-Evie was accused of cheating but passed the test without her mirror. She goes to celebrate with Doug but then is pulled away by Mal to help her get ready for her date.
Doug came careening into Ben's room.
"She said yes! She said yes! She said yes!" crowed Doug.
"Who said yes to what?" asked Ben.
"Evie. She said she wanted to hang out with me. It might just be schoolwork related, but, hey, I'll take what I can get."
"Good for you." said Ben. "What brought this on?"
"So, we were in Chemistry class and we had a test. Evie had really been working hard to do well. Suddenly, partway through the test, Evie looks in her purse for something. Maybe it was her mirror, maybe something else. I'm not even sure if she knows the truth. I think she didn't know the answer to something and got scared. Come to find out, Chad had swiped her magic mirror. And he gave it to the teacher. The teacher was... not amused. And he going to throw Evie out of class for cheating. In fact, he was even threatening to have her expelled."
Ben groaned. "Why can't that girl just believe in herself? She's brilliant. She'll be talking about something run of the mill and then jump into an explanation of something so complicated I don't even understand it. And I'm getting straight A's!"
"I know. And I'm still trying to encourage her. But just hold on, the story gets better. Well, like I said, the teacher was about to boot her out the door when I decided to stand up and defend her."
Ben looked at him. "You?"
Doug grinned. "Me. And I managed to talk him out of the whole thing."
"How in Auradon did you do that?" asked Ben.
"I appealed to logic. Which is about the only thing that works with our chemistry teacher. I said that Chad and the teacher had possession of the mirror during the test. So that meant that Evie couldn't have used it to cheat even if she had wanted to. The teacher granted my point and said that if Evie could pass this test all on her own, he'd return the mirror and forget the whole matter."
"So, Evie is going to spend time with you just because you got her out of trouble? That's the only reason? Doug, Doug, Doug, You deserve better than that."
"No, Ben. You don't understand. Evie passed the test on her own. She even came to show it to me because she was proud of being smart. She got a B+. This is what I, well, we, have been hoping for her to figure out. And to top it off, she wants to do even better on the next test."
"So, she's going to spend time with you because you liked her for who she really was and you believed in her when no one else did?" asked Ben.
Doug thought it over. It was kind of a convoluted sentence. "Pretty much."
"Then congratulations, Doug. I'm extremely proud of you for helping her find her potential. Have you ever considered becoming a teacher?" Ben asked.
"No, but it's a good thought." mused Doug. He glanced around the room. Shirts and pants were scattered everywhere. "Did your closet explode?"
Ben laughed. "No. I have a date with Mal in just a little while. A picnic by the lake."
"Sounds like fun." said Doug. "So what's all this?" he said, gesturing to the room.
"Hey, girls aren't the only ones that care about what they wear." Ben protested.
Doug saw him shoving a bathing suit into his bag. "You're going swimming too?" Ben nodded. "Does Mal know about this?" Doug asked.
"She does not." Ben admitted.
"But you're hoping she'll join you in the water? How is that going to work? She won't have a bathing suit."
"I hadn't thought of that." said Ben.
"So, that means that either she jumps in with all of her clothes on or..." started Doug
Lonnie interrupted him as she was walking into the room. "Or she ditches her clothes and jumps into the lake in her underwear." Lonnie said. "Or maybe even less than that. That girl can be naughty. You might evenfind out if those panties are still green."
Doug looked confused. "Still?" he asked.
Ben coughed. "Never mind about that." he said, shooting daggers at Lonnie with a look. "Look, I'm not worried about whether or not Mal goes swimming. In fact, the whole swimming idea is hers." Ben said, pointing at Lonnie. "She agreed to set up the picnic for me as long as I jumped in the lake at least once."
Doug looked over at Lonnie. "Why do you want him to do that?" he asked.
Lonnie smiled. "Let's just call it a dare." she looked over at Ben. "And it's a deal, so don't think you can get away with 'forgetting' or just 'dunking your suit in the water'. I'll know if you lie to me."
"You're right. It's a deal. Well, I'm ready and it's time to go get her. I wouldn't want her to think I wasn't coming." Ben walked over and grabbed the two helmets for his scooter off of the shelf.
Lonnie interrupted him before he could leave. "You're taking your scooter?"
"Yeah. I don't want to take one of the limos, then we'd have the driver around and things wouldn't be private."
"There's a hole in your plan, dude. You're about to go see a girl who's spent a bunch of time getting her clothes, makeup, and most importantly for this discussion, hair ready. And then you're going to force her to put on a helmet. Oh my goodness. You are brave."
Ben was hesitating now. "Maybe I could see if there's a car available..."
Lonnie thought about it. "Never mind. Your plan is still probably the best one. You get the privacy you want plus she's got to put her arms around you on the way there AND back. It kind of encourages you to get along. And Mal's the kind of girl who will appreciate a ride on a bike through the country. Just don't be surprised if she decides that she wants to drive on the way back and you have to hold onto her."
Ben looked at her. "So I'm good?" he said, glancing up and down at his outfit.
"You're good." Lonnie agreed. "One more thing. Make sure to compliment her before AND after she has helmet hair."
Ben enjoyed the drive into the countryside tremendously. He leaned into the corners a little bit extra just to feel Mal's arms tighten around him. She had this exotic perfume that somehow still reached his nostrils even while they were zipping down the road. He remembered her reaction when they'd gotten out to the parking lot.
"That's not a bike. It's a scooter."
Ben suddenly panicked. "Um, yes. It is."
"You said you had a bike." Mal said with that half smirk half frown that she used when she was calling someone out for a lie.
"It's kind of a bike..." he said, trying to save face."Just, umm, smaller."
Mal looked him in the eyes. "So, if you make any claims about the size of anything else, I should go ahead and just think smaller?"
Ben then had a coughing fit that lasted for several minutes. When he finally recovered, he asked fearfully. "Do you still want to go?"
Mal laughed at him. "Oh yeah. I've got to see whatever else you have planned for this date."
After a few miles of riding, she was just about to see it. They'd pulled off the road near the trail to the lake and headed toward the bridge. Ben looked back to take the helmet from her and discovered that she was gazing up at the trees and watching the sunlight reflect through the branches. He coughed to get her attention and then took her helmet and stowed it with his on the bike. Then he led her down the path.
Since the path was so clearly marked out, Mal quickly moved into the lead. Ben enjoyed the view. No, not that view…. Mal was… Ben was going to say that word was happy but he wasn't sure Mal knew the meaning of that word yet. That discussion aside, the most amazing part of what saw was that seemed to have let go of the barriers she usually kept between herself and the world. She wasn't afraid to be silly, jumping a bit on the bridge and wandering from side to side. She was answering his questions about the smallest of things. Favorite color, middle name, that sort of thing. And while Ben knew that Mal was likely very good at lying, she wasn't doing it right now. He could tell. She really seemed to be opening herself up the possibilities this date implied.
This was so different than the abortive dates he'd had with Audrey. Audrey would have been afraid of heights, afraid of bugs, afraid of the sun. And her mind never would have been completely on the date itself. Ben began to realize how truly lucky he was.
As a test of how game she was for new experiences, as well as how much she trusted him, he had her close her eyes and guided her around the last curve until she could see the lake. Mal's reaction was worth any amount of trouble. He didn't think anyone had ever gone to this much trouble to make something special for her in her life. He was just as happy. Lonnie had picked the most beautiful spot and laid out a spread of mostly finger foods. They were things that they could feed each other. Mal got a bit of crystallized sugar from a doughnut on her lips and he helped her wipe it away with his fingers. And then promptly wanted to kick himself for not trying to kiss it off of her. But, it was probably too soon for that. Mal was so open now. She was showing so much vulnerability that Ben decided that it was a good idea to wait for things like kisses. He wanted this relationship to be real. He wanted it to grow. And that wouldn't happen if he was some kind of horn-dog clown.
Mal even asked about him becoming king. Which was perfect because it gave him the chance to tell her how he really felt. That kids are not their parents and get to make their own choices in life. Even if he'd never gotten so much as a glance from her romantically, it has been more and more important to him that she know how he felt. Not just about her, but about people in general. For Mal and him to work out long term, they needed to have a similar outlook on life.
Things got a little intense and suddenly he remembered his promise to Lonnie about swimming. He suggested that she join him but she declined. Which he'd rather expected since as much as it was fun to imagine Mal jumping into the lake in her bra and panties, it wasn't realistic. And he didn't want her feeling pressured into anything. Plus, the look on her face when she had tried a strawberry for the first time… Well, she deserved a little bit of privacy to recover from that reaction.
He climbed to the top of the rocks to jump in. He waved his arms and got her attention. Just as Lonnie had promised, his crown board shorts made Mal laugh. So he built on that by screaming like a beast and jumping into the water.
Ben had been expecting the shock of the cold water wrapping around him. He'd braced himself for it. What he hadn't braced himself for was part of his connection to Mal breaking as soon as he went below the surface. There had been a spell. Was it from that cookie? Or was it from earlier than that? He wasn't sure. He swam off to one side of the rocks and out of sight so that he could take a minute to process the change.
The first realization that he had was, thankfully, that he still loved her. So it must have been the cookie just like Lonnie had claimed. But why would Mal do that? Why would she risk doing it just to get to know him? Did she want something from him? Or was she just so nervous about getting to know him that she used every advantage that she had. I mean, some girls and guys spend time making sure they have the perfect outfit or the perfect car. That sort of thing. Mal just had another tool in her arsenal. Magic.
He tried to be angry about having his free will taken away. If he hadn't already loved her, this could have been a disaster. But, well, he did love her. That was that. All he really needed to do was to find out if she loved him too. Well, that and get her to trust that he could love her back without the need for a spell.
Amidst all of these thoughts, he heard Mal singing softly to herself. He didn't catch every word. And he was pretty sure that Mal wouldn't have wanted him to. To go closer and try to listen would, well, be just as bad as the love spell had been. It would have been violating the privacy of her inner thoughts. He caught one line though and it almost stopped his heart.
'Will you… still be… with me… when the magic all runs out…."
Oh my goodness. Those words… Her longing. Her doubt. Then he heard her sing 'If only'. The pain in those two words were more than he thought she could handle another person witnessing. It would have been worse than being stripped naked. He needed to make sure she didn't realize that he could have heard her. "Rocks." he thought. "There are pretty sparkly rocks in the deepest part of the lake. I'll dive down and get her one and then pretend it's something special..." He pushed off from the shore and dove deep. As he came up, he saw her legs flailing in the water. She'd been worried. She'd waded out to find him. To save him.
He was even more surprised when he found out that she couldn't swim. He hadn't ever considered that possibility.
He carried her up and out of the water. She was mad but not angry. There was a difference and he could easily tell. She was mad because she'd been scared. He gave her the pretend wishing rock and watched her pitch it right back in the lake.
At that point, he was pretty sure he didn't want to know what her wish was. And glad that he'd made up the wishing rock bit. He might have woken up tomorrow with frog feet.
Once she'd calmed down, he realized that there was as question he needed to know the answer to. And so he asked her if she loved him. She said she didn't know, didn't even know how to love. He offered to teach her. She nodded gently and then he scooted himself behind her and wrapped a towel around her. Then his arms joined the towel wrapped around her. Finally he just pressed his lips into her hair and tried to will every bit of love and affection that he'd ever experienced into her. He lost track of how long they sat there together, staring out into the sky and the clouds. After a little while, he had to pretend not to notice the hot tears falling slowly onto his arms. When she truly started to sob, he just pulled her closer. He even cried with her a little bit because her pain was so great that it had to be shared. When she had regained control of herself and they finally stood up, he didn't ask her again if she loved him. He knew she wasn't ready to answer that question yet. He also wasn't sure he wanted to hear what she had to say. Not until she had enough time to come to terms with it, good or bad. Until then, nothing she said would be how she really felt.
Later that afternoon, Lonnie found him in his room. She'd noticed that he'd been really quiet since he returned from his date and decided it was time to pry out some answers from her friend. She sat down on the floor next to his bed. "Do I have to..." she started to say gently.
"There was a spell. It's broken now." came Ben's quiet reply.
"And?" asked Lonnie.
"And? And nothing has changed. I still love her. I don't care about the spell." replied Ben.
Lonnie was incensed. "How can you not care? She took away your choice! She made you do things you wouldn't have done on your own. How is that acceptable?"
Ben got defensive. "She's so afraid to love that I understand her doing this. And you don't know everything that happened. I heard her singing about wanting more out of life. She thought I was drowning and tried to save me even though she can't swim. I held her. She cried."
At that last statement, Lonnie had had enough. "The daughter of Maleficent cried? I don't think so. It was an act. She's still playing you! Wake up Ben. This whole idea has been a disaster. She's a fake!"
Ben stood up, he temper come to the fore. "She's not a fake!" he roared at her.
Lonnie just stood there. "That's it. I'm done spying for you. Done helping you. You want to keep up this farce? You're on your own." She walked over to the door and shouted. "And I can scream too!" she said. And then she slammed the door solidly behind her.
Ben went back to his brooding. He'd somehow apologize to Lonnie later. He'd make her understand. She'd get to know Mal all of them could be friends together. It would all work out. So, all he had to worry for tomorrow was Parents Day and that stupid dance that Audrey had made them learn before all of this had started.
He hoped Mal managed to show up late to the festivities. Otherwise she'd be teasing him about it until the day he died.