She did not want to be here. She already spent all week stuck inside playing nice, going to class, doing homework, and she hated it. The last thing Mal wanted was to waste what should be her free time spending more time inside. The weather was gorgeous, and she cursed the Ascendancy for keeping her away from the sun. Not only was it their fault that it was never this nice on the Isle, but here she was trying to figure out how to take down their fucking barrier in a gods damned library.

Putting away yet another useless book, Mal groaned, If it wasn't for the fact that she needed the library for class and researching the barrier, Mal'd be more than happy to just abandon the books on a table to rot. But the bitch that ran the library wouldn't hesitate to ban her for life if she did.

Jaw clenched, Mal rubbed at the curse mark across her collarbone. She'd find a way to break the barrier, force her mother to acknowledge her, and then take her pack as far away as possible. She snatched the next book off the shelf and dropped it onto the table with a thud. Fucking thing probably weighed as much as Carlos and she knew it would probably take her several hours to read it. With a curse, she flipped to the first page and started reading. Gods she could murder someone.

"Hello, Mal."

And there was another thing she didn't want to deal with. The second biggest mystery of Auradon was leaning against the bookshelf she was going through, ever present smile on his lips. As if he was happy to talk to her.

"Ben," she said, barely glancing up from the book she was trying to read. She silently begged any god willing to listen that the information she needed was in it. Words swarmed the page and she felt something in her head die a little. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. She slammed the book shut and pushed it away before she could set it on fire.

"Your eyes are green."

He sounded too calm about it and she glared at him.

"Yeah. And?"

"They look good with your hair."

When she shot him a glare, his smile just widened, amusement glittering in his eyes, and she wanted to wipe it off his face. "What does your betrothed think about you hanging out with a villain?" she asked, challenging, testing.

"I don't see any villains. Just a frustrated friend and a lot of very boring books," he shrugged. Moving to the table, Ben looked at the book she'd just abandoned. She'd have to go through it eventually, but it was too frustrating to deal with after a few lines. "What did Resonant Plague ever do to you?"

"Existed," she muttered.

With a laugh, he picked it up and flipped through a couple pages then grimaced. "Fair point. Books about healing can only get you so far. First hand experience will teach you more than any book. I didn't know you were interested in healing."

"I'm not," she spat, glowering at the book. "I just can't find anything in this fucking place so I have to go book by book."

For a split second, he looked confused and then she saw something behind his eyes click and he winced a little. "I guess the system can be pretty confusing. I can show you how it works if you want. Maybe I can help you find what you're looking for?"

Help her find…? No. That was too dangerous. Knowing how to find things would cut down on the time she'd have to spend searching, but if he knew what she was looking for they were fucked. Maybe now that she knew there was a system they could learn what the system was.

"Maybe another time," Mal replied, grabbing the book. "If I stay here much longer I'm going to set it on fire. Besides, Carlos is better at remembering that kind of stuff than I am. And he'd care more."

"Then would you like to go for a walk and get some lunch?" he asked, and she glanced at him. He wanted to spend time with her? Going out of his way to ask her?

"Lunch," she repeated.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's a little past noon."

Frowning, Mal glanced out the window. The sun was high and she cursed inwardly. She'd been in here for hours. She opened her mouth to turn down the offer when her stomach growled, demanding food. This time she cursed her stomach. They'd only been off the Isle for about a month and they'd been able to eat more than she'd imagined possible. She should not be hungry after only a few hours!

With a slight scowl, Mal sighed. Whatever. It was a good excuse to talk with the prince, try to get some answers from him. Evie wasn't the only one who could gather information. "Sure. I could eat," she shrugged.

"Wonderful," he smiled. "Let's put this away."

Before she could protest, Ben swept the gigantic book out of her arms and put it back on the shelf at the end of the aisle. What was with him? Always helping with small things. Like it was normal. Like he wanted to. No one did that. No one outside her pack. What was it that he wanted from her? She watched warily as he wiped the book dust off his hands and onto his pants.

"Ready?" he asked. Without answering, Mal led the way, and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ben's smile widen. As they left the library, Mal turned to take the longer way to the dining hall. If she was going to be stuck in the crowded hall with just him for company, she was going to enjoy the outdoors and space as long as she could.

"You know if you wanted a bit of privacy with me all you had to do was ask," Ben commented, smirking as he moved to walk beside her.

"As if," she scoffed. Ben only laughed.

As they continued to walk, Mal studied him, truly studied him, for the first time. Unlike most of the nobles at the university, Ben was actually in decent shape. He looked like he could actually hold his own in a fight. He was taller than most of them too, broader shouldered. Not quite like Gil, but not exactly like Jay either. Maybe a mix of the two.

With a fair complexion, brown hair, and light brown eyes, he shouldn't stand out so much, but even Mal had to admit he wasn't hard on the eyes. Maybe it was his eyes that made the difference. Even though she couldn't always read him, there was always something behind them that drew people in. A light? An edge? A spark?

"Like what you see?"

Mal started, realizing she'd been caught staring. Then she saw the smirk on his face and her competitive spirit rose. He was teasing her, and two could play that game. "More wondering if you were more muscle than brain. It'd explain why you thought bringing four villain kids to the mainland was a good idea," she shrugged. Take that E, she could be subtle too.

"Well, clearly beauty doesn't mean stupid. You're smart after all," he replied, mimicking her bored tone. Smartass.

Mal snorted. Beautiful? That suited Evie more than her, and Ben was stupid for trying flattery. "You don't survive long on the Isle without being smart. What's your excuse? How did you end up with brains to go with your brawn?"

"That would be my mother's fault," Ben laughed. "She refused to let me turn into a muscle-bound beast like Gaston had been. So she made sure to balance out my physical activities with educational lessons." Expression shifting, his gaze drifted in the direction of the palace. "I think in some ways, my dad blames her for me bringing you four here. That if I hadn't been taught to question things and explore different ideas, I would've shared his beliefs and let the past stay in the past."

Out of the corner of her eye, Mal watched the prince sigh, his brown eyes darkening a little. She… she hadn't been expecting that. It'd been obvious that Beast wasn't happy about them being on the mainland, but she hadn't really thought about the fact that Ben was his son and what that meant for him. "I guess trying to make your parents proud isn't just an Isle thing," she said without thinking.

Feeling Ben's gaze shift to her, Mal looked away, refusing to meet his eyes as he seemed to wait for her to say more. As if he was waiting for her to tell him how angry Maleficent would get with her when she couldn't cast a spell she should've been able to. How her mother refused to call her by her… Jaw tightening, Mal shoved the thoughts away.

"So. Are we worth Beast's disappointment?" she asked. The prince winced a little, she refused to feel bad, before taking a deep breath and steadying himself.

"Yes." Mal blinked. "You're worth it. Doing the right thing is more important than his approval. I mean, hopefully he'll understand one day; I want him to understand someday. But even if he doesn't, I don't regret my decision. I'd make it again."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Gaze sliding away from her, he ran a hand through his hair.

She… She wasn't sure how to respond to that. Pissing off your parents was one of the most dangerous things a person could do. But he didn't regret it. Gods, he was willing to do it again.

When she didn't reply, Ben added, "Just being able to meet you was worth it."

Startled, she looked at him. He was smirking. Again. "That was a fucking lame line," she informed him, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe," he shrugged, still smirking. "But I can't say it isn't true."

"Oh gods," she groaned and he laughed. But the weird tension broke and she let the previous topic die without complaint as they reached the dining hall for what turned out to be an okay lunch. The prince was better company than she'd ever admit out loud.