Author's Note:

Hey guys! I am back with a new and improved chapter! I did not update for the past two weeks because of writer's block and vacation, which is not a good excuse. I know, I know. However, I got carried away with writing it this time and I hope it satisfies your needs. I'm sorry for constantly changing the update schedule but I plan on updating whenever I am done with a chapter. Tell me how you're liking the story so far by placing a review. Thank you and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and/or some parts of the story.

Bonding Time

Quote/Poem of the Chapter:

"You wanna know who I'm in love with? Read the first word again."

~ Anonymous

After a couple hours of sleeping, Mal slowly and reluctantly opened her green eyes. She blinked her eyes, trying to adjust her eyesight. She sat up, rubbing her knuckles into her eyes, and dragged her feet off the bed. She extended her arms above her head and let out a yawn. She watched her legs dangle above the white marble floor before checking her phone, which was spammed with messages from her friends.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Are you all right?"

Those are the typical messages anyone would send to his or her friends. She decided to not to reply to them since she was going downstairs to hang out with them before the night ends. She slipped on her black and white checkered slip-on since they were easy to slip on and off and headed downstairs. While she was going through the beige hallways, she saw Belle in the library, seeking for another book. Instead of continuing on, she walked into the spacious library.

"Mal, what brings you in here?" Belle asked as she was looking through the shelves of books.

"I just wanted to say sorry for my outburst earlier. I let my anger get the best of me, but I wanted to lecture her since she doesn't get anything at first. I just really hated her for being so selfish and mean. When silence took over the dining table and no one said anything, I decided to say something if no one was going to so I did. I hope you can forgive me and my actions from earlier." Belle stopped what she was doing. Mal still felt guilty since she did it in front of everybody and she thought the only way she can forget about it is if she actually neglected the memory of it, but it was still bothering her.

Belle, of course, being sincere, forgave Mal. She turned and faced Mal, "Mal, it's fin. What you did to Audrey is for the good and not for the bad. Your speech was heartfelt and if you would've said it to every girl like or unlike Audrey, they would feel the same as she and I did. Don't beat yourself up for it. To be honest, whenever Audrey does that, I just want to say something myself but I don't have the courage to. I never wanted to say this, but I always thought she was self-absorbed; a fake smile, and kind of a kiss up."

Mal and Belle shared a laugh. Mal also thought the same ever since she first met her. "I agree. I've only met her for like 4 hours and I already dislike her. I'm sorry to say this but I'm hoping for the best that she's not going to be your daughter-in-law."

"Tell me about it. I'd rather have you and only you. To be honest, I really thought you and Ben would've lasted longer." Belle admired their relationship. She witnessed all the love and memories throughout their time being together. But that sadly ended too soon.

"When we first started dating, I thought we would've been a forever. However, the future has it different for us, doesn't it?" Mal questioned.

"Maybe. I'm sorry about that again." Belle said, feeling responsible for it all.

"It's not your fault," Mal replied. "It never was."

"Yeah, but I'm his mother; I taught him about love and the concept of it." Ever since Belle started learning about Ben and Mal's break up, she felt she was at fault. She taught Ben about love and Mal was heartbroken by him.

"Still he might've misunderstood some things along the way," Mal tried to reason.

"Well he was a stubborn kid," Belle advised.

"Exactly."

They both shared one final laugh before ending their conversation. "Oh! Reminds me I need to give you this book that you need to read and your mother left early because she needed to attend some business." Belle went to look for the book while Mal was following her.

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

Belle gave her the book that she wanted Mal to read; on the front, written on it was the title The Light We Lost with the author's name and an illustration. "I don't know if this book will make you cry as I did but it reminded me of you and Ben. I just thought you could give this book a try."

"Thank you, Belle. I will for sure read it."

"Your welcome. All right now go on, I'm pretty sure your friends are wondering where you are."

"All right, thank you again." Mal painted a ray of sunshine all over her face. She turned around and exited the library, starting from where she stopped previously.

Her feet took her where her brain thought where they would be. As she appeared in front of the door that led to the backyard, she saw Evie, Carlos, and Jay sat around a campfire, enjoying the time of their lives. She sighed, her warm breath going onto the cold windows, creating condensation.

Her right hand chose to turn the doorknob, pulling the door open. Her right foot stepped out first, then her left; she turned around to shut the door and started walking towards the group. The talking and the heat of the fire were increasing, each step she took.

"How was your sleep, Sleeping Beauty?" Jay yelled getting more attention to Mal.

Mal shook her head with a little grin, "Shut up. How did you know I was sleeping? I locked my door," Mal stated.

"It's called a key. You know- it's a small object that can either lock or unlock a door," Carlos pointed out.

"Wait, did you go in with him?" Mal questioned.

"Yes- so did Belle, Evie, Lonnie, and Jane. We were all worried about you since you ran away," Carlos confessed.

"Well thanks, but it's called texting. You could've sent a message digitally and I would've answered," Mal explained.

"Really? Because at that time you wanted some alone time," Evie uttered.

Evie is right; Mal did want to be alone at that time. "Touche," Mal admitted.

"Mal, Jay, Carlos, and I have known you for a long time. You can't hide anything from us anymore because we got your back. Don't be afraid to express your feeling to us," Evie acknowledged.

"I know, but I don't want to be bothering you all the time about," Mal declared.

"Again, we've been friends for a long time. I'm pretty sure we've gotten used to each other."

Mal smiled, "Thanks, Evie."

Evie smiled back at her, "No problem."

Evie stood up and both girls hugged each other while Jay interrupted, "Hey, what about us?"

Mal and Evie laughed and made more room for them to join in. The boys walked in and created one group hug. "I missed this so much," Mal said.

Evie, Jay, and Carlos agreed with her. "Let's spend this small moment together then before the rest come back," Carlos said.

"All right, and also where did the others go?" Mal wanted to know.

"They went out with their friends, but they're going to come back and you are going to meet them," Jay said.

"Wait, why didn't you guys go with them?" Mal inquired.

"We wanted to be here with you because we knew you would have woken up. We wouldn't want you to be alone," Evie remarked.

"I'm holding you guys back; you guys could've gone. I have Belle, anyways we have some catching up to do," Mal replied.

"But we wanted to spend more time with you and Evie since you guys live in another state," Jay spoke for him and Carlos.

"Aww," Mal and Evie chorused. The girls tightened the hug more, sharing all the love they had for the boys.

After several minutes passed by, they broke the hug and talked more until they heard loud chattering that was growing louder and louder. They looked up and saw in front of them the 'power couple', Lonnie, Jane, Doug, and two people who Mal was unfamiliar with.

"What's up, guys," a blond-haired guy said as he bro-hugged Jay and Carlos. Doug and Evie hugged each other and pecked each other's lips for a while everyone greeted each other besides Mal since she was busy talking to Lonnie and Jane.

"Hey Mal, are you okay from earlier?" Lonnie asked.

"Yeah, I just needed some alone time from the whole situation. I feel a little better right now," Mal answered.

"Mal, don't beat yourself up for it. What you said in there was inspiring; you're the one who helped me see that I do have beauty, you're the reason why I am the person to this day," Jane added.

"Thanks," Mal appreciated.

"Your welcome. C'mon lets join the group, it's time you meet two new people," Jane stated. Mal smiled and walked over to the group.

Some background information on Evie and Doug's relationship is that they started dating when they were in the third year of college. They handled the long distance relationship pretty well and still are. Aside from that, they are deeply in love and are made for each other.

"Chad, Gil, this is Mal. Mal, this is Chad and Gil," Ben introduced them.

"Hello," both of the boys said in unison. One at a time, Gil and Chad offered their hands for a handshake, trying to be gentlemen. Mal shook their hands and also greeted them back.

Everything was going the way Mal wanted it to until Chad spoke, "So you're the hot girl that Ben dumped in college?"

Mal's eyes widened in surprise and Ben snapped his head towards Chad. She looked down and pursed her lips; this is awkward, she thought. Ben gave him a 'What the fuck?!' stare while Audrey was caressing his right arm.

"Dude," Gil said as he nudged him.

"What? I'm just asking," Chad argued.

"It's fine and I am-I'm pretty sure that's what I'm known as to Ben's friends," Mal uttered.

"Wow. I can't believe Ben dumped a hot girl," Chad flirted. Once again, Gil nudged, trying to tell him to shut up

Mal shot him a death stare, telling him to stop talking before she does something that he'll regret later on.

"All right, I'll stop talking about you and Ben," he puts his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, why don't we sit down, shall we?" Evie said.

Everyone sat down on the curved couch that surrounded the campfire. Mal was seated next to Evie with Doug onto her right side. Chad hurried to sit next to her but Mal quickly placed her book down, "Please don't sit next to me," Mal warned.

"Fine," Chad gave in. He decided to sit next to Gil, who was next to Ben with Audrey on his left side. Next to Audrey is Doug and Evie, and Mal, Lonnie, and Jane.

"All right, so during lunch, I made up the idea of having a mini Olympics for my channel since they're coming up. I just thought we could start planning for it right now and we could start it when Mal and I come back in Spring. Jay, Carlos, Lonnie, Jane, and I have already agreed to it so I just want to know if you guys wanted to join," Evie informed.

"I'm in," Ben said.

"What about you, Audrey?" Evie asked.

"I guess so," Audrey said.

"Gil?"

"I'll join in," Gil replied.

"Chad?"

"Same here," Chad answered.

"All right, what about you, Mal?" Evie looked at her.

"Sounds fun so why not?" said Mal.

"All right, it's all set. One of us just has to remember and we can start planning when we come back," Evie said. Everyone else nodded in response, looking forward to the fun activity in Spring.

"So what should we do right now?" Lonnie asked.

"I don't know; play games?" Jay suggested.

"Well we all haven't played a game with each other for a long time," Evie responded. "What time does Audrey need to go to the airport?"

"My flight got delayed till tomorrow due to a storm tonight so we could go till the night ends," Audrey replied.

"All right, so what games should we play?" Jane asked.

"How about Truth or Dare but dirty?" Evie suggested.

"Sounds interesting; any rules?" Carlos asked.

"No rules, anything goes," Evie answered. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Chad exclaimed. "Mal, truth or dare?"

Mal sighed, "Dare."

"Make out with me," Chad dared her.

"Why did I see this coming?" Mal complained.

"Sorry, Mal but you gotta do it," Evie giggled.

Mal got up and Chad patted his lap; she sat on his lap with his face being so close up to her's. She put her arm around his neck. While she was adjusting, Ben felt a pang of an unknown feeling. He wanted it all to stop, but he couldn't do that in front of all the people, especially his girlfriend. He watched as both of their heads gravitated towards each other, but at the last second, Mal raised her hand where her lips were. Instead of Chad kissing her lips, he was kissing her hand.

Everybody started to grow into laughter while Chad was still in the moment. After a minute has passed, he broke the passionate makeout session.

"Are you done?" Mal asked.

His eyes grew wide in surprise, "You tricked me!"

"Well, I'm not interested in you!" Mal exclaimed.

Mal got up and returned to her seat, "Oh I see-you play hard to get."

"Dude! When will you get it that I'm not interested in you!" Mal argued.

"Never because I know that you'll be on knees, begging for my love; that's how those girls end up," Chad retorted.

"Okay, I'm not playing anymore," Mal stood up and started to walk over to the house.

"Mal, why?" Evie whined.

Mal turned around, "Chad keeps on being a dickhead and I need to meet my brother soon so have a good time".

"All right, we'll see you later," Evie shouted.

She waved bye as she continued to walk. On the way, she bumped into Belle, who looked like she was in a hurry, "Oh Mal, thank god I found you, your brother just arrived right now and he is in a hurry, so hurry on up into the living room."

"Okay, thanks, Belle!" Mal shouted as she lightly jogged through the vast household. As she arrived, she saw a man who has black hair, fair skin, and muscular from a distance with a baby car seat in hand, looking panicky. "Hey," Mal spoke quietly.

"Hey, how are ya?" her brother, Elijah, asked as he hugged her.

"I'm doing good," Mal answered. "What brings you here?"

"Sorry to bother you, but Ellie needs to be watched and I've been called in for an emergency. I'm in a race against time right now so I need you to watch Ellie," he said as he put the car seat down carefully onto the couch.

"It's fine," Mal answered. "Anyways I want to spend time with her before I go."

"Right now, she's sleeping but she's probably going to wake up sooner or later; her bedtime was at around 6:30 so you don't have worry about her bedtime; all you need to worry about is when she wakes up. In this diaper bag, you can find her clothes, shampoo, food; overall, you'll find anything you need. There is probably at least six or seven bags of breast milk that's been pumped two hours ago so you have to post those away now or they'll go bad and use those because thawing it takes so much time. There is a packet of the schedule and instructions so you wouldn't stress out so much. And I think that's it," Eli explained.

"Okay, but are you sure? Does she know me? What if she starts crying and doesn't stop?" Mal worriedly asked.

"You will be fine. I'm pretty sure she knows you if not just soothe her and introduce yourself; basically, show her love. You're the aunt and godmother so she has to know and love you right away," Eli said, trying to ease her.

"Okay, I don't want to hold you back anymore. You need to go. Now. Your job is serious."

"You're right. I'll start going now and if you have any questions, text, Lilli. She'll have the answers you need. Right now she's resting before she goes to work and yes, I told her bought Ellie here although she didn't like the idea at first; when she knew you would be taking care of her, she agreed right away. She'll be out by around 10 in the morning maybe."

Mal pulled him into an embrace, "All right, thanks. Bye, and be safe." She felt his arms wrap around shortly in response.

"Bye, don't worry; I will and also welcome home," he replied as he tightened the hug a bit more. Her mouth curled up into a smile. He carefully put the shade back, "Bye, sweetie," he gave her a big kiss before walking out.

"Well let's get you upstairs and settled," Mal muttered towards her niece. Mal loved all her features; her chubbiness, angelic face, happiness-basically all of her. She also loves her blue eyes which were blue as the sky. Many people admired her blue eyes because they were so stunning and adorable. Ever since Ellie was born, she felt so thankful for her.

Mal put the diaper's bag's strap across her torso, resting on top of her left shoulder, and grabbed the car seat carefully, trying not to wake up the baby, and walked to the and up the stairs to her room. She opened the door with her free right hand and slowly settled down the car seat and the bag onto the wooden storage chest at the foot of the bed. Mal swiftly and gently closed the door and adjusted the pillows on her bed so she could lay the baby on the bed. She used the pillows as a barrier and used the inside to lie her in.

Cautiously and silently, Mal unbuckled her buckle and freed her from her car seat. She cradled the bundle of joy in her arms and laid her down onto the comfy mattress. She decided to read the packet for the meantime, "Wake and milk feed at 6:30 A.M, naptime at 8:30 to 9:30, milk feed at 9:30 A.M, naptime at 11:30 A.M to 12:30 P.M," she read out loud. She saw that the schedule repeats itself for the whole day, "Looks and sounds easy."

She then read the instructions, "For reheating breast milk, heat up one and a half cup of water for 3 minutes in the microwave. Submerge 6-ounce bag in the cup and check every ten or fifteen seconds for temperature. If you think the water is too hot, pull the bag out of the water and lay on the flat hard surface and carefully rock your hand around it like a waterbed. If it feels a little cold, submerge it back into the water and give it another 10 to 15 seconds; repeat the process if necessary. Then feed to the baby," she also read out loud. Furthermore, she read even more instructions which took care of situations at night and more.

She then remembered to put the breast milk in the fridge before it goes bad. She unpacked the bag and found all the bags of milk in a big Ziploc bag. She took it out and sneakily went out of the room. She paced herself to the kitchen and as she entered, she found Mrs. Potts and her friends, sitting by the counter, who looked a little wet.

"Woah, what happened with you guys?" Mal laughed.

"Well just as you left, after a minute or two, it just all of a started raining out of nowhere," Evie answered.

"Ha, sucks for you guys," Mal replied as she opened the refrigerator.

"Why do you have milk in your hands?" Jay asked.

"Oh! This, is for baby Ellianna," said Mal. "Yeah my brother just dropped her off and right now she's sleeping so I better hurry. , may I move this stuff so I could put the milk here?"

"Where, dear?" asked as she turned around to look.

"In the back, very top shelf, where it's mostly cold," Mal spoke.

"Of course, dear. Just be careful with the food in there," uttered.

"Okay and, I cannot have meats, eggs, and/or uncooked food near it," Mal pointed out.

"Got it, dear, luckily it's just drinks in that area," remarked. "Why don't I put it for you?"

"Are you sure? I don't any of your cooking to burn," Mal asked.

"Yes, the sauce just needs to simmer anyway and you are watching a baby," she stated.

"All right then; you got me there," Mal surrendered. "I'll see you guys later!" Mal was about to jog to her room, but Evie's voice stopped her.

"Wait! Mal, can we see the baby?" Evie asked.

Mal turned around, but walked backward, "Maybe if she wakes up or when you guys change?"

Mal returned back to her room and didn't know what to do since she had free time. It's 7:45; what can I do? she thought. She thought for a while until she decided to take out her sketchbook to brainstorm more ideas of what she could (spray)paint for her gallery.

After a few moments have passed, someone softly knocked on her door. She stood up slowly from her bed, aware of the baby. She thought it was Evie since she was eager about the baby. But nope.

It was the one and only Ben.