Jay tried to study, he really tried, but it was just so boring to him. He sat in the living room, open books in front of him on the table, but he got too distracted to get any work done. He peeked at the clock on the wall once more, counting the minutes till Gil would arrive. Besides the ticking clock it was also Dizzy who was vacuuming the floor. Jay knew he could move to his room, so he wouldn't hear the vacuum cleaner anymore. But at the moment Carlos was renovating their bedroom, which would also be a huge distraction to him. Jay sighed, while he forced himself to read the next line in the book. Carlos walked down the stairs and Jay looked up again, not even finishing the first sentence.
"All set and done?" Jay asked his friend.
"Yea, I just dumped a mattress on the floor besides your bed," Carlos answered and he sat opposite of Jay on the other couch. Dude immediately jumped next to him on the cushions. "I also already left my clothes in your closet. And of course a basket for Dude close to the mattress." Carlos ruffled over the dog's head when he mentioned him.
"I made enough room for you?" Jay asked. He had given up on studying and shut the books in front of him. Gil could be here any minute anyway.
"Yea thanks, we're all set," Carlos answered. "It's almost like we're back in the dorms again."
Jay smiled up to Carlos. He had to admit, he enjoyed to have his own space, but he still missed Carlos and the pillow fights they used to have when they still shared a room in the dorms of Auradon Prep.
Dizzy finally silenced the vacuum cleaner and it went quiet in the living room once more. She also looked up at the clock, but unlike Jay she didn't look happy. She had been really enthusiastic when she first learned to use a vacuum cleaner, overjoyed that she didn't need to sweep the floor anymore. This time however she didn't seem to care much about it, when she quickly put the machine aside. She sighed as she looked around, hoping to find something else she could clean, so she could distract her mind.
"You don't need to worry, Dizzy," Carlos said who noticed her distress. His comforting words didn't work, since Dizzy still wringed in her hands and still felt too stressed to even sit down.
"Why do they have to come over here?" she asked to no one in particular.
Evie walked inside of the room, softly humming a song to herself, but she went quiet when she heard Dizzy. She looked back at the little girl, who tried to smile back at her. Evie could see the fear in her eyes.
"You're still worried about Harry and Gil coming over?" Evie asked her. Dizzy was reluctant to answer. She didn't want to complain, but she couldn't help the growing unrest she felt.
"They really can't go to the castle?" Dizzy asked Evie, refusing to directly answer the question.
Evie walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Dizzy. But Mal and Ben have enough on their plate already. We need to know how urgent it really is before we tell them."
Evie gave her a reassuring smile, but nothing seem to put the girl back at ease. Dizzy tried to be brave. She knew they didn't have much choice considering the situation they were in and her complaining didn't make things easier for anybody.
"We understand this can't be easy for you," Evie continued in a soft spoken voice. "The pirates haven't always been nice to you, but I promise they're better now."
"Haven't always been nice to me? They robbed me blind!" Dizzy said and noticed she raised her voice a little. She didn't mean to yell, even though Evie didn't mind and still smiled up to her.
Jay however looked down at his own hands at well. Dizzy carefully glanced at him. She had heard some strange rumours about Gil and Jay lately. The look on his face told Dizzy he clearly disapproved of her words. Carlos seemed to notice it as well, since he gave Jay an apologizing smile.
"Look, I understand why you don't like them," Jay finally got involved in the conversation. "But you don't have anything to fear. They won't hurt you anymore." Dizzy looked up again, doubt clearly written on her face.
"Gil is scary," she softly said to him. "And Harry is just scum to me. I don't understand how we can trust any of them."
Jay wasn't sure what he could tell her. He truly understood why she feared them, after they terrorized her for years when they still lived on the Isle. He heard how Gil had destroyed the salon she worked in. Jay was absolutely certain Gil only did so under Harry's command. He knew by now that Gil didn't take any pleasure from hurting anyone and he only did so when someone told him to. Jay wanted to explain this to Dizzy, but the image of the two pirates destroying the salon was still clear in her mind.
"Gil only listens to Harry's orders. Believe me, if you give him the chance you'll see Gil is actually really kind," Jay tried once more.
"How can you be so sure?" Dizzy said still doubtful. Dizzy saw how Jay looked away again, while a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.
Carlos raised his eyebrows up to him. "Are you going to tell her?" he asked directly to Jay.
"So it's true?" Dizzy turned back to Evie. A little nod confirmed her fear and Dizzy turned towards Jay again. "You're really dating one of the pirates?"
"Don't blame him, Dizzy," Carlos said to her, while he kept his eyes fixed on Jay. "It's hard to deny someone when they give you red roses and all that."
Jay could see the grin on Carlos's face and Jay sensed he just tried to turn the conversation in another direction. He hoped to make the entire atmosphere a bit light-hearted. Jay failed to hide the blush on his face, while he tried to come up with a good comeback. Jay couldn't think of a good response with words, so he just grabbed one of the pillows on the couch and threw it towards Carlos. Dude quickly jumped off the couch and hid under the table, but Carlos laughed as he just blocked the pillow with his hands. The pillow fell on the ground without any harm done.
"What? Dizzy still isn't allowed to hear all the details?" Carlos continued to tease Jay. Jay quickly grabbed another pillow and threw it at Carlos. Their little plan seemed to work, since an uncertain smile appeared on Dizzy's face again.
Jay grabbed the last pillow he could find, but this time Evie quickly grabbed it and put it back on the couch. "There is no shame in falling in love. So it's absolutely not necessary to throw my exquisite pillows."
Jay rolled his eyes as he smiled up to Carlos who was still laughing at him. Evie wanted to say more about the matter, but got interrupted by the sound off the doorbell.
"That should be them," she said out loud. She turned back to Dizzy, ignoring the two guys on the couch for a moment. The boy's misbehaving had taken her mind off things for a moment, but the fear was back on her face the moment she heard the ring of the doorbell as well. Evie gave her a quick hug and smiled up to her again. "I know it's hard for you, but remember they're here to help us now."
With those words Evie left the room so she could open the door for Harry and Gil. Jay carefully watched how Evie left the room. The moment she was out of sight he grabbed the last pillow again and threw it towards Carlos. This time it caught Carlos off guard and it hit him straight in his face. A small laughter escaped Dizzy. Jay looked pleased with himself, finally being able to hit Carlos in his face. Dizzy sat down beside Carlos on the couch, considering it would be safe again since all the pillows were laying on the floor.
"So… You really fell in love with Gil?" Dizzy dared to ask Jay.
"I did," Jay finally admitted to her.
At first Dizzy wasn't sure if Jay dating one of the pirates was a good thing or if it made things actually worse. But when she could see the look on his face it was hard to think of it as a bad thing.
"I'm happy for you," Dizzy said truthfully. "And I will give them another chance for you."
"You don't need to worry," Carlos said reassuring. "They're really not that bad. And if they still try anything funny, Jay and I will still be here and protect you from them." Dizzy nodded to him. Somehow the pillow fight and the affirmation off Gil and Jay being in love made her feel better.
"Nah, I agree about Harry. He is scum," Jay said opposite to them. Carlos raised his eyebrows towards Jay, as he could feel Dizzy tense up again.
"I'm sorry, but it's true," Jay said towards Carlos. He then turned towards Dizzy again. "But you have nothing to fear from Gil. Trust me, he wouldn't hurt a fly."
Dizzy slowly nodded to him, but all three of them quickly looked up when they heard loud noises coming from the kitchen.
"Gil, what are you doing? Put that down!"
It was unmistakably Evie's voice, as she cried out from the kitchen. Dizzy's eyes immediately grew wide with fear. Dude jumped on her lap to calm her down and she immediately wrapped her arms around the dog. Jay and Carlos looked at each other, but Jay quickly made a decision.
"You stay here with Dizzy," he said to Carlos, while he jumped up from the couch. "I'll go and see what's going on over there."
Jay was relieved he still heard Evie's voice when he walked towards the kitchen. He didn't think for a moment Gil did anything to hurt her, but Evie still sounded panicking. Jay stopped in the doorway. Harry was the only one who immediately noticed him. He leaned against one of the cabins, greeting Jay with an entertained grin on his face. Jay then saw Evie inspecting one of her crimson red apples.
"What kind of fruit is that? I thought it was an apple," Gil said, staring at the object Evie was holding.
Evie rolled her eyes, an annoyed sigh escaping her. "It is an apple, but it's a fake one. You know, made from plastic." Evie answered the question, while she still took a closer look at it. "Great. Now there are teeth marks in it."
Jay leaned against the doorpost, trying to hold his laughter. He could see the confusing frown on Gil's face and Jay realized Gil had meant no harm at all.
"You mean I can't eat it?" Gil asked to Evie. "Why would someone place fruit on the table if you can't eat it?" Evie looked up at him again, while she put the apple back in the bowl with the other apples. She made sure the teeth marks faced down, so they wouldn't be immediately be visible.
"It's meant for decoration," Evie explained to him. Both Gil and Harry looked back up at her, as if they had no idea what she was talking about.
"I agree with Gil," Jay said from the doorway, making his presence known. "It seems kind of pointless to have food on the table you can only look at."
Gil turned towards him the moment he heard his voice. A smile immediately appeared on his face and he gratefully nodded towards Jay. He then turned back towards Evie, without losing his bright smile.
"Yes, exactly!" Gil cried out towards her. Evie rolled with her eyes again, realizing she had lost the battle when she saw the three boys laughing at her.
"You boys have been on the Isle too long," she said to them. She then quickly pointed at the bowl of red apples. "The rest is fake as well, by the way. So don't try to eat any of them." Gil just shrugged as he watched how she left the room.
Jay gave Evie an apologetic look, but he didn't even try to hide the smile on his face. He was glad to see a little smile on Evie's face as well, telling him she wasn't really mad. Jay then turned towards Gil again who already walked up to him. Gil greeted him with a short hug. Jay nestled himself in Gil's arms, even though it was barely a few seconds before Gil released him again.
"Come on in," Jay said to Gil, realizing it was actually the first time Gil went inside the cottage. Jay then turned towards Harry. The glee in his eyes had disappeared. There was something there that Jay couldn't really place, but he didn't like it at all. Harry was quick to put his usual smirk back on his face.
"Hello Jay," Harry greeted him as his normal self as he walked pass Jay into the living room as well.
Dizzy still held a tight grip on Dude when the pirates walked in. She knew nothing too bad had happened, since Evie just seemed a little annoyed when she picked up the pillows that were left on the ground.
Gil was the first who entered the living room, followed by Harry and Jay. Jay quickly walked up to Gil and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Gil smiled up to him and started asking questions about the house. Jay was happy to answer them all and it didn't take long before the two of them were in conversation and forgot about the others present in the room. Dizzy even had to smile a little when she saw Jay happily talking to the other guy. Gil indeed didn't look so scary anymore when he was smiling back at Jay, listening closely to every word he had to say.
She then noticed Harry's prying eyes on her. She quickly looked away, even moving a little bit closer to Carlos. Harry turned away from her again and focussed on the couple who were just chattering about the interior off the cottage.
"Gil! Sit down, shut up and remember why we're here," Harry said impatiently.
Gil turned towards his first mate and silently nodded. He quickly made his way to the couch and sat down beside Evie. Jay watched him following Harry's orders in amazement.
"You're seriously going to listen to that?" Jay asked him.
Gil simply shrugged. "He's the first mate. I have to listen to his direct orders." Gil was quick to remember his orders when Harry glared back at him. Gil immediately went quiet again, turning his head away.
"Seriously?" Jay asked again. This time he turned towards Harry, not willing to put Gil in any trouble.
"Oh Jay, I could try to explain, but you will never understand the pirates way," Harry mysteriously answered.
"You're right, I don't," Jay immediately said back. Jay looked back at Gil. He saw how Gil nervously licked his lip, something Jay had never noticed Gil doing before.
Besides Jay, Carlos could also see the discomfort on Gil's face. "So why are you here?" he asked to Harry, trying to distract them all. "You said something about a letter?" Harry reached in one of his pockets and showed them the envelope.
"A little kid gave this to Gil earlier this evening," Harry explained when he gave the letter to Carlos. Jay immediately looked over Carlos's shoulder, so he could read the letter as well. Even Dizzy forgot her fears for a moment and bend over to read it. Evie patiently waited for them as she still sat opposite of them. Suddenly Jay snapped the letter form Carlos's hands and took a closer look at the paper.
"They're seriously giving us all this information?" Jay said surprised. Carlos snatched the letter back and continued reading, trying hard to decipher the bad handwriting. It was however no mistake that the letter mentioned where, when and how Gaston was planning to attack Auradon, all in great detail. Carlos read the letter carefully, before he passed it over to Evie.
"It's signed by LeFou," Carlos said to the pirates. "Can we trust the information he gives us?"
"I trust LeFou," Gil immediately answered. He quickly glanced at Harry, afraid to get scolded because he spoke out of turn again. Harry didn't respond at all, letting Gil know he was allowed to speak again.
"LeFou got abandoned by Gaston a very long time ago," Harry explained to the group. "But that's not the real issue here. Gil told us LeFou cannot write."
Carlos and Evie looked up in surprise, but Jay chuckled for a moment. "Yes, I can see that. The handwriting sucks."
"No, I mean he literally can't write," Gil explained to him. "He can't read either. He's…" Gil turned towards Harry again. "What was it called again?"
"Illiterate," Harry answered, suddenly smiling warmly to him.
Gil turned back towards the group. "Yea, that! LeFou is illiterate."
The other three exchanged glances for a moment.
"So who wrote the letter?" Carlos asked the question which was going through everybody's mind.
"Beats us," Harry answered. He finally sat down beside Gil on the couch. "That is why we're not sure if the information in it is trustworthy or not. It might all be a trick."
"Gaston doesn't seem to be the right person to plan a diversion like this," Jay pointed out.
"No, but you forget he's working together with multiple other villains," Carlos responded. "Yzma for that matter could easily come up with a plan like this."
"Exactly," Harry interrupted them. "That's what Uma and I concluded as well."
"But guys," Evie slowly said, still looking down at the letter. "If it's true what's written in here, than Gaston is planning to attack Auradon in four days."
"Yea, that's why I said it's urgent," Harry said bored.
Evie glanced over at Jay and Carlos once more. Jay looked away for a moment.
"Which would mean Li Shang won't arrive with his army in time," Jay softly said.
"Or any of the reinforcements for that matter," Carlos added.
"Well, we all knew Gaston would attack as quick as possible," Harry said to them. He didn't seem worried at all. "Gaston is impatient, it was clear he wouldn't be waiting for months."
Evie suddenly pushed the paper back in Gil's hand. "Can you recognize the handwriting?" she asked him.
Gil took a closer look, a deep frown on his face. "I do recognize it somehow," he said slowly, before he looked up again. "It honestly could be my dad's. Maybe we can compare it to the other letter."
"Which letter?" Harry quickly asked when he noticed Gil looking up at him.
"You know, the letter my dad send me when he told me to meet him," Gil explained to him.
"Oh, that letter," Harry replied. Jay rolled his eyes. It was clear to him Harry immediately understood which letter Gil meant.
"Yea, we can't. I burned it," Harry quickly added.
"You burnt my dad's letter?" Gil said in surprise. It was the first time Jay had heard Gil raise his voice to Harry, even though it was just a little.
"What were you going to do with it?" Harry said back to him. "Cherish it with the rest of the gifts your dad gave you?" Gil looked away again and turned back to the letter. He was quiet again, even though it was clearly written on his face he did not agree with Harry.
Dizzy felt uneasy when she saw the muscular pirate in this way. It crossed her mind that Jay had been right. Gil just did whatever Harry told him to do, didn't matter if Gil agreed with it or not. He didn't seem so violent as before, but she still made sure she was close to Carlos and Jay.
"Well, it can't be helped," Jay said who broke the tension this time. "We should take this seriously, send it to Mal as soon as possible."
"I'll go," Evie immediately volunteered. "I wanted to see her anyway tonight." Jay nodded, but then he noticed how Gil was reluctant to give the note back to Evie.
"Can I have it back?" he asked quietly to her.
She smiled softly to him, already collecting the envelope from Carlos. "I promise, I'll give it back to you as soon as we can."
Still a little hesitant Gil handed it over. Jay frowned up to him, wondering if his dad's letter really meant so much to Gil.
Harry then stood up, patting Gil on his shoulder. "We should go back to the ship," he said to the other pirate. "We also have a lot to arrange for the upcoming battle."
"I will talk to Lonnie," Jay said to the group. "Her dad might not make it in time, but I'm sure Lonnie is still willing to help us."
Gil still looked up to Jay, while Harry had already reached the door. He didn't want to waste the rest of his evening here.
"Gil!"
His loud voice made Gil jump up, but he still looked up to Jay for a moment.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Gil asked him.
"Of course," Jay answered happily, but his smile quickly faded when he saw the grim look on Gil's face. Jay noticed how Gil send a quick glance towards Harry, just before he followed Harry's orders and followed his first mate to the door.
They walked through the kitchen again and Gil grinned to the bowl of fake apples on the table. It was then that he noticed Harry reached out for him again and in a reflex Gil took a step backwards. Harry slowly withdrew his hand, but still stood firmly before Gil.
"You can stay here if you want," Harry said quietly to him. Gil frowned up to him for a moment, not sure if he heard it right. "You can stay here, but I want you back on the ship tomorrow morning."
"I'm not letting you go back in the dark alone," Gil immediately replied. "What if someone tries to ambush you."
Harry smirked up to him. "I would love to see them try."
Gil still shook his head, not even slightly impressed by Harry's confidence. "I don't care, I'm coming with you."
Harry looked up at him in surprised, but he succeeded to hide the joy he felt. "Alright," Harry simply said and pushed the door open. He stepped outside the house and started his way back in the dark, closely followed by Gil.
Harry knew Gil was right; it was dangerous to wander the streets alone. Everybody could be a potential enemy who was out to harm them or get information from them. Harry didn't care much about that, though. Even if he was to be captured and tortured for information, he wouldn't really care about it. But the fact that Gil still had to make sure he would be in no danger made him feel better. Uma had been right, he had crossed the line. He never meant to do so, but he did. Somehow Gil still forgave him so fast. Somehow Gil was still there, right by his side.