AN: sorry it's been a while, guys! If you read Punky's Log, then you know there was some real s**t going on in real life. However, I also got writer's blockage on this story after writing this chapter, which I didn't post until finishing the next chapter.

At the rebel table on the other side of the vast room, Madeline Hatter giggled along with Ingrid, Cupid, and the Charmings. Raven shot her friend a confused look and smiled fondly.

"The narrators said something funny?"

"Sorta," Maddie said, "though it's probably not fairy funny for poor Hopper." Raven leaned back to look across the room at the prince.

"Why, is he okay?" Maddie nodded.

"Mm hm! Just a bit behassled about matters of the heart." Raven chuckled.

"Briar rejected him again?" Maddie cocked her head.

"No, I don't think so..." Maddie listened as the narrator described Ingrid's friendly interactions with her four table mates in a lovely and fascinatingly descriptive way. Maddie giggled. "Oh come on narrator, no one likes a braggart." Maddie wagged her finger in joking disapproval as she smiled up at the disembodied voice. Maddie turned to Greta.

"Sooo, does 'Greta' have a boyfriend back home?" Greta choked on her grape juice.

"What? No, definitely not. All the guys back home, ah...weren't her biggest fans," Greta said, wondering how she could explain tactfully that the idiots back home were too afraid that Ingrid would try to eat them. Maddie nodded with a mischievous smirk.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that's not a problem here." Greta's brow furrowed and she turned towards the sound of Ingrid's laughter. The other rebels all leaned at odd angles to see past their friends and watched as Hopper turned back into a frog. Maddie's eyebrows rose. "Wow, he's already turned into a frog three times now." Are you counting the time when Ingrid hugged him? "Oh, right! Four then." Cerise's eyebrow raised.

"Really? That's a lot even for him, and he has his foot in his mouth half the time." Across the room, Ingrid picked up the frog prince and kissed him, this time on his cheek. Greta awkwardly climbed out of the sandwich of rebel students, fuming.

"That's it, I'm having frog legs for dinner." If Hunter had sat with the rebels he likely would have thrown up or fainted, but seeing as he was having dinner in the enchanted forest, Greta's remark only resulted in an outbreak of queasy discomfort. Isabella quickly stood up and blocked her path.

"Okay, calm down Greta. Hopper has to get kissed to turn human again, it doesn't mean anything!" Greta glared past Belle's daughter at the freckled prince sitting next to her friend.

"I know that," she said through gritted teeth, "that's why I'm mad."

"Um... can you explain that," Cedar asked, "because that is honestly fairy confusing." Greta sighed.

"Look, she's never kissed a guy before." Greta threw her hands into the air. "Hex, she's never even liked a guy that way before! She's never had the chance to!" Greta slumped back down in her seat. "If this messes her up," she said petulantly, "if he messes her up, I just," she sighed. "I just don't want that to happen." Isabella put her hand on Greta's shoulder.

"Well, I don't think there's any reason to worry," she said. "If anything, Hopper's the one likely to get messed up over her, if his track record is anything to go by."

"Besides," Peter added, "If she really needed to get away from him all she'd have to do is get him flustered and walk a flight of stairs." The girls all chuckled, and Isabella shot him a look. "Oh come on, tell me I'm wrong."

After everyone had finished eating their dinner, Ingrid made her way to the dorm room she shared with Greta. When she went inside, her bags were already by her bed and Greta, who had stopped by their room before class, had already set up her side of the room. Greta looked up from her mirror phone when she heard the door open.

"Hey Ingrid," she said, "how was your day?"

"It was pretty good," Ingrid said with a smile. "I made a few new friends, and that's always nice. Y'know, the royals aren't all bad people when you get to know them." She giggled. "Some of 'em are actually pretty funny." Greta glowered at the frozen image on her mirror phone.

"Yeah, sure." Ingrid unzipped a large suitcase and promptly pulled out a gallon-sized sandwich bag stuffed full of candy and placed it on top of her bedside table. "Wow, are you sure there's enough candy in there," Greta asked jokingly. Ingrid gave her bag and appraising look.

"Nope, I'll definitely need to copy some." Her eyes lit up and she turned to Greta. "Oh! If we go to Book End, can I stop by a candy store? I wanna see if the candy here is different from the candy back home." Greta nodded absently and pressed the play button on her phone's screen.

"Today's Mirrorcast topic," Blondie's voice said through the speakers of Greta's phone, "Greta and Hopper: too close for comfort?" Ingrid turned away from her candy bag and ran to see what Greta was watching.

"What?" Ingrid stared in shock as Blondie pulled up pictures of her and Hopper, as well as a video of Daring talking with Cupid about the two of them. Ingrid looked to Greta, who was staring at her, waiting silently for an explanation. Ingrid's cheeks warmed. "You don't actually believe this, do you? You know it's not true, right?" Greta shrugged. Ingrid's eyes went wide and teary, and before Greta could say anything, she ran from the room.

When Ingrid finally stopped running, she found herself on a balcony overlooking the Enchanted forrest. Ingrid sat on the edge, her legs hanging through two gaps between the small pillars holding up the handrail. She pulled the last piece of candy in her pockets, a lollipop, out and replicated it with the green mist of her magic before forlornly sticking one in her mouth. Ingrid stared at the faraway clouds, slowly turning orange as the daylight receded. She wiped her watery eyes with the back of her hand and kicked her feet until Hans knelt beside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Hans put an arm over Ingrid's shoulder and squeezed.

"Blondie made a big stink about me and Hopper being too friendly." Hans nodded, he'd seen the mirrorcast too. "And, um, Ingrid believes it," she said sadly, not comfortable enough to use Greta's real name when referring to her, just in case someone was listening yet again. "I told her it wasn't true, but she still didn't believe me." Ingrid sniffled and replaced her finished lollipop with a new one. "I don't even see why she's mad," Ingrid said with a pout, "Hopper's actually super nice."

"Maybe she's just worried," Hans said, "maybe she thinks that she's gonna loose you to a bunch of kids with crowns."

"But she's my best friend forever after! She wouldn't loose me to a boy, even if I was dating him."

"Well, why don't you go tell her that," He suggested. Ingrid wrung her hands nervously. "Come on, I'll go with you if you want." Ingrid sighed.

"Okay." She pulled her legs out from between the pillars and stood up beside Greta's older brother. Looking at Hans, Ingrid couldn't help wanting an older brother like him. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "You're the best big brother ever." Hans chuckled and hugged her back.

"C'mon, let's go sort this out."