Our Happily Ever After

Chapter 23: Coming Together

Carlos's PoV:
Dates with Jane were my favorite part about being in Auradon, I mean other than spending time with Dude and my friends... Tonight Jane and I had enjoyed a peaceful stroll through the royal gardens.
We got to see the beautiful rose bushes that Adam grew, now with Belle's help. We even saw the exact one that Bells father had stolen from before he was taken hostage by Adam as a beast. It was all very intriguing. It may have been interesting to Jane for a different reason, but for me it was the fact that such a strong, loving, and long relationship and started from the guy locking up the girls father...
We had decided on the walk because of Mal and Ben. They did this every night and seemed closer than any of us. I'm sure the others felt the same, but they were so close and so in sync for being together such a short time. But, I guess I get it and can't judge, because when you know, you know. And I got that feeling anytime I was with Jane, was talking to Jane, was thinking about Jane, listening to Jame, etc.
She simply amazed me and I was so thankful she had said yes when I finally asked her out. But, I wasn't sure if she thought this was a date date...or a friend date. Therefore I didn't want to do anything too crazy that would scare her away or make her think I was trying to rush things.
As we walked back to the dorm we chatted casually about many topics. She was so full of energy and so animated. I loved how passionate she was about everything. Her laughter was contagious, as was her smile.

Jane's PoV:
Carlos made me feel like I was walking on air, like I was the luckiest girl in the world. I knew he was just as nervous about everything as I was. I suspected we were both pretty new to the whole dating/relationship game. But, deep down a part of me really wanted to kiss him or for him to kiss me.
And even deeper down, some part of me told me that we were way past this and that more should be happening. But, everything has to start somewhere. And the best place for this to start were the few dates we had been on, and by few...I mean two!
     A great next step would be for a first kiss to happen... but it was probably going to be the first for both of us. So I understood if he was nervous. But, then again he shouldn't be. I mean, I was giving off a lot of clear signs that I liked him and that I wanted him to kiss me. At least I thought I was...
I knew he was trying to be a gentleman, really I did. And I understood it all. He didn't want to rush things or upset me. But, I wanted him to kiss me! I wanted it almost as much as I wanted my mom to teach me magic! And even though I knew it wouldn't happen, I still wanted this kiss just as much.
We finally reached my dorm, which I shared with Lonnie. I stopped in front of the closed door and turned to face him. I looked up slightly, as he wasn't much taller than me, and stared into his eyes. They were so dark, but I could see the light and all of the goodness inside of him. It gave me hope.
For a while we stood there in silence or making awkward small talk. This had been such a great date and I didn't want it to end, at least not like this. The next thing I said really did surprise me, but I'd had enough!
"Well if this is how this date is going to end, I'm just going to head inside and read or go to bed..."
"What do you mean? Why would you do that?" He responded quickly, looking away from the wall opposite of my door. From the tone of his voice he had definitely been able to sense my annoyance. And I could tell he was scared, like maybe he'd done something wrong. When in reality, the wrong was what he hadn't done. I rolled my eyes, which wasn't like me unless I was listening to my mother talk.
"I mean this.." and that's when I took the biggest risk in my life! I never did anything like this, but here I was, kissing Carlos DeVille in the hallway! I kissed him first! Not the other way around. I thought he'd be shocked and push me away. But, instead I felt him kiss back.
As we melted into the kiss, my first kiss and possibly his too, it was almost like I could here the sound of something magical accruing. I was clearly way too happy and focused on this kiss to react to the headache I had been hit with, not to mention all the memories that came with it...
We pulled away and looked into each other's eyes. He too was holding his head. "Why are we here and not our apartment?" I shrugged. "I guess that's what these extra keys go to... Wait what's going on here!? Why are we back in the school?" I was sooo confused and that wasn't like me either. I was just surprising myself left and right today. "We have to go tell Mal and Ben that we remember!" He was so excited and I loved it.
"But, what if they don't?" I was nervous, and that was much more like me. "Well then we can laugh it off and pretend it was a joke?" It wasn't the best plan Carlos had ever come up with, but it was decent. And with that we took off towards the castle to find Mal and Ben.