Chapter 18: Newfound Love


Later on, long after everything with Maleficent and Travis happened, it seemed like everything was back to normal. The only difference was that there was a new king of Auradon. That new king was Ben. The other boys were high-fiving each other. Trace, meanwhile, was listening to some music on his new phone, that was, until Razelle beckoned him over to her.

"I want your knife," she requested, holding out her hand.

Trace complied with Razelle's soft-spoken demand. She wanted the knife sharpener that came with the knife as well. He was hesitant at first, but he still did it.

"All right, there you go. That's all of it," Trace said as he handed over his knife and knife sharpener to Razelle. "I don't have anything else, I swear."

"Good. Now tell me, are you really going to go through with turning on evil altogether?" Razelle asked.

"I have to, otherwise I'll be dead within a year."

Razelle giggled. "No, I don't think so. I think you're going to be around for a long time."

Trace scrunched his nose and rubbed it as he took a deep breath. "I hope you were never planning on getting back with that sacrificial offering of a stupid ex of yours."

"No way, not after how he treated me," Razelle denied. "Not only that, but that's kind of dumb. I don't care if I am a princess. Chad's not my type of prince. Audrey can have him all to herself." Razelle just then realized what Trace called Chad. "Wait, why did you just call him a sacrificial offering?"

"Because that's exactly what he is. God won't let him in Heaven," Trace replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"So anyway, what about love itself then? You haven't given up on that, have you?"

"No, I'm just… kind of disappointed in it," Razelle said. "I don't know how to explain it."

"What do you mean?" Trace wondered.

"Well, I mean, I saw Mal with Ben, and then I saw Evie with Doug," Razelle explained. "It didn't take long for them to get together. All four of them are lucky. Seriously, they really are."

She continued. "That's like how Evie was telling me something about having to act dumb to get a boyfriend. I didn't buy that for one second. Doug and I helped her out with her chemistry work, and I think she's getting somewhere. I really do. Evie's smarter than she's willing to give herself credit for. I'm telling you, Trace, she and Doug make a good couple. They're like two halves of the same brain."

"And what about Mal and Ben? Are they a good couple, too?" Trace questioned.

"Oh yeah, absolutely," Razelle believed. "I don't know what Mal was talking about. She and Ben have lots of things in common."

"Like?"

"Well, they have great leadership skills, so there's that. They look out for each other and their friends. They even said they hated their middle names. You know, Bertha and Florian?"

Trace laughed. "That's funny. But looking at them, don't you kind of feel bad for yourself?"

Razelle shook her head. "No, not really."

Trace was confused. "You're all alone, though."

"No I'm not."

"But you don't have a special someone."

"Yes I do."

Trace tilted his head. "Who is this guy? What's he like?"

Razelle had to think of a good way to answer Trace's question. "That's a good question. How is this new guy of mine, you ask? What's he like?"

"Yeah, that's what I said," Trace said.

"Well, how should I put this? I'm not sure if he's a prince, but he is one to me. I met him just last month."

"Do I know him?"

"You… might say that," Razelle said with a smirk. "Let's just say he's my type. I'm still not entirely sure what exactly he is, but if he is a prince, he's breaking tradition, because he's definitely not the normal kind, not that there's anything wrong with that, though."

"So then what exactly is he?" Trace asked.

"I'd say he's more of a… noble. Yeah, that's it, a noble, but you'd never know it by his lifestyle," Razelle went on. "His lifestyle is… out there. So yeah, he's a noble, but a dark one."

"A dark noble?"

"That's right. Here's the thing, though. He might be a noble who acts like the scariest and most feared person around, but deep down inside him, he's got a heart of gold, solid and pure. He never proclaims his love for me in public. He feels more like himself when he does it around his friends."

Trace was so confused. He had no idea who Razelle was talking about. She thought he knew exactly who she was talking about. Razelle let him figure out the rest.

"Come on, Trace, I thought you knew this guy. You should know who I'm talking about," Razelle said.

"I don't, though, but whoever this guy of yours is, I'm just going to say this now," Trace verbalized. "If he hurts you in any way, shape, or form, I will not allow him to get away with it. I will snap him like a twig. If he breaks your heart, I am going to break every single one of his bones."

Razelle stopped Trace right there. "Um, about that, I don't think that's possible."

"How's it not possible?"

"Because you are that guy, silly goose!" Razelle divulged.

Trace looked at Razelle in shock. "Wait, don't… don't mess with my head."

"I'm not messing with your head," Razelle promised in a serious tone.

"So… so you're… you're serious?" Trace stammered.

"I'm in love with you, Trace."

That was perhaps the best thing anyone had ever said to Trace. He said it himself that he didn't know he had a heart nor what true love felt like. Trace hated himself for finding out all about it at first. But every time he was with Razelle during that first month in Auradon, he felt a pleasant tingling sensation in his chest.

Trace didn't just not know what love felt like. He didn't even know what it was. But thanks to Razelle, and Ben for helping him listen to what his heart was telling him, Trace knew what love was and what it felt like.

And to think, Audrey and Tina thought he was trying to win Razelle's heart by manipulating her. They were dead wrong. Trace was never trying to win Razelle's heart by manipulating her. He didn't have to. He didn't even try. It was his for the taking.

Razelle gave Trace a long hug. "I'll give love another chance to prove itself true to me," she said.

"And I'm going make loving you count, too," Trace declared, "just like from now on, I'm going to make being good count."

"There you go."

"So what exactly will this mean in the long term?"

"This is your new life, Trace," Razelle said. "You need this now more than ever. To tell you the truth, I need it, too. Ever since I broke up with Chad, I thought I would never find love again."

"Until you met me," Trace said.

"We couldn't have crossed paths at a better time," Razelle said.

"You know something, it's weird, the stupid princess and Tinker Bell's girl tried to say I was manipulating you somehow," Trace pointed out. "You believe that? Me? Manipulating you?"

"Manipulating me? Manipulating me how?" Razelle asked.

"I have no idea. That was all they said to me."

"Ah, what's the first thing they would know about winning hearts? I bet they can't even win at sports," Razelle said as she and Trace laughed about that. "Oh, I was going to say this earlier, but Ben told me you asked him who I was when you first got here. Don't bother denying it. You fell for me right then and there."

"Wait, he told you about that?" Trace said.

"Well yeah, of course he told me. I'm his head royal advisor, remember?" Razelle reminded Trace. "He told me about that shortly after you guys came here. I'm no fool, Trace. I knew what you were trying to do, and by the way, I saw you looking at me."

"Oh, no wonder you giggled," Trace said, feeling a little embarrassed, to which Razelle laughed.

Trace didn't know what to say. Everything changed so much since he and the other four villain kids showed up in Auradon. He just closed his eyes as he and Razelle hugged again, feeling the buttery smoothness of her leather dress, one of her silky soft hands on the back of his neck, and Razelle's equally soft blonde hair brushing against the side of his face. Was this the life Trace always wanted? Was all of this real? Was this really happening?

Was it?

"You don't need to worry about a thing," Razelle said once she let go of Trace. "I'm going to help you be good and turn your life around. Now does that sound like a good plan?"

"Yeah, it actually does," Trace agreed to Razelle's terms.

"Awesome."

"Oh, and Razelle, thank you for letting me prove I'm not a villain."

"Aww, you're welcome, sweetie," Razelle said in return, still keeping Trace's arm wrapped around her shoulders. At first, Trace was falling for Razelle. Now, Razelle was falling for Trace.

Trace and Razelle went over to the others after their talk. The first two to notice that they were holding hands were Jay and Carlos. As usual, they had to tease Trace.

"Hey, look who it is!" Jay trumpeted.

"It's about time you two made it official," Carlos said.

Trace laughed lightly. "Carlos, Jay, boys, I hope you know I'll think of something to get even with both of you for picking on me like you have been," he disclosed. Razelle whispered "uh-oh" and snickered when Trace said that.

"Like what?" Carlos posed with a hint of a smirk.

"I don't know. I'm not sure yet. Give me a little bit, I'll think of something. I wouldn't let your guard down if I were you."

"Yeah, you heard him, guys. Don't let your guard down, or you'll be sorry," Razelle said as a joke to Jay and Carlos, laughing her best evil laugh.

"I'm just kidding. I guess I'm just a likable person," Trace supposed.

"I can see why. It's in your nature to protect your friends," Carlos observed.

"Man, what are you talking about? He's little. What could he protect?" Jay questioned.

"Well, I was thinking I could protect you," Trace supplied as an answer to Jay.

"What are you gonna protect me from, little man?" Jay asked.

"Me."

"Why would you have to protect me from you?"

"Think about it, Jay."

Thinking about it was exactly what Jay did. He didn't really get it, but evidently, Carlos and Razelle did, as they completely lost it in a burst of laughter. They knew despite being roughly the same size as Carlos, Trace could hurt people in the most painful and most unimaginable ways. Trace telling Jay that the one he would protect him from was Trace himself was downright hilarious to them. Mal turned out to be right. Trace was funny, he was smart, he was talented, and he did protect them all. How many villain kids from the Isle Of The Lost were like that?

"So what do you say? You want to step outside with me so we can settle this once and for all?" Trace suggested.

"I don't know, man. I mean, I saw what you did to Chad. I'd sure hate to be in his shoes right now," Jay pointed out, pausing for a moment before deciding he didn't want to fight Trace. "On second thought, I don't think getting in a fight with you would be such a good idea. I think I'm gonna back out for now."

"Wise choice, my friend," Trace said with a smirk.

Thinking that all of them could do something better with their time, Jay, being the kind of individual he was, took it upon himself to get everyone "in the mood", as he put it. He said something about getting a party started, and so Carlos, Trace, Razelle, and everybody else joined him and got together outside.

By the time night came around, everyone was having a good time. Mal was dancing with Ben. Evie was dancing with Doug. Trace and Razelle, meanwhile, weren't dancing at all. They sat out during the first hour and a half of the party. They were just happy that neither left the other's side at any point. All of this love and relationship stuff was new to Trace. Evidently, it was new to Mal, too, who ran over to Evie for help with something she didn't understand all too well.

"E, I need to talk to you," Mal called.

"Sure, M. What's up?" Evie asked.

"Um, Ben just asked me on something called a triple date. What does that mean? Does that involve going on a date three times in a row?"

Overhearing that, Trace and Razelle joined the conversation. It sounded like an interesting topic to them. A triple date? What was that supposed to mean?

"Mal, could you repeat that? I just want to be sure I heard that right, that's all," Trace said.

"Ben was telling me something about taking me on a date," Mal explained. "He didn't say a date or a double date. He said a triple date. I don't know what that is."

"Are you sure that doesn't involve going on three dates in a row, back to back to back?"

Three dates in a row was what Mal kept thinking. She hoped that that wasn't what a triple date meant. Razelle knew what a triple date was, as did Evie. That's why Razelle started laughing. So then Evie had to explain everything.

"A date has just one couple." she said. "A double date has two of them, and a triple date has three or more."

That made much more sense. It was a relief for Mal to know that was all it meant. A triple date had three or more couples going on the same date. Trace was relieved, too, as it meant he wouldn't have to move anything to another day that was already supposed to happen later that month.

Mal let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that sounds less stressful. So if he wants to go on a triple date, then who are the other two couples he wants to bring along?"

Mal and Evie had to think about that one. Aside from Mal and Ben, who else was together? It was known that Evie was with Doug. Then who was that third couple?

"Wait, I think I know who he's talking about now," Evie perceived. "I want to say that he might be talking about Doug and I as one of the other couples."

"Okay. Who's the third?" Mal asked.

Evie suddenly had a bad feeling. "Oh no. I hope he's not talking about Chad and Audrey. You and her being in the same place outside of school? That could get ugly in a hurry."

Evie was about to say something else, but she stopped right there when she saw Ben walk over to her, Mal, Trace, and Razelle.

"Is everything okay over here?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're just trying to figure out who are the other two couples you wanted to bring along for that big triple date you were telling me about a little bit ago," Mal replied.

"And you haven't figured it out yet?"

"No, not yet."

"I'll give you a hint. Evie and Doug are one of them," Ben offered. "The other is..."

Ben leaned down and whispered something into Mal's ear. Her jaw dropped and her eyes got big as she gasped. Ben told her that Trace and Razelle were officially together. He was speaking to the two roughly half an hour earlier and they told them that they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

"No way! " Mal exclaimed. "Trace, is this true? You and Razelle are together?"

"As true as you can get," Trace replied. "You can call us "Trazelle" now."

Evie was just as surprised as Mal when she heard that. All she knew was that Trace had romantic feelings for Razelle. She didn't know about Razelle having romantic feelings for Trace. The three girls squeezed him with tight hugs as they squealed in excitement. After hugging Trace, Mal and Evie kissed him on his cheeks and Razelle kissed him on his forehead, leaving some lipstick and lip gloss behind in all three places. That didn't bother Trace, though.

"I never thought you of all people would go all lover boy on us, Trace," Evie said in excitement.

"What can I say? I am human after all. I mean, I have emotions," Trace spoke in truth.

"Well yeah, that's true," Razelle agreed. "It would be weird if you didn't. Everybody has emotions."

"I don't think that still excuses the fact that here I was thinking the same as Mal," Trace said as he looked over at Ben. "I guess not exactly all of us Isle kids are the sharpest tools in the shed, namely your girlfriend and… me."

Ben laughed at that remark. Mal and Evie did, too, but the former also pretended to be insulted. She was just harmlessly messing with Trace. Razelle, meanwhile, looked at him with a slightly confused look on her face.

"What are you talking about? You're one of the smartest people I know," she said.

"If you were me, Razelle, wouldn't you have thought that a triple date meant three dates in a row?" Trace asked. "One right after another?"

"I guess I would've. I mean, being cut off from the rest of the world on the Isle and all," Razelle admitted.

"Exactly."

That solidified Evie's thoughts. Along with Ben, Razelle, and possibly Doug, she had a lot to teach Mal and Trace about relationships and dating. Neither of them were experts. Luckily for them, though, Evie was.

"One could say that your life is complete now, Trace," Ben supposed. "You're living a better life, you've got all of us here for you, and you've met the girl of your dreams."

"I hope so, because I would sure hate to repeat this past month all over again," Trace said.

"I can't say I blame you. So anyway, you think the girls could get used to living like this? Or to be more precise, do you think Mal and Evie could?"

"Hey, don't look at me. That's up to them to decide, not us guys."

"Everything is up to them to decide."

Ben and Trace laughed, but they quickly stopped when they realized Mal, Evie, and Razelle were shooting them glares. That prompted Ben to say something else.

"Uh, forget I ever said that."

And so the girls nodded.

Trace was getting bored with sitting there with Mal, Evie, Razelle, and Ben doing nothing after a little while. He had an idea. "I'm going to go do something else. Anyone want to join me as I go on a brigade?"

Ben looked over at Mal and Evie. "What's he talking about?" he confusingly asked.

"Oh, that's just Trace's way of saying he's bored and he wants to cause chaos somewhere," Mal explained.

"Trace, we have been over this. No causing chaos after sundown," Razelle reminded him. "Besides, I've got a better idea."

"Aw, man," Trace complained as Razelle dragged him by the hand to dance with her, even though he was protesting against it the whole time. "But I don't even know how to dance."

"Don't worry about that. I've got us covered," Razelle reassured.

Ben chuckled at Trace's unsuccessful attempts to change Razelle's mind. "You know, Mal, I think Trace has changed a lot since he came here with the rest of you," he noted. "He doesn't even act like the same boy anymore."

"I know, right?" Mal nodded in agreement. "He wasn't always like this. Back on the Isle, he did some of the most unpleasant things I've seen anyone do. You thought his dad and grandmother were bad? Trace was even worse than both of them put together."

"How much worse?" Ben asked.

"Well, some people thought he was the Holy Spirit in the form of a human. Others thought he was the Angel Of Death. He was so scary and bizarre. Nobody knew what to make of him. Evie and I met him when he was five. He met Jay and Carlos when he was about ten."

"Well, I'd say from when you first met him to now, Trace has done himself a great deal of progress," Ben thought aloud.

"What can I say? We look out for him. He'd do the same for us." Mal took a long look at Trace as he danced with Razelle. She didn't want to see him get hurt. "I hope Razelle is careful with him. His heart is so fragile."

"She will be," Ben vowed. "She'll be gentle with him. Razelle's one of the nicest and friendliest people around. Trace is safe with her."

Mal sniffled. "I know. It's just… I don't want to see him get hurt. That would crush me."

"I know that. I know Trace has lost a lot, a real lot. But he's in good hands, though. Razelle will be good to him."

There was something about seeing Trace dancing with Razelle that made Mal want to cry her eyes out. She knew life in Auradon was going to change him a lot. It was going to change Trace so much he might look at himself in the mirror one day and not even recognize the face looking back at him. This was just so much for Mal to take in. Trace was Mal's other best friend aside from Evie. Ben held her close to him as she watched on, reassuring her that Trace was going to be just fine with Razelle. At the same time, Mal knew that Razelle leading Trace to goodness was what was best for him.

Speaking of leading, Razelle must have been thinking that Trace was in need of help as the two were trying to dance, because she stepped back from him so she could see his sloppy footwork. All she could do was smile at him when he looked back up at her after looking down at his feet, seeing if he could get any of the dancing right.

"This is just too cute," Razelle giggled.

"I told you I'm not good at this," Trace reminded Razelle.

"Yeah, I can see that now," Razelle noted. "Okay, I'll help you."

Razelle wasn't trying to make fun of Trace's dancing by any means. She didn't exactly think he was bluffing, either. There were certain things Trace was good at, but dancing wasn't one of them. Luckily for him, Razelle was a skilled dancer, so she stepped in to show Trace how to do it right.

At one point, the deejay started playing a slow song, which led to the couples who were on the dance floor dancing slower than before. Trace swore that was deliberate. Razelle told him that it was probably the only slow song on the deejay's playlist.

Trace wasn't sure how what happened next happened, but he suddenly found himself dancing with Mal for some reason. It confused him even more when he saw Ben and Razelle dancing together as well. Trace looked back at Mal to smile at her, only to get a small smile in return.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Trace wondered, trying to figure out why Mal looked a little sad.

"Oh… nothing," Mal lied.

"No, something's wrong. What's going on? If you need to tell me something, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, I promise."

Mal looked down at the floor, trying to keep Trace from seeing her eyes getting wet from tears. Trace had no choice but to give her a hug. That was a little out of the ordinary. Trace didn't give much of anyone a hug. Then he heard Mal starting to cry.

"Mal, come on, whatever it is, just say it already, please?" Trace urged. "If it has something to do with your mother, she'll be okay. She's evil, but she ain't weak."

Mal started looking back up at Trace, her face soaked from her tears. "No, it's not her," she affirmed in between sniffles. "I'm worried. Scared, really."

"About what?"

"About how you're going to adapt to all of this. I've known you for a long time, and if this goes horribly wrong for you, I'll never forgive myself. I don't want to lose you."

"I'll figure it out, Mal, I always do. You said it yourself that you and the others would be right there for me, and I've done it for the rest of you before."

"See, that's the thing, you've always been there for us," Mal pointed out.

"So what's your point?" Trace asked.

"What if you can't?"

"There is no can't in this. I'll always find a way, you know that. Even when I'm miles away, I'll still help you out, one way or another."

Mal smiled. "Thanks, Trace, you're the best. But seriously, I am begging you, for all of our sakes, please be careful. You're one of the most important people in my life. You're like the brother I never knew about."

Trace chuckled. "Okay, that's enough."

"Didn't need to hear that part?" Mal assumed.

"No, not really," Trace said.

Mal lightly laughed. That talk seemed to give her a little more faith. She already had faith in Trace, but she needed even more to believe that she had faith in him. Mal would've been lost if anything happened to Trace. They were a duo like no other. They did it all and they saw it all. While Trace and Mal were having their conversation, Ben and Razelle were having one of their own.

"It sure looks like they're close," Ben observed.

"Definitely," Razelle agreed. "Hard to believe some of the stories the others told me about him when they were all back on the Isle. Evie told me there was this one time when Trace burned someone to death with a blow torch for ratting him out to someone else who was out to get him."

Ben winced, though he thought Trace's method of getting rid of the person was effective. "Well, you know what they say about rats - there's only one way to deal with them."

"Yep, and that's exactly what Trace did," Razelle continued. "When he said he did a lot of bad things over there, he wasn't kidding. He was involved in a lot of bad stuff. When he wasn't doing things with his dad and their motorcycle club, there was one guy he worked with named Zac, one of Yzma's sons."

"I've heard of him. He has a brother named Zevon and a sister named Yzla," Ben informed Razelle. "I stumbled across him when I was deciding which five children from the Isle I was going to give a chance at life here."

"Yeah, him," Razelle continued. "Anyway, I hear he's a crime lord on the Isle. Trace did a lot of work with him until Zac decided he didn't need Trace anymore. So he hired some people to find Trace and kill him."

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but how did that go?" Ben asked, waiting for the not-so-pleasant answer that was to follow.

"It backfired. Before Zac knew it, the people he hired were already dead thanks to Trace," Razelle replied. "I'm telling you, the guy is a lunatic, but I'm drawn to lunatics for some reason. I don't know why, I just am."

Ben just looked at Razelle and laughed. He didn't know she was attracted to crazed maniacs like Trace. Then they were joined by Evie and Doug.

"So what do you think, Razelle?" Evie asked. "How much trouble are we going to have with Mal and Trace?"

"If you mean teaching them about dating and relationships, then I'd say they've got a lot to learn and they're going to give us a hard time about it, too," Razelle believed. "Just so you know, I've never taught anyone that before."

"Neither have I, and if you think we're going to have trouble with them, just imagine how much trouble the Fairy Godmother would have with them. She would have her hands full for sure."

What the four saw happen next was confusing, yet humorous. Ben, Razelle, Evie, and Doug all looked over and saw Mal quickly back away from Trace. They heard her say that he couldn't do something. As a comeback comment, Trace said that he could and he would. Then Mal fled from him, laughing as she did. Trace followed her, and soon he was being followed by Ben, Razelle, Evie, and Doug.

"What was that about?" Razelle asked.

"That was just something they did years ago," Evie elucidated.

"So all of you must really care about him, huh?"

"Oh yeah, we love Trace. We don't know what we would do without him. He's a keeper for sure, Razelle, so don't ever let him go, and don't let his tough guy act fool you, either. Deep inside him, he's a lover, not a fighter, and his life has changed for the better."

"I think all of your lives have changed for the better, Evie," Ben said.

"Yeah, but not like Trace's," Evie pointed out. "You and Razelle saved his life, Ben. I'm so glad you offered him the chance to live here, because he would've been dead by now if you hadn't. All of you really must be pure of heart here - well, except for Audrey and Chad, that is."

That made Ben, Razelle, and Doug laugh. They only laughed because it was true. Nearly all of those from Auradon, save for Chad and Audrey, didn't have hearts of stone. Instead, those said hearts were gold, pure and genuine. Then they all looked over and saw Trace turning Mal around to face him, wrap his arms around her, and pick her up as she playfully smacked at his back.

"Put me down, Trace. Put me down," Mal fake demanded.

"Hey, you said you were totally fine with going this route. Consider the challenge accepted," Trace smirked as Mal laughed. "Seriously, girl, how much fruit did Ben let you eat?"

"How much meat did Razelle let you eat?" Mal asked, faking being angry.

"All right, that's it, you asked for it."

Just then, Razelle stepped in to break them up. "Easy, Mal, I don't want you to beat my boyfriend up," she warned.

"Come on, Razelle, you know we're just having a little fun," Mal reasoned.

"Yeah, we don't get to do this very often, you know that," Trace added. "Face it, after knowing me since last month, you've become attached to me."

"Who wouldn't get attached to you? Princesses?" Razelle assumed. "And by that, I mean the traditional Cinderella-type princess, always drinking tea, applying a lot of makeup, and wearing one of those expensive dresses with far too many petticoats and matching gloves."

"Probably. Besides, why would I want a princess like that when I could always have one like you? And by that, I mean one that drinks soda pop instead of tea, only puts on a lot of makeup for special occasions and not too much of it the rest of the time, and instead of one of those obnoxiously big silk dresses, she opts for one made of leather… like you."

Now that was perhaps the funniest answer Trace ever gave a question. They all started laughing. Trace looked over at Ben and Doug. "Now look what we've done to ourselves. This is exactly why I don't like standing next to them when I answer a question like that."

"Yes, it is quite a predicament," Doug observed.

"We guys just need to learn how to mind our P's and Q's," Ben agreed.

"And be careful what we say around our girls," Trace told him.

"Now, about that triple date," Evie suddenly changed the subject.

Mal and Trace rolled their eyes and groaned. Evie talking about dating was starting to annoy them both. She looked over at them and saw how annoyed they both were.

"Are you two sure you don't have the same birth mother?" Evie asked them.

"I'm 15 and Mal's 16, and I'm pretty sure Mal's mom stopped after her," Trace said. "Need I say more? I don't have magical powers, either. We definitely don't have the same birth mother."

"Are you entirely sure about that?"

"Trust me, E, I'm as sure of Mal and I not having the same birth mother as I am about my eyes being naturally white."

"Uh, your eyes are gray."

"No, they're white. See?" Trace rolled his eyes into the back of his head. "I just make them gray a lot so nobody will think I'm possessed."

"Anything you say, Trace."

Long after the party, everybody went back to their rooms. Trace was sitting on the couch. He was joined by Razelle, who looked at him as he stared into open space in a daze.

"Trace? Trace? Are you okay?" she asked him, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

Trace snapped out of his daze. "Oh. Yeah. I'm okay. I'm just… thinking," he said once he realized Razelle was there.

"Thinking about what?" she asked.

"I feel I may have forgotten about something back on the Isle, and I can't quite place my finger on what it may have been."

Razelle sat down beside Trace. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. It's probably nothing."

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Well, whatever it is, can you just forget about it so we can talk about what we're going to be doing for that big triple date? I still have to get you ready for it."

"Uh, actually, Ben said he was going to help me with that. I mean, if that's okay with you," Trace said. "Nothing personal, Razelle, but if you're going to do anything like what you did to me like when you were helping Evie get Mal ready for her first date with Ben, I think I want to steer clear of that."

"Ah, come on, Trace, just let yourself enjoy it. It's not as bad as you think," Razelle insisted.

"I'll pass. Thanks for the offer, though."

Razelle smirked. "I'm just kidding. I'm not going to make you look all girly and put a bunch of makeup on your face. I mean, really, what kind of girl does that to her boyfriend, and what for? That's just mean."

"Ain't that the truth," Trace agreed.

"Well, whatever you do, just don't get yourself dirty, or in trouble," Razelle instructed.

"But Razelle, you know that kind of stuff is the most fun," Trace argued.

"Trace, I mean it."

"Okay, okay. I won't do anything. I'll stay put."

"Good."

Trace laughed as Razelle left the room. He realized she already beat him, so that meant he would have to behave himself until the triple date, and since she was only kidding about preparing him for it the same way she helped Evie prepare Mal for her first date with Ben, Trace was going to let Razelle get him ready for it the way she would get any other boy ready for a date. She just wanted Trace to look his absolute best for date night.

All the villain kids, Trace included, couldn't believe how lucky they were to be living in Auradon. It was actually better than they all expected, and by the time the midway point of the school year would come around, everyone would start calling Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Trace the VKs, probably because that sounded cooler than "villain kids".

But there was one thing Trace was still trying to figure out. What was it that he completely forgot all about that he left behind on the Isle Of The Lost? What could it have been? He hoped it was nothing important or had something to do with his father's motorcycle club, or his father himself.

Then again, maybe it was nothing.

Maybe.


To Be Continued...