"...Mother?" (A Descendants × Hadeficent story)

Ch. 9 - The start of the plan

"Hey. How're you?"

Is he serious? Mal wondered as she turned around, staring at the hazel-eyed boy behind her, "Has anyone ever told you that touching a girl means that you want to make a move on her?" "Oh, my bad." He chuckled nervously, taking his hand off her shoulder and scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "I didn't think..." "You Auradonians never think." Mal lifted her gaze off him, knowing that it was always too intimidating, "You didn't think that villains would have offspring as well, did you? You didn't think that you were subjecting an Isle full of kids to a punishment they didn't warrant, didn't you?"

"Oh." The prince glanced down at his feet, unsure what to react, and Mal scoffed, slamming her locker shut as she slung her bag over her shoulder carelessly, "What's that's saying? The son shall not bear the sins of his father." "Mal...I..." Ben looked rather upset as he tried to catch her gaze this time, no matter how intimidating it was, "My father..."

"He thought they might love us. So why is it that you Auradonian kids shun us when you see us, asking what villain kids have been brought up and taught to be? Beast knew. And yet he let us be." Mal fixed her green gaze on his, leaving Ben speechless and slightly ashamed of his father, but within seconds, the son of Beast puffed up his chest, "I promise, when I show my father that your four aren't what everyone thinks, I will try all my best to let all the VKs have another chance."

"What's the point? We've already had a childhood of living in a dump, having only your spoiled remainders." Mal smiled bitterly, pulling her gaze away from Ben, "There is nothing you can do to make up for our loss."

And even as she turned away, her boots echoing on the parquet of the steps that led to the open lunch field, Ben realised that for once, perhaps what his father had done all those years ago might not have been the best solution to the problem, after all.

...

"How'd it work?" The other three asked eagerly as Mal threw her tray down on the table, and the purple head smiled, before she put on a pitiful expression: "Oh, my lord, why did you not save us? We are dying, rotting, no one loves us...pray do what you may, to save those who can still be saved!" "Ew." Jay looked rather disgusted at what Mal had just squeaked out in an awfully shrill and high-pitched voice, "Your acting is horrible."

"As if you could've done better." Mal retorted, dumping her bag on the space beside her as she flicked her hair out of her face, "All we have to do is wait for his goody-goody conscience to start acting up." "I'm not very reassured that it'll actually go that way, from what you just acted, M." Evie countered as she bit into an apple (something that had been very reluctantly placed onto her tray after a round of subtle flirtatious blinking), "He might not do what we need him to do. He might come up with another way. Beast isn't a baby; he's not that gullible, after all."

"Ben is. His heart is softer than pure gold, I've heard. What kindness he must have, to stand having that Audrey smooch onto him with that awful nickname. I haven't met a 16 year-old willing to be called Benny-boo before." Mal laughed, a laugh that still sent chills down the spines of her three closest friends, not to mention the AKs that sat nearby, now taking their trays and moving another metre away from her. Except for one person, who had heard what Mal said, and even as Mal bit into her sandwich, Audrey came stomping over, "You! You—"

"If it isn't Miss I-hate-Mal." Jay remarked, still sore over Audrey's rejection on the first day they came to Auradon, and Audrey ignored him, glaring at Mal instead, "What did you say about Benny-boo?" "Does it matter to you, Princess?" Mal didn't bother looking her way, munching on her sandwich, and Audrey cleared her throat, "As Benny-boo's girlfriend, I-" "If you really love him, you should stop calling him that obnoxious name." Carlos suddenly piped up, "He's getting teased about it."

"But he likes the nickname. It's none of your business." Audrey snapped, silencing the timid boy at once, turning back to Mal, "What are you intending to do to Ben?" "Did I say I was?" Mal raised both her eyebrows in what seemed to be astonishment, "Princess, don't put words in other's mouth. It's not polite to accuse." "You...you-!" Audrey fumed, stamping her feet again, but Mal only laughed as she stood up, making Audrey now point at Mal's nose.

"Well, excuse me, Princess. I have Remedial Goodness 101 now. And on the mention of that, be careful, since I'm still not all good yet." Mal grinned slyly, snapping her jaws once quickly as though to bite Audrey's finger. "Ach! You-!" Audrey shrieked, withdrawing her finger, and a wicked cackle burst forth from Mal's lips, showing her satisfaction at Audrey's reaction to her prank. "Fairy Godmother's gonna scold us if we're late. Come on, guys, we don't have all day."

And with yet another laugh, Mal walked off into the shadow of the afternoon sun, leaving behind a fuming Audrey.

...

"She's scheming something, Ben!" Audrey whined to her boyfriend as they headed down the corridor together, and her whines caught quite some attention as whispers hushed to watch the drama, "This was a very very bad idea of yours!" "It's going very well, Aud. You're thinking too much." Ben offered his girlfriend a smile, despite knowing that all the whispers in the school were all the doubts about the VKs, and Audrey stamped her foot, refusing to allow him any movement, "Benny-boo! I heard her say that personally! Why don't you trust me over her? We've known each other all our lives, Benny-boo!"

"I trust that you heard her, Audrey, but I trust that Mal won't be as silly as to bite the hand that's feeding her." Ben wanted to sigh, but his 16 years of princely and kingly training kicked in, and his smile remained on his face, "Audrey, I want to have a break from all this. I'm tired of all these doubts-" "Are you breaking up with me?!" Audrey screeched, forgetting her princess training, and Ben stared at her. He had meant that he was tired of all the doubt about the VKs, but if Audrey was thinking it this way...

"I..." Ben hesitated, his eyes purposely wandering away, and as if she had been cued, a purple hair bobbed not too far away in the crowd. "Fine! So you are!" Audrey took his silence as a consent to her words, and the world seemed to disappear in a flash, before it came back, with a sting. "You are not breaking up with me, Benjamin! I am breaking up with you!" Audrey stormed off, the curls of her hair bouncing with each step, and Ben touched his stinging cheek, not quite believing Audrey had really slapped him.

"Must've hurt." Came a familiar snicker, and Ben glanced up to see Mal standing before him, and the prince gave an awkward smile as he put his hand down, "More the shock than the pain." "Or maybe...it was the pride." Mal teased, tapping a single finger on the crest of Auradon that resided over his heart, and his cheeks heated slightly. "It bruised my ego slightly." Ben admitted with a chuckle, nodding his head, and Mal laughed, retracting her deep purple nail, "First slaps always feel like that. Want another one to even it out? I assure you, your cheeks will feel equally painful after it."

"No, thank you." Ben almost took a step back, "I think one slap was already quite the commotion." "First slap, you said?" Ben realised that Mal had mentioned something about first slaps, "You...?" "My mom, needless to say." The mockery in Mal's eyes dropped, and a sudden solemness shadowed her expression, before she tried to push it away, "You sure you don't want that slap?"

"I'm good." Ben laughed, earning a grin from Mal as she did a finger wave, "And I'm evil. See ya."

And even as he watched her go, he didn't see Mal's grin turn into a smirk.

Mission Get-Close-To-Benny-Boo success!

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A/N: Just to check: can you guys see chapter 3?? Somehow I can see it published but there's no stats, and Wattpad keeps telling me I've got 10 out of 12 parts published but I only have 10 parts so far?