Mal and Evie hopped into the closet, leaving a sliver of a gap between the closet doors so they could see the situation unfold, while Carlos and Jay hid underneath the table, pulling the chair with Harry's coat hanging on it closer. They silently thanked whoever it was' idea to carpet the dorm floors.
Their hearts were about to jump out of their throats as they heard XJ sneeze again and groan.
"Are you okay, love?" Harry asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
XJ groaned and Mal felt cold sweat run down her back. "I think I'm sick." XJ said drowsily.
"Why would you be sick?" Harry asked as Mal saw the faint outline of XJ slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"I think it's the difference between the weather on the Isle and here in Auradon. I've never seen so much sunlight." XJ sneezed again, like it was proving her point.
Harry sat up as well and yawned. "Well, it's a good thing we decided to take a day off tomorrow."
"Harry, we talked about this at dinner," XJ said as she sneezed again. "We're not taking a day off yet."
"You said I'd get to have you for the whole of tomorrow." Harry said, sounding annoyed.
"I said that if we liked it, we'd continue with everything."
Everything? Mal wondered, What did everything mean? She strained her ears in order to hear better through the closet doors.
"I didn't like it." Harry whined, sounding like a five year old. "So we can take a day off."
XJ laughed, sneezing again. "Harry, we have to follow through, otherwise we'll never succeed."
"You're sick," Harry pointed out triumphantly, "So you can't go to classes tomorrow anyway."
There was a moment of silence before a defeated sigh came from XJ. "For once, you're right."
Harry exclaimed happily, like a child, "Yay!"
"Harry, I'm sick. I'm going to infect you. It's best if you sleep over there." XJ said and Mal saw her point to the bed with the books on it.
"I don't care, we can be sick together." Harry huffed.
"Harry, nothing good is going to come out of this."
"I don't care." Harry said stubbornly.
XJ sighed. "What time is it?"
There was a rustle as Harry turned over to squint at the alarm clock next to him. "It's one in the morning. I used to be stealing things back on the Isle at this time."
"I used to be stabbing things with my spear and breaking everything that wasn't of any value to me." XJ said. She sneezed again.
Harry laughed, "Your sneeze is the cutest thing I've ever heard, lass."
"Shut up, Harry or I'll stab you," XJ grumbled and before sneezing once more. "I have an entire arsenal right over there."
Harry laughed again before kissing XJ.
XJ sighed, "We're both going to get sick."
Harry shrugged, "I don't see the problem with that."
"Go to sleep, Harry."
"We don't have anything to do tomorrow, lass, we can stay up late." Harry protested.
"I'm tired Harry, you'll know what that feels like when you get sick too." XJ said. She did sound very sleepy. "We can talk in the morning."
"Alright lass," Mal heard the blankets rustle a little bit more and saw XJ and Harry lie down again. "I love you," Harry said. Mal had never heard the pirate sound so gentle.
Mal held her breath as she waited for XJ's reply.
"I love you too, Harry."
Mal's eyes widened and her breath hitched. She turned her head to look at Evie, who was beside her. Evie had the same gobsmacked expression. Nobody had ever thought that Xiao Jun would be able to say those three words.
It was a while before everything had gone quiet and Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay dared to come out of their hiding places.
Mal whispered to Evie, scared to make a sound, "Do you think it's safe?"
Evie whispered back, "There's only one way to find out." She slowly pushed open the closet door and held her breath to listen for any sound.
Silence.
Evie crept out of the closet with Mal behind her. Jay and Carlos came out of their hiding space from underneath the table. All four of them ran out the door before closing it softly.
"My dorm," Mal ordered in a whisper before running to her dorm, her friends following her.
The minute they were in Mal and Evie's room, everyone let out the breaths that they had been holding. Carlos sunk to the ground and Evie collapsed onto her bed. Mal sat down on the chair at her desk and Jay leaned against the wall for support.
"All of that," Jay said, laughing incredulously, "And we came up empty."
Mal huffed as she covered her face with her hands, "I don't understand how there was nothing there; we didn't look hard enough!"
"Or XJ's not hiding anything and she legitimately is changing," Evie suggested, "Have you thought about that?"
"Come on, you all heard her to Harry talking about something they were originally planning on following through," Mal said, letting her hands fall to her sides, "She's planning something."
"Maybe it's her plan to get Chad and Audrey back together," Carlos shrugged, "It definitely sounds like that to me."
"Mal, maybe you're just denying the fact that XJ's not planning anything diabolical, and you just hate her, which is why you're so convinced she's evil." Evie shrugged.
"I'm not blinded by my hatred for her," Mal denied. "I'm just looking out for Auradon."
"I hate to break it to you, Mal, but I really think you're just paranoid." Carlos said a matter-of-factly.
Mal groaned, "We'll talk about this tomorrow," She yawned mid-sentence, "For now, let's just get ready for school. Carlos and Jay, careful when you go back to your dorm." Mal reminded her two friends as Jay helped Carlos off of the floor.
Carlos nodded, running a hand through his hair, "We'll see you tomorrow, guys. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Mal and Evie said in unison as Carlos and Jay disappeared behind Mal's dorm door.
Evie and Mal laid, not moving, on their respective beds. Both were quiet, until Mal broke the silence.
"Evie?"
"Yeah?" The girl with dark blue hair asked as she turned her head to look at her friend.
"Did you ever think that XJ was capable of even thinking about the concept of love?"
Evie laughed, "Did you think that you would ever marry the prince of Auradon?" She shot back.
"Well...no," Mal admitted.
"Exactly. Things are changing, Mal, and I think it would do everyone a favor if you put aside your differences with XJ."
Mal grinned, "You sound like a psychiatrist."
"Maybe that's my future career rather than a dressmaker." Evie joked, making Mal laugh. Then Evie said seriously, "But honestly Mal? I really think you should see past your dislike for XJ. Don't get me wrong - I don't like her either, but she managed to fall in love, like you."
"So?"
"So maybe she's not all bad." Evie said as she sat up, glancing at Mal's skeptical expression. "Look," Evie sighed, "Carlos and I were talking about how XJ was like back on the Isle. Carlos was remembering how she used to laugh when she made him cry as a kid. He said it was weird seeing her so...nice to another person. Frankly, I agree."
"Nice?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow, "She threatened to stab Harry."
"It was playful," Evie defended, a smile spreading onto her face. She pursed her lips. "Mal, Carlos said that XJ was like the incarnation of evil. He said that she would always have a mean streak, no matter how much she sugarcoats it."
"I thought you were supposed to be disproving my point."
Evie huffed, "Let me finish," She took a deep breath before continuing, "People used to say the same thing about you back when word got around that you were marrying Ben. They said that you would stay evil and that it was only a matter of time before you showed your true colors and followed in the footsteps of your mother."
"They were wrong," Mal said quietly.
"Exactly, so why can't we be too?" Evie asked softly.
Mal was quiet for a moment. She turned over and flicked the light switch. "Goodnight, Evie."
Evie sighed in the darkness, "Goodnight, Mal."