An Ever After High fanfiction

Spoilers for Dragon Games

Lizzie Hearts x Daring Charming

Lizzie Hearts sighed as she wandered through Ever After High's halls. Everything seemed so normal again that it was hard to believe that only a few hours ago, the school had been floating miles in the air. Almost as impossible as what had happened with Daring and Apple. All this time worrying about their destiny only to find out that Apple's destiny was intertwined with a different Charming's all together.

Which was probably why she had no guilt about seeking out Daring now. She wasn't an interloper in a story that wasn't hers. There was no need to resist her attraction to him. It also helped that the look on his face had been nearly heartbroken after his kiss hadn't worked. Watching him see his future fall apart had wrenched at her gut.

It wasn't long before she found Daring by the old dragon game stadium. Sitting on one of the dilapidated bleachers, he was gazing out at the field with a forlorn expression. She felt her heart skip a beat the way it always seemed to around Daring. She steeled herself with a breath before making her way over to him. Silently, she sat down next to him.

"Hey, you." She gave him a weak smile. Her hands shook with nervousness, and she clasped them in her lap in an attempt to hide it. She hadn't really talked with him like this in weeks. She was a little worried he might tell her to leave so he could continue his dramatic wallowing.

"Hey, Liz," he said, not even looking over at her.

"Hard to believe everything that's happened probably started here," she said quietly. "How could a game spawn such a rivalry?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, at one time, the Evil Queen and Snow White were just like us: kids trying to navigate school. Trying to figure out their destinies. But… they just got so caught up in their rivalry… it's still all they think about now."

"It wasn't about the game. It was about their destinies." He leaned back. "They didn't fail at their destinies like me." His tone spoke of anger and shame.

"Daring, you didn't fail. You just…" Lizzie glanced over at his handsome profile. "It's not the end of the world that you didn't wake up Apple."

"Yes, it is!" he wailed. "It was my destiny! I was her prince! It's all I was meant to be, to do in life. And I couldn't do it!"

Lizzie tried to ignore the way her hands clenched at his words. Was he really that oblivious? Had he thought she could just switch off her feelings after their one all too brief, all too wonderful date? That hearing him talk about him and Apple wouldn't bother her?

That wasn't fair though, she mentally chided herself. She had brought up the conversation. She had chosen to talk about the kiss with Apple. She had no right to get jealous just because he was talking about Apple. Focus on helping him. After all, that was why she had come here. Someone needed to help him, and she couldn't just stand by and watch her crush like this.

"But Raven changed that after saving my home."

"But—"

"Besides," she pushed on, willing her hands to unclench, "it's not like you knew for certain in the first place."

He didn't answer.

"You suspected. I mean, the prettiest girl in school and the best looking guy… it just made sense. The most popular fairy tale and the best family of heroes… it seemed logical. No one told you that it was a certainty though."

They had all thought it was normal. But perhaps there was more at work than just looks and lineage involved in their destinies. It seemed they really did have a lot left to learn about their futures. If that was true, then maybe… maybe more surprises awaited them.

Daring sighed. "I just… I know all that. But I feel useless. What am I if not a hero? It's all I've trained for these years. If I'm not Apple's Prince Charming… then what do I have left?"

Lizzie smiled as she leaned over to elbow him gently. "Hey, you have me left."

He raised an eyebrow at her as if to say "Really?"

All right, so that had been corny. She wasn't above admitting that. She looked at him, silhouetted against the sun's light and for a moment, she was breathless. Stars, did he know how he affected her sometimes? When he was haloed in light like this, he really did remind her of a knight in shining armor come to sweep her off her feet.

She quickly tore her gaze away from him, her cheeks heating. She really needed to stop staring at him and focus. She took a breath and tried not to think about what she wanted him to know. If she thought this over too much, she'd lose her nerve and never say it. She kept her eyes on the ground, ignoring the heat in her cheeks as she opened her mouth.

"Sorry… what I'm trying to get at is… I won't leave you."

"Lizzie…" he began and she held up a hand at him.

"Just… let me finish, Daring. Just because you're not Apple's prince doesn't mean everyone will leave you. Curses, that still isn't quite right!" She bit her lip and took a breath to steady herself. This whole meeting had been easier in her head. Now that she was here in the moment, she couldn't seem to keep her head with Daring looking at her. It was very distracting and made her heart pound so much that she could barely hear her own words over it.

"Just because you're not Apple's prince doesn't mean you failed. I'm just… I guess I'm trying to say that you shouldn't give up hope. So you're not her Prince Charming? It doesn't mean you couldn't be someone else's." Like mine, she added mentally.

"You think?"

"Of course. I mean… everyone's taste is different. You may not be Apple's ideal, but… you could very well be someone else's."

"Someone else's prince, huh." He seemed to be considering it. For the first time in his life, his true love didn't have a face. His princess was a mystery and it seemed that intrigued him if his tone were any indication.

"Exactly. I mean, everyone's true love is a prince in their eyes." You are in mine.

For the first time since she began her little monologue, Lizzie dared to glance over at him and found Daring giving her the warmest, gentlest look she had ever seen on his face since their date. Her breath stuck somewhere in her throat at the tenderness in the expression. She had never seen him smile quite like that before, not even on their one date. She wondered if anyone else had seen this aspect of him. Was she the first or just the latest stupid girl to fall for it? Did she even care as long as he kept looking at her like that? It made her want to run and hide, yet also stay right where they were forever.

"I suppose you're right," he said quietly, still looking at her.

She nodded, her mouth too dry. If he kept looking at her like that, she might just faint. She could barely breathe for fear she would shatter this moment. Surely he could see right through her right now and just how much he affected her.

Just as she thought that, he leaned towards her and she felt her pulse jump as it picked up speed. Anticipation made her entire body tense as she waited for his next move.

"Thank you, Lizzie."

Her heart swelled to bursting, and all she wanted to do was kiss him because she was so in love with him in this moment. The other Daring with all his bravado and charm may have captured the hearts of every other girl in school, but she preferred Daring when he was like this. Open and honest, and far less polished. It left her head awhirl with giddiness and she couldn't help but love every moment. Maybe because she knew she was the only one who saw this side of him. The only one who left him so off balance that he couldn't hide behind his veneer of charm.

"I guess I just need to go looking for that girl now," he said quietly, still looking in her eyes.

"…She might be closer than you think, Daring."

His gray eyes widened slightly in shock, and she realized what had just slipped out. A blush stole over her cheeks. She realized that they had been leaning closer and quickly moved away, trying to hide her flaming cheeks. She had gotten a little carried away there.

Honestly, Lizzie, you might as well stamp 'I love you' across—

Lizzie never got to finish that thought as Daring pulled her back towards him, dipping his head slightly as he did. Her green eyes widened as she felt his lips meet hers. It wasn't long or passionate. Just a simple, quick kiss, much like the one she had given him on his cheek after that date. All too brief and somehow monumental. Their worlds shifting in ways they didn't want to think about. Too perfect, too right, and they were unprepared for it.

He let her go as soon as their lips touched, and they both pulled back. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the kiss completely. Daring's gray eyes reflected the same confusion. An impulsive move that had somehow changed everything and neither of them knew what the next step was just yet.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and leaned back. "Sorry, I just…"

"No, I—it's fine," she said quietly, turning away from him as she unconsciously reached up to touch her lips hesitantly. A moment ago, Daring's lips had been on them. She had been kissed by Daring Charming. Did that mean…? Did she want it to just yet? Her thoughts were scattered, the shock leaving her unable to process exactly what had happened, let alone how she felt about it.

"I… I should go back," Daring said quietly.

"Uh huh…"

He got up and began to make his way up the old bleachers. Lizzie stayed where she was, trying to sort out everything that had just happened. When he reached the top of the bleachers, Daring stopped and turned back toward her.

"Lizzie."

She turned toward him, still rather dazed. "Yes?"

"Can we… Could we keep this a secret? For now?"

She blinked then smiled as she remembered the end of their first date. It seemed they were always a little unsure about their feelings after romantic moments. "Sure. I mean… we both got a little carried away by the moment."

"It's not that I don't like you—"

"Oh, no. I mean, I do like you—"

They both laughed a little.

"I just… need to think things over and I don't want to rush," Daring explained with a rueful smile.

She smiled and nodded. "I know exactly how you feel, trust me."

He gave her that awkward smile and her heart skipped a beat. "So… I'll see you at school?"

"I'll see you then."

He nodded and left for real then. Lizzie stared after him for a moment then leaned back to look up at the sky. The sunlight was fading quicker now, and the first star was just visible above her. The sight and Daring's departure finally let her heart slow down to a normal pace. She closed her eyes and replayed the kiss in her mind, from the gentle expression to them pulling away dazed. She opened her eyes again to look at the star overhead and grinned broadly.

She giggled. "Daring Charming kissed me," she whispered to the star.

A/N: So, my first fanfic in a while, and I come back with my first Ever After High fanfic! (Published, that is... I have others in the works...) So I really ship these two so hard. I think she does a lot of good for him. Plus they're adorable together. I've also drawn a lot of fanart for this series. You can find it on my tumblr (link on my profile) by doing a search for "ever after high".