Chapter 9 – Definitely Not a Cliffhanger
WARNING – nongraphic attack. See endnotes for more details.
-:-:-
"I'm sorry," Chad said, his throat feeling tight. "I thought it was good, Ben. I didn't-" He turned to look over his shoulder, where Jay and Carlos were flanking him. "I'm so sorry, guys. I didn't mean to make you look stupid."
"You didn't," Jay immediately soothed, wrapping an arm around Chad's waist. "It is a good show, all of us thought so."
"But you don't know any better," Chad sniffed. "You trusted me and I fucked that up. I-" he let out a weak sob, which was entirely humiliating but at the moment, he couldn't really process it. "I made things worse for you."
"Chad," Ben said, and now he looked sorrowful, or at the very least apologetic, taking a tentative step forward with his brows furrowed in a definite expression of concern. "I'm sorry."
"Go fuck yourself," Jay hissed, tugging Chad closer to him as he stared down the future king of Auradon. "You're the one that made him cry in the first place."
Whatever temporary reprieve Ben had managed to settle on immediately disappeared, replaced with an obvious frustration as he bared his teeth once more. "That's what you wanted, isn't it? That's why you suggested this?"
"I already told you it was my idea," Chad sniffed, dabbing at his cheeks. "The world isn't some conspiracy theory and you would know that if you ever just talked to the transfer students-"
"It has to be something," Ben snapped. "None of this makes any sense! You completely changed who you are and have spent so much time fighting for these people you don't even know! And you say it's because the right thing to do, but I think-"
"What?" Jay growled. "That he got possessed by dark magic or something?"
"Doesn't that seem like the most probable option?" Ben rumbled in a challenge.
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Chad asked. "You sound like a crazy person." He leaned more into Jay's comfort, grateful for the hand Carlos was curling around his elbow until Ben started letting out more pointed growls.
"Stop touching him," Ben snapped. "Stop touching him, stop dating him-"
"You don't own me," Chad pressed. "And I know you want to date me-"
"You know that?" Ben challenged. "Then why-"
"I can't be who you want anymore!" Chad snapped. "And you need to come to terms with that! I'm not that guy anymore, and you don't get to yell at me or my partners in public just because you don't like that!"
"What did you do?" Ben growled, and this was aimed at Jay and Carlos, seeming almost desperate. "What the fuck did you two do?"
"Nothing," Chad said, feeling somewhat hysterical. "They never could have done anything! They've never done anything except be nice to me-"
"I'm nice to you!"
"No you're not!" Chad hissed, tears pouring down his cheeks while the room seemed to shake with the echo of his cry. "You haven't been nice to me since the summer. I changed, and instead of coming to terms with that you've been yelling at me and mad that I won't be your lovable dipshit anymore, but that's not who I am and it's not going to be who I am and you need to get over it!"
This felt like a breaking point they were always going to reach, and maybe it was best that they did it here instead of in front of their parents, but somehow it still hurt, because maybe his Ben didn't like him back home but he'd come to accept Chad for who he was. He wasn't actively antagonistic. Chad could make roundabout suggestions and his Ben would think it was amusing and indulge him and this Ben would forever be mad and there wasn't a damn thing Chad could do about it.
It left Chad weakly sobbing, even though he should be done with such childish indulgences.
He turned to bury his face in Jay's chest, wishing the hurt would go away.
"I'm sorry," Chad croaked, holding on tight to the Agraben. "You would have been better with a-anyone else. Anyone else would have been better, but I ruined it."
"No, we would not have," Carlos said quietly, joining in on their hug. "Because anyone else would have not been you."
"You need to go, Ben," Doug said, his voice firm as he shoved himself in front of Chad's huddle. "You need to get out of here before I report you to the security team."
"I…" Ben sounded lost, and that made Chad sob again because he'd done that by not being who Ben wanted him to be, and Chad was good at many things but he couldn't fake being bubbly and cheerful the way Ben seemed to need.
Stupid, how it took him this long to realize that while he was making the VKs' lives better he was making this Ben's life worse. Chad had done that. He'd made the wonderful, future king of Auradon unstable in a way that he would never be able to fix. Maybe Chad should break up with the VKs. Maybe he should just date Ben and Audrey like they wanted, but he wouldn't be right and it would just make them mad, because no one besides this version of the VKs even really wanted Chad around anyway.
He couldn't stop sobbing. This was so stupid, he'd already been through his dramatic teenage years. Why was he having an angsty breakdown now?
"Get out," Doug repeated, his voice firm, and Chad distantly heard the sound of fabric shifting, Ben hopefully beating a hasty retreat while Chad cried into Jay's shoulder.
"It will be okay," Jay soothed, running a hand down Chad's back. "It will be alright."
"No it won't," Chad croaked, and then, further proving that he really was the greatest good guy there ever was, Jay continued to hold him while Chad cried out the rest of his pathetic tears.
He supposed in a way it was a long time coming.
-:-:-
"Well," Chad's mom said when Doug led his parents backstage, Chad sort of stuck in the middle of a cuddle pile with Mal and the others. "I understand why you didn't want us to sit next to Ben's parents now."
"I'm sorry," Chad gushed all over again, Mal trying to shoosh him with a frustrated look. She and Evie had been held back through the might of Jane and Lonnie – who had scrambled after Ben in an ultimately dismal effort to do damage control. It was for the best, but he knew the Dark Fae wasn't happy about the state Ben had left Chad in, even if the blond had brought it on himself. "I thought it was good."
"It was good," Chad's mom said, bringing his entire world to a stop. His dad moved in with her, and soon Chad found himself passed off to his parents, the others watching while they comforted his tears. "Sweetheart, it was a lovely show. It was a bit too much for Benjamin to handle, sure, but that doesn't mean it was bad. You had a message and you got it across."
"And tugged on our heartstrings while you were at it," Chad's father said with a fond grin. "The satire might have been a bit strong, but that doesn't negate the fact that overall, it was a very good musical and all of you did an amazing job performing in it."
"You thought it was good?" Chad asked. "I didn't make everyone look bad? I didn't make things harder for the transfer students?"
"Hardly," his mother soothed. "The only people who'd allow their feathers to be ruffled over a musical written by high schoolers are the same people who would have pitched a fit over anything anyway. You can't worry about them, Kit – they aren't worth your effort."
"But," Chad sniffed. "But Ben…"
His parents gave him sympathetic looks. "I suspect this was a longtime coming," his mother murmured, cupping his cheek in her hand. It was strange to be the center of her focus. "Kit, none of us hold your desire to change against you, but I don't think any of us realized that as much as Ben had been hurting from your new mindset, you were hurting at his complete lack of support."
Chad tried not to flinch because he was above such things, because his feelings got hurt all the time and it was stupid to cry over them now, but he couldn't stop the reaction. It was like he was too worked up to even give it a try.
"You've done some amazing things in the last few months," Chad's father cut in, present and supporting and loving in a way Chad couldn't remember his own father ever being, too lost to depression. "And while you did amazing things before, what you've accomplished now definitely deserves to be commended."
"He's afraid he's hurting us," Mal cut in, unable to hold her silence any longer. "Because of Ben's stupid responses. I think he feels guilty because of that."
"And you shouldn't," his mom hummed. "Sweetheart, I promise that no matter what happens your father and I will do whatever it takes to protect your partners." Chad blinked at them, startled by this suggestion, that they'd take his plan and run with it. "You're not alone. I know there seems to be a lot of suspicions in regards to your plans, but your father and I can see for ourselves that your concerns are absolutely justified. We should and will be getting more children off the Isle."
"The entire system as it stands is broken," Chad's father said. "But we're going to fix it. You got the ball rolling, and we will be forever proud of you for doing that much, but we've got things from here."
"You…" Chad could scarcely believe it. "You're going to help? You don't think I'm crazy?"
"You're not crazy," his mom huffed, hugging him tight. "You are passionate and determined and stubborn, but more than that you are my son, whose heart is so wonderfully big that the thought of harming the people he loves brings tears to his eyes."
"It will be okay," Chad's father said, his gaze shifting between Chad and the VKs. "We are going to make it okay, but just know that whatever happens, we are with you until the end."
"Shit," Mal sniffed, dabbing at her cheeks while Carlos and Evie cuddled into Jay behind her. "Thank you, your majesties."
"You don't have to thank us for doing the right thing, Miss Bertha," Chad's mom said. "That is our privilege, and one we won't be slacking on going forward."
"Can't let you pull the weight for all Sardinia's courage and kindness, now can we?" Chad's father asked him, giving Chad's curls a careful nuzzle. "You're not alone, kiddo. We've been giving you space until now, but I think we're going to go back to being the obnoxious nosy people we used to be."
"I don't think I'd mind that," Chad admitted, and for once, he was pretty sure he was telling the truth, so-
That was something.
-:-:-
It probably wasn't that much of a surprise when Chad found himself in Fairy Godmother's office later, though at least he was allowed to change out of his costume – the VKs waiting out in the hall with Captain Anozie and Chad's grandfather while Chad and Ben's parents took up positions beside them in front of Fairy Godmother's desk.
"I have to, at the very least, give you a week's detention, Benjamin," Fairy Godmother said, wearing an apologetic expression. "That is not how we handle conflict resolution at Auradon Prep, and you should know better."
Ben couldn't really argue with her, though he seemed more occupied by Chad's weary expression, like he could see the tear tracks the blond had washed away if he stared hard enough.
"Now," she continued. "There is the matter of you skirting my previous punishment-"
"That was excessive and you know it," Chad sniffed on principle. "And it was my idea anyway, so don't blame Ben for that. I asked if he'd just pretend to take credit because I knew he wouldn't like the show as much."
King Adam actually growled. "So you did this on purpose."
"I thought he'd come around to it," Chad pressed. "It's unconventional, but a good show."
His parents said so and Chad had thought so and everyone else had thought so. That had to be a strong enough majority.
"Let's not get into the why," Fairy Godmother cut in. "What matters is that you disobeyed my earlier punishment and Benjamin enabled it."
"Technically," Chad's mother spoke up. "Chad did write a musical. He put the work in. I realize the purpose of this exercise was to give Ben and Chad an avenue in which they could safely build up their relationship again, but I think in light of this evening's events, that isn't going to be possible."
Ben actually flinched, prompting his mother's expression to shift into one of deep worry. "Please don't say that, Ella," Queen Belle urged. "They've hit a rough patch, but all teenagers do at some point."
"Yes," Chad's mother agreed. "But Ben has taken this with significantly less grace than befits his station, and as much as he has been hurting, so has Chad, so-" She turned her attention back to Fairy Godmother. "If you would like to give them another punishment, we could stand by that, we just request that it be something more along the lines of conventional punishment."
Fairy Godmother sighed. "Seeing as Chad did the work and the musical seems to be a success, I will consider his punishment carried out." She turned to Ben and his family. "Benjamin, in addition to your week's worth of detention for what happened tonight you have Saturday detention for the rest of the semester. Can we agree that's fair?"
"It seems a bit much, don't you think?" King Adam rumbled. "Having that many detentions on Ben's record, especially before he gets coronated, will give the council probable cause to delay his coronation."
"That's not something you need to worry about, King Adam," Fairy Godmother hummed. "As I will be submitting an inquiry myself at the next council meeting to do just that." Both the king and Ben tensed, but Fairy Godmother pushed onwards. "I think it's quite evident that Ben deserves more time to get through his growing pains – as it were – before he's forced to take on such a big responsibility, and given his history of behavior this year, I don't think I'm the only one who agrees with this."
For once King Adam seemed flabbergasted, and Chad's parents, while sympathetic, did not seem surprised.
"But that's council business," Fairy Godmother continued in a bright chirp. "For now our school business is taken care of, and you are both dismissed to enjoy your evenings." She turned to address Chad specifically. "It was a lovely show, Chadwick. And I'm not just saying that because I'm horribly biased."
"Thanks, Fairy Godmother," Chad said, a light blush building on his cheeks. "I appreciate it."
He could hardly believe it, but he supposed that was just the way of things sometimes.
-:-:-
One week later and Ben's coronation was officially postponed until after he'd completed college, assuming he passed the same wellness evaluations he had already undergone his freshman year of Auradon Prep. Chad didn't see the fallout of this in person, but he was sure it was devastating for Ben because it would have been devastating for his Ben back home. Chad wished there was something he could offer the brunette prince but he was pretty sure Mal wouldn't be down for fixing things with magic love and besides, this version of Audrey seemed to be one of the only things holding this Ben together anyway, so maybe cutting her out would be a terrible idea.
So he'd made a bit of a mess of things. He probably should have realized before this point that things couldn't unwind the same way they had in his own dimension. They were two different worlds with different needs, different setups, and trying to apply the logic he'd gotten from his own world could only get him so far. So like, while he was mostly fine with his bounty of romantic partners he'd never had before, with his parents stepping up to be a driving force for the Isle reforms, this Ben just… wasn't.
Hopefully, being given the opportunity to chill for a few years would help him settle.
Unfortunately, this wasn't something Chad could dwell on because two weeks after their meeting with Fairy Godmother (and one successful show run of 'Shrek' later), Chad and his beaus were invited to a ball at Auradon Castle.
"I don't want to go to this," Chad said to his parents over Skype, because he was trying to be honest about his feelings nowadays, even if he wasn't very good at it.
His father gave him a sympathetic look. "I understand. And in truth, I don't think King Adam would invite you had proper decorum not demanded such a thing, but a lot of people overheard Ben's confrontation with you on opening night, which means a public display of apology must be made."
"Is that what this is?" Chad asked, holding up the over-fancy envelope that outlined the events' details.
"Essentially," his father hummed. "You don't have to accept, Kit, but if you did, it would greatly help Central Auradon and King Adam knows it. Therefore, it would create a sort of dept that would allow your mother and I to start making our proposals for the penal system reforms and have them gain some actual traction."
"Ah," Chad said, beginning to see the politics behind it. "So this would ultimately help us?"
"Definitely," his father said. "I don't want to pressure you either way-"
"It's fine, dad," Chad interrupted. "I've suffered worse for the sake of duty. We can manage a few hours of small talk at a ball."
"Your mother and I were invited as well," Chad's father said. "So we'll go ahead and RSVP, provide some tolerable backup."
"Please and thank you," Chad said, and it was still strange to be able to count on his family for support in his future endeavors.
They did as best as they could to plan. Chad and Evie walked the others through dance lessons and they came up with strategies for what to do if they got separated, who should default to stick with who, who they needed to avoid. Chad quizzed them for what they should do if they run into a member of the press and so did Queen Snow upon learning about the ball (that she also RSVPed to).
Evie made them outfits and Chad showed them building layouts and potential points for retreat and gave them as much access to Sardinian backup as he possibly could.
Despite all this, it still felt too soon when the night of the ball actually arrived. There was a bit of added anxiety because Jay and Chad were arranged to be introduced separately from the others, which Mal didn't like at all.
"It's part of the apology," Chad's father tried to explain as they waited patiently in the grand hall to be properly announced to the ballroom below. "Jadir was the one who took the brunt of Ben's displeasure out of all of you that night. This is a way to rectify that, to give Jay a show of public support. The rest of you will also be introduced as Chad's partners, but Jay needs to go first as the wounded party."
"We get introduced and then we can go straight to the snacks table," Chad reminded them. "Get all the fancy appetizers and hide in the corner until we're forced to dance for a bit. It will be fine."
"This is stupid," Mal muttered, crossing her arms with a huff. "We're finally invited to a fancy ball and we can't even enjoy it because of Ben."
"It will be okay," Chad repeated, because maybe if he said it enough times he might actually start believing it.
"Your highness?" one of the footmen spoke up tentatively, and with that Chad and Jay were led to their respective doors so they could make their grand entrance.
The Auradon Castle ballroom was set up so that there was an entrance on each side of the upper gallery – two grand staircases that met in the middle that then became one large staircase that delivered them into the ballroom. It was designed to create dramatic entrances and Chad had heard Mrs. Potts wax poetic more than once about the first time Queen Belle and King Adam had done the very same themselves when meeting for their fancy dinner date.
From his position by the staircase rail, Cogsworth announced them to the rest of the contingent. "Introducing his royal highness, Prince Chadwick James of Sardinia and his beau, Mister Jadir of Agrabah!"
There were the expected golf claps that followed that statement, polite cheer that Chad mostly ignored in favor of catching Jay's eye. He knew the other teen was worried about making an entrance on his own, as little as he acknowledged it. Even if it was just one staircase, Chad understood his concern. They were in front of a lot of people right now, but Chad believed in Jay. He tried to project this with a polite smile, something Jay echoed with a broad grin of his own, and Chad got so lost to this small thing that he didn't notice something was wrong until it was entirely too late.
The fact of the matter was that he'd gotten complacent in this form of Auradon that didn't regularly try to kill him. He'd gotten complacent being 'friends' with Ben, with having a family that cared for him, with having a kingdom that wanted him as its prince.
He'd gotten comfortable, and in that comfort forgotten himself and the cruelties that the world had to offer.
He felt like things were happening in slow motion, Jay was descending the stairs – looking striking in one of Evie's creations – and then Chad caught it, movement from the corner of his eye, something showering down from above him.
He didn't need to know what it was to sense that it was bad, and he braced himself to move even if it felt too late, even if it had gotten too close because he'd been too lazy- when there was a sudden flash of red light and he felt himself getting bodily shoved out of the way.
The crowd gasped, panic building below, but Chad ignored that as he scrambled to his feet from where he was carelessly tossed aside, looking up in time to see Jay take a full blast of acid to his back because the dumb asshole had managed to teleport himself to Chad but not fast enough to get them both out of the way.
"Jay!" Chad shouted, ignoring the acid that was burning into the marble of the revered staircase as he heard his boyfriend let out a terrible cry. "Jay, Jay!"
"Idiot!" someone cried from below. "Saving the blond wench of Sardinia! Someone needs to-"
Chad didn't know who it was and didn't care, assuming the guards would take care of it as he focused the entirety of his attention on Jay.
"You fucking idiot," Chad hissed as he fumbled to feel Jay's pulse. It was weak and fading, Chad could feel the Agraben fading because he was dying, the acid was- and it felt so familiar but was still so very wrong and Chad couldn't- "Don't you dare," he murmured, cupping Jay's cheek which already looked so pale. "Please. Please."
Not like this. Jay deserved a lot of things, but going out like this wasn't one of them. He needed to be there for his friends. He needed to be there to watch Mal's back and protect Carlos when he was scared and hold Evie's hand when she was nervous. They needed his cheesy jokes and his strength and his loyalty. They needed him to be their teddy bear and the kids at the community center needed him to be their jungle gym and game leader and the Tourney team needed him and Jay was just- he mattered so fucking much, and now he was going to die because some Central Auradon fuckwit hated Chad so much for delaying Ben's coronation that they wanted to kill him for it.
If he could do anything, anything to make that right, to switch their places, Chad would have. His parents would survive without him, they could have another kid. Sardinia would be safe in their hands, Auradon would be safe in Mal's. There was such a future for them now, but Chad couldn't sit and watch as Jay's light was snuffed out, he just needed…
Chad felt it, a small thing curling deep inside him. He didn't know what it was at first, but eventually he placed the light and airy energy as magic from Fairy Godmother's wand. It was kind, a knowing thing that pulsed deep inside him, near his heart. Something he knew without really confirming that had been tethering him to Dumb Chad's body all along.
Oh.
He did have a choice, then, and it wasn't one he hesitated to take, grabbing hold of that familiar bundle of magic and coaxing it into Jay with as much control as he could muster. Distantly, he was aware of medics and guards rushing to their position, of Mal and the others, his parents and Ben's parents and maybe even Ben himself closing in but Jay was fading fast, and Chad needed to bring him back before he was gone completely. He didn't need to read a spell book to know what using all this energy meant, but in the end, he knew that was the only thing that would satisfy Jay's wounds. A life for a life.
In truth, Chad had always been living on borrowed time.
"What's happening?" Mal gushed as she fell to her knees beside him, watching as the white energy Chad fed into Jay's body started healing the terrible burns on his back. "What is this?"
"Balance," Chad said, coaxing the last few dregs of energy into Jay. When it was done he knew the Agraben was safe, knew he was no longer in danger, even as the darkness started cutting in on the edges of his vision.
"…fuck," Jay muttered, turning towards them with a pained look as his eyelashes fluttered open. "W-What was that?"
"You saved Chad from an attack," Evie told him, running a careful hand through his now loose hair.
"Balance?" Mal said. "What do you mean, balance?"
"I um- I gave him my life force," Chad said, making more than one person still. "A life for a life."
"Chad," Mal said, her eyes shining with moisture. "What do you mean? That's not- that's not a thing; you can't do magic."
"I could do this," Chad said, and he felt himself beginning to fade. "It will be okay, Mal. Trust my parents, they'll look after you."
"Chad," Mal repeated, tears leaking from her eyes now. "Stop messing around."
"I love you," he said, his lips beginning to feel slow and uncooperative. "I love you all very much. I was lucky to have you. Thanks for that."
"Chad," Mal croaked, but the darkness was claiming him now, pulling him deep, deep under.
The noise faded away, and so did the pain, until at last there was nothing but the endless void.
And then, peace.
-:-:-
Endnotes:
Because how better to follow up a cliffhanger, but with another cliffhanger? ;D
*Definitely doesn't run into the distance laughing maniacally*
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I genuinely didn't realize how hard that cliffhanger hit until after the fact – it was one scene I broke up over two chapters for the sake of editing, I hope the other side of it was a satisfying conclusion :)
Story notes:
WARNING – nongraphic attack – assassination attempt via acid in the last scene.
Until next time
