I'm Fine(ONE SHOT)

Dreams?

They wouldn't understand. They wouldn't at all.

Back at my dorm, I was met with throngs of requests, the royal dance that was coming up had attracted attention, especially after the world had seen the dress Mal had worn at Cotillion, courtesy of me. Letting out a heavy sigh, I shuffled through the endless envelopes, unconsciously chewing my lip as I thought through request after request, but my mind kept wandering to the dress in the corner, draped with sheets in an attempt to cover it up.

I knew Mal's measurements by heart. They sat right next to the note from when we were 12 and she had confessed her love for me. Well, not exactly but a, "I hate you less then the rest of the world." Letting out a heavy sigh, I stood, smoothing my skirt before wandering to the corner and revealing the blinding white fabric, littered with pins.

Her wedding dress.

Ben had come to me, two weeks after Cotillion, asking for me to make a dress. No questions asked, the minute I heard what it was for, I knew I had lost.

I had lost her and this dress sealed my fate.

My fingers were itching to tear it to shreds, destroy the thing that stood between me and my dragon. But it would be of no use. Someone else would make her dress. At least Ben was allowing me to design the most important thing of her life.

I was deep in thought when Carlos crept in, his eyes on the ground as he fiddled with his fingers.

"Carlos? Do you need something?" I asked curiously, covering Mal's dress. When the silence continued I looked up. "Is everything ok?"

"Err I tried talking to Mal and she told me to talk to you before going to giggle with Ben..." He mumbled. "So I was wondering If you could help me...relationship trouble?" His words came out in broken sentences as he mumbled, his eyes trained on a crack in the floor. Rolling my eyes playfully, I leaned over, tilting his chin up.

"Is this girl trouble? Because I have enough of that." I murmured, tapping his cheek. "But..." I studied his face. "I'm guessing by your dull reaction that it's boy trouble you're actually here for."

His head shot up. "Um what? Boy trouble? N-No boy trouble. I-I'm straight." His brain moved faster than his mouth, causing his words to slur.

"Slow down Carlos." I said, laughing lightly. "You don't have to lie. I've seen the way you looked at Jay. You're hopelessly in love with him." Nudging him gently, I turned, shuffling through my jewelry. "And I'm guessing you want my advice?" At his sheepish nod, I smiled, sitting on my stool and starting to spin slowly, pinning pieces of fabric on the white lace. "So you obviously like Jay, Right? And I'm guessing he has no clue?"

Another nod.

Sighing, I pricked my finger, watching the blood swell. "I think your first problem is accepting the fact that you, Carlos Deville, are very much in love, and very much gay, for Jay."

He blushed furiously, toeing the ground, his hands behind his back. "I-I...He won't like me that way." He whispered. "He has Lonnie. He likes girls. And me? I'm...I'm a boy..." He mumbled, chewing his lip.

Sighing, I brushed his cheek. "Carlos, Jay is hopelessly in love with you. Do you not see it?" I asked gently, studying the boy's expression. He opened his mouth to speak but I covered it with my hand. "Listen. This is what you're going to do, ok? Fool proof plan. You have a tourney game tomorrow. Corner him in the locker room. Confess your feelings and then leave. Don't talk to him. Let him think it out. Three days after, hit him up, ok?" My words came out quickly, my tone smooth.

The smile on his face told me what I needed to know.

"Thanks Eves. Y'know, you should take your own advice." He said, a knowing smirk on his lips.