I hereby give you: Jal.

Exploring an old abandoned castle might seem fun...until Jay gets on Mal's nerves.

Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos stood in front of an old abandoned castle, hidden within the forest next to the school. Jay said he stumbled across it earlier when he was jogging around the neighborhood and decided to show his friends.

"So, what do you think?" Jay asked.

"It's definitely creepy. I wonder who's castle this was," Mal wondered.

"You think it's haunted?" Jay asked, smirking.

"Jay, stop scaring Carlos," Evie said.

"I'm not scared," Carlos retorted.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you clinging onto my arm like it's the only thing keeping you alive?" Evie asked.

Carlos looked at her arm and found himself wrapped around it and holding onto it for dear life. He blushed of embarrassment and let go of Evie's arm.

"Well, if it is haunted, the only ghost in there is probably some cranky old king," Mal said to Jay, ignoring Carlos' wimpy-ness.

"Or queen," Evie added.

The abandoned castle didn't quite look like the other castles in Auradon. It wasn't as...shiny. Its windows were all dusty and there were cobwebs everywhere. The trees and vines surrounding it were adding to the creepy vibe they were getting from the castle.

"So, who wants to go in first?" Jay asked.

"What? We're going in that spooky, old, possibly haunted death trap?" Carlos asked, shaking a little.

"Yeah. Unless you're too scared," Jay remarked.

"I'm not scared," Carlos stated, frowning.

"Then go ahead," Jay said while motioning for him to walk into the castle.

Carlos stared at the old abandoned castle for a few seconds before walking towards the door, nervously. He opened it and reluctantly went in. Mal, Evie, and Jay watched him go. After a few seconds, they heard him scream. Evie sighed and ran to his rescue as Mal and Jay chuckled.

"Evie! This place is a death trap! Look!" they heard Carlos say from inside.

"Carlos, that's a lamp."

"It tried to kill me!"

"How?"

"It fell on top of me!"

Mal and Jay laughed after hearing their friends. "Ladies first," Jay said, gesturing for her to go.

"Go ahead, lady," Mal remarked smugly.

"Hey, I was just trying to be a gentleman," Jay stated.

"Since when?" Mal asked as they began walking inside the castle.

"Since my Basic Chivalry teacher said so," Jay answered.

The two kept walking deeper into the old abandoned castle, exploring the premises. It was dark, but the sun shining through the dusty old windows illuminated some parts of it. Mal and Jay were walking down a staircase, but since the sunlight couldn't reach it there, Mal used her magic to light up the torches placed along the walls.

"So how did you find this place, again?" Mal asked.

"I was just jogging around the neighborhood. You know, when I saw it, I thought of you," Jay answered.

"Why me?" Mal asked.

"I remembered one time when we were little, we went exploring around Dragon Hall once. This place reminded me of that," Jay explained.

"Oh yeah. That was fun. We were such cute evil little kids," Mal said. "And remember that time we pranked Carlos?"

"We scared the stale jellybeans out of him," Jay stated, looking back at that past event.

"He was such a wimpy ten-year old. I wonder how he's holding up," Mal said.

"He's probably clinging onto Evie, frightened by a chair or something," Jay replied.

"Yeah. But let's not forget, he can be brave at times," Mal reminded him. "Like when we had to battle my mom."

Jay nodded. They kept quiet for several minutes until he spoke again.

"Ow. Something bit me," Jay complained.

"It's probably just some rat who doesn't like you trespassing in his home," Mal stated, not really caring.

She was expecting Jay to say something like, 'Ha ha. Very funny,' but he never did. In fact, he didn't say anything at all. Mal looked behind her, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Jay?" she called out to him. No answer. "Jay?!"

While her back was turned, a dark shadowy figure appeared behind her. She heard the figure's heavy breathing and slowly turned around to see a monster in front of her. She screamed, thinking Jay got bit by it and now its next victim is her. The monster grabbed a hold of Mal, who struggled to be free of its grip. She managed to elbow its stomach, causing it to release her and fall to the floor, clutching its stomach. Mal was panting, trying to catch her breath.

"Ow," the monster groaned.

Mal paused. The monster sounded a lot like a human. She stepped closer and tugged on its face, which turned out to be a mask and under it was-

"Jay?!" Mal asked, confused and angry.

"Why did you do that?" Jay asked, still hurting from Mal elbowing him in the stomach.

"Why did I do that? Why did you do that?" Mal asked, boiling mad.

"It was a prank," Jay answered.

"A prank? Seriously?" Mal asked.

"I was trying to scare you," Jay replied, trying to get up, but couldn't.

"Well, it worked," Mal stated grumpily, crossing her arms. "Enough messing around. Let's go find the others."

Mal began to walk away, but Jay was stuck in where he fell. He tried to pull himself out, but couldn't. Must've snagged his clothing on something or he fell into a hole.

"Hey, uh, Mal? Could you help me out?" Jay asked, looking back and forth between her and where he was stuck.

"Do it yourself, ya jerk," Mal retorted.

"Mal! Come back!" Jay shouted.

The purple-haired girl stopped in her tracks and sighed, hating herself for that little voice in her head, telling her to help him. Mal walked back to where Jay was and tried to pull him out. After several tugs, Jay came loose and was free, but since Mal tugged really hard, he came springing up out at her, landing a little too close, their faces only a couple inches away.

"I think you tugged a little too hard," Jay stated, noticing how close they were.

"It was the only way to get you out," Mal replied.

"So you do care about me," Jay remarked, smirking.

"No, I only did it so I could prank you back later," Mal said, ignoring how close they were to each other.

"If that were the reason, you wouldn't have revealed your plan just now," Jay stated.

"What if I actually am going to prank you later, but I'm using reverse psychology to confuse you?" Mal asked.

"I doubt that. As sneaky as you may be, Mal, you're not that smart," Jay stated, which sent her off the edge.

Mal growled and grabbed his shirt. "What's wrong with you? Why are you being so snarky, you little snake?" she asked, sounding quiet, almost like a whisper.

"Oh, I'm the one who's snarky? Have you met yourself, babe?" Jay asked, smugly.

"Don't call me 'babe,'" Mal warned.

"Why not? It suits you," Jay stated.

"Can you two just kiss already so we can go home?" Carlos asked, annoyed.

Mal and Jay were surprised to see Carlos and Evie, who were standing a few feet away from them. Evie elbowed Carlos' arm after what he said. The boy reacted by saying, "Ow," while rubbing his arm and glaring at her.

"How long have you been standing there?" Mal asked.

"To the part where Jay said you cared about him," Carlos answered, earning another hit on the arm from Evie.

"Would you stop hitting me?!" Carlos exclaimed, irritated by his friend.

"We weren't going to kiss," Jay stated, looking back and forth between Mal and Carlos.

"Sure looked like it to me," Carlos replied.

Evie was about to smack him again, but he cut her off by saying, "If you hit me one more time, I will kill you!"

Mal and Jay looked back at each other again and realized how close they were to each other. Getting really uncomfortable, Mal let go of his shirt, pushing him away. Jay stumbled back, but regained his balance before he could fall. Mal turned to Evie and Carlos.

"So, you two have fun exploring?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"No. It's scary. Evie won't comfort me. I don't like it. Now can we please get out of here?" Carlos said.

"Sure," Mal replied, wanting to get out as well.

"Let's go, Mr. Grumpypants," Evie said to Carlos, walking with him to find the exit.

Mal and Jay followed them, walking several feet behind. Out of nowhere, Jay smirked, catching Mal's attention.

"What now?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"Oh, nothing. Just you getting angry at me when I scared you," Jay answered.

"Yeah. So?" Mal asked.

"You're cute when you're angry," Jay stated.

Mal turned pink, but tried to hide it, or else nonstop teasing from Jay would occur. She turned her head away momentarily until she could think of a good comeback.

"So me elbowing you in the stomach was cute, huh? I'll do it again if you don't shut your pie hole," Mal said, recovering from her blushing.

"Hey, I'm just trying to have a little chat with you, babe," Jay replied.

Mal growled again. "If you keep talking, I'm seriously gonna hit you. Actually, you know what? Keep talking. I'd love to smack that stupid grin off your face," she said happily.

"Can you two please stop flirting?" Carlos asked, annoyed and grossed out.

Just a head's up on the next one coming: it's gonna be about when the VKs were younger. Similar to the oneshot about when the hero kids were younger.