Disclaimer: Maleficent and its characters belong to Disney.

Note: Look, a new chapter! I'm realizing that the more I wrote, the closer this fic gets to its end. It's kind of scary, actually. What will I do with my life once it's complete!?

men·da·cious

(adj.) 1. telling lies, especially habitually; dishonest; lying; untruthful

2. false or untrue

It has been hours, but Mal still can't believe what she did. She's only following the plan, she keeps repeating to herself, but still, getting married to a college student sounds crazy. Cursed be Stefan for his stupid ideas and extreme solutions. The man is insane; it is no wonder his daughter can accept such madness so easily. Mal sighs and rests her elbows on the kitchen table, rubbing small circles on her temples. What is she doing with her life?

"I still don't get it. Aurora saw you naked?" Diaval asks.

Mal looks up at her friend - though she would never admit it out loud to anyone, and especially not him. His lips are pressed together, making it obvious that he is trying to keep a straight face, failing as usual to hide the mischief in his eyes.

"Don't make me say it, bird brains."

Diaval snickers behind his hand, making Mal groan. She should know better than to invite her assistant over by now but she keeps doing it. And he keeps emptying her fridge.

"I know you aren't shy, but before the wedding?" He accentuates the last word with a mocking gasp.

Mal throws the cap of her beer bottle, hitting Diaval on the forehead. He winces and presses a hand to his forehead while Mal simply smirks, proud of her still good aim.

"Are you sure you're really forty?"

She glares at him menacingly. He should know she hates when people mention her age - especially since she is still in her thirties - even more so since she met Aurora. The age difference is starting to be pointed out by journalists and soon enough she'll be described as a predator, a cougar.

There is a brief silence before Diaval speaks again.

"Poor Aurora, with the scratch marks on your back, she's going to think you're already cheating on her."

"With stress and an old habit."

Nervously scratching her shoulder blades, sometimes so much that she'd bleed, was a bad habit that had started at the same time as her relationship with Stefan. She stopped during college but it had left scars - embodying the pain Stefan had made her feel. She had reopened the wounds a few days ago. It is Stefan's fault. He's the one making her marry a child... and she is lying to herself again. She accepted his proposition, knowing exactly what would happen.

"You could use that to your advantage. Wear a backless dress, drive the media and Aurora's parents crazy."

"Journalists are going to start ignoring Aurora's contagious smile, I will be branded a cougar. I don't need them to write that I'm forcing her into a sexual relationship, Diaval."

He shrugs and empties his beer bottle. Mal leans back in her chair, sighing once more. Stefan needs an interview about his daughter's relationship with her so he can mention their engagement and she'll then confirm that the wedding will be organized very soon.

"It's New York, boss. People will be thrilled to have a gay, wealthy... good-looking couple in the spotlight! Don't worry!"

It has been hours but Aurora still can't believe what Mal did. Of course, the expensive engagement was expected, but not so early, not like that. What had Aurora hoped for, though? Did she want Mal to simply put the box in her hands and go away? To invite her to a fancy restaurant and kneel down? Feeling her cheeks blushing, she shakes her head, trying to erase these thoughts from her mind. She is being ridiculous: she is not dating Mal, they are not in love but they are getting married. Aurora's gaze drifts away from her plate to fall on the ring.

"Is that a new ring?"

Aurora startles. She looks up at her mother, seated across from her. She puts her hands on her lap, hiding the ring from her mother's curious eyes. She can't tell her about the wedding now; she would most certainly freak out even more than the previous night. She has to make Leila accept her relationship with Mal first. She also has to tell her before the engagement ring is pointed out in every magazine.

"Yes, it is. It's not... much, you know." Aurora answers with a shaky voice and nervous smile - God, Phillip is right when he says she is a bad liar.

Phillip. They haven't talked since their argument. She should call him later, or at least text him.

"So... what are you willing to tell me about your relationship?"

Aurora opens her mouth and closes it without saying a word, repeating the gesture a few times. Surely her mother didn't change her mind on Mal already, why would she ask about their relationship?

"What would you like to know?"

"The simple things, like..." Leila pauses to take a sip from her glass of wine. "How you met her or how long you've been seeing her."

Oh no. Aurora clutches her dress and gulps. This is the kind of question she should have expected. She did not have the time to talk about these kind of details with Mal and this is bad. Aurora needs ideas, she needs Mal, because if she says something to her mother that Mal tells something differently... Leila mustn't know about the arrangement. She would kill Stefan.

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll tell you all about it after, okay?"

Leila nods and Aurora stands up abruptly, almost knocking over the chair; she apologizes awkwardly as she grabs her clutch bag. She rushes to the bathroom, wiping her sweaty hands on her dress. There doesn't seem to be anybody else. Aurora pulls out her phone from her bag to dial Mal.

"Aurora? Why are you calling so late?"

"I'm in the bathroom and I'm freaking out!"

There is a silence, only interrupted by what sounds like Diaval's voice, cut off after a few seconds by a groan of pain.

"Oh my God! That's not what I meant! I- I'm at the restaurant with my mom and she asked me how and when we met and I have no idea what to tell her!"

Aurora can hear Mal's steady breathing and light footsteps. Is she pacing?

"Is there anywhere we could have met?" Mal asks. "A park or a museum you often go to, for example?"

Before Leila went away to Boston, they used to go to the American Museum of Natural History together every time they had the opportunity to. She still goes there, from time to time, by herself, to draw or to stare at the whale - for some reason, she always found it fascinating. So that's what she tells Mal.

Aurora sits back on her chair under her mother's gaze. She apologizes to her for leaving, but Leila doesn't seem to mind much.

"What were we talking about again?" Aurora smiles as she asks, managing to hide her nervousness.

"About your girlfriend."

Even if Leila accentuated the last word, there hadn't been any animosity in her voice - and maybe Aurora should worry, but she doesn't. Unlike her father, her mother is a very calm person.

"We met last summer, at the Museum of Natural History. You know how I am when I draw... staring at something for hours without looking away..."

"As if you were sleeping with your eyes open. It scared me on more than one occasion..."

Aurora nods vigorously, her smile widening.

"I did look away, though, when she asked if I was all right. There was something about her voice that just... caught my attention... " Her voice trails off as she realizes the truth in her words; she does love hearing Mal's melodic voice. "We started talking, mostly about my drawings and the museum, but we couldn't stop! So we went for coffee and exchanged our numbers and well..."

Leila's expression has discreetly softened when Aurora is done with her story - it is just a story, a lie - but apparently, Aurora had managed to convince her mother and it makes her feel both proud and guilty.

"Does she make you happy?"

"I- I think so, yes!"

Leila tilts her head down a second, as if defeated.

"Couldn't you be like every girl your age and fall in love with a handsome frat boy? Or did your father's ex sound like such a good option compared to them?"

Her mother's chuckles is forced, but Aurora knows that she is doing her best to accept her relationship, or at least to tolerate it. Aurora sighs. She can't give up now and tell the truth.

Dinner had ended up better than anything Aurora had expected. Of course, her mother still doesn't like the idea of seeing her with Mal, but she is already more tolerant than her father - who knows that it is only an arrangement.

She slips out of her dress to put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Mal's Aerosmith band t-shirt. Mal had told her that she could keep it if she wanted, so she did. Aurora takes out her phone from her bag to check her messages one last time.

1 message

Phillip

I'm sorry for what I did and said. I had no right to treat you like that. But seeing you get hurt is one of my biggest fears, and even if I know that you are not a baby, that you can take care of yourself, I can't help worrying and trying to protect you. I understand if you don't want to answer to this message now... maybe later tho?

Aurora stares at the screen a minute before getting up from her bed. She goes to the window and leans her forehead against it, gazing down at the lights of the city. She looks back at her phone and types a quick answer.

You'll always be my best friend

It sure looks like Phillip will be back soon~ I'm a monster! It's wonderful!

I don't even how the idea for the lie about their first meeting came up. Or maybe I do. Should have not watched Night at the Museum.