Steve got the bags out of the car after checking himself in the rearview mirror for the tenth time since he got out of the restaurant with the order. The moment he saw the address, he couldn't help but get excited; it was almost a month since they ordered food, and even though he wasn't sure Mal was going to be there, he hoped she opened the door. Steve remembered seeing the girl in a bar a year before, but a guy came and put his arm around her when he approached her. Steve assumed that they were together, and every time he went there, he would look out in case the girl with the purple hair was there alone, but he never saw her again. Then a couple of months ago, he came to this address to deliver an order, and Lonnie opened the door, smiling at him as politely as always, and called for Mal to help. That was the moment he saw her, and he made a mental note about her name, and by the way the girls talked he knew that Mal was living there.
The first time he went to the house, he saw a guy named Ben and Lonnie; he assumed they were together, but then he saw another guy alone with her, which made him think the girl was cheating on Ben which sucks because the guy seemed nice. However, another day when he was delivering food, Ben opened the door, and in the back, Lonnie was laughing with the other guy, and Ben made a comment to the couple that made it obvious they were together. So, when Mal arrived at the house, Steve assumed she was another roommate, and until now, there was nothing that changed his mind.
Maybe if Mal opened the door that day, he would manage the courage to have a conversation aside from the usual pleasantries they share. Finally, after one last look, Steve turned towards the door and rang the bell. When the door opened, Ben looked like he had just gotten out of the shower with his hair wet, dripping over his shirt, which he was finishing putting on; after apologizing for making him wait, he asked how much it was while looking for his wallet. Suddenly, Mal appeared, telling Ben that his wallet had fallen in her room; Steve turned to look at the girl that was now handing Ben the wallet and was about to say hi when he realized she too looked like she had just gotten out of the shower. Her beautiful purple hair was wet and was leaving wet marks on her oversize t-shirt, Steve then looked at both of them, and something was different since the last time he saw them.
Ben took the food and gave Steve enough money to cover the food and have a tip, then he said goodbye and was closing the door when Mal took one of the bags from Ben and leaned for a kiss. Steve stood there paralyzed in front of the closed door for a couple of seconds, replaying the scene with more clarity; they were definitely together, and he hoped they decided to order for another place, at least for a while. When he got into his car, he noticed a blonde girl standing in front of the house, looking like she was deciding to walk to the door or leave. Chuckling, the boy turned his car on and felt a little bad for the couple that apparently was about to get interrupted again.
Shelby stood in front of Ben's house, pondering if the boy would be mad with her for coming to his place unannounced. The girl had tried to text him since the last time he saw him at the bar, but every time she wrote a text, she deleted it, unsure if the boy would just answer that he was no longer going to be her plus one. Taking a step forward, she noticed the blinds weren't entirely close, and if she ducked a little, she could see inside, so after making sure nobody was walking by, she got closer to get a look.
It took her a second to regret her decision; right in front of her was Mal, sitting on the kitchen island with Ben standing between her legs, making out. Shelby moved away from her viewpoint and turned to walk away from the house, but then something in her told her to go back to the house and knock and break their moment, and so she did. Shelby almost ran to the door and rang the bell three times in a row, ensuring they couldn't ignore her; suddenly, she realized they could act like they weren't there.
Still, a minute later, Ben opened the door with a forced smile on his face saying hello to the girl asking her what she was doing there. Shelby told the boy that she was in the neighborhood, so she decided to come and see if he was there so they could make a plan for the party. Ben was about to tell her that he was busy when Mal appeared next to him, greeting the girl and telling Ben that he should let her in so they could talk about the party. Shelby smiled and almost had to push the boy out of the way, but Mal made him move and asked the girl if she wanted something to drink while making her way toward the kitchen to take some glasses out. The girl smiled at Mal feeling a little bad for ruining their alone time; she noticed then the food and told the couple that she loved that restaurant, so Mal offered her a plate assuring her that they were going to eat, so she should join them.
Ben told Mal that he wasn't sure there would be enough for all of them, not trying to be mean, but he knew that his girlfriend was craving that food, and she would simply not eat just for Shelby to have some. Mal rolled her eyes and told him that they could order more food; taking her phone out, she told Ben to ask Azis and Ryder to come so they could all eat together, and she texted Lonnie. The girl was surprised that Mal was back but promised to make her way home earlier than she planned to join them. Soon, Mal was asking Shelby what other restaurants she liked so they could have some variety, and Ben smiled at how welcoming she was to everyone she met.
When the doorbell rang, they were annoyed; they wanted to continue taking advantage of their alone time in the house. Ben almost convinced Mal to ignore Shelby, but the girl felt terrible letting her stand outside when they were in the house and asked the boy if he had already planned their outing. The boy told her no and was about to tell her that he didn't plan on going when Mal pushed him towards the door, telling him that he needed to answer because the girl was there for that reason, obviously. Mal asking him if he had already texted his friends made Ben focus on the task at hand and pushed the memories of what they had been doing since Mal came home to the back of his mind.
After everyone promised to be there, Mal texted Miranda so she would join them and her friend agreed while also telling her that she would be bringing two more friends. Mal ordered the food and then stood and started to make her way upstairs, telling them she would be back. Ben asked her why she was leaving, and Mal rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, signaling her overside shirt while telling him that she would change before their friends arrived. When Mal disappeared, Shelby cleared her throat ready to talk to Ben about their possible date, but before she could do it Mal called for Ben to please get her suitcase upstairs, and the boy practically ran to do it.
Ben took the suitcase to Mal's room but the girl wasn't there, the bathroom door was closed and he assumed she was there. Logic called for him to go back down but he didn't want to talk to Shelby; Ben was hoping the girl wasn't going to ask him to go to the party so he wouldn't have to tell her no, but now that she was here he was going to have to do it.
The bathroom door opened, and Mal smiled at him. I need to get my hairdryer out of the suitcase. I tried Lonnie's, but I guess I'm used to my Knot Dr." Mal moved to her room and opened her bag, pulling things out tossing them to the side until she found her brush/dryer.
Ben sighed and shared how he didn't want to go to the party but, at the same time, was dreading telling the girl no. Mal nodded but told him that it wasn't fair for Shelby to think they were just finalizing details while he was not going to go. "I'm sorry to tell you this Ben, but you waited too long to back down. If the party is next week or in the next two weeks, you should suck it up and go with her. Now, if it's further away, sure tell her that you can't make it."
The boy argued that it wasn't fair for him to be forced to go because the girl never mentioned anything until that day. Mal didn't argue with his point, but she also made it clear that she disagreed with him; they stood looking at each other in silence, making it clear that neither was willing to change their stand. Finally, Mal turned and went into the bathroom closing the door behind her, and the sound of the Knot Dr made it clear that she was done with the conversation. Ben made his way downstairs, annoyed and ready to tell Shelby that he was not only not going to the party but that he thought it was time for her to leave. The moment he made it down the stairs the doorbell announced the arrival of some of his guests, so he sighed and went to open the door.
When Ben opened the door, Azis and Ryder said a quick hi to Shelby and told a story of what happened on their way there when they ran into Ryder's ex-girlfriend. The story kept Ben and Shelby focused on the boys, which share the context of the importance of the girl for Ryder before telling the last encounter. Time flew by, and neither noticed that it was dark outside and barely noticed Lonnie when she arrived home.
The girl went upstairs to greet Mal and found the girl looking at herself in her bedroom mirror. Lonnie said hello and asked Mal if everything was ok with her. Mal sighed and told Lonnie about her conversation with Ben; "I think he is mad at me for telling him that he should go. Lonnie, I know how Shelby would feel if he did that to her, I had a guy do it to me, and I hated him.
Lonnie nodded; she understood both sides of the argument but told the girl that she needed to let it go because she had already given Ben her opinion. "He needs to make his own decision, and if you guilt him into going, I promised Shelby is not going to have a good time with Ben acting annoyed the entire night. You already share what you think; now drop the subject, is their time to decide what they will do."
Mal nodded, not happy about the situation but understanding that she couldn't choose what to do for Ben. Still, she needed to extract herself from the problem, at least for now, because she knew that if Ben tried to convince her that he was right, Mal would argue back. So, Mal shared with Lonnie that, and they decided that if she needed help to escape the conversation, Lonnie would be there to assist. "Hey, how come you managed to come home early? I thought you had an even for a brand on the weekend."
"I do, but I cut my trip short, and the brand is covering my stay but not my flight, so I can get there from anywhere. I'm leaving on Thursday morning."
A text alerted the girls that Miranda was outside and that the food was also there; both girls made their way downstairs to open the door. Neither realized that Ben lost any interest in Ryder's tale the second Mal appeared and turned entirely to look at what the girl was doing. He didn't hear the bell, so he stood up and headed towards them ready to ask if they were going out. However, when he was close to the door, he heard Miranda's voice greet them and then saw them embracing; Miranda handed both girls some bags of what seemed to be food. "Omg, you didn't need to pay for that I was coming." Mal's embarrassed voice made the scenario a little clear, it seemed the delivery man and Miranda made it to their house at the same time and the girl had paid for the food.
"No worries, this is your welcoming party and I'm here for the celebration. Jacob and Susie are still on their way; they wanted to bring some snacks to share. You know how picky they are, so they always like to bring something." Mal rolled her eyes but nodded; she knew her friends always bring stuff to share, because they wanted to be sure there would be something they enjoy. Miranda hugged Lonnie after, and the three talked while making their way into the house to put the food on the island.
Miranda saw Ben, said hello, and complimented him on his home, making the boy smile. Lonnie came behind her and told Ben to please introduce Miranda to the rest of the group while she and Mal started to get the food out. After a quick hello, Miranda went to help the girls while Ryder told Ben to sit so he could finish his story and the boy could tell him what he thought of the encounter. Ben wanted to talk to Mal, but his friend was always there for him, so the least he owed him was to listen to his story until the end. A couple of minutes later, Mal's friends got to the house and the food was served in the dining room; everyone stood up and made their way to the table.
Mal was bringing one last plate with some appetizers when Ben came to her side, and asked her if she was mad. "Nope, not mad at you. How about you?"
Ben shook his head and was about to ask her if they could talk, but Shelby came toward them and asked the boy if they could have a conversation after dinner. Mal excused herself and went to put down the plate on the table, taking advantage of an empty seat next to Miranda to join the party. Every fiber of hers wanted to hear Ben's answer to Shelby, but Mal focused on the conversations surrounding her, and she managed to join one. Laughter and conversation follow, making it perfect, several times during the night though Mal felt Ben observing her. It was like he was willing her to look at him, but she didn't because the moment she did, Mal knew they would have the same conversation as before, and she wasn't ready to agree with him.
As the night went on, Azis and Ryder said their goodbyes, telling Ben they would see him the next day in the office. Susie and Jacob went out next after asking Miranda if she needed a ride to her apartment, but the girl declined, not ready to go back home after not seeing Mal for weeks. Lonnie suggested they have a sleepover, just the three of them, and both girls agreed, excited to have more time. Shelby looked uncomfortable, not really joining the girl's conversation and not able to get Ben to have one with her; finally, she got annoyed and loudly told Ben that she was waiting for them to talk. The three girls turned toward her and then looked at Ben, who was putting away the last dishes from their dinner.
The boy looked annoyed. Lonnie stood and told the girls to go upstairs to give Ben and Shelby privacy to talk. Mal and Miranda nodded, said goodbye to the girl, and made their way upstairs. An hour later, Lonnie said goodbye to the girls and went to her room, ready to sleep. Before falling asleep, she decided to drink some juice and made her way downstairs; when she saw Ben sitting on the couch and asked him if he was ok, the boy groaned and told her that he had talked to Shelby and agreed to go to the party this Friday with her. "Is Mal still mad at me?"
Lonnie shook her head and assured the boy that Mal wasn't mad at him; she just wanted to give him space and not force him into a decision. "She knows that you have the right to decide, and she didn't want you guys to argue anymore."
Ben nodded, and Lonnie made her way upstairs and knocked on Mal's room, telling her that she should talk to Ben before sleeping. The girl agreed and got out of the room, assuring Miranda that she would be back after talking to the boy, and just as Mal closed the door and turned, Ben was making his way to the second floor. They found each other, and Mal asked him if he was ok; the boy took a step to stand closer to her and capture her lips in his missing the feeling of having her near him.
The lack of air made them stop, and the boy asked her again if she was mad just for Mal to tell him no. "I told you before that I wasn't Ben." The boy kissed her again and slowly moved them to stand against his door with one hand firmly on the girl's back, keeping her pressed against him while the other tried to find the knob to open the door.
Mal stopped the kiss and told the boy that she needed to go back to her room with Miranda, but Ben kissed her again, opened the door, and gently made her back into the room. The kiss intensified, but Mal stopped it again and put a space between them while her breathing normalized. "I have to go, Ben; I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
With that, she started her way out of the room, but the second she was next to him, Ben took her arm and gently turned her to look at him. "Can we go out to dinner tomorrow? I know you have to fly to Boston on Thursday, but we can have a nice three days together."
"Sure, I'll go pick you up from your office after work." Mal smiled and was about to walk again, but Ben didn't let go of her arm, and she turned to see him
"Please don't sit away from me again, even if you are mad. I don't like being at the same table and not being near you. It felt awful not talking to you or holding your hand." Mal moved her arm away from his grip, which had loosened completely, and hugged the boy, whispering an apology for making him feel bad.
Ben whispered back that it was ok and pleaded for Mal to stay with him that night, but the girl told him that Miranda was waiting for her and, after kissing him goodnight, finally made her way out of the room.
