As Aurora finished making dinner, the doorbell rang. She wiped her hands on her apron before taking it off. She quickly tossed the apron into the laundry room and answered the door. Philip greeted her with a smile and a bouquet of assorted pink flowers. Aurora gave him a kiss as she took the flowers. She led him into the kitchen and he sat down at the table while she put the flowers in a vase.
"What's for dinner?" Philip asked.
"Mashed potatoes with chicken and shrimp shish kabobs," Aurora replied setting their plates on the table.
Philip smiled at Aurora as she sat down. "My favorite," he said.
"I know. This is an apology dinner," Aurora said.
"For what?" Philip asked.
"For snapping at you and ignoring you all weekend."
Philip scooped some mashed potatoes into his mouth. "Mmm. Apology accepted."
Aurora laughed. "Thank you."
When Philip was done eating, he set his fork down on his plate. "Aurora, I kind of understand why you got upset the other night, but why did you ignore me all weekend? Were you mad at me?"
"No. I was just mad in general, I guess."
"Babe, I don't really appreciate you taking your anger out on me if you're not actually mad at me," Philip said.
"I wasn't taking my anger out on you. I was just upset and didn't think you'd understand," Aurora said.
"No, I probably wouldn't have. But, I still want you to talk to me when something's bothering you," Philip said. "You made me sad when you ignored me."
"I'm sorry, sweetie. I promise I won't ever do it again." Aurora leaned over and kissed Philip.
Philip entangled his hand in Aurora's hair and held her head in place. She gripped his shirt. Aurora and Philip had never gone farther than kissing, but Aurora loved it. Philip slid his hands down Aurora's back, grabbed her waist and pulled her onto his lap. Aurora straddled him, still amazed at how strong he is. She broke the kiss and ran her fingers through his hair. Philip stared into her eyes for a moment, then pulled her back into another kiss.
XXX
Belle stared at her History text book. The words were starting to blur together. She had already finished taking notes on the chapter they were currently studying, as well as the next three chapters. Her dad was adamant about sticking to her grounding. Belle no longer had her phone or internet privileges and was so bored that she was doing extra homework.
Belle sighed and closed her book. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was glad her dad was working late tonight otherwise he'd be having her do a long list of chores to keep her busy. Belle looked over at her clock. Is eight o'clock too early to go to bed? She asked herself. She decided it was and made her way downstairs to watch TV. Belle didn't usually watch TV, and had no idea what to watch.
Belle had been channel surfing for about a half an hour when there was suddenly a knock on the door. She turned off the TV and opened the door. She was taken completely by surprise to see Adam standing there.
"Adam, what are you doing here?" Belle demanded.
"I needed to see you. Please let me in." There was an urgent desperation in Adam's voice.
"All right, but you can't stay long. I don't know when my dad will be home."
Belle switched on a light as Adam walked in. When he turned to face her, she gasped. He had a black eye, his lip was bleeding and he had a cut on his cheek bone.
"Adam, what happened?" Belle asked.
Adam gave her a half smile. "This is what happens when I stay out all night."
"I'm so sorry." Belle gave Adam a hug, but he winced and pulled away.
Belle took Adam's hand and brought him up to her bathroom. She wet a washcloth and gently dabbed the blood off his lip. He pulled away from her again.
"That hurts," Adam muttered.
"I know, baby, I'm sorry." Belle stroked Adam's cheek with her thumb, then held his head in place as she brought the washcloth back to his lip. "I've missed you," she said as she cleaned up the blood.
"You shouldn't. I think your dad is right, Belle. You shouldn't hang out with me; I'm bad news."
"How are you bad news?"
Adam turned his head away from Belle. "I'm just like my dad."
Belle turned his face back towards her. "You are nothing like your dad. He's a… a beast."
"Belle, you know how my temper gets. Who's to say I'm not going to end up just like him?"
"You won't, Adam. You're a good guy. You would never do something like this to another person," Belle said.
Adam stood up. "I should go."
Adam started walking towards the bathroom door, but Belle cut him off and closed the door.
"Please don't leave like this."
Belle hugged Adam and he winced. She looked up at him.
"Are you okay?" Belle asked.
Adam stepped away from her. "I'm fine."
"Adam, that's the second time you winced in pain when I hugged you," Belle said.
"It's nothing."
Belle slowly reached out and lifted up his shirt. A huge cut ran diagonally across his chest and down to his stomach. Dried blood covered his skin. Belle brought Adam back to the sink. He took off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. She wet the washcloth again and started to wipe up the blood, careful not to touch the cut itself. When he was cleaned up, Belle could see the cut wasn't as deep as she had thought.
"I should clean out your cuts," Belle said.
Adam nodded. Belle grabbed some cotton balls and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide out of the medicine cabinet.
"This might sting a little," Belle told him. She started to dab the cut on his chest and he inhaled sharply through his teeth. Belle bit her lip and tended all of his cuts as quickly as she could.
"Thank you, Belle," Adam said. "But, I still stand by what I said. I don't think it's a good idea for us to be together. I could never forgive myself if I hurt you."
"You won't hurt me," Belle stated. "Unless you break up with me. Losing you would hurt more than any physical pain you could ever inflict on me."
"I'm sorry, Belle." Adam picked up his shirt and turned to walk away again.
Belle grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her. She brought his face down to hers and kissed him with everything she had. Adam kissed her back briefly, but then pulled away.
"Adam, don't leave me because of something that might happen," Belle said.
Adam brushed a strand of Belle's hair behind her ear and ran his finger over her cheek. "If I ever hit you, I want you to leave and-"
"We'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it," Belle said.
XXX
Jasmine ran up Esmeralda's driveway. She rang the doorbell, then immediately started knocking on the door. When Esmeralda answered, Jasmine pulled her into a hug.
"We need to talk," Jasmine told her.
Esmeralda led Jasmine down the hall to her bedroom. Esmeralda plopped down on her bed and Jasmine closed the door behind them.
"I'm the worst best friend ever," Jasmine said, sitting down next Esmeralda. "I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you."
"What do you mean?" Esmeralda asked.
"I just heard that you're bulimic and pregnant with Naveen's baby," Jasmine said.
Esmeralda clasped her hands together and lowered her head. "I'm not pregnant."
"Oh, honey, please don't tell me you're making yourself throw up."
Esmeralda nodded. "Maleficent told me I'm too fat and I have to lose fifteen pounds before she'll continue representing me."
"She's a bitch," Jasmine stated. "But, if you really wanted to lose weight, there are better way to do it."
"I know. Phoebus is going to help me."
"God, I can't believe I didn't notice this. I'm so sorry, Esmeralda," Jasmine said.
"It's all right. No one noticed."
"How did the rumor of you being pregnant get started?" Jasmine asked.
"Cinderella and Snow White heard me throwing up and told everyone it was morning sickness," Esmeralda told her.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Esmeralda said. "You have your own problem to worry about."
"I do?"
Esmeralda nodded. "I heard lunch with your dad didn't go very well."
"How did you hear about that?"
Esmeralda went over to her desk and turned on her computer. Jasmine went over to her and knelt down next to her. Esmeralda went onto youtube and pulled up a video of Jasmine snapping at the ladies at the restaurant. Jasmine watched in horror as the video then continued on to show the conversation she had with her dad afterwards.
"I can't believe someone recorded all of this," Jasmine said. "I hate people."
"At least Aladdin stood up for you," Esmeralda commented.
Jasmine smiled. "Yeah. He's so wonderful."
"Do you think he'll be the one you give yourself to?" Esmeralda asked.
Jasmine took a deep breath and let it out. "We haven't talked about it, but I hope so."
Esmeralda smiled at Jasmine. "I actually remember the night I lost my virginity."
Jasmine laughed. "Finally! Who was it with?"
"Phoebus."
"You're kidding."
Esmeralda shook her head. "I think Phoebus is the one, Jasmine."
Jasmine reached over and squeezed Esmeralda's hand. "I'm so happy for you!"
"I want this for you and Aladdin."
"I'm definitely crazy about him. I love him so much," Jasmine said.
There was a knock on Esmeralda's bedroom door.
"Come in!" Esmeralda called out.
Clopin slowly opened the door and poked his head in. "Hey, Esme, just checkin' on you."
Esmeralda rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."
Jasmine shifted uncomfortably. She had gone to Clopin's junior prom with him the year before. She had almost lost her virginity to him, but changed her mind at the last minute. He got upset with her and things had been awkward between them ever since. Neither of them ever told Esmeralda what almost happened. As far as Jasmine was aware, no one knew but the two of them.
"How are you doing, Jasmine?" Clopin asked.
"Good."
Clopin winked at her, then left. Jasmine pretended not to notice and turned back to Esmeralda.
"Does Clopin know about...?" Jasmine's voice trailed off.
"Yeah. Phoebus said I had to tell someone in my family. My parents don't know."
Jasmine nodded. "I can't believe Clopin found out before I did. Have I been that absent in your life lately?"
"No. I figured you had a lot on your mind with your dad and all, and I didn't want to burden you with anything else," Esmeralda said.
"Esmeralda, you will never be a burden to me. You can always come to me with anything, no matter what's going on with me," Jasmine told her.