An Unexpected Turn

Chapter 5

He helped her sit up and grabbed a towel for her, wrapping it around her shoulders. Why had he let her go out by herself? Why did he take his eyes off of her? She could've died, and it would've been completely his fault.

When Mal's breathing returned to normal, she placed her hand on Harry's cheek. "It's not your fault." She whispered, as if knowing his thoughts. "The ocean is unpredictable. You know that better than anyone else. It was nothing more than bad luck, but you being here with me...that's good luck. I would've died if you weren't here. You're the one who saved my life. This isn't the first time, and I highly doubt it will be the last."

Harry just looked into her eyes as she spoke. He'd always hold guilt for what happened. This was the second time he'd had to save her from the ocean he loved so much. It was as if his two loves were battling for his attention. If he still wasn't so worried about Mal, he would've laughed at the thought. He'd lived his entire life being pulled away from the ocean, never being able to truly set sail, almost like he had been with Mal, but deep down, he knew that the girl in front of him would win his heart every single time.

Without a second thought, he leaned down to press his lips against hers for a moment. Mal's eyes widened at the kiss but almost instantly relaxed, her arms slowly moving to wrap around his neck.

"We should get you to the infirmary." He mumbled. "We'll talk about this after you've been checked out. Make sure you didn't hit your head."

Mal let out a laugh, rolling her eyes as she let her arms drop. "You're impossible."

Harry shoved their things into his backpack before picking up Mal, knowing she wouldn't be able to walk back to Auradon Prep by herself. During the short walk back, the two stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

When they reached the infirmary, Harry was told to set Mal down on an empty bed and wait outside for her. He nodded, pulling her clothes out of his backpack and placed them next to her, knowing she wouldn't want to walk back to her dorm in nothing but a swimsuit.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before reluctantly walking out of the infirmary and sitting on the bench outside. He just hoped this wouldn't take too long.

Harry felt like he had been waiting for Mal for hours, but when he looked up at the clock, it showed it had only been about twenty minutes. He groaned, pulling his hook out of his bag and fiddled with the point. How much longer would this take?

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Ben's voice down the hall, asking where Mal was. Not again, Harry thought as he stood up.

"She's fine." He said as soon as Ben was within earshot.

Ben looked at the pirate, noticing the defeated look in his eyes, a drastic difference from their last conversation. "What happened?"

"We went to the beach. I was teaching her how to swim. She went back in without me while I was putting our things away and a wave crashed over her."

The King's eyes widened. "Why would you let her go in alone? Don't you know she can't swim? Don't you know how terrified of the water she is?"

"I know her better than you do." Harry snapped. "Do you think I don't know that this is my fault? I was there when her fear started. I was trying to help her."

"Well, you didn't succeed in doing that, did you?"

Just as Harry was about to respond, Fairy Godmother appeared.

"Mr. Hook, Mal's just getting cleaned up. You may go in, if you'd like."

At those words, Ben disappeared from Harry's mind and he immediately turned to walk back into the infirmary.

As Ben walked towards his next class, he noticed Evie leaving the chemistry classroom.

"Hey, Evie. Do you have a second?"

The blue-haired girl nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"

"Mal had an accident. She's fine. Hook's with her. They went to the beach, a wave crashed over her, Hook went in and got her. He's with her in the infirmary now. I didn't see Mal, but Hook looked pretty bad."

As much as Evie was worried about her best friend, she knew that Harry wouldn't let anything happen to her. She wanted to run to the infirmary to see her, but thought it would be best to leave her with Harry. She'd see Mal later. Right now, something told her that Mal needed the pirate.

Evie looked up at the clock, knowing she would be late for her next class, but didn't care in that moment. "Come with me. I think you should know what happened a few years ago." She said, walking back towards her dorm.

Once they arrived in Mal and Evie's dorm room, she took a deep breath and sat on the edge of her bed. "About three years ago, Mal was walking down by the docks to pick up a few things for her mother. When she was leaving, she ran into Uma, Gil, and Harry. Anyone with two eyes could see that Harry had a thing for Mal, and it really pissed off Uma. So after hearing that Harry had let Mal go without a scratch after an altercation only two days before, Uma's hatred for Mal was pretty high. Mal was her usual calm and cocky self, but instead of insulting her back or threatening her, Uma just decided to push her off the docks and into the water, knowing she couldn't swim. Harry immediately went in after her and pulled her out. She was unconscious and he brought her back to mine before taking off. Took a year and a half after that for him to get back onto Uma's good side."

Ben nodded as he listened to Evie tell the story. Harry's defeated look, the way Harry got angry when he pressed him about what happened. It started to make sense. He almost lost her twice to the ocean that he loved, but every time, he chose Mal without a second thought.

"He loves her." He said simply.

A small laugh escaped Evie's lips. "He has since we were kids. Before we were put into our own cliques on the Isle, they were best friends. I always expected that crush of his to go away, but it never did, I guess. But he'll never admit it. Not right now, anyway."

"And Mal?"

Evie let out a deep breath, looking back at Ben. "You know Mal. She doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve. She's very closed off to the idea of love. I thought that being with you would change that, but..." She shrugged, "She feels something for him, I know that for sure. Is it love? Possibly. In my honest opinion, I think she does love him but doesn't want to admit it to herself just yet. Pirates are free spirits. They love their booze, they'll sleep with anything that walks, and they leave whenever they feel like it. Loving a pirate is as terrifying as loving a king."

Ben smiled slightly at her last comment. He could never be angry with Mal for choosing Harry. There was one thing that ruled Auradon more than any king or queen ever could and that was true love.

"She found her true love."

Evie laughed, "Well, the jury's still out on that one, but she's definitely met her match. Those two are so alike in some ways. It's a little scary to think about what they'd be like as a team, let alone a couple."

Ben sat at Mal's desk, noticing a necklace with a small anchor on it. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that, no matter what happened, Mal would be happy, even if it wasn't with him.

"But while we're on the topic of relationships, I do believe I have someone you might like." Evie said, pulling out her phone.

So the two of them talked about the possible matches Evie had for Ben for the next hour before he had to leave to finish his work. As he walked into his office, he felt happier than he had in a long time. Mal found her true love. It was only a matter of time before he did, as well.