After the detention torture ceased, Evie took Mal right over to the beach even if it was a bit too cold to go swimming today. While they were there, there was a black-haired girl ahead of them, pushing a girl with brown/reddish hair, in a wheelchair across the wooden boardwalk. Her wheels rattled against the board cracks on the deck which was a bit of a distracting sound, though mostly for Mal as everyone else didn't seem to be as bothered by it as she was. Probably because they were used to it. They soon opened the door, ringing the bell inside the "Ice Cream Cafeteria" which seemed to be a cozy and comfortable parlor place so far.
"Hey, Melody," Evie greeted the black-haired girl before looking down at the other girl in the wheelchair. "Hey, Arabella."
"Hey, Evie." The other two girls greeted.
Mal just stood there plainly, looking a little confused.
"Oh, Mal," Evie smiled as she faced her new friend. "This is Melody Seaward and her cousin Arabella. They're a couple of good friends of mine."
"Oh... Hi." Mal blinked and waved politely.
"You're the new girl in school, aren't you?" Arabella guessed.
"Yes, I am," Mal nodded. "I, uh, came here from Moor Isles."
"That sounds like a mysterious name," Melody commented. "Maybe I could explore it someday if I'm not going 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." she then giggled at her own inside joke as Arabella and Evie laughed along.
"Melody's the best swimmer in school," Evie explained to Mal. "You should really check her out sometime. Do you like to swim, Mal?"
"Sometimes, yeah." Mal nodded, feeling awkward in the conversation since she didn't know these girls.
Eventually, a blonde woman stepped out from behind the front counter with a menu with items that had the most unusual and unique names such as "Vanellope Vanilla", wearing a white and silver dress with her blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail.
"Hi, Auntie Vanilla," Melody smiled. "We'll have our usual today."
"Of course, Melody. Hello there, Arabella," The blonde woman nodded before looking over. "Oh, Evie, I see you made a new friend today."
"She's new in school, Auntie Vanilla." Evie replied.
"Gives her time to decide what she'd like, huh?" The blonde woman smirked before going in the back.
"Auntie Vanilla...?" Mal asked out of confusion.
"That's just the name she goes by," Evie explained. "I think her name's actually Gilda or something like that. You'll like this place, Mal, it's a good place to go to cheer up after a rough day, especially with what happened with you in the hallway and Audrey earlier."
"Yeah..." Mal stared down at the floor awkwardly.
"Oh... That was you?" Melody asked Mal. "You won't hurt us, right?"
"No, no, I wouldn't do that," Mal shook her head. "I promise. I just..."
"She was just having a tough day, Melody," Evie reassured the black-haired girl. "Mal's pretty cool."
"Oh... Well, I sure hope so..." Melody said softly.
Mal sighed sharply as she stared at the walls of the ice cream shop. There seemed to be several cutesy, almost chibi-like portraits of young boys and girls that looked like crayon drawings. Above the portraits was a plaque that read "SUGAR RUSH KIDS HALL OF FAME" and beside it was a couple of arcade games with steering wheels for a racing game and seats for kids to sit in and pretend like they were in the race themselves of "Sugar Rush Speedway". All of this cuteness and "Sugar Rush" fluff was enough to make Mal feel like this place tasted like diabetes.
"So, what kind of ice cream do you want, Mal?" Evie asked.
"Uh... I dunno... What kinda flavors do they have here?" Mal shrugged.
"Well, I'm glad you asked," Evie smiled as she knew all of the flavor names by heart. "You can get a Schweet Vanellope Vanilla Cone or Fluggerbutter Kit-Kart, Taffyta Strawberry Lightning, Adorabeezle Ice Rocket, Candlehead Ice Creamer, Jubileena Cherriot, Snowanna Fro Cone, Crumbelina Tira-Missle, Gloyd Pumpkin Kernel, Swizzle Tongue Twister, Minty Veloci-Wrapper-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Mal soon said, hearing enough. "What is up with those names?"
"Oh, uh, I dunno," Evie shrugged. "I didn't come up with them, but they sure sound more exciting than vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, don't they?"
Mal gave her a look before she soon nodded with a small shrug in returned response. "Yeah, I guess you have a point," she then said. "I guess I'll think about it a little bit until it's our turn."
"Super!" Evie smiled.
The girls soon went to get their ice cream treats. Auntie Vanilla seemed nice enough so far and she mentioned that Mal wouldn't need to pay for her first ice cream cone anyway since she was a brand new customer and this was on the house. Mal decided to take plain vanilla, for now, to get a taste for Auradon Heights' ice cream and luckily, it was a lot better than what she used to eat at the Moor Isles. Auradon Heights just seemed a lot more like paradise compared to her former home and thought maybe that was for the better, even if she hated moving away from her old school and old friends against her will.
"So, Evie, I've noticed the beach says 'Storybrooke Beach: Home of Castle Playground'," Mal said as she sat on one side of the bench with Evie next to her as she held her ice cream cone close which was the Taffyta Strawberry Lightning. "What's Storybrooke?"
"Oh... Well, my mom says that this neighborhood was called Storybrooke like 20 years ago or something," Evie replied with a small shrug. "I guess they just forgot to change the name of the beach or they liked it. I guess we're all just descendants of Storybroooke."
"Descendants of Storybrooke?" Mal repeated curiously.
"That's my guess anyway, but a long time ago before I was born, Auradon Heights was known as Storybrooke," Evie informed as she licked her Adorabeezle Ice Rocket. "Kind of a funny name if you ask me."
"Better than Moor Isles." Mal rolled her emerald eyes in response.
"Yeah... Or Emerald City." Evie chuckled.
"Emerald City does sound pretty, but I guess you're just saying that because you're school rivals." Mal remarked.
"Yeah, probably up there with Sherwood or Narnia," Evie nodded with a small smirk. "I can't believe in the final game at the end of the semester, we gotta have a banquet dinner with Sherwood. That's gonna kill a lot of the players in the game."
Mal chuckled a bit as she licked her Schweet Vanellope Vanilla cone. They seemed to have a really great time together so far, more than just best friends now, but more like sisters.
Eventually, they finished their frozen dairy treats and Evie stepped back inside as she just remembered something. "Excuse me," she then told her friend. "I'll be right back. If Mom asks where I went, tell her I went to see Auntie Vanilla again for a moment."
"Okay, Evie." Mal smiled and nodded.
Evie smiled back as she then went back inside the ice cream shop. Mal soon went to take out her phone, showing her phone background was of a younger version of herself with a dark-haired girl who resembled her. Both had their faces pressed together by the cheeks and smiling in blind and joyful happiness. Mal put her hand over her heart as she looked like she was trying very hard not to cry. She then got ready to play on it until Evie would come back until someone reached out from under the deck and swiped it.
"A-yoink!" A voice smirked and laughed.
"HEY!" Mal glared as she soon hopped off of the bench and looked down to see a familiar braided girl who she had met in detention. "UMA!"
"That's my name~" Uma smirked. "Don't wear it out~"
"Uma, give me my phone back!" Mal demanded as she crossed her arms. "Why do you gotta be such a jerk all the time?"
"Dunno... Blame my parents," Uma shrugged with a small smirk. "After all, you're not exactly the nicest girl around to get in a fistfight with Audrey Thornley in front of the whole school."
"Do you want something, Uma?" Mal rolled her eyes. "Where are your goons?" she then added, referring to Gil and Harry of course.
"Oh, they're helping cover my shift at the Fish & Chips place so Mom doesn't chew my ass if I show up a little late just to have some fun," Uma smirked as Mal soon came down below the deck to confront the boorish girl. "I thought I'd talk to you about something with Evie."
"What? You're gonna tell me she's a bed wetter or something?" Mal rolled her eyes.
"No, no, nothing like that, though she does sleep with stuffed animals," Uma chuckled as she soon held out Mal's phone for her before quickly retracting it. "You should do something nice for her."
"And you're telling me this why?" Mal rolled her eyes. "We're already friends and we don't need people like you ruining it for us."
"I'm just saying, you should throw a big party at Evie's house, that would really make her feel special," Uma smirked. "If there's one thing Evie likes, it's a very loud and crazy party at home."
"At Evie's house...?" Mal asked softly. "But... Wouldn't her mom be mad or something? She is the Mayor after all."
"That's the thing," Uma smirked. "Evie has so many parties all the time and she always puts them away before her parents even realize or find out about them. So that's why there should be a party at the mayor's mansion with everyone from class. It'll cheer her up for sure and you can be best friends forever~"
"...What's in it for you?" Mal narrowed her eyes as she put her hands on her hips.
"Excuse me?"
"I grew up on the rough side of town where we had to fight for money, food, and WiFi, so I think I know what I'm getting into by allowing myself to trust someone like you," Mal explained firmly. "So I help throw a party at Evie's house. What would you get out of it?"
"It's a special surprise," Uma kept her smirk as she dangled Mal's phone over the splashing ocean behind her. "Just tell her that a special friend is looking out for her."
"And you and Evie were friends?" Mal snorted before her eyes widened. "HEY! Don't drop that!"
"Promise me you'll throw a party at Evie's then," Uma narrowed her eyes. "It'll be worth it in the end~" she then added with a malicious smirk.
Mal was very confused, but she felt frustrated as her phone could be fed to the sea any moment now. She then puffed out her cheeks in defeat. "Fine," she then said. "I'll organize a party at the mayor's mansion next weekend."
"Perfect," Uma grinned as she then stood straight up and chucked Mal's phone right back at her. "See? Was that so hard?"
Mal grunted as she nearly fell back, but luckily caught her phone in the nick of time.
"Oh, and by the way?" Uma smirked. "Remember not to tell Evie, let's just keep this between us. I don't wanna spoil the surprise, especially when I come along with the boys."
"All right, Uma," Mal sighed sharply. "You've got yourself a deal."
"Great," Uma smirked as she took Mal's hand, squeezing it sharply as they firmly shook hands to further seal the deal. "See ya around then, Malissa Bertha~"
Mal narrowed her eyes with a bit of a growl. Uma then laughed as she let go of Mal's hand and walked off, looking victorious. Mal wasn't sure whether or not to trust Uma. Something in her brain told her to since Uma had known Evie longer than she had, but in her heart, she felt something aching and nagging at her about not trusting the braided girl. She wanted to ask about what to do, but her mother was the last person she could go to for anything and she pretty much raised herself aside from occasional help from her father. She wished that her older sister was there since her sister was her best friend and looked out for her back home. Deciding to ignore the feeling, Mal soon came back on the deck as Evie had two containers filled with ice cream and looked around in confusion.
"Hey... Where'd you go?" Evie asked.
"Uh, sorry, I was just... Uh... Watching the ocean..." Mal covered up.
"It is pretty relaxing," Evie nodded with a small smile. "Hey... Don't let your detention get to you. The weekend is here and we can hang out and do whatever we want now. Let's go meet Mom at home."
"All right, Evie." Mal said, smiling back a little.
Evie beamed as she then walked off with Mal to head back to the mansion.
Uma watched from afar and smirked as she took out her own phone and sent a group text to Harry and Gil. "Surprise Party at Evie's mansion next weekend, BYOPF: Bring your own Party Favors".
"Aye-Aye, Captain!" Harry replied.
"If it's a surprise, how do YOU know about it?" Gil replied as Uma could already hear the oafishness in his voice.
Uma groaned and face-palmed as she soon walked off to go and meet them at the usual hang-out place which was the family-friendly restaurant where she worked part-time in after school of Captain Hook and Ursula's Fish & Chips which was owned by both her mother and Harry's father. Obviously.
Evie brought Mal back into town and they soon came down a sidewalk, coming towards a gated house which was a rather large and grand mansion, but ridiculously huge, bigger than a shopping mall like you would see on TV or in a movie about a rich kid living in said mansion. There were hedge bushes that stood aligned on both sides between the open road leading up to the front door and there was an apple tree shown to be in the backyard.
"So... Here we are... Home sweet home." Evie told Mal.
"Very interesting..." Mal commented as she took a look. "Nice digs, Evie."
Evie smiled warmly as they soon walked up to the front door together and she took out her key and unlocked the door with her free hand, carrying the take-out ice cream in her other hand. Once the lock clicked and the door creaked open, Evie pushed the door open a little more and led Mal to come in beside her. They heard a couple of voices echoing through the house. Mal recognized Regina's voice, but didn't recognize the man's voice who was talking to her. They both sounded unhappy. Very unhappy. Almost angry even.
Evie seemed to whimper a bit as she heard the yelling. Mal looked over as the yelling bothered her too, though it seemed to hurt Evie a lot more than it did Mal. Was this a normal thing she had to deal with at home? After all, Regina seemed friendly enough already when they met on the morning of Mal's first day of school.
"The school counselor!" The man glared at the black-haired woman, sounding tougher and firmer in his arguing. "Why did you even answer the phone?!"
"What are you even mad about?!" Regina glared back as she was faced with a scruffy-bearded man. "It's not Evie's fault that she wants to talk to the school counselor! Doesn't that bother you?"
"So you told him what's going on?" The man sneered. "We can just talk things out with her, she doesn't need to leave it out in the open for the school to get involved in!"
"I don't need to talk to this to some man who clearly never grew up beyond junior high school!" Regina retorted. "If you wanna be part of this family, you'll do your part and Evie's having a hard enough time already without you doing those horrible things that you do!"
"If you wanna talk about this like adults, I'll be glad to, but I have my own responsibilities too rather than drinking my problems away down at the local tavern!" The man glared before glancing over. "Oh! Ah... Evie..." he then greeted as softly as he could. "Didn't see you there."
"...Hi." Evie said softly.
"Oh... Is that a new friend of yours, Evie?" The man then asked.
"Yes," Regina answered then as Evie looked like she was trying really hard not to cry. "This is Malissa Ignus, she's new in Auradon Heights and is Evie's new friend. They're in the same grade and everything."
"Is that right?" The man then asked Mal.
"...Yeah, that pretty much sums it all up." Mal shrugged as Regina pretty much took care of the introduction for her.
"Well, it's good to meet you," The man replied. "You can call me Sheriff Graham."
"Sheriff Graham?" Mal repeated as he held out his hand for her to shake and she soon shook hands with him.
"Yes, you don't have to worry about crime as long as I'm around," Graham smiled proudly. "Especially in the Mills' family mansion. Are you staying for dinner?"
"Uh, yeah," Mal nodded. "And Evie also offered to let me sleepover."
"Is that all right with your mother, Mal?" Regina asked.
"Yes." Evie answered suddenly.
Regina glanced at her daughter for answering like that.
"Uh, yeah, it's cool," Mal nodded. "I'll call her later to let her know that I'm here so you don't have to, Mayor Mills."
"Hmm... Very well then," Regina replied. "In that case, what would you like for dinner?"
"...You're asking me?" Mal blinked, feeling confused.
"You're our guest," Regina reassured. "Maybe you'd like to pick dinner for us tonight."
"Uh... Steak?" Mal shrugged.
"Steak it is then," Regina smiled. "Evie, why don't you and Mal get settled in your room and check on your brother while you're upstairs? I'll see to dinner."
"And... I'll help out... If I'm allowed." Graham decided.
"Thank you, Graham." Regina said, though she seemed to growl saying his name.
"You're welcome, Regina." Graham replied in almost the same tone.
Mal watched the two adults soon walk away and go into the kitchen together before glancing at Evie. "Your parents seem very interesting together." she then remarked.
"...Mm-hmm." Evie nodded after slight hesitance before taking Mal's hand and leading her up the staircase to the higher floor of the house.
Mal couldn't help but notice that Evie hesitated somehow and looked broken on the inside. She wanted to know what that was about, but decided not to be too forward on their first hang-out session outside of school. They came into Evie's bedroom which was almost like a princess's bedroom and the room was mostly all black and blue with a large bed with a couple of beanbag chairs by the window and there was a desk that was sitting underneath posters of "cute boys" from TV and in movies and a bookcase by the door with several books on display. Mal couldn't believe how big and grand the room seemed, especially compared to hers, but then again, this was a mansion after all.
"Now, I have a spare mattress in the supply closet," Evie suggested. "Would you like that better than the floor?"
"Uh, yeah, I think that I would," Mal nodded. "I just can't believe how big this room is."
"I know, right?" Evie said with a small smile. "Definitely bigger than Henry's back when that room was mine before he was born. I got mad at him about that for a while though."
"Because he stole your room?" Mal guessed with an impish smirk.
"You bet," Evie smirked back as she went to visit the spare closet that was upstairs as well. "I love that little stinker, but he stole a lot of my cool stuff when Mom told me I was going to be a big sister."
Mal laughed a little as she soon sat down in one of the beanbag chairs while looking all around the room. It sure did seem impressive and fancy. She didn't want to leave it as it almost looked too good to be true. Eventually, Evie came back, holding the mattress high above before running into the room and laughed as she crashed on top of the mattress, nearly knocking Mal down on the floor with her.
Mal yelped before she soon laughed too. "Evie, what the hell?!" she then asked.
"I'm just trying to make myself more interesting," Evie smirked as she continued to laugh. "Did it work?"
"Definitely more interesting than I am." Mal smirked back.
The two teenage girls kept on laughing before Evie took a pillow off of her curtained bed and whacked Mal in the face with it. Mal then laughed as she took another pillow and hit Evie back with it. They both laughed for a good time until there was knocking heard on the wall as came the young boy of the household.
"Oh... Henry... Hey." Evie greeted her little brother.
"Evie, I think it's nice that you have a new friend, but can you please tone it down a bit?" Henry replied. "These fractions are kicking my butt! I swear, it's like Ms. Blanchard speaks a different language sometimes!"
"All right, sorry, Henry," Evie sighed and shook her head. "...Do you need some help with your homework?"
"A little..." Henry replied. "Mom's too busy to help right now."
"Yeah, she's cooking dinner downstairs," Mal said as she soon stood up and put her hands in her pockets. "We're gonna have steak."
"...Cool," Henry nodded. "So, uh, a little homework help, please?"
"I'll do my best," Evie said to Henry as she went to go into his room before looking back at Mal. "Do you mind?"
"I guess I don't," Mal simply shrugged. "Older sibs gotta help their younger sibs."
"Indeed." Evie nodded as she went with her little brother into his room.
Mal watched them go and soon sharply sighed as she wondered what to do. She soon came downstairs and saw Regina wiping her eyes from tears that stained her dark chocolate brown eyes. She wasn't chopping onions, so she was clearly and possibly upset with what happened with the man known as Graham. She didn't let the argument prevent her from taking care of dinner though.
"Uh... Mayor Mills?" Mal called as she found her way into the kitchen. "Are you okay?"
"Oh! Hello there, Malissa," Regina said with a small smile as she tried to ignore her own tears. "Aren't you and Evie getting along nicely?"
"She's helping Henry with his homework." Mal shrugged.
"Oh... Good... I meant to do that as soon as we got back from visiting Dr. Whale for his check-up," Regina replied. "So glad to see Evie's being a responsible big sister."
"Are you okay?" Mal asked in concern. "You seem a little... Sad right now."
"Oh... I'm not sad... I'm just... Frustrated," Regina said as she heaved a sharp sigh while trying to keep the corners of her mouth strong enough to hold her toothy smile.
Mal could tell that the woman was trying to hide her true feelings about something, but decided not to pry as it was none of her business.
"Maybe you'd like to help me make dinner until Evie and Henry are done upstairs?" Regina then suggested. "I'm sure you help out your mother all the time in the kitchen, right?"
"Eh... Sometimes, I guess," Mal shrugged as she soon went to wash her hands. "What can I do to help?"
"How about you chop these vegetables?" Regina suggested. "I'll take care of the meat and the sauce? I also think I'll pick some apples from my tree and make my famous turnovers."
"Right... Apple turnovers," Mal nodded, remembering that from when she and her mother first met the woman. "I bet they're, uh... Very good."
"I'm sure you'll find out eventually," Regina smiled warmly. "It's so nice to see Evie having a friend over. She used to be best friends with a girl named Coraline."
"Coraline Hart?" Mal guessed.
"Oh, you know her?" Regina then asked.
"I might've heard about her or run into her a couple of times in school." Mal shrugged as she soon chopped the carrots, being as careful as possible.
"Oh, she and Evie used to be so competitive," Regina sharply sighed. "Coraline always tried to outdo Evie in many things... Who had the cutest smile, who had the better Sweet 6th Birthday Party, who wore it better... And I had to put up with Mary Elizabeth..."
Mal then looked curious of who that was.
"Coraline's mother," Regina then explained, sensing she probably already knew what Mal was thinking. "I'm not sure who's more spoiled and self-absorbed and claiming to be more successful: the mother or daughter."
"I'd say the poisoned apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." Mal smirked a bit.
Regina chuckled a bit. "Very true, my dear, very true," she then said before smirking back. "But you better not remind me of that joke at the next Parent-Teacher Night in school."
"Well, at least you have a better sense of humor than my mother." Mal shrugged bashfully.
"Speaking of your mother, do you know where she is right now?" Regina asked.
"She... She's busy..." Mal replied. "That's why Evie wanted me to come over and spend the night. If I can be welcome here of course."
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, Malissa, you will always be welcome here." Regina smiled sincerely.
A happy glimmer seemed to appear in one of Mal's emerald green eyes. Regina would have no idea how much that meant to the teenage girl. They luckily seemed to bond nicely as Regina soon told Mal where to put the vegetables and they soon washed their hands again and dried their hands together as Evie and Henry finally made it downstairs.
"Ah, good," Regina greeted her children. "Dinner is in the oven for about 45 minutes. Is your homework done?"
"Yes, Mom." Evie nodded.
"Yours too then?" Regina then asked Henry.
"Yeah, Mom." Henry replied.
"A-A-And mine too." Mal piped up.
"Okay, good, you're all on track; I'm very proud and impressed," Regina approved. "I'm going to pick some apples for dessert in the backyard. Why don't you all hang out in the living room and I'll call you when dinner's ready?"
The three seemed to agree and soon walked off together into the living room. Regina had a small smile to that and she soon went in the backyard with a basket to pick some juicy red apples.
"Whoa... It's like a home theater in here..." Mal remarked with how big the living room couch was and it nearly completed in a full square with several pillows and some had bars to recline the seats back.
There was also a rather large television set with a video game console hooked up and cabinets filled with DVDs and there were a few remotes on the couch.
"Would you believe Mom got this couch half-off?" Evie remarked as she soon went to pick up the right remote to use, pointing it to the TV to flip it on.
"...There's another half?" Mal asked, sounding confused.
Henry chuckled a little, thinking that she was just joking. "Good one." he then said to her.
Mal looked even more confused, but just shrugged as it was probably not important, so she decided not to ask.
"Hey, Henry, wanna show Mal your new video game?" Evie suggested as she soon collapsed right onto the couch right behind her, putting her feet up as she crossed her arms, holding the remote close in hand.
"Uh... All right." Henry nodded.
"I thought we were gonna watch Mickey's Creek?" Mal commented.
"Shh~" Evie shushed her friend with a small smirk. "That won't be on 'til later."
"Oh... Okay..." Mal then shrugged.
"All right," Henry soon said to his older sister's suggestion as he went to the cabinet and took out a case for a game, showing it to Mal. "This is Eragon. You have to fight using combat training and magic spells and you get your own dragon called Saphira. Eragon finds this blue stone that is actually a dragon egg where Saphira comes from and the king finds out about it and there's this wickedly bad dude named Durza..."
Mal did her best to listen to what Henry had to say, but she honestly found herself losing her train of thought. She had no idea who these characters were or what he was talking about. Henry then decided to put the game in and he began to play it.
"...You cool with him playing this?" Mal asked Evie.
"I just thought it'd keep him busy so that we could talk," Evie replied. "Once it's game time, he doesn't notice anything else unless Mom calls him for dinner."
"Yeah, right," Mal shrugged and rolled her eyes. "No one's that invested in a video game."
"Oh, yeah? Watch this," Evie smirked before she called out right behind her younger brother as he mindlessly played the video game. "FIRE! FIRE!"
Henry didn't even flinch or react to that as he kept mashing the buttons on his controller.
"Heh... That's kinda funny..." Mal chuckled. "Um... Henry, a wolf just chewed off my ankle!" she then called out.
Henry simply blinked as he focused on the game.
"Henry, I hate you and you're adopted." Evie teased with a small smirk as she would never mean or say that.
"Ooh! Brutal, Evie!" Mal winced before laughing a bit.
"Henry-" Evie then went to continue.
"I can hear you. I just choose not to listen to you to annoy you. I don't take being adopted or hated very well. That stings, Evelyn." Henry replied, sounding almost like a zombie as he played his game with his eyes metaphorically glued to the screen.
"Ooh, snap~" Mal smirked as she bit her lip.
"Okay... I'm sorry..." Evie sighed before smiling as she hugged him suddenly and he paused his game to look back up at her. "You know that I'm always going to love you no matter what, right?"
"...Yeah," Henry replied softly before smirking. "And I grow fond of you, Evie."
"Oh! You little stinker!" Evie smirked back and she soon grabbed him and head locked him, making him drop his controller as he paused the game before she gave him a bit of a noogie. "Take this, Squirt!"
"Oh, no! No! Ah! AAAAUGH!" Henry yelped and squirmed before he shoved her back and laughed.
Evie soon laughed along with him. Mal watched them and looked a bit soft and emotional, though she admired the bonding between the two.
"Can I go back and help Eragon now?" Henry soon asked.
"Go ahead, Henry," Evie smirked. "If you need any help, you can always ask me for help, even if I'm a rookie."
"Pfft! You're too good to be a rookie," Henry smirked back as he soon picked up his controller and went back to playing. "You're nuthin' but a sister."
"And you're the annoying pet monkey I wish I never got." Evie smirked back.
"You guys are nuts." Mal said from in between laughs.
"Correction: we're part of the Mills family." Henry stated proudly.
Mal rolled her eyes playfully, but smiled as she actually enjoyed looking after Henry with Evie. Henry soon put on his headphones and went back to the game.
"Okay, now he's really out of it," Evie said to Mal. "How was detention? I know, not the best way to spend after school, but at least you survived."
"Yeah, I guess," Mal shrugged. "I saw Ginny Gardener that you told me about and Tilly from homeroom."
"I swear, detention might as well be Tilly's home away from home," Evie rolled her eyes. "My mother is Madame Mayor and yet I'm more afraid of Mrs. Belfrey."
"Hey, I'm kinda scared of her too," Mal defended. "I think I know how to get rid of her though. It depends on where she lives... Like East or West?"
"Whatya mean?" Evie asked.
"Well, we could either dump a bucket of water on her head or crush her with a house," Mal explained with a joking smirk. "Ya know what I mean?"
"Ahhh..." Evie replied with a bit of laughter. "I don't think it's gonna be that easy, Mal. Who else was there? No one dangerous, I hope."
"Well, I saw that girl Uma and she had two boys with her-" Mal began to explain.
"Harry and Gil." Evie already knew.
"They her bodyguards or something?" Mal then asked.
"Something like that," Evie replied. "They're pretty dangerous. I hope they didn't talk you into pranking someone hard or something."
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Mal shook her head, she then remembered how she ran into Uma at the beach and wanted to mention it, but decided not to because of a planned surprise. "It's nothing, really."
"Hmm... Well, I'm glad she didn't hurt you," Evie said softly as she nodded. "Uma can be pretty dangerous sometimes. I don't know much about her mother, but she seems dangerous too."
"I'm glad I'm not hurt either." Mal nodded.
Evie then smiled warmly as Mal smiled back. Henry also smiled, though he was mostly excited about collecting power-ups in his game as he was truly unaware of what the girls were talking about this time. Evie soon bit her lip as she heard her mother's voice muffled after the back door opened and closed. Mal couldn't help but notice that.
"Oh, so you're too busy to join your daughter's new friend for dinner tonight? That's just fan-freakin'-tastic!" Regina's voice could be heard struggling, sounding high in anger and disappointment. "No, no, I'm not upset... I just thought maybe you'd take time away from work and be with your damned family for once! ...FINE! STAY THERE! SEE IF I CARE! In fact, don't even bother coming home unless you have an apology ready!"
"E-Evie...?" Mal called to her friend who looked shaken from the sound of her mother yelling. "A-A-Are you gonna be okay?"
"...It'll be fine, Mal," Evie said in a shallow voice. "Mom's just having a bad day today."
"Sounds more than just a bad day," Mal nodded. "Do your Mom and Dad fight a lot?"
Evie suddenly faced Mal with very wide eyes. She nearly looked like a deer in headlights and even shivered and trembled like one. Something about that question bugged her.
"Evie...?" Mal asked, concerned and suddenly feeling guilty from asking that question, but what was so bad about it?
"...Dinner should be ready soon," Evie changed the subject. "Hopefully anyway. So you helped my mom make dinner?"
"Uh, yes... Yes, I did," Mal nodded. "I'm probably not the best cook around, but hopefully it's still good."
"...I'm sure it will be," Evie said with a small smile, though she spoke in a shallow voice. "Mom's a pretty good cook. You'll love it."
"Yeah... Steak..." Mal smiled back. "I'm also interested in trying her turnovers."
Eventually, Regina called the kids into the dining room for dinner. It was mostly quiet as the only sounds they heard were crickets chirping outside the window the grandfather clock in the living room ticking endlessly. The dinner seemed to be very good for the most part and they could smell the sweet and warm aroma of the apple turnovers for dessert in the oven, but focused on the juicy, tender, and slightly crispy steak they currently ate. It was a bit of a quiet dinner overall. Mal noticed that Graham wasn't at the dinner table, but decided not to question it. She liked eating with Regina, Evie, and Henry though. It felt like a real family... Aside from Graham's absence that is.
"Oh, Mom, this steak is really great tonight," Evie said. "What did you do with it?"
"I added a bit of red wine to the sauce," Regina said with a small smile. "I just trust you and Henry not to drink from my bottle with it."
"Not until we're 21." Henry piped up.
"Exactly," Regina nodded. "Do you like it too, Henry?"
"I do," Henry replied. "A lot better than Salisbury steak in the cafeteria."
"I can vouch for that." Mal added as a light joke.
Regina had a small amused smile from that as they all tucked into their nice and wonderful dinner together. They shared some stories and jokes that just made the overall feeling very cozy and warm, especially for Mal. Almost like she never truly experienced that before. And before the girls knew it, it was time for Henry to go to bed and Regina told them that they could watch TV in the other room quietly before going to bed and reminded them to not be too loud and go to bed on time since she had to work in her office right now.
"Remember the rules, girls." Regina told the two teenage girls as she was about to help Henry get into bed tonight.
"We will, Mom," Evie promised. "Good night."
"Good night, Madame Mayor." Mal added.
"Good night, girls." Regina smiled as she soon went to her home office.
And so, Mal and Evie were alone for the evening as they got comfortable in their pajamas and sat on the living room couch. Evie soon clicked through the TV channels before she soon made it to a dramatic and spooky-looking show that had teenagers together.
"Previously on Mickey's Creek..." A dark and dramatic voice narrated on the TV.
There were colorful teenagers on screen. Mal sat quietly and patiently to see what the show was like and all about. Evie explained the show to Mal while the recap was on screen and it sounded very absurd and kind of stupid when heard about out loud: Mickey was the main character and hero who was the most popular boy in school, Minnie was a curious and scared girl who was hopelessly in love with Mickey, Goofy was a bit of a social outcast and not very intelligent and was Mickey's best friend, Daisy was the spoiled rich girl who almost usually got everything she always wanted, Donald was her short-tempered, bad boy boyfriend, and Penny was the clumsy, but very smart girl. Together, they solved mysteries in their own as well as go through teenage drama such as break-ups, popular cliques to join, and a lot more hardcore drama and darker themes than in a regular high school. It was considered to be a "dark and edgy" series that a lot of teenage girls ate up, though Mal didn't see much of the appeal. It looked pretty ridiculous and cheesy and to her shock, she found Evie laughing at some of the things that Mal found stupid about it.
"Evie, you're laughing at this...?" Mal asked her new friend.
"Of course I am!" Evie smirked. "Isn't it awful?"
"You mean... You're making fun of this show?" Mal asked.
"That's why I like watching it," Evie replied. "It's perfect riffing material."
"Oh..." Mal blinked. "I thought you actually liked it like Audrey in school or whatever."
"I just like making fun of it," Evie smirked. "It's so cheesy, especially whenever Donald and Daisy look like they're gonna break-up for good, but they just make up by the time the episode ends. It's like watching a trainwreck: it's so horrible and gruesome, but you just have to laugh at it," she then explained. "You seemed like the kind of girl who would do that," she then frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mal. Did you actually like this?"
"No way!" Mal replied. "I was just worried I'd hurt your feelings if I said that this looked like the stupidest thing ever."
The two girls soon started laughing together as this seemed to turn out a lot better than they both had expected. They continued to watch the show as they talked about the disappearance of some character named Oswald who Evie told Mal was a missing character who was often mentioned at times, but never actually seen like it was a mystery that haunted the town. It was a very funny show, even though it wasn't meant to be a comedy: the over-acting, the cheesy drama themes, the forced tear-jerkers... It was very cheesy and lame, but Mal hoped to see more with Evie again someday.
Later on, the girls were in Evie's bedroom as the owner of the bed was reading a magazine while Mal was washing up in the bathroom and soon came into the room. "Ready to go to bed?" she then asked her friend.
"Yeah, I guess," Mal nodded. "So I guess we should go to bed now, huh?"
"Yeah, we might as well," Evie smiled. "Mom tends to overreact if she hears more giggling than sleeping though. Though I wanna ask you something before we go to sleep."
"Yeah?" Mal replied as she soon sat on the mattress beside Evie's bed and made herself comfortable. "What's that?"
"Truth or Dare?" Evie smirked.
"Huh?" Mal blinked.
"Come on," Evie insisted. "Truth... Or Dare?"
"Uh... Truth, I guess," Mal shrugged. "You don't know much about me anyway."
"I know, that's why I asked," Evie giggled. "Um... Do you have a crush on anyone in school yet?"
Mal's eyes widened as she turned red in the face. "...I changed my mind," she then said. "Dare me to eat an extra apple turnover or something."
"Sorry, Mally, but it doesn't work that way," Evie smirked as she soon came to the end of her bed, lying down on her stomach with her feet in the air. "C'mon... You can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone in school and not even Mom and Henry."
"Oh, fine," Mal sighed and pouted before she hugged her pillow. "Uh... Well... I'd like to get to know him better... Without Audrey knowing of course... But that seems to be a challenge."
Evie glanced at Mal, but she stayed silent to hear more of what her friend wanted to say.
"But... Ben seems interesting..." Mal then said.
"Ohh... Ben..." Evie then nodded.
"Do you know him pretty well?" Mal asked.
"Just a little bit," Evie shrugged. "But you shouldn't look at him that way as long as Audrey has tabs on him. They used to date."
"Yeah, I heard," Mal nodded. "I just feel like I should talk to him. Everyone talks about him like he's a celebrity or some prince."
"Well, he is class president," Evie remarked. "So, yeah, he's a pretty big deal in school. Also he's Audrey's ex-boyfriend so that means no one can go out with him or anything like that."
"But why not?" Mal asked. "That doesn't make any sense!"
"That's just the rules of high school," Evie shrugged. "I don't make them, I just report them. I also don't want you to get hurt. I've only known you for a little over a week, Mal, so I don't wanna see you get hurt. You're like a sister to me."
Mal flinched slightly, but felt very touched. "T-Thanks, Evie..." she said softly. "That means a lot to me."
"It means a lot to me too," Evie smiled. "I've always wanted a sister. That's why there's some baby pictures of Henry wearing a dress and playing Tea Party with me."
"Oh, there is not!" Mal smirked and shook her head.
"Yeah-huh, you haven't seen them!" Evie retorted as she smirked back.
"Uh-huh... Right..." Mal rolled her eyes playfully. "So... How about you?"
"Hm?" Evie blinked as she sipped from her glass of water. "How about me what?"
"Do you have a crush on anybody from school?" Mal smirked.
Evie's eyes widened as she coughed and nearly shot water out her nose as she smiled bashfully. "Uh... Maybe?"
"Evie... When you say maybe... Do you mean yes?"
"...Maybe?"
Mal giggled a bit.
Evie soon took a sip of her water once her coughing fit stopped, though she took the time to drink all of the water while Mal crossed her arms and tapped her foot, almost impatiently. "Chad." she then said with a small smile.
"Chad?" Mal asked.
"Yeah~" Evie smirked before she took out her phone and fumbled with it a little bit before she held it out to show a picture of the "gorgeous and stunning" blonde boy. "Charles Princely AKA Chad."
"Him?!" Mal asked before laughing a bit. "He seems like a real douche!"
"He is not!" Evie gasped and pouted firmly. "We are soulmates!"
"Really?" Mal asked dryly as she raised an eyebrow.
"Well, we will be someday... I'm gonna try to talk to him before the next game against The Neverland Pirates~" Evie giggled a bit as she bit her fist. "We have the same Science Class~"
"Sure, Evie, I'm sure he'll totally love you," Mal replied sarcastically before she laughed. "I'm sorry, but he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who's more in love with himself than anyone else."
"Well, luckily we already have something in common then." Evie smirked hopefully.
"And I'll be sure to meet your children: Chad Jr, Chad II, and Chad the Third." Mal rolled her eyes.
"Oh! Just for that, you're not invited to the wedding." Evie pouted.
"I think his guests that are all mirrors pointing in his direction will thank you." Mal teased.
"That's it!" Evie smirked as she slapped her pillow right in Mal's face.
"Oof!" Mal grunted before glaring as Evie giggled. "Oh, so that's how you want it, huh?"
"Yeah," Evie smirked before she spoke in a singsong voice. "I... Want... It... That wa-a-a-ay~"
"You asked for it, Princess." Mal smirked back as she grabbed her own pillow and hit Evie right back.
"Hey! You can't hurt me!" Evie cried out while laughing. "I'm the mayor's daughter!"
"Ooh, you poor baby," Mal smirked. "I guess you're gonna have to arrest me now."
The two girls soon laughed, a bit loudly as they beat each other with their pillows back and forth for a while. However, it got louder and more intense than either one anticipated before they heard thumping from the floor. Evie and Mal soon covered each other's mouths once they heard the thumping.
"GIRLS! GO TO SLEEP!" Regina's voice called sharply. "HENRY IS TRYING TO SLEEP AND I HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO NOW!"
"Sorry, Mom!/Madam Mayor!" Evie and Mal called back nervously.
"GOOD NIGHT!" Regina's voice then said.
"Night!" The girls responded and nodded.
"Guess we should go to bed now." Evie bashfully smiled at her friend.
"Yeah, I guess we should... We had a big day today anyway..." Mal said before she then yawned a little and went to get comfortable on the mattress. "G'night, Evie... Thanks so much for letting me sleepover."
"Night, Mal," Evie nodded as she got comfortable in her bed and slid down her pink mask over her eyes. "Sweet dreams... And you're welcome."
So soon, the girls drifted off to sleep after such a full day together. Mal had a small smile as she fell asleep as she really loved spending time with Evie and her family, though she was a little sad on the inside because she knew that it couldn't last.