Conflict (Mal x Harry)

Him

"Of course," Mal's smile softened as she stood up to leave, "Thank you."
Those two words held more weight than Mal could ever describe.

~

Mal raced to her room, slamming the oaken door behind her with a heavy bang that rung throughout the hallway, undoubtedly awakening several from their mid-afternoon slumbers (Seth - son of Sleepy - in particular, always seemed to be poking his head out of his dorm room to shush passers-by).

Evie was sat at her desk, sewing some new pieces that had been commissioned, "Mal must you always be so heavy-handed with our poor door? It's going to shatter one day with the force of your blasted yanking."
The blue haired girl didn't even look up - there was a snag in her machine and very little could pull her attention away from the snags.

"Evie?" Mal breathed, her ventilation becoming strained. The run has really taken it out of her, but worse yet, she now had to explain this all to Evie.
Evie hated secrets.

Evie turned to see her best friend, her sixth-sense for Mal-o-drama (as she liked to call it) seemed to reawaken after months of dormancy.
Her face fell immediately, "What's wrong, love?"
Mal's body froze as she had to finally fess up to her dearest friend. Using the now-closed door as a support, she slowly tried to relax her posture and move off of the door.
Evie gave Mal a moment. Being as tactile as she was this had always been a struggle for her, but she had also known Mal her whole life and knew the witch did not always take kindly to hugs and fucking rainbows (as Mal liked to say).

"Mal, what's up?" Evie asked cautiously, as if speaking to a spooked animal as she approached where Mal's feet had taken her to the foot of her bed, "Sit down, would you please? You look so pale that you might faint."

Mal sighed, "I already did that, don't worry."

Almost comically, Evie's eyes blew open wide, "What!?"
No longer able to restrain herself, Evie started to mother hen around Mal, pressing the back of her palm to the purple-haired girl's forehead and lightly fanning her with the other hand, "What on earth have you been doing today Mal." She was frowning now, as if a whole new burden - no longer just a long list of dress alterations and skirt designs - had landed upon her shoulders.

"Please don't worry, E."

She was essentially cut off by a sharp scoff, "Please Mal, don't offend me so. I'm always worrying about you. Now out with it - what is wrong?"

A shuddering breath later and everything that she had held in for months seemed to pour out of her mouth in indistinguishable word vomit, "It's everything, E, I swear I can't do it anymore. I wasn't made for the spotlight like you, or like Jay," Her body slumped into a poof at the end of her bed and Evie lowered herself onto one opposite, "The press follow me everywhere, you know. Even to the loos at school - it's barmy, Evie. These people are insane and I simply cannot do it anymore."

Mal took a shuddering breath, her body quaking at the excitement of stress being relieved from her body at the admissions.
"Moreover, I cannot do a single thing without being ridiculed and that just makes Ben push me into those silly etiquette training lessons. I just want to break one rule. Just one tiny, weeny, itty, bitty rule," she paused, scrambling to put into words how she was feeling, "It's making me weak, Evie. Oh and don't even get me started on Ben, god. I never realised a relationship could be so stale. He doesn't talk to me, he barely looks and me, and so god help me he surely doesn't touch me. It's like he's scared to break me, or just doesn't want me at all." Mal started to twiddle with her fingers, pulling at the skin around her fingernails - an old habit that came from childhood anxiety. Evie sat in a stunned silence, the deep furrow in her brow only burrowing deeper as Mal continued.
" It's so stagnant and stale and nothing like how it felt with him. God, and he's coming here tomorrow with a all the other bleeding VKs and he probably hates me all cause of this stupid Auradon shit that I have let twist me and shape me into the bland, blonde (she almost screeched the word) Bore-adon version of myself. I just want to be me again, Evie. I could weep from the longing in my chest, but quite frankly I have done far too much of that today," Mal faded out, blinking back tears and dropping her head into her hands. Once again pushing the heels of her palms into her eyes. Her mind raced a mile a minute and she could feel her chest now heaving as all her energy had exploded along with her now-spoken thoughts.