Love on the Isle of the Lost

Chapter 11

The party Mal threw left a huge mess in Hell Hall, so, of course, Carlos had to clean it up. A knock on the door interrupts him. He opens the door and sees Mal, along with Evie and Jay. They entered without asking him.

"Hey, you can't just..." Carlos tried to protest, but they were already inside.

Evie stopped in front of Carlos and showed him a pillow.

"Like I promised," said Evie.

"Cotton or feather?" asked Carlos.

"Cotton," answered Evie.

Evie gives Carlos the pillow. Carlos feels it. It was soft. The smile on his face tells Evie that he appreciates it.

"I like it," said Carlos.

"I knew you would," said Evie. "No more rocky nights, well, here at your home, at least."

"Thank you," said Carlos.

"Oh, so now you're showing gratitude?" Evie questioned.

"I think it's clear we softened each other," said Carlos. "Not that I'm calling you soft, it's just..."

Evie puts one arm around Carlos and pulls him closer. Her hair blue locks brushed against his white hair. Carlos blushed, but didn't pull away. He just closed his eyes and leaned closer.

"Hey!" Mal called. "If you two are done being mushy, where's this black box Evie talked about?"

Carlos pulled himself away from Evie. "You told them?"

"Yeah, I did," confessed Evie.

- ROTTEN TO THE CORE -

The four villain kids started their journey towards the Forbidden Fortress on the Isle of the Doomed, using Carlos' black box as a GPS.

"I can't believe you broke your promise," Carlos said to Evie.

"You may have softened me, but that doesn't mean I'm not still hard inside," said Evie.

"You really want to get on Mal's good side so bad, don't you?" guessed Carlos.

"I like her. She's wicked and stylish. My type of company. I just want her to stop throwing shade at me," said Evie.

"And you think this will work?" asked Carlos.

"Fingers crossed," said Evie, crossing her fingers in front of Carlos.

"Like you did when you said you wouldn't tell anyone about the device?" replied Carlos, glaring at Evie.

Evie rolls her eyes, but smiles at him.

- ROTTEN TO THE CORE -

The villainous teenagers arrived at the Isle of the Doomed. The bridge to the Forbidden Fortress was incomplete and can only be revealed if Carlos answered a question. "What is his mother's true love?" asked the gargoyles.

It took a lot of thinking by the four, until Carlos finally figured it out.

"Her furs!" Carlos answers.

The bridge magically repairs itself, allowing the four to cross to the fortress. Mal and Jay go on ahead while Evie and Carlos lag behind, mainly because Carlos was walking slowly and Evie guesses that it's probably because he looks sad.

"Must've been hard to admit it," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I already knew I wasn't what my mom valued the most," said Carlos. "Just having to scream it still hurts. You're lucky your mother loves you."

"In her own way," said Evie, feeling doubt within her.

"Nobody loves me," said Carlos sadly, on the verge of crying.

"I love you," said Evie.

Carlos stopped walking as his eyes widened with shock. He looks at Evie, who gasped upon realizing what she said.

"As a friend," she said nervously. "I love you... as a friend. I know love is forbidden, but..."

Carlos cuts Evie short by giving her a quick peck on the cheek, much to the narcissist's surprise.

"I love you, too," said Carlos.

Evie can feel her face heating up, as well as her heart.

"As a friend, of course," said Carlos, laughing nervously.

"Hello!" Mal called. "What's keeping you two?!"

Evie and Carlos follow Mal and Jay to the fortress.

- ROTTEN TO THE CORE -

The four found themselves trapped in some room underneath the castle. It turned out to be the Cave of Wonders, as the room starts to fill with treasure. However, it didn't stop. They were about to be buried alive unless they can figure out "The Golden Rule".

Carlos kept himself afloat on a treasure chest, but Evie was beginning to drown in the sea of gold coins. Carlos throws away his black box and reaches for her.

"Evie, grab on!" He yelled.

Evie tried to reach for Carlos' hand, but she was sinking too fast. Carlos had only one choice if he wanted to save her. He jumps off the chest and dives into the ocean of gold. He resurfaces and grabs Evie, holding her close to him.

Evie embraces Carlos as tightly as she could. If this was the end, she would rather die in his arms, knowing she's not alone.

"Whatever happens, I'm glad you were a part of my life," said Evie.

"Me too... with you," said Carlos.

"I love you," said Evie.

Carlos was expecting "as a friend" to come, but it didn't. Evie just embraced him tighter and buried her head in his shoulder as she braced herself for the end. Something inside Carlos told him that Evie's confession meant something more than just the friendship kind of love.

Fortunately for Mal, Evie, and Carlos, Jay remembered the Golden Rule. The room started to empty from treasure like water going down a drain.

While Jay felt bummed about not being able to grab one coin, Evie and Carlos found themselves still embracing each other. They look at each other and then quickly let go of each other, feeling awkward.

Carlos walks over to his black box and picks it up.

"You were gonna sacrifice that thing... for me," said Evie.

"As much as I wanted to know what's going on, nothing is worth more than a friend," said Carlos.

Evie smiled and blushed again, touched by Carlos' words.

The two stared at each other, until they saw Mal and Jay continuing their search for Maleficent's throne room. They followed.