𝔅𝔢 ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔜𝔬𝔲 𝔚𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔉𝔬𝔯 by Hufflepuff1700

4. 𝔙𝔎'𝔰 𝔑𝔢𝔴 𝔓𝔩𝔞𝔫

After Doug and I go our separate ways, I see Carlos sitting on a bench a bit away with Dude. I smile as I approach them, "Hey, Carlos! I see you've met Dude." He chuckles, "Yeah ... He kind of, umm, scared me..." Frowning, I ask, "He scared you?" Carlos smiled tightly, "Yeah, well, Mom always said that dogs were vicious beasts and ... she basically raised me to be afraid of them."

I always felt bad for Carlos and how he was treated by Cruella: more of a servant than a son. I also feel choked up a bit right now, talking to Carlos who was portrayed by Cameron Boyce ... Rest In Peace Cameron.

Plopping down next to Carlos, I pet Dude who is quite comfortable in Carlos' lap, " I'm sorry you had to go through that. At least, now you know how truly wonderful dogs are." He nods with a smile, " Yeah, I guess so. He is really cute."

Carlos and I talk for a bit more, laughing over the smallest things when I notice the time, "Oh, shoot! I gotta go! I'm gonna be late for my fitting." He frowns, "Fitting?"

I clarify, "My dress for Ben's and my coronation. I'm being coronated as 'Crowned Princess', meaning I'll help Ben rule - in addition to being his Royal Advisor - until he gets married and his wife is crowned Queen. After that, I'll be a regular Princess and Royal Advisor to my brother and sister-in-law."

He nods in understanding, "Ah, got it. See you around, Marissa?" I smile as I start to leave "Yeah, of course! See you later, Carlos!" I then begin sprinting to meet my seamstress, barely making it in time as I  throw the door open, "I'm here!" She looks up from her desk with a playfully scolding look, "You were a second from being late. You're in the clear ... this time."

I laugh "Oh, come on! You love me too much to really be mad at me." She sighs, "Sadly, you're right. Now, I made the dress and accessories according to your specifications, and I have to brag ... they came out even more beautiful than the design sketch." She moves the screen blocking my coronation dress from view, the accessories on a small table next to the dress. My breath stolen from me as I take in my whole ensemble, "They're perfect."

~~~

Once my dress is fitted, not needing much alteration,   I start to walk back to the dorms when I run into Ben ... literally run into him. We both groan as I fall to the floor, "Really, Bro?" He helps me off the floor, "Sorry, sis! I was actually looking for you. I wanted to go check on Ma-the VKs, see how they're adjusting and I want you to come with me."

I smirk, "you want me to come with you so you can check on 'Ma-the VKs'? Why can't you just go by yourself?" He just looks at me "Because if I say something stupid, you'll stop me." Thinking it over, I nod, "That's true. All right, let's go."

We stand in front of the door and I wait for Ben to knock ... for like three minutes. "Are you ever going to knock?" He nods, "Yeah just give me a minute-" I roll my eyes "I gave you three."

Stepping forward, I knock on the door, Mal opening the door as Ben stands there with a goofy smile, "Hey, Mal. I didn't see you guys today. I was just wondering if you had any questions or anything that you needed." She shakes her head, looking back at the others, "Not that i know of."

The others shake their heads, Carlos and Evie waving at me, "Hey, Marissa!" I smile at them, "Hey, Evie, Carlos. Oh, Jay! Loving the jersey!" He shrugs snuggly flexing, "Eh, it's okay, I guess." I playfully roll my eyes at him as we laugh together, when Ben begins to walk away, "Okay. All right. Well, if you need anything, just uh ..."

Mal stops him, "Oh. Wait! Um, is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?" He nods, "Yeah, the whole school goes." Mal forces a smile, "Wow. That is beyond exciting. Do you think that it's a possibility that the four of us could stand in the front row next to the Fairy Godmother, just so we could soak up all that goodness?"

Ben looks at me before answering, "I wish you could. Up front it's just me, Marissa, our folks and my girlfriend. And Marissa's boyfriend, if she had one." I roll my eyes, "A, I don't need a boyfriend. B, everyone here is either already taken, is like a brother to me, or is Chad. C, I don't need a boyfriend. So sue me for not having a boyfriend."

Mal smirks at me before turning back to Ben, "And your girlfriend?" Ben replies, "Yeah, I'm sorry." She nods, "Okay. Thanks, bye." I wave to her as Ben tries to stop her from closing the door, "Oh, but, no, there's plenty of ..." The door closes and Ben sighs dejectedly.

I shake my head, "Word of advice: Break. Up. With. Your. Current. Girlfriend. Before. Going. After. Another! It's disrespectful to Audrey. And another word of advice: give Mal time to get used to Auradon first. Okay?" He nods, "You're right, Marissa. I think I'd better do that now." I nod, "Ya think?"

We then go out separate ways, me to my room and Ben to find Audrey.

~~~

Mal closed the door, smirking at her friends, "I think it's time that Bennyboo got himself a new girlfriend. And I need a love spell." She claps her hands and Carlos tosses her the spell book. As she begins to flip through it, Jay asks, "So, Ben's getting a new girlfriend ... But what about Marissa? How are you going to handle her?"

The purple haired girl looks up from the book with a smirk, "Nah, I'm gonna leave her alone. I like how she thinks. Also, if you think about it, only one of us needs to be upfront to grab the wand, and I have a feeling Marissa could be a good ally. She's not all bad like us, but she's not all good like the rest of the Auradonians.

"If we play it right, we could feed her badness and she could join us. How much would our parents love that? Not only will we succeed in getting the wand, but also in turning one of Belle and Beast's kids, adopted or not, against them. Talk about a wicked plot twist. No one would see it coming!"

Evie, Carlos, and Jay look on board, "All right, let's do it." Carlos says, "Yeah, I really like Marissa. She ... hasn't judged me at all or made fun of me." Evie smiles, "She said she was proud of me for solving a question in class and stood out up to the teacher about me. She even threatened to fire him if he picked on me again." Jay smirks, "She said I look good in this jersey."

Carlos rectifies that, "Actually, she said she liked the jersey. She didn't say you looked good in it." Mal jumps in, "Either way, we'll all befriend her and turn her to our side, got it?" The other three nod, "Got it." Mal smiles, "Good. Now let me find the love spell to use on Ben."