DUDE AND CARLOS

iduna shuffles through her locker, reaching for the textbook for her next class that she had with evie. nearby, she notices audrey, a boy she had learned to be chad, and prince ben looking at them and whispering.

rolling her eyes, she turns to mal. "see yah, m."

"bye." she replies, shutting her locker. with that, evie and iduna leave for their class. "i'll meet you there, i just need to use the bathroom," iduna tells the girl. evie nods, sending her a small smile, "i'll save you a seat."

after using the restroom, iduna walks out, noticing jane standing there playing with her hair. at the sight of her, jane's eyes widen. iduna smirks, placing her bag down on the bench as she washes her hands," i love your choice of outfit colour," she says, sending the girl a small smile as she examines her blue dress, "really compliments your skin tone."

jane gulps. "u-uh thanks. it's not as nice as your outfit though, you look so cool." she says, looking down at the girl's platform boots, her slighty baggy black pants and her blue, leather tank top.

iduna shrugs, "i have a thing for clothes." she pulls her hair out of her ponytail from track earlier, fluffing her hair over her shoulders. as she's doing so, mal walks in. from the look on her face, iduna smirks. she's plotting something.

"hey, it's jane, right?" mal grins, "ugh, always loved that name. jane." she giggles.

jane looks highly uncomfortable at the presence of the two isle teens, as she says "that's cool," and goes to leave.

"don't go!" mal stops her, causing the brunette to stop abruptly. mal plasters a sad, innocent look on her face. "i guess, i was just kind of hoping to make a friend. you probably have all the friends you need though, huh?"

jane looks down, "hardly."

iduna follows along with mal. she had no idea what mal was planning, but she was ready to help. "really? i mean, with your mom being fairy godmother and headmistress?" the two step toward her.

"not to mention, your own... personality," mal adds with a chuckle.

jane shakes her head, "i'd rather be pretty. you've both got great hair."

mal's face brightens. "you know what? i have just the thing for that!" she chuckles as she opens her spell book, "it's right.. ah! here."

"beware, forswear, replace the old with brand new hair," she flicks her wrist as jane gasps.

iduna blinks and jane's hair is now curled, long and placed over her shoulder. jane gasps as she looks to the mirror in awe.

"wow! you almost don't notice your, other features anymore!" mal chuckles. iduna gives her a harsh look in the mirror. she thought jane was actually rather pretty. for an auradon girl. jane turns to mal, tapping her spell book. "do my nose!"

mal sighs, "oh, i can't. i've been practicing, but you know, i can't do really big magic. not like your mom, with her wand! i mean, one swoosh from that thing, and you could probably have whatever features you wanted."

iduna hides her smirk, now understanding mal's scheme.

jane frowns, "she doesn't use the wand anymore. she believes that real magic is in the books. and not the spell books, regular books with history and stuff."

mal scoffs, "what a rip. you know, she used magic on cinderella, who wasn't even her real daughter. doesn't she love you?"

"well of course she does. it's... it's just you know, tough love. 'work on the inside, not the outside.' you know, that sorta thing," jane says, looking down sadly.

"that's the face!" iduna steps in, "yeah, and then just look as if your heart is about to break." mal nods, giving an example, "oh mother, i just don't understand why you can't make me beautiful, too."

jane looks between the two, "you think it would work?"

mal nods, "yeah. i mean, that's what old cindy did, right? and your mom bibbidi-bobbidi-booed the living daylights out of her. and hey, if your mom decides to, you know, break out the old wand, invite us."

jane grins. "if i can convince mom, you two are so there." mal claps happily and iduna smiles.

jane grabs her purse, sends them a goodbye and leaves. iduna nudges mal with a smile, "nice one." mal smirks, "i know."

❄️

     after science class with evie and chad, iduna is ready for a nap. the whole lesson her best friend was making heart eyes at the boy, who didn't give iduna good vibes at all. he was too... obsessed with himself.

     at her locker, she shoves all her books inside since she was finished for the day. she planned to go back to her dorm and take a long nap before dinner. that is, until prince ben appears beside her, dressed in a yellow polo shirt and blue shorts.

     "geez, you scared me." iduna mumbles, "why are you following me around, stalker?"

     ben gives her a sheepish smile, "i'm not following you. i checked your timetable and noticed you're free the rest of the day. you mind helping me train carlos?"

     "why do you need my help?" iduna asks, confused.

     "well, since you're now on the track team, i thought you could help him with some running drills. and i've noticed he's more... motivated when you're around." ben chuckles. iduna forces her blush down, shrugging carelessly.

     "i guess-"

     "thank you!" ben grins, and before she could protest he leads her down to the field, where carlos is already warming up. at the sight of the girl, carlos puts extra effort into his pushups, which doesn't go unnoticed by ben.

"okay, carlos, we're gonna do some sprints. you ready?" ben holds his timer and clipboard in his hand. "iduna, any tips?"

"uh..." she begins, before carlos is running towards them at full speed. she quickly realises a dog is chasing him as he screams and pleas for help.

quickly, despite in platforms, iduna runs after him, ben quick on her tail. "carlos!" she shouts, following him into the woods.

"iduna, quickly!" carlos shouts, holding out his hand for her to climb the tree, "he's gonna eat you!"

"ben!" carlos shouts as the prince appears, "help me! this thing is a killer!" he points to the dog. "he's gonna chase me down and rip out my throat. this is a vicious, rabid, pack animal!" iduna, despite never seeing a dog in real life, didn't think it was dangerous at all. even if it was, she could take him easily.

"hey, who told you that?" ben questions, picking up the dog.

"cruella, his mother." iduna says, stepping away from ben and the dog. it was better to be cautious.

"she's a dog expert. a dog yellerer," carlos nods, "why are you holding him? he's gonna attack you!"

ben steps forward, "carlos, you've never actually met a dog, have you?" carlos shakes his head. "dude, meet carlos. carlos, this is dude. he's the campus mutt."

"he doesn't look like a vicious rabid pack animal," carlos speaks, stepping down from the tree, "geez, you're a good boy, aren't you?" he slowly puts out a hand, petting the dog's head. ben puts dude in carlos' arms, smiling softly. iduna pets dude, a small chuckle escaping her lips, "i guess cruella was wrong. she'd freak if she knew you were near a dog."

ben frowns. "i guess you guys have it pretty rough on the island."

carlos and iduna look at each other. "yeah.." carlos says, "let's just say we don't get a lot of belly rubs." iduna smiles sadly.

"good boy," ben says, placing a hand on carlos' shoulder, "i mean, you're a good runner. you're fast, you know," he stammers, "listen, i'm gonna give you guys some space, yeah? you guys get to know each other and just, you know, come find me when you're done, okay?"

carlos smiles at him, "okay, see you later."

iduna sits down with carlos, petting dude's fur, "you mind if i stay?" the boy looks at her, "not at all."

iduna smiles, "it's weird, isn't it? it feels like i'm dreaming, and eventually i'm going to wake up and be back on the isle."

"i know. do you think we'll do it? i mean, the whole, world domination thing?" carlos asks her.

she shrugs. "who knows. mal seems pretty determined. as much as i feel out of place here, i prefer it to the isle. i mean, they have chocolate."

carlos laughs, "yeah it's not so bad. but as long as we stick together, right?"

iduna nods, heart fluttering, "right."

❄️

     iduna paints her nails, listening to jane, who joined the three isle girls in their dorm, complain.

"mom said, if a boy can't see the beauty within, then he's not worth it," jane complains, "what world does she live in?"

     "auradon." mal and iduna speak at the same time, smirking at each other.

     "d, mal, do you like?" iduna looks to evie, who holds up a dress that she had sewn.

     "yeah, it's cute." mal tells her, "brings out your eyes."

     "totally. you should pair it with some red jewellery or something." iduna adds. evie smiles, "i know, and yes! that's a great idea d."

     "i'll never get a boyfriend," jane huffs, dropping onto iduna's bed.

     "boyfriends are overrated." mal says, scribbling in her spell book. evie rolls her eyes, "and how would you know, mal? you've never had one."

     mal looks up, "it's cause i don't need one, e. they're a waste of time."

     evie suddenly gasps, "i forgot to do chad's homework! oh no!" she jumps out of her chair, running over to her bag.

     iduna scrunches up her face as she blows on her freshly painted, dark blue nails, "you shouldn't be doing his homework, e."

     "and that is exactly what i mean," mal states.

"oh come on, you can't tell me you've never wanted a boyfriend," iduna rolls her eyes at the girl, "or wanted a guy to like you."

"easy for you to say," mal scoffs, "half the guys on the isle have the hots for you."

"nuh uh," iduna shakes her head.

"uh huh! harry hook for example," evie teases.

iduna purses her lips as she thinks about the boy, "he doesn't count."

"sure," mal comments with a smirk, "if making out behind your house three times a week doesn't count."

iduna gasps, throwing the nearest pillow in her friends direction. mal easily catches it and laughs.

     a knock at the door interrupts them from taking the conversation any further. "hey guys, i'm lonnie. my mom's mulan? no? anyways, i love what you've done with jane's hair. and i know you hate us, and well your evil. but do you think you could do mine?"

     iduna stares up at her, "and why would mal do that for you? you barged in here and didn't even say please."

     lonnie looks at her, "i'll pay you fifty dollars."

     "good answer," evie takes the bag of money from the girl's hand, sending mal a look, "i need to buy more material."

     iduna sighs, tightening the cap on her nail polish lid.

     "let's see, i'm thinking, we lose the bangs, maybe some new layers, and some highlights," evie looks over her hair.

     "yeah yeah. i want it cool. like mal's," lonnie grins.

     iduna scoffs, "really? the split ends too?"

     mal glares at her, dropping her pen onto the bed with a growl. she stands up, flicking through her spell book, "beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair." lonnie's hair grows out, into thick voluminous curls.

     "i know, i know. it looks like a mop on your head." evie sighs, "you know what? let's cut it off, layer it..."

     "no no no no no!" lonnie quickly says, "i love it!"

     "you do?" evie questions blankly, causing iduna to chuckle.

     "it's just.." lonnie rips the edge of her skirt, "now i'm cool."

     mal smirks, "like ice. or, iduna."

     iduna rolls her eyes with a small smile. her friends tended to make too many ice jokes.

     jane walks over to the mirror, mimicking lonnie as she rips her dress. with a gasp, she says "what did i just do? moms gonna kill me!"

    iduna grimaced, cringing at the two auradon girls.

—————

EDITED: 14/07/2022