Early chapter again because I'm going to Universal Studios this week!! Chapter 14 of the Fangirls, book two!!!!!!!!!!:D:D

 

Chapter 14

When Lexi and Thaddeus arrived to Homecoming, they were the last of their friend group to get there. When they walked in, the fangirls squealed about how pretty they all looked. Then Lexi saw something that deeply amused her. “Guys, Adam ended up going with Karen!” she giggled. Everyone in their group began to laugh to see Karen on Adam’s arm, who was looking both disgruntled and irritated about it. The song that was playing when Thaddeus and Lexi got there ended, and a swing dance song started up. All of the kids gave a great cheer and started dancing to it. Thaddeus turned to Lexi, holding out his hand to her and smiling.

“May I have this dance, Fangirl?” Lexi grinned and took his hand.

“Please,” she said, sounding rather pleased herself. And flirty. Unlike when she had flirted with the King of Auradon all those years ago, this was on purpose. Thaddeus took Lexi out to the middle of the dance floor and led her in a swing dance. Lexi had completely forgotten how good he was. In fact, he seemed to have gotten better. She really had to consider joining this class. “Wow! I’ve forgotten how good you are at this,” Lexi remarked kindly. Thaddeus beamed proudly.

“Thanks!” he smiled as he twirled her around. Just then, Lexi felt another hand take hers and spin her toward him. He had a familiar sparkling smile. Lexi scoffed in Adam’s face as she tried to take her hand back but Adam’s grip was too tight. Thaddeus tried to come and get her from Adam, but it looked like some invisible wall was holding him back. That was impossible. Not many people in this realm had magic. Unless- but no. That was impossible too. There was NO WAY this guy had magic. Lexi tried to seem irritated, but in truth, she was a tiny bit scared. She could see Thaddeus screaming for her on the other side of whatever was keeping him from her. Maybe seeing Adam had spooked her and her magic went crazy or something.  

“What are you doing here?” Lexi sighed, rolling her eyes and sounding annoyed. Adam attempted to make her swoon through another lovely smile of his, but that wasn’t going to work anymore.

“Listen to me, darling,” he oozed like the slimeball he was.

“Don’t you dare you call me that.” Lexi said through gritted teeth. Adam sighed.

“Okay. Listen to me, I just want to apologize to you. Could we go somewhere quieter?” he explained. Lexi considered this. She didn’t trust Adam- of course she didn’t. All he ever did was lie. He did seem sincere, though. She guessed she could give him a second chance.

“Fine. But let’s make it quick. There will be someone who actually cares waiting for me.” Lexi turned back and mouthed to Thaddeus: “I’ll handle it and I’ll be right back. You don’t need to worry.” And then she walked to the hallway. When they got there, Lexi waited for his supposed apology, but it didn’t come. Instead, Adam grabbed Lexi and tried to take her away! “What are you doing?!” she exclaimed, sounding afraid. Adam gave an evil laugh. “Let me go!” Lexi screamed.

“Oh, now, Lexi. Don’t you know I always saw you as the most alluring of your little friends? You know you’ll be safe with me.” Adam whispered in a soft, seductive voice.

“Stop! Let me go!” Lexi repeated.

“Hush, now. Where do you want to go? To that other boy?” Adam paused and chuckled softly. “The scrawny one who looks like he’ll combust every time you come near? The one who took you hostage, might I remind you?”

Lexi fumed.

“Don’t speak of Thaddeus in that way! He didn’t mean it- that wasn’t him!”

Adam just laughed.

“Oh? So, you’re defending him? Since when did you have such feelings for a boy you used to pay no mind?”

Lexi flushed light pink.

“I-I-,“ Lexi stammered and blushed even more until it deepened to bright red. “Thaddeus has always been there for me! Unlike you!”

Adam scoffed.

“Oh, sappy romance.” he said, breaking out of his seductive manor. “I should have expected as much from you. Well, I guess I should try something like that!”

Before Lexi even had time to try and break away, Adam pressed his lips against Lexi’s and when they broke away, Lexi had a look of love in her bright hazel eyes.

Once Thaddeus felt the strange wall fall away, he immediately dashed to the hall. That was made difficult because the gym was so crowded with many dancing bodies. Eventually, he got to the door and sped into the hallway in the direction he had seen Lexi and that jerk, Adam, go in. Thaddeus had finally caught sight of them and- “What the heck?!” his mouth exclaimed without his brain’s permission. He had just seen Adam kiss Lexi and when he pulled away, Lexi looked so in love, like she did the day she and Adam first met. Thaddeus went through about ten different levels of, “Get your dirty, deceitful, dishonest paws off my lady!” as he started to run toward them, but there was another invisible barrier before him! “No!” he shouted in agony, but also sounding confused as he entered the gym again. Why would Lexi suddenly be in love with Adam again? Wouldn’t she remember what he did to her? Why would she trust him? Unless she couldn’t remember… he gasped. What if Adam did something to her? He ran to their corner of the gym and went on the group chat of him and the fangirls.

“You guys! Get to our corner! Something really weird just happened!”

It wasn’t long before all of the girls came, eager looks on their faces. They weren’t mad that he interrupted things with their dates because they knew he wouldn’t have had them come unless it was serious. “Where’s Lexi? She would be here with you,” Kaylee said.

"Adam-" Thaddeus's voice was trembling, so he took a shuddering breath, running a hand through his hair. "Adam kissed Lexi and then she looked like she was in love with him again and he took her away! We need to go find her!" 

"What?" Gabrielle said, shock written all over her face. "That isn't right... he must have done something to her,"

Thaddeus wasn't paying attention at this point, his breathing coming in short gasps. "I don't know where he took her- what if we can't find her ever again? I can't ever let him hurt her again- I promised I wouldn't ever let him near her again-" his words cut off in a gasp as Breanna whipped her hand across his cheek.

"Thaddeus, I know you're worried about her being in the clutches of that monster- I am, too! But if we're going to rescue Lexi, we have to keep our heads." Breanna stared at Thaddeus imploringly and Thaddeus stared back, nodding and taking slower breaths. The fangirls were intrigued. Thaddeus usually kept a cool head in a crisis.

"Let's start simple," Breanna began. "What direction did they leave in?"

Thaddeus took another deep breath and told Breanna the direction. "And you said Adam kissed Lexi?" Breanna clarified and Thaddeus nodded again. "Did Lexi, by any chance, have this glossed look- like this look of a LOT of passion towards Adam? Like the way she looks at you sometimes?"

Thaddeus grumbled, burying his head in his hands. "Breanna, we do not have time for this! We have to go find-" he stopped as Breanna's last words finally hit him. "Wait, what did you say?"

Gabrielle snorted. "You haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Thaddeus replied. All of the girls let out a soft laugh.

"Wow," Bridgett muttered, smiling in a slightly annoyed way. 

"You guys are perfect for each other," Breanna whispered, shaking her head.

"What does that mean?" Thaddeus wondered, sounding way too interested.

"Never mind. Anyway, you didn't answer my question earlier," Breanna said.

"Well, yes. She did," Thaddeus told them.

"Okay, that sounds like Adam put her under a love spell. By kissing her."

"He WHAT?" Thaddeus said, sounding crystal clear as Breanna nodded her head, looking worried. "Alright, I'm going to go kill him." Thaddeus said, starting to walk out of the door. 

"Ah, easy, tiger," Breanna said, grabbing Thaddeus by the back of his suit collar. "We don't even know where she is, remember?"

Just as Thaddeus was about to protest, his phone started buzzing from his pocket. "It's Ben! Maybe he saw something," Thaddeus said as he answered. "Hello?"

"A guy just captured Mal just after she went into labor and I just saw him again carrying Lexi away. You guys need to get here now!"

"Thank you! We will." Thaddeus hung up the phone and turned to the girls. "We need to get to Auradon. Now."

“Are you sure Lexi would be where Mal is?” Bridgett wondered. They all had to leave their dates but they had told them that it was serious and the girls were forgiven, but their dates would miss them. Ben nodded as he quickened his pace.

“If this guy is as bad as you say, then he might be the same person who captured Mal,” he explained to them. As they imagined, Mal and Lexi were in the Catacombs of Doom being held by Adam, no less. They saw Mal, her wrists chained to a metal bar above her head, a shiny sheen of sweat all over her face and she was panting and moaning in pain. And they saw Lexi in the same situation, but she looked positively delighted. As Thaddeus snuck behind Adam to try find the key to the chains, Ben bravely came forward, pulling a sword from a sheath. The fangirls all looked at each other with wide eyes. They had never seen Ben quite like this.

“You!” he said, motioning to Adam with the tip of his blade. “You will release both of them! Now!” Adam smirked and Lexi’s face turned frowny.

“I don’t want to be released!” she said in a voice higher than normal. “I would like to stay with Adam forever!”

Adam laughed in his throat. "Ha, that's right. She's mine," he said, just before he gasped softly, seeming to be startled because Thaddeus was suddenly standing in front of him.

"No, she's not." Thaddeus said in a soft, menacing voice and no one saw what happened next, but they next thing they knew, Adam was on the ground, unconscious, his nose bleeding heavily. Everyone there was shocked, their jaws hanging. 

"Yes! Whoo-hoo!! Go Thaddeus!" Breanna cheered.

Thaddeus meanwhile, had grabbed the key to the chains and tossed it to Ben and he got Mal out first then Lexi, who was struggling and wanted to stay. Mal slumped against Ben’s shoulder. 

“Let’s get you to the hospital,” Ben said as he scooped Mal into his arms and asked Kaylee if she would create a portal, which she did.

“You guys go ahead, we’ll catch up. We have to take care of Lexi,” Kaylee told them and Ben complied and jumped into the swirling circle that showed the hospital doors. Thaddeus picked Lexi up against her will while Bridgett, Breanna and Gabrielle had succeeded in chaining Adam to the metal bar. “Nice,” Kaylee said in approval. Thaddeus struggled with Lexi as she tried to break free of Thaddeus’ tight grip on her.

“Do one of you guys know a sleeping spell? She’s being difficult,” Thaddeus said. Bridgett nodded.

“Oh, yeah,” she said as she simply snapped her fingers and just like that, Lexi was fast asleep. Thaddeus arched his eyebrows.

“It’s that easy?”

“Yeah.” Bridgett told him. Thaddeus nodded, looking slightly concerned.

“Uh huh. So, how are we gonna break the spell?” he asked as he set Lexi down on the ground of the catacombs as gently as he could. Breanna shrugged.

“We could try true love’s kiss. That was done in Descendants Two and it worked,” she suggested.

“Well, who do we know that could do tha-

Thaddeus stopped short with the look they were all giving him. “No, no! I can’t do that! I’m not her true love.” He said that last part quieter with a sad look. Kaylee actually laughed.

“Thaddeus, take my word for it. She likes you.”

“Even if she did, would that be enough?” he wondered, sounding doubtful. Gabrielle smiled.

“There’s only one way to find out!” she said in a happy sing-song voice. Thaddeus sighed with resolve and bent down to Lexi’s level. He pointed to Lexi’s nose.

“No...” Breanna said. Thaddeus pointed to Lexi’s forehead. Breanna shook her head. “No!” Thaddeus pointed to Lexi’s cheek. Gabrielle sighed with exasperation and smacked her head with her hand.

“Thaddeus! Do you even fairytale?” Bridgett and Gabrielle chorused and then looked at each other and laughed.

“Come on, guys, give him a little time,” Breanna told the girls, but then gave Thaddeus a look that seemed to say, “If you don’t kiss her right now, I’m going to harvest your guts and feed them to pigs”

Thaddeus sighed again. Why was he even complaining? Because he was scared about what would happen, that’s why. Would this even work? He had to at least try, though. Lexi was suffering at this moment. Gabrielle was right. There was only one way to find out if this would work. He finally bent down and pressed his lips to Lexi’s slowly and softly, like he always imagined he would, feeling the warmth of her lips against his own sending a sensation of flutters through his stomach. When he pulled away, Lexi’s eyes snapped open instantly and she gasped and sat bolt upright. Thaddeus’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in surprise.

“Where am I?! Adam was trying to take me!” she cried, starting to go into hysterics. Thaddeus quickly got over his shock as he came and sat next to Lexi on the ground.

“It’s okay,” Thaddeus whispered as he wrapped his arms protectively around Lexi, a gently sympathetic look in his eyes. “You’re okay. You’re safe. We got you out of there and Adam’s chained up.” Thaddeus mollified. Lexi took a deep breath and leaned her head against Thaddeus’s shoulder.

“What happened? I can’t remember,” Lexi wondered.

“He put you under a love spell and captured you,” Breanna explained.

“How did you guys break the spell?”

Breanna hesitated. “Um, we’ll tell you later. Mal’s in labor; we gotta go.” And without argument, they all teleported to the hospital. Once they got there, they were directed to Mal’s hospital room where everyone else was. Ben poked his head out of the doorway and motioned for them to come in where they saw Mal sitting up in bed, looking a little calmer because she probably had the epidural. Lexi looked around, a little confused. 

“Why are there so many people here?” she asked. Ben smiled.

“They were all already here. Welcome back, by the way. Coming back from a love spell feels weird, doesn’t it?” he said. Lexi laughed a little.

“Yeah, it did! It kind of felt like- " Lexi couldn't quite describe it.

"Like waking up from a fever dream?" Ben finished.

"Yes!" Lexi exclaimed as Ben nodded and laughed. 

"How many times did that happen to you, again?” Lexi wondered. Ben stalked to the hospital bed and wrapped an arm around Mal.

“Oh, just twice. The first time wasn’t so bad. I didn’t really need the spell to fall for the girl who cast it,” he explained, kissing Mal’s forehead, making Mal smile. “The second time, however…” he didn’t need to go on. They all knew how disastrous that was. But it turned out okay. “How did you guys break that love spell, by the way?” Ben wondered. Breanna’s eyes jerked to Thaddeus for a second, then back to Ben and Ben nodded and muttered something that sounded a lot like, “I knew it. ”

“Knew what?” Lexi said as Mal and Ben shared a sentimental smile.

Ben shook his head, still smiling. “Nothing.”

They all stayed for a while, playing two truths and a lie, but then the midwife told them that Mal was dilated ten centimeters and kicked everyone out except Ben. Evie, Doug, and Jay sat close together on the bench, Doug with one arm around Evie. The fangirls and their fanboy followed suit in this and bunched themselves on the seating options, Lexi and Thaddeus extra close together with Lexi holding Thaddeus’s hand like it was a lifeline. After about two minutes, they heard a baby crying and they all breathed a huge sigh of relief that the waiting was over. Ben opened the door, letting them all in to see the brand-new baby boy swaddled in a light blue blanket that Mal was holding in her arms, everyone taking this sweet sight. But Mal started looking really pale and all of the sudden the heart monitor started beeping rapidly and Mal fell back onto her pillows, unconscious. Ben gasped, sounding panicked (rightly so,) as he took his son from Mal had dropped him on her legs and called for the midwife and before Ben had time to protest, the midwife kicked everybody out so she could see what was wrong. Ben sat down on the bench, trying to stay calm for his little boy so he wouldn’t start screaming, but Belle and Beast, who had come to support them, took the baby from Ben’s arms so he could just feel whatever he was feeling. Lexi came and sat down next to Ben and tried to console him in telling him that everything would be okay. Thaddeus didn’t buy the fact that Lexi seemed totally calm, though (she never was in a crisis, no matter how good her little act was,) and he pulled her aside.

“Are you all right?” he asked, sounding caring. Lexi shook her head.

“No!” she exclaimed softly so no one would hear her. “I mean, I’m kind of scared.”

Thaddeus took her hands in both of his.

“Hey, it’s going to okay. The midwife will figure it out. Now, take some deep breaths,” Thaddeus explained gently as Lexi did as he recommended. He smiled and patted her on the back. Just then, the midwife came out of the door.

“Does anyone here have magic?”

Thaddeus and the girls nodded with a few quiet “Uh huhs”

“Come with me.” The nurse said. Thaddeus and the girls shrugged, looking uncomfortable. But they got to their feet and walked into the hospital where Mal was still unconscious.

“So,” Thaddeus said awkwardly as he shut the door. “What is it?”

The midwife gave an even more awkward smile.

“There’s another baby,” she explained tentatively.

“Wait, what?” Breanna asked. “So, what do you want us to do?”

The midwife winced.

“I need you to get the baby out…” she told them.

“Woah! Why us?” Bridgett asked, sounding shocked.

“Well, the baby was spelled to go into the womb. If it was indeed magic that got the baby in there, we need magic to get the baby out. That’s just how it works.”
“We need to write up a spell, then,” Kaylee whispered. Gabrielle actually smiled.

“I think Breanna should do it,” she suggested. Breanna looked very surprised.

“Wha- okay,” she said as she went to a corner on the room to think clearly. After about thirty seconds, she came back. “Okay, it’s not that great, but it’ll work because it’s clear. Beware, forswear, get the baby out of there.” She told them. They nodded.

“Okay, let’s do it,” Thaddeus said as he reached for Lexi’s hand. They all joined hands so they could do the spell together. Sparks of different colors flew around the room, (Lavender for Lexi, forest green for Thaddeus, red for Breanna, sage green for Kaylee, sunshine yellow for Bridgett, and hot pink for Gabrielle,) as they chanted the rhyme.

“Beware, forswear, get the baby out of there!” A couple of seconds later, the little baby came shooting out (there’s no pretty way to say it) and the midwife came and swaddled the new baby girl in a light purple blanket.

“It worked!” Breanna shrieked as Lexi came over and threw her arms around Breanna. For one moment, everything was just splendid and joyful. But then, they heard the one sound you never, ever, want to hear in a hospital room. They heard the long, high, note of the heart monitor. Mal’s heart had stopped.