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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧•• the big game

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── .✦ FREDDIE STORMED into the dorm, finding Chad sat on his bed, watching a show on his laptop, "Dude, what is your problem?" Freddie threw the prince's backpack in his face, the laptop falling to the floor and Chad yelped loudly, the bag hitting him in the face.

"What the hell, man?" Chad threw the backpack off of him to the end of his bed before he bent down, picking his laptop off of the floor to inspect it for any damages, "I can get you done for this."

"And I can get you done for theft, Chad, I literally have proof." Freddie rolled his eyes as he closed the dorm door, walking over to his desk on the other side of the room where a pile of science books sat. He had been heavily studying the other day, and now he wanted to know how Evie got that answer so fast, "Do your own homework. Don't take advantage of her."

"Of who?" Chad scrunched his brows, leaning back on his headboard and Freddie turned around in his desk chair, giving the boy a baffled look.

"Evie, you dimwit." Freddie shook his head as Chad acknowledged the name. It was pretty clear Prince Charming Jr had forgotten the beauty already, and it irritated Freddie to his core.

"Leave her alone." Freddie muttered just loud enough for Chad to hear, and the older prince grumbled in response, visibly uncaring of it, annoying Freddie all the more.

An hour passed, and someone came barging into the room, startling Chad again. His chocolate went flying into the air, and it somehow hit Freddie in the back of his head, causing the boy to yell in pain, "Ow!"

     "Oops. Hey, Ben." Chad smiled at the prince, who chuckled at Freddie's pained expression, closing the door behind him.

     "Hey, Chad." Ben rubbed his hands together as he walked over to Freddie's bed, getting comfy as he stretched his legs out, his hands behind his head, "So, I just spoke to Mal, and the others, and apparently they wanted to sit at the front. Do you think it would be possible to do that?"

     Freddie turned around in his chair with a smirk, giving his friend the stare as he began to answer the random question, "What did you tell them?"

     "Uh... that it's just my folks, my girlfriend and you at the front, and maybe even your girlfriend." Ben smiled teasingly and Freddie's smirk turned to a confused frown as he stared back at his friend.

     "I don't have a girlfriend." Freddie looked around the room in confusion and Chad chuckled from the corner of the room, causing the younger prince to scoff, "Chad, you don't either. Shut up."

     "You don't have a girlfriend... yet." Ben wiggled his brows at Freddie, who just scrunched his brows in return, not entirely sure what he meant by that, "Oh, come on, I see the connection between you and Evie."

     "Me and Evie? We're just friends, man." Freddie rolled his dark chocolate eyes, turning back around in his chair and looking down at the Chemistry book in front of him, flipping through the pages slowly.

     "Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's into blonds." Chad spoke up, causing both of the best-friends to turn to him with questioning, unamused looks.

     "Sure, Chad." Freddie responded dryly and sarcastically before he turned towards Ben, "Of course, anyone in their right mind knows she's gorgeous, and she's kind too, but she definitely doesn't like me back, so there's literally no point in trying."

     "So you like her?" Ben's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened as he gave Freddie that look, causing the boy to groan loudly, his forehead coming into contact with the open pages of the book, "And you're not denying it, gotcha."

"You have no chance, bud. She tried to kiss me earlier." Chad stated smugly, smirking at his screen as he felt their eyes on him, and Ben scrunched his brows at the boy in confusion.

"Really?" The Beast boy asked, and Chad nodded, not even bothering to look in his direction from his overconfidence. Freddie rolled his eyes, looking over at Ben, and they both exchanged looks before Ben sat up abruptly, slapping his palms on his knees, "Anyways. I think I'll just arrange for them to be sat in the second row, if I can."

"All right." Freddie nodded in agreement, watching as his friend stood up, slowly making his way towards the door, "Oh, and if you catch Evan, tell him I'm looking for him. He missed his ukulele lessons."

"Okay, nerd." Ben joked, exiting the room with a chuckle, and Freddie shook his head with a playful smile before he sat back in his chair, flipping through the pages again. But as much as he tried to concentrate on his studies, he couldn't keep his mind off of Evie.

Why did she try to kiss him... if that was even true? She should know her worth, and he was going to make sure she knows — tomorrow, maybe.

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     THE NEXT DAY, it was the big game and Freddie's legs were shaking as he sat down on the bench beside Carlos. It was normal for him to be nervous before big games, but Ben was acting weirder than usual, and it wasn't the beginning of the game anymore, it was near the end if anything.

     "Ohayohay!" The cheerleaders yelled as they danced together beside the mascot, startling Freddie slightly. Carlos took notice, and placed his hand on the prince's shoulder comfortingly.

     "You all right?" The white-haired boy asked in concern, his shield and helmet in his lap and Freddie stared at his shaking hands, squeezing his eyes together.

     "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, Ben's just acting off, and I haven't seen my parents in a while so I'm nervous, that's all." Freddie nodded at his explanation, trying to concentrate on the cheering in the background but he just couldn't.

     "This is a nail-biter, folks. There's forty-seven seconds left on the clock. We're all tied up. The Sherwood Falcons, two. The Fighting Knights, two. What a game between Auradon's fiercest rivals." The announcer spoke, and Carlos looked up from Freddie, glancing around the field, "As the teams get into their huddles and take up positions along the Kill Zone. The dragoneers have been lying down a withering hail of fire."

     "You're up!" Coach told Freddie, and he looked up from his bouncing leg with a look that told Coach all he needed to know. Carlos shook Freddie's shoulder to encourage him, but it didn't work as Freddie shook his head.

     "And now a substitution by Coach Jenkins."

     "Coach, how about my buddy here?" Freddie pulled Carlos up from the bench, his arm over his shoulders and Carlos protested almost immediately.

     "Oh, no." Carlos ducked his head from under Freddie's arm, sitting back on the bench where he felt safer.

     "Not so sure about that." Coach hesitated, shaking his head and Freddie gave him a pleading look.

     "Coach, he's been practicing." Freddie pulled Carlos back up from the bench, and finally smiled, wrapping his arm around the villain kid, "I've seen him myself, he's a pretty good runner and he's brainy."

     "Fred, I'm not that good." Carlos nicknamed as he began to feel his own legs shaking beneath him.

     "Amir!" Coach sighed and yelled over at Amir, waving his hand over to them and the boy ran over as Coach chucked a stick to Carlos, "You heard him. Get out there!"

     "Come on, bro. I got your back." Freddie comforted his newfound friend, who closed his eyes, a pained look on his face. He clearly didn't want to play, but neither did Freddie.

     "How about my front?" Carlos asked and Freddie laughed as he pulled him onto the field towards their huddled team.

     "He's bringing our well known Prince Freddie in and that little guy Carlos from the Isle of the Lost who can barely hold a shield." The announcer spoke and Freddie rolled his eyes at the rude comment, chucking his middle finger in the announcer's direction, "Wow, thanks, Freddie."

     "Break!" The team all yelled in unison, smacking their sticks together before they all ran off into their positions, ready to begin the last half.

     "When they break from their huddles, this is gonna be a big moment here. And the tipoff is ready." The announcer finished as the whistle blowed, signalling the start of the last half, "Here we go. Long pass goes to Jay. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. Nice little block by Carlos. He does a little dancing jig in the opponent's face. And now Jay gets the ball back. Here comes Jay. Jay, hurdling manoeuvre at mid-field. Jay makes a nice pass to Prince Freddie through the Kill Zone. Big block by Chad! Prince Freddie moves over wide, gives it back to Jay. He's in the clear! Shot! Oh! What a save by Phillip, the Falcons' goalkeeper!"

     "Come on!" Jay protested, and Freddie patted the boy on the back in encouragement, Ben nearby.

     "All right, all right, let's do it!" Ben also encouraged, everyone running back to their rightful positions.

     "Come on, guys. Come on, hustle, hustle!" Coach yelled, trying to motivate his team to win.

     "Twenty-three seconds left. You could cut the tension with a sword. The long ball is played into Jay. Jay, great jump, great leap. And a great move by Jay. Big block from Chad. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. And then Carlos with a big block, goes down. Jay through the Kill Zone, picks up Carlos. He's being hammered by dragon fire. Still going on. Jay, hurdling manoeuvring at mid-field. He's in the clear. The ball goes back to Jay."

     "Hey, Jay!" Carlos yelled to his non-biological brother.

     "Carlos?" Jay asked confused.

     "Go up!" Carlos hit the ball on his shield, sending it into the air as he kneeled down on the ground, Jay jumping over him as Freddie ran by, "Fred!"

     "He passes to Prince Frederic. He scores!" He announced and the team cheered loudly, Freddie throwing his hands in the air as he stared over at the bleachers, finding Evie cheering the loudest in joy, her mouth wide open in shock as she jumped up and down on the spot, causing Freddie to smile wide, "Freddie has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible play from Prince Ben! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the Corona prince for the winner. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come, folks. The winners of the first..."

     "Excuse me." Ben interrupted, snatching the microphone from the announcer, "Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please?" The prince climbed up onto the podium, pushing his teammate down from it so he could fully grab everyone's attention, "There's something I'd like to say... Give me an "M"!"

     ""M"!" Everyone yelled back, shaping their arms into an M above their heads as they smiled, but Freddie was the only one who frowned as he stared at his best-friend with a confused manner.

     "Give me an "A"!"

     ""A"!" Everyone replied, their arms down by their sides and their legs spread apart.

     "Give me an "L"!"

     ""L"!"

     "What does that spell?"

     "Mal!" Everyone screamed, and Freddie glanced over at Mal who was stood in between Lonnie and Evie near the far back on the far right before he looked over at Ben, his brows furrowed. He now understood why the prince had been acting so strangely.

     "Come on, I can't hear you!"

     "Mal!" Everyone yelled louder.

     "I love you, Mal. Did I mention that?" Ben asked, holding onto the microphone tightly, causing the whole crowd to exclaim in awe.

     "Okay, what in the hell?" Freddie looked up at the sky in embarrassment as Ben grinned at the purple-haired girl, his eyes full of love and nearby, Audrey yelped before running off behind the bleachers in sadness, "At least break up with her first."

     "Give me a beat!"

     "Uno, dos, tres, quatro!" Doug counted in Spanish and the band began to play a beat for Ben to sing to. He began dancing, along with everyone else except for Freddie who stood by in confusion. Weren't they supposed to tell each other everything?

     "Did I mention that I'm in love with you?" Ben sang and Freddie shook his head.

     "No."

     "And did I mention there's nothing I can do? And did I happen to say I dream of you every day. Well, let me shout it out loud if that's okay, hey, hey."

     "Hey!" Everyone shouted back, and Freddie gave in, running over to his best-friend and jumping onto his back in a dancing way, making the Beast prince laugh loudly.

     "If that's okay."

     "Hey!"

     "I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked. To now I'm living just for her and I won't ever stop. I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me. But now look at what you've done, you got me down on my knees because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew." Ben fell to the floor, and Carlos and Freddie helped him back up by pulling him into the air, Ben landing perfectly on his feet.

     "Who knew?"

     "That it could be like this. My love for is ridiculous. My love is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s." Ben shaped every letter with his body as he sang, and it was pretty impressive as everyone copied his actions.

     "R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s."

     "It's..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "Just..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "And I would give me kingdom for just one kiss. Well, did I mention I'm in love with you? And did I mention there's nothing I can do? And did I happen to say I dream of you everyday? Well, let me shout it out loud if that's okay, hey, hey. Yeah, if that's okay."

     "Hey!"

     "I gotta know which way to go. Come on, give me a sign. You gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine. Don't wanna go another minute livin' without you, 'cause if your heart just isn't in it I don't know what I'd do because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew."

     "Who knew?"

     "That it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s."

     "R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s."

     "It's..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "Just..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss. Come on, now. Ho! Oh, yeah." Ben began to do a little freestyle dance, running around in circles, "Ho! Yow!" He pulled off his jersey, chucking it into the crowd towards Mal, and luckily enough, she caught it with a squeal, holding it tightly in her freshly-painted purple nails, "Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew."

     "Who knew?"

     "That it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is r-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s."

     "R-i-d-i-c-u-l-o-u-s." Freddie, Jay and Amin chucked Ben into the crowd, where everyone carried him over towards Mal.

     "It's..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "Just..."

     "Ridiculous."

     "And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss. Come on, now!" Ben finished in front of Mal, and he got the urge to kiss her, so he leaned in, but Mal squealed, covering her lips with his jersey as she leaned backwards into Evie. Ben chuckled, pulling her into a side hug, "I love you, Mal. Did I mention that?"

     "Once or twice." Freddie replied quietly, and Carlos laughed from beside him, punching the prince's shoulder lightly playfully.

     Audrey walked up with Chad following behind her, and she snatched the microphone from Ben's hands with a grin, "Chad's my boyfriend now!"

     "Hey!" Chad threw his fist in the air, and Freddie looked over at the two before his eyes moved over to an infuriated Evie. She wasn't exactly angry, she was more saddened by it, and it maddened him.

     "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So, I don't need your pity date." Audrey leaned down, pressing her lips into Chad's as she passed the microphone back to Ben and Evie quickly looked away, her jaw dropped in shock.

     "Mal! Will you go to coronation with me?" Ben asked into the mic and Mal pulled the mic over to herself before she replied.

     "Yes!"

     "She said yes!" Ben cheered, and so did everyone else around them except for Evie who stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at the bleachers floor beneath her heels with a miserable look on her pale face. Jay began to run up the bleachers to grab Ben, so Freddie quickly followed so he could hopefully catch Evie.

     "Let's go, Ben. The whole team's waiting for you." Jay told Ben, with Freddie stood behind him, watching Evie intently although she wasn't even aware of his presence as she looked off into the distance miserably.

     "Bye. Whoo!" Mal sent him a tight-lipped smile as Jay pulled Ben off back down to the field, but Freddie stayed put as he watched Evie. Mal noticed the prince and was confused for a moment before she looked over at her friend, finally realising why he was staring.

     "What a victory. What a day for the Auradon Knights, finally winning back the trophy after so many years." The announcer spoke again, but Freddie didn't listen as he just stared at Evie with a worried look, staying just to make sure she was okay.

     "I feel really sorry for Audrey." Mal began to speak in a soft tone as Evie just dozed into the distance, but the blue-haired girl finally looked over at her friend, still unaware of Freddie's presence.

     "You do?" Evie asked, her hands still placed firmly on her hips.

     "Yeah. I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew and knew beauty tips, that she wouldn't need a prince to make her feel better about herself." Mal replied, causing Evie to giggle with a huge smile, making Freddie grin from ear-to-ear just from the sight of her smile — that was when he realised that it was pretty weird how he was just stood there... staring.

     "I guess I am kind of talented." Evie chuckled, looking back over at the field, and that was when she noticed Freddie stood nearby, smiling at her.

     "You are definitely gifted."

     "Hell yeah!" Freddie moved closer, standing beside Mal with his hands behind his back, although it was pretty hard to move in his tourney uniform, "And if you ever happen to want a prince, I'm always here... waiting." He smirked over at her, his head leaning forward and Mal giggled at him, nodding in agreement.

     "Thanks." Evie looked down shyly at her heels, a sweet smile plastered onto her beautiful face and she felt her cheeks reddening by the second, causing Freddie to smirk even harder at the sight.

     "Get down there, princey!" Mal pushed Freddie down the steps, causing the aforementioned boy to chuckle before he ran down and over to his team who were cheering as they held Jay up in the air, he was holding the trophy in the air as he whooped loudly.

     "And there he is! Jay, the most valuable player! How do you like that?" The announcer spoke, and everyone just continued to cheer towards Jay, who was high-five-ing literally everyone he could as he was lifted into the air.

AMXLIEWRITES || I SEE THE LIGHT