A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back with another update! I'm so thankful for all the wonderful reviews I've received for this story. I don't know about you all, but while I love writing, it's a hobby. I only have so much time in my life. For example, just Saturday I was extremely booked. I literally had no extra time to even eat. I am so grateful for all the readers who understand why my updates are all over the place. While it's my fault, promising to update at a certain time when I don't, life happens, and things get in the way. I will work on that, and I won't make promises I can't keep anymore. Also, this chapter was rewritten 3 different times, and I don't know still if it came out ok. I try to do my best with each chapter. Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter! :)

Chapter 5

Mal and the others had finally made it through their first day of school. To her surprise, it wasn't even that bad. The classes were a bit challenging, but she understood enough so it wasn't that confusing. However, after lunch, she wasn't able to concentrate nearly as much, and it wasn't because the subject was boring either. No, it was another matter entirely: her shoulder.

Truth be told, Mal had nearly forgotten about it. After she had cleaned the wound to the best of her ability, the only reminder she had about it was when she took off the scarf that night. But now the pain was coming back in full force. Mal grimaced, as a jolt of pain tremored through her as they walked towards the courtyard where students sometime hung out.

Accompanying them was Ben, Doug, and Chad. Chad seemed nice, although she still didn't trust him. Well, she didn't trust Ben and Doug either, but more them than Chad. Evie seemed to like him, although Mal didn't know if it's because his status as a prince, or that they just hit it off.

As they reached the courtyard, they plopped down in the nearest sitting area before beginning to chat amongst themselves. Mal didn't really participate in the conversation much as she was concentrating on keeping the pain to a minimum. In other words, she was determined to not let it show. She felt Evie and Jay giving her curious looks at her lack of input, so she forced herself to pay attention to the flow of the conversation.

"It's a lot of live up to; I'm just really nervous about the coronation and all. Running a kingdom is a lot of work," Ben said fretfully.

"When's the coronation?" Carlos asked.

"In a month," Ben replied, "it's going to be a big occasion. Everyone is invited, and Fairy Godmother is even bringing out her magic wand to bless me with it. She hasn't used it in forever or taken it out of the museum really."

The four newcomers exchanged glances silently. Now there was a way to get the wand. But how would they get it, Mal wondered.

"I think you're lucky," Chad said, "I mean, you basically have your life mapped out. You won't disappoint everyone since they're making you king already."

"It's not that easy, Chad," Doug cut in before Ben can contradict him. "Ben has to be a great king in order to live up to his parents."

"Yeah," Ben agreed, "When I become king, I want to give everyone a chance. There are two sides to every story, and just because we're good, doesn't mean that another person is automatically evil. Life doesn't work that way; it's so much more complicated."

Everyone clapped halfheartedly at his mini-speech before bursting out in laughter. Ben felt his cheeks warming up and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry guys," he apologized, "got a little corny there."

"Well we know who to go to if we ever need a pep talk," Mal said, punching him in the shoulder.

"And we know who to go to if we ever need a sarcastic debate," he shot back, retaliating the punch.

However, he, or Chad and Doug, never anticipated what happened next. Mal stiffened and hissed in pain, grabbing onto her shoulder. The others immediately were on high alert, their focus only on Mal.

"Mal?" Doug asked, "are you ok?"

It didn't seem like Mal had known everyone had seen that. She immediately straightened up, put on a cool mask, and said, "Yeah, everything's peachy."

Jay scoffed, "Lies." Carlos and Evie nodded in agreement.

"When and where," Evie added on, bluntly. Doug, Chad, and Ben were confused. What was happening right now? But they didn't really have the time to ask as the quartet seemed to be in their own little bubble, one that concerned themselves and no others.

"It's nothing; I'm fine," Mal insisted.

Jay and Carlos looked at each other and nodded. On cue, they jumped at Mal, holding her in place as she struggled but making sure they avoided her shoulders. Carlos was successful at removing her jacket, and Jay pulled her shirt over her shoulder. Evie gasped; it revealed an ugly injury, scarring and bleeding like there was no tomorrow. The three Auradon preps were sick to their stomach. Who would do something so horrible?

Mal huffed and straightened her shirt. "I'm fine guys," she said irritatedly. However, no one really believed her, with her stiff gait and alert posture. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all exchanged glances. Without warning, Jay and Carlos hoisted her up from either side of her and began the trek back to their rooms.

Evie turned to the open-mouthed princes. "I'm really sorry for disturbing your day, but you must excuse us. We have our friend to attend to," she said in a formal tone, practically fit for a princess. Evie then walked off after her friends who were dealing with a struggling Mal in between them.

Exchanging glances, the speechless guys sprinted after them. "Wait," Ben called out. He was however ignored as Evie joined the others with securing Mal from running off. They finally reached the dorms and began trekking to the girls' room without giving it a second thought.

Doug, Chad, and Ben all exchanged nervous glances. They technically weren't supposed to go to the girls' dorms. Doug went the day the quartet arrived, but that was a special occasion. However, curiosity won over their need to follow the rules, so they followed the four into Mal and Evie's room. Here, they saw Mal struggling to break free of Jay and Carlo's grip while Evie was calming taking out a first aid kit across the room, looking oblivious to the ruckus.

"Keep still, Mal," Carlos whined.

"I don't need help," Mal snapped, "it's fine. Really."

Jay snorted, "Yeah, like we'll believe that."

"How'd you get it though? It looks really painful," Chad questioned. The four transfers snapped their heads up to his voice in surprise. Chad guessed they didn't realize that he and the others followed them back here.

"Nothing. Like I said, it's no big deal," Mal said shortly.

"Yes, it is," Ben cut in, "you ought to get that looked at. We can go to the nurse. She'll probably have more experience to clean it up than you guys."

The four looked at him in horror. Doug, Ben, and Chad were taken aback by their reaction.

"Nurse?" Jay scoffed. "Fat load of good a nurse would do to us."

"Nurses have trained in medical school, so they would know what they are doing," Doug pointed out.

"Well not where we're from," Carlos said shortly. With that, they began bustling about again while Mal finally calmed down and sat there.

"You guys have to treat your own wounds?" Chad said incredulously. That gave him something to think about. Yes, he always complains about how much more he wants to be, yet he never really thought about these kinds of problems before. He's a prince. While he's not extremely pampered, he does usually have things taken care of for him, like laundry, cleaning up his room, and medical aid when he's hurt or sick.

"Duh," Mal said, rolling her eyes, "living on the Isle isn't a walk in the park you know. Just because you take away magic doesn't mean anything to villains. Instead of going after all you happy people, they just target each other. Shouldn't you know that? It's basic Human Mentality 101."

"No, we didn't," Ben said frowning. Evie shot Mal a look; she knew that Mal's words were a bit harsh to them. Granted, they didn't know, but Evie thought she could've explained it with less shock.

"People don't really help each other on the Isle," Evie explained more gently to them.

"But didn't the king send people there for medical assistance?" Doug asked, frowning.

"Well...yes," Ben said reluctantly, "but since it's an island with only villains and no obvious way off, you can see how only so many people were willing to do it. I think only about 2 volunteered, but we've haven't heard from them in a while."

Mal snorted, "Well, they're missing; that's all you should know."

"Missing? What do you mean missing?" Chad asked, confused.

"Use that imagination of yours, imagine what they could do to some people with good, helping bones in their body," Jay said, smirking.

"And then imagine that and ten times worse," Carlos added in. The princes shuddered.

"Why would they do that though? They're trying to help," Doug said.

"Duh, they're villains. Not to mentioned the fact that they were sent by the people that trapped them there in the first place. And also that villains don't need help, you either can survive and thrive by yourself or wither away," Evie explained.

"Wow," Ben said, cautiously, "that's a...comforting motto."

The four shrugged. "That's how we've always lived," Mal said.

Evie had finally pulled out the gauze, needle, and thread to patch up the wound. She began to disinfect Mal's wound with the gauze. Mal winced at the harsh sting of the chemicals, clearly not used to it, but kept still, determined not to show any pain. Eventually, Evie finished cleaning the wound and began stitching it together.

Meanwhile, Jay and Carlos went off on their own. Doug briefly wondered where they were going, but he soon got distracted again by Evie working. She seemed so knowledgeable with how to treat wounds, and he wondered how she came to learn. Contrary to what the chemistry teacher initially thought, she did seem to be an avid learner and smart. Not that it mattered, but Doug thought that it was an attractive trait in girls, if he was ever looking for a girlfriend. Not to mention how pretty Evie is.

Shaking his head at the thought, his attention went to the door where Jay and Carlos have returned bearing arms of food.

"It's around lunchtime, and we figured we might as well go get food since we're so busy in here," Carlos announced.

The group eagerly dug into the food as Evie finished the last of the stitches. Mal and Evie soon joined them in eating. Twenty minutes later, the full teens cleared the plates into a neat corner while Jay piled the leftovers onto a plate.

"What are you going to do with that?" Chad asked.

"It's a mystery," Jay replied, smirking.

"So, you guys have been dropping hints about what life on the Isle was like, but what about specific details? Like with your parents?" Ben asked curiously. Doug and Chad nodded, eager to know as well.

"Well...if you really want to know, we can tell you," Mal finally said after much debate in her mind. She glanced at the others quickly, giving them a look.

"Great! I always wanted to know what the island life was like," Ben said.

"It's not that glamorous, but we'll humor you," Evie chimed in.

A/N: Whew! This chapter is done! I've had a bit of trouble writing it, but good news! I basically have the next chapter planned out! Usually, I just write as ideas come to me, but I actually have a detailed outline of next chapter, so it'll come out real soon! Unfortunately, I'm booked this weekend, so it'll take about a week or two to get it out. I promise this time for sure.

Like it? What do you think? Reviews make my day! :)