"And I would like to think that this VK plan has been going very well."
Ben concluded his speech with a smile, and waited.
The microphones would begin to shove into his face any time, and Ben could see the periwinkle jacket begin to push through the crowd.
Three...
He beamed at the clicking cameras, the smile that he had cultivated through the years.
Two...
A purple head appeared at the doorway, green eyes confused at hair whipping wildly into the unsuspecting faces of the audience.
One...
Fairy Godmother had formed a flesh wall between the reporters and himself, and his eyes locked with hers.
Zero.
He pushed past the mob, sprinting across the room to her side, and a smile began to appear, spreading across her face when she realised what he was up to. Her hands, small in his, provided a strange warmth, and her peal of laughter melodious as they began to run from the press. This was something he had not been able to do with Audrey - for the princess had always been in dresses and heels, and had insisted on answering his press questions while placing a dozen kisses against every portion of skin she could locate on his face.
In the end, they only managed to get away because Mal had cheated; a circle of green had enveloped them, and Mal grinned at him, her fingers sparkling with the tinge of her magic, "Portals, Benny-boo. Did you really think that you could outrun those reporters?" "Worth a try." Ben smiled, moving closer to her, and Mal blushed as she found herself backed to the wall, "We still have to get to class. That was the only reason I was allowed out: to pick you up." "Like my mum." He teased, letting go of her as he straightened his shirt, "Except with magic, that you undoubtedly picked up its mastery from-" "Myself." Mal smiled at him, cutting him off, "And some advice from Lord Hades back in the past."
"See you after school?" Ben glanced down the corridor, in the opposite direction of her classroom, and Mal nodded, "In the open lunch fields. I promised Evie and Lonnie that we could have a picnic at one of the benches to discuss that literature assignment." "Without Jay and Carlos?" Ben frowned, but Mal shrugged, "Swords and Shields. Jay's been dragging Carlos into several sports clubs; I'm guessing they're probably off to some training again." "Ah." Ben smiled, "Alright then. Take care of yourself, yeah?"
She nodded, and he waited to see if she would initiate any gesture of affection.
But Mal only turned on her heel and left towards her classroom, leaving Ben feeling oddly empty and disappointed.
There was a big difference between Mal and Audrey, alright. He didn't miss the torrential rain of kisses on his cheeks, but...
He was starting to feel anxious now. They'd been dating for three months now, and yet...
She had not even kissed his cheek once, and even hugs had been occasional.
Does she really like me, or...
Are my feelings just one-sided?
...
"In my opinion, this is...no."
Mal tossed the script into Evie's arms, "Absolutely not. I do not care if this is some ancient English literature that will give extra points, Princess Blueberry." "Beggars can't be choosers. Remember that pact you made with Fairy G about your grades." Evie warned, shoving the script back at the girl, before she dropped her voice to a whisper, "Anything you wanted, Mal. This is our chance." "Excuse me? I have limits, and my limits cannot tolerate this...this absolute craziness!" Mal barked, out of pure horror, "No. Absolutely not. Have you even looked at the script yourself?" "At least you're not the one falling in love with a donkey's head." Lonnie reminded, gazing at her own version of the script, "Also, pretty sure Oberon and Titania were somewhere in your heritage line if they existed; fairy King and Queen? That sounds cool."
"There's nothing cool about it." Mal sighed, "I don't even know who they are. Can I not play this role of Helena, E?" Mal turned to the blue head, who was presently trying to figure out who else she could rope into the performance, "E? Are you listening?" "Yes, I am, but Helena would look perfect on you." Evie ignored her pleas, "Because who else would be mad at having two guys liking her? Who else would think that someone liking her was a joke-" "I get your point." Mal grumbled, flipping through the pages of the script with a finger in the air, "But, E, there's so many other roles."
As if to exaggerate her point, the pages landed at the main page of characters, and Mal briefly skimmed down the page in search of a better character, in her opinion.
Her eyes lit up almost at once.
"Or, you know...I'd kill to play Puck." Mal suddenly grinned at the script, and Evie's mouth set into a thin line, "Absolutely not. We'd have you actually pranking people, and I don't put it past you to do something absolutely horrid onstage." "But why ever not?" Mal whined, staring at the description of the sprite's role, "Just imagine, E, the amount of chaotic energy we could get out of this, all that fun madness-" "I have imagined it, and I would not like you absolutely ruining our chance at good grades, M, thank you very much." Evie snorted, "The things you would do...I'm afraid even if we casted Ben as the role of Nick Bottom, you'd very much still turn his head into that of an ass's."
Mal guffawed.
"As much as I should be advising against that, I'd like to see that too." Lonnie laughed from the sides, "But I don't think he'll be pleased." "Who won't be pleased?" A familiar voice spoke out of a sudden, and Mal raised her eyes at once to meet hazel ones as she put on an innocent smile, "Ben! We were just talking about you!"
The nervous chuckle that came right after did not escape his ears, and Ben peered over her shoulder at the lines, before he gave a slight cough, "I do not suppose you were just about to suggest that I play the role of Nick Bottom? I don't really fancy having a donkey's head, really. I'd appreciate it if I could keep my current features."
"It's a shame. I'd have liked to see you with a donkey's head prosthetic on." Mal laughed, shifting over so that Ben would have space to sit beside her, "But I think Evie would have thought out a better role for you." "Wait, I've been automatically added into this play?" Ben frowned, and the three girls stared at him, before Evie cleared her throat, "Well, it was well assumed that you would be willing to help, since, you know, you and Mal..." "No, no, it's perfectly fine." Ben interrupted at once, "Anything except Nick Bottom, that is." "That'll be someone else, don't worry." Evie batted her lashes at him, "I will be Titania. A Queen, nothing less befitting of the daughter of Evil Queen Grimhilde."
"Of course." Mal rolled her eyes at the bluenette, "And Oberon?" "Jay said he wouldn't mind." Lonnie informed, crunching on a handful of chocolate chips, "I asked him during practice yesterday. He said he's fine." "And Puck?" Mal questioned hopefully, "I can always do a double role, you know-" "Carlos just said yes." Evie cut her off, holding up the phone that she had gotten for herself from her earnings, "In no way will I be letting you act as Puck, Mal. You'd wreak havoc." "The rest of the characters I can find some others to fill in, it's just some simple lines." Ben concluded, flipping through the script, "So we're just left with Lysander, Nick Bottom and Hermia."
All of them looked at Lonnie.
"What, me?" Lonnie gave a quick shake of her head, "No. No way, I'm not acting as Hermia." "Why not?" Mal stared at her, pretending to be hurt, "It says here that Helena and Hermia are good friends." "Eh, I'm not sure." Lonnie held her ground, "I could possibly be Lysander, but Hermia? Sorry Mal. I'd be better off as the choreographer." "You can choreograph?" Evie squealed, ticking off one of the roles at once, "That's settled!" "Then who on earth will be playing Hermia??" Mal grew worried, "E?" "We'll find someone." The older girl promised, but Mal looked unconvinced, "You sure about that?" "Oh, absolutely." Evie nodded, "And maybe, if we're lucky, I could get Chad to join..."
Ben and Lonnie exchanged glances upon seeing the dreamy face on Evie's expression, but said nothing.
"Well," Mal prodded her script sullenly, "Better get to memorizing, then."
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A/N: I know I said that updating would be a monthly affair, BUT I had a slight spur of inspiration after staring at Cord905loverStuff's suggestion about a school play a few chapters back in the comments section and then realising that a few years back I watched a more comedic opera, which has a complicated love line but would nonetheless make things more interesting. And you should have guessed it by now; this is based on A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It's a rather funny story, with elements of unfortunate mishaps and twists of love. I reccomend that you read it to understand what is happening later on, but nonetheless I will try my best to make it comprehendable, and if you'd prefer, I've added a progression of the love triangles, going in numerically ascending sequence. Once again, thanks for reading :)