Unknown Happen Stance

Chapter 45: Mogwai Legends P3

"Thanks, Jane, for being my very first Auradon Kid best friend," Mal said, hugging Fairy Godmother's daughter warmly. "There is someone else I can help feel more welcome. I'm going to go pay a visit to Chad, Chloe's brother. We come from two different lifestyles, but we have lots of things in common."

"I understand," Jane agreed. "He does need more friendships in his life." Mal let go of Jane's hand and walked away.

While Musa and Evie were trying to figure out the mystery of the Mogwai, Audrey approached Jane as soon as Mal left.

"Being the future villain queen's personal pet? I thought that was beneath you, Jane," Audrey remarked, an edge of condescension in her tone.

"I could say the same thing about you and your grandmother. You hang onto her every whim and will, just like Mal was forced to with Maleficent, her mother, and I with my own mother trying to gaslight me the same way, albeit hers were intentional. Grandmother Leah's was intentional towards you and Maleficent's weren't for Mal. I know what you're going through, Audrey. None of us are truly villains, especially not Mal, and I'm the one who performed a villain-like action. We've all been belittled and battered too much by our moms."

"Mal encouraged you to take that road to evil, not me," Audrey shot back.

"No. She planted a seed, but you made it grow, then wilt—embarrassing me beyond belief. You made me feel unwelcome and inferior from the day you arrived at this school by never complimenting anyone on their appearance. I haven't forgotten how you laughed at me when Mal undid that hairstyle. You, of all the Auradon kids, don't have permission to laugh, as you are just as ugly as you made me feel. I regret saying those two sentences about Mal being just a bad girl infatuation. They are the exact opposite of what a daughter of a Fairy Godmother should say. I forgive you, Audrey, for the harshness you've shown this school before the VKs got here, but we will never be best friends. You lost my trust and my faith in you has been broken for two years. I don't feel safe with you around." Jane stood her ground, fierce and unwavering. "I won't get in your way, but I will not root for you either. And I won't let innocent people who used to be just like me—like Ben, Chad, and all the other students you never spoke a word of kindness to—receive the same belittling and scolding I did from you."

With that, Jane turned and walked away.

"Jane!" Audrey called after her. Jane looked back over her shoulder and saw the sincerity in Audrey's eyes. "I am sorry, Jane. I took the chance to be friends with you for granted. You're right, and I'm truly sorry, darling."

"I need more than words, Audrey. I need you to show me actions that prove what you're saying," Jane replied, her tone stern yet sincere. "I am not a recreation of my mother, and thanks to you, I never will be. I wish the people in this school would stop seeing me as just Fairy Godmother's daughter and the teacher's pet. Mal sees me for who I am beneath all those labels. I am 'just Jane' to her. And she never makes me do lousy errands."

Audrey stepped back, not out of intimidation by Jane's strong stance, but because of the tears welling in Jane's eyes—reflections of the suppressed emotions stirring within her own. In that moment, Jane turned quickly and walked away, leaving the once lively school hallway in silence as the students around them processed the confrontation. Jane had stood up for herself and Mal, forcing Audrey to confront her accountability for allowing Jane to wilt under the weight of expectations in the first place.

"Wow!" exclaimed some of the fairy tale hero characters.

"That was awesome of Jane! Way to hold your ground," Doug commented, clearly impressed.

"I agree," stated Carlos. "Bravo, my partner!"

"Don't make a big deal about it; that's what really gets under people's skin," Jane answered with a sigh. "Turning something trivial into a mountain that doesn't exist creates a fake status quo in a preppy environment. I learned that the hardest way possible."