you ain't seen nothin' yet

༒chapter twenty-seven༒

Ben puts his finger to his lips to shush us as we hide behind a tree in front of Fairy Cottage. We run from tree to tree to try and be out of view in case Audrey is inside.

Mal and Ben run to the gate first, moving it open as they try to stay hidden. After a second, we all follow after them and get in a line before going towards the door.

Ben slams the door open. I walk in next to him and Mal, grabbing my ember out in case I have to use it on someone to hold them off.

We all falter our steps a little when there's no one in the room. Jay runs up the stairs quickly to check the upstairs as the rest of us walk around the room.

Jay comes back downstairs after a minute. "She's not upstairs."

There's banging on a door and we all look at the door behind Ben. Harry takes a step next to me when I take a small step towards the door. Ben looks in the window of the door before unlocking it.

When he opens the door, Chad Charming is sitting on the floor, holding his knees to his chest, staring at the floor.

"Chad?" Ben asks.

Chad looks to the ground outside the closet. "I want my mommy."

Ben goes to help him up, but he jumps back and gasps. "It's okay," Ben says, helping him up and out of the closet. "What happened, buddy?"

"You okay there, Charming?" I ask.

His eyes widen when he looks at me, then at Harry, then between us again, then to the others before he finally looks at the open door. "Hmm. Ben. Ben!" Chad gasps, grasping Ben's collar. "Your face." He looks at us again. "She's gone? Huh?"

"I think I saw her coming down the trail," I say, which makes Chad's eyes widen and he screams. Ben covers his mouth quickly and gives me a little glare as Harry and Uma try not to laugh. "Oh, wait, nope. I saw her coming down the trail to the gardens at Auradon Prep like eleven months ago." I hit my head. "How could I be so stupid?"

Chad looks to the door. "The door is open. I'm free." He lets go of Ben and starts running out the door. "Freedom! Oh! Freedom!"

Harry starts laughing as Ben goes out the door. Everyone else follows Ben, so Harry has to close the closet door before walking behind me.

"Woo, okay," Uma says as we walk out of the cottage. "Let's get this Audrey chick taken care of already." Mal laughs. "What do you say, girls? Time to wrap things up?"

"You know," Ben says, swinging his arm around Mal, "you're gonna have to tell me how you guys all teamed up."

I feel a buzzing in my pocket and pull out my phone. "My dad's calling, everyone shut up for like two seconds," I say, answering the phone. Harry clears his throat.

"Hi, Dad."

"Did you dumbasses get it wet yet?"

"Nope."

"Did you get yours wet?"

"Still no."

"Who are you with."

"Oh, um, you know, the whole gang."

"The what?" Dad asks.

"Evie, Mal, Ben, Celia, Carlos, Jay, Uma, and Harry."

"Ugh, the pirate's there too?"

"Yes, Dad, the pirate is here too. Isn't it your nap time?"

"In two minutes, yes." I don't say anything. "Just wanted to check in and see if you guys screwed up."