XJ → Harry Hook [1]✔

Auradon Prep

"Not happening," Uma stepped in, glaring at Evie, "I'm staying with Gil."

"I'm not leaving my girl alone." Harry reinforced as he wrapped an arm around XJ's waist.

"Rules are rules," Lonnie stated, still eyeing XJ nervously.

"We don't go by rules." XJ said emotionlessly. "We don't need a guide either. Just give us a map or something and we'll find our way around."

"It's our duty to - " Lonnie started, but Harry used his hook to grab a piece of paper in her hand.

"Look what we have here," Harry taunted as XJ took the piece of paper.

"Well what do you know," XJ said, smirking. "This is a map. That means we don't need you two princesses anymore, so we'll see you around."

Without another word, XJ ran up the staircase with the other villain kids following her.

"Hey, wait!" Lonnie called, but they had already vanished. 

Evie sighed and put a hand on Lonnie's shoulder. "Let them go. I used to be the same."

"They're worse," Lonnie said, glaring at where the villain kids had previously been. "Who am I rooming with now?"

"Not Uma, that's for sure." Evie said as she walked in the direction they had gone. "If it makes you feel better, Mal and I aren't rooming with XJ anymore."

As Lonnie followed, Evie said, "Speaking of XJ, what did she mean back at the entrance?"

Lonnie hesitated for a little bit. "Back on the Isle on Uma's ship, XJ said that my emperor refused to give her father's people food. She said he was selfish and her father only did what he had to keep everybody alive. She said that...that my emperor started the war and my mom doesn't deserve any of the honor she now gets."

"Lonnie, she's lying. She has to be." Evie reassured the Chinese girl.

"Evie, I asked my mom, and after she dodged the question for half a day, she told me that Xiao Jun was telling the truth. She tried to sugarcoat it, but it was the exact same story." Lonnie said quietly as they walked together, tracking down the new students.

"Oh...Lonnie, I..."

"I thought my mom was a hero. I wanted to be like her. Now that I know that she's been feeding me lies to make our country look good, I don't know how to feel." Lonnie said, looking incredibly distraught.

"Your mom wasn't lying to you, and she's still a hero. She won the war, didn't she?" Evie asked, putting a comforting hand on Lonnie's shoulder.

"She did, but she didn't deserve to. As much as I hate to admit it, Shan Yu deserved to win. We were supposed to lose and get what we deserved for our selfishness." Lonnie mumbled, looking down at the floor. "My mother's no hero."

"She's a hero to your people, Lonnie." Evie reassured. "Don't forget what Shan Yu did - he pillaged and looted and killed."

"But he did that so his people could live. Maybe there were better ways, but not back then. People didn't know back then and that was all they could do. My emperor could have just given him some food and millions of people wouldn't have had to die." Lonnie said gravely.

"Lonnie...I'm sorry, for what it's worth." Evie said quietly.

Lonnie didn't reply and they finally reached the dorms. It was easy to see which rooms the villains had entered; two of the doors were wide open and loud noises were coming from the inside.

Lonnie and Evie both sighed warily and walked into the first room closest to them. They found Uma unpacking and Gil jumping on his bed.

"If you're going to do this, then at least separate into one gender in each room." Lonnie said, irritated.

Uma snorted, "The couple want a room to themselves. We're not following your rules anyway."

"If you're attending Auradon Prep, then - " Evie was interrupted by a door slamming into her face. She blinked and tried to open the door, jiggling the doorknob to no avail. She shouted, banging on the door, "Hey! Open up!"

She didn't get an answer and Evie huffed. She turned to Lonnie, "Well, I don't think we can make them budge."

"The truest thing you've said all day," Lonnie said, smiling slightly. She motioned to the second room. "Let's go see how the other two are doing."

Lonnie and Evie walked into the other room to see that XJ and Harry had already unpacked. XJ had already set up a few training dummies that she had somehow managed to fit into her black bag that was tossed aside into the closet which had its doors open. Harry had made his own touches to the room by ripping all the fabric in the room except for XJ's bed.

XJ was stabbing the dummies with a spear and Harry was playing a video game. The two seemed very preoccupied with their own activities, although they were still talking to each other from the opposite parts of the room.

"Lass, are you sure you don't want to join me over here?" Harry called as he swung, holding the controls.

"I don't have any interest in that, Harry," XJ replied as she stabbed the dummy again. "Stabbing actual objects is much more fun."

Harry chuckled, "You know what else is fun?"

"Harry, I swear..."

"Smacking your - "

"Ahem," Evie cleared her throat, interrupting the two. XJ and Harry looked over at Evie and Lonnie in the doorway.

XJ said in monotone, "We're not changing."

"Yeah, we didn't think so," Lonnie said, "We just came to say that everything you need, like textbooks and your timetable, are all on the table. Don't be late for class."

Evie nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Evie and Lonnie turned to leave when XJ said, stopping them in their tracks, "Daughter of Mulan, what did your mother say?"

Lonnie was silent for a bit while Evie sent her a glance to say nothing. Finally, Lonnie said, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "You were right. Shan Yu should have won."

The room was filled with silence. Even Harry had stopped swinging at the digital enemies on the screen.

"I'm sorry you had to find out that way." XJ said blankly, still stabbing at the dummy.

Lonnie, Evie and Harry's jaw all dropped. Lonnie asked incredulously, "You're sorry?"

"Me being with Harry proves that I have emotions...Lonnie." XJ said, her voice still in monotone.

Lonnie and Evie walked out, shocked, and the door closed behind them.

"She apologized." Evie said, her eyes the size of the moon.

"The daughter of Shan Yu apologized." Lonnie repeated. She couldn't believe it.

Meanwhile, in XJ and Harry's dorm, XJ put down the spear and put it against the wall near her bed. Harry finished his game and hugged her from behind.

"That was part of your plan, wasn't it?" Harry murmured as he nuzzled his face into the side of XJ's neck.

"Of course it was - you'd think I'd apologize to anyone out of the blue?" XJ asked as she sat down on her bed, lying down horizontally across her bed. She pulled Harry down with her, and he ended up next to her with his arms around her waist and his face still buried in the crook of her neck.

"Good point." Harry said as he breathed in her scent. She smelled like candy because of the limousine ride. "What's the play for tomorrow?"

"We'll play nice for today just to see what it's like. If we don't like it, we'll take a day off. If we find that we can tolerate it, we'll continue and I'll put my plan in action." XJ said, closing her eyes.

Harry kissed her cheek. "Sounds like an amazing plan."