Mal's POV
I continue rushing through the hallways until I make it to my locker. I scramble to open my locker and shove my stuff inside it and yanking out my art stuff.
'Why did I have to tell that story? What the hell is wrong with me' I ask myself while painful memories begin to overwhelm me as I sort out my locker. My mom whacking me on the back with her staff after I'd asked her about why she cursed Aurora when she'd had nothing to do with what happened between her and king Stephen when I was nine years old, starving for days at a time over the years just to make sure my three best friends had their stomachs filled every day. The worst one that replayed over and over in my mind was sitting in an ally with my back against a brick wall while it downpoured one night a few months ago when mom had beaten me for giving two little kids the loaf of bread and hunk of cheese I'd managed to steal. I remember it as if it'd happened yesterday, my heart had broke at the sight of them going through the silver metal trash cans that were across from the brick wall I was sitting against, about to take my first bite out of the bread. I lowered the bread away from my mouth before I could take a bite and stood up, removing the cloth covered cheese from my jacket pocket as I stood up. I remember the nervous look the little girl had given me as I slowly approached them and kneeled before them, holding out the bread to her and the cheese to who I assume was her little brother. It took a few seconds of encouraging words before they'd taken the food gratefully. The boy looked to be about six years old and the girl looked to be at least nine or ten years old. They'd smiled at me before trading little bits of their offerings with each other, and I had smiled as I watched them run off laughing and chatting about how they couldn't wait to tell l their mom about a stranger's moment of kindness. I remember hearing a bang behind me as I watched them disappear and when I'd turned my head to look at the source, I'd been struck on the side of my head and through my blurry vision I had managed to see my mom's angry green eyes looking back at me before she began beating me with her staff and letting me know how much I had disapointed her and how much of a discrace I was. Hours after the torture had ended, I remember how I'd managed to push myself off the ground and sit back against the wall, wincing in pain from the movement. The wounds including the broken ribs I'm sure I'd gotten had healed into bruises over my chest and back but the slight pain was still there. I remember seeing a broken piece of mirror beside me and picking it up, silently praying that my pain would end right then and there as I dragged it against my wrist. But it was not to be, the wounds were completely healed within seconds and the rain washed away the blood.
"Mal!" I hear Bella call out, snapping me out of my thoughts. I slam my locker shut and start walking back towards the dorms.
"Mal wait" Bella says, now a few steps behind me.
"Not now" I grunt, beginning to pick up my pace.
"Mal-" she says softly before grabbing my arm, stopping me from moving any further.
"Bella please, right now I need to be alone. I'll see you later" I say coldly, pulling my arm free and continue walking away from her. This time Bella doesn't try to stop me.
A Few Hours Later
Bella's POV
"You should've seen the look on his face Lonnie, he looked so lost and haunted by something and I've never felt so powerless" I whisper, looking down at my lap as that look in Mal's eyes replays in the back of my mind. Lonnie and I are currently in my room, sitting across from each other with a package of oreos and a open jar of peanut butter between us.
"I imagine that telling his mother's past to the whole class, including Ms. Fauna caused him a whirl wind of emotions" Lonnie says, and I look up to see her thinking hard about everything I had just told her.
"I know...I just wish there was a way I could make him feel better" I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.
"Maybe he just needs time to sort out his feelings, I mean I'd be pretty overwhelmed too if my life was changing so drastically in a matter of days" Lonnie tries to reason, and I internally wince as I admit to myself I'm the reason everything was changing for him.
"Do..do you think he blames me for that? I'm the reason they're here" I say quietly, feeling a pang in my heart at the thought of him, or any of them resenting me for my decision.
"No! Bella in the short time that they've been here I haven't seen any signs of resentment or even anger when he's around you. I'd even be willing to say that he's comfortable around you" Lonnie says comfortingly, reaching forward and putting her hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I think back to when he'd followed me to the bleachers earlier, and how he'd held me as I cried even though he barely knew me.
"You're right, but I've also noticed something about him" I say softly.
"What's that?" she asks curiously.
"He may be from the Isle Of The Lost, but there is a part of him that is good. I can feel it, and when I look into his eyes I can see that something is holding him back" I try to explain. Whenever I look into his eyes, I can see that he's not evil...just different. He's smart, loyal, independant, and so many other things that I'm sure are why his three friends look up to him the way they do. He's a protector, someone to depend on and the physical definition of everything I have ever wanted to be.
"You're right...when he sat with us at lunch yesterday I never felt uncomfortable and he seemed very at ease when he spoke to me" Lonnie says, letting go of my shoulder.
"Right! I know there's some good in him, I just wish he could see that" I sigh, running my fingers through my hair again.
"I'm sure he will, he just needs time" Lonnie says, and I nod in agreement.
"I hope so" I mumble, looking out the window next to me and see the dark clouds rolling closer and the rain pounding on the world outside.
A Few Days Later
Mal's POV
I start grabbing the materials I need for Heroes And Villains History when suddlenly I feel a hand on my arm.
"What?!" I snap, slamming my locker shut and turning to see whoever dared to disturb me. I freeze when I see Bella looking up at me with a hurt look in her eyes.
"I-I'm sorry" she stutters, letting go of my arm. She starts to move away from me when I instinctively grab her wrist and gently pull her back towards me. She looks at me confusedly and I smile apologetically.
"No I'm sorry, I shouldn't be snapping or taking my anger out on you when you've done nothing to me" I say softly, brushing my thumb over her wrist.
"It's ok" she says shyly, looking down at her feet.
"No it's not, I really am sorry" I say as I let go of her wrist. Before she can even begin to look up at me again, I wrap my free arm around her waist and hug her to me.
"Apology accepted, can we walk to class together now?" she asks hopefully.
"Of course" I say with a small smile before breaking our hug.
"But first, I have something for you" I say softly, carefully removing my sketchbook from under my arm.
"Hold these for a moment please" I say while holding out my other materials.
"Sure" she says softly, taking them from me.
Bella's POV
"I feel bad about how I acted the other day, you were just trying to help and I shouldn't have gotten upset with you" he says apologetically while flipping through his sketchbook. I watch the pages curiously, internally feeling awed as I catch glimpses of very detailed drawings.
"So as an apology I made this for you" he says with a smile, finally finding the page he'd been looking for. This time I can't hold back my gasp as I stare down at the amazing art filling the page. It's my father's enchanted rose in it's golden case, surrounded by gold sparks. There's a beatiful black dragon with green eyes wrapped around the case protectively, gaurding the symbol of my parents love. Engraved in elegant black script on the gold trim on the bottom of the case is 'Tale As Old As Time, Song As Old As Ryme Beauty And The Beast'. And written on the bottom right corner of the page in the same elegant script is 'I hope your tale becomes as timeless as your parents, I can't wait to watch it unfold. Best wishes- M'. I feel tears gather in my eyes and I practically have to rip my eyes away from the beauty in front of me to look at it's creator.
Mal's POV
I watch nervously as she looks at the gift I've made for her. I had looked at pictures of the enchanted rose for a few hours in the library just to be sure I had it memorized to the smallest detail. Finally after what feels like forever she looks up at me and I see tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I-If you don't like it I understand-" I begin to say while lowering my gaze, my heart nearly breaking at the thought of it upsetting her.
"I love it!" she says before launchimg herself at my chest.
"It's beautiful, thank you so much" she mumbles into my chest before pulling away. I grin at her and carefully remove it from my sketchbook. I give it to her before closing my sketchbook and taking the rest of my stuff from her arms. She cradles the sketch to her chest and by the look in her eyes you'd think I'd just given her the world.
"You're welcome" I say with a soft smile before holding out my free arm for her. She loops her free arm in mine just in time for the warning bell to ring and I begin to escort her to class. We spent the short walk laughing and joking with each other. I stop laughing as soon as we're at the open doorway and I see three unmistakable faries in the room. Bella stops next to me and out of the corner of my eye I see her looking up at me in concern. But I don't take my eyes off the three women who are now staring right at me.
"Can we run?" I whisper to Bella, still frozen in my place.
"No, C'mon Mal it's gonna be ok" she says softly, gripping my upper arm and leading me to our table. We sit on our seats and set up our stuff on the table. Flaura, Fauna, and Mary Weather begin to move towards our table when the bell rings again, and students begin to flood into the room.
"Hey I'm right here, nothing bad is going to happen, I promise" Bella says softly, comfortingly putting her hand on my shoulder after seeing how tense I am.
"I believe you" I say softly, finally beginning to relax and she smiles brightly at me. I look over at her and smile back, noticing that she's placed my drawing in front of her and is stroking the little message I had written on the bottom of the page.
"I'm really glad you like it" I say, my smile widening.
"Like what?" a unfamiliar voice says from behind me and I jump, turning to see the three fairies standing next to my side of the table. I feel Bella squeeze my shoulder comfortingly and look up at the three of them nervously.
"Mal made something for me as an apology for a misunderstanding, I was just complimenting him for it" Bella says, and I can hear the underlying protectiveness in her tone. Flaura, Fauna, and Mary Weather look down at the table and the three of them gasp in harmony. I lower my gaze and look at the sketch, happy to see that Bella had covered my message for her with her hand. I was hoping she'd keep that from them. I smile at her and she gladly smiles back at me. I look back at our guests and see other students watching us from their tables.
"You should consider signing up for art classes Mr. Dival, you're quite talented" Mary Weather says kindly.
"It's Diaval ma'am" I correct softly, and I see Flora and Fauna cover their mouths to hold back their laughter as their blue dressed friend blushes.
"My apologies" Mary Weather says, and I smile softly to show I hold no ill will.
"Apology accepted" I say with a small nod.
"We'd like to have a word with you after class if you wouldn't mind" Fauna says and I tense slightly.
"Not to worry dear, you're not in any trouble" Flora says soothingly and I relax.
"Ok" I say softly and I feel Bella remove her hand from my shoulder in favor of patting my back.
'What could they possibly want to talk to me about?' I silently ask myself as the three of them go to the front of the room and begin the lesson.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've written and rewritten this chapter so many times this past week I've lost count. Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter, they're greatly appreciated and give me the motivation I need to update :)