"If you guys hadn't have brought him here, this never would have happened. What were you thinking?!" I scolded them, like disobedient children. The issue was, they weren't children. And they weren't going to take any condescendance from me.
"He was going to come with or without us!" Evie argued. "We just wanted to protect him!"
"Not to mention, that you just up and left for the Isle first!" Jay was pissed. I hadn't seen him so upset since our first family day at Auradon Prep.
"Oh, are you a toddler now? 'Mal ran away first!' Stop pointing fingers!"
"I SWEAR-"
"Okay! Okay!" Carlos stepped between us. "What are we going to do?"
I glared at them. "'We,'" I gestured between the four of us, "aren't doing anything. This is between Uma and me. And she's a punk. And guess what? Now I have to go get him!"
"Woah, woah, woah," Carlos said. "You're still going to have to go through Harry Hook and his wharf rats."
"You're going to need us!" Jay tried, but I already made up my mind.
"Uma said to come alone. Besides, she's not out to kill me, or else she wouldn't have taken Ben. He's just a bargaining chip. Uma has set this up to make a deal."
"And when you don't agree to her deal?" Evie insisted. "What about then? They'll happily beat the shit out of you. Or Ben."
"Who says I'm going to disagree?"
I pushed past them, towards the door.
"M, you don't know what she's asking yet."
"What have I got to lose?!" I shouted back. "I don't have a family anymore. I don't have any status or dignity. You three can stand up for yourselves. And she already has Ben."
"Be careful!" I could hear Carlos yell down as I hit the street and made my way to the Chip Shoppe.
~ ~ ~
As I got closer to the edges of the Isle, I started to walk with a purpose. If anyone saw me now, I wanted them to see the daughter of Maleficent, on her way to destroy an enemy. Whatever happened it there, I wanted people to watch me go in with a purpose.
I threw the doors open, careful not to flinch as they slammed into the walls on either side.
"I'm back," I sung.
I wanted to throw up in my mouth. I sounded so much like my mother. Teasing the tormented and looking down on everyone.
"Loser," Uma called, grabbing my attention, "party of one. Right this way, please."
I watched Uma very carefully. She had definitely changed a lot, but then again, so had I. Her hair was so long I had to wonder how she got anything done with it. It was a teal blue, along with the rest of her outfit.
I stepped towards her and she stood her ground, glaring at me.
When I approached the table, she kicked an empty chair towards me, forcing my instincts to kick in and stop it before it ran into me. She giggled at my unease.
I relaxed at the table, trying not to let her get the better of me.
"Place still stinks," I jabbed.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she played, sarcastically. "We're down a butler today, princess."
"Where is he?" I demanded.
"You know, I've dreamed of this. You wanting something from me, and me watching you squirm like a worm on a hook."
She was stalling. Who knows what for, but I didn't care. Two could play at that game.
"I'm so flattered that you dream of me. I haven't given you a thought since I left."
That one pissed her off. She slammed her hands down on the table in front of me, then let out a frustrated sigh. "Obviously."
"Listen, if you have some kind of score to settle with me, game on. I see no need to bring Ben into this."
She chuckled. "It may be a little unnecessary, but, oh, it is so much fun. Besides, we're all villains here. We don't fight fair, now do we, Mal?"
I raised an eyebrow, knowing that she was trying to crawl under my skin. But the new me didn't flinch at a comment at that. I still flinched and fell and got angry, but under very different circumstances.
"Now, here's the deal-"
"Just like your mother, always a catch."
She sat down at the table and crossed her arms. "Bring me Fairy Godmother's wand, and Ben is free to go."
I hesitated. What?
"Why does everyone want the wand so badly? You can't use it here."
"I don't plan on using it," she snarled. "I plan to break it."
Oh no...
"What?" she asked, watching my face drop. "You regretting bringing Ben along?"
If Uma broke the wand, she could break the barrier. Without using magic or anything. It was part of the reason the wand was protected so heavily. My mother never would have considered it, because she wanted to have that power, but Uma was out for something else. Uma just wanted off the Isle.
"If you want beasty boy back, bring the wand to my ship tomorrow at twelve noon... sharp." She stood up and began to walk away, but flipped around. "Oh, and if you blab... you can kiss your baby goodbye."
~ ~ ~
"There's no way we can give Uma the wand." Evie paced around my apartment. "If she breaks the barrier, the villains will destroy Auradon."
"If Uma doesn't get the wand, then Ben is toast, guys," Carlos argued.
"Well, we can't just give Uma, of all people, the magic wand."
"What else are we going to do?" Jay fired.
"Wait, you guys!" I interrupted. "Your 3D printer!"
"A phony wand," Carlos said, catching on.
"Well, the second Uma breaks it, she'll know it's fake," Evie argued.
"Not if we get Ben out fast enough. We need some sort of diversion."
"Smoke bombs!" Jay jumped up from his seat.
"That's perfect!" Evie exclaimed. "I can get the chemicals I need from Lady Tremaine's place. That could work!"
"Okay, Carlos, Jay? You meet us at Pirate's Bay, no later than noon. And you guys, losing? Not an option... Cause we're rotten..."
"To the core." I could see the corner of Evie's mouth turn up as she finished up the line with the boys.
"Let's do this," she smirked.
Jay suddenly cleared his throat as we all made our way to leave. "Carlos? Evie? Could you wait outside for us?"
I froze, anxiety rising in my chest. Oh god. Now what did he want to talk about?
The other two quietly agreed and began their descent from the room. I stood completely still, trying to look unamused with the time he was wasting.
"Mal, I thought we were past this."
I blinked. "Past what?"
"Past the whole 'I'm going to act all tough and okay when I'm not okay' act."
"I am okay," I insisted. "Because we're going to get Ben back."
"Not now. In Auradon. If you aren't okay, then you come talk to me. That's how we promised it would be."
"That shouldn't sacrifice either of our happinesses."
"Sacrificing our happiness?" he asked, incredulously. "By talking to one another?"
"Yes! If I talked to you about this, you would be constantly worrying again. You have so much right now. You're happy in Auradon. You've got Tourney, and you're a flirt, and Evie and Carlos love to hang out with you-"
"And you don't?"
"-and I'm not happy. If I told you about this, Jay, you would try to convince me to stay. Everyone would have. So, yeah, I didn't tell you, because it would sacrifice both of our happinesses."
"You know why I would be worrying about you, if you told me? Why I would have tried to convince you to stay?" he burst, walking to me. "It's because I care about you, Mal. You've been my best friend since childhood. We've been through almost everything together! You are my happiness!"
I flinched at his words. Afraid to look in his eyes or say anything, I ended up staring at his shoes.
After a couple of beats, with no response from me, he walked back, pacing slightly.
"If we stay, you'll need to find room for me."
My eyes met his slowly. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "Well, if you insist on staying here, I guess it'll have to do. But your apartment's not huge. And I ain't gonna sleep on the couch."
"Jay, you can't-"
"Do you remember when we made the anti-love spell for Ben?"
I paused. "Yes?"
"I said, do what will make you happy. And you chose Auradon. You chose Ben... I said something else that night. Do you remember?"
I shook my head, silent.
"I said that Evie, Carlos, and I would follow you, no matter what you did. Because you finding happiness is what would make us happy. We wanted to be with you, Mal... Well, if this is your choice now, I'm staying."
My throat closed up, my eyes glazing over.
"Jay," I breathed. "I'm so lost."
I could hear him breathing from the other side of the room, but neither of us dared look at each other. I sniffled, not wanting to walk back down to the others with tear tracks down my face.
"Did you paint this one today?"
I turned to the large wall. My friends stared back, still not right.
"Yeah, but it's not done."
"Well, obviously not," he informed me. "It needs you."
He didn't look away from the painting. Not after I gasped. Not after I started crying. Not even after I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back, but the entire time, his eyes were locked on the three faces.