It's Nothing

(Day 160: Friday Afternoon)

Belle eyes over the large library, "I'm actually not certain that our relationship could have grown without this place."

"Is there anything in English?" Carlos questions.

She turns back to the group, "Over there." before she points to the side wall. "Not much of a selection, I'm afraid."

Jay gives Carlos a look, "I thought you already knew French."

"Not really," he softly states. "I mostly just learned swear words and phrases." He scratches his arm, "My mother wasn't much of a teacher."

After some silence Ben's mother turns to him, "Why don't you take it from here?"

"Yeah," Ben accepts, before he watches her sit down, the others turn to him, and he rubs his hands over each other. "I will show you to the East Wing, where you will be staying for the summer. You will need to be brought to dinner or the library by either me or my mother. For breakfast and lunch you will have that in the old servants' dining room. There's a stove and fridge there now too, so we'll get that stocked for you."

"So, the East Wing is where?" Carlos slowly asks.

"Right," Ben recalls, before he smiles, "Let's finish our walk, shall we?"

"These rooms are huge," Carlos's mouth gapes.

"Your mother lives in a mansion," Jay furrows his eyebrows.

He gives him a look, "And the top floor was completely rotted, so I had to sleep in the room she turned into her own personal walk-in closet."

Jay's expression softens, "Really?"

"I barely had enough room for a bed," Carlos continues on. "Why do you think I don't own anything?"

It takes him a moment to say, "I didn't know."

Carlos frowns for a minute, "We know like nothing about each other."

After some more silence Mal unsurely turns to Ben, "Could I stay with Evie? I just don't see the point in having different rooms."

Ben continues to frown, "I didn't think… you know, that she was giving you heat anymore."

"She isn't," Mal reassures, "but the bed is so big. She wouldn't be going to the hospital again or anything."

He wets his lips, "I would think about it, but you already have a room here. Remember?"

Mal eyes down, "Right."

"But you can see her," he quickly says. "I just think my mother would want you closer, you know, because you're my girlfriend."

Mal rolls her eyes, "Right. Your mother."

Ben watches her as her head lowers and she twists the ring back-and-forth on her finger, before he looks at the others, "Could you give us a minute?"

"Sure," Evie eyes over them, before she enters a room and the others follow her.

Ben turns back to Mal and notices her frown, "You don't like it when I talk about my mother. Why?"

Mal shakes her head, "It's nothing."

"It's something," he softly disagrees.

She meets his hazel green eyes, "It doesn't need to be talked about."

"Please. If you don't, I'll think the worst."

Mal looks off, "I doubt that."

"I won't be able to stop thinking about it," he insists, before she looks him up and down. "Just tell me. We should be able to talk about these things."

"These things," she uneasily laughs, before she faces him in hesitance, "I guess I just don't really get how you could be so close to her."

"Close?"

"I don't get how someone could be so… caring about their parents," she rephrases.

Ben shakes his head, "She's always been there for me."

"Really?" Mal raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.

"Well," he scratches the back of his head, "maybe not all the time. But enough."

"Do you love her?" Mal can't help but ask.

"She's my mother," Ben half laughs with an awkward smile. "Of course I do."

"Right," her eyes shift.

He frowns, "What's wrong?"

She faces him and changes the subject, "The rose you got me isn't dying."

"It's not supposed to die," he smiles again.

"No. I mean," Mal stresses.

"I know what you mean," Ben steps forward. "It won't die for a while. It's special."

"Special?" she continues to frown.

"It's from my parents' rose garden. They're from the rose from the curse," he explains before taking her hands. "I really was sorry. I needed you to know that."

Mal's eyes shift as she remembers the incident, "Right."

He notices her expression and shakes his head, "I should have told you. I'm stupid." but even though she looks up at him she doesn't speak. "You stayed with me even though I didn't tell you the rose was special."

She attempts to smile, "I like the way it feels to be with you."

"Because of the heat," Ben assumes.

Mal's expression falters, "I don't know."

When Mal enters the room Evie inquires, "What did you talk about?"

Mal shakes her head, "It's nothing." before she goes to sit on the bed and faces Carlos. "My jacket is on the coat rack by the front door. Get it."

After he gets up and leaves Jay frowns at her, "Why did you even take it off?"

"So he could get it," Mal surmises, before she notices Jay's confusion and gives him a look, "You heard him at the Isle Problems meeting. He needs someone to give him a purpose." She raises her eyebrows, "Would you like to?"

Jay scoffs, "No. That would make things weird as hell."

"Then stop complaining," she solves, before she maliciously smiles. "You still got that bottle on you?"

Jay offers an annoyed expression, before he unzips his jacket and takes the wine out, "Are you sure you need it right now?"

"As much as I'm sure this is going to be a long summer," Mal irritably says, before she nods him over, "Come on. Get over here."

He makes a displeased noise, before he stands from the desk chair and goes to sit next to her. He hands it over, "Here." before she opens it, takes a swing, and offers it to Evie.

"Want some?"

She brightly smiles in uncomfortableness, "No thanks. I'm good."

"Right. Calories," Mal remembers, before she hands it back to Jay.

He takes a sip, "How long do you think you'll get away with this?"

Mal takes the bottle back, "Not nearly long enough."

"Mal?" When she doesn't answer Evie opens the bathroom door, "Mal?" She sees her staring into the mirror, "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," she unenthusiastically answers.

"About what?" she smiles.

"Hook." Evie's expression falls, before she takes a step forward. "I thought I was getting over it, but then Fairy Godmother just had to get us to talk about our problems and Jay almost got sent back there where I'd never see him again."

Evie takes a moment, "This isn't about Jay."

Mal continues to look at her reflection as she touches her curls, "He took everything from me. I can't even see my hair anymore without thinking about it all." Evie stays quiet, and Mal questions, "What do you think of brown? It wouldn't be too different, right? Like, I'd still be me." She offers Evie a hopeful look with sad, gleaming eyes, "Right?"

Evie attempts to smile back, "Dark brown would really bring out your eyes."

Mal turns back to the mirror and nods, "It would."