The Archer's Legacy

★彡01|34 - "You always have the way with words, huh." 彡★

After a short break, during which Y/n and some other people decided to change clothes and have a quick bite, everyone gathered into the courtyard of the school. It had gotten dark surprisingly fast and everyone was dancing and having fun, Ben and Mal improvising moves on the spot and singing along to the point where their actions drew almost everyone in so they ended up copying them.

Y/n, however, stood a bit further away, sipping on a drink as she watched everyone else enjoy themselves.

The first song ended soon, and while most people danced on, Carlos came to stand beside Y/n. "What'cha thinking about?"

Y/n shrugged, thinking back to a vision she had while she was enjoying her quickly thrown-together sandwich earlier. She'd seen a letter and sad expressions on her friends' faces. Yet she decided she wouldn't ruin Carlos' mood and shrugged instead of the truth. "Stuff."

Carlos' smile dropped a bit, a slight frown coming to his face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm," Y/n hesitated, "fine. There's just a few things that worry me right now."

Carlos shrugged. "They worry you today, they'll worry you tomorrow," he pointed out before gesturing at all the people partying. "Why not brush it aside for the moment?"

"I'm not much of a dancer," Y/n confessed. "Not like this anyway. I've been taught classical but I don't really know how to... let loose."

"Well, I could teach you," Carlos said, grabbing Y/n's hand and dragging her towards the dancer.

"Carlos, I told you, I can't," Y/n denied, resisting the pull.

"Come on," the boy said, turning to look at the girl. "You taught me archery. Let me do this for you."

Y/n sighed, breaking eye contact with the boy. "Oh, alright," she agreed.

Carlos beamed, dragging her along again until they got to the edge of the crowd. "Now just follow my lead," he encouraged, doing a side-stepping thing to the rhythm of the music.

Y/n raised a brow but did it anyway, trying to copy Carlos' movements. She let out a light chuckle of uncomfortableness. "This feels awkward."

"Because you're trying to be me instead of being yourself!" Carlos exclaimed. "Feel the music, start off small."

Y/n raised a brow. "Right, of course, silly me."

Minute by minute and step by step, Y/n began to care less about the other people around her and just started having fun. Sure, her dancing wasn't as extravagant as Carlos', who seemed to be a master at his craft, but she was having fun, at least.

"Hey, look at you," Carlos smiled, doing a backflip before going back to talking with Y/n. "You're getting the hang of it."

"I'm also getting tired," Y/n pointed out, panting as the song just ended.

"Well, I've accomplished my mission," Carlos said. "So what do you say we go for a walk now?"

Y/n's heart skipped a beat at the question and she fought to keep her cheeks from heating up. "I'd like that, but let's get some snacks first."

"You get the snacks, I get Dude," Carlos nodded, and off he went.

Of course, Y/n realised, for some reason a bit disappointed. Dude needs to be walked.

Y/n found the cup she previously drank out of and filled it to the brim with all kinds of snacks, just in time for Carlos to come back.

"You ready to go?" the boy asked.

Y/n nodded in response and thus they went towards the forest.

"I'm really proud of you guys," Y/n started, after they'd walked a few steps. "For making the choice in favour of good, I mean. It would've been a loss to Auradon in more than one way if you hadn't."

Carlos smiled, averting his eyes from the girl to hide his reddening face. "I'm glad you think that, Y/n. Honestly, I... I've been thinking about what it would be like to be good for a while now. And I'm really grateful for Ben's choice, because it gave me the chance to see this side of the world, but... I'm still a bit scared."

"Of your mother?"

Carlos nodded. "What she'd do if she found out. And she's never been without me either, I wonder how she'll manage."

Y/n hummed. "So, deep down, you do care for her but you have come to the realisation that you don't like her way of doing things."

Carlos chuckled. "You always have the way with words, huh."

Y/n stopped, her heart beating in her ears. "Only when it comes to everybody else's situations. Carlos, I—"

"There you guys are!" Jay called, running towards them. "They're cutting open the cake, let's go!"

"We'll come in a second," Carlos promised, waving at Jay. The other boy nodded, turning to run back towards the courtyard.

Carlos turned back to Y/n with a small smile. "What were you saying?"

"It's nothing," Y/n shrugged, shaking her head before putting on a smile, something she'd been trained to do since she could walk. "Let's go before Jay eats all the cake."

Carlos' eyes widened in horror. "Oh, you're right." He bolted off. "Jay, wait up! Leave some of the cake for me!"

Y/n looked down at Dude a little sadly. "Well, you're a good boy, aren't you?" she asked, crouching to scratch the dog's head. "Come on, we'll find something sweet and celebratory for you, too."