#tourneygame

[ejsandfarkleslovebot]

CHAPTER SEVEN (of frozen heart)

The next day, Mal and the other VKs had informed Elisa that they had successfully made the spell into a cookie. The had said the plan was for her to give the cookie to Ben and after he took a bite the love spell would work. Elisa still wasn't a fan of this idea and she was still nervous about it. She didn't want to force Ben into a relationship with her. She wanted him to choose her because he truly did have feelings for her. Wait, why is she even thinking this? They're doing this so she can be up front and get the wand when its coronation. Not to actually fall in love with Ben.

She shook her head, putting those thoughts aside. She didn't have time to worry about them, she needed to focus. As she was walking in the hallway, she had accidentally bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going." Audrey snapped, glaring at Elisa and crossing her arms.

"Oh, hey Audrey." Elisa greeted, forcing a smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you."

"Whatever, Ice Princess." Audrey huffs, rolling her eyes. "So, I heard you were spending time with my Ben last night."

"Um, yeah, he's my best friend." Elisa shrugs, unsure of why Audrey was angry. Ben was allowed to hang out with whoever he wanted. "And why are you acting as if you own him? Ben is his own person. He can do whatever he wants."

Audrey narrows her eyes. "Just stay away from my boyfriend." She demanded glaring at her and storming off.

Elisa sighs, running a hand through her hair. She was really getting tired of Audrey and her attitude.

"Whoa, what was that about?" A voice spoke up and she looked to see Ryder, son of Rapunzel and Eugene and a close friend of hers. She smiles a little at seeing him walking over to her. "What got Audrey all pissed off?"

"She never liked me being close to Ben in the first place...And I guess she heard Ben and I hung out last night and she's upset about it." Elisa rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "It's not my fault her boyfriend enjoys my company more than hers." She muttered under her breath, not realizing she had said it out loud.

Ryder's eyebrows rose and he grins, having an amused glint in his eyes. "Interesting." He teases, earning a glare from her. "But in all seriousness, are you okay?" He asked, his tone turning to concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Elisa smiles a little. "Just tired of her attitude."

"Same here." Ryder sighed.

"Is it bad I kinda wanna freeze her?" Elisa asked, causing him to laugh.

"Is it bad I kinda want that to happen?" Ryder jokes, causing her to chuckle. "I miss hanging out with you, E." He said softly, a sincere look in his eyes.

Elisa smiles, her heart warming. "I miss you, too, Ry." She whispered, hugging him and she felt him instantly return the hug. She had always had a close bond with him and his sisters. They had been a second family to her. Ryder was like her brother and he was just as protective as any sibling would be.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Ryder pulled away from the hug. "I gotta get to class, but I'll catch you at lunch, okay?"

"Sounds good." Elisa nodded and the two walk off in opposite directions.

****

After school was over, Elisa was at her locker when she noticed Audrey and Ben walking into the hallway. She had overheard their conversation and Audrey was questioning about a group of girl's new hairstyles. Mal had been getting asked to do new hairstyles for a lot of girls and now a lot of people liked her. Audrey wasn't a fan though. Elisa had also noticed Jay was talking with the group of girls which she wasn't surprised about. Jay had always been a flirt.

"She did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it." Audrey continued.

Ben shrugs, not seeing the big deal about it. "What's the harm?"

"It's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know it's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then where will I be?" Audrey complained.

"Way behind everybody else." Elisa muttered under her breath with an eye roll. She could hear Ben chuckle at this, but he tried to cover it up with a cough. Elisa couldn't help the small smirk on her lips, proud at herself for making him laugh.

"Listen, Audrey-"

"I will see you at the game after my dress fitting for the coronation, okay?" Audrey smiled.

"Okay." Ben replied.

"Bye, Bennyboo." Audrey leaned forward to kiss his cheek and then she walked away.

"Bye." Ben mumbled.

After Audrey walked away, Elisa knew now was the perfect time to give the cookie to him. She closes her locker and walks over to him. "Hey, Benny." She greeted.

"Hi, Ellie." Ben smiles a little. "What's up?"

"Not much. Just wanted to check in on you." Elisa replies, returning the smile. "So, uh, me and my friends made some cookies and we had some left over. Double chocolate chip," She explains, holding up a bag that had a cookie in it. She smiles at him, hoping her nerves weren't showing. "And I was wondering if maybe you wanted one? I mean, I know you don't usually eat before big games, but I figured why not break tradition once in awhile?" She asked, hoping she sounded convincing.

Ben's smile grows and he nods, taking the bag. "Yeah, sure, I'll take one." He said, taking the cookie out of the bag and then eating it.

Elisa held her breath, hoping this would work. She was a bit scared at what was gonna happen. What if the spell didn't work? Then what was she gonna do? What if it did work? What would she do then? She wasn't sure how this would end. "So, um, how is it? Do you like it?" She questioned, wanting to know his thoughts.

"I love it." Ben replies. "It's great, amazing actually. Best cookie I've ever had." He adds. "Thank you for bringing me this, it was very sweet of you. You're always so thoughtful." Elisa knew the love spell was working by the way he was talking and his expression softened. "And you're so beautiful. I-I mean, I knew that before but right now you're so breathtaking."

Elisa's cheeks heat up at hearing this and she was at a loss for words. She was relieved the love spell was working, but she still didn't like the idea of manipulating him. She had to admit though, hearing him talk like this was kinda nice. She had always hoped he would see her this way, but not under the influence of a love spell. Still, she couldn't deny the warm feeling in her heart and the way her stomach was full of butterflies.

Elisa knew her VK friends were walking over to them, she could see them out of the corner of her eye. Ben continues to stare at Elisa, not even noticing the VKs around him. "Ellie, have you always had those little bright blue flecks in your eyes? They almost look like ice crystals and they're so sparkly." He spoke, sounding amazed.

Elisa's heart races, her cheeks turning more red. Her eyes widen though when he started to take another bite of the cookie. If one bite did this much, she couldn't imagine what another one would do. She quickly grabs the cookie from him with a nervous chuckle. "Uh, that's probably enough for now. Don't want you getting too much sugar before your big game." She explained, her nerves still showing.

"Yeah, right." Ben nodded, still having the same dazed look in his eyes.

"How are you feeling, bro?" Jay grinned, coming up behind Ben and putting his hands on his shoulders.

"I feel...I feel..." Ben stammers, continuing to stare at Elisa with a fond expression. "I feel like singing your name." Elisa is surprised when he actually started singing her name. She quickly covers his mouth with her hand as Jay took the ziplock bag that now had the rest of the cookie in it after Elisa had gave it to him. Jay looked at the cookie with an impressed look, surprised and impressed the love spell had worked so well. 

❄❄❄❄

So far the Tourney Game had been going good. Everyone was cheering for their respective team and there was a lot of excitement in the air. Elisa was sat with her friends in the stands, watching the game.

"This is a nail-biter, folks. There's forty-seven seconds left on the clock. We're all tied up. The Sherwood Falconers, two. The Fighting Knights, two. What a game between Auradon's fiercest rivals." The announcer spoke over the speakers. "As the teams get into their huddles and take up positions along the Kill Zone, the dragoneers have been lying down a withering hail of fire. And now a substitution by Coach Jenkins."

Elisa was shocked when Jay and Carlos were put in the game, but she was also happy and excited for her friends. This was an awesome opportunity for them. She cheered along with her friends as Jay and Carlos walked out onto the field.

"He's bringing that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield." The announcer observes. "When they break from their huddles, this is gonna be a big moment here. And the tipoff is ready." He said after the whistle blows. "Here we go. Long pass goes to Jay. Jay dishes off to Prince Ben. Nice little block by Carlos. He does a little dancing jig in the opponent's face." Elisa had giggled a bit when she saw the little dance Carlos did. She was proud of him for actually being able to knock someone else down. Plus she found it a bit amusing when he did a dance. "And now Jay gets the ball back. Here comes Jay. Jay, hurdling maneuver at mid-field. Jay makes a nice pass to Prince Ben through the Kill Zone. Big block by Chad! Prince Ben goes over wide, gives it back to Jay. He's in the clear! Shot! Oh, what a save by Philip, the Falcon's goalkeeper!"

Elisa and the others had been disappointed when the Falcon's goalkeeper saved the ball from going into the net. The game continued and she kept cheering with the others. She was getting nervous, the game only had twenty-three seconds left. She hoped her friends would be able to win this. Whenever Ben scored with Jay and Carlos' help, Elisa cheered loudly with the others, a proud smile on her face.

"Prince Ben has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible! And it's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the winner. What a victory! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come, folks. The winners of the first..."

Elisa is shocked when Ben suddenly took the mic from the announcer. "Excuse me. Excuse me, can I have your attention please?" The crowd goes quiet in response, all watching him curiously. He stands on the Dragon Cannon, facing the crowd. "There's something I'd like to say."

"What the heck is that boy doing?" Krystal asked with surprise, glancing at Elisa.

"Why are you looking at me like I know the answer?" Elisa scoffed, just as confused as her friend.

"You're his best friend." Parker shrugs. "You know him better than us."

"Well, I have no clue what he's doing." Elisa admitted. Her eyes widen with shock, her face heating up when Ben had spelt her name, making everyone else do it as well. Her face grew warm, her heart racing at what he said afterwards.

"I love you, Elisa, did I mention that?" Her friends glance at her with surprise or with teasing grins as they nudged her. Audrey had gotten upset during this, thinking he was doing something for her and so she had ran off the field.

"Give me a beat!" Ben shouted, pointing at the band. Once Doug counted off in Spanish, he and the band started playing.

"Okay, what the heck was in that cookie?" Elisa questioned Mal and Evie with a small laugh as Ben began to dance. Elisa had to admit his singing and dancing was so good, she was really impressed. At one point during the song, Ben had taken off his jersey and threw it to her. She caught with a red face and her friends had teased her about that.

Ben had crowd surfaced towards the end of the song and ended up by her at the end. He was staring at her with a loving smile, still having a dazed look in his eyes. The crowd was cheering around them and Elisa was laughing a bit, still having a blush on her cheeks. Her eyes widen slightly when he leaned in and tried to kiss her. She quickly moved her head, still blushing as he kissed her cheek instead and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I love you, Elisa. Did I mention that?" Ben asked softly. Suddenly, the mic was ripped from his hand by Audrey, who had joined them with Chad.

"Chad's my boyfriend now!" Audrey declared, smiling at Chad, who looked confused but went along with it. "And I'm going to the coronation with him. So I don't need your pity date." She then cupped Chad's face and kissed him. Elisa noticed Evie's hurt look and she frowned, knowing Evie did have a crush on Chad. Evie deserved so much better than Chad anyway, he was a jerk.

Ben takes the mic back from her, looking at Elisa hopefully. "Elisa, will you go to the coronation with me?"

Elisa's eyes widen and she felt her stomach do flips. She knew it was the love spell talking, this was the plan. But she still couldn't deny her own feelings. "Yes." She answered, trying to fight the smile threatening to grow on her face.

"She said yes!" Ben cheered. Audrey scoffed and stormed off as everyone cheered for Ben and Elisa.

Elisa was happy, but at the same time she was nervous. Her mind was spinning and her heart was racing. She was going to the coronation with Ben, the boy she's been in love with for years. But he was under the influence of a love spell so it wasn't really him asking her out. She couldn't deny how happy and excited she was, though.

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Krystal laughed a little, a teasing look in her eyes as she watched Jay drag Ben back over to the tourney field where the rest of the team was waiting for him.

"But it was pretty cool." Parker smiles. "I had no idea he could sing or dance like that."

"Yeah, me neither." Elisa chuckled, still in shock over everything that just happened. She was also still blushing and her heart was still racing. She had to admit though, that was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for her. She knew he was doing this because of the love spell, but a part of her hoped he was doing it because of his own feelings.

As the cheers from the crowd began to fade and the players started to disperse from the field, Elisa found herself caught in a whirlwind of emotions. She glanced over at Ben, who was still beaming at her with adoration in his eyes. Despite knowing that his feelings were influenced by the love spell, she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her chest at the sight of his smile. She felt a warmth in her heart, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. Even if he wasn't acting this way because of the love spell, she couldn't deny the happiness she felt in that moment. He had finally noticed her and wanted her, even if it was only temporary. But maybe, just maybe, after all this was over, he'd still want her. She could only hope.