𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

FIFTEEN.

A little over a week had passed since Ruby's first date with Ben and the redhead found that she still hadn't told any of her friends that the love spell placed on Ben had been lifted in the Enchanted Lake. Ruby didn't know why but wrote it off as her not wanting her friends to nag her about screwing things up.

Ben didn't mention it at all, he had accepted all that had happened at the lake with an open mind and Ruby had no clue how he managed to do so. Even after a week, she was still surprised that he hadn't dumped her, called her weak or ugly. She knew Ben wasn't capable of such things, but she couldn't help but fear he would come to his senses and change his mind.

Yet Ben had done anything but. He had been more caring than before and, knowing it was genuine, Ruby couldn't find it in herself to pretend she didn't enjoy it a little. Ben was going out of his way to show her she was special and loved and worthy of being loved. And sometimes, Ruby started to believe it was true. Other times, she remained stuck in her destructive cycle of thoughts that kept reminding her that she was nothing.

Ben had realized just how insecure the seemingly confident girl actually was after their first date by the lake. Ruby would hardly ever talk about it or show it, but Ben, after he started paying attention to it, noticed how she was constantly overcompensating. He realized that she didn't just try to be the best at everything because she was competitive, but because it's what she was taught to do. It was quite hard to watch it happen sometimes. Ruby was constantly trying so hard, and it were the moments when they were in private, the moments where she thought he wasn't looking, that he saw how much of a toll it took on her mentally.

The crown prince of Auradon also had difficulty talking to her about what had happened to her, about what her mother had done. He wasn't sure when or if he should bring it up, but he wanted to talk to her about it. He knew it wasn't about what he wanted, but he was convinced it was what Ruby needed to do. He refused to push her, but it was difficult for him to try and figure this out by himself. He had sworn to Ruby not to tell anybody about her scars, but that didn't mean he didn't want to. He wanted someone to confide in, someone who could advise him about what to do, but from what Ben had gathered, not even her friends knew about the scars around her neck, though he didn't doubt that they had to at least be a little suspicious. Still, Ben kept his mouth shut, just as promised.

Ruby had spent the night playing video games with Ben and had fallen asleep on the prince's couch later in the evening. She woke up in his bed under the covers however, no doubt Ben carried her to bed. He'd had to wake her up in the morning because she'd been sleeping in, which was why she was running late right now as she rushed towards her Goodness 101 class. She'd told Ben it was a useless class anyway and she'd just skip it, but it was then that she was reminded that she was dating the poster boy for good behaviour and was given a speech about how school was important and learning morals was never useless. By the end of it, Ruby regretted ever saying anything in the first place.

She rushed into the classroom, where her friends were already seated, looking up at her with teasing smiles.

"You're late, Miss Hearts," Fairy Godmother said as Ruby sat down in her seat behind the boys, dropping her bag on the table with a loud thud.

"Blame Prince Ben," Ruby shrugged off, not really caring about being late.

"Why? Was our future King keeping you busy?" Jay teased. Carlos snickered and the girls were grinning. Ruby scrunched up her nose and hit the back of Jay's head harshly.

"Oh, fuck off," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Language."

Ruby looked to the front where Fairy Godmother was giving her a reprimanding look. She sat down in her seat and kicked Jay and Carlos' chairs as they snickered some more. She got out her notebook, which was full of useless notes that she doubted would ever help her pass this class. She still didn't see the point, but if it was a choice between this class and the prospect of another lecture from Ben about its importance, she'd rather just sit it through.