Chapter Two: Under the Stars

When Ben and Mal walked through the door of the gymnasium, Evie immediately saw them and came running over.

"I'm going to get a drink, do you want one?" Ben asked Mal. She nodded, and he kissed her forehead before heading over to the drink table.

"Can you believe Jay convinced Audrey to go with him?" Evie whispered as she and Mal watched the couple enter across the room.

"I think she was just getting desperate," Mal replied. "I mean, Jay is fun and all, but, he's not exactly boyfriend material." Evie raised an eyebrow as Ben approached them, with drinks in hand.

"Well, we can't all have a prince," she replied with a smile. Ben greeted Mal with a kiss as he handed her a glass of sparkling berry juice.

"So, Evie, who'd you get to bring you anyways?" Ben asked taking a sip of his glass.

"Doug," she said with a smile as she watched him approach.

"You finally gave in?" Ben asked, taunting. Evie continued to smile, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I realized hearts are more important than looks," she said. "And, besides, we can't all have a prince, now can we?" Evie and Ben's eyes met, and they smiled.

"Princes are made from character, not birth," Ben explained. "Just look at my parents."

"Your mother still was not the Evil Queen," Evie snapped, creating an awkwardness within the group. Her scowl quickly turned to a smile as Doug approached. Mal knew how difficult this past year had been for Evie, especially since Mal and Ben began dating. However, she couldn't understand why Evie would stop bringing up the past. After all, it wasn't her mother that froze everyone at the king's coronation and attempted to destroy the entire kingdom. Evie took the drinks from Doug's hand and set them on the table.

"Let's dance!" She exclaimed and pulled Doug onto the dance floor.

"Well, for someone who is convinced she will never be royal, she certainly has the fake smile down," Ben said with a laugh as he wrapped his hand around Mal's waist.

"Well her mother was the Evil Queen," Mal responded with a chuckle. Ben flirtatiously rolled his eyes.

"C'mon," Ben said as he led her to the dance floor. "I want to see my queen dance."

The night flew by, and the hours melted into minute. Soon enough, to everyone's surprise, Doug and Evie were crowned King and Queen.

"Oh, come on," Mal said as she and Ben slow danced during the last dance of the night. She watched as Ben envied Doug's crown. "You already are king. The real king. Prom King would have been a bit of an overkill, don't you think?"

"I know," he responded, still eyeing the crown upon Doug's head. "And, this will probably be Doug's only chance to wear a crown. It's not that I wanted to win, I guess. I just wanted you to be my queen." Mal smiled and pulled Ben closer.

"What is it that you always tell me?" She asked as she put her chin against his chest and looked up at him. "That I'm the queen of your heart?" Ben smiled as he leaned down and kissed her. He moved his lips closer to her ear.

"Well, then my Queen will be very happy to know that I have a surprise for her." He kissed her forehead before leading her by the hand off of the dance floor and outside.

"What are we doing?" Mal asked as they stepped outside in the cold. Her ball gown was sleeveless, and she shivered in the cold of the night.

"Mal, I have a surprise that you are going to love, just love," he did an excited jump as he turned and looked back at her as he walked towards the woods.

"Does this surprise involve hiking? I'm not exactly prepared." Ben smiled.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"I think so."

"Then come with me!"

When they reached the field the tall grass was already covered with the evening dew. Ben kept telling Mal how much she was going to love this surprise, and Mal became less convinced the further they walked from campus. When the reached the woods, Ben scooped her up and told Mal to close her eyes. He carried her for a few minutes, before he set her on the ground and told her to open them. She saw the most beautiful sight she had ever seen: a small field surrounded by the woods, completely lit up with fireflys. In the middle of the tall grass was a blow up mattress with a sleeping bag, and paper lanterns hanging from sticks.

"It's beautiful!" Mal exclaimed. "But how? We'll get in trouble if they find us!"

"Don't worry," Ben explained. "I had a freshmen set this up, he owed me. And, no one is going to find us. No one from the school knows where this is. When I was little, things weren't always so great in the castle. I know people think mom and dad are perfect, and that our family is perfect, but we're not. I remember one Spring, mom and dad seemed to fight all the time. Dad wanted to create a magical wall that would keep people from mom's world from crossing into ours and mom was opposed. They fought for weeks. When they were fighting, Chip and I would sneak out of the castle and go exploring. One night, we found this place. It was beautiful and peaceful, and seemed like a world away," he paused as he stepped closer to Mal and grasped his hands around hers. "I wanted to come here, and share this night with you. I wanted you to feel how peaceful this place is. I know you've had a crazy year, Mal, but I want you to know that you will always be safe with me. Always." He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. Mal smiled. Her body was filled with adrenaline and fear, she had never felt this way before. For the first time in her life, she felt completely safe and at peace. She even felt, well, loved. Yes, she knew Ben loved her, ever since he pretended to be under a love spell when they met last year. But, there was something about this, about Ben bringing her to a spot so special to him, that made her feel so loved and safe.

They walked over to the air mattress and sat down.

"The sky is so beautiful tonight," Ben said, looking up.

"Maybe there's some magic shining down on us," Mal said as she leaned in and kissed him. Their kisses became more passionate, and slowly Mal leaned him back. Ben felt himself become aroused, and moved his hands from the small of Mal's back to her arms, where he moved her off of him and turned his head sideways, ending their passionate kiss.

"What's wrong?" Mal asked through pants. "Is there, is there something wrong? Am I doing something wrong?" Ben smiled.

"No, not at all," he reassured her. "I just want you to know that we don't need to do anything. I didn't bring you here to do anything, really I didn't. I just wanted to spend time with you." Mal smiled, she was continually surprised by his respectfulness. If any other guy had brought her to an isolated field under the stars to an air mattress, she wouldn't have believed he didn't intend anything. But, she knew Ben was being honest. She leaned down so that their noses were touching.

"But, what if I want to do something?" She said flirtatiously as she leaned over and nibbled on his ear. "Would you stop me?" She began to unbutton his shirt, and slowly kissed at his neck. He felt himself become more aroused, and desperately tried to maintain his composure.

"But are you sure?" He asked. "Are you really sure? I want you to know we don't have to do anything."

"C'mon, Ben!" Mal said as she sat up. "I'm starting to think you don't like me. Like you don't want to do anything but want to place the blame on me."

"No, that's not it at all. I just, I know this is a big deal. It should be a big deal. I just know people have taken advantage of you a lot throughout your life. And I love you. I love you so much it hurts. And I just want this to be absolutely perfect and because you want to do this. Because we want to do this." Mal smiled, and fought back the burning in her eyes that meant tears were forming. Ben noticed. "Oh no," he said sitting up. "Baby, did I do something wrong?" Mal shook her head with a smile.

"No," she said. "I've just never felt this way before. This peace, this, this— " Ben cut her off.

"In love?" She nodded as tears continued to leak through her eyes. Ben pulled her down onto his chest into a tight hug. He felt his shirt get wet from her tears. Slowly, Mal moved off of his chest, and moved her lips to his neck. The excitement flushed away the nerves. She had never had sex before, and a strange sense of excitement went through her as she realized when she left this meadow, she would never be able to see that again.

Slowly she unbuttoned Ben's shirt and slid it off. She ran her hands slowly up and down his bare chest, and felt the goosebumps emerge. They had made out before, and once his shirt had come off. Mal was always so afraid of getting caught, and the good girl reputation that she had worked so hard to create being ruined, that she had always stopped them. As Mal continued to kiss and nibble Ben's neck he unbuttoned his pants.

***Note to readers*** The next part of this chapter shares of the beautiful night Ben and Mal spent together, and does describe the couple making love. However, I do not believe this to be too explicit, and was unable to change the ratings for this chapter, anyways...If you feel uncomfortable reading this, please skip to the next page break. If you chose not to read, a quick summary: Ben and Mal make love without a condom. It is awkward and beautiful for the both of them.

"You won't be needing these, my king," Mal smiled as she kissed her way down to Ben's belt buckle and took of his pants. As she kissed his abdomen above the top of his boxers, Ben let out a moan of excitement. He interlaced his fingers with her purple hair and pushed her head, and her caressing lips, into his skin. In a burst of excitement he sat up. He began kissing the back of Mal's neck, and she moaned in excitement as she moved her purple hair over her left shoulder. She reached behind her and grabbed a clump of Ben's dirty blonde locks. She pressed his face against the back of her neck, shivering as his tongue ran from her ear to shoulder. She gasped as the cold spring air prickled her chest as Ben unzipped and lowered her dress.

As Ben lay her back onto the bed she covered her breasts. Ben untucked her hair from underneath her and spread it above her head. He smiled and ran his thumb against her cheek.

"You will always be the queen of my heart," he leaned down and kissed her forehead. She looked away, tightening her arms against her chest. Ben noticed that she was uncomfortable.

"We don't have to do this," he reminded her. "We can stop right now and I can turn around as you put your dress back on."

"It's not that," Mal attempted to explain. "It's just, I've never done this with anyone before. I don't want you to laugh at me." Ben smiled.

"I've never done this before, either, Mal. I'm just as nervous as you are. I promise I won't laugh. Besides," he said with a smile. "I've never seen boobs in person before, so I have no one to compare you too." They both let out an awkward laugh. "Who knows? I might be really bad, awful. Maybe tomorrow you'll be telling Evie how awful I am!" She smiled again, thankful for Ben's willingness to be patient.

"I don't think you could be bad," she said.

"And, hey, I don't need to look," Ben said. "I can do this with my eyes closed." He playfully closed his eyes.

"No, no, no. I want you to look. I want you to see me, see all of me. Love all of me."

"I already love all of you," he said with his eyes still closed. Mal smiled, and slowly moved her hands off of her chest, and to his face.

"You can look now," she said, feeling extremely embarrassed once she did. Without looking at her chest, Ben leaned down and kissed her. When he did, she felt his erect penis through his boxers against her leg. Wow, she thought. I'm actually doing this.

"Look," Mal said turning away from their kiss. "I worked up the courage, please look." Ben smiled.

"Well, if you insist." He sat up, and looked at them for several seconds without saying a word.

"So?"

Ben turned his head, perplexed. "Well, they're beautiful, I just don't know what to do with them." They both laughed.

"Obviously, we're pros. I think it feels good if you kiss them and such. Well, that's what Evie says." Ben smiled and kissed her on the forehead before slowly pecking down to her left breast. He moved his hand slowly up her side before cupping her other breast in his hand. With is right hand he flicked her breast, and slowly sucked and nibbled her left. Mal had never felt anything like this before, and she dug her nails into his back and pulled him closer. She let out a scream of pleasure. He continued to play with her breast, trying different things to see what brought her the most pleasure, before slowly kissing down to her belly.

"Why are you…why are you wet down here? You didn't pee, did you?" He asked sheepishly. Mal laughed quietly. His awkwardness—from the handsome young king who usually knew all of the answers—made her feel more at ease. She was thankful to share this moment with him.

"No, I didn't pee," she giggled. "Girls have stuff come out to make it easier for you to go in." Ben smiled with understanding.

"That's cool."

"Now it's my time to see you." Ben sat up.

"You promise not to laugh? A lot of a man's ego is tied up in his size, you know."

"I won't laugh." Mal's excitement heightened as she watched Ben slide off his boxes. She looked at it for a few moments.

"Well, it's not as big as I thought it would be," she said. Ben let out an embarrassed sigh. "What? You guys always talk like they're huge. So I always thought they were huge. I've seen bigger hot dogs." Ben laughed.

"I can't believe you just compared me to a hot dog." He leaned down and kissed her again. He was so nervous. He knew the guys were usually portrayed as being confident, and knowing what they were doing, but he had no idea. When he had talked with Jay about this stuff, Jay had always said that they guy would "just know," that his body would tell him what to do. After about fifteen more minutes of foreplay, Ben felt like it was time. He sat up.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Mal nodded. Ben slowly spread her knees apart, and ran his thumb up and down her inner thighs. He pulled her closer, and lifted her lower back a little off the ground. He used his hand to maneuver himself to her.

"Go slow," Mal said. Ben nodded, and slowly guided himself inside of her. Mal let out a scream and placed her hand over her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"It just hurts."

"Do you want me to stop?" Mal shook her head. Evie had told her that the first time hurt, in fact, the first time wasn't very fun at all. However, Mal wanted to keep going. This was a perfect moment, and even if it hurt, she wanted to do this with Ben. Ben listened to his body, and began the slow rhymic motion of moving in and out. Although it physically felt good, he was too busy worrying about the mechanics, making sure he was doing it right and not hurting Mal, to enjoy it fully.

Mal reached and placed her hands behind Ben's neck and pulled his face against hers. They were both breathing heavily at this point, and moving awkwardly, to fully enjoy kissing. Mal was thankful that it wasn't so much a pain anymore as uncomfortable. After five minutes Ben began to breathe much more heavily, and his thrusting became more intense.

"I feel like I'm about to go," Ben said, and, soon enough, Mal felt him release inside of her. Ben let out a deep breath and kissed Mal. He remained inside of her for a moment, and felt the strangely please sensation of them throbbing against each other. When he pulled himself out he noticed the blood and fear ran through him.

"Oh, no, Mal!" He whispered. "Did I hurt you? Are you ok?" Mal shook her head.

"That's suppose to happen after your first time," she said. She felt tears begin to burn through the back of her eyes. She tried to quickly wipe away her tears before Ben noticed, but she was unsuccessful.

This final section is after they couple made love.

"Baby, are you okay, what's wrong?" He asked leaning down against her, so that their chests were touching and their faces were above ach other. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"Nothing," she said and she placed her hand against her cheek. "I don't know why I'm crying. It's not that I'm sad or happy, it's just a really emotional thing." Ben nodded, trying to understand. "I love you," she said. Ben took in a sharp breath and felt an odd sensation go down his spine. This was the first time she had said that, and it felt more wonderful than he could have imagined. Ben felt tears well up in the back of his eyes.

"Oh, baby, I love you, too," he leaned down and kissed her as his tear slid off of his cheek onto hers. They laid there, enwrapped in the cool spring night under the light of the stars for awhile, just holding each other and crying together, enjoying the magic of being held in the safety of the arms of their first love, and soon drifted off to sleep.

Hello, readers! I would GREATLY appreciate any feedback! I've worked hard on this story, and would be incredibly thankful for any comments, ideas, or suggestions. I will incorporate suggestions into my upcoming chapters. Thank you! -Kris