halsey | carlos de vil

02.

The game proceeded with a obvious new star player, and he roughly pushed everyone out of his way with such force that Halsey occasionally cringed. By the devious look in Jay's eyes, he was obviously enjoying throwing everyone onto the ground and Audrey grew a little frustrated at the boy. Chad, too, was fuming as he watched enviously how effortlessly the boy could throw everyone out of his way. Chad and Audrey shared a look, both shaking their heads and fuming as Halsey cheered as loud as possible, jumping up and down excitedly. The happy girl caught Carlos' eyes, who was failing to leave a stinging impression like his friend, yet Halsey still thought he was brave for trying. He managed to smile at her, and she stopped her cheering as she grinned back, shyly waving. Chad narrowed his eyes at the two, yet not for long as Halsey waited a few moments before quietly slipped away from the fields and into the woods.

Knowing the path like the back of her hand, she easily found the field of roses that she was currently working on, and her paint pots along with paintbrushes were still well hidden. This was where she escaped all the pressure of school and being royal, yet not an actual child of the king and queen, and each day she looked forward even more to painting the white roses red. It was the fairy godmother that had noticed the young girl felt homesick at times, so she one day planted white roses in the woods in a hidden place. A place where she could paint them red and be reminded of the mischief and madness back in Wonderland, the home that she wondered about but never dared to go back to. Halsey was bought out of her thoughts as she heard the coach calling her name, and she cursed underneath her breath before reciting the enchantment fairy godmother had taught her. Halsey quickly clapped her hands twice, and the field of roses along with any evidence of paint just as the coach rounded the corner.

"There you are! You must stop running away from cheer, Halsey! And, also, Dude is missing. Could you help find him, he ran in the woods." "What? Dude's missing?" Halsey spat with shock to herself, not saying another word as she ran away even deeper into the woods. The woods were large enough to easily get lost in, yet Halsey knew every tree and sound in the woods. Halsey glanced from side to side to debate which path to go for, leaning against a tree as she caught her breath. She inhaled sharply before trusting her instincts and going right, surprised to see Carlos sat on the ground with Dude in his arms. Carlos' head shot up, and he frowned at the panting girl in front of him.

"Ohh.. y-you found him." Halsey managed to announce breathlessly, her cheeks flushing pink as Carlos looked her up and down. His eyes paused at her fingers which were slightly tainted red, yet he shook his head and simply nodded. "I thought you were.. I don't know, scared of dogs? Seeing as your mother is Cruella.."

"I was, but then Ben convinced me that Dude was harmless. I think Jane was supposed to be on dog duty, but Ben said it was alright if I got to know him. You're a good boy, aren't you?" Halsey smiled as Carlos buried his head into Dude's fur, and suddenly feeling as if she was interrupting the moment, she began to take a few steps back. "Well, I should be getting back. I'll give you guys some time to get to know each other and—" "No, please don't go! I mean, uh, it's just that.. I, erm, want some... company?" Carlos words were uncertain and he immediately stood up when she claimed she was leaving. His cheeks were a furious shade of red as he anxiously watched her turn back around with a small smile. "Really? You want me to stay?" She asked with shock in a soft voice, and Carlos could only shrug with embarrassment as she stood besides him. "Well, at least let me  take you around the school gardens as we look after Dude. Ben didn't even show you any of the cool places!" She gushed excitedly with a twinkle in her eyes as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the woods. Carlos was stunned as he glanced down at their intertwined fingers, but Halsey was too busy rambling about cookies to notice what she had just done.