Ben should have known he was going to show up out of the blue.
To be quite fair, he knew it was coming when Mal showed up in the theater a few minutes later than the other with tear stains on her cheek. Instead of interrogating her, Ben kissed her cheeks lovingly over and over again until they faded away and Mal giggled for him to stop.
It couldn't be helped that there was still tension in the theater even after witnessing such affectionate behavior. Most barely or never spoke as they stretched to prepare for the day's practice. They knew this was just the calm—
Especially when the storm barged in to tear everything down.
"Mr. Fae," Fairy Godmother greeted without a hint of surprise as the blue-haired man strolled through the aisle of the theater seats. "Is there something you need?"
Instead of answering the teacher, Hades locked gazes with a certain teen, who already knew the reason behind his appearance. "Ben, you are eighteen, correct?"
Thrown off by the question, Ben answered honestly, "Yes, sir."
"Good," Hades commented, jerking his head toward the exit. "Then you're coming with me for the day. Mali, you're staying in school to get any assignments he misses and to not be in the crossfire. Understood?"
Nodding softly, Mal watched as Ben tiredly stood from where he rested. "Promise me one thing, Dad," she requested. "No violence."
"Of course, Princess," Hades agreed. "I am bigger than that."
As predicted, the car ride was nearly silent, except for the running engine and the bustle of traffic. Wanting to get rid of the pent up tension that was on the verge of explosion, Ben wondered, "So where are we going?"
"First, I'm taking you to the doctor to get your eye looked at," Hades listed off, as that was his main concern at the moment. "Then we're going to grab whatever clothes and personal items you want to keep from that house. You'll be staying with my family for the time being, which is where you should have went last night instead of the school. We could have helped you sooner."
"I didn't—"
"Don't say you didn't want to be a bother," Hades interrupted sternly. "My daughter loves you and she was heartbroken when she found out you were hurt from something she didn't know about until later. You are like a son to me and my wife, so don't you ever think our family won't drop everything to help you, alright?"
"Alright," Ben agreed, heart warming at the declaration. "But I do have a question that's been on my mind for a while, if you don't mind me asking."
"Go ahead."
Turning to look at the business man, Ben wondered curiously, "Why is your last name Fae when your brothers' and sisters' last name is Olympia?"
Chuckling at such an innocent question, Hades revealed, "I decided to break tradition and take my wife's last name instead. Besides, 'Aidoneous Fae' sounds better than the tongue twister 'Aidoneous Olympia'. I'm surprised more don't take their wife's name. Even your name sounds better with Mali's last name."
"Ben Fae," Ben spoke in awe. The name just rolled off his tongue—
Like it was meant to be.
After concluding that he had a bruised eye socket that should be fully healed within two to three weeks, the two 'men' made the short drive to the Adams' residents. Noticing that the front door was precariously locked, Ben tried using his house keys to get in.
But it didn't work.
Huffing in annoyance, Ben deduced, "He changed the locks. Let's just go—"
"Now hold on just a second," Hades insisted before the teen could walk away. "We came here to get your belongings and that's exactly what we are going to do. Besides, I can open it with it being locked. Watch."
Moving so he was only a couple feet away from the entrance, Hades took a deep breath—
Before he kicked the door down with near inhuman strength, ripping it from its hinges.
Wincing softly, Hades turned to the amused teen with a sheepish smile on his face. "Would you call that violent?"
"I'd call that necessary," Ben joked. "I'll grab a few outfits and books from the treehouse before Beast—"
"What the hell did you do!"
"Too late," Hades commented. Turning back to look inside the house, the businessman came face to face with the angered owner of the home and the horror-stricken wife. "Beast, Mrs. Adams," he greeted curtly. "Ben will be grabbing a few things and we'll be on our way."
"You are trespassing," Beast declared the obvious. "And you destroyed my front door!"
"You shouldn't have slammed it in my daughter's face," Hades retorted. "You can bill me or sue me. It's only worth a hundred bucks at more and my lawyers can have the case dismissed in under a minute. You will not put your hands on Ben unless you want me to charge you with two counts of assault."
While his father fumed at the threat, Ben slunk inside to quickly grab his clothing from his bedroom. "After only a couple minutes, Ben returned with a duffel bag and looking slightly more annoyed than before. "They already packed it for me," he informed. "And my phone was smashed next to it. I should have enough money to buy me a new one. All I need now are my books from . . ."
Trailing off, the child's eyes grow wide in horror as he realized something was missing from the backyard. "Where's my tree house?"
"We sold it to a family down the street," Belle replied with a careless sigh. "It was so old and rotted from it sitting for so long, and we needed the money—"
"You sold my castle," Ben clarified in disgust, "because you needed money? For what? To make up for how much Beast wasted with his addiction? That's—"
Ben paused, an awful thought coming to mind. "If you sold my castle," he began cautiously, "where are my books?"
"Ben—"
"Where are my books!" Ben demanded almost hysterically. "Grandpa Maurice bought me every single book I own. They are everything to me because he's everything to me. Where are they!"
"I burned them," Beast declared far too calmly for someone who ruined his son's childhood. "They are what started you on those ridiculous notions—"
"Kids are supposed to have imagination," Ben insisted firmly. "Apparently, you never had one as a child."
"Ben, your father is right," Belle argued with the softest sigh. "My father shouldn't have gotten you started on those fantasies when you were so little. It has clouded your judgement."
Shaking his head in disbelief, Ben proclaimed, "Mom, I only have one thing left to say to you: get out of here before the Beast and your Stockholm Syndrome kills you."
Brushing past his parents, Ben stormed back to the vehicle before he could make any horrible decisions like they had.
"This is not the end of this," Hades warned. "You will be hearing from my lawyers."
