So I have a ton of chapters ready to be posted. Just let me know when you guys want more. :)

Chapter 24

"Hi. Hi." Opal said all smiles as she found him in the band room during lunch. Drac looked up from his BLT with a smile. He was sitting on a bench against the far wall just in case any reporters started peeking through the windows. He had an open bag of chips propped up against his thigh that Opal helped herself to as she took the seat next to him.

"Heard from Aziz that the interviewers got into the school again." She said popping a chip into her mouth.

"I still need to thank him for getting me out of that. I thought I was about to throw up. They had me pinned against the lockers like a fly on a windshield."

She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yeah you do not need that on the cover of the Auradon Times."

He shook his head in agreement, a smile on his lips. "How do you all handle it so well?"

She shrugged, "We ignore it mostly. Unless you're an attention hog like Audrey. But everyone understands that the press stretch the truth, because we've all been there. Arabella once had a gossip column on her tail about if she eats fish or not. Even had a nasty photoshopped image of her going at it on a crab buffet. She didn't let it get to her, she knew her friends knew it was a bunch of bologna. Audrey tried teasing her for it but it didn't work so she backed off. Beignet?" she asked holding out a bag from her lunch pack.

"Thanks."

"Don't worry though. When the reporters swamped Mal and Ben Fairy Godmother sent them packing. She even accused them of trespassing."

"She's tougher then she looks."

"That's why she's headmistress I guess."

He nodded with a smile as they ate.

Opal was going to help him DJ Cotillion so when they finished eating they ended up using the rest of the lunch block to go over what music they were going to play and ran through some beats Opal had downloaded yesterday while Drac was in a meeting.

The normalcy of it all helped him keep his sanity, and as he thought of his stress reliever he couldn't help but think of Mal. Of how her eyes had flashed green earlier, how if she didn't de-stress it could spell big trouble for all of Auradon. Because if her magic went haywire she didn't have the magic lessons to fall back on that he did.

- - LONG LIVE EVIL - -

After his final class of the day Drac headed back to the dorm he shared with Carlos and Jay. Carlos was already there sitting on the bed petting Dude. Drac pulled off his blazer leaving him in his button down which he promptly rolled the sleeves up. Then he sat on his bed and pulled out his laptop. He plugged in his headphones and pulled them over his ears. He started messing with some of the beats and songs he and Opal had been going through and email some tracks to Jane for approval from the committee. Dude jumped up onto Carlos' bed and into the plaid doggie bed that he kept there. Seeing the dog made Drac miss Diaval and he hoped his raven was doing okay on the Isle and wouldn't be too mad at him next time he saw him. Carlos was on his computer too when the door opened and Mal rushed in. Drac could see the flashing from paparazzi cameras as she slammed the door closed behind her and pressed her back to it looking severely overwhelmed.

She quickly locked the door before storming into their room only pausing when she noticed that on the television was a repeat of a news story featuring them. The reporter went on and on about Mal 'counting down the days til the Royal Cotillion, when she will officially become a Lady of the Court.' Only Drac knew that was the opposite of her feelings. With each day the Cotillion drew closer Mal became more stressed knowing that once she was a Lady of the Court her duties and responsibilities would only multiply. And now that she was basically told by Lonnie that she'd already become practically engaged to the King the duties of a Queen would be even greater.

She started pacing the room looking like she was about to have a mental breakdown. She was panting as Drac took off his headphones and got up from the bed. Mal grabbed the remote and pressed the off button, once, twice, three times before the TV actually shut off. Then she slammed the remote down and put her hand to her head before her eyes started to glow green again. Drac paused mid step on his way to her as the glowing lasted longer and her hair started to flutter in a breeze that came from nowhere. When it stopped Carlos raised a hand.

"Whoa. Easy girl."

"You think this is so easy?!" Mal shouted at him and passed Drac to stand by Carlos' bed, "You don't have people taking a photo of you every time you open your mouth to say boo! Not that I could even say boo, but, you know. . . "

"I'm sorry." Carlos muttered and Drac walked up behind his sister and shook his head silently telling Carlos it wasn't his fault. Something about the stress was getting to Mal and that was making her magic go out of control. She hadn't practiced with her powers like Drac had, first with his father, now with Fairy Godmother. He wondered if maybe he should start secretly teaching Mal what Fairy Godmother was teaching him, at least to help keep her magic from spiraling since it was so connected to her emotions.

"Carlos, don't you ever miss screaming at people and making them run away from you?" Mal asked exasperated as Drac sat down on his bed.

"You're thinking of my mother. And I was usually on the other end of that so not really."

Mal turned to Drac looking at him over her shoulder. She held her hands out like 'really?' and he shrugged. Apparently it was only the two of them who were having homesickness. Jay, Carlos, Evie, they all seemed to have the Auradon thing handled. Drac had it down pretty good too but there was still a small piece of him that felt like something was missing. He wasn't at the level Mal was at but he sympathized with her.

"Oh, hey." Carlos said setting his laptop aside, standing up and remembering something, "Did you bring it?"

"Bring what?" Drac asked standing up again to see what Mal was pulling out of the pocket of her dress. But before he got his answer the door creaked open and they all turned to see Chad Charming sneaking in. He shut the door softly and turned, then froze when he saw them all staring at him.

"Hi." He said already sounding guilty, "Just came to use your 3-D printer. Won't be a sec."

"How did you get a key to our room?" Carlos asked.

"Oh I printed it off last time I was in here. Uh, you guys were sleeping." Drac and Carlos exchanged a glance and Drac let his eyes flash green silently asking Carlos if he wanted him to take care of Chad. Carlos shook his head before Chad went on with his excuses, "Look, I just. . . your printer's so much better then mine. And you installed these hacks and everything runs so much smoother then mine –"

"Out!" Carlos pointed to the door, "Now."

"Fine." Chad pouted and turned to the door.

"Chad!" Carlos called making him turn back around.

"What? Hmm?"

"Leave the key." Carlos said, his tone implying the 'duh'.

Chad put the key down on the table before Drac muttered under his breath, "To the floor you lose your grip, bunch right up and make him trip."

The carpet did as he spelled it to and when Chad turned and took one step to the door the carpet made a little bump which he tripped over. Drac snickered as Carlos looked to him looking like he wanted to scold him while Mal was staring at the floor daydreaming again. Chad tried to get up gracefully before he fixed his shirt and stormed out the door.

"Mal?" Carlos said turning to her and she snapped out of her thoughts again to look at him, "My potion?"

"Mmm yeah." She muttered and held up a small red gummy.

"So, this thing will make me say what I really feel to Jane?"

"Yeah. I mean, this is a truth gummy, so. . . take it or leave it." Mal replied.

Carlos smiled, "Perfect."

"Hold on though." Mal said pulling the gummy out of his reach, "Are you sure that you want to take this? Because this is going to make you say the truth, all the time, no matter what. And the only reason that I'm asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I would get myself sent back to the Isle. Which, it's not that that sounds super unappealing but, you know. . . " she trailed off starting to lose it again and Drac rested his hands on her shoulders. She turned and looked at him gratefully and he nodded to her letting her know it was alright. She took a deep breath and turned back to Carlos.

"Yeah, I'll take my chances I guess."

"Okay."

But before Mal could pass him the enchanted candy Dude hopped off the bed and stole it out of her hand.

"Oh! Bad dog!"

"Uck, man that thing was nasty." Dude said and all their jaws dropped. "And you? You just gotta man up. And while you're at it, scratch my butt?"

"You heard him." Mal said partially in shock, "Scratch his butt."

Then she turned and left probably figuring she had enough on her plate without dealing with a talking dog.

"Mal?" Carlos asked, "You're just going to leave me with him?"

Her only response was the door shutting behind her.

"Come on you scratch your own all the time." Dude whined and Carlos turned to Drac.

"Please tell me you can fix this."

He held up a finger, "One minute." Then he turned and headed for his desk and pulled out his notes from his lessons with Fairy Godmother. He flipped through page after page scanning the notes for anything that he could use. Then he dropped the notebook onto the table and flipped through again resting his hands on the wood and looking up at Carlos when he was done. "Nope, I can't fix this."

With that he walked out of the room after his sister. He found her alone in her dorm sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. He made sure the door clicked shut behind him before he approached her.

"Hi mom." He greeted lifting his hand and a puff of black smoke appeared. When it vanished there was a tiny spinning wheel like the one she used to have and he placed it in her tank next to the mini model of their old fridge that read 'Revenge' in colorful magnets. The little lizard craned her head at him in acknowledgement as she sat on her small lime green throne.

He smiled and turned to his sister, but the cheerful expression fell when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Hey." He interrupted whatever negative thoughts she was having and sat beside her against the pillows that were so plush and fluffy they felt wrong. He wrapped his arm around her and almost immediately Mal leaned onto his shoulder. She didn't weep, but she seemed close to it. Drac had never seen her so broken before. On the Isle Mal was always the confident one, smiling wickedly and always had a genius plan when they came across trouble. She was never so shattered.

"I agree with you." He whispered and she turned her head to look at him. He looked down and looked her dead in the eye, "I miss the Isle too."

She sat up and sniffled, regaining her composure.

"I miss running around, jumping on tables, over rooftops. I miss the feeling of power when people fled from me. . . I miss ruling half the Isle."

She licked her lip before she admitted, "I'm not thirsty for power. But. . . "

"There's something about being top dog that feels right."

She nodded, "Freedom. It was never about putting other people down it was just, being on top meant you were free. No one could tell you what to do."

He nodded back sitting up and crossing his legs, "I liked knowing that I would rule the Isle fairly. Try to make everyone happy, as happy as someone could be over there. Get people to work together instead of always being at each others throats trying to one up someone else."

"I wish I could have seen you rule." She said with a tiny smile, "The way you are at meetings. The way people just listen to you, your ideas, like the embargo. The person you grew into when you were on your own is someone just. . . so strong, confident, capable. And I'm so proud of you."

He gave a tiny grin, "Thanks."

From her tank their mom made a noise and they both turned to her and chuckled.

"I think mom agrees." Mal said, "Though I have no idea what she actually said."

He chuckled again before it died down.

"I want the freedom to be myself, but. . . it still feels like I'm holding something back here."

She placed her hand over his, "Me too."

It was quiet for a moment before he let out a long breath through his nose. "It's not good to feel like. . . you need to change who you are, or repress large parts of yourself. And no matter where I am I end up feeling stuck that same way. Not evil enough for the Isle. Not good enough for Auradon. But like you said, having all the power makes you free."

A lightbulb went off in her head, "And with that freedom you can be yourself and no one could say boo about it."

He looked down at his lap, fiddling with his fingers and nodded. Mal brought her hand to his back and rubbed up and down.

"Do you wonder what we'd be doing if we were back on the Isle?" she asked him the same thing she had asked Evie.

"No." he smirked and looked up at her, "I know what I would be doing if we were on the Isle."

She smiled and it looked like the first real smile she'd had all day. "Tell me."

He sighed and leaned back on his hands. "I'd be with my crew, Diego, Freddie, Celia, or CJ. Or in my liar with Diaval. All of them were good for not only company but information. I'd probably be doing my check in right about now with all the shops, walking around the Isle, checking the territory line between my turf and Uma's. Grabbing lunch from someone." He turned sadder, "Uma probably has control of my turf by now. After all that hard work. . ."

She rubbed his back some more, "It wasn't all for nothing. Ruling there gave you the skills your using now as a future lord. It got your way about the embargo. That has to have made life better for them. And harder for Uma to take their loyalty from you."

He smiled at her, "Thanks for making me feel better about it."

"Hey, I owed you. With all the help you've been giving me."

"Anytime." He said and the pair of them sat in the silence, watching their mom in her tank, having their own very odd little family moment.

- - LONG LIVE EVIL - -

Villain kids fled left and right as Harry Hook walked through the alleys toward the docks where Ursula's Fish and Chip Shop was.

"Harry!" one called alerting the others as they either ran or hid from his evil stare and gleeful smile. He pushed people out of the way and snatched things of tables throwing them at others. He made his way to the Chip Shop stealing some fish from a fisherman on the docks and stormed inside. He placed his sword in the bucket of weapons before dropping the fish on Cook's tray as she helped serve customers. She looked at the fish with a questionable look but Harry only sauntered off to the stage where his little sis was sitting at the organ.

She used a single finger to press down keys making long dragged out notes that had no chord or rhythm. Her other hand cupped her cheek as her elbow rested on the side of the keys.

"I've never seen ye so melancholy runt." Harry remarked crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall with a smirk on his face looking for a reaction.

"Buzz off." CJ replied not even sparing a glance at him.

"Really? That's all ye got?"

Her dark lined eyes cast up to him, she pulled her face from her hand and sat up straight, "I'll hook you if ya don't buzz off." she smirked and tilted her head, "How's that?"

Harry scoffed at her sarcasm, staring at her and trying to riddle her out. She only looked back at the organ and drifted her fingers across the cracked keys. Then it occurred to him. "Oh don't tell me this is about the wee dragon."

"Buzz. Off." She said again this time seeming very short on her temper as she kept her eyes down on the instrument. He leaned his arm on one of the pipes sticking out the top as he drew in closer to her.

"He ain't worth yer time runt. He left ye here, while he skipped off ta Auradon with his sister."

CJ's head snapped to him, she smirked, "Don't try and act like you suddenly care about me."

Harry held a hand over his heart like he'd been stabbed there, "Yeh wound me Callista. I may not be a softy but yer my kin, and it's time fer ya ta take yer place."

"And where's that?" she kept smirking, "Beside you and calamari girl?"

"I'm the first mate of her crew, Harriet is first mate ta da. And yer little dream of findin power next to Maleficent's brats is at it's end."

"Drac will come back, just like he did last time." She said turning back to the organ and trying to focus on a real tune this time.

"Not if he found something better." Harry said pulling something out of his red jacket with his hook, "Or someone."

CJ turned, "Where did you get that?"

Drac's purple beanie swung slightly on the hook and when she tried to snatch it Harry held it high out of her reach. But she wasn't going to humiliate herself trying to jump for it. Instead she stood from the bench and crossed her arms, leaning her weight onto one hip.

"What are you trying to play at?"

Harry smirked, "I ain't playing at anything. Only tryin ta get ya ta see the truth. Can't have ya getting all broken hearted and shamin our name can I?"

She scoffed, "Please. What's his hat supposed to do? Make me cry? Hug it and wish it was him?"

Harry's grin widened, "But it's not his."

He turned the hook so the hat fell. CJ caught it and Harry nodded inside. She flipped the edge over and found the tag, sewn in, with gold thread, was the name Aziz. CJ knew the name, Auradon played their news across the Isle too. As if parties and brunch were things VK's actually cared about. But the name made something stir within her. Drac never mentioned making friends in Auradon.

"And they do look cozy together don't they?"

She looked up and saw Harry had turned to the TV over Uma's counter. It was replaying the footage of Mal and King Ben dining with Aladdin and Jasmine. Off to the right closer to the camera was another table where Drac, Jasmine's father and Prince Aziz sat. She'd never noticed before, but the two boys did seem to swap looks with one another every now and then. The footage being played on a loop didn't help.

"Mal abandoned the Isle for her prince. Looks like yer little friend did the same ta you." Harry whispered.

CJ felt rage bubble up inside her. Gripping the beanie in her fist she threw it out the nearest window leaving it to fall into the sea. She pushed past Harry who said and did nothing to stop her as she stormed out of the Chip Shop.