𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝟏𝟗

"Jesus fucking  Christ."

Audrey barked out a laugh as Delphina gaped at herself in the vanity mirror, staring at her hair in disbelief.

"I do not remember it being this red." Delphina scoffed, shaking her head. After several shampooing sessions in the shower to rinse out the ungodly amount of hair dye mixed with lightener she had slathered onto her head, Delphina did the bare minimum when it came to drying and styling, but the result caught her off guard all the same.

Delphina remembered her natural hair color being such a vibrant, scarlet red, some people joked she was Ariel's long-lost daughter. She didn't know if it was from the after effects of all the dye in her hair, or just natural darkening over time, but now, Delphina's hair was sporting a deep, blood red that severely contrasted the light blue of her eyes.

"It's like someone gave my hair a blood transfusion." She muttered, running her fingers through her freshly washed locks.

"I think it works on you." Audrey shrugged, playing with the ends of Delphina's hair teasingly and making her roll her eyes.

"I barely even look like myself." Delphina sighed, tossing herself into the plush chair in front of the vanity as Audrey rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

"OK, now you're just being ridiculous." She huffed, resting her chin on top of Delphina's head and her hands on her shoulders. "You are still you. Just...redder."

Delphina snorted at the description and stood up, stretching and cracking her back with a slight groan as her stomach grumbled. She pouted, wishing she hadn't devoured the platter of fruits Audrey and Chad had gotten her so quickly.

Dinner was already done and over with, and the campus cafes and stores were all closed at this point, which left Delphina with one, familiar option.

"You wanna break into the kitchen with me?"

Audrey paused at the question, giving Delphina a bewildered, but amused look. "Why do you want to break into the kitchen?" She asked, biting back a laugh and Delpina shrugged casually.

"I'm hungry. Plus, it's not like they lock it or anything." She sighed, swiping up her sneakers and beginning to slide them on. Audrey was still struggling to hold in her laugh, raising an amused eyebrow at her friend.

"Are you telling me you've broken into the school kitchens before?" Delphina glanced up at the question, raising an eyebrow at Audrey as if the answer was obvious.

"Yeah. My first night here. With Ben. Sam brought it up during breakfast the next day, remember?"

"I thought Ben had, like, a key or something!"

Both girls began laughing and Delphina shook her head at Audrey's exclamation while tying her shoes.

"Nope. I've just turned him into a fledgling delinquent. You wanna be next?" Delphina asked teasingly, wiggling her brows at Audrey daringly.

Audrey only rolled her eyes in response, snorting as she threw herself down on her bed, reaching for the remote. "I think I'm good. But I will happily accept a contraband bag of chips." She gave Delphina a bright, cheesy smile that made the newly-minted redhead roll her eyes and stroll out the door.

"No promises!"

"We both know it was!"

Delphina shook her head as she shut the door behind her, slipping down the hall quietly as she swiped through her new phone. Audrey had forced her to set up a social media account, but Delphina was still confused by the purpose. People in Auradon really just updated their lives at random moments? For any stranger to see? At nearly any time?