Missing
(Wednesday Night, August 13th)
"Ben's missing?" Aladdin's eyes widen. "Ben. The king of the country?"
"That Ben," Aziz's eyes shift. "Yeah."
He faces Jasmine, "No one called us?" and she shakes her head.
"William said Ben's parents are insisting that we don't tell our parents," Aziz slowly relays. "They just want us to… make him go home."
"So, they didn't even tell the police Ben's missing?" he presumes.
"Probably not."
"He's a royal," his father disbelieves. "He could be getting held for ransom."
Jasmine covers Aisha's ears, "He has unpopular opinions. They could kill him."
"I'm on it," Aladdin states.
Aziz notices him pull out his phone, "Don't."
His father gapes at him, "Aziz. The police need to be notified."
"You can't," he persists.
"I'll use the Auradon area code," he reassures. "His atheism and everything won't get in the way. It will be handled properly."
"I'm not worried about the police," Aziz shouts. "I'm worried about his parents."
His father lowers the phone, "Explain."
Aziz takes a moment, "We think he ran away. He should be back for school."
"Aziz Ali." He sternly repeats, "Explain."
Aziz opens his mouth to speak; however, the breath escapes him, and Carlos comes out of the hallway, "Ben's father hurts him."
"Aisha," Jasmine instructs, "go to bed."
"But Mom," she whines.
"Now," she firmly says.
After the little girl passes between Aziz and Carlos, Aladdin mentions, "I thought that case was closed. He was proven innocent."
"You can't have a crime without a victim," Carlos softly speaks. "Ben never came forward. He told the police nothing happened."
"Why would he do that?" Jasmine asks.
"Because," Carlos breathes, "his mother told him to do what he thought was right, and he would do anything for her."
Aladdin takes a minute, "Do you think Ben can make it until school starts?"
"Not on his own," Aziz opinionates. "He has way too many medical problems."
"He's probably crashing with someone," Carlos comments.
Aziz faces his father, "You should try King Charming. He's been like the father Ben should have had."
"I've noticed," Aladdin tiredly replies, before he finds the number and widens his eyes. "Stay there. No one's going anywhere." He addresses, "Yes. King Charming. Word is King Ben's gone missing." He nods, "I see." before he frowns. "His friends think he ran away. You don't know where he might be, would you?" He takes a moment, "No? Okay." His eyes glower, "You don't think we should involve the police." He nods, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."
After the call ends, Aziz asks, "So, he doesn't know where Ben is?"
"That's what he claims," his father confirms. "But don't worry. He lied." He takes a deep breath, "We have a bigger issue." before he eyes between them. "Ben's new bank account was frozen. If he doesn't turn up, he's not going to have the money to pay for his next month's prescription."
"Ben's resourceful," Carlos comments. "He'll come up with the money."
"They could flag his name," Jasmine mentions. "He might not want to get his refill." She looks at Aladdin, "Wasn't he surviving on cold medicine?"
"Which is risky," he answers. "He needed a lot more cold medicine that the bottle said to use, and it doesn't even lower it as much as his pills do."
"What do you want us to do?" Carlos questions.
He faces them, "His father wants to meet with him with the lawyer to settle their money dispute, but he has no way of getting Ben there."
"So, we find him," Carlos concludes.
Aladdin smiles, "And you have his number."
"And you don't?" He points out, "He's still going to want to get that homeless apartment thing done, right?"
Aziz frowns, "I don't think he's going to care about anything right now." before he faces his father. "He better be with someone. He could be suicidal again."
"If I'm right, then King Charming's already taking care of him," he reassures, before he looks at Carlos. "But I want to know for sure."
Carlos shakes his head, "I don't really call people. They're going to know it's a trap."
"Ben doesn't know you that well," Aziz negates. "Just try it." He hears Carlos's stomach again, "Are you okay or—"
"I'm calling," Carlos interrupts, before he finds Ben's number. "But I'm telling you, he's not going to—" His eyes widen, "Ben. Um." He switches to French, "I was, uh, worried about you. William told Aziz your parents are looking for you."
"Looking," Ben confirms, "and epically failing." He hesitates, "Sorry. You're new. I should speak dumber. Or easier, I mean."
"No. It's fine," Carlos reassures. "I understand."
"What's he saying?" Aziz encourages, and Carlos covers the phone.
"Is there someone there?" Ben accuses.
Carlos sighs, "Aziz just want to know if you're okay."
"I'm fine," Ben evenly expresses. "Tell him not to worry about it."
Carlos passes on the message, "He wants you to stop worrying about him." before he moves the phone back towards his mouth. "Can I ask where you are?"
Ben takes a long minute, "I'm sorry, but I can't trust you with that."
"Right," Carlos accepts.
"I can tell you," Ben informs, "I'm staying with a friend. They're keeping me safe."
"Good," Carlos nods. "Hey. You're not hiding in your own house, are you? That would be a really stupid idea."
"Not that stupid," Ben defends. "My parents only use half of it."
"You're coming to school, right?" Carlos asks. "When it starts."
Ben hesitates, "I don't know."
"You can't stay in your house when school starts," Carlos angers. "Your parents will know you're there."
"Why?" Ben inquires. "Are you going to tell them?"
"How do you say 'figure out' in French?" Carlos replaces.
"I just can't deal with it right now," Ben explains.
"Yeah," Carlos understands, before he eyes over his audience and turns away from them. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"When you found out you were a, uh, meat eater," Carlos's eyes shift, "did it…"
"Change anything?" Ben finishes in English. "I'm probably the wrong person to ask. Knowing didn't make things easier for me. It made me want to not be. I tried not to be." Carlos nods, and Ben questions, "Why you asking?"
"Just asking," he settles. "Thank you. Stay safe."
"Yeah," Ben agrees. "You too."
When Carlos turns back around, Aladdin frowns, "Please tell me you know where he is."
Carlos takes a moment, "He's staying with Evie in the East Wing." before he eyes between them. "But you can't tell anyone."
"He'll be going to the school when it opens this week," Jasmine assumes.
Carlos eyes between them, "He doesn't know, yet."
"If Adam's really hurting him," Aladdin addresses, "then it's not safe there."
"I told him that," Carlos unsurely says.
"You're not going back there," Aladdin seriously responds. "I don't care that your family is there. If you need to go back early, you can stay with Chad or William."
"Or Jane?" Carlos reminds him.
"Yes," he breathes. "Or Jane, but you're not staying with someone who beats their kid."
Carlos frowns, "Belle's my legal guardian."
"And if she really wants what's best for you, that's all she'll be," he inputs.
Aziz hears Carlos's stomach again, "You should really try to eat something."
Carlos shakes his head, "I guess, there's always brownies."
"I was thinking garlic bread," Aziz tests.
"Garlic bread?" Carlos repeats.
"Yeah." Aziz asks, "Why? You don't like garlic?"
"Are you kidding?" Carlos smiles. "I love garlic."
"You love garlic?" Aziz doubts.
He laughs, "You seem surprised."
"A little," he admits. "But if you're up for it, I was going to make some."
"I'm so up for it," Carlos agrees.
"I don't see what you see in me," Evie half smiles, as Ben hangs up the phone. "Carlos's French is much better than mine. You should make him your best friend."
"Hey. Um," Ben bypasses, before he purses his lips. "Carlos isn't like a carnivore, is he? I mean, someone would have told me, right? After I found out about me." She starts to grin, and Ben frowns, "Evie. Is Carlos a carnivore?"
"I mean," she giggles, "carnivore is a strong word for someone who will eat anything."
"He was asking me about my experience," Ben unenthusiastically retorts. "Please tell me my mother didn't send a carnivore to live with a house of—of bunnies."
"Aziz eats meat," she reminds him.
"Not enough for it to count," Ben disagrees. "What did the nurse say? Three pounds of meat a day? Aziz probably eats a pound every or every other month, if that."
"Carlos has survived on scraps his entire life," Evie reassures. "I'm pretty sure he can find something there." Ben looks down, and she places a hand on his arm, "What's this really about?"
"I'm sad," Ben admits, "and I don't know why."
"Well, there's the fact that you're hiding from your parents, your boyfriend's father raised you, and you don't have the money to keep him from knowing you're you," Evie lists.
"I feel like eating something," Ben realizes.
"I can make something," she offers. "What do you want?"
His eyes shift, "I want to see Mal."
Her expression falls, "You can't eat Mal."
"I know," Ben murmurs.
"Seriously," Evie emphasizes. "She won't let you."
"I know," Ben says again, before he stands from the bed and heads towards the door.
Evie follows him, "What are you doing?"
He makes a right, "Getting a drink." before he turns around. "There's soda, right?"
"Yeah," Evie unsurely answers.
"Great." He turns back around, goes through the dining room, and heads into the kitchen. He crawls onto the counter and opens the glass cabinet, before he grabs the red wine bottle and jumps down. He bites his lip, grabs a soda from the box on the floor, and opens it as he strides back down the hall. He opens the door between the wings, walks into the hallway, and knocks on the door. He looks up and down the hall, knocks again, and he hears the footsteps.
The door opens, he smiles, and Mal pulls him inside. She shuts the door and pins him to the wall, "What are you doing?"
He awkwardly smiles, before he lifts the bottle, "I brought wine." She steps back, and his smile slips. "You're still drinking, right?"
"Um," Mal eyes him up-and-down. "Yeah?"
"Good," Ben breathes, "because I wouldn't want to make you do anything you don't want to do."
She takes the bottle, "Honestly, if you didn't bring this, I'd probably be cutting." He wets his lips, and her mouth opens, "You didn't want to hear that. Sorry."
"No. Um." Ben hesitates, "I just kind of felt like having you."
She raises an eyebrow, "Have me?"
He tilts his head and lifts a shoulder, "Like. If we could give each other drinks."
"Like if we locked arms and drank from wine glasses?" Mal skeptically comments. "That's a wedding ceremony."
"No," Ben reassures. "Not that. The wine's yours. I just… I wanted…" He sighs, "Please, don't make me say it."
She stares at him, "You want to drink from me."
"I thought you might not care if you were happy," he explains.
"I care," she nods.
He nods in return, "I know."
"Someone can't consent to something when they're drinking, right?" she recalls.
"I know," he acknowledges.
"So, why are you here?" she gapes.
He tries to smile, "I really wanted you." and she continues to stare at him. "Mal."
"Get out."
"Mal," he says again.
She glows her eyes and calmly commands, "Get out."
After Ben leaves, she uncorks the bottle, takes a drink, and heads into the bathroom. She turns on the hot water, takes the rusted blade from the corner of the bath, and tosses it into the trash. The wine bottle is set on the sink counter, as she takes another blade from the drawer, and she takes out her phone. She takes another drink as it rings, and she answers the voicemail, "Hey, Lons. Can you come over? I need you."
"You tried trading Mal wine for blood?" Ben eyes up as he nods, and Evie hits his shoulder with her phone, "Bad Ben."
"Ow," he spouts. "I'm not a dog."
"Aren't you, though," she points out. Ben's head lowers, and she fumes, "And I'm not talking about the whole carnivore thing, because we both know you're too human to be a beast."
His eyes narrow, "You make that sound like a bad thing."
"I'm talking about how you were going to take advantage of Mal," she states.
"No one's advantaging anyone," Ben defends.
"You just thought you would use her alcoholism against her," Evie concludes.
"No," Ben denies.
"No?"
"I just wanted to trade drinks," he diminishes.
"Oh, really?" Evie disbelieves. "Maybe I should tell Belle, see what she thinks."
"No," Ben urges. "My parents can't know I'm here."
"This is serious, Ben," Evie whispers. "You might as well tried to get her drunk so that she wouldn't care if you had sex."
He shakes his head, "No."
"Yes," Evie hisses. "God, Ben. This is so unlike you. Why—" He faces her, and she nods, "You're hungry."
"Not anymore," Ben reassures.
"Okay, no." Evie's eyes widen, "You're not restricting after you almost bit our girlfriend's head off. I'm making you something to eat."
Ben watches her open the door, "Evie."
She turns back to him, "Yeah?"
"Thank you."
She smiles, "No problem."