Chapter Four:
Love Spell

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The sound of lockers slamming shut around her made Laila Bjorgman's skin crawl with irritation. It was just so loud.

But it was totally worth standing in the balcony area for. That's right; Auradon Prep was so prestigious that instead of having a hallway where students had their lockers, it was an elegant balcony that overlooked the luscious lawn. Wowsers. (But then again, she supposed that it made sense: there were princes and princesses attending, her included... hell, even soon-to-be King Ben attended Auradon Prep...)

Laila peeked out from behind her locker with an ominous smile. It was satisfying, even after all these years, seeing her hard work put into motion. And it was hard work... Do you know how difficult it was to get frogs on such short notice?

Frogs. Yes, you read that right. Laila had decided that after yesterday's horrendous cheer practice, she would... brighten up Audrey's day, so to speak.

Therefore, as Audrey opened her locker for the first time that day, she shrieked in absolute horror as three green frogs jumped out (Laila had decided that five was too many... plus it was way too expensive).

Laila let out a sinister cackle, slamming her own locker shut.

"Ugh, Laila!" Audrey glared at her from her locker, positively fuming, but Laila merely smirked at her.

"Karma's a bitch."

Audrey opened her mouth to let out a snarky comment, but was distracted by a horde of girls on the lawn below the balcony.

"Hi, Mal! Love my hair, Mal!"

Laila watched as Mal walked through the door and onto the balcony, stopping briefly to wave at the girls down below. With a hint of surprise, she noticed that all of the girls had new hairdos... Must be Mal's doing, she thought with indifference.

Slipping her books into her backpack, Laila started walking away from her locker. After lunch, she only had two more classes left for the day, and then the big tourney game that afternoon. To say she wasn't looking forward to it would be an understatement. The game itself would be fine, but the cheerleading... now that would suck.

"Do you think they actually paid for those?" Audrey asked Ben, pointing him in the direction of the girls on the lawn. Laila slowed her pace, somewhat interested in whatever the hell Audrey was going on about now. "She did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it."

Ben stared at her, lightly shrugging his shoulders. "What's the harm?"

"Yeah, Audrey, what's the harm?" Laila piped up with a sickly sweet smile.

Audrey glared at her, then fervently turned back to Ben. "It's gateway magic! 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?"

"Listen, Audrey..." Ben started.

The daughter of sleeping beauty shushed him. "I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?"

Ben nodded, muttering, "Okay."

Laila paid them no more attention as they bid their goodbyes, as her phone had buzzed in her pocket. She frowned in confusion when she saw her younger sister's text message.

ingrid

laila
i have so many questions

but aren't you supposed
to be at school

ingrid
first of all, you ignored
my picture of eva dressed
up as santa, so fuck you

and secondly, ms
valtersen had her baby,
so i'm off for the rest of
the week until they can
find a replacement

laila
damn u lucky

also omg she had the
baby!!!

ingrid
yes!!!!

laila
awww that's so cool

ingrid
wanna know who else
is cool

my CAT

laila
eva looks constipated :/

ingrid
laila i hate you

laila
gtg eat lunch love u lil sis

ingrid
...

you're being mean to
eva and i hate u but ok

laila
dogs are far superior
but ok

Laila switched her phone off, slightly amused. Glancing back up at where she last saw Ben and Audrey, she was slightly taken aback that Mal had replaced the spot that Audrey had previously taken.

Ben proceeded to take a bite of a cookie. He smiled at Mal. "Hey... see that? Totally trust you. Totally." He looked as though he had something to prove.

Weird, but OK, Laila thought with a frown.

"How are they?" Mal asked, albeit suspiciously. What was definitely suspicious was Evie, Carlos and Jay slowly creeping up to the duo.

"They're good. They're great! They're amazing!" Ben sounded oddly enthusiastic. And... was that a giggle? Surely a cookie can't be that good... "They're, uh... I mean, they're chewy and, and you know, they... is that walnuts? I love walnuts. I mean, uh, you know, the... the chocolate... the... the chocolate... the chocolate chips are..."

Laila frowned. What the hell was going on?

"I'm sorry. Um... Uh, they're... They're warm and soft. And they're sweet..." He stared passionately into Mal's eyes. "Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?"

Ben went to take another bite of the cookie, but Mal quickly took it away. Alarm bells sounded in Laila's mind. This is really weird...

"How you feeling, bro?" Jay asked him in a soft-spoken voice.

"I feel... I feel... I feel like... Like singing your name!" Ben smiled happily. Jay looked alarmed. "Mal!" Ben sang, opening his arms wide, and Laila blinked, surprised. Mal quickly put her hand over his mouth, and yet Ben still tried to sing. "Mal!"

Laila looked at them oddly. Evie caught her eye, sending her a small smile. Laila smiled back, though she still thought that was very very odd. More than odd, it was totally bizarre...

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"This is a nail-biter, folks. There's 47 seconds left on the clock. We're all tied up. The Sherwood falcons, two. The fighting knights, two. What a game between Auradon's fiercest rivals."

Laila jumped up and down, cheering loud. The sound of the crowd roared behind her. The atmosphere was just so lively. And not that Laila would admit it, but she was actually enjoying this...

They'd already done the cheerleading routine, thank God, and Laila didn't stuff it up, so that was a bonus. Another bonus was that they got to be in the best position to watch the riveting game, in front of the band and the bleachers.

"He's bringing that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost, and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield." The guy making the announcements almost sounded skeptical over the speakers.

Laila cheered for the guy, "Yeah, Carlos!"

"Here we go..."

Briefly turning around, Laila caught Evie's eye. Evie and Mal stood together on the bleachers. Laila sent a smile Evie's way, waving at her, and the blue-haired girl waved back just as enthusiastically.

"... 23 seconds left. You could cut the tension with a sword."

Laila watched, somewhat apprehensively. She really hoped they would win.

"... The ball goes back to Jay. He passes to prince Ben. He scores! Prince Ben has won it!"

The crowd went absolutely wild. Laila found herself jumping up and down with excitement. Jane, dressed up as a knight, almost hugged Laila with joy, but then, as if remembering she was highly intimidated by her, quickly drew back and turned away. Laila's heart sank slightly.

"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 absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever. Here they come, folks. The winners of the first tourn—" The announcer was abruptly cut off as Ben snatched the microphone away.

"Excuse me..." Ben said, successfully grabbing everyone's attention. "Can I have your attention, please? There's something I'd like to say." The crowd listened with interest. Laila furrowed her eyebrows. "Give me an M!"

Everyone cheered out, "M!"

Ben continued, "Give me an A!"

"A!"

"Give me an L!"

"L!"

No way... Laila stood there with her jaw open.

"What does that spell?"

"Mal!"

"Come on, I can't hear you!"

"Mal!"

"I love you, Mal! Did I mention that?"

Laila observed as Audrey let out a heartbroken and jealous sigh, running off the field. She almost felt bad for her.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

What the heck, Laila thought. Although, a smile appeared on her face. She supposed it was kind of cute...

Laila watched as Audrey angrily stormed up to Ben and Mal on the bleachers. "Chad's my boyfriend now! And I'm going to the coronation with him. So, I don't need your pity date." Then Audrey and Chad kissed.

Ben turned to Mal. "Mal! Will you go to the coronation with me?"

Mal looked like she didn't know what to say, but then she nodded happily. "Yes!"

Once again, the crowd didn't know how to contain themselves. Laila struggled to push through the crowd to get to where Mal and Evie were. A friendly voice interrupted her.

"Laila!"

"Lonnie!" Laila hugged Lonnie, her roommate and also pretty much her only friend at Auradon Prep. "How was your day?"

"So good!" Lonnie exclaimed happily. Then her expression playfully turned grave. "Laila, the snacks..."

Laila smiled guiltily. "I hoped you wouldn't notice...?"

"Nah, it's fine," Lonnie said, sending her a sincere smile. "We'll get some later."

Sending her a parting smile, Laila turned to Mal and Evie. She couldn't help but notice that Evie was staring at the retreating backs of Chad and Audrey with a crushed expression.

"I feel really sorry for Audrey," Mal was saying.

Evie looked at her best friend. "You do?"

Mal nodded in conformation. "I feel like if she were talented like 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." Laila smiled. That was kind of sweet.

"I guess I am kind of talented." Evie shrugged modestly.

"You are definitely talented," Laila said.

The blue haired teen smiled with appreciation. "Thanks, guys."

Staring out onto the field, Laila spoke without thinking. "Yeah, and you deserve so much better, anyway..."

Evie looked at Laila softly, cheeks tinted pink.

Laila turned back to look at the two. She joked, "Oh, and what was in that cookie? A love spell?"

Mal and Evie laughed nervously.

She winked at them. "Just kidding." 

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Authors Note!!!

     laila: ew cheerleading how disgusting
     also laila: *lowkey enjoys herself*

     also yes i didn't wanna write the whole did i mention song so i put the vid in. hehe hope u all enjoyed <3

word count: 1775
18.04.2020