Love is a Losing Game

LIALG - Chapter 8

Throughout the week, I heard girls in the hallway discussing their plans to get ready for the dance together. The way they talked about it made it seem like it was nearly as fun as the dance itself. I guess most girls loved the thought of caking on makeup and doing each other's hair while chatting about their dresses and dates. Maybe I would have changed my mind about it if I had experienced it, but that was certainly not going to happen this year.

I had been banned from Audrey and Evie's dorm for the night. The two girls were getting ready together, and they had less time than other girls because they needed to change out of their cheerleading uniforms and take a shower beforehand. On top of that, Evie was even more rushed because Doug was coming to pick her up for their dinner date, which needed to be over by seven forty-five to make it to the dance on time. Audrey was surprisingly dateless, so she used her extra time to help Evie get all gussied up. Not that I was using my dragon hearing to eavesdrop on them or anything...

"Damn, Mal. Eyeliner isn't that hard to apply," Uma commented from over on my bed. Her long, teal hair cascaded down the side of the mattress as she watched me from upside down. She wasn't planning on going out to eat before the dance, so she was waiting to get ready until later.

I must have been concentrating too hard on our neighbors because my stick of eyeliner had been poised next to my eye for a suspicious length of time. I glanced at it in the mirror and shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Do you need some help?" Uma teased, smirking up at me.

"I'm fine; thank you," I said, squinting my eyes at her threateningly.

"Yeah you are; you even managed to snag the King as a date!" she exclaimed, wiggling her eyebrows.

"We're just going together as a sign of good faith in the proclamation," I recited, deepening my voice in my best impression of the King.

"Yeah, okay, whatever you say. All I know is if I were him, I'd definitely be trying to get into your pants tonight," she declared shamelessly.

I rolled my eyes at her, not able to hide the small smile that had formed from her comment. "I'm not wearing pants," I retorted, finally leaning in and putting my eager eyeliner to use.

"Even better," Uma countered with a wicked grin. After a while, she spoke up again. "So?" she drawled expectantly.

"So, what?" I asked, staring at the various containers of makeup Evie had laid out for me earlier and trying to remember the tips she had passed along.

"Are you gonna bone him? Spell him and take over Auradon?! What's the plan?" she inquired, sitting up in anticipation.

I laughed off the accusations. "Yeah, because pretentious pushovers really get me hot, and all I've ever wanted is a kingdom full of wannabe heroes," I replied sarcastically.

"Oh, come on, Mal. He's totally a virgin; he's probably really eager to please," she suggested, flicking her tongue sexually.

"Ew, Uma!" I exclaimed, grabbing a makeup case and throwing it at her.

Her deft hands caught it easily, and she fell back onto my bed with an airy laugh. "So why did you accept Mr. Nice Guy's proposal?" she wondered, unzipping the makeup bag and looking through it with mild interest.

A moment passed as I thought about how to word my answer. Ben appeared sincere in his assurance that it didn't have to be a date. He was a nice guy, and I knew he wouldn't try anything on me that I didn't consent to. Although he was a royal, he seemed like a fairly normal human being, if not slightly more polite. He was capable of having a good time, which was what I was looking to do despite the circumstances. The circumstances that included my best friend, whom I have had a crush on since we were six, being on a date with her boyfriend in the same room as me. A sigh escaped my lips.