Due to his 'unjustifiable' actions, Ben has to spend the next two weeks in Fairy Godmother's detention instead of Tourney practice. While he was grateful to spend time away from the sport, Ben used the time with the drama teacher to his advantage.
With just a little negotiation, Fairy Godmother agreed to help the couple with their performances, just so long as it didn't distract them from helping with the sets. The agreement was created on the day Mal received detention for, once again, being late to class. Since she had nothing specific planned for that hour, Mal essentially agreed, if only to spend some time with her prince.
Within the first day, Fairy Godmother and those who watched the couple saw a significant difference with their performance. If so little practice could result in such a big improvement, then there was no doubt that they could win the callback with almost no effort.
For the next few days, the two spent every spare moment at school practicing with Jane in the music room. Although he wanted to devote most of his time to singing, Ben still had his obligations with the Tourney team, as he was the team captain. With the championship game coming up, his father scheduled a mandatory practice for every free period until the big day came. With rehearsal taking place a few minutes during the Tourney practice, Ben made every effort to show up for at least half of the practice—
But then he completely missed the practice that Friday.
Ben hadn't noticed the time until Jane advised him, apologizing profusely for not noticing sooner. He didn't respond, for he had already bolted out of the music room and was running full force down the halls. He hoped he could at least attend the last few minutes.
However, when he arrived, his teammates were already heading toward the locker room to change.
And his father looked pissed.
In a vain attempt to ease the tension due to his absence, Ben cleared his throat as he nervously claimed, "I'm going to stay a while. Work on some fundamentals."
Glaring sternly at his son, Beast coldly agreed, "Since you've been late the pass couple days and completely missed practice today, I think it's about time that you start putting in some effort."
With one last hard look, Mr. Adams headed for his office to prepare a few plays for the big Tourney game. The team is going to need a few tricks if their captain won't have his head in the game.
Sighing softly, Ben grabbed a nearby Tourney stick and the bucket of balls. Standing so far away from the goal, the team captain began working on his penalty shots. After a few flawless shots, an angelic voice teased, "So this is your other stage."
Chuckling softly, Ben turned around to see his Mal walking toward him with a mischievous smile on her lips. Since the big reveal with her real hair, Mal started dressing like her normal self. Her outfits usual consists of something purple, a little splash of green, dark colored pants—sometimes skinny jeans, other times leather—and her favorite black leather jacket her father gifted her on her sixteenth birthday. The first day she showed up to school like that, someone decided to spread a false rumor about Mal being in a gang. Mal personally thought the rumor was hilarious and had laughed in the person's face when they told her.
Ben raised a curious eyebrow. "And what you would call it with your perspective?"
"A dungeon," Mal admitted with no hesitation in her tone. "You don't look happy here. I've been watching you for the last few minutes, and you just look angrier with every goal you make. It's like you're being forced to play to please your father."
"You don't know the half of it," Ben joked, though there was a certain aspect of truth behind his words. He gestured to the stick in his hand. "Want to give it a try?"
Taking the offered equipment, Mal careless tossed the ball in air before hitting it with the Tourney stick. The ball zoomed into the goal, hitting the net in the upper corner where no goalie could possibly block it.
"Whoa!" Ben exclaimed, clearly impressed. "You're good at Tourney too?"
"Jay taught me back when we were kids," Mal informed with a light shrug. "He wanted to improve my skills so we could prove our school wrong about girls not being good at Tourney. Honestly, I haven't practice since then, so that was just luck. When you're not too busy, maybe you could help me on my skills?"
"I'm not busy now," Ben reassured quickly, gesturing for the girl to move toward him. "Let's start with your form. You almost have it right."
Within a few moments, the team captain practically had his arms wrapped around the artist in a loving manner instead of a teaching way. Mal snickered at the action. "Did you just want an excuse to hold me?"
"Maybe," Ben agreed teasingly, before kissing the girl while she was distracted. Mal merely smiled at the action, placing a hand on his cheek to keep him from breaking too soon.
But then an angry shout forced them to reluctantly separate. "Just ignore him if he's rude," Ben muttered as the adult approached them.
"That's easier said than done," Mal retorted jokingly.
As the couple turned to face him, Mr. Adams declared, "Miss, you can't be here. This is a closed practice."
Ben raised an eyebrow at the claim. "Dad, practice is over."
"Not until the last player leaves," Coach Adams reminded stubbornly. "Team rule, but it seems you forgot what being a team means."
"I'm sorry, sir," Mal apologized, hoping she could advert an argument between the father and son. "I didn't know. I just transferred here this week."
"This is Mal Fae," Ben introduced. "She is Jay's childhood friend."
"And your detention buddy," Mr. Adams assumed as he observed the girl disapprovingly. "So, you are the trouble-maker."
Mal lightly glared at the adult. "I prefer being called 'daughter of Maleficent'."
Mr. Adams's eyes widened in surprise. "You're her daughter?" He repeated while shaking his head in disbelief. "I didn't think she could have children after her . . . accident."
"It can't be an accident if it was on purpose," Mal retorted bitterly. "Yet, the one person that could prove so didn't appear in court because his son-in-law neglected to tell him. Apparently, the son-in-law received a check to keep the information hidden and had spent it all within a week on junk he didn't need, or at least . . . that's what the person told my mother when he found out about a month after the case was thrown out."
Mr. Adams narrowed his eyes at the bold accusation. "I think it's best you leave before I lose my temper."
"Wouldn't want your 'beast' to come out," Mal countered before adjusting her gaze to her prince. "I'll see you later, Ben."
After receiving a loving kiss on her forehead from her prince, Mal exited the gym to get a few minutes of drawing in before she has to rehearse with Jane.
Once his beloved was out of hearing range, Ben faced his father. "I don't know what that was about," he began sternly, "but detention was my fault, not hers. I used my phone to call her, I put my hands on Chad Charming after he bullied her, and I've been the reason we were late to class."
"You haven't missed practice in three years," Mr. Adams reminded forcefully. "That girl shows up and you're late twice and completely miss one practice. She's a bad influence."
"'That girl' is Mal," Ben corrected as anger flared up in his chest. "She is the nicest person I've ever met. You just think she's bad because of the way she dresses."
"Helping you miss practice doesn't make her 'nice'," Beast barked a little too harshly. "You are the team captain. What you do affects not only this team, but the entire school. Without you being completely focused, we won't be able to win the championship game next week. You have worked too long to let some girl have it slip through your fingers. What is even so special about her?"
"She sees the world the same way Grandpa does," Ben informed as a smile unconsciously emerged on his lips. "They have the same perspective on what life would be like it was for kings and queens."
"So, she's another freak!" Beast declared angrily. "The last thing you need is those delusions plaguing your mind just before the big game. Remember the last time we lost a game? You had slept over at your grandfather's the day before and played so aggressive that you were banned from playing the rest. If the college scouts see you play that way, there's no way you'll get a scholarship."
"Is that all you fucking care about!" Ben shouted, surprising his father with his rage. "Tourney and scholarships. You've been hounding me about it since I played as a freshman! Until Mal came into my life, you've had me practicing day and night until I'm exhausted. Nothing I do pleases you! I've had enough!"
"You do practice hard," Beast agreed. "But you don't put enough effort into it as you should. You are a playmaker, not a singer."
"Is that what would make you happy?" Ben challenged. " 'Mal is just some girl that I met. She's not important. The singing is just a way to keep my nerves down, it doesn't mean anything to me. I'll forget the audition, forget her, and get the championship win.' Would saying any of that make you happy?"
"No," Mr. Adams denied unconvincingly.
"You are such a damn liar!" Ben declared. "Singing makes me happy because it is fun. I've had more fun singing with Mal the past week than I have had playing Tourney the past three years. I will participate in the championship next week, but once it's time for the callbacks, I'm pulling myself from the game to go do it. Tourney may be important to you, but for me, the callback is more important, and I intend on trying my hardest to get the lead, whether you like it or not."
Without giving his father time to react, Ben stormed out of the gym toward the locker.
Not knowing a spiteful teenager had recorded their argument, and intended to use it against him.
A few minutes later in the art room, Mal had just finished up her latest drawing when Chad Charming suddenly approached her, claiming to have footage that she desperately needed to see. He was so relentless that he wouldn't allow her to leave the room until she saw it.
"Let's make this quick," Mal insisted as she shoved her sketchbook into her backpack. "Jane's waiting on me to rehearse. I don't want to keep her waiting."
"You may not want to after you see this," Chad warned a little too cautiously. "I was walking by the gym when I heard them yelling. I started recording and got a video of this . . ."
Trailing off for just a moment, Chad turned his phone around to show the purple-haired girl the screen. Mal scrunched her nose in confusion, until her face suddenly paled at seeing her prince and his father on the screen.
"Mal is just some girl that I met," Ben appeared to be saying. "She's not important. The singing is just a way to keep my nerves down, it doesn't mean anything to me. I'll forget the audition, forget her, and get the championship win."
Mal's jaw dropped as the footage ended there, which gave no context as to how the conversation started or ended. That really didn't matter though. Mal had really thought Ben loved her, but it was just an act, a way to piss off his father.
She felt like a fool.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," Chad apologized with a convincing amount of sincerity in his tone. "It looks you won't be doing the callbacks. If you want, I can try to find you a supporting role."
"That won't be necessary," Mal bitterly insisted while shouldering her bag angrily. "I was only doing the callbacks for Ben. Now, I don't give a shit."
Rage boiling inside her, Mal stormed out of the room, scolding herself for being so stupid. She should have learned from her mother's past love experience to not be so trusting. To think . . . she actually thought Ben could be her—
"Mal!"
Flinching at her name being called, she blatantly ignored the teenager as she collected her books for her next class. After what she just saw, Mal was not in the mood to deal with him. If she weren't careful, a simple look could make her crumble.
"Hey," Ben greeted with a loving smile. "I've been looking for you. Fairy Godmother wants to talk to us about the callbacks."
"She wants to talk about it, or you do?" Mal retorted bitterly.
Taken back by the comment, Ben wondered, "What do you mean? What's wrong?"
"I know about the fight with your father," Mal claimed as she dared to look at the teenage boy, who looked utterly confused. "A little piece of advice, if you want to prove you love someone, don't use them to piss off your father."
"I don't know what you heard," Ben began slowly to keep an argument from happening, "but whatever you thought I sai—"
"I know what you said," Mal interrupted sternly. "You told me you loved me, yet you told your father I wasn't important. If you wanted to forget the auditions so much, then you shouldn't have done it in the first."
Now, Ben looked completely bewildered by the harsh comments. "Mal, that's not—"
"I'm not going to be made a fool by doing the callbacks by myself," Mal continued, determined to say her piece. "So, good luck on your championship game since that is more important to you. Meanwhile, I'll focus on the Art Relay competition and hope my artwork isn't affected because of your actions."
Forcing herself to turn so her back was toward him, Mal began walking away just as the tears started to well in her eyes.
"Mal!" Ben shouted.
She didn't respond, leaving Ben to wonder what she heard and how she heard it—
But more importantly, how he was going to tell Fairy Godmother the dreadful news.
