Author's Note: Hey guys! All right, so this is just kind of a filler chapter. There's nothing much interesting happening in it, except for the reason that Layla has to leave for Tides in the next chapter. Also in the last chapter, I said that I'd be introducing a new character in this one. I only had one person who got it right by guessing that it was the missing boyfriend, Carlos. Congratulations to Blosiom for that! Happy reading!

Chapter 2: Couple Reunited, Couple Divided

For the rest of the week, the girls and the guys concentrated on their lessons, trying to get their homework done before midnight each night. For Guinevere and Nirvana, this was a chore, for they had more to learn than the rest of the girls.

"Why did Ms. Faragonda put us in the junior year?" asked Nirvana on Friday night. It had been an exhausting week for all the girls. "I was supposed to start Alfea this year sure, but I thought I was going to start with freshmen year like everyone else does when they first arrive."

"It's because we've got our full power," said Guinevere. "We've got more power than the fairies in the freshmen class, so we automatically got put at the same level as the other girls. Plus you're too old to go in freshman year. You're seventeen, right?" Nirvana nodded.

"You two need this spa day more than the rest of us," said Stella.

"You're both coming to the spa and to lunch, right?" asked Bloom.

Guinevere nodded but Nirvana said, "I'll go to the spa but I'm coming straight back here after that."

"How come Nirvana?" asked Tecna.

"Because going out with you guys while you're with your boyfriends makes me think of my boyfriend back home," replied Nirvana. "His name was Carlos and the last time I saw him was right before Paritho attacked. We had dinner together and the next day, Paritho took over the realm. I was locked inside the palace, just a maid, never allowed to leave. I thought about Carlos every day until you guys released Angelicas from Paritho's grip. I looked for him after that, but he'd gone. When I went looking for him, all I found was this." And she held up the letter that he'd left her in his home.

Guinevere read it aloud to the rest of the group and by the time she was done, almost every girl had tears in her eyes.

"That is the single most beautiful thing I've ever heard," said Bloom. The others nodded.

"And you haven't seen or heard from since before Paritho showed up?" asked Musa.

"Not a word, I miss him so much," said Nirvana, tears beginning to stream down her face at the thought of her missing love.

"We're sorry Nirvana," said Flora. "We had no idea."

"What's he look like?" asked Stella, casting her mind around to all the guys she knew and thinking maybe she'd seen him in passing.

"Tall, dark, wavy hair, tanned skin, brown eyes, cute accent," said Nirvana, thinking of how much she always swooned whenever he spoke to her. "But what struck me about him was how much of a gentleman he was. He always thought of others, his family, his realm, me, before ever thinking of himself. I think the only people he loved more than me were his parents and his sister."

"We'll find him Nirvana, don't worry," said Musa, putting her arm around her friend's shoulders.

This got Layla thinking. After Nirvana had gone to bed, she and the rest of the girls went in Bloom and Flora's room to hear her idea. "Listen guys," she said. "I'll bet the reason she couldn't find Carlos was because he was at Red Fountain. He must have transferred there at the start of the year. Think about it, by the time we freed Angelicas, the school year had already started."

"Do you think there's a chance he went back to Angelicas after the danger had ended?" asked Guinevere.

"I doubt it," replied Layla. "I'd never heard of Angelicas before we went to save Tecna. It's probably difficult to get correspondence there from Magix, where hardly any people have any knowledge of it. So, I'll bet he doesn't know that Paritho isn't in power anymore and is still training to save Nirvana. And Red Fountain is the best hero school in all the realms to learn how to do that."

"That's a good idea Layla," said Musa. "I didn't think of that."

"And I'll find out if you're right," said Stella. She whipped out her cell phone and called Brandon.

"Hey Stella, what's up?" he asked as he picked up the phone.

"Hey Bran, is there a boy over there named Carlos?" asked Stella.

"Yeah, he just transferred here from another hero's school," said Brandon. "It's pretty rare for a student to enter Red Fountain senior year, and he's Andrew's roommate. Why do you wanna know about him? You're not dumping me for him are you?"

"No way," said Stella. "I would never go out with anyone else. What's he like and where's he from? Did he by any chance come from Nirvana's realm, Angelicas?"

"I think so. He's tall, dark hair and skin, kind of moody. He's been really distant ever since he got here. He won't talk to much of anyone unless he's spoken to. When Andrew asked him about it, he just said he was worried about his girlfriend back home."

"I knew it! He's Nirvana's boyfriend. She told us about him and Layla figured out that he might be going to Red Fountain. So listen, bring him with you to lunch tomorrow and we'll try to coax Nirvana to come with us. Don't tell him why you're bringing him. I want it to be a surprise for both of them."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," said Brandon. "I love you."

"I love you too. Bye!" replied Stella, as she hung up the phone. "It's all set. Brandon and the rest of the guys are bringing Carlos, now all we have to do is convince Nirvana to come with us."

"Good plan Stell," said Musa. "I can't wait to see the look on Nirvana's face."

"Don't you think you should've asked Brandon to tell Carlos the plan?" asked Tecna.

"No, I don't, because like I said, I want it to be a surprise for both of them," replied Stella. "This will be a day for them both to remember."

The next morning, the girls hit the spa and each got the full works: massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, etc. By the time they came out, they each felt refreshed, reenergized and ready to take on whatever challenge that came to them, whether it was school or the next adventure.

"Why do you guys want me to come to lunch with you?" asked Nirvana.

"Because we have a surprise for you," said Bloom. "Trust us, you'll love it."

"Now, when we get there, we're going to ask you to close your eyes and we'll tell you when the time is right to open them," said Flora.

"All right," said Nirvana, apprehensively, "but I gotta tell you, I don't know about this."

"Relax," said Stella. "You'll love what we've got in store for you."

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The boys were already waiting for the girls at the restaurant. Brandon had told the rest of the boys about the plan the previous night, so Andrew had talked Carlos into coming with them.

"I still don't see why you wanted me to come," he said. Carlos was a handsome young man with black hair, brown eyes and very tanned skin. His name was appropriate, for he had what Bloom later recognized as a Spanish accent.

"We have a surprise for you, that's why," said Helia.

"Where is this surprise?" asked Carlos.

"The girls are bringing it," Sky said simply.

"I don't know what you're trying to do by introducing me to your girlfriends, but I've decided I don't want to know," said Carlos. "I'm going back to Red Fountain."

"No you're not," said Brandon. "You'll want to see this surprise."

"Yeah, just trust us," said Timmy

"Look, there are the girls," said Andrew. Carlos tried to leave again, but Riven and Jason grabbed him by the arms and marched him back to the entrance of the restaurant, thereby forcing him to stay.

"Just stand here and close your eyes," said Jason.

"All right, but I don't know about this," said Carlos, standing there with his eyes shut.

"Just relax," said Riven irritably. "And don't look until we tell you to."

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"Ok, here we are," said Bloom.

"Are you ready Nirvana?" asked Layla. Nirvana started to say, "I don't know," but Stella cut her off.

"Sure she is! Now close your eyes." Nirvana did what she was told and let Bloom and Stella guide her over the restaurant.

"Hey girls," she heard Sky say.

"Okay on the count of three, both of you open your eyes," said Stella.

"Both of us?" Nirvana and Carlos said silently

"1…2…3!" yelled Stella. Carlos and Nirvana both opened their eyes and stood there, shocked for a few seconds.

"Oh my gosh," said Nirvana, when she saw her boyfriend standing there.

"Am I dreaming?" asked Carlos, staring at Nirvana. A wide smile broke out on Nirvana's face and suddenly, she ran at him. He lifted her up in his arms, spinning her around, both of them laughing as though they'd never laughed before. When he set her back down, he gave her a kiss on the lips to show that he was happy to be reunited with her once more.

"I've missed you," said Nirvana.

"I've missed you too," said Carlos, hugging her tightly. "Where were you? I heard Paritho had been defeated, but when I went back to Angelicas to look for you, you were gone."

"A few days after he was defeated, my parents sent me here. Are you all right? Did you manage to get everyone past Paritho's defenses? What about Kendra? Is she all right?"

"She's fine," said Carlos, thinking of his sister and parents, who were settling back into their home in Angelicas. Carlos had opted to stay at Red Fountain, where he decided to finish his hero training.

Needless to say, this lunch date went considerably better than their last one. Each couple bonded a little more, awe-inspired by what they had seen from Carlos and Nirvana. When they got back to Alfea that afternoon, Stella said, "who wants to go for lunch next week?"

"I can't," said Layla. "I have to go back to Tides for a few days next weekend. My cousin is getting married and I promised her I'd be her maid of honor."

"You?" asked Musa. "I thought you hated stuff like weddings."

"I do, but my mom sort of tricked me into agreeing to it," said Layla.

"Do you need a date?" asked Jason hopefully.

"I'm sorry Jason," said Layla. "I asked my parents if I could bring you and they said no." Seeing the look on his face, she said, "I'm sorry. I've wanted to introduce you to them for awhile now, but they keep making excuses not to. Don't ask me why, I've given up trying to figure them out."

"Oh, okay," said Jason, sounding disappointed.

"I really am sorry," she said, and she looked it too. The boys went back to Red Fountain a few minutes later, taking a hurt Jason with them. When the girls returned to their rooms was when they got on Layla's back about what she'd just said.

"Was that really necessary Layla?" asked Bloom, when they got back up to their dorm rooms.

"What do you mean?" asked Layla.

"Look, I know you sometimes feel a little uncomfortable around Jason, but he really likes you," replied Bloom. "I don't get why you brushed him off like that, it's not like you. Why did you do that to him?"

"Yeah Layla, I went to a lot of trouble to set you two up," said Stella. "If you don't like spending time with him fine, but you didn't have to go and crush him like that."

"You guys, I was telling the truth out there," said Layla. "I honestly did ask my parents if I could bring him to the wedding and they said no. I don't know why they did, but they did."

"Really?" asked Flora.

"Yeah, you see occasionally I get a call from my parents, you know them wanting an update," said Layla. "Almost every time they call, I ask them when I can bring Jason home and introduce him, but they keep saying things like, 'you can bring him home soon,' or 'maybe on your next break.' It's driving me crazy because I had actually arranged a time for them to meet, but before I could tell Jason, Dad was telling me how we couldn't do it because of some conference he had to go to. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was lying, but I couldn't do anything about it. I set up another date, but we had to cancel that one too and then it happened again about a week later."

"How long has this been going on?" asked Musa.

"I've been trying to persuade them to let me bring him home for about a month," said Layla. "But they won't do it. Then, when I found out my cousin was getting married, I realized I'd need an escort, so I asked them if I could bring him and they said no. When I see them this weekend, I'm gonna demand the whole truth, once and for all."

"Do you think maybe they set up an arranged marriage or something for you?" asked Guinevere.

"I hope not," replied Layla. "I hate the idea of an arranged marriage. I'll let the witches capture me and doom myself to eternal torment before I agree to one of those."

"That's a little drastic, don't you think?" asked Nirvana.

"I know, but that can't be what it is," said Layla. "Mom and Dad always promised me I could find someone on my own. Mom even said she was looking forward to meeting the guy I picked. And now, I'm this close to introducing them to Jason and they won't even see him."

"That is strange," said Tecna. "I couldn't bear it if my parents wouldn't let me bring Timmy home and introduce him. It would make me think that they didn't trust my judgment."

"I remember how scared I was when Helia came to visit me over the summer," said Flora. "He just turned up one day without even calling me. I was overjoyed but I was scared of what my parents would think of him. I was so relieved they liked him."

"What are you going to say to your parents Layla?" asked Guinevere

"I don't know yet, but I'll think of something," replied Layla.

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"I don't know guys," said Jason, when they boys got back to Red Fountain. "What if Layla doesn't love me the way I love her? I think she's the greatest thing in the world and she treats me as though I'm nothing. Maybe I should just find another girlfriend and move on."

"You can't do that," said Helia. "The worst thing for a girl is her boyfriend dumping her. Just give her a little more time to get used to the idea of having a boyfriend. Personally, I think she's still getting used to having so many friends in the Winx Club."

"If you do it, she might never get over it," said Brandon. "You have to be patient."

"What do you know about patience Brandon, you can't go three days without having to see Stella," said Riven, smirking.

"You're not helping, Riven," said Sky, glaring at him.

"But what if I'm right?" asked Jason. "What if she doesn't want to take our relationship further?"

"It looked to me like she does," said Andrew. "Did you see the look on her face?"

"Yeah, what of it?" asked Jason.

"She was telling you the truth Jason, it was obvious," said Carlos, thinking the same thing as Andrew. "She wanted to take you back to Tides, but for some reason her parents said no."

"Yeah, why don't you talk to Layla and see what's up?" asked Timmy.

"I don't know, maybe I should just…" began Jason but Riven cut him off.

"Stop obsessing, you know Layla likes you, so lay off for a while."

"I think what he means to say is give Layla a little space and see if she can find out why her parents said no to you," said Sky. Riven just nodded.

"Maybe you guys are right," said Jason. "I'm going to my room, I need to think." He went in and lay down on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, the same thoughts rushing through his mind. "What am I supposed to do if Layla dumps me? Maybe I should dump her and save myself the heartache. But then Helia's right, it'll hurt her and me if I do that. I wish I could just understand what goes through Layla's mind. I mean, if she doesn't like me that much, she would have stopped going out with me ages ago, but if she does like me, she wouldn't have said what she said. But maybe she was telling me the truth. I'm just scared she doesn't feel the same way as I do. I've fallen for her and she hasn't given any sign that she even cares for me. No, think positive, she does care for me. I love her and someday I'll get the courage to tell her that." He kept thinking these thoughts until he finally drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note: All right, so that's chapter two. Again, not very exciting, but I wanted Carlos and Nirvana reunited quickly and I had to cue the fact that Layla's going home in the next chapter. I also had to start getting in a little bit of tension between Layla and Jason, because even though they're going to be all right for this story, they're not going to be the best couple of the group. Next chapter is going to have Layla going home and finding out the truth about why her parents don't want Jason around. Stay tuned!