Elena POV
Even though I was done with classes for the rest of the day, I went ahead and walked with the VKs since they had a few more. I was walking with Mal as she told me to, mainly because Jay's been being a big silly our whole walk here and has been joking around with me the whole time. Evie said she'd neuter him again and Mal threatened to spell him, Carlos even told him to quit it, but I don't really see what the big deal is, it's all just innocent fun... right?
Anyway, Mal held her books tightly in her arms and stared off at the ground again, the boys were making their own conversation upfront and Evie stood in between us to keep Jay in check, but I was too busy being concerned about Mal to care what the boys or Evie were talking about. She just looks so... empty. No one should ever look empty at all, let alone this empty! She's staring at the ground without even blinking, and yet no one else seems to realize it! I'm sorry, but I just can't stand to see it,
"Mal? Are you alright? You're zoning out again"
Mal's eyes jolted back up to look at me with glossy and distant eyes. She just stared at me for a second with a numb expression on her face before simply shrugging without saying a word. She then looked down again and went into another world it seemed all over again. I sighed and looked ahead as Carlos suddenly turned to me,
"Elle? I need you for a minute"
I perked up and trotted away from Mal to the front to join Carlos, I stepped in between Carlos and Jay for a moment as our group came to a pause,
"Yeah?"
Carlos sighed as I simply looked up at him, waiting for direction,
"I need you to pretend to be someone, you are pretty similar to them already when it comes to character and personality so I thought you could maybe act like you're them for me?"
I smiled and nodded as he nervously rambled on, Jay giving me what Mal referred to as "googly eyes" or whatever that means as Carlos talked to me. Apparently it's just a way someone looks at someone else, but I still don't understand it a whole lot,
"I can do that! What do you need me to do?"
Carlos got his smile back and chuckled with relief,
"Oh awesome, thanks! I uh... just need you to stand there and like... bat your lashes and look cute or something"
I giggled and nodded and began batting my lashes a little more and tried to up my cuteness factor with little body language things. He nodded in approval and continued,
"Perfect, alright imagine that you're the girl I have a crush on you, but you don't know that. I'm gonna act like I'm asking you to cotillion, I just need practice because well... every time I talk to my real crush my words get all jumbled. Part of it is because I don't talk to girls enough, so having practice with a friend should help me out"
Carlos quickly explained, I only giggled as that's so sweet! Getting all nervous with a crush is such a beautiful thing to me, I just think it's adorable! And he asked me to help which always makes me feel awesome, I love helping anyone I can, especially with things like this,
"Got it! Go on"
I excitedly chirped. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment to get himself together and all his thoughts wrapped up before opening his fresh eyes and giving me a kind smile. I went ahead and continued to bat my lashes a little and try to look extra cute. I don't know if I'm naturally cute or not, but I'm trying really hard to fit the part. Carlos started off in a whisper as he said his crush's name in such a low mutter, not even I could hear it, but that's understandable. After that, he spoke up,
"Will you... go to cotillion with me?"
That was all he said, I deflated and sighed as he looked rather proud of himself,
"Carlos, if you want a girl to be wowed you're gonna have to try harder than that. You have a crush on this girl? Then confess! Speak out about it before you ask her to cotillion, it'll make her far more interested and invested in you, trust me!"
He furrowed his brow and looked from Jay to me as they were about to celebrate, but as Carlos's friend I refuse to let him go down in flames here like he would be if he went all simple like that,
"But how? I mean... I don't know what to say"
I sighed and cocked my leg and put my hands on my hips,
"Well, what do you like about her? What about this girl entices you to the point of romantic affection? Her smile? Her laugh? Her eyes? Her personality? Whatever it may be, tell her! She's not a fire breathing dragon, she's a girl!"
Carlos sighed and thought for a moment before slowly nodding, a smile slowly bloomed on his lips after a few moments,
"Now try again"
I said with a smile as I went back to purposely looking cute and batting my lashes as he got himself mentally re-situated. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath again before opening his eyes and muttering the name of his crush again before speaking up,
"I've been meaning to say this for a while, but... you're just the most amazing girl I've ever met. You're packed with charm and quirks that I can't help but love, you're caring and gods... beautiful beyond words to be honest. I mean it's like I look into your eyes and see a whole cloudless sky in them, it's unlike something I've ever seen, you are unlike anything I've ever experienced... so I was wondering if you'd come to cotillion with me? And if you want... after that could you be my girlfriend?"
I brightly smiled and playfully punched his shoulder with pride,
"That's it, that is how you knock a girl off her feet and right into your arms!"
I excitedly spoke as I gave him a proud smile. He deeply exhaled and smiled at me with a chuckle,
"Thanks Elle, that helped a lot. Now the problem is talking to her specifically"
I giggled and gave him a reassuring smile and pat on the shoulder,
"I believe in you, you're a kind gentleman so any girl that knows best would be lucky to have you, you got this bud"
He absolutely lit up at my words of encouragement and chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he did,
"Gee, thanks Elena"
Was all he could get out with his giggles and slight red tint he got to his cheeks. Jay gently rested his hand on my shoulder which made me look over to him,
"Am I a gentleman?~"
I giggled and gave him a bit of an awkward smile. Jay isn't really the type of guy to give you his jacket when you're chilly or open the door for you and stuff, he's... a little more flirt driven. So I only laughed at his question and didn't give him a verbal answer, I didn't want to hurt his feelings. His look got a bit more blank and embarrassed as I only laughed and turned to face the girl walking up to the group. Oh it's Jane! Jane's great, I have her in some of my classes and she is just the most pleasant gal ever. She happily smiled as she approached the group,
"Oh hey Elena! Mal-"
She began but was cut off by Carlos who stepped forward a little, I nonetheless gave her a little polite wave that she gave me right back before turning her attention to Carlos as he butted in,
"Hey Jane, I was wondering if I could-"
Suddenly Carlos stopped, I looked up at him and saw that he had a sort of longing look about him... wait. Does he have a crush on Jane?! Awww cute! Look at him getting all flustered! Ah! Young love is so cute! Jane tilted her head at him and politely smiled at his speechlessness. I discreetly nudged Carlos's side which made him snap out of his admiring of Jane's presence and into a fight or flight like response,
"Enjoythecarrotcakethatyouhadlastnight?"
He rambled so quickly I don't think he even understood what he said. I resisted the urge to giggle while Jane only looked on with dazzle in her eye as she seemed to not even notice his stumble,
"Actually, I had the pumpkin pie, but it was great!"
She kindly spoke, Carlos got a little stuck again so I decided to just save him now, there was no way he was going to confess with this sort of anxiety. I stepped forward and gave Carlos a look to make a break for it before turning back to Jane,
"Jane! You were looking for Mal right?"
She quickly nodded, clipboard firmly gripped in her hands as Jay escorted Carlos outta there for his own good. I got out of the way to let Jane see Mal as Lonnie, another girl I already met this week came on up. Mal stayed in her zone as Evie marched right on up to Lonnie and Jane and began to chat. Meanwhile, I was just trying to get Mal to snap out of it for a moment,
"I have an opening for a fitting at three who wants it?"
Evie spoke, Lonnie before she could even finish her sentence volunteered,
"Me! Sorry"
Lonnie excitedly spoke before bashfully looking over to Jane to apologize for her quick response. While they were worrying about dresses, I was worrying about Mal again. I gently nudged her shoulder which made her eyes shoot up to meet my worried ones. She looked around and noticed her scenario and became a bit more attentive. Evie smiled and took Lonnie away to talk about dresses apparently, leaving Jane, Mal, and I here. Jane stepped forward and now that Mal was actually attentive, she was able to lock eyes with her almost immediately,
"Mal I hate to keep bugging you but the decorating committee needs more answers..."
Jane rapidly and nervously spoke,
"... so as much as I hate to... you know... uhm"
"Bug me?"
Mal finished for her, I could practically sense how much Mal didn't want to be here right now,
"Yeah!"
"Jane I would love to I have to get to class-"
Mal attempted her grand getaway and I was ready to join her, but Jane stopped her once again. It is seriously like no one has noticed how stressed out Mal is and it's making me more upset by the second,
"Well just nod if you like it!"
Mal sighed a tired sigh, one that was practically dripping in sadness. The poor girl's beaten down, I just wish I wasn't the only one to see it,
"Okay"
Mal muttered, Jane immediately started to talk so fast even I could barely catch up. Not to mention she was scrolling across pictures on her tablet the whole time, I felt motion sick just watching the pictures swipe away so quickly,
"Chair swags. Entry banner. Twinkle lights. Napkin design. Table bunting. And you still haven't picked the party favors yet"
I have never heard someone talk so fast and so consistently, I stepped back with big eyes as I'm not even in Mal's shoes and I feel stressed out! Heck, I've been a princess all my life and it's stressing me out!
"Honestly Jane, whatever you think-"
"I mean we could do chains, key charms, pen toppers. I kinda love the pen toppers, but I mean we can do all three-"
Jane was cut off when Mal's blinking increased and her breath shortened. I looked over to her with great worry, and soon great panic. Mal closed her eyes but... it looked as if they were forced open, like she was possessed or something, now glowing a vibrant green that just screamed evil energy. She quickly closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but I was just standing in shock. My big eyes were hard to conceal, I mean... that was strange! Like that was really strange, I have never seen anything like that in my whole life!
"I say pen toppers"
Mal said as she calmly opened her eyes, but I didn't buy her calm demeanor one bit. The girl is screaming on the inside, I can feel it in my bones. But Jane acted as if she didn't even see anything! She went on as if nothing happened!
"Yeah?"
"Yeah"
"You won't regret it"
And just like that, Jane walked off to join Lonnie and Evie for a moment... I'm not the only one who saw that right? I looked at Mal with big eyes and just stared at her... that was something inside of her acting up that I didn't want to exactly find out what it is. For her sake, I wanna know, but for my own level of freaked out, I don't. Mal looked over to me once Jane had left and saw my shock,
"Sorry... my magic has been doing that recently when I get too... overwhelmed?"
Mal said to me as I was still staring at her in a bit of shock. I mean it's not every day one of your friends suddenly looks like they get momentarily possessed. I quickly shook my head and smiled a little as I forced myself to calm my eyes,
"Oh don't be, my magic acts up when I'm stressed out no worries, I get it. I've just.... never seen anything like that before"
Mal sighed and looked down for a minute and shrugged before looking up at me with a far more hopeful gleam in her eye,
"Wait, your powers act up too? How?"
She asked with great interest. I took one of my gloves off so I could show her directly. Maybe if I showed her she'd feel a little better about the little stint she just had, maybe it would make me feel less freaked out. I straightened out my glove in my hand and held my newly bare hand out in front of me, allowing a small stream of snow to swirl above my palm,
"Well you see, my magic is designed by nature to be beautiful. Elegant and easy flowing..."
I began swirling my hand around, Mal's curious eyes following the snow streams that stemmed from my hand just as I created them,
"... but anything and everything can be dangerous even if it's beautiful. My mother hasn't told me much about the dangers of my magic, all she warns me about is to never lose control and to always stay calm, or else..."
I suddenly tensed my once relaxed hand, suddenly the snow that I had been spinning on my hand formed small spikes of ice that automatically pointed at Mal, a light red glow around them rather than the subtle blue added to the ominousness. Mal gasped and jumped back as the spikes replaced the snowflakes,
"... I could become very dangerous, so I rarely get overwhelmed because I make sure I don't. The last thing I want is to hurt someone somehow, let alone someone I may love or care for. So..."
I relaxed my hand and allowed the spikes to melt into delicate little snowflakes again, Mal seemed to let go of a breath she had held in and relaxed at the sight of the pleasant little snowflakes again,
"... I make sure to keep myself calm and free, for everyone's safety including mine. And before you ask how could I hurt anyone, I don't know. My mom's never told me how my powers could be dangerous, she simply said they can be, she would know, she has the same powers as I after all"
Mal carefully watched as I swirled the snowflakes into the air before allowing them to disperse into the air so I could slip my glove back on,
"I assume you must do the same? Stay calm and free to control your temper and powers?"
Mal sighed and tilted her head and sighed. She simply stayed quiet for a moment and looked at her feet to mutter as Evie, Lonnie, and Jane came back,
"I don't think I'm doing a good job at that"
She had muttered as the three girls came back to us. They all seemed to line up which made Mal and I turn our attention back over to her as I fixed my glove some more,
"I can't wait to see what your wedding is going to look like Mal!"
Lonnie squealed, my eyes widened in shock as I looked at Mal who blindly agreed before turning to the same shock that I was, wedding?! What? Since when? I haven't been here long, but that doesn't sound right,
"Wait what?!"
Mal shrieked, the girls giggled as I was just as shocked as Mal was, wedding? But I thought Mal and Ben have only been together for six months? I mean I don't judge them if they have and want to get married already but I was under the impression that their relationship wasn't that far along. I mean judging my Mal's expression she didn't think so either,
"The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged!"
Okay, that is the most stupid thing I've ever heard. I could barely keep my distaste in anymore as Mal looked as if she just saw a ghost, but the girls continued,
"I knew it!"
Evie exclaimed with a bright smile, meanwhile I can't FORCE a smile onto my face for once,
"Well everybody knows it!"
Lonnie said in a sort of "duh" tone. I looked over to Mal with a shocked expression, she looked at me at the same time to see what I was thinking before breaking into nervous rambling,
"I didn't know it! How come nobody told me that?! Is my entire life just planned out in front of me-"
I had to at least put a word in, this is silly. So silly, that I can barely force myself to stay pleasantly kind for once,
"And it's the silliest little thing I've ever heard of! I've been a princess my entire life and not once have I heard of a cotillion being an event to getting engaged to be engaged or whatever you said! That's extreme! Especially if one of the two members of the said couple doesn't know that!"
Mal smiled at me a little as she's probably glad we have someone sane here. The other three girls looked at me in a bit of a shock, but before they could even say a word we were kindly interrupted by the King who waltzed on up here as if nothing was going on. The girls turned their attention to Ben and got all giggly and such as girls do,
"Hi Mal"
Ben said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Their relationship is so cute, but the longer I know them and the longer I'm here the more I see that it's a little strained. The girls all sang in unison,
"Hey Ben~"
Ben was just about to lean down to give Mal a loving kiss on the cheek, but once again someone swooped in the way and dragged him away from her. Jane pulled him away, saying she needed him for a quick moment, but Mal has to get to class so she can't just wait for him to be done. I looked at Ben and Jane with slightly narrowed eyes before looking back at Mal. We were suddenly alone, everyone else had left so it was just me and her, and she was staring at Ben ever so longingly that it hurt my soul,
"Come on, I'll walk you to class"
I kindly offered, but she didn't really want to I could tell. I sighed as she just kept looking at Ben, moving her head around as if she was trying to get him to do as much as glance at her. She's just affection deprived I'm sure, you don't need to be a relationship expert to know that. Ben finally glanced our way, allowing Ben and Mal to say a rather awkward goodbye to each other before Ben turned back to Jane. I simply grabbed Mal's hand now and lead her away, but she wanted to stay. Mal let me drag her away nonetheless to get her to class, as we walked she began to sulk,
"Thanks Elena, for being a good friend"
Was all she said during the walk to her class. I smiled and knew she wasn't in the mood to talk right now, besides I'm pretty sure I know most of her internal struggles, so as I dropped her off at her second to last class for today I gave her a kind smile and supportive side hug with a side of encouragement,
"No problem Mal, you're gonna be okay I promise"
Mal smiled a little more at that and nodded before entering the classroom. It makes me sad to see any of my friends upset, but hopefully Mal will make her way out of this bit of a rough patch soon. She's a strong girl, but just judging by what I know, I don't know how much more she can take.
A/N
Hiya! These chapters are coming out long now sheesh XD I think I just subconsciously wanna get to the action parts really fast, I'm trying really hard to pace myself that's for sure XD
I'm gonna keep this note short again cause once again it's a little late for me, but I had a super productive day so that's good! I'll finally be able to get back on my horse tomorrow after a few days of mending so I'm super excited about that :D
So far I am loving how this book is coming out, I can't stress that enough! I was worried I wasn't going to be able to figure out Elena's character but I think I'm getting the hang of it :D
Remember to stay hydrated and to be kind to yourself today :D
-Brooke