It was Thursday evening, and Rain found herself head over the bath in her dorm, scrubbing at her head incessantly. Shampoo had gotten into her eyes about ten minutes ago but she was still going, watching with one eye as the red of her hair washed down the drain.

She was having an identity crisis. The solution? Go back to blonde.

Luckily, the Isle hair dye was so old by the time it arrived, Rain didn't have to go and purchase bleach. The dye never lasted long anyway. Especially when not re-applied, and when washed almost daily with proper shampoo and fresh water.

It was her mother who always had a problem with her hair, it was too long, too short, an ugly colour etc. And so Rain kept it a length she liked but coloured it a deep red in an attempt to appease the woman who had once mistook her for Rapunzel when she was sick: Rain had been seven, and Gothel had insisted she sang her to sleep.

In Auradon, Rain could do what she liked. Even if it was breaking her back to wash clarifying shampoo through her roots. Ever since the call with her mother, she felt wrong. There was this rush of anxiety in her stomach that made her want to rip all her hair out and burn the school down.

She settled with removing the red dye.

"Rai- Woah," Rain can hear Ruby enter the bathroom and stop in her tracks "Are you alright there?"

"Yep!" she says overly cheery "Just making a change,"

"Okay..." with that she shuts the door.

Family day approached quickly and Rain had spent nearly an hour getting dressed, whilst Ruby was dressed in a simple blue blouse and pink skirt, paired with her white trainers, Rain had tried hundreds of clothes on and hated them all. She looked in the mirror and all she saw was her mother. But red was her favourite colour...and her hair was bright blonde and it didn't feel right.

Eventually, Evie had turned up (gasping at Rain's hair) and handed her a simple red dress, with a black flower overlay. It was perfect and paired with a few pieces of dainty jewellery, Rain felt better. She would meet Ben's parents today and really she shouldn't care because in a week they'd probably be dead (a sad thought), but still, she was confident, and she felt like her.

She'd watched Evie slip her sleeping potion into her purse before they left together to go meet Mal and the boys, when Rain raised an eyebrow, she'd merely shrugged. Luckily Ruby was none the wiser and had run off early to see her parents. The potion was in a perfume bottle which Mal had used to disguise it as it was to be used at the coronation, a way to knock out the limo driver.

The VK's step out onto the castle balcony just as a select few Auradon kids begin a rendition of 'Be Our Guest'. Ben leads the song and Rain finds herself giggling at how seriously he seemed to be taking it. The song finishes as they step onto the grass, filled with kids and their parents. At a quick glance, Rain can see Ruby happily chatting with Ethan, next to her is a tall man in dark blue dress pants and a loose-fitting white shirt, his wife has blunt brunette hair, dressed in a deep purple, long tulle dress, its sleeves dropped down her shoulders.

Rain didn't need to look twice to recognise them from Ruby's family photos.

"Rain!" Ruby calls out "Come meet my parents,"

"Uh?" she looks to her friends for help who say nothing, equally caught off guard "I'm fine!" she calls back, the family's eyes now on her.

"Rain," Ruby sighs, gesturing fervently with her hands for her to come over, Rain shakes her head, raising her eyebrows to say 'this is not a good idea' "Come here," she seethes out and Rain grumbles to herself, looking at her friends

"Please behave,"

"We always do!" Carlos defends and Rain rolls her eyes, walking over

"Mum, Dad, this is Rain! My new roommate!" She says it so innocently as if Rain's mother didn't kill her father.

"Hi," Rain does a short curtsey out of politeness

"Oh! We've heard so much about you!" Rapunzel exclaims

"All bad I bet," Rain laughs awkwardly and Ruby swats her shoulder "Ow!"

"I'm going to get a spray bottle and spray you like a cat every time you say something bad about yourself,"

"I'd steal it,"

"Nuh uh," Ruby shakes her head "I'd put it in a safe,"

"That actually makes it easier to steal,"

"It does Rubes," Eugene agrees

"See!" Rain points and she can see Ethan smirk slightly, whispering to his mother

"They argue like sisters," Rapunzel just hums in agreement

"That's what being roommates does," Rain sighs

"New hair?" Ethan gestures and Rain nervously tucks it behind her ear

"Uh yeah," Ruby, sensing her discomfort, grabs her hand and pulls her close, pulling a piece of her own hair and putting it next to her friend's

"We're matching now!"

Rain looks away from the family and sees Ben talking to Evie, he sees Rain and waves, a bright smile coming to hia face, she waves back, seeing a purple figure walk past.

"Mal! Come meet Ruby's parents!"

"I was just going to-"

"Oh! Yes! Mum you have to meet Mal, she's amazing at drawing, she drew me a portrait last week," Mal sighs, but walks over, Rain excuses herself and walks over to Ben who was alone now, she grabs a strawberry en route.

"Hey you," he greets, a smile on his face

"Hey, cute suit,"

"Cute hair,"

"Ugh," Rain throws her head back "You can't have a meltdown and change your hair without anyone noticing these days,"

"Well, I've always had a bit of a thing for blondes,"

"Really?" Rain asks genuinely, her smile returning

"Mhm" he blushes a bit, looking away

"Lucky for you, this is all-natural," she winks and he laughs

"Come on, I want you to meet my parents,"

"Really?" Rain asks anxiously, she didn't want to embarrass him

"Really," he nods and Rain bites her lip, taking his arm and walking over to where King Adam and Queen Belle stood, their eyes already on them.

"Mom, Dad, this is Rain, from the Island," It was nice, how Ben and Ruby didn't label her immediately, she was Ruby's roommate and Ben's...friend? From the Island, not Mother Gothel's daughter "She's my uh-" Ben struggles for a moment, looking down at Rain "fr..girl-.." he trails off

"Girlfriend," Rain smiles

"Girlfriend?" he questions quietly, looking down at her

"Girlfriend?" she asks back, their eyes meet and there's a silent conversation, both asking if the label was okay.

"This is Rain, my girlfriend," Ben says confidently, looking back to his parents who have wide eyes and nearly dropped jaws. Rain ignores it, and relishes in the rush she got from being called Ben's girlfriend

"Hi!" Belle greets, trying to get over her shock.

"Hey," Rain waves with her right hand, the left still clutching onto Ben

"I was thinking maybe she can join us at lunch today,"

Technically, Rain had denied lunch with his parents on Saturday...not today.

"Oh, actually Ruby wanted me to join her-" It was a lie. But one she could get away with

"The Fitzherberts are just lovely, aren't they dear?" Belle gushes and Ben nods

"We can all eat together" Beast nervously declares "Any friend of Ben's..."

"I actually came with my friends, so -" Rain turns around and gestures to the VKs, Carlos was practically jumping into the chocolate fountain, Jay joining him and Evie and Mal were mid-conversation.

"Well, you should invite them," Belle smiles, but pauses and stutters slightly when the VKs notice her gaze and wave. "Because the more the merrier!"

"Okay," Rain had given them several ways out, but they hadn't taken it, she guessed they actually wanted them there "I'll go grab them," Rain turns to walk away but is interrupted by the king's voice

"Uh, how about a game of croquet before lunch?"

"Game on," Ben agrees, fist-bumping his dad before taking Rain's hand and walking away, she smiles at his parents.

"Have you played before?"

"Uh, it's the one with the balls and the bats right?" Rain questions nervously

"The balls and the bats?" Ben laughs "That could be any game," he lets go of her hand to pull her into his shoulder "I'll teach you,".

As they walk over to the field, Rain watches Eugene sit with his family, a bunch of the student's younger siblings around him listening intently

"This...is the story of how I died," he declares dramatically

"Dad," Ruby and Ethan scold, he laughs and Rapunzel hits him playfully

"You do this every time!"

Rain stops walking and smiles, they were clearly all close. It was...nice. And Rain would have stayed and watched, basking in their contagious smiles, if only it wasn't her mother who was the villain of the story.

"Come on," Ben whispers gently and Rain nods, walking away.

It turns out Rain didn't know how to play croquet. It was a Wonderland sport, one which had been played before Auradon was formed and The Queen of Hearts declined the invitation to join. No one on the Isle knew how to play it properly, and it usually ended in a fistfight...or mallet fight.

Her friends were all enjoying it though, and Ben happily attempted to teach them what to do, even if it was all in vain.

He'd stopped for a moment though, standing with Rain to watch Jay and Carlos move around the 'court'.

"So...if this was a proper match, would you be any good?"

"Let's just say Tourney is my calling," he laughs "I only win because my dad is so bad at it,"

"Hm, I guess I'm stuck with being a Tourney girlfriend, not a Croquet one,"

"Well, next match I'll have to get you a replica of my jersey," Ben grins, and Rain feels her stomach flutter at the thought

"I'll wear it with honour," she teases, they both grin at each other for a moment, but their attention is drawn away by a gasp.

"What? You!" An older lady is pointing accusingly at Mal, Audrey and Chad standing by her "How are you here?"

"Oh Hades," Rain mutters, dropping her mallet to walk over to Mal, Ben follows

"And how have you stayed so young?!" Putting two and two together, Rain figures that Audrey's grandmother has mistaken Mal for her mother

"Queen Leah, It's okay. Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal. Don't you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?" Ben speaks up and Rain wraps her arm around Mal in a comforting manner. Fairy Godmother is attempting to comfort Leah

"Chance to what, Ben? Destroy us? Come on. You remember, don't you? The poison apples. And the spells. Spells. My daughter... Was raised by fairies because of your mother's curse. So, her first words, her first steps, I missed it all! You mustn't trust her,"

"I'm so, so -" Mal moves to apologise but Chad steps in.

"Go away! Stay away from her!"

"Don't do this, Chad," Ben warns, Leah has been escorted away, but now Lonnie and Doug stand by Chad and Audrey.

"What? They were raised by their parents, Ben. What do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair play? No way, okay?" He points to Rain with an accusing finger "You stole another girl's boyfriend!"

Ben tries to protest, his hand grabbing Rain's protectively, but Chad points to Mal "You use gateway magic!" He then points to Jay "You enjoy hurting people," Then to Evie "And you, you're nothing but a gold digger and a cheater," Evie steps forward.

"Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who's the biggest jerk in the land?" the mirror shows a picture of Chad.

"What? Come on!" He pushes her out of the way and that's when Rain snaps and steps forward.

"You so much as breathe on her again and I'll break your jaw,"

"You-"

"Shut up!" she exclaims "Were you ever told no as a child Chad? Who gave you the right to be such a horrible person? Were you taught kindness?" she emphasises

"You have some nerve-"

"Just leave it Chad!" Ruby appears by Mal's side, taking her hand

"Oh of course the weirdo with no friends sides with them,"

"Chad!" Audrey steps in this time, trying to pull him back, but he brushes her off.

"If you come near any of us again, including Ruby," Raim threatens " I will show you the villain you all so badly want me to be,"

She turns back to her friends, but Chad grabs her wrist.

Ben goes to push him back, but Jay is quicker, sending him stumbling. Even Carlos has stepped forward, protective guarding Evie

"Back off, Chad. All right? Back off!"

Evie takes out her perfume bottle, stepping forward confidently and spraying it in Chad's face.

He collapses and Audrey screams, her Lonnie and Doug rushing to help him. Evie takes Rain's hand as Mal lets go of Ruby's "Come on, Rain," she mutters, leading her away, the others follow, and it turns from a quick pace to a run.

"Guys! Rain!" Ben shouts after them, but they're already gone.

The VKs had retreated to to the small picnic tables outside the cafeteria, sitting in silence with their small lunches for what felt like minutes, but must have been close to half an hour. Ruby had tried to join, but once she saw Chad sitting nearby, she'd walked off. Rain sits next to Mal, the Auradon kids sat behind them, Ben comes over, placing a soft hand on Rain's right shoulder, she puts hers over his for comfort.

"Hey, guys. How is everyone?" No one replies "Yeah? Hey, listen. Forget about it. All right? It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go. Tomorrow everyone will have forgotten and next week after the coronation, everything will be okay."

He moves down to kiss Rain's neck and whispers in her ear "I have to go deal with some admin things, you'll be okay right?" Rain turns to look at him, she wanted to say no, to beg him to stay, but she nods. He smiles and kisses her cheek before walking away

"I'll see you guys for dinner later, promise. Save me a seat," That brings a small smile to all of their faces, Ben was always a sweetheart to all of them.

"Listen, Evie, I wanna talk about earlier today. I just..." Doug goes up to their table and Chad calls him back but he stays.

"It's my fault, Doug. I'm sorry," Evie looks down ashamed

"I-"

"Doug!" Chad calls aggressively

"Doug..." Evie is practically begging him to stay

"Sorry, I can't" he walks back to the table behind Rain.

"What a bunch of pirates," Taylor comes crashing down in the seat next to Evie, not a care in the world

"Pirates are cool," Carlos defends "Well actually, not the ones we've met,"

"Insult still stands then," Taylor shrugs "I brought some snacks," out of his pocket, he pulls a selection of chocolates and one rogue apple.

"Thanks, Taylor," Evie smiles, picking up a blue-wrapped candy bar just as Audrey walks behind Rain.

"How long does she think that's gonna last? Rain is just the bad girl infatuation," she declares loudly

"Yeah. I mean, he's never gonna make a villain a queen," Jane is practically talking straight into Rain's ear as she patronises the girl.

Rain gulps, and looks down, she can't stop her eyes from watering and Mal notices her glassy gaze.

Audrey and Jane giggle as they go back to their table.

"Beware, forswear, undo Jane's hair," Mal uses one hand to conduct the spell, the other grasping Rain's hand.

Jane screams and Mal stands up, Rain following.

"There's a lot more where that came from," Mal warns, Lonnie grasps at her own hair

"Excuse me, who do you think you are?" Audrey asks and Rain laughs

"We're villains, aren't we?" she takes a step forward and the group jumps back, Mal smirks and starts to look through her spell book, causing the group to flee.

With a smile on her lips, Rain turns to the group "I'm really looking forward to the coronation," she starts to walk away, the group following "Bye Taylor!" She lowers her voice "Let's grab that wand and blow this Popsicle stand," Mal and Evie smirk, the group walking back to the castle.

We're Rotten to the Core.