Always Left out

Evie's POV

Out of everything to choose from, she just had to choose the love story of the two fucking hypocrites that trapped us on that damn hell hole for our parent's mistakes; Ashlyn's parents, the girl who caused Mal to snap, they decided that the love story of those two idiots was the perfect fucking example of change.

What do they expect us to learn from it? True love conquers all, that if you're in love you can't be evil? That's all lies. Mother fell in love once, it ruined her life, Maleficent fell in love, and then the guy just had to walk out on her, not really true love if you ask me. Thank god nobody but Mal and our gang knows that story. Nobody knows who Jay's mother and Carlos' father are, nor do they care. They weren't born out of love. None of us were.

And the perfect couple, Beauty and the Beast, the perfect example of change, their true love will transcend realms and, oh wait, it doesn't fucking matter! True love, it's not real. It's a myth. Ben might have argued with his parents when everyone else left and it was just us and them, but Belle also threw her own two cents into it. Their love is falling apart! So much for true love.

I mean, who can love a Beast, a villain, someone who would willingly doom children to death, hell, I might not have been born, but some kids were. He sent living, breathing, children to that place! Families ripped apart! Such a great king. Apparently she can, I wonder how Ashlyn feels about that. Probably drives her crazy.

Let's see how they spin this tale.

"A long time ago on a dark and stormy night," Fairy Godmother read, apparently reading to us was her best idea. "There lived a young and foolish prince. The prince was spoiled, disobedient, shallow, and held no love in his heart. He lacked compassion, and care for a single thing."

"Great, so nothing's changed, can we go?" Jay asks, getting up from his seat next to Eric. No, don't think about him. Not… not right now.

"Mister Jay, please take a seat." She requested, ever so nicely. It makes me sick.

He just slumped in his seat with a roll of his eyes.

"That night the prince was having a ball for the celebration of his upcoming coronation, the entire kingdom was invited, the rich, and the poor, to see the crowning of their new king. The servants were overworked and unappreciated working tirelessly to prepare for the ball. The ball lasted for hours, every servant nearly collapsed in exhaustion.

As the party came to an end there was a loud storm, his people requested to stay in his abode until the storm came to an end, but the cruel king sent them all home in the dangerous storm, only caring for his own personal benefit."

"I agree with Jay, nothing's changed," Carlos speaks up for the first time since he arrived.

"Mister De Vil do not interrupt!"

It went silent again, this is becoming a pattern.

"Late in the night there was a knock on the castle doors, and when the doors opened he was met by the sight of an ugly old woman!"

"That's terrible!" I muttered. Ugly? That word shouldn't even exist!

"The old woman begged for shelter from the storm, but was only able to give the prince a single red rose in exchange. The prince took one look at the woman before throwing the rose aside and casting her out."

Like with us. Took one look at our parents and cast us out despite who we are. He really hasn't changed.

"The woman warned him that the outside isn't what matters, but the beauty of the inside."

"Outside appearance totally matters!" I complain.

Someone grabbed my hand from below me and pulled me back down to my seat, "It does, but what she means is that despite how ugly she appeared, she wasn't ugly or useless on the inside. Just like how even though you four look like your parents, you aren't them." Rae explained to me.

Fairy Godmother just continued on, totally ignoring us. "The prince still turned her away, and her disguise melted, revealing a beautiful Enchantress in her wake. The prince begged for her forgiveness, but all he could see in her emerald eyes were hatred. The villain placed a curse on the prince, that for as long as he had no love in his heart, he would remain a horrible beast!"

"Why is she a villain?"

All heads turned towards Ashlyn when she said that. They cursed her father, wouldn't she know why.

"Why, she cursed a young boy for being selfish. A simple goodness class or detention could've done the same."

"Except those didn't really exist. Schools did, but goodness classes definitely didn't. And would anyone really send the future king to detention?" Rae added sitting up and staring towards Ashlyn, almost as if to ask, what the hell are you doing!

Ashlyn just turned towards her with a blank look and a small smirk playing on her lips. What is up with this girl?

"A curse seems unnecessary." She defends.

Ashlyn rolled her eyes and stood up, walking towards Fairy Godmother, ripping the book from her hands. Then the strangest thing happened-she dropped it. I mean, not like it slipped out of her hand, like she froze in place and the book just fell from her hand. She returned to normal within a few seconds and started flipping through the pages of the book.

When she finally got to where she needed it to be, she gave it back to Fairy Godmother, her eyes widening as her eyes scanned the page.

"Th-that's not possible," She stammered.

Ashlyn smirked, "Seems to me like it is."

What the hell is she talking about?

"Care to explain this groundbreaking discovery?" Rae snapped from her seat next to me.

Ashlyn nodded softly and threw the open book onto Rae's desk, everyone but Mal and Carlos crowding around it. I tensed when I felt her grab my hand to keep me from stabbing her friend. But seeing her small smile and pleading eyes caused me to smile softly and to calm down. She cares a lot for him.

"Who is it?" Eric spoke up.

Rae squeezed my hand softly.

"It's-" Crystal spoke up, but was cut off by Ashlyn.

"A beautiful woman with emerald green eyes and light blonde hair; bearing a close resemblance to the Enchantress, dancing with my father, the prince."

"I-It's-"

"Relax, it's just a book, it get's details wrong and-" Eric started, but Ashlyn cut him off. She loves to do that apparently.

"It actually happened, I've-I know it. Dad told me about it. He met a woman with green eyes at his coronation ball, and never saw her again."

She hesitated, and lied, about her dad telling her the story. How else does she know it's true? Why does she think it's true? It could just be coincidence.

"That makes even less sense! Why curse someone you've met with beforehand and danced with for hours. It definitely looks like she was at least infatuated with him, and him with her. A curse makes even less sense."

"Of course it does. She didn't fall for the king, she observed him. I know that look, she was observing every detail of him. She noticed the times when he would treat her well, and treat his other citizens scornfully, casting them out into the storm, while also giving her shelter. She left on her own accord."

"That's not in the b-"

"Just let her finish!" Rae whined. Seems like she's invested, but how the hell does she know any of this?

"Later in the night an old woman appeared on his doorstep, and he turned her away. That's when the curse was placed. If a king has no compassion for his own citizens, his kingdom will fall into ruin. A king cannot rule without knowing how to love, and he didn't. Simple as that."

She mumbled something under her breath, unintelligible for anyone in the room.

"Why a beast?" Rae asked in a dream-like state. She must really love stories.

"Something you may not know since it's lost in time is that the curse didn't say transform him into a beast. The curse was set that he would turn into a creature matching the attributes of his heart, spoiled, selfish, and cruel, lacking all compassion. A beast just so happened to match that."

How the hell does she know any of this?

"How do you know this? We saw your fight with your dad, and there's no way in hell he'd tell you something like this," Carlos speaks up, glaring at her suspiciosuly.

"I've-I-believe me on this. She's not a villain. I mean, just look at the elements of the curse. The rose-"

She stopped suddenly, causing me to furrow my brow and look around the room. I only got my answer for why when I saw Rae glaring daggers at her from next to me. She really loves stories, and apparently doesn't like them being spoiled, even when she likely knows what happens. I mean, it's the story of the king, they probably hear this daily. That bastard!

"Fairy Godmother, may I tell the story. I have a feeling I know a version that might teach these new kids better than the regular one."

"Children are not supposed to teach, but seeing as you are the future queen, I can make an exception."

"Thank you," She mocked a curtsey and opened the book, walking up close to us. Does she think we're five?

Apparently, since Rae kind of looks like a puppy while staring at Ashlyn, or any book for that matter.

"The Enchantress was repulsed by his wicked nature and placed a curse on his heart, that for as long as he had not found love and someone to love him, he would remain a beast. Of course, a story isn't a story without a bit of dramatic effect, and so, she took the beautiful red rose he previously rejected and revealed it's true power, an enchanted rose. The rose acted as a timer for the curse, a petal falling off the further he was from love, and that when every petal fell, he would remain a beast forever. Of course, there was a caveat, if he fell in love and the person in love with him, then a kiss of true love would break the curse and he would return to normal. She also just happened to enchant a mirror to show him any location he desired, that she definitely didn't know would help in the future. The curse spread through the castle, turning all the maids, and servants, into inanimate objects, such as a candlestick, clockwork, teapot, you get the gist of the thing. Everyone's memory of the night was erased and they all forgot their loved ones, or so she thought."

"What do you mean?" Crystal spoke up.

"True love is really powerful," She practically sang. "You don't just forget someone you're in love with, magic or not. And I mean, to be fair, the worst element of that curse was what it did to the servants, but who's to say Lumier wasn't a dick before? Kidding, I know he wasn't. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made, and I mean, the Beast couldn't even treat his servants properly, and they were stuck with him for ten years. How the hell would he have ruled a kingdom?

I guess she was more of the anti-hero, but not really a villain, everything had an intended purpose, and he did become a king later, so-oh what the hell, I'll just continue the story.

For ten years everyone was trapped in that castle deep in an enchanted woods, The Beast was starting to lose all hope, he would forever be stuck in that wretched form, the form, some would say, he deserved." She glared at us when she said that, but it had a playful glint to it. "He was slowly losing his sanity."

Why does she know this? What reason does she have to know this specific correct version? Why is she so confident it is correct? What does she really know? Who is she really?

"Belle was a young girl who grew up in a small town. She was different from the other girls, she didn't put on makeup or care about her natural appearance-"

I gasped in shock. How could she not wear makeup? Makeup's like, required!

"She loved to read, something she passed down to her daughter, not as much to Ben, but I picked up on it. And apparently so did Rae, more so than I, even though she's not Belle's daughter."

Rae just grinned.

"Nobody really liked her, she was different, and different wasn't good. You think they' learn their lesson by now, but apparently different is a bad thing now. Seems like much hasn't changed."

She glared pointedly at Fairy Godmother who turned red in embarrassment, she knows her fault, but she's not gonna speak up about it.

"Except she was sought after by one man, Gaston Legume, I'm sure you four have met him,"

One of the most terrifying experiences of my life. What kind of grown man flirts with a teenager?

Jay snorted and I sent him a warning glare, knowing what he was about to say. "He flirted with Evie."

"Damn it Jay!" I screamed. Not to them!

Ashlyn just frowned, while Rae turned towards me with tears in her eyes. "Oh my god, that's horrible."

"Oh my god, calm the fuck down! He just flirted with her, it's not like he threw himself on her and tried to-"

His next words were stopped by a red mark on his cheek. Courtesy of Jay slapping him. Within seconds Mal was standing in front of him with tears in her eyes, her eyes glowing green as she glared at Jay.

This class is never gonna end!

Rae's POV

Oh my god, she likes him! Her eyes are brimmed in tears and she keeps glancing over at him with concern, adorable! Isn't Jay their friend, though? And why would he slap Carlos. All he was saying was-oh, I get it now. Yeah, you go Jay. Slap him all you want for making fun of Evie. But didn't he bring it up? And why did Carlos snap like that?

Why is Fairy Godmother not stepping in? I mean, it's her class? What a great teacher! This class should be fun, much better than Mr. Anderson for history!

And Ashy's gonna tell stories! Ashy's stories are always the best, other than for mom and dad's, nobody beats their storytelling skills, not even Ashy.

But this has been a great class so far, and we're only, twenty minutes in, awesome! Will it always be this fun?

Jay backed away from Mal and sat back down in his seat next to cute Eric, I mean Eric! Mal didn't say anything, just slumped back in her seat next to where Ashlyn's empty seat was, not even speaking a word. Carlos had tears in his eyes as he returned to his seat and the room fell to silence.

Awkward!

"An-Anyways, Belle didn't like Gaston th-that way and that made him very mad and-"

Why is she so awkward right now? She's usually great at this kind of thing and- oh no, she's fiddling with her fingers, she's about to use her magic.

"What happened next?" I rush out, eager to get us back to the story. Ashy's version is always more fun than the original, and she claims they're always more correct. I believe her.

"Right! Um, so, she , um, mom never really liked Gaston. She didn't care for his looks, or his achievements, she just wanted someone to love her and for her to love, not someone who only cared about themselves, she knew Gaston wouldn't make her happy. Except he kept forcing himself on to her, publicly flirting with her, even trying to kiss her in public, that's when mom reached her breaking point. She felt stressed, like she had to marry Gaston to help her father, since he was thought of as crazy by the town, but her father kept encouraging her to marry for love. Of course, Gaston kept trying, setting up crazy stunts to get her to fall for him, but nothing worked."

"He sounds like Chad!" I laugh, Chad's tried to ask me out about twenty-six times now. Except everyone knows he's gunning for Audrey. And I've politely rejected him by slapping him all twenty-six times. I wonder if he'll try again soon, it's kind of fun to reject him. He should know by now I don't like him, or anyone for that matter, including Eric. Period. I definitely don't like anybody, definitely not Chad, and not Eric, despite how cute he is, and his adorable brown eyes that I've only got lost in like a million times, and how he always stands up for me, and he keeps me in line, like he kind of stopped me from committing murder, kind of. He just understands me.

But I definitely don't like him!

"-She went in after him, and stumbled upon a terrifying abandoned castle. The doors seemingly locked her in as she walked in, leaving her alone and defenseless for whoever inhabited the area. She found a prison cell where her father was being kept, but was terrified by the sight. He was frozen and cold, starved, just for picking a simple rose. She convinced the Beast to let him go in exchange for her staying instead. That was a clever move on her part, ask for time alone and shove him out, preventing her dad from having a choice. Classic. Later in the night Lumiere snuck her out, after getting hit in the head by a chair, courtesy of my mother, she was kind of amazing back then, I mean, who wouldn't freak out over a talking candle? Anyways, they led her to a bedroom where she could stay for the time being. The Beast demanded she came to dinner, but mom stood up to him, lovely. He freaked out, banished her from the rest of the castle, forbidding her from ever leaving that room, dramatic.

Lumiere of course snuck her out again, gave her food, but when she stumbled upon and Enchanted Rose that just so happened to almost be out of petals, she was caught by the Beast. She ran away after that, but was attacked by wolves, almost died, luckily for her, dad went after her and saved her life. Then they started to fall in love, he even showed mom how her mother died, that was brutal, but everything has a purpose. Mom really did love him; he was different around her, but then he let her go. Her father was being sent to an insane asylum by Gaston who still sought after Belle. And she went after him. That led to Gaston trying to kill my dad, who knows, maybe everything would've turned out fine if he succeeded. But history plays out as it must. Finally, the point I've been trying to get to this entire fucking time, as the last petal from the rose fell a kiss of true love turned him to normal, talk about dramatic. And suspiciously timed. I mean, one more second and the curse would have lasted forever. I mean, the mirror played its role in the tale, and they couldn't even see the rose, so it wasn't a now or never moment, it just so happened to be the exact last moment possible. Coincidence? I think not. It's a simple thing called destiny, strings were pulled for things to happen as they were meant to. All the Enchantress' curse did was delay the birth of the kingdom of Auradon, but Auradon would have fallen into ruin if he had led earlier. Simple as that.

She helped him, end of discussion, don't fight me on this."

Well, that was a bit of lame ending. She skipped all the fun parts, the snow dates, the test of true love, that wasn't like Ashy's usual stories!

"Lame!" I whined, "You skipped the best parts."

She made eye contact with me and nodded behind me, causing me to turn around, I instantly knew why she ended it so quickly, every single one of the villain kids looked like they were about to explode in anger, that's not a pretty sight.

I sent her a slight nod and she walked back to her seat, making eye contact with Mal on her way there. Weird.

"Alright, class, as Ashlyn described, the story shows how a horrible monstrous beast like her father was able to change into the wonderful king we know today.

Three…

Two…

One…

Chaos, that described it. Everyone was practically shouting every insult they could about the king, I feel like the Isle itself shows his mistakes and how he didn't change, hello, compassion, but whatever. They're here now, so stop complaining, that's my job.

"Children!" Fairy Godmother screamed.

Everyone went silent, if Fairy Godmother was mad, there's a slight chance we'll die. She's never angry, and when she is, it's a scary sight.

"Thank you Ashlyn for the story, however wrong it may be, shall we return to the actual class since Miss Frost's idea didn't quite work?"

No! Not this again! I was having fun!

Nobody answered, probably all miserable and too upset to say anything, or scared of how she'd react. Definitely the latter.

"Thank you, now since we've losts half our class time due to Ashlyn's exaggerated retelling of her parents tale, I will be doing a pop quiz. It will not be graded, I am going to randomly call on anyone for the answer to the question, if you do not answer, you will stay here with me after the end of class."

Again, silence! This is lame? Where's the action. All the punching and kicking and-oh, I can't wait for Cheer with Kat! How long? Like, twenty minutes, maybe? And I get to watch Eric play tourney, he's always so cute when he plays. He always smiles at me too, probably because I scream his name louder than everyone else. Audrey hates that, but we love it. We, us, I mean, me and him, we both love it, at least, I think we do.

I don't know, I don't get it, why don't I understand how he feels like he understands me, am I doing something wrong, or-oh, fuck, I do like him. Right? At least, I think I do, and Ashy keeps telling me that it's really obvious that I do, and Crysie always keeps trying to get us together and-holy shit, they're trying to set us up!

I'm supposed to be the matchmaker, not Ashy! But now she's going around and setting everyone up without me. I mean, her attempt with Mal and Carlos was disastrous, but she's also setting us up! I wonder if she likes someone? I mean, she's rejected about every boy in school that's asked her, but maybe she's just waiting for the right one?

Maybe I could set her up! You know, payback for trying to set me and Eric up. Yeah, I'll set her up, that'll be fun, but who could help? Eric! No, she'd just switch the focus on how I like him-do not like him! I could go to Kat! Kat would definitely help! She's like the original matchmaker, she's the one who told me I liked Eric in the first place, she would definitely know the perfect match for Ashy! Except they would become king. How do I find her someone who doesn't just want her crown? Maybe someone she knows? Ooh, and while we're at it we can find Crysie a date for Coronation, then I can finally go with Eric!

Matchmaker's such a fun role to play!

"Rae?"

"Rachael F-"

"What?!" I practically screamed, Huh, I didn't even notice that I totally spaced out.

'Answer the question," She snapped, except in her 'I have to be nice to you since I'm a teacher but I kind of hate you,' kind of way.

When in doubt, smack them with a frying pan!

"Could you repeat the question? I think she got lost," Crystal asked sweetly, she had this knowing look in her eye, and kept grinning. A silent way of saying, "Stop daydreaming about my cousin."

"If you find a vial of poison what do you do?" She repeated very slowly. I'm not dumb you know!

"Do you:

A: Put in the king's wine?"

Ben's not that bad! Except to Crysie, I would literally kill him for how he treats Crysie. It was a fucking accident. Ashy says she handled that though, so no smacking the future king. Disappointing.

"B: Paint it on an apple?"

Evie tensed next to me, that was just rude!

"C: Turn it into the proper authorities?"

Boring!

"Lastly, D: Lock it away for another time?"

I mean, you never know when you might want to poison someone.

"Yes, Rae," She said in a calm voice with small traces of irritation.

"Lock it away for another time. That way when Ashy tries to set me up with a guy I have a way to get payback!" I laughed.

She shook her head, "Anyone else?"

The room was silent, either they didn't know the answer, or were shocked by mine. Probably the latter, I'm very startling. Is that the right word? Startling. Star-startling. Yeah, that's the right word.

"Crystal?" She called. Wait, when did Crysie raise her hand.

"Turn it into the proper authorities," She answered sweetly, a smile plastered on her face. How do people think she could ever be a villain. People just live in the past here.

Look to the future! The past is boring! It was an accident, just move on! She only acts like Ashy because they had all that one-on-one time six years ago when she was in Ahtahollan. Like how did nobody ever catch her?

Maybe if she had more time with me then she would've actually agreed to join the Cheer Squad, but apparently she has better things to do like plan on how the hell to break her dad out of the Isle of the Lost, but she won't let me help! Come on, like, I wanna help, he was my mom's friend's husband, he was like a cool uncle, he shouldn't be there! But Ashy says she has to do this alone, Crystal only was allowed since it was her father. I want to help!

Apparently people had noticed me banging on the desk, oops, since everyone was looking at me in confusion, disappointment, that one was from Fairy Godmother, and the villain kids just looked amused, except Evie, she's just a sweetheart.

"Oops," I muttered before slumping into my seat, but not before sending a glare in Ashy's direction. Hope she caught onto the reasoning behind that. She usually does. She's really smart.

"You find someone's wallet in the school cafeteria, do you, A: Take it"

Yes, you do, they obviously don't need it. That reminds me, I should give Jay back his wallet, you know, the one I took this morning. I should give that back.

"B: Leave it for someone else to find?"

Lame! They'll take it instead.

"C: Return it to the proper owner."

Instantly hands shot up.

"How much did I miss?" I whispered in Evie's ear.

She frowned and cocked her head to the side in confusion, "What do you mean? You never left."

I only nodded, it's about three seconds until she understands, three, two, one, and-

"Oh! They finally caught onto Ashlyn's advice. Always choose the least fun one," She explained.

I nodded, she's right, it is always the least fun. I'd rather punch Audrey than curtsey and bow to her and Ben. I swear, if she tells me to bow to her one more time, I will literally break her nose. Ashy's becoming queen and you don't see me bowing to her, what makes her think I'd ever bow to her, just because she's such an angel for Ben. And only Ben. She still calls Crysie a freak everytime she walks past her, mocks her title, she's gonna be the future ruler of Ahtohallan for god's sake, that's like a magic title, that's awesome. I wish I had a magic title. Princess seems like more of a mockery these days.

"Jay!" Fairy Godmother called.

I turned towards him and noticed he was holding Carlos' arm down while his was higher in the air, he had a smug grin on his face, it made me want to smack him.

"Return it to the proper owner," He stated smugly, sending a glare my way. So he did notice his wallet was missing. Maybe I shouldn't give it back.

The struggle is the fun part.

"I was gonna say that!" Carlos complained.

"But I said it first!" Jay argued.

Things escalated fast from there, Jay and Carlos started wrestling, Fairy Godmother failed to get them apart, I was too busy laughing to try, and Ashy was just amused. None of us really tried, even Evie, she's used to this kind of thing apparently.

Nobody stopped it until Jay ended up punching Carlos' jaw. That's when purple sparks flew across the room Jay on one side of the room and Mal standing protectively over Carlos on the other.

She really likes him!

Fairy Godmother composed herself and turned towards Jay, "I recommend you two try out for Tourney."

"Ooh! Evie, you should totally join the Cheer Squad with me!" I practically screamed.

She had a huge grin on her face but didn't say anything. That means yes. Hundred percent!

"Miss Ashlyn is also the leader of the Fencing Team," Fairy Godmother pointed out.

"Girls only, unfortunately, Chad just had to open his mouth and bring up the rulebook, so she started her own fencing team. Boys can join the Swords and Shields Team though." Eric pointed out. He's wanted to have a fencing match with Ashy for years. Top of their teams, a spar between captains, it sounds great. Except it's still never happened, even if Ashy and Eric are Juniors. I mean, this is their third year, they should totally have time to do it. Then again, he's been practically begging her for it since my Freshman year and I'm a Sophomore now. I guess that's only one year. Oops.

"Come on Mal, you should totally do it!" Evie ushered her best friend. I wonder if we'll become best friends, me and Evie I mean, I mean, me and Mal could be cool. Maybe I'll try to talk to her later. She's just a bit too quiet for my taste.

Mal didn't say anything, she just silently grinned, that always means yes!

Finally, after what felt like forever and ever and ever-the bell rang and we were let out of class. I practically sprinted to the tourney field for cheer practice, wait, scratch that, I did sprint to the tourney field, so fast I forgot to even grab my cheer outfit from my locker. Oops. So then I had to sprint all the way back to my locker, get changed, and sprint all the way back, also while avoiding Jay whenever he saw me so that I didn't have to give him back his wallet.

It's been an eventful ten minutes. Adding on top of that; Evie decided to try out! I knew it! Now Audrey just can't be a stuck-up judgmental bitch! Yay! With me and Kat on her side she'll definitely get in!

"Hey Rae, good luck out there," Crysie cheered as she walked by. Apparently, she doesn't have time for sports. Lame!

I mean, saving her dad's life can't be that difficult, right?

"Rae-Rae?"

Did she really not have time to try out. I mean, come on! It would have been so fun. At least I might have Evie.

"Rae!"

Go away Kat! Wait, Kat-

"Kitty Kat!" I cheered as I hugged her.

Kat is like my sister. I mean, like me and Crysie are close, same with me and Ashy, but Kat and I are the closest. We kind of just clicked. She has blonde hair; I have blonde hair. She has blue eyes; I have green eyes, she wears heels every day like her mother's glass ones; I hate heels. We have so much in common! Not to mention we hate Audrey, but like, everyone does, so it's not that important.

Also, we bond over her jerk of a brother. Considering that while I am allowed to slap Chad for asking me out twenty-six times, she is not. And she always has to follow the rules. Lame!

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" She inquired.

I shrug, "Around fifty-six or so."

She nods along with that answer, so I was right! I'm so great! "Make is fifty-seven."

"Okay, Ki- Kat!'

She just rolls her eyes, "So care to introduce me to your new friend?"

Oh, I forgot she was here! Oops. "This is Evie, she is trying out for the Cheer Squ-"

"No."

"I was thinking that with you and I we could convince Audrey-wait, what do you mean no?!"

"No."

"But Kitty Kat, she'll be really good! Like do flips and all that stuff," I complain. Why is she saying no?

"We can't have a villain kid on the team, especially not her. First off, Audrey and I would say no, and second, the entire team except for evidently; you, is terrified of her for pulling a knife on Ben. So like I said, no."

"But why would you say no? It's not like you know her that well!"

"And you do?" She asks incredulously.

Well, not really. We did meet like an hour ago. "Yeah, come on Kat, she'll be really good. She might even get in trouble less than me! You have to take her!"

"Audrey would never approve. Nor would Fairy Godmother, or even Ben," She argues.

"So? Why does it matter if Audrey would approve, if you approve than she can join, and Fairy Godmother never complained once when I brought the idea up, and well, I don't know what Ben would think, but if he's letting the boys try out for tourney then he'd definitely let Evie do Cheer!"

"Really, it's fine," Evie whispers.

"Except they didn't try to kill the future king," She retorts.

I have too, yet I'm on the team!

Her eyes widened in alarm, "Shit, did I say that out loud?"

She nodded, her eyes still wide. So maybe I shouldn't have admitted to that. "Come on, we both know he treats Crysie unfairly! It was only once, and Ashy chewed me out afterwards, so what's the harm?"

"The harm is that while your supposed attempt was in secret and for him treating your friend unfairly, hers was for absolutely no reason."

"But Ashy said it was because of her ex-boyfriend ch-" I was cut off by Evie covering my mouth with her hand, and a dangerous look in her eyes. Right, I was not supposed to bring that up.

But Kat would know! Her ex-boyfriend broke up with her because of her jerk of a brother! And I know for fact the black eye he was sporting the next day was because of her!

"I mean, she didn't actually hurt him according to Ashy, just violently threatened him before breaking down and crying about-" That time I was cut off by Evie hitting my back. Ow! Oh, right, boundaries. That's what she's saying!

"Rae-Rae, Audrey will never let her," She sighs.

"Yeah, but-wait, does that mean you'll let her-"

"One chance, that's all she gets. One single accident, whether she just threatens them, pulls a knife on them, or anything in between, and she's gone."

"Deal!" I practically screamed. I could see a small grin on her face, and Evie was just glaring at something far away. I feel like she should be happier about this.

"Evie?" I asked, but nothing.

"Come on, we're gonna be late!"

Finally, she turned towards me with a small smile, "We are?"

"Yes! Now come on!"

"It's still up to Audrey," She whispers in my ear.

"You're like equally as captainy as her! If you agree and I agree she'll have to let her in!" I explain with a huge grin.

She just sighs, "Maybe."

"That's not a no," I sing in her ear. She just grins but doesn't say a word. Not quite the response that I was looking for.

It only took a few minutes to drag Evie over towards the sidelines of the tourney field where tryouts were being held, although Kat had started sprinting a few seconds in since she realized she was gonna be late, and captains can never be late! Except for Audrey. Audrey often just gets there halfway through cause she went shopping, and then blames the whole thing on Kat.

And she wonders why I never make it through a practice without smacking her.

"Hey Auds," Kat waves at her from where she stands a couple feet ahead of us. She walks over to her very slowly, trying to hide me and Evie from her view, at least I think she is.

"Hey Katherine, you're late again, what was it this time? Did you finally stop to kick crazy off the team?"

I was about to walk over to her and tell her off about blaming everything on Kat, but a quick glance my way from her direction shut me up.

"Nope, but Rae and I brought a new teammate!" She exclaims.

Audrey raises a brow in response, "You know that those decisions have to go through me first. I am the soon-to-be-queen after all, so decisions like that must go through me," She states, making me let go of Evie's hand and walk up to her with a dangerous glint in my eyes.

"For the last fucking time, I will not treat you any differently than anyone else just because Ben made a fucking mistake in falling for you. Kat has just as much power as you since she is also captain, a team elected captain, versus you who just gave yourself the position when you started dating Ben. You treat everyone awfully and it's no wonder that everyone here hates you, or that Kat doesn't bring you into these kinds of decisions because she knows you're a self-centered, over-the-top, bitch, who only cares about herself. I think you forget that everyone here is royalty, and that you being a princess doesn't fucking matter here! As it is, Ben hasn't proposed, meaning you are no higher that anyone else here just because you are his girlfriend! Hell, even once he becomes king, Ashy becomes the queen, not you! Ashy becomes queen until you two get married, and once Ben finds out how you treat everyone here, will never fucking happen! So stop thinking of yourself as better than everyone else, just because you are a princess, when we all fucking are! And even if we weren't it wouldn't matter. We're still people, and you're not better than any single one of us, whether we're from Auradon, or even the Isle. Hell, the Isle kids have still acted better than you, and one of them pulled a knife on Ben! How the hell is that supposed to be better? Oh, I don't know, the fact that you fucking have bullied my best friend for six years, constantly spread awful rumors and scorn Ashy even though she'll be fucking queen in a few weeks! How about the fact that you blame Kat for everything, when it all is your fault. You always treat people worse than you, bully Crysie into bowing to you for fucks sake, that is where I draw the line! So stop thinking anyone actually cares about you, or what you think, because once Ben drops you, you'll lose everything!"

It was completely silent for a few seconds, even the boys on the tourney field were looking at us, causing me to subconsciously grab Evie's hand and give it a small squeeze in reassurance.

"Get out!" She muttered.

"What was that?" I asked her, a frown playing on my lips. Please say she isn't doing what I think she is doing.

"You're off the team, go change out of your uniform and bring it back to me. You should have been kicked off a long time ago, but someone always would stop me. But not this time. You crossed a line, I am to be queen, and you are not to treat me this way. So go, it doesn't matter what Katherine says this time, if she tries to stop me, then she can leave too for all I care. We don't need you. You don't bring anything to this team, except for scorn and bullying. You should have been kicked off a long time ago, so go. And bring your VK friend, she had no chance from the start, and you have been given too many chances."

My heart broke at those words. No matter how it may have seemed, I loved cheerleading, and I was good at it too. So hearing those words, it broke my heart, I didn't even think. I didn't even think before letting go of Evie's hand and running off the field in tears. I should have talked to Evie, apologized, should've talked to Kat, but I didn't. If only I actually had thought before acting. My legs carried me fast; faster than I usually run. Tears stained my cheeks and I didn't even think to look back, I should have, my mind was screaming at me to turn back, to stand up to Audrey, or defend Evie, but I didn't. I ran. Because she hurt me.

I'm a coward! She bullies Crysie all the time, hell, I know for fact that she's mentioned the idea of exiling Ashy once she becomes queen, saying she's secretly a villain, or mentally insane. She always finds some excuse. But Ashy doesn't run to her room and cry when she hears that. Crysie always has Ashy to help her, but I have nobody. I'm just being selfish. Me being kicked off the team is nothing compared to what Ashy and Crysie have been through. And I wasn't there for Evie, I ran. I'm just a fucking coward.

"Rae!" Someone yelled after me, but I kept on running; faster than before. I didn't want to talk right now.

It only took a few minutes to make it to my dorm and break down. Tears already stun my cheeks, but what was that to breaking down on the floor of my dorm room. I shouldn't care. It's just cheerleading, it's not like my crush rejected me, not that I have one! Nobody could love me like that. Audrey was right. I always yell at her for bullying Crysie and all the other kids she hurts, but I also bully people. Whenever anyone tries to hurt my friends, I always cross the line. I hurt them, everyone, including my friends. Getting smacked hurts, I mean, mom almost broke my dad's nose with it, but I just use it if someone makes me mad? Pointless, idiot, coward! How do my friends even stand me?

A knock on the door. "Rae," A voice yelled from the other side. Speak of the devil.

"Just go away!" I cried, he doesn't need to see me like this. I can't afford two heartbreaks in one day.

Of course, his being the great friend he is, picked my lock, that or he used the key I gave him, but picking my lock sounds more likely. We all know how to do it, just in case we need to break into someone's room. Thank god, Audrey hasn't noticed I keep stealing her bracelets. The first time was stealing back the one she took from Crysie, but after that was mostly for fun. I guarantee at least half of them were stolen. One of them was Ashy's! She can't pull the future queen card, and then take something away from the real future queen. Hypocrite. I think.

"Rae!" He said rushing over to me.

"Just leave me alone, Eric," I cried, not even looking in his direction. I don't need this dumb feeling right now. I'll just get my heart broken.

"Hey, Rae, what's wrong?" He asks me.

"Do you hate me?" I ask him, my voice barely a whisper. It hurt to ask this. I never thought it possible, but Audrey made me think otherwise.

"What?" He asked. "Why would you even think that? Of course I don't hate you!"

"That's good," I mutter. "At least I have you."

"Rae, what's going on?" He questioned.

I batted his way and my tears sprung up again, I tried to turn away, but he brought me closer to him, not giving me much of a choice in the matter. His arms wrapped around my waist as he brought me in for a hug. Finally, when he broke away, I spoke up, "Audrey kicked me off the team," I whisper, holding back my tears.

He just pulled me back in, closer than before, to the point where I was crying into his chest. "She's an idiot. Don't believe a word she says." He tells me. "You are the best cheerleader I have ever seen, and Audrey has had that coming for years. You're really brave to stand up to her like that? Plus, I saw how you tried to comfort Evie when she noticed all the guys looking at her. You have one of the biggest hearts in the world, Rae! Don't let what Audrey says make you think otherwise. You were standing up for your friends, and the Rae I know always puts her friends first."

His words made me smile, but another thought crushed it. "Do I hurt you?"

He was silent, but his look said it all. Of course I do. How does he not hate me?

"You don't hurt any of us, Rae. Not really. Physical pain, maybe. But it's part of who you are, and we wouldn't want you to stop. We want you for you. If standing up for yourself and your friends got you kicked off the team, then it's Audrey's loss. She just lost her best player, and in a few weeks she'll be begging you to come back on. And even if you don't get back on the team, you'll always have me. Hell, you could even do what Ashlyn did when Chad got her kicked off the fencing team and just start your own. It's entirely up to you. But don't let what Audrey said get to you. We all want you as you are."

"Thanks Eric," That was all I said. After all those words that gave me encouragement, all I could say was thanks. Pathetic.

"Hey, maybe tomorrow you could come with me to fencing tryouts. I'm pretty sure Carlos will try to join, considering he didn't seem to like tourney very much, and I think it might help you out a bit. I'm sure Evie will be there to cheer on her friend, so maybe you could talk to her a bit then. And then after tryouts, me and you can go and get some ice cream, okay?"

I smiled, "Just me and you?"

He nods. "Just me and you. To help lift your spirits a little bit."

I smiled, "How about we go get ice cream today, and we can go to the Enchanted Lake tomorrow," I suggest. This is borderline asking him out. If he says no...

"I'd love to, but this time you are coming with me into the lake."

I grin, "I'd love that!"