Chapter 3 – The Make up, Breakup Ball

-:-:-:-:-:-

The days after their confrontation with Harry were tense. They hadn't been seeing much of him as it was due to Uma's condition, so it wasn't like a whole lot had changed in their schedule, but Gil certainly felt changed. It was different, knowing Harry wouldn't be with them anymore, knowing he wasn't on the crew.

"You're my first mate now, Gilly," Uma said that night, cradling his face in her hands. "It's just you and me."

"D-Don't," Gil whispered. "You should- Jonas would be better. I know he's not here, but I'd be a bad captain if you were gone, Uma. I'm too stupid."

"You're not," Uma hissed, leaning forward to claim his lips in a gentle move that left Gil sighing. "You're not, but if it comes to that… Jonas can take over, but you're still my first mate."

"Okay," Gil murmured. That seemed easier, better. "Okay, I'll be your number two, Uma. And I promise I won't take your love for granted."

"I know you won't, baby," she said, and then she pushed him onto his back, moving to straddle him to fill that ache in a way that words couldn't quite manage anymore.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Pink princess tried to talk to Gil a few times. Usually between classes, and usually when Uma wasn't around.

She wore the coat Harry made her like a sort of taunt, small, pretty braids woven into her loose curls that were adorned with the same beads Harry sported in his hair now. Gil wanted to touch them, wanted to get some for Uma, but knew better than to ask.

"Don't listen to what Harry said," the princess advised as he switched out books from his locker. "You know him better than I do, right? So you know how emotionally dumb he can be."

Gil laughed, because that was entirely true. "Yeah, but he's real mad." Gil wasn't surprised, because Harry had loved Uma forever, she just didn't seem to be able to get that. "Could you tell him that I'm sorry? That he got kicked off the crew, I mean."

Gil wasn't sorry for dating Uma, even if it should have always been Harry by her side. He didn't have it in him to manage that much.

The princess's expression got a little pinched. "We'll circle back around to that," she decided. "The important thing is that Harry does care about you – Uma was right about that – he's just being a giant shithead about it because he doesn't want to corrupt you or something."

That was sort of funny too. "You know, Uma said the same thing," Gil murmured, shutting his locker in a careful movement so he wouldn't break it (again) before he shouldered his Auradon Prep backpack. He liked it because of the yellow. "But she's dating me anyway because she loves me and I love her." He took a moment to think about that, to dwell on his good fortune all over again. "Man, am I lucky."

"You are," princess agreed with a soft smile that made Gil feel even better. "And I'm glad you guys have each other, Gil. And deep down, Harry's glad too. He just… needs to be dumb for a while first."

Uma used to say that Harry could get so worked up about particular stuff that it was better to wait for him to work all the stupid out of his system before they tried to like, reason with him. And maybe this was one of those times, but…

Well, Harry wasn't on the crew anymore.

"I'm sorry we made him dumb for you," Gil said. "That probably isn't fun to deal with." He looked at the princess who was so brave and strong and collected. "You'll take care of him, right? He'll be a good prince or whatever?"

The princess paused like she hadn't expected the question, but eventually she gave Gil one of those soft smiles – the ones she didn't use for interviews. "We'll take care of him," she said, quiet but fond, like it was a conversation just for them. "No amount of crankiness on his part is going to scare us away, but Gil…" She reached out to touch his arm, a light contact that Gil couldn't help but be painfully aware of. "When the time comes, we'll take care of you and Uma too, okay? That isn't even a question."

She gave him a meaningful look, one of those silent communications he never would have been able to appropriately discern. It was a look for people like Uma and Harry who were clever, not Gil, who had taken far too long to learn how to tie his shoes.

"Thanks, princess," he settled on eventually, because he could be nice now, he could be polite, even if he didn't know what they were talking about.

Maybe she meant like, she'd take care of getting Gil and Uma out of the way or something. That's usually what that meant on the Isle.

They weren't on the Isle, though, so…

Best not to think about it.

"You're welcome, Gil," she said, looking the tiniest bit troubled, but that was the usual effect Gil had on people, so he didn't worry about it too much.

-:-:-:-:-:-

There was a ball.

Well really, it was more like a party – a redo. Prince Ben was hosting it since Harry's girlfriend had missed the last one for reasons everyone refused to talk about (Harry hadn't even told Uma, which had made her more furious). He'd invited the entire school, because he was a prince and could do things like throw last-minute formal parties for hundreds of people and have it be totally fine.

Princess tried to bring over some outfits Harry had made for them – assumedly before he was thrown off the crew – but Uma refused to accept them. Gil was pretty sure she didn't want to go to the ball at all because Harry had been so unbearable for the last one, and then so unbearable lately, but she didn't want the ex-first mate to scare her off.

"We deserve nice things too," she declared. "We deserve to go to fancy parties and show those fucks what wonder looks like."

"I'll go if you go," Gil said, because Uma was his most important person now and he wanted her to be happy. Part of him liked the idea of going to a fancy ball with his girlfriend. Last time they had just been crewmates, so Gil couldn't ask her to dance nearly as much as he wanted to.

He wanted to ask her for a lot of them. All of them.

"Then we're going," Uma said, and set about making other arrangements.

She used some of their stipend money to go out and buy outfits from actual Auradon stores.

"I'd commission Dizzy, but she's essentially Mal's crew by this point," Uma explained, referring to the roommate she literally never saw. "And Evie is right out, so we're going to go about this the Auradon way."

That involved like, trying on stuff in tiny rooms in the back of stores and standing in front of mirrors while they looked over the clothes. They didn't fit perfectly like Harry's stuff did, but they found a lot of stuff that was close.

Gil um- really liked watching Uma try on all the different dresses, and the sales' lady was super nice, because Uma had also been polite so there was no reason to be mean to her.

They found a dress eventually that was made out of this light material that was gathered into pretty curves. It tucked in at the waist before flaring out like a true princess dress and had pretty, gathered sleeves that clung to Uma's forearms. The neckline was 'sweetheart', but it was topped by this wide band of beading that looked a lot like Uma's shell jewelry.

"That one," Gil said, smiling bright. "That one's perfect."

"Yeah," Uma agreed, her hands tracing the fabric of the skirt. "I think you're right."

Gil's suit was easier – a dark brown coat and vest with a light brown button up shirt and matching pocket handkerchief. Uma was the one who had to figure out how to do his tie since they hadn't bothered with such things at the last ball – and it was a dark brown to match his suit.

He liked it, not being in his dad's colors. To be honest, he'd never really liked the color red, not when Harry wore it so well.

Even now, he couldn't stop thinking of the other pirate. Not pirate. He was going to be a prince soon. Or whenever he got married.

They waited before heading out so they could be fashionably late. At least, that was what they wanted people to think, but Uma was concerned about the guards not letting them in despite both of them receiving a paper invitation through the school mail. She was afraid of catching Harry with his new beaus, she was worried about Mal cornering her for a conversation where she couldn't stop talking, she was concerned about a lot of things and Gil wanted to help her through all of them, so he agreed.

"It will be okay," Gil chirped as they made their way up the fancy staircase. Ben had organized shuttles to take kids to the castle from the school, and Gil and Uma had taken one of the last ones, so it had been mostly empty. That had helped Uma's anxiety, though it seemed to grow again as they approached the castle. "It will be sort of like last time. We'll have fancy snacks and dance together and if we don't bother anyone else, they won't bother us."

Well, Lonnie would probably bother them, but Lonnie bothered everyone in her quest to gain the freshest gossip, so Gil wasn't really offended by it. He liked the way she would talk to him like he was a normal human being. It was pretty cool.

Uma was tense up until the moment they presented their invitations and didn't relax until they were walking into the ballroom, when it became obvious that they probably weren't going to get dragged out.

"So…" Gil said, looking at the crowd of spinning couples. "Dance time?"

That finally earned him a smile from Uma. "Dance time," she confirmed.

Gil wasn't super good at Auradon dances, but Uma was a patient teacher, instructing him through the different moves she seemed to pick up without effort. He only stepped on her toes a couple of times, but she'd laughed at him at each occurrence.

"Enchanted shoes," she murmured, head resting against his chest. "You can step on my toes all you want, sweetheart, I won't feel it."

"You're so smart, Uma," Gil said, truly in wonder.

He hated the way her expression seemed to fall. "Sometimes I am," she said. "And sometimes I'm an idiot who gets hung up over a traitor."

"That's not your fault, Uma," Gil said, wishing he could help her more. "I love Harry too. He's just- he seemed so passionate and dedicated."

There was one time where Gil had gotten cornered by another gang, outnumbered five to one, and Harry hadn't hesitated to throw himself into the fray, to fight the rest of them off until Gil could get back on his feet. Harry had treated Gil's wounds; he'd fought hard at the barges to make sure their crew had good food. He'd always looked out for them; it was just hard to think about him passing them over for better things.

He didn't love Gil. He'd said as much, it just- it hurt, even though Gil had expected it. He was still kind of amazed Uma loved him, to be honest. He wasn't sure what he'd done to warrant such a thing.

"Yeah," Uma sighed. "He did, didn't he?"

The current song drew to a close and they mimicked all the couples around them by pulling to a halt, waiting for the next one to play to set the pace for whatever they'd be doing.

"Excuse me?" They turned to see Prince Ben standing there, looking just as tall and regal as ever. "May I have this dance?"

"With um- me?" Gil asked, wanting to spare Uma alone time with the almost-king.

Ben laughed, but not like Gil was stupid, like he was charming. Lots of people did that, here. "With Captain Uma, if you don't mind."

"I mind," Uma murmured. "But I'll dance with you."

The prince's smile dimmed slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't mean-"

"She just really likes dancing with me," Gil interrupted, forcing a wide smile. "Since we can be boyfriend and girlfriend in public now without um- worrying about me getting targeted."

"Was that a concern?" Ben asked.

"It would be on the Isle," Uma hummed. "Now, you wanna talk or do you wanna dance? 'Cuz I'm only interested in doing one or the other."

"We can dance," Ben said, smoothly trading spots with Gil. "And maybe talk as well?"

"I'd prefer to stick with one," Uma said, and then they were off.

Gil, at a mild loss, went to go find a safe space out of the way where he wouldn't bother anyone, looking over the trays the waiters were carrying around to see what snacks he and Uma could try later.

He was trying not to cause any problems, so of course Harry showed up, though he didn't look as angry as before. He was still worried, but at least he wasn't scowling, which was an improvement for him.

"Gilly," he murmured, using the familiar nickname that gave Gil a swell of hope. "Look, I'm sorry for bargin' in on ye the other day, I was just worried."

"Right," Gil said. "Worried that Uma would hurt me, because she couldn't possibly love me."

Like how Harry didn't love him.

Now, Harry was frowning. "That's not what I meant. It's just- the timing was weird, but that's not what I'm here to talk about."

"It's not?" Gil asked, genuinely confused. He didn't know what to do right now, wasn't sure what Harry really wanted from him. He wasn't crew anymore, why would he even want to talk to Gil?

"No." Harry shook his head. "Look, Gil, ye and I both know that ye tend to make mistakes, right?"

"Right," Gil said, feeling his expression fall, because it wasn't like he tried to mess up, it just happened sometimes.

"Okay." Harry seemed happy that they were on the same page. "Well, dating Captain – that's a big responsibility, alright? And I'm worried that you'll do something, make a mistake, I mean, and end up hurting her. Not on purpose, of course, it's just- captain needs someone dependable, right? She needs someone as good as she is."

"And that's… not me," Gil murmured, slowly working through Harry's argument.

Harry let out a frustrated sound. "You're great, Gil, with direction. But Captain shouldn't have to give ye direction if you're partners."

"Uma loves me," Gil said, trying to hold onto that.

"And ye love her, right?" Harry asked. "So ye want to do right by her? I mean, be honest, have ye done something, made a mistake, that might have hurt her since ye started dating?"

Gil opened his mouth. Closed it. Thought about the reason they were dating in the first place.

Uma had never wanted to tell him she loved him but she had to, because Gil had enchanted her on accident. Gil had- he'd already hurt her.

And he would probably do it again, because he was stupid.

He'd thought things had been going so well, but he'd probably just keep making little mistakes that would hurt Uma, and she'd allow them because she loved him and expected it from him and Gil- he didn't want that. He wanted Uma to be happy. He loved her.

He could feel himself tearing up, a frustrating heat building in his eyes that immediately had Harry panicked.

"Hey- no, Gilly – there's no need for that," he rushed to sooth. "Don't cry, blondie, just- maybe ye shouldn't be dating her, is all."

Maybe Gil shouldn't date anyone, because he'd probably hurt them too. Maybe he could never be a hero, because he was so good at accidentally causing damage. Maybe villainy was just in his bones.

He actually started crying at that point, despite the voice in his ear that told him how useless it was. Crying only ever made his dad hit him harder or crews target him more or got him called weakling by the crew. It never helped, but he couldn't seem to stop.

"Gil," Harry said, clutching onto his biceps like that would calm Gil down. "Please, just- it will be okay. It will be great, I promise."

"I h-hurt people," Gil sniffed. "P-People I love. That's not great, Harry."

Harry didn't seem to know what to say to this in response, and it didn't seem to matter because Uma was shoving herself between them in the next second, a concerned-looking Ben right on her heels.

"What the fuck did I tell you about staying away from us?" Uma spat, her words low and furious. "Haven't you done enough damage?"

"That is rich coming from ye," Harry growled, his demeanor changing from pained to angry in less than a second. "Ye've been babying Gil our whole lives. Ye can't just fucking pretend that ye didn't order me to look after him all those years – have me protect him and treat his wounds and fucking hold his damn hand – and then get mad when I try to look out for him out here."

Wait, he hadn't- Uma had ordered him to do that? Did… were he and Gil even friends?

"I fail to see how you making him cry constitutes as looking out for him," Uma snapped. "You're just trying to work an angle like you always do, pretending like you weren't happy to do all that shit. The only reason I ordered you to do that was so you'd stop being conflicted over liking him!"

"I don't!" Harry snapped. "I don't like Gil. He's a fucking idiot! What kind of stupid asshole lives on the fucking Isle and smiles on the time? Only a dipshit could be so blissfully unaware of the hellhole we lived in, and the only reason he didn't die before the age of twelve was because ye took pity on him. We all fucking know that. Mal's crew knows that-"

"Guys," Ben interrupted, maybe, Gil couldn't see him through the blur of tears, the things seeming to fall harder. "You need to take a step back-"

"No, this is ludicrous," Harry snapped. "Gil's been your fucking pet for years. Cute to look at and pamper and occasionally useful, but he ain't your partner, Uma. He can't be your equal, and he can't make you happy, because he'd fucking dumb as dirt."

Gil shoved a hand to his mouth, trying to keep the sound of bitter hurt from falling out of him.

Harry hated him. Harry, who'd traded easy laughs and fond hair ruffles. Harry, who had taught Gil how to duel, who'd searched the barges with him. Harry, who'd let Gil sleep on his floor when he had a nightmare, and sometimes slept in Gil's hammock with him when he had nightmares too. Harry who made his clothes and smiled when Gil did something right, who made Gil's heart all weird and fluttery, who was so dashing. Harry thought he was a stupid waste of time.

Just like Gil's dad.

"You're so full of shit, Harry," Uma growled. "I'm amazed at how full of shit you are, that you could say any of that with a straight face when Gil was the only thing getting you up in the morning sometimes. How the fuck can you have two partners and still be so afraid of loving someone because you think they can't love you back?"

"That's not what this is," Harry snapped. "I've loved ye for fucking forever but ye refuse to believe me, and no matter what I do, things only seem to get worse!"

"Maybe try getting over yourself," Uma offered. "And don't pick on Gil-"

"Well, don't hide behind Gil," Harry growled. "Making him think ye love him when ye know you'll be carrying his deadweight for the rest of your life-"

It was- it was too much. Gil had- he needed to leave, he had to go. He took a step back while Prince Ben tried to break them up, Mal closing in with a concerned look, and Gil just- he couldn't do it.

So he walked, slipping away while they didn't notice

-:-:-:-:-:-

Gil found himself in the gardens.

He didn't mean to, but the castle was too nice, and he was worried about running into something and breaking it, and the prospect of fresh air was tempting so he wandered outside. Trees had always been his comfort once he got to Auradon – trees meant freedom and happiness, meant flowers and birds and things he could never get on the Isle. He probably didn't deserve their presence, but he just- he needed a moment. He needed to get away from the fancy people at the ball who shouldn't be burdened with the pathetic sight of him.

There was a bench hidden behind some tall bushes – near a fountain, maybe, he didn't know. He hid there, hands pressed against his mouth to stifle the sounds of sorrow that spilled from him while he waited for the tears to stop falling. He was so stupid. To think that someone like Harry could ever be friends with him, would want that. He'd only done that on Uma's orders, which further went to prove how much the first mate loved Uma because he'd done such a good job. He didn't need to be that friendly with Gil, but he had been. He'd done it to make Uma happy.

Eventually, Uma would see that, would realize Harry really did love her and then she wouldn't be able to help but go to him because Harry was the best, and she'd have to leave Gil in the dust because Harry didn't love him.

Gil would be all alone, which was where he should be, because he accidentally enchanted people and broke things and said the wrong stuff at the wrong moments and would have been dead if left on his own.

What a horrible night.

"Hey… Gil?"

The blond rushed to scrub at his cheeks, trying to wipe away his tears even though they wouldn't stop coming. He didn't recognize the voice, and when he looked up, it was to see three random princes hovering nearby. Well, one was close – the one who had talked, Gil guessed. The other two were further away, their expression more tense. Unhappy, perhaps.

"Um… yes?" Gil said, using his pocket handkerchief to wipe his nose. It might have just been for show but he already looked sad enough as it was, he didn't want to add snot-covered to that list and make Uma look even worse.

"You doing okay, buddy?" the prince asked, giving his few shoulder a few comforting pats. "I know you're um- probably down right now, but we were thinking we could do something to cheer you up."

"R-Really?" Wow, Gil didn't even know these guys and they wanted to make him feel better. Auradon really was the nicest place in the world.

"Yeah." The prince grinned, nice and easy, sort of how Jay used to smile when he was just about to steal from someone. "We can't make things better with your friends, but me and the boys, we were thinking about going on a little adventure. Thinking about exploring part of the castle – doesn't that sound fun?"

"Um… sure, but-" Gil swallowed. "Um- would we get in trouble? I think they want us to stay in the ballroom."

"We're already out here, aren't we?" the prince asked and- oh, he had a point. "And no one's upset. You needed to take a moment, there's nothing wrong with that. They won't get mad at us for exploring the rich cultural heritage of the castle. That's just learning. Who could get mad at us for wanting to get smarter?"

Oh, that was- Gil wanted to get smarter. And he liked the idea of adventuring. And Uma said they could make friends now, and who was he to turn away these three guys after they went through the trouble of looking for him? Uma and Harry hadn't come for him, even Prince Ben hadn't come, and he was supposed to be the nicest person ever.

"Um… okay," Gil settled on. It would be good to get out of sight. Maybe the adventure could distract him from his eventual loneliness. Or hey, maybe he wouldn't be lonely because these guys would let him be their friend. That would be cool.

The prince smiled at him. "Awesome. Then let's go." He held a hand out to Gil and didn't even seem wary when he took it, simply tugging the pirate to his feet.

Wow, okay. So this wasn't better than having Uma and Harry be friends with him, but at least it was something. It was nice for at least one good thing to come from the ball.

"This way," the nice prince said, guiding Gil and the other two princes towards a small side door of the castle.

Gil didn't know any of their names but he was too scared to ask them since they hadn't offered them. What if they were really popular? What if he was just supposed to know who they were but he didn't because he was dumb? It was safer to stay silent; they didn't seem to mind.

They went up, up, up – through small staircases and narrow hallways, the nice prince occasionally chiming in different facts about the space.

It was when they were crossing through an abandoned room to step out onto a balcony that Gil realized how high up they were – practically near the top of the castle.

Wow, this place was big.

"I know, right?" the nice prince said, beckoning Gil over to the edge of the balcony. The wind whipped through their hair this high up, and it was easy to see most of the castle grounds from where they were. "It's one of the most impressive views in all the castle. Want to know some fun facts?"

"Sure," Gil said, a little uneasy with how the other two princes lingered behind them. They were probably afraid of heights, which was fair. Gil wasn't super comfortable with where they were either, he just didn't want to be a baby about it, not after he'd been such a big baby in the garden.

"That room behind us?" the nice prince began. "That's where King Adam kept his enchanted rose when he was cursed."

"Wow, really?" That was cool, though it was weird that such an important room was abandoned now. "That's amazing."

"It sure is," the nice prince agreed. "And this place?" he said, hands sliding against the stone railing. "This is where your dad fell."

Gil froze, his stomach seeming to go cold at the thought of it. He didn't like thinking about the fall that had mostly killed his father, that had almost killed him were it not for the magic that saved him at the very last moment. King Adam had cured him, restored him to full health when he was transferred over to the Isle, though Gil wasn't sure if that was a kindness or not. It didn't seem like one.

"He had just stabbed King Adam in the back," nice prince explained. "And then he just… lost his balance, I guess. You would know better than me, right?"

Gil swallowed. "My dad didn't like talking about that stuff."

"Nah, I don't imagine he would," the nice prince hummed. "It's kind of weird that he got a kid like you, though. We all expected you to be self-obsessed and vain, but you're really just happy following that sea witch around, aren't you?"

Gil tensed, not comfortable with the way he referred to Uma, even if it was accurate. "I am," he confirmed, shifting uneasily. "Uma's my captain."

"And one of the leaders of the Isle, right?" the nice prince asked. "Ben's trying to get more of you guys over, you know. If everything goes well, soon the school will be flooded with you VKs."

He said it with this weird sort of tone, one that wasn't quite as gentle as everything else, and that made Gil pause too.

Something didn't feel right, even though he wasn't sure what it was.

"Which… it's not a bad thing," the nice prince said, making Gil relax. "Like, you guys don't seem bad, it just… seems too convenient. Seems too nice that the daughter of Maleficent suddenly wants to be good, or the son of Gaston isn't self-centered at all. It feels like a lie."

"W-What are you saying?" Gil asked, genuinely confused. "You think we're lying?"

"You're playing the long con, obviously," the nice prince said, though he didn't seem as nice anymore. "It's the smartest thing to do. You have to wait until you have a strong enough majority before you can launch a counter attack, but it's not gonna work."

"That's um- not what we're doing," Gil said. "We like it here-"

"And I like it here too," the prince said. "Which is why I'm going to protect it. Which is why you got sad and ran off – and we tried to follow you, but you were so frantic, so sad that your friends abandoned you that you threw yourself off the same balcony that almost killed your dad."

Gil turned, eyes wide at the implication, and caught the other two princes moving too late.

He'd been too stupid, too relaxed, and he only had enough time to gasp when the first prince jabbed some kind of stunner into his ribs, sending a sort of electric bolt through Gil's body that made all his muscles go loose. The other two shoved him, and he could do nothing to hold them off, could do nothing but watch as he felt himself get pushed over the edge of the balcony, panic as his feet left the ground.

And then he was falling, wind cutting around him as he plummeted backwards towards the ground, just as his father had so many years ago.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

So uh- yeah, enjoy that cliffhanger then.

Look, I couldn't just not. Presented with an opportunity like that, of course I had to take it.

But in more important news, thanks for the feedback, guys! Your support is greatly appreciated, and very encouraging :) I know a cliffhanger like this doesn't seem like the greatest way to repay that but uh… it'll all be okay in the end? ;D

Story notes:

You can tell how important the princes were by the fact that I didn't bother to name any of them, lol

Until next time