Hello everyone! So… my upload plan didn't exactly go as planned, but better late than never!

I am not making any promises on when the next chapter will be up, but I assure you it'll be here as soon as I have the time

Also, bear with me. I am writing on my IPad, so spelling mistakes and autocorrect fails mighty be on an all time high.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed or favorited. Y'all keep me inspired to write.

CHAPTER 6 - Mal vs. Uma Final Round

Dizzy had been having the time of her life in Auradon. Even though her first few days were a little nerve wrecking, she actually felt like she fit right in. Of course, there were some differences with the other kids, but nothing too important to overlook. The only thing that had disappointed her was not being able to see Evie that often, so when Evie invited her to spend the weekend with her she was super excited. They had spent most of the day sketching and coming up with new ideas for dresses and jewelry while Mal just hung around.

Mal was supposed to leave for Triton's Bay with Ben on Monday, but since recent events that was not happening. It still meant Ben was leaving on Monday, and they still hadn't spoken since their fight. Mal really didn't know what to say. She wished she could explain everything to him, but she didn't understand what was happening herself. Ben wanted to give her space, but he was extremely worried she hadn't even approached him in the last 48 hours.

Dizzy had caught on instantly. She hadn't spent much time with the royal couple, but the few time she did see them they were inseparable. Mal had barely left her dorm room the whole weekend, even with the king roaming the halls.

On Sunday morning when they all were having breakfast, she decided enough was enough. Mal had gotten up to get some juice and had run into Ben on accident. The couple didn't even speak. They just stared at each other for a few seconds before continuing on their way. Ben, who had gotten up to grab an apple, had completely forgotten what it was he was doing and returned to his chair empty handed.

"This is a catastrophe" Dizzy told Evie as she had her breakfast merrily. The older girl turned to see the awkward encounter. "They can't just keep ignoring one another".

"I know" Evie agreed cleaning her mouth with her napkin.

The younger girl looked at the king, then at Mal and back to her plate as her mind turned. "We have to do something" she said more of a command than a suggestion.

"I can tell you right now" Evie shook her head, "Mal will be pissed if we start meddling".

"We cant just sit here and watch them fall apart" Dizzy insisted and as much as Evie tried, she couldn't resist.

"Fine" she gave in, "We'll talk to her, but that's it". Dizzy smiled cheerfully. Her favorite couple would be back together soon.

When Mal returned to her room after spending most of her afternoon in the art room, al she wanted was to take a hot shower and lie in bed. Instead, she walked in to find Evie and Dizzy sitting quietly waiting for her.

"Hey…" she said questioning what was going on as she placed her purple jacket on a hook. "I thought you two were going to get some new fabric".

"We did" Evie explained just as Mal noticed the new rolls of fabric by Evie's table.

"So what's up then?" she wondered stepping closer to the other girls.

"You need to talk to Ben" the blue haired girl went straight to the point. There was no point in tip toeing around it.

"Evie…" Mal began to whine, but Dizzy interrupted her.

"He's leaving tomorrow" she reminded her, but Mal was more than aware. "You can't just let him go while you too aren't even speaking".

Mal took a deep breath. She knew everything they were saying was true. "I know you two are worried" she said calmly, "but it's just a fight. We'll get through it".

"It might be" Evie nodded in agreement, "But I know you, M. You're going to regret not saying goodbye, and you'll both have the fight on your minds the entire time."

"I don't… need… him" she though about what word to use, "I'm not going to die without him".

"We all know that" Evie smiled slightly.

"You've always been very independent" Dizzy agreed, "You can take care of yourself".

"You may not need him all the time" Evie modified Mal's word a little bit to what she truly meant, "But you want him".

Evie and Dizzy were right, Mal realized. She'd be fine without him, but she'd be miserable knowing that the last time they had been together they had fought.

"I'll talk to him tonight" Mal said, mostly trying to convince herself, "I promise I won't let him go without us talking things through". Instead of going to the bathroom as she had planned, she grabbed her jacket once again and set out to find her boyfriend.

Mal had no idea where Ben was, so she went to his room. Even if he wasn't there, he'd come back eventually. The door was unlocked, a bad habit of Ben's that Mal had tried to correct. If you left something unlocked on the Isle, you'd come back to find everything stolen. Honestly, even if it was locked you might have still found it stolen. She walked in, took off her jacket placing it on the couch, and sat on his bed waiting. Even if they were fighting, even if she had not talked to him in over 48 hours, she felt comfortable in his room.

The door creaked open, and she stood up. Ben walked in casually not noticing Mal until her was taking his coat off.

"Mal" he said surprised but slightly glad, "what are you doing here?"

"You left your door open again" she explained, "and we need to talk".

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me" Ben said bitterly. He really did want to talk, but he couldn't get the fact that Mal had almost said she loved Harry.

"You know that's not true" she crossed her arms annoyed, "you have to understand, Ben, when I got to Auradon, I had a clean slate. I could be anyone I wanted to be without anyone judging me for my past. Yes, they judged me for my mother, but I could make a new face for myself. The kids from the Isle…". She had to take a breath before continuing, "we have history. We've known each other our entire lives, and know practically every little secret. Things I wanted to forget are now constantly reminded to me".

"So am I not supposed to bring more kids to Auradon?" He questioned unsure of what she was trying to say.

"No" she grunted stressed that he wasn't understanding and stressed that she wasn't explaining herself correctly, "I just need you to understand that it's never going to be smooth. This time, I was the one who had… unsolved issues… with them, but next time they might not get along with someone else. We weren't exactly all that friendly…"

"Can you please tell me…" he began but she knew exactly what he was asking.

"There is a lot of me you don't know Ben" her voice was stern, but she stayed calm and collected. "Some of it I'm not ready to tell you". She emphasized on the I'm to let him know this was about her, not him. "I tried to forget and move on from most of it" she paused for a moment, "I really did. I was happy with who I was becoming, even with my little breakdown. But, when Uma and Harry and everyone got here… it's like I completely forgot who I was. I have a sudden need to go back to my Isle self, always with my guard up, always on offense, and I just can't control it".

"Mal…" Ben tried to speak, but really didn't know what to say. He just sat down in the couch and brought his hands to his face.

"Your father told you bringing over kids from the Isle wasn't going to be easy" she reminded him stepping a little closer and then sitting down next to him, "and he was right. But, no one ever really thought of how that would affect other Isle kids"

"Now I feel like and ass" he sighed.

"You were an ass" she joked nudging him with her elbow, but he didn't find it amusing. "Hey" she grabbed his face and lifted it up so their eyes met, "I do want to tell you everything… eventually, but right now I need to figure things out for myself".

"We can figure it out together" he encouraged sweetly.

"You're so sweet" she caresses his face smiling, "but this is one thing I have to do on my own. But, having you there by my side would mean the world to me".

"I'll always be there for you" he wrapped his hand around her small body and she left herself sink into him. "I love you".

"And, I love you" she looked up and he leaned down to press his lips to hers.

He lingered for only a couple of seconds before pushing away and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry" she apologized, "it's just…"

"You want to know about Harry" she completed for him and prepared herself before continuing. "What I told you on our first date is true. We don't really date on the Isle, and basically no one knows what love actually is. Evie, Carlos and Jay were not part of my… gang… at first. When I was smaller, I used to hang out with Uma a lot, and since we were by the docks, Harry was also around a lot. When we got older, we… well that doesn't really matter, but we stopped hanging out. I can't deny nothing ever happened between Harry and me. We weren't really friends, but we were close. I never loved Harry, if anything I loathed him. I had a thing with Harry, but I love you and only you".

"What about what Uma said…" he questioned "about him dumping you".

"She doesn't know the whole story" she explained, "Harry and Uma went to a different school on the other side of the Isle. I only got to see them on breaks. One day I told Harry no, and he didn't like that. He could have any girl he wanted, but he became obsessed with me because I was the only girl that wouldn't fall into his games anymore. After that I heard that he starting sleeping with Uma and he told everyone I was the one who was obsessed with him."

"He's a douche" Ben grunted and Mal smiled.

"I know" she wrapped her arms around Ben's torso.

"You'd tell me if he was bothering you right?" He wondered thinking about the pirate.

"Yeah" Mal half lied, "yeah of course".

They just stayed there, enjoying each other's company until Mal had to go back to her room. He walked to her dorm room, but they lingered outside for a while making out a little.

"I can just stay if you want me too" he suggested with their foreheads pressed together.

"No" she wanted to go with him, but she was staying here because of detention, "you have responsibilities to take care of. Plus I'll be here, having fun… in detention".

He laughed at the sarcasm in her voice. "Ok then, I'll see you when I get back".

"I love you" she pressed the side of her face to his chest.

"I love you too" he finished holding her a little tighter before letting her go.

When Mal stepped in her room she found Dizzy and Evie sitting around casually with a smile on their faces. "You were listening to the door weren't you?" she asked and both girls just broke out in a million questions.

When the time for detention finally came, Mal promised herself she would just keep to herself. They had already cleaned the history, and literature classrooms when they got to the art studio. Mal had been dreading it since they had started. The other classroom only took a little dusting and sweeping, but the art room. That had to be a challenge, and she was right.

The classroom was a mess. There were dirty paintbrushes, spilled paint, pieces of clay, beads and stones all over the floor, pencils left on the tables, and basically everything else you could possibly imagine.

"I thought I would never have to clean a table again" Uma complained as she wiped a table that was covered in paint.

"It's your own fault" Mal couldn't help herself. She spoke in a very low voice, but it was a small classroom. Uma heard her loud and clear.

"If I were you, I'd watch your mouth" Uma smiled to herself, "no one's ever going to approve of a misfit to be a queen".

Mal knew what Uma was trying to do. She knew if Mal got too riled up she'd snap.

"And if I were you…" she made a disgusted face at the thought, "I'd watch out before I dump a bucket of paint on your head…" she started to make a few cans of paint float, but not get near Uma. "Or don't you remember where the name Shrimpy came from, Shrimpy". She recalled that time on the Isle were Mal had dumped a bucket of bait on Uma's head and the smell lingered for days, causing Mal and some other kids on the Isle to start calling her shrimpy.

In one swift move, Uma threw a couple of paintbrushes dipped in paint straight at Mal. She was going to stop them, but it was too late. Both of them his the side of her face, leaving red and yellow streaks.

Uma grinned proudly, but she wasn't expecting the bucket of paint Mal tossed in her direction, leaving her dripping with purple paint. "You wanted to be me" Mal taunted, "There you go".

Before either of them knew it, paint of all colors was flying in all different directions. Both of the girls were now dressed in colorful paint from head to toe, barely any of their own colors were visible anymore.

"Stop" Mal laughed at the sight of Uma's colorful hair, "stop. You…". She could barely stop laughing to speak, "you look like Gil when we locked him up in Lady Tremaine's shop and he knocked the hair dye over".

Uma looked at her reflection on a large piece of glass and burst out in laughter as well. "I do" she had forgotten about that, "you too".

They both sat on the ground with their backs against the wall and began to tell stories about their life on the Isle, before they hated each other. It was nice.

"Wait, wait" Uma interrupted Mal as she spoke, "do you remember that one time we found that clock, and we hid it on the pirate ship, and Hook's pirate crew freaked out"

"Oh my god" Mal closed her eyes remembering. "Wasn't that the day that…"

"Harry shit in his pants" they both said at the same time before breaking out in laughter again.

"He was so scared" Uma added remembering how the scared little boy shook with fear at the ticking clock.

"Oh" Mal put her hand out, "he was about to jump in the water".

They stared at each other before refocusing their eyes on the floor they sat on. They had been through so much together…

"God" Mal sighed when the laughing had whined down, "we used to have so much fun together. What happened?"

"People change…" Uma shook her head. There was a moment of silence before she continued. "If you tell anyone this I'll deny it" her voice was a little threatening. She couldn't believe she was about to say this, but it just felt right. "I can't deny I wasn't jealous of you Mal". Mal's eyes widened in shock. "You're mother actually cared about you, while my mother didn't even care enough to have me around".

"My mother was awful to me…" Mal tried to intervene but Uma wasn't finished yet.

"As soon as I was old enough she sent me to Serpent Prep on the other side of Isle. Your mother actually wanted you around. She wanted to train you and mend you into being as evil as possible. I didn't get that…" She paused for a second. "And when I came back from Serpent Prep the first time, I was so excited to finally cause mayhem with you again, but you were someone else. You had turned into this horrible little Maleficient and I wasn't evil enough to hang out with you anymore. And when you got to come to Auradon, I just… why was everything so perfect for you".

"Is that really what happened?" Mal had no idea. All this time she just thought they had drifted apart, and she had gotten pissed when the whole "shrimpy" incident happened.

"Pretty much" Uma nodded looking ahead, and not at Mal.

"I had never thought of it that way" Mal was utterly surprised. "I guess I was a little lucky that my mother wanted something from me, even if she didn't really care about me".

They have had a long a heated journey, but it was time that it came to an end. This was a new land full of new opportunities, and new relationships as well.

"Tell you what" Mal grinned and Uma looked up to meet her face, "let's leave all that rivalry crap on the Isle, and let's go back to the good old days were we got along".

Uma didn't respond right away. She needed a moment to look back at everything that had happened since she got here. "Deal!" She agreed and they shook hands.

"What in the world happened in here?" Fairy Godmother stepped into the room and both girls jolted up to their feet.

"Fairy Godmother…" It was the first time the girls noticed the mess they had caused in the room. They were both covered in paint, but the entire classroom had also been covered in paint. They had come in here clean, and had tripled the mess.

"I told you to clean the classroom" the older woman stared at the mess amazed, "not destroy it!"

"We are very sorry Fairy Godmother" Uma said for both of them.

"We'll clean it up immediately" Mal insisted, "it'll be spotless when we're done with it".

"Very well" Fairy Godmother cleared her threat, "I'll hold you two to your words". She left after taking another view at the colorful splatter.

"You not be disappointed" Mal called out just in time for her to hear.

"Well" Uma pursed her lips as she faced reality, "we better start cleaning". She moved to grab the mop, but Mal grabbed her arm holding her back.

"There's no way we're cleaning this" Mal frowned, "we'd be here for hours".

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Uma asked and Mal just answered with a sly grin.

"This room in grody, this room is a mess" she chanted staring at the room, "clean it up without any distress".

Just like that, all the paint began to find it's way back to their containers, the pencils that were on the table placed themselves in the bins and drawers, and the clay rolled itself to the cupboard. Within minutes, the room was spotless.

"What?" Mal shrugged when she saw the way Uma was staring at her. She has her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be using your magic" she wasn't judging her, she was actually glad since she didn't want to deal with that mess.

"You were right" Mal rolled her eyes, "I have gone soft. A little mischief won't kill anyone". She wasn't there yet, but Mal now felt a bit closer to finding herself.

Thanks for reading!

Please go check out my other Descendants stories, Uncovered, Discovering, The Good Life (one shots), and Let's Pretend. Make sure to Follow, Favorite and Review