"all the lies, you made it worse

i can't be saved, i've got a curse"

- hotline girl, jxviii

The mayoral home was cold and empty. Regina was imprisoned and Evie was cooking to take her mind off of it. Henry was AWOL, probably off with his real mom trying to fix everything because that's what heroes do. Mal's lip curled at the thought.

"Okay, so the Mills Mausoleum is our best bet, considering how often the Evil Queen goes down there. All the magic in Storybrooke is probably locked down there," she told Carlos from across the kitchen island. Jay was guarding Ben in the living room and Evie was frantically stirring something at the stove.

"What about your magic?" Evie asked, not looking up from her stirring. Her dark hair was falling into her eyes and getting into the bowl.

With a sigh, Mal grabbed the scrunchie around her wrist - Mallory always had a few - and tied Evie's hair up. Evelyn never minded being a mess, always streaked with paint and makeup and god knows what else, but Evie couldn't handle it.

"I don't seem to have any here," Mal replied, flicking her wrist just to prove it. As expected, nothing happened.

"So tonight, we'll sneak over there and find some magic before we hightail it out of Storybrooke?" Carlos said, summing up the past hour of planning in one sentence. He had a knack for that.

"You're leaving?"

Mal whipped around, cursing the way her heart sped up at the sound of his voice.

"Ben? Jay, why is Ben in here?"

Jay ran in a second later, mouth full of the candies Regina kept in her sitting room as he mumbled a garbled 'my bad.' The prince's face was still splotchy and red, his tawny hair tousled like a model. His eyes searched her face - probably for any remnants of Mallory - but she knew his search would turn up empty. That girl was gone.

"Whatever you thought you heard, pretend you didn't," Mal spat, shoving down the feelings he gave her.

"My dad will find me," he said quickly and he didn't sound happy about it. "Let me help you."

There was that earnestness that Mallory had loved him for. Bennett Gold was far from a good guy, but he was sincere in everything he did, whether he was speaking his mind or sticking his tongue down her throat. That honesty earned him the title of student body president. He and Benjamin had that honesty in common, even if the prince was a little softer around the edges.

"You? Help me? That's funny."

He glared at her then and said, "Swallow your pride for two seconds before you get yourself killed."

Mal saw red.

"We're leaving. You can choke."

Leave a comment about which AKs and VKs you want to see included! And also any other ideas, prompts, or suggestions!