Poisonous
(Day 107: Monday Noon)
"I hate to disappoint, but I can't say much," Doug answers Mal at the cafeteria table. "He's really been keeping to himself. He doesn't even really talk to me, and I'm his roommate." He adjusts his glasses, "Then again, might have just gotten him mad at him."
"Oh, hey." Mal smiles, "There's Ben." as she sees him enter the room, but her smile immediately falls at the sight of Chad. Doug sees her mouth slightly gape and turns around to see Ben and Chad enter the food line. "Seriously. He couldn't even stand eating one meal with me, but now he's eating with Chad twice in one day?"
"He's probably just still insecure about his English," Doug defends.
"We'll see about that." She stands from the table and struts over to the buffet table, "Hey, Ben." and when they turn around she unenthusiastically addresses Chad. "You." She smiles back at Ben, "What's up?"
He frowns for a moment, "Food. I'm getting food."
"Yes," Mal agrees, before she tilts her head to the side, "About that. You know, I was thinking that maybe you would sit with us." She hysterically grins, "I mean, we are together and we haven't spent any time at all together in what seems like forever."
Ben eyes her for a minute before looking at Chad in question, speaking in French, before Chad responds and Ben looks back at her, "Mal. I want to spend some time with you, but I can't right now."
"It's just lunch," Mal protests before nodding towards Chad. "What, you'd rather eat with him for the rest of your life?" Ben speaks to Chad again, Chad answers the question, and Ben makes a comment with Audrey's name. "What about Audrey?" They swiftly turn back to her, their expressions as though she'd caught them talking about something they shouldn't be.
"Ben was just saying how much you're starting to act like her," Chad raises his eyebrows. "It's only been two weeks. What? You don't have a life of your own?" Mal continues to stare at him, but she fails to speak. "I think you should take a step back. If you really care about Ben, you will leave him alone until he gets better."
"You're just saying that so that you can have him," Mal infuriates.
"He's allowed friends," Chad disarms.
"Friends," she enunciates. "Not a fucking boyfriend. He's my boyfriend. Mine."
He smirks, "Your eyes are green with envy." before Ben moves forward and kisses her.
When they break apart her eyes no longer glow, "Mal. I know this is hard for you, but you really need to give me some time alone."
"But you're not alone," she counters in frustration, before she points a hand at Chad. "You're with him. You've been with him all week, and you've left me completely hanging."
It takes a minute for him to comment, "Can you speak slower, please."
"I said," Mal grits her teeth, "I don't want you spending all your time with Chad."
"He's helping me," Ben defends.
"He's stealing you from me," Mal disputes, before she takes a step back to get a view of Chad. "Seriously. Aren't you with enough people the way it is?"
"Mal," Ben intervenes. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Him." Mal gestures to Chad again, "He's—" but then she notices the shock on his face and the clear fear in his eyes. She shakes her head and takes a step back, "Forget it." before she turns around and heads back to her table.
After she sits down Doug slowly questions, "So, what's Chad exactly?"
"He's a greedy closet case who doesn't know how to be satisfied enough with just two people," Mal answers in distain before taking a drink of milk.
"Maybe not for much longer," Carlos comments, and when Mal looks back at Chad she watches as Audrey pulls him away out into the hall. She smiles, "That looks fun." as she picks up her chicken sandwich. "If only we could be there to see it." She turns to Evie, "If only."
"The mirror doesn't have sound," Evie points out.
"It would still be fun to watch," Mal smiles, and with that Evie gives in.
Out in the hallway Audrey brings Chad near a mostly secluded wall, "What's this about you having enough people the way it is?"
Chad makes a face, "Are you really going to believe what a villain's kid says?"
"Mal?" Audrey raises her eyebrows. "Yes." Chad frowns, and Audrey can feel the tears intrude her eyes, "You know, I knew that you had a reputation, but I just thought…" She stares into his blue eyes, "Are you cheating on me?"
Chad places his hands on her shoulders, "I can honestly say that you're the only girl I've been with recently."
"How recently?"
"Since we started dating," he answers.
She lets out a breath of relief, but then she recalls Mal's worry about him stealing Ben from her, "What about guys?"
"What?" Chad grins.
"Mal was worried about you and Ben," Audrey pointedly states.
"Okay." He takes his hands off from her, "Look. There are some guys I connect with better than others, and we both know that where Mal comes from that kind of thing happens. She's probably misreading what Ben and me have as something more than it is."
"So, you're not doing anything with guys either?" she makes sure.
It takes a minute for Chad to frown in answer, "Anything more than a kiss would be pretty much illegal. Why would I do it?"
"Because I'm not putting out," Audrey reasons, before she begins to cry, "So that you can tell me you haven't been with another girl." She whispers, "I'm not making you sin, am I?"
"You're not making me do anything," Chad softly reassures, before he brings a hand to her face. "I love you. You have nothing to worry about." She turns her head, and his hand falls back to his side. "Don't you believe me?"
"I don't know." Audrey looks back at him and questions, "Are you a true Lutheran?"
It takes a moment for Chad to answer, "Yes."
"So, you believe in the Trinity God?" she gets a grip of herself.
"Yes," he quietly answers.
"Do you believe that homosexuality is an unnatural act?"
His eyes shift, "It happens in nature. Animals do it. You know that, right?"
"But we're not animals," Audrey disputes. "God has a plan for us. He made us separate from the animals. We're better than them. He gave them to us to take care of." She takes a breath and asks again, "Do you believe that homosexuality is an immoral act forbidden to us by God?"
"Yes," Chad can't help but answer.
"And that you will spend eternity in the hellfire of damnation if you do it?" she asserts.
He gulps before answering, "Yes. I do."
Back in the cafeteria Doug shakes his head, "You're sick." as he notices them all seeming to smile. "How can you honestly enjoy watching this?"
"Human nature," Mal evenly states.
"But you're not even human," he points out.
"Which makes it apply even less to me," she counters, and he just gives a look of disbelief. "What? People laugh when others get hurt all the time."
"Because it's something that the ape family has inherited from their common ancestor," he informs her. "We use laughter to let people know that we're not hurt, that the play or whatever we're doing is okay to continue. But they're not laughing. You don't see them laughing, do you?"
The sternness in his voice makes the silence afterward seem even more desolate, before Carlos comments, "Where we come from people get hurt all the time."
"So, what? You're desensitized to it?" Doug questions.
"Or we're just glad it's not us," Jay solves.
Doug shakes his head again, "Do what you want." before he picks up the apple and stands from the table. "I can't do this with you guys."
"Doug," Evie says.
He hears her sad tone and turns around, "I'm sorry, Evie. I am. But I can't." before he steps back to leave.
"Your heat readings are even lower than they were last week," the therapist notes.
"Ben got injured," Mal excuses. "We haven't spent a lot of time together since."
"But you have other heat sources, don't you?" she seriously questions.
Mal glances down, "There's Evie, but she's not as warm as Ben is." before looking towards the door. "Mostly, I've been depending on hot baths and showers." She meets her blue eyes, "I could get a lighter, but I'm not fireproof. If I touch it too much, I could still get blisters."
"Is there anything else you can think of?"
Mal takes a moment, "Reptiles sun bathe, but this isn't the desert. Actually, it rains here a lot." before she eyes the coffee table. "Ben got me a heat lamp, but it doesn't help that much." She thinks, "Maybe if I had a sleeping bag, but that would only trap the heat I already have."
"And you really can't generate your own heat?" the brunet inquires.
Mal shakes her head, "Wish I could. I would love to drink cold drinks, not have to spend every day wondering where I can get heat and when, or just feel warm in general." She glances down, "But I can't, and I won't ever." before facing her. "Humans are lucky."
"Do you wish you could be human?"
It takes a minute for Mal to answer, "No. It's not who I am." and her eyes shift. "They don't make any sense anyway. My mom always complained about how they have such a short memory and keep making the same mistakes over and over again." She takes the purple flower notebook back, "Life would be easier without them."
"You think so?" she evenly asks.
"In the long term," Mal frowns. "I mean, my mom is only like three hundred years old. I can only imagine how annoying humans must get over a thousand." She slightly laughs, "It's no wonder she tried burning the continent to the ground." Mal rubs her hands together before blowing into them, "I wish I had fire breath."
"What would you do if you did?"
"For starters, I would make myself a nice warm bed," she conjures. "Light a forest up, maybe, and just sleep there for a few hours, nice, toasty, and warm."
"And then what?" she prompts.
"Well," Mal leans back on the couch, "lighting Chad's pants on fire sounds like fun."
"Who's Chad?"
"You know," Mal nods, "Chad Charming." She looks up toward the ceiling, "He's been cozying up to Ben. I don't like it."
"And why's that?"
"Because," Mal meets her eyes. "Ben's mine. He can't have him."
"You seem to be very territorial over him," the therapist notices.
"He's not texting back," Mal complains. "He said he would text back, but he never did. We've barely spoken since he got out of the hospital. It's just been him being with stupid Chad, speaking stupid French, all stupid day long."
"And how does that make you feel?"
"It makes me feel like getting Ben alone and remind him who I am."
It takes a moment for her to question, "What do you mean, remind him of who you are?"
"Well, his girlfriend," Mal informs, before she crosses her arms. "I'm not just some hybrid he can use to make himself feel better."
"And how would you remind him of that?"
Mal scoots to the edge of the couch and leans forward, glowing her eyes, "You will not tell anyone what I'm going to say during the next ten minutes." The therapist waits for her to answer, before Mal leans back again, "So, Ben's always in his room, right? He doesn't like people. People are awful. But then again, he's been in the library with Chad… I almost have to get rid of Chad." She shifts her eyes up before clapping her hands, "I've got it. I'll paralyze Chad and while he's out of the way I'll go to Ben's room, I'll wear something so that he won't just blow me off, and then I'll have him all to myself."
"Paralyze Chad Charming?" she raises her eyebrows.
Mal waves it off, "Don't worry. It's temporary." before she thinks aloud. "But I'm probably going to want to get him to digest the venom so that it actually affects his entire body. And it would have to be a lot." She smiles, "I bet I could slip it into a drink."
"You realize," the therapist warns her, "that poisoning a royal is a capital offense."
"And yet someone could poison me and have no one blink an eye."
"I'm just saying," she continues, "that you shouldn't give into these impulses of yours. There's better ways to deal with your situation."
"Like what?" Mal skeptically questions. "Wait for Ben not to care about me at all?"
"Or," she suggests, "you could put your emotions on paper, express yourself in a healthy way. You draw, don't you?"
"I mean, yeah."
"So," she concludes, "how about we do this. You can draw a picture that depicts your current feelings, you can bring it here next week, and then we can discuss it?"
"Or," Mal counters. "I could just solve the reason why I'm upset in the first place."
The woman is quiet for a minute, "Do you consider yourself a tactical person?"
Mal shrugs, "I guess."
She nods, "So, tell me what happens after you paralyze the prince of Charmington? What happens to him?"
"Like I said," Mal irritably comments, "it will wear off."
"Yes," she agrees, "but what would he do after that? How would he react?"
"I mean," Mal thinks, "he would probably just think it was a snake or something."
"Without any bite marks?" the therapist counters.
"Well," Mal unsurely starts.
"As a prince, surely he would be sent to the hospital to get a full exam." She puts forward, "If they need to find the anti-venom, then they would have to find out what caused it. I doubt your specific venom would be recognized."
"And if they knew dragon venom existed and just so happened to be able to recognize it," Mal thinks ahead, "I'm the only thing around that's a dragon or, uh, part dragon."
"Which would also be fairly obvious if you were to give the drink to him yourself," she quietly points out.
Mal furrows her eyebrows at her, "Why do you keep poking holes in everything I want to do? It's like you're leaving me with no plan or purpose to grip to at all."
"My only intention is to get you to think about why it is you do the things you do," the brunette lets her know. "My overall goal is to get you to understand that humans are not that different from you, and doing something like this would greatly undermine that hope."
"It's not just with humans, though," Mal loudly disbelieves. "It's with everything. Everything I do or complain about, you take the other side. Am I that wrong?" She painfully smiles as she laughs, "I mean, I am the last member of my species. Maybe this heat issue I'm having is just a sign from nature that I was never supposed to exist."
"Or, maybe," she counters, "the reason why you have this heat issue is because you are so hostile toward humans."
"Hostile?" Mal exasperates.
"If you had a better relationship with humans," she suggests, "then you would have an easier time getting people to give you heat."
"I am a dragon hybrid with fairy magic," Mal asserts. "It is only by choice that I've been dealing with being cold like this. I don't need anyone's permission to do anything. I could easily make a human give me heat if I wanted to."
"Which is exactly what got you into trouble in the first place." Mal narrows her eyes at her, but she's not impressed by the intimidation. "I realize that reptiles aren't traditionally social animals, but if you respect your boyfriend and his position as king of this country then you will make a strong attempt to get along with society."
Mal glances at the clock and smirks, "And if my boyfriend respected me, he wouldn't be completely ignoring my need for heat." before she stands. "Bye-bye, Janis."
On the walk home Mal stops in front of the liquor store, and with a slight shake of the head she continues on; however, it's then she hears the little girl, "Hey. It's the king's girlfriend." and she turns to see the blond point at her.
The mother keeps her from walking forward, "Not too close." as she eyes over Mal and places her arm around the girl. "She's poisonous." Mal stares at them as they walk away, and the mother gives a final look over her shoulder before hurrying off.
After they exit from view Mal continues to walk ahead, but suddenly she halts and rolls her eyes, twisting back around, triggering the bell to the store, and eyeing over the bottles as she searches for the cheapest thing she can find. She finds a bottle of red wine for five dollars and brings it to the counter. "Good afternoon," the brown haired man greets. "Will this be all for you today?"
"Yeah," Mal answers.
He rings it up, "Okay. That will be six dollars."
"What?" Mal furrows her eyebrows. "It said five."
"There's a twenty percent tax on alcoholic beverages," the man smiles in explanation.
"Tax?"
"Sales tax," he informs her. "It's supposed to discourage people from buying it."
Mal narrows her eyes, "That doesn't make any sense."
"Just be grateful that you aren't getting a hundred dollar bottle." He grins, "If you were, then you would be twenty dollars short."
Her mouth gapes, "Why the hell don't you have the sales tax included in the price?"
He leans on the counter and whispers, "We just really like to confuse people with math."
She huffs, "Funny."
"I thought you might like that."
Mal gives him a look, "So, what's the real reason?"
He glances around the empty store, "I'm going to let you in on a little something here." before he maliciously smirks. "You don't have to break the law if you know how to use it to your advantage." She offers an unimpressed look. "For example, there is no law that says you need to include the tax into the sale's price, and I don't do it because there's these people, you see." He gestures, "Let's call them Richie. Okay. So, Richie comes in here and buys seven bottles of wine for his Christmas party. Now, because he's Richie he will see that he's paying let's say seven hundred dollars, but he won't bother to see that I'm getting an extra hundred and forty dollars out of him." He evenly continues, "The fact of the matter is that people who are rich and have large social gatherings are more likely to buy wine than people who don't."
Mal frowns, "Smart for you. Not so good for me." before she shakes her head. "I'll be back. Just give me a minute." She turns around to walk out of the store, spending the next half hour scouring the alleyway for change, and when she finally finds the last penny she heads back into the store and places the dirty coins on the counter. "Sorry for the mess, but not everyone can be Richie."
He takes a disinfectant wipe and cleans the coins as he counts them, "The king couldn't spare six dollars for his girlfriend?"
"He's been busy," Mal bypasses.
The brown eyed man places the bottle and receipt into a paper bag before handing it to her, "Good day."
"Happy thieving," Mal calls back as she exits the store, before she slips into the alleyway and takes the wine out of the brown bag. So, then what? You've just been faking it since then? She recalls how Ben had placed the ring on her forefinger and kissed her hand, as she sees the gold insignia on her finger. I haven't been faking anything. She sighs and puts the bottle back into the bag, and she walks back toward the sidewalk; however, it's then that she sees the blue poster on the brick building titled Fit to Rule with a picture of Ben in uniform. The bulleted list alongside his photo declares: frees prisoners, doesn't imprison terrorists, lets girlfriend use magic, doesn't support sexual assault victims, and ordered to stop fighting the Camelot dragons. All of these things happened because of her. They hate him because of her. She takes the bottle back out and uncorks it with her teeth, before she lifts the red wine up to Ben's picture and frowns, "To peace and moving on with our lives."
"But that means your parents get to come home," Audrey counters. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"
"I guess," Lonnie answers. "I don't know. It's not like my dad will anyway. He's the general. He's in charge of boot camp, and I know my mom is just going to hate spending all of that time in the field for nothing."
"Your parents aren't even a part of Camelot's territory." Ruby opinionates, "They shouldn't even have had to fight the dragons anyway."
"Okay. First off," Lonnie informs, "the army is meant to help serve the country. That means the entire country. And secondly, they were just in charge of carrying cargo. It's not like they were actually sword fighting those monsters."
"Speaking of monsters," the blond girl notices, and the other two see the purple haired girl in the alleyway, one hand on the brick building and the other on her knee as she vomits.
"Ewe," Audrey can't help but wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"Do you think we should help her?" Lonnie worries.
"Why should we?" Audrey questions. "It's not like she'd ever help us." She notices the nearly empty wine bottle in her hand. "Besides, it's her fault she chose to get drunk."
"Audrey," Lonnie reminds her, "no one chooses to be an alcoholic, and didn't Jesus say something about not judging others and helping everyone? I would think you above anyone else would want to help her as much as I do."
"Wait," Ruby interrupts. "Mal's an alcoholic?"
Audrey gives her a look, "What? We didn't tell you?" She shakes her head. "Huh." Audrey looks back into the alleyway and watches Mal lean her arm across the brick as she rests her forehead onto it, "Maybe we should help. God knows she never helps herself."
After they glance at each other they walk forward, and when they walk into the shadows Lonnie inquires, "Mal. You okay?"
She groans, "Feel like hell."
"Well, you're a dragon," Ruby brings up. "That should be expected."
Audrey comments, "You would think that you would have stopped drinking after that last wine you had got poisoned."
"And I would think prissy princesses would be too busy making themselves look good to spend time with a terrorist," Mal tosses back.
Audrey frowns, "Your insults are terrible right now."
"Your outfit is terrible," Mal argues.
Lonnie grabs the wine bottle from Mal, before Audrey shakes her head, "You haven't even looked at us. Don't you say I look terrible."
"Mal," Lonnie sighs. "Water is the first ingredient in this."
"It is?" Audrey questions, before takes the bottle to examine the label herself. "This must have been some really cheap stuff."
"Why does it matter if it has water in it?" Ruby asks.
"Wow. We've really kept you out of the loop," Audrey responds in surprise.
"She's allergic or something," Lonnie answers. "She can't have it."
Mal turns around and leans her back onto the wall, "I don't feel good."
"No kidding," Audrey sarcastically comments. "Drinking something you're practically allergic to. What were you trying to do, kill yourself?"
Mal's eyes shift, raising a finger, "To be fair, I didn't know there was water in it."
"Everything has water in it," Audrey disbelieves. "What? You didn't bother to check?"
"Milk doesn't have water in it," Mal disproves.
"That is so not my point." Audrey takes a step forward, "Why are you doing this?"
Mal points towards the poster and then Lonnie takes it down, "They're discrediting Ben."
"He doesn't want me," Mal ponders. "I'm too much trouble. He's just too nice to say, so spends all his time with Chad and ignores me."
"Mal," Audrey sympathizes, "it's not you. Ben ignores people. Remember? We've talked about this."
"He said I'm like you," Mal recalls. "What the hell does that even mean?"
"He's probably just being defensive," she quietly responds.
"Well, it doesn't matter," Mal asserts. "He might have his stupid Chad and French, but—" She looks around, "Where'd my wine go?"
Lonnie hides the last two inches behind her back, "It's gone. You drank it all."
Mal smiles at the fear in her voice and sings, "You're lying." before she steps toward her and glows her eyes. "Now. Be a good girl and tell me the truth. Where'd my wine go?"
"It's behind my back," the brown eyed girl answers.
"Give it to me."
After Mal gets the bottle back she downs the remains of it before letting it drop from her hand, "And now I have nothing. Again."
"What about Evie?" Lonnie remembers. "You still have her."
Mal laughs at the absurdity, "Not to talk smack about my best friend or anything." as she goes to lean on Ruby's shoulder. "But Evie's having major performance issues right now, I'm telling you. You know? It's like any heat she makes immediately goes away. Forget about me." She turns her head and looks over Ruby, "Aren't you pretty." before he touches her hair and moves a portion out over her shoulder. "So long. You'd be a great pet."
"A pet?" Ruby uncomfortably asks.
"You know," Mal slowly answers as she messes with the ends of her hair, "just someone to cuddle with and keep me warm." She gestures a hand as she turns to Audrey, "You know, my mom used to have a human, but then Jafar got jealous and killed him."
"Okay. Well," Audrey firmly continues on, "slavery is illegal here, sooo."
"So, would you like to be my pet?" Mal smiles at Ruby.
"No," she immediately answers.
"Are you sure?" Mal questions again.
"Yes, I'm sure," she loudly opposes. "And my mom's a lawyer, so if you don't get off me this second I'm going to call her."
"Fine, then," Mal takes a step back, before she turns toward Audrey and wraps her arms around her neck. "What about you? Would you like to be my pet?"
"First off, ewe. Your breath is terrible," Audrey can't help but point out. "And you hate me, remember?"
"Hate is such a passionate word," Mal's eyes shift, before she smiles and places a finger to Audrey's lips. "Which I do not have for you at all."
"No," Audrey furrows her eyebrows, "I would not like to be your pet." She takes Mal's arms off of her, "We need to get her back to the school."
"We can't walk her back," Lonnie logically concludes. "She would never make it."
"And it would be too public," Audrey realizes.
"So, what then?" Ruby questions. "Should one of us go get your car and bring it here?"
"Definitely not," Audrey disagrees, before she shakes her head. "No. If she gets sick again, it can be in Ben's car." She takes out her phone, "He's the one who's been ignoring her, making her drink, and refusing her heat. She's his problem, not ours."
"Ben hasn't exactly been his best lately either," Lonnie defends.
"Shh," Audrey furrows her brows at her, but the phone is answered and she smiles. "Hey, Ben. How are you?"
He unsurely answers, "Good. You?"
"I have your girlfriend," Audrey plainly states. "We need a car."
It takes a minute for Ben to get over the urge to ask questions, "Where?"
"Outside the wine store on Main Street."
"Hold on," Ben frustrates. "Where on Main Street?"
"The wine store," Audrey grins. "Mal thought she would buy some wine and then drink it all, because you don't want her anymore."
"The wine store, you said?" Ben makes sure.
"Yes."
"What are you doing at a wine store?" he accuses. "You know Mal can't have that."
"Hey," Audrey shouts. "It wasn't my idea."
"Did she drink any?" Ben questions.
"I just told you she did," Audrey reminds him. "What? Have you not been listening this entire time?"
"So, first you make her drink at dinner, and now you're taking her to the store?" Ben furiously disbelieves.
"I didn't do any of that," she nearly interrupts. "Just get your stupid car here. God." She hangs up on him, letting out a huge breath as she shakes her head, "I'm telling you, some guys. It's just in one ear and out the other." She gestures, "I am so glad I'm not dating him anymore."
"He did treat you real bad," Ruby acknowledges.
"Thank you," Audrey stresses, before she notices Mal clinging onto her arm. "I swear, she's worse than a cat."
Lonnie steps forward to take Mal's hands off of her, "Sorry, but I really don't think she likes that."
"Lons," Mal says, before she holds onto Lonnie's arm.
"Maybe you can be her pet," Audrey evenly suggests, but Lonnie says nothing in return.
- So, because there are so many chapters in here, I just thought I should mention that the toast Mal makes to Ben's poster is a quote that Audrey had said during their dinner truce... Not that it matters too much. Oh, and, for the record, I am very much a cat person. I just thought Audrey wouldn't be.