CHAPTER iii:
BE PREPARED
Kleo wasn't a very doubtful lioness, not in the slightest. But this, the fact that she was being forced to play someone's girlfriend really caught her off guard. Scar had taught her to be prepared for anything thrown at her, no matter how strange and unusual it may be, be prepared for anything and execute it perfectly, it had to be done flawlessly otherwise it would cause complications in the future.
But Kleo thinks her friends have lost it!
After spending a good hour and a half in the kitchen, gathering the ingredients for the cookies, they were briefly interrupted by Lonnie, claiming it needed chocolate chips. They were all lost for words. She had gone on a short tangent of how good and delicious they were and that they tasted better when you cooked them with your mother or father. But none of them knew the feeling of baking with their parents, because no one experiences that kind of stuff on The Isle. Lonnie had thought that "Even villains love their kids..." which was not true in the slightest. But it all ended well when she provided them with their last ingredient: a tear of human sadness.
Kleo had held onto them, not wanting to just make it look like she was eager to cause trouble. She already had Kato breathing down her neck every chance he could get, glaring and cursing her name under the bright sun, assuming she was up to no good. And she was, Kleo was up to no good. She just couldn't wait to see what he was going to do when she starts 'dating' Ben. Kato might combust into flames, who knows? All she knew was that it was going to be wickedly hilarious when he goes mad like the Hatter. And possibly turn red as the rose when angered like the Red Queen.
So, Kleo lets a day pass, not even batting a lash when her friends practically attack her when she hadn't cursed Ben into loving her yet. Mal looked about ready to curse her and Jay was about ready to wrestle her (even though it's a fight he would win by a slim chance). She knows her father wouldn't mind. Scar knows it takes time to carefully plot and not rush things, jeopardizing your evil plan. How do you think he successfully killed Mufasa in that stampede? And if Gil were here, he would be her cheerleader. Telling her to do what makes her comfortable, not caring if she was taking too long, but just full on supporting the love of his wicked life, knowing she will do just fine.
It's Wednesday afternoon now, the class has just ended, and all of the descendants were doing their own thing. Mal had her nose deep in her spell book at the library so she could come up with a backup plan if the cursed cookie doesn't work properly, Evie was in her room sewing a new set of clothes with the money she got from Lonnie, and Jay and Carlos were practicing for Tourney seeing as their big game starts in an hour or so.
Kleo stood at her locker, trying to grasp onto the homework for her math and chemistry class, not knowing if she is getting the correct answers because she can hardly understand what the teacher is droning on about in class. Ben had offered to tutor her, but she declined him, not wanting to spend more time with him if she didn't have to. (But that was going to change when he forcibly becomes her boyfriend in a few short hours... or minutes.)
The cursed cookies were propped up against the inside of the locker door, sealed away in a plastic bag. She was tempted to eat one, seeing as she was starting to love cookies (the only good thing about Auradon at the moment), but she stopped herself, not in favor of what would happen to her: most likely fall in love with Ben instead of vice versa. And that would be very bad.
An agonizingly horrid voice makes Kleo's ears twitch, tearing her away from her confusing homework. It was Audrey down the hallway, not far from her with Ben at her side.
"Do you think they actually paid for those?" asks Audrey. Kleo peeks at her from behind her locker door, her eye's narrowing at the agitating princess. "She did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it." Audrey is talking about Mal, and Kleo is about to tear this girl's throat out.
Kleo can handle people talking behind her back because she's got thick skin, she can take people whispering bad things about her. But when it comes to her friends, she jumps at any chance to defend them. They are her family, they are her Pride, and that's that!
But Kleo knows that pouncing on this girl will result in major backlash for her and her friends, possibly sending them all back to The Isle for what she's done. After all, they need to lay low and not cause too much trouble among the Auradonians. So, she does nothing and just eavesdrops.
"What's the harm?" asks Ben, not seeing a problem.
"It's gateway magic!" says Audrey, trying not to lose her composure. "Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then... Where will I be?"
Kleo rolls her eyes. She wants to laugh out loud at Audrey. This girl is more narcissistic than Mother Gothel and Evil Queen Grimhilde combined.
"Listen, Audrey..." starts Ben, a bit annoyed by his girlfriend.
Audrey interrupts. "I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?" She gives him an air kiss, not wanting to smudge her lip gloss, and then she sashays off. "Bye, Bennyboo."
Ben stands there for a few moments but then he notices the locker door that's wide open, abnormally green eye's watching him, little butterflies going into an uproar in his stomach. Kleo doesn't avert her gaze from the prince, wanting to see him sweat a bit under her watchful feline eye's. Ben makes his way over to her, a smile creeping up to his lips. "Hey."
Kleo grabs the cookies and then slams her locker shut, making Ben flinch. She puts on a wicked smile. "Hey, Bennyboo!"
"You gonna go to the Tourney game?" asks Ben, a bit hopeful.
"Of course, I have no choice. Jay and Carlos are gonna be playing and I want to watch them destroy the other team!" says Kleo, a glint of fire dances in her eye's like the 'Hellfire' Claude Frollo once sang about.
"That's good... I guess," says Ben, a little bit worried about her words of Carlos and Jay 'destroying' the Sherwood Falcons at the Tourney game and nervous of what's to come in that game―will they win, or will they lose?
Kleo wastes no more time. She pulls up the plastic bag with the cookies in it and waves them in Ben's face. "I made cookies. Double chocolate chip, do you want one?"
"Oh, I, uh, I've got the big game, you know," says Ben, shifting the weight between his feet. "I don't want to eat before a big game. But thank you so, so much. Thank you. Next time, next time."
Kleo arches her scarred brow at him and scoffs. "Fine," she says with a bit more attitude than she anticipated. "Suit yourself. I totally get it, you don't trust me, is that right? Too good to take anything from a villain kid, huh?" She shrugs her shoulders and opens the bag and takes out one of the cookies. "I pity you, prince of Auradon. You would have simply adored my baking after you had eaten it. Oh, well, more for me then."
Ben's face had contorted into a hurt one. He didn't know she would react like that. He wants her to feel welcome and included, and this might be just a little thing like rejecting cookies from her, but the little things matter. He wants the villain kids of The Isle to be good or as good as a villain kid can get, and not feel alone. So, as she's just about to take a bite, he snatches it from her and stuffs half of it in his mouth. "See, I totally trust you, Kleo. Totally," says Ben, his mouth nearly full.
Kleo stuffs the rest of the cookies in her bag, not wanting him to have too much. She lets Ben have the rest of the one he has in his hand. And even though it might be a bad idea, she needs him to be infatuated with her until they get the wand. "How are they?"
Ben stares down at the cookie, a funny and very powerful feeling starts to consume him. "They're good. They're great! They're amazing!" He takes another bite of the cookie. "They're, uh... I mean, they're chewy and, and you know, they... is that walnuts? I love walnuts." He finishes the cookie now. "I mean, uh, you know, the... The chocolate... The... The chocolate... The chocolate chips are... I'm sorry. Um... Uh, they're... They're warm and soft. And they're sweet... Kleo, have you always looked this beautiful? Not that you weren't beautiful before, I mean, words can't describe you, nothing bad, it's just, uh...." He trails off. He feels very uneasy but a good type of uneasy (if that's possible). He's looking at Kleo and he is just falling apart. He can hear his heartbeat in his ears and his legs feel like they might give out.
Kleo places a finger on his lips to silence him. "How are you feeling, Ben?"
The entirety of Kleo seems to glow like he has been struck with cupid's arrow at the mere sight of the lioness. New feelings for her suddenly arise to the surface, and he's seeing her with new eyes. He smiles, lovingly. Ben wraps his arms around her and spins her around, letting out a melodic laugh as he puts her back down, as she is a bit startled by his embrace. "I feel like singing your name. Kleo, Kleo, Kleo, Kl―"
"Stop, stop, stop," says Kleo, covering his mouth with her hand. She cringes at the thought of him possibly breaking into a love song for her.
Kleo felt like she was being suffocated by Ben now. He reminded her too much of Gil: the most chivalrous and kindest boy she had ever met. Ben was just like Gil but timed by two and it made Kleo want to vomit up her lunch. She guesses Auradon boys and Isle boys were the same as they were different.
It wasn't long until Ben had to leave, kissing Kleo on the cheek and running off to the gym to the boy's locker rooms to get changed and warmed up for the Tourney game. Kleo only smirked, off to gather Mal and Evie for the game.
✧
The Tourney field has sprung to life. The entirety of all the Auradon Prep students are shouting in the bleachers for the Tourney players. Kleo, Mal, and Evie stand along with them. Watching Jay (number eight) beat the snot out of the other team. Carlos (number one hundred and one) sits on the bench and watches his teammates play. And Kato (number twenty), taking down the Sherwood Falcons like it's child's play.
"This is a nail-biter folks," says the Announcer. "There are forty-seven seconds left on the clock. We're all tied up. The Sherwood Falcons, two. The Fighting Knights, two. What a game between Auradons fiercest rivals."
The two teams break off into huddles. Jay seems to be talking with his Coach, Coach Jenkins, and Carlos is speaking with them. Soon enough, Coach Jenkins seems to be arguing with Jay about something and Carlos is running onto the field, nervous.
"So, did you do it?" asks Evie.
"Yeah. That boy is in love with me," sighs Kleo. She can see Ben jogging to the field, and he looks at her, happily waving to her and she gives him her best smile as he runs off with his team.
Mal nods and smiles wickedly, knowing that her plan was successful. She needed Ben to be distracted, and with Kleo being his girlfriend it would be easier to obtain the wand. With Kleo having front row seats and all, plus, who was going to stop a vicious lion from stealing the wand anyway. Her plan was pure evil genius!
As the teams on the field break from their huddle, they get into position. Kleo attentively watches the game, a bit more invested in it than she thought she would be. She remembers playing sports on The Isle with her brother and sister and friends, tackling and sweating, wickedly laughing and maliciously smiling at one another. Jay was doing almost exactly what he did back home. He was phenomenal on the field and the Sherwood Falcon players could barely keep up with him. Ben and Carlos were almost as good as Jay, trying to keep up with his aggressiveness. Kleo could see Kato holding back his brute strength, not wanting to severely hurt anyone―perhaps a pacifist?
The game rages on as the announcer gets louder with his excitement, watching as Ben makes the last and final play of the long and loud Tourney game, "He passes to prince Ben. He scores! Prince Ben has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the win here. What a victory! An absolute wonderful end to one of the best games ever. Here they come folks. The winners of the first tourn..."
Ben had been suspended in the air by his teammates after his victory, as they set him down, he runs over to the announcer and snatches the microphone from him, "Excuse me. Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please? There's something I'd like to say," he pauses as everyone in the bleachers settles down. His eye's lock with Kleo's as she shakes her head to not do what she thinks he's about to do. "Give me a 'K'!"
Kleo face-palms and Mal and Evie give her confused looks.
The crowd repeats, "'K'!" Everyone starts to make the letters with their arms in unison with Ben as he stands before the crowd.
"Give me an 'l'!"
"'L'!"
"Give me an 'e'!"
"'E'!"
"Give me an 'o'!"
"'O'!"
"What does that spell?" asks Ben.
"Kleo!" says everyone, all looking at Kleo with their bright smiles and rosy cheeks.
"Come on," shouts Ben. "I can't hear you!"
"Kleo!"
"I love you, Kleo! Did I mention that?" Ben then points to the band. "Give me a beat!"
"Uno, dos, tres, cuatro!" says Doug.
"How much of that cookie did you give him?" says Evie.
"All of it," says Kleo. Mal gives her a look. "What? How was I supposed to know that this would happen?"
Ben then sings:
"Did I mention,
That I'm in love with you?
Did I mention,
There's nothing I can do.
And did I happen to say
I dream of you every day.
But let me shout it out loud,
If that's okay-ay-ay (Hey!)
If that's okay (Hey!)"
The Tourney team starts to dance simultaneously, executing the same moves as if it were rehearsed; It's a full blown flash mob! The bleachers are filled with clapping and singing and dancing. Mal and Evie happily dance along, teasing Kleo while they do as she stands there still in shock at what Ben is doing. She watches the entirety of it all. Spotting Audrey running off somewhere and Kato looking more furious than anyone she's ever seen (possibly more enraged than Hades himself).
"I met this girl that rocked my world
Like it's never been rocked.
And now I'm living just for her
And I won't ever stop.
I never thought it can
happen to a guy like me,
But now look at what you've done,
You got me down on my knees.
Because my love for you is ridiculous."
Kleo supposes Ben's love song is sweet but she knows he is not acting on true and authentic feelings for her, simply cursed into thinking he loves her. He then throws his Tourney jersey to her and she catches it, the sweet stench of his musk fills her nose.
"Because my love for you is ridiculous.
I never knew (Who knew?)
That it can be like this.
My love for you is ridiculous.
My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!
(R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!)
It's (RIDICULOUS!)
Just (RIDICULOUS!)
And I would give up my kingdom
for just one kiss."
As Ben finishes his song, he 'swims' on the crowd of people in the bleachers. They drop him on his feet next to Kleo as he throws his arm around her and without warning, plants a kiss onto her lips, completely enveloping her mouth with his. Kleo doesn't push him away, bringing him closer in her grasp to trick everyone else into thinking that she loves him too. And it works. Everyone goes into an even bigger uproar at the sight of 'true love's kiss' happening before them, not even batting a lash at the fact that she is a villain kid and he is an Auradon kid.
Ben pulls away from Kleo. Both of them breathless as he says, "I love you, Kleo. Did I mention that?"
"Yes," mumbles Kleo. "Many, many times to be exact."
Audrey storms back to the field with her fingers laced with Chad Charming's. She pushes her way through the sea of students in the bleachers and comes close enough for Ben and Kleo to see what she about to do, "Chad's my boyfriend now! And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date." Audrey then cups Chad's chin in her hand and kisses him.
The expression and Kleo's face darkens as she tries to claw her way from Ben's grasp to rip Audrey's throat out. But Ben's grip on her tightens, as he brings the microphone to his lips, "Kleo! Will you go to the coronation with me?"
Kleo takes the microphone from him, "Yes!"
"She said yes!" says Ben, giving Kleo another big kiss, and everyone around them cheers.
Audrey and Chad then leave, Audrey not liking how Ben flat out left her for Kleo (even though she was only using him to become the queen of Auradon someday). Jay makes his way through the crowd. "Let's go, lover boy. The whole team's waiting for you."
Ben kisses Kleo, "Bye."
Kleo waves him off. "Bye, Bennyboo." Kleo turns to Evie and Mal. Evie seems to be upset about something as Mal comforts her. She then realizes that her crush on Chad would never be reciprocated because Audrey has him in her princess clutches. Kleo smiles sympathetically, "Don't worry about that, Evie. There are plenty of other boys that would be lucky to have you."
"Yeah," agrees Mal. "I feel like if Audrey were talented as you, and she knew how to sew and knew beauty tips, that she wouldn't need a prince to make her feel better about herself."
Kleo, surprisingly, gave her a side hug as Mal squeezed Evie's hand. Evie smiles, blushing a bit. "I guess I am kind of talented."
"You are definitely gifted."
"Thanks, M. Thanks, K."
Mal and Evie both made their way to the dorm rooms, while Kleo took a nice stroll through the campus. She certainly believes that things here in Auradon, with their evil plan in process, was going very well. Of course, they were taking longer than expected, but there was nothing wrong with a necessary detour.
She wondered what it would be like, having the entirety of Auradon in their evil clutches, calling upon the forces of all wickedly evil beings and such, ruling Auradon and taking revenge on the ones that thought they defeated them. Kleo supposes the revenge will taste sweet, well, her father's revenge, she doesn't have anyone on her personal vendetta list. Kato doesn't fit in that list because there was no need to put him there, her father would take care of him. And Audrey, Kleo was starting to realize Audrey wasn't worth her time. The whole 'mean girl' attitude was getting tiring. She's only that way because she's rich and her mother is Sleepy Beauty (Aurora) and she's just insecure and needs to drag everyone down to make herself look and feel better.
Kleo's hold on the jersey tightens. She hadn't even noticed that she was still holding Ben's Tourney jersey. She stops in her tracks and stares at it for a second. The sweet smell of it makes her nose twitch, bringing the jersey up to her nose to get a better smell of it, trying to completely memorize the scent. So, when she needs to find Ben for something, she can follow it later.
As she becomes familiarized with Ben's scent, there's an arm colliding with her side, sending her flying into a locker. Her back stings for a second, the metal not making a nice collision with her clothed skin. In a split second, Kleo manages to steady herself on her feet. A furious expression is written all over her face, her eye's burn with rage and her mouth is curled in a snarl. She's faced to faced with Kato. And he looks just as mad as she does, but for a different reason.
"I thought I told you to watch yourself, Kleo!" shouts Kato. His eye's burn with rage as well, his brown eye's boiling.
"Well, I couldn't help myself. You Auradonians are too easy," says Kleo, darkly smirking, her anger disappearing. "A threat was not going to keep me away from stirring up trouble." Her smirk then turns into a toothy grin.
"Why would you do that to him? How did you do it? You know you would be the last person he would want to be with," says Kato.
"A magician never reveals their secrets," says Kleo. "And besides, why wouldn't he want to be with me? I'm a delight if you hadn't already noticed. Like Ben said in that little song: 'I rock his world.'"
"Well, whatever you did, whatever spell you and your friends cast upon him, I'm gonna―"
"You're gonna what, Kato?" interrupts Kleo, putting a hand onto her hip, as her other hand still holds Ben's jersey, circling the boy like a shark, sizing him up. "You're gonna attack us with your privilege and empty threats? You don't exactly scare us, and especially not me." She then folds her arms over her chest, coming back around to look him in the eyes. "You see, Kato, you are powerless against me. Sure, you're free to threaten and insult me all you want, but when it comes to wanting to 'take me down', my little Bennyboo―" Kato growls and Kleo chuckles. "―will be there to protect me. I'm invincible and there's nothing you can do about it."
And as if on cue―"What's going on? Is everything alright between you two?" asks a voice. It's Ben. He looks refreshed and not out of breath and smelly from the Tourney game. He looks very concerned at the proximity of the two cousins, both staring each other down. He can almost feel the hatred and anger radiating off the two. Ben quickly makes his way over to Kleo, placing his hands on her the tops of her arms, guiding her to take a step back from Kato, rubbing her arms to try and calm her down.
"Everything's fine, Ben," says Kleo, forcing a smile. "Kato and I were just having a friendly discussion, weren't we Kato?" Kleo turns to him, a smug smile on display. He scoffs, rolling his eye's, shoving his hands into his varsity jacket and stomps off, clearly irritating by her. Kleo waves mockingly at him. "Bye!" She says, in a singsong voice. She then turns to Ben. He doesn't look convinced.
The French prince furrows his brows. "Are you sure everything's fine, Kleo? Kato didn't look too happy."
"He's just peachy," says Kleo.
✧
"I just don't know what to do about her anymore, grandfather," says Kato, looking up to the night sky that evening.
Through the clouds of the night sky, the ghost of his grandfather stood: Mufasa. He was still as humble and as great when he was alive. "It appears that she does not want to listen, my grandson. Stop trying to control her and start trying to understand her," says Mufasa, in Swahili.
"Understand her?" says Kato, exasperated. "Have you not seen what she has done? She tried to eat Zazu! She cursed prince Ben into loving her. She, the daughter of Scar, the daughter of a murderer. Imagine what will happen if Ben marries her, she'll become the queen of Auradon and wreak havoc!"
"You have to understand that Scar has filled her heart with blind hatred, the same blind hatred you have for her for what he did to me. Her father's actions should not shape the way that you think of her. I have been watching her from when she was a cub, and I know that there is kindness and selflessness in her heart. You, my grandson, must give her time. She will show you that kindness and selflessness sooner than you think..."
Kato stands in his place as Mufasa vanishes from his sight. He knows that the situation with his cousin isn't going so well, especially with him attacking her earlier that day. He wants to believe what Mufasa is saying isn't true, but he knows what his grandfather says is not a lie. He just can't get through his head of how Kleo can be nice, she's a villain kid! She's supposed to be what they say: vile and ruthless and menacing, not nice and kind and selfless.
Kato curses himself. He knew he needed to be prepared for anything when Kleo arrived in Auradon, but he certainly didn't expect any of this.
✧
AUTHOR'S NOTE: this chapter is kinda shorter from my last ones and the end is kinda rushed but i'm trying to extend the events of the first movie to be more realistic.