Disclaimer-I don't know the Descendants!

"You told him we would go back to the Isle?" Jay said each word with brutal clarity, as though one of them had lost their minds and he just wasn't sure who.

Evie cringed, pulling a leather jacket from his closet that would have to fit Ben. "Just to get Mal back. In and out. Real quick. No big deal."

He caught her elbow and twirled her out of the closet, neither surprised nor bothered with how she landed against his chest, his chin down to look straight at her. "If Mal wanted to leave then we should give her the time to cool off before we go chasing her. And he should definitely not be going."

"She could get into trouble on her own…" Carlos pointed out from where he sat on the edge of his bed. "We were never on our own even when we lived on the Isle because we were together… There was always someplace to go—someone to help. We can't leave her there by herself."

Jay's jaw flexed the way it did when he knew he was wrong. "Fine. But the king stays here."

"He won't," Evie reminded with a groan, snatching up a pair of pants to match the jacket and starting for the door.

"Evie," Jay called.

She stopped, chewing her lip and looking back. Carlos darted his gaze everywhere but at them directly—that was how he looked when worried. "He promised he won't leave us there," she said.

"That's because he doesn't know."

"I don't think he'd banish us back to the Isle for that…" Carlos tried, but didn't sound entirely convinced.

Jay growled at the other boy. "You know how obsessed they are with their one-true-loves out here." They hadn't even known what monogamy was until they came to this school—turns out they'd been doing things differently on the island.

"Mal never cheated on him!" Evie hissed, voice in a sharp whisper now. "And no one suspects the three of us."

Carlos winced—hating the way it all sounded when they talked about it like this. Their friendship had been the one normal, consistent thing in their lives before they left the Isle—before Mal seduced the would-be king and fell in love with him. None of them begrudged her for that, or for leaving the more romantic parts of their friendship behind, but things had changed. They had to hide that they were together in more than platonic ways and definitely hide that any of them had ever been involved with Mal. She said she didn't think Ben would be jealous but he had a bit of a beast in him and none of them were willing to risk being tossed back onto the Isle to face their parents wrath and a life sentence.

Jay sighed, nodding slowly the way he did when her teary eyes hurt him too much. He took a couple steps to her, cupping her face in his hands. "Okay. Okay. In and out. We grab Mal and get back."

Ben was finally getting to spend more time with Mal's friends and it was under the worst conditions. Between work and all of their schedules it seemed like he could never get any time with them. He barely got any time with Mal—that was what had led to this whole disaster, wasn't it? He hadn't noticed how unhappy she was.

Still, he couldn't help but think Carlos, Jay, and Evie had actively been staying away from him since he was crowned and they chose to be good. They were always nice to him, but it was strained, making him worry that maybe they didn't like him. He would understand if they didn't—having heard some of how terrible their lives had been on the Isle. Mal didn't talk about it much but from what he had heard it was clear they wouldn't have survived without one another. They meant more to her than anything in the world—which made it all the more shocking that she would leave them and run away like she did.

The only scars Mal would tell him about were the strange few that made her smile. It hadn't taken him long to realize all of them had been earned protecting one of her friends. Most were disturbing stories that only made him want to ask more questions, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't push. Because Mal was strong and willful and he was sure she wouldn't tell him anything unless she decided to and he would wait as long as that took.

Sitting in the car, on the drive to the Isle, he found himself thinking about the scar on her hip—glossy and pink. "Oh, that one," she'd smiled, proud, and he'd known immediately that this was one of the ones she'd tell him about. "So, a couple years ago Jay got caught stealing a door—"

"A door?" He laughed.

"Yeah," she said seriously, and he pressed back his smile and nodded like a door was totally something a person could and should steal.

"You were saying?"

"Oh, yeah, so, his dad was pissed."

"Because he stole a door?"

"No. Because he got caught," she rolled her eyes at him and Ben nodded again, pretending that sounded like okay parenting of any kind. She said things about the Isle so casually sometimes and he had to remind himself that that had been normal for her—normal for everyone there. "By the time I got to his dad's place, he'd already broken Jay's arm—which if you ask me is a really dumb way to punish someone for not being as sly as you wanted—but Jafar was in a bit of a rage. He didn't look like he was going to let up, so I jumped him."

"You jumped Jafar?" Ben said slowly, both proud and terrified.

"Well I tried, the asshole carries a lot of knives."

"He gave you the scar?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I kept him distracted until Carlos and Evie could drag Jay out." She grinned, wicked, and he loved that smile.

Ben sat in the car now, Evie sitting beside him, Carlos across from him, and Jay in the front seat driving. Both of the boys from the Isle were littered in scars. He'd seen them in the locker rooms. A lot of questions had been asked by the other guys and they seemed to treat their scars the same way Mal did—they ignored all questions about anything they didn't want to talk about but lit up at the chance to tell the heroic tale of how they'd "earned" a scar defending a friend, or getting away with some wicked scheme to steal food or escape danger.

He tore his gaze away from the guys in the front seat, attention landing on Evie in the dark car. She was chewing her lip, watching the isle grow closer and closer. It had broken his heart a little the way she had made him promise not to leave her behind on the Isle if she helped him find Mal. "I won't leave you there," he repeated. "We just need to find her."

She nodded, like maybe his voice was in her head.

"She's okay there, right? On her own?" he asked quietly.

"She's good at taking care of herself. We'll find her first," Evie said nervously.

He couldn't help but think of the scars on Mal, on Jay, and on Carlos. "Do you have scars, Evie?" he asked before he could think.

Carlos's head snapped up, looking straight at him and Jay eyed him in the rearview mirror, white-knuckling the steering wheel.

"Sorry, it's just… Mal does and the guys… and the way she always talks about the Isle…"

Evie forced a smile and shrugged. "I got off easy. Mom was really obsessed with that whole 'fairest of them all' bit."

Jay snorted in the driver's seat.

Carlos let out a dark laugh. "I think I'd rather get the lashings from my mom than locked in your mom's trunk…"

Evie shot the white-haired boy an angry look.

"What? Come on. She used to starve you for days in that box," Carlos said before looking at the king. "Which is why we can't be getting caught on the Isle…"

Ben nodded, guts twisting at the thought of Evie being stuffed in a box or Carlos lashed. "Of course."

He'd expected it to be easy. He would apologize and hear her frustrations and do better. In hindsight, he wasn't sure why he'd expected it to be that easy to change her mind. Mal wasn't one to act on a whim. She loved him, he was sure she did, but she hadn't said it back. She'd just stormed out and left him there in that strange hideout. Their hideout.

For a few minutes he was alone there, until the others came rushing up. It was a small loft, graffiti on the walls, junk stacked in every corner like treasure, and in the farthest corner one bed piled with threadbare pillows and blankets. It was a sad place, but it was where she had run to. She said she wanted to go back to the way things were, but he couldn't see why. She didn't want to have to pretend to be someone else. But he knew her, he was sure of it. She was funny and strong and sometimes dark. She was fierce and loyal—everything he'd ever wanted in a soulmate.

"Is this her home?" Ben asked when Evie crept up closer to him. The blue haired girl was always so careful, one hand reaching toward him but he knew she wouldn't touch him—it was just a motion she did. He hadn't figured out if it was because she wanted to or if it was just a gesture to calm. Why did he even think about it? Maybe because he wanted to understand them. He'd wanted to ever since he first saw them. But as soon as he started dating Mal the rest kind of shied away.

"I guess," she answered nervously. Jay and Carlos were arguing on the other side of the room. "I mean, we found it and made it ours. This is where we lived."

Ben looked at her. The loft was so small that even on the other side of the room, he could clearly hear Jay and Carlos's whisper argument about Mal and him and getting them all out of here. Jay wanted to go right now. Throw Mal in the car and deal with feelings later. Carlos didn't think it was the best idea. They bickered in a way that made it obvious they knew each other completely. All four of them had been keeping something from him since the beginning, something that became more and more important. Ben had idly thought that maybe Jay and Carlos were a couple and the VKs were afraid to say. But that intense familiarity, protectiveness, and intimacy wasn't limited to the guys.

His body turned to the side, looking again at the bed. The one bed. Maybe that hadn't been able to get more. Maybe they didn't all sleep here at once. Even if they did, that couldn't mean… "All four of you?"

The room had gone quiet. The guys had stopped arguing.

"Evie…" Jay warned in a low voice. "We should go look for Mal."

Ben turned and caught her gaze before she could be drawn away. If anyone was going to cave and tell him the truth it would be Evie, wouldn't it? Carlos was soft-hearted but a good liar. Ben had seen it. But Evie… She wanted to tell the truth. She wanted to be good. She, if anyone ever, belonged in Auradon. He caught her hand, the one she held delicately in the air and the breath caught in her chest. Ben didn't miss how both Jay and Carlos slid closer. "Tell me," he begged.

Her teary eyes glinted and her lips pressed.

He nodded slowly, still holding her hand. "I was worried, in the beginning, that she was in love with someone else but…"

Evie shook her head, squeezing his hand gently. "She loves you. I know she does."

It made his heart stutter with waves of relief, desperately trying to soothe that fear. But he knew there was still something. "But not just me? Was she dating one of you before?" He tried not to think it, but it came too quick. What if she stayed with him out of fear? Evie was so afraid of being sent back to the Isle. Did they think he'd banish them if she left him?

She shook her head slowly, but her eyes seemed fixed to his, unable to look away before him.

"Ben…" Carlos tried, inching closer. "We really should get going."

"Evie," Ben said softly, not giving up. She might be his only chance to get the truth. "You know I can handle it. You know I love her. You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

Tears slid over her blue lashes and he cringed, hating to distress her. "Please. I have to know. How else can I convince her to come home? Was she dating you before Auradon?"

She whimpered at the word home, biting into her lip to swallow back truths.

"Stop," Jay snapped, suddenly closer than Carlos. He caught Evie's arm and spun her away with the grace of a dancer, positioning her behind himself. "It was me, okay?"

Carlos's head snapped back and forth between them, mouth working like he just couldn't decide what to say or how to jump in.

"You?" Ben said, looking the other guy over as though maybe they'd never met. He was testing out the idea, the statement, trying to decide how much of a lie it was.

"If you're going to be angry at someone, it's me," Jay continued.

Evie was crying softly now and Carlos looked like he might be sick.

All at once Ben realized why Jay was saying it—why he was so tightly wound with those words. He thought whoever it was would be left behind. He looked at each of them and realized they all did—so afraid of being abandoned in this place again that they could barely breathe.

Ben staggered back, not sure who it was now or what was going on, but suddenly feeling very much like a villain. It wasn't the thrill he might have imagined.

He left in a flash, rushing back out and down the stairs before vomiting in the alley. He was taking big gulps of that smoggy cold air when someone grabbed him from behind, and then everything went dark.

"Why did you say that?" Carlos whirled on Jay as soon as Ben left.

Jay bared his teeth. "I had to! She was about to tell him!"

"I wasn't…" Evie defended but it sounded weak because even she knew she was. He was a king, after all, and he had such sweet puppy eyes.

"Maybe he would have understood," Carlos tried. That had been his stance since pretty much the moment they gave up plans to steal the wand though. Jay accused him of having a crush on Ben and being blinded by daydreams—that usually sidetracked any conversation into a dwindling argument that inevitably turned to standard name calling.

"You want to get stuck here?" Jay shouted.

"I don't want you to get stuck here!" Carlos countered.

"Guys…" Evie said, having gone to the door and looked down the side of the building. They were still arguing behind her. She couldn't see Ben anywhere. "Guys!"

He had wanted to tell Uma and her crew that they'd made a mistake and there was no way Mal would come to rescue him, but he knew she would. No matter what was going on with her or what she said—he knew she loved him and he knew she'd come to save him.

So, he made Uma and her crew a better deal—better than the wand and a war all to reach for freedom they could never get at. He could make them free. He could give them the starts they should have had.

Uma had declined at first, anger burning for ruin. And then something had changed. Gil came running back to the ship, whispering first in Harry Hook's ear before Harry's own grin slipped away. The pirate son swung to Uma's side, head dipping close and speaking gently in her ear. Ben saw her enjoyment slip away, something darker than her anger in the air now. Finally, she pursed her lips, pressed back her shoulders and marched up to where he stood, bound to the mast.

"You will get me and mine off this island," she said.

Ben stared before his eyes flared and he nodded, realizing this was the deal he'd offered for his release. "Yes." Really, he was going to find a way to get them off this island now even if they ransomed him back.

"Me, Harry, Gil… All of us," she said sharply, clearly.

Ben felt the weight of an oath between them and nodded again. "I promise." Suddenly the ropes went slack and Harry leaned around the back of the mast, leaning over his side, sword in hands and ropes cut apart.

Uma held out her hand. "Deal."

He shook her hand, palms clapping together.

Her lip curled in a snarl but she pushed him toward the docks. "You're a weakness to them, you know that don't you?" Uma taunted coldly. "It's not because you got kidnapped either… That could happen to any of them."

He hurried off the boat, onto the dock, before turning to look back at her. "Then why?"

"Because you, King, are so important that they forgot to look out for their own."

A chill cut down his spine. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not the only one who realized you were here. The Evil Queen knows." Even Uma's smile faltered, joy souring with a wince she didn't mean to let out. "Mothers are monsters here and while the VKs went scattering to your rescue…they didn't even see her goons circling."

Bens mind reeled.

"Go home, King. You don't belong here. Go home, but don't you dare forget your promise."

He wouldn't. Not the promise he made to her, or the one he made to Evie that morning. Uma pointed down the left of the docks and Ben started walking—soon running. He didn't know where he was going but before long he collided with Mal and Carlos. She gawked at him, clinging to his arms. "You got away? How did you get away?" she almost yelled.

Carlos started pulling them both down an alley. "Go to the car," he was saying. "I'll find the others and meet you."

"Where are they?" Ben said, dragging his feet, looking around the dark streets while the two pulled him along.

"Who?"

"Jay and Evie," he rushed out the words, pulse racing. He just needed to see that they were okay—just lay eyes on them.

Mal's brow pinch, nose wrinkling the way it did when she was annoyed or confused. "They're at Dizzy's getting the smoke bombs. Don't worry about it. Carlos will—"

"The Evil Queen knows."

That was all it took and the other two jerked to a stop, blinking at him. He could see those seconds where they grappled with questions that didn't really matter—How could he know? Was it true? Could she have done anything?—and then finally the only question that mattered. "Where's Evie?" Mal said and Carlos was already darting down a street, jumping onto a ledge and lifting himself over a wall. Mal started to follow and then froze, looking back at Ben and he saw it—how she was torn between them and him. She had to go and make sure Evie was okay, but she couldn't leave him either.

They would have to talk about this later. This was never how he meant for things to be.

Right now, he made the choice for them both and ran past her, following Carlos.

Carlos was fast, and even faster when he had to be. He was first into the hair shop and Ben swung in after him, jerking to a stop to take in the trashed room. Chairs overturned and glass and paint smeared across the floors. Carlos straddled Jay's waist in the corner, hands hovering over the other boy's face, too much blood to know what to touch and what not to. "Wake up," the white-haired boy demanded in a whisper, fingers turning Jay's head side to side, skimming over his neck and searching him for wounds. Jay spasmed awake with a cry of pain and a curse.

Ben moved closer, eyes wide and searching the room. A girl stood behind the cash register, pressed into a corner with big teary eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

She blinked at him, confused by the question before finally bubbling out an answer. "They took Evie!"

Mal was in the shop now, hovering over the guys.

"I think his arm is broken," Carlos said and when Ben turned back to them, the white-haired boy had managed to sit Jay up, the taller boy awake now but swaying. "The cuts are all shallow," Carlos went on. Ben was chilled how clinical the usually emotional and energetic boy now sounded. How many times had things like this happened?

"Can he walk? We need to get Evie and we need to get out of here before Jafar shows up to collect him…" Mal said darkly.

Carlos pulled Jay to his feet, holding his arm over his shoulders to carry most of his weight. "I can get him to the car."

Mal nodded slowly. "Okay. Ben, go back to the car with them. I'll meet you—"

"No," Ben cut her off. "Carlos, get him to the car and then call the guards."

"What?" Mal blinked, shaking her head slowly. "This isn't your problem. I promise, I'll meet you at the car—"

"Mal," he said softly, catching her hand in his. "We're wasting time. Show me where she is and I'll get you both home."

She stared and then finally nodded and led him out of the hair shop and up the darkening streets.

It was her nightmare come true. She'd had the good life—escaped the Isle—and ended up back. Everything was ruined. Mal was miserable and bent on breaking her own heart. Jay had fought so hard against the Evil Queen's thugs. She'd heard bone break and his scream before they dragged her away. She told herself again and again that Mal and Carlos would find him and get him off the Isle but they still had to save Ben.

They were never getting off this Isle again and when the rest of the kingdom found out that their King had been abducted—no one was ever going to get out of here.

Evie drug in a ragged breath, wrists shackled overhead and the toes of her boots scraping the floor. At least she wasn't stuffed into the box in her mother's room. Not yet anyway. She cringed, trying not to think about it.

The doors open and she jumped, her mother storming in. She'd never seen her this angry before. "Mommy…"

"I gave you everything," her mother snapped. "I made you beautiful and fair. I sent you out into the Kingdom with just one job—just one!"

Evie winced. "I-I'm working on it," she lied.

"I protected you," the Queen went on.

Evie gnashed her teeth to keep from arguing. It would only make things worse.

"Do you know how many children are thrown into the sea? How many are sold or traded? You didn't have to work like Jafar's boy. I didn't take pleasure in your pain like De Vil and her boy. And I asked so little—no world domination or acts of cruelty to prove your dark heart like Maleficent and her girl. All I wanted was a crown, Evie. All I wanted was the best for you."

Fresh tears gathered in her eyes. "Mommy, I am doing the best for me, I swear. I can make my own wealth and I'm smart and—"

The Evil Queen snarled, uncoiling a whip from her belt that rolled onto the floor.

Evie's eyes widened, words choking in her throat. Her mother had never struck her before—she wouldn't. "Mommy…"

"I protected you and that pretty face and you gave me nothing for it," she hissed, voice low and spiteful.

Evie held her breath, the whip curling back before snapping forward. She had nowhere to turn, eyes pressing shut and cheek turning away. The whip cracked, she heard it, but she only felt a rush of air push her hair back. She opened her eyes, a shadow over her and a hand gripping her wrists. She blinked at him, the last person she would have expected. "Ben?"

"How dare you!" The Evil Queen screamed.

Ben's hand braced Evie's cheek. "Are you okay?"

"What are you doing here?" Panic rose in her chest. Over his shoulder she saw Mal shoving the Evil Queen back, kicking the whip from her hand and cornering her with a knife.

"I promised," Ben said with a smile, just before the doors flung open again, the royal guard rushing in.

They were rushed back to Auradon and then to the medical ward, answering question after question on the way. They didn't even pause when they were patching up the long slash of the Evil Queen's whip down his right shoulder and back. He'd made sure the have Evie join Carlos and check on Jay before as soon as they reached the medical floor, before she could see it.

At the first chance, Ben caught Mal's arm and pulled her aside, sitting with her. "We need to talk."

"Right now?"

"Yeah," he almost laughed, just as tired as she was. But he knew how she could spin sometimes, how she internalized and took everything on herself. "I need you to answer some questions."

Her head dropped, staring hard at her hands in her lap and nodding stiffly.

He touched her chin to lift her head a little, to catch those green eyes. "I don't think I understood just how different things could be on the Isle—or how bad you had it."

Tears swam in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone back and what happened to Jay and you and almost E—that's all my fault and—"

"No! No." He held her hand, shaking his head. He knew she'd think something like this. "You were trying to go home, but I don't think that place is your home anymore, Mal. I don't think the place ever was."

"Ben—"

"Please," he said softly. "I think we need to be completely honest with each other. You've always been hiding parts of yourself. I didn't want to push but I think that hiding is what's hurting you now."

She swallowed hard but finally nodded.

"You and the VKs weren't just friends."

Her head shot up, staring back at him. "It was complicated. We don't do relationships the same on the Isle. We don't even use words like 'friends' but… Yeah. We were more than that. But I promise I haven't cheated on you. I just didn't know how to tell you or if I should."

"They think I'd send them back if I knew? That I'd be jealous or just…judge them?" He tried not to sound hurt that they would think it. He'd seen it in them on the Isle today. They were afraid of him and the power he had over their lives.

"I know you wouldn't. But Jay thinks you would—he doesn't usually believe the best in people until he sees it… And Carlos and E don't think you would but…"

"But they were too afraid to test it?"

She nodded.

"So, how did it work? On the Isle. Group dates and—"

Mal laughed, always shocked how easily he could take the gravity from a situation. She looked back at him, some of that love shining through her eyes before she could look away, trying to play it cool again. "Uh, not exactly. Monogamy just isn't really a thing on the Isle. It came naturally. I mean, we never said soft gooey feeling things and there were definitely no dates."

"I was pretty sure there wasn't. You're kinda bad at dates."

She gaped, mock offense taken.

Ben smiled, still holding her hand. "Do you miss them? Being more than friends with them."

She hesitated, wondering if it would be better to lie but she wasn't sure she could—not to him, not anymore. "Yeah. But I wouldn't trade you for anything or anyone. And I still have them as friends."

He nodded, heart fluttering at the way she talked about him, but he'd had time to think about their situation while tied to the mast of a docked pirate ship today. "How would it work… If we did things like on the Isle."

Her head jerked up, green eyes searching his for some secret meaning maybe? "Really? Well… You would have to have some interest in them…"

"And they'd have to have some interest in me…" He laughed, surprised at the tangle of nerves in his chest.

"They do," she said flatly.

He stared back at her, not even sure what to ask. Was this really okay to talk about? To think about? To do?

"It's like friendships but more. It's deeper, more familiar. But if you feel jealous of the others, then it doesn't work. And that's fair. If you feel like you're sharing or that the ones you like are cheating, then it's not healthy and it's not for you."

"And then?"

"If we tried it, and you changed your mind, we would stop and be just you and me again. You and me is good," she smiled, tired but honest. "You and me is great."

"But it could be more," he said softly, thoughtfully.

She leaned in and kissed him softly. "Thank you for saving them—for going back for Evie."

He sighed against her lips. He would have gone through fire for any one of them, and maybe it wasn't just because they were her friends or his friends. "So, how does it start?"

Thinking of continuing this into a bunch of romance and smut... Hope someone other than me enjoys this idea!