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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

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After a long test for their math and their History of Auradon classes, Rylee and Morgan found themselves sitting at one of the tables in the quad. The two of them ate their lunches with Doug and Elliot and prepared for their next test, which was in a class neither of the girls were great at. Chemistry. Yes, both girls tried their best in their classes and worked hard for their grades. They just had trouble focusing due to their lack of interest in the class.

Since it was nearing the end of the year, every class at Auradon Prep was holding finals. This never bothered the Fitzherbert girl, seeing as it was a normal thing for schools to do. But what did annoy her was when all her teachers thought it was a good idea to have their tests on the same two days. How did they expect everyone to do well when they were cramming for multiple exams?

"So, how was the chemistry test?" Rylee asked Doug before she took a bite of her apple while scanning over the notes in front of her.

"Just keep looking over the study guide and your notes about the elements and you should be fine," Doug responded without taking his eyes off his English notes, "it was honestly one of Mr. Deley's easier tests."

"Awesome!" Morgan exclaimed after stealing her blonde friend's Periodic Table from under her notebook, "I really need to get my grade up in this class, or else my parents are gonna make me go to summer school. I definitely can't let that happen."

"Maybe if you paid more attention to the class and thought less about making smoke bombs you'd have a better grade," Elliot teased with a small smirk before barely dodging the french fry his redheaded friend threw at his face.

"I'll have you know, Elli, that I don't fantasize about making smoke bombs...all of the time."

Rylee let out a small laugh while Doug rolled his eyes at his friends' bickering. That continued for another moment before the blonde princess caught someone walking towards them out of the corner of her eye. When she turned in that direction, she saw a smiling Evie walking up behind the son of Dopey with her hands behind her back. As soon as she got right behind the unsuspecting boy, she revealed the piece of paper in her hands. The smile on her face did nothing but grow as he held it in front of Doug's face. The brunette boy just stared at the object for a moment before a grin to match the blue-haired girl's appeared on his face.

"For the first time it's like I'm more than just a pretty face," the Queen girl told the son of Dopey while his friends tried to make it seem like they weren't listening in on their conversation.

"A shocker, huh?" Doug joked before Elliot moved over to let Evie sit down next to the boy with the green bow tie. Once she was settled, the three other royals went back to studying while hiding that they were eavesdropping on their awkward friend.

"You were pretty great in there," the girl from the Isle told the brunette boy, making the smile Rylee was trying to hide slightly grow after seeing the look on Doug's face.

"So were you."

"I bet I can get an 'A' on the next test without the mirror."

"Yeah. Well, maybe we can get together and we'll hang out-"

"Yeah," the girl with the crown interrupted the boy next to her with a giant grin on her face, "let's get together."

Before the two of them could continue, the sound of approaching footsteps cut through the air. Once they got closer to their table, everyone looked up from their notes to see Mal walking toward them with a concerned look on her face.

"There you are!" the purple-haired girl exclaimed as she stopped next to where Morgan was sitting and placed her hands on the table in front of her, "I have been looking for you literally everywhere!"

"What's wrong?" Evie asked her best friend after the smile the blue-haired girl had been wearing since she arrived faded from her face.

"Ben just asked me out on...a date."

"Nice," Elliot muttered just loud enough for his sister to hear as smiles appeared on everyone's faces before Evie jumped to her feet.

"We can handle this."

"We'll help," Rylee stated before she and Morgan stood up and packed their things into their bags.

"You will? Why?" Mal questioned the two girls while Evie sent them a semi-confused look.

"That's what friends are for," Morgan told them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We're friends?"

"Whether you like it or not."

"Oh no, they claimed you both as their friends. now you won't be able to get rid of them," Elliot mocked the two younger girls while Doug tried his best to hold back his chuckling, "I'm so sorry, and good luck! You're gonna need it."

Rylee and Morgan sent the two boys a playful glare as Mal and Evie stared at them with slightly wide eyes. Before the colorful-haired girls could question what he was talking about, the princesses helped Evie escort Mal away from the benches and back to their dorm.

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After getting back to their room to get Mal ready for her date with Ben, Rylee, Morgan, and Evie picked out a purple dress for the daughter of Maleficent to wear that ended just above her knees. The purple-haired girl went to change after Evie pulled out a purple and green scarf to go with the dress. Rylee and Morgan soon left the two girls to head back to their own dorm to grab a couple of things for Mal to borrow.

When they arrived back at the Isle girl's room, the Macintosh girl gave her purple-haired friend a black leather jacket to wear over her dress before Rylee handed her a pair of black combat boots. Once Mal finished getting changed, the two princesses sat down on one of the beds across from Evie and Mal. They watched with giant smiles on their faces as the blue-haired girl started applying her best friend's makeup.

"Okay. Easy on the blush," Mal said with an awkward laugh as she gently pushed Evie's hand away from her face, "I don't want to scare him away."

"Please. My mom taught me how to apply blush before I could talk," Evie smiled before she continued to put the makeup on the purple-haired girl's cheeks, "always use upward strokes."

"Funny, that's how early my mother taught me how to shoot a bow," Morgan joked while pretending to shoot an arrow up at the ceiling.

"And when mine taught me how to paint," Rylee added, causing the daughter of Maleficent to glance over at the blonde girl with a small smile on her face.

"You paint?"

"Of course! I couldn't be the daughter of Rapunzel if I didn't. Well, actually I could. But you get the point."

The four girls laughed while Evie applied a few more strokes of blush to each of Mal's cheeks. Once she was satisfied with her work, the daughter of the Evil Queen put away her makeup palette before grabbing her pink lipstick.

"My mom was never really big on hobby tips," Mal told them while her blue-haired friend began to dab lipstick onto the girl's lips, "and I never had a sister."

"Well, now you have three," the blonde princess told her with a smile before the purple-haired girl slowly returned the gesture.

"Like we told Jay, we have your backs," the Macintosh girl added, which caused the two girls from the Isle to tense up a bit just like the son of Jafar did.

"We're gonna need all the family we can get if we...decide to stay here," Evie sighed while the two girls from Auradon tried their best to hide the curiosity that was flowing through their veins, "my mother's not a barrel of laughs when she doesn't get her way. Just ask Snow White."

"Are you afraid of her?" Mal asked her friend from the Isle, causing Rylee's and Morgan's smiles to fade.

A million thoughts began to fill the Fitzherbert girl's head at the idea of how much the two girls as well as their two other friends missed out on a parent's love. That was something that Rylee knew she couldn't survive without. Rapunzel and Eugene helped the girl and her siblings become the people they were today and she knew that she, Elliot, and Ruby would be completely lost without them.

"Sometimes," Evie answered, drawing Rylee's attention back to the situation at hand before she and Morgan exchanged a quick glance, "are you afraid of your mom?"

"I just really want her to be proud of me. She gets so angry with me when I disappoint her. And...yeah, she's my mom, so I know she loves me...in her own way."

Rylee and Morgan share another look while Evie took Mal's hand into her own. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment before the blue-haired girl forced her purple-haired friend to her feet and dragged her toward a mirror. The two princesses instantly followed behind them until they were all standing in front of the reflective object.

A huge smile made its way onto Mal's face as she stared at herself for a long moment before she let out a laugh. After watching her friend's reaction, Evie put her hands on her best friend's shoulders while Morgan next to Evie and Rylee went on the other side of Mal. "I look..."

"Say it," Evie muttered just loud enough for them to hear with a giant grin spread across her face.

"Not hideous," Mal whispered while she kept her eyes on the person staring back at her through the mirror.

"Not even close," the two princesses said in unison before a comfortable silence surrounded the four of them.

The daughter of Maleficent continued to study herself in the mirror while Evie, Rylee, and Morgan sat back down on Mal's bed. Another silent moment passed of the four of them just lounging around before a knock at the down ended their peace. All eyes were on Mal as she slowly approached the door before opening it to reveal Ben in his usual yellow and blue attire.

"For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful," Ben sighed, causing Mal to let out a small laugh while he adjusted his grip on the helmets under his arms.

Rylee, Morgan, and Evie exchanged amused looks then they turned their attention back to the two in the doorway. The Fitzherbert girl's smile slightly faltered when she realized she'd never seen her best friend this joyful before. Not even when he first started dating Audrey. No, she still didn't agree with how he ended things with the Rose girl but she wasn't blind. Mal brought him the kind of happiness no one else could ever give him. The future king continued to stare at the girl standing in front of him before the small smile on his face slowly grew. "I hope you like bikes."

The purple-haired girl kept her eyes glued to him for another silent moment before she took one of the helmets from him. While the Beast boy let out another chuckle, Mal sent her three friends one last nervous look as Ben gave them a smile before they walked down the hall. The three girls sitting on the bed didn't hesitate to jump to their feet and rush to the door. They watched the couple with smiles on their faces as they walk through the corridor until they turned the corner. Once they were out of sight, Evie slowly closed the door before she turned back to Rylee and Morgan to talk about how they thought the date was going to go.

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