Jay found himself in a critical situation. The more he attacked, the more his opponent dodged and worn him out. She still seemed light on her feet, while he was starting to feel tired. Lonnie was a fighter unlike any other Jay had the pleasure to train with. He was used to that the other took a firm stand and fought back. This made most opponents predictable, but not Lonnie. She was calm and patient, waiting for Jay to strike first. Swift as a coursing river and mysterious as the dark side of the moon. Jay thought he saw an opening, but he was wrong. Lonnie suddenly stroke from the right and Jay could barely block it with his sword. He noticed how he needed to catch his breath, but he also still felt a strong urge to win. He wasn't planning to lose to the team captain, even though it was an honourable one. Jay stroke again, but Lonnie quickly moved away. He stroke again, but Lonnie easily blocked the sword with her own. Did she never grow tired?

"Yes, get him! Get him! Come on Jay, strike her!" Jay had to laugh, hearing Gil cheering for both of them. Others were cheering for the two fighters. Most girls on the balcony were cheering for Lonnie, while the men close to the ring were mostly cheering for Jay. Gil probably didn't even know who was who, because both he and Lonnie wore the safety masks which covered their entire faces. He didn't care who was winning, he was just enjoying watching a good match.

"Carlos, cheer with me," Gil said, while he roughly patted Carlos on his shoulder. Carlos laughed at him. He was cheering, just not as loud as Gil. He loved the sport, but not as much as Jay did. He mostly liked watching, while his own mask was resting on the ground between his legs.

"Yes, bring him down!" Carlos cheered with Gil.

Their swords slammed together again, their bodies close to each other. Jay could almost see Lonnie's face through the mask. He took a step closer, tried to push her away and end the battle quickly, but it was a mistake. Lonnie quickly moved to her right, which resulted that she suddenly stood at Jay's open left flank. She could hit him very easily and Jay knew it. Her sword already flew towards his side. Jay turned just in time, moving his sword to his left hand. The sword got blocked, but it was the last strike. Both Jay and Lonnie were panting and let their swords hang. They removed their masks and smiled at each other. The match was over and a round of applause was heard in the room.

"Good match," Jay said, still out of breath.

"Your defences are getting better," Lonnie replied. "You're getting lighter on your feet."

Jay shrugged, while he threw his masks and sword to the side. "I kind of learned that from you and Carlos."

"Yes, good match!" Gil yelled, while he jumped on Jay's shoulder. Jay stumbled due to the sudden weight on his back, but he managed to stay on his feet. Lonnie laughed softly when she watched how Gil landed back on his feet and put an arm around Jay's shoulder. "I'm sure you will defeat her one day." Gil looked back at Lonnie and smiled at her. They had known each other for a short week, but he already had huge respect for her. She already showed she was unlike any other girl in Auradon. He understood why Jay was such good friends with her.

"I almost won this time," Jay declared. "That last move she made was just unfair."

"You opposed your left, that's not my fault," Lonnie answered. "I just used an opportunity."

Jay sighed, knowing she was right. He didn't feel bad, though. He actually felt happy, maybe even proud, with Gil standing beside him, softly squeezing in his shoulder. For a second it made him remember when he stood besides Carlos just like that. Proudly holding the smaller boy, knowing how much he was worth. Jay quickly looked over to Gil and wondered if Gil felt the same way at the moment. Gil seemed only to be interesting in Lonnie as they smiled at each other.

"I think Jay should still work on his defences," Carlos interrupted as he stood at the group. "You still use too much force. When are you going to realize that works on me, but it is never going to work on Lonnie."

In one quick move Jay stepped away from Gil and duck on Carlos. The black-white haired boy saw it coming and ran away. He was quicker than him, that was something Jay learned pretty fast. He may be bigger and stronger, but Carlos was much quicker. Besides that Jay was tired at the moment and didn't feel like chasing Carlos, even though he was looking at him with a mischief grin on his face. "I need a drink."

"Yea, me too," Lonnie sighed, as she took all her things in her hands, ready to leave.

Most of the people were starting to leave the room. Jay picked up his sword and mask of the ground, but couldn't help to secretly glance at Gil, who was still talking to Lonnie. He was happy to see how quickly Gil adapted in Auradon. Harry for example had much more trouble behaving himself and Uma had a hard time fitting in, still being seen as an abomination and an octopus. Most of the new VK's hid themselves and stayed in the shadows, reluctant of what might come. Scared they would be send back to the Isle of the Lost if they did anything wrong. Gil wasn't like that. He didn't do any mischief and he didn't hide. He seemed like he wanted to discover everything, as quickly as possible. As if he was on a holiday and knew he had to leave within a few days, but still had to execute all the plans he had planned for the holiday.

"What are you looking at?" Carlos suddenly stood at Jay's side again. Jay jumped up and tried to shove the other boy away. "You completely spaced out, did Lonnie tire you out that much?"

Jay looked at Carlos in disbelieve. "I didn't space out. I was thinking." A disbelieving look appeared on Carlos's face. "Thinking about the match and how I can defeat her next time," Jay quickly added. Carlos laughed at his friend and shook his head. At least he seemed to believe it.

"Sometimes you worry me," Carlos stated while they left the room. "You got to think about little else then fighting matches and playing Tourney."

Jay playfully shoved Carlos again and the little boy stumbled away from him with a smile on his face. Jay looked ahead of him again and saw Gil talking to Lonnie about the passing match. He sighed silently. If Carlos only knew.