Some Space

(Monday Noon)

"So, you're not selling in the cafeteria anymore?" Jay notices.

"No," Mal takes a sip of milk. "I found that people online are way more interested."

"You know," Carlos inputs, "that might just be because you're the king's girlfriend."

"No," she rejects. "I'm thinking it has more to do with them not thinking I'm evil." She notices his confused expression, "I have a pen name." before she grins. "Speaking of which." She takes the cash out of her jacket and hands it to Evie, "I told you I'd pay you back."

Evie frowns as she takes it, "Yeah."

"What?" Mal raises her eyebrows.

She faces her, "M. What if I didn't have money for the materials. Audrey would have been totally mad if I didn't get her dress finished in time."

"And then everything would be right in the world," Mal unenthusiastically adds on.

"I'm serious," Evie stresses. "You could have gotten me into a lot of trouble."

"Look," Mal reasons. "I got what I wanted, you got what you wanted, and everything is fine now." She bites into her sandwich, "So, stop acting like what I did was so bad."

"Mal," Jay comments, "I think she's just telling you not to do it again."

She shakes her head, "Then why not just say that?" before she notices Belle and Ben walking through the cafeteria. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Maybe it has to do with your unconsensual make out session with Ben," Evie pointedly states under her breath.

"Well, if it is," Mal counters, "then I'll just have to tell her all about how he tried to throw himself off the roof last weekend and how I saved his life."

"Ben did what?" Carlos shocks, and they all glance at him before turning back to the approaching mother.

When Belle gets to the table she gives Mal a look, "May I speak to you for a minute?"

"Sure thing," she agrees.

"Somewhere quieter," Belle suggests, and when Mal looks at Ben he looks away.

"Whatever," Mal submits, before she stands from the table. "Where do you want to do this?"

"Follow me," Belle instructs, and when she begins to walk off Mal follows; however, Ben still keeps his distance, and the majority of the room gawks at the spectacle.

When they find a secluded hallway Belle turns around, "I've been informed that you've been acting on your alcoholism."

Mal looks at Ben and he scratches the back on his head in uncomfortableness, before she turns back to his mother, "And?"

"And," Belle comments, "I would like you to tell me why you stopped drinking in the first place."

Mal's eyes shift down as she frowns, before she narrows her eyes at her in defense, "That's none of your business."

"No," Belle nods. "My son is my business, and if you refuse to cooperate I will make sure you won't be able to see him."

"You can't do that," Mal calls her bluff.

"He listens to me," she stares Mal down. "If I think you're a bad influence, possibly even a danger to him, then he will do as I say when I tell him to stay away." Mal looks to Ben for sign he wouldn't, but he doesn't even meet her eyes. "I will ask you again," Belle continues on, and Mal meets her serious expression. "Why did you stop drinking in the first place?"

Mal is quiet for a minute, glancing down again, before she faces her, "Someone almost got killed." She looks away from Belle, unable keep eye contact, and when she sees Ben she looks away from him as well. "I stole from Hook's distillery, a few kegs and one of the processors… They knew they wouldn't be able to hurt me with my mother being my mother, so… they took Jay as random. They wanted their supplies back." Mal gulps as she feels the tears burn her eyes, "But most of the product was already gone and Jay already did a number on the processor before they took him."

When Mal fails to continue to speak Belle asks, "What happened then?"

"I told my mother what'd happened," Mal recalls. "She said it would just have to be something for me to learn from." The tears fall to her cheeks and she quickly wipes them away, "Lucky of us, Jafar was in one of his better moods… He actually cried when he found out his son's life had been threatened, and Mother… She went to get Jay for him."

"And that's when you stopped," Belle concludes.

Mal whispers, "That's when I started to try." and her eyes shift. "It took a long time."

"I need you to start to try again," Belle softly responds. "You're not doing yourself or Ben any favors by acting in this behavior again." Mal nods. "Good," she comments, before she glances at Ben. "You can both help each other."

"Mother," Ben intrudes.

She meets his eyes, "I can't be there for you all the time." before she nods towards Mal. "But she's your girlfriend. She can be."

"What can I do?" Mal quietly asks in confusion.

Belle turns back to her, "Ben hasn't been eating right." and when Mal looks at Ben she notices the creases in his clothes. He's lost weight. She looks up and notices the paleness of his skin. "Now, I can't keep tabs on him all of the time, but you're around him more." Mal meets her eyes again. "You can make sure he's taking care of himself while he's here."

Mal shakes her head, "I can hardly take care of myself."

"Like I said," Belle counters, "you two can take care of each other." She checks her watch and makes a noise, "I really need to go." before she goes over to place a hand on Ben's shoulder and kiss his cheek. "I love you."

Ben stands still as he looks at Mal, failing to speak, and when his mother walks off he places a hand on his other shoulder. Mal notices his uncomfortableness, and she hesitates, "Look. I thought about what happened, and…" Her eyes shift down before meeting his again, "I realized that a lot of people here don't put a lot on sex in a relationship, and I shouldn't have assumed you would. I'm sorry."

It takes a moment for him to speak, "Just so you know, when I said my mother could talk to you… I didn't think I would be there."

"She said you haven't been eating right," Mal notes, before she takes a step forward.

Ben hesitates, "I eat. It just hasn't been a lot of meat."

"Meat isn't an option for us," Mal informs. "You know that?" Ben merely nods, before he looks away; however, when Mal steps forward again his attention is brought back to her. "Are you tired?"

Ben shakes his head, "I'm always tired." She takes a final step, and Ben cautiously observes her as she takes his hand. His nails are short, but they seem healthy enough. They must grow slower than hers. "What are you looking for?" Mal meets his eyes before reaching for his light brown hair, and when he filches she stops, meeting his eyes once again, before she slowly continues to his head. Ben feels her fingers slides down a clump a couple times, and when her hand leaves his hair she frowns before looking at him again. He lowers his eyes from hers and notices the hair strands in her hand. It takes him a minute to comment, "I know what you're thinking." before he faces her. "But I lose a lot of hair in the spring." He eyes down at them again, "It doesn't mean anything."

When she claps her hands clean he looks at her again, and she points out, "You're pale."

He lifts his shoulder, "I haven't been outside."

Mal gives him a serious look, "You're pale, because carnivores need more iron than other people and you haven't been eating meat." Ben looks away from her. "I know you need your space after what happened," Mal accepts, before Ben eyes her over. "But I want you to at least take an iron supplement if you're not going to eat."

Ben's quiet for a moment, "Will that even work?"

"A little." Mal looks off, "I was taking them back on the Isle."

"You had them?" Ben questions.

"Multivitamins were often supplied with the rations," she explains. "Girls would sometimes get iron too for when they got their period."

"Right," Ben comments, before he faces her again, "And they work?"

"You're probably going to need to take two times as much," Mal informs, "and it won't help with the hair loss." She nods, "But is should help with the tiredness and the hunger." before she gives him a look. "Because, I'm guessing you've been completely ignoring it."

Ben wets his lips, "I don't have an eating problem." He looks away, "I just can't deal with meat right now." before he gauges her expression.

"What's there to deal with?" Mal continues to frown. "It's meat. You eat it."

"Maybe I don't like meat," he slowly excuses.

She narrows her eyes, "Now you're just lying." and he looks off again. "Ben. It's just food. Eat it. It's not that hard."

Ben faces her, "Would you tell Evie that?"

"Evie has an eating disorder," Mal debates, before she raises an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"No. Of course, not," Ben defends.

"Then eat," Mal counters before she eyes down. "And… when you feel like you can talk to me again…" She shakes her head, "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

When she begins to walk away he urges, "Wait." and then she stops. "I love you. You know that."

It takes a moment for her to respond, "You don't need to pretend. You can't still care so much about me after what I did… and I don't blame you."

"Mal," he comments. "I love you."

"No. You don't," she counters. "You just feel obligated to." She pauses, "But it's fine. I never deserved your love anyway."

"Mal," Ben sadly says.

Mal quickly intrudes, "I'll give you some space." and with that Ben sighs as she walks away as he brings his hand to his head and then it drops back into place.

- No comments from the last section. Maybe just too heavy or disturbing to talk about? If so, I'm afraid these chapters won't be much better.

-Posted: 12/13/2018