Some Wounds Don't Heal

Conquered Fear

Y/N POV

I was standing next to Ben on the tourney field while Carlos stood on the other side of the field. We were standing on opposite sides of the kill zone. I never understood why it was called that, but it was and I'm not going to question it. 

"Okay. Carlos, we're going to do some sprints. You ready?" Ben raised his voice so that Carlos could hear it. Carlos nodded and got into a position to run. I saw the campus mutt, Dude, running up behind Carlos and tried my best to not smile. 

Ben told Carlos to start and Carlos took off running towards us. He was really fast. It was going fine until Dude started barking, which caused Carlos to freak out. He started screaming and ran right past Ben and I and straight into the woods. 

I shake my head slightly and jog after Carlos and Dude, chuckling to myself. My jog was actually pretty fast. Growing up on the Isle, it was mandatory to be fast, and when I came to Auradon, my speed never left. 

I reached Carlos and Dude, who were about a hundred feet into the forest. Dude was barking at a tree to where Carlos was trembling. 

"Carlos!" Ben called. He came to a stop when he arrived next to me. 

"Ben! Y/n! Help me!" Carlos begs as I pick up Dude. "This thing is a killer! He's going to chase me down and rip out my throat! This is a vicious, rabid pack animal!" 

"Who told you that?" Ben asked as he tried to take Dude from me, which I denied him.

"My mother." Carlos responded, still in the tree.

"Cruella?" Ben asked.

"No Rapunzel." I monotoned. When Ben looked shocked I rolled my eyes and said, "Of course Cruella!" 

"She's a dog expert. A dog yeller." Carlos continues. "Why are you holding it?! It's going to attack you!"  

"Carlos, you've never actually met a dog, have you?" Ben asked.

"Of course not!" Carlos exclaimed like it was obvious. 

"Carlos, why do you think your mother would go near a dog to get clothes if they would attack her? Do you really think your mother would risk her life just for clothes?" I butted in. Carlos thought about what I had said while I continued. "Dude, meet Carlos. Carlos, this is Dude. He's the campus mutt. Don't ask why his name is Dude. I really don't know." 

"He doesn't look like a vicious, rabid pack animal." Carlos says before he climbed down from the tree. "Jeez, you're a good boy, aren't you?" 

I gave Dude to Carlos before Ben said sadly, "I guess you had it pretty rough on the island." 

"Yeah." Carlos replied. "Let's just say we don't get a lot of belly rubs." 

"It may be an island, but it's no picnic." I added.

"Good boy." Ben exclaims suddenly, putting his hand on Carlos' shoulder. I gave him a weird look, making Ben realize what he had said. "I mean, you're a good runner. You're fast, you know." 

"Thanks." Carlos answers a bit confused.  

"Yeah. Listen, I'm going to give you guys some space, yeah? You guys get to know each other and just, you know, come find me when you're done, okay?" Carlos nods and sits down on a log with Dude in his lap. Ben and I start to walk away, but before I could go more than three steps, Carlos called out to me. "Hey, Y/n? Can I talk to you?" 

I glanced at Ben who smiled. I turned around and walked back to Carlos, sitting on the log next to him. 

"What's up?" I asked Carlos.

He shifted uncomfortably and got his look of wonder on his face. "Why did you try to hide who you are from us?"

I looked down at my feet as I thought of a response. "There's more than just one reason," I started, "But I think that the main reason is memories, which I guess needs more explaining." I shifted so that I was looking at Carlos. "You remember when I was on the Isle and I told Harry about Evie liking him? Even though I was young and didn't know what I was doing, I'm ashamed about what I did. I guess that my blue hair reminds me of that time. So that's why I changed my hair color. But I think that the reason that I went farther to hide from you and the others is fear. I was afraid of how Evie would react when she saw me, how Mal would react, how Jay would react, even how you would react!"

"Why would you be afraid about how I would react?" Carlos questioned. "I wouldn't be mad at you. Disappointed, maybe, but not mad."  

"I wasn't thinking. Ben sprung you guys coming over here on me the day before you arrived." I looked at the ground again and sighed. 

Carlos out Dude down at his feet. "What else? I know that sigh."

I put my hands over my eyes and laid on my back, looking up at the sky. "I just...ugh. Ever since I left the Isle, I have tried to forgive Evie, but no matter what I do, I can't just forget what she said! I was so excited to see her again. But the moment that I get the chance to talk to her, I blow it! I yelled at her. I made her cry, Carlos! I don't know what to do. Why do I mess up everything?" 

"You don't mess up everything. Look, Dude doesn't think that either." Carlos picked up Dude and brought him to my face, where he licked my nose, making me giggle. 

"I missed you Carlos." I smiled at him.

He returned the smile, "Me too."

I leaned forward and hugged him. Carlos hugged me back and Dude laid down across our laps. 

"We should probably head out before Ben comes looking for us." I said. 

I moved Dude off our laps and stood up. We walked out of the forest with Dude at our heels. 

At least Carlos doesn't hate me. 

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Hey all! Thank you so much for reading this far! I honestly didn't think that I would get this far into writing this. Make sure to comment and vote! 

Sarahs4Hearts out! <3