"So, I heard that Neville asked Mal to go to the Coronation with him."

"Really?" Georgie asked, surprised.

She and Ben had finished their nightly reading session in the library and now he was walking her back to her room. Ben had been a lot more touchy during their time together — wrapping his arm around her and even now he was holding her hand as they walked. Georgie felt like there were butterflies in her stomach every time he touched her, so she didn't complain.

"Yeah, it was a little after the game ended. He took her to his favorite spot in the campus gardens and asked her."

"That sounds so romantic," Georgie said, smiling. "I'm glad. Mal is pretty private though, so I understand why she didn't tell me."

They neared Georgie's room and Ben slowed their pace down, wanting to keep talking.

"You know, you did really good reading Pinocchio," he complimented.

"It had a lot of hard names — Pinocchio, Geppetto, Mangiafucco. You definitely picked a tough one," she said, chuckling. Georgie was glad that she no longer felt embarrassed about reading with Ben.

"But you worked through them without getting frustrated, and you should be proud of that."

"Thanks," she said, blushing.

They reached the door but Ben didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"Would you go on a date with me?" he asked. "Tomorrow once classes are done?"

"Of course," she said, grinning. "I can't wait."

"Great! You'll love what I have planned," he said excitedly. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"Goodnight, Ben."

When Georgie opened the door, she wasn't expecting for Evie and Mal to tumble to the floor. Clearly, they had been listening to her and Ben instead of sleeping.

"Hello to you too," she said, giggling as she stared down at them.

They scrambled to their feet and sheepishly apologized.

"Sorry for eavesdropping," Evie said, still grinning. "But oh my god, you have your first date tomorrow! We have to start planning your outfit right now."

"E, it's late and we have class tomorrow morning," Georgie reminded her. "But you have full permission to dress me up however you want tomorrow. Promise."

"Fine," Evie pouted.

"So, Mal," Georgie said, smiling innocently. "What's this I hear about you and Mr. Neville Naveen?"

Mal's smirk dropped and she crossed her arms. "Alright, I think it's time for bed."

Evie and Georgie giggled as Mal turned out the lights and got ready for bed, completely ignoring them. Eventually, they all settled down and managed to go to sleep.

It was the first night that all three of them actually enjoyed being in Auradon at the same time.

|

Each time Georgie passed Ben in the halls the next day, she couldn't help but smile at him. All Evie had been talking to her about was the upcoming date, and she got more excited the closer it got. When she made it to their English class, Ben was there to hold the door open for her.

"Thank you," she said, stepping into the classroom and him following right behind. She giggled, because Carlos had been behind her but Ben hadn't thought to hold the door open for him and it almost hit him in the face as it closed.

Ben didn't stop staring at her as he took his seat across the room from her. When class began, Georgie paid close attention and slowly followed along with their text book. Every now and then, Carlos would catch her attention and make faces at her, making her silently laugh.

Once she accidentally laughed too loud as Carlos stuck his tongue up his nose. That caught the attention of the teacher.

"I'm sorry, Georgiana, do you find something funny about one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies?" the teacher asked with a disapproving look on her face.

"Oh, no ma'am," Georgie said, trying to ignore those snickering around her. "I'm so sorry."

"Right, well, how about you read the next few paragraphs for the cla—"

"Actually, Mrs. Hamilton," Ben cut in, raising his hand. "I was actually about to ask if I could read this passage? It's one of my favorites from the book."

Mrs. Hamilton politely nodded and smiled at him. "Of course, Prince Ben. Have at it."

Georgie shot Ben a grateful look before he looked down at his book. Then she and Carlos shared a relieved sigh that they didn't get in trouble and Georgie didn't have to read.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

As Ben read, no one else noticed Audrey sitting in the corner. Her glare was fixed on Georgie, but she also took note of the relief on the girl's face. Something wasn't adding up, and she was determined to find out.

|

Evie excitedly crept up behind Doug, who was sitting at a picnic table outside. She put her arms around him to show the exam she had just gotten back from her teacher. A large B+ was scribbled in the top right corner.

"For the first time, it's like I'm more than just a pretty face," she said, smiling.

"A shocker, huh?"

Evie slid on to the bench next to him. "You were pretty great in there."

"So were you," Doug said.

"I bet I can get an 'A' on the next test without the mirror," Evie said confidently.

"Yeah," Doug said, knowing that Evie was smart enough to do anything she wanted. "Well, maybe we can get together and we'll hang out with—"

"Yeah, let's get together," Evie said, grinning brightly at the thought of spending more time with him.

It was then that Georgie ran up to Doug and Evie, dragging Mal along with her. Georgie was fresh from track practice, still in her uniform and a little sweaty.

"There you are!" Georgie said, blowing some hair out of her eyes. "We have been looking for you literally everywhere!"

Evie squealed and hopped to her feet. "Time for the date! I'll handle everything. Bye."

Evie waved at Doug before pulling the girls with her towards their dorms.

"First things first, you have to shower," Evie told her, eyeing her sweaty ponytail. "Then I'm thinking just some lip gloss and mascara. Don't wanna go too heavy on the blush because you get plenty red on your own around Ben."

Mal snickered, but quickly stopped when Georgie lightly shoved her.

"Yeah, laugh it up. But this is gonna be you for your date with Neville tomorrow," Georgie reminded her. "And you hate makeup."

It didn't take too long to get Georgie ready. Once she had showered, Mal blow dried her hair while Evie laid out an outfit — a simple red dress with a black cardigan over it. Then Evie began to apply some makeup while Georgie squirmed in her chair.

"Watch the eyeliner, E," Georgie said, chuckling. "Don't wanna scare him off."

"Like you could," Mal muttered under her breath while using bobby pins to pull back some of Georgie's curls to frame her face better.

"What do mean?" Georgie asked.

Mal silently cursed, not meaning for her to have overheard her. "I just mean he's obviously crazy about you. He did do a whole musical number for you in front of the whole school."

"I guess you're right," she said, blushing. "But still, not too much makeup, Evie."

"Please," Evie said, chuckling. "My mom taught me how to apply blush before I could talk. Always use upward strokes."

"My mom was never really big on makeup tips. I never had a sister," Mal said, sounding bitter.

"Well, now you do — two of them," Evie assures her. "We're going to need all the family we can get if we don't pull this off. My mother's not a barrel of laughs when she doesn't get her way. Just ask Snow White."

Georgie silently looked at her lap. She had almost forgotten about their plan to steal Fairy God Mother's wand. None of her friends had brought it up around her, and she had foolishly hoped that they had given up their plan. Georgie was tempted to ask them how their evil plot was going, but didn't want it to be on her mind during her date. If she only had so much time with Ben before the villains of the Isle were released, then she wanted to enjoy every moment.

"Are you afraid of her?" Mal asked.

"Sometimes," Evie admitted. "Are you afraid of your mom?"

"I just really want her to be proud of me. She gets so angry with me when I disappoint her. And sh - yeah, she's my mom, so I know she loves me. In her own way."

Neither girl had to ask Georgie about her parents. The bruises he gave her may have healed, but her friends would never forget what she went through on the Isle.

"Moving on," Evie said, putting away her makeup brushes. "You're ready! Come see."

Evie and Mal took Georgie's hands and led her over to the mirror. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her reflection. She was in a dress that she borrowed from Evie, and it just so happened to match the only jacket that Georgie owned. Her features were soft and glowing, and her hair wasn't a frizzy mess for once — maybe Georgie had been silly to ignore all of Evie's hair care tips.

"Wow," she mumbled. "I actually look really pretty. Thanks, Evie."

"You've always been pretty, George," Evie said, squeezing her with a hug. "Inside and out. That's what Ben likes about you so much."

After a few moments of looking at herself in the mirror, there was a knock at the door. Evie squealed excitedly before pushing Georgie in that direction. She wiped her hands on her dress nervously before opening the door.

Ben was on the other side, looking very handsome in his letterman's jacket and with two helmets under his arms. Georgie smiled shyly at him, and his lips parted as he looked her up and down.

"For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful," he said, making Georgie laugh. He held out one of the helmets to her. "I hope you like bikes."

"Never been on one."