Better

(Thursday Night, June 27th)

Carlos looks around the table, "Evie's not skipping dinner, is she?"

"No," Mal frowns. "I saw her and Ben cooking in the East Wing." She stabs the ham with her fork, "He's probably helping her with her eating problem."

"You don't seem happy about that," Jay notices.

She clanks the fork down and faces him, "No. Of course, I'm not happy about it. It was just a couple hours ago that she was telling me that she can't talk about it, that she needed someone who understood, and now she's going to Ben for help? Why can't I help?"

Carlos comments, "She wishes she could help you." and they look at him. "She feels the same way about you and Ben and your heat situation."

Mal stares down at her plate, "That's different. She literally can't help me anymore."

"And you can't help her," Carlos counters, "because you don't understand what she's going through."

"And Ben does?" she disbelieves.

"His anxiety does cause some erratic eating habits," Belle intrudes, and Mal turns to her. "With any luck, helping her may help ground him."

"Or she could just be making him starve himself again," Adam voices.

Belle faces him, "That was anxiety induced. He couldn't handle knowing—"

"He is what he is," he says louder, and Belle glances down. "He's always been a hybrid, and humans eat meat all the time. What was so hard about him having just a little?"

"It meant something different after he found out," she quietly comments.

"And you babying him isn't going to help," Adam continues, lifting a finger in point. "This is the world he lives in."

"It's just until he adjusts." Belle tries to reason.

"He can't keep living this fantasy," he shouts. "He is what he is, and that's not going to change. Not for him. For you. For anyone."

"I was thinking," Mal interrupts, and she notices Adam glare at her. "If he will react better after adjusting, I would be willing to go to those gatherings with him."

"No. It's too public."

"They would think it was me," Mal's voice shakes.

"And if you want to continue being with my son," Adam stares her down, "you will keep your stories to yourself." He shakes his head, "How he could have disgraced us with a villain like you—"

"Mal," Belle attempts to smile, "why don't you and your friends take your dinner to the living room?"

"The living room?" Carlos unsurely asks.

"The old wine cellar," Belle elaborates. "Mal. Show them, would you?"

"Fairies and your magic," Adam spats. "I should have gotten rid of you when I—"

"That's enough," Belle hollers over him, and he slaps her across the face.

She holds her bearings and peers at Mal from the corner of her eye, "Go. Now."

He grits his teeth, "You choose an enchantress over me?"

Mal stands up, and Carlos asserts in disbelief, "We're not leaving."

"Hell, we're not," Jay disagrees, before he grabs Carlos's shirt, pulls him from the chair, and pushes him towards the cellar door.

"No. I would never," Belle reassures, as she takes Adam's hand and arm.

"You think you can trust them?" he accuses.

Mal watches Jay head down the stairs, before she looks at Belle as she answers, "No. I know how much they've hurt you." She places a hand to his cheek, "And I love you. I would never choose them over you."

"But, you just— I thought," Adam responds in confusion.

"Mal," Jay urges, and she looks down the stairs. "Aren't you coming?"

Mal takes a final glance, before she shuts the door and whispers, "Yeah."

She steps down into the cellar, and when she reaches Jay, he places a hand on her shoulder, "Hey. You okay?"

Mal holds her breath, "No." as she verges on the edge of tears.

When she suddenly hugs him, he cautiously returns it, "Don't worry. I'm here."

There was that time. Her mother and the Evil Queen were rivals for years, trying to become the supreme ruler of the Isle. Prior to the Evil Queen settling to partner with her, Mal had met Evie. She had lost everything: her confidence, her reputation, and her self-worth, but then she'd met her. She had been the first good thing in her life in a long while, but when her mother found out she'd been furious. There was a sudden, hard and warm sensation on her cheek, and when she met her mother's eyes, they were bright green. They'd glowed, and she'd been told to stop speaking with Evie. There'd been a loophole. Evie could tell something was wrong, and Mal never dared leave. They just sat together, Evie talked, and then it became more.

Evie eyes Ben's large bowl of cheesy potatoes and his plate of stacked, spicy chicken, "Maybe you shouldn't have so much."

He gives her a look, "I'm not telling you anything. Don't tell me."

She hesitates, "I just think we should be helping each other."

Ben nods, "Okay." before he eyes her plate of steamed vegetables. "I will eat less if you take it from me."

Evie's mouth gapes, as she slowly asserts, "You can't do that to me."

"And you can't do it to me," he counters.

"Alright," she lets out a breath.

After she stares at the food for a long minute, Ben says, "That's what I thought." before continuing with the chicken.

"No," Evie exclaims, and Ben stops. She darts her eyes between the food again, "Get me a plate."

Ben eyes over her for a moment, before he stands to get the plate and then sets it in front of her, "Here." He sits down and watches as she scoops some potatoes out of the bowl, before she hesitates to add more to the plate. "Are you really having all that?"

Evie gives him a look, "Shut up." before she shakes her head and starts to eat the vegetables. "You shouldn't be having all those carbs anyway. You're a frickin' carnivore."

Ben's mouth gapes, as he hesitates, "I'm not—"

"Don't lie," Evie's eyebrows furrow. "I'm from the Isle. I know a carnivore when I see one." She rolls her eyes, "And Mal, she knows too, so give it up."

"I like meat," Ben slowly defends. "That doesn't make me a carnivore."

Evie looks off and sighs, "You're right. It doesn't."

There's a short silence, before Evie notices Ben pick up another drumstick before he's even finished chewing the first. "Maybe we should talk."

Ben swallows, "About what?"

She shakes her head, "Anything."

He starts on the potatoes, before he remembers, "Aziz's birthday is on Sunday. Are you coming?" He quickly adds on, "We will probably spend the weekend there."

"In Agrabah?" Evie lets out a breath, "What about Mal? She can't come."

Ben looks around before meeting her eyes, "Why not?"

Her dark eyes widen, "You didn't forget." and when he doesn't answer, she leans forward. "Mal can't leave Auradon. It's part of her parole."

"Oh," Ben recalls, before he awkwardly smiles. "Yeah. I knew that."

After a moment, she quietly questions, "Ben. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he frowns. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She watches him eat more of the chicken, "It's just… You used to not be like this."

He sets the bone down, "Like what?"

Evie thinks, "You used to be intuitive." but she notes his confusion. "You used to know what things are important and remember them, piece things together and… just be you."

"You're saying I'm not myself?" he asks in confusion.

"No," Evie glances down, "but you do keep forgetting things. Important things."

Ben wets his lips, "Yeah. I know."

Evie breathes, "It's because of your fall, isn't it?" and Ben looks off in annoyance. "Does your doctor know?"

Ben opens his mouth before saying, "I haven't seen him lately."

"Maybe you should," she suggests.

"No," Ben's pitch raises. "I'm good." He smiles and then nods down, "You still need to finish that."

Evie continues the vegetables, but there's still a couple fork fulls left by the time she sets the utensil down, "I feel sick. I can't do anymore."

Ben glances from the food to Evie, "Do you want me to finish it?"

She hesitates, "I don't want you to, but you can." and she watches as he takes his potatoes back. Somehow, his bowl and plate are already finished. "How are you not full?"

Ben lets out a breath before admitting, "I am full… but I'm still hungry."

Evie shakes her head, "What do you mean?"

He hesitates, "It's just…" before he wets his lips. "I'm full, but I feel empty." He shakes his head, "I'm sorry. I don't have the words."

Evie eyes over the table, "We're never going to get better, are we?"

Ben faces her, "I don't know what's going on with me, but…" He makes a noise, "There is no cure for anorexia."

She tears up, "So, what's the point, then? If I'm not going to get better—"

"No," Ben interrupts, and there's a moment of quiet. "You can get better." He eyes down for a second, "It's just… You will still be sick."

"Like you," Evie compares.

"Me?" he disbelieves.

"Your body temperature, the fevers," Evie reminds him, and his mouth opens. "Does Mal know yet?"

His eyes widen, "I—" before he lets out a breath. "I thought I did. I know I was going to tell her. It's just… and then I fell and—" His mouth gapes, "I don't think I told her."

"You need to," Evie strongly suggests with raised eyebrows. "Before you get sick. I don't want Mal finding out about this at the worst time. She deserves to know and prepare, not just… have her world fall apart."

Ben frowns, whispering, "I know." before he nods. "I will."