Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 18

 It was an odd kind of deja vú, walking down the sticky streets of the Isle with Alya, smoke bombs in a bucket and the sickeningly sweet smell of the buns they had gotten from Shan Yu's dumpling stand enveloping the girls as they laughed. It felt like it should have been perfectly fine, right even, but instead the sense of wrong just built up in Marinette's stomach along with the snack they had gotten. Alya shouldn't be here, walking with her down streets riddled with broken glass, not when she had the chance to walk the manicured byways of Auradon where she belonged. The stress and worry about Adrien was pushed aside for a moment, overshadowed by the selfish need to covet this moment with her best friend for when they ultimately went back to the mainland to leave her to her self-imposed seclusion.

It's what I wanted in the first place, Marinette told herself, but the feeling was weak and lacking in the conviction she had when she first crossed the sea on her enchanted moped. As long as she had that, maybe she could go back and visit, so long as the spell held and Adrien allowed it. After this he might truly never want to have her darken his doorway ever again.

At her side, Alya was more than happy to stay in the past for a moment, reminiscing about the days when they ran the Isle and made people scatter with their sneers.

"Remember when we changed out the Queen of Hearts foundation with that mood potion we got Luka to sneak us from his mom?" Alya jeered as she elbowed Marinette in the side, making her friend giggle in spite of herself.

"Her face kept changing colors like a kaleidoscope!" Marinette snickered. "But it was Juleka who told us how to mix the potion in with her makeup."

"Hoo boy, she really knows her potions and spells despite growing up in a magic-free zone," Alya mused.

"Because she spent all that time in Mad Hatter's book shop reading," Marinette added, thinking back to all the times where they would drag their shy sea witch friend out of the stacks to go cause some chaos. "She would have lived in there if we didn't pull her out to have some real fun."

Juleka had changed so much since then, and Marinette knew most of it was her fault by making fun of her, teasing and locking her in closets in a misguided attempt to 'toughen her up'. She had been so quiet and such a cry baby about everything, no good for a gang or for surviving in a war zone. She and her friends had changed a lot since then. Max used to follow Kim around like a second shadow. Alix and Alya had more of a healthy rivalry and teasing matches instead of the outright hate that boiled between them now. Things had gone so wrong.

"But the real kicker was the way to fix the spell," Alya mused with a mischievous glimmer in her hazel eyes. It was infectious, Marinette looking at her conspiratorially.

"True Love's Kiss," Marinette crooned with fake sentimentalism and the batting of her eyelashes, sending Alya into a tizzy of laughter. "Works every time."

They walked in happy bliss after that, exchanging stories and laughing all the way. Suddenly, the mood turned as they closed in on their hideout. Marinette opened the gate to the stairway with a well placed throw to the hanging sign while Alya stood behind her, studying the smoke bombs she cradled in her arms. Her voice was quiet when she spoke, her tone subdued.

"I really thought that's what you and Adrien had," she muttered as Marinette paused on the steps. "Do you... do you want to talk about it?"

Marinette's hand curled around the handrail, trying to keep the shaking at bay. "I'm not coming back, Alya. I can't. I really tried to tell you."

Alya let out a sigh, and without seeing her face, Marinette knew her friend was disappointed. "Yeah..."

They ascended the stairs in silence, the quiet weighing heavily on Marinette as she watched Alya move about the space as if she never left. She pushed aside the vast array of swords they had gathered from Captain Hook's hidden-away reserves to set the smoke bombs on her desk before fiddling with sword hilts idly. Marinette felt the need to say something, anything, just to break the tension.

"I saw the way your face lit up when we walked into the dorm room for the first time," Marinette whispered as she stood with her back towards Alya. If she looked at her now, Marinette knew she'd lose all composure. "I couldn't spoil that for you."

"If you're staying, then I'm staying too," Alya said resolutely, but it only made Marinette want to break even more. She spun on her heel to face her friend, her amazingly brave and brilliant friend. This was the girl who had gotten grounded for a month after taking the blame for when Marinette switched out Gaston's hair gel with super glue. The girl who broke her arm defending her friends from an older gang when they were just starting out. The girls who could read the stars like a map and wanted to use it to see the world. Marinette couldn't keep her from that.

"No, Alya," she said firmly. "You are an Auradon girl. And I am... and always will be... the girl from the Isle."

"But that's not true," Alya said brokenly as she drew closer to Marinette, taking one of Marinette's hands in both of hers and giving it a firm squeeze. "Mari, you were doing so well."

Marinette grimaced, unable to meet her friend's gaze as it all really sunk in for Alya.

"But you weren't, were you," Alya whispered. "I guess I really had no idea. Why didn't you tell me how you were feeling?"

"Because I didn't want to let you down." Marinette's voice was breaking against her will as her composure started to falter. Months of hiding and self-doubt were threatening to break the dam she had built to ward off appearing weak in front of everyone, and Alya's probing was not helping. "It was just... it was so painful not listening to my heart. I just had to go."

"And I wouldn't have stopped you if you had just told me," Alya affirmed as she tugged on Marinette's hand. "Girl, please just look at me."

The blue-haired teen slowly turned her head, her lips pressed tightly together to keep the crying she felt coming on from breaking through. Alya's eyes were misty too as she smiled, her lip quivering some as she regarded her best friend.

"Even though we've changed, nothing between us has to change, right?" The pirate asked. "I will never leave you, Mari. It doesn't matter if it means crossing the sea or crossing the street, when you need me you only need to call and I'll come running."

Alya abruptly pulled Marinette close into a crushing hug, her arms wrapped around the shorter girl's neck as Marinette froze. It was always like this with physical affection for her. A brief moment of panic, trying to suppress the need for fight or flight, when she knew Alya was just wanting to comfort her in the way she knew how. Maybe it was the old paranoia seeping back in or maybe it was the feeling that if she gave into this small bit of affection now, she'd never have the determination to turn away from it permanently once her friends left her behind. Eventually however, Marinette succumbed as she returned the gesture, her forehead resting against her friend's shoulder.

"I know you're going through something, girl," Alya murmured weakly. "You gotta find your place, find out what you're gonna do and how you're gonna do it, but that doesn't mean you have to figure it all out on your own."

"Same for you," Marinette replied, surprised by how small her voice sounded in that moment. Like a child bidding farewell to their parent before they were left behind at school for the day, Marinette couldn't bring herself to let go of her best friend. Her partner in crime. Her confidant. "You ever need someone to pop over and lay a curse or two on Chloe and Wayhem, you know who to call."

Alya's laugh was watery, and Marinette felt her finally pull away. Tears were really flowing now leaving Alya's makeup runny and smudged down her cheeks. Marinette had a feeling she didn't look much better in the circumstance, but that didn't mean that they couldn't fix it. She took Alya by the hand, promptly tugging her towards her chaise lounge.

"What are you doing?" Alya sniffed, swiping at the tear tracks that cut down her cheeks.

Marinette didn't answer until she had Alya sitting on the couch, spinning on her heel to start digging through her art supplies until she found what she was looking for.

"I for one am not going to Juleka's murky and miserable boat looking like this. and neither are you," Marinette said firmly, fumbling through her old makeup bag in search of something useful. "Stars above, she doesn't need anything else to lord over me more than what she's already got."

She turned back to her friend, eyeliner pencil in hand and determination on her face. "Now lets do something about your eyeliner."