Mischief ▷ Carlos De Vil [1] #wattys2016

13. planning

Clara smiled softly at everyone as she passed by, nodding her head as a way of saying hello. Her lilac dress was swishing gently and her heels made a powerful clicking noise as she walked on the cobbled path. She looked so innocent, like she was simply just walking to get somewhere; not on her way to raise hell.

Everyone was bustling about getting ready for the coronation, making it easy for Clara and Luke to easily set up their plan in the midst of the chaos. They had decided to get revenge during Clara's song, Luke would be playing the acoustic guitar to accompany her voice and they were set to play after the coronation. Luke was currently hooking up a power point loaded with compromising photos and the closest things to proof that they could dig up.

Their plan was to expose them because even if Ben could look past it, Clara knew most of the students wouldn't. They had been waiting for a solid reason to hate them from the moment Carlos, Mal, Evie and Jay came and they were certainly about to get one. Clara suspected that they'd leave soon enough, fed up with the constant stares and rumors that were sure to follow, that was if Fairy Godmother didn't expel them first.

Clara wasn't generally a mean-spirited person and neither was Luke, but they weren't pushovers and they were dying to make an example; after this no one would cross either of them, especially since their little plan ended in sticky, green goo. What Clara was most proud of though, was her song. She had worked hard on it and it was something different to her normal style, it was the last song in their set, the last song before everyone knew and the very thought made her unbelievably anxious.

The song itself was catchy and relaxed, she had titled it 'Love Yourself' (a/n: yes, her song is Justin Bieber's Love Yourself) and she was excited for everyone to hear it, but as the coronation neared, despite her immense hate and hurt, she wasn't 100% sure she wanted everything to go down in green goo.

"Clara! Finally, just check over the power point for me. You'll sing Love Yourself then explain the story behind the song as I turn the power point on and project it behind you. While it's playing and you're talking, I'll also locate Mal and Carlos and shine a spotlight on them. After they're visible and you're finished, I'll prepare our gooey surprise for them. Did I miss anything?" Luke spoke, finishing up on the laptop as gestured for her to look over it.

"No, I think that's everything. Do you think it's too much though? Two wrongs don't make a right, you know." Clara replied, clicking through the well-planned presentation, surprising herself as the words left her lips.

"Um, is everything okay? Why are you suddenly not into this? You couldn't wait to bring that band of losers to justice before." Luke asked, pausing as he gently brushed her shoulder. In response, her mouth simply opened and then closed again because she simply didn't know. She didn't know what had switched in her, all she knew was that maybe they weren't as bad as she had believed, she hadn't even let Carlos explain and that's when she knew what she had to do.

"I have to find Carlos."

"What? No, don't be ridiculous."

"Luke, please. I have to talk to him, I need to know why."

"He'll only tell you what you want to hear, you can't trust him."

"And if that's true then I'll have no problem improving his face with lovely green slime." Clara quipped, setting down the laptop and moving to head to the dorms where she thought the descendants might be. "For now, cut the slideshow and keep the slime surprise out of the way, we mightn't need it."

"I'm not your personal slave, I won't always be here whenever Carlos isn't. Clara, leave now and I can't promise I'll help you next time you need me."

"Luke?" Clara questioned, her tone confused and heartbroken.

"What kind of friend would I be if I just let you run straight back to the guy who used you? I can't do it and I won't. We don't have to go through with all of this, but you can't go back to him. He doesn't deserve closure." Luke answered, his tone strong and his face closed off.

Again, Clara didn't have anything to say back to Luke, so instead of words she just walked into him and wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning her head into his chest.

"Thank you," she whispered as he returned her hug, she didn't need to say what for, he already knew. She was thanking him for caring, for trying to stop her from ending up hurt and thanking him for being a good friend. Although as Luke pulled her into him more, all she wanted was to talk to Carlos.

"You're welcome. Look, we'll put a hold on the goo and maybe the slide show, but you've gotta sing your song."

"I will." Clara smiled back, pulling away. "Come on, turn that off and let's go get ready for the coronation. Fancy being my date? I don't know if you heard, but my last one fell through."

"I'd be honored." Luke grinned back, leading Clara towards their rooms to get ready. "Tonight is gonna be big."

If only Luke knew just how 'big' their night was about to become.

a/n: sorry it's short, I struggled a lot writing this but I'm trying as hard as I can to stay active as I drown in homework, so please enjoy anyway. Next chapter will be heaps longer, I promise! Please vote and comment, they keep me motivated and I love to hear from you lovely people!

Thanks for reading!