This might be one of the better chapters I have written for this story in a while. The concept for the next few chapters came into my head after hearing my folks fight about the 'addiction' mentioned in the chapter.

I would say enjoy, but it feels far too realistic of a scenario for me to say that. Instead—

Read cautiously.


Ben's life had already changed for the better when he met Mal on New Year's Eve just a few short years ago.

But now . . . his life started changing more and faster than before, which gave him a scare, but also a thrill.

It started Sunday evening. It had been a particularly normal day for the most part. After the normal church hours ended in the town, the seniors decided to meet up at the school theater for an extra practice, for they all wanted everything to perfect so they could beat Chad Charming in the competition.

Since they were co-captains of the Tourney team, Ben and Jay each had their own copy of the school's door keys, both swearing not to do anything reckless with it or face expulsion. They must have practiced a few sets multiple times before Fairy Godmother appeared a couple hours later. Admiring their dedication, the drama teacher sat back, watching in awe as the seniors went through each other finalized numbers flawlessly. Although each one was quite difficult, the seniors made it look easy.

With that in mind, Fairy Godmother thought then would be the perfect time to kick the performance up a notch with an even harder number to show how skilled they all were.

Although practice ended just after five, Ben didn't return home until little after seven. He wanted to stay longer so he could work on his solo, and, admittedly, he just didn't want to go home. While the others went home, Fairy Godmother and Jane stayed behind to help the totally lost boy.

It was fair to call him that. Ben had no idea what he wanted to sing about and just couldn't make himself angry enough to get into the right mindset for the hardcore melody. Sure, the beginning was slow and soft, just right for tricking the audience into thinking it was a boring song. After struggling to find lyrics, the mother-daughter duo helped him learn to play the piano melody.

Within two hours, Ben could play that portion of the song with neither one of the ladies' help. The family members were extremely proud of him for conquering such a feat.

Maybe, they thought, with him just knowing that portion, it would be easier to come up with the lyrics.

And yet, as he sat in his beloved tree house, listening to the musical score while reading his favorite book once more, still nothing came to mind. It made Ben want to—

"Ben!" screamed a certain loud voice, loud enough to be heard over the blaring music. "Get out of that damn tree stand and come down here this instant!"

Sighing softly, Ben placed an old piece of string between the pages before closing the tale for now, hoping to get back to it soon. Placing the book to the side, the teen simply hopped out of the tree house, since it wasn't too high that it could hurt him.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Ben stood to full height to stare at his clearly ticked off father, who could be angry for any number of unreasonable reasons.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Ben assumed naturally, since any recent time they have talked is because his father wanted to yell at him for something stupid, like Tourney.

"Watch your attitude," Beast barked bitterly. "I'm already not happy with you, boy."

Gazing at his feet, Ben grumbled, "You're never happy with me."

"What was that?"

Sighing once more, Ben adverted his gave back to his father, noticing the dusting of pink on the bridge of his nose and his bloodshot eyes were signs of something else besides anger. "Nothing," Ben insisted blandly, knowing it was a way to get out of these sorts of situations. "What do you need, Pops?"

"Where were you today?" Beast interrogated, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "Your mother and I tried calling you numerous times when you disappeared earlier. You had us worried sick."

Don't be a smart-ass. Ben advised himself. Lie or tell the truth?

Taking just a split second to decide so he didn't tip the scale in a negative way, Ben reluctantly admitted, "My phone was shut off because it's not allowed in the theater. My classmates wanted to practice our senior project and convince me to join. I'm sorry I did not tell you or Mother where I was going."

Without a second thought or notion to the idea, Beast scoffed at the apology. "Sorry my ass," he commented. "You probably left without telling us on purpose so you could go knock up that Fae girl like that Rose girl is. You know, you and Audrey would have made a better couple than you and that . . . Maleficent spawn."

Danger alarms went off in Ben's mind. He wanted to argue with his father about the accusations made toward him and his beloved—

But the way his father said Maleficent's name with so much disgust and hatred. It was almost like he knew her from somewhere else, besides Ben's interaction with her being Mal's mother. But where . . .

Suddenly, what Mal had told him over the summer came back to mind; about a man paid to stall Maurice from arriving to court regarding Maleficent's ability to raise Aurora. Could he be—?

"Dad," Ben began cautiously, wanting to make it out of the conversation safely, "how do you know Maleficent?"

"Why do you say her name like that?" Mr. Adams slurred, almost becoming too . . . loopy to talk. "Why do you say it like she's a saint when she's the devil?"

"She's my mother's girlfriend," Ben reminded sternly, but not enough to anger his father. "I have always liked the way her name just rolls off the tongue. It is my girlfriend's full name as well. How do you know her mother?"

"I don't want to talk about that vile woman."

"I will dump out every liquor bottle you have hiding inside the house if you don't answer me," Ben warned, a determined gleam in his blue eyes, which he always says he inherited from his grandfather. "How do you know Maleficent Fae?"

Glaring at his son to see if he would falter in his resolve, Beast relented, "I was dating your mother at the time, when she was 18 and I was . . . much older than she believed. By accident, your mother became obsessed with me when I had no money or place to live. I knew Stefan to be an easy businessman, one that would pay big bucks to have any favors that he wanted fulfilled, so I went to him and asked for his assistance. He told me about how Maleficent kidnapped his daughter and wanted to gain custody of her. All I had to do to get paid big money was intercept your grandfather's court appearance—"

"So he couldn't be there to vouch that Maleficent was more than capable of raising Aurora," Ben finished, already knowing the next, horrifying part of the tale. "So with the money, you did what? Bought this house? Paid for yourself to finish college that you already dropped out of once? What did you do with the rest of it? Oh, wait! I know! You spent it all on cheap booze and liquor to help feed your addiction. You were probably drunk when you and Mom had me. I bet you can sweat liquor now with how much you consumed in the last what, twenty, thirty years? Going to rehab three times certainly hasn't helped."

"Watch it!" Beast roared, pointing an unsteady finger at his son. "I can kick you out of the house for your disrespect toward me. I should have done it sooner with how terribly you played during the Tourney Championship. You could have ruined our chances of—"

"Of what?" Ben challenged bravely. "Getting Tourney scholarship when I played with a sprained ankle and a concussion? Cashing it in so you could buy more alcohol with it? Well guess what? I don't want a damn Tourney scholarship because I hate Tourney. I only played to make you proud of me, but I continued playing so you would yell at me less. I'm done with it and I am done with you telling me what you think is best for me. I know what's best for me, and it's certainly not standing here smelling your bad breath."

Fuming in rage, Beast did something that wasn't much of a surprise. Stumbling forward, he swung at his son.

Taken back by the action, Ben couldn't move out of the way fast enough since he wasn't expecting it. Struck in his eye, Ben stumbled back, but managed to regain his balance quickly.

As for Beast, he fell down to the ground once he made contact with the teen—

Giving Ben the chance to run the hell away from there.


There wasn't any place that Ben could go in such a short notice. It would be too rude and impolite for him to suddenly drop in without saying something before hand.

So, the only place he felt comfortable going to was the school.

Using the key he still had in his pocket, Ben 'broke' into the boy's locker-room to get himself a dry change of clothes, since it had started raining on his way there. Finding an old pair of sweats he left in his locker, Ben quickly swapped clothes before he began strolling through the school to find a place to sleep for the night.

As he entered the indoor Tourney field, Ben began humming the melody he has stuck in his head from listening to it for so long, unable to actually hear it since he left his phone at home. As he hummed the familiar tune, he could just imagine himself playing the piano in that very field. As it changed to a faster paced melody, Ben actually had some lyrics one to mind.

"Voices in my head," he sung softly, "tell me they know best. Bum, bum, bum. I know they've got a plan, but the ball's in my hands. This time, it's man to man. I'm drivin', fightin' inside a . . . something."

It wasn't much, but at least it was a start of a solo. Ben wants his own dream—

So he's gonna scream.