Chapter Text
The shrill sound of Chloe’s alarm sounded through her room. Although today, she was already awake. It was 4:37 when she awoke, the sound of her own ragged breaths filling the room. It was too late to go back to sleep now, So she lay still in her bed, staring into the darkness of her room.
Just one more day and then you have the weekend to yourself, She thought, dragging herself out of bed.
She got out of bed, her body moved on autopilot —take a shower, brushing her teeth, do her hair. Each task blurred into the next, mechanical and thoughtless. When it came time to pick out her outfit, she settled on something simple: a button up paired with a blue plaid skirt. She grabbed a baby blue cardigan on the way out to complete the look, barely registering the choice as she headed for the door.
With Chad away at college the house was quieter than ever. Her parents were rarely home—it seemed like they lived at work these days. The silence pressed in around her, and breakfast didn’t feel worth the effort. She grabbed her decided to head straight to school.
As soon as she arrived at school, she made her way to the library, it was mostly empty, the early morning quiet settling over it like a blanket. It didn’t take long for her to find Louis, his chin resting on his hand and he outside, lost in thought.
She sat in front of him, which seemed to break him out of his trance. “Let me guess. Another late night study session?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.
Louis smiled, his usual soft expression softening despite the dark circles under his eyes. He pushed glasses up his nose, a gesture so habitually it was almost endearing.
“I guess you could say that,” He said stifling a yawn. “At least it’s Friday. I could use a break from exams.”
Chloe nodded, her lips quirking upward. She couldn’t help but look forward to the quiet mornings she and Louis shared together. It was the calm before the storm,a fleeting moment of peace before the hectic school day swallowed her whole.
“Yeah, you could definitely use some sleep,” She teased, her voice light but carrying a warmth she hoped he caught. She opened her notebook smoothing the page with steady hands,though a faint tremor lingered beneath her fingertips—a reminder of everything waiting for her beyond this table.
“Actually…why don’t we hang out? We could go check out that new bookstore.” Louis suggested, his voice casual, but his gaze lingering on her, waiting for a response.
She paused, thinking it over in her head. She most likely gonna spend the weekend studying—she had a history test next week, after all. But they hadn’t hung out in forever and she knew Louis was trying his best to get her out of the house.
“That’s sounds great, but I have a lot of stuff to catch up on.”
His smile faltered just long enough to make her feel guilty. “You’ve always got something to catch up on,” he said with a short laugh. “You’ve gotta relax sometimes Chloe, it’s not healthy.”
“I know,” she said quickly hoping to diffuse the tension. “what about next weekend? I’m totally free.”
It seemed it worked; his smile returned though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sure. We could make a day out of it—we’ll even grab coffee after.” he added, his voice more confident than before.
Chloe let out a sigh of relief, glad to see his mood was better. She was about to respond when the bell rang, cutting through the quiet hum of the library and signaling the start of first period.
“Guess we’ll talk more later,” Louis said already gathering his things.
“Yeah, see you at lunch?” She asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
He nodded, offering her a small wave. “See you then.”
As they went there separate ways, Chloe headed towards her first class, math. The second she stepped out the library it was like a flip switch in her, she straightened her posture, plastered on her best smile and made sure to greet everyone she passed in the hallway.
“Hey chloe!” one of her classmates called out, and she responded with an effortless wave, her voice bright and cheerful.
On the outside, she looked completely put together—a model student with everything under control. But beneath the surface, her mind was already racing with the thoughts of formulas, deadlines, and the history test looming next week.
The morning passed in a blur—math was uneventful, history was a dull repeat of the same old lessons. She left chemistry with a splitting headache after a failed experiment blew up right next to her. Then it was time for her least favorite class of the day: Art.
There were two reasons Chloe disliked art, the first being that she was terrible at it. She had always been more interested in reading and writing.
Back at the start of the school year, she’d been optimistic, thinking that if she applied herself more, the hard work would pay off. It didn’t. For the first time in a while she found herself genuinely struggling at something.
The second reason was Red of Hearts, one of the most troublesome students at Auradon Prep. For five months, Chloe’s had to deal with Red’s incessant teasing. She tried being friendly at first, but as time went on, Red began to bring out the absolute worst in her.
As she walked into the art room, she was greeted by the acrid smell of paint—sharp and overwhelming. The room felt stifling, the air thick with the chatter of students and the clatter setting of brushes and pallets being hastily set up.
Her eyes swept the room, pausing briefly on Red. Of course she, wasn’t scrambling to get her things together like everyone else. She slouched in her seat, looking perfectly at ease, with a pencil lazily twirling between her fingers. Unfortunately that seat happened to be right next to chloe’s.
Chloe maneuvered through the classroom, just barely reaching her seat before teacher approached her desk, stack of graded projects in her hand.
“Chloe,” the teacher said, placing her project face down on the desk.
Her stomach sank at the sight. Chloe flipped the page over hesitantly, and there it was in bold red ink at the top of the corner.
her heart dropped. A C? She hadn’t gotten a grade this low in…well ever.
Her hands trembled slightly as she gripped the paper. It’s just one grade, she thought to herself, but her mind was already racing. What had she done wrong? She’d spent hours on this project—agonized over every detail, every line. Was it the shading? The Composition?
She heard the faint squeak of a chair beside her, and out of the corner of her she saw Red leaning over, shamelessly peeking at her project.
“what’s wrong charming?” Red’s voice was dripping with mock concern. “didn’t get a perfect score this time?”
Chloe stiffened, her grip tightened on the paper. “Some people actually try to get good grades, Red,” She snapped, her voice sharper than usual. “I know that’s a foreign concept to you.”
Red grinned, unbothered by her tone. “what are you even trying so hard for? It’s art— we’re literally just drawing.”
“Well, not everybody’s as good at drawing as you,” Chloe shot back, her frustration spilling over.
“Was that a compliment, Charming? you’re really living up to that last name of yours.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Chloe said, glaring at her. “I’ve seen your work and it’s at best vandalism.”
Red leaned forward, her smirk widening, clearly about to respond with something that would without a doubt, push Chloe over the edge.
But before she could speak,the teacher clapped her hands at the front of the room. “All right everyone, settle down! Let’s go over the new project guidelines.”
Red slouched back in her chair, her expression still annoyingly smug, as if she knew she’d gotten under Chloe’s skin.
She didn’t have time to worry about Red and her antics right now, she had to focus on this project.
Only, she couldn’t, it was like the world had been fading away around her. She kept her eyes trained on the teacher as she droned on. Her words sounded muffled, as if Chloe wasn’t sitting at her desk but instead, the bottom of the ocean. Her heart pounded in her ears as she willed herself to remain calm.
What would people think? Chloe Charming who excelled at everything failed art? She be an embarrassment to not only herself, but to all the Charming’s that came before her. Everything thing she’d worked so hard would be ruined, all because of one stupid class.
She couldn’t let that happen.
So, she picked her pen and began taking notes. Her hand was shaky as she jotted down whatever the teacher said, unsure of whether or not it would help her in the long run. But at the very least it helped her regain control of her thoughts—not entirely though. The words on the page blurred together, each line a reminder of how much she had to do, how much she had already messed up.
A sudden noise, a pencil falling to the floor—snapped her out of her spiral. She looked around for the source but was met with Red’s curios gaze instead. She had her head resting in her hands and her faced showed mild concern that only made Chloe’s chest tighten further.
How long had she been looking? Chloe wasn’t sure, but she knew she had to get out of there. She could let Red see her like this, couldn’t let anyone see.
It seemed her silent prayer was answered because not long after, the bell rang. Chloe quickly gathered her things and left.
It was finally lunchtime, usually Chloe would go find Louis and they’d debrief on the day so far. But she didn’t really feel like talking to anyone right now so she figured she’d catch up with him some other time.
Instead she made her way to one of the few places in the school where she felt at peace, the school garden. The soft rustling leaves paired with the fresh scent of flower’s had always calmed her nerves, but today, even the quiet couldn’t soothe the storm swirling in her mind.
She sat on the old wooden bench, by the rose bushes, taking in slow, shaky breaths. Her mind kept circling back to the art project, to Red’s teasing, to the history test that she still had to study for. She couldn’t fail. She couldn’t let that happen.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of laughter and footsteps approached her. She quickly bowed her head, staring at the ground, hoping whoever was coming wouldn’t even notice. But luck wasn’t on her side.
“Chloe?” A voice called out. It was familiar but still made her jump. She looked up to see a girl from her science class standing there, a grin spread across her face. “What are you doing out here?”
Chloe forced a smile, straightening up as if the sudden jolt of surprise hadn’t just sent her pulse racing. “Just needed a minute to breathe.”
The girl nodded, not entirely convinced as another guy from group chimed in. “I get you, I’ve been swamped these past couple weeks. I’m can’t wait to have some fun this weekend.”
Then the girl started again her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Speaking of this weekend, Jackson wang’s throwing a huge party this weekend, You should come.”
Chloe paused. She wasn’t the type to go to those kinds of parties—Loud music, people she barely knew, and the chaotic energy that made her feel out of place. But there was something in the girl’s gaze a hopeful expectation that made her want to say yes. Maybe she was just looking for a way out, a chance to leave the suffocating weight behind for a few hours.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled, laughing awkwardly. “I’m not really a party person.”
The guy shrugged. “It’s gonna be fun. Everyone’s going. You’ll regret not coming.”
It was casual conversation but the stakes felt higher somehow. This was Chloe’s chance to break free of the pressure that she felt like she was drowning in. Maybe she just needed to blow off some steam to get her back on the right track.
“Well I wouldn’t want to miss out, I’ll definitely be there.”
As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted it. The group had left and quickly as they came, their laughter fading into the distance leaving her alone once again. This time however there was something else gnawing at her. She’d agreed to something she wasn’t sure she could handle, and that only added another layer of anxiety to the tangled mess in her mind.