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It was never Mal’s intention to steal, or to take over, or whatever.
But she couldn’t help it.
She just love wearing and using somebody else’s essentials.
But they're not just anybody’s.
They're Evie’s.
***
Her peculiar habit started at a normal Saturday, where Mal and Evie were in their dorm room, the purple haired was sat in their shared studying desk trying to finish her homework whilst the blue haired was laying on her bed with her face buried in the fencing team brochure that Lonnie gave her, filling every column neatly.
Mal was highlighting prominent sentences (which was pretty much every one of them) from the endless paragraphs in her textbook, when she felt the purple ink running out. Doing homework wasn’t something Mal was accustomed to, but ever since she and her friends moved to a place filled with diligent goody-two-shoes’ (and the fact that she was seeing Evie — who was the epitome of an obedient and zealous schoolgirl, even though they’re not official yet — might be a contributing factor), she decided that she’d give it a shot, but she was kind of regretting said decision.
Shaking the highlighter up and down to expedite the substance inside, she let out an annoyed sigh and turned her head to peer at her roommate slash something-more-but-not-exclusive best friend.
“E, can I borrow your highlighter?” Mal grumbled lazily, slowly losing her will to finish her assignment.
“Sure, it’s in my pencil case.” Evie said, eyes still fixed at the blue and yellow brochure.
Mal extended her arm across the desk to reach Evie’s light blue pencil case, various types of stationary were stored in tidily when she opened the zipper, immediately grabbing the blue highlighter after searching and digging through the case. She uncapped it, and proceed to highlight the sentences in her book. She kept the item in her pencil case after using it ever since, never intending to give it back.
***
The second item Mal borrowed from Evie was at the latter’s first fencing competition. They were in the locker room, which was filled with smelly and sweaty athletes roaming around after warming up for the event with their foils in their hand and their masks on top of their heads. Evie was one of them.
Mal was dragged by Evie inside, saying that she needed her support system to keep her sane. Mal didn’t want to at first, because it meant that she had to greet and smile at everybody else in the room, and she’s definitely not in the mood to since she first sniffed the musty smell swirling in the air, but her bad mood wore off instantly when she saw Evie clad in her sleeveless fencing jersey which accentuated her toned biceps. Be still my heart, Mal thought to herself as Evie approached her with fidgety hands and Lonnie beside her.
“I’m so nervous,” Evie chattered, “What if I mess up?”
Mal rolled her eyes but smiled encouragingly nonetheless, “You won’t, silly. Lonnie didn’t recruit you for nothing.” The girl in discussion nodded beside Mal before saying, “You can’t wear your necklace though, no accessories allowed.”
“But this is my lucky charm.” Evie pouted, making Mal grew putty in her hands.
“Sorry, no exceptions.” Lonnie sympathetically said, before excusing herself for the captain’s pre-competition briefing, leaving the two of them alone.
“Here, let me keep an eye on it for you.”
Evie watched Mal turning around and sweeping her hair forward before offering her neck for the necklace, as the blue haired begrudgingly took it off and placed it around Mal’s neck. As it fitted perfectly around the pale crag, Mal turned around and held her breath at the close proximity of her and her ‘best friend’. Before she could say anything, Lonnie shouted, “Yo Evie, let’s go!”
Mal cursed silently at the impeccable timing her friend put up, but smiling it off when she saw Evie’s nervous expression. “Hey, you’ll do great, okay? I’m sure of it.”
“You think so?” Evie quirked an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth.
“I know so.”
Evie chuckled at the sass, pecking the shorter girl’s forehead before hearing Lonnie shouting her name again and saying something about how the competition had already started. Before leaving, Evie asked, “You’ll be cheering for me right?”
“The loudest one for you.” Mal smiled, one of her hand holding on to the little blue and red crown chained around her neck absentmindedly before she said her wishes and goodbye to Evie, exiting the locker room to watch the blue haired from the bleachers.
And indeed, Mal did cheer the loudest, cheering even louder when Evie and her team won, but Mal never gave the necklace back. She kept it and wore it ever since until now.
***
The third and fourth items was when the whole school went sightseeing around the beautiful Auradon lands, scouring every bit of corner in it, from the highest summit to the deepest ravine, from Pride Rock to Far Far Away.
They were at their third destination after Charmington and Agrabah, which was Arendelle.
They arrived the night before, welcomed by Queen Elsa’s attache staff and the fencing team who arrived three months before the school’s arrival, and had been staying in the icy land for joint training with Arendelle’s team.
The itinerary for the day was to sightsee Queen Elsa’s ice castle, which was literally on top of the snowy North Mountain.
So that meant there was going to be a lot of hiking.
Mal hated hiking.
And snow.
They were halfway up the hill just below the peak where the ice staircase to the castle was when they had an intermission before continuing their journey.
“This place is fucking freezing,” grumbled Mal with chattery teeth, hands running up and down her upper arms. She thought her leather jacket could warm her up, but it did the opposite.
“I told you to wear something warm,” Evie said after downing a gulp of water, “This is what you get for not listening.”
Mal glared at the blue haired as she scooted closer to the little impromptu bonfire Jay and Ben made to warm them up, “Mean.”
“It’s your fault anyways,” Carlos jumped in the conversation as he opened his backpack to retrieve a pair of wool mittens, “Why don’t you ever listen?”
Crossing her arms to gather warmth, Mal pouted resentfully, “I thought that my dragon blood might help warm myself, but it didn’t.”
Evie returned her water bottle inside Carlos’ backpack and said, “Take off your jacket.”
Mal’s eyes widened, looking at her as if she grew two heads, “Do you want me to die?”
Evie rolled her eyes, “Just do it.”
Mal reluctantly did what Evie told her to do, before giving the material to her. As she took her jacket off, she felt the frigid air stabbing her skin, it was so cold she could literally, visually see the line of shivers going up and down her arms. Evie quickly put Mal’s jacket inside Carlos’ bag, and she took her fencing letterman jacket off to drape it around Mal’s shoulders.
Touched by the gesture, Mal slipped her arms though the sleeves of the blue and yellow jacket, “How are you not cold?”
“I’ve been living here for three months babe, the cold never bother me anymore.”
Mal blushed at the nickname, but quickly rolled her eyes when the taller girl made the reference. She mumbled a silent thanks, and tugged the jacket closer.
They continued their journey five minutes later, hiking the snowy trail up the mountain. They were just a few hills away from the staircase when Mal complained, “My legs are malfunctioning. I don’t think I can go further E.”
Evie shrugged her shoulders, saying, “Funny that you said ‘Mal’-functioning,” and the blue haired proceeded to chuckle at her own joke.
“I’m being serious, you jackass.” Mal lightly punched Evie’s arm, before lowering herself to plop on the ground, resisting the urge to kick her leather boots off. She really needed to get some proper winter wear.
“Alright grumpy, stand up.” Evie offered a hand, which made Mal roll her eyes.
“Didn’t you listen to a word I said?”
“Just do it already.”
“Fine,” was what Mal muttered before taking Evie’s arm to stand up. After doing so, Evie slightly squatted in front of her and patted her back, indicating Mal to jump on it., but she obviously didn’t get the hint.
“What are you doing?”
“Jump on me.”
“For what?”
“Piggyback ride.”
So Mal did what Evie told her to do. She jumped on Evie’s back and wrapped her arms around Evie’s neck, and Evie immediately grabbed her thighs securely to prevent her from falling. Evie let Mal ride her on her back until they arrived.
On the way to the castle, Mal found her hands snatching Evie’s dark blue beanie from her head and placed it on hers.
Mal still keeps the jacket and the beanie until now, never having the intentions to give it back.
***
The last item was Evie’s old blue and yellow fencing jersey, with the word “Grimhilde’ and the number ‘4’ on the back of it.
It was a cozy Sunday morning in the dining hall, with the core four and Ben, Audrey, and Lonnie on their usual table. Mal and Evie was the last to arrive, Mal immediately going for the food counters while Evie greeted and sat on the bench table next to Jay.
“E, you okay? You looked like you didn’t sleep last night,” Lonnie said in concern.
Evie waved her hand in response, “Was awake all night, but I’m fine.”
“You sure you’re up for today’s match?”
Evie nodded sleepily, yawning after doing so.
Mal arrived with a bowl of oatmeal, a plate of french toast, two water bottles, two apples, and two mugs of coffee on her tray. She sat on the far end of the bench table, next to Evie. All eyes were on them and all jaws were dropped to the floor as she sat, causing her to groan in annoyance, “What?”
Audrey was about to open her mouth, before Ben beat her to it, “Why’re you wearing Evie’s old jersey?”
Mal bowed her head to take a sight on her ‘friend’s’ (…for benefits) jersey she’s wearing, and shrugged her shoulders as she put the plate full of french toast and maple syrup in front of Evie, “it was the nearest to bed when I woke up.”
Carlos was still in confusion, “But that was what Evie wore last night.”
Mal and Evie both had red cheeks on their faces, seemingly caught by their nosy friends of their suggestive activities they did the night before. The teasing hadn’t died down until now, both about Mal and Evie casually fooling together and Mal’s habit of using Evie’s items,but Mal still has it in her wardrobe.
Talk about being a hardhead.
***
Evie presses her joystick as she plays the racing game Carlos had lend her the day before, with her sitting on the floor, her back leaning on the bed foot, and Mal in between her legs, leaning her back on Evie’s front and a joystick in her hands.
“M? Can I ask you something?” Evie says without taking her eyes off the screen.
“If you’re distracting me from winning, I swear to God E—,”
“Why do you never return my things after borrowing them?”
That surprises Mal, she didn’t see it coming. She pauses the game and answers without turning her body to face Evie, “Do I have to?”
“Well,” Evie fumbles with her joystick on top of Mal’s, “I was just wondering why you never return it.”
Even though Mal would choose falling off a cliff more than truthfully admit to Evie, she has grown a habit in Evie’s items. She loves them, no exaggeration there. She has grown a habit in Evie’s arms every night as well, though.
Mal contemplates as she absentmindedly fumbles with Evie’s fingers before saying, “I feel comfortable using your stuff so,” she takes a deep breath, “I never return them.”
Evie is deep in her thoughts before finally shrugging and presses the continue button from her joystick, “Well then, consider my things are yours.”
Mal’s surprised once again, immediately grabbing her joystick more firm as they continue the game, “Really?”
“You seem to love them so much, anyways.”
Mal smiles warmly, the only type of smile she would ever wear for Evie, and leans her head back on Evie’s chest, smiling even wider as she felt lips settling on the top of her head.