Shortly after Jane's worst punishment to date and her friends coming back to her, she found her magic slowly returning though the half-fairy had another idea of what powered her magic and she didn't think it was emotion based like Mal had suggested.
Because like it or not when she set things or people ablaze she didn't feel anything.
Jane knew she could suppress her feelings and still use magic so what else could be the source? It hit her then that when she broke bones her thoughts drifted to Carlos when his mother broke his arm and it both sickened and angered her, but she did her best not to feel that when casting the spell and then there's fire...
As passionate as some people the element is it brings forth nothing from her except the memory of being burnt herself as punishment, but she no longer fears that and as such that throws the emotion-based magic theory under the bus so to speak but she does have memories with fire and memories with the sound of bones breaking.
That's why Jane thinks it memory-based, the stronger the memory, the more vivid, the better she is at the spell... it would make complete sense why her firepower is so strong as she knows what it feels like to be burning, the smell of burning flesh, everything... she's never broken a bone that's something she's experienced second hand so her magic to break things is not as thorough.
Things like levitation and color changing spells are simple but she doesn't have anything memory that would make it possible to say change a whole room green or levitate more than a few things at once well not without a major headache and strain put on her magic. As for her tracking spell, it's only better because it requires her to think about who or what she's tracking in detail the more detailed the memory the easier... quicker she's able to find who or what she's searching for.
This is only a theory, but it makes more sense than emotion.
Jane is convinced that her emotions have no sway over her or her magic in any way what so ever.
She will find out years later that she's only half right.
-
The five of them were together causing trouble for their fellow villains by destroying stalls and stealing things and just plain being bad because they could, and it was expected of them.
The name calling was always there, and their ears would pick up various words and phrases that they've become used to over time such as Rotten: it was directed at them all, Freak: was mostly for Mal, dirty no-good: was aimed at Jay, Jane, Carlos, and Evie didn't have anything that was purely them yet but give it time they thought.
Back at Mal's hideout, she was eating a stolen apple while Jay was looking at the loot he recently scored when, "Uck," The purple haired girl spits out the bite she just took, "What's wrong?" Evie asks taking her eyes away from her designs just as Jay looks away from his goods while Carlos just continues tinkering and Jane reading.
"This apple is rotten!" She throws said apple onto the floor as Jay snorts, "Of course it is Mal." The girl glares, "I mean more so than usual, it's rotten to the core!"
"Then why'd you have such a tough time eating it?" Carlos asks not looking up from his gadget, "Are you saying I'm rotten to the core?" Mal asks standing up from the couch and towering over Carlos who is on the floor working on something the group doesn't understand, that is why Jay's dubbed him as a tech nerd.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it!" Evie said trying to calm the situation down.
"I wasn't asking you E, I was talking to Carlos." Evie seemed put down, but Jane briefly looked up from her book wondering if she was the only one who noticed the nickname drop Mal had just made.
It looked like it.
Carlos felt his palms start to sweat so he put down what he was fiddling with, so he didn't drop it, after the boy looks up into Mal's glaring eyes that seemed almost to be glowing when suddenly she smirked, "You're right."
"Um, what?" The duel-colored haired boy asks, "You're right I'm Rotten to the Core."
Jay laughed, "That so? Well, I can be just as rotten as you may be more so did you hear those vendors today I'm sure their words were aimed mostly at me." He bragged.
Mal snorts, "As if I'm the rottenest one here."
"Not a chance." Jay argues, "Try me!?" Mal spouts back.
Jane rolls her eyes over the top of her book, "Why don't we just agree that your both rotten and move on?"
They don't seem to hear her words though and Carlos looks on in disbelief before looking to Evie, "They do realize that they're fighting over who's the most rotten don't they?" The bluenette frowns before looking over at Jane who is looking at Carlos with a frown on her face too for some reason.
Suddenly Evie smiles and claps, "That's it!" This gets the two arguing teens attention, "What's what?" Mal asks crossing her arms over her chest.
Evie's sweet smile suddenly turns into a smirk, "We're all Rotten to the Core."
"...I guess I could dig that." Jay grins.
"Hey, are we including me in this? Who said I wanna be rotten?" Carlos said but his protest was ignored and thus he eventually accepted his status as rotten as well.
Jane said nothing... it was silly, but it was something they now shared as a group, just the five of them so that made it special.
-
Carlos was doing it again and Jane wanted to scream or light something on fire or maybe even try blowing something up. Maybe Evie... because...
He was staring at Evie... again.
Why did he keep looking at her like that and laughing with her and grabbing her hand whenever they had to run... why didn't he hold her hand, he used to so when did he stop doing that?
It was Evie's fault.
So, Jane glared at the princess wannabe and was in a foul mood for the rest of the day... at least she finally got the spell to blow things up to work for her to bad she couldn't use it on Evie.
-
It was the four of them today because Jay was elsewhere doing whatever he did when he wasn't with them, but Janae's mind wasn't on Jay. Her book had been lying untouched in her lap for several minutes now but only Mal noticed, but the younger girl wasn't aware of this either because her eyes were only on Carlos and Evie...
Jane suddenly stood up causing her book to fall to the floor with a thump that went unnoticed by her and so the talking and laughing ceased as two sets of eyes landed on her. Carlos was the one who spoke up, "Jane?" Her eyes had been on Evie until he spoke and so her eyes drifted to him and her glare all but vanished, she had no idea why she was so angry.
The brunette needed to leave she couldn't sit here and pretend anymore so she did something that came naturally to her now but had never once been used on Carlos since they met, Jane lied.
"...I just remembered that I promised Jay I'd help him steal something."
I wasn't the best lie, but her voice was steady, and Jane could pull it off as long as she could keep her actions in tune with her voice.
Carlos looks at her funny before smiling slightly, "Okay we'll come with you-"
"No, I can handle it you two-you three just chill out here and relax I'll see you later." Without waiting for a response, the girl left as quickly as she could without making it look like she was running from them, all the while Mal raised an eyebrow but said nothing as her adoptive sister all but rushed past her.
Mal went back to spraying the wall as if nothing was out of the normal with Jane's behavior.
As Jane left she heard Evie say, "Is Jane mad at me?" The voice who answered was Carlos, "What why would you think that?" Whatever was said after that she didn't hear because Jane took off running now that they couldn't see her.
She didn't get it! Why did Evie make her feel this way? She wasn't Mal who admittedly had come around a lot lately when it came to the other girl but that was a good thing the five of them together like this... but why did Carlos have to keep looking at Evie like that!?
Sure, she was the prettiest girl in the group but still... stupid Carlos.
-
Jane hadn't been to Ursula's Fish and Chips in a while what with all but being Mal's sister and Uma hating the girl so much, not without reason... but she didn't come here to bother Uma or even see Gil or mess with Harry about who owed who what.
No, she was there because Evie wasn't and as far as she knew never would step foot in there and for some reason everything the girl did recently made the girl want to set things on fire and as she didn't really want to light the girl on fire Jane choose instead to avoid her.
It had been a while since the blue-eyed girl had ran away from her problems but then besides Mal and Maleficent she didn't really have any and she was used to the latter and the first wasn't really a problem any longer.
Uma was glaring at her as she silently sulkily ate her soggy fries, but she was left alone well until one annoying pirate plopped himself down across from her and proceeded to steal a handful of fries from her plate.
"Now that's not like ye' lass." He spoke around a mouthful of fries, "Normally ye' guard ye'r food better." Jane glares, "I'm not hungry." He looks thoughtful, "Trying to avoid something... or someone?"
"What are you going on about?" Jane was surprised by how he was able to guess so easily she knew her just sitting there didn't give that away, "Saw ye' glaring at a certain blue-haired princess just the other day and the week before that... and even once more though I do not recall when it was."
"...What are you talking about?"
He just grins, "What am I talking about?" Without another word he grabs another fry and leaves, her eyes follow him as he joins Uma and then they both leave together but not without one last glare from the pirate-girl.
"...He doesn't know what he's talking about." Jane says aloud to no one before pushing her plate away and leaving as well.
She needed to do something productive like blow up something but just as she's thinking about it her gaze lands on Gil, he's alone and another thought crosses her mind, so she approaches him, "Gil," He looks up as his name is called, "Oh hi Jane!" He smiles.
"Teach me how to sword fight." It wasn't a request but then again, he was used to Uma's way of speaking to him, so it didn't bother him, "Okay." He wasn't one to ask questions either so that helped because she didn't know what she would answer if he had asked her why she wanted to learn.
And that was how she started getting sword lessons from Gil, it wasn't as easy as the swimming lessons with him had been, but it helped her let out some frustration and who knew maybe she'd have a use for it at some point.
-
Mal walked into their room two weeks later and instantly Jane's attention was on her clothes, her new clothes that were most definitely Evie's design and for some reason that upset her, but it was stupid even she was wearing the clothes Evie had made but if Mal was wearing them then did she finally except Evie completely?
"You're wearing Evie's design..." The girl walks up to her bed and flops down, "Yeah, so?"
"So, I thought you hated Evie?"
"And I thought you liked her?"
"...I don't dislike her..." Didn't she though? Was she lying to Mal? Jane wasn't sure.
Mal makes an 'hmm' noise and closes her eyes and that's how the conversation ends much to the younger girl's frustration.
-
Over the last three months, Evie had found her place in the group and everything was great except for the fact that Jane now seemed to hate her and at first the blue-haired girl could not fathom the reason.
But now Evie understood or at least she thought she did and the bluenette was going to make it right, so the girl approached Jane for the first time by herself as up until this point she'd been alone with each of her friends except for Jane but now was the time to have a heart to heart with the other girl before things got messier and misunderstandings happened.
"Jane, can I talk to you?"
The girl in question wanted to say 'no' but besides being mean she didn't have a reason not to talk to her and being mean wasn't an option unless she wanted Carlos to be mad at her, so she just shrugged and followed her to Mal's hideout, once inside Jane couldn't take the silence between them anymore.
"What did you wanna talk about?"
Evie sat down on the couch, but Jane remained standing hoping that this would be quick.
"I know why you're angry with me and I want to tell you right now that I'm not trying to come in between you and Mal."
Jane blinks, "Huh?" Evie pats the couch seat beside her, but Jane stays where she is waiting for more because right now the younger girl is lost, Evie sighs at being declined but starts speaking again, "That beaded bracelet Mal gave it to you right?"
Jane's eyes widen, "How did you know that?"
"Mal told me."
"...Do you and Mal tell each other a lot of things?" Jane honestly didn't know how to feel about that, on the one hand, it was a good thing them getting along on the other at the moment Evie wasn't Jane's favorite person so her and Mal being buddy, buddy didn't sit well.
But if she hangs out with Mal more often then maybe Carlos will have less time to fawn over Jane's mind supplies helpfully.
"Some things yes but Jane I'm not trying to take your place or take her from you, I couldn't even if I wanted to. You mean so much to Mal even I can tell that you two are like sisters. I just want to be Mal's friend and yours too if you'd let me."
"..."
Jane was speechless, but it was not only because of how wrong Evie was in her assumption of what was bothering her, or about how obvious Mal's feelings were to the other girl, or even that she herself was glad to hear about how much Mal cared for her. Then there's the fact that Evie herself still wanted her as a friend despite her less than nice attitude and the glares thrown her way recently.
It was all so much information in such a short frame of time but the most stunning was the fact that Jane finally understood why she was so angry with Evie no not angry she was jealous, plain and simple, how had she missed it?
It was so obvious now.
But it wasn't because of Mal.
It was Carlos... Jane was jealous of how much attention Carlos was giving to Evie, she was jealous because the half-fairy could tell he had a crush on the pretty girl in front of her.
And that bothered her because she had a crush on Carlos.
And she only now just realized it because the girl in front of her said she wasn't trying to 'take Mal from her' and instantly her mind went to how she was taking Carlos from her instead.
This isn't good.
Jane didn't want to have a crush on Carlos or on anyone... she didn't know how to handle it.
The bluenette sitting on the couch was watching the girl's emotions play over her face even though she couldn't decipher most of them she hoped that her words reached her and that they could move past this and be friends.
Her sky-blue eyes find Evie's darker ones and Jane decided then that she will do what she does best she'll lie and pretend and then one day it'll be real just like she's done since the beginning.
Lie about how she's feeling and pretend until that's how things really are... it has worked for the most part. Funnily enough one of the last times she thought about doing something like this she was also staring at the princess before her.
That wasn't Evie's fault though no it's just the way things were.
Jane smiles falsely, "You're right Evie... I didn't even realize that I was-that I am jealous of your relationship of how close you are to... Mal." This wasn't as easy as she thought but it would get easier the girl was a great liar when there was a need for it. She had to be... she had been lying to Maleficent for months now.
"Now that I understand I'm sure I can work through it... I want to be friends with you too after all."
The other girl jumps up from the couch with a bright smile on her pretty face and Jane kind of wants to smack her for it but reframes. The half-fairy wanted to be her friend...
Evie hugs her and Jane tenses before she forces herself to relax.
Jane didn't like hugs they were foreign, but the princess was more touchy-feely than the rest of them so she'd get used to it because... she wanted to be her friend.
Jane just kept repeating that to herself and hoped it would make it true one day.
-
It was easy enough to start involving herself with Mal and Evie's girl time together, but she still struggled to hang around the bluenette and Carlos at the same time. No longer did she glare at the girl but Carlos looking at her with hearts in his eyes was hard, but no one seemed to notice this...
That was fine though because time passed and eventually Jane got used to Carlos' crush and so was able to be herself again and push aside her feelings, it wasn't like she would ever have to witness Evie and Carlos together because Jane had long since learned that people didn't date on the Isle.
People didn't love on the Isle... and Jane was on the Isle, so she wouldn't either.
Jane was alone at the hideout one day reading when she heard someone coming and looked up from her book, "Carlos?" It was surprising as he wasn't one to show up at Mal's hideout by himself usually he'd have Jay or Evie with him.
"Oh... hey Jane." He looks away from her and instantly she can tell that something is bugging him, so she closes her book and sets it down beside her before getting up from the couch and joining him in his usual spot on the floor near all his unfinished gadgets.
"What is it?" He shakes his head and her eyes start to scan him, "Are you hurt?" He fiddles with his device but doesn't seem all that focused on it, "No... nothing like that." Jane nods and decides that he must not wanna talk about it and as someone who doesn't like to be pushed herself she gets up and heads back to the couch and her book.
Once there she tries her best to get back into her tome but it's hopeless and she finds her eyes constantly drifting to Carlos who is not fixated like he normally is when she sees him working on his gadgets. Jane bites her bottom lip and forces her eyes away and back to the book for all of two seconds before she's looking at him again.
This was hopeless the girl thinks and just as she starts to debate if she should leave or not so that she can have some peace of mind the boy speaks, "...Have you noticed Evie's been different lately?"
Of course, this is about Evie she thinks sullenly.
No, I haven't no one pays as much attention to her as you she wants to say but instead says, "No nothing out of the ordinary, why?"
"She... she's flirting a lot more isn't she?"
Jane puts down her book and thinks of the best way to answer this, on the one hand, Evie's a very pretty girl and both Jane and Mal agreed why not use flirting as a tool to get what you want especially when it comes easier to Evie than stealing does.
On the other hand, Carlos who has a crush on her wouldn't get that logic... or be happy that both Mal and Jane encouraged it, Jane didn't care either way, but she'd rather have her flirting and not noticing Carlos than not flirting and noticing... so that's why she told the girl to go for it if she wanted to.
"Well... she gets free things when she flirts." Jane decides that should be a safe thing to say, "Yeah I know but she could get those things without it too..."
"...Maybe but you have to admit it's easier this way." He turns to her and suddenly she feels like she needs to say something else because she doesn't like how hurt he looks, "Even Jay does it from time to time so it's not a big deal and it doesn't mean anything..."
Don't encourage his crush Jane screams mentally at herself.
"You're right... I've seen Jay do it too... what about you?" He's staring at her now and she just stares back confused, "What about me?" Carlos takes a moment to gather his courage and asks, "Do you flirt with people to get free stuff too?"
Jane doesn't respond for a moment as the question fully sinks in and then she laughs which doesn't make the boy sitting across the room happy and upon noticing she stops herself but only just, "No, no of course not, don't be silly."
"I'm not..." He was pouting now, it was cute... she forced that thought away and rolled her eyes, "You have to be pretty to have the flirting thing work and I'm not Evie or even Mal for that matter." Not that Mal would ever try her hand at flirting... it might be amusing to see her attempt it though.
Carlos frowns and looks to be thinking about what she said before coming to a conclusion, "No your Jane but that's why I asked because you're just a pretty as Mal or Evie."
Jane's eyes grow wide and Carlos who realized what he said suddenly looks embarrassed before turning back to his gadgets and away from her.
She's glad that he's looking away because Jane's sure she's turning red, quickly brunette shakes it off by telling herself he's just being nice... because that's Carlos he's nice and sweet and figured he needed to tell her that she was pretty too, but the girl isn't under any sort of illusion about it. She's only ordinary looking... not ugly and not pretty besides Carlos has seen her back and though not self-conscious about it she's aware of it.
Just like he's aware of her scars, and scars are ugly no way around it... that was probably enough to make him feel like he has to stretch the truth to make her feel better. Jane sighs before getting back to the topic at hand, "Well I don't and Mal doesn't either we're just better at stealing than flirting... Evie is still figuring out what she's capable of I mean we had years of practice on her so maybe she'll eventually flirt less once she catches her stride."
But Jane doubted it not because she didn't think the other girl incapable of getting better at stealing but because the older teen seemed more in her element flirting than stealing.
Carlos mutters, "Yeah... maybe."
Jane felt like kicking herself, "Look if it bothers you just don't pay attention or ask her to stop that's really all you can do."
Not wanting to talk about this anymore she doesn't wait for him to reply instead she grabs her book and leaves.
Maybe if Evie keeps flirting Carlos will eventually stop crushing on her or maybe he'll say something like Jane suggested... if that happens then surely Evie will figure it out despite her dumb blonde act she's not actually dumb or blonde for that matter...
If Evie finds out what will she do?
Jane grips her book tightly to her chest and tells herself it doesn't matter.
Evie is her friend... no, she's not... but she wants her to be... no, she doesn't.
She's still jealous and Jane hates it.
But if they do become a couple and it makes Carlos happy then that's what matters right?
She could convince herself of that surely.
But she really, really hoped she wouldn't have to.
-
The year was nearly over, and the weather was getting colder when, yet another change occurred in the form of a meeting between Maleficent, Cruella, Jafar and the Evil Queen.
Evie was the one who found out and told her friends because it wasn't the first meeting, "What do you think they're talking about?" The blunette asked.
"I don't think they're talking it's more likely that they're plotting something," Mal tells them while looking deep in thought.
"Maybe we can eavesdrop?" Jay suggested but the purple haired girl shook her head, "No... to dangerous." Jane tells him, and her adoptive sister agrees, "So what do you know a spell you can use?"
"Unfortunately, not... I never thought about learning one." Jane tells the boy and Carlos chimes in, "But there is a spell for it in one of your books right?" The brunette nods before looking at the duel-haired pre-teen with slight suspicion, "Wait how did you know that?" He laughs nervously, "Well... you leave your books around the hideout so..."
Mal rolls her eyes, "You can't use it so why read it?" He shrugs, "I was curious." Evie cuts in then, "Well do one of you two remember what the spell was? An incantation or something?"
Since it was an unfamiliar spell Jane would have to try it with the incantation, but she didn't remember it off of the top of her head. "Sorry I'd have to look for through the book..." Jay eyes Carlos, "Do you remember it?" The other boy shakes his head, "No I might have looked but I didn't memorize any spells."
"Now what they're meeting now and who knows when we'll get another chance!?" Jay tells them but Mal smirks, "Good thing I've kept up with my studies so well then huh?"
Jane blinks before realizing what the other girl is telling them, "You know the spell?"
"Yeah, I know a lot of spells probably can recite more than you can even."
The brunette does her best not to roll her eyes, "I'm sure you do so what is it?"
After the groups gets ready they gather outside of Maleficent's home, "Will it work from this far away?" Jay mutters, "Shh I'm trying to concentrate." It wasn't going to be easy to pull off even with the incantation that Mal gave her, but Jane does her best to picture the villains as she performs the spell aloud rather than in her mind, it helps for new spells.
At first, nothing happens, and Jay starts to speak before Mal elbows him in the gut, "Quiet."
Eventually, after the third try, something occurs and she hears them! Her eyes shoot open since they feel closed while she was concentrating, "I can hear them!" Mal looks put out, "But we can't! What are they saying?"
With that, the brunette closes her eyes again and focus on their words and not just their voices.
The other four look on silently for a few minutes and final Jane's eyes open, "...Sorry, they finished their meeting before we got here... they'll be coming out soon, so we should go before we get caught."
The others groan but agree and head to the hideout.
During the walk, Jane rubs her temples but stays silent as the others talk about what could possibly be going on with their parents. Carlos notices the youngest girl's silence and glances at her, it looks like she has a headache.
But that's not all... she seems troubled?
Carlos suddenly wonders if maybe she did hear something... did she lie?
He watches her from the corner of his eye the rest of the way to the hideout but doesn't voice his suspicions.
When they get there they all talk about their theories after double checking that Jane didn't get anything useful but eventually agree that there's no way to really know.
Jane doesn't add to their theories and Carlos doubt about her telling them the truth grow but he still keeps quiet on the matter because if she doesn't want to tell them there has to be a good reason for it.
"So, we all agree that we'll try listening to find out when their next meeting is?" Mal asks and all the others nod, "And Jane you'll practice the eavesdropping spell, so it'll work faster and better next time." Jane looks up from the floor at them and agrees.
Only Carlos is watching her face for falsities but doesn't find anything definite, but he can't shake the feeling, so he continues to observe her for the rest of the conversation.
"We agree that whatever our parents are planning might not be a good thing us or that it might be better to know in advance if only to finally be of use to them."
Because as much as they fear or dislike or even distrust their parents none of them want to be blindsided and all of them want some form of recognition from their parents.
All of them except Jane... she doesn't want their recognition, praise, or love... she wants nothing from them. Mostly she doesn't want to be useful to them, but it was better to keep that part quiet even if the others probably already know this.
"So next time we will figure out what they're planning." It was a statement but Mal was looking for anyone who disagreed with her, none of them did out loud.
Mal watched the four of them, her group, her friends and spoke once more, "Because we're Rotten."
The four looked at one another and as if of one mind nodded and replied, "To the Core."