A little bit shorter than usual, but hopefully it's just as good.

"Come on, just try again. You almost had it," Ben said.

Jay clenched his jaw tightly. He felt foolish and tired. They had been at this for over an hour, and he still hadn't quite gotten it down smoothly.

Jay, Mal, Carlos, and Evie had been joined by Ben, Jane, and Chad upon Jay's request. So, it was his fault really that he was in this predicament. Ben, Jane, and Chad were teaching the Villain Kids to dance, like ballroom dance. Just before leaving the boutique that morning, Audrey had mentioned that she and Jay would need to dance at the beginning of the party. Alone. In front of everyone.

Panicked, Jay had gone to Mal and mentioned this. There had been exactly zero opportunities on the Isle to learn courtier dancing. So, one thing had led to another, and well, that was how the impromptu dance lessons had been scheduled for that evening in Mal and Evie's dorm room. They had pushed all the furniture to the sides of the room to clear a space in the middle. With the Auradon natives leading their respective Isle partners, the teaching had begun. Jay had simply watched for a while but was now switching between Mal and Evie as his partner to practice with.

"This is hopeless," Jay said, dropping the waltz hold with Mal again and frowning.

"No, it's ok." Ben stepped forward and nudged them back together, repositioning their hold where necessary.

"Easy for you to say," Jay grumbled. "You probably learned to dance before you could walk."

"I was six actually. Mom hired me a tutor. But that's not the point." Ben waved a hand dismissively. "Try again." He pressed a button on the stereo and delicate music drifted through the room, its melody rising and falling like waves of silk.

Jay began dancing, leading Mal through the steps. He abruptly stepped on her foot and dropped her hand. "No, I just...I can't do this." He scrubbed a hand over his face, annoyed with himself. What was wrong with him? Evie and Mal had learned the steps easily. And even Carlos was pretty confident in the dance now. But Jay just couldn't grasp it. He kept stepping on Mal's feet or mixing up which hand held hers and which rested on her waist. And the party was less than twenty-four hours away. There was no way he could do it. He would just duck out and apologize to Audrey the next day. That was the best solution rather than embarrassing her at her own party.

"Why don't we take a break?" Ben suggested. He stopped the music, and Carlos and Jane stopped dancing, followed soon by Evie and Chad. They all broke apart, drifting to the fringes of the room where the chairs were and where they had set up water and pretzels on the table that was now near the window.

Jay sat on the end of Mal's bed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hey," Mal said, taking a seat beside him. She pushed a glass of water into his hand. "You'll get it."

Jay stared at the water, watching the ripples dance across the surface of the water from the shaking of his hands. "Easy for you to say. You won't be being watched so closely. People will notice if I make a mistake."

"That's..." Mal paused and glanced to the others as if to make sure none of them were listening. She looked back at Jay. "That's not the only reason you're nervous. You want to impress Audrey, don't you?"

Jay took a long drink of water before finally deciding he would have to answer or she'd keep him sitting there all night. He lowered the glass and ran the tip of his index finger around the rim. "What gives you that idea?"

"Carlos spilled the beans about you and Audrey getting together after the coronation."

Heated burst in Jay's chest and rushed to his fingers. He forced his grip on the glass to remain slack even though he wanted desperately to shatter it. It wasn't that he minded Mal knowing, but the more people that knew, the harder it would be to hide his emotions if nothing ever came of his affections for Audrey. She had already done enough damage by slicing his heart in two by specifically stating they would be going to the party as friends. But, he had reasoned, perhaps it was still a step in the right direction if he played his cards right.

"Jay, why keep it a secret? You're Audrey's date," Mal said. She smiled. "You're going to have lots of fun tomorrow with her."

Jay frowned. "She told me we're going as friends. She doesn't want to date me because of my history."

"You mean your dad?"

"That and stealing. All of that stuff that people judged us for because of how we grew up. She doesn't want to look past it. But...I don't know...I've seen it...in her eyes...she's willing to look past it, but something stops her every time. She's warring with herself, and I hate it. I'm at her mercy."

Mal turned her attention to Ben on the other side of the room. He was laughing at something Chad had said. She turned back to Jay, and he was surprised to see her smile was bright and encouraging. "That's what love is, Jay. It's being vulnerable with someone. And it's scary. It's so scary. But, it's worth it."

"Only if she returns it," Jay said. "If she pushes me away...what do I do?"

"Her loss."

"Easy for you to say."

"Yes. But then she might realize exactly what she's lost and get over herself," Mal said.

Jay managed a laugh. "If you say so."

"Hey, trust me. Mal knows best."

Jay just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, ok, whatever you say."

Mal laughed and stood. She extended a hand to him. "Come on, let's try that waltz again. You have a princess to impress."

Thoughts? I had fun writing this one because convos between Mal and Jay can be quite fun to write. Please leave a review! Fave and follow!

Foarrin