Chapter 12

The next day Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos spent the day going over everything they could remember about the four new comers. There was nothing much they could come up with. Then they met with Fairy Godmother about classes for the new comers. The twins would be sophomores having not quite turned 17 yet, nor had they spent much time on their classes. Harriet and Freddie would be Juniors along with Mal, Jay and Evie. Carlos would be considered a conditional Junior, he was one course short, not having finished the course he was taking over the summer, due to worrying about Mal. But as soon as he turned in the final two projects he was missing and if he passed, he would be a junior, even though he is younger.

As a start the new four some would be in remedial goodness and internet safety. History of Auradon, English and a math all grade appropriate. Then they were going to be allowed to choose an elective. Mal and her friends weren't given that chance, and Mal suggested it might be a good idea. They had agreed to allow the new kids time to settle in. And the boys being brothers would room together, and the girls being friends would room together as well. They would be monitored, but allowed to find their own way around, as had Mal and her friends. Mal and her friends would be welcoming, but not smothering. They would offer their friendship, but not force it. They would be allowed to fail or succeed on their own.

After setting up the new kids schedules, Mal and her friends spent the afternoon together just the four of them. They were walking about campus; no one was back until later that week. "Mal, how are you, really?" Evie asked.

"I am actually ok, just really ashamed of the pain I put all you guys through."
"Look we get it. We understand your thought pattern. Honestly we all agreed we most likely would have done the same." Carlos spoke up. "But, never do it again. We are a team now."
"Got it. So what did I miss over the summer?"
"Lonnie has agreed to be Jay's girlfriend, Jay just needs to admit it." Evie looked at Jay with those of get over yourself eyes and just admit it, while Carlos went on. "Fairy Godmother has decided Jane can date. And Doug and Evie are a hot item. Oh and you missed everything cause you broke your leg learning to drive Ben's bike."
"Oh, I hadn't thought about what you might have to tell people. I guess that's a good story. Better than what I was worried about."

"Oh I think I can tell you that one. And no, Jay got to it with the first people we came across, so no one would have had a chance to think that." Neither boy knew what Mal and Evie were talking about, but that was ok with the girls.
"It was kind of a quick one. The four of us had gone into town, partly looking for you, and partly to just get Ben out of the palace." Jay provided.

"So we came across Chad and Audrey. Not sure what they were doing, but there they were. And there we were without you." So Evie shared the story.

Flash back to early summer, a week after Mal left.

The four of them were walking in the village, trying to act like they were looking for Mal, to make Ben feel better, but really they were trying to get him outside and interacting with people. Since the moment Mal left, he had locked himself in his office. Belle had begged them to take him out. So they more or less kidnapped him. As they walked through the village they window shopped, and tried to entice Ben into eating something. He had become withdrawn and pretty much ill.

They had been in town about an hour, and Ben was begging to return to the palace, when they turned the corner and pretty much walked into Chad and Audrey. "Well, Well. Three of the VK's and our King. Where is your lady fair?" Audrey taunted.

"She broke her leg." Jay quickly covered, Mal had done it once as a kid, so he wasn't exactly lying.

"Oh, wow, how?" Chad asked, he was actually concerned.

"Fell off, my bike." Ben answered. "I was teaching her how to drive it, and she hit a patch of sand."
Ben said retelling what happened to him the first time he drove the motor bike.

"Oh poor Mal." Audrey didn't even try to hide her fake sympathy. "So why isn't she here?"
"She's on crutches, for the rest of the summer. She is castle bound." Ben added.

"Cast goes all the way up. Broke it above the knee." Jay added, making it sound dramatic.

"We'll tell her we hope she gets better soon." Chad said steering Audrey away.

"Ben, it's a broken leg, stop looking like your world is over." Audrey placed the last punch, before walking off with Chad.

"She is right Ben. If we want to convince people Mal is in the castle, and not let people find out there is a villain on the loose, we need to act cool and calm. We need to go on as if Mal is really just stuck at the castle with a broken leg. We need to live that way." Jay said, trying to not only convince Ben, but the rest of them as well.

"Quick thinking by the way Jay." Carlos comments.

"Yea, well she did break it once, long story." Jay said.

"Ok. Ok. I get that, but you have to understand I am …ok, right, we are all hurting by her choice."
"Look, you may not want to hear this Ben, but she is doing exactly what we would do. It's how we are raised, fight or flight. She couldn't see the enemy to fight, so she ran."
"So you are saying that you, each of you would, have run as well."
"Yes." They all admitted.

"Ben, Mal is actually running to protect us. She is actually being very un-isle like. She believes she is protecting instead of hurting." Carlos pointed out. "We weren't raised to think of anyone other than ourselves, and to fear our parents."
"Fear them?" Ben asked, his eyes wide open.

"Yes, fear them. Speaking for myself, I did everything I was told, for fear of a beating. For Mal it was having to prove to her mother that she was evil enough, yet she never could do right." Carlos provided.

"For me it was finding what my father needed in the shop. I wasn't his son, I was free labor."

"For me it was to be the perfect bride, beauty and talent, but no brains. I was to be a perfect beauty, but not prettier than her. I was to memorize her spells for when someone realized how beautiful I was and released me from the isle. To marry a prince no matter what. She knew how to hurt me, physically, so that it wouldn't ruin my beauty. I have scars in places that can't be seen." She lifted her hair and showed Ben a scar across the hair line of her neck. Evie had never told any of them that before. "That was because I didn't remember two spells that create poisons. Spells I knew then I would never have a chance to use on the isle, and now that I could never bring myself to perform." Evie admitted. Ben wondered what else his friends had been through. What Maleficent had put Mal through.

"We didn't share this for pity Ben. We shared it to help you understand Mal better, us better, how we were brought up to think. How her mind works. Ben, she will not be happy if she knows we told you. We need to tell her this when the time is right, we will tell her."
"I understand, I don't like it, but I understand."

End of flashback..

"I guess it was time Ben knew what life was really like. I have told him about a lot of things too, well actually how we ended up getting the eye for my mother. He was surprisingly understanding. I thought for sure he would say it was my fault that she was able to come over here and attack the coronation. But I neglected to think it through. I should have known she would have been able to call the eye the minute the dome broke anyway." At least Mal was beginning to understand why Ben wasn't as mad at her as she thought he would have been, her friends had explained to him that's how isle life dictated the situation.
"It's ok Mal. I guess we all had some confessing to do. At least, Ben won't look at us like we are a charity case. Not that he ever did. His family has always been so kind." Evie adds, knowing as others in Auradon hear about how life really was, they will either pity them or not believe them.
"He likes us for who we are, and so do I." Mal agrees. "As for you, Evie, you and I will talk later." Mal warned.

Later that night Evie came into Mal's room. She wanted to know why she wanted to talk to her later.
"so why did you want to talk later?"
"I wanted to make sure, there weren't any rumors out there about me being pregnant this summer?"
"No, I think Jay stopped that from happening with what he told Audrey, but I can imagine that she might still be thinking that. We'll know when we see her on move in day. But…that's not everything is it?"
"NO. Two things both sort of related. I need you and Agathe to research a spell that can keep the Gastons from getting anyone pregnant."
"We can do that, but what could be related..you aren't?"
"No. No Ben and I have never…but I am taking a preventative step and getting an implant."
"Oh….I…I already got one." Evie looked at the floor.

"You…?"
"No, no, I can barely get Doug to kiss me, no he is way too shy. But I figured, better safe than sorry."
"Yeah, that's my theory to. Ok good. There is no way I am going to trash Ben's reputation like that, cause you know the whole blame would be placed on me."
"I can see that. But it's not happening."

"How bad is it?"
"It's really just kind of like a shot."
"Oh, not a big deal, good."
Mal wanted to change the subject. "Are you packed?"
"Nope. You?"
"Not even close. I know Belle said feel free to leave anything we want here, that these rooms will always belong to us, but I don't feel right, leaving our things behind."
"I know what you mean, we have so little from home. I mean I know they got you the rest of your things, but still it wasn't much more, not really. None of us had very much when we came here."
"she says this is our home now, but it's hard to believe we have a home in a real castle. And we aren't the royal family. It's not really our home."

"true. But it really does feel nice to be included as we are."
"Yeah." Mal said flopping onto her bed. "how was he really E. While I was gone?"
"He had good days and bad. The hardest days were days he chose not to go somewhere with us, because you weren't there to go with him. Chad's birthday party, Lonnie's pool party, The summer carnival."
"I really need to make this up to him."
"I think he understands now why you left. He might not like it, none of us do, but we get why you did it."
"Thanks for keeping him safe, Evie."
"My pleasure. He had good days too Mal. Playing video games with the boys, working, and his fathers birthday."
"I…I'll be back."
"Go see him."
"That's the plan." Mal checked her reflection in the mirror. She was in her pj's and robe, but she still wanted to see him. She needed to see him. She knocked on his door, but he didn't answer. She was about to turn around when she remembered he might not hear her across the sitting room. So she let herself into the room, crossed the sitting room and was about to knock on his door. "Looking for someone?' He asked from behind her. She jumped and he laughed. "sorry didn't mean to startle you. Can I help you?"

"I wanted to talk."
"Anytime, come sit." He patted his couch and she joined him. He put down the reports he was reading. "What's on you mind?"
"US." She admitted. "I am still worried that I ruined us."
"We aren't where we were before you left, no. But ruined, not in the least. I am glad your back." He said pulling her close. Mal was so happy to be in the embrace, she didn't even realize, Ben had been sitting in only his sleep shorts. She snuggled into his embrace, and closed her eyes. "what happened to you out there Mal?"
"Not much really. I headed for the furthest place in the country, Audrey's family kingdom, not meaning to go there, but that's where I ended up. Saw a job offer sign and before I realized who it was I was face to face with Miss Fauna. But as Annie." He giggled, and whispered into her hair, "my other girlfriend." She nodded. "first name that came to mind. Anyway, the job offered room and board and a small paycheck, but it was just what I needed. So I took it. I got up at 2:30 in the morning and baked from 3-10. The rest of the day was mine. Miss Fauna didn't live there but she stored some of her magic books there, I read them all over and over looking for hints or spells to help. I learned a few new things, but nothing to help me with Facilier. It wasn't until that day Evie came into the shop that Miss Fauna realized I was Mal and not Annie. It was then I told her I had been looking in her books, she wasn't mad. She later admitted she was glad I wasn't just hiding or running away, but at least trying to find a way home. As we talked it out, it was then I realized who it was. We immediately went to see Fairy Godmother, who then sent me home."
"First off this IS your home. I am touched you consider it that way. All of you. And I am thrilled to hear, you were trying to get back. That makes me feel better." He kissed her head as she snuggled close. They sat there for a long while just holding each other, in fact they fell asleep that way.

Belle found Mal and Ben asleep on his couch. Instead of waking them, she covered them with a blanket. She knew they shouldn't be left alone, but for now, tonight, it would be ok. They were ok.