After Ever After

Breaking the Rules

Later that same night, I was lying in the darkness of my dorm (prison) room. My turquoise braids were tied up in a bun, and I wore a gray t-shirt and blue sweatpants for sleepwear. I couldn't go to sleep though, not after what had gone down in Remedial Goodness class. I was the last evil kid in Auradon. Even Harry had betrayed the dark side, but I couldn't let his weakness drag me down. I had to remember what I stood for as a villain. I was not going to give in to that Auradon brainwashing.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a tapping on my window. At first, I thought I had imagined it, or maybe it was just a bird. This room is on the second floor, and there's a night guard standing right beneath the window in case I tried to escape. In other words, it was unlikely that a person could have been at my window. I was about to dive back into the depths of my mind when I heard the tapping again. I got out of bed and slowly walked over to the window, where I found Harry with a smirk plastered on his face.

Well, he's a special case.

I got right up against the window sill to see how he was there. He was hanging by one arm which was grabbing a rope that appeared to be hooked up to the window above mine. Below him, a guard clad in Auradon gear was knocked unconscious.

I looked back to Harry with an impressed expression. "Not bad for an Auradon kid," I complimented, but he didn't look like an Auradon kid anymore. His guyliner and tricorn hat were back, and his blue eyes had a sinister look in them. He still had the Auradon touch in his red letterman jacket with black sleeves and a black letter A on the left side, but under it was a black t-shirt with a skull and crossbones. This was closer to the Harry I used to know.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, and his smirk only grew.

"Breaking the rules," he answered. "You want in?"

I was immediately filled with relief. I knew this frilly, goody-two-shoes life of royalty and do-gooders wouldn't tempt him in the slightest. He was playing them all, and boy did it work—even on me!

"Definitely," I answered with a smile. I grabbed the window and pulled upward, but the thing wouldn't budge. Locked!

Before I could vent any frustration, Harry raised up his free hand to his lips to tell me to be quiet. Then, with the same hand, he reached for something that was hanging from the belt loop of his jeans. When he raised his hand again, it was holding a shining silver hook.

"That's my First Mate," I said proudly.

He slid the point of the hook under the window and snapped both locking mechanisms with a swift movement. Then, he pulled the window upward, and the cool night air flooded into the room. He hung his hook back on the belt loop and held out his hand. "C'mon, there's something I want to show you."

I took his hand, and he guided me out the window. When most of me was out of my room, I threw an arm over his shoulder so I wouldn't plummet to the ground. He let go of my hand and quickly wrapped it around my waist. My breath got caught in my throat when I realized that I was actually quite high off the ground.

When we were certain I wouldn't fall, he bounced off the wall of the building, and we slowly descended to the ground. Waiting there for us was a black motorcycle with a red Jolly Roger emblem painted on each side.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked him, getting more impressed as the night went on. I was hoping he'd say he had stolen it, but he said something different.

"I've been here a while, and I've worked a few jobs," he answered earnestly as he walked up to his hog and rested a hand on it. "I earned a bit of cash and got me this beauty."
Okay, not what I was expecting, but he still broke me out of my dorm (prison) room, so I'll cut him a break.

Harry threw a leg over the seat of his bike and started the engine. He turned to me and patted a spot right behind him for me to sit. I ran over and sat behind him, and he pulled his hook out again, handing it to me. "Hold this," he instructed. "I don't want it to fall out."

I chuckled at him and took the hook. He revved the engine and added, "You might want to hold onto me, too."

I laughed again, "I don't think I–"

He cut me off by pressing on the gas and lurching the bike forward, causing me to almost fly off the bike. Then he hit the breaks, and I slammed right into his back. He turned around and quirked an eyebrow at me, and I gave him a steady glare. The Bad Boy was definitely back. Before we could pick up any speed again, I did what he said and wrapped my arms around his middle as we rode off into the night.

This was gonna be a night to remember.

But not for the reason I expected.