You Don't Know

(Day 93: Monday Morning)

"Hey," Doug comments as he sits down at the cafeteria table where Mal and her friends sit, before they all eye each other and Mal looks at Doug.

She offers an uncomfortable smile, "I don't mean for this to sound mean or anything, but Ben's not here. Don't you have to get back to your pack of science geeks or something?"

He tightly purses his lips and nods, before he eyes up in thought, "Actually, I always had a strong belief that making friends in high school wasn't worth it, because studies show that those friends don't usually last. I just know Ben, because he's my roommate."

"And yet you're not choosing to sit alone now," Mal sweetly says before smiling. "We corrupted you."

He nods again, "I think that might be a very good possibility." before he frowns and adjusts his glasses. "Seriously, though. We need to talk about Ben."

Mal frowns, "What about him?"

Doug glances over the four of them before informing, "I visited him yesterday, and the things he was saying… I'm concerned."

"Why are you concerned?"

Doug takes a breath, "Look. The translator I was using wasn't great or anything, but—" He tightly closes his lips before looking over them, "Has he told any of you about his father?"

"What about his father?" Mal questions.

"Anything," Doug asserts. "Did he talk to you at all?"

Mal hesitates, "Well, there was that night that he was upset and you got me to comfort him, but I was pretty sure I told you about that already."

"Tell me again," he insists.

Mal runs her nails through her hair, "Ben didn't say much. It was just that his father doesn't think he can run the kingdom properly. He's hard on him."

"Anything else?"

Mal gives him a look, "What do I have to do, replay the entire conversation? I told you the gist of it." She hears him sigh, "Why? What's going on?"

It takes a minute for Doug to say, "I think Ben's father might be hurting him."

"What do you mean, hurting him?" Mal indifferently responds.

"Just somehow," Doug frustrates. "Look." He takes a breath, "I think that Ben's in the hospital right now because of his father."

"Did he tell you that?" Jay jumps in.

"It was implied," Doug defends.

"But you said the translator wasn't great," Carlos comments. "Unless he actually said it, how can you know that's what he meant?"

"He was really upset," Doug desperately answers. "He said his father wasn't nice, and even though he insisted his father didn't push him down those stairs, I can still tell he feels like it's his father's fault."

It's quiet before Mal inquires, "Do you have any reason to believe this kind of thing as happened before?"

"Yes," Doug immediately responds. "I've seen it with my own eyes, his father ripping up his speech."

"He ripped up his speech," Jay unenthusiastically replies. "He didn't throw a knife at him? Poison him? Starve him if he didn't do what he was told? He just tore up a piece of paper?"

Doug sighs, "Look. You had to be there. It was worse than that."

"And I think you need to spend a day on the Isle," Jay counters before shaking his head. "People here cry over the stupidest stuff."

"You really have nothing else to go on?" Mal frowns, and then Doug sighs. "Ben's father seems like a stern guy with high expectations and hard rules, but that's not always a bad thing."

"He's afraid of him," Evie remembers, before she looks at Mal. "Ben is afraid of his father." She slightly shakes her head at Doug, "But that doesn't mean he's hurting him."

"Abuse doesn't have to just be physical," he reminds her before turning to the rest of them. "Something is wrong. I know it."

Mal eyes down for a second, "Let's say his father is hurting him." before she challenges Doug with raised, scrunched eyebrows. "What's your plan?"

"We tell someone," he immediately responds.

"And then what?" Mal questions.

"What do you mean, and what?"

Evie turns toward him, "Telling people things have consequences." and then he faces her. "Do you really want Ben to get punished for something you did?"

He opens his mouth to speak, but Mal interrupts before he can, "You report it, right? Somehow law enforcement gets involved?"

"Yes," Doug nods. "There would be an investigation."

"Which takes time," Mal assumes. "How long?" Doug fails to speak, and she glances down, "Because, if it takes too long, Ben could be dead by the time it ends."

"I'm sure there would be procedures. Precautions," he thinks up.

"And what if there's a cover up?" Mal remembers how she had come forward and Hook was assumed innocent, "Is Ben really supposed to live with his father after all that?" She muses it over, "I'm sure he would be mad, that a family member betrayed him. Because, he gave him life, and parents need to be respected for all of the good they've done for you."

Doug shakes his head at her, "You're his girlfriend. You can't really be saying that you want to just stand by and let this happen to him."

"If this is happening," Mal evenly responds, "which we don't even know if it is or not, then Ben is a lot safer if we don't get involved."

Doug stares at her for a moment, "I don't believe you. We need to help him. You have to want to help him. You care about him." He furrows his brows and sadly asks, "Don't you?"

"Ben is safer," Mal leans forward and slowly repeats, "if we don't get him in trouble." Doug continues to stare in disbelief, so she looks about the table, "Who here thinks it's a good idea to report Doug's suspicions about Ben's father?"

When none of them raise their hand Jay frowns, "If Ben really is in trouble, then he knows how to handle it. We can't just barge in when we don't even know what's going on."

"We know what's going on," Doug disclaims. "Ben is afraid of his father, he's acting like it's his father's fault that he's in the hospital, and his father has a history of using intimidation to get what he wants. That's how he became king in the first place."

Mal gives him a look, "Does Ben's father hit him?"

"He doesn't need to be hit for it to be—"

"Just answer the questions," Mal sternly interrupts.

It takes a moment for Doug to answer, "I don't think so."

"Does his father lock him up somewhere when he does something wrong?"

Doug opens his mouth before shutting it again, "I don't know."

"Does his father keep weapons in the castle?" Mal continues.

He sighs, "I don't know."

"And if Ben is getting hurt by his father," she considers, "then why would he keep putting himself into situations where he's with his father, like those family dinners?" Doug shakes his head. "And if Ben's father is hurting him, does that mean he's hurting Belle too? Has he maybe threatened to kill her if Ben tells anyone about anything?"

Doug unsurely answers, "I don't think he—"

She interrupts with slow words, "You don't know." before she takes a drink of her milk. "If there's nothing to worry about, all we will end up doing is ruin Ben's family's reputation, which I know is very important to them for some reason." Mal meets Doug's eyes, "And if this just so happens to be true, then our involvement could get Ben dead. Do you want that?"

"Of course not," Doug's frown deepens.

"Good," Mal stares him down. "Then you will learn to shut up and mind your own business like the rest of us."

Jay comments, "If Ben really needs help, he'll ask for it."

"You don't know that," Doug mumbles.

"Yes, I do," Jay confidently retorts, "because when I really needed help I asked, and that's something I never thought I would do."

"And Ben has plenty of people to go to if he needs to," Evie adds on, before Doug looks at her. "Whether it's just for comfort, someone to talk to, or someone to stand by his side while he fights whatever is going on, we're all going to be here for him." She smiles before turning her head, "Even Carlos." He merely answers with a nod.

"This still feels wrong," Doug whispers.

Mal takes a moment, "A lot of things can be wrong." before they face each other. "Sometimes there's just nothing you can do about it that won't make it worse."

After he knocks on the door he hears Ben answer, "Come in, Doug."

He slowly opens the door and sees Ben sitting at his desk by the large window, "How did you know it was me?"

Ben's eyebrows furrow in thought, "I don't know."

Doug shuts the door, "Maybe the knock?" before he walks towards him.

He eyes the ornate blue and gold rug, "I don't know. Maybe."

He sits in a nearby armchair, and when Ben faces him he asks, "How are you doing?"

Ben glances out the window, "I hoped it would be better. Three days and… I have to go to school Monday. I have to go to class."

Doug breathes, "Will you even understand the teachers?"

He turns back to Doug, "Understand?"

"I don't know a shorter word than that," Doug sighs, before he scratches his head. "Know, maybe?"

"Will I know the teachers?" Ben slowly rephrases, and he watches as Doug shifts in his seat. "That's not what you mean."

He looks at him, "Will you know what they say?" and Ben turns away from him.

"I have papers to look at," he excuses himself.

"Hold on. I came here for a reason." Ben frowns back at him, and he hesitates, "I wanted to give you time to rest. I need to hear this right."

"Hear what right?" Ben monotones.

Doug observes him for a moment, "I just… You talked about your father last time." and then Ben looks off for a second. "Does he hurt you?"

Ben tiredly meets Doug's eyes, "He never touched me."

His green eyes grow sadder, "I don't know if that answers my question." and Ben turns his eyes to the floor. "Ben." He looks back up. "You can tell me what's going on."

"Can I?" he distrusts.

"Of course, you can," Doug immediately responds, and he watches as Ben shocks into silence. "Look. If something is going on…" He lets out the breath, remembering what the others had said, before he finishes, "I need to know if it's safe for you to tell someone."

"I'm safe," Ben sternly eyes him, before his eyes shift. "No one needs to know."

"So, there is something to know?" Doug hurries, and Ben just barely catches the words. "Tell me."

Ben shakes his head, "There's nothing to tell."

He quietly looks at him for a moment, "I don't believe that."

Ben turns back to his desk and drinks from the soda can, "I have papers to look at."

"We need to talk about this," Doug insists. "You can't just hide in your work." He doesn't respond. "Ben." He still fails to turn around, and Doug takes a calming breath before slowly stating, "I'm worried about you." but he still doesn't speak. "Just tell me one thing: are you really afraid of your father?"

Ben looks down at the bright light that covers his papers, before he whispers, "I'm afraid of a lot of things." He moves his thumb up and down the wooden pencil, "I'm afraid of telling Mal things. I'm afraid of getting sick. I'm afraid of dying." and the faster his thumb moves along the pencil, the more yellow paint his nail scrapes off of it. "I'm afraid of being what I am." He swipes the paint dust off of his papers and dark desk. "Some things just can't be changed."

"I would like to change this," Doug quietly responds. "All you have to do is come see Fairy Godmother with me. She can keep your father from the school. She can be there when you tell the police."

It takes a minute for Ben to comment, "Being worried about what your son does and how he lives isn't a crime."

"Verbal abuse is," Doug asserts. "Emotional abuse is. If he tells you the same bad things all the time, I'm sure that would be a crime."

"They're just words."

"They affect the way you feel and work," Doug counters. "As king, that's a big deal."

It takes a second for him to think, "Right. I'm king. I can't make it a crime for someone to tell me I'm not good at it."

"Ben," Doug begins.

"They think I'm a child. I can't make them right."

"Who thinks that?" Doug questions.

"Everyone," Ben says, before he finishes off his soda, shakes the can, and goes to open the next one.

"You act older than you are," he reassures. "You have for as long as I've known you."

"Doesn't matter," Ben mumbles. "They think I'm a child. I can't act like one."

"So, you won't turn your father in?" Doug softly disapproves.

He continues to frown, "I don't know if there's anything to turn him in for."

Doug shakes his head, "You've taken all of the classes. You have to know better than anyone. I know you have to know something is wrong."

Ben turns back to him, "Just because something is wrong, doesn't make it a crime." before he nods to the door. "Now, go."

"Ben," he tries to reason.

"I can't do this," Ben interrupts. "I have papers. You need to go."

Doug slowly nods, "Alright." before he stands from the chair. "I'm here if you need someone." He turns to walk back to the door, looking back and seeing Ben turn away from him, before he leaves the room and clicks the door shut behind him.

- DaniFan3000 You make a great point about how the barrier would probably go down if Fairy Godmother dies. Now, as we can tell from the movie, Jane is terrible at magic (if you remember the scene where she had the wand and sparks where flying everywhere, and then when Mal had the wand the magic was stable). Now, maybe that was more due to Jane's lack of practice, but even if it is I feel like in this world— where Mal would be a potential future queen of the country— Fairy Godmother would be teaching Mal how to keep the barrier up... although, with how many times Mal attempted suicide I wouldn't recommend that. Plus, she's fresh out of the Isle, so because of potential loyalty to its people there's no way they would risk teaching her that any time soon. And, yes, you're right about Adam having his own personal biases against magic. Of course he would want it outlawed after all of those years he spent as the beast (there's a film theory on this... either by SuperCarlinBrothers or Wotso Videos. I don't remember who. It's been a while. But, anyway, Adam would have been ruffly 12 years old at the time that he was transformed into the beast. Now, you can say that no one aged while under the curse, but I would argue that while the "inanimate objects" didn't age that certainly an animal would). So, that being said, Adam really hates magic, and that indeed can extend to magic users; however, for the purposes of this fanfic I am using the term enchantress to describe a witch who has fairy magic. So, Adam may hate magic because of what he had to go through, but I'm thinking that he might hate witches more. This would just be because a witch's abilities— such as sensing auras, hearing thoughts, or seeing the past or future— can make it hard for them to mind their own business. Like, seriously, telepathy is really horrible. You could just be sitting in math class and then you hear the girl behind you having problems with a math question, so you turn around and try to help her with that specific question (keep in mind that all of her other friends are gone that day for some reason) and then she sasses, "Was I talking to you? Uh, no."... Of course, then again you could be in German class with absolutely no knowledge about sports, be asked an extra credit question about how many stadiums for a specific sport there are in Germany, and then you hear a German word. At this time it's the beginning of your second year of German, you're relearning your numbers so you can't recall what that word is in English, so you answer the question using the German word you heard— and congrats! You got it right! However, you could also find yourself trying to do homework during lunch, and this one guy just keep literally saying "I need to do that, and then I have to do that." without even specifying what the "that's" are. So, you tell him to be quiet again, and you hear him say that he thought he was, but he just does not stop talking! Now, all of sudden you hear him yell about how he forgot he had a knife in his locker, so you look around the cafeteria with hope that he's going to go away and not bother you... No such luck. It's like no one even heard him. They were just all too caught up in their own little worlds, but you still want him to stop bothering you. So, you call over a teacher, tell the teacher that the guy has something he wants to tell him, but when he says he doesn't you tell the teacher about the knife yourself... Now, this gets him into trouble, and since he's friends with your friend, you're friend asks you why you got him into trouble. You excuse it by saying he yelled it and no one noticed, and after your friend investigates further they find out that the guy never actually said anything aloud and that you were indeed just hearing his thoughts... Now, you have to ask the guy in person, and when he confirms that you can't help but say just how sorry you are. (If anyone has had any experiences that you think could be telepathy or the like, then feel free to leave your stories. I would love to read them.)... not that any of these things ever happened to me. I am just sooo creative, ya know? Lol. No. Really. I'm just going to be honest here. Those three stories completely happened to me... two of the three are suspect as to whether it was actually telepathy or not, but I'm just assuming at this point that everyone has had some kind of experience like that... Am I wrong?... I'm wrong, aren't I? I just sound crazy now.

-Posted: 11/14/2018