Finding New Love

That's A Horrifying Thought

Harry knew why she had let him walk away without having gone through all of her games. And though he was disappointed, he knew not to touch the King.

"Why did you let him go?" Jay asked.

Mal only shook her head. There was no way that she could answer that question. There was no way that she was going to be able to tell anyone the answer to that question for a while. She would have answered that she didn't even know why she did what she had done, but then she would be lying to of them. She knew why she had done it. She knew that it was a soft part of her that might always be there.

"So..." Carlos said. "What now?"

That was a question that Mal hadn't even considered. But it was one that she would have to face eventually.

"For now, we wait. Well wait and see if Auradon will retaliate. And if we get word that they are, then we prepare for it," Mal said quietly.

She had failed. She hadn't been able to do what she had set out to do. She hadn't been able to exact the revenge that her friends had deserved. There was no way that she had done that without something coming over her. She looked up at her friends with guilt-ridden eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, hating herself for being weak.

"Don't be," Carlos said with a slight grin. "I think seeing Ben go through all of that in itself was enough revenge for me. Besides, I think he peed his pants when he was being chased by the dogs you set after him."

There was nothing in her eyes that made it seem like they had been let down. The only one who wasn't grinning like a mad idiot was none other than the cold hearted pirate that had confessed his love to her not even two days ago. Mal turned her attention to him. "What do you think?"

Harry didn't answer for a while, seeming to think about the question that was presented to him. "I think that it would've been nice to see the boy drowning in our own waters, but perhaps, what you presented us with is how easily he falls to your mercy."

Ruthless was what he was playing at. Nothing of the kind and caring Harry that had comforted her all those nights ago, for Mal . Only for her would he show that part of himself. And here, there were too many eyes that would talk to too many people. He didn't like the public views, and the moment that people found out just who he was and who his father was, he became one of the main attractions of the island. The boy who everyone knew would someday sail off of the island.

He knew that it had been just as hard for Mal. On the island, Mal had relished in the attention, but when she moved to Auaradon and she was the Ben's girlfriend, and the entire country's attention was on her, he had seen her change. He saw the fake smiles. He saw the way that she would almost grimace when they "showed their affection" for each other. He saw the way that her eyes had seemed so dead. Ben had fundamentally broken something in Mal. And he knew that if he ever got the opportunity, Mal's request be damned, he would kill the king.

Mal slumped into the couch. She was tired. She was so damn tired. Exhaustion seeped into her bones. It was like all of it was leaving her at once- the hate, the facade. Everything just seemed to be seeping from her bones, leaving her feeling... empty, but also, somehow, elated. It was as if for the first time in a very long time, she didn't have to be a completely different person, or she didn't have to kill or track anyone down. She felt... satisfied. And Ben had somehow helped her with that.

"Are you ever going back to Auradon?" Carlos asked, breaking the long silence that had been slightly imposed by Mal.

"If I can help it...no. I know that I'm probably going to have to go back at some point, but I don't want to face everything at once. And going back before I deal with everything here, kind of doesn't give me that opportunity," Mal said, not hiding the exhaustion from her voice.

"I think that we all need to face everything," Jay said with a slight smile, recognizing the tired look on Mal's face, "but perhaps that can be saved for another time. Because as much as I would love to pummel Harry's face into the ground and throw him off a cliff-"

"As if," Harry scoffed.

"-I don't know about you guys," Jay continued, giving Harry a glare, "but I'm dead tired."

"Well, if you're dead tired, maybe I can throw you into the shark-infested waters and then you'll just be dead," Harry said with a smirk.

"Harry," Mal said, drawing out his name. "I told you before. Play nice with others."

"What?" Harry said, his voice feigning surprise and innocence while plastered to his face was his signature smirk that meant nothing but trouble. "When do I not play nice with people?" he asked.

Jay and Carlos gave each other confused looks. Carlos raised his hand. "There was that time where you held Ben hostage," he said, his voice sounding seemingly innocent.

"And that time when you and Mal fought after your break up, and you almost killed three people in that bar," Jay said.

The two boys went back and forth about times that Harry hadn't played nice, not seeming to notice or care that Harry was giving them both a death glare.

"I get it," he snarled, stopping the two from continuing the list that Harry knew to be very long. "It was a rhetorical question, not that you two bozos would understand what that is."

Mal burst out laughing at the sight that was unfolding before her. For once in her life, Harry was actually getting along with others. And she said as much.

"If this is what you consider getting along," Carlos said, "then you're even more warped than I had initially thought."

"Me actually getting along with people?" Harry said, pondering at the idea. "That's a horrifying thought," he said, shuddering.