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ficsbydob · 6 years

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Interactions in a Coffee House

Fandom: Disney Descendants

Ship: Bal

Word Count: 2350

Summary: The coffee shop AU no one asked for.

also found on AO3

Every day for the last three months, a dark purple hair petite girl would sit in the same table in the dark secluded corner of the café, drawing and ordering the same “blackest coffee you have” – her exact words. At first she was like every other customer to Ben, except most days she’d pay for her drink with chump change and never get a refill even though she was there twice as long as everyone else. After the first month passed, he started to take more of an interest – out of complete curiosity of course. He noticed that occasionally she would have other people with her, either separately or as a small group. A smaller boy with white hair who always had a dog with him (the owner wanted to do something about it but it seemed that it was a service dog of some sort) who would be doing homework – or at least that’s what Ben guessed – well she drew. Another guy, this one taller with long black hair, who spent most of his time flirting with anyone that looked his way. And the last person was another girl, she sketched almost as much as the purple hair girl did but she also would occasionally have a collection of chemistry books with her.

For two months straight, Ben had to endure constant teasing from Lonnie, the one person who made working at the café bearable, because he couldn’t keep his eyes off the mystery girl. He’d even give her a free refill every once and awhile, saying it’s on the house (which really was just deducted from his paycheck). Lonnie just couldn’t figure out why Ben didn’t just try to strike up a conversation with the girl, ask her on a date or anything for that matter.

Ben wasn’t really sure why either.

But when he came into work after school one afternoon and didn’t see the girl in her spot, he was taken aback. His whole shift he continued to look for her, but she never came. The next day, the same thing. She wasn’t there and she didn’t show up. By the end of the week, though it could be stupid, he was honestly starting to worry for her.

He was behind the counter, staring at her table – occupied by someone else – when Lonnie came up to him. “Missing your favorite customer huh?” She rested her elbow on his shoulder, looking in the same direction he was.

“It’s just weird,” came his reply.

“She’s probably sick or something. Or they moved. Or she died.” Ben looked over at his friend, eyebrows raised with a small, bemused smile. “Not everything is a happy ending King Ben.” She tapped his head and walked away to do her rounds.

He shook his head, rolling his eyes. “King Ben?” The voice startled him, making him turn slightly to see who had spoken. It was the girl. She was staring at him with a raised

He let out an airy laugh. “I was Homecoming king two years in a row, she won’t let me live it down.” She gave a nod, seeming unimpressed. He licked his lips, “Right. So the usual?” As he spoke, he started reaching for a cup, getting ready to fill up a glass with the blackest black coffee they got.

“Yeah.” She leaned forward, “But can you make it to go.” His hand stopped before moving toward their to-go cups, giving a nod.

“One blackest black coffee to go.” He set it down on the counter in front of her, “That’ll be four fifty-three.” She gave him a five and they exchanged change and that was that. It was probably their longest conversation they’ve had since she started coming to his place of work.

Lonnie came back, a smirk on her face, “Did you get her number yet?” He rolled his eyes, ignoring her and heading to the back.

“Chad, let it go,” Ben was walking out of the away locker rooms from Isle High, they had just won their lacrosse game but Chad, a curly haired blonde kid who’s been Ben’s friend since basically their birth, wouldn’t shut up about Isle’s number 8 and the “cheap shot” he took. “Even with that cheap shot,” though truthfully, Ben didn’t think it was, “we won.”

Chad didn’t want to let it go however, and continued to go off about. Ben rolled his eyes, deciding it wasn’t worth arguing about or getting his friend to move on, and moved ahead of his friend. He was turning a corner when he walked into someone. “Oh, sorry!” He moved back and looked down to see a full head of purple hair. “Oh! It’s you. Hi.” A smile appeared on his face as he saw coffee shop girl. Her eyebrows scrunched together, her head tilting to the side. Smile faltering a bit, he opened his mouth again, “I work at –“

“At the Coffee House. King Ben.” His smile grew again.

“Yup. That’s me.” A small pause, “So you go to Isle High?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

She let out a huff, “Yeah, the gang activity really gives it that cozy safe feeling everyone wants for their children.”

He let out a laugh, “That’s fair. I’m sure it can get pretty interesting though.”

She shrugs, “It does keep you on your toes.” He glanced down at his sweatshirt, sporting the Auradon Prep school logo, before looking back up at him, a smirk on her lips. Just than the rest of his team started piling out of the guest locker rooms. “I’ll see you around King Ben.” She tapped his chest before moving along.

And see him around she did, of course, every day as she sat back in her usual spot, either by herself or with her friends. She didn’t talk to him much, outside of maybe thanking him for a refill and calling him King Ben.

He’s starting to regret her overhearing Lonnie.

On one of his days off, he came into his work place with a couple of his friends from school. Lonnie still had to work and after her shift ended the whole group planned to go to some party Aubrey, Ben’s ex, heard about. Lonnie constantly gives Ben crap for still being friends with Aubrey, she was never a huge fan on his ex.

Aubrey had gone up to order everyone’s drink, the money in hand, when she called out “Benny Boo,” across the café. He looked up, eyebrows raised, “What did you want again?”

“White Mocha Latte,” came his reply, not even bothered by the nickname Aubrey won’t stop using on him. It’s not like it bothered him or anything so he didn’t really see a reason to make her stop.

That was another thing Lonnie gave him crap about.

“Hey Benny Boo,” a mocking tone came from behind him. He turned around to see the mystery girl standing behind him, smirk in place.

“Hey,” he gave her a smile in return.

“Who comes to their place of work on the day off?” He gave a shrug.

“We have the best coffee in the city.”

She tilted her head to the side, “Pretty sure you’re biased.”

“And yet, I see you here every day,” he countered.

This time it was her turn to shrug. She gave a once over all his friends before deciding they weren’t worth her time before eyes where back on Ben. He probably shouldn’t be assuming but he felt like it was a safe bet from the look of uninterest resting on her face.

“Guess this means I won’t be getting my free refill.” She crinkled her nose, flashed him a small smile and continued on her way out the café.

From that point on, their interactions almost always happened that way. Some sort of small banter. He even finally learned her name, Mal. He maybe, sort of, really enjoyed how it sounded. Mal.

And he didn’t miss the looks her friend, the other drawer, would give him as he give Mal her free refill. Or when he’d stop by to ask what she was drawing – not that Mal would ever let him see. Apparently he hasn’t earned enough cred with her to get the privilege of seeing her works. He would just shake his head every time she pulled her sketch book to her chest, hiding the sketch from his eyes. But when he would go to clean her table after she left, there would be rare moments that she’d leave one her sketches behind. He might have started to collect them.

A couple more months went by and eventually Ben got familiar with Mal her whole group. He learned the other artist was named Evie, the boy with the white hair was Carlos, and the taller one was Jay. Jay actually ended up being the guy that Chad wouldn’t shut about when Auradon Prep went up against Isle. When Ben found that out he gave Jay a compliment, telling him he was impressed by the hit.

Out of all four of them, he noticed that Evie always had the most money. Whenever they four were together, she’d pay for everyone’s drinks and treat them to a snack of some sort as well.

They were all pretty great, in Ben’s opinion, and he enjoyed when they came in because it was four more people who made working at a café filled with mostly pretentious high school and college kids that much more bearable.

He was bringing them their drinks when Evie looked at him, “Ben.” From the tone of her voice alone, he knew that he wanted out. He was too nice to say that however.

Whatever it was that she was going to say, Mal didn’t seem particularly happy about it. “E.” Her tone holding a sort of warning.

It did nothing.

“Don’t you think Mal would look beautiful in this?” She held up a sketch of a dress. Ben didn’t really know much about fashion and he didn’t have the type of imagination to think of what that dress would look made up, but he could tell that it was a very good drawing of a dress.

He glanced over at Mal, placing down her drink in front of her, “Um.” He looked back at Evie, “I think she’d look beautiful in anything.”

“Awe,” she smiled brightly at him, placing her notebook down. “Not sure how that helps me convince her to go to the dance though.” She shook her head, looking over at her friend.

He looked over at Mal, “What dance?”

Evie answer. “Our Winter Formal. M thinks they’re a waste of time.”

“Because they are,” Mal replied back.

Ben shrugged, looking to Evie than Mal. “Dances can be fun. If you go with the right people. Anyone ask you?”

Mal just rolled her eyes, Evie speaking up again. “A couple of people. But M said no to all of them.”

Ben opened his mouth to ask why but Mal was already answering his question, “Because, E, it’s a waste of time.”

“M, it’s not! It’ll be fun!”

Mal, however, seem very certain in her revolution that it’d be a waste of her time. Ben left them to it, knowing that if he stuck around their table much longer and his manager saw he would get yelled at. Again. He’d look over at them, of course, through the rest of the night but it was busier than usually so he didn’t really get a chance to stop by again.

He also couldn’t get the fact the Isle was having a Winter Formal out of his mind. Honestly, it’d be pretty cool to go to a dance with Mal, he might have even thought about asking her to prom but if she thought dances where pointless it might not even be worth bringing it up.

He was making a to-go drink for some business major who almost always wore some hard rock metal band whenever he came in when Evie walked up to the counter. She didn’t even greet him properly when she opened her mouth to say, “Would you go with Mal to the Winter Formal?”

He glanced up at her, eyebrows coming together, “I thought she didn’t want to go. Y’know, they were pointless and stuff.” He placed the cup on the counter and reached for a lid.

“That’s all true. But!” He looked up at her again, shaking his head and handing the drink over to college kid, “She needs to go! This is our senior year and she’s never once gone to a dance.”

“What makes you think she’d go with me?” He moved back to the machines to clean up his mess.

“She likes you.” He nodded, knowing that was a given. Evie leaned over the counter, “Ben, she really likes you.”

His cleaning slowed down. Looking up at Evie, he licked his lips, “That doesn’t mean she’d want to go with me though.”

“Will you at least ask her?”

He paused, looking over at her usual table where she was watching them with curiosity. “Yeah, of course.”

He did ask her too, he waited until she came up to his counter for a free refill – though he has an inkling that she knows for a fact that they weren’t actually free – and just popped the question. It was no real surprise to Ben that she said no – that didn’t stop the disappointment however. She told him the same thing he heard her tell Evie, that it was a waste of time. But what surprised him is she suggest that instead they do something together. “Go to a movie or something.”

He smiled, nodding his head, “Yeah. Okay.”

She took her refill from him, “Okay. You’re paying.” She winked at him, holding up her cup as if to imply he does with her refills and moved back to her table with Evie.

Maybe down the road he’ll ask her to go to prom with him but for right now, he’ll take what he could get.

#bal #ben x mal #disney descendants #userana #au

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