Bad Romance (Mal x Harry)

A pacifier?

Mal and Harry left her dorm hand in hand, laughing as they talked.  Evie had left early to go meet Doug so they could work on their English essays before class. Mal didn't know how much studying would actually happen but she didn't question it as her blue-haired friend scurried out their room in the early hours of the morning.

It was the day after Mal and Harry had talked , and their moods were sufficiently better than they had been in months. Mal had a small smile on her lips as she spoke, animatedly up at the pirate.

"And then Carlos fell flat on the floor," Mal giggled, recounting one of the many times Carlos had tumbled during Tourney games. Harry chuckled looking down at the petite girl. The pair relished in the joyful moment. For the first time in months, they both shared actual smiles, "You'd be real good at Tourney, Harry," Mal said, grinning up at him.

"Yeah? Maybe," He said, smiling back down at her, tightening his arm that was resting over her shoulders. His heart squeezed at the thought of finally being back with the girl who had been his source of mental turmoil for months. He had finally got a full nights sleep last night, both him and Gil, fully rested. They had found their way back to one another, after what felt like years. It felt like he could finally breathe, letting the tension in his shoulders ease out as he continued to listen to Mal's story.

They stopped short as they reached the grand oak door that loomed before them. Harry let his arm fall from Mal's shoulders as she turned to face him.

"Are you sure, Harry? You really want this? You really want me?" Mal whispered, letting her eyes linger on his feet for a moment before looking up at him.

"How many times have I got to tell you, love, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried," Harry smirked, giving her a soft wink. Mal let out a breath before grabbing his hook in her hand and pushing through the entrance to the cafeteria. 

They were soon submerged in the loud atmosphere of the dining hall. Laughs and chattering voices drowning out the beating of Mal's heart as she led Harry towards their friends, weaving through the labyrinth of tables. Moments later the volume in the hall quietened as people finally took notice of Mal's hand wrapped around the metal appendage on Harry's arm. Whispering and gossip started spreading like wildfire and soon everyone was talking about the pair.

They slowed to a stop in front of the oval table that seated their friends. Who had yet to look up from their conversations. Evie suddenly let out a loud gasp at the sight, catching the others' attention, all looking up unanimously. 

They all stared in shock before Carlos broke the silence, "Finally..." he chuckled, reaching up to pat Harry's shoulder. Evie grabbed Mal's hand pulling her down to whisper something into her ear. As Mal pulled up she had a soft blush burning across her cheeks, softly biting her inner cheek to control the smile that was threatening to spread across her face.

They were soon pulled into conversations about Tourney and the school dance. Everyone was laughing and smiling as they spoke, Mal pulled Harry's hand into her own under the table and without glancing over at him she could tell he was smirking.

"Jay, Carlos," Gil started, "Me and Mal have been trying to get Harry to try out for Tourney but he's not budging, help us out here."

"Aw man, it'll be easy for you. Essentially..." Jay started babbling about everything Tourney, completely captivating Harry's attention. Mal knew he wouldn't be able to fight it for long. It was game where you were allowed to ram someone over. Of course he was interested.

Mal sat in silence, playing with the cool metal of Harry's hook as she looked around the circumference of the table. A smile tugged on her lips as she looked at all of her friends, New and very old, thinking about how lucky she was to finally be happy here. Maybe I do belong in Auradon.