Chapter Forty Two
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else is owned by either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Behold! My favorite scroll to write—err…I mean chapter! But seriously, I know there are people who hate Did I Mention and believe it or not, I get major second hand embarrassment at the beginning. But the rest of the song is so cute and bouncy and…*breathes before this A/N goes on a fan rant about Ben* I'm cool, I'm calm…
As always, thank you all so much for your support and your reviews! It honestly does mean the world to me! :D
Neverknownfuture: Oh you're so welcome! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! :D
twilightgirl587: Honestly the movie should have had it where there was an empty bowl where Lonnie's tear fell into instead of Mal just tossing it into the batter. And yes, because of the fact that I came up with 'Ben being immune to love potions/spells' after writing that chapter of WAL, that Ben did have different christening gifts. I may have multiple additions of Harry Potter books. And Fantastic Beasts.
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Lol I have a feeling you're enjoying these chapters a bit too much aren't you? That's okay, so am I!
LotusQuil: I can definitely see that as well! I grew up in a big football family so I can definitely see them all hanging on every word! And now I want cookies too!
61394: Ben will never escape the Ridiculous jokes! Yeah, I think any father would like a kid who stands up for their little sister like that.
midnight rose112358: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I agree, I think that would be hilarious!
CrystalKaouri: No worries about not reviewing the new updates! I know real life can get hectic! Glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Marcus Emrys: Not at all! I'd like to build my own library—with a hidden entrance too. Aww! I love that idea of the stuffed rabbit being dropped in Audrey's lap! :D
HufflepuffInDaHealingCoven: Oh wow! I'm only allergic to penicillin but my roommate is actually allergic to Neosporin. I used to love ants on a log but now I can't stand the taste of celery.
danifan3000: I mean, Hades is his future wife's dad. Ben should just build him a vacation home in Auradon anyway. :D
Monkeymama1516: Hey, when you have to go dramatic, a big song and dance number is the way to go! :D
JaclynnM: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :D
Lord of the A.U. FanFiction: Yeah, Ben, Audrey, and Chad are definitely in some hot water with their parents that's for sure!
NobleMaidenFair: Oh my Gods! As always I love your one-shots! If I wasn't horrible with accents, I'd definitely bring in Merdia and her family!
Anonymous Reader: In all honesty, I borrowed that from the whole 'you had a crush on me, I was with Audrey, you didn't trust that it could happen on its own' thing from D1.
jessanminego5134: Slapping Leah is always encouraged! And they don't know yet but there might be the beginnings of knowing (if that makes sense) in the next chapter!
Wrighting'GIRL3000: Thank you so much for that! I definitely appreciate it, not growing up religious in anyway. And no worries about missing the chapters—I'm sorry about your computer! Glad you're liking it! :d
LOST MUSES: Oh I'm so glad you liked the one shot and this story! Just as a heads up, I don't think The Value of a Crew is going to have more than 10 chapters. 15 at the most. :D It pretty much is a side project in the event writer's block hits me for the main three (The Last Bridge, Choosing Home or Truth or Fiction). Yes we will touch on Chad's hypnosis! And I'll try to write an Akiho/Mal story at one point. Promise. Go ahead, spoil it for me!
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
"Okay, let's read about our championship game," Chad said with a nervous smile. He in all honesty was not looking forward to what was going to happen after the scroll ended.
Ben made his way down to the locker room with a small spring in his step.
"Someone seems happy," Lucas said.
Even if there was the hurdle of Audrey not grasping the fact that they were no longer together, Ben couldn't find it in him to care at that point.
"Ben, you probably should care," Macaria said. "If she doesn't grasp the fact that you're no longer together, she'll pester you about it and by extension she'll pester Mal."
Mal was interested in him. Interested enough to try to spell him.
Malinda chuckled. "I will admit I may have been in a bit of a denial stage regarding my feelings there when I gave Ben the cookie."
"I can't believe you're all just being so calm about this!" Audrey exclaimed.
"How'd you get out of my grip?" Audie asked.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "She's flat out saying she's stealing my boyfriend and yet you—."
"Audrey, you said yourself that you're supposed to be 'Queen'. Not that you're supposed to be Ben's wife," Akiho said, rolling his eyes. "All you care about is the crown.
Honestly the novelty of the whole thing was enough to make Ben grin. He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough to think Mal and Jay were dating.
"One more time for those in the back. Jay. Is. My. Brother," Mal said.
"We get it Mali," Uma said with a smirk. "But why does it matter what Beastie Jr. thinks about your relationship status with Jay if you don't like him?"
"Well, well, well, what's this on our captain's face?" Akiho teased as Ben walked into the locker room.
"A smile. You've seen it before Akiho," Ben shook his head.
"More importantly, why aren't you teasing Ben for almost being late to the game?" Elle asked, looking at Akiho.
"Because Ben running late is almost common place, even if him being late to games isn't," Akiho told her. "However…Ben looking happy hasn't really been a thing for I'd say the past year. Makes sense why future me would note that."
"No, that smile only shows up when you've been around Mal," Emir said, backing up his best friend.
"I don't have a specific smile when I'm around Mal," Ben said, shaking his head.
"We may have only been here for who knows how long but trust us Ben, you've got a certain smile that comes whenever you talk to Mal," Emir said, nodding his head.
"And considering we heard Audrey shrieking up a storm as we made our way to the locker room…"
"But by the grace of the Gods and of Audie, we didn't hear it here and were able to keep our hearing!" Akiho said with a grin.
Ben shrugged as he started to take off his shirt to put on the undershirt that would go under his pads. "She didn't like the fact that I revoked my consent for the Betrothal contract."
"Didn't like would be an understatement," Ashaki said, shaking her head.
He paused as he got changed, looking at his two best friends who seemed frozen in surprise. "Guys? Hello? The game?"
"You're free?"
"If you've got to be dramatic about it, then yes I'm free," Ben told them, rolling his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure dramatic is one of their middle names," Neal said with a small chuckle.
"Nope!" Emir grinned. "Mine's Hamed."
"Mine's Agnarr," Akiho nodded.
Lucy shook her head. "You can have more than one middle name though! Like Dad!"
"Please don't Lucy," Kit shook his head. "I'd rather not be here for an eternity as you recite my full name."
"Okay now I'm curious," Uma said with a smirk. "What is it?"
Kitty grinned. "King Christopher Rupert Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James Charming, and before you get upset dad, you told Lucy not to say it. Not me."
"Nice try Katherine Charlotte," Kit said with a sigh. "And you know you set her up for that Lucille Sydney."
"Oh thank the Gods!" Emir exclaimed as Akiho looked skyward as if truly thanking the Gods. Ben couldn't help but shake his head at his friends' antics.
"Guys, come on—"
"What did you expect from them Ben?" Emma asked with a small chuckle.
"We're finally rid of the Banshee!" Akiho sighed in relief. "Thank you Zeus, thank you Hera, thank you whoever else we need to thank!"
Hera couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Well you're welcome boys but I don't think we had anything to do with that."
"Thank you Persephone!" Emir stated. "After all, she's Mal's mom and something tells me it was Mal who talked Ben into finally seeing the light."
"He's not wrong there," Aziz said with a nod of his head.
Persephone couldn't help but smile slightly. "You're welcome Prince Emir but I do have to say I in no way condone Mal spelling Prince Ben."
"It got him away from Audrey though," Emir pointed out. "We have no issue there."
"Isn't he still technically with Audrey right now though?" Akiho asked.
Not if Adam and Belle's talk with Ben goes the way I think it does, Chip thought.
Ben sighed and chuckled. "Yeah well Audrey's under the impression that I just broke up with her to concentrate on the Tourney game. Apparently it's what the pros do or something.
Phillip Sr. sighed. In this case, he could see and understand his daughter's denial. After all, she'd spent her whole life being told she'd be with Ben forever. It would naturally be a shock to find out that wasn't the case anymore.
I'm hoping she'll get the hint after the game…I'm going to see if I can talk to Mal in private," he told them, a small smile gracing his lips.
Malinda chuckled. "That's the one thing you never did do, talk to me in private after the game," she said.
"What about our date?" Benji asked. "That was after the game after all."
"Okay, so maybe I should have said right after the game."
Akiho and Emir looked at each other and grinned.
"Ben, just consider the dramatic option when you talk to Mal. Maybe talk to Mal in public instead of in private," Emir told Ben as he and Akiho started changing as well. "It might be the only way to get through to Audrey."
"She's certainly proven that to be the case," Akiho muttered.
Ben sighed as he tightened his pads. "Guys…I'm not a dramatic person and really, have you thought about how that might affect Mal? She doesn't seem like she'd be into the dramatics either."
"Even a non dramatic person can turn to the dramatics in the right situation," Cinderella said with a small smile.
"And Ben, seriously? Your toddler years tell a different story, Mr. Claims To Not Be Dramatic," Chip chuckled.
"Wait a minute," Akiho said as he pulled his pads on. "Dude, are you going to ask Mal out?"
"Be honest with us your highness, did you drop him on a block of ice when he was a baby?" Emir asked Kristoff.
"You know you're just as bad as he is, right?" Ashaki asked her older brother.
"Oh I know. But at least I can read between the lines and know that a private talk is pretty much code for 'I'm asking Mal out'."
"What else would a private talk mean?" Ben asked with a shrug.
"Tell her you're not spelled for one," Neal pointed out.
"Finally!" Emir exclaimed. "Ben, you have no idea how hard it's been not to lock you two up in the art classroom just so you'd ask her out! You two have this weird 'will they/won't they' tension and it's so frustrating!"
Benji and Malinda chuckled. "Oh we worked out that tension."
"We don't have tension!" Ben and Mal said in unison, both of their cheeks flushing red at the thought.
"Shh! Do you want Audrey thinking Mal and I have been sneaking around behind her back or something?" Ben asked, hoping he wasn't blushing.
"Ben wouldn't do that," Lonnie said, shaking her head. "He's too loyal."
"Jury's out on Audrey though," Emma added.
"Excuse me?!"
"You're excused Audrey though I'm not sure where you're going to go."
"Dude, anyone with eyes can tell you have feelings for Mal," Akiho said as he pulled his jersey up over his pads. "You kinda do this thing where the two of you get lost in your own little world when you get into a conversation and then you stare into her eyes like a lost puppy."
"Why does everyone want to compare me to a puppy?" Ben asked.
His friends stared at him in shock.
"He…he can't be serious?" Emir asked, his voice faint.
"Ben, come on!"
"No, I'm serious! That's the third time since reading these scrolls someone's compared me to a puppy!"
Estelle gave a small yip and trotted over to Ben, resting his heads on Ben's leg as if to ask what was wrong with being a puppy.
Ben shrugged. "They're nice eyes.
No they're not. They're evil eyes, they're Maleficent's eyes, Mal thought with a small frown and then shook her head. That didn't matter—having Maleficent's eyes meant safety on the Isle after all.
Anyway I shouldn't be surprised you two noticed that, if that is what happens. The team nicknamed you two my shadows after all."
"Akiho once told me my pupils dilated every time I looked at Mal," Benji said with a small chuckle.
Kristoff shook his head. "Why am I not surprised in the slightest?"
"Because you know your son," Anna said with a fond smile.
"Don't try to change the subject," Emir smirked before he grew serious.
"When the subject's Mal, I never change it," Benji said with a small chuckle.
"Ben, I know you said Mal doesn't care for the dramatic but you know it's the only way to get through to Audrey. Otherwise, not only will she continue to think the two of you are still dating but she might go after Mal as well. We know Mal can take care of herself, being Lady Persephone's daughter and all, but if Audrey goes after her that could get Leah involved."
Ben couldn't help but frown slightly, he knew Emir was right.
"Please," Mal scoffed. "She's a pink fly. I can handle her."
Ben sighed, knowing his best friends were right. Well, here's hoping Mal still talks to me after this, he thought. "Alright guys…what do you have in mind?"
"Why am I not surprised your shadows were the cause of that performance?" Malinda asked, shaking her head.
"I'm pretty sure you already knew that," Benji chuckled.
"And yet it still doesn't surprise me."
Emir stared in shock. "Wow, thought it would take more persuading than that."
"Seriously? It's to protect someone he cares about," Phillip Jr. said. "It's not that surprising honestly."
"Here's our thought," Akiho told Ben, "after the game, have the school spell out Mal's name. Then, I don't know, do like a big musical number. Doug can certainly give you a beat if you need it."
"Oh he certainly can do that!" Audie said with a small giggle.
"Guys, isn't that a little too far? I mean, I know it's dramatic but doesn't it seem a bit humiliating for Audrey?"
"Yes!" Leah exclaimed. "You can't do this Ben!"
"Teach your granddaughter to accept a break up then!" Hadie shot back.
"I beg your pardon!"
Hades bit back a chuckle. "Hadie, while I agree with your point, maybe let's not anger the shrieking grandma of doom, shall we?"
"We're from the Isle. We've faced worse than her," Hadie shrugged.
"Ben, how many shopping dates has she forced you on, even when you were bone tired? How many times has she called you 'Bennyboo' or 'Bennybear' in public or in front of your parents even though you've told her to stop? She's the master of the dramatic so only the most dramatic option will get through to her. And honestly…I think other than her band of followers, you'll have pretty much the whole school on your side to take her down a peg."
"Everything I've done? Shopping dates are not the worst thing in the world and the nicknames are cute!" Audrey exclaimed. "It's my school! They love me! You'll see! This won't happen!"
"You do remember who most if not all of our classmates are related to right?" Audie asked. "Breaking into song is almost a national pastime for Auradon. I think with the exception of the DunBrochs, every one of us at Auradon Prep has burst into song at least once."
Ben sighed. "Okay. I'm not entirely comfortable with this but I see your point. Plus Mal never asked for any of this—It wouldn't be fair to her if Audrey continued to think we were dating or if she started going after Mal."
Abby couldn't help but frown slightly as she heard that. While it was definitely cute that Ben was concerned about Mal, he needed to start thinking about himself as well.
His comfort mattered too.
"Exactly! If you won't do it for your sake…would you at least do it for Mal's?" Akiho asked gently, not knowing that he was playing what may have considered to be their trump card.
"Oh they're good," Hades said with a slight chuckle as Mal flushed a pale pink.
Ben ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "I'll do it," he said. "On one condition. We win the. game. If we lose, no one would even be in the mood to stay making the whole thing pointless."
Uma nodded. "That's sensible."
"Plus it gives Ben an out to avoid being dramatic," Emir chuckled.
"That's fair. Hey, speaking of the game, we should probably head out on the field before Coach drags us out there," Emir said. "Let's show Sherwood who's boss!"
"Even though we have absolutely nothing against their student body or those who may possibly be considering moving to Sherwood," Kitty said.
"Yeah, yeah, we know you're friends with Roland Hood," Chad chuckled. "Don't worry Kitty, we'll only give you a small amount of grief for fraternizing with the enemy."
"Yeah, we give Lonnie way worse," Lil Shang chuckled as Lonnie rolled her eyes at her brother.
Ben grinned as the three of them headed out to the field, the rest of the team huddled near the bench. Their coach was sitting down with his clipboard as they awaited the start of the game.
"Never once wondering where Ben had been or if he was okay considering he's usually the first one changed and warming up," Chad said, shaking his head.
"Huh. Are we corrupting Chad?" Emir asked Akiho.
"Would that be a bad thing if we were?" Akiho asked back.
"What's the game plan Coach?" Ben asked.
"Alright this is it," Coach said. "Championship game. Ben, I want you on left forward. Chad, you're on right. William, Akiho, Emir, you're starting on defense. Conner, you're in goal.
"Interesting," Ben said, leaning forward. "Conner's been a good goalie in the past but Brenden's slightly bigger which allows for him to protect higher along the net. Not to mention he didn't say who the third forward was."
"It might have been Li," Chad said. "That's usually the trio Coach goes with in games for forwards—you, me, and Li."
Now, I know you all have probably hated me while we prepared for the game but I can say for certain that Sherwood hasn't trained as hard as we have!"
"He did what he had to do if he wanted us to win," Benji said with a small smile, thinking about his coach.
"It was for a good cause coach," Ben said with a slight smile.
"Yeah coach, besides Ben ran us harder when you weren't there anyway," Conner chuckled. "There's never an easy practice when it comes to Tourney."
"Hey you guys will thank me when we're champions," Ben teased with a slight smile.
"Alright boys, I just want you to know whatever happens today we've had a good season and win or lose, I'm proud of you all. Now…can we do this?!"
"Yes coach!" Ben, Emir, Akiho, and Chad exclaimed; as if on reflex despite their coach not being in the room with them.
"You know your coach isn't here, right?" Chip asked, chuckling in amusement.
"Yes coach!" The team shouted in unison before putting their fists in the center of the huddle.
"Fighting Knights on three!" Coach said. "One, two, three!"
"Fighting Knights!"
"Go team!" Chip cheered.
"Yeah! Kick Sherwood's as—butt!" Lil Shang said, quickly changing his word choice as he remembered the under fifteens in the room. And that his father was giving him a look.
They raised their fists and the starters ran to the field while the rest of the team sat on the bench. Ben's eyes flickered to the stand for just a second. He caught a glimpse of Mal's purple hair about four rows from the top of the stands and couldn't help but smile.
"I'm sure the purple hair stands out in the crowd," Audie said with a small smile.
Alright, let's do this, he thought and the game got underway. Since Ben was no longer 'bound' to Audrey, he could focus more on the game rather than giving Audrey the smiles she was looking for as she cheered with the other cheerleaders on the sidelines.
"That's because she expected you to wave and smile to her every five minutes Ben!" Emir said, shaking his head. "Never mind how dangerous Tourney is if you're not paying attention."
Ben made a quick pass to Chad to tie up the game near the end of the first half. It was going to definitely be a close game.
"Come on Chad!" Alexandria cheered, on the edge of her seat to see if her brother would score.
"And what a shot by Chad as the first half comes to a close!" The announcer shouted. "We're all tied up here folks with The Fighting Knights 2, Sherwood Falcons 2."
"Nice one Chad!" Ben said with a grin.
"…couldn't have made the goal without the assist from you, Ben," Chad said with a small smile. Normally he'd be basking in the fact that he was the one to tie up the first half of the Championship game.
But his parents were still itching to talk to him about the whole 'getting girls to do his homework' thing so Chad thought it might be better if he appeared a bit more humble.
"You know that's not going to work right?" Kitty asked. "The whole faux-humble thing?"
"How did you—?"
"I'm two years younger than you, I'm not stupid or blind."
Ben glanced around as he sat on the bench, taking in deep breaths and gulping down water. Li and Conner looked pretty worn out while Jay and Carlos hadn't played all game.
"Coach must have forgotten he's got the new players," Emir said. "He normally tries to give everyone a chance to play at least once in a game."
"We need to up our defense if our goalie's getting worn out," Ben said with a frown.
"Okay, okay, we can discuss strategy for Tourney later," Akiho told him.
"Alright. Ben, Chad, how you two holding up?" Coach asked. "I want you back out there for the second half. Miguel, you take Conner's place on goal. Any questions?"
"Aren't Chad or Ben going to get a break?" Alexandria asked. "They'd been playing all game after all."
"Yeah! And Jay and Carlos haven't played at all!" Hadie said firmly.
"Coach, what about Jay and Carlos?" Ben asked. "They haven't played all game."
Coach looked over at Ben before looking back at the bench, as if he'd forgotten there were two new players on his roaster.
Aziz chuckled. "In his defense, I think the last time the team got new players was after my class graduated. Coach got used to his roaster, that's all."
Looking back at his worn out players, Coach said, "Akiho, Emir, you're tagged out. Jay, Carlos, you're on the field. Jay, center forward. Carlos, defense."
"…He wants DeVil on defense?" Harry asked in shock.
"Nope, not happening," Jay said, shaking his head. "Carlos would get crushed!"
Benji couldn't help but smile as he heard that. "Actually Carlos did pretty well for it being his first game."
"What?! Are you kidding me? They'll cost us the game!" Chad protested.
"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Jay exclaimed, glaring at Chad.
"We're tied right now!" Akiho shot back. "Sherwood's already played their full roaster while Jay and Carlos are fresh! We still have another half to get through. Chad, you saw how good Jay was at practice. You're probably just still bitter that he kicked your ass! If anything, Carlos and Jay could be the difference between winning and losing the game!"
Anna and Kristoff each gave their son a huge smile.
"We're so proud of you son," Kristoff said.
Kit frowned slightly. "Chad they're your teammates. You should believe in them."
"There's a difference between practice and the championship!" Chad shot back. "You really want to put it on the line for two people who have never played a game before?"
"Oh yes Chad, and of course you've been playing Tourney all your life," Kitty scoffed. "You never had a first game or anything."
"I'd rather put it on players who are at their full strength than ones who aren't!"
"He's got a point there," Shang nodded. "There's still another full half to go after all."
"Alright, that's enough!" Ben. said, stepping up as captain. "Chad, you're going back out there in five minutes. Stop arguing and save your energy for the game. Who goes out on the field is Coach's choice and no one else's. Besides, we've trained harder than we ever have before. We got this."
Shang nodded. "That's how a Captain acts."
"Thank you Ben! Chad, you should have more faith in your team mates. There was a point where you had never played a game before. No one was trying to get me to not put you in. As Ben said, you wanna question my decision? You wanna be benched for the first half of next season as well?"
"He's right," Cinderella said with a small nod of her head.
Chad glared but didn't respond. Ben knew his friend wouldn't want to be benched for a game let alone half a season. Next year would be the year college scouts would start looking. Being benched would ruin any chance at being recruited.
"I'm sorry but from what we've heard and from what I've gathered, this is a dangerous sport," Harriet said. "You really want the royal heirs to thrones to continue to play this and risk injury or worse?"
"Harriet, your mothering side's coming out again," Harry said, shaking his head. "Besides, we have swords in our hands from practically birth."
"That's for survival," Harriet shot back.
"That's what I thought. Alright, as I said, Jay, center field. Carlos, defense! Get out there!"
"Go get 'em!" Harry said with a grin, slapping Jay on the back.
"Yes coach," Jay nodded and so did Carlos though the younger boy still looked unsure.
"Don't worry, I got your back," Jay told him, rolling his eyes slightly at the younger boy's timidness.
"Good," Uma said and Mal nodded in agreement. DeVil…err Carlos was still under their protection after all.
"How about my front?" Carlos asked as the team retook the field.
"I've got that too, Carlos," Jay shook his head in amusement. "Ruthless yet Loyal remember? I'm sure I won't let anything happen."
"And if he does, he'll be reminded as to why we don't let things happen to people under our protection," Mal said, nodding her head.
Ben shot them both an encouraging smile before turning his full attention back to the game. The game started back up and Ben, Jay and Chad continued to work together as they tried to get a third goal. Thankfully Miguel was holding his own as goalie, denying Sherwood the chance to take the lead.
"Now that's a team," Lil Shang said with a small smile. "Looks like Imperial Academy could use some pointers from them."
"Don't you start," Shang chuckled.
"And the last ten seconds are on the clock! You could cut the tension with a sword! Li has the ball and he passes it to Prince Ben! And…Oh! Prince Ben passes it to Jay and he sets up for a goal and…" the announcer exclaimed.
Most of the people in attendance leaned forward in anticipation. The few who didn't were Benji and Malinda (who knew the results already of course) and Leah and Audrey.
"Jay scores! The Fighting Knights have won the championship!"
"Yes!" Ashaki cheered as Aziz gave Emir a sideways hug in celebration.
"Congratulations you guys," Shang said.
"Thanks Captain but this hasn't happened yet. We can't rest on our laurels guys," Ben said, looking at his team mates. "We've got to train as if we never read this scroll. Especially since the rest of the team's not here."
The announcer's words were drowned out by the buzzer, signaling the end of the game. Ben honestly couldn't believe it. Though he did join in, grinning, as most of the team tackled Jay in celebration.
Mal and Uma burst out laughing as Emir and Akiho did the same thing to the Jay in the room.
"Get off!" Jay said, though Mal could tell he was also amused by the whole thing.
"Boys," Kristoff said before pausing. "Err…sorry Jasmine, Aladdin, I just…"
"At this point, we think of Akiho as one of ours too," Jasmine said with a gentle smile.
"Gah! Get off!" Jay shouted from the bottom of the dog pile but Ben could hear the laughter in his voice.
"See you all don't change much," CJ said with a small smirk.
Only thing that could have made this better would have been if his parents were there, but Ben knew they were busy.
Belle and Beast gave Ben a slightly sad smile as they heard that.
"We're so proud of you Ben," Belle said, getting up to give Ben a hug.
"Thanks mom," Ben said, returning the hug.
"Well would you look at that? The Fighting Knights' new recruit got them a championship! Folks if I may say, this looks to be a great team, the best in—"
"Isn't this the same announcer who called Jay a hothead and said Carlos could barely lift a shield?" Malinda asked.
"Yep," Benji nodded.
"Huh. I don't feel so bad for him with all the times he got hit in the head during that Tourney match. Two faced little worm."
"Now's your chance Ben," Emir told him as the announcer continued. "We won. Make with the dramatic."
Lonnie grinned. "No one's going to forget this."
Ben sighed before squaring his shoulders and bracing himself before hurrying up and grabbing the gold microphone. He could see looks of confusion coming from the team but he couldn't back down now.
"You know, we really shouldn't be confused," Chad said. "Ben leads spirit cheers all the time after the games."
"Yeah in all honesty we're probably more shocked that Ben took something from someone's hands without waiting for them to finish talking," Emir nodded.
"Excuse me! I have something to say!"
Dear gods, let this work, Ben thought before noticing Jay still looking at him in confused amusement.
Mal shook her head and leaned over to whack Jay over his head. "Confused amusement? Really? You know Ben's supposed to be under the love spell!"
Hang on, Jay was there when Mal gave me the cookie. Jay would think…that I'm still under a love potion. Meaning Mal thinks that too! Just act like you think someone on a love potion would act!
"And you would know this…how?" Chip asked.
He took a breath, noticing Audrey out of the corner of his eye. Please work. "Give me an 'M'," he shouted.
The cheerleaders and spectators looked a bit confused for a second before going along with it. "'M'!"
"Give me an 'A'!"
"A!"
Audie flushed at the memory of her timeline's Ben doing this, how she had thought that he was proposing until Ben got to that dreaded third letter.
Well, dreaded at the time.
"Give me an 'L'!"
"L!" The crowd cheered as Ben took a deep breath, preparing to go dramatic for the first time in his life.
"Clearly someone doesn't remember his toddler years," Chip chuckled.
"Seeing as this is the second time you've mentioned this, what happened in his toddler years?" Lucas asked with a small chuckle of his own.
Chip grinned. "Oh man! This one time I was reading Ben a bedtime story and believe it or not I had to use the bathroom so I dog eared my place so I wouldn't forget where it was. When I got back, little Benji was hugging the book as if to comfort it all while looking at me with those sad little eyes. He told me 'maman awwaysh shahs oo no og ear pages. Ushe a oowmarw! Wat dat poor ook ewer do to oo Cip?'
"You had to do it in the toddler voice?" Ben asked, shaking his head as Emir and Akiho burst out laughing. "And mom was right! You don't dog ear pages!"
Malinda chuckled as the baby kicked once more. "Seems our little pup agrees with you Ben."
"What's that spell?!" Ben asked, his team staring at him in shock. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Akiho and Emir hiding their eyes as if embarrassed by Ben. They asked me to do this! You two said go dramatic, this is dramatic!
"You know, in their defense, they probably don't know about the whole 'you eating a cookie that was spiked with a love spell' thing," Aziz pointed out.
"Ah, someone else who likes to use logic in Auradon," Hades smirked. "I have to say I like you."
"Okay, now I'm positive that's the whole royal family of Agrabah!" Persephone said, shaking her head.
"Does Rajah not count?" Emir asked.
"Mal!" The school cheered.
"Come on, I can't hear you!"
"MAL!"
"Mal, I really like you! More than I thought I could ever like someone! Did I mention that?" Ben shouted into the microphone as Audrey ran off the field.
"Considering the fact that we end up married, I think that's good to know," Mal muttered, willing her cheeks not to flush red.
Lonnie rolled her eyes and looked over at Audrey. "You're not even going to try to figure out what's going on? It's Ben. When's the last time he's ever done something like this?"
Ben couldn't help but feel bad, but it did seem to be the thing that got through to Audrey. Guess his friends were right. The dramatic way was the best way to get through to Audrey.
"Hate to say we told you so, but…we told you so," Emir and Akiho said in unison.
"Give me a beat!" Ben shouted, pointing toward the band. Hey, he started this. He needed to follow through.
"Hang on," Audie said with a small smile and pulled up Auratube once more on her phone. "It'll be tiny so not everyone will be able to see it but you'll be able to hear it."
"Uno, dos, tres, quatro!" Ben heard Doug shout and the band began to play.
"…why does Doug know Spanish if he's taking French?" Emma asked.
"That is a question you would have to ask Doug," Emir said with a slight shrug.
Ben couldn't help but bounce around as he began to sing. He saw Chad laughing, not out of malice but probably out of shock. He knew his friend had feelings for Audrey but never acted on them because of the contract.
"He may not have acted on them but Chad's one of Audrey's little sycophants," Lonnie scoffed. "I don't think there's ever been a time when Chad's told Audrey no."
It almost seemed like Chad was stunned that Ben was doing something like this.
Though honestly he wasn't expecting the other guys on the team, the cheerleaders or the rest of the school to join in. Especially the cheerleaders. Audrey was their captain after all.
"Captain she may be but despised by all, she most certainly is!" Rose said with a grin.
"How dare you!"
"I dare. I dare very much Audrey," Rose smirked. "I'm sure it took no cajoling to get the guys to join in as well. You do know Hayden, Adrien, Edmund, and Duncan all loathe the way you 'captain' the squad, don't you?"
"What?!"
"Oh…well now you do."
Hopping down from the cannon he'd been standing on, Ben couldn't help but smile as Carlos joined in on the dancing. The younger boy was definitely good, Ben could see that.
Carlos couldn't help but give Ben a small, shy smile. It was weird being complimented on things he did. Normally he was just lucky if he wasn't berated.
"Carlos may be a good dancer but Ben? What are these moves?" Emir asked, chuckling as he looked at Audie's phone to see her timeline's Ben bouncing around.
A second later, he saw Jay put the microphone stand in front of him and Ben couldn't help but look back. Even though he knew about the love potion, he still had a small sliver of doubt. Would Jay be okay with this?
"Ben, I'm going to say this as simply as possible. Mal is to me as Abby is to you," Jay said. "I don't date my sister."
Ben nodded slightly to show he understood.
"That being said, you hurt her and there's a crew of seventeen back on the Isle ready to show you why that's not a good idea. And a Cerberus. And two Gods—well a God and a Godling. And hyenas. And—."
"He gets it Jay," Malinda said, shaking her head. "And I can assure you, Ben has never hurt me."
But the small pat on his shoulder from the older boy and the smile alleviated all of Ben's fears and he continued on with the song;
"Ben, if I was dating Mal, would I have supported this plan to give you a cookie spiked with a love potion?" Jay asked, shaking his head.
going as far as to toss his jersey up into the crowd and hoping Mal was the one that caught it.
"Hang on, didn't you see Mal sitting on the fourth from the top row of the bleachers? How did you—?"
"Part of the Beast enchantment I inherited," Benji said. "Increased strength."
"Increased strength to the extent that you throw with the power of a t-shirt cannon?" Melody asked, causing Ben and Benji to chuckle.
As the song wound down, Ben found himself getting tossed into the crowd by the male cheerleaders before surfing toward Mal on the crowd of students.
"Nice," Chip chuckled. "You'd make a good cheerleader Benji. Er…my Benji. Not future Benji."
"I knew who you meant Chip," Benji said, amusement coloring his voice.
"He's not wrong Ben," Rose said, glancing at Audie's phone for the visual. "For someone who's never cheered, you had great form in being launched by Hayden and Adrien."
Ben, this was probably the riskiest thing you've ever done, he thought as he landed in front of Mal.
"No the riskiest thing you've ever done is not tell your parents about your freaking concussion," Chip stated, giving Ben a look.
"You're still on about that?"
"When you asked Captain Shang not to tell Adam and Belle? When you didn't even tell me? Yes I'm still on about that!"
"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss! Come on now," he sang as the music faded out. Lonnie had whirled her around apparently so the two of them were looking at each other.
"Hey, you know technically I did," Benji chuckled, holding Malinda close to him. "Auradon's your kingdom now too."
"Ben! How could you do this?!" Audrey exclaimed.
"Quite easily it looks like," Rowyn said with a small smirk.
Leah shook her head. "Honestly the public humiliation toward Audrey alone! To say nothing about the disregard for our family's name and reputation, to just throw the heir to Auroria to the side as if she meant nothing! If anything Ben should return to the contract, to apologize for—."
"If he did that, then any affection in the relationship becomes no-sided and if anything Ben could grow to resent Audrey," Malinda said, her green eyes glinting in anger. "Madam, it was Ben's choice and Ben's choice alone."
"Easy, easy dragon," Benji whispered, gently rubbing her back. "It's Leah, don't let her bother you or get under your skin."
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben could see Evie's dark blue hair and couldn't help but wonder why Mal and Evie were standing by each other. It'd be come increasingly clear that the two girls weren't the best of friends. But that would be a question for another day.
"Lonnie had invited her to come with us," Malinda said with a small smile. "Jane would have been with us too but she was the mascot. I mean, the human mascot, not the one in the horse costume."
"You mean the one Ben jumped on and rode like an actual horse?" Ruby asked with a small giggle.
"Mal, will you go to the coronation with me?" Ben asked, panting a little as he was still spent from the Tourney game plus the musical number.
"Yes," Malinda said with a small chuckle, giving Benji a peck on the cheek.
"Get a room," Hadie said, smiling slightly as he saw the future version of his sister interact with her husband.
Please say yes. Otherwise I'm going to have to kill my best friends for putting me up to this.
"You know you love them too much to kill them," Ashaki said with a chuckle.
"You have a point there," Ben nodded as Akiho and Emir grinned.
"Yes," Mal said after a minute. Before Ben could respond, Audrey dragged Chad up to the stands and took the microphone. Ben was more stunned at her sudden reappearance than her taking the microphone if he was honest.
"Audrey…what are you doing?" Ben asked, his voice soft.
"Chad's my boyfriend now," she said, Chad more than a little shocked at the announcement. "So I don't need your pity date to Coronation, Bennyboo."
"And after all that it's Audrey who technically breaks the contract first," Emir said. "Should I be surprised you're cheating on Ben with Chad?"
"What?! How dare you! I—I would never…"
"That song was three minutes long Audrey!" Akiho said, backing up his best friend. "It does not take three minutes to convince someone to be the rebound of the Crown Prince's ex-girlfriend unless they were already in a relationship with them!"
Or if that person had been given a bit of extra motivation to always want to please Audrey, Leah thought with a small smirk. After all, the contract was iron clad but there was always the small chance that Ben was stubborn like his mother. It never hurt to have other options for Audrey to pursue and that way, should the impossible happen and Audrey let Ben slip through her fingers, Audrey would at least be the Queen of two kingdoms.
"Can I say something?" Audie asked, cutting off the shrieking coming from Audrey. "I…I know I'm not her but the same thing happened in my timeline including the 'Chad's my boyfriend now' stuff. I can promise you, Ben, she didn't cheat on you. Granted she probably just saw the crown and didn't want to risk her way to the Queenhood but she didn't cheat."
"Well that's something at least," Chip muttered under his breath.
Ben stared at Audrey slightly shocked. I…I guess Mal was right, there really is nothing of our friendship there. Hell even Chad looks shocked considering she barely gave him the time of day before.
"On the one hand…one could see that as Princess Audrey saving face since that performance was in front of two schools," Esmeralda said. "However, since we know that Prince Ben broke up with Princess Audrey in private and even informed her of the contract being dissolved…I don't blame Prince Ben for being shocked.
"She said yes!" Ben said, yelling into the microphone after taking it back from Audrey. Ben chuckled as Jay dragged him back down the stands to get changed.
"Yeah, good idea. Give Mali some space after that," Uma said with a small nod.
He wanted to do it as quickly as possible, to explain to Mal that he wasn't spelled like she thought.
Little did the prince know that Mal was already booking it back to her dorm, in search for a spell book and an antidote.
"It's not needed," Benji said with a small smile, gently kissing his wife on the cheek.
"I know that now," Malinda said with a small chuckle.
Beast nodded. "I think this would be a good spot to end for a break. I believe some conversations are in order."
"I agree King Beast," Kit nodded as Chad and Ben both let out a small sigh.
They were not going to enjoy these conversations.