Hey guys, this is another idea that came to me for this series, and I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to see where it led me. I hope you enjoy this part of our 'Let Me' series, I can't wait to see what you think. Much love, RSD xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo.
A few weeks had passed since mine and Ben's somewhat awkward situation with my family, thankfully it had passed with some ease. Yes, the first time we saw the three of them after the event it was a little bit awkward, but nothing was mentioned as we were in public. But since then, even when the five of us were alone in the hideaway nothing else was said, there were a few times when me and Ben retired to bed and when we went into either mine and Ben's sleeping quarters, I did notice a concerned look from either Jay or Carlos. I put this down to the fact that they probably were feeling nervous in case they were about to hear us making love again – but that wasn't going to happen, ever again, if I could help it.
It was now Thursday morning and I had just finished double History of Auradon class, and I was walking towards my locker on morning break to change some of my textbooks over. After I closed my locker with a clang I turned around and my eyes instantly landed on Ben who was stood on the other side of the courtyard also putting things into his locker. I couldn't stop a large smile spread across my face at the sight of my perfect Beast, and I loved him so much. However, before I could fixate on this any further, I watched as Ben yawned and it was at this point when I noticed that he looked very pale. I pulled one brow up at this, as when I saw Ben last night, he was perfectly fine which started to worry me. So, with this worry driving me I quickly moved away from my locker and started to walk towards the courtyard towards him.
"Ben honey" I said in concern as I walked up to him, and I only started to feel more worried as he looked even more paler in person. He had dark purple bags under his eyes, and his normally neat hair was sticking up in places under his crown. His face had all its normal colour drained out of it, and there was a whistle coming from his nose which told me that it must be blocked.
"Oh, hey Mal" he answered with a meek smile as his eyes lit up when they landed on me.
"Is everything ok baby?" I asked as I stood in front of him.
"What do you mean?" he asked as he slowly pulled one brow up at me.
"You look really tired" I noted. "And pale" I added as I used the back of my right hand against his forehead before moving my right hand slowly against his left cheek. "You have a fever" I noted as I moved my hand away to note how much sweat was now on the back of my hand.
"It's fine" he dismissed as I wiped the back of my right hand on my dress. "Just a bit of a cold" he pressed, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he no doubt had already had this conversation with his parents.
"Ben please?" I stressed. "You look awful" I advised as I quickly looked him up and down to see that his clothes were also not in his normally tidy fashion. He wasn't wearing his normal dark blue blazer, his white shirt was untucked, his dark blue waistcoat was only buttoned by the middle button, and finally his golden tie was hanging lower than normal.
"Oh thanks!" he snapped back sarcastically, which caused me to quickly look back up at his face.
"You know what I mean" I stated, hoping that Ben wasn't about to take offence by what I said. Of course, I wasn't trying to upset him by telling him that he looked awful, but it was the truth, and I knew that deep down Ben knew that I wasn't being rude or hurtful.
"Yeah" he answered with a meek smile. "Anyway, I need to get to class" he added as he pursed his lips together.
"Me too" I nodded as I took another look at my Beast. He really didn't look well; he should be in bed not at school and I hoped that he would listen to me and go home. No one would be annoyed at him; everyone gets sick sometimes. And even though Ben had ruling the Kingdom, school and Tourney to deal with but no one would blame him if he took a break while he recovered. "I really think you should rest Ben" I pressed.
"I'll be fine Mal" he dismissed as he smiled down at me tiredly. "I just need to ride it out" he advised and by the tone of his voice he was trying to convince himself, not just me.
"Hmmm" I promised as I looked into his eyes. We stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before I came to a decision. Yes, I thought Ben should go home, but I also knew that Ben was a very stubborn Beast. And I didn't really want to argue with him over this, especially as we were in public, but I also didn't think that he had the energy to argue with me. Bless my beautiful Beast. "Just promise me if you get worse you will go home?" I offered, hoping that he would take this compromise.
"Promise" he nodded at me before he pushed his face closer to mine and he pressed a brief kiss against the top of my head. "Love you Miss Faery" he said lovingly.
"Love you Mr Adams" I replied back lovingly. We shared a brief look before he turned and walked away. I watched him walk away until he disappeared down a corridor, but not before throwing me another loving glance before we turned the corner. After he had turned the corner, I then started to walk towards my Art Class and as I did this, I started to take in the conversation that I had just shared with Ben. I hoped he was right, and this was just a cold, however I had seen Ben have a cold before it was nothing like this. And there was this feeling in the pit of my stomach which was telling me that he might be wrong, and I didn't really know how to feel about that.
It is now lunch time and I had just put my things into my locker so I could go and have lunch with Ben and our friends. I started to walk onto the main courtyard and as I started to make my way towards Ben's locker I watched as he appeared, and he sluggishly opened his locker. I continued walking towards him and as I did this, I couldn't help but note that he looked a little bit paler than before, if that was even possible.
"Ben?" I said as I watched him blow his nose on a napkin that he had just pulled out of his trouser pocket.
"Mal" he smiled tiredly turned to look at me as he also dapped both sides of his nose with the napkin before putting it back into his trouser pocket. "Is everything ok?" he asked as he pulled one brow up slowly at me in confusion. "You look worried" he noted.
"I am" I confirmed as I stepped closer to him, so I was now stood in front of him.
"What's wrong?" he questioned as he wrapped his right arm around my waist.
"Really Ben?" I asked incredulously. "Everyone can see that you are not well" I told him.
"This again?" he sighed.
"Yes, this again" I pressed. "Maybe you should go ho-" I started.
"I'm not going home Mal" he advised sternly, cutting me off. "It's just a cold" he repeated. "I get that you are concerned about me, but everything is fine" he stressed, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was hoping that he was going to reassure me.
"Really?" I questioned sarcastically.
"Yeah" he nodded. "Well-" he began which made me pull a confused face at him. "Nothing a quick cuddle from my Dragon won't fix" he pouted at me.
"You boy" I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped back of his arms around my waist and rested his forehead against my right shoulder.
"Hugs from you always make it better" I heard him say.
"Yeah" I answered, and he pulled his head up and we looked at each other while we were still in our tight embrace. "I just don't like seeing you like this" I told him as I looked up and down his tired face.
"I get that baby" he returned kindly. "But I promise I'll be fine; I just have to ride it out" he stated.
"Ok" I said. "As long as you are sure?" I offered.
"Positive" he nodded as he stepped away from me, causing our arms to drop from each other. "Can I walk you to lunch?" he enquired politely as he offered me his right arm.
"I don't know" I started to tease. "I'm walking to lunch with someone today" I added in mock seriousness.
"Really?" he asked, obviously playing along. "Who?" he questioned with a tired grin.
"Just the King of Auradon" I shrugged.
"Oh" he nodded slightly as he dropped his right arm. "I see" he noted as he wrapped his right arm around both of my shoulders. "Well let me deal with him" he dismissed, causing me to giggle as he both turned and started to walk down the corridor. As we continued to walk to lunch together, I still couldn't get rid of the unsettling feeling that was still in the pit of my stomach. I understood that Ben said that he was going to be fine, and he probably was going to be, but this didn't mean that I liked seeing him like this. Ben was my soul mate and I hated to see him ill or hurt and I knew he would feel the same way if the roles were reversed. I just hoped that 'cold' would pass sooner rather than later, fingers crossed!