CHAPTER 23

(Val POV)

We get back to Auradon and head to their dorm.

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm so late, Dude. Ben got captured," Carlos explains as Dude meets us in the hallway.

"Don't. Why is our door open?" Jay asks when Carlos goes to walk forward after picking Dude up.

"You've got to be kidding me," Carlos says as we walk in to see Chad.

"I knocked," Chad explains.

"Go on, Dude," Carlos says as he sets Dude down before holding out his hand. Chad then hands him a key.

"What is that?" Jay asks.

"Oh. That's a little Chad action figure. Well, minus the head," Chad answers.

"Sounds like an improvement," I state.

"Excuse me," Carlos says as he shoves Chad away from the printer. "All right. Here we go." Carlos pulls up the layout on his phone.

"Why are you guys making Fairy Godmother's wand?" Chad asks as he peeks over Jay's shoulder.

"Oh. Uh, why are we making Fairy Godmother's wand?" Carlos asks Jay. Jay motions for Carlos to tell him. I see Lonnie peeking in through the door. "Because, uh..."

"Ben's been captured!" Dude says.

"What?! Dude can talk?" Chad asks.

"I was stalling," Carlos says.

"I thought you forgot," Dud says.

"Don't tell anyone! Ben's life depends on it," Jay says as he hits Chad's arm. I look at Lonnie and she catches me looking at her. I mouth swords at her and wink before she nods and leaves.

"Really? So, if something were to happen, you know what I'm saying..." Chad says.

"Something bad, we get it," Carlos says.

"God forbid. But if something were to happen, who do you think would be in line to be king?

"Is it me, or is that in really poor taste?" I ask as Jay moves over to the door and motions for Chad to leave.

"I'm taking this. And if you think I..." Chad says and Jay slams the door in his face.

"Thank you, Jay. All right," Carlos says as he starts the printer. I walk out of the room and to my dorm. I had a big decision to make. Do I stay on the Isle or see if Jay is telling the truth?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jay asks and I turn to see him enter the room.

"Nah. I don't think I'm coming back, Jay. I can't. I really tried to tell you and I'm so unsure if what you are saying is true or just trying to get me to stay. But, I mean, I saw the way your face lit up when we played tourney for the first time. And I couldn't spoil that for you," I answer him.

"If you're staying, I'm staying, too," Jay says.

"See that's what makes me so confused. Jay, you are an Auradon guy. And I am and will always be the girl from the Isle," I explain to him. I'm starting to think that he really does care.

"I didn't know what you were going through

I thought that you were fine

Why did you have to hide?" Jay starts singing as we look out my window.

"I didn't want to let you down

But the truth is out

It's tearing me apart

Not listening to my heart

I really had to go" I sing as I look at him.

"And I would never stop you" He sings back to me.

"Even though we've changed" I sing.

"Nothing has to change" His sings.

"And you can find me in the space between

Where two worlds come to meet

I'll never be out of reach

'Cause you're a part of me

So you can find me in the space between

You'll never be alone

No matter where you go

We can meet in the space between" We both sing as he grabs my hand and entwines our fingers.

"There are no words left to say" I sing as I grab his other hand and we face each other.

"I know you got to find your place" He sings.

"But this is not the end" I sing with a smile.

"No, you're part of who I am" He sings.

"Even if we're worlds apart

You're still in my heart

It will always be

You and me" We sing together as he leans his forehead on mine.

"Yeah" I sing.

"You can find me in the space between" Jay sings as he spins me around.

"Where two worlds come to meet" We sing together.

"We'll never be out of reach" He sings as he spins me back.

"I'll never be out of reach" I sing as I stop spinning with my back against Jay's chest and we sway back and forth.

"No, 'cause you're a part of me

So you can find me in the space between" We sing together and I break away from him.

"You'll never be alone" He sings and I turn to face him with a smile.

"No matter where you go" I sing and grab his hands.

"We can meet

In the space between" We sing together.

"Yeah

No matter where you go" I sing.

"No matter where you go" Jay sings.

"We can meet in the space between" We sing together as Jay pulls me into a hug.

I step away from him and look out the window.

"I'm not sure what to do," I say as I turn to face him with tears coming down my cheeks.

"Hey," Jay says as he grabs my face in his hands and wipes the tears away with his thumbs. "You don't have to decide right now. We still have to save Ben." I nod my head.

"Thank you, Jay. For always being there for me," I tell him as we look into each other's eyes. Jay then leans down and kisses me on the lips. It's soft and sweet just like I always imagined it would be, along with the sparks everyone always talks about.

"I'll always be there for you. No matter what you decide to do," Jay says as he grabs my hand again.

"Let's head back," I say and he nods. We go back to his room to find the wand only about a ¼ of the way done. We find Carlos asleep in a chair in front of the printer. I go sit on Jay's bed and he joins me. After a while, I hear a beeping sound and I realize that I had fallen asleep. I feel something on my head and I realize that I'm on Jay's shoulder with his head on mine. "Jay." I tap his chest and he wakes up. He smiles down at me and I point to the wand. Jay jumps up and walks over to Carlos.

"Carlos!" Jay says hitting Carlos' chest.

"Hmm? What?" Carlos says as he wakes up. I walk over to them. Carlos stands up and opens the printer before grabbing the wand. "Not bad." Carlos hands the wand to Jay.

"Yeah. Let's go," Jay says as he hands the wand to me.

"Let's go. Yeah," I say and we head for the door.

"Hey, guys. What about me?" Dude asks.

"No, Dude. You stay. I'm serious. Stay. I love you, buddy. We'll be back before you know it," Carlos says and we leave the room. I hand the wand back to Jay as we walk outside.

"Oh, hey, have you seen Evie?" Doug asks as he walks up to us.

"Uh..." Carlos says and Jay motions for him to continue. "She went camping."

"Evie, I want to live in a castle, sleeping on the ground with no place to plug in a hair dryer?" Doug asks.

"You know how spontaneous she is, bro," Carlos answers.

"Yeah. Totally. Totally," Jay says as they laugh and back away.

"Later, Doug," Carlos says. I turn around and find Lonnie. I smile and go give her a hug before standing beside her. Carlos and Jay turn around after Doug walked away. They stop in their tracks when they see us standing there with our arms crossed.

"I'm coming with you guys," Lonnie states.

"What?" Jay asks as he and Carlos laugh. "We don't need swords at the Waffle Hut." I roll my eyes at his lames excuse.

"She knows what we are doing," I say.

"Look, it's either you take me or I'm gonna have to tell Fairy Godmother," Lonnie explains. Jay looks at Carlos before looking at me. I give him a smirk and a wink. I turn to Lonnie and nod my head. Jay, Carlos and I go to walk away. Jay wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk. "Okay! Really?" Lonnie runs up to us before wrapping her arms around Carlos and me while squealing.