Chapter Text
There is something wrong.
That’s the first thing Darling Charming notices when she walks into Ever After High that morning.
She couldn’t tell what was wrong, but the usual mystical atmosphere of Ever After High felt almost strained. Like there was something unspoken that was sticking to the air like glue. Students’ eyes darted around nervously, yet, uncharacteristically, no gossip was floating around.
There is something wrong, Darling repeats in her mind.
Seriously wrong.
“I didn’t do anything!” Kitty Cheshire’s incredulous voice rings throughout the hall. When she says that, it usually means she’s done something. Darling finds herself walking towards her voice knowing that wherever Kitty went, trouble tended to follow. “Hey, come on, just think about it a little! If I did cause this, I’d probably take a little bit of pride in it, but no! Look at me! I’m completely panicked like the rest of you!”
“Oh, no,” An unfamiliar voice drawls, stopping Darling right in her tracks. “Kitty Shit-shire doesn’t know what’s going on. Is anybody surprised?”
“Hexcuse me?”
Darling doesn’t ever think she’s heard Kitty sound so offended. She didn’t know Kitty was even capable of being offended, nevertheless failing to defend herself. She begins to walk once more, at a faster pace this time.
She can hear Grimm groan and can already imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose out of stress. Darling hopes he gets a vacation—a vacation preferably far, far away from Ever After High and one that lasts forever.
“And you, Ms. Thorn?”
Faybelle scoffs. “And why would I ever be involved in something as lousy like this?”
“Trying to play dumb? In a situation like this? That’s so interesting,” The unfamiliar voice says once more, gasping in awe. She sounds far too astonished for the emotion to be any real. “Your wings are fluttering faster than your brain works.”
Finally, Darling rounds the corner and sees far too many people gathered in the middle of the hallway. It was a strange cast of characters. Of course, Grimm was there. Her two brothers were there, looking equally stressed out, which was already a bad sign. For Dexter? No, he gets nervous on the daily. For Daring? Something as small as a singular hair strand out of place could send him into hysteria.
It was just the fact they were both nervous at the same time that had Darling’s heart dropping. They were always spooked by vastly different reasons. What could possibly be a similarity now?
Raven was there, genuine fear in her eyes. It took a lot to make Raven scared. She’s seen everything a student of her age and beyond has to see. Some of the Wonderlandians were there too: Alistair, Kitty, and Maddie, who seemed to be comforting a shocked looking Kitty. The poor girl must have still been reeling from whatever was being said to her earlier.
And then, there was—
“What did you just say to me—?”
“It’s not worth it, Fay!”
Darling watches as Briar tackles her frenemy into a hug from behind, pulling her back before she can lunge at…somebody, her palms already drowning in blue smoke. Magic coursed through her fingers, her eyes, everywhere. Faybelle’s been genuinely angry before. Darling’s seen it, experienced it, but the causes tended to be a lot bigger.
What cause could be on the same level as the Evil Queen?
Darling finally reaches close, her worry at an all time high.
She had failed to account for somebody, she distantly realizes. Familiar blonde hair comes into view, and nothing is out of the ordinary—not even the way Darling’s heart skips a beat. That was the usual when it came to the person Darling notices last.
Or, at least, the person Darling thought it was.
Darling’s gasp is loud enough to gain everyone’s attention.
“Apple?”
It was Apple. It should have been Apple. Everything was normal. Her blonde hair was curled to perfection, her lips that Darling once had on her own were as red as her dress, and her skirt had no wrinkles or creases to its name.
And yet, her eyes are a purple color as opposed to their usual blue.
“Oh,” ‘Apple’ raises an eyebrow at her as if she was someone lowly. Darling has had worse expressions directed at her and yet, in front of Apple, she felt so small. “And who is this?”
Darling feels her heart drop.
Apple’s forgotten her?
“This is Darling.” Dexter jumps in to say, noticing how his sister was seemingly frozen in shock. He laughs nervously. “She wasn’t here during Spring Fairest! You haven’t met her yet.”
“Do I need to?” Apple looks her up and down. The kind of look somebody does when they’ve already made their mind up about you. “Yet another strait-laced, perfect, preppy princess that can’t even look me in the eyes.” Apple rolled her eyes. “Why should I even care about somebody like her?”
Darling’s eyes widen at that, Apple’s insults hitting her, cutting her deep like the swings of a sword.
The girl doesn’t look apologetic in the slightest, looking at Darling like she was a mere frog she found on her heel. None of this felt right. Apple? Looking at her like she was nothing compared to her? Apple would never and yet, it felt like her greatest nightmare was unfolding right in front of her. The nightmare that’s been haunting her for months now.
She wondered if Apple even cared about her.
“It’s not Apple, Darling.” Raven is quick to assure, noticing the fear in Darling’s eyes. “It’s a version of her.”
“A version?” Darling whispers under her breath. Raven’s words don’t do anything to reassure her. Instead, they only serve to raise her blood pressure higher. The person in front of her was Apple and yet, she looked exactly like her. Apple stares into her eyes, almost daring her to say another word. It’s the longest she’s been silent ever since she’s gotten here.
Grimm clears his throat.
“Do you know your way around Ever After High, Miss White?” He asks, voice strained. He clearly did not want to deal with a situation like this.
“I know enough,” Apple replies and when somebody like this version of Apple has that much information, she basically becomes an Evil Queen-level threat. Grimm seems to know this, judging by the way his face loses color, nearly turning the same shade as his hair.
“Right,” He says through gritted teeth. He looks to the surrounding group. “One of you needs to take care of her. Make sure she stays out of trouble.”
Everyone looks at each other.
Faybelle rolls her eyes, walking away. “Nuh-uh.”
Briar is quick to follow her. “Bye guys!”
Alistair and Maddie share a panicked look before looking back at Grimm and very clearly shake their heads. Dexter and Daring do the same, pleading to Grimm with their eyes. Darling wouldn’t be surprised if they got on their knees to beg in a few moments.
And Kitty? Kitty was already gone.
Next thing Darling knows, Grimm’s eyes are on her.
“She’s your true love, apparently,” Grimm hisses frantically, mockingly at Darling, poison dripping from every word he says. He glares at her, “As such, you should take care of her!”
Darling’s jaw drops slightly as she looks around the hallway nervously. Everyone looks at her expectedly, as if that was all the reasoning needed. Darling didn’t know what to say. How could she tell them that, even if Apple was her true love, they haven’t had a singular conversation about it? How could she tell them that Apple probably doesn’t even know?
(It was impossible that Apple didn’t know. Maybe, Darling just wanted to save herself from the possibility that Apple just didn’t want her.)
Evil Apple—or should Darling just call her Apple?—scoffs as she checks on her nails.
“I’m somebody’s true love? What a joke,” Apple states matter-of-factly. “True love’s for losers.”
Darling knew this was an opposite version of Apple—she swears, she does—and yet, she couldn’t deny how much it stung hearing those words coming from Apple’s mouth. It’s been months since the kiss that had turned Darling’s life on its axis and yet, there was nothing. No talk. No anything.
Nothing about Apple trying to find out who it was, and if she did, she hasn’t bothered saying anything. Days of Darling wondering when something was ever going to happen turned to months. At that point, she wondered if Apple thought the same thing. That true love wasn’t for her, that Darling wasn’t for her.
At this point, even this version of Apple looked a little unsure at the way Darling continued to stare at her, unmoving. As if she had hit a wound that even Darling didn’t know existed.
Raven seems to take pity on her, stepping forward and raising her hand slightly.
“As her roommate, I’ll take care of her.”
Grimm didn’t know if chaos attractor Raven Queen was a better option, but clearly nobody else was willing, so he relents. “Very well.”
Apple grins at her, pushing past Raven and deliberately shouldering her, nearly tipping her entirely off balance. “Looking forward to it,” She purrs, making her way down the halls leaving Raven to stumble over her own two feet after her.
Grimm follows after them too, unease clear on his face.
The remaining crowd begins to disperse. All except Darling, who feels rooted to her spot.
The sight of Apple looking at her so coldly continued to stay in her mind.
“You okay, little sis?”
When Darling looks up, Daring and Dexter are looking back at her, concern clear on their faces.
Darling sighs, bringing her arms up to squeeze her churning stomach.
“I know that’s not Apple, but it still hurts…”
Daring frowns, throwing an arm around Darling’s shoulder as the three siblings begin to walk down the halls to the castleteria for breakfast. Thankfully, Apple’s little fiasco led to classes being canceled for the day, the teachers afraid that anyone else might have been turned.
“Don’t worry about it, little sis!” Daring says haughtily, confidently, “This will last for a day at most! Soon, your Apple will be back with us and everything will go on as normal.”
Darling tries to smile back, despite her trembling lips.
Dexter pops up beside them, an encouraging smile on his face.
“In the meantime, we’ll tell you all about the situation. I’m sure Raven’s got it all handled, anyways!”
“I can’t handle this!”
The pure volume and anger in that scream seems to shake the whole school. Everyone in the hallway, including Darling, watches as Raven Queen storms out of her dorm, her hair now messy and hextremely…green.
“Oh, come on, Raven.” Apple coos mockingly, strutting out after her. She’s a stark contrast to Raven: entirely unbothered. “What is about this you can’t handle?”
Raven turns around to look at Apple, absolutely fuming. Darling swears there was steam coming out of her ears.
“Oh, I don’t know, Apple!” Raven throws her hands up into the air out of frustration. “You slipping permanent hair dye into my shampoo and turning my hair permanently green?”
“It doesn’t have to be permanent. You have magic you’re not good at. Use it.” Apple smiles sweetly, batting her eyelashes. She then gasps all of a sudden, pressing her pointer finger to her lips in thought. “Right, magic you’re not good at…nevermind!” She giggles.
Raven looked like she was on the verge of exploding, magic prickling at her fingertips and her eyes turning into a purple color of their own. Any more words from Apple and Ever After High might as well explode a few moments from now. Judging by the way Apple’s face stayed unmoving, infuriating, that was exactly what Apple wanted.
Perhaps, it was her chivalrous nature, but Darling felt a need to step in.
“Raven?” Darling’s soft, slightly anxious voice, thankfully, still managed to get their attention. “What’s going on here?”
When Apple turns around and sees her, she groans in annoyance and Darling tries her hardest not to wince.
This isn’t your Apple.
“Stay out of this, goody-two-shoes!”
Raven gapes at Apple. “Don’t tell Darling to stay out of this! Not when you’ve something so…so stupid!” She scolds hysterically, nearly pulling her hairs out of her head as she screams out of frustration, “One more word out of you and you’re out of this dormitory!” Darling could see the purple flames in Raven’s hands get stronger and stronger. She isn’t afraid of many things, but she supposes she could add an angry Raven to the list.
“That’s fine.” Apple replies, as cool as she always. Darling feels her heart beat faster as Apple comes closer and closer. Apple stops right in front of her, placing her hands on her hips as she looks right into Darling’s eyes. “I’ll just have goody-two-shoes over here as my roommate.”
Darling’s eyes comically, her body betraying her by heating up at the feeling of Apple right in front of her, the girl smiling at her as if the two of them were all buddy-buddy. As if Apple hasn’t insulted her five times or more before this. Her mind barely manages to catch up to what Apple had said. Raven, though, takes the opportunity as soon as it presents itself.
“Yes! That’s great!” Raven sighs in relief, shoving Apple towards Darling earning a yelp from both girls as Apple falls into Darling’s arms. “Sorry, Darling, I’ll apologize to you later once this whole situation catches up to me. I need a nap!”
Darling watches Raven slam the door on them, pouring all of the day’s frustrations into the action. Darling feels like she shouldn’t remind her that it was currently noon. Only six hours with topsy-turvy Apple White and Raven was already done.
That’s when Darling realizes just who’s in her arms, caught like a damsel.
“Aww,” Apple yells at the dorm she’s just been kicked out of. “You’re not gonna miss me, queenie?”
Raven doesn’t respond, probably for the sake of her own peace.
Apple is still in Darling’s arms. It’s the only thing Darling can think of.
“Can you…” Darling trails off, her voice betraying her by cracking. “…get off of me?”
Apple looks over at her, very clearly making no move to do so.
“Why?”
“Why? What do you mean why?” Darling gapes. “And why room with me?”
Apple just looks at her. For a moment, even she looks a little confused, eyebrows furrowing slightly. Then, she rolls her eyes. “Just felt like it.” Apple raises an eyebrow, leaning in closer to whisper, “Are you going to say no? I’m pretty sure you’re in love with me or something.”
That’s what snaps Darling out of her flustered daze. She shoves the princess in her arms right out of them, making sure not to push her too hard because, as much as she hates it, Apple is right.
She is in love with Apple White.
Well, a version of Apple White that definitely wasn’t with her right now.
“Geez, rude,” Apple hisses, “Struck a nerve there.”
Darling grits her teeth. “Shut up.”
“Come on, don’t be so stuck-up.” Apple rolls her eyes. She then smiles prettily. Darling’s heart would have skipped a beat if it weren’t for Apple’s eyes: a glaring reminder that this wasn’t her Apple. “You have to take me to your room now, right?”
Darling doesn’t satisfy Apple with an answer, pushing past her and making her way to her room.
Surprisingly, Apple follows without another word.
Everybody that sees the two of them together look so shocked, it feels almost insulting.
At some point, Dexter points frantically between her and Apple, jaw dropped slightly.
Darling desperately shakes her head in denial.
Apple, on the other hand, scoffs. “Everyone knows you can’t see, four eyes, no need to shove it in our faces.” Dexter doesn’t seem too affected by the insult, still stupefied by the sight.
Whispers of their names continued to float around the hallways, everybody’s wandering eyes on the two of them.
Darling knew they would be the talk of the school for the day. She wouldn’t be surprised if they were the front page of Blondie’s MyChapter—Darling Charming falls for both versions of Apple White. How stupid. She could only thank Grimm under her breath that there were no classes and she didn’t have to deal with gossip following her into every corner and every classroom. She’s already had enough of that after her reveal as the White Knight and the whole Dragon Games fiasco.
Eventually, they reach her and Rosabella’s dorm. Before Apple can use a hairpin to break into their dorm or do whatever she was planning to do, Darling deliberately places herself in front of Apple before gently knocking on her door.
The door opens to reveal Rosabella Beauty, who smiles at Darling. Said smile drops at the sight of the girl beside her. Darling wondered just what wicked expression Apple had on her face now.
“Darling! And…” Rosabella looks at her companion cautiously. “…Apple?”
“Hey, glasses. That’s me,” Apple replies sweetly, before her smile drops in the blink of an eye.
“Get out.”
Darling watches in horror as Apple shoves Rosabella aside, marching right in earning a yelp of protest from the girl. “Apple!” Darling hisses, quickly pulling Rosabella back upright before the girl falls over. “This is literally her room.”
She then looks at Rosabella, who is glaring holes into Apple’s skull. Of course, Apple doesn’t seem to care, making herself at home on…Darling’s bed? Darling could feel her cheeks warm at that and internally beats herself up for it. “Hexes, I’m so sorry about that and the short notice, Rosa. Raven got tired of Apple and said I should room with her, instead.”
“Raven’s already given me a heads up. I’ve also received worse rejections, so don’t worry about it.” Rosabella scoffs, stepping a little closer to Darling as she leans over to whisper, “You weren’t lying though when you said new Apple’s quite…unpleasant.”
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Apple asks from the bed, her arms crossed and that stupid, sly smile on her face.
“It’s none of your business,” Rosabella says sweetly, pulling away from Darling to give Apple a smile just as fake. She then looks back at Darling, her smile turning more sympathetic. “Good luck. It must suck to deal with the opposite version of your crush.”
“I know.” Darling groans.
Before Rosabella could say anything more, Apple lets out a long, dramatic groan.
“Hey, Rosie poo,” Apple sing-songs, “I’m pretty sure this stopped being your room like two minutes ago.” Her smile turns sweet once as she bats her eyelashes. “You’re overstaying your visit.”
Darling watches Rosabella clench her jaw, clearly wishing she could just tackle Apple right then and there. “Can’t upset the queen, of course!” Rosabella exclaims through gritted teeth, sounding far too happy despite the clear anger on her face. She leaves without another word. She probably knew that if she were to spend another minute with Apple, Ever After High would also cease to exist. Darling began to fear for her own patience.
“I’m glad she knows who’s in charge,” Apple jeers, before looking right at Darling, who visibly jumps at the sudden eye contact. “You’ve called me unpleasant?”
“You heard?” Darling squeaks.
“It’s not like you two were being quiet.” Apple tilts her head. “Though, it doesn’t matter if I’m unpleasant if you find me pretty, right?”
“It does matter,” Darling weakly argues.
“Huh,” Apple hums as if she’s just realized something, “Didn’t say you don’t find me pretty. Spells, you really are in love with me or something.”
Darling grits her teeth, gripping her skirt.
“You’re on my bed, by the way.”
Apple pouts. “You don’t like it?”
Darling was also going to explode.
Before Apple could make Darling’s face any pinker than it already was, there’s a knock on the door.
“Apple White! I hear you’re in here!” Daring’s voice could be heard through the door, slightly muffled. “Headmaster Grimm requires your presence! He has questions for you!”
“I preferred when he was scared of me. I didn’t think he could get any more annoying,” Apple grumbles under her breath. She then looks over at Darling, smiling a little too wide at her. “Help me hide?”
Darling stares at her, unimpressed.
Surprisingly, Apple’s smile quickly falls as she huffs. She gets up from her bed and walks over to the door, shouting an insult Darling can’t understand right in Daring’s face—she believes it was an insult by the way Daring’s jaw drops, clearly offended—before closing the door shut.
Darling watches her go confusedly, wondering how that went so easy.
Then, the events of the day sink in. Her Apple—the Apple she had fallen for, the Apple she wanted to talk to so dearly—was gone, somewhere out there or nowhere at all. Whether she would come back was something that was still up in the air.
Darling couldn’t deny it.
She missed her Apple, even if her Apple would never feel the same about her.
When Darling walks out of the bathroom later that night, Apple White is laying down on her bed and looking right at her, already making herself at home.
Not Apple White, Darling reminds herself. Someone else. A stranger.
“What’s this about me being your true love?”
Yup. Darling is not having this conversation. Not with her.
She very obviously steers clear of Apple’s direction, making her way towards her closet and beginning to arrange some of her clothes. They were already in their correct places, but Darling felt the desire to do anything other than talk.
“Yoohoo? Charming?” Apple snorts. “Or should I say Boring?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Darling inhales shakily. It felt like she was trying to convince herself rather than the entity sitting in her room. “You’re not my Apple.”
“Judging by how shifty you are about this true love topic, the other Apple isn’t exactly yours, either.”
Darling’s movements still at that, fingers clenching the fabric of one of her many sleep shirts. “Whatever,” She grumbles under her breath, folding the last of her shirts before shutting her closet door. She makes her way to Rosabella’s bed, laying down and pulling the blanket over her.
“Oh, come on, talk to me.” Apple whines. “I am Apple. Wouldn’t I know her better than anyone?”
“It’s not that complicated. I don’t need you for me to understand,” Darling mumbles with a sense of finality. She tastes her next words on her tongue. They taste bitter, almost poisonous. She winces at the thought of them, her heart breaking as she wonders just how true they were.
“I just don’t think she wants me back, okay? Are you happy?”
Silence ensues. For a few, rare moments, this Apple was at a loss for words.
“Well.” Apple huffs. “Surely, she’s an idiot.”
Darling’s grip on her blanket tightens. “Don’t call her an idiot.”
“She is an idiot,” Apple insists, “Why wouldn’t she snatch up somebody as pretty as you?”
Darling stills at that, the worst thoughts running into her mind.
“Aren’t you her opposite?” She whispers, voice small. She sounded afraid of the answer, inhaling shakily as she pulls her blanket further over herself as she turns on her side to look over at Apple through hooded eyes. “Does that mean she finds me the opposite, as well?”
For a moment, Apple looks like she wants to cause more chaos yet, she almost seems to hesitate.
“Our personalities may have switched, but our thoughts?” Apple thins her lips, scoffing. “Perhaps, the thoughts of whoever you’re yearning for have stayed and she does think your looks are…” Apple’s eyes stray as she rolls her eyes. “…above average. It’s just that she’s such a princess that she, for some stupid reason, can’t say it to your face.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.” Darling blurts out defensively.
Apple looks at her for a few moments before rolling her eyes.
“Ever the suck-up, Charming. You’re as useless as your brother. Or my version of your brother.”
Darling gapes at that, head whipping around to look at Apple who was now facing away from her, probably wearing the most infuriating smile on her face.
“I am anything but a suck-up!”
“Sleeping already, can’t hear you! La la la la!” Apple sings, very visibly shoving her fingers into her ears. “Darling Charming’s a suck-up! La la la la!”
Darling glares as hard as she could, groaning before taking her pillow and folding it over her ears, praying deep in her heart that Apple would be turned back and fast.