Mal's POV
"How are you guys even here? Is the barrier broken? Oh my god did our parents escape too?" I say frantically, beginning to freak out.
"No no! Your dad actually helped us" Harriet says hurriedly, giving me a reassuring smile. I sigh in relief, thank god our parents are still on the Isle.
"My dad?" I repeat, a grin spreading on my face.
"Yeah he found a spell that could send us anywhere a few weeks ago, and today he was finally able to complete it in time for your birthday. Thomas over here couldn't wait and used it before any of us could react" Freddie says while sending a scolding look to the Scottish boy in my arms and I cock my head to the side confusedly.
"But my birthday isn't until.." I trail off, wondering what the date is.
"Tommy what day is it?" I ask, looking down at the boy who is now looking up at me tearfully.
"J-June 9th" he stutters and my eyes widen in surprise.
"Oh wow" I say, stunned that I actually forgot about my own birthday.
"Happy birthday Mal!" Thomas,Harriet,Freddie, and Hayden exclaim with big smiles on their faces.
"You guys are the best! I guess it's just been so crazy here I lost track of my own birthday" I laugh and all my fellow vks join in.
"Speaking of which, how does it feel to be an old man?" Hayden teases.
"If being seventeen makes me an old man then you're a geezer, Mister first born on the Isle" I tease back and he playfully punches me on the shoulder.
"Haha very funny, so who'd you get into a fight with this time?" he asks, taking note of my now mostly healed split lip and the bloody shirt on the ground.
"Funny story actually, you guys just missed Tommy kick Peter Pan's arse" I say proudly, and said boy blushes before burying his face into my shoulder.
"Really? Great job baby brother" Harriet says impressed and he buries his face into my neck.
"Looks like he's back to his normal self" Freddie teases and I smile down at my loyal first mate.
"And I wouldn't have him any other way" I say gently, causing him to look up at me with happiness in his eyes.
"Really?" he asks shyly.
"Really, if I ever had to pick between you and Harry I'd choose you everytime in a heart beat" I say and he smiles widely.
"Thanks Mal" he says happily and I smile before pulling him into a bear hug.
"Your father is an idiot, you're perfect just the way you are" I whisper in his ear and I feel him shiver against me.
"So are you gay or something?" Chad sneers and I glare at him.
"I don't like using those type of labels for relationships, why does it matter if your partner is a guy or a girl?" I say defensively, breaking the hug but keeping my arm over his shoulders.
"Because it's wrong! It's absolutely disgusting" Chad exclaims and my eyes narrow.
"Why is it so wrong?! As long as the person you're with makes you happy it shouldn't matter if they're a guy or a girl!" I argue and several Auradonians look at me in surprise, as if they can't believe someone from the isle is saying this.
"He's right Chad, it doesn't matter" Lonnie says, and I smile at her. 'Thank you' I mouth to her. 'You're welcome' she mouths back.
"Besides a year and a half is a long time to get over those feelings" I say with a small smile, remembering how awkward it was the first few weeks of our relationship.
"You two were together for a year and a half?! Why am I just now hearing of this?!" Harriet exclaims and Thomas and I both laugh at her.
"The less witnesses the better" Thomas says darkly and I laugh harder as I summon a new T-shirt into my hands and put it on before wrapping my arm around his shoulders again.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you" I tease and he lets out a playful growl.
"Awww you're so cute, you're as intimidating as an angry kitten" I laugh, removing my arm from his shoulders as he pouts.
"You two are so cute together! I'm so glad you two are dating!" Freddie squeals and I stop laughing immediately.
"Uh...Freddie don't you remember? We broke up six months ago" Thomas says and Freddie looks at us surprised.
"Wait what?" she says confusedly, looking back and forth between us.
"You must be kidding...Freddie you were in the room when we explained we broke up because we thought we were better off as friends" I say, I can't believe she actually forgot.
"I thought you were just taking a break!" she gasps and out of the corner of my eye I see Thomas looking at the ground looking upset about something.
"What is it Tommy?" I ask gently, turning my whole body so I'm facing him.
"I-it's nothing" he says, refusing to look at me.
"Tommy if this about your dad-" I begin to say gently.
"It's not!" he snaps and I jump back in surprise, h's never shouted at me before.
"Then what is it?" I ask, my voice raised slightly.
"Forget it" he huffs and my eyes narrow, I've had it with his little temper problem.
"Thomas I understand you're in a bad mood but you will not speak to me like that" I say warningly and his eyes widen at my tone.
"I-I" he stammers and tears gather in his eyes. My anger turns into concern and I stop glaring at him.
"What is it Tommy?" I ask softly, leaning in slightly.
""I'm still in love with you alright!" Thomas shouts at me and everyone goes silent. I stand there too stunned to speak for a moment when he suddenly grabs me by the collar of my white t-shirt and pulls me in for a hard kiss. He breaks it after a few seconds and I just look at him in stunned silence as he gets nervous and lets go of my shirt.
"I'm sorry Mally...I'm so sorry" he sobs before running off, and all I can do is watch him run away as I try to process what just happened. I stand there stiff as a board for a few minutes before Harriet slowly approaches me.
"Mal? Are you alright?" she asks me gently.
"I-I think I'm doing alright for a guy that just got a repeat of his first kiss" I say slowly, still not believing what just happened actually happened.
*Flashback Almost Two Years Ago*
"Mal I need to tell you something" Thomas stutters and I look down at him in worry.
"What's wrong?" I ask gently as I lead him over to the red couch in the living room of my hideout. He sits down on one end of the couch and I sit a few inches away from him, my whole body turned to him as I sit Indian style.
"I-I" he starts as tears gather in his beautiful eyes and I feel my heart clench at the sight. I hate it when he's sad and not knowing how to help always makes me feel worse.
"Take your time" I say gently, taking his smaller left hand in my right hand. I've had a bit of a crush on him for a while now but I don't wanna screw up our friendship.
"M-Mally I'm gay" he whimpers and I look at him in surprise, doesn't he know I already knew that?
"P-Please don't hate me" he sobs as he looks down at our joined hands and I feel my heart drop into my stomach.
"Tommy I could never hate you" I say gently, shaking my head at the idea of ever hating my best friend.
"And I already knew you're gay, I've known for years" I continue, squeezing his hand gently. He looks up at my face in shock and I wipe tears off of his right cheek with my free hand.
"Y-you did?" he stutters, looking at me hopefully.
"I always suspected it, but I figured it out for real three years ago" I say with a small laugh, stroking the back of his hand with my thumb.
"T-There's something else I need to tell you" he stammers and I give him an encouraging smile.
"Mal...Mal I.." he trails of with a frushtrated sigh.
"Damn it Mal I love you!" he says, grabbing the collar of my shirt roughly and pulling me in for a kiss. As soon as our lips touch I feel fireworks and all too soon the kiss ends. I slowly open my eyes not even remembering closing them only to see him looking at me sadly.
"I-I'm sorry Mally" he whimpers, beginning to move away but I stop him by gently grabbing the back of his neck. He looks at me confusedly but before he can say anything I pull him into another kiss. He kisses back immediately and moans against my lips as I release his hand in favor of turning his body towards mine and spreading his legs slightly so there's enough room for me to lay between them. I take my place on top of him and kiss him harder, which he gladly returns. I grip his hips roughly and he gasps against my lips, allowing me the perfect oportunity to slip my tongue in his mouth. He moans loudly and our tongues battle for dominance, which I immediately win.
"Mally" he pants as he breaks the kiss to catch his breath.
"Hmm?" I hum as I move my attention to his neck, giving it loving kisses and nips that make him shiver under me.
"Does this mean we're together now?" he moans loudly as I nip the tender flesh a bit harder. I lift my head back up to look down at him with a warm smile which he returns with longing in his eyes.
"If you'll have me" I say sweetly before leaning down and kissing him gently.
*End Flashback*
I snap out of the memory just in time to see Bella approaching us with tears in her eyes.
"Bella I-" I get cut off my the stinging sensation on my cheek. I look down at her in shock and she glares at me as she lowers her hand.
"We're through!" she says before storming away. I just stand there not knowing what to say. Out of the corner of my eye I see Lonnie look at me sympathetically before running after Bella. I just stand there frozen, not even knowing how to react to the two bombs that just dropped on me.
"Mal?" I faintly hear Freddie say, but I feel like I'm underwater and can't find my way to the surface. I'm barely aware of what's happening around me. Bella is done with me, my mate is done with me. And as if that wasn't bad enough my best friend/ex boyfriend is still in love with me and is most likely lost in this unknown area probably crying his eyes out over what he just did. After who knows how long I finally begin to feel less numb and my heart sinks as I realize that soon I'll have to choose between my mate and my first love. I love Bella like crazy but I've known Thomas for almost two thirds of my life and he was my first everything relationship wise. First kiss,first date...first time, you get the picture. Suddenly a wave of emotional pain floods through me and I fall to my knees. As soon as I hit the ground my walls burst too and I begin to let out pained sobs as tears slide down my cheeks, not even caring anymore about who's watching.
'I've screwed everything up...mom was right, love is weak and ridiculous' I think to myself as I begin to sob into my knees. I feel a light touch on my shoulder and I look up expecting to see Evie or Harriet, only to be completely stunned as Audrey looks down at me with concern and sympathy in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" she asks gently and I shake my head no, not trusting my voice at the moment.
"It's Tommy isn't it?" she asks, moving to sit next to me.
"W-Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me" I manage to get out, looking at her confusedly. She sighs and I see her look down at her lap in shame.
"I miss judged you, all of you and I'm really sorry. And I hope that if you guys end up sticking around after Bella's coronation we can start over" she says apologetically as she turns to look at me, honesty swimming in her eyes.
"I'd like that" I say with a smallbsmike before looking back down at my knees.
"You know you still have to apologize to Bella for kissing that jerk" I say with a smirk as I turn my head slightly to look at her.
"I already did...I hugged her and was comforting her when you first got stabbed, I had just enough time to apologize before Lonnie came over" she says and I nod in understanding.
"I don't want to hurt them, I love them both so much" I say quietly. Before Bella I had gotten what I'm sure was a taste of what true love really was when I was with Thomas. But it's like being with Bella turned my spark into a camp fire.
"Audrey! Audrey get away from that hooligan!" I hear an old woman shout from the crowd and I frown slightly.
"I have to go...I'm sorry" she says apologetically, giving me a small smile.
"Me too...no hard feelings?" I say as I hold out my hand.
"No hard feelings" she agrees as she shakes my hand. She gets up and dusts herself off before beginning to walk away.
"Oh and Mal" she says, turning around too look at me again.
"Follow your instincts on who to choose" she says and I nod at her words. She smiles down at ne one more time before walking over to her parents and an older woman I'm assuming is her grandmother.
'Trust my instincts' I think to myself as I close my eyes, focusing on the one person I believe needs me the most right now. I hear several gasps before feeling myself fade away for a moment only to appear in a new location. I open my eyes and see that I'm in front of the school and faintly hear Thomas crying. I follow the sound and see him sitting with his back against King Beast's statue as he cries into his knees. Without another word I crouch down in front of him and gather him into my arms. He clings to me and sobs into my neck repeatedly as I just hold him closer and silently promise him and myself that everything is going to be okay.
Author's Note: I'd really like to thank MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery for helping me with this chapter and helping me plan out the next one. Just a heads up Chapter 10 will be a M/M lemon and I just wanted to make sure that I gave you guys fair warning before posting it. The next xhapter will hopefully be up some time tomorrow :)