We walked across the lawn toward the dorm. Jay had his arm around me. Carlos stepped behind the two girls.
"No," he said, making me confused.
"No?" Evie questioned.
"You guys are always going off in a huddle, whispering your girl talk stuff or whatever. And Jay and I are tired of it," Carlos admitted.
"I'm not," Jay said. He looked at me and read my face. "I am. I definitely am."
"We're your family, too. We've been through a lot together. We're not stopping that now. Okay?" Carlos explained. "Everybody sit." Carlos sat on the ground.
Jay and I sat on the ground. "I don't know how to start girl talk."
"What up?" Jay offered.
"Why are we hiding everything from each other?" I corrected him.
"Um, well," Mal started. "I'm a mess. I'm such a mess. I mean, six months ago, I was, you know, stealing candy from babies and now everybody wants me to be this lady of the court and I have no idea how to act."
"Then don't," Carlos said simply.
"See, this was dumb," Jay said, getting up.
"Maybe it wasn't," I replied, holding Jay's arm.
"We're always going to be kids from the Isle. I tried to forget it. I really tried, but those are our roots. And we all did what we had to do to survive. It made us who we are. And we're never going to be like anybody else here. That's okay. That's okay," Evie assured us.
"And we can't fake it," Carlos added.
"No," Evie agreed.
"Yeah, I mean, especially without my spell book," Mal said.
"Mal, if Ben doesn't love the real you, then he's not the one," Carlos said.
"I like that," Evie and I agreed.
Evie looked at Mal and me. "I'm gonna make some changes to your dresses. And if you're up for it, only if you're up for it, we'll be waiting for you, okay?"
"Mal, I know you're expected to be this Lady of the Court that everybody thinks is perfect," I said. "But look at the princesses and princes of this place. Look at Audrey. Look at Aziz. We're not perfect. And people shouldn't expect you to be either. Look at me."
Mal smiled. "Thanks, (Y/n)."
"Anytime, M," I replied.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Jay said. "I have a surprise for you."
~~~
"Let's bring it in, boys. Let's bring it in. Alright. You all know I come from the Isle. Right? And things are pretty wack. But there's one thing the Isle's got in Auradon. If you're strong, I want you by our side, girl or boy."
"Hey, Jay, hold on. We don't, uh, we don't break the rules here in Auradon like over on the Isle."
"A team shall be comprised of a captain and eight men. And a captain shall have a substitute in case of need. So, uh, give it up for your new team captain and substitute."
Lonnie and I walked into the room, grinning. Jay smiled. I felt confident, and I knew he knew. He wrapped the whistle around my neck. The men clapped and bowed. Chad bowed, and I smirked.
I blew the whistle. "Give me ten. Come on, guys."
Lonnie placed her foot on Chad's back. "Pick it up, Chad."
I blew the whistle after they counted. "Alright, practice is over. Get out of here! Go get ready for Cotillion!"
Lonnie left, and I walked up to my boyfriend. He lifted my chin and kissed me sweetly. I was soaking in the overwhelming feeling of joy. Coach even approved me as team captain, so Jay wouldn't be blamed.
"I know we've never said it before, and I don't want you to think I'm saying it because we've been together for almost a year, but-"
"I love you too," Jay said, finishing my sentence.
I smiled. Jay leaned in, stealing another kiss from me. "Come on, princess. Let's get out of here."