"Hey Abbes!"

That was the first thing Abbey Roe heard when she left the carriage with her magically-lifted bags (courtesy of her powers). She was then pulled into a hug by a taller, slightly tanner girl with bushy orange pigtails and faded blue eyes. The girl wore a strapless orange dress with black tiger stripes on the torso, a dark orange bow on the front, and a green belt around her waist, her shoes being simple black sandals.

And why wasn't Abbey Roe surprised to see this girl? Because it was Millie Enchant, her best friend from the previous school year.

"Glad to see you too, Millie," Abbey Roe said. "How was your summer?"

Millie released her grip on her shorter friend. "Pretty hexellent," she answered. "In fact, I finally figured out a way around my des-"

"Hold on," Abbey Roe interrupted. "If Headmaster Grimm finds out that you're trying to go against the D-word, he might end up expelling you."

"I have no other choice!" Millie exclaimed as the two girls walked towards the school. "My destiny is to watch my true love marry a prettier girl or get eaten by a vicious tiger. I can't let that happen!"

Abbey Roe knew what Millie was talking about. Her mother was the princess from The Lady or the Tiger. The ending was always undecided until it was relived. But Millie didn't want to end up alone like her mother did. She wanted to keep her true love through all means necessary.

"At least you get your true love," Millie added.

"Yeah..." Abbey Roe muttered. "My true love..."

"What is it, Abbes?" Millie asked. "Why are you sad all of a sudden?"

"Just thinking about my school status," Abbey Roe lied. But that was also a problem. She was prettier than a certain someone at school, but no one even knew about her existence.

"Don't worry about the whole popularity thing," Millie said as the two girls entered the school. "And who knows? Maybe everyone will finally recognize you."

"Yeah right," Abbey Roe said with an eye-roll. "Everyone else in this school is too busy gushing over Apple to even pay attention to me."

"It's Apple White!"

"Gorgeous!"

"Can I carry your books?"

"See what I mean?" Abbey Roe asked Millie as the two girls walked over to their dorm room. "Apple is clearly a fake."

"I believe you," Millie said. "She's a smiling perfectionist with no cares about life. And besides, I care more about Raven."

"That's the Evil Queen's daughter," Abbey Roe stated, careful not to say Regina's real name in public.

"Think about it, Abbes," Millie said. "Everyone fears her because they think she's going to become exactly like her mother." She scoffed. "Can you believe how ridiculous that is?"

"It's Raven Queen! Run!"

"She. Is. Evil!"

"Run, everyone!"

The halls were cleared in only a few seconds. "I guess it is ridiculous," Abbey Roe said.

After a while, Abbey Roe and Millie made it to their dorm room. They were roommates last year, and they became close friends because of it. "So, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Abbey Roe said once she locked the doors and windows shut.

"I think I found a loophole in the whole destiny thing," Millie explained. "You know how a lot of versions are told differently?"

"Yeah," Abbey Roe answered. "The Cinderella from the Disney generation had talking mice make her dress. Why do you ask?"

"Well, that History of Evil Spells class I took last year paid off," Millie explained. "I kept the textbook so I could learn some dark magic over the summer. And just a few weeks ago, I discovered how I can rewrite my destiny without getting in trouble with Headmaster Grimm."

"And that is...?" Abbey Roe asked.

"An enchanted dead baby antelope!" Millie squealed in a low whisper. "Before the trial, I'll give the tiger the dead animal. Then once the tiger is finished with his meal, it will permanently turn him into a harmless tiger cub. When it's time for the trial, my true love will open the door and the tiger cub will come out, sparing his life. How cool is that?"

"Sounds wicked-cool to me," Abbey Roe answered. "But doesn't that require an illegal age-regression spell?"

"I have no other choice, Abbes," Millie said. "It's the only way I could make sure I have a happily ever after. And it's not like anything interesting happened to you over the summer."

"Actually Millie...I did," Abbey Roe said. "Do you remember my old friend Regina?"

"Of course I remember," Millie replied. "What did she tell you this time?"

Abbey Roe leaned in closer to her best friend. "Everything we know is a lie," she whispered. "Everyone's parents completely broke their destinies."

"Are you sure?" Millie asked.

"Regina gave me a potion that showed the truth," Abbey Roe answered. "Snow White willing took a bite of that apple to spare James' life, Professor Rumplestilskin was responsible for Ashlynn not growing up without a father, Red Hiding Hood is secretly a werewolf, and Regina was the only one who saw through the craziness of this world. She only tried to take over the other stories to prove a point to everyone else."

Millie gasped. "That means Regina was framed!" she realized. "Think Headmaster Grimm is responsible for it?"

"I'm not sure," Abbey Roe answered. "You know I could never tell the difference between good and evil."

This was actually true. The only reason why Abbey Roe befriended Regina was because she never saw anyone as good or evil. To her, the villains were the heroes from their perspectives. She assumed this was because her mother was initially an angelic princess and her father was once shunned for having no royal blood, making her the daughter of someone 'good' and someone 'evil' and giving her a neutral view on the world.

"Oh, right," Millie said. "You have trouble identifying who's on which side. You think everyone is good and there's no such thing as evil."

"It's not that," Abbey Roe said. "Everyone in this world thinks they're either good or evil based on their predestined actions. And if you take a moment to think about it, I'm technically friends with a villain: you."

"Me?" Millie asked. She snorted a laugh. "Come on, Abbes. I'm not evil!"

"Yet a lot of people think it's wrong to have a court system where the people on trial have a fifty/fifty chance at getting eaten by tigers," Abbey Roe pointed out.

"But I'm not like that," Millie said. "And you know I'm not the only one." She turned on her MirrorPad. "Remember Lizzie?"

"Lizzie Hearts?" Abbey Roe asked. "Of course I remember her. She's Cora's daughter, which technically makes her Raven's aunt. After all, from what I saw thanks to Regina, Cora is her mother."

Millie was silent for a few seconds before she resumed speaking. "Anyway, according to Lizzie's Mirror Blog, she wants to be a nicer Queen of Hearts."

"So you think changing your destiny is an attempt at being nicer than your mother," Abbey Roe concluded.

"Not exactly what I was going for, but close enough," Millie said. "Besides, at least you don't have to worry about getting a happily ever after. You're the daughter of the world's nicest and prettiest queen. You even have a pet bone rat!"

As if on cue, Bubonick scampered on to Abbey Roe's shoulder. "But I'm different from other girls," the shorter girl said as she scratched underneath the bone rat's chin.

"How could you be any different?" Millie asked.

Abbey Roe took a deep breath. "I don't like guys," she admitted.

"Don't be silly, Abbes!" Millie giggled. "How could you not like guys? Everyone knows it's natural for girls to like guys and-"

"Because I'm a lesbian," Abbey Roe interrupted.

Millie paused. "A what?" she asked.

"My parents told me it's a term that describes girls who like other girls," Abbey a Roe explained. "I know it's not normal, but..."

"That's fine by me," Millie reassured. "So what if you like other girls? That doesn't mean you're a different person."

"But it does mean my destiny is to fall in love and marry a guy," Abbey Roe said. At that point, she started to cry. "What am I going to do?"

Millie sensed her friend's discomfort. She hugged Abbey Roe and let her head rest on her shoulder. "There, there," the tanned princes said, patting the sobbing girl's back. "I might like guys, but you're still my best friend. After all, you were the one who comforted me last year."

There was silence for a while, but the two friends didn't mind. They believed they were the only outcasts in school. Abbey Roe for being a neutral-sided lesbian and Millie for wanting to keep her true love. It was them against everyone else in school. Who else was there to trust?