She Could Be Mine || A Malvie Fanfic

III

Evie

"Why would she go back to the Isle?" Jay asked. 

"If I knew  that, I would've stopped her!" I snapped. 

Jay put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, Evie," he said, rolling his eyes. "You don't have to yell at me."

"Sorry," I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I sat down on the bed. "This is just so frustrating and stressful. What are we supposed to do now?"

"We should tell Ben," Carlos said. "He could help us." 

"No!" I exclaimed. "We can't involve Ben in this. He'll go ballistic." 

"He could really help us, Evie," Carlos argued. 

"Yeah, he could," I explained, "or he could us captured and killed on the Isle. And I don't want to take that chance."

"Wait, are you suggesting we go back to the Isle?" Jay asked. 

"What else are we supposed to do?" I yelled. "Our best friend has probably run away there. And she probably left her phone here." I got up and walked towards her desk. I opened her drawer. Sure enough, a hint of purple poked out from under a stack of papers. I pulled out her phone and held it up for Jay and Carlos to see. "See?" 

Carlos sighed. "I don't want to go back." 

"I don't want to either," I sympathized. "But how else are we supposed to save Mal?" 

"Let's go then," Jay said. "The longer we wait, the more chances there are for Mal to get killed." 

"You're right," I said. "But wait," I exclaimed before they left the room. I opened the closet door and pulled out three outfits. "We can't go dressed like this," I said, handing them each an Isle outfit. "We have to look like we belong." 

Mal

I parked my motorcycle just outside Curl Up and Dye. I quietly entered. Dizzy was busy with another customer. I stayed by the door, hoping to stay out of sight. I peered closer at the customer. It was Uma. Damn it, I thought. I knew I recognized her. I pulled myself closer to the wall, trying to stay hidden. 

Uma stood up and peered in the mirror. "It looks great, Dizzy," Uma said. "Be thankful you didn't mess up like last time." She glared at the girl before turning to walk out. 

"Are you gonna pay me?" Dizzy asked. Uma turned back towards her and cackled like a witch. 

"Think of it as a make up for your little slip up last time," Uma hissed. Dizzy pouted. "Oh, put the pout away," Uma snapped. "You owe me a lot more than a free hair appointment." The girl's eyes drifted to the ground and Uma smiled smugly. She turned to leave. I pressed up against the wall, but it didn't do any good. Uma spotted me and grinned. 

"Well, well," she said. "Look what we have here." I stepped out to face her. "A prissy Auradon princess. You're not welcome here anymore, princess."

"Uma," I said. "Nice to see you too." 

"I would never say it's nice to see you, Mal," Uma snapped. "Not after you and your little friends left me behind."

"You know very well that wasn't my choice, Uma," I said. 

"Uma, please leave," Dizzy said. "And leave Mal alone."

"Don't talk to me like that," Uma yelled at the young girl. She turned back to me. "I'm out of here. But I'm not done with you." She started to exit, and then turned back to me. "Nice hair, by the way," she said sarcastically. She laughed as she exited the shop. 

"Ugh, she's the worst," I sneered. 

"You're preaching to the choir." She laughed as she turned to put away a bottle of hair dye. "When did you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I came here right away. As you can tell, I need a more Isle-appropriate hairstyle." I laughed and sat down in the chair. "Got any ideas?" 

"Of course," Dizzy gushed. "The washed-out blonde hair is not the look for you." She pick up a pair of scissors and a bottle of magenta dye. "Let's get to work." 

~

I stood up from the chair and studied my reflection. "This is amazing, Dizzy," I exclaimed. "When did you get so good at this?"

"I've been practicing since you guys left," she replied. "I've had a lot of customers as well. The other hair place across town closed down." 

"That's probably because you are obviously the superior hair stylist," I smiled. "Thanks, Dizzy." I proceeded to hand her a twenty-dollar bill. 

"No, that's okay," Dizzy said, waving the money away. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Dizzy, I'm going to pay. Especially since Uma didn't." 

Dizzy gave me a half smile. "Thanks," she sighed, taking the money and putting it into her pocket. She looked at the ground. 

"What are you thinking?" I asked. 

"Why isn't Evie here too?" she asked. "And Carlos and Jay?" 

I stared the wall. "They don't know I'm here." 

"Wait, what?" Dizzy exclaimed. "I thought you guys told each other everything."

"We do," I replied. "But I needed to take this trip for myself, and I didn't want them to try and stop me from coming." I tucked a piece of newly-magenta hair behind my hair. I was surprised at how soft it was. "Wow, Dizzy, my hair is so soft. How did you do that?" 

"A little bit of leave-in conditioner can always improve your hair," Dizzy smiled. "Why'd you come here if you didn't come with your friends?"

"To get away, I guess. To find myself." 

"What's going on?"

"I don't think I love Ben anymore," I admitted. I almost immediately regretted it. "I can't believe I just said that." 

"You guys seemed so happy when I watched the coronation broadcast!" Dizzy exclaimed. 

"I'm not anymore," I said. "I don't really know why. I just... I don't have feelings for him anymore. I tried to tell Evie, Jay, and Carlos, and they didn't take it seriously. They thought it was just me falling out of love."

"And you think it's more than that?" Dizzy asked. 

"I don't know what I think. I think something's going on in my brain or in my heart that I don't quite understand and it's causing me to do all these crazy things, such as leaving Auradon without telling anyone and going to the Isle." 

"Mal, breathe," Dizzy said. I obeyed and took a deep breath. "I think you need to take a break. Go to your old apartment, calm down, sort out your thoughts, and -- when you're ready -- head back to Auradon." 

"Dizzy, you are so smart and wise for your age," I admired. Dizzy smiled. 

"Tell Evie I said hi when you get back!" she exclaimed as I started to walk out. 

I turned back towards her and smiled. "I will."