"Ben!"

Groggily opening his eyes, Ben found himself somewhat surprised when he gazed at the face of a beautiful angel, who looked so worried that she was on the verge of tears. Sitting up in his makeshift bed, which insisted of laying on the theater seats and old cloth bunched up to form a pillow, Ben stretched his sore muscles before smiling softly at his wonderful girlfriend.

"My Mal," he greeted with a slight yawn. "What's wrong?"

"I thought something was wrong with you!" Mal exclaimed with a slight sob. "I tried calling you so many times. Jay drove me to your place, but your folks only told me you left your phone there. I tied asking them where you were, but they slammed the door in my face! I was so worried about you it made me sick! Now, I find you with your eye all black and blue!"

"It is?" Barely grading the area around his eye, Ben winced, feeling the injury throb with pain.

Sighing softly, Ben took a moment to embrace his girlfriend, holding her tightly so he could show just how much he truly appreciated her. Mal laid her head on his shoulder, allowing just one more sob to come out since she felt so relieve about finally finding her prince.

"I'm so sorry I made you worry," Ben apologized, kissing the top of his beloved's head. "Last night . . . It just escalated so quickly. I didn't know where else to go on such short notice."

"You should have went to me," Mal insisted. "You know my parents like you and would have let you stay with us."

Lifting her head, Mal laid her hand gently on Ben's cheek so he would have to look at her. "What happened?" She demanded softly. "Tell me everything."


Needless to say, Mr. Adams didn't go to work that day. Some teachers claimed he woke with a painful migraine and couldn't get out of bed—

At least he was partially honest.

It didn't take long for Ben to explain everything that happened the night before. Truthfully, he didn't need to go into details with the situation created by Stefan because Mal already knew, but didn't want to say anything earlier.

By the time he finished the take, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for first period class. On their way to Fairy Godmother's classroom, Ben tried to keep his head down to avoid the attention, which didn't work. The discoloration covered the entire area surrounding his eye, making it obviously noticeable. None of his classmates said anything to him about it. They only stared at him, wondering what kind of bell he went through within the past couple of days.

Fairy Godmother was the most surprised out of everyone. Considering she had worked with the teen on his solo the day before, it came quite a shock to see him so disfigured in such a short amount of time.

And yet, she didn't say anything to him about it.

Instead, Fairy Godmother ushered her students out of the room, urging them that much work needed to be done for the musical. Ben was the first out of the room, wanting a moment to breath without all the staring.

Being the last in the room, Mal asked Fairy Godmother to stay behind a moment. After a few simple moments, the purple-haired girl hurried out of the classroom—

Having been granted permission to call someone who will stir up a bit of hell for those who deserved it.