Mal loved art; it was all about self expression, and that's something she could get behind. She would sit for hours on end, listening to bands like Shinedown and Theory of a Deadman while she painted, drew, or sketched whatever was on her mind. Today was no different.
She sat in her room, sketching a princess (with blue hair) locked away in a tower, and a (purple) dragon perched atop the tower. She smiled at her drawing as her headphones played Papa Roach. She was genuinely happy. She was so caught up in that happiness that she didn't notice the door open until a pair of beautiful, smooth arms wrapped around her.
"Hey, M," Evie said, looking over Mal's shoulder at the sketch. "What?" Mal asked, pulling one earbud out of her ear. Evie smiled at how cute she looked; if only Mal knew how Evie really felt about her. "I said 'hey, M'," Evie said. Mal's mouth turned up into a small smile. "Oh. Hey," she said. Evie giggled at her roommate.
"Watcha doin?" Evie asked. Mask shrugged, still smiling. "Just thinking about how much I like it here," she said, putting her headphones away. Evie couldn't stop from smiling; she would never get used to Mal just being happy. She loved it. "Yeah?" Evie asked, pulling away from Mal. Mal missed the contact, but she wouldn't admit it.
"Yeah; I mean, look at what it did for all of us. We got a family and a stable home. Carlos got Dude. Jay got tourney. You got school. And I got art. And Ben," Mal said. "Yeah," Evie said, her happiness feigning slightly at the mention of Ben. But she still loved Mal having someone that made her happy. "And what are you and Ben going to be doing tonight?" Evie asked.
"Actually, I was thinking of surprising him and dropping by his dorm. He gave me a key, and i was gonna drop by and, you know, hang out with him," Mal said. Evie tried not to cringe at what Mal could mean by 'hang out with him'. "And what are you going to be doing tonight?" Mal asked. Evie shrugged. "I'll probably just go over to the boys' room and hang out if you're not going to be here," Evie said. Mal nodded. "I was actually about to go on over to Ben's," Mal said. Evie nodded. "See you later, then," she said. "See you."
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Mal stepped out of the girls' dorm into the clean afternoon. Everything about Auradon was made to be perfect. It was nearly four in the afternoon, but it was a comfortable seventy degrees out, with a slight breeze blowing. The sun was shining brightly. Birds and small mammals skipped and floated through the trees. It was the perfect afternoon.
Mal walked across the beautifully maintained common area to the boys' dorm. She walked through the door and down the hall towards Ben's room. She was about to knock when she heard noises coming from inside.
Mal, losing that euphoric sense of perfectness that was clouding her thoughts, put one ear to the door. She couldn't make out exactly what was going on, but there was definitely more than one person inside.
So, Mal prepared to break into the room. On the Isle, she had gotten pretty good at it. And in Auradon, she had magic. Not that she needed it; the door was unlocked. She quietly cracked the door and peeked inside. What she saw broke her completely.
Mal pushed the door open and stepped into view. Ben, startled, looked up from where he lay on his bed. Audrey also looked over from where she was under him. "Mal?" Ben asked. Mal just stared at him. She was usually calm and collected, able to hide all emotions, but the hurt was plain on her face.
Ben tried again to speak. "Mal, I..." "Why?" Mal asked, cutting Ben off. She kept going before Ben could speak again. "What did I do? Was I a bad girlfriend?" Mal asked, tears forming in her eyes. The first one was rolling down her cheek before Ben spoke.
"No," Ben said, "God, no, Mal. You're an amazing girlfriend. I..." "Then what?" Mal asked, channeling her hurt into anger. Ben sat there, speechless. It was Audrey that spoke this time. "He wanted a real girl, not some villain wannabe from the Isle of the Lost."
Mal stared at the pair for a minute before she turned to leave. "I hope you found her then," Mal said as she ran out the door and straight back to her room. She could hear Ben running after her, but there was no way anyone could catch Mal when she didn't want to be.
Mal had just burst into her room and slammed the door in Ben's face when she finally lost it. She fell back against the now locked door and slid to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. What she didn't know was that she wasn't alone. "Mal?" A gentle voice asked.
Mal looked up to see Evie standing in the bathroom doorway, wearing nothing but her underwear, a towel wrapped around her wet hair. "Mal, what's wrong?" Evie asked, her appearance forgotten completely. She sat down next to Mal, wrapping her arms around Mal's shaking shoulders.
Mal tried to explain what happened, but she couldn't stop crying. Evie had seen Mal deal with being hurt a lot, physically and emotionally. When Mal broke her leg on the Isle, she barely even whimper when Jay reset it. When Maleficent would cuss and beat Mal? She would take it in silence, turning the pain into rage. Something bad must've happened to leave her like this.
"M, I'm right here. I love you, Mal. But I can't help you if you won't talk to me," Evie said. Mal tried to calm her breathing, and finally managed to quit sobbing. "What happened?" Evie asked finally. "I... I was going to Ben's, but when I got there, he wasn't alone," Mal said, laying her head on Evie's shoulder.
Evie gasped. Then her shock turned to anger. "Ben cheated on you?" She asked. Mal nodded. "I walked in and he was in bed with Audrey. He wasn't happy with me because I'm just some stupid bitch from the Isle," Mal said, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again. Evie's heart shattered into dust.
"Ben said that?" Evie asked. Mal shook her head. "Audrey said he wanted to be with a real girl, not a villain wannabe from the Isle," she said. Evie's hatred fire rekindled, but she could take care of that later. "Oh, Mal, you are a real girl And a beautiful one at that," Evie said, kissing Mal's temple.
"No, I'm not. I'm some stupid dike that can't love anyone and deserves to die alone," Mal said. "No," Evie said, holding Mal at arms length. "Mal, you're amazing. You're funny, smart, beautiful. You are perfect in every way." "Pfft, if that was true, someone might actually love me, not just tolerate my existence," Mal said.
There it is; all of Mal's insecurity, her biggest fear, was finally revealed. And Evie knew there was no way to just tell Mal that she was wrong, Evie loved her more than she would ever know. And Evie wasn't able to think straight, and she was really scared and had to do something fast, so she kissed Mal. Not on the temple, or the forehead, but on the lips.
She pulled away after a second, and Mal had yet to move. She just sat there, shocked. Evie was scared Mal was about to yell, tell her to go kill herself for being gay, or something worse. So, she tried to fix it. "Mal, I..." Mal cut her off, however, by kissing her. And Evie kissed her back, and it was the most amazing thing either of them had ever felt.
The girls sat there and kissed for well over a minute before they finally broke apart. "That was," Mal said, breathing heavily. Evie, too, was breathing heavily as she waited for Mal's response. "Amazing," Mal finished, and Evie smiled. "I never felt anything like that when Ben kissed me," Mal said, smiling for the first time since she caught Ben.
The girls sat there for a few more minutes without saying anything, Mal's head resting on Evie's chest. "So how do you feel?" Evie asked. Mal's eyes got a far away look in them. "It still hurts, but I think I might've found what me and Ben were missing," she said. A sad smile appeared on Evie's face. "Come on," she said, helping Mal up and pulling her towards Evie's bed. "Let's go to bed."