Secret in the Heart ||Descendants|| (♡Ben)

18

Evie helped me out of the dress and I got into my normal clothes again, not wanting to walk around in a dress anymore, I grabbed a pair of really light blue, almost white pair of jeans, a white body-hugging t-shirt, and a loose light purple cardigan, with a white pair of sneakers. I step out of the bathroom and Evie looks at me. "Kara." she says. "What? I thought I kinda styled it good together." I say. "Don't you think?" I ask her and spin around. She laughs. "Yes, you did that very good." she says. There is a knock on our door and Jay and Carlos come walking inside. "That's a different look from this morning." Jay says as he looks at me. "Yes it is." I say. "But at least it is comfortable." I say and they laugh. "You guys ready?" he asks. "Yes." Evie says and she grabs her purse. We start walking towards our lockers so I can pick up my backpack which Mal put there for me. We walk up the stairs towards the entrance which leads to our lockers. Many girls start chuckling and waving at or greeting Jay once he passes them. "Looks like someone became very popular." I say. "Why do you torture them?" Carlos asks him as he greets a girl back. "Just pick someone to take to Cotillion already." Carlos says. There you have it again. Cotillion, it's like people can't talk about anything else these days. I fall back a few paces, not wanting to talk about this particular subject because it reminds me of all the choices I still have to make. We stop walking and I look at the floor in front of me trying to drown out their conversation. "Kara." Jane says as she walks towards us. "Hey, Jane." Carlos says as he steps in front of her. "Hey." Jane says. "I was wondering...Uh..." Carlos stammers. A smile creeps on my face. I know exactly what he wants to ask her and I ship them. Carlos looks back at us. 'Go on' I mouth and he turns back towards her. "If you liked the carrot cake last night?" he asks. I shake my head. "I had the pumpkin pie." Jane says. "Oh. Cool. Uh, uh..." Carlos starts to stammer again. I hit Jay on the arm and he looks at me. I nod towards Carlos and he gets on whit what I want him to do. "Smooth." he whispers in Carlos's ear as he pulls him away. Lonnie has now joined Jane and Evie steps forward. "I have an opening for a fitting at three. Who wants it?" she asks. "Me." Lonnie yells. "Sorry." she says to Jane. "Perfect." Evie says. "I'll take you later. Okay." she says to Jane and walks away to talk with Lonnie. "Kara." Jane says as she steps towards me. "Yes." I say. Mal brushes my hand and I look at her. She smiles at me and I smile back and then she walks towards Evie and Lonnie. "I hate to keep bugging you but the Decorating Committee needs more answers." Jane says. I nod. "So as much as I hate to, um...You know, um..." she stammers. "Bug me." I say. "Yeah." she says. "Right. Jane, I would love to. I just have to get to class." I say and step to the side. She stops me. "You know, just nod if you like it." she says. "Okay." I say giving in. "Chair swags, entry banner, twinkle lights, napkin design, table bunting," she says as she swipes through her tablet, showing me photos. I just nod at each of them, none really registering in my mind. "And you still haven't picked the party favors yet." she says. "Honestly, Jane, whatever-" I start as I look up at her. "I mean, we can do chains, key charms, pen toppers." she interrupts me. "I kind of love the pen toppers but, I mean, we can do all three." she rambles. Something shoots through me and I take in a deep breath as I close my eyes. Jane falls silent. I regain myself and look at her with a smile. She looks a bit scared. "I say pen toppers." I say. "Yeah?" she asks a smile back on her face again. I nod. "You won't regret it." she says and I force a chuckle.
Lonnie, Evie, and Mal walk back towards us and stand beside Jane. "I can hardly wait to see what your wedding will look like." Lonnie says. "Me, too." I say, just really want to get out of here. "Wait, what?" I say as my face snaps up realizing what Lonnie just said. "The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged." Jane says and they all look at me as if that is the most normal thing in the world. "I knew it." Evie says. "Everyone knows it." Lonnie says matter of factly. "I didn't know it. How come nobody told me that? Is my entire life just planned out in front of me? Is no one-" I start to ramble feeling really overwhelmed. Then an arm wraps around me. "Hi, Kara." Ben says and I look at him. "Hi, Ben." Evie, Mal, Jane, and Lonnie say in unison. I look at them with a bit of anger in my face and then look back at Ben and a wave of relaxation comes over me. Somehow it's just like every time Ben shows his face I relax. Ben smiles at me and he opens his mouth to speak. "Oh, oh, quick moment." Jane says as she pulls Ben away from me. I look at her pulling him away and frown. Evie, Mal, and Lonnie start to walk towards our lockers and I look back at Ben. He turns around at the same time. He looks me up and down, only now realizing what I am wearing. "Uh...See you later." he says. "Oh. Okay." I say and I turn around and walk away. Why did he look at me like that? Does he only like it when I wear a dress? Because I sure as hell don't like it. I open my locker and grab my bag out of it. I swing it over my shoulder and walk towards my next class which is math. And I actually don't mind it right now. At least I can make sense of all the chaos in math and actually solve a problem, which currently in real life seems impossible.
When I walk out of math and into the hallway I see Connor walking towards me. I sigh. "What did I forget this time?" I ask and he frowns. "Uhm, nothing that I know of." he says as I look around. "Phew." I say. "Well, what can I do for you then?" I ask. "Do you want to have lunch together?" he asks. "Yes, but only if you take me to a place where we can be left alone." I say as I continue to look around, trying to avoid any of my friends and Ben. He laughs. "Consider it done." he says. "Okay, well then let's go." I say and we start walking towards the cafeteria. "You know, it'll probably be better if you left your bag in your locker." he says. "Okay." I say as we make a right and arrive at my locker. "You are making me curious right now." I say. "Well, that's the point." he says. I open my locker and dump my bag in the locker and close it again. We get our lunch in the cafeteria and we manage to sneak out without somebody seeing us. We run through the hallways until Connor opens a door that leads towards a big stairwell that goes up and up and up. We start climbing and when we finally reach the top I let out a breath. "Yeah, you have to do something to come here." he says as he opens the door. "But when you do get here, it's totally worth it." he says. I walk through the door and look around. We are standing on top of one of the towers of the school and the view is amazing. I can see the woods spreading out for miles and miles and I can see the sea and the Isle in the middle of it with its dark clouds hovering over it. "I knew you would like it." he says. "Like it? I love it." I say. "Aww, it's perfect." I say as I spin around in a few circles. "And there is not a single soul in sight." I say. I sit down on the edge and put the tray of food beside me. "Careful there." Connor says as he joins me. "What, it's not like I am dangling my feet over the edge." I say. "I know." Connor says. "So how are you doing?" he asks. "Well, I am really excited about Cotillion and everything is just great." I say thinking that that is what he wants to hear. He tilts his head to the side. "Come on Kara. I know you are lying." he says. I sigh. "I don't know how to feel. It's just that everything is going so fast you know? We are partying after Ben's coronation and then suddenly I have all these responsibilities and I have to meet all those people. Have to learn all these things in a short amount of time. Plan this whole event which is apparently like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged. And did I know about this? No, I didn't. But did everybody else know about it? Yes they did. And Jane keeps on coming to me every second of the day asking me to make decisions for Cotillion and now I am just sitting here whising that things could go back to normal." I say and look at him when I finish. "Right." he says. "How selfish of me. How are you doing?" I say. "It's okay, sometimes you just have to get these things out." he says but frowns. "What do you mean by things getting back to normal?" he asks. I scoff. "Ow, you know. Just normal, as in not having to plan this whole Cotillion or having to meet all these people. Just normal school days and making homework and having fun with friends." I say. He nods, a bit unconvinced. "But really how are you doing?" I ask. "I am doing good. Just a bit busy advising and councling with Ben." he says. "So, are you going to ask Mal to Cotillion?" I ask. "I thought you didn't want to talk about that." he says as he avoids my gaze. "Well, somebody obviously has a crush on Mal." I say. He turns back to me. "I have not...I..." he stammers. "You should ask her." I say. "Okay, I will." he says. "You will?" I ask. "You sound surprised." he says. "Well, you know I just figured that you didn't have the guts to do it." I say with a smirk. "Did you forget that I am the son of the Mad Hatter? I do all kinds of weird stuff." he says with a small smile. "Ah yes. Of course. It's in your blood." I say. He looks at the sea. "I am really glad you've met her you know." I say as I look at the Isle. "What? Why?" he asks. "If she wouldn't have met you then she would never be who she is now. You helped her adjust to life here. You made her feel comfortable. You even signed her up for art class and she loves that." I say, not taking my eyes of the Isle. There is a small silence. "She loves you you know." I say and turn to look at him. His cheeks are slightly red and his lips are parted. "And you love her." I say with a small smile. His cheeks get redder and I let out a small laugh. I am happy that Mal found someone. My phone trills and I get it out of my pocket. Jane is calling me. I turn the phone towards him. "See this is what I mean." I say and he laughs. I hit the red button and it goes away. Then I see the time and my eyes widen. "Man we should really be going back there." I say. Connor takes out his own phone to look at the time. "Yep. You're right." he says. We quickly stand up and run down the stairs. "See you later Kara." he says as he turns left. "Later Connor." I yell as I run towards my locker.
Running in sneakers is so much easier than running in heels. I arrive at my locker and open it. I take my bag out and then I see the book. I grab it and stuff it in my bag. It's a book I am reading to find out more about my father. The book holds all kinds of information about really bad villains and their weapons and stuff. "Hi, Kara." Ben says and I stumble back because he scared me. "Hi." I say as I let out a breath. I swing my backpack over my shoulder. "I have a little surprise for you." he says. "Again? Wow. That's like every day now." I say. "Or every other day. The even days." he says and I nod. "Because you're even more perfect than I thought." he says and I chuckle. He is so cute. "That is me. I am perfect." I say. I am so not. "Come on, let me spoil you." he says as he grabs my hand. "You didn't have a lot growing up." he says. "We managed." I say. I close my locker. "Um, I gotta get to class. I really don't wanna be late." I say and I start to walk past him. "No," he says as he turns me around. "You come this way." he says as he pushes me forward. "First off..." he says as he points to a silver scooter with a golden bow on it. I gasp. "Ta-da." he says. "What?" I squeal. "You like it?" he asks. "Ben." I say and I chuckle. "Does an ogre like cheese puffs? This is amazing." I say with a big smile on my face. "I didn't get you anything." I say as I turn to face him. "You're taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?" he says. "No, that's Thursday." I say as I put a hand on his shoulder. "It is Thursday." he says. "No, it's not." I say with a big smile. "Yes, it is." he says. "No, it's not." I say as he pulls out his phone. "It is." he says as he puts his phone in front of my face. Thursday it says. My smile falls. Great. It's Thursday and I forgot. You see I was right, I did forget something. "I knew that." I say as I look at him. "I mean, if you don't have it, it's fine." he says. "No, no, no." I say. I am not letting him down. Not after all that the things that he has given me. "I was fully messing with you. I knew it was Thursday. I just have one more thing to go bake and then I am all yours." I say. "What about class?" he asks. "She multitasks." I say and he scoffs. "She dabbles." Ben says as he gives me a slight push in the direction of the kitchen. "She dabbles." I say. "You're the best." he says. "That's me." I say and I start running. "Be careful." he says. I turn around and run backward. "You might not have heard it yet, but I am the best runner this school has ever seen." I yell and I can see him laugh. I turn back around and turn the corner.
Shit! How could I forget? After all the things he has done for me? How could I forget this? I pull out my phone and open my notes. I do have a list of foods that are his favorite. I groan. I even named the list 'Things to bake for my picnic with Ben on THURSDAY'. I stop in front of the kitchen and open the door. I walk inside. The chef spots me and walks towards me. "It's good to see you again Kara." he says. "It's good to see you to chef Remy." I say. He looks at his watch. "Shouldn't you be on your way to class?" he asks. "Yes, but I forgot something really important." I say. "Tell me." he says. "I promised to go on a picnic with Ben and bake all his favorite foods, but I completely forgot." I say. "Now how can you forget that?" he asks. "Well, I thought it was Tuesday today." I say. "Ah, I see." he says. "Tell me what I can do for you." he says. "I know that it is super last minute, but I have a list of his favorite foods. Is it okay if I send it to you so you can make some of them?" I ask. "But of course you can." he says. "Thank you Remy." I say as I hug him. "Just tell me anything that I can give you in return." I say. "Well, there is one thing." he says. "I'll do anything." I say. "I would like it if you would cook with me one time." he says. I frown. "You know so I can teach you some tricks." he says. I swear Remy is the best. I met him one time when I snuck in the kitchen to grab something to eat after dinner time because I missed it since I had spent the time in the library, and he stood right there and things just started going from there. "Remy." I say as I put my hands on his shoulders and look him in the eye. "I would love to do that more than one time." I say. He laughs. "Then that is settled." he says. "When do you need the food?" he asks. "When school is finished." I say. "Well, we can make that happen." he says as he motions to his cooks. "Okay. So." I say as I pull out my phone and sent him the list. "This is the list of foods that he loves, so if you could just pick a few and make them then that would be awesome." I say. He nods. "Thank you Remy." he says and I hug him again. "Of course, of course." he says as he hugs me back. "Now get to class." he says as he points at the door. "Right." I say and I open the door. "See you soon." he says. "You betcha." I say and I walk out of the door and start running towards my next class which of course I am late to by five minutes now.
I run through the halls and slide to a stop in front of the classroom. I look inside and see that Mr. Davis is standing with his back towards me. I sneak into the class and slide down in my seat next to Jay.  "How nice of you to join us." Jay whispers. I just give him an are you serious look and look at what Mr. Davis is writing on the board. "Is everything okay?" Jay asks, still whispering so Mr. Davis won't hear us. I sigh. "I forgot about my picnic with Ben." I whisper. "You forgot? You told me that you underlined it like three times." he whispers. "I know, I know, but I thought it was Tuesday today." I whisper as I put my face in my hands. He rubs my back with his hand. "I'm just stressed because I have so many things to do and to learn I just feel like I don't have time to breathe." I whisper as I lean back in my chair and let my hands fall to my lap. Jay grabs my hand. "Everything will be okay." he whispers as I look at him. "You know I am here for you right?" he asks. "Yes, I know." I whisper as I put my other hand on top of his. "And I am grateful for that." I whisper and let out another sigh. "Why don't you stop by practice later? I know that always calms you down." he whispers. "I wish I could but-" I start, but my phone vibrates so I get it out of my pocket and hold it under the table so Mr. David won't see it. It's a message from Ben. It says: 'Hey, I have to take care of some things after school, is it okay if we can do the picnic a little later?'. I let out a breath of relief and type back: 'Yes! Absolutely'. "Well, it looks like I can stop by practice after all." I say as I turn off my phone and put it back in my pocket.

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3546 words
(24/01/2021)