||IF ONLY||

Chapter Nine

Brielle awoke with a jump as multiple knocks befell her bedroom door in rapid succession. Yet it wasn't her room, was it? She realized as she looked around. She was still in Jay and Carlos' dorm and sat in Jay's lap with the others wrapped around them. The knocking increased, as the girls' advisors tapped their feet impatiently. Little did they expect Princess Brielle Beast to slam open the door, dressed in a shirt that was too large to be hers and shorts that were too short and too bright to be appropriate for them to pay attention to. They definitely did not expect her fangs to be dropped and sharp and her nails to scrape their chests as she grabbed them by the collar of their shirts.

"What is your problem? They're sleeping. We. Were. Sleeping," she snarled before a hand grabbed her gently. It shocked both advisors how quickly her demeanor changed from the touch of the blue-haired girl. "Go back to the others, darling. We'll deal with it," The bluenette said as she and Mal stepped in front of the girl and glared at the advisors. How dare they wake up their Princess and make her come talk to them.

The advisors gulped as they spotted the two males holding the Princess gently while simultaneously sending murderous glances their way. The two girls stepped out and shut the door close, not wanting the Princess to hear them chew out the advisors. "How'd you sleep princess?" Jay asked, playing with Brielle's hair.

"Great," she said as she curled up in his lap, "Can I do your hair?" The question caught him off guard and he hesitated before agreeing. He didn't let anyone but the VKs touch his hair, so he was putting a lot of trust in Brielle. He was surprisingly relaxed as she brushed his hair back. The long locks detangling surprisingly fast under Brielle's touch before she oiled his scalp and ends. Carlos watched the two lovingly before excusing himself to go see what was happening with the advisors outside.

He was not at all shocked to see Mal and Evie yelling at the poor, cowering advisors. Mal's fingers blackened from the tip as her nails grew. Evie's shrill voice yelling obscenities at them. "Girls," he got their attention, "Our darling is doing Jay's hair." The two girls turned to him with wide eyes and nodded before glaring at the advisors one final time. The two women nodded as the girls told them to go away and basically ran off.

Mal and Evie entered the room, pressing kisses to each of Carlos' cheeks as he held the door open. The trio smiled as they saw Jay, with his hair now in its signature ponytail, brushing out their girl's hair. The two chatted happily about growing the girl's hair longer before noticing the trio. Brielle attempted to shoot up and hug them but Jay tugged her back gently by her hair. She whined as he scolded her, "I have to finish your hair Bri. It's nearly time for us to get to our classes and for you to go to your office."

Brielle frowned before Carlos continued, "Just for you to get your laptop so that you can work while you're with us." The sentence made her beam brightly and nod. Jay scolded her as he pulled her hair back into a ponytail like his, but because her hair was a bit shorter, it wasn't exactly the same. He pulled out some strands to soften her face since the slick back hair was making her look scarier than she was. 

They nodded at Jay's handy work before the girls dragged her away. "Dress?" Evie asked, "Of course a dress, they're all you wear. You can borrow one of mine and Mal with lend you some shoes ok?" Brielle nodded as they pushed her into the bathroom. Thankfully, the dorms were built with two separate bathrooms and bedrooms but one common area, so while the girls got ready in one room, the boys could use the next. It was also lucky that the girls had left a lot of their wardrobe in the boys' dorm.

"If you want us, We're right here. The boys are showering so if they finish before you, we'll just hop in theirs," Mal said as they shut the door. Brielle frowned but shook it off, she didn't want to annoy them by being clingy. She showered as quickly as she could while making sure she was clean everywhere. When she exited the room in a fluffy black towel, she saw Mal sitting on the bed. Evie had gone to shower in the next room while the boys sat outside in the common room.

"Ok E went a little overboard with the dress but I tried to tone it down with the shoes and accessories," Mal said motioning to the bed that had a pale blue dress lying on it before going into the bathroom. They were in a bit of a rush since they were already missing the first period. Brielle nodded and put on the clothes they left for her. The dress was, in fact, a bit much. The bodice was embroidered with flowers and was structured like a corset and the skirt of the dress was very poofy as it hindered Brielle from seeing her feet under it. The sweetheart neckline, paired with the off-the-shoulder sleeves revealed a bit more of her chest than Brielle was used to, but she felt pretty.

Mal had left her a choice between boots, sneakers, ballet flats, and heels. Brielle would choose the flats which were white before wearing the bracelets and rings left by Mal. When Evie came into the room, Brielle was struggling to tie a bow at the back of the dress. "Need help?" Evie asked, already making her way over before Brielle nodded. Evie skillfully tied a bow before giving Brielle a once-over. The blue bow was what they would match with today. Evie had a blue bow in her hair, styling it in a half-up half-down style. Jay wore some black cargo pants with blue bows embroidered on the pockets. Carlos wore a blue bow clipped to one of his belt loops and Mal was wearing some black stockings with blue bows on them. 

When they all were ready, they met in the common room where Carlos and Jay gaped at Brielle for a solid minute before remembering they were already late. "You look nice," they both mumbled as they stood up. Jay opened the door for them and his eyes trailed down Brielle's back as she walked. The three girls gave off power and elegance as they walked. Three princesses walk side by side with their protective boys behind them.

Mal's calculated gaze forward and she stepped confidently in her straight-cut jeans, her purple compression shirt, and her heeled boots. Evie's graceful and quiet steps made no sound as she moved in her creme off-the-shoulder dress that fell to her shins. Brielle's elegant steps reminded people of a ballerina as her pale blue dress moved elegantly with her. Jay's heavy boots made little noise as the chains on his cargo pants rattled, the sleeves of his shirt drawing attention to his muscled arms as they cut off low enough for him to not get dress-coded. Carlos' gaze was murderous on the students he saw watching his loves as he itched to use one of the chains hanging down on his black sweater vest to strangle one of them.

Oh, how jealousy ran through the veins of the students watching this powerful group of people walk together. Laugh together, talk together, and seemingly move as one. If only they had known what was happening and what would happen in the coming weeks. Maybe they wouldn't feel jealousy, but pity. Pity for all those who try to cross anyone in the group because each of them does not take kindly to when their Darlings are threatened.