"So, tell me, Benjamin," Gold said as he continued to drive his niece and nephew back home. "I hear you have a lunch date today."
"Uh, y-yeah," Ben nodded. "Her name is Mal and she's new in my school. I just thought I'd try to get to know her better. Spice up my life a little with someone new and exciting."
"I see," Gold replied then. "Well, maybe I could help you out with that."
"Uh..." Ben's hazel eyes widened as he stammered awkwardly.
"Oh, come along now," Gold smirked as he glanced over at him, though mostly kept his eyes on the road so there wouldn't be a crash. "You don't think that I'm a vampire and I just hypnotized your Aunt Lacey into liking me and marrying me, do you?"
"...Actually, now that you mention it." Ben began to say with a small smirk.
"Benny!~" Clarice called out and giggled, finding her big brother funny at that moment.
Ben chuckled a bit.
"Take a seat, my boy," Gold suggested as he continued to drive his Cadillac. "Your favorite uncle's going to teach you how to woo this young lady of interest~"
"Augh..." Ben groaned and grimaced as that sounded so gross and awkward the way it was said. He could tell that this was going to be a long ride back home.
Lacey smiled as she sat on the front porch of the house while watching Gideon as he played on the floor with his toys. She then looked up and waved once she saw her husband coming with Ben and Clarice in the car and they went to chat for a moment or two before Ben would be given some advice on what to do and how to act on his first lunch date with Mal. Hopefully the first of many in the near future.
Meanwhile, Mal was in her bedroom and had Evie there with her. The two girls were looking at each other, though Evie was giving a more critical and thoughtful look as she was trying to work and had to plan out what to do. She couldn't just put make-up on Mal willy-nilly, it had to come naturally and come out as a good and decent job. Hopefully it would be done fast and soon, because who knew when Ben was going to come back? Mal was currently wearing a black leather jacket with a cute purple top and black jeans and stylish black boots and wearing a golden necklace around her neck with a charm that resembled a dragon.
"Are you going to do something or am I just going to sit here?" Mal complained.
"Shh," Evie shushed. "I need to concentrate. This is an art, you know."
Mal rolled her eyes a bit as she sat on her bed, trying to be patient as she hugged her stuffed, purple-colored dragon toy in her arms.
"You do look pretty pale..." Evie had to admit.
"Thanks, Evie." Mal rolled her eyes again.
Evie soon gasped once she had a vision and soon had Mal sit down right where she was and soon sat right next to her friend and began to do the make-up job. It took quite a while, but soon, Evie was letting her vision come to life and gave Mal her special touch of make-up.
"Okay. Easy on the blush. I don't want to scare him away..." Mal advised the young fashionista as the make-up process seemed to take longer than she believed it would be. "Not that I could."
"Please. I learned how to apply blush before I could talk," Evie smiled as she brushed Mal's cheeks a bit. "Always use upward strokes. I also saw that on Miss Ruby Red's fashion blog."
"Ruby?" Mal asked.
"Not Ruby Lucas from school or Goldie's friend, Miss Ruby Red is a world-famous performer and 'queen' if you know what I mean," Evie smiled as she continued to do her work. "I wish I could be just like her someday."
"My mom was never really big on make-up tips," Mal said softly then before mumbling the second part. "Neither was my sister."
Evie thought maybe she heard something about a sister, but then decided to change the subject, though something to fit the mood. "I've always wanted a sister," she then said. "Plus Mom said that putting Henry in a dress and make-up got old after he started Kindergarten."
"You did not put make-up and dresses on your little brother." Mal smirked slyly.
"I did for a while anyway," Evie chuckled. "Though that was mostly because I didn't like him very much. Mom wasn't even sure if she could take care of him properly because he kept crying, especially after he came back home. Ruined my beauty sleep and I could barely even talk to her..." she then sighed softly as she thought about the first time Henry came back home to them.
It was 10 years ago... Evie was much, much younger and she was at home, reading a book to herself. She then looked over and sat up on the couch as the door opened and Regina was coming by with a bundle in her arms which was obviously Henry.
"Mommy?" Evie asked as she looked up.
"Evie... This is your new baby brother, Henry," Regina told her daughter as she bent down slightly to let Evie get a good look at her new brother. "Henry... This is Evie~..."
Evie soon looked down to see the baby boy in her mother's arms. He had short dark brown hair and light brown eyes. She then wrinkled her nose, looking a bit annoyed and disgusted. "...Can we send him back?" she then asked.
"Evie!" Regina scolded with a small frown.
"Couldn't I have had a baby sister instead?" Evie asked.
"I'm sorry, Evie, but these things happen," Regina told her daughter. "I'm sure you two will learn to love each other. Now hold out your arms and I can teach you how to hold your baby brother."
"He stinks." Evie frowned and crossed her arms.
"Evie!" Regina scolded.
"Whoa," Mal chuckled after Evie told her story a bit. "Evie, that doesn't sound like you at all. I'm sure your mother was scary though when you got her mad though."
"Oh, yeah," Evie smirked, giggling a bit in memory. "She can act a bit like a wicked or evil queen sometimes if you get on her bad side. My mother's not a barrel of laughs when she doesn't get her way... Probably the only way and reason she ended up as mayor for as long as before I can even remember."
"You should see my mom when she gets mad," Mal smirked back a bit before looking a bit soft and thoughtful. "...Are you afraid of her?"
"Sometimes," Evie nodded. "Are you afraid of your mom?"
Mal sighed softly. "I just really want her to be proud of me. She gets so angry with me when I disappoint her," she then explained lightly. "And sh... Yeah, she's my mom, so I know she loves me... In her own way."
"...Moving on. Come see." Evie decided as she soon stood up off of the bed with Mal and brought her over to the full-body mirror in the room.
"Are we done?" Mal asked.
"Yeah." Evie nodded as she put her arms around Mal's shoulders hopefully.
Mal soon stepped over to her reflection and laughed a bit softly once she saw how she looked. She began to look and feel like a completely different person.
"I know." Evie smiled warmly.
"I look..."
"Say it."
"...Not hideous." Mal then said.
"Not even close." Evie smiled and beamed in agreement.
The two girls then laughed warmly together.
"It's good to have a sister again," Mal suddenly said before looking nervous as she let it slip. "I-I-I mean..."
"Again?" Evie asked curiously. "...Mal, do you have a sister I don't know about?"
Mal was going to make up a story, but soon looked into Evie's eyes, feeling like she could trust her with any secret. She then took a deep breath and decided to let it out. "Actually, yes," she soon confessed. "I did have a sister."
"Did...?" Evie asked curiously, wondering why Mal used "past tense" like that. "...She run away?"
"...Evie, if I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else," Mal said softly. "This is very crucial and important to me. Do you understand?"
"You can trust me," Evie smiled warmly. "Cross my heart. I won't even tell the girls in our upcoming Study Group."
"Okay, that's good to kn-" Mal nodded before glancing at Evie. "Study group?"
"Mom thinks I should branch out and invite people over and not be afraid to... As long as it isn't a huge group," Evie said softly. "So I asked Tilly, Lonnie, Jane, and Wendy to have a study group with us. We can hang out, have snacks, help each other with our homework... I thought it'd be fun. I was going to tell you in class later, but we ended up coming home early."
"Oh... Well, I guess that'd be nice," Mal shrugged before smirking thoughtfully. "You ever think you might have a party here this weekend?"
"Oh, I don't think I could have a huge party here," Evie smiled sheepishly. "All right, enough dodging... Tell me about your sister. If you don't mind me asking about her."
"Well, okay..." Mal said as she heaved a sharp sigh. "I had an older sister back home. Her name was Lily and we were pretty close. She was the perfect student in school. She always got A's on her homework, she had perfect attendance, she was a pretty big role model-"
"You didn't have a fight with her, do you?" Evie interrupted, trying to guess what happened between Mal and her sister.
"No, nothing like that," Mal shook her head. "She just went through a rebellious phase pretty quickly and met some rogue people. She started sneaking out at night or hosting parties at our house while our parents would be out of town, sometimes she'd teach me how to get away with sneaking candy bars or stuff without paying."
"Shoplifting..." Evie shuddered as that gave her a cold chill.
"Yeah," Mal nodded then. "She was my best friend back then."
"So, what happened to her?" Evie asked.
Mal sighed sharply. "She got into an accident when she went to go to a weekend concert with her friends," she then explained, tasting the metallic flavor of grief and guilt from those events so many years ago. "She died on the impact with her friends... After the funeral, Mom and Dad's relationship seemed to get more and more strained... So my dad decided to pack up his things and he drove away one dark and rainy night. I saw him out my bedroom window and waved at him... He waved back at me and soon got in his car and I never saw him again after that."
"Oh, Mal..." Evie frowned as she sounded heartbroken in tone and sympathy. "I'm so sorry to hear that. That must've been so hard on you."
"It really was," Mal nodded. "It's like the sweet, innocent little girl in me died inside... And then I was born... Ending up becoming rotten to the core."
"Gosh..." Evie frowned before she held out her arms. "May I hug you?'
Mal glanced at Evie before shrugging and decided to extend her arms out next and the two girls soon shared a hug together. Mal didn't cry, but she still felt a bit emotional.
"You ever talk with your mom about Lily?" Evie asked.
"Not so much anymore," Mal shrugged. "It's just very complicated. At least your mom checks on you and makes sure you're okay and if you've at least eaten."
"Yeah... Though she's very busy most of the time so I'm usually being a second mother to Henry, such as getting him to school and bringing him home and most nights I'm the one taking care of dinner," Evie said softly. "I can't always talk to her all the time since she's the mayor and Graham says not to bother her while she's in the office."
"Graham?" Mal asked as she got out of the hug suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "You call your own dad by his first name?"
Evie seemed to look confused by Mal's question. "...Graham isn't my dad," she then explained softly. "He's just dating my mom right now and usually hangs around the house."
"Ohh..." Mal then said, now understanding, but she felt surprised to learn about that. "I'm sorry, Evie, I just thought he was your and Henry's dad."
Evie paused to think about it before chuckling suddenly. "Oh! Heh... I guess that kinda makes sense," she then said. "You're new around here so seeing him at my house a lot, I guess I can see why you'd think he was our dad, but no... He's just Sheriff Boyfriend to Mayor Mom."
"So... If you don't mind me asking... Where is your dad?" Mal asked. "I told you about my family, tell me about yours, and I promise not to tell anyone else."
"Thanks, Mal," Evie smiled softly before sighing. "To be honest with you, Mal, I don't know where my dad is."
"Oh... You never knew him?" Mal guessed.
"No, I was just very young when he was around," Evie said as she stood up and soon brought out her purse to take out a small photograph that she kept in there for secret. He was a handsome young-looking man with short black hair and eyes that matched Evie's. "His name was Daniel. I remember seeing him a lot long before Henry showed up in our lives. I was his little princess and he was my King Daddy... Sometimes we'd make a game out of it and he taught me how to ride horses. He even let me adopt and raise Rocinante on my fourth birthday."
"Cool dad..." Mal commented and nodded. "Rocinante? I guess that was your horse's name?"
"Yes," Evie beamed in the fond memories of nostalgia. "He was my prized and noble steed and I was The Princess Evie~"
Mal smiled warmly as that sounded so nice.
"And... I don't remember what happened to him..." Evie shrugged. "I remember having a dream where my grandparents coming over for dinner one night and my grandmother wanted to talk with my father in private. I could've sworn I saw my grandmother hurting my father, but... I don't know what happened, Mal... It's like he was erased from my memory or something."
"Gosh... Now that sounds disturbing." Mal remarked.
"Tell me about it," Evie nodded in agreement. "I've thought about talking it over with Mom sometimes, but... I just lose my nerve and I'm not sure what to do or how."
"Hmm..." Mal frowned thoughtfully. "I wish I could help you out there... Do you feel better after getting that out though?"
"Yeah... I do a little bit," Evie nodded. "I guess talking it out makes it better. I've never told anybody about that, not even Dr. Hopper."
"Well... I feel honored that you told me before anyone else." Mal smiled softly.
"Of course, Mal," Evie smiled back before giving the girl another hug suddenly. "You're my best friend around here."
"And you're mine, Evie." Mal smiled back, hugging right back then.
Then eventually, there was a knock on the front door. Mal and Evie soon left the room, going down to see who it was, though they had a pretty good idea of who it was. Mal took a deep breath as she opened the door as Evie stood far in the back and Ben was there, wearing a blue and gold Letterman jacket with two helmets in his arms, matching the school's colors in the design.
"For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful." Ben soon said once he examined Mal.
Mal snorted as that was pretty corny as she gave an amused smile, but she didn't anything to that.
"I hope you like bikes." Ben then added.
Mal smiled as she took the extra helmet and soon went with Ben as Evie stepped out and made her own way back home, knowing a shortcut luckily from here.
And so, the two were riding off together on Ben's motorscooter, riding through the town with the wind in their hair and the sun on their faces. Many people were going about their usual business and Ben began to take Mal into the woods as he had a special plan for lunch since they wouldn't be eating in the cafeteria today. They passed the castle playground and the beach and soon came into the green and serene forest and soon began to walk across a rope bridge together.
"Tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone." Ben requested as they walked across together.
"Um... My middle name is Bertha." Mal revealed, not sure what else to tell him as she wouldn't dare tell him what she told Evie, there were standards to go by between best friends and possible future boyfriends.
"Bertha?" Ben asked, not laughing, though he had a small smile from nose laughing at the name.
"Yeah. Bertha," Mal nodded on the way. "Just my mom doing what she does best. Being really, really evil. Malissa Bertha Ignus."
They soon took a brief stop and looked down into the stream below them as they enjoyed the scenery and spending time together so far.
"Mine's Maurice." Ben soon said.
"Maurice?" Mal chuckled. "It sounds like an old man's name."
"Funny you should mention that," Ben laughed as well. "It was my grandfather's name. My dad told me how my mom wanted to name me 'Florian' after a Prince Charming in one of the books she used to read before they met, but I guess he decided that would make the other kids wanna beat me up."
"That's almost worse though." Mal smirked as they continued to walk across the bridge together.
"I mean, you know, it's better than Bertha, but it's still not..." Ben chuckled sheepishly before he looked down at her feet as they were almost at the end of the bridge. "Watch your foot." he then cautioned.
"Okay." Mal nodded.
They soon continued along before he walked out in front of her and took her by the hands and went to help move her around further into the forest.
"Are you good?" Ben soon asked before he had her close her eyes.
"Mm-hmm." Mal nodded as she made it out with him.
"Now, step up," Ben said as he coordinated her a bit. "There you go. You ready?"
"Mm-hmm." Mal replied as she kept her eyes shut, allowing him to move her around a bit.
Ben nodded and soon got her to where she wanted and soon hugged her arm with his chin resting on her shoulder. "Open." he then told her.
Mal soon opened her eyes and gasped in delight as she saw a little picnic area set up. There was a beautiful blanket with a large basket and two spots just for the two of them and it looked like something out of a romantic fantasy book. The butterflies and birds chirping there even made it look amazing and just as fantastical in real life and up close. She just could not believe what she was seeing.
"Go on." Ben smiled, insisting that she go over and check it out.
Mal smiled back and soon walked over to the picnic grounds in delight. She then took off her jacket to show her dress underneath, getting more comfortable. Ben soon sat with her and they began to eat their lunch together at long last. He smiled, hoping she would like a lot of the treats that he had prepared and brought over for her to eat and try as he didn't know what foods she liked and this would probably be better than having lunch made by Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Potts in the cafeteria.
"Is this your first time?" Ben asked as he sat comfortably as she nearly gulped down one of the desserts in an instant.
"Oh... I didn't really date much back home," Mal replied. "It was more like... Gang activity."
"Um, I meant, is this your first time eating a jelly donut?" Ben explained, chuckling a bit as he wasn't talking about dating.
"Is it bad?" Mal asked bashfully.
Ben smiled softly and soon wiped her mouth a bit, seeing some jelly stained and decided to help get it for her. "You got a... Just a... I mean, yeah, do this." he then told her.
"Mm-hmm..." Mal noticed and soon wiped it down and chuckled sheepishly with a weary smile. "Gone? You can't take me anywhere, I guess."
"You know, I've done all the talking," Ben smiled patiently, trying to be sociable. "Your turn. I really don't know that much about you. Tell me something."
"...Well, I'm 16. I don't have very many friends," Mal shrugged, not sure what to tell him. "And I've only ever lived in one place."
"Me, too," Ben nodded eagerly and hopefully. "That... We have so much in common already."
"No. Trust me, we do not," Mal replied. "And you're the most popular boy in school. You're class president, everybody knows you, you're the star quarterback, and everybody loves you, but there's something deep and underneath from that rather than power and riches. I can tell."
Ben looked wide-eyed and a little thankful that she saw that there was more to him deep down than there was on the outside with his rich and precocious status. He began to look very hopeful that something would come from this date and maybe it would after all with the way they were talking to each other.
"Who wouldn't love you, honestly?" Mal then continued.
"Do you love me, Mal?" Ben asked then hopefully.
Mal's eyes widened and she looked bashful and sheepish.
"Well...?" Ben asked then. "You're an amazing girl. You're new and yet you see me as a person and I see you as a person too, even if you got detention on your first week of school."
Mal frowned as she didn't want to be reminded of that right now.
Ben noticed that and decided to change the subject a bit. "Let's go for a swim." he then suggested.
"What? Uh... Right now?" Mal gasped as he suddenly stood up off of the picnic ground after they finished eating.
"Yeah, right now." Ben nodded as he began to unbutton his shirt.
"I think I'm just gonna stay here." Mal said nervously.
"No, no, no," Ben shook his head and took her hand, trying to get her to come and join him. "Come on."
"I think I'm gonna stay behind and have a strawberry," Mal grinned nervously and soon took one of the strawberries out of the bowl and began to munch on it. "How did you know I like strawberries? I just love strawberries. Mm! Mm~..."
"Don't eat all of them." Ben chuckled as he soon went behind a boulder and began to strip down into his swim shorts.
"Okay. Ooh! Mm~" Mal beamed before she looked over and saw him coming out, wearing his swim shorts. "Are those little crowns on your shorts?" she then asked, a bit amused.
"Maybe," Ben shrugged before he soon suddenly did a cannonball and splashed around suddenly, having the time of his life while she stayed behind. "Whoo! Ha-ha!" he then started to laugh out loud.
Mal smiled, glad to see him having fun as he began to swim around and have a lot of fun. However, she felt a bit strange and she wasn't sure what it was. She just wasn't sure what she was feeling and wished she could tell herself what it was all about. If only she could know what her heart was telling her. She didn't go swimming, after all, she didn't have her swimsuit with her and she soon looked around as it was quiet from Ben for a while and he seemed to suddenly be gone.
"Ben...? Ben... BEN?!" Mal soon called out, but only heard her echo as he was nowhere to be found and she soon jumped into the water and began to look around for him, not caring if she got her best clothes wet. She tried to swim around to look for him, though she seemed to have trouble in the water, gasping and panicking around. She soon cried out as she seemed to be drowning and panicked even more as she couldn't touch the ground anymore.
Eventually, Ben came out of the water and carried her in his arms. Mal coughed and sputtered a bit from the water that came into her mouth and she soon looked up at him, a bit bleary-eyed due to her traumatic swimming experience.
"Ugh! You scared me!" Mal complained once she was sitting down on the picnic grounds again, looking very frustrated.
"You can't swim?" Ben asked.
"No!" Mal glared. "I never learned how and I never want to!"
"And you still tried to save me..." Ben said softly.
"Yeah. And do you thank me? No!" Mal glared as she was having a miserable time right now. "All I get is soaking wet!"
"And, uh, this fancy rock," Ben then said, bringing out a glowing and crystallized rock that almost looked like a diamond. "It's yours. Make a wish and throw it back in the lake."
Mal looked at him and soon swiped it and chucked it right back into the water in a huff.
"I guess you're not having a good time?" Ben frowned in concern.
"Ben, I think I should just go home," Mal sighed as she crossed her arms and shrugged. "Ben, I appreciate you taking me out for a lunch date, I really do. The food was great and the company was even greater."
"So you liked it?" Ben asked hopefully.
"Yes, I liked it very much." Mal nodded as she admitted that.
Ben flashed a small smile as that seemed to make him look a bit more hopeful. Mal frowned thoughtfully to him, not sure what to do or say to that.
"Why don't you come to the big game against The Pirates tomorrow evening?" Ben suggested. "It's our second to last big game of the school semester before the final one against Sherwood and there's gonna be a big banquet with lots of food before Winter Break."
"Gee, Ben, I dunno..." Mal said softly.
"You can think about it," Ben smiled hopefully. "But I do hope that you come around. I think that you might like it."
"...I'll see what I'm doing around then," Mal shrugged. "After all, this weekend is a big party at Evie's house."
"A party at Evie's?" Ben asked. "Mayor Mills is letting Evie host a party at the mansion? I figured the only parties allowed there were for The City Council or something."
"Oh... Well, it's gonna be the party of the century," Mal said, hiding a small smirk as she remembered her deal with Uma. "Don't tell her though, but everybody in school's gonna be there."
"Well," Ben chuckled as he soon wrapped Mal up in his jacket so that she could warm up a bit. "That does sound like a lot of fun, but shouldn't Evie know about a party going on at her own house?"
"Oh, it's just a special surprise," Mal replied. "Anybody who's anybody will be there Saturday night at 7:00."
"Well... Okay," Ben nodded. "That does sound promising... But you should come to my football game... Deal?" he then asked as a compromise.
"I suppose that's fair," Mal said to him before they shook hands on it. "I... I think I'll see you around, Ben. I think I remember the way back home."
"Leaving so soon?" Ben frowned.
"Uh, yeah, I should get going to dinner," Mal replied as she walked off. "I'll see you later."
"Um, Mal... I think that I love you," Ben said softly so as to stop her as she shivered a bit from the cold water. "You don't have to say you love me back, I just thought I'd tell you how I feel."
Mal looked wide-eyed and stunned that Ben, the most popular boy in school, was falling in love with her as she never would've expected such a thing to ever happen to her. This just felt like a badly written teen soap opera or romantic comedy movie. What was this, Summer School Musical?
"Do you love me?" Ben then asked as she stared down at her feet.
Mal heaved a sharp sigh as she shook her head a bit. "I don't know what love feels like." she then said in a low tone of voice and shrugged, giving a frustrated sigh.
Ben soon held out his hand and moved her face with his fingertip, raising her chin a bit so that they would be looking at each other in the eyes. "Maybe I can teach you." he then offered.
Mal began to look thoughtful about that, though she still felt funny about all of this. Many girls from school, especially Audrey, would probably kill to be in her shoes right now, having Ben French in love with her. However, her heart felt empty as she barely even knew him and vice versa. She began to feel like that she simply did not love Ben back and she wasn't sure how she would ever be able to tell him.