I Found You

6

Friday couldn't come any sooner. Ben had waited and waited for this day to come and now it was here, he was probably more anxious than he ever been. However, it didn't deter the giddiness in his chest. Honestly, he was too distracted by the thought of going out with Carlos that afternoon that as he skipped pass his parents through the den area and didn't notice the gossip news that played on the television.

"For those who don't know, the King of Fashion, Jean-Pierre Le Pelt has arrived here in Auradon! Reasons are unknown, but one could guess it's probably for the upcoming fashion show hosted by our very own Queen of Fashion, Cruella de Vil. As she and him have been neck-in-neck in the industry of trends for years now. We'll be getting an exclusive interview with Mr. Le Pelt and Ms. de Vil tonight on the Bitten Apple."

"My, my. I bet that would be one interesting interview.", Belle commented before taking a quick sip of her coffee. Her husband wasn't playing much attention to the television as much as she was, having watched his son since he came across them. He noticed how cheerful his son is, a lot more than normal.

"I bet. Ben, what has you so gleeful?", the king questioned as the younger skipped back into the room.

Ben stopped in his tracks, pink quickly coating his cheeks. "Um... well, I'm hanging out with a friend today...", he admits, scratching the back of his neck. He waited to see how his parents would react. Obviously, they would be surprised since they were aware the last time he dated anyone was with Audrey, which was a while back.

"Like a date?", Belle questions, standing up now and heading towards him. Seeing how pink his cheeks got, Belle figured she was on point. "A date?! Oh goodness, who is the lucky person? Is it Audrey? Are you getting back together?"

He also knew his parents was adamant about him and Audrey getting back together. Even though once or twice his mother voiced how 'self-observed' the princess was, despite Audrey just being confident, not self-observed. He felt that they found her to be his best position of a promising marriage, blind about how he truly felt or his opinions. They want the best for him, but sometimes he wished they let him run his life as he wanted to.

"No, we're not. We already established that we are better off as friends. It's not her."

He wasn't blind to the disappointment on his parents' faces, but chose to ignore it.

"Oh, well, who is it? Anyone we know?"

"Maybe? He goes to school with me?"

"He?", Adam questioned, eyebrow raised.

"Yeeees."

Belle suddenly got really giddy, waving her hands. "Is it that boy everyone's been going on about? What's his name? Carlos, right? Carlos de Vil?"

Wait!

Even his mother knew?!

"Well, you're not wrong, but how'd you... never mind."

"Oh, you're going on a date with him? You're going on a date with him." Ben wasn't expecting his father to be suddenly so intrigued by the idea, a spark in his eyes behind his glasses. "Isn't that something?"

"Good morning!" Audrey had skipped into the room after Lumiere had let her inside the house. "How is the royal family?"

"Audrey, sweetie!" Belle had returned the hug the princess. "Good morning! Hey, I have a question. It's about Ben."

"Mom, no!"

The brunette looked between the mother and son, seeing Belle was quite smug about something while her best friend was blushing up a storm. She glanced at the king and found he looked just as smug as his wife.