curious

♜ III ♜

"I haven't had my hair not styled in a long while," I say, messing with the shorter ends in a mirror near Mal as she spraypaints the wall. "Seems—almost ordinary. Or, rather, not so ordinary for me. Don't you think so?"

"I don't care," Mal mumbles, shaking the spray can. I frown.

"At least I don't see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork."

We both look around to see Ben, decked out in Isle clothes, standing before us. I fluff the ends of my hair and start walking towards Ben.

"I suppose that is my que, hm?" I pat his shoulder softly and quickly, waving to the two of them before starting down the stairs.

I know that they aren't on the best of terms at the moment. I tried to understand why Mal really wanted to come back to the Isle. I believe that part of the reason is because her and Ben got into a fight, along with all the stress that she is under with being his girlfriend.

"Aris?" I hear Evie ask as I get to the bottom of the stairs. Jay is leaning against a pole, Carlos is sitting on a box, and Evie is standing near Carlos with her arms crossed.

"Oh, hello, friends," I say, smiling at them. "What a great surprise."

"Aris, why the hell are you here?" Jay asks.

I shrug. "I tagged along with Mal. This place is very interesting and curious. I can't believe I'm actually here."

"It's not a tourist spot," Jay says, raising his brows at me.

"Oh, I know. I just always wanted to know what you guys grew up in. And, well, I haven't seen much. But, it's—curious."

"Why is your hair like that?" Carlos asks.

I glance at my hair and look at him with a smile. "Do you like it?" He nods. "A girl named Dizzy—"

Evie squeals quietly, cutting me off. We all look over at her. "Sorry," she whispers. "I love Dizzy."

"Do you?" Carlos asks.

"Hadn't noticed," Jay mutters.

A second later, we hear someone coming down the stairs. We all look over to see Ben, his shoulders slumped, walking down the stairs alone.

"So?" Evie asks as Ben steps onto the ground. "Where's Mal?"

Ben keeps walking. "She's not coming back."

"What?" Evie asks as we watch Ben start to leave. "I'll talk to her."

I glance at the others, then Ben. He shouldn't walk around alone, should he? He is the king after all. And, although I don't know my way around the Isle, there's safety in numbers, right?

I nudge his shoulder as I catch up to him. He glances at me and smiles weakly. "She'll come around," I say. "She's just a little coo-coo right now."

Someone grabs Ben and covers his mouth, dragging him into an alley. I go to scream, but someone covers my mouth and drags me into the opposite alleyway. I hear Ben grunt and kick for a few seconds before his body goes slack.

I go to yell, but the person behind me tightens their grip on my mouth. Someone walks in front of me and shakes their head, clicking their tongue. The alley is very dark, so I don't see the person until I can see the blue of their eyes. The perfect blue for painting.

I tilt my head as he smirks.

"If you don't struggle, we won't have to knock you out. I wouldn't want to knock out a pretty face like yours," he says, pouting. I glare harshly at him, going to lunge. The person tightens their grip even more. He chuckles. "Oh, crazy has a crazier side, hm?"