Songs & Saltwater

Chapter One

"We've got all the ways to be…w-i-c-k-e-d…"

Six months ago, the four kids from the Isle of the Lost came to Auradon at the request of Prince Ben's decree that they be given a chance. Mal, daughter of Maleficent. Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen. Jay, son of Jafar. And Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil. The descendants of prestigious villainy, all of their history preceded them. To say that everyone was nervous would be an understatement.

"Crashing the party, guess they lost my invitation…Friendly reminder, got my own kind of persuasion…"

Now, it was a complete and total flip. Auradon and the VKs had adjusted to one another. Mal and Ben, now King, were dating and the villainess was learning the ways of the court. Evie was the driving force behind fashion and trends as well as an incredibly talented seamstress. So much that nearly every girl on campus had made an appointment to have her fit them for their Royal Cotillion dress. Jay had climbed the athletics ladder and had become captain of the tourney team and now captain of R.O.A.R, the swords and shields team. And there was Carlos De Vil…

"Looks like this place could use a bit of misbehavior…Happily ever after with a bit of flavor…"

Irene couldn't help but smile at the thought of the white haired boy. Out of everyone in Auradon, his mother's terror directly affected her family. She should've been terrified or even angry that he was leaving the Isle. Instead, the exact opposite ending up happening. Right from their first meeting she knew that he wasn't anything like his mother. Any hesitancy fell away and she found herself becoming more involved with him. Timid friendship gave way to deeper emotions and she found herself falling hard for the villain.

Simply put, he made her happy. His smile, his love for technology and knowledge, his willingness to learn and be kind. She found herself becoming more confident, braver with him in her life. They helped each other become better and she couldn't help but love—

Her train of thought was interrupted when she spotted the very boy across the exterior walkway with the other kids from the Isle. She couldn't help but smile brightly at the sight of him, giving a wave.

"Carlos!"

Ignoring the fact that she was going to be running late for class if she detoured, she changed her course. Despite having a watch, she was usually running late, especially since she was helping with such a large event. Courtesy of Carlos, at least her watch was no longer slipping off her wrist and becoming lost. The villain seemed to stand up straighter as she approached him, his warm brown eyes quickly finding hers.

"Irene, hey," he greeted, a smile pulling at his mouth. The usual pink warmed her cheeks as she smiled brightly in return.

"Hey," she returned. She grinned at the other three. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Twenty-two dresses and two more days' worth of fitting to go," answered Evie with a proud little sigh.

"Woof," muttered Irene. "You and Doug are keeping busy then? You know if you need an extra hand I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you," the princess nodded, "but I'm sure you're busy with the Cotillion as well, aren't you in charge of music preparations and assisting Jane and all that?"

"Oh, yeah," she admitted sheepishly. "Doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day, huh?"

Mal gave a small strangled sound of agreement. It had taken some getting used to seeing her with white blonde hair, remnants of purple remaining at the ends. Irene gave a sympathetic smile. She knew that the girl was under tremendous stress. If Ben was feeling any stress, then Mal had to be feeling it tenfold at least. More than once she had to step in to give her a break. It was pretty clear to see when she was becoming overwhelmed and Jane was usually more focused on the task at hand and tended to miss the little cues that Mal was going to crack. The big, big sign that she was about to lose her chill was when her already green eyes would glow a too-bright shade, like her magic was going to accidentally lash out. Irene was quick to suggest a break, change the subject, or come up with an excuse to get Mal away so she could take a moment for herself.

"Hey, Irene—" began Carlos, but Jay threw his arm around his shoulder, leaning across the white haired boy to talk to the girl.

"Irene, what's better, going to the Cotillion with a date or going stag?" asked Jay.

Confused by the abrupt question, she gave a half-smile and a little shrug.

"I think both are fine. I've usually just gone with friends to formal events," she answered, "but to be honest, I'm usually working them for most of the night."

"So you're saying that it would great if you were asked—"

Carlos quickly swat the athlete in the stomach with the back of his hand, to Irene's confusion.

"Oh—Mal! Irene!"

The group turned to see Jane rushing toward them with her trusty tablet in hand. With the Cotillion only days away, the device was practically attached to her hand. Thankfully, much like everyone else, after the royal coronation Jane started to calm down around the villain kids. No longer a shaking mess, she was able to approach them like any other person. Which was exceptionally helpful as the daughter of Fairy Godmother as her responsibilities were heavily tied up in arranging the big royal events. And since Mal was girlfriend to the now King and soon to be Lady of the Court herself, the two were constantly meeting up to discuss the finer points of the much anticipated Cotillion, to the fairy's chagrin.

Jane started to talk to Mal about party favors for the event when Irene felt a familiar leather gloved hand grasp her own. She turned to look up at the white haired boy and he gave another smile. A blush colored her cheeks again at the contact as her chest grew warm.

"Hey…" he half-whispered.

"Hi," she laughed softly. "Sorry, it's been extra crazy lately, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, is it always like this?" he agreed.

"According to Jane, yeah, mostly," she explained. "There's extra drama because Mal and Ben are an item too. Y'know, next potential Queen and all."

"Right, right…" His thumb brushed against the top of her hand and her heart gave a happy little skip. She squeezed back softly in return, daring to shy closer to him. They hadn't gotten the chance to hang out too much with all of the arrangements for the royal event. She gazed up at him, the warmth in her heart filling her with happiness.

In six months, Carlos had managed to change since his arrival. Significantly, in her opinion. For one, he had gotten taller. Before, they used to be close in height, eye-to-eye if she was wearing her little heels, but now, he was taller than her regardless. His hairstyle had changed as well. It was still the white hair with dark roots as it had been before, but now the short curls had grown out and he wore it straight, the slight fringe occasionally in his eyes. While she did miss the curls, she certainly did like his new look. His attitude seemed to change as well. He wasn't as skittish as before, warily watching everyone's every move, constantly on the alert. Now he was able to relax and enjoy the moment. Though he still had his tentative and reserved moments, he was leagues from where he started and she was so incredibly proud of him.

"Oh! Before I forget," she said, quickly reaching into her sweater's pocket. With a wide grin and flourish, she brought her little mp3 player out for him to see. "Tada!"

His eyes brighten as he leaned in to take a better look. "Is this-?"

"Yeah. I mean—I can still make changes or whatever you guys would like, but it's finished—if you like it, that is," she explained, slightly rambling near the end, forgetting to take a breath.

"I'm sure it's great. You're a genius with this kind of stuff," he awed. She unplugged her own headphones and handed him the device, her blush returning with renewed vigor at the praise.

"I-it's nothing," she shrugged dismissively. "Just, um, give it a listen and tell me what you think."

"Yeah, of course," he promised. "Hey, listen, Irene, I wanted to tell you—"

There was a sharp little yip and Irene quickly looked down to Pongo who was by her side, her gaze focused on Mal and Jane. The young dog had become quite attuned to Mal and when her mood would become too stressed.

"Uh oh, gotta go," she told him with an apologetic look. "I'll stop by practice, if you'd like?"

"N-no—I mean yes. Yeah. Totally. That'd be—super," he stammered, tripping over his word choice.

The boy could only watch as the girl and her dog hurried over to the other girls, doing her best to diffuse the growing tension. He couldn't help but watch her leave, his gaze never straying. He found that he did that a lot. Openly stared at her, mostly when he thought she wasn't looking. He couldn't help it. It was just too easy to be distracted by her. After being Auradon and having her in his life, he was still enthralled with everything that was Irene Radcliffe.

He found it nearly impossible to focus whenever she was nearby, which was tricky as they were together quite often. His heart seemed to beat too hard and too fast when she was around which was equal parts alarming and exciting. She always had a smile for him which was enough to send his blood rushing to his face in a heated blush. Jay was always quick to tease him about his puppy love while Evie thought it was adorable and Mal was quietly approving. It was a huge lift off his shoulders knowing that his friends liked the Auradon girl as well. He was fairly impressed that the three girls got along so well due to their very different personalities, and that only made him like her more.

With everything that happened back when they first arrived and the royal coronation for Ben, they had become a pair of sorts. They didn't focus too much on the labelling like Mal and Ben, although he suspected that was due to the boy's status as King. They were each other's person. Even saying the title of boyfriend and girlfriend was enough to make his face burn, embarrassed yet thrilled all at once.

To his credit, he was getting better. There was a steep learning curve to get used to life in Auradon after growing up on the Isle and Irene made it more than bearable. She was incredibly patient and kind with not only him but the others as well, which only warmed his heart further. Any question they had, she would answer it or go find out for them. There were habits that were hard to quit, like trying to fill their pockets with food so they could hoard it in their dorm rooms. When Irene noticed and asked him, her brown eyes had a strange look when he told her what they were used to back on the isle. She had held his hand tightly, almost painfully, as she promised that it would not happen again and if they ever felt that way to tell her and she would get it taken care of.

There would be moments like that, when they would tell her something about their life before, about what was their normal, and she would have this almost…hurt look. And she was true to her word, if they ever felt hungry or out of sorts, she did everything in her power to correct the wrong. It was interesting to see the difference between her now and the timid girl he had met back on that first day at Auradon Prep. Her confidence had slowly blossomed over the months. She would raise her hand more in class, join more conversations, and she wouldn't take grief if anyone gave them a hard time. Chad had eased up after a while, but Audrey was always prickly around them, even after the Maleficent showdown. She was cordial, yes, but being polite didn't hide everything. Not to mention that they were roommates, so he was sure plenty was said behind closed doors but Irene never mentioned anything.

She also pursued her musical career more seriously in addition to helping Jane and Ben whenever she could. That was another thing that Carlos could watch for hours. It was something he couldn't quite wrap his head around. Sure, he had been a part of musical numbers, but he didn't see it from the musician's perspective. The way her mind worked, she could see something he didn't know how to understand. He compared it to the way he was with his inventions. She could follow him to a certain extent but sometimes he would jump to different points, having already made the split second calculations in his head. It was something he didn't have to always focus on and she was like that with her music. She could write out her notes and bars, casually making changes, little marks of ink that somehow changed the entirety of a song. It was mostly gibberish to him. Not to mention the sheer range of instruments she could play. She certainly wasn't kidding when she told him she grew up learning all sorts of things from her father. That, and her vocal ability wasn't anything to shrug at either. She tended to keep her voice to herself, but there were days when it was just the two of them and he just had to stare at her again in awe.

"You're awesome," he had told her with absolute honesty. Her cheeks quickly turned a pretty shade of pink as she mumbled a quiet, "Th-thank you..."

Carlos liked to think that he had improved since arriving too. One of the perks of having proper nutrition was that he managed to earn a little bit more height. Not that he would ever be as tall as Jay, but at least he wasn't quite so scrawny. Plus there was the bonus of now being taller than Irene which was fun in its own way. It was easier to read over her shoulder, to whisper to her during class, and he got to prop his arm up on her shoulder and use her as a pretend armrest. He was no longer the shortest, finally.

He also had changed up his hair, deciding to let it grow it out and see how it went. It did take some getting used to and the growing it out process was a little annoying but he was happy with the end result. Irene seemed to like it too, even occasionally brushing her fingers through it to brush it away from his eyes. If he could melt it would've been during those moments. He loved the feeling of her fingers brushing through his hair, it was beyond relaxing. Irene had slightly altered her usual hairstyle as well. Before, she had a halo braid with the rest of her hair pinned up in a bun. Now she a double braid and had changed so that only half of her hair was tied back in a smaller bun, the rest of the length free past her shoulders. He found himself liking the new style more, constantly distracted by her auburn hair, often picking up a lock and twisting it around his finger gently. Her hair was so soft…

While they spent practically every day together, there were some days that passed where their schedules wouldn't line up. Normally, the small absence shouldn't be a big deal and yet, he would be actively missing her, not quite able to unwind completely. Texting certainly made it easier but nothing compared to the real thing. With everything that was going on with the Royal Cotillion, Irene was especially busy with preparations, coordinating the music for the event and the party afterwards, and then she was helping Jane on top of it all since Audrey had taken an inconvenient spa vacation with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. They had only gotten to spend small bursts of time together and he found his chest aching when she was gone—

"C'mon lover boy," called Jay, swing an arm over his shoulder, steering him toward class. "You'll see her later."

Love…The word resounded deeply within his chest. He glanced back to see her huddled up with Jane and Ben. That's what he wanted to talk to her about…

Maybe he should talk with the others and see what they said...

REVIEW! So I finally got around to watching Descendants 2 and here we are! I'm super excited for this one and I can't wait to share it with you guys! If you have any guesses or headcanons I'd be happy to hear them! I can't wait to dig into Irene & Carlos and show what's been happening in between the movies. I especially can't wait until we get to the Isle ;D. Sorry, first chapter is mostly branching between the two movies but we'll get going next time!

I'm so excited and I hope you enjoy! Your thoughts would be love!