Finding New Love

The Plan For Him

Mal felt her breath catch in the back of her throat. She wanted to scream or cry or puke. Or all three. She felt sick at Carlos's words. "He's... here?" she asked slowly. It didn't make sense. He had already broken her down. She had been so close to recovering from what she went through. She almost felt... normal.

Carlos nodded slowly, noticing her fear and anger. He didn't need to unnecessarily piss her off and be the object of her wrath.

Mal took a deep breath in, controlling her emotions. She didn't need a scene. She didn't need anything unnecessary to happen.

"Well," Mal said slowly, "I guess he won't find what he's looking for." Because the Mal that Ben had known was dead. She had never truly existed, but for the sake of her friends and her mother, that Mal had come to life.

The Mal the she was now; the Mal that everyone else knew her as, was the person that she was supposed to be, but hadn't been because of the prince. The person that she should be. Because she knew who she needed in her life. And who she didn't.

And she definitely did not need Ben messing everything up. She had everything she could ever want. She had her friends. She had someone who cared for her. And a person who she would rip the world apart for. She didn't need much of anything else. She didn't want anything else.

"What are you going to do about him?" Harry asked.

Without even looking, Mal could see his grin. He wanted to stir up some trouble, and Mal wanted the exact same thing. "Well," Mal said slowly. "You two," she said, referring to Carlos and Jay, "don't need to do anything. But let's throw our little king a welcome party."

Harry returned her grin in its entirety.

"What kind of party are we talking about?" Harry asked. He was definitely in on the plan. Any chance to get back at the king for doing what he did to Mal, spell or not, he would take. Thee was no way that he wasn't going to participate in all the fun that they were about to have.

"The kind that'll probably get us stuck on the Isle for the rest of our lives, as well as taking away any improvements that were going to happen," Mal replied. "Although, I think that it'll totally be worth it." She wanted her own revenge on the king. The kind of revenge that she used to plot; the kind of stuff that would get them into real trouble.

Carlos shook his head. Mal could see the internal conflict in his eyes. 

"I told you, Carlos," she said softly, putting her hand on the younger boy's shoulder reassuringly. "You don't have to play any part in what we're going to do. You and Jay should just go back to Auradon so that you can claim innocence to what we're about to do." She cared about them. More than she wanted to admit to anyone. And she definitely did not want them to ruin their chances at the life that they fought to get in Auradon. 

Carlos shook his head again. "But the thing is, Mal," he said, "is that I want to help with whatever you're planning." He paused, trying to figure out what he was thinking and how to put it into the words that she would understand. "Something, deep inside of me, still wants to stir up trouble- the kind of trouble that we used to make. The stuff that would make our parents proud. And I want to help you. He hurt you and even though he was a friend- a really close friend, and a teammate, I can't forgive him for hurting you. You're my family, Mal. And as cheesy as this is going to sound, family comes first." There was a millisecond pause before Carlos quickly added, "Please don't punch me, Jay," and moved out of the way, using Mal as a human shield from Jay. 

Jay just shook his head. "Why would I punch you if I agree with you?"

The younger of the two's head peaked out over Mal's shoulder to see for himself if the other meant his words, and found that Jay's face held nothing but understanding for his words. Carlos deemed it safe and moved out of Mal's protection, only to be punched by Mal. 

"Ow! What was that for?"

Mal glared at Carlos. "For using me as a human shield! Next time, I'll do worse than just punching you." 

And Carlos did not doubt her words. 

"So..." Harry trailed off, not wanting to get hit by Mal for interrupting, but really needing to know. He immediately had the other three's attention. "What are you planning to do to our, prestigious king?" he asked, the title that he gave to Ben being completely sarcastic. 

"Oh, just a little fun and games," Mal said with the scariest smile any of the boys had ever seen her give. "If you know what I mean?"

As scared as they were, they were excited because they knew exactly what she meant.