Mal would love to say that everything went smooth from that moment on but everyone was acting like everything they did was in preparation to go. They throw them several last parties, their last sleepover, their last walk to the lake, and things of that nature. She thought she was the only one getting annoyed but this but once her friends tried to make another of their lasts outing Evie wasn't having any of it. Evie-thank everyone for making plans for them but she assure them that they weren't leaving just yet, there were four months of classes left, and even after that, they would have half of the summer vacations to spend with them.

"We are going away in 5 months, but we are not spending five months saying goodbye." Their friends try to protest telling them that time soon would fly by and soon enough they were going to be having exams and is going to be hard for them to get together. Some of them would go away over the summer, and that would reduce the time they would spend together, Evie knew that they had a point there but moving away was hard enough and having to be constantly reminded of what they would leave behind wasn't helping.

The idea that she wasn't going to have to keep going to this outings with her friends make her feel better, it was hitting her hard to know that she was going away and the times that she now took for granted were soon not going to be possible. Mal, however, realized that of all this parties, sleepovers and field trips Ben only went to one, and he didn't seem like he enjoyed it at all, he was nice to everyone and even joke around with the guys, but she could see right through him. After Evie had made it clear to everyone that they were not having another "last" outing, Mal decided it was time for her to go looking for Ben.

Walking to the castle she started listening to music and relaxing getting lost in happy memories of her and her friends and Ben, her time at Auradon had given her a lot of them. Close to the castle, she noticed a couple running in front of her; Mal focused her eyes on them realizing that there were Ben and Alexandra. She tried to go after them, but they were speeding away from her fast, looking down at her outfit Mal wished that she had sneakers on instead of her sandals. Focusing on them Mal shouted louder and saw how they turned to see her standing there looking at them, Ben said something to Alexandra and the girl wave and run off while Ben made his way towards her.

"Hey, What are you doing here? Is everything ok?" He seemed agitated obviously from the run he was in, plus worried about her presence. Mal knew that he was always worried about her well-being. Lately, the one thing in his mind was her acceptance letter even though they were sure that Mal and Evie were going to do great at school they hadn't technically being accepted to their respective programs. Mal knew that even though Ben assured her that there was not going to be any problems with it, he stilled was worry about the possibility of her and Evie not making it. The girl had urged his boyfriend not to meddle with their chances, a called from him would guarantee their acceptance but they didn't want to get in because of him.

Mal told him that she hadn't received any letter, she was only there because she wanted to spend some time with him making Ben smiled at her. She decided that it would be better to just go out with Ben instead of going to the castle where they were always people murmuring, Mal knew that all of them were just worry about the effect of Mal leaving on Ben. Taking his hand and intertwining their fingers they started walking towards the woods so they would have some privacy to talk, she didn't wait a lot before telling him about Evie´s outburst about the goodbye's parties and how they are finally going to stop, the only response from Ben was him nodding his head. "Ok, now that you know that there are no more of this to come, Can you tell me why were you not coming to them? You have every right not to go, but I find it weird and I want to be sure that you are ok?"

Ben turned to her and Mal could sense that he was trying to see if he could get out of the situation without giving her a straight answer but soon realized that the girl was not going to let go of the subject. "I was getting depressed with the constants talks about all the things you are not going to be here for. I understand and respect their wishes to do this for you guys but if I'm honest is hard for me to think about all those moments to come, I rather focus on what you are going to able to do and learn."

They walked in silence for a while until Mal finally told Ben that if he asked her to stay, she would do it but she didn't get to finish her thought because he started kissing her slowly. In her mind, she took this as him asking her to stay with him, and she was ready to do it, Mal could paint in Auradon they would get to see the world together. Ben stop kissing her and giving her a last kiss on her front head told her "I love you so much Mal. I would never ask you not to go, is normal that I'm sad and that your friends are going to miss you guys. This is what happens when people that you care or love go away but you also know that if it for the best there is a part of you is happy for them, you are going to go and do wonderful things Mal."

She looked into his eyes and could see that he was honest with her, Ben took her hand and started talking about some parties he had to attend in this next couple of weeks somewhere going to be in the kingdom, but there were a couple that was in others. Mal was sad to hear that he was not going to be here all the time, but she thought that it was a way for Ben to tell her that with the pass of time he would gain more responsibilities that came with being King. They sat in a clear looking in front of him and stayed in silence enjoying being with each other Ben noticed that it was getting darker and started to think that they should go back but he couldn't make himself say it out loud. When Mal had told him that she would stay with him if he asked her his mind was blown, part of him was shouting that this was the moment he needed to tell her to stay with him. However, before that part of him could win he turned and kissed her.

He was just a guy that didn't want his girlfriend to move away from him, but he also knew better than to prioritized his dreams over hers, when he dreamed about her in the island his first thought was to bring her to Auradon. When he finally met her and her friends he understood that things weren't as simple as just bringing the girl of his dreams here but to give a lot of people a better life. Ben knew that his actions had consequences to his joy until know he had managed to give others a chance to have new opportunities and futures. Mal was going to have a bright future even if it meant that she was not going to have it near him, he knew that she was going to love the program Ben had done extensive research on it before giving the brochure to Mal.

Finally, when the dark of the night surrounded them both of them reluctantly stood and started their way towards the castle. Mal leaned on his arm while hugging it telling Ben how much she was going to miss this moment for him, he stopped them and turning towards her Ben told her that he was going to miss her too, but this was not the time to be sad about it. "Let's plan what you are going to cook at the castle, remember I'm still growing, and I'm not good at cooking. Sure picnic baskets are my thing like if anyone gave a prize for a picnic, I would be number one no question ask."

He continued to ramble making Mal laughed while pulling him towards the castle listening to his speech about how they should be a worldwide competition of picnic baskets, of course, the trophy would be a golden picnic basket. Once at the castle Mal made him helped her to cook while making plans for what else they would be doing later that night, at some point they noticed that everything was quiet and even though they love their time alone it was weird that nobody had appeared while they were making dinner.

Ben and Mal sat at the kitchen table that it was better for them to be closer and enjoyed their dinner, he would make comments on how amazing her food was making Mal blush with the number of compliments. Later they went to his room and watched a movie, and in the middle of it Mal paused and turned towards Ben and asked him if she was going to be able to attend the parties he mentioned before. He seemed shocked for the question, but Mal clarified that if it wasn't possible, she would understand that "I guess I wonder if it wouldn't be better if I get used to them. I mean, later on, I'm going to go to them with you, right?"

The boy's heart was about to explode by the meaning behind what she was saying, and the hope that it would happen was making him so happy, he knew that it wasn't like they were breaking up but he wasn't sure Mal would want to settle down and be a Queen. Ben didn't trust that words would come, so he just nodded and heard how Mal was telling him that she needed to know about the dates of the parties to tell Evie, she was certain the princess would want to make dresses for her and probably suits for him so they could match in some way. Ben stood from the bed and went to look for his calendar taking the opportunity to calm his heart down; he didn't want Mal to think that he was thinking negatively about their future as a couple. Soon he found the dates, and together they called Evie, the girl went into a long rant about needing more than a month to be prepared and told the couple that they better be ready for her to take measurements early the next morning.

"Can I stay the night? If I go to sleep at my room, Evie is going to start taking measurements and talking about fabric and won't let me sleep?" Ben could see that happening and was happy to have an excuse for Mal to stay at the castle. Quickly they went looking for Alexandra so the girl would lend Mal a pajama and later they were going to asked for a room to be prepared for her. To their surprise the girl wasn't in her room, and again they noticed that everything seemed very quiet at the castle, Ben called Alexandra and put it on speaker, and the girl told him that she was with Evie and that her parents went out of town that morning.

The king remembered that they had decided to go away to visit Alexandra's parents for the weekend and they had to give the staff the weekend off. Alexandra wished Ben and Mal a goodnight and ended the call, next to her Evie, and Cora started to exchange a look at the thought of what might happen between the young couple that night. Ben and Mal looked at each other, for the first time they were alone for an entire night and they couldn't contain the blush that invaded their faces at the thoughts that invaded both their minds at that point.

True to her word Evie woke them up early and told them that she was going to be at the castle at 8 am, they waited for her while eating breakfast because they were sure that once their friend was there, they wouldn't be able to eat anything. "You pancakes are the best food in the world if you make this for the rest of our life I'm either going to have to exercise a lot, or I'm going to be fat. Either way, I'm going to be a happy King."

"Well let's vote for the exercise, ok? Also, eat quickly because if Evie sees you eating like that, she is going to take the food away from you. She doesn't like remaking the clothes especially if she already took the measurements" At that point, knocks could be heard coming from the kitchen door and Ben stuff his mouth with pancakes making Mal shake her head at him and laughed at her boyfriend antics. Evie said hello to both of them and looked suspiciously at Ben's face that looked full with all the pancakes that he had in his cheeks.

"You better not gain weight after I measure you, Ben. Let's start with both of you looking at some fabrics I have here" By some fabrics, Evie meant a little over a hundred samples that she started to put over the table moving the plates and things that were there from their breakfast. Ben explained to Evie that even though he loved her designs, he had to have a special kind of uniform for him to make it official, with a raised eyebrow Evie told him that she had read about that. Apparently, a uniform was more of a choice, but she could work with that giving a little more of color and elegance, she could make him look distinguish and also match with Mal.

For the next month Evie would always check up on Ben telling him not to eat a lot and to exercise more, the poor boy would be self-conscious about his weight if it wasn't for Mal that consistently told him that he look great. Their first party was on the castle, so Evie was able to help both of them get ready which calmed Mal enormously both girls talked the entire time about what the experience would be like, their last dance was when Ben and Alexandra were still together. Going to one dance where she was standing in front of everybody with Ben now was surreal, doubts were present in her mind, but her heart was sure that this was her place now and for the rest of her life.

A couple of hours later the couple found themselves in front of a room full of royals and dignitaries from different kingdoms making small talked and discussing different situations. Ben's parents were also in attendance which gave Mal extra support in the way she should act when meeting certain people or when the conversation started going into unknown subjects. Overall everyone was very pleasant and once Ben made it clear that they were not planning to get married for the time being but in the future, everyone let go of that constant question. By the end of the night, Alexandra's parents were about to go when Anastasia stopped in her tracks and excusing herself for her bad memory gave Mal two big envelopes. "We want it to give you this personally. Everyone is excited that you and Evie are going to spend the next year with us, we will see you in a couple of months Mal."

The fairy stood freeze on the spot with the envelope that had their acceptance letters on her hand for a couple of minutes until Ben came to her side and congratulated her. "We should go and tell Evie about this; it isn't like we didn't know, but still this is exciting."

Taking the stairs two steps at the time both of them went into Ben's room where Evie was waiting for them and soon informed her about the acceptance letters. Ben congratulated her and told her that things would be amazing, he asked them if they wanted to do something to celebrate, but both girls said no and told him that the day was exhausting. He changed and walked them to their dorm and giving Mal a kiss goodnight Ben said goodbye to both of them and left them. On his way back to the castle he felt lost and decided to go looking for someone to talk, that's how he found himself knocking on Zohu's door where he spent the night talking to his friend about his fears.

On the girl's dorm, both of them were laying on their beds wondering what the future had in stock for them. "This is really happening Mal, do you think we are ready?"

"I hope so; I'm just really happy we are doing this together." With that, she turned her head looking towards Evie that was looking at her smiling. They started making plans for they need to get ready before moving and wondering what would it be like to live in a new place but this time without the boys, not having their brothers with them was going to be extremely weird.

The next three months flew by fast Ben was mainly in Auradon, but some weeks he needed to travel to attend some parties and meetings in other kingdoms, he was also looking into the new group of teens that were going to move to Auradon from the island. Mal and the rest of the gang had helped him picked them. Still, he needed to convince everyone that there was not going to be any problems with this new group of people, so he had asked the islanders to help him with a presentation in front of the council. Exams were just a week away so aside from this everyone was helping each other to study for their exams; they noticed though that Ben had missed classes lately and Mal wonder if he was going to be in trouble with school for that.

A day after their first exam Mal went looking for Ben after noticing that he wasn't there but she was informed that he was out of town yet again, by the end of the first week of exams she didn't know what to think. On her way back to her dorm on Friday she was ready to relax when she saw the car that usually drove Ben passing by, Mal shouted Ben's name and the car stop. The door open and an exhausted Ben came out with his arms outstretch bringing Mal to him and hugging her for dear life. "I had the worst week. If being in three kingdoms and I don't remember sleeping in the last two days, and I feel horrible. How are you?"

Mal looked at him like he had three heads, he didn't seem at all worry about his exams and for the first time wonder if maybe he did have special treatment because he was the king. She told him that, and to her surprise, he laughed out loud for the longest time and even though he still looked exhausted his demeanor was better. "Mal I already took all the exams. I already took my exams and passed them. I also have been taking advanced courses, and my exams are next week which means that in a week I'll be done with school."

The fairy told him that what he was saying seemed impossible, but Ben explained to her that he had planned to finish school this year but with everything that happened he had decided to take things slow but he was still needed to finish so he could focus on being the King. "I've been taking advanced courses on the weekends and the trips I only need to pass two more courses, and that's it. I was going to take elective next year so we could see each other at school but now I don't have to."

Ben asked Mal if she was busy and when she said no he asked her to come to the castle so they could spend some time agreed and together they went to his home and Ben told her all about his adventures from the last few days while she laid on her lap while he played with her head. In his mind, Ben tried to record this moment in his brain so he could have it when in the future he needed to remember how it was to share his life with her.

Notes

I hope you like the chapter. J Review your thoughts, please. Also, I want to thank autumnbaby23 for all your reviews you are really nice, thanks!