Author's Note: To all my readers, I apologize for taking so ridiculously long to update. College takes up so much time. Thank you for sticking with this story!

Daydreamer747 – Thank you! I am glad you found it funny. It's usually hard for me to come up with things that are. I appreciate it.

ARTtastic – I love Dr. Facilier, too! I just had to include him in this story. Sorry it took me so long to update, but there will be plenty of him in the future.

KHmysterygirl – I want to thank you for reviewing so long after I had last updated. That is so awesome!

"To say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays."

William Shakespeare

After the encounter with Facilier, classes passed by in a blur for Jaimie up until lunch.

Fueled by the adrenaline and horror of not only skipping two classes that morning, but also finding yet another villain amongst their ranks, Jaimie barely noticed the Disney characters that had joined her in her other classes.

In fact, the only events that stood out in her mind were finding James in her Psychology class and seeing the boy with the hood pulled over his head – the one Jaimie still had not figured out – in another, sitting directly behind her.

Now, at lunch, she was relieved to see that there was an open seat beside someone other than James.

The way chemistry had ended the day before, Jaimie didn't know if she could face his eyes – those burning, blue eyes – narrowed at her with all the condescension and disdain in the world.

Instead, she slid in next to Tinkerbell, doing her best to appear cheerful.

"Hello, Tinker – " Jaimie tried, but faltered at the ferocious look on Tinkerbell's face, weakly correcting herself, "…Tink."

"Hmph."

Jaimie turned her attention to eating her lunch as quietly as possible while Tinkerbell, in another one of her black moods, buried her nose into her magazine, determinedly ignoring the rest of them.

Jaimie was starting to feel as if there were a rain cloud hanging above her head. Things hadn't been going well for her for the longest time, even before these characters had shown up.

It must have been starting to show on her face, too, because just as Jaimie was raising a forkful of mashed potatoes to her mouth, Kuzco nudged her with his elbow, knocking all of it back onto her plate.

"Don't mind Tinkerbell, Jaimie," the boy whispered consolingly, nodding to the table in front of them, "Jack's got her all worked up again, that's all."

Jaimie followed his gaze to where the pirate captain was sitting, talking animatedly with a group of girls who Jaimie vaguely recognized as cheerleaders.

Come to think of it, Tinkerbell's poisonous gaze did seem to be fixed on Jack half of the time…

It dawned on Jaimie just then. "Are Jack and Tink…?"

"Yeah," Kuzco laughed, shaking his head, "You know what they're like, though, right, Jaimie? Jack doesn't like to be pinned down, and Tink…well, Tink just…"

"…she's a fairy," Jaimie finished for him, "and their bodies are so small, they can only feel one emotion at a time…"

"Wait, what?" Kuzco asked, blinking.

"Excuse me?" Tink interjected also, whirling on Jaimie with a face glowing red.

"…like anger," Jaimie finished meekly, sliding a little bit further away from the red-faced girl. Meanwhile, Kuzco had collapsed into a fit of laughter, and Jaimie was struck by the disheartening reminder that not a single one of them believed her.

"Don't worry, Jaimie," Kuzco snorted when he saw her face, slapping her on the back, "Her bark is worse than her bite."

But Jaimie, who could recall a certain scene from Peter Pan where Tink convinced the Lost Boys to shoot Wendy to her death, knew very well that what Kuzco was saying was far, far from the truth.

Thankfully, an interruption presented itself in the form of Tiana, who, with arms folded, stormed over and tapped her foot impatiently on the tile floor in front of the young emperor.

"Kuzco," she started angrily, retrieving his backpack from the floor and pushing it none-to-gently into his arms, "you were supposed to meet me in the library half an hour ago!"

Fumbling with his backpack with one arm, Kuzco put out the other to stop his tray from being knocked off of the table.

"Oh, come on, Tiana," he whined, giving her a pleading look, "I can't just skip lunch. I mean, what's the big deal, anyways? It's just a school project…"

"Justa school project?" Tiana repeated, eyes flashing, "Just a school project? It counts for 25% of our grade! If I don't get an A in this class because of you, Kuzco, I swear, I'm going to–"

"Ugh, not this again," Kuzco groaned, "Spare me the lecture. I didn't mean it, really. Look, I'm getting up."

"You better believe you are! If you think I am going to do any more of this project for you, you have got another thing coming! It is a team project!"

"There's no 'Kuzco' in team," Kuzco said, grinning, but Tiana gave him such a dark look that he didn't even protest when she dragged him through the cafeteria, much to the amusement of the other students.

Jack laughed with the other girls as the two passed their table, but Jaimie could have sworn she saw his eyes sweep the magazine in front of Tink's face, hopeful that she might come out and laugh with them.

After lunch, chemistry went much the same way the rest of the day had gone.

Before class even started, Jaimie's literature teacher stopped by to inquire after her homework assignment – the one that had been due that morning.

It had never crossed her mind that Jaimie wouldn't have it, and Jaimie had been forced to tell her, in front of half of her classmates, that she simply had not done it.

"Sorry," Jaimie finished her explanation quietly as James walked into the room. His eyes swept between student and teacher analytically.

"Oh," her teacher blinked, obviously surprised by Jaimie's answer, "…well, it happens to all of us at some point, I suppose. Just…make sure you get it in to me by tomorrow if you want late credit."

Nodding furiously, Jaimie turned to her book to hide her face in it, wishing the day would just end already.

It didn't help that she was acutely aware of James's eyes fixed on her from across the room.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before their chemistry teacher walked in, and once class started, Jaimie found some peace of mind by immersing herself into the lecture material.

Yes, for a few blissful moments Jaimie forgot about everything that wasn't chemistry-related.

That is, until she saw the note.

It wasn't hard to spot the piece of paper as it began to make its way around the classroom, sometimes folded neatly down the middle, sometimes rolled into a crumpled ball to be tossed across the room.

It travelled up one row and down the next, and, as always, the only one oblivious to it was the teacher.

Jaimie tried to focus on her work, but for some reason she could not squash the sneaking feeling that somehow the note was about her.

When the note reached James, Jaimie couldn't help but stare as he unfolded it, smoothing it out gently on top of his desk.

His blue eyes swept it, and Jaimie tried hard to catch a glimpse of his face, but it was no use. It only took him a few seconds to read what was there before he folded it back up, but to Jaimie's surprise, instead of passing it along, he carefully pocketed the note and went back to listening to the teacher as if nothing had happened.

Jaimie took in nothing of what the teacher was saying after that, instead wondering obsessively over the note in James's pocket. What did it say? Who was it from? Had it been about her or was it meant for him?

The minutes ticked by, agonizing and slow, and, finally, Jaimie decided to put all thoughts of the note completely from her mind. It wasn't like she was going to confront James over it anyways, she thought, but in the end, she didn't even have to.

James brought the note to her.

It was after class, once everyone else had cleared out, that he made his way towards Jaimie's desk. She tried hard to avoid his eyes, pretending not to notice him until he stopped directly in front of her.

Reluctantly, Jaimie looked up into those forget-me-not blue eyes and winced when she saw them– the horrible red spots in the center.

They sent a chill down Jaimie's spine.

"H-hello," she began tentatively.

BAM!

Jaimie jumped as the boy's hand slammed onto the top of her desktop. Heart-racing, she stared down at the desk as he let his hand fall, leaving the note behind.

Jaimie anxiously skimmed the paper as James stared her down.

It didn't take long for her to realize the note was, indeed, about her…and it took even less for her to realize how malicious it was.

Jaimie pushed the paper away from her, fighting the stinging in her eyes. It hurt, yes, but mostly what she was feeling was indescribably, helplessly angry.

Refusing to let him see her cry, Jaimie hid her face in her arm and turned to leave, but James grabbed her by the shoulder, whirling her back around.

Then, pulling her other arm away from her face, he snatched the note off of the desk and held it up in front of her.

"Look at it," he demanded, dangling it before her nose.

Jaimie wriggled in his grasp, but his grip just tightened on her wrist.

"Let go of me!" she cried angrily. She beat on him with her fist, but James barely seemed to notice.

"Look!" he insisted, talking over her, "They wrote this about you – doesn't that make it true?"

When she still wouldn't look, he shook her by the arm, pressing the note closer to her face.

"Stop!"

"It says right here that you're an awkward—"

"I said, 'Stop'!"

"—geeky—"

"Leave me alone!" Jaimie shouted, slapping the paper out of James's hand. Furious, now, and a little afraid, Jaimie shoved him back away from her as hard as she could. She fell backwards into a chair as James let her go, stumbling into a nearby desk.

Before he could recover or say anything more, Jaimie clumsily turned from the room and ran out, leaving her backpack behind.

She took deep breaths as she rushed out into the hallway. A couple of students passed her, staring, as she tried to compose herself. Afraid that James would come after her, Jaimie slipped into a nearby bathroom, locking the door with shaking hands.

She had to hide – hide from her classmates, hide from the boy she had read about so lovingly as a child, and hide from what she was starting to fear was the way that everyone saw her.

Facilier stood in front of the clock in one of the hallways, alternately taking a drag of his cigarette with one hand and fanning the smoke away with a copy of the school newspaper in the other. It would be problematic if the smoke alarm interrupted he and Ursula's meeting, but still, he needed to calm his nerves.

His shadow danced around him in agitation, tugging at his pant leg impatiently. It was incredibly distracting, but Facilier just kicked it off and went back to clearing his head.

True, he had foiled Ursula's plans once, but he knew better than to underestimate her. That would be an extremely deadly mistake. The sea witch was one of the most powerful magicians of the time. Compared to her, he was just a crackpot with a handful of fake card tricks.

'Forget it,' he told himself, shrugging his shoulders like he could shake the stress right off. He couldn't let her get to him. He had the upper hand in all of this. At least, he liked to think so.

6:55 came around all too soon, and Facilier put his cigarette out reluctantly as his shadow spun circles around him. Slipping his deck of tarot cards from his pocket, he tossed them from hand to hand and started down the hallway. His shadow followed him eagerly, and Facilier couldn't help but think that sometimes – on rare occasions – it was nice to have its company.

As he made his way through the halls, Facilier made sure to place three very specific cards on top of his deck – the cards he would tell Ursula were from Jaimie's reading. They were just the cards Ursula would want to see, but they couldn't be any farther from the cards in Jaimie's true reading. No one needed to know those cards but him.

Tucking the carefully arranged tarot cards back into his pocket, Facilier rounded the corner near the lockers and paused as a figure ducked quickly behind one of them. His shadow shot forward and glanced back at Facilier, puzzled as to why he was stopping.

Instantly on guard, Facilier crept silently along the row of lockers, impatiently motioning for the shadow to get back and stay down. He wouldn't put it past Ursula to try something dirty. It could be a trap – or worse – but he wouldn't let her pull something on him so easily.

Quietly, he pressed his back to the locker, taking a deep breath. Then, counting to three silently in his head, Facilier whirled around, tossing a handful of his explosive purple smoke powder onto the ground.

Sparks flew, and his silhouette stood tall and black in the reflection of the smoke as he cried, in his most impressive, intimidating voice, "Who goes there?"

A scream interrupted him just as he was about to launch into a truly spectacular, ghostly voodoo rant, and before he could react, a book came sailing out of the darkness, coming down with a crash over the top of his head.

"Ow! What the hell?" he cried. His shadow screeched silently as he tried the dispel the remaining smoke with his hand.

"Facilier?" came a tentative voice.

"You," Facilier snapped, squinting into the dim glow of the hallway. There sat Melody on the carpeted floor, glaring up at him from where she must have fallen. Getting to her feet haughtily, the girl marched past him and snatched up the book she had thrown at him.

"Jesus, what is that, a dictionary?" Facilier griped, rubbing his head gingerly. His shadow shot out at Melody defensively, but recoiled at the look in the girl's stormy blue eyes.

"Well, what do you think you're doing, scaring me like that?" she shot back, opening her locker door with a bang. She shoved the book back inside and then glared at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. Why are you still here at this time of night?" Facilier asked impatiently, shooting a glance at the clock.

"For your information," Melody answered curtly, "I was seeing the nurse about my head."

"For four hours?"

"It is a concussion," the girl muttered, ignoring his jab.

"So you thought you'd give me one, too?"

Melody stared down at her feet, blinking rapidly. 'Oh no…' Facilier thought. Just what he needed right now.

"…I won't be able to swim," she continued, teeth clenched, "I'm out the rest of the season."

He didn't need to see her face, hidden by the curtains of her dark hair, to know that she was crying. Facilier sighed and glanced from the clock to Melody and back again. He really didn't have time for this.

"Well…it's not my problem," he said brusquely, taking a step away from the girl.

"Not your problem?" she cried, starting after him down the hallway, "Not your problem?! You're the one who pulled me onto the hard, tile floor!"

"Uh, yeah, as I was saving you from blood-thirsty eels," Facilier countered, quickening his pace, "Eels whose mistress will be meeting with me in…oh, well, would you look at that. Seems I'm late. No thanks to you!"

"I –" the girl began to protest, nearly running to keep up with him.

"Yes sir. Late and alone," Facilier muttered, talking more to himself now. All of his anxiety seemed to be rushing back to him. He would have killed for another cigarette. Literally.

"Well, why do you think I hung around so long?" Melody said angrily, "It's not like I was getting my head checked this whole time!"

"Yeah, well, you could use it, that's for—" Facilier paused suddenly and looked back at Melody, "…What did you say?"

Melody stopped, too, suddenly self-conscious.

"I just thought...I just thought it seemed a little dangerous. You know, to go in there alone."

She refused to make eye contact with him, and with good reason, Facilier thought, staring at her the way he was, like she had grown a second head. His shadow, too, didn't seem to know how to react, looking between the two of them with a keen interest.

Facilier opened his mouth as if to say something, and then faltered, awkwardly fumbling with the cards in his pocket for lack of something to say to the girl in front of him. Luckily, she broke the silence first.

"Besides," Melody brushed off casually, trying to recover from her admission, "this concerns me, right? If I'm…If I'm a Disney character."

"…I suppose so," Facilier admitted finally, still a bit jarred. He turned and gestured in the direction of the cafeteria, "Shall we?"

Without waiting for an answer from her, he walked down the line of lockers toward the cafeteria doors. It didn't take long for Melody to catch up, stepping carefully alongside of his dark and twisted shadow.

Yes, sometimes it was nice to have the company…

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the Disney characters.

To my readers, if there is a character you would really love to see in this story, let me know in a review or in a private message, and I would be glad to work them in! Most characters will appear eventually, but it is possible I overlooked someone.

Thank you so much for reading! Please rate and review, and I will try to update more frequently!