Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay sat in a circle in the girl's room. Each of them handling their own business. Evie was busy plucking at Mal's eyebrows, an activity the boy's have never been fond of. Mal had pretty much been talking to herself the entire time. Jay was busy playing a video game, and Carlos was doing his homework with such an intense look that it frightens the others.

"But the city townspeople seemed nice enough," Mal blabs on wincing at each pluck, "The little kids seem really interested to know more about how to stand up for themselves. I guess they feel like they don't have a voice."

"Mhmm," Evie says, "but you keep getting invited to speak at the elementary schools, that's worth something."

"Yes I know. I just don't get how we can grow up so differently from the people here and they develop the exact same issues. It makes no sense."

"People are complicated I guess," Evie squints, "Just like the symmetry of your eyebrows. Why does one side look so off?"

"Evie, please no more plucking!" Mal groans, "I'm pretty sure the skin around my eyebrows are deep red. What do you think guys?"

Mal turns to Carlos and Jay. Jay almost drops his gaming device, and Carlos has a hard time making eye contact with her.

"Jay are you okay?" Evie asks, "You've been jumpy all day. Carlos did something happen?"

"I-I'm not jumpy!" Jay protests, "Just... y'know, keeping my reflexes sharp."

"Sharp? Jay you used to be a thief," Mal smiles softly, "You really think Auradon has worsened your reflexes?"

"Well, I mean... I don't know I just-" Jay starts but Evie cuts him off. Something clicks inside her and she instinctively runs to his side brushing the hair out of his face and placing a hand on his knee. Mal's jaw drops a half inch, her eyes not believing what she was seeing. Mal knew Evie's movements. She basically knew how many individual strands of hair Evie has. She knows this was Evie's way of flirting. Evie didn't even try to mask it. She was outright flirting with him.

"Aww, don't sweat it Jay," Evie says wrapping an arm around his shoulder, "You're the star of the team you don't need your father to validate you. Do you remember back when we snagged that priceless gauntlet from Chick Hick's backyard raceway? Your performance was flawless."

Jay sighs, and nods. His worries melt for a split second and Mal watches as his countenance return to normal. She looks over at Carlos who had not taken his eyes off of them. Mal could tell he was looking at Evie and it was concerning. She spies the three carefully, but decides not to mention anything.

"Yeah, you're flawless," Carlos sighs and turns back to his homework. Evie releases her grip on Jay and stands to her feet. Confusion wipes Evie's face as if she had just forgotten what she was doing. Mal eyes her suspiciously. She opens her mouth to say something but just as she does a knock comes at the door. Evie's eyes widen and she gasps.

"Wait, who is at the door?" Mal furrows her eyebrows getting up to check the door.

"No!" Evie shouts, stopping Mal in her tracks, "I mean, don't worry about it! I actually have to get going so I'm going to tell whoever it is to come back later. Obviously we're all out of sorts today, so I'm just going to go. Don't worry I'll finish evening out your eyebrows later, bye!"

Without another word, Evie cracks open the door and slips out, Mal unable to see who was on the other side.

"What just happened?" Mal says.

"She doesn't like us anymore," Carlos shakes his head gathering his homework.

"Excuse me?" Mal crosses her arms, "She was fine just a minute ago! What do you mean? Is something wrong? We should go see what's up."

"It doesn't matter," Carlos says standing to his feet, "Everyone leaves eventually. Just like Dude.. just like Buddy."

"What?" Mal says inching towards Carlos. She has never seem him as sad as he is now, "Carlos Buddy is-"

"Gone," Carlos shakes his head, "It was my fault."

"Wait, but I just saw Buddy the other da-"

"Don't convince me he is still here Mal. He's gone. They all leave. Evie will too. You guys will too. All of this will go," Carlos starts to head towards the door. Mal looks at Jay and points to him.

"Go talk to him!" Mal tells him. Jay looks flustered and she is taken aback. It looks as if Jay was... panicking?

"I-uh... I-... I!" Jay tries, stuttering over his words.

"Jay, what's going on? Why can't you talk to him?" Mal asks as Carlos turns the knob to leave.

"I can't! I don't know what to say! I might make things worse, I might say the wrong thing and mess up our friendship and he'll hate me forever and I-I just can't!" Jay starts to ramble.

Mal stands there completely dumbfounded and they watch as Carlos shut the door quietly behind him.

"He just... walked out." Mal says, her face falling with every second.

"This was all my fault, I knew it!" Jay covers his face with his hands, "I'm a complete mess!"

"Wait, Jay!" Mal calls out as Jay storms out of the room. Mal can barely think. What in Hades had just happened? First Evie storms out without an explanation, as if she has some big secret. Then Carlos is overwhelmed with sadness. Then she just watched Jay have his first panic attack? She's never seen her friends like this. And they have all been pretty deceptive kids. If they were struggling, they certainly never showed it. They were used to these kinds of feelings growing up on the Isles. They usually had more control over it.

"The book," Mal finally says. She moves to her dresser and pulls out her book of spells. She had been trying to back off on the amount of times she was spelling students for their own gain. But right now, she has to do some sleuthing. She flips through the pages and she stops on one that she had seen multiple times, but passed over thinking it would be wrong to use.

"Mind mirror," Mal squints, "Don't just read their minds, but be their minds lost in time. So if I use this I should be able to see what they see. Like a mind reading spell, but not a mind reading spell? Oh well, this will have to do."

Evie scurries out of the door before Sue ever has a chance to squeak a hello. Evie shushes her and grabs her arm, leading her towards the side of the hall.

"Hey!" Sue pulls away once they are well hidden, "Don't you dare touch me again you freak!"

"Oh my gosh I'm sorry okay? it's just that," Evie lowers her voice sneaking a glance down the hall, "They don't know that I'm, uh... they don't know I'm... well.."

"Hanging out with people from East Side?" Sue crosses her arms.

Evie's expression softens and she puts a hand on Sue's shoulder, "Look I'm sorry-"

"Touching!" Sue puts her hands up. Evie pulls back and apologizes.

"Okay, yes fine. I'm sorry okay? It's just that they're really suspicious of you guys and our friendship... well it means a lot." Evie says.

"Whatever," Sue shrugs and smiles, "I get it. Let's just get moving."

"Okay!" Evie says excitedly as they start their journey to the lab, "I'm so excited for this assignment. What are the odds we'd get paired together?"

"High," Sue laughs, "We're the only VKs in that class."

Evie shrugs and then stops short, "Oh my gosh! I left so quickly I forgot everything we needed back in my room!"

"No worries, we can just go back to mine," Sue starts to walk.

"Your room?" Evie stops and raises her eyebrow. Nobody goes into their room. They keep their doors locked and nobody comes in. Some even say that they never see them actually leave. Evie would be the first person outside of the East Side 5 to enter.

Sue stops and makes a quizzical face, "Yes... why is there something wrong with that? I have all the materials listed in the assignment, plus some extra fabric."

"But we can only use the ingredients given to us by Merlin," Evie says pointing to the instructions on the assignment.

"Ugh! Evie come on. My ingredients are just as good as the ones Merlin has. I may not have been able to use the stuff my mom gave me on the Isles, but I can at least use them here," Sue pouts.

"Does the school know you have them?" Evie asks.

"Did the school know Mal had a spell book and you had a magic mirror when you first got here?" Sue puts a hand on her hip.

Evie cringes. Sue was right, of course. Sue let's out a tiny excited squeal, causing Evie to cover her ear. Sue walks with a spring in her step, her boots clanging against the floor as she walks. Evie sighs and follows her. Evie was trying to keep her cool. She had lived on the Isles for pete's sake. There is nothing that should surprise her. Or so she thought. When Sue opens the door she feels like she has just stepped into a dungeon. Sue walks in casually putting her books on the table nearby. Evie is still at the doorway, as if she couldn't go in. She hasn't seen anyplace that looks like this in so long she didn't realize how scary VK decorating probably looks to other people.

What she wasn't expecting to see is Jade hiding in the shadows of the room. It looked like she was meditating. Sue hums to herself as if nothing was happening around her. Finally, Sue looks up and gestures her into the room.

"Don't just stand there come in," Sue says, "Oh yes the fabric! Let me get that. Evie can you look in that dresser and pull out everything we need? Third and fourth drawers."

Evie steps through, shutting the door behind her, "How on Earth do you get past room inspection with all of this stuff?"

"See me see you spell. Everybody knows that spell, super basic, has no side effects," Jade's voice calls from the side of her bed. She doesn't open her eyes, only responds.

"Smart. People only see what you want them to see. Mal's mom taught us about that spell back on the Isles." Evie nods, gasping as she opens the drawers Sue had told her too. There were rows upon rows of vials. She has to pick them up individually and read the contents of each one. They were all mystical ingredients, some that were ancient. She tried to ignore the odd stench coming from the drawers. The mix of oils and materials was causing a unappealing smell.

"Has Mal used that spell?" Jade asks.

"I mean, we thought about it for Carlos' and Jay's room but we ended up deciding against it." Evie says still combing through the bottles.

"Figures," Jade snickers, Sue giving a giggle.

Evie finally finds the ones that she needs and pulls them out, bringing them over to the table Sue had lined out for them. The sewing machine she had was old but Evie wasn't going to be able to bring Sue back to her room. Sue lays out all of the fabric and Evie nods. They weren't the best material but it was good fabric none the less.

"Okay so how are we going to infuse the potion into the clothes?" Evie sighs, "It's a mood reveal potion, so if the clothes are supposed to reflect your mood-"

"It should be no different than an aura reading," Sue says pulling out a sketchbook and handing it to Evie, "We make the potion, use a non-magic process to turn it into a dust and we can just charm the clothes. Like a mood ring or a mood necklace. The clothes just have to have one item on it that contains a portion of the potion. Wait, that rhymed!"

"That didn't rhyme." Jade says. Sue's scowls at Jade and rolls her eyes. Jade lets out a laugh before continuing her meditation.

Evie's brain starts working and she starts sketching out an outfit. She peers up at the fabric Sue has on hand and thinks to the fabric she currently has in her room. She sketches a tank top with a second layer that is ripped at the rib cage. She adds a connecting collar and a broach in the middle. She turns and shows Sue her design.

"What do you think?" Evie shows her. Sue nods but then makes a few adjustments,

"What if the collar was more like shoulder pads... like this," Sue says lightly going over the sketch, "And then we could make the second layer of the tank sheer so you can see the color from the first layer. I'm guessing you wanted the broach to contain the mood potion?"

"Yes, the broach would have the potion. I love those changes. It looks edgy, like VK meets Auradon, meets pop star," Evie examines, taking the pencil back and solidifying the design.

"Y'know, if this works, you guys could make a killing with the dances coming up," Jade says finally opening her eyes.

"What do you mean? Nobody's going to want to walk around exposing their moods," Evie puts a hand on her hip, "That would be a horrible idea."

"But people like essential oils to boost their mood right?" Jade finally stands up, "What if you made outfits that were... mood enhancing?"

"That actually is a pretty good idea... It could put everybody in the right mood! Then maybe people would come back to the Princess Ball and we won't have to worry about having two separate ones! It would be like feel good clothes," Evie beams, "But where are we going to get those kind of ingredients? I mean I don't know a single spell or potion that would be strong enough to make that."

"That's why we're in a potions class! Come on you can't tell me Mal hasn't learned any cool magic spells since being put in private lessons?" Sue puts her hands on her hips.

"I mean, she has but she won't use any of them. She told me a little about the process of creating your own spells, but my mom didn't use magic. She created it," Evie shrugs, "She definitely wouldn't want to use it just to fix the issues around here."

"Then get her notes and book and bring it to me," Jade says approaching the two. Evie can't believe Jade would just blatantly ask her that!

"Are you crazy? You don't know how to use those spells they can be dangerous," Evie protests.

"But Mal can use them? Why because her mom is maleficent? One of the most feared of all villains? And I'm just a VK with unknown parents?" Jade mocks. Sue snickers a bit and Evie can feel her cheeks getting pink.

"You know I didn't mean that," Evie shrinks back. Jade walks towards Evie and puts an arm around her. She leads her over to her bed and opens the nightstand next to it. She pulls out a black book. The binding is coming apart, but the leather on the cover is still fresh. There is a tiki mask on the front and two torches through it. Jade hands the book to Evie and a gust of wind sweeps through the room. The lights are dimmed and the candles Sue and Jade had laid out through the room ignite at once. The logo on the front glows slightly and Evie gasps.

"You know magic?" Evie gasps looking around the room and dragging a finger over the edge of the book.

"I guess so," Jade shrugs. Evie and Jade sit on her bed and Sue walks over toward her, "This book was left for me. Sue found it one day when she was deep sea diving. She has the lungs of a fish."

"But these pages don't seem to have any water damage," Evie examines the edges.

"Because they never touched water. It was in a chest covered in moss," Sue explains, "I was a kid then and I couldn't get it up without help. It was a nuisance but I had to talk to Captain Hook's kids to help me. Annoying little bounty hunters."

"So the rumors about you guys using magic on the Isles were true?" Evie asks.

"Not necessarily," Sue says, "We weren't able to use magic at all. My potions never worked. Always turned into some kind of weird stew. Made for some interesting dinners though. But this book was... different."

"So what's in it?" Evie asks. Jade gestures for Evie to open it. Carefully she opens it, but she was surprised at what she found. Nothing. There was nothing in it. She flips a few more pages but the pages were empty.

"Blank? So what's it's purpose?" Evie looks at them but both shake their head.

"We don't know. It just does stuff like what you just saw. We thought maybe if we knew spells we could record them and see what would happen," Sue shakes her head.

"But we don't know any spells," Jade admits, "If we had Mal's spells, we might be able to make the feel good spell. The book alone has power, who knows what'll happen if we write in it."

"Have you tried putting fire behind the-"

"Yep."

"Well what about using a blue light-"

"Yep."

"A mirror-"

"Yes! Evie we've literally tried everything. Nothing works. Come on, it would be a great way to get your fashion out there. It would be a huge boost! You remember how much buzz the dress Mal wore to Ben's coronation got. It would put your name on the map, and it would bring everybody together. Win win right?" Jade says.

"So let me get this straight," Evie says, "You are trying to help save the Princess Ball... by stealing Mal's spell book, using unknown magic to charm clothes and give them to people to boost their moods and in turn make everyone friends again?"

"Yeah what's the problem?" Sue asks without even blinking.

"You're trying to help everyone," Evie says, "But I thought-"

"Hasn't Tony told you anything?" Jade rolls her eyes, "Evie get it into your head. We're not evil okay? We just make deals that help everyone. You guys will definitely ace your project, you and Sue get the credit for the school dance dresses, the VKs will look like heros, and all of Auradon prep will get along and be friends. We can't help that we know what's best for everyone, no matter how it is perceived."

"Tony did say how great you guys were. I guess... I guess I was wrong about you guys," Evie lowers her eyes.

"It's okay, we're acquaintences-" Jade starts.

"Friends!" Sue says before turning and hissing at Jade, "I swear you would think that word was a curse to you!"

"Thanks guys," Evie smiles, "Okay you've convinced me. Let me see what I can do about Mal's book."

Evie hands the book back to Jade. Jade places in her nightstand and immediately the lights turn back on.

"Okay! Let's get working!" Sue smiles and heads back to the sewing machine. Evie follows and suddenly feels more relaxed knowing that they were more normal than they thought. She instantly feels a tinge of guilt. How was she supposed to get Mal's spell book? What if Mal notices it's gone? What would Mal do? Evie figures it might be better to just ask for the spell book. Surely Mal would give it to her. Besides they were best friends. Mal trusts her.

Jay makes his way to the field. The only thing that eases his mind is some good ol' fashioned practice. Plus, everyone was busy doing their after school activities. Today was one of those days where the students gather in the arcade for tournaments. Jay loved a good game, but right now he couldn't stomach it. What if Carlos was angry with him? The past two mornings have been the most awkward for both of them. Every time he tried to talk to Carlos, it was like Carlos wasn't even there. When Carlos did speak, it was very little. The girls had flocked to him, trying to comfort him even though no one knew what was wrong. Jay, had also had an easy time with the ladies. Since he had been so jumpy, the girls naturally flocked to him calling him 'cute' and a 'scaredy cat'. There was no doubt that the spell had worked. It was the feelings he had now that he didn't understand.

Jay sits down on the bleachers, overlooking the empty field. Next to him is his equipment bag. He starts putting on his gym shoes when he hears a sound behind him. His chest tightens and he jumps slightly. Behind him Dez and Sean stood behind him. Sean, like Jay, has long hair which flounced as he walks toward Jay. His eyes pierce Jay's soul like a dagger and his grimace was enough to clear the savannah out of fright. Jay can feel his legs start to shake and he has to breathe deeply just to keep himself still. Dez has his hair pulled up into a mohawk. To Jay, the ends of his hair almost looked... singed?

"Mind if I sit here?" Dez snickers forcefully pushing Jay to make room for him. Sean looks down at Jay's equipment bag and back up. He scowls and Jay sighs, removing his bags. Sean takes a seat on the other side of him and Jay finds himself sandwiched in between them. He shifts uncomfortably, trying to finish tying his shoes.

"So, what's cooking small fry?" Dez asks, "Getting in some practice before tomorrow?"

"Look I really don't have time for... whatever this is," Jay rolls his eyes standing up.

"Is it true coach is picking the starts for the first game tomorrow?" Dez asks him. Sean, always the man of few words doesn't say a thing.

"Yes he is, and I intend to be on it," Jay turns and scowls, balling his fists, "Now need to workout so you go back to doing whatever you do for fun."

"Oh we're doing it," Dez smiles, "tormenting people is kinda our thing."

Jay's heart skips a beat and he shakes his head trying to pull it together as he starts down the stairs.

"You know I hope you do make the starting line," Dez continues, his voice getting louder the farther down the bleachers Jay gets, "That way we can make you look like an idiot when we take the team to victory."

"I'm not li-listening to this," Jay's voice squeaks.

"Wh- hah! You hear that Sean? I think we're making him nervous!" Dez laughs, "You know you should be! The only reason you're the star on this team is because the Auradon prep kids are weaklings. You really thought it was going to be like that forever? What a joke!"

Jay refuses to turn around. He refuses to show how nauseated he had become. He refuses to show how red his cheeks were. It wasn't from anger, but embarrassment. It was fear. He was completely and utterly scared. More scared than when they had to take on Mal's mother who arguably would have killed them right there without remorse.

"I can see it now! All those girls you have trailing you-all of the ones that you spelled," Dez says. The words shove right through Jay's skull and he freezes on the bottom step. He stops his mind wandering back to the dream he had two days ago. Can't find a date to the dance so you have to resort to a silly potion! Jafar's voice rings in Jay's head.

"Yeah, don't think we didn't notice. Doesn't matter. Soon, all of them will be all over us and we won't need a spell. Of course, you'll always be able to find a pity date," Dez states.

Jay's heart is beating so fast he could pass out. The only thing that would help is going for a run. He had to get out of here. He had to get away from them. Jay jumps off the bottom stairs and takes off. He can hear Dez's laugh echo behind him but he starts to run the track. He is fighting back tears, his mind unable to steady. His legs are wobbly and he already knows he isn't running straight.

He finally gets about halfway down the track when he hears a sound behind him. He turns around expecting to see Sean or Dez but sees nothing. He suddenly trips over his feet and face plants into the dirt. His elbow is scuffed and his hands burn from the impact. A tear escapes his eye and he freezes. He fell. He was scared. He wasn't used to this kind of feeling. Usually anger, fear and sadness fueled him. But this time was different.

He hears footsteps, but he has no will to look up, no will to see who was coming to kick a man while he's down.

Someone bends down and whispers into his ear.

"They always say that arrogance is the camouflage of insecurity. I guess they were right," Sean says. He stands back up and kicks Jay's side, causing him to fall again, "Enjoy your fame while you can. You won't have it after tomorrow."

Jay curls up into a ball as Sean walks away. A black haze glazes his eyes for a split second before disappearing. Jay suddenly feels... empty. Dez stands with his arms crossed, still gazing at him.

"Don't bother with dragon breathe over there. Not that he's wrong, he's just more harsh about things. Look I'll cut you a deal," Dez lowers himself to be eye level with Jay, "I can make sure you don't completely disappear from the limelight. Bring back your confidence, and maybe let you have your pick of the ladies for the dance. Dances rather. I can make you one of us."

Jay buries his head into his knees. He could barely think. There weren't a lot of thoughts in his head, rather his mind was blank. It was like he wasn't processing anything but an overwhelming sadness.

"Or you could continue to be small, puny, and pathetic. That's cool too," Dez stands to his feet, "Just remember this offer has an expiration date. You let me know by the end of tomorrow."

Jay watches Sean and Dez walk away. They still sported chains on their clothes, spikes on their boots. There was a logo etched on the back of their jackets. It was a tiki mask that resembled the ones they had found in Jade's house as kids. The mask had colorful outlines and a blue fire behind it.

Jay sighs and sprawls out on the floor, looking up at the sky. He had never felt so mentally exhausted before. He feels like he has barely done anything, yet tried to conquer the whole world. He didn't enjoy this feeling. Maybe they were right. Maybe this was the end for him. He couldn't let that happen. He just couldn't.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry this was an incredibly long chapter.