Always by your Side - A Descendants Story : REWRITTEN

Chapter 8

Autumn passes by and soon the orange colours make way for the beautiful snowy landscape. They spend their afternoons drinking hot cocoa and going to the park for sledding and snowball fights. Between all the fun, they also have midterms just before Christmas break and on top of that they're also busy planning their wedding which is supposed to be happening in early January.

"What if I won't fit in it anymore on my wedding day?" Mal asks, looking in the mirror.

"The wedding is a few days away..." Evie rolls her eyes, as she looks at her best friend in her wedding dress.

"So? I stress eat when I'm nervous, and let me tell you; I'm nervous," she tells her.

"You shouldn't be, you look beautiful, M. Everything's going to be alright," she tries to comfort her.

"What if- what if I trip while walking to the altar, or- or, what if I black out and don't know what to say? What if-" she rattles.

"Stop it, M," Evie interrupts her. "None of that is going to happen, you're just making yourself crazy with all these made up scenarios."

Mal sighs and sits down on her bed.

"Don't sit!" Evie exclaims, making Mal jump up instantly. "I have to secure the back first."

"God, don't scare me like that," Mal tells her. "Why does he have to be a king? Everyone is going to watch and talk about it and have something or other to say..."

"So? Why would you care about what anybody else thinks? Just- pretend that all those people are not there, okay. Pretend that it's just you and Ben," Evie suggests. "Forget about everyone else in the world."

"I'm not sure if I can do that..." Mal says, not convinced by her idea.

"When you see him standing there at the altar, waiting for you to say yes to spending the rest of your lives together, you'll forget all about everyone else, trust me," Evie tells her.

"How do you know that?" Mal asks her.

"Just- by the way you two look at each other, only seeing each other, nothing else in the world matters... He loves you with everything he has, M, and I know you love him with all of your heart as well, not many people can find that, but you did..." she explains to her sister. "You're really lucky to have found one another and nothing or no one can come in between that..."

Mal looks at her with tears in her eyes. "Awe, E..." she says quietly, pulling her into a hug. "I don't know what I'd ever do without you..."

"Right back at ya, sis," Evie chuckles. "Right back at ya..."
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"Do I have to wear this?" Mal asks, looking at the hairband veil and matching sash on which is printed in big pink letters; 'Bride to be'.

"Jane says it's tradition and everyone wears it at their bachelorette party," Evie argues. "So, don't be a baby and put it on."

"Fine," Mal says, reluctantly putting them on. "Ready to go then?"

They make their way to a restaurant downtown where they meet up with Jane and Lonnie to have dinner and a few drinks. After a big festive dinner and a few too many margaritas, the four friends go onto a bar where they meet a couple more friends and together dance the night away, hopping from bar to club, doing shots and simply having a blast. Mal feels totally relaxed for the first time in weeks, not thinking about anything wedding related and just letting everything go.

They run into Ben and his friends at his bachelor party and together with the whole group they end the night taking a last shot at the last bar that's still open, and then walking back to Auradon Prep together by the time the sun's almost up again.