Rotten to the Core

Prologue

Bright sunlight hits the spiraling towers of the prep school and Camila winces as her eyes take in the strong light and adjust after having been in a blacked out limousine for an hour. She's pretty sure she's never been anywhere this... happy.

Her tour guide is saying something, but Camila can't focus on the tall boy's words as she observes her new surroundings.

Beautifully designed architecture, grass that's even greener than the gems she'd stolen from Mother Gothel, and laughter. She hears actual laughter coming from the people passing her.

Back on the Isle, she never heard people laughing genuinely. Sure, there was always a mocking laugh, or a bitter chuckle, but never an authentic giggle that just brings a smile to one's face. The laughter that had come from her was always when she'd stolen something from a child, or made someone cry. Hearing people laugh with joy makes a chill run down the brunette's back.

"And now we can actually go inside and find your dorm. You got lucky and were given a single!" the tour guide's voice cuts into Camila's thoughts. Yeah, lucky me, the girl thinks bitterly to herself. If the boy actually knew why she was given a private room, he wouldn't think her so lucky.

The two kids walk down the quiet hall, the only sound comes from the boy who's so desperately trying to strike up a conversation with Camila. "So are you excited to start your junior year at Auradon?"

He seems undeterred when he's met with silence from the girl.

"I remember starting my junior year here. It was fucking brutal. I'm so happy to be a senior now. There's so much less to worry about."

Again, Camila doesn't respond.

"So who's your parent? Hades? Or the Shadow Man? Oh my god is it the Queen of Hearts?" He seems desperately excited to find out who Camila's parent is, but she's not dumb enough to tell him. No way in hell will he treat her the same.

Finally, after what seems like a painful amount of time to be exposed to the son of fucking Esmeralda, she arrives at her dorm. Room 42.

"Alright! This is where I leave you I guess. Classes start on Monday at 8 AM sharp. Your schedule will be sent to your tablet. If you need anything, Mal and Evie are in the room directly across from you."

"Wait. There are other villian kids here?"

The tour guide, Aldo she's pretty sure, gives her an odd look. "Yeah. I thought you would've known that. They were the talk of Auradon and the Isle last year."

Color immediately floods Camila's cheeks. "Oh, I didn't really talk to people on the Isle." She lies. Well it's not really a lie, she just didn't talk to anyone besides Carlos, Jay, Evie, and Mal. It's not that she didn't try to, she really did. She would've killed for a real friend. It's just that most villains and their kids were wary of her.

"Oh." Aldo furrows his brow. "Well then, I guess you can make friends with them. They should be able to relate to you and stuff." He then checks his watch and curses. "Shit, I gotta get going. I need to go meet my boyfriend. Are you good with everything?"

Camila looks between the duffle bag filled with clothes and the door to her bedroom, and then she simply shrugs. "Yeah I should be fine." She doesn't really mind being left to her own devices. She's pretty used to it actually. Being alone gives her a chance to breathe and not feel like she might kill someone at any moment. "Have fun with your boy."

"I'm in your history of Auradon class so if you need anything, just talk to me then!" Aldo turns away and rushes off to get to Ben on time and Camila just opens her door and takes in the new room she's going to be living in for the rest of the school year.

It's not a bad room by any means. There's a queen sized bed pressed against the center of the far walls, the walls also happen to be bare so that they can be decorated with whatever Camila wants. She's not really sure what she'd put on them though, her interests and hobbies on the Isle were limited to stealing and scowling at people who dared to look at her too long. Plus, it's probably not a good idea to put things up on her wall if she's just going to end up destroying them, but maybe she can find a new hobby to pursue here, in the least.

When she finishes fantasizing about how she'd decorate her walls, Camila turns to the tall wardrobe that stands beside her bed. The dark wood is smooth and cool under her fingertips; she's definitely going to feel guilty when she ends up scratching it up and destroying it.

Shaking her head, the brunette opens up the wardrobe and hangs all of her shirts, shorts, and pants. Then, she slides open the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe and neatly folds her boxers and socks.

The task is monotonous and mind numbing, so it's not a surprise that her body jolts when the sound of someone knocking on her door fills her ears. Camila manages to drop her last pair of socks under her bed and she groans before looking to the source of the knocking.

There stands someone she never thought she'd see again.

"Hey there Wolfy."

"Aw, still couldn't come up with a better name for me after having a whole year, Mal?"

"Oh whatever Dog Breath."

"You weren't complaining about my dog breath when I fucked you at Carlos' 16th birthday."

The magenta haired girl rolls her eyes for a second, the scowl on her face growing even larger. But then Camila starts cracking up and the facade Mal is putting on disappears.

"We've missed you," Mal murmurs. She's sitting next to Camila now, a soft smile on her face. "Plus, I finally got my head out of my ass and asked Evie out like you told me to."

"Oh thank god. I was worried I'd die before you finally got the balls to kiss her."

The smile that spreads on Mal's face makes Camila playfully gag. "You're so in love with her, it's so gay."

"Coming from the lesbian that slept with half the Isle! Now that's gay."

"Oh please it wasn't half th—"

"You slept with Anastasia Tremaine!"

"Hey! She's got a really hot body!"

"She's also a mom!"

"Correction, a MILF!"

Mal can't help but laugh as she reminisces with her old friend. Sure, she's loved being at Auradon with her friends, but she still misses all the other kids from the Isle. She's glad Camila got to leave, especially after everything she's been through.

The two friends talk for another hour, about old memories and Mal gives Camila ideas on what to do at school. She's sure Camila would love to join the tourney team with Carlos and Jay, and she tells her of the club for all of the children of villains the Evie started.

"Is there like an LGBT club here?" Camila asks after a moment. She knows that Auradon seems to have a lot of gay kids, she just wants to take the guess work out of flirting with girls though.

"Oh yeah! It's run by Rapunzel's daughter, Lucy!"

"Who's calling me?"

Just then, Camila turns her head to see the most gorgeous girl she's ever seen. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin, and the most gorgeous smile ever. She's poking her head through the door of Camila's dorm room and Camila can hear her blood pulsing as she takes in the girl's scent.

Firewood, vanilla, and something that resembles hay. It's an odd combination, but it's enticing and Camila can't get enough.

"Hello? Camila?"

Lucy's voice brings Camila out of her staring and smelling and she knows she's been caught by both Mal and the brunette.

"Oh, uh... Sorry. I got distracted."

Yeah, Camila's gonna be getting distracted a lot. She's so fucked.