Disclaimer: If it belongs to Disney, the Melissa de la Cruz novels, or the Jessica Brody novels, it's not mine.
Jordan always figured she'd end up with Jay.
It just seemed romantically ironic, the daughter of the Blue Genie and the son of the sorcerer who tried to overthrow him.
Jordan had had her doubts when King Ben announced his inaugural proclamation of bringing four children from the Isle to give them a chance at a better life. After all, she'd grown up hearing stories of how awful things had been in Agrabah when Jafar seized the throne, deposing the Sultan and banishing his political enemies. Things had been no better in the other 18 regions, where villains were banishing monarchs, stealing babies, and plotting the takedown of the entire free world.
So naturally, Jordan was a little concerned when she heard that the new king wanted to bring over the children of those people who had once terrorized the kingdom. These kids had grown up with villains for parents—nothing about that indicated that the newest residents in Auradon would be model citizens.
But that was before she met them.
After the villains' kids (or VKs, as they were called) arrived and Jordan got to know them, she couldn't believe she'd ever had doubts about them. Evie always had great fashion advice and Mal was always up for adventures. Carlos was a tech-savvy genius, good with computers and all things electronic.
And Jay? Well, he was the total package: handsome, muscular, smart, charming, cool…she could go on for days.
It would be a cliché to say that Jordan fell in love with Jay at first sight, but it wouldn't be wrong, either.
For the longest time, she thought he harbored feelings for her: he was always teasing her, calling her "genie girl," and going to near-ridiculous lengths to make her happy after they had an argument in senior year. They were always collaborating on class assignments and even ended up as dance partners in Chivalry class.
But no matter how many cotillions, balls, and parties were held at Auradon Prep (and lots of those were held at Prep, almost one per week), he never asked her out, not even once.
A year after graduation, Jay was a student-athlete at Agrabah State University, while Jordan had taken a gap year to intern under Snow White at Auradon News Network. They kept in touch sporadically, but Jordan was beginning to wonder if she had simply imagined Jay's feelings for her.
And then it happened—a photo of Jay went viral. That wasn't automatically surprising; Jay was making quite a name for himself as a talented college tourney player and was a fan-favorite for going pro in a few years.
What was surprising was the girl in the photo with him: Lonnie Yifei, daughter of Mulan and the general Li Shang. They had taken a selfie at the Lone Keep in Agrabah, a famous hiking destination. Jay had his arm around Lonnie's waist, and she had her head on his shoulder. They looked so cute together, like…a boyfriend and girlfriend.
Suddenly, things began to fall in place for Jordan at a sickening rate. Jay and Lonnie had always been tight friends. Lonnie had helped Jay and the rest of the VKs fight off pirates to rescue Ben when he'd been kidnapped on the Isle of the Lost. Some time later, Jay returned the favor, helping Lonnie win the Auradon Warrior Challenge and secure for herself the sword that had once belonged to her mom.
Jordan had come along for that trip, using her genie powers to transport the three of them from Auradon Prep to Northern Wei, where the competition was held.
It had never occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, Jay hadn't volunteered to help Lonnie purely out of friendship.
The more Jordan thought about it, the more sense it made. Jay had always been something of a flirt, but the three girls he never flirted with were Mal, Evie and Jane (Fairy Godmother's daughter). He considered those three his sisters and, consequently, reserved the brunt of his playful teasing for them…and Jordan.
Jay has always seen Jordan as a friend.
Part of Jordan wanted to curl up in her enchanted lamp and stay there for the rest of her life. The other part of her wanted to cry enough to fill the world's oceans twice over.
Neither was possible, but maybe it was for the best. Frankly, Jay and Lonnie just seemed more compatible. They both shared a love for athletics and adventures and the great outdoors—three things that Jordan couldn't stand. Lonnie had been captain of Auradon Prep's Swords and Shields team, while Jay had been captain of the tourney team. Meanwhile, Jordan, who hated all things involving sweat and sun, started a school blog.
Maybe it was just the idea of Jay that Jordan had loved.
Jordan sighed, "liked" the photo on her social media page, and closed her laptop, hugging to her chest. Life would go on, and she would be okay. Eventually.
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