(R&R kiddos! I might do a full-length fan fiction with them if you want me to. It seems like there are party girl romances for James, Kendall, and Logan, but none for Carlos!)

"Ree, wake up."

Serena Bravo was being gently shaken by her shoulder. Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other, and assessed her surroundings. She had fallen asleep in the passenger's seat of her boyfriend of a few months', Carlos Garcia's, car after leaving the release party of her second album, Encore. The party had been held at a high-end club, Rave Eight, that was all the rage and the hottest thing at the moment. She had also been a few months sober, so for the first time in a long time, she had fun without getting drunk.

She stuck her tongue out at him, said "no," and rolled back over, closing her eyes. Carlos chuckled and removed his hand, sighing.

It was silent until Carlos got up and closed the car door. He went around to Serena's side. He stroked her long black hair, kissed her cheek, then scooped her up in his arms and closed the door. She snuggled into him, and before she knew it, they were ascending the stairs up to apartment 6M at the Palmwoods. Carlos let them in with Serena's key, plopped her onto the couch, and she looked at him then, frowning.

"You're leaving?" Her voice was sad.

"I'll be back in the morning!" He said, smiling brightly. It was his "cheery" smile. It was Serena's favorite. When he did it, his brown eyes sparkled, his pretty teeth were all visible, and his cheeks puffed up in that adorable way they did.

She looked down, muttered "ok," and closed her eyes. Carlos studied her for a moment, to see if she was really going to sleep, when he noticed something peculiar. She still wore mascara, lip gloss was still painted on her lips, and her foundation was still on.

"Why do you sleep with your makeup on?"

Serena popped one eye open. "Oh, I must've forgot it was on."

Carlos shook his head, looking at her. "Many a time you've fallen asleep at Rocque Records or back in 2J, and your makeup was on. Why?"

She closed her eyes, sighing. "It's stupid, Carlos."

He found this hard to believe. The simplest things about her amazed him and made him feel closer to her. He loved the cute way she was sometimes pretty lazy, the way she had no athletic ability, the sexy thing she did where she bit her lip in deep concentration. The way he knew she was dog-tired when she didn't bother to fix her usual ponytail and random pieces of hair was loose. The way she smiled when she was happy. Everything about her.

"It's not. Tell me, sweetie."

She didn't look up. "Sometimes if I sleep with mascara on, my lashes appear to be longer when I wake up. So sometimes I sleep with my makeup on. I think it'll make me pretty."

Carlos genuinely gawked at her. He crossed the room, kissing her deeply on her lips. "Don't ever think you're not pretty. You're gorgeous."

She opened her eyes, smiling. "Thanks, babe. I love you."

"I love you, too."