WARNING: There are mentions of underaged drinking and some drowning imagery in this chapter. Read with caution, dears.
Jim Hawkins was an idiot.
That's not to say that he wasn't intelligent! Jim was, in Ariel's totally unbiased opinion, one of the smartest people she knew. He could run laps around her academically, and even though his grades in his freshmen and sophomore years were appalling, he tested like a dream. If it weren't for the criminal record, she was certain he could walk into any school in the country and they'd drop to their knees, begging him to attend.
But yes, Ariel mused as she handed the bouncer her fake I.D and was waved through with a smile, Jim was the smartest dumb person she knew. She couldn't find another way to explain the fact that they'd been best friends for almost ten years and he still couldn't figure out that she was completely, heads-over-heels, "Only fools rush in" in love with him.
Everyone else had, and it was the subject of much well-intentioned teasing. Jerks.
"Aaah!" Aladdin sighed happily, taking a long, deep breath through his nose before grinning. "Oh, I missed this place!"
"You can't miss a place you practically never leave, Al," Jim said with a fond shake of his head. "You come at least seven times a year, not including all the visits during the summer."
"And yet it's never enough!"
The group all burst into laughter, and Ariel was almost dizzy with excitement. Her arms were intertwined with Jasmine and Jane's, the boys all walking in front of them, and the night was perfectly warm and breezy. She could practically taste the possibilities the night held, buzzing on her tongue.
The club they had chosen for the night, the Genie's Lamp, was one of the hottest spots in the Springs' entertainment district, and Aladdin's favorite for three reasons. One, the club had no real roof, just enough cover to protect the patrons in case of rain yet still allow them to dance under the stars. Two, the whole club was designed to look like the inside of an Arabian castle, done up in deep shades of blue and gold and only the richest silk, so both Aladdin and Jasmine felt right at home. Ariel always felt like one wrong move on her part would ruin something and she'd either get kicked out or fined heavily. Judging by how tensely they held themselves whenever they passed through the entrance and the gauzy curtains, Milo and Jim felt very much the same way.
The third reason was coming towards them with a gigantic smile and arms already thrown wide. "Al, my boy!" the dark-skinned man boomed, sweeping a giddy Aladdin into a tight hug.
Three; when your uncle is the owner of said club, you are treated like a prince. When you're friends with said prince, you - by extension - were treated like royalty.
After several long months away, it felt really good to be treated like a princess.
"Would ya' look at this!" The man Ariel only knew as Genie surveyed the whole group, stroking his curled beard. "The whole group, back together again! Jasmine; my heart, my desert bloom," he said with a dramatic bow, taking Jasmine's hands and kissing the backs. "The sun didn't shine near as bright with you gone."
"Down, tiger," Jasmine said with a smirk. "You get me for one night and one night only, Father is taking me to Agrabah for two weeks on Tuesday."
"Then an unforgettable night it shall be!" Genie said with a flourish. "Ahh, Milo Thatch! You look… like death, actually. You all right, kid?"
"Jet-lagged," Milo offered with a weary smile. "Just got in this morning from a dig in Peru."
"That would do it," Genie said with a sympathetic wince. "I've got the perfect table for you all tonight; quiet and private, and far from all of the brightest lights."
"That sounds lovely," Jane sighed happily, tucking an errant wisp of hair behind her ear. Genie swept over to her next, kissing her knuckles and complementing her in a way that managed to be both over-the-top and entirely sincere.
"The London air must be doing wonders for you, because I swear, you're glowing."
"London air is mostly smog, Genie."
"Then it must just be you, dearie!"
Ariel's laughter bubbled out of her giddily, and Genie's luminescent eyes swung to focus on her. He simply smiled at her, holding his hands out. With a giggle, she went to put her hand in his for her customary kiss on the hand, but a broad, scarred palm took her place.
"Oh, if you insist, " Jim said from behind her with a long, dramatic sigh, the whole group bursting into laughter. His body was nearly framing hers, and Ariel felt heat begin to crawl up from the base of her spine to her cheeks. Genie just quirked an eyebrow at him, his smile shifting into something mischievous.
"Well well, if it isn't Jim Hawkins! The only one of you lot that doesn't have an excuse not to come see me."
"I see you every Saturday when you come to the Benbow for waffles," Jim said with a smirk of his own.
"But you never visit me !"
"Ain't my fault my dance partner is always missing," he shot back, his hip bumping against Ariel's. Her cheeks burned, and she almost wanted to hide until her skin turned back to its normal hue. She was no stranger to being hit on around campus, but nothing got to her the same way Jim's off-hand comments could. If she let herself, Ariel could easily imagine that he was actually flirting with her and not just being his casual, normal, wonderful self. She could imagine that they were dating, and that she could lean back into his arms and no one would find anything wrong with that.
But she stayed still where she was, and Jim moved away.
"Alright, I'll give you that one," Genie conceded, patting Jim's hand before dropping it for Ariel's. "With a partner like our little mermaid here, who would want anyone else?"
"Flatterer," Ariel said with a playful roll of her eyes, smiling as Genie kissed her hand. "You can expect to see more of him, because I've got no other plans this summer than to hang out with Jim!"
"Sounds dreadfully boring."
" Oi."
"It's going to be great ," Ariel said with a bright smile. "We've got a Star Wars marathon tomorrow and then Silver promised he's going to teach me how to work the big industrial oven-"
"Ugh, alright yes, you two are dorky and precious and cute," Jasmine groaned, bumping into Ariel with her hip and sending the shorter woman pinwheeling back into Jim. "Now let's get inside and dancing! Father wants me home by three A.M at least and it's already ten!"
"Keep your bangles on, Jas," Aladdin said with a laugh, watching with a grin as Jim and Ariel stammered and tried to untangle themselves as Ariel felt the blush in her cheeks only get worse. "We got time!"
"We 'got' zilch , love. Now move, move, move! Ariel, babe, you're not actually wearing that inside, are you?"
Ah, Ariel had missed Jasmine's policy of brutal honesty. Her roommate Meg was close, but no one else had managed to perfect that "I love you but what the fuck are you doing"voice like Jasmine had.
"'Course not," Ariel said with a smirk, pulling on the hem of the flannel shirt she had snagged from Jim's closet at the last second. "Just had to cover up when Sarah woke up."
"Cover up?" Jim asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Cover what?"
Ariel just grinned, unbuttoning her borrowed shirt (she was not purposefully stripping slowly in front of Jim, Al, she was not) and sliding it down her arms. She tied the sleeves of the shirt around her hips and tugged down on the bottom of her crop top, though it still didn't pass the bottom of her ribcage.
" There we go," Jasmine said with a slow, curling grin. She stepped into Ariel's personal bubble, fluffing up her red curls and adjusting the black straps from her cage bra to lay more evenly on her cleavage. " Now you're club ready."
"And now I feel under dressed," Jane said, though Ariel personally thought she looked phenomenal in her shorts and cut-up t-shirt.
"You look amazing, Jane," Ariel reassured. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Milo smacking Jim in the stomach and Jim's mouth snapping closed, but when she turned, Milo was several steps away and Jim looked nonplussed as ever.
Ariel silently cursed everything and fought the urge to pull the flannel back on like a security blanket.
"We all look great!" Aladdin cheered. "Now, onward! We have a lot of catching up to do and like Jas said, very little time to do it!" He grabbed Jane by the waist, leading the giggling woman into the depths of the club, followed by Jasmine who had snagged Jim by the arm and was complimenting the shirt he had chosen to wear ("Of course you like it, Jas, you're the one that picked it out for me." "Still, nice to know that someone listens to my advice every once and awhile.")
Milo stepped up to Ariel, grinning in the sweet, dorky way he always had, and held out his hand. "Why, thank you!" Ariel said with a curtsy, letting the taller man lead her into the depths of the club.
"You look amazing, Ariel," he reassured, and Ariel smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Milo," she said, laying her head against his shoulder.
"And I think you broke Jim," he added after a short pause. Ariel had to duck her head to hide her wide, pleased smile, but she could feel Milo shaking with laughter.
"I did?"
"Most guys have A Thing about girls wearing their clothes, and judging by his reaction, Jim's includes redheads taking his clothes off."
"Gee," Ariel joked, trying not to sound too pleased, "better keep him away from Merida then."
Milo's laughter was nearly lost in the music as they pushed through the last set of curtains into the main courtyard of Genie's Lamp. The music was pulsing through the air, the bass punching her stomach with each deep note, and Ariel's shoulders were already moving with the beat by the time they got to the table Genie had promised.
"Ooooh, someone's feeling it!" Genie said with a booming laugh, sidling to stand next to Ariel and moving his body to the rhythm. She didn't hesitate to let go of Milo's arm and begin to sway in earnest, hips moving in slow circles and occasionally hip-checking Genie with a laugh. Her hair was bouncing around her shoulders and the night air was warm against her skin, and she could feel the months of stress melt from her muscles. She had made it another semester, another year, and now she had the next two months to spend with her family and friends.
Ariel loved Miami, she really did, but there was just something about being home that made everything better. Maybe it was just the fact that she had grown up in Marceline, or maybe it was the serene atmosphere of the whole town.
Maybe it had been the sight of Jim waiting for her at the Fantasia County Airport, slouched against a pillar by the baggage claim and throwing her whole world off its axis just by being in the same room as her again.
Months and months with only seeing him through a computer screen had left her ill prepared for facing Jim's rough charm and unfairly attractive jawline in person, and Ariel's heart had nearly dragged her across the room to throw herself at him in an enthusiastic hug. Being back in Jim's arms and breathing in the familiar scent of motor oil, Silver's cooking, and Jim's soap was second only to her father's bone-crushing hugs in terms of instant relief.
And now she had the whole summer to soak up as many Jim Hugs as possible. It was going to be great.
"Jimmy, you better come over here and get this girl of yours before I decide that she's my dance partner for the night!" Genie said with a laugh, spinning a giggling Ariel under his arm. Jim groaned from where he was seated next to Jane, head dropping back.
"I don't get a second to sit and relax?" he asked, and although he was frowning, Ariel could hear the laughter in his voice. "I've been working all afternoon."
"And now you have the whole weekend off, and we're going to start it off with a bang!" Ariel cheered, pumping her fists over her head with the beat. Jim chuckled, shaking his head before sliding out of the half-circle corner booth. He held his hand out to her with a rakish grin, and Ariel's heart flipped in her chest.
"Seriously," he told her as his fingers interlocked with her own, "the worst. "
"You love it," Ariel teased, hoping she didn't sound too breathless.
"Obviously." Jim followed her out onto the dance floor, staying close enough that she could feel his body heat against the bare skin of her lower back. Ariel spotted Jasmine's swinging ponytail and bright gold jewelry from the corner of her eye, and both young adults quickly made their way over to join their friend.
"Hey you!" Jasmine said with a laugh, patting the hip of the woman she had been dancing with before disentangling from her to move closer to Jim and Ariel. "You two the only ones joining me?"
"Aladdin is mingling," Ariel hollered over the music that shook the air, leaning in towards Jasmine to be sure she heard. "And I think Milo and Jane are just chatting with Genie."
"Losers," she hollered back with a roll of her eyes, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Dance with me!"
She hadn't asked so much as commanded, and so Ariel let herself be tugged against Jasmine as they both began to move and sway to the beat. They didn't pay any mind to the attention they were drawing, or the hungry looks they were getting from a group of men by the bar; Ariel even forgot about Jim for a moment. Jasmine's familiar perfume flooded her senses, and Ariel laughed into her best friend's shoulder as Jasmine kindly showed the bar her middle finger. Jasmine had been by her side since preschool, and it felt damn good to be reunited with the girl that was her sister in just about every way but blood (not that she needed any more sisters, she had six already). They operated on the same wavelength, and it was obvious in the way their bodies moved almost perfectly in-synch; hips rolling, torsos swaying, hands tapping out the rhythm against hips and shoulders.
"You too, Hawkins!" Jasmine said, crooking her finger over Ariel's shoulder at Jim.
"You ladies seem to have this pretty well handled without me-"
"No getting out of it!"
Bracing herself against Ariel's shoulder, Jasmine shot forward and grabbed hold of Jim's shirt. He was yanked forward into Ariel's back as Jasmine dropped back to the ground, and the three of them all stumbled forward.
At some point, Jim's hands had ended up on her hips and Ariel had grabbed his shirt in a desperate attempt to stay upright, and Ariel didn't know if she wanted to smack Jasmine or kiss her on the mouth. Judging by the gleam in her friend's eye and her devious giggle, she deserved a smack.
"Jeeze, fine, you weirdo," Jim grumbled, hands squeezing Ariel's hips as he attempted to get himself upright again. A small whimper bubbled out from between Ariel's lips, drown out by the music, but Jasmine's grin grew wider and Ariel knew she had heard it.
Oh yeah, definitely a smack.
Jim's body was framing hers again, her narrow shoulders tucked into the broad curves of his chest and the backs of her legs burning where his brushed against hers. She felt light-headed, like she would float right off the ground and into the starry night sky. His hand found the top of her arm with the death grip on his t-shirt, and slowly began to run his large hand towards her elbow; adjusting her grip so that her arm was now looping up and over their shoulders, and her fingers had easy access to the cropped hair at the base of his neck.
Ariel honestly couldn't tell if the trembling in his hand was from Jim or herself. She felt like she was about to vibrate right out of her skin.
"Better?" Jim asked, leaning in close to her ear as they all began to dance again. Ariel was having a hard time focusing with his warm breath against her ear and his thumbs brushing the sensitive skin that stretched over her hipbones, but she managed a nod. "Okay," Jim said a little awkwardly, "good."
"Come on you two," Jasmine teased with a laugh, reaching around Ariel's midsection to rest her own hands on Jim's narrow hips. "Stop acting like this is your first dance and relax!"
"Maybe if you didn't yank people into nearly falling over, they wouldn't be so high-strung," Ariel muttered, earning herself a pinch on her side from Jasmine and a laugh from Jim. She could feel his laughter in her chest, and she was smiling before she could even consider stifling it.
The tension effectively broken, Ariel let herself be swept away by the music and her two dance partners. Jim's hands strayed to the front of her skinny jeans, thumbs hooking into her pockets and the tips of his fingers on the top of her thighs, and she melted back into him with a shiver. Her head felt delightfully floaty, and she enjoyed the chance to not think at all and just move. She could hear Jim and Jasmine talking over her shoulders at each other, but she was focused more on the fast, brassy music that was playing through the club. Jim's hips swayed with hers and she could feel Jasmine's heart beat against her collarbone, and Ariel nearly purred in delight. Out of all of their friends, Ariel was the most physically affectionate (followed closely by Aladdin; muscular little cuddle-bug that he was), and she could think of no better place to be then sandwiched between two of her favorite people in the world.
Jim's hand found hers where it rested on his neck, and he spun her to face him and his crooked grin. Ariel blinked dazedly, feeling vaguely like her head had just snapped back to her shoulders like a rubber band. "You okay?" Jim asked, leaning down to speak in her ear so she could hear him. Jasmine's back was pressed against hers as they continued to sway, her laughter rebounding in Ariel's ears, and the redhead nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Ariel responded, cupping the back of Jim's neck as she spoke in his ear. "Why?"
"You were a million miles away, Ar. I called your name like ten times."
Her cheeks burned red in embarrassment. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I kinda checked out." Jim's laugh was low and throaty against her ear, and she shivered happily in his arms.
"Yeah, I could tell," he teased, and she smacked his stomach in retaliation. "Ow!"
"Asshat."
"Remember, you're the one that invited me."
Ariel rolled her eyes, but her response died on her tongue as the song playing finally registered in her brain. Squealing in excitement, Ariel braced herself against Jim's shoulders as she jumped up and down in excitement. "I love this song!" she yelled, and Jim laughed.
"You don't say!"
Ariel ignored him in favor for singing along with the song, rolling her hips and swaying with more intent as she danced. Jim, bless him, matched her movements easily, sweat starting to bead on his temples as he spun her away from him and pulled her back with a grin. Despite the height difference (in her favorite green converse, she barely came to eye level with his nose), their bodies fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Feeling him pressed so tightly to her made Ariel feel like she was about to self-combust, and she took a half-step back to try and stop the flush from her cheeks moving through her whole body.
She may take liberties sometimes with their friendship, like staying in his wonderful hugs a few moments longer than was strictly platonic or dancing with him in a way where she could submerge herself in his heat and smell, but Ariel had to remind herself when it went too far that they were not dating. Jim didn't like her like that, despite what all of their friends said to her whenever he wasn't around.
Even if he did - a notion that Ariel entertained far too often to be healthy - he had made it abundantly clear even in high school that his opinions of long-distance relationships were not favorable. Ariel had at least another year and a half at Miami getting her degree in anthropology, longer if she decided to pursue further education. Jim had confessed to her over Skype late one night when they were nineteen that he feared he'd never leave Marceline, and so far, he hadn't confided in her any plans to just do that. That was atleast four years living in different states, if not more. Way too long to keep any sort of long-distance situation working when one half hated the whole concept.
"Ariel?" Jim asked, his hand warm on her elbow as he looked at her in concern. "You still here?" She had stopped singing as her happy thoughts had taken a nose-dive, and judging by the look on Jim's face, she had stopped dancing as well. Her smile felt brittle and weak as she nodded, trying to wave away his concerns.
"Yeah, I'm just kinda scatter-brained tonight," she said over the music. Jasmine had stopped dancing behind her, and Ariel reached back to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "I'm probably just hungry."
Jim's frown made it clear how much he didn't believe her little lie, but he simply nodded, moving his hand to the small of her back and leading her off the floor. Jasmine followed easily, giving Ariel a worried look that she responded to with a shrewd smile. "Come on, let's get some food in you," Jim said, his low voice cutting through the loud music right to her battered heartstrings, and her grip on Jasmine's hand tightened reflexively.
Jasmine just squeezed back, her warm cheek resting against the back of Ariel's head for a brief moment before pulling away.
The trip back to their table was mostly Jim glaring people out of their way while Jasmine and Ariel trailed in his wake, Jim's hand warm and rough against the skin of her back. They found the table with relative ease, and Ariel was surprised to see five people waiting for them instead of the two they had left at the table.
"Oh god, who invited you?" Jim groaned as he caught sight of the grinning Inuit man sitting next to Jane, and Kenai laughed.
"Good to see you too, Hawkins," he jeered, throwing a crumpled napkin at Jim with a smirk. "Aladdin texted me when you guys got here."
Jim turned his glare to Aladdin. "Traitor."
"You two have been best friends literally since the fifth grade!" Aladdin said defensively, raising his hands.
"Yeah, that doesn't mean I want to see him!"
Rolling her eyes at Jim's behavior, Ariel slid into the booth and reached over Jasmine to give Kenai a big hug. "Ignore him, he's still grumpy he got dragged out for the night. It's so good to see you!" she said happily.
Kenai returned her hug with a more genuine smile, patting her hair fondly. "Same, girl. It's been too long."
"Just wait until August," Ariel teased, thinking of their siblings' upcoming wedding, "you're going to be sick of me long before Attina and Sitka say 'I do'."
"Impossible!"
Ariel's reply got cut off by Jane's sudden hiss of "Don't you dare," and she looked up in time to see a smirking Aladdin and Kida (oh wow, it had been ages since she'd seen Kida) both raise their hands and wave towards some unknown person.
"What are they do-" Jim stopped suddenly, sinking into the booth next to Ariel with a sigh. "No, wait, I don't want to know."
"Jane got hit on by the bartender and Aladdin and Kida have been trying to get her to go back up for the past fifteen minutes," Milo explained anyways, looking endlessly amused. Jane groaned loudly, sinking down into her seat until only the top of her head was visible.
"It's so embarrassing!" she bemoaned, and Ariel smiled.
"Oh please, you deserve to flirt a bit! You've been working so hard!" she said, almost bouncing in her chair in excitement. "Which bartender?"
"The one with the sexy-" Jane's hands shot up to cover Aladdin's mouth, her cheeks a blotchy, adorable red.
"Hush, you," she hissed. By now the whole table was looking at her, with expressions that ranged from amusement to excitement, and Jane visibly slumped. "Ugh, fine. It's the blonde at the bar by the DJ stand. Now, don't everyone look at-"
All of their heads swiveled in unison to stare at the bar, Ariel and Jasmine both standing so they could see over the top of the walls of the booth and Jim leaning out comically far to peer around the side.
"-Once," Jane nearly whimpered.
"Shit, there's two blonds," Jim grumbled, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"Are we talking about the missing Hemsworth brother or the beautiful lady who looks like she could kill a man with a paperclip?" Jasmine asked.
"Paperclip lady."
" Nice," Jasmine purred in appreciation. Said blonde had just finished pouring a drink for a small clump of women and when she looked towards their booth, they all waved at her while Jane screamed into her palms. She waved back with a sultry smirk, looking amused, and Ariel beamed.
"I like her," she announced, turning to look at the embarrassed ball that used to be Jane. "You should go talk to her!"
"Not a chance!" Jane said with a panicked squeak, her accent getting thicker as she got more worked up. "She probably thinks we're a bunch of weirdos!"
"In her defense," Kenai said, "we definitely are."
"Holla'," Jim deadpanned, the two boys high-fiving.
"Does Hemsworth look familiar to anyone else?" Aladdin mused, scratching the back of his head under his beanie.
"Who cares about him when Tall and Sexy is heading over?" Jasmine said with a smirk, and Ariel watched with an amused grin as the color somehow simultaneously drained from Jane's face and flooded her cheeks.
" What!?"
"Oh, yup," Jim said, blindly searching for something to grab onto to steady himself, and Ariel gave him her hand without a second thought. She definitely didn't stare at the way his bicep contracted attractively when he pulled himself upright, just like she hadn't been admiring the peak of his hip and stomach from where his shirt had ridden up when he was looking around the booth. If their whole table hadn't all been distracted by teasing Jane, she was sure they would have all had the time of their lives teasing her.
"Everyone act normal," Kida instructed with a grin, laughing as half the table proceeded to pose in increasingly ridiculous poses and laughing harder when they ended up rubbing their shins instead when Jane kicked them all, hard.
Ariel looked up from the tabletop - Jesus, were Jane's boots lined with lead?! - just in time to see the bartender come to a halt in front of their table. "You all look like you could use some drinks," she said, her voice a low purr. Her eyes lazily drifted over each seated person before locking onto Jane, who was blushing horribly and staring at her fingernails with an incredible amount of concentration. Kenai nudged her harshly in the side with his elbow while the rest of them either ordered or politely declined her offer.
"Could I please get a Bourbon Rickey," Jim asked after Jasmine had passed, "and who could I talk to about getting this one a plate of fries?" He jerked his thumb back at Ariel, who blinked owlishly at him.
"You got it," the bartender, who had introduced herself as Helga, said with a nod. "And I can pass that order on to Krunk for you."
"Sweet, thanks," he said with a nod, looking at Ariel for her order.
"You don't need to buy me fries," she whispered to him instead, eyebrows furrowed. Jim huffed, leaning in close to answer her and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Ariel immediately went red.
"Too late, I didn't feed you earlier," he whispered back. "I got plenty of tips tonight. Besides, I recall something about a moonlit dinner," he teased with a smirk, pointing at the open roof and the waxing moon that hovered over their heads.
Ariel almost burst into flames on the spot.
"A plate of fries hardly counts," she protested weakly, trying not to think too deep into his casual reference back to their earlier conversation. A smile blossomed on Jim's lips at the perceived victory, and Ariel couldn't help but melt into his chest. He was so damn pretty when he smiled.
"A plate of fries and a Sea Breeze, please," Jim said to Helga with a grin as Ariel let her head rest against his shoulder. No one said anything about their new, more intimate position, but Kenai and Jasmine both were grinning a little wider than before, and Milo shot her a wink that made Ariel want to disappear.
"And how about you," Helga said, finally turning to look at Jane with a " Come hither " look so strong that Ariel almost felt like she was intruding just by sitting at the same table. "Ms…?"
"... Jane," she muttered shyly, and Helga's smirk pulled a little higher on one side. Ariel silently cheered Jane on in her head.
"Ms. Jane then," she cooed. "What'll it be?"
The whole table held its breath while Jane considered her answer for a few moments. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, before looking up and telling Helga with a sunny smile, "I just spent six months in London with only a bunch of horny British lads to try and keep me company. Much alcohol was consumed by my bored, gay ass to keep me from going completely bananas, and I've developed quite the tolerance. So, Ms. Helga, do your worst. Surprise me."
Somehow, they were all able to contain their screams of joy. Aladdin looked like he was about to burst.
"I'll do my best," Helga said with a wink that had color flooding Jane's whole face. "I'll be sure to Krunk get those fries started, and John and I will get your drinks out in a few." She walked away from the table with one last wave, and they all grinned silently at Jane until she burst into nervous, giddy laughter.
"I can't believe I did that!" she said, covering her grin with her hands. Kida leaned over to punch Jane's shoulder repeatedly, grinning widely.
"Hell yeah you did!" she crowed, laughing as Kenai ruffled Jane's already messy hair. "That was so good!"
"My little girl," Jasmine sniffed dramatically, wiping away a fake tear. "She's growing up so fast."
"Oh, hush," Jane said shyly, though her smile was only growing wider. "It was no big-"
"JOHN SMITH!" Aladdin shouted, effectively scaring the shit out of everyone at the table. Ariel had jumped half into Jim's lap at the sudden loud noise, and Jasmine was clinging to her torso in fear.
"Aladdin," Jim said slowly. "What. The fuck."
"Baby Thor is John Smith!" Aladdin explained, looking rather proud of himself. "I knew I recognized him from somewhere!"
"But why did you have to scream it?!" Milo yelped. His glasses were askew and he clutched at his heart like he was afraid it would burst out of his chest. Jasmine had let go of Ariel to peer back over the top of the booth, and she whistled lowly.
"Wow, that really is John Smith," she said, prompting groans from both Kenai and Kida. "I thought he went further north for college?"
"He transferred back to take care of his aunt or something," Kenai said, looking incredibly bored. "At least that's what Kit said. I've been avoiding him like the plague."
"I didn't even know he was back in town," Jim said with a frown.
"That's because the only times you leave the inn are to hang out with Nani and I, and you're never on Facebook unless Ariel's online."
Ariel's attention snapped to Kenai, curiosity churning at the back of her throat at the kernel of information that he had just dropped in front of her. Trying to get Jim to talk about what was happening in his life outside of the inn or school was like trying to pull teeth, and she was always curious to know how he fared when she was gone.
But Kenai had kept talking, the topic forgotten, and Ariel huffed in frustration, sending her bangs fluttering. She slumped back against Jim's chest, only partially paying attention to the conversation.
"Should I go over and talk to him?" Aladdin mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Kida's lip curled in a grimace.
"Why would you want to?"
"Funny story," Aladdin began, leaning back with a grin, "but Johnny-boy over there was actually my first kiss."
"Isn't he, like, super racist?" Jane asked. Kida, Kenai, and Jasmine all nodded.
"In that annoying, white 'Columbus was a hero, the pilgrims and the Native Americans got along perfectly- so says Thanksgiving' kinda' way," Kenai grumbled. "Poca almost decked him senior year, it was a thing of beauty."
"I never said it was a good kiss," Aladdin mumbled.
"Wait, back up," Jim said, waving his hands in front of him. " John Smith was your first kiss? How did I not know this?"
"Yeah, man," Aladdin said with an amused grin. "Tenth grade! I kissed him in an empty theater at the Walt Cinema 56 when he worked there."
"I had no idea." Jim shook his head, laughing. "Dude, that is genuinely disappointing. I always imagined your first kiss was like on a yacht you had hot-wired or something."
"I appreciate your faith in me, and now I'm disappointed in myself for disappointing you."
"Milo, man, you gotta make up for Al's slack," Jim said with a laugh as Helga approached the table again, a tray of drinks balanced on one hand and fries on the other. Jim immediately helped her with the fries, setting them in front of Ariel before Helga started to pass out drinks. Waters went to those that had declined, and the various alcoholic drinks went out to those that hadn't. Ariel silently prayed that Genie didn't come over and check on them until their drinks were finished; she and Jim were both a few months shy of twenty-one (his birthday falling only six days after hers) and Kenai's birthday was in July.
What Helga handed Jane was almost purple in color, with a small blackberry skewered on a swizzle stick and some mint as a garnish. "See if you can handle this surprise," Helga purred, and Jane hid her shy smile behind the lip of her glass. Her first sip was followed by a wide-eyed smile, and Ariel had to hide her own grin as Helga's ears began to flush.
"It's so good!" she exclaimed, taking another slow sip. "Whiskey, right?"
"Enough to send weaker men to their knees," she said with a smirk. "I've seen that drink knock out a two hundred and twenty pound man in under three glasses."
"I shall have to keep an eye on my intake, then," Jane hummed.
"Don't worry, I'll keep track for you," Helga promised, sending heat flooding back to Jane's cheeks in an impressively short amount of time, and she once again left the table in silence, all grinning at Jane.
"Oh come on, that can't be as fun the second time," Jane muttered, covering her face with her hand and biting down on a growing smile.
"Nope, still pretty great," Milo reassured.
"I'm having fun," Jasmine followed, chin resting on her folded hands and a grin curling her lips.
"Same," Ariel said with a guiltless shrug.
"You're all awful," Jane groaned. "Weren't we all going to harass Milo about his first kiss?"
"Don't remind them, please-"
"Too late!" Aladdin said with a laugh. "Out with it, Thatch!"
Milo groaned, rubbing his palm down his face while Kida laughed next to him. "Jane, I will remember this betrayal," he said dryly.
"Add it to the list, dear," Jane responded with a dismissive wave.
"Actually," Kida said, still chuckling under her breath as she raised her hand. "I know that particular story."
"You do?" Jasmine asked. Kida's blue eyes sparkled mischievously, her smirk pulling at her intricate face paint.
"Of course I do, I was the one who kissed him."
Aladdin and Kenai both choked on their drinks, sending themselves into awful coughing fits while the rest of the table gaped at Milo and Kida.
"Milo, I love you with all my heart," Aladdin began once he could breathe again, "but how the hell did you manage to luck out enough that Kida was your first kiss?"
"Oi!" Milo protested. Kida just laughed.
"He took me on a date to the Marceline Museum of Natural History right before we left for college," she explained, a warm smile blooming on her dark lips. "We were there pretty late, so a lot of the rooms were empty. We were laying on the floor in that room with all the murals, just kinda talking, and out of the blue he asked if he could kiss me."
A collective " Aw " came from the majority of the table, and Milo ducked his blushing face behind his hands.
"Was it a good kiss?" Ariel asked with a dreamy smile, leaning forward and resting her chin in her hands.
Kida blushed prettily under her intricate make up. "It definitely is in the top five."
"I didn't know you guys dated," Jasmine mused with a hum, and Milo and Kida shared a longing look that went straight through Ariel's heart like an arrow.
"Not for very long," Milo admitted, his smile shivering at the corners like it was a strain to keep it up. "We went our separate ways for school and it just got too hard to keep in touch. In the end, we agreed it'd be better to just be friends."
Kida shrugged, pulling some of her long white hair over her shoulder. She was trying to look nonplussed, but Ariel realized with a rapidly sinking heart, that Kida was avoiding looking at Milo and that her jaw was tightly clenched. "It was probably for the best," she said, tone light. "I have it on good authority that Milo snores, and I don't think I'd be able to live with that."
Kida's teasing comment helped to alleviate some of the awkwardness, and a round of quiet laughter went around the table. Ariel stayed quiet, watching the way Kida and Milo had suddenly gone tense around each other. While Kenai began to relay the story of his first kiss - a friend of his from his elementary school named Nita, apparently - Milo looked at Kida with such naked longing Ariel almost cried.
She became hyper-aware of Jim's arm around her shoulders and the steady rise and fall of his breath against her back, and fought the urge to hide her face against his chest and count his steady heartbeats. She knew too well how distance could smother a relationship still in the beginning stages, and that painful longing after someone you knew you couldn't have. Not for the first time, Ariel cursed herself for deciding to go to a school so far away that she could only visit a few times a year.
"What about you, Ariel?"
Ariel's head jerked up, red waves bouncing around her shoulders at the sudden movement, and looked at the rest of her friends with wide eyes. "What?" she asked, blinking owlishly. She hadn't been paying any sort of attention, and Jane rolled her eyes with a fond exasperation.
"Jim was right, dear, you need to eat," she teased, nudging the plate of fries that Ariel had barely touched. Ariel sheepishly nodded, taking a fry and popping it in her mouth. "But I was asking about your first kiss."
" My first kiss?" she asked, confused.
"Yeah," Kenai said with a shrug and a smile. "Apparently it's the topic of the night."
"Oh, um, wow," Ariel mused, biting her bottom lip. "Ok, so Jane I think was here for this, I'm not sure if Jas was...?"
"Was there for what?"
"Remember my fourteenth birthday party? I had that sleepover?"
"Oooh," Jasmine hummed. "I think that was just before your dad started getting comfortable with letting me stay overnight."
"Why wouldn't he be comfortable with you staying over?" Kenai asked.
"He knew Rizal before he knew Jasmine," she said, gesturing to herself. "It took a couple years for that transition to fully click for Triton."
"Ah," Kenai said with a nod, "right."
"Okay, so then only Jane witnessed this one," Ariel said, smiling apologetically at Jasmine. "Basically, I had a big sleepover after my fourteenth birthday party, and after all the guys and Jasmine went home, we all holed up in the rec room in the attic."
"That is not an attic, that's a freakin' home theater."
"Hush, Jim. So we're encroaching on midnight, and the topic of kissing comes up. Either everyone else had already had their first kiss, or they were lying about it, but in the end only Rapunzel and I had admitted to not having our first kisses."
"I know where this is going," Aladdin said with a grin, "and tell me there are photographs."
Ariel, Jim, and Jasmine all threw a fry at Aladdin's face while Kida cackled, the ketchup-covered end of Ariel's leaving a smear of red across the bridge of his nose. "I will stop here," she threatened, waving another fry at him. Aladdin raised his hands in surrender, and Ariel pulled her projectile back with a smirk. "That's what I thought," she drawled, Jim's laughter rumbling in her chest. "Now, where was I?"
"Neither you or Rapunzel had ever been kissed," Milo prompted with an exasperated smile.
"Right! So, it became this whole Thing that because we were the 'least mature' in the group, we had to get everything for the other girls there and make all the snack runs. I was, obviously, pissed. I mean, come on! It was my fucking birthday!"
"I remember all the angry texts you sent me that night," Jim said with a grin. "I don't think you let off the caps key for three hours."
" Anyways," Ariel said insistently, giving Jim a Look for interrupting her, "we were on our third snack run and I had had enough. I looked Punz right in the eyes and I told her 'When we get back upstairs, I'm going to kiss you; that way they can't make us run their errands for them for the rest of the night!' Rapunzel agreed pretty easily, and when we got back to the attic, we walked right in front of everyone and I turned and kissed Rapunzel for like a solid thirty seconds just to get them to shut up."
Laughter bounced around the booth, and Ariel sat proudly as all her friends dissolved into hysterical fits. Jim was clutching her waist, his face buried between her shoulders as his laughter burst out of him in snorts and cackles, and Ariel felt her smile bloom wider on her face. "You've already heard this one, you dork," she said fondly, pulling her hair over her shoulder and away from his face so he didn't choke on her curls (again).
"I'm j-just imagining your face," he said with a snort.
"Well, it worked, " Ariel insisted, giggling herself. "Like you've got a better story."
"Does he even have a First Kiss story?" Kenai asked, wiping tears of mirth from his grinning cheeks. "I thought he was saving himself for marriage or something."
"Screw off, ain't nothing wrong with not being interested in kissing strangers," Jim grumbled, leaning over Ariel's shoulder so he could stick his tongue out at Kenai. "If you're so desperate to know, however, yes; I have had my first kiss." Ariel's stomach did that odd flip that she had learned to associate with Jim, and she took a long pull from her drink. She had kissed her fair share of people, she shouldn't feel this jealous that Jim had done the same.
Aladdin gasped, drumming his hands on the table excitedly. "Oh, I don't know this one!"
"Neither do I," Milo mused as his laughter died down, taking a long pull from his water. "And you tell me everything."
"It isn't the most interesting story, honestly," Jim said with a shrug, letting go of Ariel's waist. "And I don't tell you everything."
"We're cousins; I'm the closest you're gonna get to an unbiased opinion."
"That is a bold-faced lie and you know it."
"Come on, Jim!" Jane encouraged as she tapped the side of his glass. "Take a drink then tell your tale!"
"Jim! Jim! Jim! Jim! Jim!" Ariel began to chant, shoving her dark thoughts to the back of her head as the rest of the table began to pick up the chant as well. Blood rushed to Jim's cheeks, and he rubbed nervously along the line of his jaw before he held his hands out placatingly.
"Alright, sheesh!" he growled, scowling at his grinning friends (though Ariel was pretty sure they were rapidly losing all claims to that title). "It's not a very good one. I can't beat Ariel's."
"No one can beat mine, don't feel bad," she cooed, patting his shoulder teasingly. He pouted at her with a look of utter betrayal on his face, and Ariel beamed at him in response. "Please?" she asked, and Jim sighed, picking up his drink.
"You are the worst."
"This has been established."
"It was at Aurora's sixteenth birthday party," he said once he had taken a long drink and set his glass back down, carding his fingers through his bangs. "The one our whole class was invited to, regardless of if we knew her or not."
"I remember that party," Aladdin mused, "I lost my favorite pair of swim trunks."
"Didn't you break her patio table?"
"There is no evidence of that. Carry on, Jim."
Jim glared at Aladdin and Jasmine flatly before sighing through his nose. "I had never been to Aurora's house before in my life, so I had no idea that she had a pool. So when everyone went out to the back, I was stuck inside with the rest of the kids that hadn't gotten the swimming memo. If you put that many teenagers alone in a room for longer than five minutes, someone inevitably ends up starting a game of Truth or Dare and I got dragged in. I think it was my third turn when Phil dared me to kiss the person to my… right? I think it was right. Anyways, I ended up having to kiss Audrey Ramirez." Jim shrugged. "So that was my first kiss."
Jim looked around the table, eyebrows furrowing when he noticed everyone was staring at him silently. "What?" he asked.
"That was tenth grade, right?" Kida asked, and Jim nodded.
"Didn't Audrey come out as a lesbian, like, days before winter break that year?" Jane mused, and mutters of agreement went up from around the table.
"Oh, um, yeah," Jim said with a shrug. "That was like, two weeks after the kiss ordeal. That was actually kinda funny; she came up to me and tried to apologize in advance. She was worried I'd be mad or something."
"Wait, you're the reason Audrey came out?" Milo asked incredulously.
Jim huffed, starting to look offended. "I wouldn't say I was the whole reason, she had been thinking about coming out for a while. She just wanted to avoid having to kiss anymore guys she wasn't into."
"Holy shit," Aladdin breathed, looking like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or buy Jim another drink. Ariel knew the feeling.
"Jesus, Hawkins," Kenai said with an incredulous laugh. "Only you, man."
"Shut up, Kenai, you're the one that asked," Jim grumbled, taking a long sip of his drink while a few of their friends began to chuckle as the absurdity of the situation began to settle in.
Jasmine shook her head, covering her eyes with her palm and laughing under her breath. "God, please tell me your next kiss was better," she pleaded jokingly.
Jim shrugged again. "Hasn't happened yet," he said plainly. "That was the only time I've ever been kissed."
The laughter at the table stopped like someone had twisted a valve shut, and they were all gaping at Jim again. Ariel almost felt bad as she watched Jim begin to squirm awkwardly, but her shock at the fact that apparently no one had felt the desire to kiss Jim Hawkins in nearly five years was stronger than any other emotion. She wanted to kiss Jim every five minutes , how did he not even get a romantic peck on the cheek in five years!?
"You mean to tell me," Jasmine began slowly, "that in your twenty years on this Earth, your only kiss was from a closeted lesbian during a bogus game of Truth or Dare at the birthday party of a girl you have shared maybe three words with, total?"
"... Yes?"
Jasmine made an affronted choking sound before regaining her composure, sitting upright with a deep breath. "Alright," she said with a clap of her hands, surveying the other occupants of the table with her critical brown eyes. "Who wants to be James Hawkins' bad decision for the night?"
Regardless of Jim's protests to Jasmine, Aladdin's hand shot up like a rocket. His gaze locked onto Ariel after a second, and she was surprised to see the normally friendly boy's eyes narrow at her in challenge.
"I will Fight You," he practically yelled, and it was only when the rest of the table turned to look at her that Ariel realized, her stomach sinking, that her arm was sticking straight up into the air, fingers straining towards the stars and practically pulling the rest of her torso up with them.
She considered pulling her hand back down and laughing it off. Considered telling them all to back off of her best friend and not push him into anything he was potentially uncomfortable with. Considered doing a barrel roll over the table and running out of the club and all the way back to Miami to hide until she was ready to look any of them in the eye again (potentially never again).
"Bring it on, scrub," she hissed instead, leaning forward with her hand still in the air and smirking at Aladdin in challenge.
Jim had gone deadly silent next to her, and Ariel was afraid to turn and take a glance at his face. But Milo, Kida, and Jane were all grinning broadly, and Kenai and Jasmine both looked like Christmas had come early. Aladdin looked almost affronted.
"Jim needs to have at least one gay experience in his life before you and your tits ruin him for dudekind forever!" he insisted, also keeping his hand up. "Let me have this one!"
"Okay, one," Ariel began with a roll of her eyes, "my boobs don't have the supernatural powers you claim they do."
"I mean this in the most platonic way I am physically capable of," Jane said, taking a slow sip of her drink. "But yes, yes they do."
"Agreed," Jasmine, Kida, and Milo said in unison.
"Secondly," Ariel said, "Jim doesn't like guys, so perhaps he doesn't want a gay experience, hm? If you were his best friend, like I am, you would know this about him."
"I'm insulted that you dare insinuate that I am not Jim's best friend," Aladdin gasped, placing his hand over his heart like she had wounded him. "If we're going by friend status, then Kenai would be in the running too!"
"Yeah, no," Kenai said, looking disgusted. "Jim, I love you like a brother, but there is no chance in hell my tongue is coming anywhere near your mouth."
"Thank god," Jim said, and Ariel's stomach twisted into nervous little knots at the breathy, stunned voice he spoke in. "Um, guys-"
"What makes you think you're so qualified to give Jim his second kiss, huh?" Aladdin said over Jim's weak protests. "You probably don't have much more experience than he does!"
"I've dated! I know how to make out with someone," Ariel huffed, pulling her bangs out of her face. Admittedly, she hadn't really been in a relationship since she was seventeen and realized that the fond fluttering in her chest whenever Jim was being particularly endearing was Love, but she had dated before that.
"But are you a good kisser?"
"I don't know, I'll have Jim let you know when we're done." Ariel purred, smirking at Aladdin.
He huffed, rolling his eyes. "Look, I don't care that you've been in love with him for the past three years," he drawled, leaning against the table, "I called dibs on being his Gay Panic ages ago, and I plan to cash that in tonight!"
If the rest of the table had reacted to the secret Aladdin had revealed so casually, Ariel didn't notice. The moment he had said "In love with him" , her vision tunneled and the music was muffled by the blood pounding in her ears. She inhaled sharply, but her lungs wouldn't inflate. She couldn't breathe- couldn't move. She was probably gaping at Aladdin unattractively, pale-faced and trembling.
Jasmine's hand was clutching her forearm tightly, and Ariel tried to cling to that as her thoughts spun and crashed together. How could he do that!? Just casually voice the thoughts and feelings she had locked behind her teeth for three years! Who gave him the right to tell Jim what she had been dying to say for years, what she whispered to her computer screen late at night when the ellipses in the chat box under his name were the only things keeping her sane? She knew she ought to try and speak; laugh off Aladdin's comment like it meant nothing, try and recover what she could before the situation sifted through her fingers like sand.
But she could only stare at Aladdin's horrified face while panic filled her head and lungs, losing track of the surface as she flailed hopelessly.
Silence held their whole table in a white-knuckled grip, the music still muffled despite the fact that Ariel could feel the bass in the pit of her stomach. Aladdin was stammering helplessly, eyes wide and hands moving like someone was jerking on strings tied to his wrists. Jasmine's grip on Ariel's forearm was the only thing anchoring her to the table, and her expression was so dark that the redhead was amazed that Aladdin hadn't caught fire yet. The rest of the table were looking between her and Aladdin with various expressions of disbelief, and Jim…
Jim had started to laugh.
It was a startled, choked sound, like someone was letting air out of a tire a little bit at a time. Jim leaned forward to get a better look at Aladdin and Ariel dared to peek at his expression. His jaw was tight and his smile was strained at the corners, and her heart plummeted past her feet into the core of the planet.
"Haha, Al," Jim mocked. "You know we've been friends for longer. You're just jealous because Ariel's first kiss story is better than yours." He punched her shoulder playfully and Ariel rocked in her spot. Her stomach felt like it had flipped itself inside out. "You're both gonna have to buy me a few more drinks before I consider kissing any of you just for the Experience, alright?"
Ariel should probably be a little more concerned about the fact that her throat was closing up.
"Hey, we're probably gonna have to get some more fries soon," he babbled, either not noticing the tense atmosphere or attempting to ignore it. "I think Jas and I downed more than you did, and you're the one who was zoning out in a fuckin' club of all place-"
Jim looked up at her, meeting her eyes for the first time since her hand went in the air, and she watched the words die on his tongue. Ariel was vaguely aware that her eyes were watering and that she probably looked like a trainwreck, but she could only focus on those wide, grey-blue eyes.
Jim frowned, eyebrows furrowing in concern as he reached out to her. "Ariel?" he asked softly, hand brushing the bare skin of her back.
Ariel shot to her feet before his hand could settle in the curve of her waist, stumbling and tripping over Jim's long legs and out of the booth as her breath started to hitch. She heard several voices call out after her, but she just kept moving. Dodging Genie's opened arms and worried face and pushing past the drapes and the cloying scent of alcohol and sweat, Ariel raced out onto the floor.
It was only when she was lost in the middle of the crowd, feeling the press of foreign bodies around her and gulping down the air like a dying woman, that Ariel let the realization that she had just doomed their easy friendship settle in her stomach like a brick.
And she covered her face and began to sob.
Hahahahahahahahstabme.
These two kill me. Really, they do. This chapter too longer than I expected it to, but it's also twice as long as the first chapter, sooooo tada?
Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed on the first chapter! I'm really excited this got any attention at all to be honest, and can't wait to share the rest of the fic with you guys! The ride is only half over, folks!
A few more headcanons because I think about this universe way too much, this time about Jim and Ariel's group of friends (Aka the nerds that have ruined my life).
- Jim and Ariel met during the science fair in the fifth grade. Their projects were put across from each other despite being in different classes, and they ended up spending the whole day geeking out about each other's projects. The rest, as they say, is an emotional trainwreck and really someone should help these two out.
- Almost everyone in their group of friends is somewhere on the Kinsey scale. Ariel and Aladdin are both pansexual, Jasmine and Kida are bisexual, Jane is a lesbian, Jim is demisexual, and Milo is ace. Kenai is their Token Straight and they love him very much.
- The drink that Helga makes for Jane is a Blackberry Smash! All of the drinks mentioned in the fic were featured at some point on Drunk Disney, a really awesome YouTube series done by Practical Folks that I highly recommend. Ironically, none of the drinks were paired with the respective character's movie. Ariel's Sea Breeze was the drink for Atlantis, the Gin Rickey (a variation on the Bourbon Rickey Jim drinks) was featured for Lady and the Tramp, and the Blackberry Smash was called the Wreck-It Smash for Wreck-It-Ralph!
- The original draft of this chapter featured Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda! Unfortunately, they stole the show a little too much, and in order to get the fic back on track, the poly-babes had to be cut. Just know that they are precious, I love them with all my heart, and that after Ariel, Quasimodo is the friend Jim has the easiest friendship with. He and Kenai are constantly dicks to each other (lovingly so) and Aladdin can sometimes wear Jim out, but he and Quasi get on so easily. They were both on the Stage Crew together all through high school.
- Milo and Jim are related through Jim's mom! Sarah is Thaddeus's middle daughter, Milo's father was her elder brother. They had two other sisters, one older and one younger.
- Yes, Jasmine is trans. Fight me.
- Milo and Kida dated for five months. Neither of them have dated since, and they spend quite a lot of time together whenever they're both home for the summer, which typically isn't for long. Milo has his archaeology digs and Kida has her humanitarian work, which takes them both around the world. After Milo graduates, he joins a group of historians, archaeologists, and humanitarians who work together around the world to help preserve historical sites while working with the locals to make it functional once again. They have an opening for a peacekeeper, and Kida and her extensive resume apply. She gets the job, and Kida and Milo share a tent. They are happily engaged less than a year later.
- In order from shortest to tallest, their group of friends can be ordered as such: Jane, Ariel, Kenai, Jim and Kida, Aladdin, Milo and Jasmine.