She was broken. Damaged. Useless.
At least, that's what the two girls who constantly teased the purple haired teenage daughter of Maleficent said. It started off as simple, a nasty comment here and there but then morphed into something more crushing. Hate filled comments that made Mal want to burst into tears the moment the words left the other girls mouth but she restrained from displaying her emotions in front of them thinking that even shedding one tear would make her weak, a thing she couldn't afford to be when all of her friends relied on her.
But even the strongest of people had breaking points and Mal was no exception.
So as Mal closed the oak door of her and Evie's dorm room, she finally let the tears flow from her eyes once she saw that she was alone, Evie had gone out with Doug on a study date. Mal slid down the door, pulling her legs closer to her chest as she cried into her knee's trying to make as little sound as possible because she knew the walls of the room were thin enough to hear the cries. And Mal knew that if anyone heard her cry they would go straight to Ben or any of Mal's friends thinking that Mal was going to run away again.
"Mal, are you okay ?" a voice called out from behind the door. Mal instantly knew who it was, the voice belonged to the man she was lucky enough to call her boyfriend. Mal quickly stood up and wiped away the tears that were falling down her checks before slowly creeping the door open, just enough for Ben to see her head poking out of the room.
"I'm fine" she lied and Ben could see right through it. Instantly Ben noticed her rosy checks, her puffy and red eyes and the tear stains that ran down her face, implying that she had been crying something Mal almost never does.
"whats wrong ?" Ben asked as he stepped closer to the door making Mal slightly bring the door closer to her, just in case she couldn't hold her tears back and she had to shut the door so Ben couldn't see her break down because of some stupid teenage girls taunts.
"nothing" Mal lied again as Ben raised and eyebrow
"Mal, you can tell me anything" Ben reassured his girlfriend who smiled at his protective tone
"Not this" Mal muttered as she looked down to the ground, avoiding the look of worry Ben was giving her
"Yes you can, i'm always here for you" Ben ensured Mal as he stepped forward and slowly opened the door as Mal moved her hands from the door and griped tightly onto her own arms leaving small nail marks in her bare arms.
"It's nothing" Mal says as she steps back allowing Ben to walking fully into the room and close the door behind himself. Ben walked over to Mal, slowly placing his hands on her arms and prying her nails from her skin making her draw a deep breathe in at the contact
"If you are upset then it's something for me to worry about" Ben explains
"I'm fine" Mal mutters. Ben slowly places his finger under her chin making her look up at him, giving him the opportunity to see the tears that were threatening to spill from the green eyed teen in front of him.
"You're not. Who hurt you ?" Ben asked. Mal breaks down quickly wrapping her arms around Ben's neck as she cried into his shoulder, hating that she was displaying so much weakness in front of another person. Ben however found it really sweet until he remembered why she was crying; someone had hurt his queen, the love of his life and they didn't have any reason too. Mal was always loving and caring to anyone she meet so it confused him as to why someone would reduce her to tears. But the only thing Ben was worrying about right now was his girlfriend so he wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from falling because she was on her tip toes.
"Hay. Iv'e got you, okay ? I'm never going to leave you, ever" Ben reassures his girlfriend
"it hurts Ben. They wont stop" Mal cries. Ben picks Mal up and walks over to her bed, gently sitting down with her in his lap. Mal cuddles up to Ben, placing her head on his shoulder as he runs his hand slowly up her bare arms, turning her cries into soft sniffles.
"what hurts ?" Ben asked once Mal had claimed down enough to talk
"They wont stop saying how i don't deserve you and that your only with me because you have to keep an eye on me so when i mess up, you will see it and send me back to the Isle with my friends" Mal sods into Ben's shoulder
"I love you. I am with you because i love you and i will always love you. No one is going to stop me loving you and i don't care how many times i am put under a love spell, i will always come back to you" Ben ensures Mal who nods slowly at the information.
"your not going to send us back" Mal mutters still a little unsure.
"never. Your my queen and i can't live without my queen" Ben replies
"I'm no queen, Ben. I'm a villain" Mal argues
"you are not a villain" Ben says sternly, making Mal lift her head to see him fully "You are the most loving, caring and overall fantastic person in the world. You have saved this kingdom more times then countable and you even changed yourself for this kingdom. If you were a villain then you wouldn't of done that"
"But why me ? Huh, why date the weak daughter of Maleficent when you could have any girl out there ? You could date and marry a perfect princess but instead you chose the broken daughter of the worst villain in the land" Mal replies "Everyone hates me here. Your dad things i'm evil, your mum is still scare of me and even Fairy Godmother flinches when i talk. I'm not stupid Ben, i do see the stares and scared looks from everyone. Even you and Evie, Jay and Carlos"
"who cares about everyone else" Ben starts
"I do" Mal exclaims "I love you Ben but everyone hates me"
"I love you too and i don't care if you were the daughter of a queen or the daughter of a villain. I fell in love if our personality not your family line" Ben explains making Mal look up at him "I will love you until the very end and no one in the world has the power to stop me from loving the most amazing girl in the world. So please, next time anyone says anything, come to me"
"okay" Mal agrees as she placed her head back on Ben's shoulder as he ran his hand through her purple hair, occasionally kissing his girlfriends head making her smile grow.
Mal could of sworn that she fall in love with Ben again after that moment. Ben did everything in his power to stop the teenage girls teasing his girlfriend anymore, he even went as far as to hold his girlfriend closer to him when they meet up in the mornings before class. And she loved the new protective side Ben was showing. The day continued as normal for everyone but the couple. They stayed in each others arms for the rest of the day and when Mal fall asleep, Ben placed her gently down on the bed and cuddled her until he too fell asleep.
Evie came back from her date when the sun started to go down and when she saw the state of her best friend and her boyfriend, Evie decided to stay at Doug's dorm so the young couple could have some privacy. And so Mal learned a very valuable lesson
It doesn't matter who your parents are or what they have done, what matters is what you have done and how you moved on from bad moments. And no matter what, your friends will always be there to help you; weather you are crying, laughing or just being normal.