A/N: Friendly reminder to check if your acc has been pwned (compromised)!!! Wattpad released a statement that their site was h*cked a month ago (I can't believe they didn't tell us sooner???) and a lot of users' information may have been leaked :(( There's a thread on Twitter on how to check + security measures to keep your email and Wattpad acc safe from now on, so feel free to comment or message me if you need it. Stay safe y'all!

Meredith escaped the afternoon sun that day for just a few minutes by returning to the dorm. She and Jane had cheerleading practice in a while, but they agreed to meet up to discuss a few more details about the Royal Cotillion together. She felt guilty for just recently feeling uncomfortable around Jane because had always been nothing but nice to her. The fact that Carlos was most probably going to ask her to the cotillion made her feel all weird on the inside, especially after talking to Ben about how she was starting to see Carlos differently, and she just couldn't help it.

"I don't understand how you've dealt with all these projects before," Jane admitted as they walked down the hall.

"Well, you know I can't say no to a challenge," Meredith shrugged. "I haven't planned any event as big as this cotillion, though, so you're really in for it this time."

The two girls passed by Evie and Mal's room. Like it usually was nowadays, the door was left ajar to accommodate Evie's customers. Jay was leaning by the frame, dressed in a R.O.A.R. sports attire and his duffle bag slung over his left shoulder.

"Chad, let's go," he was saying before he spotted Meredith and Jane walking his way.

"Hi, ladies," he smiled at them.

"Hi, Jay," they greeted him back.

"You have training?" Jane asked him conversationally.

"Yeah, just picking up Chad," he replied in amusement. Sure enough, Chad was inside the room, having his floor-length cape fitted and altered by Evie while Doug typed away on a laptop nearby as he helped his girlfriend with the finances of her business. "You?"

"Same. We were just doing some more work on the way," said Meredith, waving her tablet for emphasis.

Jay wanted to ask Meredith about what Carlos had told him — their little fight about their cotillion dates — but Jane was there and Chad was walking out of Evie's room with a small sniffle as he had just been talking about Audrey, so he couldn't risk mentioning that around them.

"Why don't you girls watch us for a bit?" Jay suddenly suggested. "We're having a practice match today."

Meredith didn't want to see Carlos again. She already saw him that morning, so was still feeling irritated, confused, and a jumble of other emotions towards him.

"Oh, but we have training —"

"That's a great idea!" Jane cut her off brightly. "It sounds fun. We can take a quick break from all this planning stuff."

"It does, doesn't it?" Jay agreed as Chad made his way to his side. He swung an arm around the blonde boy who still looked sad. "Besides, I think Chad needs a bit of cheering up."

"What's wrong with him?" Jane whispered.

"Audrey," Jay mouthed back, causing Jane to ohhh in understanding.

"But we might be late for cheer," Meredith still tried.

"Don't worry, Meredith. Training doesn't start in at least an hour," Jane reassured.

"See? Problem solved," Jay grinned. He hoped this would be enough for Carlos to man up and clear things up with Meredith. "Follow us, ladies."

And that was how Meredith found herself watching the Swords and Shields Team in the amphitheater a few minutes later. They did a quick warm-up during which Jane and Meredith continued to talk about the cotillion preparations for the nth time that day, but as they got ready to start the match, they decided to drop that discussion and focus on what was going to unfold. Meredith noticed by then that more girls started to enter the venue to watch, too. There was no doubt that most of them were there to stare at Jay, who was not only the captain of the team but also the main eye-candy at Auradon Prep. However, she found herself glancing at a certain white-haired boy from time to time.

"I can't believe you brought Meredith here," Carlos was saying to Jay in a low voice, also glancing at the girl whenever she wasn't looking.

"What's wrong with that?" Jay said innocently. "She and Jane were just passing by, and they had free time."

Carlos huffed, knowing perfectly well that Jay had some hidden motive for bringing her to their training.

"Alright, boys, let's line it up!" Jay announced before Carlos could argue with him. "Carlos, you're with me. Let's go!"

Jay patted his best friend on the back and prepared his gear while the rest of the team hurriedly finished their warm-up.

"Yeah," Carlos said. He readied his mask and sword as he came up to stand in front of Jay. The other boys followed after them and lined up in front of their assigned opponents. Then, Jay began their practice as he called out his instructions.

"Assemble. Salute. Lower the point. Masks down. En garde."

Meredith watched in anticipation as all boys broke out into fighting. Everyone was jumping, dodging, and slashing all at once. Swords were swinging everywhere and the people watching the match reacted at all the right moments.

"Keep your center! Up and over!"

All of a sudden, somebody else jumped into the arena, also dressed in the Swords and Shields's team uniform and equipment. The person looked lean and limber, easily taking out every other member until Jay was the only one left. This caused the audience to murmur in confusion and awe, wondering who this unknown person was.

"Get him, Jay!" Carlos encouraged as Jay and the masked player circled around one another. There was a brief pause before they both attacked once more, their swords clashing loudly while the crowd cheered excitedly. "Watch out, Jay!"

"Nice!" Chad exclaimed when Jay managed to dodge a very close hit. Meredith leaned over the railing to get a closer look at the mystery person — there was no mistaking the power mixed with grace in those movements. It was Lonnie.

In the final moment of truth, Lonnie disarmed Jay and stole his sword. The audience let out shocked gasps as she pointed both weapons at him.

"Jay, what happened?" Carlos said, confused as to how easily he had lost his sword. Jay was undoubtedly the best player among them, so it didn't make sense that some random person who wasn't even on the team had taken him out just like that.

"Finish him!" said Chad.

Jay was not going to back down and still tried his best to evade Lonnie's attacks even when he was defenseless. Then, he was managed to kick one sword out of her hand, snatching it back in a swift motion. He watched as Lonnie finally removed her mask, her long hair falling loose behind her shoulders as she did so. Jay's jaw dropped when he realized who he had been dueling this entire time.

"It's Lonnie!" Jane said happily. Meredith smiled, more than proud of Lonnie. She had done all that without any formal training from Auradon Prep and from mostly practicing on her own with no one else to duel with — except for Meredith during the few times she was dragged by her to help her train.

"Not bad," Jay smirked, impressed.

"You should put me on the team," Lonnie said confidently.

"Hey, what?" Chad interjected, stepping forward. "No, no, no. We'll — we'll be the laughing stock of the league. And what's gonna happen next? We'll have girls playing tourney? Come on, guys."

"So?" Jay raised his eyebrows.

"So? So, have you not read the rule book?" Meredith frowned as Chad pulled out the aforementioned rule book from his pocket — why he even had a book in there, she didn't know. "Section two, paragraph three, eleven-dash-four: 'A team will be comprised of a captain and eight men.'"

The blonde boy even made it a point to flash the page at Lonnie's face and at the people watching them from above. Meredith, Jane, and a few of the other students there all shared worried glances.

"Hmm?" Chad continued. "Why don't you read the rule book?"

"Okay, yeah, but you're down a man!" Lonnie tried. "I mean, since Ben had to leave to do all that king stuff."

"Exactly. We're down a man."

"Jay," Lonnie pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Jay sighed. His answer took Meredith aback — she really hoped he would allow Lonnie to join, and some part of her really believed he would let her. He didn't seem like the type to judge one's fighting skills based on their gender. "Coach trusts me. I'm not gonna stay captain if I just throw out the rule book."

"If my mother thought that way, she would have lost the war."

"Pfft! Okay," Chad scoffed, causing Meredith to sigh irritatedly at him. Lonnie knew that she was losing this argument and began walking away from the boys. "Rule book, rule book."

Meredith felt bad for Lonnie. She had worked so hard to ensure that she was good enough — no, even better than that — to get accepted into the team. R.O.A.R. was a sport she was truly talented at, and it was so unfair that she couldn't pursue it at Auradon Prep just because she was a girl. For goodness sake, it was the 21st Century. Women shouldn't have to be restricted like that anymore.

As Meredith watched her friend exit the amphitheater, she accidentally locked eyes with Carlos. She saw him visibly straighten up in his seat, and for a moment, she thought he would try to say something to her. But, she still wasn't in the mood to talk to him. Besides, she didn't want to be around him all the time just to watch him ask Jane to the cotillion in the end. So, she began backtracking from the balcony and away from his sight, cutting herself off from any more contact with Carlos there.

"Alright, guys!" Jay cut the tension in the air. "Practice is over. Let's go."

Carlos hopped on his feet, craning his head to see over the railing of the balcony from his spot on the ground floor. Where did Meredith go? he wondered. She had been there a second earlier and he was sure they made eye contact. Even Jane was still there, and he was also sure that they arrived at the arena together.

"Jane!" Carlos yelled, planning on asking her where Meredith went. He jumped up on one of the boxes to give himself some height. "Jane, hey!"

"Hey, Carlos! What's up?" Jane beamed. Meredith took this as her cue to leave — she assumed this was the part where Carlos asks her out. So, she walked out the doors just before she could hear Carlos say what he really wanted to.

"Uhhh..." Carlos paused for a moment as he saw Dude run up to him from the corner of his eye. The mutt jumped up on top of another box and sat down as if waiting for him to finish his conversation. "Um, is Meredith with you?"

"Yeah! We went here together. She's —" Jane looked behind her only to see that Meredith had disappeared. "Oh, I think she left for cheer practice already. Did you need to ask her something?"

"Oh," Carlos mumbled in disappointment. "Yeah. No, I mean, it was just something about the cotillion, but never mind that."

"I know, right? It's all anybody is talking about. Cotillion 24/7. It's like they've never been to one before!"

"Uh... I haven't, actually," Carlos confessed. But he so badly wished that the first one he would ever attend would be with the redhead girl who wouldn't even look his way after their fight.

♚ ♚ ♚

how to say sorry to a girl

how to know if you have a crush on someone

how to get out of the friendzone

Carlos sighed at his laptop, feeling hopeless. He couldn't believe these were his search results, all because he couldn't muster up the courage to confront his feelings or talk to Meredith again. How was he supposed to ask her to the cotillion if, one, he was too scared to fully admit to himself that he did like her, and two, if they hadn't even made up from their fight?

Dude shifted in his cot beside Carlos.

"I see you reading over my shoulder," Carlos accused him.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Mal entered in a rush. Cameras were flashing behind her and reporters were throwing a bunch of questions at her, but she slammed the door shut before they could do any more damage.

Mal locked the door and began pacing around the room, breathing heavily. Then, she angrily picked up the remote and pressed the power button, turning off the TV that had previously been playing a recap of King Ben and Lady Mal's visit to Aladdin and Jasmine. Carlos frowned when he realized how stressed she looked. Amidst her breakdown, Mal's eyes flashed a bright shade of green.

"Whoa, easy, girl," Carlos said slowly.

"What? You think this is so easy?" Mal snapped, stomping over to him. "You don't have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say 'boo'! I mean, it's not that I could even say, 'boo,' but, you know what I —"

"I'm sorry," Carlos said quietly. Mal sighed and tried to calm herself down.

"Carlos, don't you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?"

"You're thinking of my mother, and I was usually on the other end of that. So, not really, no," Carlos replied with a hint of humor. "Oh, hey! Did you bring it?" He placed his laptop on the bed and got up on his feet, remembering why Mal was there in the first place.

Before Mal could show him the tiny box she brought along with her, the sound of the door unlocking caught their attention. The door creaked as it slowly opened, revealing Chad on the other end. The boy didn't notice that there were other people inside just yet as he tried to enter as quietly as possible, constantly checking the hallway to make sure nobody had seen him. Finally, he turned around and was about to cheer triumphantly, stopping short when he realized that had been caught red-handed by Carlos and Mal themselves.

"Hi," Chad chuckled causally. "Just came to use your 3D printer. Won't be a sec."

"How'd you get a key to my room?" Carlos asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I printed it off last time I was in here.
Uh... you guys were sleeping." Carlos and Mal exchanged glances, clearly weirded out by Chad. "Look, I just — your printer's so much better than mine, and you install these hacks and everything runs so much smoother than mine and —"

"Out!" Carlos motioned to the exit. "Now."

"Fine, fine," Chad gave in with a shrug, obeying and making his way to the door.

"Chad."

"What, hmm?"

"Leave the key," Carlos ordered, pointing at the table. Begrudgingly, Chad placed the key down on the wooden table right next to the 3D printer before finally leaving the room. Carlos rolled his eyes at him, then faced Mal once more.

"Mal? My potion?" he continued.

"Yeah, um..." She retrieved a piece of candy from the small box she was carrying. Carlos eyed it as if it was a piece of treasure, feeling a mixture of curiosity and anticipation.

"So, this thing will make me say what I really feel to Meredith?"

"Yeah," said Mal. "I mean, this is a truth gummy, so take it or leave it."

"Perfect."

"Hold on, though," Mal stopped him. "Are you sure that you want to be taking this? Because this is gonna make you say the truth all the time, no matter what, and the only reason that I'm asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I would get myself sent back to the Isle, which, it's not that that sounds super unappealing, but you know..."

Carlos didn't really pay attention to how she mentioned the Isle of all places because he was too focused on taking the truth gummy himself. He needed to take it now so he could admit his feelings to himself, apologize to Meredith, and say what he truly felt to her. He had been feeling so conflicted over the past few days, but he knew by now that maybe there was something more than their friendship that had been bothering him. With that truth potion inside that small piece of candy, he could finally get everything over with.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'll take my chances, I guess."

"Okay," Mal dropped her hand to her side. Just then, Dude leapt off of the bed and approached her, stealing the gummy from her hand. "Whoa! Bad dog!"

Carlos and Mal's eyes both widened as Dude jumped back on the bed. After he had finished chewing and swallowing the gummy, he started making sounds of disgust.

"Man, that thing was nasty!" Dude commented. "And you," he said to Carlos who was speechless. "You just got to man up. And while you're at it, scratch my butt."

"You heard him," said Mal. "Scratch his butt." Then, she spun on her heel and started walking towards the door.

"Mal, you're just gonna leave me with him?" Carlos said in disbelief. The girl didn't even reply and instead left without another word.

"Come on," Dude said once Mal was gone. "You scratch your own all the time!"

A/N: What are some other good fanfiction sites you guys read/write in? I'll still write and update here, but I'm considering posting my books in other sites as well because this whole Wattpad breach got me really paranoid YIKES :<