Hey people! This story's gonna have 29 chapters so as you can see we're heading towards the end but I'm already on chapter 10 of the sequel so don't worry there'll be plenty more of this before I'm done writing it.
Replies to reviews:
Stoffe: Family day is definitely going to have a big role in it I can tell you that much, though Mal's doubts won't disappear even when she does give the Isle Kids a second chance, and yeah, Mal isn't telling Audrey exactly what happened because if she did Audrey would A) definitely report it, and B) probably murder Ben by stabbing him with one of her high heels.
Villiangirl: She's definitely not happy, and she's pretty heartbroken, and she's aware of the fact that the other Isle kids knew what the plan was so she's pretty unhappy with them too, as shown in this chapter. And hurt Mal can be nasty at times.
Guest: As I said to Stoffe Audrey would definitely go on a rampage of murderous intent if she did find out.
Jeremy: Audrey is always gonna be Mal's best friend through thick and thin, she's a lot different than the cannon Audrey because of her friendship with Mal, and I will take into account all you said and I'll try and find a way to make it clear that Jay's more the aggressor thank you for bringing it up.
It was a couple of hours before either of Mal's roomates returned, and unfortunately it was the one Mal least wanted to see.
She'd been curled up in bed crying since she'd gotten back, and when the door opened she lifted her head, hoping it would be Audrey, though truthfully she didn't know what she should do, if she should tell the other girl what had happened or not... Audrey would definitely freak out if she found out.
She'd probably want to report it and Mal wasn't sure she wanted to, not yet anyway. She needed to figure things out herself, to figure out what her next step should be.
But it wasn't Audrey, it was Evie, who peered into the room, her face extremely pale, and she was biting her lip a guilty look on her face. So Ben had probably gotten back then. And warned the others that she knew everything too. "M, I-"
"Mallory." Mal's voice was tight, "You can call me Mal in public but it's Mallory in private now." she looked away from Evie, hating the flash of pain in the other girls eyes. So what if she hurt her feelings. Evie had done more than hurt Mal's feelings after all.
She'd helped cast a freaking love spell on her.
"I'm sorry." Evie's voice was barely more than a whisper "I really am... and the others are too Mallory."
"Sure, but sorry doesn't change what happened now does it?"
"No." Evie shook her head, "You're right it doesn't. We... what we did was horrible I know.. I felt so guilty Mal we all did. You don't have to forgive us I'd never ask that." she felt her bed dip slightly-Evie must have sat down on the edge of it, "And I knew you liked Braeden which makes it even worse-"
"It does." Mal's voice was muffled by the pillow which she was pressing her face into to try and hide the fresh tears.
"I'd get it if you told on us." Evie's voice was soft as she rested a hand on Mal's shoulder, "I think anyone probably would in your position... what... what we did wasn't right-"
Mal shifted, sitting up and shoving Evie's hand away. "You put a love spell on me specifically so that you could get the chance to steal Fairy Godmothers wand and take it to Maleficent so she can bring down the barriers around the Isle and destroy everything I hold dear in Auradon!" she glared, "Do you really think that 'wasn't right' even begins to cover how messed up that is?" she shook her head, "I... I brought you here. In a couple of weeks time I'm supposed to become the Queen Evie, it's my job to rule and protect Auradon. And I brought you guys here to give you a chance, to lead the way to get others kids off the Isle. And this is what I get in return." Mal shook her head, "I gotta say your parents would be real proud." her voice was bitter and spiteful, "That's a brilliant scheme, truly evil. God I actually thought we were friends Evie-"
"I-we are I want-"
"You want to be?" Mal raised an eyebrow, "You want to be friends but you did that to me? I feel like your definition of friendship is kinda screwed up you know that?"
"Of course it is!" Evie blurted out, "Things are different on the Isle, I don't..."
"Would you cast a love spell on one of the boys?"
"Of course not-"
"Then they're clearly not that different." Mal shot back, "And we're clearly not friends if you could do that to me." she shook her head, "Now leave me alone Evie. I... I don't want to talk to you." she sniffled, wiping away her tears quickly as Evie's eyes filled with her own tears.
"Mallory I..."
"No." Mal shook her head, "Just don't Evie." she led down again, turning away and covering her head with the pillow, trying to block out the sounds of Evie's sniffling and quiet tears.
She could hear the other girl moving around, after some time, when she heard what sounded like something being unzipped she shifted slightly, turning her head to look at the other girl, frowning what she saw that there was a bag on the bed and Evie was putting clothes into it.
"What-what are you doing?"
"Packing." Evie didn't look over at her. "I-it's okay I get it.. I just... better to pack up now and be ready right?"
"You... you're packing to go back to the Isle?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want to go back?"
"No." Evie's head was bowed, her back to Mal as they talked, "But I get it. I... I understand."
"Did I say I was reporting you?" Mal asked tightly, "Or the others for that matter."
"No but... what we did-"
"Stop packing." Mal took a deep breath, "I am not happy with you and we, we are so so not friends right now, and maybe not ever again, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna toss you back to the Isle just like that." she hesitated, "But... that doesn't mean... you have a chance Evie. You and the others. Anything else and you'll end up back on the Isle. Is that clear?"
"Yes." Evie swallowed hard, nodding. "I... thank you."
"Don't-don't thank me Evie." Mal shook her head, "I'm not doing this for you. I... I'm trying to salvage what I can of my first proclamation that's all." Except it wasn't really. After all not many people would judge her harshly if she sent them back now after what had happened.
Oh a few might say that they'd known it would happen, but she was young and kindhearted and people would support her even more if she did, because she'd protected Auradon when she'd learned what they were planning, but.. truthfully she couldn't stomach the thought of sending them back to the Isle, not yet. She'd been so hopeful.
She'd been certain giving some Isle Kids a second chance was the right thing to do. She hadn't expected it to backfire like this, to hurt like this, but even with what they'd done she didn't want to send them back to the Isle, to a place where Evie's mother cared only about her daughters beauty and convincing her that her only worth was in the prince she could find to marry, where Carlos was raised to be terrified of dogs by a mother who probably treated him as a glorified servant, where Jay had to steal and fight every day just to survive, where he had to let his muscles do all the talking for him and Ben...
She didn't want to send Ben back to Maleficent, to his mother who he so clearly feared. So she'd give them this. She'd give them one more chance. She'd let them stay. Admittedly she wasn't sure what she'd do about the Coronation yet but she'd let them stay for now.
The relief on Evie's face helped her believe that she was making the right choice, though she still felt uncertain about it deep down inside.
"Still." Evie's smile was shaky, "I... you won't regret it I promise Mallory. The boys and I... we'll make sure you don't regret it."
"I really hope you're right." Mal let out a heavy sigh, "You four have some tough choices to make... I just hope you make the right ones." with that silence filled the room, other than the soft noises of Evie putting her things away and tucking her bag beneath her bed before she sat down at the desk and got out some paper to start on her homework.
There was a slightly tense uncomfortable quiet for a few more hours, and Mal took the time to wash her face to remove the evidence of her tears.
When Audrey did arrive the girl was grinning brightly, laden down with shopping bags that Mal had no doubt were filled with clothes. "Hey! Mal I wasn't sure if you'd be here or not. How did it go?"
Mal gave a wry grin, pulling up a mask she'd never used with her best friend before even if she'd used it against the rest of the world, pretending that she was totally fine.
"I got a text like ten minutes after we reached the lake and I had to rush back to sort out some catering stuff for Family day." she lied, giving a small shrug and trying to ignore the guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew came from lying to her best friend. "Which sucked 'cause I was so looking forward to the date. I ended up telling Braeden to stay down there and have some of the food. Pretty sure he got a lift back."
"Doug." Evie spoke up, "He called me and I asked Doug to go pick him up."
"That sucks." Audrey groaned, "Like, seriously you were so excited."
"I know I was but.. I dunno." Mal's smile was sad and it wasn't faked this time, "Maybe it's just a sign that I should wait just a little bit longer." she tucked a curl behind her ear, "Until after the Coronation like I planned to."
"Maybe." Audrey perched on the edge of Mal's bed, grabbing her hand and squeezing, "If he's worth it he'll wait for you Mal. Right Evie?"
"Right." Evie nodded, giving a small smile, though it didn't reach her eyes which were still filled with guilt.
"I should focus on school, Family day and the preparations for my Coronation."
"I'll help with everything." Audrey promised, "Whatever you need I'm there just like always." there was look in Audrey's eyes, like she knew there was something more going on, but she knew Mal well enough to not press the matter when her best friend was clearly not wanting to talk about it.
"I know." Mal let out a soft laugh, "You always are."
"Damn right. Now-" Audrey gave a playful grin, "Lonnie, Jane and I went on a huge shopping spree while you were off being all responsible and I brought you some new clothes to try on." she was grabbing one of the bags and dragging some clothes out of it. "It's dress up time!" And Mal found herself laughing at the evil gleam in her best friends eyes as she gave in and let Audrey shove clothes at her, and she ignored the slightly sad longing look on Evie's face as the girl watched them.