Just Like Old Times

"'We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet.

'Even longer,' Pooh answered." —Winnie-the-Pooh

Audrey always hated when she couldn't sleep. Especially when her mind was wandering. Ben used to tease her that it was midnight wandering syndrome that she had, making her roll her eyes at Ben. She felt a pang in her heart, it was during these nights that she missed him.

Before becoming a couple, Audrey and Ben were great friends. Even if she was bossy, it scared off the bullies who would try to mess with Ben. He would show her the library of the castle and they would hide there for ages until Chip found them.

Sometimes she wished it was still like that between them, that they could still hide inside that big library, not a care in the damn world. But that is not how the real world worked, it ended with heartbreak and awkwardness between them, with Mal at the forefront of it all. She hated how it all left between them and wished that they could still be friends but it was impossible when Ben was busy and hanging around the VK's.

Audrey tossed and turned around her bed before finally giving up. She decided on roaming Auradon Prep, sleep evading her. Irony for the daughter of Sleeping Beauty.

The halls were quiet, the night sky covered in stars and the moon was out, shining brightly. It looked peaceful at night, Audrey relished it, knowing full well she'll regret being this awake and then when the time comes for the day to begin, she'll hate herself. She walked quietly, out the corridor of her hall and into a random hallway. She thought she was alone, apparently not when she saw a light coming from one of the classrooms. Audrey faintly remembered that this must be where goodness class might be held by Fairy Godmother.

It seemed she wasn't alone at night.

Audrey snuck inside making sure that the door didn't creak. There she found Ben reading.

Of course, he would read at this time of night, Ben always had a book in his hand at any time. She joked once that he must have been born with a book, he had laughed then.

"Audrey?" Crap, he noticed her. No use in walking away, Audrey walked inside the room. They hadn't spoken to one another in a while, not since their breakup-which was ugly and still painfully seared into Audrey's brain.

She walked towards him, sitting next to the boy who broke her heart. Ben gave her a shy smile, the same one he when they first met as children. Back when they were first strangers, something that made Audrey's chest tighten. Just looking at him now it made Audrey realize that she missed Ben.

No, not romantically that ship sailed. What she missed was this, this companionship, a friendship that was built long before romance blossomed between them. Audrey missed that, how Ben knew her mood could practically read her at times and she missed how he would go on rants about books he read captivated by how he talked passionately. She missed all that.

Before she even knew it, Audrey was crying which startled Ben.

"Audrey?" He turned her face to have her look at him. His brown eyes shone with concern over her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"What happened to us, Ben?" Audrey finally said it out loud instead of having the students whisper it behind her back. It hung around the room, the question that was on her mind ever since that embarrassing tourney game.

Ben looked down, his shoulders hunched and Audrey felt some sense of pleasure at the fact that it brought him pain as well. Good. Still, she just wanted some answers.

He looked at her, "I'm sorry, for not loving you like the way you did." His voice sounded sad and maybe that's how she looked as well. These two people, that may have been seen as doomed from the start, it wasn't always like that, not to Audrey at least. He continued, "And I'm sorry for hurting you as I did. I hope that we can still keep our friendship even though our relationship ended Audrey. I've missed our catch ups."

The last part brought a watery smile on Audrey and Ben mirrored it. It seemed that she wasn't the only one that missed their chats in his room, "King room" as Audrey dub it. Where they would sit, do homework while catching up on gossip in Auradon and Auradon Prep. Sometimes they would even build forts and when they were done, they would lay down eating some snack. It was childish to some but not in their eyes.

"Remember those times, just the two of us build those forts?" She didn't wait for Ben to answer continuing. "I miss those days Ben. I miss how it was just the two of us chasing each other around the library and building those dumb forts before everything went down. I know I must have been a shit girlfriend and probably an even shittier friend, I'm sorry. I-"

She felt Ben grab her wrist making her look at him. His eyes were wide as he looked at her.

"You are not, nor have you ever been a shitty friend Audrey." She let out a watery laugh. "I mean it. Audrey, you and I have stuck by one another since the day we met, remember? That dumb meeting between our parents and all you wanted to do was to spend time with your dad's horse not be in a castle with some kid who was too shy. But you somehow got me to open up and aia deemed you worthy to share my favorite book with you. From then on it was you, me and chaos. You've been defending me since god knows when and when it was time for someone to defend you, I let you down. I'm sorry."

They stayed like that for a while, Ben having let go of her wrist drumming his fingers on his book. While Audrey thought of something to say.

"Remember that game we used to play during our first year here?" He asked shooting her a sly smile. Audrey narrowed her eyes because she remembered exactly what game he was asking and oh no-

"No, no, no don't you dare Ben." The king in question was nodding like a golden retriever. "Don't even think about it."

He did because the next day, Audrey found a picture sliding under her door, it held a smiling Audrey and Ben, who looked to be about thirteen years old laughing to the point of tears. With it came a note attached to the back.

For my best friend in the whole country of Auradon -B

A few days after their nighttime chat, Audrey surprised him with a note during lunch. Inside the envelope, were a note and a picture. Ben must have had the biggest grin on his face because the picture was of two small children giggling, frozen in time. Audrey and he must have been around five years old, they looked like they were sharing an inside joke, grins wide. Shades of blue and pink intertwined by their clothes just like their present selves right now.

He heard Mal ask what it was but he ignored the question, as he turned the photo over to see a note. On it was Audrey's signature, one that Ben knew very well, the message making him smile.

Your move King Ben -A

Oh, it was so on Audrey.

The next day, Audrey found a picture plastered on her locker. On the back on the picture was a post-it note, Ben's handwriting scribbled on the back.

Payback princess -B

The picture was of ten-year-old Audrey covered in pink frosting from a cake, next to her younger self was Ben who seemed to be going pink with laughter. It brought a smile to Audrey's face and as she walked away, her picture tucked inside her binder as she decided what picture to retaliate next at the king.

By the end of the whole week, Audrey won. Ben presented her with a single chocolate cupcake with pink frosting. They shared it in her dorm room while going over the pictures they gave to one another and the ones they did not use.

Audrey laughed loudly as Ben almost tripped with the bowl of pretzels in his hands.

They built a fort, just like the old days when they were kids. Audrey had texted him that their fort needed a revamp, a few excuses and a trip to the kitchen at Ben's home Castle Beast and the two of them found themselves in the library with a much bigger fort.

Nobody was home which was common for both of them considering their parents were busy people and no time for them. It happened which meant more time for each other when it occurred. Now today, it was a time to escape it all, just be themselves, make a fort and eat candy.

Ben sat down on the floor next to Audrey, her laptop open to playing a movie. They seemed relaxed, no watching what they say or trying to find the perfect outfit for an occasion, it was just them in sweats, blankets and a big fort covering them. It was their way of having the world not see what was behind these sweet coated children who lived with daunting legacies. That did not matter here, the only mattered to Audrey was that if there would be enough food left after Ben ate the candy and Ben, his only thought was if Audrey was doing okay.

Because they were friends, they cared about one another even if the romance came down in a bright fiery explosion, ending that part. It also meant the rebirth of their friendship and that was okay for both teens.

Audrey looked over at Ben, who grinned like an idiot as he stuck two pieces of red vines in his mouth and proceeded to mimic a walrus. It sent Audrey into a fit of giggles. This is how they were in their fort made of pillows and blankets that may collapse at any second. Relaxed, not caring how they looked, Audrey already determined to have Ben try a face mask, making sure to capture it on her phone.

Maybe that is how some people saw their relationship, that in any second it would blow up hurting them and making it a show for their audience. That is how it is still looked at as Audrey walked the halls of Auradon, trying to evade Chad and Ben while he is with Mal, trying to ignore the whispers.

Audrey still has looks passed her whenever Chad tries to talk about their 'relationship' something Audrey tried to break it to the blond haired son of Cinderella. Ben knew about that, she had told him through text messages recently and today, one of the reasons she wanted to skip school. He already promised her to help after she begged Ben too. She just wanted him to be there, moderate the arguments and to help Audrey get the message across to Chad-one that was plain yet brutal. That it was over.

They knew how this would look later when they walked the halls of Auradon Prep. Both of them knew that they would have to answer to Fairy Godmother was to where they at and why they skipped class. Their parents would probably be called about this but they didn't care.

Why weren't you at school? Where you out with your ex? Isn't it a little weird for Audrey to be with her ex-boyfriend? Is Ben going back to Audrey?

Just why, why, why, why?

They would have to answer those questions, not to their nosy peers but to the headmistress- for now, they were secure in their fort, with blankets and candy to give them a sugar rush. She snuck a look at him, this boy with brown eyes, a smile on his face and the responsibilities of a king. Sometimes she wished that his parents would have given him more time to be a teenager before thrusting him with the responsibility of running a kingdom. But then again, this was supposed to be the start of their happy endings, those where the children of heroes grow up in peace, going on to rule their kingdoms.

At least they had this time, this girl who loved pink and the boy who loved books, hiding under a pillow fort.

"Just like the old days," Ben said. She would have to agree, even though it was far from the old days when it seemed so simple for those five-year-olds who thought kissing was for grown-ups and building forts all day was the coolest thing ever. Silence surrounded them, the movie not starting yet.

Audrey laid her head on his shoulder and as Ben placed his head on hers, she knew that this would be better.

It was just them. No king or princess, no ex's trying to go back to one another. It was just two old friends who came back to one another.

It was just Audrey, and Ben.

NOTES: An Audrey and Ben friendship fic. Hope you guys like it! Leave a comment about what you liked, disliked or if you just want to say hi! :3