Part 2| Chapter 4: Escape Route

Y/n was hastily stuffing her books in her locker, already late for class, when Ben dropped by.

"Hi, y/n," he greeted, startling her slightly.

She jumped a bit before chuckling. "Hi."

"You seem on edge. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm-I'm fine," she assured him.

He smiled. "I have a little surprise for you."

"Again? Wow. That's like every day now," y/n said.

"Or every other day. The even dates. Because you're... even more perfect than I thought," he replied.

Y/n laughed. "You're so cute. You know, you don't have to get me all these gifts."

"Come on, let me spoil you. You didn't have a lot growing up," he told her.

Y/n sighed. "You're right. Still, I don't need all these things. You're the best gift I could ever get," she said with a smile.

Ben smiled at her words. "You did not just say that," he said with a grin as he leaned closer to her.

However, he stopped when he noticed something on her neck. "What's this?" he asked, pointing to her necklace.

Just before he grabbed it, y/n took a step back. "Good luck charm," she replied dismissively. "Um, I got to get to class. I'm already late."

"No. You come this way." Ben grabbed her shoulders and directed her to the hallway. "First off... Ta-da!"

What y/n saw in front of her was a shiny blue-gray motorbike. "What?!" she gasped.

"You like it?" Ben asked.

"Ben..." Y/n was at a loss for words. "This is amazing! It's blue," she noticed while touching the new bike. Then, she frowned. "I didn't get you anything."

"You're taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?" he reminded her.

"No, that's Thursday," she said.

"It is Thursday."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is," he chuckled.

"No, it's not," y/n repeated.

"It is." Ben showed her his phone screen, which read Thursday.

Y/n's eyes widened. "I knew that."

"I mean, if you don't have it, that's fine," he told her.

"No, no, no. I was fully messing with you. I knew it was Thursday," she lied. "I just have one more thing to go bake, and then I am all yours."

"Well, what about class?" Ben asked.

"You underestimate my multi-tasking abilities," she replied ominously.

Ben chuckled. "Of course. I'll see you after school, beautiful."

"See you."

After pressing a quick kiss to Ben's cheek, y/n sped through the hallway, her mind brainstorming ways to prepare a whole feast in less than an hour. Not to mention, she was horribly late to class.

***

Y/n would only use the ring for emergencies. It was her personal rule.

And this was an emergency.

She would have used the spell book, if only Mal wasn't hogging it for her own personal activities.

She used the magic from her ring to create a bunch of dishes that Ben liked. Of course, it was never used for things like this, so she had no idea what would happen if something went wrong, but she had to try.

***

"Mm-hmm," Ben murmured as he licked his fingers.

"Would you like a hot hors d'oeuvre?" y/n asked, offering it to him.

"Yes, please," he replied before she put it in his mouth.

"Mmm! This is the best thing I've ever had," he told her.

"So, you like it?" y/n asked, relieved.

"I more than like it. I, uh... mmm—double like it," he chuckled. "Beef ragout?"

"Yeah."

"This is amazing."

"Did I surprise you?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, you surprised me. This is every single dish Mrs. Potts made for my parents. What did it take you? Three days?"

Three seconds? "Oh, don't worry about that," she replied.

"Well, it means a lot that you stopped and did all this for me," he told her sincerely. "Especially with all the craziness you've been put through. I've missed you. We don't get much time to be just us anymore."

"I know." Y/n sighed as Ben leant over the table to touch the side of her face. "Ben, I have to tell you something..." She looked into his eyes but noticed a few crumbs at the corner of his lips.

"Oh—you got a little something," she said.

He chuckled as y/n dabbed it off with a cloth. "You can't take me anywhere, right? Looks like some got on my clothes, too." He got up to dust off the crumbs.

When y/n saw the crumbs on the napkin, she realised that they weren't crumbs anymore—they were blue sparkles.

"Hey, that's odd—where'd all this blue stuff come from?" Ben asked.

"How much time has it been?" y/n asked, slightly frantically.

"About an hour, why?"

'The food probably turns back to magic after an hour of being made,' y/n thought to herself. 'Shit!'

"Y/n—what's going on?" Soon, all the dishes were turning blue. "What—what is this?"

Y/n sighed. "Ben..."

Ben picked up a scone, which crumbled to blue powder in his hands. "Magic," he whispered.

"Ben, please—"

"Wow. And to think I actually believed you could do all this so easily." Ben scoffed. "But it was all a lie! Everything was, wasn't it?"

Y/n stood up. "Ben, it has been so hard for me!" she exclaimed.

"Yes! Some things are hard!" he shouted back. "Do you think learning to be King has been easy for me?"

"No!"

"I thought we were doing this together!"

"Ben, we are in this together," y/n replied.

"But we're not, y/n. We're not. Y-you've been keeping secrets and lying to me. I thought we were done with that. This isn't the Isle of the Lost, y/n."

At his words, y/n's face hardened. "You think I don't know that, Ben?"

"Then why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Because..." y/n sighed. "I'm not one of those pretty princesses, Ben. I'm not one of those ladies from the Court. This place is beautiful, but I'm not! I'm a big fake, okay? My hair, my smile, everything is fake because that is all I can give this land that I don't belong to."

All the food faded, until only the real items were left— a peanut and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk.

"This is who I really am," she said sadly.

"How can you say you don't belong here, y/n, when you do?" he asked.

"Don't you see? I'm not used to being the King's girlfriend, not used to all this fame! The media watching me 24/7, everyone criticising me if I do one thing wrong—I can't do this! Not like you or anyone else here."

"Then where do you belong? Because I'm sure you don't belong on the Isle," he said.

"Maybe," she replied softly. "But at the end of the day, it feels more like home than Auradon does."

"Y/n—"

"No. No," she said, brushing past him.

"You don't mean that!" he said.

"You don't know that," she said softly before leaving.

Ben sighed, frustrated. "Peanut butter and jelly is my favourite!" he exclaimed, but it no use—y/n had already gone.

***

When y/n got back to her dormitory, she burst into sobs. "I don't belong here," she whispered through ragged breaths.

"It's about time you realised," said a voice from her bed.

"Mal?" Y/n quickly swiped away her tears. "What are you doing—"

"It doesn't matter. I know what you're thinking. You wanna go back, right?" she asked, desperation seeping into her voice.

"How did you know?" y/n asked her.

"Because I know you, y/n. The vision, the stress, everything tells me you wanna go back! And frankly speaking, I do, too," Mal admitted.

"Why?"

"Because on the Isle I can breathe. I can feel like me without having to hide anything. Look at my hair." Mal gestured to her white blonde with purple tips. "It sucks. But I need it to fit in. On the Isle, I don't need this. I can be me."

"That can't be the only reason," y/n said. "Sure, you've always been Isle-adjacent, but there has to be more."

Mal sighed. "Where you go, I go. And if you're going back home, I'm coming with you no matter what."

"Oh, Mal." Y/n smiled through her tears.

"Now is not the time to get sappy," she replied, though y/n could hear the emotion in her voice. "So, what do you say?" Mal held up their old Isle leather jackets. "Are we going?"

After a moment, y/n nodded. "Grab mom and meet me at the border with your spell book."

Mal nodded before tossing her the jacket. "Then let's do this."

***

Y/n waited for Mal on her new bike, dressed in her Isle clothes. Mal came with their backpacks and their mother in a rectangular box which she poked holes in.

"Sweet ride," Mal said as she sat behind y/n. "Ben's gift?"

Y/n sighed. "I really hope he doesn't hate me for using it to run away from him."

Mal shrugged. "Do what you gotta do, I guess."

"Speaking of, we'll need the spell," y/n informed Mal.

Mal pulled out her book and flipped through the pages of spells. "Noble steed, proud and fair, you shall take us anywhere," she chanted.

"Please work," y/n muttered as she started the engine.

She nervously drove the bike to the water, and to her relief, it glided on top of the surface. When they reached the barrier, the bike seamlessly passed through and the Maleficent twins were back on the Isle once more.

Y/n drove the bike through the Isle until she found the place she was looking for. After parking it in a small garage and locking the door, she and Mal walked along the road with their backpacks in hand.

"Look who it is," Mal said, pointing to a poster of y/n and Ben.

Y/n stared at the poster, which was graffitied with all kinds of harsh slurs. She ripped it off the wall and threw it away, disgusted by what people had written. "Look. There's your gang," she told Mal, pointing in the other direction.

Another poster of Mal and the other VKs was stuck on a pillar with even more rude words. Mal grabbed the poster, then smiled as she looked at it. "I am back home."

Y/n chuckled before grabbing a few rocks off a nearby tray and flinging them at a sign that read, Caution: Flying Rocks.

As the sign bent to the side, a metal gate rose, revealing a hidden staircase.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" y/n asked.

"Oh, it's been too long," Mal replied. "Come on. You know it—the very top."

Y/n smiled as they entered the VKs' old hideout, the metal gate shutting behind them with another press of a button. Finally, after what felt like aeons, y/n and Mal were back home.