A Whole New World || J. JAFAR

Three - Jay

ALI

I lean back with a grin, throwing an apple between my hands as I watch Mal pick up a spray can. "What're you gonna paint?" I ask. Mal hums and I take a bite from the apple, watching intently as she nods to herself. "Something cool." We fall into silence, the only noise in the room coming from Mal's spray paint and my apple. Across the room, I notice some shining lamps and jewels scattered across a table. I stand up from my seat and begin to walk towards it, having noticed a scrappy leather jacket thrown over one of the stools as well. A knot forms in my throat. "This Jay's stuff?" 

Mal pauses, looking over her shoulder at me. "...Yeah. It was." She takes a breath as I turn to face her, her brows furrowed as she thinks. "I'm... sorry. That I made you come with me. I know... how hard it is, to miss someone so far away." 

I shrug, smiling gently despite myself. "Yeah. It- it's okay, though, M. I'll -- I'm sure I'll see him again, one day." I breathe in sharply, trying to shake off the sadness enveloping me. I need to change the subject. "And, hey- I couldn't just let my friend go all by herself. Who would she gossip about all the horrifically attractive villain kids with if I did?"

Mal laughs softly, biting down on her lip as she accepts the change, "Hey, on the real, though -- Uma's hot. Like..." She hesitates for a minute, shakes her head. "We were a thing for a while, but it's hard, when you're both fighting over everything all the time." She chuckles lowly, smiling at me. "We were such a power couple, though."

I snort, smiling softly as she visibly relaxes. As I look at the jewels on the table, an idea comes to me -- I gasp, grinning as I look to Mal. "Oh, my God. You have to tell me what Jay was like as a kid."

__

I look up from the journal in my hand to check on Mal, where she continues to paint the wall. It's looking dope. "Looking good, M." She chuckles softly, but gives no other response. I turn back to the journal -- one of Mal's from when she was a kid, which she'd given me permission to look through, so long as I never repeated what I read to anyone. There's a lot of talk of stealing candy in here. I settle back into the tattered red armchair I lounge in, humming softly. We're like that for another half hour or so -- Mal painting and me reading her old journals, when out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone step further into the room. I look up from Mal's journal and feel my breath lodge in my throat at who I see.

The journal falls from my hand, my eyes trained intently on the King before me. Does that mean... Is Jay here, too? "I..." I clear my throat, looking between Ben and Mal. "Mal, I, uh... I'm gonna go get some air."

"Alright," Mal agrees, not turning away from her artwork. "Don't go too far."

I clap Ben on the shoulder as I leave, my heart pounding as I walk out of the door, taking the stairs three at a time in my rush to get to the bottom. It comes into view quickly, and with it, the sight of Carlos, Evie, and -- "Jay." I breathe. I skip the last few stairs, using the railings to push myself over them and onto the ground -- and into his arms. I grip him tightly, scared to let go, to see him so angry and upset that he wants nothing to do with me. I bury my head into his neck, greeted by the scent of leather and rain and something distinctly Jay. My fingers dig into the leather of his outfit. "Jay. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please don't hate me. Please. I'm sorry."

I feel him sigh, his warm arms wrapping tightly around me. "Never, ever do that again. Not without me. I don't know what I'd do if..." He can't finish the sentence. I nod quickly, ready to do anything for him. Carlos clearing his throat is what pulls me away from Jay, blushing. He keeps me close to him, his arm still wrapped around me as he kisses my forehead. I smile sheepishly at our friends. "Uh -- hey, guys. Sorry." Carlos and Evie chuckle and smile warmly at me. "Dude, you're looking good!" Carlos says. I blink, brows furrowed, before I look down and see my new outfit. "Oh," I laugh, "Thanks, man. It's much more comfortable than what I wore at Auradon."