29 | RICH BUT NOT A BITCH
WINTER had everything planned out. She had already spoken to Mal on the phone about it, the purple-haired girl extremely eager to help out. No one was in on the plan except for Winter and Mal — even Ben was going to be kept in the dark.
It was simple, Winter was going to meet them at the mall they were to be going to. She would show up just after the three had gotten their phones and steal them away with the excuse that Ben was allowing them to use some of his funds for shopping. Mal was to distract Ben during this so that way he did not realize what was happening — no one other than Mal would know Winter going to show up either.
Auradon Shopping Mills was a large shopping center and mall located not too far away from Auradon Prep. It was one of the local weekend hangout spots for the teens as it was not far from the downtown area. Not to mention, the stores always had the best fashion options and food treats.
That morning, Winter plaited her long hair into two french braids that went over her shoulder. She also decided to wear some nicer and more fashionable clothing as the Auradon mall was a place that no one should go without looking at least a million bucks.
A white flowery corset was tucked into a pair of black shorts. She wore a light pink overcoat with it, her shoes being a pair of tall wedges. Along with that, she wore a few tight sparkling bracelets over her silk gloves — a dangly diamond necklace gleaming from its place on her neck.
Overall, her look was classy and expensive. She shrunk at her own reflection — hating how she looked like the typical Auradon Princess. Especially with the expensive white purse hanging over her shoulder — a bag which she rarely used.
Winter could not even remember the last time she walked in heels, these tall wedges had been hiding in the back of her closet along with most of the items her outfit was made of. She really hoped that she did not trip trying to walk in them.
As much as she hated it, she knew this look was necessary. Here was the deal, with the barrier being down, there was a rumor going around campus that the mall and other shops had tightened their restrictions. The shops did not want to be robbed, especially seeing as most of their items were incredibly expensive.
In other words, if Winter were to walk in with the Sea Three (as much as she liked their own fashion-sense and chained up gear) their obvious Isle roots would not mull over well with the mall shop owners.
The last thing Winter needed was people giving them a hard time. As long as she at least looked the part of being rich, they should be good while shopping.
Just as Winter had been about to leave to catch an Uber, she smirked before grabbing her diamond-studded sunglasses. She had been dying to wear them since she bought them with Sitara over the summer. Her cousin had a matching pair.
The Uber ride was easy enough, the driver having been used to picking up students from Auradon Prep. He was rather friendly and explained that he had been taking students to and from the mall all day.
When they arrived, Winter made sure to tip him graciously before making her way across the cobblestone ground. She sent a quick text to Mal saying that she would be in the phone store within the next few minutes.
The inside of the mall was as sparkling and gorgeous as ever. The tiled floor was glassy despite the many people running about the mall. A large number of teenagers, as well as adults and natives to Auradon city, filled the mall. The familiar fountain sat at the middle of the entrance, spouting pearly water every other second.
Small kiosks were nestled toward the sides, the people working them waving their hands in an attempt to get others' attention. Upbeat music filtered across the building, but it was barely able to be heard over the boisterous sound of conversation.
Winter passed by people who looked equally as elegant and rich — but Winter knew that only a small handful were true royals or fairytale figures. Most were either related to some sort of royal or simply rich city folk. She caught snippets of conversation, multiple conversations causing her to crinkle her nose.
There had been one conversation in particular where a girl was complaining to her boyfriend about her step-brother flirting with her constantly.
Winter shook her head at that, stepping onto the pristine glass escalator. Her heels gave a click as she stepped on, Winter making sure to hold onto her purse too tightly — not daring to place a hand on the railing. Even if she was wearing her gloves, she did not fully trust that some ice would not appear if she kept her hand rested for too long.
As she went up (the phone store was on the second level) a small group of VK kids were coming down on the other side. Winter smiled as they all looked around in awe, their eyes wide. The group looked a few years younger than herself, Winter recognizing Dizzy Tremaine and Celia Facilier among them.
She was happy that they were able to get off the Isle while they were still somewhat young.
When she got to the second-level, she hopped off the escalator — casually gliding to where she knew the phone store to be.
There were a few things she had picked up while living in Auradon. Alike to the Isle, there were quite a few methods one should follow while living like royal. Always walk with your head held-high, perfect posture — pretend as though you were constantly on the catwalk. A graceful smile should continuously adorn your face and most of all, you had to care about every little detail. From the way you spoke to the very way you breathed, everything should be picture perfect.
That was how you lived like a royal.
As soon as Winter opened the glass door leading into a glowing technology store, her eyes fell on a certain group of people talking to an employee. Harry, Gil, and Uma appeared to be listening intently as an employee wearing khakis motioned to one of the newest phones. Ben and Mal were next to them, Ben listening but Mal only looking around the store.
She smiled seeing Winter, easily slipping away from the group as their attention was on the facts the employee was throwing at them. Uma and Harry were quite adamant about making sure they did not get finessed (as that was not uncommon on the Isle) and got the greatest deal available. Gil, on the other hand, was simply excited to finally have his own cellphone.
While Ben was listening to the facts the employee was spewing over the phone, Mal was waiting for Winter's arrival. As much as she loved Winter's plan, Mal felt as though Winter deserved to take more credit than she was planning. Therefore, Mal was not going to lie to the Sea Three about it being Ben who taking them shopping, but instead, she would come clean about Winter being the one behind it.
"Hello, ma'am," Winter's attention was taken away from the approaching Mal to an employee who popped up next to her with an overly-friendly smile, "anything I can help you with?" the female employee quirked a brow from behind thick-framed glasses.
She was young, probably a college student if Winter had to guess.
"No, I'm just meeting some people, thanks," Winter smiled as the employee nodded before bouncing away to some old couple who walked in.
"Winter," Mal practically sang, finally stopping in front of her.
Immediately, Winter noticed that Mal was not wearing her normal leather and chains. Mal had similar thoughts to Winter — knowing that it would be smarter if she dressed the part — so the purple-haired girl was wearing something of Evie's pick.
A light dress with some heels and diamond-encased jewelry. Her hair was tied back in a side-bun as an attempt to make the purple stands less noticeable. As much as Mal hated wearing such get-up, she knew that if she wore her normal gear it would only make the stress of shopping with Harry, Uma, and Gil that much harder.
Especially on Ben and Winter.
"Holy crap, are those diamond-studded sunglasses?" Mal noticed the beautiful sunglasses resting on top of Winter's head.
Sometimes Mal forgot how truly rich Winter was. Seeing the girl in such an expensive outfit only proved Mal's point. Then again, Winter did look good — Evie would be bouncing off the walls if she were here to see this.
"Yeah," Winter shyly smiled, "I bought them over summer, like them?"
"Do I ever," Mal sighed, "maybe I can get Ben to buy me a pair," she added in a mischievous tone, turning her head to eye her fiancé.
Mal may have been an Isle-girl through and through, but that did not mean she had to completely shun the ways of Auradon. That included the fact that her fiancé could also be known as "Mr. Moneybags", something that Mal was definitely not complaining about.
"I'm sure he would," Winter smiled, "we can stop by the Sunglass Hut!"
Mal laughed at Winter's excitement. She knew better than anyone that, as much as she tried to hide it, Winter loved shopping. It seemed to be a normal Auradon girl characteristic — and while Winter was not nearly as passionate about it as some girls at the school — she still liked shopping nonetheless.
"You look seriously good, girl, I mean — I can't even remember the last time I saw you in heels!" Mal snickered at Winter's blush.
Winter only waved her off, motioning back to her instead. "Thanks, but look at you, Ms. Queen-to-be,"
Mal rolled her eyes but smiled while grabbing Winter's hand and starting to lead her to the group of four who were now looking between two phones the employee who was showing them. As soon as they got there, Mal released Winter's hand going back to standing by Ben's side.
Winter opted to stand behind Harry's broad back, none of them noticing her appearance as Harry's figure was easily hiding her. Uma was next to him and Gil on the other side of her. Uma crossed her arms, raising an unimpressed brow as the employee started talking about the perks of the phone.
"Hold up," Uma interrupted him, "but again, even with those features, it sounds like that phone does the same things as that one — it's just a year newer and a hell of a lot more expensive," she stated.
The employee sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose causing Harry to growl in warning. The employee jumped, giving Harry a fearful look — it was a known fact that Harry did not allow anyone to disrespect his captain and best friend.
Winter tilted her head as she watched the muscles in the pirate's shoulders, getting the strangest urge to run her gloved hands down his arms. The back of Harry was just as good-looking as the front side of him, Winter doing everything in her power to not let her gaze wander down further.
She lost that battle and soon her warm eyes were practically glued to the pirate's ass. Winter knew how odd it must have looked for her to be standing there simply staring at his ass, but she could not rip her eyes away.
Harry furrowed his brows, having the oddest sensation of being watched. After living on the Isle all his life he had acquired a certain sixth sense as most people living there did. He felt when someone was lurking, or staring, or too suspicious for his own good.
And right now Harry felt someone both lurking and staring at him, more so staring at his ass. In a curious manner, Harry turned his head nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw a petite girl standing directly behind him.
At first, Harry thought this was some random rich-ass girl, but after a second he realized (much to his own shock) that this was Winter Frost. His Winter Frost.
She was standing there looking like many of the other rich folk he had seen when he first entered the mall. However, she was quite a few inches taller than normal and she looked nothing less than a million bucks. Harry's mouth nearly dropped when he saw that her sunglasses had diamonds embedded in them.
It was at that moment that Uma's words from a few weeks ago came back to him. He was reminded that Winter Frost was no normal Isle girl that Harry could woo in seconds. While she may have blushed at his comments, she was still delivering a fiercer fight than Harry had ever come across when he tried getting a girl.
Not only that, but Winter was like no girl he had ever come across. She was fucking royalty.
And that fact made Harry need to work ten times harder if he even wanted a chance with the beautiful thing in front of him.
Swallowing, Harry pulled himself together, trying to ignore how enthralling she appeared. God, Harry wanted nothing more than to run his fingers through her hair at that moment.
"See somethin' ya like, ducklin'?" Harry was not exactly sure why Winter was here, but figured it had something to do with Mal — and he certainly was not complaining.
Winter jumped, snapping her gaze up to meet Harry's smirking features. His grin widened at her look, the girl looking as though she had been caught red-handed. In a way, she was, because Harry Hook had most definitely caught her staring at his ass.
Harry's words caught the attention of the rest of the group, Uma raising a brow at the girl's appearance and Gil smiling.
"Hi, Winter," Gil cheered before fully taking her in, "Woah, you look different, it's a good different, it's just..." Gil trailed off sheepishly causing Winter to smile, "...different..."
"Different as in you look like a rich bitch," Uma smirked before Ben piped up with a smile.
"Rich but not a bitch," the King smiled nodding to Winter who laughed lightly.
"Rich girl, huh?" Winter cringed slightly at Harry's tone, really hoping that he would not judge her too harshly. Despite everything that was said about Harry Hook, Harry was not someone who let things slip by him easily. Therefore, he noticed the slight cringe from her at his words, and without warning, he dropped his hand over her shoulder. "Mmm, I love me a rich girl," he inhaled her natural berry scent.
Winter blushed as Harry dropped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his side. She stumbled slightly in her heels, Harry keeping her steady so she did not fall. She blushed harder when one of Harry's hands sneaked down her waist, ghosting over her bare upper legs.
Harry hummed at the feel of her bare legs under his leather and ring clad hands. Without warning, his hand came back up to rest on her right ass cheek. Winter's eyes widened and she nearly screamed, but she did not want to cause a scene.
Harry continued to rub his hand over her ass while the employee got back to talking about the two phones. However, Harry and Winter were no longer listening for Harry was too busy messing with Winter.
Winter's breath caught and she was speaking before she could stop herself, moving away from Harry's grasp.
"I think you guys should get the newer version!" Everyone turned to her, even the worker looking surprised, "it's no secret the company who makes these phones starts making the older models shut down after so long, a newer version will last you longer,"
The employed nodded, "she's right, the older version will crash on you all sooner."
Uma pursed her lips but looked to Ben to make sure he was okay with the price.
"Money is not an issue, Uma," Ben smiled, turning to look at the employee. "We'll take three—"
"What colors?" The employee asked, Uma, Ben, and Gil answering.
"Yellow," Gil piped with a smile.
"Blue," Uma crossed her arms.
"Black," Harry smirked, winking at Winter who was doing everything in her power to keep her eyes away from him.
Winter was determined that barely a second later she moved her sunglasses down so they were covering her eyes. Her vision went darker causing a shadowy outline to form around everything in sight.
Soon, Ben had paid for the phones and the group of six were standing just outside the store. It was an interesting sight to see half the group looking nothing less than the expectations of Auradon but the other half looking like the villains their parents were.
Gil was already playing around on his phone, downloading every app he came across while Harry and Uma were setting up their contacts list.
"Oi, put ya number in here," Harry handed Winter his phone.
Taking his phone out of his grasp, Winter quickly typed in her number before handing it back to Harry. Harry cackled, typing something else before showing her.
Winter groaned as the words "Duckling" appeared where her name should have been.
Harry sent a quick text to her, a gif of Squidward shaking his rear end.
She scowled, looking to a laughing Harry.
"Is this supposed to be you?"
It was Harry's turn to scowl at her words.
"It does resemble him, doesn't it?" Uma questioned with a smirk, catching sight of the gif.
Harry scowled even further while the two girls laughed at him.
"Time to go shopping?" Mal asked before Harry could quip anything back, Winter's eyes lighting up.
"Shopping?" Ben questioned along with the other three, something that made Winter realize Mal was not going along with the plan.
Ben was supposed to be kept in the dark so that way the others would not realize it wasn't Ben's cashflow they were using.
Mal winked at Winter, a sign that Mal was not intending to follow the previous plan. Winter groaned, moving her sunglasses so they were resting upon her head once again. Before she could try to steer everyone on the original path, Mal piped up.
"Yep, Winter here offered to take you three shopping for some new things," Mal smiled as Ben rose his brows in surprise.
Gil, Uma, and Harry looked surprised as well. However, while Gil cheered Uma and Harry only narrowed her eyes.
"Why?" Harry scowled, "I ain't lettin' ye pay for me, lass, sorry,"
"Yeah, besides we don't need no new getup," Uma added causing Winter to sigh.
Mal's shoulders slumped as well while Ben looked uncomfortable.
"Listen, Uma," Mal piped, "I am Isle through-and-through, but there are going to be some events in the near future where you will not be able to dress in leather, especially with being one of the King's advisors and personal council members,"
Uma looked taken off-guard by Mal's words, shifting uncomfortably. She knew it was true, no matter how much she disliked it.
Winter squared her shoulders, nodding her head, "Yeah, and I am going to pay for you all, and that is final..."
Uma sighed but gave in, sending her and appreciative smile. Harry; however, was not so easily persuaded. He could not say why he was so against the idea of Winter paying for her (because had it been anybody else he surely would have jumped at the opportunity) but this was Winter he was talking about.
A small nagging part of him knew the reason though. And it was quite simple really.
It hurt his... masculinity.
Harry was the guy, in retrospect he was supposed to be the provider. In all aspects meaning physical, emotional, and well, financial. Just as Ben was to Mal. Or Doug to Evie.
Hell, even Carlos gave Jane pretty gifts or took her out to dinner.
Yet here was Harry Hook — pirate extraordinaire, who could not even so much as buy the girl he was desperately trying to win over lunch that was not from the school dining hall. Not only that, but here was that very same girl offering to take not only him but two others on a full shopping spree.
Yes, you could say that dented his pride just a tad.
"Nope, no, sorry duckling, I ain't doin' it," Harry was stubborn, crossing his arms.
Winter narrowed her eyes, debating on how to get the stubborn pirate out of his own head. It was obvious the reason he was not keen on accepting, it hurt his damn pride.
An idea hit Winter, what was bigger than the pride of a guy?
Winter smirked knowing the answer, but she was still not sure if she wanted to throw it out there. Then again, what choice did she have if she wanted Harry to come?
"Shame," Winter hummed, "I myself need a new set of knickers..."
Like that, Harry's head perked up, a torn expression on his face. It was enough to nearly make Winter laugh.
Harry was now in a new debate with himself, his pride or getting a glimpse of seeing Winter in undergarments? Pride or panties? Pride or panties.
Ultimately, panties took the crown.
The pirate threw his head back with a groan causing Winter to smile victoriously knowing she had won.
"Great! Where do you guys want to go first?" Uma and Harry did not answer, but Gil did.
"Oh! I saw a nice pair of jeans in the window back there, can I get those?" Mal and Ben shared smiled with each other before the group followed Gil off to whatever store he was on about.
It turned out that the store was Abercrombie and Stitch, a store that was rather popular among teens as it mostly focused on casual wear. Not to mention, it was one of the less expensive stores in the mall. Well, at least to Ben and Winter it was, the Sea Three's eyes nearly bulged out when they saw some of the prices.
Even Jafar did not charge this much for his stolen crap goods in his Isle shop. And Jafar was known to be the biggest rip-off there was!
"Gil, I like those jeans," Winter complimented the youngest son of Gaston, the boy admiring himself in the mirror.
The jeans were a tighter fit and felt nice against his legs. Gil could not help but like the fresh new feel of the pants, something that was hard to come by for clothing of the Isle. Uma and Harry were scouring the racks in a reckless manner, throwing different clothes every which way.
Ben, Mal, and Winter cringed as they watched, noticing the workers eyeing the two pirates with something akin to disdain.
"Mal, I think you should say something to them," Ben suggested causing Winter to nod viciously.
Mal gaped, pointing to him. "And why can't you?"
"Are you serious right now? There is no way they will listen to me, Harry will probably just threaten to hook me again!" Ben exclaimed before both he and Mal turned to Winter.
"You do it, Winter," they spoke in unison causing Winter to scoff and shake her head.
"What? No way!"
"C' mon, Harry might actually listen to you and Uma probably will too—"
"Nope, no way, I am not saying anything to them," Winter refused, not thinking it would bide well with them.
They already did not want to do this, the only thing that was keeping Uma was the fact that she needed the clothes for her duties in court and Harry was just riding on the promise of shopping with the girls for underwear. More so, shopping with Winter for underwear.
Immediately, the three got into a small bickering match as to who would be the unfortunate soul to approach the two pirates on acting more... respectable.
A sudden tear sound reverberated around causing their eyes to go to a chuckling Harry and Uma, both of whom were laughing at the fact that Harry had accidentally ripped a rather delicate-looking blouse.
"Oops?" The son of Captain Hook laughed along with Uma, tossing the now ruined shirt to the floor without care before continuing to look through the racks.
A female worker — who looked rather furious — starting marching toward the two before she was stopped by Winter.
"I'll pay for it, so sorry," Winter gave her a nervous smile causing the worker to huff but turn away from confronting the two pirates.
Gil was back in the dressing rooms trying on a new t-shirt that Ben had handed him.
"We need to stop this now before anything worse happens," Mall announced, but before they could start arguing over who would be the one to face them, a voice that resembled bells practically sang Been and Winter's names from behind them.
"Ben? Winter?"
All three turned around curiously, Ben and Winter recognizing the voice instantly.
Behind them, a dainty girl with lips red as blood and hair black night stood with a graceful smile etched onto her face. Mal was taken aback and she swore that this girl standing in front of them had to be the fairest girl she had ever seen.
She was no doubt their age, wearing a simple dress but she was just so... pretty.
She had an aura about her that screamed kindness and something about her just made you want to trust her.
Winter and Ben met the chocolatey gaze of the daughter of Snow White and Prince Florian. Also known as the final member to the Big Five, the Princess who had left Auradon Prep in favor of Dynasty Academy due to her parents. Sonny White.