Chapter 6

Raven's POV

I couldn't believe it! An F?!!! I knew I wasn't doing well in Crownunculus, but I didn't know I could fail it! I leaned over to look at Cedar's paper. A D.

"Better than me!" I whispered in her ear while sneakily showing her my own grade.

"We really need to get help!" Cedar whispered back,

"Well, study hall is hosted by Mrs. Stepmother." Cedar and I both grimaced.

"Definitely not." She said decidedly. Mrs. Stepmother pretty much just hated everyone, making study hall almost as bad as detention.

"So, what do we do?" I asked Cedar. "We can't go on getting such bad grades!" Cedar's wooden mouth cracked into a grin.

"You're sounding so much like Apple!" I poked her arm. She couldn't feel it her since she was made of wood, but I still did poked her anyways.

"Seriously. What are we going to do?!" Cedar tapped her chin with her forefinger a couple times.

"Let's see, we can't ask any teachers because they'll just direct us to study hall...uh...are there any students...OH!" Cedar's eyes lit up. "We could ask Dexter!!!"

"Dexter?" I guess it was worth a shot. Dexter was hexcellent at Crownunculus. Darling once told me it was his best class. "Okay."

"Great! We'll have to ask him in the hallway though because the bell is going to ring in a minute!" I scooped my pens and pencils into my fluffy black pencil bag, grabbed my silver binder and balanced my Crownunculus book on top of my it.

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After lunch, I walked up to Dexter with Cedar at my side. He turned around, and clumsily slammed his locker shut, trapping part of his coat inside. We probably startled him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you Dexter!" He was frantically trying to tug his coat out of his locker.

"What's your locker combo? I'll unlock it for you." Cedar offered.

"Uh..." Dexter's face was as red as Little Riding Hood's hood. He's kind of as red as when I ran into him on Friday. I would assume he blushes a lot because whenever I talk to him he does it.

He handed Cedar a slip of paper. Quickly, Cedar unlocked Dexter's locker and freed him.

"Okay Dexter, now that you are...er...free, can I ask you something?" Dexter's eyes widened and then he looked down at his shoes sheepishly.

"S..sure."

"Well then, Cedar and I wanted to ask you if you would tutor us in Crownunculus. We're both failing, and Darling said it's your best subject so..." I looked up hopefully. Dexter adjusted his glasses.

"Uh...y...yeah o...okay."

"Does lunch period in the...er...library work?" Dexter said, fumbling for his books. Then we all snorted.

"Of course not!" Cedar said, smiling. "The step librarians....I'm guessing you overlooked them." Dexter nervously adjusted his crown. He looked uncomfortable. He probably never got this much attention from any girl, except maybe Darling. But she's his sister, so she probably doesn't count.

Since he looked so awkward, I decided we should probably end this conversation soon. Just as I was about to give a suggestion, Dexter spoke up.

"We...we could go to my dorm. It's fairy close to the...er...Crownunculus classroom." We did have Crownunculus right before lunch.

"Ok, sounds hexcellent!" I said, beaming. "See you then!"

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Cedar and I walked off with Dexter to his dorm room. We were all clutching our Crownunculus books.

When we finally arrived, I was a little surprised by the neatness of Dexter's dorm. I guess I had always thought boys were just plain messy, so the neatness of Dexter's dorm room was shocking. It was clearly divided into two sides. One was mostly blue, gold and gray, while the other was very green, brown and a little silver. It reminded me of my dorm room, and how obvious it was as to whose side was whose. I guess Dexter roomed with Hunter, because of all the camouflage going on in the other side.

"Here." Dexter pulled up 3 chairs the color of tarnished gold. Cedar and I plopped down on the chairs and watched as Dexter pulled over some small tables, one of which must have been Hunter's night stand.

"So, was there...er...anything specific about Crownunculus you need h...help on?" I pulled out my test.

"Could you help hexplain these concepts?" I said, pointing to a couple problems. Dexter looked at Cedar, who also nodded in agreement.

"S....sure, I c...can." I smiled.

"Fablesome!" Dexter blushed a pink that resembled Cupid's hair.

He went on to hexplain the concepts. It was a lot more interesting and easier to understand when Dexter hexplained it. By the end of the tutoring session, I really had been begun to understand the concepts.

"Thanks Dexter! I can't tell a lie; your tutoring is really helpful!" Cedar grinned. He gave her a shy smile.

"Yeah, thanks. I really understand the math more. Same time tomorrow? I'm sure something else will come up in Crownunculus that I won't understand." Dexter flushed redder than a poisoned apple.

"You...you like my tutoring?"

"Of course I do! Darling is so lucky...she has you to help with homework all the time!" Dexter grinned broadly, then nervously shoved his hands in his pocket. His face was so red, it looked inhuman.

"Uh...sure I can probably help you guys again....I mean yes, yes I c..can." He turned to Cedar. "Do you want to come back too?"

"Sure! I definitely need help as well." Dexter ran his hand over his cow lick.

"Well, okay then...same time tomorrow...but won't you want a break?"

"How about Wednesday's we go to regular lunch?" Cedar suggested.

"Sure!" Dexter and I said at the same time. Dexter gave an awkward smile and pushed his glasses up.

"Well, ok then. See you tomorrow!" I smiled and left his dorm. After walking down the hallway for a little, I spoke up.

"What was with Dexter? His face was so red whenever I looked at him! Do you think he's sick?!" I asked. Cedar looked a little thoughtful, then took a deep breath.

"I don't think that's the problem, and you know I can't tell a lie."

"Then maybe his room was too hot?!"

"Raven, are you REALLY that clueless? My goodness...well, you're luckier than most." She waved as she walked into Hexonomics.

"Cedar! Wait!" But she was gone. I stormed off into General Villainry. Why wouldn't Cedar answer me?! I had just asked a simple question!

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Over the weeks, I found my Crownunculus was improving. Dexter really was the best tutor ever!

"We have a test next week!" I said excitedly as I walked into Dexter's dorm. "With your help, this will be the first test I don't get a F on!" Dexter shrugged, his face a red to compete with Apple's lips. Cedar looked at him suspiciously.

"Uh...okay so do do you girls...er...want to review stuff or..."

"Reviewing sounds fine." I said quickly.

"Ok..." He handed us some sample problems. My heart sunk. I was hoping he would continue to talk, although I wasn't sure why. There wasn't much time to think about that though, so I started working on the problems. I flew through them with ease. In about 10 minutes, Cedar and I both handed our worksheets back to Dexter. He checked them both in about 5 minutes.

"Good job! You guys both just...er...missed one part...here, on question 6." He went over our mistake, and I found myself not paying attention to his words, but rather his eyes. I took in every detail, and didn't realize I was staring at him until Cedar poked me with a loud "Ahem."

"Huh? Oh um uh.... do you mind going over that again? It was kind of hard to hear since it's so loud. Yeah...loud."

Cedar have me a weird look. Probably since it's completely quiet in Dexter's room.

"Oh, um...sure," Dexter said. He actually looked kind of hurt because it was so obvious I lied. He must have thought I didn't want to listen to him or something.

Cedar gave me another weird look and just shook her head. We both turned our attention to Dexter while he went over the problem again. I didn't know if it was just me, or if this tutoring session was just getting more awkward.

"D...Do you understand it more now, Raven?...uh..." Dexter's face was tomato red. I gave him a sheepish smile, and without making eye contact said, "Yeah, thanks." I finally looked up, and saw Dexter looking back at me. His blue eyes sparkled, and it was such a shame they had to be covered up with those glasses. But I thought the glasses completed his look, making the Charming prince even more char...

Wait! What was wrong with me? Why would I be thinking this way about Dexter? He was just a friend...just a friend...unfortunately. I shook my head. My own thoughts were confusing me, like a different person had taken over my brain. I looked at the time.

"OH MY FAIRYGODMOTHER!!! Cedar, we'll be late for our next class! Of course, Madam Yaga won't mind...oh what the hex come on!!!" We rushed out the door. Secretly, I was a little glad to be out of that room. I could think more clearly out here- my thoughts were making more sense.

"Raven," Cedar turned to look at me. "What is going on with you? First, you're staring into Dexter's eyes and then you're running out the door like you're scared of him. I just don't understand you. Something is definitely going on!" She opened the Hexonomics door and walked inside.

"Wait, Cedar!" But it was no use. Why was she being so mysterious and vague?! She wasn't making sense. Puzzled, I opened the General Villainy door and walked inside.

When you're late to class, most teachers get upset. But not Madam Yaga. I guess its because I'm a villain, and especially in my case, any "evil" activity should be rewarded. So, I didn't even have to try to sneak to my usual seat in between Ginger Breadhouse and Ingrid Queen, my cousin. She was making little snowflakes under her desk, not at all paying attention.

Ingrid is like me; she doesn't want to be evil. While she looks exactly like her mother, with ice blue hair, snowy white skin and frosty eyes, their hearts and souls are completely different. However, she's quieter about her Rebel status than me. Maybe it's because her parents can actually be an influential part of her life, and reprimand her for going off script, or maybe she just isn't as confident. I have no idea, but I still love her!

"What's the lesson for today?" I whispered in Ingrid's pale ear.

"Evil Potions and How to Use Them." She whispered back in her fairytastic slightly Norwegian accent.

"Ok. Any hint that we might be tested on this?"

'Everything we learn is on the test, but this sounds exactly like pages 34-40 in our hextbook.." She whispered back.

I leaned back in my chair. If I could just read up on what was taught in class that day, I felt no real need to pay attention. None of this evil stuff mattered to me, not now that I wouldn't have to use it.

I thought about Cedar, and her mysterious words. Why wouldn't she give me answers? She seemed to know what was going on with me, but she wouldn't say. Well, if she knows something about me that I don't, then I deserved to know!

And then there was Dexter. What was wrong with me when I was near him? This didn't make any sense. I could think clearly out here, but when Dexter was tutoring us, I couldn't even pay attention! I honestly had no idea what was wrong. Maybe I could somehow get the answer out of Cedar. I was determined to try.

Dexter's POV

"Ok, see you later Dexter!" Hunter called down the hallway as he left to go to his locker.

I waved, and put in my locker combo. I opened it up and a paper fell out. I snatched it up, and looking at it realized that it was love advice from Cupid about Raven! I must have stuffed it in some careless corner. I started reading it again, for what must have been the umpteenth time, when I saw Raven and Cedar walking in my direction. I quickly stuffed the paper back inside my locker, and closed it, accidentally capturing part of my coat!

"How embarrassing!" I thought as I tried in vain to tug it out. My face felt hot and sweaty, and was no doubt redder than a rose.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you Dexter!" Raven said, approaching me. Her beautiful black and violet hair was swept into a ponytail, and she looked absolutely spellbinding in her periwinkle dress and silver sandals. I tried even harder to yank my coat out.

"What's your locker combo? I'll unlock it for you." Cedar was by Raven now. I was relieved. I fished a paper with my combo on it out of my pocket and gave it to her. .

Finally, I was released. "Okay Dexter, now that you are...er...free, can I ask you something?" Raven said. My eyes widened. What did she want? If she asked me out on a date, I don't know what I would do. "Dexter, that's silly." I thought. "Why would she be asking you out on a date?!"

"S..sure." I said quietly, looking down at my navy sneakers.

"Well then, Cedar and I wanted to ask you if you would tutor us in Crownunculus. We're both failing, and Darling said it's your best subject so..." Was she serious? She wanted me to tutor her?! I smiled inside. Raven was actually asking me for help?!!!

"Uh...y...yeah o...okay." While I guess I didn't sound hexcited, inside I was hexstatic!

"Does lunch period in the...er...library work?" I asked them. To my horror, they both giggled. What had I said? The happy feeling left and I was back to being as nervous as ever.

"Of course not!" Cedar said, smiling. "The step librarians....I'm guessing you overlooked them." Of course I had goofed up. I fixed my crown. I just wanted to finalize this decision and go to Advanced Wooing. While I HATE that class, I just wanted to get out of there.

Well, where could we meet then? I didn't really want to go to Raven's dorm and I couldn't think of any classrooms that would be empty. But...maybe...

"We...we could go to my dorm. It's fairy close to the...er...Crownunculus classroom."

"Ok, sounds hexcellent!" Raven said, with a big smile on her perfect face. "See you then!"

Finally, the conversation was over! I rushed off to Advanced Wooing.

"Dexter, you are late." Professor Knightly said, his tone full of disappointment. "You are never late. In fact, this is, if I am not mistaken, your very first tardy in your entire school life!" Every single boy in the class stared at me, even Daring.

"Sorry...sir." I said quickly as I sat down next to Daring.

"What's wrong, little brother? Tardy..tsk tsk. Mother will not be happy."

"Sorry."

Professor Knightly droned on and on about a prince's personal charm and how to find it. I didn't pay any attention. I had already tried to find my personal charm several times. Nothing had ever worked.

Instead of paying attention to the lesson, I thought about how I would tutor Raven and Cedar. This was going to be a tough one, seeing as I always get so tongue-tied around Raven. How was I supposed to teach a lesson if I kept jumbling up my words?! Raven and Cedar would be even worse at Crownunculus after my help.

After thinking about several options on how to sound like a normal person (writing a script for the lesson, taking off my glasses so I couldn't see Raven), I decided I would just look at Cedar pretty much the whole time. It would be a LOT easier to talk normally if I kind of pretended Raven wasn't there.

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As I walked to my dorm room after Hero Training, my head was a jumble of thoughts. This was really my first time working almost one on one with Raven without the whole class around.

I sat down on my bed and rubbed my forehead. Hunter's side of the room was a MESS! I couldn't let Raven and Cedar see this. Raven would be here in 5 minutes!!! I quickly grabbed my mirror phone and hexted Darling about my dilemma. In about 2 seconds I got a hext saying she'd be there in a flash.

Darling knows EVERY secret passageway in the school. Why I have no idea, but I didn't think about it too much as the stakes were rather high. Darling suddenly appeared in my doorway.

"Close your eyes. Cedar and Raven are right down the hallway." I shut them tight, knowing exactly what was going to happen.

All Charmings have a special touch, useful for wooing (or in Darling's case flirting). I haven't found my touch yet, but Darling has, and it's hextremely useful. She flips her hair and time slows down. However, if you don't want to be impacted by the spell, you have to close your eyes.

"Okay, you can open them. I flipped my hair ten times so we have exactly half an hour until they get here."

"Thanks so much." Darling quickly sang for some birds (something she hates to do, but it was necessary) and they helped us clean up the room. Everything was spick and span with 5 minutes to spare.

"Ok, well I'm going to get back to the lunch room. I'm absolutely starving, and Ginger made delicious hot cross buns!!!" And with that she ran out the door.

Raven and Cedar walked in and I realized we had nowhere to sit! Frantically looking around the room, I decided to grab a couple small tables and some chairs.

"Here." They both sat down. I looked over in Cedar's direction.

"So, was there...er...anything specific about Crownunculus you need h...help on?" Darn my stuttering! I heard Raven pull out her test.

"Could you help hexplain these concepts?" Oh hex, I was going to have to look in her direction. I looked at the problems. Thankfully, they were rather easy concepts so it wouldn't be too hard. After glancing at them, I looked back at Cedar, who nodded.

"S....sure, I c...can." I looked at her. Raven smiled, and I blushed. This was not at all easy.

"Fablesome!" Raven said.

As I hexplained how to solve the problems, I found that it became rather easy. What I needed to say was almost like a script. I knew what needed to be said, so it was much easier to speak clearly without stumbling. If only everything else was like that.

After the lesson, Cedar said with a big smile, "Thanks Dexter! I can't tell a lie; your tutoring is really helpful!" I gave her a small smile back.

"Yeah, thanks. I really understand the math more. Same time tomorrow? I'm sure something else will come up in Crownunculus that I won't understand." I was probably blushing apple red now. Raven wanted to come back?!

"You...you like my tutoring?"

"Of course I do! Darling is so lucky...she has you to help with homework all the time!" I smiled really big. Raven was complimenting me!!!! But then I realized what I was doing, and quickly stopped. I shoved my hands in my pockets. So awkward.

"Uh...sure I can probably help you guys again....I mean yes, yes I c..can." I looked at Cedar. "Do you want to come back too?"

"Sure! I definitely need help as well." She said. I ran my head over my head. Phew! I wouldn't be alone with Raven.

"Well, okay then...same time tomorrow...but won't you want a break?" I would definitely need one.

"How about Wednesday's we go to regular lunch?" Cedar piped up.

"Sure!" I said in unison with Raven. I smiled then pushed my glasses up.

"Well, ok then. See you tomorrow!" And they left. I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest. At least I knew I wasn't terrible at tutoring.

But I stuttered, blushed and obviously showed that I have a HUGE crush on Raven!!! What if she thought I was weird, or creepy for liking the destined Evilest One of All?! Wait, since she didn't sign is she still destined to be...argh! Obviously not the best with words.

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Our Crownunculus test was coming up, and I felt like a lot of pressure was forced upon me. I knew I would succeed on the test, but what if Raven and Cedar failed? What if Raven hated me? Then I would never ever be able to ask out....it doesn't matter. It's not like I would be able to anyways. Why is it only Daring who gets all the girls?!

Raven walked in smiling, with Cedar right behind her."We have a test next week! With your help, this will be the first test I don't get a F on!" She sounded so happy. Knowing my face was blushing, and not knowing how to reply, I just shrugged and looked at Cedar. To my horror, she was eyeing me suspiciously. Did she know something?! Oh hex! What could I do?!

I decided I better just get this lesson started. "Uh...okay so do do you girls...er...want to review stuff or..." Great. This was off to a fairytastic start.

"Reviewing sounds fine." Raven said.

"Ok..." At least I had expected this. I handed them two sheets of carefully selected sample problems. While they worked, I pulled out some Geografairy homework. After working on it for 10 minutes or so, they handed the parchment to me to check. They actually did pretty well. Seeing that took a huge weight of my back. Cedar and Raven would definitely NOT fail the test, and I was a successful tutor.

"Good job! You guys both just...er...missed one part...here, on question 6." As I hexplained what they did wrong, I noticed Raven spacing out. Cedar must have noticed too, because she poked Raven with a loud "Ahem."

"Huh? Oh um uh.... do you mind going over that again? It was kind of hard to hear since it's so loud. Yeah...loud." Raven said, her cheeks blushing an elegant rose pink. Cedar looked at her like she was crazy. If Raven spaced out so much, it was no wonder she was failing Crownunculus! But why was she lying? It was fairy quiet in my dorm!

"Oh, um...sure," I said. Something was up. Raven had never acted this way before! Cedar looked at Raven thoughtfully, then shook her head. She definitely knew something was up. But if Cedar had any idea about what was wrong with Raven, she wasn't saying.

I decided I would try again to hexplain why problem 6 was wrong. This time Raven payed more attention. She was probably so embarrassed she could space out. But she still most likely still wasn't soaking up the information.

"D...Do you understand it more now, Raven?...uh..." My face was hot and red. Raven smiled at me shyly, and while looking down at her sparkly silver nails said, "Yeah, thanks." She was blushing that beautiful rose color again. While she looked prettier than any princess ever could be, I still knew something was up. But what?

I was interrupted from my thoughts by Raven's shouting. "OH MY FAIRYGODMOTHER!!! Cedar, we'll be late for our next class! Of course, Madam Yaga won't mind...oh what the hex come on!!!" She sprinted out of my dorm, pulling Cedar behind her. If it was me being pulled out the door by someone, I would have a terrified or angry look on my face. But Cedar just looked thoughtful. She definitely knew so,etching was up, I was sure of it. But whether she had evidence that I had a fairy huge crush on Raven, or if she knew what was causing Raven's odd behavior, she wouldn't say. And at that point, I was too tired to try and find out.

I slowly gathered up my things. I was already late to Princeology, but I didn't care. What was two tardies anyway? Raven hated me.
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Hiiii! We updated......FINALLY! So, what did you think of this chapter? Dexter and Raven are soooooooo cute together!!! Why do you think they're so clueless? What do you think Cedar knows? What was your favorite part? Comment por favor!!! Also, does anyone in our reading audience speak English as well as Spanish really well? It doesn't have to be fluent, but are you pretty good at speaking both languages? If so, message us (in English letting us know and then we'll talk. Thanks for reading!!!
~MissLizzieHearts