Mal's eyes met Jay's across the room. It may have been crowded but he was tall, and his smirk was recognisable from space. Her eyes darted down to the red cup in her hand, before shooting back to up to his.
She nodded and he grinned. Challenge excepted. Finally dropping her gaze, she surveyed the room and found her target.
Mal had never been invited to a jock party. She hadn't been invited to the one currently raging around her. She'd gate crashed and only managed to convince her oldest friend to not rat her out by taking a dare.
Jay had one simple request: get Ben Kingsley drunk.
The boy was off his rocker. According to his psycho ass, Ben had been mooning over Mal since sophomore year. The moment she'd stormed the halls on her first day, Ben had only had eyes for her, so said Jay. Oh, and Evie, Carlos and some prat named Doug, whoever that was.
Mal would have liked to have heard Audrey's opinion on the matter. Seeing as she'd been Ben's long term girlfriend for the last two years, the purple haired girl trusted her opinion more. Too bad Audrey hated her. Understandably so but it was still rude.
She gulped down her mildly hysterical laughter as the boy in question called her name. He signalled her over, simultaneously opening a hole into his circle while shoving Chad to the side. Chad seemed displeased but tipsy, thus quickly distracted and forgiving.
"Hi, Ben." He smiled at her brightly, saluting her with his can of Miller Lite. "How goes it in the land of royalty."
He laughed and shook his head. "Good on this end. How's my favourite deviant?"
"Jay's around here somewhere. Should I find him?" He smirked, a look she was familiar with and had thought nothing of until his arm looped around her shoulders. "Need me to open that can for you, Kingsley?"
He leaned in close and whispered, "nah. I don't like weak beer, but I have to be careful."
"Why? Think someone will take advantage of you?" She scrunched her nose teasingly but wanted to blush when his eyes fell to her lips. "Something like that?"
"Something like that, yeah." He leaned away from her but kept his arm around her. "What do you have there?"
She looked down at the forgotten Solo cup in her hand. "Open the beer for me and I'll tell you?" He took her bait and opened the can, which she took and sipped. "It's called a "Love Potion." I learned it from my mom before she ran off."
"You're mom taught you how to make cocktails?" Mal gave a strained laugh and he thankfully took that as a cue to move on. "Is it strong?"
She raised it tauntingly and he considered it. "I made it especially for you. Wanna try?"
His eyes went from the cup, to her lips, to the can of Miller Lite in her other hand and then followed the route, again. It was almost comical for Mal to watch the war wage behind his eyes. She pouted a bit and he sighed, regret clear on his handsome face.
"I shouldn't. I'm usually relied on to be the DD." He squeezed her close before dropping his arm. "Next time."
She quickly chugged the beer, and choked out, "no. I get it. Don't except drinks from juvenile delinquents." He quickly raised his hands in protest but she continued, "you're cautious. That's smart."
She brought the cup to her lips. "Oh well. More for me then."
The cup was out of her hand before she could blink. She managed a squeak of surprise and watched wide eyed as he chugged the mixture. She hadn't expected him to actually try and down it in one go, let alone be able to.
"Woah, Ben!" She grabbed the cup from his grasp and was relieved to see a third still there. "Pace yourself, buddy. This stuff is strong. My mom did not play around."
She giggled a little. She didn't drink often except for wine coolers with Evie. The lite beer was enough to make her playful. She was intrigued to see Ben had noticed that, too.
"You're turn." She snorted but his gaze was scarily steady. "I don't think a love potion should be drunk by one person. I would hate to fall alone."
She let him flirtatiously lift the cup to her lips. His hands were so gentle, she knew she could have simply put the cup down at anytime. That fact spurred her on, and soon he was removing the empty cup from her hand all together.
"Could have given it Audrey."
He looked down at the cup and then to her. "Nah. I don't like weak girls."
He tossed the cup over his shoulder, buried his hands in her hair and his lips crashed on to hers. A disgruntled cry met her ears and a shriek of outrage soon followed. She grasped his sweater and pulled him closer.
"Ben?" The question was decimals louder than it should have been. "Ben!"
The two separated, as if a shock had blown apart. They dropped their hands and looked around. Audrey was fuming and holding the cup Ben had discarded in a clenched fist. Chad was silent, but his lip curled in unabashed disgust.
Ben looked around and did something very odd. He stood on top of the coffee table his friends had been huddled around. The confusion on his face was evident as he called for the attention of the people mulling around the crowded den.
"Shut the hell up!" The music quieted, even though the sound from the rest of house was tremendous. "I have something to say."
"No." The two girls eyes met and Mal felt a hand on her shoulder. "This is not happening."
"I have something very important to say!" Blue hair caught Mal's eye as Evie leaned forward to look at her giddily. "I love you, Mal!"
He looked down at her, still confused as the alcohol began to reach his brain. "Did I mention that? I've wanted to kiss you face since you spray painted "Bitch Princess" on Audrey's locker."
Evie was was in front of her, practically dancing in tipsy excitement. "If he starts singing, I'm leaving. I'm serious."
"I think about you all the time." Much to Mal's horror he was still going and getting bolder. "You're so hot. I barely pay attention in class. Oh, and the dreams! You were my first fantasy that wasn't a celebrity! There was this one-."
"Nope!" Jay saved her, red faced with alcohol and embarrassment as he was. "If you keep going, I'll damage something valuable. Not kidding."
Ben happily dodged Jay's grasp and made his way to Mal. "I would give my kingdom for just one kiss." She rolled her eyes. "Did I mention I'm in love with you?"
She backed away but he just laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey, you're pretty." She wanted to laugh but he continued on. "I've been meaning to ask you something. Will you go prom with me?"
"What is happening, Ben?" Mal felt her face drop as Audrey shoved the boy in question. "You're in love with her? Since when? And you're going to prom with me. Remember?"
Ben audible gulped and tried to laugh the girl's ire off. "About the that. The thing is, Audrey, I don't want to do that." He sent her an apologetic smile. "I really am sorry. I've been meaning to break up with you for a while now."
Her face went white as her eyes darted between the two who were still locked in an embrace. "Since when?" She asked, again, through clenched teeth. "When did you make this revelation, huh? Oh, right, since she viciously tagged my locker! How could you?"
"To be fair, you did spread that rumour that her mom was a murderer." He watched as she downed whatever cocktail she'd been nursing and grabbed Chad. "That's unfortunate."
She shoved her lips onto the rather confused boys and the two shared a sloppy kiss. "I'll go to Prom with Chad. So you're off the hook. I won't be needing your pity date." He shook his head with a disapproving frown. "Let's find somewhere more private, Chad."
He stood stock still. Mal wondered momentarily if he wasn't actually into Audrey and would owe Carlos $20. Then Ben nodded his head, Audrey shrieked his name and Chad was hurrying through the crowd after her.
She watched them for a moment and turned to Evie. "You gonna be okay, E?"
She had been glowering in the direction they'd left, but brightened when Mal got her attention. "Oh. Yeah. I just still kinda had a little hope, I guess. Also, I owe Doug a date now." She smiled a little softer at the thought. "Which, really, I was sort of hoping for any way."
Mal laughed as Evie gave her an awkward hug since Ben wasn't letting her go. She pinched Ben's cheek playfully then was lost in the party, again. Then Mal realised that all her friends had abandoned her to deal with Ben who was quickly becoming victim of her mother's old concoction.
"Hey." She felt his breath against her cheek as he leaned in close. "Why don't you make us another drink?"
"I don't think that's wise." His hands tightened on her waist as he began skimming his lips over her neck. "Like I said, it's strong and you have a good boy reputation to uphold."
"I'm already out of the running for designated driver." He lifted his head after placing an innocent kiss on her neck. "Besides, we don't want Jay to kick you out. Tipsy isn't drunk, after all."
She was so stunned by his declaration, she let him lead her to the kitchen. She made the drinks, adding a bit of water to keep them from needing to go to the hospital. He knocked the lip of his cup with hers and downed the contents, his eyes smiling down at her the whole time.
When the morning light began to annoy her, she groaned. Her head was throbbing, and she felt like someone had dumped acid down her throat. Sniffing unhappily, she rolled over and snuggled under the covers, finding a pleasant warmth at her side.
"No," she groaned out as the knowledge of what the warmth was fought its way to the surface.
She reluctantly opened her eyes. Blinking a few times against the unnervingly bright room, she tried to focus on the figure next her. Her eyes closed, again, in shock as the boy came into focus.
After the shock wore off, she began extracting herself from his embrace and the covers. Trying to fight the urge to lay down, again, she began searching out her clothes. A plan of action formed in her mind when she realised that she was in his room. It was the cold bucket of water she needed.
As she was throwing her leather jacket on, she spied a picture on his desk. It was Audrey and he at the prior year's homecoming. She touched the frame lightly, as if needing to feel it for it to be real. Before she could stop herself, she grabbed it, hid it in her jacket and left.
Like most of the privileged youth that attended Auradon Prep, he lived at home. She made her way through the quiet countryside, happy for once the area was so rural. After a good thirty minutes, she came upon the city of Auradon.
Once there, she was able to find her favourite cafe. "You are so dead." Fortunately, Evie was working her usual opening shift at the Morning Brew. "You left with Ben Kingsley."
"I'm dead? You're dead. You let me leave with Ben Kingsley."
The two glared at each other until another customer entered and interrupted them. Evie took his order and sent Mal one last dark look before making the mans drink. The feud was over when Evie produced two extra drinks after handing off the customer's.
"So, you left with Ben Kingsley." Mal blushed and took the proffered latte. "How did it end?"
Mal gestured down to the same outfit she'd been wearing at the party. "How do you think it went? I hightailed it out of his place, which is damn near big enough to be a castle, as soon as I got up. He was still asleep."
Evie rubbed her arm soothingly, but paused when she realised the girl was holding it at an odd angle. Frowning, she forced Mal to move her arm and pulled the pilfered picture from its hiding place. Sighing, Evie held it up accusingly, and Mal shifted uncomfortably.
"Mal, sweety." The girl busied herself with sipping her drink. "This is not an appropriate reaction."
"I know."
"You really like him, don't you? I knew there was a problem when you started getting to school on time." She put the picture down on a table and ushered Mal into a seat. "Well, let's look at the positives. Firstly, you won't die a virgin."
Mal glared and Evie quickly continued on, "secondly, Audrey may be mad enough after last night to legitimately dump him. Thirdly, if you feel this bad, he may feel bad enough to just transfer schools to avoid embarrassing you further. He has a bit of a knight and shining armour streak."
Mal rolled her eyes and demanded painkillers and Evie's sunglasses. After downing the medicine and placing the aviators safely over her eyes, she left. The painkiller didn't kick in until she got to the dorms of the private school. The sunglasses did they're job, though, and the pain of her eyes was assuaged enough that she didn't feel like crying from it.
Once she was safely behind her dorm room door, she did cry for another reason. She'd had a crush on the stupid captain of the even stupider football team since the year prior. He'd been so nice and considerate when she'd first transferred in. Her heart had nearly broken when she found out he was with Audrey, but she'd laughed it off and tried to move on.
"I am such a mess," she sniffed as she crawled under her covers.
She didn't move from that spot unless she needed to use the restroom the rest of the weekend. Evie took pity on her and fielded random visitors and let her hide in their room. She even went so far as to let Mal sleep in on Monday morning.
"I'm not ready to be human yet." She didn't bother moving her head from its hiding place under her covers when the door opened. "Seriously, Evie, go back to class. I'm not going today."
She let out a cry of surprise when Ben, not Evie, pulled the covers back and laid down next to her. He didn't say anything for a time, just watched her with his kind eyes. Finally, he closed his eyes and let his breathing slow.
"Uh," she licked her lips, unsure of what to say. "Hi, I guess. Can I help you?"
"Lay still. Close your eyes. Let me sleep with you."
She snorted. "Okay, sure. Why?"
His eyes opened and there was a hardness to them she'd never seen before. "Because, this was how I was expecting to wake up Saturday. You were supposed to be there, cute and with a bed head. Instead, I was alone and you had stolen the only picture of Audrey and I that doesn't make me cringe."
She stared at him, shame making her stomach churn. "I did do all those things. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Do I want to talk about it?" His brow lowered in clear frustration. "No, Mal. I told you, I want to sleep. So snuggle up and shut up."
"You're wearing your clothes, though." She pointed out, not sure why that was bothering her. "You won't be comfortable like that."
He sighed, but nodded. "You're right." And he stood from the bed and stripped down to his boxers before sliding back in next to her. "Now bunch up. Seriously, this is a ridiculously small bed."
She did as she was told and let herself relax in his arms. "Oh, and I've already talked to Evie. She let me know your prom dress will be purple and she's going to handle finding me a tie. So, that's settled."