A/N: I am so so so so so so sorry I haven't updated this. It's been a little over 2 years (!) since my last update. I swear I had no intention of letting this go this long without an update. I can't believe time got away from me like that. I'm gonna try to update this more regularly. I fully intend on finishing this and not leaving you hanging (if any of you are even still with me). This chapter will most likely be anti-climatic after the long wait, but I already had most of my chapters outlined from back when I started this, so I'm just picking up where I left off. Again, I'm sorry.

"I'm glad I found you."

Jasmine tried not to visibly cringe at the sound of Sadira's voice. The night had been going so well, with just her and Aladdin hanging out at Pleasure Island and watching Flynn's band play. The presence of Aladdin's ex-girlfriend instantly ruined the night and Jasmine's mood. Couldn't she tell they were on a date and she wasn't welcome?

"I had a little trouble finding this place," Sadira continued.

"It's no problem," Aladdin told her.

Sadira moved a little closer to Aladdin and didn't bother to acknowledge Jasmine. "Thanks again for inviting me. I haven't made any new friends yet and I was afraid I'd be stuck home alone on a Saturday night."

Jasmine dug her nails into the stuffed bear Aladdin had won her, trying not to lash out at Aladdin for inviting his ex to join them on the their date. They didn't see each other all summer and this was their first real date since he got back; was it too much to ask that they spend the night alone?

The band ended their set and thanked the crowd before leaving the stage. Aladdin and Sadira were deep in a conversation about something they did over the summer. Before her jealousy could cause her to do something she'd regret, Jasmine walked away to find Flynn. If anyone could understand her hatred towards Sadira, it'd be Flynn.

Jasmine found Flynn a short while later in the parking lot. He and the rest of the band were loading their equipment into a black van. She approached him. "Flynn? Can I talk to you?"

"Of course. Just give me one second." He helped Meg load an amp into the back of the van, then walked with Jasmine a few spaces away from the band so none of them could hear them. "What's going on?"

"It's Aladdin and Sadira," Jasmine told him. "They've been hanging out a lot since they moved back here. He even invited her to join us on our date tonight."

Flynn nodded. "Well, no one ever accused Aladdin of being the brightest crayon in the box."

"I just don't get it. I thought you said he couldn't stand to even be around her after she cheated on him."

"He couldn't."

"Then what's going with them? Am I missing something?"

Flynn shrugged. "Maybe being forced to spend time together all summer inevitably led to them being friends or something. Personally, I hate the witch. Aladdin may be able to forgive what she did, but he's my best friend and I'll never forgive her."

Jasmine pursed him lips. "I think I'm jealous, but I don't know if I should be."

"I don't think you should be. But, you should probably talk to him about it."

"I will. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, don't forget to put some money in the tip jar."

Jasmine dropped some money in the jar sitting next to the van, then went back into Pleasure Island. When she finally found Aladdin by the midway games, he was still with Sadira, but now Phoebus had joined them.

"Have you seen Esmeralda?" Phoebus asked her.

Jasmine shook her head. "No, sorry."

Phoebus slumped against one of the game booths. "Looks like she stood me up."

"I think she's still pretty mad about you ditching her at the diner and making her walk home."

"She didn't walk home. She got a ride."

"Still, she sees it as you ditching her."

"And I apologized to her. She just likes to drag things out and cause drama."

XXX

After loading up the rest of the equipment into the van, Meg parted from the rest of the band and went back into Pleasure Island. She hadn't planned on spending anymore time there after the gig, but part of her was hoping she'd run into Thomas. She had seen him in the crowd during their first song, but lost sight of him after that.

She'd also seen Hercules. She had been putting off talking to him after he told her he had only done what he'd done to keep Helga from telling Vanessa about Meg and Gaston hooking up when Gaston and Vanessa were broken up. Hercules had cheated on her and there was no excuse for that, but now that she knew he was trying to protect her from losing her friend, Meg knew she had to start going easy on him and not treating him like he was the devil himself. She wouldn't seek Hercules out, but if she ran into him, she'd be civil and talk to him. Let him know that she was no longer angry at him.

Meg found herself at the arcade. Gaston was working the ticket counter, but was surrounded by customers. She walked over to the nearest game, Skee Ball, and put in a token. Just as she was about to throw the first ball, someone rammed into her. She lost control of the ball and it landed on the next Skee Ball lane. It rolled down and landed on the floor.

"I'm so sorry about that." A boy about her age walked past her and picked up the ball. He held it out to her. "My friends were being jerks."

Meg eyed him as she took the ball. He was handsome with light brown hair and gray eyes. He had a fit, muscular body that suggested he probably played a sport. He was tall; Meg only came up to his shoulders.

"You're Meg, right?" he asked. Meg nodded. "I'm Garrett. I'm a friend of Flynn and Rapunzel. I came out to see you guys play tonight. You were great."

"Thank you," Meg replied. "How is that you know Flynn and Rapunzel?"

"I met them over spring break."

Meg nodded. "That's why your name sounded familiar. You're from Camelot, right? You're dating their friend, Kayley."

Garrett nervously ran his hand through his hair. "I just moved to Camelot. And I was dating Kayley. She broke up with me right before school started."

Meg went back to her game. "Her loss, I'm sure."

"She doesn't seem to think so," he said, quietly.

Meg stopped and looked back up at him. Normally she did not welcome anyone just coming up to her and talking to her- especially a stranger. And she certainly didn't care about anyone's relationship problems. Still, Garrett was hot and she didn't want him to leave, so she did her best to engage with him and seem interested in his breakup with Kayley.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Meg told him. "What happened?

"I'd rather not talk about her."

"Fair enough." Meg threw her last ball and a strand of tickets came out of the ticket slot. "So, why were your friends being jerks just now?"

It might have been a trick of the dim lighting, but it looked like Garrett blushed. "They've been trying to help me get over Kayley. They want me to find some other girl. When they saw you alone, they tried to convince me to talk to you. When I told them I didn't want to bother you, they pushed me into you so I'd have to talk to you."

"So, you're on the prowl for a rebound girl."

"No! It's nothing like that. Kayley and I just broke up last weekend and I'm not looking for a new girlfriend or anything."

"You're just looking for someone to make Kayley jealous."

"No. I'm not looking for anything. My friends just-"

Meg laughed. "Relax. I'm just giving you a hard time."

Garrett relaxed and smiled at her. She smiled back at him.

"Do you want to help me spend my tickets?"

"All right."

The crowd at the ticket counter had thinned out and Gaston was alone now. Meg set her tickets on the counter. "I want as much bubble gum as this will get me," she told Gaston.

Gaston took the tickets, but he kept his eyes on Garrett, sizing him up. "Who's this?"

"Garrett." Meg didn't say anything else and Gaston didn't ask.

Gaston counted her tickets, then gave her a small bag filled with bubble gum. "Have you talked to Vanessa?"

Meg shook her head. "I've been avoiding her since I talked to Hercules."

"You don't think he's going to try to use this against you, do you? Try to blackmail you into getting back with him?"

Meg bit her lower lip. "I don't think so."

"Talk to him and find out. I don't want him holding this over your head. We need to put this whole thing to rest so it never gets back to Vanessa."

Meg nodded. "I'll talk to him next time I see him."

"He's gonna be at Philip's Labor Day pool party on Monday. You can talk to him then."

"I'm not going to that. I'll talk to him at school on Tuesday."

Gaston gave her an annoyed look. "Whatever. Just get it done. And soon. If Jerk-ules tries blackmailing either one of us, it won't end well for him."