Chapter 7 – Laugh it Up, We'll Have a Ball
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Ben snuck them off campus in a limo because Ben didn't really understand the point of 'sneaking', but it was worth it anyway, to be able to watch the VKs' faces as Auradon flew by them. They'd packed for an overnight trip at Ben's insistence, the to-be king practically vibrating with excitement at the prospect of a proper slumber party. While Chad had spent many nights passed out with either Lonnie, Aziz, or Jane, those were mostly due to working themselves into an exhaustion because of some save Auradon project or other, and not out of a whimsical social obligation. He hadn't been to an actual slumber party since… the last time Ben had asked him over. Maybe when they were ten? At some point, it became unbecoming to spend so much one-on-one time with someone who wouldn't be your future spouse.
Chad did not make this rule, he just suffered from it. In silence.
"Okay, so I had a few ideas for activities," Ben explained with a complete absence of irony, as though his secret calling was always that of a summer camp counselor. He gestured Mal away from where she was watching the footmen unload their luggage with a wary eye to lead them towards the stables. "I swear, I planned this out properly."
"Did you now?" Chad asked, sharing a dubious look with Carlos before following the mess of a human he liked so much. It was early afternoon – the Tourney game and classes had been canceled early in celebration of the Fall Ball (frankly, the best part of the affair, if Chad said so himself). They'd left for Ben's castle after lunch so the sun was still high in the sky, ready for festivities.
Apparently, these festivities would also include swimming at some point Chad assumed; otherwise Ben's request for them to wear their usual Friday swimming gear was especially misplaced.
"Ta-da!" Ben exclaimed when they got into the stable, a few horse grooms standing next to seven saddled horses. "We're going to go on an adventure!"
Chad sighed. "Ben, did you even ask if everyone knew how to horseback ride?"
Ben's smile dimmed ever so slightly. "No, but I mean, it's not that hard to learn. Not like swimming-"
"Yeah, I'm not riding that thing by myself," Mal declared, giving the horses the same look of suspicion she'd offered the footmen earlier. "Dibs on Chad."
"What?" Jay blinked. "You can't call-"
"Just did," Mal drawled, making a show of examining her nails with preening triumph.
"Guys, please, there's plenty of me to go around." Chad didn't know if they were defaulting to him because Ben was proving once again to be terrible at planning and he seemed like the least offensive option available or what. "I can take both of you."
"Um-" Ben said. Well, didn't really say. Stood there awkwardly in the wake of his own failures.
Chad waved him off. "Carlos can ride behind Ben and Doug can take Evie." See? Ultimate bro move. Chad just got his roommate an intimate trail ride with a pretty princess. Go him.
"Actually..." Doug flushed. "I um- don't know how to ride a horse either."
It took a lot of effort for Chad not to give Ben a look that bemoaned the existence of his poor planning skills.
Thankfully, Evie giggled. "It's okay; I think I'd like to give it a try."
"Great," Chad chirped, deciding to move on. "Doug can ride behind Evie as the royalty takes us to whatever Ben has planned."
"Hopefully he thought that out," Mal grumbled.
Ben's only response was a wounded look as he urged Carlos towards his chosen horse, and Chad may or may not have captured it on camera because he was only so strong. A guy had needs.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Their significantly diminished caravan made it to a private cove after about maybe thirty minutes of riding, which was… an experience. Chad rode with Mal perched in front of him and Jay behind, leading to the taller teen to keep his hands glued to Chad's hips while Chad had one arm curled around Mal's waist, the others on the reins. Evie, of course, was a natural, taking to it like a born equestrian, navigating her horse easily through the trail while Doug clung to her back. Chad managed to convince Mal to take a few videos of the sight, which may or may not have led to their own play-by-play documentary as they made fun of Ben and the furious blush on Carlos' cheeks as he clung to the prince's waist.
"Bet you wish you'd gone with Ben now, huh Jay?" Chad had offered over his shoulder after Carlos sent them a pouty look.
Jay gave an awkward kind of chuckle. "Nah, man. I'm good."
"You're right." Chad grinned. "Get too close and Ben's poor planning might rub off on you."
Ben, who seemed to have a third sense for when they were making fun of him, shot them a wounded look. "Guys."
Cue a justified round of laughter.
To Ben's credit, the beach part of their surprise beach trip was actually well thought out. There was fancy beachside tent already set up for them, swathed in white, fluttery fabric and outfitted with plenty of lounges and even a table and chairs. Food was ready for them too, making Chad wonder what poor souls Ben had sent out ahead of them, then decided to disregard that in favor of savoring Mal's delighted look of appreciation. There was even a firepit.
They left their horses in a temporary paddock close to the trail and set off for the water like wild children. The VKs were, understandably, more worried about the ocean than the Enchanted Lake as the lake was small and contained and still and the ocean was an immense body of water that was constantly moving with no discernable boundaries. Chad opted to ease them into things by building castles in the wet sandy area of low tide, then led Evie and Carlos through a nice walk through the shallows, letting the waves lap at their ankles. Mal and Jay, ever the adventurous ones, followed Ben out into the waves until they were deep enough to jump with each swell of water, leaving them weightless and giggling. The rest of them watched their trials from afar, sitting in the shallows so the waves could splash harmlessly against their legs, leaning back on wet sand.
"This ocean thing isn't so bad," Carlos muttered, allowing some of the wet sand to fall through his fingertips. "This is way better than what we've got on the Isle."
"Less sharks," Evie agreed, and just like every time they casually revealed something barbaric from their home of sixteen years, Doug got a sad look on his face.
"You know what we should do? Look for seashells!" Chad declared, killing the melancholy before it could begin, which was how the four of them came to scavenge up and down the beach, looking for half-shells and silver dollars, finding the occasional hermit crab.
"What even," Carlos said, looking all at once mesmerized and delighted as he watched the tiny crab scuttle across the floor of Ben's fancy tent. "And they just- keep growing?"
"Yep." Chad took a picture of Carlos' open wonder, sending it to the group chat he'd created for them. "They'll move into bigger and bigger shells, leaving the empty ones for another hermit crab."
"Wicked," Carlos whispered, and for once Chad thought this was not a literal description, but more of a source of amazement for the young teen.
They were in the middle of a round of wandering but high-stakes hermit crab races when the other three rejoined them.
"Come on, pink shell!" Chad cheered, Evie giggling into his shoulder. "You can do it!"
"They all have pink shells," Carlos groaned, but he was still smiling, sharing happy looks with Doug as they continued to watch the 'race'.
"We leave you alone for like, thirty minutes, and this is what you come to?" Jay asked, maintaining his reputation as unfairly attractive when he combed his sea-wet hair out of his face. Ugh. Auradon was doing that boy good. He'd definitely bulked up to healthy and also unreasonably sexy levels.
"Keep talking like that and we won't share any of our shell treasures with you," Chad sniffed, and then he had to fight off six feet of giant baby when Jay all but collapsed against his back in objection, because he couldn't not have things and also he wanted to grope Chad.
By the time Doug was walking them through the art of the perfect s'more, the sun was getting lower in the sky, meaning dinner time was eminent.
On the ride back, Chad somehow got saddled with Doug and Carlos, the young De Ville leaning back into his chest while Doug's head rested against his shoulder from behind. To their delight, Jay had ended up behind Ben, pretending not to blush up a storm (except they got photographic proof and it was beautiful) and Mal settled behind Evie, laughing as the princess kicked them into a low trot.
It was sort of a relief to get back to their assigned suite (because of course it was a suite, why would Ben let them be apart), and Ben ended up arranging for pizza (because it wasn't like Mrs. Potts would ever let him order it when he was in his own castle) while they took turns showering, but not before Ben stood in front of them with a nervous sort of tension.
"Okay, so- I know this is an anti-ball so I um- I figured we were doing things the opposite of a regular ball-"
"It's a sleepover, Ben," Mal interrupted with a smirk. "Just call it a sleepover."
"Right." For whatever reason, that seemed to make Ben less tense. "Anyway, I figured formal wear is a part of any good ball, so I um- got us all fancy pajamas!"
He stepped aside to reveal seven bundles of clothes wrapped in actual ribbons, and Chad felt his heart surrender completely all over again for this over-earnest doof of a human.
"Awesome!" Chad said, because it was done and Ben looked so hopeful and he'd gotten each of them specific pajamas, what a loser. "Are mine the shimmering blue ones? I want the shimmering blue ones."
"Yes," Ben laughed, a relieved sort of flush overtaking his cheeks. "They're yours. Like your um- mom's dress."
"Aww, thanks!" Chad kept his smile bright even if that tugged at his heart too, because Ben couldn't know how much it meant to him, how much Chad loved his mother even if he downplayed it in public, because it wasn't like he could hand out weaknesses. "Guessing the purple's for Mal."
"Obviously," Mal scoffed, bypassing whatever hesitation she had to snatch up her bundle, and then passing over what had to be Evie's as well. "I suppose this is an acceptable offering of comfort."
"Are these silk?" Jay asked, like he didn't dare to hope, and his cheeks flushed dark when Ben simply nodded.
"Huh," Carlos said, prodding at his black, white, and red patterned pajamas. "They're really soft."
"They're silk," Jay groaned, as if this pained him. Chad took his deliberation out of his hands and pass the dark red bundle to him before he could freak out and avoid it entirely, seeming not to think he was worthy of touching such things.
"Thanks, Ben," Doug said, grin soft as he cradled his mossy green bundle to his chest. "That was really thoughtful of you."
Ben, clutching his own pile of blue and yellow silk, grinned bashfully under the appreciation. "Happy to help."
For the record, everyone looked suitably adorable in the pajamas as they had holding them. Evie's was a dramatic floor-length nightgown that came complete with a matching robe, the hem embroidered with a dark lace that made Evie seem even more regal than before. Mal's pajama set included cute lace-edged shorts and a dramatic robe she liked to twirl in, the sleeves wide and billowy and fun to wave around. Jay seemed almost bashful when he emerged in his wine-red clothes, something that got even worse when Evie pulled his hair back in a French braid that only seemed to bring out his cheekbones.
Carlos was happy to roll around in his slightly big pajamas – even after all this time in Auradon he was still a little underweight, likely due to all the energy he burned during Tourney practice – taking pictures with his phone or tapping out code (Chad had gotten him a few books on computer languages that Carlos had consumed with a voracious appetite, and now he could just program whatever he wanted). And if Doug was taunting in his usual pjs these were just- the worst, because it made him look like a true consort, bashful but luxurious and so painfully Doug that Chad wanted to weep, settled for taking photos and hoping Aziz and Lonnie wouldn't make fun of him for it later.
And Ben was just- stupid. Chad hated him. Hated how he looked both handsome and adorable in his perfectly tailored Auradon blue-and-yellow pajamas. He even had a dress robe. What the hell, of course he did, he was the prince of Auradon, it just- didn't seem fair, but that was life, wasn't it? To have the object of your affection flaunting around in what should be a dorky dress robe and pulling it off effortlessly.
Chad had to distract himself from Ben's taunting wonders with his own shimmery pajamas – a pale blue so fine they almost seemed silver that glinted in the reflection of the gentle light of the room. They were a little too flashy for Chad's taste, but Evie seemed to love them, insisting on a bounty of selfie's where they made appropriately duck-like faces.
It was fun. It was fun when Ben turned on a playlist that had them dancing in the broad spaces of his room, fun to spin and twirl the girls (and Carlos, and Doug) and then be spun by a determined Jay and gentlemanly Ben. At Chad's insistence they introduced the VKs to the limbo from Avalor and Carlos spent the next twenty minutes thrashing all of them solidly, using his small stature and incredible flexibility to win every round and also give Chad's dumb libido ideas it definitely didn't need.
Introducing Mal to the chicken dance was easily the greatest idea of Chad's life, as little as she refused to participate, laughing at them from the sidelines while Chad dragged a reluctant Carlos along for the ride, Ben – the future king – boisterous with Evie and Doug, until the very reluctant too-cool-for-school Jay and Mal decided to jump in. They polkaed. They waltzed. Evie was a natural at all forms of high dancing and glowed under Ben and Chad's attention, and Carlos was effortlessly light on his feet. It was fun to see Doug blush as he tried to guide Mal through a dance, knew it definitely ended with her leading before Jay cut in, taking Chad's roommate on a very enthusiastic spin around the floor.
It was dumb, and so superfluously fun that Chad didn't know what to do with it. They joked and played around during their times at the lake and at lunch and spent what was probably too much free time together, but to spend an evening just- enjoying each other, not worrying about the future of Auradon or the Isle or anything else-
That was a greater gift than anything else.
-:-:-:-:-:-
"What are these for?" Mal muttered, frowning at the small slips of paper Ben was handing out to everyone.
"Well," the prince began with a look that never boded well for anyone. "I thought that since they were having Fall Ball royalty, we could also vote for Anti-ball king and queen." And yep, there it was, there was the bad idea.
Carlos frowned. "Dude, there are like seven of us." He looked around. "And only two girls."
"I renounce my bid for Anti-Prom Queen," Mal drawled. "Long live Queen Evie."
"Yay!" The princess clapped, seeming truly delighted by this turn of events.
"And now we're just voting for a dude," Jay said, seeming not entirely happy with this turn of events.
"Well," Chad said, plastering on his best grin because even though this was a terrible idea, it was Ben's terrible idea. "I know who I'm voting for."
In a twist of fate, he checked the box with 'Doug's' name. He liked stirring the pot.
"Oh." Carlos blinked, then scrawled something down. "Good idea."
Chad hoped that didn't mean what he thought that meant.
Ben, being a good sport, counted the ballets. "Okay, so that's… six votes for Chad and one vote for Doug."
"Um." Doug flushed. "I'd just like to say that I didn't vote for myself."
"I thought we were all supposed to vote for ourselves," Chad fake whispered. "So we could all tie and win."
"That-" Jay blinked in confusion. "That's not winning."
"Well it is the antithesis of what's happening at the Fall Ball, right?" Chad asked, trying to wrap his head around the fact that everyone else voted for him. "Why can't we all be Fall King and Queen?"
"That's such an Auradon thing to say," Mal groaned. "Everyone's a winner."
"Except you like that idea," Evie mused, and Mal rolled her eyes, but didn't deny it.
Ben blinked at them. "Well, as crown prince, I declare us all King and Queen of the Anti-Ball."
"Dibs on Queen," Chad whispered, and then had to duck a swipe from Evie as they broke out in their celebratory dance.
This, Chad decided, was one of his better ideas.
-:-:-:-:-:-
The key to a successful infiltration was to act as though you belonged there. Attitude could carry you most of the way if stealth failed you, and it was with this that Chad managed to break his way into the private security terminals he needed to bug, easily planting Jane's spy devices before leaving as though he'd never been there. He detoured to the kitchens to fetch a glass of milk as a believable cover, and was on his way back to their slumber party when he was waylaid by an ominous cough.
To be fair, there wasn't anything particularly frightening about the sound of a throat being cleared, unless that particular throat belonged to the King of Auradon who just happened to be lurking in the shadows, as though waiting for unsuspecting teenagers to walk by at the very natural hour of three in the morning.
"Chadwick," King Adam said quietly, tilting his head down the hall whence he came. "If I may have a moment."
"Of course, your majesty." Chad didn't have to feign his confusion as he easily followed, broad hallways twisting into narrow corridors until they were at last in some kind of private lounge, a low fire kindled on the hearth next to the couch King Adam settled onto. For lack of any direction, Chad sat down across from him, placing his glass of milk on the table before them. He had a feeling he wasn't going to be leaving with it anyway.
"It's good to see you, Chadwick," King Adam lied smoothly. He'd considered Chad a nuisance for years, an annoyance he had to bear for the sake of inter-kingdom relations, though unlike Audrey his false warmth seemed much more genuine. "I regret not being available to socialize with Ben's guests," he explained. "But since you're up, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions."
"Of course, your majesty," Chad repeated. "I'm um- not great with questions-"
"I think you'll answer these just fine," King Adam said kindly, cutting through Chad's usual sputters for the sake of efficiency. "I was wondering if you had any information about Ben and Audrey's breakup."
Ah.
Yes, should have known that was going to come back to bite him.
Chad forced a slow shrug. "She broke up with him, from what I heard."
"Yes, I heard the same," the king said, as though it was perfectly normal for him to be up-to-date on a teenager's love life. "But I also heard she tried to correct her mistake. Any idea why Ben turned her down?"
A mistake, obviously, because Ben and Audrey's coupling had been planned since they were infants, four kingdoms aligned under the rule of two heirs, with a united kingdom in addition to it.
"I think Ben just… wanted to strike out on his own, for a bit," Chad tried. "He's been dating Audrey a long time-"
"Yes, he has," King Adam agreed. "They were quite formidable together."
"I think most of that was Audrey," Chad said before he could help himself.
Somehow, this earned him a laugh. "That may be true," he agreed. "But Audrey was raised to be queen. A strong queen to lead a strong kingdom." These were points both of them knew, so now he was just rehashing them for the sake of dramatic exposition. He was drawing up to a point; Chad just wasn't sure what it was, yet. "Do you have any idea who my son is dating now?"
"He isn't dating anyone," Chad answered – honest for once, though by the unimpressed look on King Adam's face, he didn't quite agree.
"He's not?" the king asked, deceptively light. "So he hasn't been taking you on romantic excursions?"
Chad's heart twisted in his chest. "Those were-"
"Ah, yes," the king mused. "Practice dates, I believe you call them." From the mouth of the king, the idea seemed entirely farfetched and immature, small and stupid for even existing. "Clever, I'll admit."
Chad's throat felt tight. "King Adam-"
"I'm not going to stop you, Chadwick." It seemed like an olive branch but Chad knew it wasn't, knew that kings didn't pull aside young heirs for private meetings at three in the morning if they wanted other people to know about the contents of said meeting. "I know an inevitability when I see one."
"But," Chad said.
"But." The king's gaze showed a hint of approval. "This… infatuation will end." He said it with a finality that would not be argued, and it made Chad freeze inside, made him want to shake and scream despite being very unable to move. "It is, I believe, a phase. And why shouldn't Ben go through one? He's young. He has his entire life ahead of him. Someone his age is entitled to a little rebellion; it'll be good for him in the long run." He kept his voice steady as he said all this, seeming supportive but there was warning in his tone, an overt thing he wouldn't let Chad miss.
"Chadwick," he began quietly. "I have nothing against what you are," he said, as though being bisexual was a crime. No, it was just the half that was attracted to males they couldn't stand. "None of us do. But for the purposes of practicality, well-" He sighed, as though this actually pained him, when in reality Chad was at best collateral to his son's existence. "Sacrifices need to be made. Both you and Ben have so much at stake, and while I don't doubt your fondness for each other, well-" He grinned, attempting to be kind but coming off as vicious as the beast he once was. "It's not like you love each other."
Chad swallowed. Felt his body tremble despite how desperately hard he tried to stay still. "No," he whispered. "Of course not."
King Adam didn't believe him, but he didn't need to believe Chad, he just needed Chad to hear him out. "You won't be going with Ben to coronation," he said simply. "You'll take someone else – like that Evie girl, you seem fond of her. Yes," he said, settling into his idea despite the fact that he must have rehearsed it long before he'd found Chad. "You'll go with Princess Evelyn and Ben can take someone like… Princess Melody. Or maybe Princess Fairuza of Agrabah, or-" He leaned forward, like this idea really excited him. "Ben and Audrey will be able to clear up that ghastly misunderstanding and go together, like they were supposed to. And everything will be fine." He paused for a moment. "Do you understand, Chadwick?"
"Yes, I…" For once, Chad had no smart comments. No wit or dull responses at his disposal, he was just… Chad. "I understand, your majesty."
King Adam grinned. "I thought you might, Chadwick. You might not be the brightest boy, but you understand what really matters." He leaned forward carefully, as though preparing to deliver one last blow. "You two may indulge in… physical dalliances, but that's all it will ever be, Chadwick. Do you understand? Do you understand that Ben cannot love you?"
The room felt hot. Everything too close and too tight and there was a heat behind Chad's eyes that he hadn't indulged in for years, because it was beneath him, it was all beneath him to be engaged, and why did that fucking cookie have to ruin everything and make it all seem so much more detrimental than it already was.
"I understand," Chad said quietly. The king made a motion with his hand, as though waiting for Chad to continue, and belatedly Chad realized that he wanted- he wanted Chad to elaborate. He took a steady breath. "I understand that… that Ben cannot love me."
"And?" the king pressed.
Because it wasn't enough, to crush what little was left of Chad's heart. "And um- I can't-" He pinched his lips together. Breathed. "I can't love him."
"Atta boy, Chadwick." The king leaned forward, clapping a hand against Chad's forearm. "I know it might seem like the end of the world now, but it will pass. You'll both get something better, and all will be well."
Only the king didn't care if Chad got something better, he only cared if his son was free of his infatuation. He didn't care that Chad had kept his son from poisoning himself and now felt a passion amplified to levels he could barely contain. He didn't care about the VKs or bisexuality or love – he cared about continuing his family line. And Chad couldn't help with that.
"Thank you, your majesty." He couldn't stop shaking, though he did muster a smile, one the king eagerly returned as he guided Chad from the room, back down the shadowy hallways.
Chad expected them to part ways once they got back to the main hall, but the king stayed with him all the way back to Ben's quarters, giving him a tight smile when he bid goodnight, shepherding Chad into the large doors. He didn't know if they locked shut behind him, only knew that he couldn't return to the sleeping pile of humans in the bedroom. They were likely supposed to all sleep in different bedrooms but everyone had sort of congregated on Ben's unnaturally huge bed and just stayed there, and as much as Chad longed to rejoin them, he knew he couldn't. And the balcony was likely being monitored so Chad turned towards the bathroom, locking himself into its dark recesses and tucking himself into the far corner so he could swallow back tears, hating himself and the world for ever thinking he could have more with Benjamin Florian.
He'd already known it was impossible, he didn't know why it hurt more now.
And yet, it persisted.
So he huddled in the dark.
-:-:-:-:-:-
"Chad!" Frantic knocking on a far door woke Chad from his uneasy slumber, his head feeling full of cotton. "Dude, are you in there?" It was Jay. "I've got to pee."
Chad cleared his throat. His eyes felt itchy and swollen and his neck hurt from the uncomfortable position he'd been sleeping in, but he pushed through it. "There are like, eighteen bathrooms," Chad hissed, rising to his feet on shaky legs. "Use one of those."
"I don't know where they are," Jay shot back. "And… are you in the dark?"
Fuck, Chad hadn't bothered with the lights the night before.
Like he did in all other moments where panic felt immanent, he committed to his dumb persona. "Obviously," he shot back, fumbling for the sink faucet. "I can't look at myself until I finish my routine." He splashed water in his face, scrubbing at dried tear tracks as quickly as he could. "I can only be viewed at the height of perfection, otherwise how am I supposed to achieve the best me?"
"…whatever, man," Jay groaned. "Can you just get out, already?"
"Hold on." Chad patted his face dry with a towel and then fumbled for the light switch.
What he found after the sting of light faded from his eyes wasn't… great, but it also didn't look like he'd spent too much of last night crying, so he'd take the win he could get. Throwing his shoulders back, Chad forced his chin to a haughty tilt and exited the bathroom, trying to slink into his 'charming' persona.
It didn't quite fit, like a hat that had been bent out of shape, but for whatever time it was, it would do.
"Okay," he chirped when he exited the bathroom. "All yours."
"Dude," Jay paused, frowning at him. "This is coming from me but like, I don't think you stayed in there long enough."
Normally, Chad would applaud the sweet burn, but today it just- hurt. "Well, I guess I'll go find one of those eighteen bathrooms then," he snapped, and then quickly went to locate his bag so he could do just that. It'd be better once he could scrub away the sense of shame. Not by much, but still better.
"Dude." Jay's hand curled around his shoulder, the teen looking remarkably conflicted between his default apathy and the strange concept of caring, which was probably intimidating for him but Chad didn't have the mental capacity to deal with that right now. "…what's wrong?"
"Nothing," Chad didn't sniff, because he wasn't crying, because he was fine. "I um- just had trouble sleeping."
"Yeah, I can see that much." Jay made no effort to hide the way he stared at the bags under Chad's eyes. "But- did something else happen?"
"What else would happen at a sleepover?" Chad asked, as though 'being interrogated by a king' would ever be on that list.
Jay narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, but you usually only answer questions with questions when you're getting all-" He made a vague hand gesture. "Squirrely."
"I'm not squirrely," Chad hissed. "I'm tired and need to finish my beauty routine."
"And this doesn't have to do with the dieting thing?" Jay asked. "Or-"
"I'm fine, Jay," Chad snapped, pulling away from the other teen.
And then they shared a look, because if Chad was actually any kind of fine he wouldn't have done that.
He sighed. "Go pee. I just need to-" He motioned off to the distance. "And um- thanks. For your concern."
He wandered away before Jay would have to do something like insist it wasn't concern, and that was that was that was that. And would always be that, and-
Chad should have known better than to enter enemy territory. At least before, he could pretend.
Now he didn't even have that.
-:-:-:-:-:-
He retreated to the far guest bathroom because he could, and by the time he'd cleaned up and applied the appropriate amount of makeup to cover his woes, he felt slightly more human. He certainly felt more like Dumb Chad, where the smiles didn't seem as strained and everything was light and easy and fun. He bounced back to Ben's room with a spring in his step and valiantly ignored the fact that he'd walked in on what could only be described as a huddle, and based on their assessing looks, they'd been talking about him.
Well, of course they were, he was Chad. Who else were they going to talk about?
"Morning, all," he greeted with an exaggerated wave. "Do we have any fun plans for today?"
"Actually…" Ben was frowning, but Ben was always worried about something so Chad didn't let it worry him too much. "My parents asked us to join them for breakfast."
"Ooh, Auradon Royal breakfast," Chad cooed, bouncing in place. "Sounds fun."
"Um." Carlos did not seem to agree on that point. "Breakfast with two people who could ship us back to the Isle does not sound like fun."
"I won't let them do that," Ben rushed to say. "And nothing's going to happen that would warrant that anyway."
Great Ben, just go ahead and curse all of them, why don't you?
Chad sighed. "Just leave most of the talking to us and we'll be fine," he assured them. "King Adam's not much of a talker anyway."
Unless he was in interrogation mode, and then King Adam was definitely a talker.
But that was neither here nor there.
"Cool," Mal drawled. "Great. Let's do this."
"That's the spirit?" Doug tried.
Chad offered him a thumbs up, because at least he was trying, and that counted. For something. Not for a lot, but for something.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Breakfast was served in an elegant dining room just off the royal gardens, with one wall devoted to floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the royal greenery.
King Adam, as was his way, sat at the head of the table with the windows behind him, making the sun gleam around him and into your eyes whenever you tried to look at him in a definite power move. Queen Belle was to his left with Ben across from her, creating a perfect picture of royal unity. Chad was fortunate enough (or strategically positioned) to sit next to Queen Belle with Jay and Evie to his left, and Mal was immediately next to Ben with Carlos and Doug beside her. All in all, it was very pretty and well-lit and awkward.
It was a relief when Lumière ushered in the servants with the first course, delicate china topped with silver covers because why not pull out all the stops when you wanted to intimidate the transfer students your son brought to your kingdom into silence? It was a very grand affair that Chad ignored in favor of studying his makeup in the reflection of his spoon, earning a stifled laugh from Queen Belle and a tight grin from Mal.
At least, until the silver covers were removed, and it was revealed that while everyone appeared to have received some fancy sort of fruit salad for the first course, Chad had received a solitary cube of cheese.
Such a fucking power move. Chad wanted to applaud King Adam, though he had other issues to deal with. Mainly an unhappy Jay, who tensed in his seat.
Queen Belle offered a kind smile. "Your grandfather phoned about your special diet, dear," she revealed carefully. "We do hope this helps."
"You're very kind, your majesty." Of the two of them, Chad knew Queen Belle was being genuine, that her country roots and gentle spirit were what led Ben into being the person he was today. Unfortunately, despite her book smarts, it was this kind nature that King Adam could utilize like a weapon.
Jay shifted, seeming as though he were going to speak, but Chad merely squeezed his arm, moving on to take up his utensils with a flourish. Across the table, he could see Carlos do the same with Mal, Ben frowning unhappily at the entire production, but staying silent. Smart.
"So," Queen Belle began lightly, picking up her own utensils. "How are you liking Auradon?"
"It's very… nice," Mal settled on, opting to be the VKs spokesperson. "Very green."
"It's a lot better than the Ilse," Carlos offered, which, you know, of course it was because the Ilse was a prison.
Hopefully King Adam wouldn't take that as a passive aggressive swipe. Hopefully.
"How are your classes?" the queen asked. "Are you settling in, alright?"
"They're… different," Mal said. "But good. Ben, Chad, Doug, and Jane have been very helpful catching us up."
"Carlos is in honor classes," Chad broke in, carving off the tiniest sliver of his stupid cheese cube because he had to make this fucker last three courses. "Apparently the Ilse has no structured educational system or whatever, so it took a few weeks for him to catch up- otherwise he'd probably be in like, super honors classes by now." If the King was going to be an ass about food after already being an ass about his son's love life, there was no reason Chad couldn't make a passive aggressive jab about the King's shitty regulations. "Evie's testing up soon too, I think."
Which was not a thing that Evie had told him, but Chad could always feign gossiping lips for picking up his info. He was very charming.
Evie blinked in surprise, though recovered smoothly. "Yes, Fairy Godmother wanted me to take advanced placement tests after testing out of chemistry, but it's still a few weeks off."
"Remarkable," Queen Belle said, smiling gently. "That is an outstanding accomplishment, you two." Her gaze drifted to Chad. "And one that could be learned from."
"I haven't flunked anything yet," Chad chirped, King Adam's lips quirking as though he desperately wanted to frown. "Coach says that Jay's the star of our Tourney team."
"That's true," Ben jumped in – finally. "He's totally carrying our team to victory."
"Sometimes literally," Carlos muttered, prodding at his salad.
"Those are bananas," Chad whispered, because they'd already discovered Carlos' appreciation for them during Doug's 'feeding' practice. He watched the VK blink in recognition before happily digging in.
Queen Belle paused. "Have you encountered much new food here?"
This was- probably not the best topic.
Thankfully, Evie was the one who decided to answer her question. "The Isle mostly receives food that didn't sell in your markets, your majesty, so we don't often get fresh fruit."
As in, never.
"Yeah," Carlos said around a mouthful of bananas. "I mean, we've had apples and stuff, but bananas are usually black by the time we get them."
"Good for fertilizer, though," Evie said, ever helpful.
Carlos shrugged. "I prefer them like this."
Chad elbowed Jay when he'd been frozen too long, close to glaring at the beautiful plate before him.
There was a fun pause.
"Doug got nominated for president of the chess club!" Chad said cheerily, causing the other teen to blink in surprise. He'd likely thought Chad had been ignoring him when he'd gushed out that particular news. "And Ruby's been trying to recruit Mal for the Auradon Prep Beautification project."
"I still don't know what that means," Mal muttered. "What are we beautifying? Auradon Prep is already-" She made a vague motion with her hand as though to say 'sickeningly gorgeous'.
"I think it's mostly painting murals and stuff," Chad explained, eating one of his tiny insubstantial slivers of cheese like the damn prince he was. "You know, leaving your mark on the school."
"Why didn't she just say that?"
"Beats me." Chad shrugged, though it likely had to do with Ruby's perpetually wandering attention as she set her sights on the next big project. "You gonna say yes?"
"I will… consider this," Mal mused, which was as good as her agreeing.
At the head of the table, King Adam was delightfully tense. Probably loathed the idea of a villain kid leaving any kind of mark on his precious school.
"So Ben," the king rumbled eventually when the fruit salad had been replaced with a sort of egg frittata vegetable medley with a side of bacon. "I heard that you broke up with Audrey."
"Oh, you did?" This genuinely pained Queen Belle, which meant she actually hadn't known about it. "But I so liked her, Ben."
"Actually, she was the one to dump me, mom," Ben offered without apology. "And you know, I think it was a good thing. Audrey and I… we just don't see eye-to-eye on things anymore. I want someone who understands my point of view, and who supports my plans."
In this instance, 'supporting his plans' included reforming the Ilse, which King Adam seemed to prefer not to indulge.
"All relationships take work, honey," Queen Belle soothed. "You're not always going to agree on the same things, that's why it's important to thoroughly explain where you're coming from. Eventually, she'll come around."
"Not on this, I don't think." Ben shook his head. "I'm not getting back together with Audrey. She isn't the queen Auradon needs."
Chad could feel the shift in the air, his majesty slowly lowering his fork to the side so he could give Ben his full attention, deceptively calm. "And what kind of queen does Auradon need, Ben?"
Ben, bless him, was not prepared for the onslaught that would follow this, so he answered with complete honesty. "Someone kind," he said. "Someone generous and welcoming. Someone… someone who has love for all of Auradon's citizens, no matter who they are."
What a sweet and wildly misguided summation. Poor boy had been listening to too many stories.
"That sounds like a lovely person," Queen Belle offered, her gaze warm and fond. "If Audrey doesn't meet that criteria, how about Princess Ruby? Or Even Fairuza, she's so clever."
"Or Evie," Chad broke in, trying to pull the king's growing ire off of Ben. "Evie's all of those things – you should totally take her to coronation."
Evie blinked. "What?"
"She is crown princess of Hanover," Chad continued. "And technically with the Huntsman crown ceded to Aunt Snow, Evie's heir to that too, until such a time where someone completes the right of um- passage, right?" Which was extremely difficult and frankly it was no wonder Aunt Snow still held the Huntsman's crown in honor of her late husband, because otherwise the damn thing was near impossible to get. "And Erebor-"
"Auradon does not acknowledge Erebor as a separate kingdom from Hanover, Chadwick," the king said, his voice tight. "It is merely one of the city states that operate under Queen Snow White's rule. You would know this if you studied."
The only reason Chad knew any of that was because he studied, because King Adam felt like keeping such a tight leash on the records, as though the entire dwarven people's line of royalty could be wiped out through a single misapplication of paperwork.
"Oh." Chad blinked dumbly. "My bad. I just thought-"
"You think too little, Chadwick," the king murmured, unimpressed by his defense.
"Dad," Ben cut in, eyebrows furrowed.
The king waved him off. "My apologies, Benjamin. I fear I allowed my tongue to run away with me, but there are certain… expectations for people with our responsibilities." He leveled his gaze at Chad. "And it would due Prince Chadwick well to remember that."
In his peripherals, Chad could see the way Jay's fingers curled around his knife handle, shaking with anger, and on reflex he reached out to steady him. Squeezing his arm in reassurance without even really thinking about it.
The king scowled. "Could you control yourself for one minute, Chadwick?" he snapped, glaring at Chad's hand. "This incessant touching-"
"That's enough," Queen Belle declared, pressing her hands flat against the table. "I believe you have work to attend to, my dear."
King Adam studied her for a moment, before nodding. "Of course. My apologies, everyone."
He got up and left the table with an unspeakable grace, brushing close enough to Chad's chair to make him swallow a flinch, cheeks flooded with the warmth of shame because even though his reputed 'sluttyness' seemed to be the hot topic on the table this week, having it brought up by the king of Auradon was a low blow, even for Chad.
"And my apologies too," the queen said after her husband had left the room. "There is little excuse for such behavior, though I do beg for you lenience. Times have been… overwhelming, lately." She paused, turning her attention to Chad, and reached to cup his cheek. "Chad, you did nothing wrong."
"Thank you, your majesty," Chad managed, but she kept going.
"And," she pressed. "There is nothing wrong with you. You are perfect just the way you are." She said it with a gentle ease that made Chad's heart stutter, because he hadn't received such kindness, such- motherly affection in a long time. Not since the last time he'd seen Aunt Snow, before her Auradon-wide adventure had struck.
She pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head before walking to the other side of the table, offering Ben a kiss as well. "It is very good to see you, Benjamin. No matter what happens, know that we'll always support you, okay?"
She looked at the room at large. "And all of you- you are so marvelously brave for what you are doing, and though you have little need of it, I'd like to say that I'm proud of you, and that I think you are the hope for the Isle's future." She grinned. "A splendid hope, at that."
With that, she left them, Chad shaky and blinking back tears again, the others mostly lost to silence, Ben staring forlornly at the spot his father once resided, seeming frozen in place.
"Well," Carlos eventually muttered. "That could have probably gone worse."
-:-:-:-:-:-
"What the fuck?" Mal snapped when they got back to Ben's room. "What does your dad have against Chad?"
That list was- far too long to mention.
"It's fine," Chad huffed, feeling exhausted, wrung out, and hungry, a headache already pounding at his temples, promising little good for the future. "We do this song and dance every once and awhile. You'll be shocked to know that I am considered a bad influence on Ben."
"Yeah," Carlos huffed. "But he like- hates you more than us. And we're villain kids."
"But in the big picture, we're nothing," Evie said, settling on the couch in the lounge area. "Aside from myself, we hold no real power here. Chad does."
"Still." Carlos was frowning. "That's no excuse for any of… that."
"That's plenty excuse for that, darling," Chad drawled, flopping down on a loveseat. He grumbled when Jay shoved himself in half a second later, but relaxed when the teen wrapped an arm around his shoulders, letting him cuddle into his side. "He's the king; he does what he thinks needs to be done. That's what kings do."
"Does your father do that kind of stuff?" Doug asked, knowing full well that Chad's father didn't interact with him if he didn't have to. Chad was a constant reminder of what he had lost, every inch his mother's son, and his mother was dead.
Dumb Chad waved him off. "Of course. That's what ruling is." He was about to spout off on some other nonsense about duty or whatever when Jay held up a slightly mushed croissant, still emanating warmth.
"Snagged this for you," he muttered, consciously averting his eyes, and Chad did not give a shit about decorum, he fell on that treat with relish.
"Oh, fuck yes," Chad hissed, taking a slow bite of it. "Thanks."
"And that!" Mal continued. "What the fuck, Ben?!"
"I know!" the prince threw his arms up. "I know, okay? I don't know what got into him."
"I'd forgotten how much he didn't like me," Chad sniffed around mouthfuls of buttery goodness. "Though that explains why I haven't visited in a while."
"Did he do shit like this then, too?" Mal asked.
Chad shrugged. "The royal way of weening someone out of your life is just to be passive aggressive enough until they get out themselves. He couldn't just tell me to fuck off so-" He waved a hand. "He got creative."
"Chad," Ben looked pained to say this, as though he had never really deduced why Chad had stopped coming to his home. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Chad gave him an incredulous look. "Because I'm stupid, but I'm not that stupid. That was the nice way of dealing with things. There were… other options."
"Is that what he said before you locked yourself in the bathroom?" Jay asked, rubbing small circles on Chad's shoulder.
"No." Chad shook his head. "That was more of a-" He cut himself off when his exhausted brain decided to catch up with his mouth, realizing what he'd said.
"What?" Jay asked. "It was more of a what?"
"Chad…" Ben approached them carefully. "Did my dad talk to you alone?"
"Last night," Jay clarified. "You were gone for a while."
"How would you know?" Chad muttered. "You were asleep."
"You didn't come back," Evie spoke up. "We noticed that."
Chad forced a shrug. "I went to get some milk and he was up late working, we talked then."
"It was like, two in the morning," Carlos muttered.
"Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor," Chad replied, remembering one of his mother's old adages. "Look, it's not a big deal."
"You say that about a lot of stuff."
"And you spent all night crying in the bathroom," Jay added.
Chad rolled his eyes. "It was not all night-"
"But you were crying?" Mal asked.
"Little, baby tears," Chad huffed. "I'm only human, okay? I have limits. And feelings."
"What'd my dad say?" Ben was insistent on this because Ben could bear no injustice in the world, which was going to be really unfortunate the first time something horrible befell him. "Chad-"
"Just that I'm a bad influence and I need to stop distracting you from what 'really matters'." He tried to emulate the king's rumble for comedic effect, but nobody laughed. "Guys, it's fine."
"It's not fine," Mal snapped. "It's not fine for people not to give you food, or to call you dumb, or a slut. None of those things are fine and just because you're used to them doesn't make them okay."
Chad blinked, because he didn't know what to do, could only hold on to a half-finished pastry and his exhaustion because Mal wasn't supposed to care about him. Granted, the goal was to get her to care about something, it just wasn't supposed to be Chad.
"Gah!" Mal declared with a huff before stalking away, snatching up her sketchpad before exiting out onto the balcony, likely going to draw her anger away. There was a beat, and then Carlos followed after her.
"Chad," Ben began quietly. "I'm so sorry."
"None of this was your fault." And Chad wouldn't let him think that for a second. "Let the blame lie with the guilty, Ben. And that's not you."
"Yeah," Evie said. "But it's not you, either."
On that, they would have to agree to disagree.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Chad must have… passed out at some point, because when he woke up again they were back on their way to Auradon Prep. He was curled into Jay's chest, Ben's jacket splayed over him like a blanket, and he was both too tired and too spent to fathom what had happened to land them all here.
"Shh," Evie hushed when he tried to clear his throat. She was petting his hair. "Go back to sleep, Chad."
It was an order he was too eager to take, so he surrendered without fighting it, everyone seeming present, accounted for, and relatively undamaged.
He slept.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Endnotes:
This is it guys, one more chapter until the happy ending! Next week I'll be posting the finale, along with the extra deleted scenes, and the first chapter of the sequel to this story. I promise it is even more nonsensical than this one ^_^
Story notes:
Real talk, I don't know if hermit crabs inhabit France, the country Auradon is based on, but for the sake of this story they do, because I thought it would be a fun thing for the VKs to explore.
I also don't hate King Adam, for the record, he just fell into the unfortunate category of necessary antagonist for this story, along with Audrey and the Duke.
So in real world terms, the Limbo is technically from Trinidad – for which there is no Disney equivalent that I know of, so I went with Avalor, which has inspirations from Mexico/Spain and is close to Trinidad.
In this particular instance, the four kingdoms in reference are Ben's Auradon, the central kingdom as opposed to the union of kingdoms, and Audrey's three – Auroria, Ulstead, and the Moors, which were ceded from Maleficent to Princess Aurora I think? I'm just committing to that for the sake of the story. And then they'd have the United Kingdoms of Auradon to rule as well.
Ruby is Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene's daughter, the heir to Corona.
Erebor was totally stolen from The Hobbit to symbolize a dwarf kingdom, because they deserve their own representation too.
'Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor' is a direct quote from the musical Into the Woods, it is said by Cinderella's mother, whose ghost-form acts as her Fairy Godmother.
Until next time :)