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Penny changed back into her previous outfit before she and the girls went to go find Carlos and Jay. Carlos greeted his girlfriend with a gentle kiss, causing Penny to melt into the kiss and smile up at him. The two boys then walked in front of the girls while Penny and Mal ignored everyone because of the interview earlier that morning. The two were trying their best to keep their heads down and avoid people. "Hi Jay," a group of girls flirted with the son of Jafar. Jay only smirked at them and the group of girls continued walking. Penny gripped onto her flute - it calmed her whenever she grew nervous.
"Why do you torture them?" Carlos asked. "Just pick someone to take to Cotillion already."
"I'm going solo, that way, I can dance with all of them," Jay told his best friend.
"Ah! You're the expert," said Carlos. The girls walked passed the two, but were still close enough. Carlos suddenly grew serious and he dropped his voice so the girls, mainly Penny, wouldn't hear him. "Um, Jay? If you were going to ask someone, what's the best way to do it?"
"Look, all you have to do. . . Is be me."
"Oh, ha, ha."
Jay suddenly put his hand on Carlos' shoulder and he frowned. "You still haven't asked Penny?" "No. She's been so busy with being Royal Advisor and we've both been so stressed out, we've been fighting lately," Carlos informed the former thief and sighed.
"Evie! Penny! Oh, Mal, great." The five turned to see Jane rushing over. Things were no longer bad between Jane and Penny and the two were friends again. "Penelope!" The six then turned to see Peter approaching his daughter, along with Felix and someone else. "Hey dad. What's up?"
"We just got the last set of lost boys here. Someone wanted to say 'hi'."
Peter moved out of the way and Penny smiled. "Rufio!" Everyone watched as Penny jumped into a boy's arms and Carlos felt himself getting jealous. Yes, things are a bit rocky between him and Penny, but he wants to patch things up. He's giving Penny her space, but also showing her that he still likes her, yet he's no longer sure if she feels the same way.
"Hey, Jane," Carlos greeted the girl.
"Hey, you okay?" Jane asked before her eyes drifted off to see Penny talking to a boy that she has never met before. Must be a lost boy, Jane thought.
"How have you been?" Rufio asked as he and Penny pulled away and Penny now stood next to Peter. "Stressed." "We should take a trip to Neverland to let you clear your mind," Peter offered and Penny began to ponder on the offer. "I would love to, dad, but I have so many things to do. Maybe after Cotillion I can try to convince Ben to let me have three days off. That, and I need to fix things with Carlos."
"Carlos?" Rufio asked.
"Yeah, he's my boyfriend. We got in a couple of fights lately, but they're the cause of stress. I'm tired of reporters and paparazzi coming after me and I don't want to drag Carlos into this, but he's stubborn." "That's because he loves you," Peter told his daughter. Penny looked over at her boyfriend and smiled. She then looked down at her watch and silently cursed. "Mal, we have to get to class," Penny said as she parted from Peter, Felix, and Rufio. Penny pressed a quick kiss to Carlos' cheek before she and the girls walked away. "Just nod if you like it," Jane told Mal and Penny.
"Chair swags. Entry banner. Twinkle lights. Napkin design. Table bunting. And you still haven't picked the party favors, Mal." Penny took one look at Mal and turned to Jane.
"Honestly, Jane, whatever you think is fine - " but Jane cut her off. "I mean, we can do chains, key charms, pen toppers. I kind of love the pen toppers, but, we can do all three." Mal sucked in air as her eyes turned bright green and Penny hissed as her head began to hurt. Her head was pounding, but as soon as it came, it left.
Penny was left confused and she rubbed her head. She no longer saw red and she took off her glasses. Pulling out her phone, she looked into the reflection to see that her eyes were now brown. Focusing on Mal, she gripped onto Mal's hand and Mal squeezed Penny's hand.
"I say pen toppers."
"Yeah?" Jane asked.
Mal nodded and Jane grinned. "You won't regret it." Evie and Lonnie then joined them while Jane wrote everything down. "I honestly can't wait to see what you're weddings will look like," Lonnie said excitedly to both Mal and Penny. "Me too. Wait, what?" Both asked in unison.
"The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged," Lonnie told Mal. "I knew it!" Evie exclaimed. Lonnie smiled and then turned to Penny. "And we all know that you and Carlos will end up marrying each other. Even if you guys are fighting right now."
"I didn't know!"
Penny turned to Mal and sighed.
"I didn't want to tell you yet, Mal. We've both been so stressed out. And I honestly doubt that Carlos would propose. Not unless he wants to deal with all of this."
Mal scoffed.
"Please. Carlos loves you. And is my whole life planned out?"
"Hi, Mal."
Ben greeted his girlfriend and Penny smiled at the two. Before Ben could pull Mal into a kiss, Jane pulled him to the side. Ben knew that it would be a while, so he told Mal that they would meet up later. Mal nodded and looped her arm with Penny before the two walked to their next class.
"So, how are you and Carlos?" Mal asked as they walked. Penny sighed and frowned. "Not good. I've been so stressed and we've been fighting a lot more recently. I really don't want to, but being Royal Advisor is so stressful. I honestly don't know how you and Ben are handling all of this," Penny admitted. "Trust me, I don't know either," Mal admitted and the two chuckled. "Do you love Carlos?" "Of course I do. He's always been so sweet and humble. What's not to love? I feel like I've been a terrible girlfriend. God, he must hate me. Especially with him also being harrassed by the paps and reporters."
"He doesn't hate you, Penny. He loves you. And yeah, the paps can get stressful, but he would do anything for you." Penny smiled and the two hugged before they entered their class.
☆ ☆ ☆
Penny rushed over to the auditorium where practice was being held. Jane had texted her, telling her to go over because it was an emergency. Penny flew through the doors and stopped to see Jane and Carlos talking. Jane was rather close to Carlos and it made Penny a little mad. Shaking her head, she touched the ground and approached the two.
"Hey, Jane. What's the emergency?"
"Oh, hold up. Let me go change, then you can help me with. . . Well, I'll tell you when I come back." Penny nodded and Jane ran off, leaving the couple alone. "How was practice?" "Good. Lonnie snuck in and she beat Jay." Penny smirked and chuckled. "Just like her mom." Carlos chuckled and nodded.
"So, about Cotillion - "
"I know. Everyone keeps talking about it. I honestly wish that we could just skip it, but I have to go. Not to mention, it's been a real pain in the butt with not only helping planning it, but heling Ben too. It's just so stressful. And I'm sorry about all of the reporters and paparazzi harassing us when we're together and you when we're alone."
"Penny, it's fine."
"No, it's not, Carlos. You really don't deserve this. Listen, Jane's coming back and she needs to talk to me about whatever it is she needs to talk about. I'll see you later, okay?"
Carlos only nodded and Penny pressed a quick kiss to his lips before Jane dragged her away. The male sighed and looked over at Dude, who was giving him a look. "It wasn't the right time."
