*Bella's P.O.V*

"There they are," Ben sighed, pointing over to the picnic table that Mal, Evie and Jay were sat at. There was no sign of Carlos, though, which worried me. Behind them were all the popular kids, including Audrey and Chad which made me roll my eyes. I was disappointed to see Lonnie, Jane and Doug with them, as well.

"Hey, guys," Ben grinned as we reached the VKs table, "How is everyone?" I had to refrain from smacking my brother up the side of the head for asking such a stupid question. I think it's pretty obvious how they must be feeling.

"Hey, listen," He continued trying to make them feel better as I took the seat next to Evie, "Forget about it, alright? It was nothing, forget about it, let it go." Still, no one said a word as Ben moved to stand behind Mal and put his hands on her shoulders, "Tomorrow after the coronation, everything will be okay."

"Yeah, we promise." I finally spoke up, offering a small smile which no one returned.

"I have to go, I'll see you guys later." Ben finished, leaning down to give Mal an adorable kiss on the temple before walking away, as Doug walked up to us.

"Listen, Evie, I wanna talk about earlier today, I just-"

"Doug!" The poor son of Dopey was interrupted by Chad, calling him over as if he were a dog or something. It made my blood boil the way Chad thought he could control Doug but I kept my cool.

"It's my fault, Doug, I'm so sorry." Evie whispered.

"No, it's mine, I-"

"Doug!"

"What?" Doug snapped, turning to look at Chad.

"Doug..." Evie looked as if she was about to cry so I grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

"Sorry, I can't." Doug muttered before going over to Chad's table.

"How long does she think that's gonna last?" Audrey asked as she and Jane walked passed, clearly intending for the VKs to hear, "Mal's just the bad girl infatuation."

"Yeah, I mean he's never gonna make a villain a queen." Jane said, spite and hatred in her voice as she tormented Mal. I'd always liked Jane but after today, my thoughts of her had changed completely.

As the two girls walked away laughing, something in me snapped and I couldn't hold back any longer as I stood up abruptly.

"Bella, you don't have to." Evie grabbed my wrist but I pulled away and ignored her as I walked over to the popular table. I was glad Ben had left so he wouldn't try to stop me from giving these bitches a piece of my mind.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves," I began, the anger already clear in my voice, "Especially you three," I glanced at Lonnie, Doug and Jane, "I thought you were better than this, better than them." I glared at Chad and Audrey.

"Back off, Bella." Audrey snapped at me.

"No, you back off, princess, and shut up because no one actually wants to listen to your whiny little voice." I snarled, which thankfully shut her up.

"You know, if anyone's evil around here, it's you people," I continued indignantly, "You're all too stuck up and narrow minded to see that Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos are actually amazing people, and better friends to me that any of you have ever been," I looked right at Lonnie as I said that because she's supposed to be my friend and yet she's taking their side. I then aimed the next bit at her, Jane and Doug, "I thought some of you were actually decent, good people but clearly, I've been proven wrong. You all need to take a long, hard look at yourselves." I turned and walked back over to my real friends before anyone could argue with me.

"Thank you, Bella." Jay was the first one to speak and offered me a grateful smile, which of course I returned.

"Yeah, you didn't have to do that." Evie said.

"Someone had to say it," I replied with a shrug, "Anyway, have any of you seen Carlos?" The three of them gave me sad looks which really didn't help the worry I was feeling.

"He ran off after we left Family Day. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, but he looked pretty upset." Jay told me sorrowfully.

"Oh, okay, thanks." I said, trying not to sound as worried as I felt, "I'll see you guys around, okay?" I added and the three of them just nodded before I dismissed myself and went to look for Carlos.

I searched high and low for the freckled boy, going to every corner of campus and after looking for over twenty minutes, I thought about giving up. That thought was demolished, however, when I wandered into the forest next to the tourney field and heard a sob echo throughout the trees. I knew exactly who it was, I recognised his voice immediately but I didn't want to believe it. My heart shattered when I found him, sat on the sturdy body of a fallen tree, his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking with every gut wrenching sob that slipped past his lips.

"Carlos?" My voice was barely above a whisper but it was loud enough to get his attention. His head shot up and he was quick to wipe away the fat tears rolling down his cheek, as if trying to cover up any signs that he'd been crying. It was pointless, though, and we both knew it.

"Bella, hey," His voice was shaky and brittle but he still tried to hide it, "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you," I softly told him, going over and sitting next to him on the large tree trunk before blurting out, "Carlos, I'm so sorry."

Carlos looked at me with bewilderment, "What are you sorry for?"

"For what happened today." I knew it wasn't my fault, but somehow I felt responsible. It was my peers that caused the uproar, after all.

"What? No, if anything, I should be sorry. I mean, you were probably really looking forward to Family Day and spending time with your parents and Ben and then we just-"

"Carlos, it was not your fault," I cut him off sharply and sternly, "It was Queen Leah's fault, and Audrey, and Chad, and every other arrogant, bigoted asshole around here." I started to get more and more angry as I spoke, to the point where I was almost spitting poison with each word. Carlos looked quite taken aback by my sudden outburst, especially since he'd never heard me use that kind of language before but he didn't say anything.

An awkward silence suddenly fell over us as neither of us really knew how to address the elephant in the room. Eventually, after a few minutes of me toying with the end of my hair and Carlos twiddling his thumbs, he finally spoke.

"Bella, I'm so sorry for what I did," He blurted rather abruptly, barely giving me a chance to react before he continued, "I don't know what I was thinking; I wasn't thinking. Mal had just made the cookies and they were just there and no one was looking so I took a couple and then I gave one to you. I don't even know why I did it, I don't know why I thought it was a good idea. I was being an idiot. Well, more of an idiot than usual. Look, what I'm trying to say is I never should've given you that stupid love potion but I did, because you were right; I am a villain and-"

"No, Carlos, I was wrong," Once again, I cut him off, "You are not a villain and I'm sorry I called you one. I was just mad and upset and I know that's no excuse but I just... I'm sorry, okay?"

Carlos just shook his head, "I am, though. What I did was so wrong and unforgivable..."

"Yes, but it does not make you a villain, and who said it was unforgivable?" I offered a small smile but Carlos didn't return it, instead the serious look on his face remained.

"Maybe that doesn't make me a villain but I can think of something that does." He mumbled, probably thinking I wouldn't hear him but I did and I was confused to say the least.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing." I could tell he was deliberately avoiding eye contact with me.

"It didn't sound like nothing." I wasn't usually one to pry, but there was just something about the look on Carlos' face. He looked like he was dying to tell someone and I hated the thought of him bottling anything up.

"Well, it is nothing." He protested but I could tell it wasn't the truth. I could tell he wanted to tell me.

"Carlos, you can tell me anything, you do know that, right? You know I'll never judge you." I placed my hand on top of his.

Carlos scoffed, "Yeah, you say that now but..." He shook his head, unable to go on when his voice cracked and I could tell he was holding back fresh tears.

"Carlos, please, just tell me. It can't be that bad."

"But it is," His voice trembled, "It is that bad and if I tell you, you'll...you'll hate me, I know you will and...a-and I don't want you to hate me b-because you're one th-the best friends I've ever had, you've made my time here at Auradon so much better than it would've been if you weren't here. I can't... I-I can't lost you over this." Tears began to spill but this time he didn't wipe them away. Tears threatened to spill onto my own cheeks as I kept my grip on Carlos' hand, holding it much tighter now as if he would break if I let go.

"Carlos," I tried not to let my own voice crack or quaver, "I promise, I will not hate you, alright? Just, please, tell me. You're scaring me now."

Carlos took a deep breath before finally confessing, "We... We're planning to steal the wand tomorrow at the coronation, so we can bring down the barrier and set everyone on the Isle free." He told me all in one breath.

I was shocked. I was incredibly shocked and I didn't try to hide that. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to react, I didn't know what I could say to him.

"Wow... I-I don't know what to say, Carlos, I..."

"But I don't want to do it, Bella. I don't want to steal the wand, I don't want to be evil, I don't want to be a villain. Our parents are making us but I don't want to. I want to be good, I want to stay here in Auradon and go to school and play tourney and be with you a-and Dude. I... I don't want to be like my mother." He buried his face in his hands once again as he choked back a sob.

"Carlos, look at me," I softly demanded, gently pulling his hands away from his face and holding them in mine. Carlos lifted his head and finally met my eyes. I couldn't find a single speck of evil in those big, brown, watery orbs.

"You are nothing like your mother, okay? And you are not evil, or a villain. You're good, I know you are, and you're pure and you're kindhearted and you're everything that your mother isn't. You don't have to steal that wand, Carlos, you can stay here and you can do what you want, you can be who you want without worrying about your mother."

Carlos didn't speak. Instead, he hugged me, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck. I smiled at the gesture, wrapping my arms around his waist. My smile fell, however, when Carlos' shoulders started to shake and I felt tears drip onto my neck.

"Carlos, please don't cry." I whispered, tightening my grip around his slim torso.

"I'm sorry," He sniffled, pulling away to wipe his eyes, "I just... I didn't realise how much I needed to hear someone say all that."

"Well, I meant it. Every single word." I told him, extending my arm to wipe away a tear that he missed on his cheek. The simple action caused him to smile. It was only small, but it was a smile.

"Thank you, Bella." He said, taking both of my hands in his.

"You don't need to thank me, Carlos." I shook my head slightly before deciding I'd had enough of the tears and sadness and asked out of the blue, "Hey, can I ask a favour?"

Carlos was taken off guard by the sudden change of topic but still replied with, "Uh, sure, what?"

"Okay, well, remember when you offered to teach me how to dance?" I began and Carlos thought for a moment before slowly nodding, "Well, of course, the coronation is tomorrow and I will more than likely have to dance, the only thing is... I'm a horrible dancer."

Carlos let out a light chuckle, "That's not true, you weren't that bad at Family Day."

"I had weeks of practice for that, plus I'm pretty sure Ben made the steps extra easy because he knew I would be doing them." I said and Carlos laughed again, which put a smile on my face, "Look, what I'm trying to say is, do you think you could maybe find the time to help me suck a little less before the coronation?"

"I'd be happy to." Carlos said with a grin, his mood and attitude almost completely changed which I was glad about.

"Really? Oh thank you, Carlos," I gushed, "I need to go find Ben now, but is 6 okay?"

"Sure."

"Okay, great," I was about to get up and leave but before I did I turned back to him, "And Carlos?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't hate you, okay? I never could." I promised him.

"Okay." The corners of his lips tugged up into a smile and I smiled back before finally going to find my brother.