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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐂𝐊

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Elliot walked Rylee and Morgan back to their room after they finished dinner. The two girls said their goodbyes to the older boy and watched him walk down the hall to meet up with Doug. As soon as her brother was out of sight, Rylee unlocked the door and she and Morgan went into their room. The first thing they did after closing the door was change into their pajamas to get ready for bed. Once the two of them finished their nightly routines, they sat down on Morgan's bed and went through the playbook once again.

About an hour passed when the soft sound of snoring filled Rylee's ears. When she looked in the direction of the sound, she found Morgan in a deep sleep. A laugh passed over the Fitzherbert girl's lips as she placed the playbook on her desk and pulled the blanket over her best friend. Once her friend was taken care of, the blonde glanced over to her bed, knowing that she should probably get some sleep. Right as she was about to turn off the light and go to bed, her stomach quietly growled, making Rylee let out a long sigh. It wasn't long after that when she threw on her Auradon Prep hoodie and made her way down to the kitchen to find a quick snack before bed.

Once she got to the hallway that led to the kitchen, the Fitzherbert girl came to a sudden stop when she came face to face with Pete after he rounded the corner. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before he let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, uh, hey, Rylee," he muttered just loud enough for the girl to hear him as he rubbed the back of his neck, "how's it going?"

"'How's it going?' You have been avoiding me all week and all you have to say is 'how's it going?'" she questioned as anger began to build up inside her.

"What else am I supposed to say?" Pete questioned with a hint of annoyance in his voice as she stared down at the girl in front of him.

"For starters, you could tell me why you've been steering clear of me 24/7."

"It's not important."

"What is going on with you, Pete? You've been acting weird since Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos got here."

"You know what?! Just forget it! You wouldn't understand!" he shouted as a look of anger formed on his face, making Rylee take a small step away from him at his sudden outburst, "I'll see you at the game tomorrow."

A tornado of emotions hit the blonde princess as she watched him walk away until he was out of sight. An irritated sigh passed over her lips once he was gone while she tried to keep her tears from escaping. As soon as she calmed herself down to the best of her ability, Rylee opened the door to the kitchen to find Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos standing around the counter in the center of the room.

"Oh, hey guys. I didn't expect anyone to be down here," Rylee greeted them in a fake happy tone before her eyes landed on the bowl in front of the purple-haired girl, "midnight snack, huh? Whatcha guys making?"

"Nothing special. Just cookies," Mal explained before Rylee dipped her finger in the bowl to try their batter, causing the daughter of Maleficent to shout while the other three stared at the blonde with shocked faces.

The Fitzherbert girl just stared at them for a long moment, confused by all of their panicked faces. "Don't worry. I won't double-dip."

"Feel anything?" Evie asked after the Fitzherbert girl let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, like maybe it might be missing something?" Mal added while the two boys continued to stare at the blonde with wide eyes.

The four of them kept looking at the princess with mixed emotions on their faces before a smirk formed on Jay's face. Rylee watched him with confusion in his eyes as he hopped off the counter and walked over to stand in front of her.

"Hey there, Goldilocks," he said to the girl while she stared back at him in confusion before sending him a fake smile then she looked back at the two girls and Carlos.

"It could use some chocolate chips," Rylee told them as she walked over to the fridge in the corner of the room.

"And those are?" Mal asked with a hint of relief in her voice that the Fitzherbert girl chose to ignore.

"Chocolate chips," the blonde girl repeated with a smile as she grabbed the small bowl out of the fridge and made her way back over to them, "most people use milk chocolate but I prefer white chocolate. It adds a little extra sweetness to the cookies."

Rylee continued to talk about the different kinds of cookies she made with her mother and younger sister. Just as she started to talk about Snickerdoodles, the princess looked up at the two girls to see confusion and interest plastered into their faces. The Fitzherbert girl's smile slightly wavered at their expressions before she looked over at the boys to find the same looks on their faces.

"Have you not made cookies before?" Rylee questioned, only to receive small frowns from the four kids in front of her. That caused her to send them a small smile and put a handful of white chocolate chips in their batter. "Well, you guys are gonna love them. It's like eating happiness. They've helped me through some tough times in my life. To be honest, I could probably use a cookie now."

"Yeah, you seemed kinda out of it when you came in here. Is everything okay?" Carlos asked, causing the girl's happy front to falter, which didn't go unnoticed by the four kids from the Isle.

"Oh, um, yeah. I'm fine," the blonde responded as she felt the tears she'd been holding back beginning to build up once again, "Pete and I had a...disagreement before I came in here. It's...it's nothing."

As soon as she finished her explanation, a single tear escaped Rylee's eye and rolled down her cheek. Before she could wipe it away, Mal beat her to it and then continued mixing the batter. The Fitzherbert girl stared at the bowl in confusion for a moment before looking back up to find the four of them staring back at her with a bit of pity in their eyes. Rylee opened her mouth to continue speaking, only for it to snap shut when Evie made her way around the table to stand in front of the blonde. The two of them just stared at each other in silence until the blue-haired girl took the princess' hands into her own. "We're here for you if you need to talk about it."

"Thank you. But really, I'm okay," Rylee lied, receiving unconvinced looks from the four kids standing in front of her before she took her hands out of the daughter of the Evil Queen's, "you know what, I'm being selfish and brought down your cookie-making mood. I'll let you get back to it. See you guys tomorrow."

"Good night."

After looking at all their faces one last time, the Fitzherbert girl went to grab a small bowl of grapes from the fridge. Rylee sent them one last forced smile before making her way out of the kitchen. She ate her snack as she walked back up to her dorm to try and get some rest for the big game.

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Once they finished their last class of the day, Rylee and Morgan walked through the halls with Ben and Audrey as they made their way to their lockers. Ben dug through his locker as soon as they got to it while Audrey's attention turned to a group of girls waving at Mal.

"Do you think they actually paid for those?" Audrey asked, causing all of them to turn their attention toward the girls as they rushed over to talk to Jay, "she did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it."

"What's the harm?" the Fitzherbert girl responded before turning around to face a slightly annoyed princess once again, "I mean, it's just hair, Audrey."

"It's not 'just hair,' Rylee," the Rose girl scoffed then she cast her gaze back toward the future King, "it's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then where will I be?"

"Still the same stuck-up girl you are today," Morgan mumbled, causing Rylee to chuckle and give her a high-five while Audrey glared at the two of them.

"Listen, Audrey-"

"I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the Coronation, okay?" she interrupted Ben before he could really start talking.

"Okay."

"Bye, Bennyboo," the brunette girl smiled before kissing him on the cheek and sending Rylee and Morgan another glare as she left.

As soon as she was out of sight, the two remaining girls turned their gaze back to Ben to see an uncertain look on his face. Rylee and Morgan just stared at him for a moment while he kept looking at where his girlfriend disappeared. The two of them tried their best to hold back their laughter before the blonde girl placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You could do so much better, Beasty," Rylee told him while Morgan let out another laugh before the sound of a locker slamming cut through the air.

When the three of them turned their attention toward the sound, they found Mal staring right back at them with a smirk on her face. "Hey, Bennyboo!"

"Hey," the boy in question responded in a much happier tone before he and his two best friends made their way over to the purple-haired girl.

"I just made a batch of cookies," the daughter of Maleficent told the future King while holding up a plastic bag, "white chocolate chip, do you want one?"

"I've got a big game. I don't eat before a big game. But thank you so, so much. Thank you. Next time. Next time."

"No, yeah. I completely understand. 'Be careful of treats offered by kids of villains,'" Mal responded, causing the future King's smile to falter as the daughter of Maleficent continued to swing the bag of cookies around, "I'm sure every kid in Auradon knows that."

"No, no. That's not it. No, no, no," Ben tried to save himself, only to receive another sad look from the girl in front of him, "I really do...I have-"

"No, I get it. You're cautious. That's smart," the Faery girl interrupted while opening the Ziploc bag and taking out a cookie, "oh, well, more for me, I guess."

Before she could even take a nibble of the cookie, the future King of Auradon grabbed it from her and took a big bite of it. The Beast boy sent her a smile, which the daughter of Maleficent gladly returned with a smirk.

"See that? Totally trust you. Totally," Ben told the purple-haired girl after her friends from the Isle turned their attention toward the boy. As the four of them watched the brunette, Rylee and Morgan exchanged a confused look before turning their attention back to the situation at hand.

"How are they?"

"They're good. They're great! They're amazing!" Ben responded to Mal's question before letting out a giggle and looking down at the cookie in his hand, "they're...I mean, they're chewy and, you know, they...is that walnuts? I love walnuts. I mean, you know, the chocolate...the chocolate...chocolate chips are...I'm sorry, um...they're warm and soft. And they're sweet..."

The Beast boy hesitated for a moment and glanced back up at Mal. The two of them just stared at each other as the other kids from the Isle approached them with Doug and Elliot right behind them. Silence surrounded the group for a moment longer before Ben cleared his throat and continued speaking. "Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?"

Confusion flowed through Rylee's veins while continuing to stare at her friend who went to take another bite of the cookie. Just as the pastry was about to touch his lips, Mal snatched it away from him and shoved it back into the plastic bag. The two future Advisors kept trying to comprehend what was happening while Jay stepped around them and placed his hands on Ben's shoulders. "How you feeling, bro?"

"I feel...I feel...I feel like singing your name! Mal! Mal!" Ben began to sing before Mal put her hand over his mouth while handing the cookie over to her long-haired friend.

While the daughter of Maleficent attempted to get the future King to stop singing, Jay backed away from them and stopped beside Rylee. The blonde girl's attention turned to him as he examined the treat in the bag. It didn't take long for the princess to realize that those were the cookies they were making when she walked in on them in the kitchen last night. However, before her thoughts could continue, the son of Jafar looked over at her with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Wanna bite, Rylee?" he asked as Carlos made his way over to stand next to Morgan.

"I think I'll pass," the Fitzherbert girl told him as she turned her attention back to Ben, who was still trying to sing through Mal's hand.

"Morgan?" Carlos offered after he snatched the bag out of his friend's hands.

"I'm okay. I'm not a very good singer."

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