Wicked Ones ♛ MAL [✓]

➣ thirteen.

013. | SIX MONTHS LATER

"So what do you wanna do today?" Mal asked me.

I just shrugged. The two of us were laying under a tree in the picnic area, talking and enjoying each other's company. We were side by side, staring up at the sky, and I swore in that moment, I hadn't felt this happy in a long time.

It had officially been six months since we had decided to stay in Auradon, and things had never been better for us. Jay had become the captain of the fencing team, Carlos and Dude were officially best friends, Evie had started dating Doug and was appointed as the school's official fashion designer, and I had become the head of the art department. Mal and Ben were best friends as well, so much so that Ben had made her in charge of the cotillion, which was a big ball that Auradon held every two years.

But even with all our success and good fortune, I could tell that with Mal, something was bothering her. She wasn't just stressed; there was something more to it, something darker and deeper that I couldn't see. I wanted so badly to help, but until I knew what was going on, I was basically powerless.

"Hey, you okay?" Mal asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You kind of spaced out on me."

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just thinking."

"About what?" Mal asked.

I couldn't help but smile. "You."

Mal grinned. "What about me?"

"Everything."

Mal snorted softly. "You're a loser."

"Yes, but I'm your loser," I told her.

Mal's smile widened before she said, "And don't you forget it."

We laid there in silence for awhile, content with just being there with each other. Then Mal asked me a question I wasn't prepared for.

"Do you ever miss it?" she asked.

I frowned. "Miss what?"

"The way things were on the Isle. You know, running around and breaking the rules and doing whatever we wanted."

I shook my head. "No, I don't. Mal, our mothers were cruel and heartless. And they led the Isle in the same way. Why would you ever want to go back to that?"

"I don't," Mal told me. "I was just... thinking."

I knew my girlfriend well enough to know that she wasn't just thinking. There was something else to it, and it made me concerned.

Did Mal miss being wicked?

━━ ✥ ━━

"Mal, please, over here! Mal!"

"Only three days to the Royal Cotillion. Ever think a girl like you would be Lady of the Court?"

"How does it feel to be the most envied girl in Auradon?"

The sound of reporters terrorizing my girlfriend immediately caught my attention, and I gave Ben, who stood beside me, a quick look of worry. We exchanged nods before we both ran over to Mal, who looked like she was about to explode.

"Well, do you like being blonde?" one reporter asked her.

"Is your mother still a lizard?" another said.

Ben immediately jumped in, and I shoved the reporters away from Mal.

"Okay," Ben said. "All right. Excuse me. Uh, we will let you know if and when that particular situation changes."