𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞...𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

a moment in love (mal + ben)

A/N: HSMTMTS inspired. I write lots of chapters based on TV shows and movies. Sorry for the long chapter!

Just for a moment, she stared into his eyes. And just for a moment, they felt something pass between them.

It was electric, though Mal couldn't exactly tell what. Ben went on to shake the hands of the other VKs, each earning an expected response. Jay punched his shoulder. Carlos licked the chocolate off his fingers. Evie attempted to flirt with him.

When Ben reached Mal, he looked deep into her eyes for a moment. Mal could feel something odd, a feeling she'd never experienced before. It made her heart warm and her insides go fuzzy. She shook it off, as it made her uncomfortable.

Villains didn't know what love felt like. Love and happiness were feelings that no one on the Isle had experienced before. It was just pain, hate, sadness, and misery. Well, of course, Mal had felt happy before, but not in a good way. Happiness for her was stealing candies from babies and spray painting walls.

Not whatever...this was. A boy with honey brown hair and hazel eyes that made all the girls fall for him. A boy who saw the kindness in the VKs, and agreed to give them a chance at a non-evil doing life.

Mal sighed as she walked into her new dorm with Evie, but her fuzzy feelings were quickly replaced with disgust. The pink-laced room was no match for her. The worst part of all was the sunlight. All the bright light coming from the window blinded Mal. She closed the shades and sunk into the darkness. This was better.

Goodness Class was likely the hardest part of the day for Mal. It was all filled to the brim with boring things, like instead of painting poison on an apple or putting it in the king's wine, you had to turn it into the proper authorities? That sounded so boring! She much more preferred either A or B. She knew for a fact that Evie would've done option A.

Later that day, Ben stopped by the VK's room. Mal got that funny feeling in her stomach again, and she pushed it away. No, she was here to steal a magic wand, not fall in love! "So, Ben," she grilled casually. "I hear that the coronation is coming up. Can I make sure that we all get a great view of the wand? A front row seat? Just to soak up all that...goodness?" Ben smiled, and the butterflies in Mal's stomach came back. "No, I'm sorry. Only my folks, me, and my girlfriend."
Mal rolled her eyes at that last part. The snooty and pink princess Audrey. She shot devious looks at her friends, then turned back to face Ben. "If you need anything else, just-" he was cut off when Mal slowly pushed the door closed. Her green eyes twinkled mischievously. "Looks like time Bennyboo got himself a new girlfriend," she said.

That night, the teens all went to the kitchen and baked love spell cookies, straight from Mal's spellbook. The next day, they were ready to put their plan into action.

Mal met Ben at his locker and used basic psychology to trick him into eating the cookie. Evie, Jay, and Carlos slowly crept up behind him. Jay put his hands on Ben's shoulders. "How are you feeling, bro?"

"I feel...I feel like singing your name! Mal! Mal!" As Ben burst into song in the middle of the lockers, Mal quickly put a hand over his mouth to stop him. "Looks like that love spell worked too well," Carlos said.

After the tourney game later that day, Mal had second thoughts about giving Ben that love potion. He'd serenaded her in front of the entire school, much to the horror of Audrey, who proclaimed her love for Chad Charming. Evie had felt bad, but Mal cheered her up. After the game and all the clean-up, Ben asked Mal, "Would you go on a date with me?"

Mal panicked. She paced the length of her dorm until Evie came in. "Mal, what's wrong?" Evie asked. "Ben just asked me out on a...a date," Mal said. Evie laughed. "Well, you're not going looking like that. You need a bit more blush here, and definitely a change of clothes."

When Ben stopped at Mal's door, he was speechless. "For the first time I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful," he said, still at a loss for words. Then, he offered her one of the helmets under his arm. "I hope you like bikes."

Mal yelped with delight. Ben was driving on his Vespa to the Enchanted Lake. She held on tight. Then, they dismounted off to a rickety bridge that looked like it could hold no more than three people. "So, tell me something about yourself that you've never told anyone," Ben said. "Well, I'm 16, I've only ever lived in one place before, and my middle name is Bertha." She said as she balanced on the bridge.
Ben laughed. "Bertha. Mine's Florian." Mal giggled. "Florian. How princely. No, that's even worse."

Ben put a hand over Mal's eyes. "You can open now," he instructed. He removed his hand, and Mal gasped. A picturesque place with a beautiful shining lake and a small gazebo. On top of it all was a picnic basket. Mal rushed over and made herself comfortable on the checkered red blanket.
As she talked with Ben, Mal got that feeling again. The butterflies in her stomach refused to go away, no matter how hard she tried. Then, Ben suggested they go for a swim. "No, I'd rather just stay here. I've literally never tried a strawberry before," Mal said, reaching for one from the bowl. She bit into it and her eyes widened. She took two more.

Ben laughed. "Just don't eat all of them," he said. He changed into his shorts with beast heads and little crowns on them. He waved to Mal. "Are those little crowns on your shorts?" She yelled. Ben looked down. "Maybe," he said. Then, with a beastly roar, he cannonballed into the lake. Mal giggled.

[Cue If Only]

Mal was falling in love with Ben, one of the many things her mother had said not to do. But she couldn't help it, he was such a good person. Then, Mal realized that Ben had been gone for a while now. "Ben! Ben?" She climbed into the water and sputtered. It was true that she lived on an island, but she didn't know how to swim!

Soon, Ben picked her up and carried her to the gazebo. Mal coughed and sputtered, then smacked Ben's arm. "You had me so worried!" She yelled. "But you live on an island!" Ben yelled in disbelief. "Yeah, with a barrier around it, remember?"

Mal found it hard to stay mad at him. "Mal, I love you. Don't you love me?" Ben asked. Mal turned away. "I don't know what love feels like."

Ben gently turned her head until she faced him. "Maybe I can teach you," he said.

Mal's heart melted. Then, before she could register what was going on, she planted a kiss right on Ben's lips. Ben was surprised but kissed her right back. Just for a moment, Mal thought she had lost her common sense. But just for a moment, she felt like she was soaring past the stars.

A/N: If you reached the end, congrats!