Chapter 1 – The Plan

I will be honest, this story didn't turn out exactly as I had intended. I love the premise, but I got so excited by it that I finished maybe seventy five percent of this and then got immediately sidetracked by the sequel. I finished the sequel and my inspiration shifted off to other things, leaving this poor guy neglected in the cold.

I went back recently and wrapped up what I could, but it wasn't as long as I'd anticipated it would be. Originally there was going to be more build up, but that wasn't in the cards. I can say that the sequel is exactly what I expected it to be, and even if this wasn't what I envisioned, I am very happy with the premise. I hope you are too :)

And with that, I present to you the adventures of grumpy/bitter Chad and Audrey, BFFs for life ;)

-:-:-:-:-:-

Realistically speaking, Chad knew his life was not over.

The only times it had been remotely close to over were during two particularly clever assassination attempts – one that left him stranded in the backwoods of Hanover for two weeks, and another that had been carried out by an elite team of professionals that had gotten greedy at the last second and attempted to ask for double their fee on account of how obnoxiously difficult Chad had made it to capture him.

Their greed, of course, was their undoing, because that gave Chad enough time to escape and make them regret the very moment they had considered picking up an assassination contract from Sardinian upper nobility, but the point remained – Chad knew what emanant death felt like.

This was not that, it just seemed very close to it, because for all his cleverness he was still a teenager subject to the whim of hormones and a continuously developing mind, and that mind was stupid.

"Are you still moping?" Audrey asked, gliding into Chad's room via the teleportation runes that were still technically illegal.

"Fuck off, Audrey," Chad grumbled, burying his head in his pillow because he didn't feel like being productive for once. "My heart's been crushed. This is what Sardinian princes do when their hearts are crushed."

Chad's father had been a fine example of perpetual depression after the unfortunate death of Chad's mother, though the man really should have known better, considering Sardinia's literal cutthroat political climate.

"And I can see how that's very useful," Audrey drawled, the mattress dipping ever so slightly when she perched on the edge of the bed. "But I have an alternative proposition for you."

"Is this where you want me to say 'what alternative proposition'?" Chad asked, turning his head just enough so he could catch a sliver of her profile. "Because that seems exhaustingly tedious."

"Why I'm glad you asked," Audrey cut in, her voice dry and entire disposition unimpressed. "Here's a thought – maybe don't give up on the supposed love of your life until all avenues to that supposed love of your life have been obliterated."

The implication there was that Chad's entirely one-sided love affair wasn't completely out of his reach, and while part of Chad knew this could very well be another one of Audrey's ideas prompted from the depths of borderline hysteria, the part of him that was desperately in love with Doug knew he would hate himself if he didn't hear her out.

It was with great reluctance that Chad turned onto his side so he could face her, surrendering with the least amount of grace as possible. "You already told me that Evie broke Doug's curse with true love's kiss. That's it, Audrey. They're in love. They're going to have cute, little Hanoven babies and I'm going to be forced to be a groomsman at their wedding."

"Maybe," Audrey hummed, making a show of looking at her nails because she really was a dramatic bitch sometimes. "Except I learned another interesting tidbit during my reign as Queen of Mean." It was comforting to know that even Audrey, at this point, said the title with as much derision as possible, likely hating her past self that had made some pretty poor decisions after two days of no sleep and an unfair amount of pressure from her grandmothers. "The pieces didn't really click together until now, but…" When Chad refused to rise to her bait to prompt her on, Audrey rolled her eyes. "The Core Four? They're way more than friends, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah," Chad blew a stray curl out of his eyes. "They're family, or whatever."

"No, you asshole," Audrey huffed. "They're all romantic and shit."

It took a moment for Chad to process the words – like, really process them – and when he did, he was ready to object on principle.

As the person who knew him better than anyone else in the world, Audrey expected this, and was already providing an appropriate counter-argument. "Yes, I'm sure, you asshole. They haven't been public about it because it's not a thing, but apparently Mal and the others share and share alike, so…"

There was another long moment, hindered by Chad's own exhaustion.

And then he was sitting up with a burst of energy. "Are the others- are they dating Doug too?"

Those fucking- of course they got Doug. They, who didn't have kingdoms that would actively target anything they had a visible attachment to. The only reason Chad was friends with Audrey was because she had so much power herself that no one would dare fuck with her – everyone else was pretty much cannon fodder to the wills of Sardinian nobles. It was why Chad, despite being roommates with Doug, had been unable to so much as befriend the dwarf-kin, for fear that he would be assassinated much like Chad's mother had been.

It was unreasonable to expect that no one else would realize what a catch Doug was, but that didn't mean Chad couldn't resent it. He'd surreptitiously run off a lot of Doug's suitors in the past, but Evie-

Evie had been damn untouchable with Ben's protection, and Chad had shoved her right into Doug's arms because she'd wanted Chad so Chad had to shut that down as thoroughly as possible, lest they end up with a dead VK on their hands and a lot of social rioting – especially from Hanover, who didn't hadn't even known it had an heir.

Audrey's grin was small but distinctly smug, likely knowing the exact path of Chad's thought process. "As far as I can tell, they are all dating each other," she said. "Because they share their good things, and Doug and Jane and Ben are too nice to say that's not normal, so they just go along with it."

"Fuck," Chad said, feeling like the entire prospect of it was entirely unfair. A group relationship, why the fuck hadn't he thought of that? If he had like, half a dozen partners, the nobles wouldn't know which, if any of them, were Chad's favorites. They wouldn't know who to target. It was actually sort of genius.

"This actually works out for you," Audrey offered sagely. "Or, works out for us."

"What's your angle?" Chad asked, abandoning his moping depression for his natural default of perpetual preparedness.

"We," Audrey said, motioning between them to cater to her showmanship needs. "Are going to get in on that group relationship, and then everything will be fine. Because you'll have a piece of Doug, and I'll have a piece of Ben, and everything will be how it should be."

"Okay." Chad nodded slowly, because Audrey seemed so very sure of herself. "But how are we going to do that? As far as they're concerned, I'm a dumb asshole, and you're an unbalanced spoiled brat."

"We're going to do it the same way we do anything else," Audrey said with a wave of her hand. "By cheating. You see, we have a secret weapon."

"What's the secret weapon, Audrey?" Chad deadpanned, because he knew it was what she wanted him to ask.

She smacked his arm in annoyance, but was kind enough to continue, "Jay has a crush on you."

Chad paused, mentally reviewed the last few seconds to confirm that Audrey had said what he thought she'd said, and then let his shoulders slump in disappointment.

So it was another hair-brained scheme. Audrey had probably been hitting her caffeine pills too hard again, he bet she hadn't slept in a while-

"Motherfucker," Audrey hissed, pinching Chad's bicep. "I'm not making this shit up. I learned about it through Maleficent's scepter."

"The toxic scepter that poisoned your mind?" Chad prompted. "The one that was kept behind a damn velvet curtain?"

Sometimes he marveled at the inadequacy of Central Auradon security measures.

"I went back to check old social media posts to confirm my theory," Audrey pressed. "And I'm right. Jay does have a crush on you, and he hates that he has a crush on you because you're seemingly dumb and shallow and devoted to me. That said," she continued. "If we don't capitalize on this crush now, we're going to lose our shot, because guess who's going on like, a best friend tour of Auradon with one of the newly freed VKs? Who is also blond and cute and genuinely dumb?"

"You're shitting me," Chad said, though that seemed like a perfectly Jay thing to do, to defer his full ride scholarships for a year to travel the world with a guy that had been his enemy until like, five minutes ago.

"Nope," Audrey hummed. "Jay's prepping to replace you in his heart with the human equivalent of a Golden Retriever. Now my only question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"Just tell me, Audrey," Chad huffed. "These meetings would go so much faster if you just told me-"

"We are going to join them on their trip, you philistine," Audrey huffed, unappreciative of Chad's unwillingness to play along with the conversation she had likely planned out before she'd ever come to him. "We are also going to travel Auradon, except instead of exploring, you and I will be doing charity work to make up for my whole-"

"Sleep deprivation frustration?"

"Sure," she waved him off, but the small grin that tugged at her lips indicated she appreciated the comment. It was so much nicer than 'completely justified and likely inevitable mental breakdown'. "And since we're besties, you're going to come with me."

"Because people are still scared of you."

"Exactly." Audrey nodded. "And then you can focus on wooing Jay while I will focus on wooing Gil."

Chad struggled to understand her logic. "You… want Gil?"

Audrey gave a put-upon sigh. "Look, you couldn't see it because I locked you in a closet, but like- Mal and Uma? They pretty much eye-fucked the entire time. Lots of sexual tension. I'm betting anything that in the next year those pirates are going to join the VKs, so if I want a shot of getting in on things…"

"You're going to target the easiest one," Chad concluded. "And you even have a plausible cover, because that dude is like, the epitome of nonjudgmental."

"He might have even forgotten I was the bad guy," Audrey offered. "Who knows. Point is, Jay already likes Gil, and if the situation is left unchecked, Gil could reciprocate, thereby making it easier for the pirates to slip in. If I get Gil attached to me, and somehow also get Jay to sort of like me…"

"We can group relationship our way into the bigger group relationship," Chad deduced. "Where we can finally be with Doug and Ben respectively."

"In small doses, likely," Audrey said. "But I'll take small doses over nothing."

"You realize this is going to be a long play, right?" Chad prompted. "None of them take us seriously. Jay probably only likes me for aesthetic purposes."

"Then show him some vulnerability and make him realize there's been a clever human underneath that dopey exterior the entire time, he just never put in the effort to notice it."

"Okay," Chad said, the pieces falling into place for him. "I can see that working. I never really thought about dating a guy other than Doug, but I guess I could date Jay."

"You will if you want even a fraction of Doug's affection," Audrey warned him. "So are you onboard, or what?"

"Oh, I'm definitely onboard," Chad said. "I'll get the proposal paperwork sorted and sent straight to Ben's assistant right away. They'll be expecting needy Chad to think of a way to help his true love Audrey."

"You're a peach, dear," Audrey grinned, carding careful fingers through Chad's hair because she knew he loved it so. "In the meantime, I'll get to work acquiring all our legal and less-above board traveling supplies. Are your assassins gonna follow you out on the road?"

"You know it," Chad said, sliding off his bed and cutting a path to his desk. He had work to do. "So we should probably invest in additional security measures."

"The things I do for you," Audrey droned, but she was grinning, close to cackling, because Audrey always did enjoy a challenge.

And this was going to be a hell of one.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"Ben," Chad said, pressing his hands together like an emphatic salesman. "Benjamin. Benny. Bennifer. I know I'm dumb, but this idea is good."

"You're not dumb, Chad," Ben said with a tired smile on his lips, because that was Chad's job, to be harmlessly amusing.

"Not the point, Ben – but that is both noted and appreciated." And wrong, as Chad's public image was hopelessly vague. "The point is that sure, you could keep Audrey imprisoned in Ulstead Castle-"

"It's house arrest, Chad," Ben repeated with an air of immense patience. "And it's not unreasonable-"

"Or," Chad continued as though he hadn't heard him. "You could let Audrey actually do something useful that would boost her public image. You get her away from Central Auradon while all the refugees are getting settled and a bunch of people get helped in the meantime. It's a win-win."

"Chad," Ben sighed, the way he always did when he thought Chad approached him with a half-baked plan. "The council will never go for it. They have no guarantee that Audrey won't just use this as a vacation or something."

"Then send us with someone you can trust," Chad said, trying not to feel hurt that said trusted person could not be him, because it was already obvious the lengths he would go through for Audrey. "Jay's going on that trip around all of Auradon or whatever, right? Just send us with him. That way he can look at ice sculptures and shit while Audrey and I do good works and make nice with the public. He won't even notice we're there. Or, he will, because we're not mice, but he will essentially not notice we're there." Chad busted out his big imploring eyes – they had proven to be quite effective against Ben and all Ben-related things. "Come on, Ben. It's a win-win. You know Audrey and I are good at organizing shit, and who's going to argue with Jay acting as our keeper? He's one of the heroes of Auradon."

Ben sighed again, but this one was closer to a surrender. "Jay isn't going alone, you know," he pointed out with a resigned look. "He's taking one of Uma's pirates."

Chad allowed himself to perk up. "Which one?" he asked. "The hot one, or the other hot one?"

Ben sighed. This was often their exchange when they spoke. "Gil," he said eventually. "The blond."

"Ah, yes," Chad murmured. "The hot one."

Ben's look fell into one that was suitably chastising. "Chad-"

"Don't worry, we won't interrupt their couple's trip." Chad waved him off, sort of reveling in the way Ben sputtered because apparently Jay's attraction for Gil was not a well-known fact among his giant polygamous love pile. "We can be perfectly polite, just let us go."

As such, Ben's next response was a bit predictable. "Okay," he said, far earlier than Chad expected him to, because Audrey wasn't the only one who needed a chaperone. Seemed like Ben finally realized the error of sending one of his lovers away with a very hot, charming, single dude. "Okay, you can go – but Jay's in charge, and Audrey will have a tracking anklet on her at all times." He was already getting the paperwork together. "And I want a breakdown of your intended good works list on my secretary's desk by the end of the week."

"Already left it with her when I came in," Chad preened, savoring Ben's look of surprise as the blond made grabby hands for Audrey's paperwork. She would hate the anklet, but they had enough black-market tools to hack into the thing without much issue.

Ben handed it over numbly. "How did you know the order of their trip?"

"Well, I certainly didn't charm it out of your secretary," Chad giggled, blowing Ben a kiss when he'd gotten the necessary documentation. "Thanks for your help, Ben."

"You're a good friend to her, Chad," Ben said, his tone sort of sad, the way it always got when he dwelled on what he considered to be unhealthy codependence.

Chad forced his smile to stay in place. "She's done a lot for me, Ben," he said, just before ducking back out the king's door.

She'd done more than Ben ever had, at any rate.

And Chad did not forget his allies.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"Sweet mercy," Audrey drawled, taking a careful sip of her iced coffee while she and Chad lounged against the upper deck of Ben's private yacht.

"Fucking shit," Chad said less eloquently around the straw of his lunch juice, day two into his cleanse and hating most everything in the world but his view right here.

While the vision of Belle's Harbor was always something to be appreciated, Audrey and Chad were turned away from it, staring into the ship at the upper lounge, its sliding, full-glass doors opened wide to reveal one Gilbert LeGume puttering around its depths, cheerfully humming under his breath as he rearranged the furniture.

There was an appreciative moment of silence where he and Audrey watched the blond effortlessly lift a full couch above his head before he tottered to the other side of the room, placing it down with a self-satisfied smile. He looked to them for approval, the same way he did every time he moved something, and Chad and Audrey gave him a thumbs up before the pirate moved on to the next piece of furniture.

"Holy hell," Audrey marveled as he bent over to grab an end table, those leather pants doing truly sinful things to his ass. "What the fuck has he been eating?"

"Whatever it is, I want some," Chad said simply, pushing his blue-tinted sunglasses higher up his nose, lest the paparazzi catch him staring.

They were so mesmerized by their impromptu entertainment that they mostly didn't notice Jay's arrival until he was upon them. "You guys all loaded up?"

"Yep," Chad said, keeping his eyes fixed to the lounge. "We're good to go."

"Very good," Audrey added, taking another sip of her coffee.

Jay turned to see what all the fuss was about, then froze, likely in surprise and attraction, before he realized who he was keeping company with and startled out of it. "You're making him rearrange the room?"

"We're not making him do shit, Jadir," Chad said lightly, pretending to be distracted to hide his offense. "He did this on his own. For luck, or something."

"Asked us to supervise," Audrey added.

"He views women as authority figures, I think," Chad added helpfully. Gil looked over at them again, and Chad gave him another thumbs up. "Doing great, buddy!"

"Thanks, Mr. Prince!" Gil said, his genuine smile too pure for this world.

Chad found it suspect.

"It's just Chad, Gil," Chad called back.

"Thanks, Mr. Chad Prince!" Gil said, and then he was back to work.

There was no mistaking the fact that all three of them were staring at Gil's butt when he went for the next piece of furniture.

Then Jay shook his head. "You shouldn't be ogling him," he said, the epitome of hypocrisy.

"Aw, don't worry about it, champ," Chad said, petting Jay's bicep. It was weird, but something he supposed he should get used to. "We'd stare at you too if you were moving stuff."

Jay didn't seem to know what to do with this information, and knew what to do even less when Chad didn't move his hand off his arm.

"Um." Jay said, and from his peripherals, Chad could see a blush spilling across his features. "We're going to head out soon, okay? Just- stay out of the way until then."

"You got it, boss," Audrey drawled, grinning when the Agraben teen made a strategic retreat.

Yeah, it was going to be a pretty great year.

-:-:-:-:-:-

They each had their own bedrooms, of course.

Chad's and Audrey's were modified with a few additional storage compartments designed to blend in seamlessly with their surroundings – things hidden in the hardwood floors or in the bathroom tile or in a secret cache in their dressers. They had additional security too – well, the entire ship did – and it had been a hell of a thing getting all the necessary modifications installed on the yacht in secret before they left on their trip.

As always, though, Audrey and Chad prevailed through a clever application of relentless determination and ingenuity. Such was their life.

"Wow." Gil's voice carried through the open door of his cabin as he inspected his room. "This is mine?"

Immediately, Audrey abandoned her thoughtless redecoration of her room (as would be expected from Jay) to go check on Gil, Chad watching this unfold with quiet satisfaction.

"Yep," she said, offering a gentle smile that she could believably use with Jay stuck doing a last-minute check of their food supplies. "This is all yours. There's an attached bathroom too."

Chad wandered into the hallway to get a better view of the exchange, and was not disappointed by the look of adoration in Gil's eye.

"Like, with running water?" the pirate asked. "Will it be warm, like it was at the castle?"

Oh, this dear, sweet boy.

"Yes," Audrey hummed. "There will be warm water. I think it's also stocked with extra toiletries, if you need them."

"Like toothpaste?" Gil asked. "We had that sometimes on the Isle but I never got the cute, little brush to use with it until we got out here." He looked at Chad. "It's super cool."

"You're not wrong," Chad said because he couldn't entirely go non-asshole without raising suspicion, and yet Gil still brightened up like he'd handed the pirate the moon.

"I brought some extra stuff, if you want," Audrey said casually. "I accidentally got too much when I was preparing for the trip."

"You want to give me something?" Gil asked, entirely confused. "Do um- do you want me to do something for you?"

"Um, no- Audrey's just being nice," Chad said. "That's sort of what this trip's about anyway."

"It would just be collecting dust otherwise," Audrey offered with a shrug. "It's just some extra shampoo, conditioner, scented candles and stuff like that."

"You have smell good candles?" Was what Gil picked up from the exchange.

"Yes," Audrey said, leaning forward and catching his hand with a gentle ease. "I most certainly do."

-:-:-:-:-:-

Gil and Audrey spent an afternoon sampling her toiletries, Gil delighting in the bright colors and fun smells (as Audrey suspected).

"Aw, man, I'm glad you're nice," Gil said when he was staring at Audrey's array of candles. "Uma told me to watch out for you and Mal said you were mean even without the scepter, but you seem really cool!"

From anyone else, Audrey would be furious, but from Gil – their target – it was allowed, if only because he didn't know that Audrey would be justifiably pissed by such comments.

Instead, she slid into a pleased smile. "Thanks, Gil," she murmured. "You seem really cool too."

"Wow." Gil ducked his head, a light blush growing on his cheeks, and Chad had a feeling they were finally getting somewhere.

-:-:-:-:-:-

When Jay finally found them, Audrey and Chad had Gil sandwiched between them at the foot of her bed, the princess' pink laptop balanced on her knees, the screen aimed towards Gil.

"So we can have the stuff delivered at one of our future ports," Audrey was explaining. "Each arena has a head office – we can have it shipped there."

"So you can decorate your cabin too," Chad said. "'Cuz the basic layout's fine, but like, if you can stick glow stars to your ceiling, why wouldn't you?"

"I can do that?" Gil gasped, his eyes going wide.

"Sure," Audrey said. "We should get you some extra blankets and pillows too, something in your colors. You have colors, right?"

That seemed to be a thing with VKs.

Gil perked up. "Yeah – brown and gold! But um- could I get some aqua and red stuff too, for Uma and Harry?"

"Of course." Audrey grinned. "I'm already getting new bedding for Chad since he forgot to bring his and the default stuff 'won't do'."

"You act like I did this on purpose," Chad sniffed, pressing a wounded hand against his chest. "I must have left the bag by the door, but I did remember your presents, so I feel that should count."

"That always counts," Audrey said, fluttering her lashes at Chad. "Thanks for the new dresses, by the way."

Chad puffed up. "Designed just for you, my dear." He turned to Gil, knowing full well Jay was lurking in the hallway, looking on the exchange with a slight wariness. "My kingdom's biggest export is clothes. I run the Charming label, which accounts for a majority of my kingdom's economic output, which is boring, but the important part is that I get to make pretty clothes."

"Hey, like your mom!" Gil said, somehow being the first person to put that connection together quickly. "That's super cool, Mr. Prince."

"It's just Chad, Gil," Chad said, patting his arm. "I could design you some stuff too, if you want. I need to make a new menswear line soon." He smiled. "You could be my inspiration! You and Jay – explorer chic."

"Ooooh, fancy," Audrey cooed. "I'd buy that."

"I'd buy it if it had lots of pockets," Gil offered. "And was brown and gold."

"Noted – brown and gold, lots of pockets." Chad narrowed his eyes to indicate he was filing this information away for later.

Jay chose that moment to finally break into the conversation. "What are you guys doing?"

"Jay!" Gil perked up, cheerful enough for all them. "Audrey was just telling me about the ways I could personalize my space – like how she has pink pillows and blankets and a lamp and stuff."

As he said this, he pointed to all the stuff Audrey had brought to make her cabin look like an appropriate home-away-from-home for an Aurorian princess.

"I'm already getting stuff for Chad-" Audrey explained.

"Because you are a goddess," Chad hummed, offering his brightest grin.

"-so I thought I'd get some stuff for Gil too, since this is his first real room." She paused. "I can get you some stuff as well. Do you need anything?"

"You should ask for smell-good candles," Gil whispered, grinning wide.

This boy.

"I'm good," Jay said eventually. "He doesn't owe you anything for this."

"It's a gift, Jay," Audrey said, allowing her face to melt into a pout.

"This is a trip to establish Audrey's niceness!" Chad added. "Where better to start than with our crewmates? Shipmates? Our brave explorers."

Jay didn't seem to know how to take that last comment, but Gil happily puffed up at the compliment. "Thanks," he said, practically vibrating in place. "I think it's super cool that you're trying to make up for the scary stuff you did. 'Cuz like, a lot of people on the Isle wouldn't." He paused. "But you're a princess, so I guess that's not too surprising."

Audrey's expression shifted into one of genuine pleasure, soft and vulnerable enough that Jay might not give her shit for being nice to Gil.

Audrey deserved people who treated her kindly. She deserved people that treated her right.

Gil seemed to be just the recipe for that.

"Thank you, Gil," she said, earning a smile that she deftly transitioned back into a conversation about decorations so smoothly that you wouldn't have noticed even if you looked for it.

But that was just Audrey for you. Always a master.

-:-:-:-:-:-

While Jay didn't bother Audrey, he did bother Chad who was puttering around the kitchen late at night under the pretense of getting a cup of water.

"You guys better not fuck with Gil," Jay murmured, seeming to melt out of the darkness.

Despite the fact that Chad had known he was there the entire time, the blond flailed, losing half his cup of water in the process.

"Holy shit – fuck, Jay," Chad wheezed, pressing a hand to his chest. "Warn a guy."

"Chad," Jay sighed, sounding entirely more exhausted than the conversation warranted. "I'm serious."

"So am I," Chad groused, setting his cup back on the counter and searching for the paper towels so he could clean up his mess. "And what was what about Gil?"

"You guys better not fuck with him," Jay said, seemingly pleased to get back on track. "I know he seems-"

"Gil is a sweetheart," Chad said. "Like, even I know that. We're not going to fuck with him, and also fuck you for thinking that." With that, he crouched down to clean up the accidental puddle of water.

"Okay," Jay relented. "Maybe I'm not worried about you, but Audrey-" He paused, watching Chad work. "…you're cleaning that up?"

"Yes?" Chad said, not really getting the question. "What did you expect me to do?"

"Um." Jay shifted uneasily. "I dunno, I figured you'd just leave it there."

"Why?" Chad pressed. "Someone could slip on it. They could get hurt."

"You mean Audrey could get hurt," Jay grumbled, crossing his arms like the mature individual he was.

"I mean someone," Chad spat. "Light, Jay, I care about people other than Audrey. Like, you know, Ben and Gil and until five minutes ago, you." With that, he returned to angrily drying up his mess. "But apparently you think I'm a dipshit-"

"You became a henchman for Audrey," Jay interrupted. "You willingly jumped sides. Your brain wasn't corrupted by the scepter."

"Well excuse me for thinking maybe I could get through to her if I had enough time," Chad spat. "I think we both know how well that worked."

"What?" Jay pressed. "Were you going to talk her out of it?"

"I mean…" Chad shrugged. "That's what I was hoping. I thought- I mean, with our bond…" He trailed off, allowing his shoulders to slump like the truly pathetic human being he seemed to be. "It wasn't stronger than the magic," he murmured. "I wanted it to be, but it wasn't." When he finished wiping the floor clean, he stood up, but kept his woeful posture. "Audrey and I… we do love each other, but I- between you and me, I don't think it's true love. It's good, and I'm grateful for it, but it wasn't stronger than the scepter." He allowed himself to frown, felt himself close to getting teared up. "And that sucked for a lot of reasons, mostly that I couldn't help her, or help Auradon, and our future… it seemed really clear, before, but now it's all up in the air."

He sighed, moving to throw the trash away before he grabbed his cup, topping it back off.

"After this year, I don't know what's really going to happen," he continued. "Which I realize isn't the worst problem in the world, but after I had been so certain… I dunno, it just feels listless." He shrugged. "I'm glad you've got it figured out, though. That's pretty cool."

"You're glad for me," Jay finished, not seeming to believe this, seeming uneasy by all of it.

"Sure," Chad said. "You've helped save Auradon like, three times – saved me even though you don't like me."

"I like you, Chad," Jay said, his brows furrowed like he hadn't meant to offer this much. "I mean- I don't hate you."

Chad made a show of blinking in surprise. "Oh," he said, a small grin on his face. "Thanks. I don't hate you either, Jay."

"Whatever," Jay said, beating a hasty retreat before they could go back to talking about feelings.

He also didn't bother Chad again about Gil, so overall, it was a very successful interaction.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Hey, check it out, a story where Chad and Audrey are friends! Had to happen at some point ^_^

This story will consist of 5 chapters of story content. I update once a week, generally on Sundays, but because things have been so crazy lately, I decided to make an effort to update twice a week. So there will be one update on Sunday and one update on Wednesday/Thursday for now :D

Just a heads up – I update the story tags as I go in order to avoid spoilers. So characters, pairings, content warnings – all will be updated in correlation to the appropriate chapter as they are posted.

Story notes:

Hanover is my name for Snow White's kingdom which is canonically known as Charmington, and also really dumb. I also renamed Chad's kingdom, which is canonically Cinderellasburg, to Sardinia. So here's to two kingdoms sounding like they have real names and stuff.

I have a personal distinction between the United States of Auradon (the union of kingdoms, otherwise referred to as just Auradon) and Central Auradon, the kingdom Beauty and the Beast was based in and Adam's home kingdom. Just to clarify any confusion, if you see Central Auradon referenced, that's addressing the one kingdom itself rather than the union of kingdoms.

There is a behind the scenes interview with Dylan Playfair, Gil's actor, where he refers to his character as the human embodiment of a golden retriever, which feels entirely accurate for who Gil is as a person.

Ulstead is Prince Phillip's kingdom. The name came from the live action movie Maleficent – Mistress of Evil.

Until next time :)