Luckily for Sylphrenia, three of her four best friends had all gone on dates. Otherwise, she would have been left utterly clueless until Jay arrived.
"I have the perfect outfit for you!" Evie gushed, rushing around the room.
"He said it's just casual," Lonnie said, leaning back where she was sitting on Syl's bed. "Just have her wear a nice shirt and some pants."
"Syl always wears dresses, though," said Jane, who was looking over Evie's shoulder into her wardrobe. "We've got to make her look extra special for her first date. Pants won't do it."
"I think we'll be taking his motorcycle." Syl spoke up from where she was sitting on the floor. "Pants might be a better idea."
"Just have her wear her isle clothes," Mal said with a cheeky grin. "Jay seemed to like those."
"Definitely not," Evie said, spinning around with a dark green shirt and a leather belt clutched in her fingers, nearly hitting Jane in the process. "Sorry Jane. Here, Syl, try this. We need to hurry up because Jay will be here soon."
Syl got up onto her feet and grabbed the clothes. As she shut the door behind her, she could hear Lonnie say, "Isn't blue her color?"
Sylphrenia sighed and looked at the shirt. Although she was excited, worms of nervousness squirmed in her gut. She wasn't used to feeling nervous.
The shirt that Evie had given her had a wide neckline that showed off her black tank top underneath, and it was accented with the wide black belt that covered her stomach. Syl also changed into a pair of jeans and some socks. when she had opened the door, the others gushed with approval and Lonnie approached Syl, presenting her with black combat boots, Mal came up to examine Syl's hair.
"You really don't have to do anything with my hair," Syl told her, running a hand through her thick mane of waves.
"Sorry Syl, Evie insisted," Mal told her friend. Syl shifted in her seat as Mal's eyes glowed green.
"Beware, forswear, replace the old with fancy hair," she incanted. Syl could feel her hair tighten as it was swept up at the top of her head, a clip keeping it in place, and the rest spilling down around her shoulders.
"Wow Syl," Jane said. "Not that you don't usually look good, but you look stunning."
Syl smiled at her in thanks as Lonnie posed a question to Evie. "Do you think she needs any makeup?"
Evie grabbed Syl's face in her hands and turned it from side to side, examining it. "No pimples...blemishes...nothing. You don't need any makeup Syl."
"Which is good, because Jay will be here any second," Jane said, rushing over from where she had been peeking through a crack in the door.
"Thanks guys," Syl said, standing up. "For everything."
"Its our pleasure," Evie said, wrapping her hands around Syl's and smiling at her.
"And besides, we've been waiting for you two to get together since you met," Lonnie told her. Syl flushed when suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. Syl blanched, putting a hand on her stomach.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"Please don't," Evie said as Mal rushed to open the door. "You just brushed your teeth."
Mal opened the door to reveal Jay, who was standing there awkwardly and holding a bouquet of white roses. When he caught sight of Syl, his face erupted into a smile. "Hey."
"Hey," she replied, going over to stand in front of him. They stared at each other for a second before Jay blushed and looked down. He seemed to realize what he was holding.
"Uh, these are for you," he said.
Syl smiled widely and accepted the flowers. "You remembered my favorite flower!"
Jay's cheeks turned pink and he scratched his head. "I just-" He blushed again, mentally cursing himself.
Syl blushed as well and looked down, nervously clutching the flowers. Lonnie leaned around Syl and plucked the flowers from her hand. "You guys realize that this is technically your second date, right? There's no need to be nervous."
"Yeah, hopefully we don't have any sea witches interrupting this one," said Jay, and they all laughed. Everything felt normal again, and Syl turned to her friends.
"See you guys later."
"Have fun," they chorused, waving as Jay slid his arm around Syl's waist. The door shut behind them and Jay guided Syl down the corridor.
"I figured that we could take my motorcycle into town," Say said, running his hand through his hair.
"That sounds good to me," Syl said, smiling at him.
They continued the stream of conversation as they made their way to the garage where the students' vehicles were kept while they were at school. When they arrived, Syl followed Jay to a sleek black and red motorcycle that had two helmets hanging from it.
"I borrowed it from Mal," Jay explained as he gave one of the helmets to Syl. "I figured you didn't want to wear Aziz's.
Syl grinned at him, giddy with excitement. "Thanks." She slid the helmet over her head, careful to watch out for her hair that had been spelled by Mal.
"You, ah, looked really nice," Jay told her as he slipped his helmet over his head. "I forgot to tell you when I saw you."
Syl flushed again, glad that the helmet was covering her face. "You don't look too bad yourself."
Jay laughed as he hopped up onto his motorcycle and extended a hand to Syl. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?"
"No," she said as she grabbed his hand and mounted the bike. "I haven't." She tentatively wrapped her arms around his toned stomach and leaned against his back.
"It's easy. Just lean with the bike." Jay started the bike and turned in his seat to look at her. "Ready?"
She nodded and they were off, maneuvering through the empty parking garage and outside.
It was an exceptionally beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky, and it was predicted to be one of the coolest days in May. They sped through the woods, and Syl enjoyed the thrum of the motorbike, the wind rushing against them, and the warmth of Jay's body pressed against hers.
They made their way into town. It wasn't very crowded as Jay finally stopped the motorcycle at the movie theatre.
Syl got off and Jay did the same, taking his helmet off and resting it on the seat. Syl copied his movements, her hair messed up from the helmet.
She turned to face Jay, and he swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear, blushing furiously. "I know its not the greatest date, going to see a movie, but-"
Syl cut him off, smiling gently. "I don't mind."
They started walking toward the entrance, their arms close to each other, but not quite touching. "Its just that we didn't do much dating on the isle," Jay confessed. "It was more flirting and gang activity."
"I actually haven't been on a date either," Syl told him. "I've been busy with, you know, fairy stuff and helping Merlin in Camelot, and school."
Jay laughed, looking at her. "That makes me so relieved. You have no idea how nervous I was." Their eyes met, but Jay didn't look away. Syl smiled bashfully and looked down. Jay continued. "Ben said I should take you to the enchanted lake, but I can swim so..." He trailed off, shrugging.
Syl gasped, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "You can't swim?" Jay shook his head, confused. She started walking again, but she kept giving him a look of horror. "We need to fix that. Swimming is one of the best things to do in the summer." She sighed dreamily before fixing Jay with a stare. "I'm teaching you how to swim."
Jay laughed nervously. "Just as long as you don't push me in."
They were both laughing as they entered the theatre and Jay bought their tickets.
"Do you want anything?" he asked, gesturing to the stand where snacks were being sold. He peered at the menu. "What's popcorn?"
Syl shook her head, resigned. "You have been seriously deprived," she told him. "Wait here." She marched up to the counter and returned with a carton of popcorn. "This," she held out the carton, "is what you eat when you watch movies."
Jay nodded, making a mental note to remember what she had told him. "What does it taste like?"
Syl held out the popcorn. "Try some."
Jay grabbed a handful and popped it into his mouth. His eyes went wide as he chewed. "That is delicious," he said, trying to take another handful, but Syl moved the carton away.
"Wait until the movie," she scolded him, and he laughed.
"Please?"
She shook her head and he laughed, slipping and arm around her shoulders. They made their way to the room their movie was in, which was half full of a mixture of families and other young couples. When Syl sat down, she placed the popcorn in between her and Jay. They both grabbed handfuls as the movie started.
Syl had been wanting to see this movie for a while, but she wasn't able to pay attention to it like she usually was able to. Jay didn't seem to either. There was a couple right in front of them, and the guy had his arm around the other girl's shoulders. He felt nervous as he debated whether or not to do the same. What if she hit him? What if she decided that she wanted to leave?
Jay felt something warm on his shoulder and he looked down to see Syl resting her head on his shoulder. He grinned, all of his worries flying out of the window, and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. They stayed like that for the rest of the movie. Syl was sad when it finally ended and they got up to leave, but she felt like she was going to explode with happiness when Jay took her hand hesitantly. They wrapped their fingers together, their hands fitting perfectly.
"So what exactly is 'fairy stuff'?" Jay asked her as they walked down the street, eating the ice cream they had gotten after the movie.
Syl wrinkled her nose, trying to find a way to explain it. "So... you know about the council of fairies, right?"
Jay looked down at her. "What's that?"
She looked at him in surprise. "You don't know about the council of fairies?" He shook his head. "They're only the most powerful organization in Auradon? They created the Isle of the Lost?"
"They created the Isle of the Lost? I though King Adam did that!" Jay said, confused.
"He asked them to," Syl explained. "The Council of Fairies is made up of every magical person that is alive at this moment who live in Auradon or any neighboring kingdom. Fairy Godmother's a part of it. She's in the high council."
"Wait, shouldn't Mal be in this council too?" Jay asked, taking another bite of ice cream.
Syl shrugged. "She should, but I don't think they're going to ask her. A lot of the people on the council are idiots who don't like the VKs. They're waiting for her to mess up so she'll be sent home." She caught sight of Jay's disappointed face and grabbed his hand reassuringly. "But, there are also a lot of people on the council who have faith in Mal. In all of you."
"So not everyone on the council gets along?"
Syl laughed. "Not in the slightest. In the Council there are two unofficial 'orders'? They're composed of people who believe the same thing. There's the Order of the Lake and the Order of the Purity. I'm a part of the Order of the Lake. We support Ben's proclamation and try to convince others to do the same."
"Then what's the high council?"
"So, like I said, the Council of Fairies is made up of every magical person in Auradon and other kingdoms, but that's an awful lot, so they vote for representatives to represent them in the high council, where they make decisions. Anyone can run, but they have to be of a certain magical status."
Jay looked at her. "I've never heard of a magical status."
"Technically, it's magical classification." Syl looked at Jay's confused face and explained. "How much magic you have. "Mal, for instance, is probably second class because she's really strong. Most people these days are fourth class and below, but the amount of magical ability has been decreasing a lot. I think Mal will be the last person with second class magic to be found."
"What class are you in?" Jay asked as Syl took a bite of ice cream.
She flushed and looked away. "I don't really like to say."
"Oh," Jay said, looking down. They walked on in silence.
"So, tell me something that I don't know about you," Syl said, breaking the silence.
Jay laughed, tossing his ice cream cup into a trash can. "Let's see, my dad owns a junk shop and I used to steal things for him." Jay frowned. He didn't like talking about how it had been on the Isle.
"Which helped you become an amazing tourney player," Syl reminded him.
Jay laughed. "Yeah. And fighting pirated helped with ROAR."
Both of them smiled for a second, both reminiscing the events from a few weeks ago.
"We used to have a mantra too," Jay said, wrapping his arm around Syl's waist. "There's no team in I."
Syl laughed. "I thought it was the opposite."
Jay laughed too. "Yeah, it is, but that's my dad. He believes in the golden rule too."
She looked up at him, confused. "Treat others the way you want to be treated?"
He looked back at her, mirroring her confused face. "What's that?"
"Never mind. What's your father's golden rule?"
"Whoever has the most gold makes the rules."
Syl nodded. "Huh."
Jay grimaced. "Yeah, it's stupid." Syl smiled at him sadly and burrowed into his arm.
"Did your parents have any weird streaks?" Jay asked. He knew she lived with Merlin, but had never heard about her parents.
"Well, I don't know anything about my dad. And my mother... I don't remember much about her. She died when I was young."
Jay hesitated before asking, "What happened?"
"Ursula escaped from the Isle."
"What?" Jay was shocked. Nobody escaped from the Isle.
"Yeah, they kept is really quiet. The council didn't want people to know the Island was faulty." She looked at Jay's shocked face and continued. "They fixed it, added extra protection and everything." He seemed reassured.
"If you don't mind me asking, why your mother?"
Syl was quiet for a while and Jay feared he had asked too much, but at last, she spoke up. "Ursula defeated Triton before being banished to the Isle. If she killed my mother she could become the ruler of the waters, not just the sea, but everything."
"Who was your mother?"
"I haven't told you? My mother was the Lady of the Lake."
Jay looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I don't know who that is."
Syl smiled. "Don't worry, most people don't know who she is."
They had arrived at Jay's motorcycle, their helmets still resting on the seat.
"I just wanted to say... I had a great time with you today," Jay told Syl.
She beamed back at him. "It was amazing."
They stood staring at each other until both of them realized what they were doing and looked away. They donned their helmets and Jay helped Syl up behind him. As they sped back toward the school, Syl wrapped her arms tighter around Jay. At that moment, she felt absolutely safe. Much safer than she had felt in years.