Mal woke up and turned to see Ben sleeping peacefully next to her, making a smile appear on her face. The week she spent at Waco was great; she enjoyed the new scenery and being able to make real progress on her content, making her feel like she had managed to balance her life. However, at night when the day was ending, and she went to bed, Mal couldn't help but miss the boy and the little routines they had developed since living together. Even though they don't always sleep in the same room, they would be the last person they saw at night, and knowing that the other was close by made her happy.

It was weird to think about yesterday; when the knock happened, Mal wished he was there with her which wasn't odd because she was afraid. Still, he suddenly was there, and even though it was a coincidence, Mal felt like it was faith; at that thought though, the girl felt the need to roll her eyes at the idea which made her laugh. Ben stirred in his sleep, and Mal wondered what time it was; standing from the bed she looked for her phone on the kitchen counter. Mal's stomach growled, and the memory that no food was left came quickly. Still, she went around the apartment trying to find something to eat, but in the end, she had to accept that if she wanted to eat something.

Mal stood at the door looking at Ben, still sleeping, wondering how many sleepless nights he had that week worried about work and his future. Her stomach growled again, and she looked at her phone, it was almost eight, and they had two hours to get out of the condo, so there was no reason for her to wake him up now. Suddenly the memory of the note came accompanied by the fear that she felt last night, not as intense but still present, and Mal debated waking up Ben to search for food. The boy shifted again, and she decided it was enough for him to be there; if something happened, she could return to the apartment, and he would be with her.

Nodding to herself, she decided to change, buy something for both of them, and then she would return and wake the boy up so they could eat before going home. Mal changed slowly, hoping that Ben would wake up, but even when she dropped her shoes, he didn't seem to move, so leaving a note in case he woke up in her absence, the girl made her way to the cafe. Relief came over Mal when she didn't see the guys there, so she ordered food, waited patiently, and looked at the door in case they came. Finally, her name was called, and after thanking the girl and saying goodbye she made her way back to the apartment, relaxing with every step she took.

However, when she entered the building, an uneasiness came over her again, she took the stairs, and with every step Mal took, she could hear voices getting louder. Mal slowed her pace and focused on the argument, and she recognized Ben's voice; the other voice sounded familiar too, but she wasn't sure who it belonged. Suddenly Mal could understand what they were saying; Ben was telling someone that they needed to leave while the other voice was asking who Ben thought he was to tell him that. At that point, something clicked in Mal's brain, and she remembered where she had heard that voice.

It was Michael's voice, the guy that appeared in places the second day, and she wondered if she should make her way to them and tell the guy that Ben was her boyfriend and to leave or stay there until he left. Mal was tempted to choose the second option, but what if Michael came towards the stairs? Finally, taking a deep breath, she finished her way upstairs, and they came into view; Ben seemed to be standing at the apartment door while Michael stood in front of him, blocking him from Mal's view, standing tall and menacing.

That's when Mal saw Michael screaming at Ben while standing incredibly close as if he was about to push him or hit him, and now her fear was replaced by anger. So clearing her throat loudly, she gained the attention of both boys. Michael looked surprised and immediately changed his aggressive demeanor to one that she assumed he thought looked calmer. Ben's, however, changed from anger to concern, Mal saw how he was calculating the fastest way to stand between her and Michael, and she loved him for that.

The thought made her pause; she love Ben. This was the last thing Mal thought would come to her at this moment, but the clarity of it made her want to share it with Ben right then, but she knew that first, she needed to tell Michael to go away. Sadly Mal's realization came with a smile that Michael mistakenly took as she was smiling at him; he was delusional.

Michael took a step towards her, and suddenly Ben was standing again in front of the boy, standing far enough from her that she could still move. Before Michael could say anything, Mal moved to stand next to Ben, handing him the bag with the food she bought for them to share while kissing him on the cheek; then she turned to ask the boy what he was doing there?.

Looking annoyed. Michael said he had waited for her for their date at the Magnolia Cafe but then came here and saw Ben getting into her apartment and thought she was in trouble. Mal nodded, turning towards Ben, who told her that he had packed some of her stuff and was making his way back to get the rest of their things so that they could take a last walk around town before leaving without worrying about packing the Airbnb.

Mal smiled at him, feeling sure she did love Ben and wanted to share her realization as soon as possible. The boy looked at her weirdly and smiled back at her, both of them forgetting for a moment that there was someone else there that they needed to focus their attention in. Michael seemed to get more annoyed with their exchange and told Mal that she should let him know that her friend was coming so that he wouldn't be waiting for her at the cafe.

"First, he is my boyfriend. Second, I never agreed to go out with you, so there was no reason for you to wait for me anywhere. I never told you where I was staying, so I find it extremely weird that you knew where to leave that note. So please leave." Michael argued that he didn't know she was in a relationship, but Ben cut him off, telling him there was no point in staying there when Mal had already told him to leave.

That seemed to anger the boy, and he moved toward the couple; Ben instantly took a step toward the boy making sure to cover Mal from view, while at the same time, another door on the floor opened, and two guys came out of an apartment. Both of them looked at the situation and asked Mal if she was ok, and she told them that Michael was there uninvited and didn't want to leave. One of the boys looked annoyed and told Michael to go, while the other told his friend that it was his fault for sharing with Michael that the new girl was living there. That made Mal and Ben turned looking mad at the newcomers, who came to stand next to Michael, making the boy move towards the stairs and out of the building while apologizing to the couple.

"Well, at least he didn't follow me here." Ben nodded, still tense about the situation and trying to calm his anger. Part of him wanted the boy to make the first move so he could punch him, now he was left with this frustration and anger. When he woke up and found Mal's note, he felt horrible; Ben knew she was nervous about the message and wished he would have woken up. Then he assumed that she was feeling better about the situation and decided that he would put everything in the car so they could be free to enjoy their last hour in the Airbnb without worrying about leaving something behind.

As he returned after his second trip, he noticed a guy coming toward the building with an angry expression on his face and Ben wondered what his problem was. Without waiting for the guy to get near, he went into the building trying to make a list of the things he had already put in the car. As he was about to open the door, he felt someone behind him and turned to find the guy he had seen a couple of minutes ago looking at him, confused and angry.

Soon the guy yelled at him, demanding to know why he was trying to get into his girlfriend's apartment. Ben knew then that this was the guy that left the note but decided to stay calm, unsure about how dangerous he was and hoping that Mal wouldn't appear now. The second he managed to get the guy out of there, he was going to call her and pick her up from as far away as possible. The conversation went on for a couple of minutes, with Ben telling the guy that he was confused because he knew for a fact that this wasn't his girlfriend's place,so he should go away. The conversation escalated as the guy tried to intimidate Ben and got closer; still, because he knew that if he threw the first punch, it wouldn't matter if he was in the right or wrong, the guy would make this a bigger deal.

Suddenly Mal appeared, and Ben wasn't sure how but he needed to get closer to her so that the weirdo couldn't try to harm her. The thought of the guy coming here trying to find her alone almost made Ben lose his cool, he just wanted a reason to get out all his anger, but for now, his main focus was to protect Mal. So when the guy made a move to go to Mal, he took the chance and moved faster to stand between them. The rest of the situation was a blur from the guy changing his tone to the couple of guys suddenly appearing and taking Michael away.

"Ben? Are you ok?" Mal's voice broke Ben out of his thoughts, and once again, he felt bad because he should be the one asking her that. Ben turned, nodding and asking her how she was feeling, and Mal walked towards him, hugging him. "I think we should leave now. Do you want to eat first?"

Ben shook his head and told her they should check the apartment to see if he left something behind, and they could eat in the car on their way back to Austin. Mal was lost in thought, unsure when the right time to share with Ben her realization could be, but the boy mistook her silence for sadness about their last moment in Waco. So while she went to the bathroom before they left the apartment, he googled where they could go on their way back to Austin.

When Mal came out, she noticed Ben smiling at his phone and asked him what he was looking at just for the boy to ask her if she was up for an adventure before returning home. Mal agreed, finding his smile contagious, and minutes later, they found themselves outside the Dr. Pepper Museum, where they spent close to two hours touring the place, buying gifts for their friends, and finally making their own soda. At first, Mal wasn't going to film anything, but Ben encouraged her to do it, so she agreed; although she wasn't planning to use the footage for a vlog, she wanted to have it just for them.

By the time they made it to Austin, they were happy and tired, they went to buy the groceries they would need for the week, and Ben insisted that they buy ingredients to make cookies, making Mal laugh. They walked together, choosing what they would buy, making a few jokes about how they would probably order in, and Ben asked Mal when their next HelloFresh package was coming. The couple continued to walk around Target until they were standing in front of some Halloween decorations, and Mal stopped remembering that she needed to choose a theme for her birthday.

"Hey, we are not going to be here for that, so there is no need to buy anything." Mal nodded and turned and, for the first time, realized she had never told Ben when her birthday was. So she told him then, and the boy was surprised that they hadn't shared that information before and at the same time asked her what her plans were.

"I usually have a small party with my friends; we all dress up and play games, drink, dance, you know, something low-key." Ben nodded smiling and asked her what the theme for that year was, and Mal shrugged, sharing how she was finding it hard to decide. Taking her hand, he walked her toward the few costumes that were on display and pondered which one was best for her. Then she saw one and smiled, telling Ben that she knew what the theme was, and taking her phone out, she started texting a mile a minute while the boy looked at her, smiling at her enthusiasm.

When she put the phone down, Ben asked her if she was ready to share, and Mal laughed. The theme was "Villains and Heroes". Ben nodded, asking if she meant superheroes, and Mal shook her head, telling him no, that it was more fairy tale style and that couples needed to have one of each; single people could choose whatever they wanted to be. Raising an eyebrow, Ben asked which one he was, and Mal told him it would be a surprise.