AN: Pretty long one for my last chapter right before my winter break ends. Not ecstatic to be going back to having schoolwork, due dates, and more regular practice (I'm majoring in music, classical guitar), but hey. Education's important. That said, definitely going to slow down updates, so sorry about that, but the things we've gotta do, u know?

So, Fanfic user Stoffe asked if I'd be doing flashbacks to Evie, Mal, and Ben's first meetings and the answer is yes (this chapter). Well, kinda. It's Evie's first meetings with Mal and Ben as well as Anthony (and technically Doug too, but that's insignificant), plus a little "bonus," I guess.

I might do a first meeting for just Mal and Ben since, as mentioned in chapter 9, they'd met earlier or I might just have them tell the story themselves but in some more detail than what little has already been revealed in that same chapter, but I haven't decided yet. Obviously Evie's my favourite and out of the three dynamics of the throuple, Bal is very much, by far my least favourite (which I guess is ironic since I've made them the established pairing lol), so I risk not doing a great job in terms of chemistry probably if I do decide to do the actual flashback. But we'll see. Anyway…

Trigger warnings: highly toxic relationship (manipulation, harassment, non-sexual non-con).

Auradon High School, Mal and Ben's first day of freshman year…

Ben quickly kissed his girlfriend goodbye and told her that he loved her before she entered her French classroom and he started heading towards his geography one.

As he was walking down the hall though, he caught sight of a gorgeous brunette girl going in the opposite direction. He truly didn't mean to and he really shouldn't have since he already had a girlfriend whom he loved with all his heart. Nevertheless, his stare couldn't help but latch onto the girl.

Their eyes met as they were about to pass by each other and Ben was sure she caught him gazing and was going to send him anything from a shy expression to an irritated one.

Instead, she actually gave him a bright and warm smile that momentarily took his breath away and daintily waved her fingers at him.

He returned a smile of his own and a single nod, probably with a stupidly stunned look in his eyes, but if she noticed she didn't let on. She simply continued walking and went down the same hall that his girlfriend's class was in.

Meanwhile, Ben wasn't the only one immediately taken by the gorgeous, brunette girl. Inside the classroom, Mal's eyes seemed to gravitate towards the door the second the girl entered the room.

Her heart began to race at the mere sight of her and it only quickened when her friend Carlos, who was sitting beside her, waved the girl over and motioned for her to sit at the empty desk in front of him.

"Evie! I'm so happy we're finally going to school together! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this!" the freckled boy enthused as, who Mal assumed was, his friend settled into her seat, "Eves, this is my friend Mal. She's one of Jay's best friends, remember?"

"Right! Of course. You're the artist, right?" Evie asked, her voice the softest and most soothing sound the other girl had ever heard in her life, with a warm and friendly smile.

She felt like she could listen to that voice all day, every day and never get tired of hearing it.

"Uh, I wouldn't really say 'artist,' but I dabble I guess," the blonde denied, though with an appreciative grin.

"Ah, don't be modest, Mal. This girl's gonna be the next Banksy," Carlos told her, bumping her lightly in the arm with his knuckles, "And, Mal, this is my best friend Evie. She's the one who lives next door to me and who I've known literally since I was born and she's also gonna be the next Idina Menzel."

"Oh my god! Carlos, you're the sweetest!" Evie gushed, blushing a bit at her best friend's high praise.

"You really are, Freckles," Mal agreed with a teasing grin at the nickname, which earned her a good-natured eye-roll.

The blonde wanted to talk to Evie a lot more, but unfortunately their teacher started class right then. Luckily though, the first-day activity was just to partner up with a fellow classmate and get to know them, in French of course.

Before anyone could beat her to it, Mal immediately asked Evie if she'd like to partner up.

"Um…" the girl hesitated a bit, glancing at Carlos as if seeking permission.

Said boy looked a bit confused as he analyzed the two girls. However, upon apparently having noticed something in Mal's comportment, he furrowed his eyebrows a bit in slight suspicion and concern. Nevertheless, he, albeit hesitantly, shrugged and turned away to ask the girl beside Evie to partner up instead. He believed her name was Freddie Facilier.

Evie shrugged as well, though with a smile on her face, and accepted Mal's offer, switching seats with Carlos for the activity, which made the blonde internally cheer for herself.

"Alors, parles-tu en français déjà? Au moins un peu? [So, do you already speak French? At least a little?] Or do you not speak French at all and this was just a throwaway class?" the brunette asked with a light chuckle at the end as she faced Mal.

The other girl, impressed with her pretty good accent, replied, "Non, je parle vraiment le français. Ben, un peu. J'ai des ancêtres français, alors ma mère a décidé que je prenne des leçons quand j'étais plus jeune. En plus, la famille de mon chum maintenant et lui, ils parlent un peu le français aussi. Toutefois, je les ai seulement endurés jusqu'à la sixième année. [No, I really do speak French. I mean, a bit. I have French ancestors, so my mom decided that I take a couple lessons when I was younger. And plus, my boyfriend now and his family speak French a little too. However, I only endured them until the sixth grade.]"

"Aw, c'est cute ça, avec ton chum et sa famille! Parlez-vous en français parfois ou seulement en anglais? [Aw, that's cute, with your boyfriend and his family! Do you guys speak in French sometimes or just in English?]" Evie asked curiously.

"Seulement en anglais. Nous avons essayé, mais nous sommes tous les deux pas assez compétents en français d'être capables de maintenir des conversations trop longues sans trébucher ou oublier des mots, comme je le fais un peu maintenant, heh. [Only in English. We'd tried, but neither of us are adept enough in French to be able to maintain long conversations without tripping up or forgetting words, like I'm kinda doing right now, heh.]" Mal answered, inexplicably happy at the genuine interest in her relationship, "Et vous? Ton accent est fort, alors t'es définitivement pas une newbie. [What about you? Your accent's strong, so you're definitely no newbie.]"

Evie giggled so cutely and replied, "Merci! Ton accent est très bon aussi. Ben, évidement, heh. [Thank you! Your accent's really good too. I mean, obviously, heh.]

"Um, j'ai pris des leçons comme toi, mais par choix, heh. Cela fait environ quatre ans maintenant. Aussi, ça fait depuis que je suis environ une toute-petite que je parle l'espagnol à cause de mes parents, alors mon accent en espagnol aide probablement avec mon accent en français et avec la compréhension de quelques mots parce qu'il y en a qui sont très similaires. [Um, I took lessons like you, but by choice, heh. It's been about four years now. Also, I've been speaking Spanish since I was like a toddler because of my parents, so my Spanish accent probably helps with my French accent and with understanding some words because there are some that are really similar.]

"J'adore la langue et elle m'intéresse beaucoup. C'est pourquoi je prends le français et non l'espagnol, pour m'améliorer. Et parce que je préfère un vrai défi éducationnel au lieu d'un A facile.[I love the language and it really interests me. That's why I'm taking French instead of Spanish, to better myself. And because I prefer a real educational challenge instead of an easy A.]"

"Câlice, t'es impressionnante!"—Mal, language!—"'Scuse! Mais for real là, t'es sérieusement impressionnante. Un peu d'une binoclarde peut-être, mais toutefois impressionnante. Comme, t'es trilingue et apparement tu chantes? [Damn, you're impressive!—Mal, language—Sorry! But for real, you're seriously impressive. A little bit of a nerd, sure, but nevertheless impressive. Like, you're trilingual and apparently you sing?]" Mal exclaimed, her interest in this girl growing by the second.

"Uh, un peu. [Uh, a little.]" the brunette responded, blushing a little.

"A little? That's the understatement of the century. She sings, dances, acts, composes—You name it!" Carlos interjected.

"Carlos, en français s'il-te-plaît! [Carlos, in French please!]"

"Sorry! I mean pardon!" the freckled boy replied with a (significantly) less adequate accent than his two girl-friends, which made them laugh.

Right then, Mal undoubtedly decided three things: One, only Evie could make a snort-laugh adorable. Two, said snort-laugh was absolutely contagious. And three, she wanted to learn anything and everything she could do to trigger that adorable, contagious snort-laugh.

French class ended and Mal found herself actually disappointed because, in only one period, she was already hooked on Evie. It felt like something she'd never known she was missing had finally been found, but it didn't make any sense to her. How was that even possible? How could she find something she didn't even know she was looking for?

She was also, however, immensely worried about what this meant for her relationship with Ben. Though it was still pretty new and they were still just fourteen-year-olds, Mal had an undeniable feeling that Ben was the one for her. But was he the only one? Could she even have more than one "one"?

She really had to talk to him as soon as possible, but it wasn't a discussion for school hours. If she brought up the fact that she could be interested in someone else and she upset Ben, he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else. She would ruin his first day of high school. She couldn't do that to him. It seemed as though she'd have to wait until the end of the day.

"So, what're your next classes?" Carlos asked as he, Evie, and Mal packed up their things, getting ready to leave.

"Science with Mr. Darby," the brunette girl replied.

"Damn. Geography with Mrs. Peters," the freckled teenager said, "Mal?"

"Honestly, I have no idea and I can't really bring myself to care," the shortest replied with a short laugh, "I forgot it in my locker."

"No offence, Mal, but I really think you should care. I took a picture of mine on my phone just in case I forgot the physical paper. We only have so much time in between classes," Evie cautiously commented.

Anyone else and it would've pissed Mal off that they were sticking their nose into business that was only her own, especially when it came to school. However, she couldn't find it within herself to be annoyed with Evie.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm going to my locker anyway to meet up with my boyfriend before class though, so it's whatever," Mal responded with a shrug, before starting to reluctantly separate from the other two, "Well, I'm going this way, so I guess I'll see you around, Evie?"

The brunette grinned and nodded, replying, "Yeah! Of course! It was really great meeting you, Mal. I'm excited to talk to you again tomorrow."

"Well, we don't have to wait so long," the shorter girl suggested, unlocking her phone and holding it out for Evie.

If Carlos didn't know any better, he could've sworn Mal was borderline flirting and his childhood friend was blushing a little in response as she accepted the phone and entered her number into the other girl's contacts. Curious…

"Awesome," the blonde commented, taking her phone back and smiling at it, "Expect a message soon."

With that, she was off to meet up with Ben before she planned on dipping out for the rest of the day with Jay, Uma, and Harry. She met Evie and she was about to see her boyfriend again. Seemed like enough of a successful first day of high school to her.

Meanwhile, Carlos insisted on walking Evie to her next class, mainly so that they could spend more time together before they had to split up too.

"What a gentleman," the brunette giggled, lightly bumping shoulders with her best friend.

"For you? Always," the freckled teenager replied jokingly but still with completely sincere meaning.

"So, Mal really is as cool as you said she is," Evie commented.

"Right? She's literally the coolest!" Carlos exclaimed.

He really looked up to Mal, despite only being months younger than her. She was like the cool older sibling he aspired to be like. Well, maybe except for a couple things.

"She is. Just…Does she always—" Evie hesitantly said.

"Give zero shits about her education and responsibilities? Yeah, kinda. Alright. I'll admit, she isn't perfect, but the guy she's dating is a really, like, good guy and I think he's gonna influence her for the better maybe a little," Carlos explained, "Trust me though. She's a really good person herself once you get to know her."

"No, I don't doubt it. She does seem really nice and I really would love to get to know her and become friends. It's just—I don't think my mom would really approve of me hanging out with her. She'd probably think she's a bad influence just based off of her leather jacket alone. Never mind the fact that she obviously doesn't seem to care about school and doesn't seem all too concerned about hiding it," the brunette admitted.

It sounded like a lame excuse, but Evie and her mom were super close. She considered her mother to be one of her best friends really. She told her mom everything and even if she didn't do it by choice, she could never lie to her. She didn't think she'd be able to go through with it and she also didn't think her mom would even believe any lie she'd tell.

Her mom though was really protective of her since it was just the two of them at home. Chances are she'd think Mal was trouble and, though she'd never force her daughter not to talk to someone, she definitely wouldn't approve and that wouldn't sit right with Evie.

"Right. Yeah, I get it. My mom's still not really crazy about me hanging out with her and Jay and their friends," Carlos confessed, understanding where Evie's apprehension to get close to Mal was coming from, "But hey. Like I said, I'm pretty optimistic being around Ben and his family might, you know, free her from the dark side of the force."

Evie laughed and told her friend, "You're such a nerd!"

"Says the one who told Mal she likes an 'educational challenge'," Carlos fired back, chuckling at her too.

"Okay! You know what!" the brunette began to protest as she lightly pushed her friend's shoulder, though inadvertently cutting herself off when she accidentally bumped into a tall, muscular figure, "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!"

The person turned, revealing himself to be an attractive dirty-blond boy with short, slightly spiky hair; clear blue eyes; and a long, angular face. His lips were down-turned at first, but once those blue eyes fell upon the one who'd bumped into him, they slipped into a very charming smirk.

Evie's breath caught in her throat and she nervously mumbled as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "Um, h-h-hi. Um, I-I'm so sorry. I-I wasn't looking."

The blond boy chuckled lightly and replied, "Hey, no stress. Shit happens. I'm just glad I didn't hurt you…uh…sorry…"

The girl giggled shyly in response, feeling a faint flap of butterfly wings inside her stomach, as she finished for him, "Evie."

"Evie," the boy repeated curiously, "Pretty name for a very pretty girl. Anthony"—he pointed at her with an inquiring look—"Freshman?"

"That obvious?" Evie asked, blushing at the very recent memory of bumping into this guy.

"Not because of that. Swear," Anthony replied with a chuckle, "I just definitely would've remembered your face."

All the brunette could muster was another shy giggle in response.

"We should be getting to class now, but I'll make sure to see you around again, Evie," the blond said, flashing the girl another smile before leading his entourage of three other built guys away.

"Okay," Evie giddily replied, her eyes following the handsome parting figure, then turned back to Carlos and frantically questioned, "Oh my god! Did a super cute, older guy just talk to me?"

"Uh, no. A 'super cute, older guy' just straight up hit on you," the freckled teenager corrected, laughing at his shocked friend, "Why are you so surprised, Eves? You're a catch! Anybody would be lucky to have a chance with you! Hell, if I was even just a little straight, you'd be top of my list. No question."

Evie laughed with him as she rolled her eyes and told him to "Come on!" before continuing down the hall towards her science class.

As they approached the door, they caught sight of Audrey heading towards the same destination.

"Hey, Audrey! Ask Evie about her break! Later!" Carlos shouted before dashing off for his own classroom without giving Evie the opportunity to scold him.

"Wha—'Los!" the brunette yelled after him, only getting a fleeting view of his cheeky, little smirk.

Audrey watched the two in amused curiosity and she immediately questioned the other girl with a quirked eyebrow, "so, your break?"

"Oh my god!" Evie groaned, a bright blush painting her cheeks, as she walked past her best friend and into the classroom, trying and failing to ignore the laughing following her.

Meanwhile, Ben and Mal arrived outside the classroom just after the two girls had entered. They stopped at the wall of lockers beside the door, the latter leaning back against the cold metal.

"Okay, you better get going, Mal, or you're gonna be late. Love you," Ben hurriedly said, giving his girlfriend a quick kiss goodbye.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about me. I'll see you later, babe," the blonde replied, watching to make sure her boyfriend stayed in his classroom.

As soon as Ben was out of sight for sure, three people approached her.

"You good?" Jay asked.

"Yep! Let's go," Mal easily replied, the group walking towards the closest back exit and successfully leaving without being spotted.

Inside the science classroom, Evie had just finished telling Audrey about her first encounter with Anthony and she was absolutely gushing, though as quietly as possible.

"Oh my god! I'm so proud of you, Eves. My little girl's growing up," Audrey said over-dramatically, one hand over her heart and the second pretending to wipe a tear away from her eyes.

"Oh my god, Aud. Calm down. You don't even know he really meant it. He could very well completely forget this ever even happened by the end of the period," Evie told her excited best friend, putting the other girl's hands back down onto the table.

"Uh, no. Babes, he said that he'd remember your face and honestly, I'm with him. Who could forget this?" Audrey replied, cradling her friend's jaw with both hands, "Ooh! Benny Boo! Dougie! Come here!"

Both boys, who'd just walked in, shared a confused expression before obeying the order.

Ben, however, paused before the table wherein the two girls sat and just stared in silent awe and appreciation of the gorgeous face that'd passed him by in the halls earlier. She was even prettier up close, despite her cheeks being a little squished in Audrey's hold, which actually only made her look even cuter to be honest.

"Could either of you ever forget a gorgeous face like hers?" Audrey demanded, showing them the other brunette girl's face and silently urging them to just go with it and agree.

Although, neither boy really needed any extra incentive. Both of them simply shook their heads fervently, making googly eyes at the girl. Doug's glasses even started to fog up a bit.

"Exactly! See? I rest my case," Audrey declared, before giving her best friend a quick kiss on the cheek and finally releasing her. She then gestured towards the chairs at the two boys who, again, obeyed her orders without question,"Sit! Sit! Boys, this is my best friend Evie. She and I both came from the same grade school. Evie, this is Doug and my first friend I've told you about, Ben."

"Hi," Evie greeted the two with a little wave, "Ben and I actually saw each other in the halls earlier."

"Heigh…ho…" Doug muttered, confusing Evie a bit and making Audrey have to bite her lip lightly to prevent a giggle from escaping.

"Okay," Evie drawled, albeit maintaining a friendly smile on her face, then whispered in genuine concern to her best friend, "Is he okay or should I get the teacher?"

This time, Audrey couldn't hold her little laugh in as she replied, just as quietly in order to spare at least a bit of embarrassment on the boy's behalf, "No. That's just Doug. He's not very…used to pretty girls, or any really for that matter, talking to him. He did this when Jane and I each first met him and he'll probably do it when he eventually meets Lonnie too."

Evie nodded in understanding then subtly pointed to Ben and asked, "Him too?"

Audrey squinted at her first friend suspiciously, just then noticing his behaviour, and answered, "No. Not usually. Just once before." And mentally added, "With his current girlfriend."

"So, what did you guys have before this?" Evie asked, trying to start an actual conversation with both boys.

Doug merely stuttered incomprehensible sounds while Ben managed to utter, "Uh. Um. G-geography. Mrs. Peters."

"Oh! What a coincidence! My best friend has that same class right now! Was it good?" Evie inquired.

"E-eh," the boy replied with a noncommittal shrug, his mind yelling at him to say an actual sentence to her but his mouth unable to obey.

"Oh. Okay." Evie deflated a bit, getting the unfortunate and unknowingly completely incorrect impression maybe Ben didn't really want to talk to her.

Luckily for her though, Mr. Darby decided to start the class then, so she was able to distract herself with listening to the introduction instead of the slightly disappointing "conversation".

Meanwhile, Audrey was sending her first friend a "What the hell?" look, to which Ben responded with a blush and hopeless shrug. She rolled her eyes before focusing on the teacher too. Boys.

Mr. Darby finished speaking and it would've been foolish for even freshmen to have hoped that they'd make it through all of their classes without actually needing to work.

It was a simple task though really and it was easy and short enough to be able to finish within the last half hour that the teacher had spared them.

They were starting off with the biology unit and the work was just to copy down the definition of each listed term on their page, using the textbook's glossary. Then they had to provide at least two examples for each definition, using preferably the textbook again, but the internet was allowed.

Evie, though, only needed the exact textbook definitions. She seemingly had similar descriptions to the textbook's already and a mental list of examples for each term already compiled in her brain.

She and Doug, who was apparently able to finally find his voice through discussing school work, were just rattling off one after the other while Ben and Audrey struggled to keep up with listening to their conversations as well as copying down answers.

It didn't help that Ben would also occasionally get caught up just listening to Evie's sweet voice until Audrey was poking him in the ribs with the eraser of her pencil and glaring at him to refocus and stop staring at her best friend.

He felt so bad that he was thinking about another girl while in a relationship with someone he already loved so much. He also was sure Evie was noticing his staring and getting creeped out, but not saying anything to be polite. He wasn't trying to act like such a…boy, but he really couldn't help but be engrossed by the girl and to…almost long for her as if she were something he'd never known he was seeking until then.

"Oh Benny Boo," Audrey whispered to him in a sweet voice before it quickly hardened, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You have a girlfriend already! Does the name 'Mal' ring a bell for you?"

"Audrey, come on. How long have you known me?" Ben replied in a slightly offended tone.

He knew he deserved this treatment from Audrey, really, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Look, I'm sorry, but when you're ogling a girl who isn't your girlfriend, it's kinda my job as your friend to call you out on it," Audrey responded with a little shrug, "Especially when that girl is my best friend, who's so sweet and innocent that she doesn't even realize what you're doing."

"You're right. You're right. I'm sorry," Ben acquiesced, then sighed heavily, "I'm gonna have to talk to Mal later."

"Woah. Ben, that's really loyal of you, but do you really think this is a big enough deal to tell her about it?" Audrey asked in concern.

Over the summer, Ben had been happier than she had ever seen him and she knew it was because of his new relationship with Mal. She didn't want him lying to her or keeping secrets from her either, but she also didn't want anything bad happening between them, especially so soon.

"I have to be honest with her, Aud. And, like, I've never even noticed another girl this way since Mal, so that's gotta mean something, doesn't it? I'd rather talk to her about it straightforward than not do anything and something bad comes from it and I didn't do anything to try and work it out," Ben reasoned.

"Yeah. Okay. I understand. Well, good luck and tell me how it goes, okay?" Audrey said sympathetically.

Ben sighed and replied, "Yeah, thanks. I think I'll need it."

Mal and Ben met up at the end of the school day. He had invited her over while his parents were gone so that they could sort through his whole Evie situation in private.

There was a knock on the front door and the second Ben answered it, both he and Mal urgently told the other in unison, "We need to talk."

"Oh god! We've really become that couple?" Mal groaned in annoyance, scrunching her nose a bit in light-hearted disgust.

Ben ignored the complaint that he usually would've found funny and endearing as he was too anxious at the moment. He gestured for her to enter and they both made their way towards the living room couch.

Once the two were settled, facing each other, Mal requested to go first, which she was granted, and immediately launched into a nervous ramble.

"Okay, I have to tell you something," she said, looking guilty and worried as she played with her hands a bit, "Look, you know that I love you so, so much and you're one of the best things in my life, but…have you ever felt like, I don't know, something's been missing between us since we started dating?

"Oh my god! I just realized how horrible that sounds! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—"

Ben immediately shook his head, gently taking hold of his girlfriend's flailing hands and actually feeling a little sudden relief at her revelation, and reassured her, "No, no! Mal, relax! It's okay. I-I completely understand what you mean! That's what I wanted to talk to you about too. I was so scared of hurting you, but to be honest, I-I've been feeling it too."

"Really? You're not just saying that because I am?" Mal questioned doubtfully.

Ben was so the type of guy who would agree with almost anything, even if he didn't truly, in order to please other people or make them feel better.

"No. Not at all," the boy assured, his voice completely honest, then hesitated a second before cautiously adding, "In fact, since earlier this afternoon, I haven't really been feeling it as much because of…I don't know."

Mal didn't let her boyfriend back out at this point in the discussion though as she just as carefully asked, "Could it maybe be because of someone you've met recently?"

It was a risky question, but they had to get to the bottom of this, together. They needed to tell each other what they were thinking, how they were feeling—they needed to communicate if they were to remain a couple. Especially in a situation this unknown and confusing.

"I-I think, maybe," Ben admitted, a bit unsurely, "I mean, I love you just as much as I did when we first met, if not, more, but…Okay, so here's the thing: I met this girl in my science class and…I don't know. I-I think I might have a little crush on her?

"I-I-I can't really tell. I haven't had a crush on anyone since you. I can barely even remember what it feels like to like someone else romantically. It feels like so long ago—"

"Ben, baby," Mal gently interrupted, placing a comforting hand on the one still holding her other one, as she just then recalled a certain someone having the same science class as her boyfriend, "is there a chance…that this girl you're talking about, is her name Evie? Dark hair, brown eyes, Latina—Colombian, I think."

Ben's eyes lit up at even the mention of her as he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my god! Yes! How'd you know?"

The blonde grinned softly as she too thought of the other girl and replied, "Because that's the girl I think I might have a crush on too. She's in my French class. Carlos introduced me to her. They're best friends I guess and his next-door neighbour."

"Audrey introduced me too. They're best friends too. She's mentioned her tons of times whenever we've hung out, but I'd never actually met her," the athlete informed, happy that they already seemed to have common friends.

It would make getting to know Evie a lot easier than if they'd started off as complete strangers with nothing at all connecting them, except for a single common class at school. That is, if she wanted to get to know them better.

Come to think of it, did Mal and Ben still want to try getting to know her better, despite their feelings for each other and possible ones for her? The simple answer was yes, but nothing about this was simple to them.

After a moment of silence, the two stuck in their own thoughts, Ben finally questioned, "So what? We both like her?"

"I guess?" the artist replied, "I mean, come on. She's the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen; she's the sweetest and cutest thing ever; she's got such an adorable, little giggle and snort laugh—"

"She's really smart too. Watching her write all of those answers in her notebook at the speed of light. It's really so impressive. And kind of intimidating at the same time," the boy added in a slightly dreamy voice, "So what do we do about this? I still love you, but I also think I like this girl."

"Same. I-I don't know," Mal concurred with a light nod and shrug of her shoulders, "Maybe we could try asking my dad? I mean, I've known I'm pan for a while, but he's been a part of the LGBTQ+ community for almost his entire life. I feel like what we're feeling is kinda relevant, so maybe he'd have more insight, I guess, and he could help us figure shit out?"

Ben nodded as well, easily agreeing, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. He could probably provide a good, outside point of view."

"Okay. I'll text him and we can go over later tonight when he gets home from work," Mal said, doing exactly that, before hesitantly adding, "I…I'm really glad we talked this out, Ben. I was so worried you were gonna hate me for liking someone else and I was gonna…ruin us and lose you."

Ben pulled his girlfriend into a tight embrace as he leaned back against the couch, reassuring her, "I could never hate you and I'd do anything to protect what we have—who we are together. I'm really glad we talked too. Trust me, I was probably just as nervous. But we'll figure all this out. I know we will."

Cast & crew party…

"What were your first impressions of the people who you met for the first time on the first day of freshman year in this room?"

Ben flushed at the question while Mal's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Why would he ask that? What did he want to know? Why did he even care about her first impressions of anyone except himself? What was he looking for?

Evie, meanwhile, paled slightly as she knew exactly what Anthony wanted to hear. He wanted her to say that she had fallen in love with him at first sight and that Mal and Ben have always meant nothing to her, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

Well, okay. So she had developed an instant crush on Anthony, but Mal and Ben had never meant nothing to her. Not even close to that. For the longest time, they'd been simply her best friends' best friends, yes, but that still meant something to her. And now, they meant so much more to her than that.

This was surely just Anthony playing another one of his cruel mind games. He was making her choose between her current boyfriend and her current crushes, or as he knew them as, her current principal admirers. Well, if that was the way it was, if she really had to choose between dissatisfying Anthony and hurting Mal and Ben…

"Anthony and I practically fell in love at first sight"—Part one, breathe—"and Mal and Ben and I"—Part two, breathe—"I like to think we formed a special connection. At least, to me," Evie answered, trying to ignore the way her boyfriend immediately tensed beside her.

She would choose the first option every single time.

"I accidentally bumped into Anthony in the hallways and I liked him right away. I thought he was very cute and charming"—Maybe that would calm him down a little—"And I had classes with Mal and Ben and—"

"I've heard enough," Anthony tersely interrupted.

Or maybe not.

"What—Anthony, no! Come on! She didn't finish! Evie, do tell us!" Ally pried, overly yet unabashedly curious about the trio's history, "What else did you think about Mal and Ben? What classes did you share? Science? Because you've surely got chemistry—"

"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!" the football player repeated himself angrily and jealously, a deadly combination for him, "Evie, don't you dare say another word!"

The room went mute right away as tension filled the air, way worse than the silence during Ethan's turn. Carlos wanted to yell at Anthony right back to defend his best friend so badly. However, he was desperately repeating Mal's words from earlier, about not talking shit about nor engaging with Anthony for the night, inside his head like a mantra and by the looks of it, so was she. Although, the rest of their friends seemed so close to bursting as well.

Evie swallowed with difficulty as she hung her head, staring at her fidgeting hands. After another moment of strained silence, she finally muttered without looking up, "I think the game is over now, Anthony. Maybe you should play something else…okay? Wh-why don't you and the guys go play something upstairs?"

Anthony, who was still breathing harder than usual from his yelling, demanded lowly, "Are you really ordering me to do something, Evie?"

"No," the brunette girl answered immediately, making eye contact with her boyfriend through the corners of her eyes, "I'm merely suggesting."

The blond clenched and unclenched his jaw before finally stating more than asking, "You're coming."

Evie withheld a sigh and replied, "Yes. Just give me a moment please. I'll be right there. I'm just gonna get myself another drink."

"Fine. Don't forget one for me," Anthony said as he nodded at his friends and headed towards the stairs with them.

The lead actress watched them leave before releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and then rushing off towards the kitchen, her long locks forming protective curtains around her reddened face. She had to work really hard to ignore all of the eyes following her until she was out of sight.

Once Evie was gone, the remaining partygoers reunited with their friends and then began the gossip about what had happened throughout the entire truth or dare game, the main topic obviously being Evie and Anthony's twisted relationship.

Mal felt a light backhand on her bicep and she turned towards the source, otherwise known as Uma, who merely nodded her head towards the kitchen. She looked behind her at her boyfriend, who was staring back at her with a concerned expression that probably mirrored her own. She then sought Carlos and Audrey out and received perturbed but urging looks as they pointed towards the kitchen as well with their eyes.

The blonde returned her gaze to Uma and she simply nodded and tapped on Ben's hand, directing him to "Come on."

The couple got up and walked towards the kitchen, making sure no one was planning on following them to either watch or interrupt.

When they entered the room, they found Evie just leaning forward against the island, assumably trying to recompose and/or mentally prepare herself to face her boyfriend again.

At the sound of their footsteps, she looked up and quickly turned her head so that she could wipe away any traces of her vulnerability. However, when she turned back, she didn't even try to smile as she told the two, "I'm so sorry about him. I know he's not really a fun person for anyone but his own friends to be around when he's drunk."

"Sober either," Mal wanted to say, but instead she said as reassuringly yet as devoid of details as she could in order to not upset the girl any further, "None of that was your fault. Please don't apologize for him."

"If anything, we're sorry we didn't do anything to help," Ben added.

"No," Evie immediately replied, shaking her head, albeit with a small but genuine smile finally gracing her gorgeous face, "I'm actually really grateful for you guys having not done anything. I wouldn't have wanted to cause an even bigger scene than what has already transpired.

"Not that I think you would've worsened anything because I don't. At all. Anthony just gets so…confrontational that he would've kept pushing back and pushing back until he finally won or…"

"We—Evie, trust us. We didn't think that. Not even for a second," Ben assured.

"I actually kinda figured you wouldn't have wanted us to do anything tonight," Mal confessed, "Gotta admit it was pretty hard though, heh."

The brunette girl smiled lightly and responded, "Well, thank you. I appreciate it more than you'll ever know. Really."

She then started walking away, intending to return to her boyfriend, but Ben couldn't help but stop her with a gentle hand on her wrist and a question.

"Evie," the boy started, his tone completely serious but his face soft with concern, "are you okay?"

Evie practically melted at that as well as the pure compassion and care in Mal's expressive eyes as she replied with a tender but oh-so-fragile smile, "Yes. Thank you."

"Evie"—That damn voice ruined everything, as usual—"Hurry up. Anthony's waiting. For you and his beer. You're really trying his patience tonight, huh, sweetheart?" Ray scolded the younger girl, suddenly right outside the kitchen, "Hey, and while you're at it, grab me one too, doll face."

Evie sighed quietly and nodded, grabbing two bottles of beer but leaving her lemonade once again because she didn't have big enough hands to carry all three. As she maneuvered around the kitchen, she shot Mal and Ben yet another unnecessary apologetic look on someone else's behalf.

The blonde girl's nose twitched as if she were withholding a snarl while her boyfriend's face began to flush in anger and annoyance as they watched Anthony's best friend treat Evie like some unappreciated housewife or maid.

The lead actress finally brought the beers over to Ray and handed him one.

"Mm. Good girl," Ray flattered Evie as he accepted the bottle, stepping into her personal space and giving her a peck on the cheek and a slap on her backside so hard that it pushed her forward a bit, which earned him a surprised and pained yelp from the girl.

He ignored Evie's discomfort as he placed a hand on her lower back and ushered her towards the stairs, glancing back at Mal and Ben with a smirk. He was disturbingly satisfied to see the boy have to wrap both his arms around his girlfriend's waist in order to keep her from racing after him, though with an even redder face, in, what he perceived to be, a fit of jealous fury.

Ben and Mal remained in the kitchen, the former only relaxing his hold on the latter once Ray was out of sight and estimated range of a sudden body checking.

The brown-haired boy sighed as he loosened his arms and placed a kiss onto the back of his girlfriend's head, whispering into her hair for her to please stay calm.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm good," Mal promised as she turned in Ben's arms to face the boy and wrapped her own around his torso, "I just can't stand how Anthony treats her and even lets his friends treat her and Ray's the worst. Like, what the hell was that? And the fucking dare earlier? He's such a creepy, misogynistic ass."

"I know. I hate it too," Ben agreed as he leaned down to touch foreheads with the other teenager, "I really wanna figure out what's going on between them."

Mal furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "You don't think…they're all, like, dating each other too, right? Because I'm pretty sure they're fucking homophobic and so if they're some kind of toxic throuple, then they're fucking hypocrites and Evie's dealing with double the amount of bullshit."

"No. I don't think that's it exactly," the athlete expressed thoughtfully, "Anthony and Ray don't seem to feel anything more than deadly strong platonic feelings for each other. And they are homophobes, so yeah, I don't think it's exactly that, but it does seem almost as if Anthony's, like, freaking sharing her with him or, like, certain elements of being with her or something like that."

"Still, that's such a fucked up situation," the blonde commented, earning a nod in agreement, "I hate that she's going through this and who knows how long it's been now? She's so fucking amazing and she doesn't deserve any of this shitty stuff being thrown at her constantly."

"No, she doesn't," the boy concurred, then briefly paused in thought before taking his girlfriend's hand, grabbing Evie's abandoned lemonade, and leading her towards the stairs as well, "Come on."

"What-what're we doing? Ben, where're we going?" Mal questioned in confusion.

She'd been so cozy and comfortable and warm in his arms and now he wanted her to move?

"We're joining the idiots in the game room. We're not leaving Evie stuck there alone with them," Ben answered as they began ascending the stairs, "And maybe we can help cheer her up some more again. That she does deserve."

AN: Probably one or two more party chapters maybe?

Also, if it wasn't obvious by now or if you're not familiar with the Percy Jackson books, Ethan Nakamura is a character directly from the whole Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, etc. series. And Anthony, I just picture him looking exactly like Luke Castellan from the same series.

As always, thanks for reading.