Ben was still standing beside the lake, heartbroken, and shocked. He knew it had to do with Julian. Him stealing Mal's spellbook and disappearing, then Mal suddenly saying she loved Julian. It was quiet clear- Julian had love spelled Mal. He didn't know what to do. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, and took it out to look at the text message. It was from Evie.

'Ben? Where are you? Is Mal with you? Did you find Julian?'

Ben looked up to see the sun rising, glorious colours lighting up the sky. Thinking Mal was on her way back and would reach her dorm soon, he slipped the phone back into his pocket. He didn't want to just ignore Evie; he never had, but he was too hurt to do anything.

"It's no use," he told himself, sitting back down and looking up at the sky, "she loves Julian, not me. But I'll still love her." Ben knew that Julian had love spelled Mal, somehow, but still, he knew the pirate still had the spell book, and there was nothing he could do...unless he tried.

Ben felt like being torn apart. Part of him wanted to go and do something that would bring Mal back. His Mal. The one who loved him. The other part of him wanted to admit that he wasn't good enough for her, and eventually she'd dump him.

Eventually he stood up, determined to reverse the spell, and make Julian pay.


Evie was pacing back and forth across the room, worried. Mal hadn't returned from the Enchanted Lake, neither had Ben. She'd texted him, but there was no reply. And Ben never ignored her texts.

Sighing, she picked her phone up to call Ben. And right then, the door burst open, revealing Mal. Her face was expressionless, like the one she had after she returned from one of her mother's beatings back on the Isle. Evie rushed over to her, pulling her in a tight hug. She thought Mal would give her usual remark about the fragrance of her perfume being too strong, but she did no such thing. In fact, she stood completely still, not moving to hug Evie back or even greet her. Evie noticed it all.

"Mal?" she pulled away, looking at her in confusion. "Are you okay?"

Mal stepped forward and shook her head. "I..." she started. "I- I think I just broke up with Ben."

"What?" Evie was shocked. "Mal, why would you do that?"

"I don't know," she replied, a tear slipping down her cheek as she regretted what she just did. "I...I just wasn't thinking straight. It was like someone was forcing me to do it. I-" Her eyes became tinted with red for a brief moment before she wiped her tear and said, "I love Julian."

Evie didn't know how to react. She placed her hands on Mal's shoulders, looking in her eyes. The red was gone, and she madly hoped what she just said was a lie. "Say that again," she ordered her friend.

"I love Julian," she said again. "I know everyone thinks I love Ben, but I don't. He's nice and all, but I just don't feel the same way about him as I do about Julian. I should've realized sooner."

"WHAT?"


Ben sneaked over to Mal's locker early the next morning. He knew she wasn't a morning person, and usually came to her locker a few minutes before the first bell.

He opened it with ease, and immediately started looking through her books and pushing stuff away to find her spellbook. Ben assumed that, since Julian got what he wanted, he had put her spellbook back where it belonged.

Ben sighed as he kept looking.

"Dude, I may be a jerk, but at least I don't go around looking in girls' lockers." He heard a voice and turned to find Chad, who was smirking. "Hey Ben."

"Hey..." Ben smiled guiltily. "I- I was just...um... looking for something." Chad raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"What if you find something that you won't like?" Chad asked, leaning back against a locker. Ben rolled his eyes and went back to looking. "Like...her diary?"

"Or notes from a secret admirer? Or the picture I secretly took of you and Mal making out on your bed?" Ben's head jerked back immediately, and he turned to look at Chad, his face red.

"You...saw that?"

"Hey," Chad laughed, "you got to take advantage of an open window."

"Sometimes I really hate you," Ben remarked, closing Mal's locker with a sigh as he realized Julian still had the spellbook.

"Whatever," Chad said as the bell rang and Ben saw Mal coming towards her locker.

Ben made his way to class with a heavy heart, but vowed to bring Mal back. And to close the window of his room properly.