Finding New Love

Why Do I Have To Be Nice

Jay threw the first punch, so Harry found the logic that he didn't start it and so throwing the next punch would be considered self-defense and Mal wouldn't do anything to him. 

Boy was he wrong. 

Two hours after their fight, they were both sitting on the floor in the living room area. They were shaking so hard that they were sure that the people below them could feel it. They were also both so scared they would pee their pants as they waited for Mal to come back. 

"You wouldn't judge me if I run, right?" Jay asked. They could both hear Mal's footsteps nearing them. Jay stood up. He was ready to run because he was terrified of Mal when she was mad. The only person who would never be terrified of Mal was her mother. She would always say that Mal was just throwing a temper tantrum. 

"Too late," Harry said as the footsteps got louder, meaning that Mal was already right in front of them. 

"Sit your ass down, Jay," she said, her eyes glowing green. Or at least, that was what Jay assumed. He didn't see the differences as Harry did. The light red that seemed to circle around her green irises. Or the way that her cheeks were stained a light pink where her tears had obviously fallen. 

Harry was up within seconds. "What the hell happened?" he growled. He didn't like it when she cried. He didn't like it that someone had made her the way she was. Where she was on a cliff with one foot rooted to the cliff and the other one right over the edge of it. He hated that her purple hair was matted and tangled. He hated that her beautiful green eyes that reminded him of emeralds were red and dull. They didn't shine with the mischief that they used to. The sense of mischief that he had first fallen in love with. He hated that she had seemed thinner than she had when she first left the Isle. 

Mal held a letter out. She wasn't going to talk about what was inside the envelope. She couldn't. She hated the person behind the letter. She hated how perfect his cursive was. She had once loved that handwriting of that person. She had loved everything about that person. "I found this in one of the rooms. It was sitting on the floor, fresh ink. 

Jay remained on his feet as Harry took the envelope from Mal and opened the flap to pull out a letter. Both boys were already dreading what would be written on the letter. 

Jay moved closer to Harry to read the words over his shoulder. 

Harry could feel Jay basically breathing down his neck, but paid him no mind as he unfolded the letter and started reading it. 

Dear Mal, 

I regret to inform you that you are expelled from Auradon Prep. Actually, no I don't. Anyway, since our relationship is over, I guess that means that you probably won't return back to Auradon, so I really have no need to banish you, do I? I won't in case you were wondering. All of the people who supported you are being suspended. Revel in the fact that it's your fault that your friends aren't able to attend school until further notice. Also, Uma and I are now engaged, and there is a wedding invitation in  the envelope for the wedding. Feel free to invite another person the wedding with you. It can even be Harry if you want it to. I heard from Uma that you two used to have a... thing? I can't help but laugh. Of course you would have a relationship with him. You've always liked a man who can be... wild, right?  I'll see you at the wedding, and hopefully no sooner than that. 

Sincerely, 

Ben

The letter was short, but it inflicted the damage that it was meant to.

"I'm going to kill him," Jay snarled as he moved away from Harry for his own safety. He had been paying very close attention to the pirate as they read the letter. Harry's knuckles had turned white and the letter had been shaking,  

"If anyone's going to kill him, it's going to be me," Harry said. Jay might have been childhood friends with Mal or whatever shit they wanted to call each other, but Mal was his. She was... everything to him. He had first dibs on killing that bastard of a king that basically destroyed Mal's life. 

They were ready to start up round two of their last fight, but they were interrupted by Mal. Her face was set in determination. There was no trace of the tears that she had shed earlier. "Now, now, boys. Let's play nice, or both of you are going to get hurt very badly," she said with a grin. 

Harry and Jay had to do a double take. They looked at each other, then at Mal. Then back at each other and to Mal again before they were satisfied with her grin. It was a true grin. Not a forced grin like she had tried on both of them before. "Why do I have to be nice to him," Harry asked, jabbing a thumb in Jay's direction. "We all know how that went last time. And we all know that I was faking it." 

Though he said that, he and Jay both had grins on their faces. Mal was back. Maybe not completely, but she was back. They would both take that as a win. Because as much as Harry loved Mal, he didn't want her to like him back just because she was sad and depressed, and perhaps the only man brave and stupid enough to not fear her like most did. He knew that even the king had feared her at times. 

"If you guys aren't going to be nice to each other, then I'll turn both of you into chickens and fry you for dinner tonight," Mal said, slightly joking, but having enough seriousness that both men paled. She hummed to herself, "Chicken actually sounds really good right now." 

"We'll play nice," Harry and Jay said in unison, not wanting to be on the main course for Mal's dinner. 

Mal had made the decision that she wasn't going to let Ben dictate her life any longer. She didn't have to be the perfect princess anymore. She had never been the perfect princess, but she had tried for him and now... she could finally let loose. She wouldn't cry anymore. She wouldn't be the same girl that she was in Auradon. It was time to be the Mal that she had been before anyone's expectations had been placed on her. She could be the Mal she had been for very short amounts of time when she had been with friends and Harry. 

She would be strong. She would be brave. She would be... Mal.