We're on Part 8 of Friends You Can Count On ! How exciting is that ?! This chapter is dedicated to everybody who takes time to review and everybody who reads this. I didn't think that Friends You Can Count On would get so long, so once again, thanks to everybody who reviews/reads this. Before the story begins, there are a few things that need to be mentioned:

Somebody asked a question in the reviews of Part 7 (Not naming anyone) about why bad things keep happening to Carlos, so if anybody else is wondering that, here's the answer:

He's the main character in this particular one-shot series (I'm only talking about Friends You Can Count On here !), so that's why. I also have something planned out for the ending that includes him and Chad, and so if someone else were to get kidnapped, it just wouldn't fit.

Also, another one of my stories, Unknown, is now on FictionPress if anybody wants to check it out. I'm currently working on the first chapter for that, so if anybody's curious to what it's about, go ahead and read it !

Oh, and school starts in two weeks, so chapters are probably going to either be posted early in the morning or late at night (or in the middle of the day if I can find time).

Now that that's said, we can get on to the story ! This chapter will probably focus more on Mal (if you read Part 7, then you know why) than Carlos. Enjoy the story !

~Descendants~

Mal backed into the wall as her cousin, Melissa cornered her, having no way to escape. "Melissa, why are you doing this ?!" Mal screamed, "This isn't you ! I know it isn't, so why are you doing this ?!"

Melissa took a few steps back and glanced at the ground nervously. Why was she doing this ? This wasn't like her at all. She was t like the other villains, she wouldn't dare hurt anybody whether she knew them or not. Slowly, Melissa lowered the small knife she held in her hand and tossed it to the ground.

"I-I was scared" Melissa admitted, shyly. She had then helped her cousin up and wrapped her in a hug. The two cousins stayed like that for three minutes and than pulled apart, staying in silence for what felt like forever, until a voice had interrupted them.

"Well, well. This is a nice surprise. Two people I hate in the exact same room. How exciting" Malevolent said as she entered the room. The two cousins stayed silent in fear and watched as the evil ruler of the Isle came closer to them. Finally, Mal found her voice and spoke up.

"We'll just be going now…" Mal muttered. She grabbed Melissa's hand and the two started to run towards the exit.

"You think I'd really make it that easy ? I'd rather have a little fun instead" Malevolent cackled. She raised her hand and without hesitating, shot a green fireball at the two, knocking both of them collapse on the ground right then and there.

Mal stood up from where she was, unharmed and ran over to her cousin. "Melissa !" Mal knelt down in front of her and felt for a pulse. She had then glared Malevolent as her eyes started to glow green with hatred, anger, fear and sadness. "What have you done to her ?!" Mal asked, tears starting in her eyes, "Y-You don't even deserve to live !"

"If I don't deserve to live, then neither do you" Malevolent snickered.

"Wha—" before Mal could even finish her sentence, she felt herself getting pushed on to the ground, not too far away from Melissa. Mal shut her eyes and covered her ears as she heard an explosion. She quickly opened her eyes once it was over and Mal glanced at her surroundings. Malevolent was nowhere to be found and Melissa was still lying where she was, unconscious. Just as Mal thought everything was fine, she remembered being pushed by someone. No, she wasn't pushed, she was saved. She was saved by someone. Mal stood up, studied her surroundings once again and gasped at what she saw before her.

~Descendants~

"Mal, wake up ! Wake up ! It's not real, wake up !" Evie shouted as she roughly shook her friend by her shoulders. It was almost five am and she was awoken by Mal's sudden screams, which worried her. Mal never showed fear or had nightmares, which was what worried Evie because she knew that if Mal was screaming in her sleep, it had to be something absolutely horrible.

Luckily for Evie, a minute after she had said that, Mal woke up, gasping for breath. "E-Evie ?" Mal asked still scared by the dream she had, "W-What h-happened ?" Tears were now streaming down Mal's face and she did nothing to stop them. Mal didn't care if she showed weakness, she didn't care about anything right now, she just didn't want her terrible dream to come true.

"I woke up a few minutes ago and heard you screaming, so I tried to wake you up" Evie explained, not giving any further details. "I'm going to guess that you had a nightmare. Are you okay ?"

"I-It was so terrifying" Mal sobbed, "M-Melissa, s-she was almost k-killed by M-Malevolent. I-It was t-terrible" Mal didn't tell Evie the part about one of them almost dying. It would've just added to the long list of things they had to worry about and Mal knew that they really didn't need that, so she kept quiet.

"Mal, I'm so sorry. It must've hurt to see your cousin like that. I'm so sorry" Evie apologized. She didn't know much about Melissa because she's only met her twice, but Evie could tell from the two times she met her, that Mal had loved her cousin more than people had thought. She also knew that Mal hadn't seen her cousin since she was five, and that just had to be hard for her. Evie looked back out the window, seeing that it was still dark outside. "Um, are you okay if I go back to sleep ?" Evie asked. She wanted to be there for Mal, she really did, but they were had planned to search for Carlos pretty soon and Evie needed all the sleep she could get.

"Yeah, go ahead. I-I'll probably just stay up for a bit" Mal replied. She reached down under her bed, pulled out a black laptop and began doing who-knows-what on it. Mal looked up and realized that Evie was hesitating to go back to her bed. "It's fine" Mal reassured her, "Go back to sleep. You need it"

Evie nodded and silently got back in her bed, falling fast asleep. Mal smiled and then took a look at the time. It was now five-fifteen in the morning, though it still looked dark outside. Mal sighed and decided to close her eyes for only a minute. However, as soon as Mal did that, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

~Descendants~

Mal awoke to Evie shaking her awake. We knew it was Evie because who else did she room with that would wake her up so early ? "Evie, go back to bed" Mal muttered, sleepily as she brushed Evie's hand off her shoulder, "It's like—" Mal glanced at her clock and yawned, "—eight in the morning. Why are you waking me up two hours before school starts ?"

"In case you forgot, Carlos was kidnapped last night by your evil cousin and aunt. We said we'd go searching for him today, remember ?" Evie recalled.

"We don't even know where to start" Mal pointed out as she turned on her side. She knew it was important to go searching for Carlos, but couldn't she get five more minutes of sleep ? "It's not like he's going anywhere, Eve"

Mal heard footsteps and smiled. That convinced her. Unfortunately for Mal, Evie didn't give up but instead came back with a water gun and started spraying her with it, getting Mal totally soaked. "What the heck ?! Where'd you get a water gun ?!" Mal screeched as she scrambled out of bed. She raced over to Evie's sewing table and hid under it, using it to defend herself against her roommate.

Evie lowed her water gun and tossed it aside. "It's Chad's. I kind of stole it from him" Evie answered. She smiled and then pulled out a compact mirror out of her drawer, probably using it to adjust her hair. "I also woke you up early because since school starts at ten, everybody will probably be up by nine-thirty. Not only that, but if we search for Carlos during classes, the teachers and everybody else will probably get suspicious, so that's why it's best if we do it now. Nobody will see us" Evie explained.

Mal sighed. She knew that Evie was right and that it would be easier to do it now then risk getting caught during classes. "Fine" Mal agreed, "Give me a minute" Mal went into the bathroom and came out a moment later on jeans, a purple t-shirt and a black leather jacket with a pair of black converse sneakers to match.

"Well, what do you know ?" Evie teased, "You finally have some fashion sense"

"At least I'm dressed comfortably. That dress and shoes don't even match" Mal snickered.

Evie glanced down at her outfit. She was wearing a knee-length dark blue dress with a pair of light brown ankle boots with tassels. "Hey, if I die, I want to look pretty while doing it" Evie retorted, sassily. She flipped her long dark blue curls and then left the room, leaving Mal to silently follow her.

Mal followed Evie down the hallway until they walked past someone's room. Specifically, Chad Charming's room. Mal noticed this and walked straight up to his door, starting to knock on it loudly. "Mal !" Evie hissed, "What're you doing ?!"

"Since Chad started this, he's going to come with us to finish it. He's going to help us find Carlos, whether he likes it or not" Mal snapped. She kept banging on Chad's door over and over until he finally answered.

"Ugh, it's you" Chad rolled his eyes at the sight of Maleficent's daughter, "What do you want ? This better be good too, because even though I'm listening to you, I still couldn't care less about what you have to say"

"Nice to see you too, Chad" Mal replied sarcastically. "Last night Carlos was kidnapped, and now you're going to help us find him because you started this entire thing. That's not an option either, this isn't a choice. You're going to help us find him, you're going to apologize to him and you're going to leave him alone after this or I will hurt you so much, you're going to wish you weren't even alive right now. Understand, Chad ?"

Chad's eyes were now wide in fear and he nodded, probably to speechless to say anything. "O-okay then. I-I'll see you in a few minutes" Chad muttered, finally finding his voice. He shut his door gently and as soon as he did, Mal directed her attention on to Evie.

"Come on, Jay's probably waiting for us" Mal demanded. She flipped her hair sassily and marched down the hallway, eventually finding herself in front of the school, talking to Jay.

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU DECIDE TO BRING CHAD ?!" Jay yelled as soon as he heard what Mal had done. "HE'S AN EVIL, NO GOOD, SELFISH AND SPOILED JERK !"

"I brought him 'cause he got us into this mess in the first place ! If he didn't hurt Carlos in the first place, my stupid cousin wouldn't be kidnapping him right now, would she ? He deserves to come along because he deserves to suffer all the pain Carlos suffered !" Mal shouted.

"Mal, you're talking like your mom again" Evie interrupted.

"Sorry" Mal whispered. The three teens had then heard footsteps and saw Chad coming down to meet them, with a sad expression on his face. He turned his attention on to Mal and immediately began apologizing.

"Mal, I'm really sorry for all of this. I didn't know how much I'd actually hurt Carlos and I'm very sorry for hurting you three too" Chad stated.

Mal crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, staring him down. "I don't need or want your sympathy or pity. I don't need or want your apology. I don't need or want you to pretend everything is okay, because it's not. You were the one who caused this entire thing, you were the one who caused Carlos to get kidnapped. If he dies, it's all your fault, Chad. If he dies, I swear I'll never, ever forgive you for what you've done."

"O-okay then" Chad finally said, once again scared of Maleficent's daughter.

"Good. Now, let's go before anyone sees us" Mal commanded.

"Where exactly are we supposed to go ?" Jay questioned, confused.

Suddenly Mal got an idea. "Evie, how good are you at tracking locations ?" Mal asked.

"Seriously ?" Evie scoffed, "Look who you're talking to"

"Alright then. You get started on that and I have something else I need to do before we go rescue Carlos" Mal said. She turned on her heels and then walked away from the group, leaving the three confused teens behind.

"Can somebody please tell me what's going on ? I mean, I know Carlos was kidnapped but I didn't think it was such a big deal. What's so important about this ? I don't get it" Chad exclaimed.

"Long story short, Mal's the heir to the Isle and her wicked aunt is trying to destroy us all so she can rule both the Isle and Auradon" Evie summarized.

"Okay, um, this is not good. I mean, what happens if she actually succeeds and takes over Auradon ? That isn't good" Chad replied, "Everything will be destroyed and everyone will be dead. We can't let that happen"

"We have lots of time. What else could go wrong ?" Evie tried to assure Chad. Though on the outside she was acting all happy and cheerful, on the inside she was frightened. She was frightened by the thought of Auradon being destroyed, she was frightened by the thought of them failing, she was frightened by the thought of them letting everyone down. Evie shook her head and pushed the negative thoughts aside. All they had to do was rescue Carlos and save Auradon from being destroyed. It was that simple. After all, how hard could it be ?

~Descendants~

How was that ? Did you like seeing Chad's nice-guy side ? I think it was actually pretty exciting to write about because we never see Chad's nicer side in the movie. What do you guys think Mal saw in her dream ? Could it mean something more ?

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter ! I'll try to update again soon and please let me know what you guys think in the reviews !

~Stardust