Right Through Me

(Day 39: Wednesday Morning)

"Mal. It's time to get up." Evie looks away from the mirror, as she finishes her makeup. "Mal!" There's still no response. Evie stands still for a moment before walking over to her, and then she reaches to shake her shoulder, "Mal?" She's cold to the touch. "Mal," Evie fearfully says as she shakes her hard, and when the groan is heard she sighs in relief. "Mal."

"What?" she tiredly complains.

"You're freezing. We need to get you warm."

"No."

Evie furrows her eyebrows, "What do you mean, no?"

Mal merely grumbles, but when Evie pulls her into more of an upright position and places a hand to her neck Mal says, "Don't."

"I'm not letting you do this to yourself," Evie sternly responds, before she places her other hand to Mal's cheek and gives her a long kiss; however, after the minute passes she breaks apart from her and lets out a shaky breath, as she shivers from the cold.

Mal gives her a stern look, underlying with concern, "You can't give your heat to me. I'm hurting you."

"You're right," Evie lets out softly in acceptance. "You've gone too far. I don't have enough for you."

Mal watches Evie pull out her cellphone, "What are you doing?"

"Considering how cold you are, that I don't have enough heat for you, and that I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that heat lamps and hot baths can actually cause a heart attack for someone with hypothermia, I have no other choice. I'm calling Ben."

"No."

"Yes," Evie insists as she pulls up his contact info and calls him. "Hey. Ben."

"Hi, Evie."

She pauses for a second, "Are you eating something?"

"I'm at breakfast," he confirms.

"Right," Evie tries to ignore. "Look. You know how I said at some point Mal would need you? Well, she needs you."

"What?" Ben asks as he sets his toast down and glances at Doug. "You mean now?"

"Yes, now," Evie frustrates. "We're in our room. Get up here now."

After the call ends Ben stands from the table and puts the phone back into his pocket, "I've got to go." before he runs out of the cafeteria.

When Evie hears the knock she opens the door, "You actually showed."

"Of course I showed," Ben irritably replies as he walks in. "How is she?"

"Tired. Cold." Evie sincerely informs, "I'm pretty sure she did this on purpose."

He looks from Evie to Mal, before he walks over to his girlfriend and kneels down beside her; however, when his hand runs down from her hair to her cheek she tiredly comments, "Don't give me anything."

"Mal." He tries to reason, "Heat is a necessity. Everyone needs it."

"And I'm just the monster that takes it by force."

He assures her, "You're not forcing me to do anything."

"The world would be better off without me," she insists.

"And what about me?" he counters. "Do you honestly think I'd be better off without you in my world?"

"Yes," she simply states. He doesn't know what else he could possibly say, but as he sees her tears he feels he must at least say something. "I've heard the things that they've been calling you. Gullible. Naive."

"And none of it means a thing," he quickly responds. "Because it's not true."

It takes a moment for her to respond, "I wish I were so sure."

He takes her hand and finds it to be freezing cold, "I need you in my life."

"Why?"

Ben pauses. The truth is he hasn't thought much about it himself, "Because… Because I feel connected to you. Because you feel and understand things that I've never been able to explain before. Because…" He looks into her eyes, "You make me feel more complete, happy, and understood than I've ever felt before." He places a hand to her cheek. "It's like you can see right through me, that I can be open with you without saying a single word."

Evie turns on Maleficent's heat light and covers the terrarium with a sheet, "I'm just going to give you two some privacy." before she heads for the door.

Ben glances over for a second, before he returns his attention to Mal, "I don't want to offer you heat just because I'd feel guilty if you died. I also want to do it, because you've done so much for me and because I don't want my life to go back to the way it was before I met you." She stays quiet, but Ben can see the awe in her expression. "Please, let me help you. Trust me. I have more than enough heat for the both of us."

She nods, "Okay."

Ben slightly smiles, "Okay." but then comments in uncertainty. "Uh. How do we do this, exactly?"

Mal smiles back, placing her hand on his neck and putting his onto hers, "Like this." before she moves in and kisses him.

When Ben exits the room Evie smiles at him in surprise, "Done already? You're a fast one, aren't you?"

"Well, it's just that we have classes," he defends.

"Uh-hmm." Evie hums.

"We just went for a more efficient approach this time," he tries to explain. "With the limited time, you know— under normal circumstances—"

"Ben," Evie laughs. "It's okay. I'm just teasing you."

"Oh," Ben straightens his back. "Right. Of course." He pretends to clear his throat, "So, ah… How long do you think it will take her to get ready?"

"Mal?" Evie questions. "I mean, she's not exactly the girliest girl, is she? No. She'll probably see what time it is, pick out the first clean thing she can find, brush her teeth, and then comb her hair. The ushe."

"So, not that long," Ben answers.

"Nope."

Ben nods, and the two remain quiet for a minute; however, soon enough Ben finds himself thinking of what other people will say. "You know, I actually ran here."

"Really?" Evie comments, "Good. I'm glad you took it seriously."

"Yeah," Ben starts, and then Evie gives him a questioning look. "It's just, what do I tell people if they ask why I was running or where I was running to?"

"Tell them your girlfriend needed you."

"And if they ask for details?" he unsurely questions.

She furrows her eyebrows at him, "Then tell them it's none of their damn business. What? You're not one of those guys who go around talking about their scores, are you?"

"What?" His eyes widen at the realization, "Oh! No. No. Of course not."

"Good." Evie holds her head up high, "Because Mal deserves so much better than that."

Ben notices her protective stance, "I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. You have to know that."

Evie looks back at him, nodding as she shuts her eyes for a second, "Yeah. I know." and when the door opens from behind them they turn around.

Mal looks between the two of them suspiciously, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Ben smiles, "Evie was just about to tell me that if I hurt you in any way, then she'd have to kill me." He looks at the best friend, "Or, at least that's what I presume."

Evie smiles back, "What can I say? Mal's my girl."

Mal widely grins as she laughs with unease, "Hey. Don't we have classes to attend or something?" They're attention is brought back to her. "'Cause I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that if I'm late for suspension, I'll get into even more trouble."

"Of course," Ben nods. "But first things first." He glances between the two of them, before he turns to Mal, "My parents got a call back from the lawyer. A meeting has been set up for tomorrow afternoon." He gestures with his hands, "Your attendance, it's mandatory."

Mal frowns, "What time?"

"I'll meet you here after classes. The driver will pick us up out front."

Mal nods, "Okay."

-So, what do you think of the interactions between Ben and Evie these last two chapters? Personally, I really like the part where he gets all defensive on being 'fast'. I can only imagine how much more defensive he would have been had it more than just kissing and stuff. I also really like the part where Ben has to explain why he likes Mal so much, because, I mean, I couldn't just continue having it seem like he's obsessed with her for no reason (let's face it. The writing I've had so far does make it seem as though Mal is getting a lot more out of the relationship than he is, considering all of her baggage and everything). Anyway, I'm loving your comments. Keep them going.