Fire N' Gold ~Benlos~

Leaving

~Carlos POV~

"I was gonna stop and get some breakfast from the cafeteria, did you wanna come?" Jay asks as he continues to tie his shoe and I shake my head.

"No, I'm gonna stay back, I could use a couple more minutes of shut eye," I respond with a slight smile on my face and he slightly chuckles.

"Yeah I guess, you were up really late, what were you doing up?" He asks and I just shrug in response. "Okay, well I'll see you in class later,"

"See ya!" I say and he exits out the door and I quickly jump from under the blankets. I had gotten ready earlier but he woke up earlier than I expected so I had to act like I wasn't already awake. I grabbed my book bag and took out everything to do with school out of it. I started filling it with water and snacks, a lot of them. I didn't know how long it was going to take to find this witch and I was making sure I didn't die while I was out there.

I knew sooner or later that my friends would notice I was gone and I didn't want them to worry. I wrote a note explaining where I was going but not why. I might as well be honest with them, by the time they find it I would be long gone and it's not I'm coming back to face them. I set the note on the table and continued to pack. 

After I packed the last water bottle I zipped the book bag up and swung it around my shoulders. As I was about to walk out the door it finally hit me that this was the last time I would be in this room...ever. I took a good look at the room one last time, not wanting to forget what my limited time of goodness looked like.

After I had my little moment with the room, I closed the door and quickly made my way down the halls. The first class didn't start until 8:30 and they start serving breakfast at 7:30 but a lot of people don't go because they want more time to sleep. I understand, the more sleep the better I mean back on the Isle, we would sleep until like one o'clock if our parents let us. Most of the time they didn't, but on some rare days they would let us and it was complete bliss.

As I walked down the hallway, I realized I would miss a lot of things, mostly my friends. I know I'll see them when I go back in time and be back on the Isle again, that's not who I was talking about. I'm talking about the people they've grown into since we've been here.

Evie got to flourish with her knowledge now that her mother wasn't around to beat her down about it. Back on The Isle, she was a solid C+ student, just enough to get by. But ever since the very first day we got here, she's had nothing but A's and she's much happier.

Jay had chilled back on the stealing too, with his father not here to constantly push him he stopped stealing, well not completely, he still stole the occasional 'genie lamp' every now and then. He had also been more opened to sports now, back on the Isle his dad wanted Jay to do nothing but steal.

And let's not forget about our magnificent Mal, yes she was still plan obsessed and still being controlled by Maleficent, but she was just happier. Everything about her had just seemed happier than back on the Isle, maybe it was because Maleficent wasn't here constantly putting her down.

As I walked through the courtyard I saw Ben sitting on a bench by himself. His head was down so I wasn't sure if he was just thinking or he accidentally dozed off. Either way, he didn't see me so I was just going to book it through the courtyard, the fewer people that see me the better, I don't need them asking questions. But then, of course, my guilty conscience popped up and I was overcome by the sense of guilt from Ben and my's last conversation. It ended kinda bad and I wouldn't want those to be my last words to Ben, even if they technically wouldn't happen.

"Ben?" I say softly as I approach him and he raises his head slowly and he smiles when he sees me.

"Hey, Carlos," He says softly and I sit next to him and smile back at him. "What are doing up this early?"

"What are you doing up this early?" I respond, putting more emphasis on the you and he chuckles. It's been a while since we've just had a good conversation, one that wasn't full of awkwardness.

"No fair, I asked first," He said with a smile on his face and I chuckle.

"I'm just going for an early morning stroll, I haven't done it in a while and it clears my mind," I lie, I knew if anyone was going to catch me I would have to have an excuse ready. He nods in response and the smiles.

"I sometimes come here to think, the flowers help clear my mind and I can usually figure things out." He says and sighs when he finishes which leaves me kinda confused. Was he sad?

"What are you trying to figure out?" I ask, and he looks up at me, there was a seriousness in his eyes that I had only seen when he was discussing something important.

"The whole 'being king thing'" He says with air quotes. and I look at him confused.

"What's confusing about it?" I ask and he shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't know, it's just, I don't think I'm ready. I mean I handle stress poorly, just look at what happened the other day, I'm going to become king tomorrow and I can't even handle when little things get taken away from me," He says, sadness was evident in his voice. Ugh, this was my fault too, if he would have never met me he wouldn't have any doubt about himself. He wouldn't be here right now, he'd be in his bed sleeping or getting ready to hang out with his girlfriend, Audrey.

"Those 'little' things were a big part of your life. Tourney, Audrey, and your 4.0 GPA. Those were a big part of your life, it was okay to get stressed." I say and he slightly chuckles in sadness. "Ben, this is my mistake, and I'm gonna fix it. I'm going to fix my mistake." I reassure him and he looks at me confused.

"How are you gonna fix it?" He asks confused and I take a deep breath.

"I...I can't tell you, but I will fix it." I say, confidence leaking out at the end of the sentence. He continues to look at me confused before he just lets it go.

"Well, whatever you do, I'll never forget it. Thank you," He says sincerely as he grabs my hand and I feel my heart start to pick up speed. "I'll see you later, okay?" He asks and I just nod and he smiles. He gets up and walks away and I just sit there, still thinking about our little moment. God, now I feel like a preschool girl with a crush.

After I get myself together I grab my bag and continue to walk out of the courtyard. I only stop when I get to the edge of the woods. Fear and anxiety were setting in and I started to have second thoughts. Should I do this? Maybe I didn't think this through completely? No! This is the only way I can completely fix everything.

With that thought in mind, I take my first step into the woods and I start my search.

Pretty soon, everything is going to change.

~~

I'm back bitches and I'm feeling more creative than I was before!! Those 2 days were just what I needed so thank you for being so understanding! Also, thank you for 1K reads! And this chapter is only set in the morning of the day before the coronation, the rest of the day and the first half of coronation day will be in the next chapter (title will be "Lost/Coronation Day) Stay tuned for chapter 14 and don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT, AND SHARE! BYE!

~Nickie~