Chapter Text
One Kiss
There is a faint smell of alcohol as Chloe stirs the contents of the beaker, her frame covered by a lab coat and her hands sporting white gloves. She has a test tomorrow morning, which requires them to be able to prepare a transformation potion for the class. Usually, it wouldn’t be a problem, but this particular potion has been a headache to prepare.
This morning, she had gone to the enchanted lake to collect some water in a vial, and now, as she held the pipette in her grip, she was going to try to pour in exactly the amount of drops it needed.
Glancing briefly at the book, her eyes secured behind her glasses, she skimmed the words as she mumbled them softly.
‘Four drops of water from the enchanted lake.’
Nodding to herself, she decided to pour them in.
When the potion turned green, Chloe released a relaxed sigh, her fist rising in a small cheer as her lips curled into a tiny smile. She placed the pipette back in its place and then rested her hip against the table, arms crossed as she waited.
The last step was for the water to have its final effect, and if it was a success, the potion would finally turn purple. Her attention remained focused on the beaker, and just as she stepped away to start cleaning the equipment, her heart jolted when bubbles started to form in the liquid.
Fast.
“That’s not supposed to happen…”
Worry filled her as she hurried to grab the book, her hands desperately flipping through the pages. She traced the cursive black words with her finger in a swift motion as she read everything again, word by word, but it explained nothing about the potion suddenly bubbling.
A small gasp escaped her when a sudden crack surged through the glass, a small line appearing on its side. Soon enough, more fissures threatened to break the beaker into pieces. She looked around in fear, trying to find a place to hide, and, spotting a closet nearby, she hurried toward it, her footsteps heavy against the floor.
She managed to reach it in time.
Just as she closed the doors, the liquid rose higher and exploded completely. The girl screamed as she covered her ears and instinctively dropped to the floor, crouched in fear. Her breaths came out fast, and her heart hammered in her chest.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
Chloe cursed repeatedly, the words foreign on her tongue, as she opened her eyes and, with trembling hands, shoved the door open. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.
Her spirit left her body as she took in the destroyed laboratory, her jaw dropping in shock. Chloe raised one hand, covering her mouth and nose slightly as she felt her eyes beginning to sting. The smell was so strong that it made her choke as she breathed it in.
She must have put something wrong in the potion, or maybe she had poured in the wrong amount of water.
Chloe kept running through the possibilities in her head for a few minutes before she finally decided to move. Her boots stepped over broken glass as she walked past one of the tables and absentmindedly placed a hand on its surface, sharp pain jolting through her arm, making her step back abruptly and almost fall over.
A single tear dropped from her eye when she noticed the glass piercing through her skin, her jaw tightening at the pain.
Chloe was about to let out another curse at the amount of blood coming from the wound when the door swung open, and someone entered the room, halting as they, too, raised an arm against the smell.
“What the hell?”
Turning her head, the newcomer found Chloe’s tense body in the middle of the laboratory.
“Chloe?” Red asked, her voice full of worry.
The redhead stepped closer and slowly lowered her arm, her face scrunched up.
“What the hell happened? I was walking close by when I heard the explosion.”
Chloe coughed as her nostrils filled with more of that smell, her throat burning as a few more tears dropped freely from her eyes.
“I was trying to make a transformation potion.”
She gestured toward the spot where the beaker was supposed to be, now nothing more than shattered remains on the table. When she moved her hand, she remembered the wound and hissed in pain again. Red’s eyes shifted toward it.
“Fuck. You’re hurt.”
Chloe nodded before dropping her arm.
“Why aren’t you coughing? The smell is strong.”
Red frowned and shook her head.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll explain later.” She moved, closing her hand firmly around Chloe’s arm and leading her outside. “But first, you need to get that wound checked. Let’s go.”
Chloe followed Red as they headed to the infirmary, the princess closing the door behind them before they left.
…………………………………
Chloe hugged her injured hand to her chest as she and Red returned to their dorm. The nurse had cleaned the wound and bandaged it, but that wasn’t what had Chloe in such a state. Her head hurt from the amount of the substance she had inhaled, and her pulse was quick. The heels of her boots struck against the wooden floor as she paced around, Red’s eyes following her every move.
“Fuck. Red. I blew it up.”
She was panicking, the image of the entire laboratory reduced to pieces because of the potion she had failed to make flashing through her mind. Red stood up from the bed and stepped closer, her hands falling onto Chloe’s shoulders and making her stop. Dark eyes met soft brown ones.
“Calm down.”
She ordered, her voice doing nothing to soothe Chloe’s worries. Her brows furrowed in desperation.
“I can’t, Red. You saw what happened. Not only will I fail my test tomorrow, but I’ll also get suspended for destroying the whole laboratory. Literally.”
Chloe leaned away from her friend’s touch and raised her good hand to massage her temples, her eyes lost as she tried to think of a way to fix what she had done. Red pursed her lips, also worried about Chloe’s situation. If this were about someone else, she wouldn’t mind as much, but it was Chloe.
“Then what should we do?”
Chloe turned to look at her.
“We? It’s my fault, Red. I should take responsibility for it.”
She looked to the side, her eyes shifting quickly as her mind raced for a solution. But she found none, a small whine escaping her mouth as her eyes began to water.
“Maybe I should just go talk to Principal Uma and sort this out before it escalates further.”
Red frowned, confused.
“No, Chloe. There might be another option. Want me to call my mom?”
She suggested, taking out her phone from her pocket. She started searching for her mother’s number when Chloe spoke.
“No, please don’t.”
Red stopped, her fingers lingering on the screen, hesitant.
“She might be able to help.”
“I know, but I don’t want to get you into trouble, too. This was my fault. I knew it was dangerous to practice making that potion alone. It’s supposed to be practiced with a teacher nearby, and I ignored that.”
Chloe sat down on her mattress, the bed shifting softly as she leaned backward, her blue curls sprawled in different directions.
“Now I have to face the consequences. I’ll go tell Principal Uma and take the blame.”
She closed her eyes.
“Besides, someone is going to step into the laboratory soon enough and notice what happened. If they haven’t already.”
Chloe muttered the last part bitterly, a small frown adorning her face. Red chose to sit beside her, placing her hand softly over Chloe’s injured one.
“Are you sure?”
Her voice was small and comforting.
Chloe nodded, closing her eyes. She felt Red settle beside her on the bed and place a supportive hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Chloe opened her eyes and stared at her best friend, trying to smile, but it came out as a grimace.
“Thanks, Red. But I have to do this on my own.”
A single tear dropped from Chloe’s eye, and Red gently caught it, her face scrunched up in worry now, not knowing what to do to help her friend. So, she remained silent, racking her brain for ideas.
“I’ll go now.”
The princess stood up carefully, making sure not to put pressure on her hand. She smoothed down her shirt, tucked a blue curl away from her face as it tickled her skin, and straightened up fully. Then she stared at the door, filled with a sudden sense of fear, because this would be the first time she had ever gotten into trouble for something.
Never in her life had anything like this happened to her.
But if she didn’t act, things would only get worse. So, willing her feet to move, she was about to walk when Red spoke.
“Wait.”
Red practically bolted out of the bed, so fast that it startled Chloe and made her jump. She gave her friend a concerned look as she turned around.
“You don’t have to do that.”
Red started, her eyes wide in realization. Chloe frowned, not understanding.
“Yes. I have to. I could get expelled for this, Red.”
The redhead laughed as she shook her head.
“No. I mean. There’s another way.”
Chloe looked at Red as if she were crazy, crossing her arms. Red’s smile only grew, her shoulders rising as she giggled, looking at Chloe with a dark glint in her eyes.
“I’m just not sure you’re going to like it.”
Red moved toward the door, reaching for the doorknob. She looked back at her friend, who seemed very startled.
“We’re going to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand.”
…………………………………
Chloe wasn’t sure how she had found herself in this situation. But she cursed all the gods above because, as they stood outside the principal’s office, she could only worry that this would do more damage than good. She could feel it—the feeling that something was about to go wrong. She gripped the fabric of her jacket with one hand, fiddling with it softly as she tried to steady her breathing.
“Chloe, calm down. We’ve done this before, remember?”
Chloe did remember. Her mind went back to when they had sneaked into Merlin’s office and the whole battle with the knights and flying swords. She gulped nervously as she nodded, scared but knowing for sure that there wasn’t any other option that could help her.
“By the way, how do you even know the wand is in there? I thought the wand was supposed to be in a museum.”
The princess’s eyes flickered toward her friend, seeing her confused expression.
“It was.”
She confirmed.
“But after what happened with Mal and the others, Fairy Godmother now keeps it here. You know my mother’s story and how she helped her at Castlecoming. I was raised around her, so there are some secrets I’m allowed to know.”
Red nodded, lost in thought for a moment. Then she simply shrugged. Chloe saw her move to open the door, but before she could, she stopped her.
“Don’t.”
Red turned back, frowning but still releasing her grip on the doorknob.
“What? Are you scared? Chloe, I told you, we’ve been here before.”
She tried to explain, leaning onto one foot and crossing her arms.
“No, it’s not that.”
Chloe shook her head, taking Red’s place instead.
“You keep an eye out here. I’ll go inside. Besides, if this goes wrong, I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me.”
She didn’t even let Red speak before stepping inside the room and closing the door behind her, the thud resonating through the place.
Chloe only heard the shuffle of her friend’s feet outside the door as Red moved in front of it. A drop of sweat slid down the side of Chloe’s face as her hands started to tremble, the slight pain from before returning when she noticed she was putting pressure on her wound.
She moved her injured hand away.
Her foot tripped over a book that had been misplaced on the floor, and she almost fell, managing to stay upright when she supported herself against a table.
“Great.”
She was starting to get annoyed now, huffing out a breath as she instead tried to pry the safe open. After a few turns, she entered the correct code, her ears catching a soft click as the door unlocked. She was about to grab the wand when her heart jumped in fear as Luis’s voice suddenly rang out from outside, calling Red’s name loudly.
Her head turned sharply.
Her stare burned into the door as she heard Red trying, not-so-subtly, to get the Madrigal to leave.
She couldn’t catch everything they said, their voices muffled by the door separating the room from the hallway. Her cheek twitched in irritation as the two continued their conversation for a while, Luis seemingly unable to leave Red alone.
It felt like a lifetime before she finally heard footsteps going down the hall.
She grabbed the wand successfully and squealed in excitement as she turned around when the door opened. Her mouth opened to urge Red to leave quickly, her voice bright and a smile in place.
But Red wasn’t the one who had opened it.
Her smile fell entirely, and she stopped short, inhaling sharply and almost dropping the wand.
Hazel looked back at her with her dark eyes, eyebrows raised high, shifting her gaze between Chloe’s face and the wand wrapped tightly in her fingers.
“Princess.”
She sounded very surprised, her typical smirk absent for once. The pirate also seemed hesitant, turning her head around in search of someone but finding no one. The only person in the room was Chloe, who felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest.
“Fuck.”
Chloe didn’t curse. She absolutely never did. But for some reason, today she couldn’t stop doing it. Hazel’s expression shifted at the word, her mouth opening slightly as she tried to comprehend what had just come out of Chloe’s mouth.
“What?”
Chloe had a panicked look on her face as she tried to hide the wand behind her back. But it was no use. Hazel had already seen it.
Her eyes landed on the door, and she wondered where the hell Red had gone. She was supposed to be guarding it.
“Princess?”
Hazel looked back at her.
“Why do you have the wand? And why are you here?”
Hazel no longer looked surprised. Instead, there was a frown on her face, her arms crossed as she stepped closer into Chloe’s space. Her figure moved around the princess’s body as she tried to get a better look at the wand.
It was instant—the way Chloe stepped back and felt her back collide with the safe’s door, making it close loudly.
Hazel tried to come closer, confusion on her face, but the blue-haired girl raised her injured hand, hissing softly as she placed it against Hazel’s warm chest. The bandage beginning to turn red as the wound reopened.
A complaint left her mouth, small but not unnoticed.
She knew something like this would happen. That was exactly why she knew this had been a bad idea.
And when Hazel shifted her attention to Chloe’s hand, she stepped back slightly, giving her some space to finally breathe. A frown adorned her face, her expression confused.
“What happened to you?”
Hazel grabbed her hand and inspected it. Chloe immediately pulled it back, her face determined as she tried to calm her nerves.
“Nothing.”
It didn’t sound convincing in the slightest. Hazel’s expression turned incredulous.
“Yeah. I’m sure nothing happened,” she mumbled.
“Now, answer me.”
At least she didn’t try to step closer again, the wand still clutched tightly in Chloe’s good hand.
“Hazel…”
She started, hesitant. But she couldn’t get the words out, her eyes flickering nervously toward the door. She wondered if she could move fast enough to circle around Hazel and run.
She only needed the wand for a moment. Then she would put it back. Spotless, as if nothing had happened. As if she and Red hadn’t planned on stealing one of the most powerful weapons in Auradon.
Just when she was about to bolt and shove Hazel out of the way, she heard voices. Both of startled as they caught them.
“That’s Uma.”
The pirate turned her head slightly toward the door, her hands hanging loosely beside her body, her face focused as she listened carefully.
No, no, no, no, no.
That was the chant running through Chloe’s mind as her heart stopped for a moment. Her eyes flickered toward the wand, and she heard the heavy thud of her heartbeat in her ears.
She felt a small sob escape her mouth at the sudden fear that filled her, and when Hazel turned toward her and caught it, she made a split-second decision.
Because, at this point, she was desperate.
Surging forward, she gripped Hazel’s vest and asked her hurriedly.
“Hazel.”
The pirate looked surprised as Chloe suddenly stepped closer, her grip tight on the fabric. Her attention shifted away from the door, dark eyes taking in panicked brown ones.
“Kiss me.”
It was as if time stopped when those words left the princess’s lips. Hazel froze in place, not even bothering to hide her astonishment. Chloe stood there, feeling more helpless than before, as the pirate remained unresponsive.
“Hazel, look. I need the wand to fix something. I promise you, I will return it.”
Her eyes shifted from the pirate’s intense gaze, then trembled when the doorknob began to turn slowly.
“But please, just kiss me, now.”
Chloe wasn’t even sure if this would help. She wasn’t even sure Hazel would go along with the sudden plan she had come up with on the spot. And, truth be told, she wasn’t even sure she was sane for knowing what she was asking the brunette to do.
They weren’t even that close, having only shared that experience when they went to Wonderland to save Red’s mom.
But she knew enough to know that Hazel wasn’t bad. At least, not entirely.
That was why she decided to stay there and let her pride fall as she begged the menacing girl to kiss her.
But it wasn’t working.
Hazel was shocked, not moving.
And just as Chloe was deciding that the plan had been a total failure, with Uma and Fairy Godmother’s figures beginning to appear as they stepped through the door, her head was turned to the side, only catching a glimpse of Hazel’s dark eyes closing before she surged forward, grabbing Chloe’s face and kissing her.
Firmly, without hesitation.
Her lips wrapped around the blue-haired's, warm and soft, their breaths mixing as she pushed her back, her body pressing against hers.
Chloe froze for a moment, her mind short-circuiting, caught off guard. But then she reacted, remembering what they were doing and started kissing back.
Hazel tilted her head slightly and deepened the kiss, her thumbs gently caressing Chloe’s cheeks.
And despite the shock of the moment—and the fact that they were literally kissing in front of the two major authorities of Auradon—Chloe felt her heart jump in her chest, the sweet taste of Hazel lingering on her tongue as they continued kissing.
She did manage to hide the wand carefully between her skirt and her blue jacket when she opened her eyes slightly, noticing the newcomers shocked faces, their eyes locked on the two of them.
She pressed softly against Hazel’s chest to push her back, their lips separating. Chloe’s lips swollen and red from Hazel’s kisses, and she looked embarrassed as the pirate stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, the taste of Chloe still lingering on them.
“Hazel!”
Uma’s voice was loud as she shouted, incredulous at what she was seeing. Fairy Godmother shot Chloe a distraught look, and the princess could only look away in embarrassment, unable to meet her eyes.
Fairy Godmother was like a second mother to her, and now she had seen Chloe doing that with Hazel.
Her skin flushed bright red, and she could only hope this would end sooner rather than later.
Lifting her eyes, she noticed the brunette looking back at her, not paying the slightest attention to Uma’s fuming face, raising one hand and gently brushing her thumb against Chloe’s cheek again, making the princess’s face turn even redder.
“Hazel, I’m talking to you.”
The pirate finally stepped back, turning and shooting Uma a glare.
“I heard you.”
She sounded irritated.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing in here?” Her gaze swept past Hazel and landed on Chloe. “And with Miss Charming of all people, sucking faces.”
Fairy Godmother placed one hand over her face and looked away when she heard the last part, mumbling something about ‘unacceptable behavior.’
Chloe was about to open her mouth when Hazel instead stepped closer once more, wrapping one arm around her waist. The sudden press of it making Chloe shift in her place.
“I’m sorry, Principal Uma. We just got caught up in the moment. I was looking for you. I needed to tell you something.”
Hazel squeezed her waist softly and glanced back at her, one eyebrow subtly raised as Chloe understood the message.
“I don’t care if you got caught up in anything. This is unacceptable.”
Hazel frowned and pursed her lips, stepping away from Chloe and grabbing her hand.
“I know that. I’m sorry.”
The words sounded foreign on her lips, and Chloe looked puzzled, because she had never heard the pirate apologize so directly.
“But you need to hear this. It’s about Harry.”
Uma’s anger receded when she heard the name, her eyebrows furrowing slightly and the shock of what she walked into disappearing. Her demenour totally changed as she stepped forward and dropped into her chair, gaving Hazel a nod but still glancing at Chloe with a glare.
“Leave us.”
She said it not only to the embarrased blue-haired girl but also to Fairy Godmother, who decided to step outside first.
Chloe hesitated, her grip tight around Hazel’s hand. She squeezed it, trying to make the pirate look her way, but she didn't.
When she dropped it and tried to walk away, Hazel grabbed her arm and closed the distance, making it seem as if she were placing a kiss on her cheek. Instead, she moved her lips toward Chloe’s ear.
“We’ll talk later.”
She whispered.
Chloe nodded, lost. And almost yelped when Hazel decided to drop a real kiss on her cheek as she noticed Uma weird suspicious look. The pirate then murmured a soft goodbye.
Which made Chloe wide her eyes, skin warm, deciding to walk away in a hurry, her heart going so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. And just as she was about to step outside the room, Uma’s voice called out from behind her.
“This isn’t finished, Miss Charming.”
Chloe turned.
“I very much want to know who the girl my fiancé’s little sister is going out with is.”
She felt her heart drop as her eyes caught in Uma's expression, looking for annoyance. But instead, she found none.
What startled her even more was noticing the principal’s face spread into a full big smirk. Her jaw slackening slightly when she noticed the corners of Hazel’s lips turning up as well.
The girl just shot her a small look, one Chloe could not decipher, before giving Uma all her attention, waiting patiently for the princess to be gone so she could begin to speak.
Chloe was speechless, her head turning as she stepped outside and closed the door softly, careful not to make any more noise. And when she did, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Not even believing in the slightest what the hell happened behind there.
"What the fuck did I do."
Raising one hand to brush it down her face, she grew warm all over again, mortified, when she caught the lingering taste of Hazel still on her lips.