Auradon was sunny and beautiful as usual and everything was as it should be. Except, it wasn't. Not according to Ben anyway.
He'd just gotten back from a date with his girlfriend and something about it just felt off. He cares about her, he really does, but something doesn't sit right with him.
Ben greeted his parents as he entered the dining room, giving his mum a kiss on the cheek and nodding his head in acknowledgement to his dad.
"Hey son." Adam greeted as Ben sat in his place next to his father, who was sat at the head of the long table with Belle on his left and Ben on his right.
"How was your date with Audrey?" Belle asked, sweetly.
Ben smiled. "It was good. We had a picnic in her favourite spot, chatted a bit. The usual."
Belle smiled, although it seemed a bit forced, and turned to her husband, her eyebrows raised. King Adam turned his head and the two of them seemed to be having a conversation with just their eyes. Ben had to admit, he was a little jealous over his parents connection. He had nothing like that with Audrey. They could barely have a conversation with their mouths, let alone their eyes. He watched as his mum giggled slightly. His dad must have pulled a face that made her laugh. Or he made a subtle action that indicated some sort of inside joke between the two. Ben pushed his food around his plate for a second, the jealously rising up slowly.
Belle looked at her son, concerned. "Ben, darling? Is something bothering you?"
Ben shook his head and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just not feeling very hungry. May I be excused?"
Belle nodded, a little worriedly though. Ben thanked her and got up, heading out of the dining room and up to his own room, thinking the whole way up. When he got to his room, he sat on the window sill and stared out to Auradon, the kingdom that would soon be his. And yet, all he could think about was the fact that he and Audrey would never have this magical connection that his parents had. Obviously, it was different because his dad was cursed and his mum saved him. But still. He and Audrey didn't have the same thing and it made him a little upset. He wished he could have the same. Why wasn't it the same? Surely you didn't have to save each other to have that special connection? That overwhelming love that seemed to just radiate off the king and queen whenever they were around each other, it could be for normal mortals who don't save each other, right? Yeah, it should do. Maybe he just needs to give it time. Yeah, he decided, give it time and it will happen.
However, as the days went on, and after the proclamation, Ben found himself drifting further and further from Audrey, and feeling really uncomfortable around her, especially as she tends to talk about herself more than anything else. And if it isn't about herself, she's gossiping or trying to convince Ben to change his mind about the VKs.
When the VKs arrived, Ben felt incredibly awkward when Audrey announced that she was his girlfriend, and forced him to hold hands. To make matters worse, she insisted on using the nickname he really did not like in front of the new kids.
Ben only saw his parents on days where they needed to sort some things out for the coronation, as he wanted to still be a normal student so he boarded at Auradon Prep just like the rest of the pupils. But when he did see them, he still felt a little jealous. His parents were so perfectly in love and he just felt trapped with Audrey. He found himself thinking of Mal, the new girl, a lot more than he ever did of Audrey. He was ashamed of this as it wasn't fair on Audrey. Why were relationships so hard? And every time he saw his parents, it was like a stab to the gut. They seemed to have it so easy. Why was it so hard for him? Why couldn't he have that special something with someone else?
And then he found his mind being clouded up, blocking out everything except Mal. He felt less in control than normal. Luckily this didn't affect his performance in tourney but afterwards, he found himself singing for Mal. Audrey tried to make him jealous by kissing Chad but Ben felt completely unfazed by this. He just asked Mal to be his date to the Coronation and she said yes, making him the happiest man alive. He soon asked her on a date, after being able to think of nothing but her for a few days. He took her to the Enchanted Lake, where they got to know each other. He learnt things about her, like her middle name being Bertha (and he thought Florian was bad) and that she was an only child, who was sixteen and had only ever lived in one place (just like him). He had at one point made it a little awkward by telling her that just by looking in her eyes, he knew she wasn't evil. He quickly rectified himself by suggesting they go swimming, although she was insistent on staying on the dry ground so he went by himself. And the moment he hit the water, he felt the cloudiness of his mind be lifted. He swam, as he tried to collect his thoughts. Mal had spelled him. But why? It didn't seem like a villiany thing to do just because you had a crush on someone. But then again, hadn't he just said that she wasn't evil? He wasn't sure what to think, but he snapped back into reality after having swam and sat behind the rocks for a bit, thinking all this through while looking at the wishing rocks, when he heard Mal crying out his name. He began to swim back towards her, when her voice became more panicky and he heard a splash. Suddenly, he saw her flaying about in the water. She couldn't swim! He swam over to her and scooped her up in his arms as he emerged from the water, putting her gently on the pavilion. After he'd made a remark of amazement about the fact that she tried to save him although she couldn't swim, she'd snapped at him. He placed his jacket over her shoulders in hope that it keep her slightly warm and when he asked her if she loved and she replied with not knowing what love feels like, his heart broke. He carefully moved her face to be facing him again and told her, with every truthful bone in his body, that maybe he could teach her. And by the way she looked at him, he knew that maybe it was not like his parents, but Ben had something special with the purple-haired faery who sat in front of him. And now he no longer had a reason to be jealous, because he finally had the love he'd been looking for all his life.
Here you go Eli201. I know this is probably not what you wanted, at all, but let's face it. Ben is incredibly level headed and very unlikely to get jealous because he is so trusting and always gives people the benefit of the doubt. He just doesn't strike me as a jealous person. Sorry.
Credit to Grace for the brilliant concept behind this story, which, if you didn't catch it, was basically that Ben was jealous of what his parents had because he didn't have it with Audrey.
Response to Reviews:
veroandlegolas: Aww thank you. And yes, they really are a beautiful family.
DragonEmperor999: Nope but then again, it's Bal. Since when have they ever been normal?
Grace: Awww, I am so glad you loved it so much!
Reade-Queen-Of-Versailles: Thank you! Yay, hugs! I love hugs! * hugs back *
FlatFox: Thanks!
Love you all!
SparkyGurl
