Two weeks after the incidents at the cabin, Y/n's friends at Auradon were getting a bit antsy.
"She's alright, Carlos," Evie assured, a slight frown on her face as she watched her friend pace around the room after another visit to Fairy Godmother's office, where he'd inquired after the girl, making sure he hadn't missed the coming of a letter.
"But she should have written by now," Carlos reasoned. "It's been like five days longer than usual."
"Maybe it's been a very uneventful week," Jay suggested.
"But she promised to keep us updated," Carlos forced out, dragging a hand through his hair, which was now a bit longer than it had been when he'd last seen the girl in question. "I wish we could just write to her."
"We can't," Evie reminded. "Besides, she'd alert us if anything bad happened. She knows we'd worry."
"But what if it's so bad that she can't alert us? What if the Red Queen got to her, or— or—" Carlos sighed, dropping into a squat and leaning his face into his hands. "I just can't help but worry..."
Dude whimpered, coming up to the boy who'd become his official owner after Ben had allowed it. Carlos smiled slightly, scratching the dog behind his ears. "You miss her, too, don't you?"
Jay and Evie shared a glance. If Mal were there, she'd most likely know what to do but, being the king's girlfriend and all, she had other business to attend to. Finally, Carlos' best friend sighed, pulling himself up from the sofa. "Alright, let's go do something to get your mind off of things."
Carlos glanced at Jay but nodded, not having the heart to tell him that whatever he did, it kept reminding him of Y/n. Every step he took he wished she was there beside him. That she was safe.
Every day the boy thought about Y/n. Sometimes he'd even dream of her. Dream of her coming back or, at the other end of the spectrum, of her never coming back. He'd always wake up drenched in cold sweat after the latter, extra careful not to wake Jay up.
Every so often, Carlos' mind wandered to the accusation of him liking Y/n, something that Evie had accused him of way back, when she was still with them. But every time he thought of the possibility, his heart ached. He knew it to be the truth by now but accepting it seemed to hurt so much, especially when it wasn't sure that she'd be coming back to them. To him.
When her letters arrived, he always secretly hoped there would be an extra paragraph just for him but Carlos knew it was childish to hope so. It was pretty likely Y/n had never liked him that way and, if she had, she'd probably got rid of the feelings by now. After all, she was a princess. Carlos could never be worthy of someone like her liking her back, especially not when she had the whole world open in front of her and he was just the son of a villain, living off of the charity of king Ben.
Jay glanced at Carlos, the latter being so deep in thought he didn't even notice the attention.
"You gotta tell her, man," Jay spoke finally.
Carlos' head snapped up, his eyes widening as he realised that he'd been zoning out while they walked down the hall.
However, Jay didn't even give him the chance to answer. "If not in a letter, then at least man up when she comes back. You know she won't be around for forever but if you don't tell her or do something about it, it will keep weighing you down."
Carlos hung his head low. It seemed there was no hiding his feelings from his friends and while he was grateful for the support, it also felt like more pressure. "I don't know, Jay. I don't even know whether these feelings are what I think they are. Maybe I just miss her."
Jay raised a brow. "But they started when she was still here, didn't they?"
The other boy shrugged. "I guess... But she was — is — a very good friend, too. Maybe that's that."
"If it was just being a good friend, you'd feel that way around Evie and Mal, too," Jay pointed out. "Do you?"
Carlos bit the inside of his cheek. Slowly, he shook his head no. He didn't. He never had. It was only Y/n, only her made her feel so safe, so welcome, so... loved.
Jay's lips curled into a smile. "Then man up and tell her when she comes back. And until then, do what she'd want you to do."
Carlos nodded, now determined. I'll do just that. I'll be happy, because she'd want me to be, and then, when she comes back, I'll make her happy, too.