I'm afraid this is where the story ends. I still hope you enjoyed this story.

By the way, I left an author's note on the bottom. You may wanna read it.

After the end of the Cotillion, the ship returns to Auradon. Evie, Jay, and their Auradon friends couldn't stop talking about the fun they just had, in spite of Uma crashing the party and all. The only ones who weren't still feeling the excitement from the party are Mal and Carlos. They've been faking their smiles as they walked back to Auradon Prep with their friends. They repeatedly look at each other only to look away a few seconds later.

Mal stopped at the statue of King Beast. Carlos sneaks out of the crowd to see her.

"Hey," he greeted, slowly walking up to her. "You don't look happy. What's wrong?"

"I should be happy," said Mal, twirling the golden ring on her finger. "And yet, I'm not, at least, not completely."

"Is this about... us?" asked Carlos.

Mal hangs her head lower as her hands curled into fists, sort of scaring Carlos.

"Why did I eat that stupid truth gummy?" She wondered.

"You said you wanted to tell me the truth," said Carlos. "Obviously, you couldn't do it on your own so you needed something to help you spit it out."

"And now that I told Ben that I love him, I feel hopelessly confused," said Mal.

"You two are another step closer to getting your happily ever after," said Carlos. "What more can you want?"

"To know why I feel about you the same way I feel about Ben," said Mal, on the verge of breaking down into tears.

Carlos walks closer towards his friend and gently places his fingers on her chin, lifting it and turning it so she can see him.

"You think it's not hard for me, too?" said Carlos. "I'm finally with Jane, who I've like for quite a while now. Yet, I also love you."

"I swear the universe is just laughing at us right now," said Mal. "What are we gonna do about this... about us?"

"Keep it between us," said Carlos.

"You really think that's the best thing we can do?" asked Mal.

"You deserve Ben, and he deserves you," said Carlos. "I've gone through all this trouble to ask out Jane, and I finally did. I shouldn't just waste it."

"I know," said Mal as a tear coming down her eye.

Carlos wipes the tear off her face as he smiles at her. Mal couldn't help but smile back. As she stared into his twinkling brown eyes, she felt the sorrow within her slowly vanish. It was replaced with relief and happiness.

"Why do you think this happened?" asked Mal.

"I guess we just make each other feel comfortable, because we bring out the other's true self, and we love each other for that," said Carlos.

Mal wipes her eyes dry, but the smile on her face remained.

"You're right," she said. "The truth will set you free, after all."

"I know this is tough for both us, knowing we love each other when we're with other people we also love," said Carlos. "But instead of letting it keep us wondering about the what ifs and how to ignore this, we should embrace it. We accept each other's feelings for each other. That way, we can move on."

"When did you become so wise?" asked Mal.

"Auradon," answered Carlos, looking at his wonderful surroundings. "It's truly a magical place. It changes you."

"I know the feeling," said Mal, smiling at every memory of her time in Auradon. "So, friends?"

"Friends," said Carlos, smiling.

The two best friends wrap their arms around the other, hugging each other tightly and with so much passion. Mal rests her head on Carlos' shoulder. Carlos gently pats Mal in the back. Carlos lets go, but Mal didn't. She was still hugging him.

"I love you," said Mal.

"I... love you, too," said Carlos.

Mal finally lets go. She reaches for something and takes out a little container. She opens it and reveals another truth gummy.

"You made more?" asked Carlos.

"Yeah," said Mal. "I want you to keep it."

"But why?" asked Carlos. "I didn't need it to ask out Jane, as it turns out."

"True, but I want to know that you'll always care about me," said Mal.

"I don't need to keep this to show you I'll always remember that you're my friend," said Carlos.

"If you really care about me, then keep it," said Mal.

Carlos looks at the little case in Mal's hand. He reaches for it and grabs it. Suddenly, Mal closed her hand around his. Carlos tried to pull it back, but his hand was trapped. To his surprise, Mal leans forward and plants a kiss on his lips.

"Why... did you do that?" asked Carlos, blushing.

"Our first kiss," said Mal. "Well, our first 'real' kiss. This time, I don't have a truth gummy to motivate me. Did it bother you?"

"N-No, not really," said Carlos.

"Well, goodnight, puppy lover," said Mal teasingly.

"Goodnight, Lady Mal," said Carlos teasingly.

Mal giggled. "Lady Mal. Still not used to it."

Mal returns to her dorm to see Evie standing the middle of the room, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"What?" asked Mal.

"Don't deny it, Mal. I saw what you did to him," said Evie.

Knowing who "him" is, Mal blushed and tried to hide her face with her hair.

"But, M, what about Ben?" asked Evie. "You two just got back together. You're still wearing his ring."

"And we are still together," said Mal.

"So, what was with the whole kissing and I-love-you, I-love-you-too thing going on out there?" asked Evie.

"E, all you need to know is that it won't affect my future with Ben," said Mal. "Also, if you tell anyone about this, I'll sick Uma on you."

Seeing Mal's serious face, Evie smiles sheepishly and says, "Consider my lips sealed."

I know this is not a happy ending, but I still hope this was beautiful. I tried my best. Leave a review and let me know what you think. It would mean so much.

I'd like to once again thank all of those who fav'd and followed this story. This story was meant to be just a one-shot, but all of you convinced me to keep going.

I'd also like to thank the following people who reviewed this story: white collar black wolf, Rayen Autumn King, starflight34, twilight sparkle, HannahFan22, Menace, Winter Queen15, DisneyChannelLover, Guest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'll be starting on my own Descendants FanFiction series, which I would like to call "Forever Wicked". The Prologue and Part 1 will be posted late this month/early next month. Don't knock 'til you actually read it. Being a Carvie shipper immediately results very few followers, but unlike my last series, the new one is targeted for all fans. It's not all about relationships. I actually want to tell a story.