8:39 pm
A sleek black limousine pulled up outside the cottage at the pre agreed time to find the ten friends and their luggage waiting outside at the front of the property.
Jane was sandwiched between Gil and Carlos as they danced around the front door. To their left, Evie and Doug were wrapped in each others embrace and when the driver rolled to a stop he realised that the rest were throwing around a ball, almost making him run Harry down as he dived for the object.
The pirate collided with the parked car's front bumper but he was triumphantly gripping the ball in his hand and he waved it around as Jay swore, making the driver cringed as he climbed out of the cab.
"Sorry to interrupt but I am here to take you back," the chauffeur cleared his throat as he addressed Ben who had his hands in the hand ready for the ball Lonnie was throwing to him.
"Right, could you put the luggage away and we'll be on our way," Ben was tugging his case towards the trunk of the car which popped open at the push of a button.
"Yes sir," the chauffeur murmured and he went to collect Lonnie's weekend bag without further comment.
" I never wanna leave," Jane mumbled as she passed her bag to Ben. "This weekend has been magical," she sighed, leaning against the car and looking forlornly at the house.
"I know what you mean," Lonnie smirked but her tone was mischievous as she winked at Jay, making Jane groan as Gil and Carlos out their cases in the trunk and joined at against the car.
"Can we come back?" Evie asked Doug as he double checked that he had locked the front door. He pocketed the key and wrap an arm around Evie's shoulders.
"Any time you want," he promised, kissing her shoulder as they made their way to car.
"Ya just may wanna burn our bed," Harry snickered as he tossed the ball to Jay with a wicked grin.
"And the dresser," Mal piped up making Doug wrinkle his nose and a laugh to go around the group. The only one who didn't participate was Ben as he slammed the trunk shut in anger.
Suddenly he surged forward and had either side of Harry's t-shirt in his fists and he shook the pirate quite violently. Harry was taller and more physically intimidating but the shock of Ben grabbing him gave the King the advantage.
Ben pushed the pirate down and roared in his face but Harry had slipped back into the mask he would wear on the Isle and he swung his leg around so that Ben's were knocked out from underneath him. Fighting was second nature to the pirate but Ben was unskilled. The King fell to the floor in a heap and the friends gasped. Gil held Jay back as Evie and Doug took Mal into their arms.
"They need to sort this out," Evie whispered into Mal's ear sadly.
The friends and the shocked chauffeur watched as Harry pounced on top of the king. He refrained from hitting him but Ben's fist collided clumsily with Harry's temple and he began to fight back, albeit reluctantly. The last thing anyone wanted was for Harry to sent back to the Isle for fighting a royal.
Ben had manoeuvred so that he had a knee on Harry's chest as he hit him with unskilled fists. The pirate glanced towards Mal and her frightened expression made him drop his hands from the King's throat. His fists fell to the ground beside him but Ben was still hitting him.
"How dare you talk about her like that!"
"Ben!" Jane cried but she didn't approach them.
"She is worth ten of you! She's a damn lady of the court and you talk about her so crudely!"
Harry had a bloodied lip and was simply taking the beating as he kept direct eye contact with Mal, the only thing not making him pummel the king.
"You don't deserve her! You worthless pirate scum!" Ben was shouting as he hit the prone Harry. Spit was flying and he pulled Harry up by the collar of his shirt. "Fight back!" he shouted as he dropped Harry who simply fell back onto the soil.
"Ben, Ben!" Jane was shrieking, realising that Harry was not retaliating. Slowly, Ben stopped hitting and he scrambled back from the pirate as Mal rushed to his side with a dirty look in the King's direction.
"Okay, everyone get in the limo and let them talk this out," Lonnie said diplomatically and she and Evie herded everyone into the back of the car, leaving the trio.
Ben was heaving, sucking in huge breaths as he shook out his bruising hands. Mal held out a hand for Harry and pulled the pirate into a sitting position. Harry simply spat out a small mouthful of blood and he wiped at his bleeding brow. Ben's signet ring had cut open his temple from the initial hit.
"I- I," Ben faultered, astounded at both the relative calm state Harry seemed to be in and his own rash actions. "Sorry."
Mal sighed and she knelt down to root around her weekend bag. She wordlessly handed Harry one of her t-shirts and he began to dab at the wound with the material.
"You told me you earlier you were okay," Mal sounded exhausted and she just sat down near Harry with a frustrated sigh.
Ben shifted on his feet and then felt awkward and uncomfortable standing so he sat down opposite the couple. He opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of how to express his inner thoughts.
"You shouldn't be spoken about like that. He makes you sound like some whore from the Island when he talks about being intimate with you," Ben avoided their eyes as he began.
"I am a whore from the Isle and if anyone would know it would be Harry, Ben," Mal said, ignoring the way both boys cringed at the derogatory term. "I am not the person I was pretending to be all those months ago Ben. This crass and unladylike person is who I am. I am a Isle girl. I'm not Jane or Audrey. I enjoy drinking and breaking rules and sex. I can't begin to tell you how much I hate being coddled."
Ben looked up. "I'm sorry. I guess I never really put myself in your shoes did I?" Mal shook her head as Harry scoffed. "On the Isle when Evie was teaching me how to look like I belonged I felt so out of place. Even after Cotillion I didn't understand did I. I just wanted to protect you."
"She's not a pure little princess, she don't need protectin'," Harry's voice was gruff and Ben shook his head.
"I know that now. I can't believe I've been so dumb," Ben sounded astounded as he came to the conclusion. "Oh my, have I really messed this up?"
Mal's expression softened and she looked at Harry. "Just talk to us, don't go throwing shit punches around," Mal said.
"Were they that bad?" Ben cringed.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "I would'av killed ya."
"You're going to have to teach me how to throw a proper punch then," Ben chuckled and then his eyes went wide as he registered what he had said.
Harry smirked and got to his feet, holding a hand out for the King. "You'll be knocking people out in no time," he smirked.
"What happened?" Evie whispered to Mal from the sunroof. She was staring at the two boys clapping each other on the back.
Mal shrugged. "No clue," she said and she went to put her bag in the trunk.
Harry pulled Ben into a firm hug and he whispered in the King's ear "she's my girl so if you try and fuck around again I'm going to hook you," he threatened with a smile and he left to help Mal leaving the King nodding solemnly.
"Is the domestic over? Can we go now?" Gil had stood up through the sun roof next to Evie, squishing the other VK.
Mal and Harry got into the limo, already talking quietly together, and Ben scrambled into the car behind them, shaking off Jane's worried questions. Within the car everyone was sat either with their partner or simply lounging on the long seats.
"Thirty minutes until we arrive back at the schools Sirs and Madames," the chauffeur said before he closed the partition and allowed the friends to work though the semi-awkward tension that had settled after the fight.
9:07 pm
When the car pulled up in front of the statue, Fairy Godmother was there to greet and talk to them. Jane hugged her mother tightly and excused herself so that she could have a bath before lights out.
Lonnie, Carlos and Jay also said a quick hello to the headmistress but they made their way to the gym to get in some sword practice before the building was locked for the night.
"Hello Gil, how was your weekend?" Fairy Godmother asked the pirate when he clambered out of the limo. He stretched his long limbs and rolled his shoulders until they cracked which made the Fairy wince.
"It was good," he said as he rolled his neck, oblivious to the disgusted look on the woman's face.
"Oh really, good," she replied but it was through a frown at the sounds. "Did Jane enjoy it?"
Gil's smile was wide and dazzling. "Yeah. I really think she came out of her shell this weekend, you know, with me and the other guys."
Fairy Godmother's eyes were wide at the statement and she hurriedly said goodbyes to the pirate as he walked to his dorm with his luggage. Straight after Gil was the King and Fairy Godmother wrapped an arm around the young royal, steering him in the direction of his office as she rattled off a list of things that had happened over the course of his absence.
Harry and Mal said thanks to the chauffeur as they followed Evie and Doug out of the car and into the main school building. Together, the four climbed the stairs to the dormitory wings and the mutually agreed to settle in the girls dorm until lights out.
They met a few people on the way to the girls floor and whispers followed and preceded them. Outside the girls dorm, Dizzy and her roommate were sat in the corridor, playing a clapping game as they obviously waited for the older VKs.
"Dizzy?" Evie questioned, handing Doug her keys to open the room. She knelt down to the younger girl's level and she couldn't keep the concern out of her voice. "Whats wrong? Why are you waiting outside our door?"
"Evie!" Dizzy gasped, grabbing the girl's left hand and shrieking. "It's true then!"
"What's true Dizz?" Mal asked with a confused smile as the two girls and Evie stood up.
"You're getting married! I thought it may have been Mal and Harry but they've only just gotten back together," Dizzy's voice was loud and several girls opened their doors to openly stare the two VKs and their partners. Uncharacteristically, Harry looked like a deer in headlight as he was pointed and looked at. He was gripping onto Mal's hand for dear life.
"Fuck sake Dizzy, nobody officially knows about Harry and I," Mal hissed to the younger girl and Dizzy shrank back, noticing how many people were eavesdropping.
"I'm sorry, I just heard a rumour that someone had proposed this weekend at the cottage and I wanted to ask you all in person," Dizzy let go of Evie's hand as somebody came stomping down the hallway.
"No boys on the corridor after lights out," Audrey sneered to the four, her hair in rollers on top of her head. Her appearance had several other girls coming out of their rooms to watch the confrontation unfold.
"It's only twenty past nine," another student answered to the defence of the quartet. Audrey's eyes narrowed.
"Fine, but no boys in dorm rooms," Audrey huffed and she crossed her arms.
"That's not a rule and it never has been," Mal scoffed, mimicking Audrey's pose, but unlike the Princess who looked like a child in a strop, Mal looked powerful and threatening.
"Well..." Audrey paused as she tried to find another thing to say. "No shouting at younger students."
"Its my fault, I didn't realise nobody knew thats all," Dizzy spoke up, turning to the princess with a toothy smile.
Audrey's facial expression changed from annoyance to suspicion. "Knew about what?"
"About the engagement," Annabelle, Dizzy's roommate said with defiance in her voice, thinking she was getting a one up over the princess.
Mal swore as Evie sighed. Doug simply looked exhausted and Harry automatically put a warning hand on Mal's shoulder. Dizzy tugged on her roommates elbow with wide, frightened eyes and the two young girls pressed themselves against the wall as Audrey rounded on the two couples.
"Engaged? Who? Those four," Audrey laughed at the girls and then smirked to the posse of lower-class princesses she always had around her like an entourage.
"It's true!" a voice came down the corridor.
"Where's the rings then?" Audrey asked, putting her hand to her eyes as if shielding them from the sun. "Its certainly not worth it if they didn't give you rings or was that not how it worked on the Isle?"
Mal growled and Evie twisted the modest band around her finger. She didn't know whether to flaunt her new relationship milestone or to hide it.
"Show her," begged Dizzy and the blue-haired girl complied. Evie put up her middle finger on her left hand, making sure the engagement ring was visible as she flipped the princess off.
"Happy now?" she spat. "Unlike you Audrey, I don't need a expensive things to know somebody loves me. You will marry some rich bloke her daddy has picked because you will never amount to anything but I am happy with a small ring because I know my fiancé truly loves me and isn't with me because I am a shallow airhead with rich parents."
Laughs and catcalls echoed down the corridor as the watching girls applauded Evie's insults. Audrey looked shell-shocked and she glanced around at the princesses who usually trailed after her like lost puppies. They were all sniggering behind their hands.
"Well, I'm sure the press who like to know what a whore the King's girlfriend is, especially if she's being intimate and engaged to that dirty pirate behind King Ben's back!"
Before anyone could reach her, Audrey had pushed her way back through the crowd and disappeared into her own room. Mal and Harry shared a worried look. Evie was stunned into silence and the crowded hallway was deathly quiet.
Nobody had really paid Harry and Mal that much attention so they had been more open with public displays of affection, however the actions were still small. At that point in time, Harry had a hand on Mal's shoulder and the other was holding her hand.
"She won't call them will she, the press I mean?" Mal asked Doug, panic evident in her voice.
The half-dwarf blinked several times, as if still processing the words. "We need Ben right now!"
9:28 pm
"BEN!"
Fairy Godmother looked at the King's office door with alarmed eyes. "Who is that at this time of night? I mean, its a Sunday for Goodness sake."
Ben warily got up from behind his desk with a shrug. "No idea," he told her and he opened the door, letting several people fall into his office.
"You need to get Audrey to back off!"
"She's going to expose Mal and Harry!"
"She found out about the engagement."
"Audrey's calling the press."
Gil, Carlos, Jay, Doug, Lonnie, Evie, Harry and Mal came pouring into the small office, all speaking over one another. Ben closed his door and shook his head, trying to process all of the information.
"Engagement?" Fairy Godmother echoed, looking from one face to another. "Whose engagement?" she demanded and Ben retook his seat behind his desk.
Evie tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mine and Doug's ma'am."
Fairy Godmother looked both flabbergasted and as though she was about to burst into tears. "Engaged? But you're barely eighteen," she protested feebly, holding a hand out to see Evie's modest ring.
"Technically, I'm eighteen next month," Doug said but Godmother was transfixed as she looked at the small stones on the band.
"It's a lovely ring, must have cost an arm and a leg," she sighed.
"It's an heirloom actually. Something that apparently was Evie's mother's so it rightly belongs to her," Doug told the room.
Evie gasped and inspected the ring closely. "It does!"
"Just a family story but believe in it however you like," he replied.
"But do you think this is wise. You're not even out of school yet," Godmother asked.
"If I may, I have never known two people more suited to each other than Doug and Evie. They deserve all the happiness they can get and may I remind you Godmother that most are married by twenty-one here in Auradon," Ben said, causing all topic of Doug and Evie to drop.
"If they have your blessing then," Godmother said. "Congratulations. I am trulyhappy for the pair of you."
"I'm sorry but can we get back to the matter at hand," said Ben. "What's going on? What's with all of the commotion?"
Again, the eight friends began to talk over each other at varying speeds and volumes until Ben put one hand up. "Mal, what's going on?"
"Audrey cornered Harry, Evie, Doug and I when we were going back to our dorm. Dizzy, the little girl who was transferred with the boys, asked Evie about her engagement," Mal explained.
"Somehow a rumour had already been circulating around the school so she wanted to double check with the people themselves," Doug added.
"That prissy princess came stormin' up outta nowhere and demanded that we do this an' that," Harry interrupted and Mal gripped his hand to stop him from saying something damaging in front of the headmistress.
"And Dizzy made me show Audrey my ring and now Audrey thinks that not only did Doug and I get engaged but that Mal and Harry are engaging in a more," she glanced at Godmother, "meaningful relationship."
"Okay?" Ben asked, still unsure why everyone seemed so upset.
"Everyone in Auradon still thinks you're with Mal you idiot!" Gil cried.
"She's calling the press right now apparently," Jay added, swatting Gil for his outburst.
"Oh Gods above," Godmother said. "They'll be here before the morning I assure you."
"Is there any way to stop that?" Ben asked the fairy seriously. "Lumière, Cogsworth!"
As Fairy Godmother brainstormed the possible ways of closing the school to the press, the two butlers entered the office. "Sir," Cogsworth asked expectantly.
"I need one of you to call the Auradon news crew and have them and Felicity Wainwright here before eleven tonight."
Mal chewed on her lips and she allowed Harry to wrap his arms around her. "What are ya goin' to do?" the pirate asked.
"I'm going to tell the public before the press do."
10:43 pm
Gil sat on the small sofa in Ben's office with Carlos's head on one shoulder and Lonnie leaning on his other side. He had watched Harry storm out of the office nearly half an hour ago and Mal was wearing a hole in the carpet as she paced.
Evie and Doug were sat at the King's desk, talking in hushed tones to Fairy Godmother. Jay, on the other hand, was leaning against the window, staring out into the dark night.
"They're here," he said suddenly, breaking the nervous atmosphere in the office. Evie was up and out of her seat in seconds, pulling on Mal's arm and out of the door.
"Whats the plan then?" Gil asked the room.
"I'm going to grant an exclusive interview to Felicity Wainwright from Auradon News and I will explain that Mal is still a member of the court, however, she is no longer my girlfriend and that she has found her true love," Ben explained as he swept into the room in a crisp blue suit with his crown secured under one arm.
"True love?" Jay echoed.
"Yes, her true love," was all Ben said as a knock came from the office door. Lumière opened the door from the outside and let Harry back into the room. The pirate looked agitated and was holding a bottle and had his hook on his hand.
"Sir, the film crew are setting up in one of the classrooms in the east wing," the manservant informed the King before he left.
"Where's she gone?" Harry whispered to Gil and the pirate shrugged.
"Evie dragged her somewhere I think."
After ten or so minutes or terse waiting around, Carlos had fallen asleep and the film crew were calling for Ben. The King set his crown upon his head and left the office, leaving his friends to sit and wait.
Down in the main hallway of the school, Evie had slowed to a stop and tugged Mal into the first empty room she could see. The two girls were in the girls' toilets.
"You and Harry need to do something, to stop the rumours and to prove your relationship to Auradon," Evie told Mal.
"What are you talking about? I thought Ben was just going to talk about the kingdom for a bit and then mention that he was single. Anyway, where even is Harry? He left earlier."
Evie shook her head. "Godmother, Doug and I just wrote his notes for the questions. He's going to talk about you because the reporter will obviously bring you up. He's going to talk about how happy you are with your one true love and then when the film crew begin to doubt it, Ben is going to lead them to you."
"Lead them?" Mal repeated. "To me doing what?"
"Just leave it to me," was all Evie said cryptically. "I know where Harry goes to be alone."
"And that is why the price of wool for sale has increased, because our coal is richer in minerals than many other kingdoms," Ben finished answering the standard question about his rule.
Felicity Wainwright smiled and pulled the microphone back. "And King Ben, onto more saucy questions, how is your girlfriend, the lady of both the court and the Isle, Mal?" she asked, holding the microphone out once again and Ben swallowed nervously.
He looked down at the notes Fairy Godmother had pushed into his hand. "Actually Felicity, that is one of the reasons I allowed the interview tonight. I wanted to tell and show you and the kingdom something very important to me."
"Oh, how exciting, an exclusive answer is coming your way folks," Felicity said the the camera before allowing Ben to continue.
He took a deep, steady breath. "Mal remains a lady of the Auradon court, however, she is no longer my girlfriend as she has been reunited with her one true love."
Felicity gasped dramatically. "Her one true love? Surely that is you though King Ben, is it not?"
"Mal and Harry are soulmates I believe. They are and have always been drawn together and I truly believe they have lived a thousand lives together and this, just like all of those, should be spent in each others arms."
"Harry? Is this Mal's apparent soulmate?" Felicity questioned. "How long has this been going on? Did she cheat on you?"
"Cheat on me, gods above no! Mal and Harry have known each other since they were children. They grew up together and have always loved each other." Ben sighed. "And they're not apparently soulmates. They are soulmates and who am I to stand in the way of true love. Is true love not what we all aspire to have? The truth is Felicity, that what Mal and I share is no better than a comfortable friendship. She has never been as happy and a vibrant than she is when she is in the presence of Harry. I would like to take this opportunity to give them my blessings and remind everybody that a strong friendship still stands between Mal and myself."
"Are you upset King Ben?" Felicity probed. "Is this relationship too close to home?"
"I was upset about losing the companionship but now that I have spent some time with Mal whilst she is with Harry, I know that the girl I knew was only a shell of the true being and that Harry will go to the ends of the earth to provide the love Mal needs." Ben unconsciously flexed his bruised fingers as he answered the question.
"You said they had grown up together, is this Harry also a child from the Isle?" Felicity asked. "Possibly one of the most infamous and ruthless thugs on the Isle?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben could see Evie's face in the window of the classroom door. "If you would allow me to, I would like to show you something and I think it may answer any lingering doubts."
Ben lead the reporter and her small crew out of the classroom and through some hallways. Ben was following Evie but the news crew never noticed her. Instead, the camera and sound men were too focused trying to capture the interviewer who was walking backwards and firing questions to the camera.
"If you would like to follow me this way and to keep extremely quiet," Ben led them up a small flight of stairs and they emerged onto the small mezzanine balcony for one of the lesser used ballrooms. Ben put his finger to his lips and pointed down to the dance floor.
In the centre of the room were two figures, embraced in each other and they swayed to a non-existent beat. Suddenly, the smaller figure twirled away, her musical laughter echoing through the room. The man murmured something quietly as he pulled her back to his chest.
Ben didn't know if the couple knew they were being watched at that moment but Mal's magic swirled around them and lit the candelabras around the room, illuminating them in a golden glow.
Ben and the news crew watched, transfixed upon the scene, as the small figure cast another set of complex spells and hers and the taller figures clothing became elegant ballroom clothes.
Felicity watched as the taller figure, the man she was presuming to be Harry, bowed majestically to the girl she now knew to be Mal. Mal curtseyed back, the full skirts of her purple ball gown sweeping the semi-dusty floor.
Another shot of green light and soft music was playing through the air. Harry's arm snaked around Mal's waist as hers came around his shoulders. The pair began to move around in slow circles, closer than the dance called for but the moment was elegant and romantic.
"Is that Mal and Harry Hook?" Felicity whispered into her microphone before she held it out to Ben who was simply staring down at the scene. He nodded.
Harry lead Mal and the pair clumsily waltzed. Harry dipped Mal and pressed a soft kiss to the column of her neck as she leant back fully in his arms. Evie gingerly emerged onto the balcony and set a hand on Ben's forearm.
Suddenly, the couple on the dance floor were spinning around, sharing laughter and kisses. Mal had leapt into Harry's arms and he slowed to a stop, simply kissing the girl, making the news crew shuffle and cough.
It broke the spell and the couple were in their usual clothes in the middle of the unlit dance floor once again.
"Who's there?" Mal called out as Harry lowered her to the floor.
"That's all for your interview, Cogsworth will see you out."
-Ten minutes earlier-
"Where are we going Evie?" Mal asked once more, annoyed at being dragged along.
"In here, the news crew may film the two of you from out here but that won't be for another hour of so but you both have to stay in here, do you understand?" Evie pushed Mal into the dark ballroom and then slammed the door.
"What?" Mal asked but Evie simply waved her hand from the other side of the glass window.
"Mal," a deep voice said and Mal shrieked. "It's just me," Harry said and as Mal's eyes adjusted to the darkness in the large room, she could make out the pirate stood awkwardly in the centre of the dance floor.
"What's going on?" Mal walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him.
"The crew are going to film us talking or something in here I think," he replied, unwinding himself from the hug so that he could link her fingers through Mal's and walk towards one of the heavy, floor to ceiling curtains that was pulled over the gigantic windows.
The pair tugged the material aside as best they could from their low vantage point and a fraction of moon and starlight lit the room just enough so that they could easily see each other.
"Will you dance with me?" Mal asked quietly.
Back on the Isle, the pair would pretend to waltz around the hideout after a successful job or when they were slightly intoxicated. Mal hadn't enjoyed dancing freely like that since a few weeks before she had left for Auradon.
Harry hugged her close and the two swayed to a silent beat. He suddenly gripped one of her hands and spun her away from him, making her squeal with laughter.
"I wish I could see your face properly," he said as he pulled her back to his chest.
Mal complied with his wishes and whispered a spell to light the numerous candelabras around the ballroom. Eventually, there was a hazy, golden glow as the flames flickered in their waxy pillars.
"What about proper formal wear?" Mal asked and she said something else, making her eyes flash and her green magic envelop the pair of them. When it receded, Harry was wearing formal breeches and an inky black, tailored coat with a high collar and shiny gold buttons. Mal's simple sweatpants and t-shirt had transformed into a plum ballgown with layers of silky material.
Harry bowed, astounded at the magic and Mal curtseyed in reply. She then set some slow, classical music to play and the two gripped at each other as Harry lead them around the room without truly knowing what he was doing. Every so often they would kiss as they spun but for the most part they remained pressed tightly together as the weaved around the candelabras and other miscellaneous items around the ballroom.
Harry dipped Mal and she leant back, tilting her chin to allow the pirate to kiss his way down her neck. "I wanna do what Doug did. I wanna put a ring on your finger, set the Sailing Grace free and sail to a new world with you."
"I would like that," Mal whispered as Harry helped her straighten up.
"Wanna get married?"
"Not right now. I would prefer to sail around with you for a few years or so. But just know that you have my heart Harry Hook and one day we will be married upon the deck of your ship," she told him and his soft smile turned into a beaming grin.
"And I to you," he said. Suddenly Mal was in his arms and the pair were kissing and laughing and mainly kissing as they slowed to a complete stop.
Somewhere up above them, a cough echoed through the room. "Who's there?" Mal questioned and Harry slowly let her body slide down his until her toes touched the floor again. The shock of being caught had stopped the magic and they were dressed in their usual clothes in the quiet dark once more.
The sound of a door opening and closing echoed from above them and then the room was flooded with light. High above the dance floor on a small mezzanine, Evie stood near the light switches with a bright, beaming smile.
"Come on! News crews gone and its lights out so off to bed," she said through a wide grin.
"I'll walk you," Mal told Harry and the pair left with Evie, thinking no more about the news crew or Audrey outing their relationship as they had their friends and each other and thats all they ever needed.
AN: okay so I hope I did those of you who wanted more ben/harry drama justice.
This is the penultimate chapter as the next one will be an epilogue sort of thing so leave any questions about the story that need answering if I have forgotten something.
After this, the one shots will be posted so keep requests coming in and thank you to those who have requested something, they are all amazing and I am loving writing them.
ANYWAY... please leave a comment, favourite, follow me and the story and enjoy! XO Pops