Despite the darkness, Mal expertly moved through her hideout expertly. She did not dare light a candle or the flickering fluorescents, in case anyone in the alleys of the Isle saw.
She wove around the scattered furniture, focusing solely on reaching the back corner that served as her room. Just when she reached the curtain, she heard a sharp cough.
Mal nearly fell over, she turned so fast. She'd been so focused on reaching her room that she had not even seen the shadow sitting in another corner.
"It's late."
"Then what are you doing here, Jay?"
The son of Jafar leaned forward, into the dim light coming in from the broken windows. "Dad sent me out to grab Madam Mim's garden gnomes. Lefou offered to pay a pretty penny for the one with fairy wings."
"Fascinating," Mal muttered, turning back to her room. She sat a little too heavily on the stool in front of her desk, the wood screeching against the floor.
"What are you doing here?"
"I like the dark," she shot back, riffling through the drawers. Where was it?
"Were you with anyone?"
"Why does it matter?" Mal snapped. There!
Jay was suddenly behind her (he was the best at sly footing in their gang). He plucked the small vial of concealer out of her hand. "I thought you hated makeup."
"Go steal a gnome," Mal told him, swiping it back.
"You were with Harry again."
"He is my boyfriend, Jay." She didn't move.
"Mal…"
"Jay?"
"You've got blood on your hands."
Mal shoved them into her pockets. "It's nothing."
"Did you finally punch that pirate in the mouth?" Jay laughed softly, sitting on a moldy beanbag next to her desk.
Mal didn't laugh though. "Your dad is waiting for you."
The clouds outside shifted and a burst of moonlight fell in through a hole in the wall. Jay suddenly leapt up, finally seeing Mal's face clearly.
"I'll kill him." His voice was gruff, and his fists were clenched.
Mal reached forward, pulling him back from storming out. "Jay, I'm fine!"
"Mal, he-!"
"I'm fine!" Her green eyes were wide with fear, contrasting her words. "Don't make a big deal out of this."
They stayed frozen for a moment, Mal looking at him, Jay looking at her black eye and the cut on her cheek that was bleeding freely. He could see another bruise on her neck, shaped like fingers.
Jay finally moved, leading Mal to their leaky sink. He didn't say anything as he ran a cloth under warm water and gently dabbed her wounds, far more careful than Mal would have been.
Once they were clean and dry, he stepped back.
"Jay…"
"You're better than this, Mal." He wasn't looking at her, focusing on cleaning the rags. "You're the scariest, toughest, baddest girl on the Isle. You don't have to put up with his crap."
Mal hugged herself, her skin erupting in goosebumps. "He's not always like this."
"How long?" She didn't answer. "Mal, how long has he been doing this?"
"About a month."
"You've barely been going out for a month!"
"I don't know what you expect, Jay!" Mal finally yelled. "We steal and scare and do our best to make our parents proud, but it's never going to be enough. I have a scar on my arm from when my mother hit me with her staff when I was eight and I know you have a scar on your knee from when your dad pushed you onto rocky ground. This is all we have, Jay. This Isle and these petty schemes and this."
Jay walked past her, taking careful care not to hit her. "You do what you want, Mal. Our parents suck but that doesn't mean you have to put up with the same crap from Harry. Say the word, and Evie and I will make him wish he'd never been born."
Mal didn't say anything as she watched him leave. She glanced at her reflection in the dirty mirror over the sink, seeing the fear in her eyes and the bruise on her face.
She didn't even recognize herself.
Based on the actors stating they played Mal and Harry as ex's and Mal's face when Harry threatens them in Bring it On. She honestly looked scared which is something we didn't see on Mal often.