Mal's POV

"No way! Really?!" Ben laughs as we walk by my locker. I just got finished telling him about the time Jay and Carlos tackled Evie in the mud when we were kids.

"Yup, and afterwards Evie chased them all the way to the woods screaming about how they ruined her clothes" I laugh, remembering how Jay had provoked her into chasing them by saying 'I'm pretty sure Boradon girls pay to have the same treatment'.

"Haha remind me to never get on Evie's bad side" he laughs and I grin at him slightly.

"Trust me, you couldn't even if you wanted to" I say, shaking my head.

"And why not?" he asks mock affended.

"You're too nice, you'd feel bad if you even bumped into her by accident" I say honestly and he pouts.

"I can be bad" he huffs and I burst out laughing.

"That's a good joke" I say in between laughs.

"Maaal" he whines which only makes me laugh harder.

"Hey Benny Boo!" an annoying voice calls out and I stop laughing in favor of frowning.

"Oh hey Audrey" Ben says, instantly calming himself down.

"Seriously you need to stop pitying these nobodies" she says as she stands in front of us, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she looks at me.

"Audrey we have been over this, I want to give the vks a chance to live here in Auradon. This should have happened a long time ago" he says exasperated.

"Whatever" Audrey huffs before stoping away in front of us, making sure to wiggle her hips suggestively. Ben sighs and looks down at the ground as he leans against the lockers. I don't know why he puts up with her, she's obviously just using him so she can possibly become Q ueen someday. I shake that thought out of my head, that's not important right now. What is important is the boy with honey brown hair and green eyes that's looking completely dejected.

"Hey are you okay?" I ask quietly, taking a few more steps towards him.

"Yeah" he sighs, not looking up at me just yet.

"Yeah I'm okay, I just wish more people would understand what I'm trying to do" he says sadly, looking up at me with a lost expression in his eyes. As soon as those green orbs look at me I know I'm not going to go through with my mother's plan, I can't hurt him like that.

"I understand why they're not thrilled to have us here" I say gently and he opens his mouth to say something.

"We're the kids of their families enemies, in their eyes we're nothing but replicas of our parents and we belong on the Isle Of The Lost. We deserve to be forgotten" I say before looking away from him.

"But that's not true! You guys are innocent, you've done nothing to anyone here! You weren't even born yet when your parents did those things!" he exclaims, looking right at me.

"But it's easy to assume, they need someone to blame and we got the short end of the stick. And there's no use crying over it when it can'can't be taken back, you can't change the past you can only deal with it" I say with a shrug.

"You sound like someone that's already given up" he says as he stops in front of me, preventing me from moving any farther.

"What is there to give up? When you already have nothing you have nothing to lose!" I exclaim and he frowns.

"Mal I-" he says gently but I cut him off with a sigh and a hand on his shoulder.

"Look I appreciate what you're trying to do for us, really I do. But a leopard can't change it's spots, we weren't born to be around your kind in peace" I say, patting his shoulder before moving around him and walking away.

"Please don't talk like that" he pleads, grabbing my wrist from behind me.

"I'm just telling you the truth, it might sound harsh but that's reality" I say as I turn my head to look at him.

"And if you were smart, you'd stay away from me" I say before wiggling out of his grip and continuing to walk away.

"But I don't want to stay away from you!" he says as he jogs beside me.

"You should, I'm the daughter of the worst Villain in the land. I'm nothing but bad news" I say, not even looking at him. We're not going through my mom's plan but that doesn't mean I'm going to drag him down by letting him hang around me.

"You're not bad news Mal" he says softly as we hurry down the hallway.

"Yes I am, you're just to naive to see it while everyone else does" I say as we begin going down the stairs.

"That's not true" he says, and I hear his voice break slightly.

"Yes it is, and the sooner you realize that the better off you'll be" I say as I turn the corner once we're off the stairs.

"Mal-" he begins to protest before freezing next to me with a sad look on his face.

"Ben what's wr-" I begin to ask as I turn my head towards whatever he's looking at, only to have my eyes widen in shock. Chad and Audrey are making out heatedly against some lockers in the corner under the stairs.

"Hey!" I shout and they immediately stop, their eyes widen in horror when they see who is next to me.

"Benny-" Audrey says as she begins to untangle herself from Chad.

"Save it! We're over!" he says before storming off.

"Proud of yourselves? You just proved you're no better than us" I say before rushing after my favorite prince.

"Ben!" I call out as I run around the campus. I hear quiet sobs and follow the sound to the statue of King Beast. As soon as I'm close enough to it I see Ben curled up with his back against the front of it as he cries into his knees.

"Ben" I say gently, moving to crouch down in front of him, our knees brushing slightly.

"Ben" I say again, gently touching his shoulder. He flinches slightly but relaxes against my touch.

"You were right" I hear him mumble into his knees.

"Reality is harsh, I shouldn't be so naive" he sobs and my heart breaks as my own words are thrown back at me.

"Oh Ben no-" I say as I begin reaching out to hug him.

"Maybe then I'd have a girlfriend that wouldn't cheat on me and a best friend that wouldn't betray me" he says emotionlessly and my eyes widen, I don't like this Ben.

"Come here" I say gently before wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pulling him to me. He clings to me instantly and nuzzles himself into my shoulder.

"I've got you, I'm so sorry I was wrong to say that" I whisper into his ear as I rock us slightly. He sniffs and cuddles even closer to me.

"I like you the way you are, even if you're too innocent for your own good at times" I say with a small laugh.

"Does this mean I don't have to stay away from you?" he mumbles hopefully and I smile.

"Yes" I say and he clings on to me tighter.

"You're stuck with me" I say gently, rubbing his back.

"And forget about Chad, I'll be your best friend. I won't hurt you" I say soothingly, nuzzling my face into his hair slightly.

"But what if I want you to be both?" he mumbles and I shift so I can look him in the eyes.

"What?" I ask curiously, there's no way he said what I thought he just said.

"What if I want you to be my best friend and my girlfriend" he asks and I look at him stunned.

"I-" I begin to say only to be cut off my his lips gently pressing against mine. I'm so surprised that I fall backwards with him on top of me, still kissing me as if he needed me as much as he needs air. After the surprise melts away I close my eyes and kiss back, letting my fingers run through his hair gently.