pecan pie [descendants]

step four

"The first person coming to Auradon is a very good friend of mine, and frankly, we could use her talents across the bridge. I'm talking about, of course, Miss Scarlet Delacour!"

Scarlet let out a high-pitched shriek and ran up the steps to Evie. Once she got to her, she threw her arms around the blue-haired girl. Imogen and Jo exchanged looks. Jo had expected Evie to say Dizzy, and she knew Dizzy was expecting the same. She didn't even know Evie and Scarlet were friends. Actually, as far as Jo knew, Scarlet didn't have any friends.

The applause died down and Carlos stepped forward. "The next person coming to Auradon is someone we all agree could use some Remedial Goodness classes. I've known her my entire life and I still don't know what's worse: her bark, or her bite. We're all looking forward to seeing how Auradon reacts to Miss Amaris Lupin." Jo cheered. Amaris was a good kid if a bit...misguided. Actually, come to think of it, Jo couldn't recall ever seeing Amaris at Dragon Hall, ever. If the daughter of the Big Bad Wolf could win over Auradon, the VK program would be smooth sailing from thereon.

Amaris didn't take the stairs. She raced up the railing before finding her place at Carlos's side. She had a smirk on her face like she already had some schemes planned. Jo wouldn't put it past her. Amaris was a wolf with the slyness of a fox.

It was Jay's turn next. He winked at a group of girls in the audience before shuffling the papers in his hand. "Next is the smartest girl on the Isle." Imogen jolted. An ear-splitting grin wormed its way across Jo's face. Jay continued, "The only one who ever really retained anything from Weird Science and Unnatural Biology. Congratulations Imogen Gothel!"

The crowd roared. Imogen stood still. Jo nudged her. "Go! Get up there!"

Imogen whipped around to face her. "No. No, I'm not leaving you."

"It's okay," Jo insisted. It wasn't, really. Imogen was really all Jo had left, and losing her would be devastating, but Imogen would have a better life in Auradon. She deserved to have a better life. A life free of Mother Gothel, a life when she can safely experiment, a life where her intelligence didn't have to be a weapon. As much as it would hurt Jo, it was what was best for Imogen, and she'd always place Imogen's best interests over her own.

Imogen scowled. "No! Don't say it's okay. It's not. I'm not Mal. I'm not leaving you behind." Well, that certainly wasn't helping Jo's goal of not crying. She tried to swallow the sob caught in her throat.

"You're not leaving me behind," Jo corrected. "I'm kicking you out. You're going to Auradon, Gen." Yes, Imogen leaving would destroy her, but Jo was Jo, and Imogen was Imogen, and the world needed Imogen a lot more than they needed Jo.

"I'm not leaving you, Jojo!" Imogen practically shouted. By now, the crowd had stopped applauding and were yelling for Imogen to get up there so they could move on. Jo grabbed Imogen by the shoulders and looked deep into her glassy brown eyes. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen Imogen cry. Imogen's tears were the only thing that kept Jo upright. She had to be strong for her best friend.

"Go to Auradon," she begged, "for us. For all of us." She didn't give Imogen the chance to protest. Instead, she shoved her forward and the crowd carried her to the front. Once she was there, Imogen reluctantly walked up the steps to where Jay stood. She didn't look sad anymore. She looked angry. She looked like she'd deck Mal as soon as they were alone in a room together. Jo took a deep breath. Don't fuck this up, Gen.

It was Mal's turn now. Jo didn't think she could handle that. She decided to just head home early so she could clean up the mess that was brunch. She tried to ignore the churning of her stomach and instead think about the silver lining. Now that she had fewer mouths to feed, Jo could serve bigger portions. Yeah, losing her best friend sucked, but she had to move on. That's how life on the Isle worked.

"Last, but certainly not least," Mal began, a playful tone to her words, "you all know her. You all love her. And as bad as I feel about taking her away from you, I did promise her that if I ever got off the Isle, I'd take her with me."

Jo froze in place. Was she...no. No, that's not how Jo's life worked. Good things didn't happen to Jo. She ran out of miracles when she met Imogen. Mal had to be talking about someone else.

"The last person coming to Auradon is Jolie Beaumont," Mal announced. She had the brightest smile on her face. Imogen's entire face had litten up. Jo stayed where she stood, convinced if she moved she'd wake up from this dream. Mal bit down on her bottom lip. "Jo?"

"Jojo, get your ass up here," Imogen spat. Her voice lacked all venom, all bite. It was happening, it was really happening. It was just like they'd talked about. Jo and Imogen were getting off the Isle. They were free.

Jo forced herself to turn back towards Imogen and the others. Slowly, she worked her way through the crowd. It was deathly silent as if everyone was listening for the rapid beating of Jo's heart. She trudged up the stairs, passing Jay and Imogen, who was looking quite smug, and came to a stand-still beside Mal.

The daughter of Maleficent managed a small grin. "Hey, Jo."

"Hey," Jo said lamely. After all, what was there to say? Hey, Mal, it's been some time. Why did you leave without saying goodbye? Were we ever actually friends? Do I mean anything to you?

No, that was best saved for another time. For now, Jo just smiled and waved at the crowd. Just smiled and waved and pretended like she wasn't falling apart.

In other words, the usual routine.

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is this chapter terrible??? yes!! am i still posting it??? you already know the answer to that