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Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Reuniting Part I
"CJ? You awake?" Someone spoke as they softly knocked on her door.
CJ immediately straightened up in her bed, her messy web of tangled hair clouding her vision. She looked around, eyes still adjusting to the sudden brightness of the morning sun shining through the thin curtains.
Nearly everything in her bedroom was new and unused, just like the room itself had been before she had arrived. It was relatively small, especially compared to the double rooms of the other students, but it didn't bother CJ much since she had it to herself.
Since she came to Auradon with nothing but one set of clothes and a few small items, most other stuff was supplied by the school. She was given new clothes, though CJ made it perfectly clear that she didn't want a dress anywhere near her, all of which were neatly placed in a closet opposite her bed. She had a desk, a coatrack, a cabinet filled with books, a few comfy chairs and even her own television. All of it was second-hand, but still in pristine condition.
Her bed was undoubtedly her favorite place though. After months of scurrying from one uncomfortable sleeping space to another on the isle and yet more time spent on top of a ruined tower in Auradon, this was a major step up.
CJ had only moved in less than a day ago, right after her trial had ended, but already felt safe and at home. It was her first time seeing Auradon prep, the on the isle much maligned school, and all she could say was that she was pleasantly surprised.
Right after arriving, she was given a tour by none other than Fairy Godmother herself, who showed her around the entire grounds and told her of the history of the building. CJ tried to take it all in, but she was happily surprised that she actually found most of the stuff she was told rather interesting. The building itself didn't calm her enthusiasm either. The school was huge, with many classrooms and large halls, hundreds of colorful lockers, a kitchen, a large courtyard and dorms for every student. CJ was particularly amazed by the gym and the S.A.S. arena, both of which she was eager to try out. It was bigger than any building CJ had ever been in, but it still felt homely and carried a friendly atmosphere.
Besides the school, there were the grounds. The gardens were enormous and filled with flowers in colors CJ didn't even know, though most were a bit wilted in the colder weather. The tourney field also sparked her interest, since she counted herself as quite the sports enthusiast. There were forests surrounding the school from practically every side which still counted as the school grounds, meaning she also had access to those.
By the end of the day, CJ was nearly dizzy with exhaustion but still felt extremely happy and grateful that she was allowed to actually come here and 'enjoy her life a little', as Archer had said.
Speaking of Archer, she had only seen him at the end of the day when he had escorted her to her own room. CJ had had the feeling that Archer wanted to talk, but she felt so tired that she had rather rudely slammed the door in his face before practically jumping into her new bed and falling asleep.
Now that she was a bit more awake though, she finally brushed the hair from her face and turned to the door. "W-who is it?" She asked, yawning a little.
"It's me." A voice she recognized as Archer's answered. "I brought breakfast and I need a quick word. Can you open up?"
CJ groaned a little inwardly but did throw her blanket off herself before getting up and shuffling towards the door, which she unlocked as she simultaneously rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Good morning." Archer said with a broad smile once CJ opened the door, still in the messy tank top and shorts that served as her pajamas. Archer, on the other hand, looked fresh and awake with his hair combed and wearing normal clothes. "You look like you had a good night's rest."
"A rest you rudely awakened me from." CJ murmured before yawning again. She raked her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make herself more presentable but immediately froze when she saw the platter in Archer's hands.
"I told you I brought you breakfast." Archer grinned as he let himself into the room and placed the platter on CJ's desk.
"Now this I could get used to." CJ smirked as she reached past Archer and grabbed a piece of toast which she hastily munched up.
"Any plans for today, your first free one in Auradon?" Archer asked, plopping down in one of the chairs in the room.
"Look around, relax a little… Why? You want to join me?" CJ replied with a smile as she picked up a brush and began working on the tangle that was her hair.
"I'd love to, but I have been summoned to the city. We're gonna discuss our tactics regarding the villains today following the information you provided for us. We'll also most likely select a date for when we're gonna investigate the location of the hideout." Archer explained.
"Oh." CJ answered meekly as she finished brushing her hair before starting to braid it.
"I know that it's not ideal, but I won't be here for the larger part of the day." Archer added.
"And I can't come with you?" CJ asked semi-hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. You have been acquitted, but I think it's still too early to invite you into secret meetings." Archer answered.
"Fine, those meetings sound boring anyway." CJ shrugged as she grabbed the platter with breakfast and sat down on the chair next to Archer's.
"You'll be okay, right? I mean, you can handle being here without me?" Archer inquired.
"I'm not a child." CJ sneered as she picked up some small piece of what looked like meat and took a bite. "Oh my god, what is this?" She asked once she took her first bite.
"Bacon." Archer replied with a grin. "Fried pig meat. It's a favorite in Auradon."
"I want more." CJ mumbled as she immediately grabbed the second piece from the platter and hastily chomped it down.
"You can have more. You can get all the food you want from the kitchen." Archer smiled, clearly enjoying seeing CJ this happy. "But you heard me, right? Will you be okay without me here?"
"I'm fine. You know, this place isn't as bad as I'd thought." CJ pointed out, taking a sip from the glass of orange juice Archer had also brought.
"So, anything specific you want to do? Anything catch your eye during the tour yesterday?" Archer went on.
"Oh, I want to try out that, ehm, Swords and Shields thing… I believe it's called that…" CJ said, wiping her mouth.
"They showed you the arena? Well, great. I'm on the team, I can talk to the captain and see if she'll spar with you." Archer offered.
"Wait, you're not the captain? A-and the captain is a girl!?" CJ asked, perplexed.
"Yeah, is that so weird?" Archer retorted, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought you Auradonians were so traditional, not allowing girls to anything violent and so on." CJ shrugged.
"We're transitioning." Archer replied. "The team captain is Lonnie, daughter of Mulan. You fought against her."
"Oh…" CJ sighed. "Do you think she'll hold that against me?"
"Nah, Lonnie's chill most of the time. I'll talk to her before I leave. But come to think of it, you haven't really made friends here yet, have you?" Archer suddenly questioned.
"I've only been here a day, don't pressure me." CJ moped.
"You should walk around a little, meet some new people." Archer suggested.
"I hate new people." CJ whined, placing the empty platter back on her desk.
"What about me?" Archer asked.
"I stand by my statement." CJ teased, getting up and ruffling Archer's hair on the way to her closet.
"I'm serious though." Archer persisted, turning around in his chair to keep looking at CJ. "Look, I still really like you, but I like my friends as well. If you could all connect a little, then, ehm, that'd just be great…"
CJ sighed as she looked through all her new clothes for something to wear for the day. "I realize that… I did promise myself that I'd at least talk to the other villain kids… Just to move past, you know, everything…"
"You okay?" Archer questioned, sounding a little concerned.
"Well, I'm guessing you never had to try to make friends with people you spent the previous years thinking nothing but hateful thoughts of." CJ sneered.
"I can't say I have." Archer nodded. "You need help?"
"I'm a big girl, Archer. You don't need to worry about me." CJ smiled.
"Okay, I trust you." Archer complied as he stood up and looked at his watch. "I'll be heading off soon. I'm gonna go talk to Lonnie real quick about that possible sparring session, after that I need to head to Auradon City for that meeting."
"How long will you be gone?" CJ asked.
"Pff, could be hours. Those Auradon officials like to blabber on about any useless stuff…" Archer lamented.
"Right, well… When you come back, prepare to be astounded by the number of new friends I'll have made." CJ piped up.
"That's the spirit." Archer grinned, raising his hand to high-five CJ.
"You can go, you wouldn't want to be late." CJ advised.
"I'll miss you." Archer pouted as he moved behind CJ, who rolled her eyes in mock annoyance before giggling anyway when she felt Archer place his hands on her shoulders and kiss her softly on her cheek.
"Go! Or I'll throw you out!" CJ threatened.
Archer just smiled in response and picked up the empty platter on his way out before waving one more time as he closed the door behind him.
CJ leaned against her bed post for a minute, letting the conversation she'd had with Archer sink in. Of course, she knew that if she would go to Auradon that she'd have to befriend the people there, but how to go about it was another question entirely.
She knew the other villain kids, though they had been far from friendly towards each other back on the isle. If anything, she could always just start with Freddie and then work her way to the VK's. CJ felt kind of bad that she hadn't talked to Freddie yet since she arrived at Beast Castle with Archer, but she really hoped that the two of them could pretty much just pick up from where they'd left off and become close friends again.
Determined, but slightly apprehensive, CJ eventually put on a thin red sweater and ripped jeans before leaving her room and going out in search of other people. Her room was on the top floor on one of the far sides of the building. CJ wasn't sure if they had intentionally tried to distance her from the other students, or if they just didn't want to overwhelm her or something. She didn't pay this question any more mind and instead walked down the long hallway to her right, in the direction of the courtyard.
About halfway there, just as she stood at the top of the stairs near the front door, she suddenly heard a couple of voices below her. Not wanting to be spotted yet, CJ retreated into the shadows a little and carefully examined who the voices belonged to. To her shock, she saw Jay walk in front of three other boys about her age. They were all wearing matching shirts and carried helmets and sticks under their arms.
"Have you spoken to her yet?" The largest of the boys following Jay asked.
"No, we only saw her for a second when she was taken here after the trial." Jay answered, momentarily stopping to continue the conversation.
"Do you 'want' to speak to her?" Another one of the boys asked, this one with dark hair in a top knot.
"I do." The third boy spoke up with a loud voice. CJ cringed a little as she recognized his face and remembered him to be the boy she had knocked unconscious during the battle in the woods. "Now that we have so graciously allowed her to stay in Auradon, I believe she owes me an apology."
"She knocked you out, big deal!" The dark-haired boy scoffed. "You were at her trial, that girl has been through enough already."
"Still, it wouldn't hurt for her to-" The blonde boy began, before the dark-haired boy cut him off.
"I'm starting to wonder if you are even capable of unselfish thoughts." He went on.
"But what about you, Jay?" The large boy asked.
"I don't know." Jay pondered, leaning on his stick. "I mean, we were all in the same boat at one time. Me, Mal and the VK's… We all came from the isle… We were forgiven, even after we tried to steal the magic wand."
"But you saved the kingdom. Eventually you came up good." The dark-haired boy offered.
"Eventually, but initially we weren't any better than we had been on the isle." Jay contemplated.
"You were given time to adapt, I think she should get some too." The large boy shrugged.
"Do you honestly believe that she could be good? She joined Uma and that crazy skull guy, didn't she?" The blonde boy asked with somewhat of a shiver.
"That's what the trial was for, and the council gave their permission and their blessing." The large boy responded.
"And we as Auradon are supposed to give her a warm welcome." The dark-haired boy added.
"Mal told us that even she made peace with CJ, I never thought that could even be possible." Jay stated. "It'll be weird, but if Mal is giving it a shot, then so will I."
"Do we even have a choice actually? Archer has been practically demanding that we be nice to her and don't put her under too much pressure." The dark-haired boy added.
"He has his reasons." The large boy protested.
"Come on Alex, you and I both know he's completely smitten with her. Did you not see him during the entirety of the trial!? He couldn't keep his eyes off of her!" The dark-haired boy laughed.
CJ retreated a little further back into the shadows, just to make absolutely sure that they wouldn't see her. She was blushing uncontrollably and her heart had started beating faster when she overheard the others speak of her and Archer. To her knowledge, Archer had not spilled the beans on their 'relationship', or whatever they were, to anyone but Mal and the king.
"Well, I have to admit that she's not bad on the eyes." The blonde boy shrugged.
"If Archer did actually fall for her, then she has more to offer than just looks." The large boy said somewhat accusingly.
"Because unlike some of us, Archer isn't that shallow." The dark-haired boy added matter-of-factly.
"Laugh all you want, I'm just speaking my mind." The blonde boy sneered.
"I really wish that you wouldn't sometimes." Jay mocked.
"I'd suggest letting out your frustrations on the tourney field." The large boy interjected before the blonde one could protest.
After some approving mumbling, the four of them finally exited the front door of the school and headed out onto the terrain. CJ kept to her spot for a few more seconds, just to be certain that she was alone. She replayed the conversation she'd just heard over in her head. Of course she would the be the main focus of conversation in and around the school. Hell, her trial was the biggest in Auradonian history if Archer was to be believed. Of course the Auradon kids had their doubts about her and of course the isle kids had trouble looking beyond her past.
Taking a deep breath, CJ eventually left her hiding place and descended the stairs. She didn't follow the others out the front door though and instead headed to the right, in the direction of the courtyard.
The larger part of the school was practically deserted, with neither teachers nor students being anywhere to be seen. Fairy Godmother had explained to her yesterday that the school was momentarily closed following the renovations and the ongoing war against the villains. There were no classes at the moment and a large part of the students had traveled back to their respective homes. Some people, including the villain kids naturally, had opted to stay at Auradon prep though for one reason or another.
As CJ neared the courtyard, she could already distinguish the sound of a few voices. She peered around the corner of one of the open windows and saw a group of some five girls sit around a table. One look and CJ basically saw enough to know that she didn't want anything to do with these girls. They were all wearing frilly dresses in boring shades of blue or pink and seemed almost too bubbly for their own good.
Right when CJ decided that she'd look for Freddie somewhere else, she suddenly saw her on the other side of the courtyard with another girl, heading away from her.
"Crap." CJ thought to herself as she glanced over at the other girls one more time before stepping into the courtyard and heading to the other side in an attempt to intercept Freddie.
"Hey!" A voice called out, halting CJ dead in her tracks.
CJ hesitantly looked back to see all the girls staring at her, some with interest and others with downright disgust or fear.
"You're that girl, right? The one from the trial?" One girl with brown hair and a pink dress asked as she stood up from her seat and approached CJ.
"Yes." CJ answered, straightening up to show that she would not be intimidated.
"How you got out of that predicament, I guess I'll never understand." The girl went on, stopping just in front of CJ, crossing her arms and looking her up and down.
"The success of the Auradon justice system I guess." CJ replied somewhat icily. She was under the impression that this girl did not want to be her friend at all.
"I guess…" The girl mumbled, looking CJ up and down again. "Well, since you'll be staying here, allow me to introduce myself. I am Audrey, daughter of Aurora." She spoke more clearly before holding out her hand with a clearly feigned smile.
CJ grabbed her hand, but only shook it once. "Nice to meet you." She forced out.
"Totes." Audrey replied, her toothy grin still not stretching to her eyes. "And you were… Sorry, I can't remember…"
"CJ Hook, daughter of…" CJ began, before she was interrupted.
"Captain Hook, of course!" Audrey smiled. "Dear god, it must have been horrible to have a maniac like that for a father…"
CJ bit her lip. "He's not 'that' bad…"
"Oh, you poor thing…" Audrey pouted. "It must be tough, I mean, you probably don't know a lot of people here…"
"I know enough of them." CJ shrugged.
"Yes, you obviously know the, ehm, 'other' villain kids, but you weren't really friends as far as I'd heard." Audrey went on, obviously trying to push some of CJ's buttons.
"Things can change." CJ responded, starting to grow more and more annoyed with the girl. "Archer has been really helpful."
This statement immediately wiped the smile off of Audrey's face, and for the first time she seemed to show her genuine annoyance with CJ.
"Ah, yes. The two of you had that little mountain trip, didn't you? It was said that he saw something in you and wanted to get you into Auradon… I don't see it…" Audrey practically hissed, making the girls behind her start giggling.
CJ felt her temper rise and she quickly examined the people in front of her. The girls were with five and they were all taller than her, but she had no doubt that these princesses had never seen as much as a speck of combat. Still, she knew that if she would instigate a fight with some defenseless Auradon girls, that she would be thrown in jail before she knew it.
"Well, Archer did see it, which is what counts." CJ retorted, trying in vain to keep her voice calm.
"Tsk, it's all the same with you villains." Audrey spat, no longer faking her nice-girl act. "You come to our kingdom uninvited and take everything away from us decent people! It was the same with Mal, a-and now you…"
"Are you sure you want to finish that sentence?" A voice from behind CJ spoke up.
CJ spun around and saw Freddie and another girl hastily head in their direction.
"Freddie-" CJ began, but Freddie silenced her with a simple raised finger.
"Sorry, were you saying something, Audrey? Because you may need to think twice before trying to insult the best sword-fighter on the isle." Freddie spat.
Audrey immediately took a step back. "She, ehm… What?"
"That's right, back on the isle we all had a saying, which I'd say is still perfectly applicable here in Auradon; Don't mess with CJ." Freddie ranted.
Audrey notably gulped and looked CJ up and down one final time. "Believe me, I wasn't trying to do anything of the sort…"
"I didn't think so." Freddie grinned.
"You should be careful, Facilier, this wouldn't be the first time a villain came in and stole someone's man." Audrey sneered, still suspiciously eyeing CJ.
"You're talking to a 'villain'." Freddie replied in a cold tone. "We can do a whole lot more than just 'stealing your man'."
"Hmm, come on girls, there's nothing for us here…" Audrey scoffed before her and her fellow princesses turned around and hastily walked off.
"Freddie…" CJ began, but she was again interrupted when Freddie lunged forward and pulled her into a strong hug.
"It's so good to have you here." Freddie spoke, not releasing her from the hug.
"Hey…" CJ mumbled in reply, putting her arms around Freddie as well.
"I-I wanted to visit you, b-but we were told to give you space…" Freddie murmured, not letting go yet.
"I know… I actually came to find you…" CJ replied, squeezing Freddie one more time in her arms before taking a step back. "I-I want to fix things…"
"Fix things?" Freddie exclaimed, looking a little unsure.
"I need to say sorry for the things I did, a-and I hope that you can forgive me…" CJ stammered.
"Oh please, there's nothing to forgive." Freddie waved CJ's words away. "Can I just say that I'm very proud of you for finally coming to your senses and finally finding the way to Auradon all by yourself."
"Well, not all by myself…" CJ mumbled, crossing her arms uncomfortably. "It was more of an accident… But Archer, he, ehm…" She went on, stopping abruptly as she realized what she was about to say.
Judging from the sudden change in the way she looked at her, Freddie was equally uncomfortable in discussing this topic. "Oh yeah, ehm, I talked to him… About you… He said, ehm, things…"
"What things?" CJ asked in a persistent tone.
"Did you actually kiss him!?" Freddie responded, sounding both a little disbelieving and accusing.
"He told you!?" CJ squealed, astounded by the shrillness of her own voice.
"Is it true?" Freddie added, raising her eyebrows.
CJ couldn't see her own face, but she guessed that she must have gone completely red as she processed Freddie's question. "I, ehm… W-we… It… Y-yeah… Yeah, I did…"
Freddie bit her lip, seemingly trying to think of a fitting response to CJ's admission.
"L-look, Freddie… I-I know that, ehm, you and Archer had, ehm, something… B-but I didn't know… I didn't know until after I kissed him… I would have never done anything like that if I had known that you liked him… I-I wouldn't have…" CJ ranted.
"CJ, calm down…" Freddie urged, looking uncomfortably at the other girl still present.
"I'm trying to better myself. Please forgive me Freddie, I'm really sorry…" CJ went on.
"There's nothing to forgive, CJ…" Freddie repeated, a soft smile creeping up on her face.
"R-really? B-but why…" CJ stammered, a little unsure of what to ask.
"There's nothing between me and Archer, really. A-and if he makes you happy, I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I'd get in the way of that?" Freddie contemplated.
"The worst kind of friend." The other girl added, still staring somewhat questioningly at Freddie and CJ.
"Oh, CJ, this is Jordan. Jordan, meet CJ." Freddie quickly introduced the two.
"Nice to meet you." Jordan said as she stuck out her hand. She seemed genuinely nice to CJ, as opposed to Audrey.
"Hi." CJ replied, shaking Jordan's hand before turning back to Freddie. "Sorry, you were saying?"
"I'm happy for you." Freddie smiled. "Archer, well, he's great and if you two are in love then-"
"Woah!" CJ interjected. "W-who said anything about being in love?"
"Aren't you?" Jordan suddenly asked, coming in between Freddie and CJ. "I mean, you're not from here. But Archer is practically famous here for never being in a relationship."
"Yeah, why is that? Are his standards that high?" CJ questioned.
"No one knows, though not for lack of effort." Jordan giggled.
"What?" CJ asked.
"Practically every girl in Auradon has tried to date him at one time or another, but none succeeded." Freddie smirked.
"None, until you." Jordan preened.
"Pff, like I'm that special." CJ scoffed.
"To him you obviously are. He sees how great you are, CJ, that's why he chose you." Freddie replied.
"Freddie, I'm not great. I'm not even sure if, ehm, if we have anything… Not yet anyway…" CJ murmured.
"But you like him, right?" Freddie went on.
CJ shrugged heavily, breaking her own brain to come up with an answer. "Maybe… He helped me… He's, ehm, he's nice…"
"CJ, in all the years we spent on the isle you never once even had a crush on a guy. If you like Archer and he likes you, what's holding you back?" Freddie asked.
"This! Everything!" CJ pointed generally around herself. "You heard those girls, you hear what everyone thinks of me! Archer is, what, a prince, right? How could he ever be seen with me?"
"Nonsense!" Jordan spoke up. "The only ones who can influence what you and him have are you and him. I mean, look at Ben and Mal. No one thought it could work, not even them, but now they're getting married. If you like him, why not go for it?"
"Because CJ never lets herself have anything good." Freddie pointed out.
"Freddie!?" CJ exclaimed.
"It's true. Whenever something good happens to you, you distance yourself because you're afraid everything will get bad and you'll only feel sadder than before." Freddie said matter-of-factly.
"My god, that's terrible…" Jordan mumbled, looking compassionately at CJ.
"That's not true." CJ protested, crossing her arms in a defensive stance.
"CJ, look at me!" Freddie ordered, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Look, either you give you and Archer a chance, or I will step in and push that relationship down your throat!"
"Jesus, Freddie!" CJ exclaimed, looking up at her friend somewhat uncomfortably.
"You give me no choice! Now promise you won't go and sabotage your happiness again." Freddie pleaded.
"Fine! Fine! Yeah, okay…" CJ mumbled, unable to keep a smile off her face.
"Good…" Freddie sighed, grinning as she looked at CJ before pulling her into another hug. "I really missed you…"
"I missed you too." CJ mumbled, putting her arms tighter around Freddie.
"This is really sweet, you guys." Jordan gushed from the sidelines. "But, ehm, Freddie, are we still on?"
"What?" Freddie exclaimed, a little lost in the moment. "Oh yeah! CJ, ehm, you should come along!"
"To where?" CJ asked a little apprehensively.
"Well, we were supposed to meet some others near the tourney field to watch the guys play. That was until we, ehm, ran into you." Jordan explained.
"Some others? Who?" CJ hesitantly inquired.
"The VK's and some others…" Freddie replied. "Would you be okay with that?"
CJ took a careful breath. "Yeah… I think I would… I was actually planning on talking to them today… You know, to clear things up…"
"That's the spirit!" Freddie gleamed. "Come on, I'll show you that they're not bad at all!" She added as she grabbed CJ's hand and began pulling her onto the terrain around the school.
"Those, ehm, 'others'… Are they as bad as that Audrey?" CJ asked, letting Freddie pull her along.
"None are as bad as Audrey. It's just your luck that she was the first person you ran into. Don't pay her any mind, she has never been that fond of us villain kids." Freddie sneered.
"What did she mean about villain kids 'stealing someone's man'?" CJ added.
"Oh yeah, she was Ben's girlfriend until Mal showed up. He actually dumped her when he serenaded Mal in front of the whole school." Jordan jumped in, keeping up with Freddie and CJ.
"Ouch, and she's still not over it?" CJ inquired, failing to keep the amusement out of her voice.
"As Freddie said, don't pay her any mind. Audrey can actually be nice sometimes, but she turns into an entitled brat when things don't go her way." Jordan answered.
"Noted." CJ nodded as she watched the tourney field slowly come into vision.
On the field, there were about ten people running around and chasing a ball with helmets on their heads and sticks in their hands. A group of about four people sat on the bleachers, watching the people on the pitch and occasionally cheering or booing.
"Hey guys!" Freddie enthusiastically called out when she, CJ and Jordan got within hearing range.
The people on the bleachers looked up, and CJ saw their initially broad smiles turn into surprised frowns when they laid eyes on CJ. Only this up close, CJ finally recognized Evie and Carlos.
Beside her, CJ saw Freddie uncomfortably look between her and the people on the bleachers, obviously unsure of what to say.
"Oh, you're her!" A short, dark-haired girl spoke up as she left Carlos' side and hastily approached CJ. "We haven't been properly introduced yet. I'm Jane, daughter of Fairy Godmother."
"Oh…" CJ exclaimed, a little surprised by this girl's perky behavior. "I'm CJ…" She eventually replied, shaking Jane's hand.
"I know, of course I know." Jane smiled. "I followed your trial closely a-and my mother told me all about you after she showed you around yesterday."
"She did, did she?" CJ questioned somewhat uncertain.
"Yeah, and I want you to know that I absolutely won't hold any part of your past or your past decisions against you. You're in Auradon now, where everyone deserves a fresh start." Jane went on, broadly smiling all the while.
"I, ehm… Wow, thanks…" CJ mumbled with a small grin.
"Now that you're here, we should be friends. You could hang out with us, we could even invite you to a girl's night! What are your hobbies? Is there anything you like to do?" Jane ranted.
"I, ehm, I'm not sure about all of that yet…" CJ replied a little uncomfortably.
"Jane…" A boy with glasses spoke up as he came down the bleachers and went to stand next to the girl. "Didn't both Fairy Godmother and Archer tell us to give her some space and let her take her time?"
"Doug!" Freddie hissed, nudging her head at CJ.
"Oh, I'm Doug." Doug hastily said, extending a hand towards CJ.
"CJ." She greeted, finding it more and more difficult to remember all these names.
"I know." Doug smiled with somewhat of a blush appearing on his cheeks. "Oh, I'm Dopey's son, as in Dopey, Doc, Bashful…"
"Bashful, I know him! He was my, ehm, attorney!" CJ said.
"That's right, uncle Bashful chose to dabble in law." Doug acknowledged.
"He's your uncle?" CJ questioned.
"Yes, along with five others. They're quite a well-known group." Doug shrugged. "But I'm glad to see you here. Evie told me all about you after you arrived back here."
"Evie?" CJ muttered, looking up at the blue-haired girl still sitting motionless on the bleachers.
"Yes, my girlfriend. You know her, right?" Doug went on, also looking back at Evie.
If CJ had been drinking anything, this statement would have most likely caused her to spit it all out. Girlfriend!? Did Doug just say that Evie was his girlfriend!? CJ looked him over again with a little more interest. He looked like a stereotypical nerd, somewhat short with glasses and narrow shoulders, definitely not the type she would have thought the usually fashionable and flirtatious Evie to go for.
"Evie is your, ehm, girlfriend?" CJ slowly asked.
"She is." Doug answered, obviously happy with the fact.
"Really?" CJ added, the disbelief obvious in her voice.
"Yes." Doug emphasized, now obviously a little offended.
"How?" CJ went on, still too perplexed by this revelation to pay any mind to how rude she was being.
"That's quite enough." Evie suddenly raised her voice as she appeared behind Doug and placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.
CJ opened her mouth to say something but really couldn't think of anything, so she decided to just remain silent for now. Carlos also joined them, and CJ couldn't help but notice how he took one of Jane's hands in his own.
"Hey…" CJ said after breathing in deeply. Just like her during confrontation with Mal, she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to say in a situation like this.