Welcome to the final chapter of my latest Carvie story. I have nothing else to say, except read and enjoy.
Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.
I'd like to thank the following user for reviewing the previous chapter: Chinman, GokaiRed11
To Chinman: I wasn't really gonna include Doug in the final chapter, but your review has had me re-thinking about this. Hey, might as well, right?
Evie is standing by her locker, looking at herself in her Magic Mirror. She has been asked by Ben and Fairy God Mother to donate it to the Museum of Cultural History because no magic is allowed in school. She wasn't ready to part with it yet, even though she questions herself why she would feel sentimental about it. Right now, she's just looking at her own face. While that may be the purpose of a mirror, she's looking specifically at her expression, not her beauty. She has a thoughtful look on her face, only to slowly start smiling, just thinking about last night.
"Hey, Evie!"
Evie turns her mirror to see who is behind her. It's just her friend Lonnie, daughter of Mulan. She has this big smile on her face, meaning she must want to talk about something big.
"Congratulations, Evie. You and Carlos, that is," said Lonnie.
"What are you talking about?" asked Evie.
"Your date with Carlos is trending on the internet," said Lonnie.
Lonnie takes out her phone and shows Evie pictures from InstaRoyal and videos from Tweeter, all of them of Evie and Carlos during their time together last night. The dinner at Spaghetto's and the stroll at Silver Shield Park.
"Aw, the way you were teasing him and holding him. And how he blushes when he stares at you. Aw, it's adorable," Lonnie gushed.
"Uh, Lonnie," Evie said, blushing with embarrassment.
"So, how did it go?" asked Lonnie. "Did it go great? Are you two official?"
"Well... there was a goodnight kiss," Evie revealed, feeling slight regret afterwards.
"Oh, my God," Lonnie exclaimed with delight. "Sorry if I'm too loud. It's just, I'm glad to see you look so happy. After Doug, well, we were all worried about you."
"I'm fine, Lonnie," Evie assured. "Just leave this between me and Carlos. I haven't talked to him about yet today."
Lonnie nods as she walks away. Evie now wonders why she didn't deny or protest against Lonnie's belief that it was a real date. Could it be real to me, she asked herself. She looks at herself in her Magic Mirror again. Her lips slowly curve into a smile just thinking about last night. "If this were a real date, this is the best one I've been on," she said to him at the park last night. Remembering how she said those words, how sincere and emotional she sounded, these thoughts have remained dominant in her mind since.
Another face shows up on the mirror, right behind Evie. It was her ex-boyfriend, Doug. She can already guess what he wants to talk about. Trending, Lonnie said.
Evie turns around and looks at Doug face-to-face. She doesn't want to speak him to him with her back turned. That just tells him that she has hard feelings towards him.
"I, uh, assume Lonnie's told you about your date last night going viral," Doug started.
"Doug, please, don't be like a jealous ex right now," Evie pleaded. "We're over. We agreed to still be friends, but I'd rather not bring up our relationship again. Who I spend my time with, it's my decision."
"I just wanted to ask something simple. Is Carlos why you broke up with me?" Doug asked curiously.
"I broke up with you because I couldn't pretend to keep us together from on my part," said Evie. "I appreciate you trying to talk to me again, but I don't need you to interfere with my choices."
"Uh, o-ok-okay," Doug muttered nervously.
"Doug," Evie called. "Just because we're not together anymore, it doesn't meant I hold any hard feelings towards you. Keep that in mind."
Evie pats Doug on the shoulder before walking away. Doug was now beating himself mentally, wondering why he bothered. It was nice to talk to her again, but now he feels kinda embarrassed to even ask her about Carlos.
Later that morning, Evie heads to the Tourney field. There was no one there, except for a white-haired friend of hers and his canine companion. Carlos and Dude are playing tag, or at least it looks like. Carlos is running around while Dude tries to catch him. It's amazing how fast Carlos is on his feet. When the Tourney team decided to have a race to test Jay and Carlos' speed, Carlos won. To say Coach Jenkins was impressed would be putting it mildly.
Carlos accidentally trips himself over, allowing Dude to catch him. Dude hops on Carlos' chest and starts licking his face.
"Okay, okay, Dude. You win," said Carlos.
Carlos picks up Dude just as he notices his blue-haired best friend in the distance. He walks up to her and stops just a few feet from her, looking a bit red as he got closer.
"Hey," Evie greeted.
"Hey," Carlos greeted back.
"I see you two are enjoying yourselves today," said Evie.
"Well, you were the one who said I study too much. A little relaxation won't hurt, and so far it hasn't," said Carlos. "And it's a lot of fun, actually."
"So, I heard that our date went viral," Evie mentioned.
"Yeah, I already got Chad laughing at me," said Carlos. "He thinks you're out of my league."
"Am I?" Evie questioned.
"Is it even a question?" Carlos replied.
"Hey, it doesn't matter if that's true," said Evie. "I would never think of you as beneath me. Never."
Evie cups Carlos' cheek in her hand and rubs it in a very assuring way. Either his cheeks feel hot or it's just the sun. The morning breeze cancels out the sun, so it's probably his face.
"So, I'm guessing you wanted to talk to me about last night," Carlos assumed.
"I haven't changed my mind. It was the best night I've had in a long time," said Evie.
"Yeah, me, too," Carlos admitted.
And it was just smiles for the next twenty seconds. They constantly look away from each other, but only momentarily. Dude was looking back and forth between his owner and his owner's friend, probably confused.
"Hey, I was wondering if, uh, if... maybe... if you wanna... do it again?" Carlos asked nervously. "I mean, hang out, you know? I, uh, i-i-if-if you don't mind that is."
"Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you," said Evie. "I guess you beat me to it."
"Okay, but... I was actually asking if... instead of just hanging out... maybe it could be, um... s-so-some-someth-something," Carlos stuttered.
"You don't need to say more. It's a yes," Evie interrupted with a smile.
"Uh, do you even know what I mean?" asked Carlos.
Evie puts her hand on the back of his head and leans in to give him a kiss on his cheek, which immediately turns red.
"I know exactly what you mean," said Evie.
"Well, uh, th-that's awesome," Carlos smiled.
"What do you say we try again tonight?" Evie suggested. "It's not like we have anything to hide. We're all over the internet, you know."
"Sure, but... I wanna plan it this time," said Carlos. "I-If-If that's okay with you."
"A girl does love it when a guy plans a wonderful date," said Evie. "I'm sure you won't disappoint."
"So, no pressure then?" Carlos hoped with an anxious smile.
"As long as you don't mind the dress I have in mind for tonight," Evie teased. "If you think I was overdressed yesterday, you haven't seen nothing yet."
Evie shoots a bigger smile at Carlos before walking away and leaving him alone with Dude. Carlos dreamily watches her walk away, constantly thinking about last night and how many times she made him melt. Heck, Evie just flipped her hair as she turned around, appearing to be intentionally trying to make him blush again.
"Wait," Carlos called.
Evie stops and looks back at Carlos.
"Uh, before we make a fuss about tonight, how about we, uh, hang out now?" asked Carlos. "I can teach you Tourney, i-i-if you want to learn. I know sports isn't your thing, but... why not try it? Just for fun, you know."
"You know what, Carlos, I'd like that," Evie smiled.
"You really don't mind?" asked Carlos.
"As long as I'm with you, I'm willing to tolerate it," said Evie. "Enjoy it, even."
Carlos puts Dude down as he picks up a couple of nearby Tourney sticks. He tosses one to Evie, who catches it in her hand quite easily. Carlos starts juggling a ball with his Tourney stick, excited to teach Evie how to play the sport and just have fun. He tests her reaction time by gently tapping the ball towards her. Evie manages to hit the ball, sending flying up a few feet in the air. She catches the falling ball in her hand, like juggling an apple.
"Ready to play?" Carlos asked, eager to start.
"Ready as you are," Evie replied.
THE END
Let me say one more time, it really feels good to just relax and write a story as simple as this. Even from the very start of my FanFiction career, I have tried to write big interconnected stories, barely taking the time to write something simple. Despite my early embarrassments (because that's how I feel about my early stories), those are what helped me improve over time. Heck, I'm still improving now. My 7-part series may say something, but for me, I just want to write. Don't we all? Whether it's a passion project or a short story, I just want to do my best.
So, what do you think of this final chapter, and the whole story? Leave a review and share your thoughts, if you like. I would really appreciate it.