cautiously, though they managed to hide their surprise when he approached Mal and Uma, who had just entered the cafeteria to get their own lunch trays.

"Mal!" Chad greeted with a fake, eager tone in his voice. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Mal raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Really? What for?"

"To congratulate you on having the guts to audition against me and Audrey," Chad insisted with a stubborn eye-roll. "I mean, there's no way you can possibly win. Audrey and I have been in every school production. How many have you been in?"

"None," Mal admitted with a careless shrug. "But like I told Ben, my family is really big into performing. We should be able to pull off a win without too much trouble."

"Did they teach how to hide your true self?"

Flinching at the question, Mal managed to hide her surprise fairly well as she wondered, "What do you mean? This is my true self."

"You're a terrible liar," Chad accused with a mean glare. "You may have everyone fooled with your hair, but not me."

Before Mal could have a chance to defend herself, Chad reached forward and grabbed at the top of the teen's hair. Those who were watching gasped at the abrasive action, but were pleasantly surprised when the blonde hair lifted off her head—

Revealing purple locks that cascaded down her shoulders.

This time, everyone in the cafeteria had their attention on Mal. Some gasped at the 'sudden' transformation. Others whispered and gossiped about how 'hideous' Mal's real hair was. A few actually laughed at her horrified expression.

But then her prince in shining armor came to her rescue.

After navigating through the crowd of students, Ben suddenly appeared at her side. Taking her hand in his, Ben twirled her around so he could check out her full appearance, meaning her purple hair that conveniently matched her purple dress.

"Beautiful," Ben genuinely complimented. "I can't believe that I have known you for only a week, and yet I love you."

Once again, the crowd of students gasped dramatically at the proclamation. Mal looked just as astonished as everyone else. A faint blush covered her cheeks, making some wonder if she felt the same way about him. Ben, being the polite gentleman that he is, didn't question or comment on her reaction. Instead, he lightly tugged on her hand, almost like he wanted to lead her away from there.

Just as Mal was about to allow herself to be led away, Chad made a grab for Ben's shoulder. "Now hold on a sec!"

Before contact could be made, Ben instinctively took hold of the offender's arm. With little to no effort, Ben lifted the slightly bigger teen up and slammed him down on a nearby cafeteria table, creating a loud BOOM on impact. Chad groaned in pain and attempted to sit up, until someone shoved him back down with their arm.

"Never lay your hands on me again," Ben warned with a hint of a growl in his tone. "Next time, you'll see just how my temper compares to my father."

With one last glare, Ben walked away while once again holding Mal's hand—

Not caring about the repercussions he would face from the staff or his father.


After a few minutes of navigating through fellow students and classmates in the hallway, Mal was a little shocked when she was taken to the school's roof. As they stepped out into the beautiful, sunny day, Mal believed the place to be beautiful, as it was decorated with lush plants grown as hydroponic experiments.

"So, this is your private hideout?" Mal teased, trying to mask her embarrassment from before.

"Thanks to the Science Club," Ben agreed as they sat on the nearby wooden bench. "None of my friends know about it, so it's a perfect place to hide from the crowd."

"It did look like everyone on campus wants to be your friend," Mal pointed out. "It must be tricky being the coach's son."

"I have to practice more because of it," Ben admitted as he sighed in dismay. "I don't know how he'll react when he hears about the singing. I'm the 'Tourney guy' as everyone says; the playmaker dude. Sometimes, I just want be . . . a guy."

"I know how you feel," Mal reassured. "That's why I wore that wig, so people could see me as a girl, not as a freaky art girl."

"I don't see you as that," Ben insisted, smiling kindly. "I see you as a beautiful girl with an amazing artistic ability. I'm glad you finally decided to join the Art Club. Now everyone can see how talented you truly are. Your artwork is definitely one of a kind."

Hesitating for a brief moment, Mal reluctantly revealed, "That's because I see the world differently."

Ben raised a curious eyebrow at the girl. "What do you mean?"

"When I look at someone, I don't just see them," Mal slowly explained, just waiting for the moment he would start to hate her. "I see who they would be in a world meant for kings and queen. For example, you, your father, and this school. With Auradon High, I see it as kingdom called Auradon. Your father is the king because he was the last captain to lead his team to victory in the Tourney championship game. You are the prince, who will only become king when you win a championship game.

"Another example is my parents and friends' parents: they are deemed as criminal, so I see them as villain and us as villain children. My 'view' translates into my artwork. I-I know it makes me sound super weird—"

"No," Ben denied as he shook his head. "It doesn't, and you're not the only one who sees the world like that. My grandfather sees the world like that too. He uses it for his artwork as well and has practically become rich because of it. My parents don't care for it, but I think it's incredible. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to you."

Blushing at his comment, Mal tried changing the subject as she asked, "So, do you really want to do the callbacks? Or are you going to have second thoughts because of your father."

"No way!" Ben denied as his smile grew. "You can call me 'freaky callback boy'."

Mal laughed gleefully at the joke, her smile glowing in pure happiness.

Deciding to take a risk, Ben cautiously raised a hand to the girl's cheeks, caressing the soft skin affectionately. Her smile faltered for a moment, but he continued to push through on his brave act.

"Mal . . ." Ben began as he stared into her magnificent green eyes. "I meant what I said before. I love you. Question is . . . do you love me?"

Eyes going slightly wide for a brief second, Mal sighed in disappointment, confessing, "I . . . don't know what true love feels like."

Smiling almost timidly, he encouraged, "Maybe I can teach you."

Courage flowing through him, Ben leaned forward, ever so gently giving his first kiss to Mal. Mal's eyes widened for a brief second before she completely lost herself in the kiss. She lightly placed a hand on his cheek as well, determined to keep this feeling going as long as possible.

Then the bell rang.

Ben knew that meant they were late, but he didn't care.

He'd take detention every day if it meant he could stay in this moment with his faery princess.


At another part of the school, Audrey was gathering her things for her next class when someone appeared at her locker.

"Hey, Audrey?"

Flinching at hearing her name, Audrey perked up when she noticed the teenager. "Gil!" She greeted with a slightly nervous tone. "Hi! Did you need something?"

"No, I have something for you," Gil corrected. "Uma and Harry told me about someone taking your necklace a couple years ago while you were rehearsing a number. I made you something so that can't happen again."

From behind his back, Gil revealed a metal rose about as large as the palm of his hand. "It's a safe," he explained. "There's a hidden compartment on the bottom. To lock and unlock, you use this . . ." Trailing off for a moment, Gil pulled out an object from his pocket to reveal a key with the design of an intricate rose as well.

"You made all of this?" Audrey wondered incredulously.

"Growing up I had trouble concentrating, so my father thought making things with my hands would help," Gil revealed with a carless shrug. "I'm sorry it took so long to give it to you. I wanted it to be perfect."

"It is," Audrey quickly reassured as she graciously accepted the gift. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Smiling softly, Gil almost timidly informed, "You know, I'm not a singer, but I am a good dancer. If you ever want a new dance partner, I'm available."

"I'll have to take you up on that," Audrey teased. Being a little bold, she stepped on her tip-toes to place a gentle kiss on Gil's cheek. "Thank you again."

Immediately turning her back to him, Audrey hurried to class with a deep blush on her cheeks while Gil stared at her retreating figure, completely awestruck.

Maybe they could be the start of something new.