[3] Burning Point | Descendants 2

FOUR: Cracks Within Us

Mal entered Carlos and Jay's dorm after talking to Ben, barely managing to escape the paparazzi and go inside the room. She did not feel like being trampled with questions, not after she had a date to plan and get ready for. 

Mal noticed Carlos sitting on his bed, his headphones on while his eyes were focused on the screen of his laptop in front of him. Dude was sitting next to him, the dog on his own little bed of his own. Hearing the sound of the door slamming shut, Carlos immediately took his headphones off. Carlos watched his best friend pace around the room for a few moments before they both looked at the television. 

"And in other news, things are not looking good for Princess Helena. Earlier today, she was out with her boyfriend, Carlos de Vil. The two were sharing a sweet moment until it quickly went downhill," The announcer said, showing the moment Helena used her magic and caused the reporters to fly back. "Helena even used her magic and took off running, leaving her boyfriend behind. Will Helena and Carlos fix their relationship or does mean it the end for our favorite couple?" 

Carlos rolled his eyes, picking up the remote beside him and shutting off the television. "We got swarmed by reporters after we were finished talking to you and Ben. We tried to tell them to go but they wouldn't listen. Helena couldn't take it anymore and she snapped... and she took off."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No, I figured she could need some time to herself."

Mal shook her head as she started to think about everything that was going on. Feeling overwhelmed, Mal inhaled deeply as her eyes flashing green before they quickly died back down. 

"Whoa. Easy, girl," Carlos said, wanting to make sure that Mal didn't snap like Helena did earlier.

"What? You think this is so easy?! You don't have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say boo! I mean, it's not that I could even say, "Boo," but, you know what I-" Mal ranted nervously.

"I'm sorry," Carlos mumbled. 

"Carlos, don't you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?" Mal asked, wondering if any of her friends missed being on the Isle like she did. 

"You're thinking of my mother, and I was usually on the other end of that. So, not really," He replied lowly, thinking back to his time on the Isle. 

"Right," muttered Mal, looking away.

Carlos was the one that everyone laughed at. He was the smart, weak kid that was too scared of his mother to stand up for himself. He was the one that always needed protection because he couldn't protect himself. He was the one that needed protecting from his own mother. And Mal just punched his weakest spot by forgetting about his troubles. 

But Carlos decided not to make a big deal out of Mal's comment because he knew that it was just her anger talking. Over the years, he learned to keep himself calm and guide his friends out of their self-consuming rage and hatred.