Chad POV
I'm watching Mal for Belle while she gets a shower and has a nap. Beast has meetings all day, Ben, Jay and Carlos have Tourney and the other two girls are having a shopping trip at the mall, so Belle called me to watch over Mal for a few hours. So here we are, watching some TV show called The Vampire Diaries on Netflix. It's truly scary. How is Mal not scared by this bloodsucking, vampire, romantic program? It's scary! We're cuddled up on the couch in Bens room. It's almost been two days since Hades dropped a bombshell on Mal and almost two days since she's spoken. She hasn't eaten either and it's taken a toll on her. Her eyes have lost the light and her hair is limp and lifeless, like her. It's as if whatever Hades has said, has took away a piece of her. I hope she gets that piece of her back soon because it's killing all of us, especially Evie and Ben. Mal grabs her phone off the little table and types something and shows it me. I want to go to school. She wants to what?! She needs more time to recover from the bombshell. I hear Belle outside. I get off the couch and go out of Bens room, like it's on fire, to speak to Belle. Belle is drying her hair outside Bens room when I come out. "Chad, is everything okay?" No. Why would I be running out of my friends room like it was on fire if everything was okay? "Mal wants to go back to school." Belle drops the towel she is using to dry her hair on the floor. Her eyes are wide and her mom is open. "We need an emergency meeting with everyone, including Fairy Godmother." Emergency meetings are rare but having Fairy Godmother join them is even rarer. She almost can never make it to them because of how short notice it is. But she has to make this one because we need to convince Mal that she isn't ready to go back to school. Not yet. Belle is on the phone with the two girls to tell them they need to cut their shopping trip short and come back to the castle now. They won't be too happy about that. After Belle has hung up on the girls, she calls the boys who were already on their way back because Coach let them wrap up early. Then she calls Beast and FG, who are in the same meeting so FG can come to the emergency meeting. I go back into Ben's room and see Mal still on the couch watching The Vampire Diaries. She looks really ill and tired. She hasn't slept. She's been staying up all night and day since the video chat. Ben had to carry her from the library to his room before he left for Tourney practice because she refuses to walk or move anywhere. After half an hour of watching The Vampire Diaries, Ben's door opens and Ben comes in with Jay and Carlos trailing behind him. Ben bends in front of Mal, blocking her view of a Vampire-human make out session. Mal frowns at him. Ben doesn't take any notice of the frowning face that Mal is giving him. "Mal, are you okay?" He's asked this question to her for the past two days, in hopes that she'll reply but she never does. Ben sighs as he straightens up. Ben's getting frustrated with her, we all are but we've got to give her time to digest the bombshell that Hades dropped on her. Me and Audrey don't know what it is. They haven't told us and we haven't asked. Jay and Carlos go to their sister and sit on either side of her, wrapping their arms around her. Watching the show with her. "Has Damon admitted his feelings for Elena yet?" Carlos asked. Mal shakes her head. "Get on with it, Damon!" Carlos shouts at the TV, making Jay laugh and Mal shake her head at him again. Me and Ben stand near the door, watching it unfold. "Mom called an emergency meeting again." Ben groans. He doesn't see the point of emergency meetings. "Yeah, this one is pretty serious. Even FG is coming." Ben's eyes widen. "Shit. It's gotta really serious if FG is blowing off school for it." He jokes and I laugh. "Any idea what it's about?" Should I tell him that Mal wants to go back to school? "You'll find out as soon as the girls are home." Those girls take forever. Ben laughs. "I take it they weren't happy with having to cut their shopping trip short?" I laugh. "They're pissed." Ben and I groan. "Great, we're all going have to endure them whining about it for the next two hours, aren't we?" Ben nods. "Yep."
Beast POV
Belle called an emergency meeting in the living room with everyone in attendance, except for Mal. She hasn't spoken or eaten in two days. I want to hurt Hades so bad. He's just lucky Belle hid the remote to the barrier from me and the boys otherwise there'd be no stopping me and the boys from going a rampage. Evie and Audrey whining about having to cut their shopping trip short due to this meeting. "I was going to get a really cute outfit for Mal when she goes on her date with Ben." Audrey says with a pout. Evie has her arms folded. "And I was going to get a pair of really cute shoes for Mal when she on her date with Ben." Ben groans. "I completely forgot about my date with Mal. When is it?" I laugh. He's so forgetful sometimes. Evie shrugs. "Sometime after the video chat." Evie shivers at the thought of that meeting. "Can I go back to the Isle and kill him?" Evie says to Belle, who shakes her head. "No way, Evie. It's too dangerous for you guys." The Isle kids snort. "We've lasted our whole lives on the Isle and now it's 'too dangerous for us' are freaking kidding me?" Evie curses, glaring at Belle. "Ben, tell your Mom that we're fine one the Isle!" Ben shakes his head, "Mom is right, E. It's not safe for you, Hades is out there." Evie screams. "Traitor! What was the point of this meeting?" Evie says, still very irritated that she's not allowed go to the Isle and kill Hades. "Mal wants to go back to school." What? She won't be going back. Not yet. "What?!" Jay, Chad and Ben shout in unison, jumping up, from their seats. Belle sighs. "This is what the emergency meeting is about. We need to decide what to do." Belle says. Evie groans and Audrey pats her back. The kids start shouting over one another, fighting to be heard. After an hour of us shouting at each other, there's a loud shout. "STOP!" We all stop shouting and turn to the voice who shouted: it's Fairy GodMother. She's got an eerily calm face on her. Oh uh. That face is never a good sign. It means we're in for a massive lecture. "Guys, all this shouting isn't going to make us come up with a solution about Mal wanting to go back to school. We need to find a solution or a compromise." Yes, but how? Belle and I look at each other and look away. She's been awfully quiet today, is there something going on with her that I'm not aware of? After an hour, we come up with a solution. It's almost dinner time so I get the kids to get Mal and join us in the dining room. After the kids are out of sight, me and Belle turn to Fairy Godmother. "Thank you, Jen." Belle says, hugging her friend. Okay, something is definitely wrong with Belle and there's something she's not telling me: she never calls Fairy Godmother by her name. I need to find out what she knows. Fairy Godmother hugs her back. "Anytime, dear. I just hope it works. There's nothing else we can try with her." That's true. I just hope it works.
Ben POV
I don't like this. But maybe this is how we finally get the Mal we know and love back. It's probably our only solution. We can't sit around and wait around for her to die. We need to take action. Now.