The day had finally ended and the game was going to start in a few hours.
Uma and Jake were strolling through the halls that were suddenly filled with people in blue and gold. The excitement filled the air and since the Isle didn't do sports as much as Auradon, Uma didn't understand why.
"Why is everyone so," Uma pauses for the right word, "preppy?" Jake raised an eyebrow to question if she forgotten where she was so she added, "More than usual."
"Because it's the first game of the season and we in Auradon love our sports," Jake smiled.
"So you love sports?" She asked.
"I am a big fan of anything with swords," Jake said as his smile faded and he looked away from her.
Immediately noticing the change in emotion she asked, "what's wrong?" Ever since they're sword fight she thought of him as a part of her crew and she didn't allow anyone or anything to hurt her crew.
"Swords remind me of home," he said as he rubbed his arm, "I haven't been there in years."
"Really?" Uma asked, "Why not?" She understood not wanting to go back to where she was born but she thought everywhere else was a dream come true.
Jake remained silent, debating if he should tell her. He was supposed to get her to open up not the other way around. He was supposed to be the shoulder to lean on, not giving her his problems.
"Hey," Uma said gently as she brought his attention back to her, "This is between you and me. And you must know by now that I'm trustworthy." She raised her eyebrow and waited.
He sighed as he said, "My leaving of Neverland was not accepted by everyone. My mom was fine, but my dad couldn't understand. He argued and screamed for me to stay." He looked at her, "Then he said if I left, he would never forgive me." He weakly laughed as he said, "And as you could see, I left anyways."
"He can't possibly mean that... right?" She asked. The parents out of the Isle were supposed to be the good parents, the one who show love to their kids. They are supposed to be the supportive one. Why wasn't his dad supportive of him?
"I wouldn't know," he shrugged, "I haven't been back since."
"Jake, you know that's no way to live," Uma said softly.
When Jake remained silent Uma knew that was all she was going to get from him. She noticed the tension between them and decided it was time to change the topic. But she had to say, "You may be my guard, but know that I'm here for you too." Not leaving room for Jake to react she linked her arm with his and said, "Now, let's go watch the fight. And then we can have a little fight ourselves," she smiled at him, hoping that this would bring the smile back to his face. It did.
"You're on," he challenged.
They were following the crowd into the R.O.A.R building when they heard, "Uma!"
Turning around they saw Grayson trying to catch up with them.
"Hey Grayson," She smiled.
He smiled at her as he tried to catch his breath. When he finally did he said, "Mind if we watch the game together?"
She looked at Jake and when he shrugged she said, "Sure! Come on, we're going to watch from the balcony."
He nodded and they went to climb up the stairs to the balcony. She spotted Gil and her crew and waved to them. They waved back but Gil was staring a little too long at Grayson.
"Who's this?" He asked and he sized up Grayson.
Thinking it was as good a time as any to introduce him, she said, "Gil, this is Grayson, son of Grumpy. Grayson this is Gil, son of Gaston."
"Nice to meet you," Grayson said as he stuck out his hand for Gil to shake. Gil didn't immediately reach for it until he saw Uma glaring at him.
"Nice to meet you," he mumbled. The silence that pursued was awkward. The crew was just staring at the outsider trying to see his motives.
Grayson awkwardly laughed said, "I'm more interesting when I speak, trust me."
"Ha, I doubt it," Jonas scoffed.
While Uma glared Grayson laughed, his confidence going back up as he said, "Your captain doesn't just hang out with anyone, you'd be insulting her taste if you doubt it."
Gasps were heard and Uma's jaw dropped. When she got over her shock she had to admit he impressed her. When she looked at the crew she saw that it impressed them too. Grayson managed to simultaneously compliment himself, her and the crew while throwing fear of her wrath in the mix. The only other person she knew to do that successfully was Harry, meaning that she was very impressed.
"Well played," Jonas cracked a smile, "Name's Jonas," and then one by one the crew came up to him and introduced himself.
As soon as the crew was finished. Grayson turned back to Uma and smiled when he saw her impressed expression.
"Didn't know you had that in you," Uma smirked.
"You don't know a lot about me," he winked, "But you can find out."
Uma laughed as she shook her head.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" They heard and they both turned to the sound. The game was about to begin. They picked their spots and watched.
The teams walked in, the crowd cheered. Uma only paid attention to Harry. Which like promised, left him on the bench. Grayson would grab her arm every once in awhile when the match got tense. He'd curse when the Knights lost, cheer when they won. The energy in the room was something even Uma couldn't deny how good it felt to be there. She always loved a good competition but she never realized how fun it could be when more than one person is invested in it. By the second round of the third match, she was hooked and cheering alongside Grayson.
Harry, on the other hand, looked a mix of bored and excited on his place on the bench. You could see him calculating their opponents moves and winced when he saw his teammate make a stupid almost game changing move.
During the break, Harry looked up and scanned for Uma. He first spotted his crew and waved when some waved at him. Then he saw a guy he didn't know talking with Jonas. He tilted his head in confusion because, that he knew of, no Auradonian spoke to his crew, especially not Jonas.
Then what he saw next caused his blood to boil. Uma was leaning on Grayson, laughing at whatever they were talking about. This must be the guy Uma was talking about, he thought. But how has they gotten so close so quickly.
Grabbing the next person that walked by him Hardy asked, "Who is that guy up there with Uma?"
The guy worried that Harry might hurt him if he didn't answer, looked up and scanned the area for Uma. Seeing her and immediately recognizing him he said, "That's Grayson, son of Grumpy."
Harry nodded and let the guy go. The guy immediately scurried away but Harry didn't notice. He was too focused on how the crew had just accepted this guy so quickly.
"Alright we're back!" The guy announced and Harry shook his head as he realized he would have to worry about it later.
The room was yet again filled the sounds of swords crashing and cheers and groans whenever a match was won or lost.
The last match was coming soon with Auradon in the lead 4-2 when something terrible happened. One of the opponents from the other team, while trying to hop onto a box, missed, which resulted to him tumbling onto Jay unsuspectedly, causing him to go down as well. When Jay tried to get up, he winced, and signaled for help.
"Time out!" Yelled a referee, as he plus a member of Jay's team ran to him. They helped him up and walked him toward their team's bench. Jay could barely walk on his right foot.
When Jay sat down, he knew he wouldn't be able to finish the match. The nurse was checking his ankle out when he turned to look at Harry. Harry was watching Jay, not in contempt more as in worry. Harry and Jay still may not get along but they both valued something, being a part of something. They were a team, whether they liked it or not, and they knew if one got hurt, the whole team was in trouble.
"I'm sorry Jay, but you will have to sit out for the rest of the game," said the nurse with sympathy in his eyes.
Jay nodded and said, "That's fine, Harry can replace me."
Harry's eyes widened when he heard what Jay said. "What?" He asked in confusion.
"You will be replacing me in the game," he said as he winced when the nurse pushed a rather sensitive spot of his ankle.
"Really?" Harry asked as both excitement and nerves took over his emotions.
Jay nodded.
The referee walked to their side of the mat and said, "Are we ready to continue?"
"Yes," Jay said, "Harry," he pointed at Harry, "is going to take my place."
"Alright," he nodded and signaled for him to join them on the floor.
Harry rushed after him while putting on his mask and getting a better grip on his sword. He looked up at Uma and she smiled down at him. She mouthed good luck to him and he nodded.
Harry faced his opponent and gave him a wicked smile that lucky for his opponent, he couldn't see. They bowed and the game resumed.
Now that Harry was playing Uma became even more invested. Uma loved to watch how Harry fought. He fought with such confidence and precision that it was a real sight to see. His opponents didn't stand a chance against him.
The team fought and swords crashed. The game went on for another 30 minutes before Auradon was announced as the winner.
The crowd erupted in cheers while the teams shook hands with their opponents.
"That was amazing!" Uma said. She couldn't have been more proud of Harry.
Grayson nodded as he turned to look at Uma, "It was."
Slowly people started leaving the building and Uma knew Harry would be one of the last ones. So she made. Conversation with her crew, Jake and Grayson as they walked down the stairs from the balcony and made their way the boys locker room.
"So are we still on for sword fighting, Jake?" Uma asked as a wicked smile crept up her lips, "Or are you too chicken?"
Jake laughed and he returned the smile, "You're so on."
"You can sword fight?" Grayson asked confused and a little in admiration.
"Yeah," Uma said, "Of course, I am a pirate." She looked at Grayson as if he was dumb to ask the question.
"Right," he nodded quickly, "does that mean you can teach me?"he asked.
Uma's jaw dropped, "You don't know how?" Everyone on the isle had to know how to sword fight or die, she forgot that that wasn't the case in Auradon.
Grayson blushed and looked down at the ground, "There's never been the occasion to learn," he looked up as the blush disappeared from his face. "My parents know but they didn't think I would need to know."
Uma nodded, "And you want to?"
Grayson nodded, "I think it'll be a good skill to have."
"Okay, I'll teach you, but it won't be easy," she warned.
"By now you should know I love a good challenge," he winked as Uma shook her head and laughed at him.
It was at that precise moment Harry walked out of the room laughing with Herkie when he paused at the sound of Uma's laughter.
"Later, Harry," Herkie said as he went the opposite direction of Harry.
Hearing Harry's name Uma turned and saw Harry a few feet away from them just staring at them.
Not catching onto his emotions, Uma rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around him.
"You did amazing Harry!" Uma gushed and then pulled back so they were arms length away and said, "And you thought you wouldn't get to play."
"I only got to play because Jay got hurt," he stated.
Uma let Harry go, not even realizing that he hadn't hugged her back. "Oh right, is he okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Harry nodded, "He twisted his ankle, he might be out for a few games," he answered distractedly.
Uma, finally noticing that Harry was acting strange, looked up at him, noticed he wasn't looking at her and followed his eyesight. Seeing that it landed on Grayson, she thought it was a good a time as any to introduce them.
"Harry this is Grayson son of Grumpy, Grayson this is Harry son of Captain Hook," She introduced as she signalled for Grayson to get closer.
"Nice to meet you," Grayson said with a smile, "You played great."
"Thanks," Harry mumbled as he continued to stare at him.
The silence that ensued was painfully awkward and Uma felt that she had to break it, "Jake and I were going to go fight, did you want to come?" She asked Harry.
"Sure," he said, "Can I speak to you?" He asked and then turned to Grayson with narrowed eyes, "Alone?"
Uma frowned at Harry's not so subtle dismissal. Wanting to have a word with him because of it, she turned to Grayson as said, "Can you give us a moment? I'll find you when we're done so don't go far."
Grayson nodded slowly and left. When he was out of earshot, Uma turned to Harry with her hand on her hips and asked, "Why did you do that?"
Ignoring her question he asked, "So that's the guy you were with when I needed you?"
"You can't blame that on him," she stated. "It wasn't his fault, it was ours." She pointed to herself and Harry.
When Harry didn't reply, she sighed as she said, "He's a good guy, Harry."
"Is that what you want? A good guy?" He asked.
"What?" Uma asked confused.
"I saw you guys when you were together," He glared, "You two seemed to be very cozy."
"What?" She asked again shaking her head, "No we weren't."
"I know what I saw," He raised his eyebrow.
Uma closed her eyes and held her breath. She counted to ten before she opened her eyes and exhaled. Harry tilted his head. Uma didn't want to fight anymore, she felt like since they've come to Auradon, they've done nothing but fight. It seemed that Auradon may be the good place but it was toxic to their relationship.
Uma closed her eyes again as she put her hands up to her face. She inhaled and exhaled. When had it gotten this difficult, she asked herself.
"Uma?" Harry asked, his anger replaced with worry for her. He walked closer to her and put an hand on her shoulder which she shook off. "Uma?" he asked again.
"I can't do this anymore Harry," she stated as she finally looked up, but didn't look at him.
"Can't do what?" He asked, his heart sinking at what he thought she would say.
"This Harry!" She exploded, the calming breath having no effect in calming her as she threw up her arms in defeat. "This fighting! This not trusting each other! I can't do it anymore!"
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that Auradon ruined us. I'm saying that I don't know if we can be fixed."
"Uma..."
"Hook, you can't say we haven't been having problems since we got here," Uma's eyes began to water but she still wouldn't look at him. She crossed her arms as a way to comfort herself.
"So we've had problems. It's nothing we can't get over," Harry watched her.
"This is different, Harry, this is harder," Uma said. "And I don't know if I have the energy to fix it anymore."
"So you don't want to fight for us?" His hurt disappeared and his anger rose.
"I just don't want to fight," she said.
"Since when don't you want to fight? Since he popped into your life?"
"Harry, can you stop thinking about him? He is a friend, just a friend, nothing more, nothing less. He's cool, I think you'd like him."
Harry scoffed.
"Give him a chance, would you? For me?" She glanced at him and looked away again.
Harry sighed as he thought about how unreasonable he was being, he didn't even know the guy. He was acting like she did when he was talking to a girl. He didn't want to fight either, he just was having troubles not fighting. "I"ll try but it's hard," he admitted.
"What's hard?" Uma asked.
"My mind is just everywhere now with the situation of my father and the fact that you know how I feel about you," Harry looked at his feet.
"Harry," Uma began. Not this again, she thought. She didn't know how much she could keep fighting him on this. She hated hurting him, and his hurt was killing her.
"No, no, don't say anything, I'll be fine," he said, "I think I just need to visit my father and things will get better."
Uma nodded as she looked at her hand. The ring that has always been on her finger caught her attention. The ring that was given in simpler times. Harry's ring that was on her finger. She glanced at his hand and noticed that her ring was still on his finger.
"What happened to us, Harry?" She looked up and lifted her hand to show him his ring, "When did we lose our simpler times?"
Harry looked at her hand and a small smile crept on his face before falling, "When feelings got involved."
Uma shook her head as she agreed, "Feelings ruin everything."
"It doesn't have to," Harry replied. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, "Either way, you will always be my number one. Feelings or not."
Uma smiled as she squeezed his back and said, "And you will always be mine. Feelings or not. No one will ever change that."
Harry returned her smile. They stared at each other in silence before Uma broke it by saying, "We should probably go find Grayson, he wants to watch me kick Jake's butt," Uma smirked.
"You will not," Jake said, "I've been known to be quite the fighter," he bragged.
"So have I," Uma smirked.
"Then let's go see who's better," Jake challenged.
"Let's," Uma agreed.
Hey loves, miss me? I'd say I'm back but I'm not really because this quarter is another level of difficult and busy. I'd say I'd try to update sooner, but that would be a lie as well. Anyways, here's another chapter! Hope you love it!
Thanks for reading,
-TheOnly