What happens next: chapter 3
I do not own these characters... Except the ones I create.
Mal and Evie's dorm room
"Good morning Mal, And happy birthday!" Evie exclaimed pulling Mal out of her dreams.
"Morning E, and thanks for the wake up call," Mal sighed as she yawned. Evie went into the bathroom to change, while Mal picked out her clothes for the day. About thirty minutes later, they were ready to head out to breakfast before going to their classes. Evie opened the door, but she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Mal, I think there's something you should see," she said excitedly. Mal walked around Evie and stared at what was in front of their door. There was a bouquet of purple roses and a note. She picked up the flowers and began to read the note.
Dear Mal,
I had to leave early this morning to get some of my extra homework done before classes so I won't be joining you for breakfast. I remembered you said it was your birthday, so I decided to get bouquet of beautiful flowers fit for a beautiful girl like you. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, and I'll see you after class.
-My love always and forever, Ben.
Mal was smiling from ear to ear. She walked back into the room, placed the roses on her nightstand, and walked to join Evie at the door. Evie looked at her expecting her to tell her what the note said, but Mal just smiled and said that they had better be going to meet Carlos and Jay for breakfast.
The dining hall
When Mal and Evie walked into the dining hall, they saw Carlos and Jay sitting at their normal table in the corner. They were sloppily eating doughnuts and fruit.
"Boys will be boys," Evie smiled at Mal who laughed and nodded. They sat down to eat breakfast and began to talk about various things. Mal noticed Jay had eaten three doughnuts.
"Jay, aren't you supposed to be on some kind of diet for the tourney team?" She asked him.
"Nah, diets are for wimps, am I right," he exclaimed as he highfived Carlos and gobbled down another doughnut. Mal was sitting across from Evie. She saw Doug walk up behind Evie and she was about to say something, when he put his finger to his lips motioning for her to be quiet. He wrapped his arms around her startling her. She laughed and motioned for him to sit down next to her. He did and she gave him a pec on the lips. Doug's face turned three shades of red, and Jay and Carlos busted out laughing.
"See Mal, that's how it's done," Evie teased her. Mal just shot her a look.
Mal's classes
Soon breakfast was over, and it was time to go to class. All through the day Mal just tried to keep to herself. She was so excited to see Ben, after school, that she could barely concentrate through the day. When her classes were finished, she looked for him under the bleachers, where they usually met after class, but he wasn't there. She smiled and decided he must be in their secret garden. It was a place that only he knew about (because he was king) and there was a special bench there that she thought he might be waiting on. She went in, and looked for him, but he wasn't there either. Puzzled, she decided that he must have gotten caught up with kingly work, and he might be in his office. She walked into his office and saw his secretary Liz working away on her computer.
"Hi Liz," she said.
"Good afternoon Mal, to what do I owe this special treat?" Liz asked.
"Well I was wondering if you had seen Ben. I can't seem to find him anywhere," Mal replied.
"King Benjamin went out to finish up some things, but I'm sure he'll come by your dorm later," Liz reassured her.
"Ok," Mal said as happily as she could. "Goodbye Liz, it was nice talking to you."
Mal and Evie's dorm
Mal walked back to her dorm extremely disappointed. She hadn't seen Ben all day and she was aching to talk to him and thank him for the flowers he had given her. She thought maybe talking to Evie would make her feel better because Evie was smart and always gave out good advice. When she got back to her dorm, and walked in she saw a not on her bed.
I'm going out with Doug. I'll be back before curfew.
-Evie
So Mal was left all alone with her thoughts on her birthday. She wondered why it bothered her so much. She had never done anything special for her birthday in years past. But she wanted this year to be different because this year, she had Ben. She found herself staring at her door willing it to open up and let in a tall handsome king but it never did. She began to get restless and filled her head with what ifs. What if Ben forgot it was her birthday. What if he's out with his friends instead of spending time with her? She laid on her bed and was so deep in thought that a knock on the door startled her. She leapt up and ran to the door. She opened it and there was Ben smiling his beautiful smile. She practically threw herself at him. She hugged him for what seemed like forever.
"Wow, somebody's excited," he exclaimed. He wanted to kiss her so badly.
"I haven't seen you all day, and I missed you," Mal explained, although she was still hugging him. "Thank you for the flowers, I will treasure them forever," she added. Ben smiled even wider. "Your certainly welcome, now come on I have a surprise for you." He blindfolded her and lead her to his car.
Enchanted Lagoon (Where Mal and Ben had their first date)
Ben lead Mal to the pavilion and told her to take off her blindfold. She did and immediately she heard lot's of people shouting happy birthday. She looked around, and saw all of her friends, Ben's parents, and many other people from the school. She turned to Ben.
"You did all of this for me?" She asked him.
"Who else would it be for?" He joked. She laughed. They began milling around and greeting people. They ate, and danced, and had a great time. Mal was excited about everything because she could not believe that Ben had done all of this for her. After dinner, Ben handed Mal a box wrapped in gold paper with baboons on it.
"What is this?" She asked him.
"What do you think it is? It's your present silly." Mal just looked at Ben questioningly as she tore off the pretty paper. Inside was a pair of purple rollerblades with green laces. She turned to him in surprise.
"Most kids in Auradon rollerblade so I thought I should get you a pair and teach you how," Ben explained. She hugged him. Soon, people began to leave because curfew was at 11:00 and it was 10:30. Fairy Godmother had approved Ben to have a later curfew of 12:00 because he was king and had so many more responsibilities that required extra time. For tonight she had approved Mal to have a later curfew as well. After everyone else left, Mal and Ben were alone.
"I hope you had a good birthday," Ben said questioningly.
"Yes I did," Mal smiled. They sat in silence and watched the full moon reflect on the water for a while before Ben broke the silence with a question.
"Mal... Why don't you want to kiss me?" Mal looked at him and knew she had to answer him with honesty.
"Because I'm afraid," she said quietly.
"Afraid of what?" He asked her.
"It's just that no one has ever kissed me before ever. The first time anyone kissed me was when you kissed my cheek the other night. My mother never kissed me goodnight, and I never dated anyone on the island, so I guess I just don't know what to expect," Mal answered.
"There's no reason to be afraid of something new," he told her.
"I know, and I don't know why I keep freaking out. It's just that whenever I'm around you, I get these little butterflies in my stomach and I don't know what it means. I can't seem to control my emotions when I'm around you," Mal explained.
Ben smiled. "Those little butterflies you feel in your stomach are what you feel when you love someone." She stared into his eyes and knew that Evie was right. She could see his love for her shining in them. Ben knew this was the moment he had been waiting for. But would she let him do it? Would she let him kiss her? There was no time like the present to find out. He leaned in, expecting her to turn her head, but he felt her lips on his gentle and light as a snowflake. His mind buzzed, and he lingered there wanting to savor the feeling. Finally he felt her pull away and he opened his eyes. He could see her looking at him her eyes wide and beautiful. He smiled.
"I love you Ben," she said in almost a whisper.
"I love you too Mal," he smiled. "I love you with all of my heart."
