Chapter Text
Mal had lied. It wouldn't have been s problem in the Isle. If she was good enough at it, it would not have been a problem in Auradon either! The issue was, she was lying to herself, all in the firm of daydreams. There was this idea she had of herself and her friends... unrealistic as all hell, but the version of them she had idealized since she was a little girl... In those dreams, they were still the same people from the Isle. All she knew how to be. The friends she'd risked everything to love.
Sometimes, she would go talk to Jay about his games. In the most recent one, something had gone down. Mal went to him at the end of the match. Smirking, she congratulated Jay on the kick he had given to the adversary, putting him out of commission. Jay looked up at her, truly miserable behind his eyes, assuring her he had already apologized. He hadn't meant it. No need to rub it in.
In other occasions, she would go play videogames with Carlos in his room. One afternoon, the boy seemed particularly down, so she decided to cheer him up by bringing up the hallway gossip. Something about Rapunzel's daughter having a fit and yelling at Roger in music class. Mal had expected a laugh. Instead, she found her friend gone within the minute. She would later learn he had gone to check on the teacher.
There was an incident time with Evie, too. Upon seeing her hand over a dress to one of Auradon's perfect princesses, Mal had waited for her friend to close the door, before letting out a laugh. The dress was all torn up, Isle style. That would show them, Mal marvelled. Evie looked sincerely confused as she explained that was just how the girl had asked for it.
With the passing of time, Mal gre concerned. These were the only people she had ever legitimately liked. Not from the start, of course. It had all began as an alliance of convenience. And then they had warmed up to one another. Years of comraderie. What if they were changing so much they would not relate to one another anymore? Worse yet, why did they seem to be on the way to leaving her behind?
It freaked Mal out for a couple of weeks. Then, one day, at lunch, she saw Jay and Carlos trip Chad over. They laughed as the prince glared at them. Mal laughed along, as she had before. Her eyes glimmered. A happy glimmer, so unlike their old bright green of threat.
The day after, Mal witnessed Evie ask her mirror if a particular girl in the hallway had a boyfriend. Mal didn't even pay attention to the answer, too occupied admiring her friend's face with delight. She was less concerned about Evie's romantic endeavors, and more content to see the other breaking the rules to get what she wanted, as inoffensive as the action might have actually been.
Carlos agreed with her that they were still the same, somehow. They weren't rotten anymore, let alone wear it as a badge of honour. They didn't have to be. They were normal. Something not even the perfect royalty of Auradon had. No pressure to be terrifying villains or perfect heroes. They had the freedom to simply be normal kids, who do stupid things, sometimes, but who can shape themselves into whoever they want to be.
And Auradon had its own unique perks. Mal didn't have to conceal her affection. She could let her guard down. No more hidden hugs. Her and Evie could walk through the hallways, giggling, arm in arm without fear of mockery. She didn't have to fear for Carlos. She laughed openly at Jay's obnoxious jokes with no fear for a reputation that was often the only thing keeping her safe. Her life didn't depend on being perceived as dangerous.
Mal was rewriting herself. A whole new storybook. No blueprints, but not generational curses either. She settled on being more delicate, giving herself some time. No matter where things went, the four of them were family, and family sticks together no matter what.