Tough Love - a Descendants Fanfiction

Chapter XVII - An Old Friend

Kenzie's POV

I woke up early in the morning from a long night's rest and got dressed in some lightweight clothes. Quietly, I looked out my window, careful not to disturb Summer. The sun was already shining in the cloudless sky and it looked like it was going to be a nice, warm day. Deciding to take a walk in the forest, I packed my camouflage backpack with protein bars and water.

I snuck out of the room and jogged down the hallway. I opened the doors to the building and burst out into the warm morning. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I set out to the sunlit forest.

The sunlight hit the trees so that it formed dapples on the grass. The ferns swayed and rustled in the wind. It seemed like a perfect day.

All of a sudden, I heard groaning coming from the bushes. I creeped up to them, cautious of the noise. It sounded like a human, but in this land, you never know. I moved part of the bush with my hand and...

THANK THE LORD! It's not some weird monster creature. It was Chad. Well, he might still pass as a monster... Anyway, he was tied up with a black eye and tape over his mouth. He looked scratched up and was bleeding a bit. I noticed a red bandana tied around his neck. That could only mean one thing.

"Well, looks like Red found a worthy victim," I stated. Chad was still groaning in pain. "I guess I could take you to the nurse if you stop bothering me, Summer, and the VKs..." I ripped the tape off of Chad's mouth, not caring if I hurt him or not.

"Please! Take me to the nurse!" Chad pleaded. I hate to admit it, but it felt good to see him beat up.

"Fine. I will. You shouldn't have messed with Red, though."

"Wait, you know the thing that attacked me?" Chad managed to choke out.

"Yes, I do. Red is a shapeshifter, but she can only shift into things she has seen and stuff that is real. Her temperament is not very good, but that's only if you get on her bad side. If you're on her good side like I am, she's friendly towards you and extremely loyal. You, obviously, are not on her good side," I explained.

I threw Chad up and over my shoulder without saying another word. I trudged toward the nurse's office.

"Wait how come I haven't seen Red before?" Chad asked.

"Like I said, she's a shapeshifter. It's hard to pick her out from the crowd sometimes. Now that she's seen you, she can turn into you. Also, Red prefers to live in the forest. She doesn't attend much school, and that's probably for the best. She's intelligent and doesn't need to go, and most people tend to get on her nerves. I've known her for a long time, so she doesn't mind when I visit."

Chad let me carry him in silence after that. After a few more painful moments, we reached the nurse's office. I set him down on the bed in the office, untying him. I left him in there for the nurse to tend to.

I don't even know why I helped him. Now that I think about it, he probably won't keep his promise and I should have just left him in the woods. Well, I can't do anything about it now.

I sprinted back to the woods. I was hoping to find Red there. After about a half an hour of searching, I finally found her.

I walked up to Red. She was a pretty tall girl the same age as me. Her hair was bright orange and curly, with red streaks. Her bright blue eyes gazed into mine. She had light skin and was fit and healthy. This is her original form, and she prefers to stay in it.

"Nice job beating up Chad," I congratulated.

"Yeah, he was being a jerk. I hate how men think they can do anything to us females," Red explained. She's powerful, and I know it. So does anyone that comes across her.  Red has had several bad experiences with guys, so she doesn't trust them as much as she trusts girls.

"So... how've you been? I haven't seen you in a bit."

"I've been fine. Hunting has been great lately, and I've found quite a few useful plants in this forest," Red responded. "What about you?"

"Life has been good. New kids from the Isle have come to Auradon. Summer and I have made friends with them."

"Wait who are their parents?" Red asked. She gets kind of protective of Summer and me, since we are basically the only people she trusts.

"Maleficent, Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil." Red looked at me skeptically, but then it looked as if she decided it was fine. I got an idea. "Hey, you should come to Ben's coronation! He's becoming king, you know," I invited. "You can sit next to me!"

Red smiled at me and nodded. "That sounds great!"

I looked down at my watch and noticed it was time for breakfast. I took a protein bar and bottle of water out of my backpack and offered it to Red. Gladly, she took it and we said our goodbyes.

"I'll see you at the coronation or hopefully earlier than that!" I yelled behind me.

"See ya!" Red yelled back. I watched her disappear into the trees.

I jogged to the cafeteria to see everyone already there, waiting for me.

Carlos's POV

Kenzie walked into the cafeteria halfway through breakfast. We stood up to greet her as she reached our table.

"Hey did you hear about what happened with Chad? Apparently some creature attacked him in the woods," Evie told Kenzie.

"Um, yeah, about that. I was the one who found him. The thing is, I actually know the creature and so does Summer..." Kenzie responded.

We all stared at Kenzie in surprise. Mal finally spoke.

"Well that creature is welcome in our group any time!"

We all laughed at Mal's comment and sat down to finish our breakfast of eggs and bacon. Of course, I had secretly taken a piece of chocolate from the kitchen when no one was looking.

I looked back to where I had stored the chocolate. It was gone. I panicked, looking through everything and in my backpack along with Jay's backpack.

"Dude, what in Auradon are you doing?" Jay asked, startled.

"The chocolate I had is gone!"

I noticed Kenzie running off with something in her hand. Wow, Kenzie... Just wow.

"KENZIE!!!" I yelled, running after her. I could hear the VKs laughing as I dashed off. I burst out of the cafeteria. I expected to find Kenzie running off to somewhere, but I didn't see anyone. Suddenly, a bush next to me rustled. Out of nowhere, a shape tackled me and pinned me down. It shoved the chocolate in my mouth and I realized it was Kenzie.

Kenzie was laughing as I ate the chocolate.

"Meeeemorieeees!!!" Summer yelled. She was watching through a window. Kenzie and I both sighed, trying to catch our breaths from laughing so much.

Kenzie helped me up and I pulled her closer, kissing her delicately. We both smiled at each other and headed back into the cafeteria. The others had finished their breakfasts and were heading off to their classes.

"I'll see you later," I told Kenzie and the other VKs that were still in the cafeteria.

I headed off to my classes. Today was going to be a good day.

A/N - Yayyyyy!!! My friend, Red of Life, wanted me to put her in the story so I hope you guys like her character!  Go check out her Animal Jam YT channel!  (Her channel is Red Of Life)

Thanks for reading and hope you have a magical day filled with rainbows and unicorns!!  More chapters coming!