Descendants: Summer Road Trip

On the Road Again

-Previously-
"I can't believe you guys did that."

-Now-
Mal's POV:
"That was amazing! Who knew you had that in you!," Lonnie said, smiling and hugging us.
"Thanks," we said with weary smiles.
Later I walked over to where Evie and Audrey were chatting at a table.
We sighed. "She didn't get the idea of it," said Audrey.
"Well we're just going to have to tell her at some point," I said. They sighed.
"But that would hurt her," said Evie.
"Some things in life are going to hurt, but it's best to get it over with as quick as you can," Audrey said.
"She's right. We just have to rip off the bandage," I said.
"Yeah. When are we going to tell her? Tomorrow? It's getting kinda late," said Evie. "Yeah. Tomorrow sounds good," I said. Done. We all nodded.
Jane came over. "So what exactly are we going to do now? It's too late to keep going, we're all tired, and there's probably not any hotels around," she said, waiting for my input. "Maybe ask him?," I said motioning towards the man who let us in and let us perform. "Okay," she said, walking over to him.

Jane's POV:
"Um, excuse me, sir?," I said, trying to get his attention.
"Yes?," he said, turning towards me. "Are there any hotels around here?," I asked.
"I'm afraid not," he said sorrowful, shaking his head. I looked down.
"Y'all need a place to stay for the night?," he asked.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"Well, it won't be very comfortable or the best thing in the world, but y'all are welcome to stay here. I'd hate to send y'all out like that," he offered.
"It would certainly be better than nothing. Thank you so much," I said with a grateful smile.
"You are so welcome," he said, smiling. I went back over to my friends.
"There are no hotels around, but he says that we can stay here," I said.
"Sounds like a plan," said Jay, leaning back, propping his feet up on another chair.
Lonnie giggled at Jay. "That's really nice that he's letting us do that," she said.
"Yeah. It is," said Mal, looking over at the man. Soon we were all fast asleep.

Mal's POV:
I woke up the next morning, when I heard the faint sound of music coming from the radio in the restaurant.
I looked at the clock. It was 8:00 AM. I looked over at my sleeping friends.
Sleeping on the restaurant floor actually wasn't that bad.
The man was cleaning the countertop. I got up and went over to him.
"Hey. Sleep well?," he asked.
"Yeah, it actually wasn't too bad. Thanks," I replied.
"Anytime," he said. I looked around. "So, do you own the restaurant?," I asked.
"Yes I do, I'm also the manager," he said.
"Are you here alone?," I asked.
"Well, not entirely, I've got the kitchen staff, and waiters and waitresses," he said.
"Is that enough? Do you have a family?," I asked, feeling sorry for him.
He looked down. "Well, my parents died when I was real young. I didn't have many friends. Or many family. I thought I had one once. But that one too, got away from me. When you kids came into the restaurant last night, this is one of those times when I feel joy, happiness, something unusual for me, considering my past. I thought I saw part of me in y'all. If there's a few pieces of advice that I have for you, it's to stay young, life's too short, never lose your friends and family, and most importantly, always stay true to yourself. Always be yourself. That is one of the most important things that anyone can ever do," he said.
That was great advise. I was looking for words on what to say.
"Thanks. That's really great advise," I said. "You are very welcome," he said. "Where are y'all headed?," he asked.
"Don't know yet. We're exploring," I said. I couldn't tell him the real reason. He probably wouldn't understand.
"Well there's absolutely nothing wrong with that," he said.
"How old are y'all?," he asked.
"16," I answered.
He nodded. "Well, it's after 8:00. Think y'all should be getting on your way? After y'all eat some breakfast? Though I'm not rushing y'all," he suggested.
"Yeah, we probably should," I answered, turning towards my friends.
"I'm Jason, by the way," he said.
"I'm Mal," I said. He looked at me.
"Nice name," he said. I smiled at him.
"What are their names?," he asked.
"Evie, Carlos, Jay, Ben, Doug, Jane, Lonnie, Audrey, and Chad," I said, motioning to each of them.
He looked at them. "Well if you don't wake them up soon, they may sleep till noon," he said, teasingly.
I chuckled. "Yeah. I should wake them up," I said, going over to my friends.
"Hey, guys wake up," I said. A few of them woke up and started waking up the others.
"Oh, I haven't slept like that in ages," said Jay, stretching.
He accidentally hit Chad in the face. "Hey! Watch the hair!," he said, fixing his hair.
"Sorry," Jay apologized.
"He says we can eat breakfast first, then we can get going whenever we want," I told them, once we were all up.
"Okay, good. I'm starving," said Carlos, already sitting at the table stuffing his face with eggs. Jane giggled at her boyfriend.
Once we had all ate breakfast, we went over to Jason, and asked if he had any cars or anything.
"Well, there's no cars, but we have some horses in the stable out back," he said.
"That'll do, thanks," said Ben, heading outside with the others. I went outside, and Jason followed behind me.
"There's only 5 horses," said Doug.
"Well, there's 10 of us, so 2 on each horse," said Evie.
"Okay, that'll work," said Doug. We all climbed onto the horses.
Me and Ben, Evie and Doug, Carlos and Jane, Jay and Audrey, and Lonnie and Chad.
"Are we ready?," asked Ben.
"Yeah, I think so," we all said.
We started trotting away on the horses.
"Thanks again!," I called back at Jason.
"Anytime! Travel safe!," he called back.
I waved and he waved back. I didn't realize it at first, but I saw something in him too.

Audrey's POV:
We just left the restaurant. I looked over at Lonnie and Chad. We had to tell her. She seems so happy. I just wish it wouldn't hurt her, I thought, leaning against Jay. Or him.

To be continued...

SURPRISE Y'ALL!!! I FINALLY UPDATED!! I know it's been so so long, and I'm so sorry. I've been so busy (I know I say that a lot), and I did hit a writers block, and again, I'm so sorry. But I decided that I would be determined,... and I UPDATED ALL OF MY BOOKS TODAY!!! Also, thank you so much for over 3K views on this story! I love every single one of you more than you'll ever know. Anyway, please keep reading, voting, commenting, and following! Thanks!