I hope you are enjoying these chapters; I also hope you like the link to a previous story in this series "Disney Descendants: Happily Ever After - Ben's Biggest Mistake".
After Belle's story Adam and Belle then began to tell us stories of how they thought me and Ben had changed over the years. They told stories of the pranks that we have pulled on each other, the royal events that we have went together and the dates we have shared over the years. It felt so surreal to talk about the time that we had been together; to me it felt as if we hadn't been together for five minutes - never mind three and a half years!
When Adam and Belle had told their stories I then started to get uneasy when I looked over to Evie, Jay and Carlos to see smirks spread across their faces.
"Now-" Evie began.
"It's our turn"
*Flashback*
*Evie's POV*
I had just returned to my dorm after Doug has walked me here; I still felt like I was on cloud nine. I really liked Doug; and given the fact that I had been mainly dancing with him all night showed me that he must want to get to know me better - which was something that I was more than willing to do.
However before I could get lost into my amazing night with Doug my dorm door opened and a very bashful looking Mal appeared.
"Hello" I said as I watched as she locked the door behind her.
"Hi" she advised as I noted that her cheeks were slightly pink. "How was your evening?" she questioned as she walked towards her bed.
"Oh it was perfect" I answered as I watched as she sat down on her bed. "Me and Doug danced all night" I added. "What about you and Ben?" I questioned as I walked up to her bed and sat down on her right hand side. Given her bashful nature I could tell that something had happened between her and Ben; and I could see that what had happened was on the forefront of her mind. "I noticed that you both disappeared at some point" I noted.
"Yeah" she agreed. "We wanted some time on our own" she answered and I watched as a warm look entered her eyes. "So we went for a little walk" she added. "Just talking, you know" she said. "Getting to know each other" she smiled happily. I had never seen anyone effect Mal like this; but it was very nice to see. All I wanted was for her, Jay and Carlos was to be happy; and I knew that Ben could make Mal happy, very happy in fact.
"I see" I noted. "How was your time on your own with our King?" I questioned eagerly, hoping that she was going to tell me what had happened between her and Ben.
"It was-" she began. "Perfect" she sighed; and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was thinking about Ben.
"Aww" I cooed. "Mally is in love" I teased.
"No point in denying in it" she shrugged. "Especially with everyone seeing me and Ben dancing, hugging and holding hands" she stated with a very warm and knowing smile.
"Yes" I giggled. "You are quite the couple" I noted happily.
"Thanks" she stated nervously as she brushed some hair behind her right ear.
"So..." I prompted.
"So?" she repeated in confusion.
"Have you and Ben?" I prompted again. "Kissed? He's been trying all night" I smiled at her. This was the truth; I had seen at least four attempts of Ben trying to kiss Mal. And every time she would either pull away or move her head so his eager lips would catch her cheek. And I knew that I wasn't the only one that had noticed this.
"Yes" she said and I gasped at this. "Yes he has been trying all night" she added and I could see that she was now agreeing with what I had just said. "And yes" she muttered and my eyes widened in realisation. "We have kissed" she confessed.
"Eeeeek!" I exclaimed as I clapped my hand together.
"Evie!" she warned me. "People will be trying to get to sleep" she urged as she gestured to the rooms at either side of us.
"Whoops!" she giggled. "Sorry" she apologised. "But it's not every day that my best friend gets her first kiss now is it?" I grinned at her as I slid both of my hands into both of hers.
"No" she muttered; and I watched as something changed in her eyes. "No it's not" she added as she looked down at the floor.
"What's wrong?" I questioned as I gave both of her hands a gentle squeeze.
"Nothing" she dismissed as she looked up at me. "I'm just really tired that's all; it's been a very long and tiring day" she insisted and I watched as what ever had just been on her mind quickly left as soon as it came.
"Tell me about it" I sighed.
"Anyway-" she stated. "What about you and Doug?" she questioned eagerly. I then started to tell her about my evening with Doug; but as our conversation continued I continued to see the loving effect that Ben was having on my best friend.
When Evie had finished her story I noted to myself why Evie had chosen to end her story here - as it was at this point when the conversation was solely on her and Doug. My mind then went onto why I reacted the way I did when Evie mentioned my first kiss. There was no way in that moment I wasn't going to tell Evie that Ben wasn't in fact my first kiss.
My mind then went onto the conversation that me and Ben shared on our quarantine lockdown after our exams had finished. And how awkward that conversation was with Ben; I still remember the look in his eyes when I told him that I was pinned down for my first kiss. I hated how that is how it happened; but as far as I was concerned my actual real first kiss was with Ben outside my dorm after his coronation party.
Ben must have sensed what I was thinking about; as I felt his his arms tightened around me, which caused me to look up at him. We both smiled warmly at each other; before I pushed my face up and pressed a brief but very loving kiss against his lips.
"Now it's my turn-" Jay started, which made me and Ben both look at him. "And don't worry Mal" he added in a reassuring tone. "Me, Evie and Carlos have agreed to keep stories from the Isle in the past" he offered and I couldn't help but smile at this. Now wasn't the time for stories about my past on the Isle; it was a time for reflection on mine and Ben's relationship.
"Thank you" I muttered.
"Darn!" Ben sighed in mock seriously.
"What Benny?" I asked as I looked up at him.
"So no Isle stories" he pouted.
"Maybe later" I offered.
"Ok" he winked at me before he pressed a kiss against the top of my head. Me and Ben cuddled together as we looked over to Jay; who looked ready to tell his story.
*Flashback*
*Jay's POV*
I was walking through the main court yard of Auradon Prep after Tourney practice. I was just about to walk into the boy's dorm block when I noticed that Mal was sat on a stone bench in one of the secluded court yards. She looked like something was really bothering her; and I couldn't leave her to stew like this.
"Mal!" I called out to her as I walked into the court yard.
"Hmm" she grunted as she slowly looked up at me.
"Is everything ok?" I questioned.
"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion as I sat down on the stone bench, on her left hand side.
"You look like something is bothering you" I told her.
"Not bothering me" she answered. "Just trying to make sense of it" she clarified.
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.
"All our lives we have been told that love is stupid and ridiculous-" she began to explain. "Now look at me, in love with the King of Auradon" she added. "The Mistresses of Evil's daughter for Lucifer sake!" she snapped to herself as she put her head into both of her hands.
"How is that a problem?" I enquired. I didn't know where this had come from; but by her reaction I could tell that she had been stewing on this for some time.
"It's not" she advised as she rocked slightly on the balls of her feet. "It just goes against everything that I have been brought up with" she advised and I couldn't help but nod at this. All the way through my life I had been told the same as Mal - that love wasn't for villains. If anything it was a thorn in our sides; a premise where we could use against our foes - a weakness that was could exploit. So I understood fully where Mal was coming from - as this way of thinking had been even beaten into us!
"I know" I agreed. "I feel the same with Lonnie" I stated. "But I don't want you to fixate on what your mother has told you Mal, she is wrong. Very wrong" I implored to her. I hated seeing Mal like this; she deserved to be happy! And even though that she was now in Auradon away from her mother Maleficent was still causing her so much pain and confusion.
"It's hard Jay" she told me as she finally looked up at me. "I just feel so conflicted" she admitted.
"I know, at times I feel the same" I replied. "I wish I could make it better for you" I offered.
"Same" she smiled meekly at me. "I just don't want Ben thinking that I doubt him, or us. Because I don't" she stressed as she started to fidget with Ben's signet ring. "I love him so much" she stated fondly. I opened my mouth to say something but me and Mal both froze when we heard a very familiar voice.
"I love you so much too"
Me and Mal both look over and we pursed our lips together as we saw Ben walking towards us. I watched as something changed in Ben's eyes when they landed on Mal - and just like me I knew that he could tell that something was really bothering Mal.
"Is something wrong?" Ben asked as he stood in front of me and Mal, instead of answering him me and Mal threw each other a glance before looking back at Ben.
"Just a lot on my mind" Mal decided to say.
"Ok" Ben nodded; and I could tell that Ben was very unsettled at the fact that something was upsetting his girlfriend like this. "Anything I can help with?" He offered hopefully.
"Yeah" Mal answered; and I knew that only person who was going to be able to reassure Mal about this was Ben. It was Ben that needed to talk to her about what Maleficent had told Mal; as it was Ben that Mal had changed for. She had completely changed her temperament for Ben; and this was something that was going to be a very big thing for Mal to deal with.
"I'll leave you two to talk" I decided as I stood up. "Remember what I said Mal" I offered.
"I will" she smiled. "Thank you Jay" she advised, causing me to smile at the pair of them before walking away. However before I left the court yard I turned to see that Ben was now sitting where I had been moments ago; and he had his arms wrapped around Mal and she had her head pressed against his chest. I pursed my lips before turning and leaving - leaving them both to their private moment.
After hearing Jay's story I knew why he had chosen to tell this story - to show the difference between me. I'm not saying that I still don't struggle with being conflicted - because I do! However it was very few and far between now. I knew that love wasn't weak, ridiculous or stupid. Love was comfort, trust, happiness, care and support. And Ben gave me all this and more; something that I would never ever take for granted.
My mind then went on to what happened after Jay had left us and I couldn't help but smile. Shortly after Jay left me and Ben went to Ben's dorm so we could have some privacy. When we got there I felt like it was a very profound and defining moment in mine and Ben's relationship; as I decided to fight against myself and I let Ben in - and it turned out to be one of the best things that I have ever done! As it only made me and Ben go from strength to strength.
"Finally my turn" I heard Carlos say, which broke me out of my train of thought. When I looked over to my little brother I saw a warm smile spread across his face; I smiled back at him - very eager to see the story that he had on his mind.
*Flashback*
*Carlos's POV*
When I heard last week that Ben had broken up with Mal to protect her I found it ludicrous! How was this protecting her! By doing this it had only hurt her! Over the last week I had watched as she had closed in on herself, and she wouldn't really talk to me, Jay or Evie about this. Me and Jay wanted to go and speak to Ben about this but Mal begged us not to; she even fell to her knees and broke down crying. I hated seeing her like this; but me, Evie and Jay knew that given her current state we couldn't go anywhere near for Ben - for now!
I had just received a text from Evie telling me about her night out with Mal last night and everything that had happened with this new lad and Ben. I couldn't believe that Mal would get drunk like that and just meet someone like that. I knew that this was a very hard time for Mal; but I knew that I needed to do something about this - we all did! We couldn't just sit back like this and watch Mal go on self destruct.
So with this thought in mind I left the boy's dorm block and started to head towards the girl's dorm block but I stopped in my tracks at the sight before me. On the main square of Auradon Prep I saw Evie, Ben and Audrey talking amongst themselves. What I couldn't believe is that after what Evie had just text me, why on Auradon had she left Mal on her own?
However before I could say or do anything I watched as Mal quickly appeared and walked towards the three of them. I noticed a very determined look in Mal's eyes; and I couldn't tell what was about to happen.
After watching a quick exchange between Ben, Mal and Audrey (which Audrey didn't like very much) I then watched as Mal and Ben walked off on their own in front of one of the many trees that was enveloped around the main square of Auradon Prep. I saw them talk together with playful looks on their faces before Ben quickly kissed Mal; I heard a gasp erupt from my lips as I watched as Mal pulled Ben closer to her - making Ben crush her against the tree.
Even though I was in shock at Ben and Mal's current actions it was nothing compared to Audrey's reaction, which no doubt was only going to get worse due to her currently storming towards Ben and Mal. After watching Ben and Mal break apart I saw that Audrey quickly talking to them before she ran off - with her face looking like a smacked bottom.
As I had finished watching Audrey leaving, to no doubt to go and see her grandmother, I looked back over to Mal, Evie and Ben and I saw them sharing a happy conversation. I couldn't help but let a large grin spread across my face as I watched Mal started to lead Ben back to the girl's dorm block by the hand, with a very happy and giggly Evie following them.
I then decided to turn around and go back to find Jay to see if he wanted to go to ROAR training earlier than planned. As it would appear that I didn't need to go and check on my sister - as it was very apparent that she had been able to sort things out with Ben and things looked like they were returning back to normal. As this is all I wanted for mal - was to be happy; and if she chose to be with Ben and if he made her happy, then that was enough for me.
After hearing Carlos's story I couldn't help but smile at the fact that he had chosen this story, as this was a part of mine and Ben's relationship that was such a profound point for me. Yes it was a period of time that was painful for the pair of us but we had both come away from that situation a lot closer and stronger. As me and Ben knew what it had felt to think that we had lost each other completely we appreciated each other a lot more; I'm not saying that we didn't appreciate each other beforehand because we did - it was just we had a new sense of not wanting to lose each other.
What I found strange in this story was the fact that I had never known that Carlos had been watching from afar. Now that I did it just should me that I was right to think that this situation within mine and Ben's relationship was a profound and defining moment; now that I saw it from my little brother's eyes I saw it from a different point of view - a perspective that I thought I may never get, but was very thankful for.
After hearing Carlos's story Evie, Jay and Carlos then continued with their stories of them noting the changes in my over the years since coming to Auradon. I smiled at the fact that they had kept to their promise by keeping stories about the Isle to themselves. They instead stuck to stories about how I had changed over the years of being in Auradon; they spoke about how me and Ben were at school, our date nights and finally the many pranks we had pulled on each other over the years.
Part way through their stories I slid down and placed my head into Ben's lap; and I smiled as he started to run his fingers through my hair. I don't know how long I was lying like this before I started to fall asleep; but as my eyes rolled fully into sleep I couldn't help but note at how happy and content I was at being in my soul mate's arms.