A/N: I can't believe it's been a year since Cameron's passing :( I hope he continues to rest in peace. I also hope you enjoy this chapter even though it's sort of a filler!

The bell rang, signaling the end of Meredith's last class that Friday. She let out a sigh of relief, quickly packing up her things. She had yet another Royal Cotillion meeting right after that, so she had to hurry and return her books in her locker to make it on time.

She walked out of the Bad Fairies classroom with Bashful Jr. and Pin, Pinnochio's son. She wanted to get away from them, but they were her group mates for a project in that class and they were already talking about some of the ideas they had in mind.

"I was thinking we do a documentary," Bashful Jr. was saying. "I can do the music and editing if we push through with it."

"Well, I think we should put up a play!" Pin suggested. "You know, complete with casts and props to depict the third era of bad fairies — using puppets, of course."

"Isn't that a bit too... much? We don't have a lot of time, and these aren't even for our finals yet."

"If you don't wish big, you won't get very far," he said in a sing-song voice. Meredith and Bashful Jr. shared uncertain looks. They clearly weren't willing to create such a theatrical performance just for a simple class project.

"Mer," someone said next. It was Ben, who was outside the door and seemed to have just gotten out of his class next door as well. "Don't forget about our meeting in fifteen minutes! I'll see you there!"

Meredith suppressed a sigh, wishing that everyone would just stop speaking for a moment. All she wanted was that frappuccino she had been craving for so long but hadn't had the time to get because of her busy schedule. Junior year was proving to be tougher than she thought, and she couldn't imagine how much more stressful being a senior would be.

Thankfully, Ben left, and Bashful Jr. and Pin eventually went on their own ways, leaving Meredith alone for a few moments. She quietly placed her books into her locker, mentally preparing herself for the chaos that would ensue in the cotillion committee meeting later. She was grateful that Jane was an efficient head of the event, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be issues. The cotillion was huge and highly anticipated, so naturally, the ones preparing it were almost always all over the place to make sure that it was as perfect as it could possibly be with the limited time they had left.

Meredith slammed her locker shut, only to jump up in surprise when she saw that Carlos was right behind the metal door.

"Oh my god," she said before hitting his arm. "Don't scare me like that."

"You need to learn a thing or two about stealth and composure," Carlos mused.

"Yeah, yeah, I know — you learned it all back in the Isle," she mimicked him in amusement. "What's up?"

"I got you this." Carlos, who she had only realized now had one hand behind his back, revealed it to show that he was holding a frothy drink. Meredith's eyes widened.

"Is that...?"

"A green tea frappuccino? Yeah, you're welcome," Carlos said smugly, handing it to her. She took it from him excitedly, her heart fluttering at the gesture.

"Thanks," she beamed. "I can't believe you remembered. I've been dying to get this for so long."

"Yeah, well, I had a bit of free time today," Carlos said casually. "By the way, do you —"

"Meredith!" The aforementioned girl and Carlos looked at the other end of the hall to find Chad Charming jogging towards them.

"What, Chad?" asked Meredith as he neared them.

"Come with me. I need to talk to you about the cotillion."

Meredith didn't look interested at what he had to say. She was too busy reveling in the sweet taste of her cold drink.

"Just say it now. I have to go in a few minutes."

"Fine. Audrey's still in her spa vacation with Flora, Fauna, and Merrywheather. You know, the one she had to file a leave of absence for?"

"So? Didn't she dump you already?" Meredith asked bluntly, and Chad let out a squeak as if what she said had hurt him deeply.

"Don't say it like that!" he practically cried.

"Get to the point, Chad."

"I have no one to go with to the Royal Cotillion because Audrey won't be back in weeks! You'll go with me, right? Like how you, me, and Ben used to go to balls together as kids?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Meredith waved him off. She didn't notice that Carlos had frowned at her words. Did she really say yes to Chad? "Just stop whining already. Audrey doesn't like guys like that, remember?"

"Stop hurting me, Mer," Chad whimpered, placing a hand on his chest. He clearly wasn't over Audrey, and he probably wouldn't get over their breakup for a long time. Meredith rolled her eyes.

"I'm going now."

Meredith turned on her heel and Carlos quickly followed after her.

"Y-You and Chad used to go to dances together?" he asked.

"Sort of. Ben and Audrey were there most of the time, too. Our parents have been friends for a quite a while, so I was just always around them," she explained.

"Wait, so... so you'll be going with him to the Royal Cotillion?"

"Probably?" Meredith said, confused as to why Carlos was asking so many questions. "Ben and Audrey are out of the picture, so it's just me and Chad left. Anyway, I have to go. Bye, Carlos!"

Meredith left in a hurry to get to her meeting, leaving Carlos standing in the middle of the hall. He knew Chad wasn't the most pleasant person out there, so it was natural for him to not exactly like the idea of him going with Meredith to the cotillion... wasn't it? Any good friend like him would be worried about Meredith that way, right?

♚ ♚ ♚

"We've been having pasta these past few days. When are they gonna change the menu?" Lonnie sighed.

"I actually like it," said Doug, shoving a forkful of pasta into his mouth for emphasis.

Meredith was having lunch with Lonnie, Doug, Evie, Jay, and Carlos in the school cafeteria. Mal and Ben would have joined them, but they had recently become so busy with the royal-celebrity life and cotillion preparations that they couldn't fit it into their tight schedule.

"They should throw in some dumplings instead."

"Ask your mom to send some to us," Meredith said with a hint of humor.

"I actually will," Lonnie said determinedly. "She's sending over my shoes for the cotillion, so I might as well ask her to send me some real food, too."

"Speaking of the cotillion," Evie interjected. "Who are you all going with?"

"You're going with me, right?" Doug asked Evie who laughed and nodded. "Okay, good."

"Well, there's a lot of girls lining up for me," Jay said, leaning back in his seat. As if on cue, a group of girls passed by their table and giggled when they noticed the long-haired boy looking at them suggestively.

"You can't take all of them, Jay."

"I know, I know. I just like to keep my options open," he smirked. Evie scoffed before glancing between a certain white-haired boy and the redhead girl sitting across him.

"What about you guys?" she asked, blinking innocently. "Carlos?"

"M-Me?" he said, caught off guard. He fidgeted in his seat, his legs stretching outside of the table. "I, uh..."

"Whoa!"

Carlos turned in his seat, startled to find that someone walking by had tripped over his foot.

"I'm so sorry!" he said, getting up right away to help the victim. It was Jane.

"It's... fine," she trailed off when she realized it was Carlos. She dusted herself off and stood up straighter.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she said, smiling at him. "Um... I'll see you around?"

"Yeah. See you, Jane," Carlos sent Jane a friendly smile before she walked away to another table.

"Did you see that?" Lonnie said giddily.

"See what?" Meredith asked.

"Jane totally has a crush on you, Carlos."

"What? No way," Carlos denied as if it was the most ridiculous thing ever.

"She kind of looked like she had heart eyes when she talked to you," Doug chuckled.

Evie kicked him under the table for this was not the way she wanted the conversation to go.

"Ow!" said Doug. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You should totally take her to the Royal Cotillion," Lonnie suggested excitedly. "It would be cute."

"Would it?" Carlos wondered, his eyes searching for Jane in the cafeteria. He was friends with her and she had always been nice to him, even when she was still scared of him and the other villain kids when they first started attending Auradon Prep. Meredith was probably going with Chad, anyway, so asking Jane out to the cotillion wasn't a far-fetched proposal.

Why does it matter if Meredith's going with Chad, though? he mentally scolded himself. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts before facing his friends who were all awaiting his answer, one of them a little more eager to hear it than usual.

"I'll think about it," he said, causing Doug and Lonnie to nod and say words of approval. "It doesn't seem like a bad idea."

It didn't seem like a bad idea to Carlos, but to Meredith... well, she found herself not quite liking it, but she couldn't find it in her to understand why.