─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"Hey, beauty." Malakai smiled. He was leaning against the entrance of the arcade they were visiting. Phoebe had offered to drive him, but he said he'd rather meet her there, as he had some things to do beforehand. Yet, he still managed to arrive before her.

"Hi." Bee greeted him with a smile, her stomach fluttering with nerves and her face warming. Bee genuinely really liked Malakai and so she felt incredibly anxious for their official first date.

He pulled her into a hug, resting his head on her soft, dark curls. She smelled of coconut, which seemed to be her favourite scent—it was even the fragrance of his bathroom. "You ready?" he asked, gently shaking her shoulders.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Bee nodded. He took her hand and led her inside. The arcade was instantly overwhelming with its loud noises, beeping, laughter, and bright lights. Bee squinted in discomfort. She had spent a month preparing herself for the chaos of the Slay Ball but only had the short drive over to mentally gear up for this.

Hand in hand, they walked through the arcade, and Malakai knew exactly where he wanted to go. Ever since she'd bested him in that school basketball game, he needed a chance to redeem himself. bee laughed when they approached the basketball toss game. "Sore loser needs a rematch?" she teased, pouting.

He scoffed. "I didn't lose—it was a fluke," Malakai said as he crouched down to insert the coins into the slot. The game lit up, and Bee forced a smile, trying to hide her discomfort. "Ladies first." He said.

Bee grabbed a basketball, stepped back, and threw it perfectly into the net, grinning. "Your turn."

Malakai wore a smug expression as he picked up an orange ball and tossed it into the hoop. It was a weak shot, but it still scored. "I guess you were right when you said you score on and off the court," Bee hummed, grabbing another ball.

Malakai froze at her words, watching as she made several more successful shots. "Hey, Phoebe, about that—" he started, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't stress about it. I'm just playing."

"Ant told you?" Malakai sighed.

"I think it's time you realize Ant tells me everything," Bee shrugged. "Some things I really didn't want to know."

Malakai laughed. "Well, I'm still sorry about it anyway." He noticed her strategy. "Hey!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hands and pulling her back. "You're a dirty little cheater."

"Okay, okay, you've caught me," she admitted. She had been intentionally missing when it was his turn but scoring during hers. "Not my fault you got distracted."

"I can't believe this."

"Okay, fine. I cheated—but only in the game. I would never cheat on a person," Bee said. Malakai winced, his breath quickening as he watched her lean forward to collect the tickets. "What's the next game—are you okay?" she frowned.

"Yeah," Malakai nodded. "I just—sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"Is it the video?"

"Wait, you know I've seen it?" Malakai asked. She nodded. "Well, thanks for not beating around the bush. I don't want you to feel like you're walking on eggshells around me."

"Yeah," Bee nodded. "I'm really sorry about the video." She frowned. "My finger—"

"I'm not angry about it," Malakai shook his head as they walked to another game. "And I know it was an accident. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

"Don't apologise," Bee said. "I do wish I hadn't left you, though. Did you make it home safe?" Malakai cleared his throat at the unexpected question. "Uh, yeah." He knew he needed to tell her about what almost happened with him, Dusty, and Harper. "Thanks."

"That's good then," Bee smiled. "Come on, let's dance." She stepped backwards towards the Dance Dance Revolution machine. "Let's dance—oh, sorry," she apologized to a man she bumped into as Malakai laughed. "I am so sorry."

"Why the hell are you walking backward?" They seethed. "I don't know," she shrugged. "My bad. Come on, Malakai!"

They played at least four rounds without realising that others were watching, silently longing for their turn. Bee noticed how skilled Malakai was and felt a pang of confusion. "You know, you're really good at this," Bee panted after losing yet another round.

"I wouldn't say really good," Malakai chuckled, collecting their tickets.

"Oh, don't pretend to be humble. I know exactly what you're like," Bee laughed. "Why do you play basketball if you're this good at dancing?"

"I don't know," Malakai shrugged. "It just makes more sense for me to play ball, you know?"

"I don't know," Bee shook her head. "I'm a firm believer in doing what you love rather than what people expect of you."

"Really?" Malakai asked. "But you're on the girls' team."

"Yeah, and I love basketball," Bee shrugged. "Like Daisy—she's incredible at soccer, but she loves photography, film, and working on computers, so she's in the AV club."

"That's cool. I knew she was in the AV club, but I didn't think she was good at... any sport," Malakai chuckled. "Yeah, she acts like she hates all physical activity," Bee smiled. "What's next?"

They played a few more games, accumulating a pile of tickets. While Malakai went to exchange them for a prize, Bee eyed the photo booth, nervously wondering if he would be interested.

"Ta-da!" Malakai exclaimed, startling her. In his hands were two keychains: one shaped like a bumblebee and the other like a kite. Bee burst into laughter. "What? Is that it? We spent eighty bucks here," she frowned. "This is a rip-off."

"Here," he said, handing her the kite. "This is for you."

"I get the bee, and it's super cute, but what's this mean?" Bee asked, inspecting the kite. "It's like... Malakai, Malakite," he explained, but she still looked confused. "Mala-kite."

"Oh!" Bee nodded. "Right. That's definitely creative. A for effort!"

"Hey, I'll take it back if you—"

"No, no," she shook her head. "I love it."

"Good." He smiled. "Do you want to check out the photo booth?" Bee's face lit up with excitement.

"Yeah!"

They squeezed into the booth, Bee sliding in first and Malakai following. "I've got this one," she said, inserting the three dollars. "You're spoiling me," Malakai joked, pressing the start button.

In the first picture, Bee rested her head on his shoulder, playfully pouting while he leaned his head on hers, smiling. "Make a scary face!" they both posed with clawed hands and wide mouths for the second shot. Just before the third, Malakai smirked, cupped her cheek, and turned her head. The picture captured their chaste kiss.

Bee pulled back with a smile. "Yes," she said unexpectedly.

"What?"

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend," she clarified. "Really?!" he exclaimed, the last photo capturing his shocked expression and her wide grin.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"Before I let you accept me as your girlfriend, you need to know what you're getting yourself into," Bee said, lying on his bed. They had left the arcade after taking the photo booth pictures. On the drive, Malakai invited her to his house but warned her that his mom and little sister might be around. Thankfully, they were both asleep and the girl was too nervous to meet his family.

"What do you mean?" Malakai asked, sitting beside her on the bed. "I want to tell you about my ex," she said. Malakai straightened, sensing the seriousness in her tone. "Okay. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Bee nodded.

"So, what happened?"

"There was this guy Cash grew up with—they'd been good friends since they were kids. And I had nearly every class with Cash, so we got close," Bee began. "When we were in year nine, I would go on about wanting a boyfriend since I'd never had one. He told me one of his friends was single, the 'nicer one' of their little gang, but he didn't go to our school."

"Mitchell, right?" Malakai guessed.

"Yeah, but everyone called him Mitzy—Chook gave him that nickname," Bee explained. Malakai almost laughed at her words, but he held back and remembered this would be a serious conversation. "Really?" The boy asked.

"Yeah" She nodded. "It was an acronym. Something about his mom being a drug addict. She shot up like... horse tranquilliser so, the Mit was— Mom Injects Tranquilliser, but Chook is super messed up, so I'm not too sure," Bee said.

"He sounds it."

"Anyway, we went on a few dates and hit it off. We became official after two months, and everything seemed fine. But then he started getting too handsy, and at first, I put up with it because I liked him," Bee explained. "Then he wanted to have sex, and I went along with it. I don't know if I didn't enjoy it because he was so rough or—sorry, is this too much?"

"No, it's okay. Be open," Malakai reassured her. Bee took a deep breath. "Well... I genuinely thought there was something wrong with me. Like, I remember Daisy and I sat in my room contemplating whether to call my doctor."

"And say what?"

"Oh, I don't know... 'Hi, I don't enjoy sex. Do you know what's the matter with me?'" Bee joked, making Malakai softly smile. "Well, um... long story short, I ended up... with child?"

She paused, waiting to see if Malakai would wear the judgmental look she'd come to expect from others. But his expression remained unreadable.

"I—I didn't know how it happened. I mean, I was only fourteen and had just started my period the year before. And my mum had just skipped town, and it was a really hard time for me," Bee rambled. "I became extremely depressed, and I was exhausted all the time. People noticed something was wrong with me at school because I didn't put any effort into my appearance or my classes."

Malakai frowned. The thought of her suffering made his heartache, she didn't deserve this pain.

"Woodsey tried to talk to me, but she got nothing out of me," Bee sighed. "I even kind of convinced myself into having the baby, you know. I reckoned that looking after a child would help me out of my depressive slump."

"Yeah," Malakai nodded, listening intently. He didn't want her to think he was losing interest so he took her hands in his, giving them a soothing squeeze.

"It happened the day of my gender appointment. I was about fourteen weeks along, and Daisy and I were going to head to the clinic to find out if I was having a boy or a girl." Bee explained. "I don't know how Mitch found out. I still really don't. I mean, we were still together, but we hadn't spoken in weeks—he was busy with Chook and the other eshays."

"They broke into my house early that morning. It was just me watching telly on the couch while Daisy slept. The appointment wasn't till the evening." Bee didn't start to tear up until this part of the story. "He pinned me onto the couch," she cried out.

Malakai's eyes welled up with tears, terrified of where this story was going.

"I was screaming and crying and begging while he forced some pill into my mouth. I wasn't going to swallow it. Daisy came rushing in, but his friends were holding her back as she screamed out for me," Bee explained, her voice breaking with emotion. "He forced me to take it before he pushed me away, called me a slut, spit on me, and threw the box of tablets in my face before leaving. He knew he was the baby's father, so I never really understood why he said that."

"Phoebe," Daisy cried. "What happened?"

But Phoebe was sobbing so hard she couldn't get any words out. Daisy picked up the box of medicine Mitch had tossed: 'Combipack of Mifepristone & Misoprostol Tablets'. A hand flew to her mouth in shock. Daisy's father was a pharmacist, and her mum was a doctor, so even at fifteen, she knew exactly what the tablets were for.

The door flew open again, and the girls clung to each other, afraid Mitchell Riley would be back. But it was just Douglas Piggot. He was sweating and panting. "No," Daisy stood up in defence of her friend. "No, you need to get out."

"Daisy, listen to me," Douglas said between breaths. "I knew he was gonna come here, but I didn't know what he would come for. I—I ran all the way here." He saw Phoebe sobbing on the couch. "What—what happened?"

Daisy pulled him to the side and spoke in a hushed tone. "Mitzy came in and... and he just force-fed her the first abortion pill before throwing the second at her."

"Holy shit??"

"You're not even supposed to take these at home unless you're less than ten weeks," Daisy read the box.

"Well, how many weeks is she?" Douglas inquired. "Fourteen," Daisy whispered, her voice breaking. "We were supposed to find out the sex today. We've got to tell her."

"I will." He took a deep breath and walked over to Phoebe as Daisy pulled out her phone to call a general practitioner. Douglas explained everything that had happened to Phoebe, slowly. The sound of her cries increasing made him bite his lip, holding back his own tears.

Phoebe spent the rest of the day lying on the couch, almost comatose. Douglas called his nan, woefully telling her that he wouldn't be home for dinner, while Daisy cancelled their ultrasound appointment and sought medical advice.

The two spent the day talking to Phoebe. Daisy helped her wash herself in the bathtub, and once she was dressed, Douglas gently fed her soup and later a smoothie, knowing it would be hard for her to eat solid foods. Her nausea began the next afternoon, and that's when they advised her to take the second pill: Misoprostol.

"I'll run a bath!" Douglas announced, rushing to the bathroom as Daisy warmed a hot water bottle. The pain was severe. Phoebe cried from afternoon till evening that day. Douglas stayed another night, not wanting to leave her. He phoned his grandmother again, vaguely explaining the situation, and she understood.

That was their secret: Daisy Santos, Douglas Piggot, and Phoebe Laine. No one knew what had happened that night, not even Anthony Vaughn.

Malakai was in tears, holding Phoebe tightly as she concluded her story. He gently stroked her hair as she sobbed in his arms, an act of comfort for both of them. "I am so sorry that happened to you," he sniffed. "I will never let you hurt like that again."

⎯ ❃ jania speaks!
i wonder if anyone got the 911 reference with the title!! such a sad sad chapter but it definitely gives backstory to why bee acts the way she does and explains her sexuality