Chapter 5 - So This Is Love

Dante was looking forward to school for the first time in his life. Today, he had Phys Ed, the only class he shared with Aziz. This was his first serious crush, and he wanted to make something of it.

"Hey, big guy, how are you?" The flame-headed boy asked, getting close to the prince. "Do you play an instrument? Because I think the two of us could make some sweet music together~" Dante winked, not so subtly reaching for the Agraban boy's backside.

Aziz laughed, which made Dante frown. "That was awful, man." He said, trying to keep up with the rest of the class as they jogged.

"I've got a million more where that came from." Dante replied, completely serious. He was a flirt, but truth be told, had never actually been on a date. Mostly he just threw a few cheesy one liners at whatever guy he liked, and usually didn't get a response back.

"You don't need to use pick up lines with me." Aziz said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I already like you."

"Really?" Dante stopped dead in his tracks, his fire changing to a deep scarlet color. "I like you too~" He ran forward and grabbed the handsome prince's assets.

"Woah woah woah!" Aziz blushed and moved Dante's hand. "Slow down, sparky, we haven't even had a date yet." He laughed nervously and stopped running so he could talk to the demigod directly.

"I get that you like me, and I... uh... appreciate the attention, but that's not how I want to do things." Aziz explained. "I want to take things slow. Get to know you first. Understand?"

Dante's fire died down. He nodded, not wanting to ruin his chances with the handsome Arabian. "My bad. I'm just used to grabbing stuff before someone else can take it from me, I guess." He scratched his neck nervously.

Aziz smiled and kissed Dante on the cheek. "Then let me show you how to stop and smell the flowers."

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Quinn sighed and looked at the gorgeous prince in front of her. He had sparkling blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was exactly what Quinn had been expecting to see when she came to Auradon. She was in the middle of Home Ec, and leaning on her desk, ignoring the cake she had been decorating.

"See something you like? Or are you just window shopping?" Amyra teased, poking the Wonderland princess to get her attention. Quinn blushed and stood up straight, fixing her hair and going back to her assignment.

"Who's that?" She asked, gesturing to the boy she'd been ogling. He was checking out his reflection in the oven's glass, while his pastries cooked.

"Chad Charming. Cinderella's son." Amyra explained, rolling her eyes. "Sure, he's nice to look at, but there's nothing up there, you know what I mean?" She had already finished with her work, and had a large plate of baklava on her desk.

Quinn stopped listening after she heard "Cinderella". "So he is a prince!" She squeed, clasping her hands together. That's what she had come to Auradon for, what her mother had always told her she needed. A prince.

"I can talk to him, if you want." Amyra offered, looking a little disappointed. "I know pretty much everybody in school, so-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Quinn had dropped a tube of lipstick on the floor and was pretending to search for it desperately. Even though it was clearly right next to Chad's foot. "Oh no, I lost my lipstick!" She cried, her acting so bad it made Amyra cringe.

Chad noticed her after a few minutes had passed, and looked down. "Huh? Oh, here you go." He reached down and picked up the lipstick, handing it to her. He then promptly went back to admiring himself.

Quinn got back in her seat and swooned, as if the prince had made some big, romantic gesture. "Isn't he dreamy?" She asked her friend, who remained unimpressed.

"He's a real Prince Charming." Amyra said, completely deadpan.

"Time's up, everyone!" Kronk, the Home Economics teacher, was going around the class to check on the desserts they were supposed to be making. Yzma's former assistant got the job with a letter of recommendation from Emperor Kuzco, who thought this would suit him better. Quinn realized that she had been slacking, and quickly began sticking decorations onto her cake.

"Alright, Miss Heart, what do you have to show us today?" Kronk had very low expectations. He'd already taught a class with Uma, who somehow managed to burn water. "Some tarts, I assume?"

"Actually, it's a cake." Quinn removed the cover from her dessert, and everyone gasped. It was over a foot tall, with sparkly red icing, covered in candy hearts, and topped with an enormous tiara made entirely out of icing. "My mother taught me how to bake as soon as I was old enough to read the recipe book."

Kronk dropped his pen in surprise. "Well, I'm impressed! I guess it's true what they say, it's a mistake to underestimate..."

"A villain?" Quinn smirked. "Don't make it again."

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Dante sat on the grass, strumming his guitar to the tune of some old song he didn't know the name of. Aziz sat next to him, staring dreamily. They were on their first date, relaxing in the woods behind Auradon Prep.

"Can I ask you about your family?" Aziz broke the silence, needing to satisfy his curiosity. Dante stopped playing, but only for a moment. Aziz noticed for the first time that his guitar was in really bad shape. It looked like it was made out of recycled parts, and two of its strings were rubber bands.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead." He shrugged. "There's not much to say. Hades isn't the type to take me out to play catch. He yells and throws stuff and that's about it."

"Do you have any siblings? What about your mom?"

Dante smiled. "I've got a little brother, Hadie. He's..." The demigod struggled to think of the right words. "I care about him, a lot. He's the only person on the Isle I think really deserves to leave."

"My mom is actually from Auradon." Dante's smile faded. "She was banished to the Isle for stealing, I think. She changes the story every time she tells it."

Aziz rolled over and put his arms around Dante, reading the mood. "Did you make that guitar yourself?" He kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, making the demigod's hair burn brighter.

"Yeah! I found a couple broken ones and patched them together!" Dante beamed, looking at his guitar proudly. "I had to bribe two goblins to get a book on how to play, and I taught myself." He played a few more notes, and Aziz recognized the song as "A Whole New World".

"That's my parents' favorite song!" He smiled, suddenly wondering if his boyfriend would look good on a magic carpet. "You should totally meet them some day! They'll love you!"

"I don't know if the king and queen of Agrabah want their son dating a villain." Dante said. Smoke started to come out of his guitar, shaping itself into crude figures of Aladdin and Jasmine. Aziz watched in awe as two more figures, resembling himself and Dante, appeared, holding hands.

The smoke king and queen turned away from the two boys, who dropped to their knees. Aziz threw his hands in the air and made the smoke vanish, not wanting to see what came next. "Hey, don't think like that." He said, standing up and offering Dante a hand. Hades' son bit his lip nervously, his flames dying down.

"I like you, Dante. A lot." The prince of Agrabah smiled, and Dante could feel his heart beating faster. "Let's take this slow. We don't need to rush things." Dante closed his eyes for a second, and took his new boyfriend's hand, letting himself be helped up.

"I like you too, princey."

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Sorry it took so long, everyone. Hope this breather chapter is enough.

Next time, we get back to the plot. Watch out for "I'm Wishing"!