Rotten Luck

Secret Friend

After some more scolding from Mal, Carlos headed home alone. He wanted time to think to himself. He usually found it easiest for him to take his walk home slow and let the usually chilly and windy evening of Isle City sweep away the cobwebs of worry from his mind. Tonight, however, the chilly wind was not enough to clear his mind. Being from Isle City didn't promise anyone with a future and this party could be his one chance at one. It would also be his one chance to meet the prince, the prince that he had come to fawn over in articles of magazines and online. To his credit, it was mostly girls and guys his age who had a fascination with the future king, so it wasn't that strange. Prince Ben was the kind of guy that anyone would be happy to have, at least that is what his public image told.

Once Carlos was home, he set about the short few remaining chores his mother left him. She had the money and people to take care of these things for them, but she insisted that Carlos learn to do them as he most likely wouldn't amount to much. Cruella De Vil was as cruel as her name suggested when it came to giving her son hope for the future. She didn't believe in him or his silly singing and dancing. She saw it as a waste of time. She was a fashion mogul spanning beyond the Isle even, but this was where she came from and she liked it that way. She wasn't home much but when she was it was for Carlos to keep out of her way and do as she told him to. Carlos finished his chores just grumbling and unhappily before retreating to his room. He plopped down onto his bed, next to his laptop and rolled over. The monochromatic boy laid there for a long moment, letting the wheels in his head spin pointlessly, going over the night's events again. He had to tell his secret friend.

Carlos rolled back onto his stomach and pulled out his phone opening an ongoing text conversation with someone listed only as Adam.

"Hey, you up?" Carlos texted, feet swinging back and forth a bit.

"Hey, yeah just finally heading to bed, how was your day? More chores?" Adam texted back rather quickly.

"Only a few today, me and my friends had a show to go to. turns out I'm going to be going to the Prince's Birthday and Coming of age party!" Carlos couldn't help the excitement he felt.

"Oh?! Cool! I'm going to be there too actually. Maybe we can finally meet Dal!" Carlos was surprised that Adam was going. Adam and Carlos had been online friends for over a year now, they met on a chat site for teens and ended up connecting really well. Though Carlos protected his identity by going as Dal, short for Dalmatian. Carlos assumed that Adam wasn't his friend's real name but they didn't seem to mind the anonymity.

"What really? How are you going?" his reply was delayed from his brain processing. Carlos was smart but his reaction times weren't always the best when taken by surprise.

"Just happen to have connections is all. It is a big masquerade party after all." Adam replied.

"Masquerade party? No one told us it was going to be one. Wait, is there anything else you know about the party that I don't?" Carlos curious, since honestly, he knew about as much about the party as he was told earlier that night.

"Depends on what you know Dal. It's a party to celebrate the prince's birthday and for him to hopefully find a companion. That's why it is such a big event." Adam explained.

"Companion?" Carlos couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach. He knew what this meant but his heart was already starting to overflow his mind with wishful thinking.

"Yeah, Boyfriend, or girlfriend. Basically, Auradon's future Queen. It's kind of a lot of pressure to put on one night don't you think?" Adam didn't seem to like the idea and that brought Carlos back to reality from his little daydreaming. That indeed is a lot to be expected of you in a single night.

"Totally. I mean I couldn't even imagine having a year of parties worth of time to find someone let alone a couple of hours. Sounds harsh. I'm suddenly very glad I'm not the prince. I'm sure he will find a replacement for Audrey in no time." Carlos breathed relieved that his mother wasn't expecting that much from him.

"You knew about him being with Audrey?" Adam seemed curious, they never really talked about the prince until tonight.

"Yeah... I'm sorta a big fan of the prince's but don't you dare hold that against me. He's just really cute okay? Like every girl in my grade has an infatuation with him." Carlos admitted guiltily. Adam already knew that Carlos was gay, so the fact that he had a crush on a guy like the prince wouldn't seem so surprising.

"Aww, you think he is cute Dal? Well, I'm sure you'll get to meet him at the masquerade. You'll have to text me about what you are going to wear so I can find you. You know I'm from Auradon City, not Isle City so It's sort of a onetime chance you know." Adam replied.

"Yeah, when I get things figured out I'll let you know Adam. Hey, I'm gonna head to bed, night." Carlos sighed knowing that his body's exhaustion from the day was finally catching up with him.

"Night Dal! Sweet dreams of your prince." Adam teased.

"Oh, haha, very funny." Carlos set his phone to charge and got up going to the bathroom and getting ready for bed. He would have to talk to the group about the party tomorrow, it didn't seem like they got all the information regarding the party. Thankfully Adam was going too. Carlos couldn't help but feel even more excited now, not only was this his chance to meet the prince, but also his chance to meet his secret little friend. Carlos seemed to have some luck on his side tonight.