"You look like shit."

Mal frightfully jumped, not expecting anyone so early in the morning. It was a few minutes before seven and no sign of life in the hallways. Since she was used to an early morning, Mal was ready for the day before six. Wanting to let the blueberry princess keep her 'beauty sleep', the fairy snuck out of their shared room to get some 'fresh air'.

Mal glared softly at the thief who insulted her. "What do you expect?" She retorted quietly just in case students showed up. "It was my first night without my little girl. I couldn't sleep because I'm used to Mallory sleeping next to me. I was restless for hours before I gave up."

"Try hugging a pillow tonight," Jay suggested as he leaned against the lockers. "It will trick your mind into thinking that you're holding her."

Mal scoffed at the ridiculous idea. "It's not that easy."

"Maybe if you have this . . ."

Jay trailed off before revealing a polaroid picture out of thin air. It was a relatively new photo of Mallory sitting on her grandfather's couch, smiling without a care in the world. Mal cautiously took the picture, afraid it would disintegrate at any moment.

"You left before your father could give it to you," Jay informed with a shrug. "I couldn't find the right time until now. If anyone it, you can say it's a baby picture since two look identical."

"Except for the eyes," Mal reminded sadly. Placing the precious photo in her pocket for safe keeping, the fairy smiled mischievously. "What about you? I never got to ask what you stole from your not-so-secret admirer."

Chuckling softly, Jay magically produced a gold bracelet, which could cover an entire forearm. "Just this," he claimed, twirling the jewelry. "It was hiding under his long sleeve. I'm surprised he didn't notice."

"Oh, he did, just not quickly."

Flinching the unexpected voice, Jay to find Aziz smiling at surprising him so easily. Jay barely noticed Mal away when he wondered, "Am I in trouble?"

"Only because you were caught," Aziz teased, his smile growing. "I guess I was so distracted by your good looks that I didn't notice until minutes later. Why'd you take it?"

"It was my way of getting back at you for your 'private tour' joke." Jay shrugged carelessly, handing over the gold bracelet. "What kind of family heirloom did I take from you?"

"My grandmother's bracelet," Aziz answered, placing the jewelry on his forearm to cover it with his long sleeve again. "It belonged to my mom's mother. I admired it so much as a child that I had asked to wear it, but she insisted it was only for girls. At about thirteen, I told my parents I was gay because I was about to attend Auradon Prep. I thought they deserved to know before I left. As a gift, Mom gave me the bracelet and said she was proud of me."

Jay raised an eyebrow in amusement. "The son of Aladdin and Jasmine wears feminine jewelry?"

"Don't knock it 'til you wear it. You just haven't found the right one," Aziz teased, grateful his 'crush' didn't freak about his parents. "Your father taught you to be a thief?"

"Best on the Isle," Jay bragged confidently. "And you?"

"Best in Agrabah and Auradon," Aziz insisted with a smile. "Better than my father. People blamed me for stealing something, but I placed it on them before I got caught."

"I'm impressed."

"You'd be more impressed with the private tour," Aziz boasted with the same shameless demeanor as yesterday. "You won't regret it."

Jay scoffed once more at the suggestion. "I know you for a day, and you're already asking me to sleep with you? Don't you think you're moving fast?"

"I admit I'm forward," Aziz with a small smile. "I've been waiting for you for a year. Ben always teased me about finding an Isle thief."

"Mal teased me for years about deserving an 'Auradon thief'," Jay confessed. "I never thought there would be a thief in Auradon, let alone a gay thief."

"So, you'll take my offer?" Aziz wondered hopefully. "Or at least go on a date?"

Pondering the idea, Jay sighed in feign reluctance. "One date. If it goes well, I might go on another."

"Awesome!" Aziz cheered. "I'll tell you more after our Tourney practice."

After a grueling hour of Fairy Godmother treating him and his friends like babies and playfully wrestling with Carlos, Jay found himself on a green pasture called a 'Tourney Field' located just outside the school. With the pads, bucklers, and Tourney helmets weighing him down, Jay wondered just how physical the sport got. It felt like he was suiting up for battle.

Coach Jenkins blew his whistle. "Joker is shooter and King is offense," he began to instruct, making sense to everyone but the 'Lost Boys'. "Jay, offense. Chad, you're defense."

Still completely confused, Jay walked over to the field, hoping he could understand the game quickly.

And honestly, the next few minutes were a blur.

All Jay remembered was knocking players down while going for the ball. He recalled Carlos pleading him before trampling over him. With no one in his path, Jay shot the ball in the net. He felt proud, until he realized no one else was celebrating with him.

"You!" Coach Jenkins shouted gesturing to Jay. "Get over here!"

Jay jogged over with his teammates limping. While the Isle thief stood, everyone collapsed in exhaustion. Well, except Aziz, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Nice job, kid," Coach Jenkins patted Jay on the shoulder. "I haven't seen anyone move like that since Joker's try-out three years ago. Welcome to the team!"

The coach adverted his attention to Carlos with a sigh. "Ever thought of band?"

"I'll work with him, Coach," Ben volunteered. "And Aziz can go over the rulebook with Jay."

Coach Jenkins thought about it before wondering, "Joker, what do you have next hour?"

"Free period," Aziz answered quickly, a little too eager about the chance at alone time with the Lost Boy. "I don't have anything until fourth period."

"Perfect," Jenkins commented. "I'll have Jay excused from his class so you can go over the rulebook. You do a good job when I review with him Friday afternoon, I will bail you out of trouble."

"Deal!" Aziz exclaimed cheerfully.

Although everything seemed perfect, a blonde player scoffed, "You're letting the freak teach the other freak?"

A flare of anger rose in the Auradon thief as he lunged for the insulter. Jay managed to grab him before he could hurt the nameless guy. "You fight, no date," Jay mumbled in his ear.

Grumbling bitterly, Aziz trudged back to the cannons to keep himself from exploding.

He did not want to lose his chance.

After running a couple plays, coach ended practice early to give the exhausted players time to relax before their next class. A few minutes into the next hour, the two sat on the bleachers to begin the Isle thief's training.

"Why does the coach call you 'Joker'?" Jay wondered before they could start going over the rules.

"Do you guys play cards on the island?" When the other teenager nodded, Aziz explained, "Coach likes to play cards as much as he likes to coach Tourney. In some card games, the Joker can be used to replace a card needed for a hand. He calls me 'Joker' because I can fill every position on the field. He calls Ben 'King'—"

"Because he's literally going to be king?" Jay joked.

"Because he's captain of the team," Aziz corrected with a smile. "He will probably call you 'Ace' because of your impressive shots."

Jay rolled his eyes. "What about Carlos?"

"Maybe 'Jack' if he improves enough," Aziz speculated with a shrug. "The Jack is the underdog of high cards because nobody expects much from it, until it surprises you with a winning hand. The team plays the game 'Twenty-One' with Coach, he always won with the Jack-Ace combo. He believes those cards together is the best combo to win, because an 'underdog' is needed for the 'champion' win."

"If I had to bet," Aziz began as a smirk formed, "at the game next week, he's going to wait to put you and Carlos in together so you can team up for the winning goal."

Jay nodded absentmindedly, momentarily distracted by something. Aziz noticed and tilted his head curiously. "What?"

Instead of giving an answer, Jay slowly leaned forward, placing a cautious hand on Aziz's cheek. The prince was on the brim of exploding from pure happiness as their faces were mere inches from each other. When their lips were about to touch—

A phone rang, breaking the surreal moment between them.

"Unbelievable," Aziz muttered sulkily, causing the other teen to snicker at his impatient.

Reluctantly pulling away from a moment that he didn't want to end, Aziz checked the message with a raised eyebrow. "It's from Ben," he informed with slight confusion, "but it's for you. He says Mal needs you but doesn't know why. He thinks it has something to do with her gym class this last hour."

"I better check on her," Jay insisted, promising, "but we will finish this later."

The thief bolted down the bleachers to find the fairy—

Who was missing the other half of her heart.