Chapter 5
As soon as Jane had led Mal into her dorm, she broke down in tears. Mal rubbed Jane’s arm awkwardly as she sobbed.
“I just don’t understand why he’d- he’d do this!” Jane managed to get out through her hiccuped sobs.
Mal tilted her head in confusion.
“I… I don’t want anything else to happen…” she murmured. “I don’t want this to be bad for him- but-”
Mal cut Jane off. “Hey, hey, hey- it’s okay, Jane. It’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to him.”
Jane paused, nodding shakily.
“Okay. Do you need a moment?”
“No- no. I- I don’t.” Jane sniffled. “It’s Carlos. He… he- I- I don’t know if he likes me anymore. We haven’t talked in the past five days, and I don’t want to seem clingy, but- but what if he doesn’t like me anymore!?” Jane wailed.
Mal sighed softly, squeezing Jane’s hand.
“Jane, I’m sure he’s just busy with his classes and Tourney.” Mal assured her crying friend. “It’ll be okay. You could ask him what’s going on, and see what he says. How does that sound?” Auradon’s Queen smiled. “I can even come with you, if you like.”
Jane nodded, her sobs quieting down.
“I- I’ll go ask. Thank you, Mal!” Jane perked up swiftly, excusing herself from the room quickly.
Jane did not, in fact, go to ask Carlos about what had happened. ‘Carlos was surely busy, and they’d spend more time together soon’ is what she had reasoned.
Well, Carlos was, in fact, busy. She had gotten that much right.
Carlos and Jay had managed to snag a moment to themselves, breaking off from the hectic school day. There was disruption throughout Auradon due to Mal and Ben’s choice to lift the shield surrounding the Isle, and Carlos and Jay- because they were from the Isle, as well- were caught up in it. To be completely honest, though, that wasn’t the only reason that Carlos and Jay wanted a break. Well, at least for Carlos.
“So. Jay.” Carlos clapped his hands together.
“Yeah! What’s up, Carlos?” Jay smiled, his grin as goofy and clueless as ever.
“There’s something I have to tell you.” Carlos decided on leading with. “It’s, like, kind of important.”
This caught Jay’s attention. He tilted his head to the side, as a way of silently telling Carlos that he was listening.
“I… over the past couple of years, I realized something.” Carlos exhaled. “I want to be- more than friends.”
Jay lit up at this.
“So, best friends?”
Carlos shook his head.
“No. I mean- more than roommates. More than Tourney teammates. I… I like you, Jay. As more than just- just friends. Or best friends. I like you, Jay.” Carlos finally got out. It was surprising news, to say the least. Well, to Jay it was.
“Oh. Um-” Jay clapped his hands together awkwardly, stunned. He’d flirted plenty of times, been confessed to and turned down hundreds of girls and boys alike. But when it was Carlos? That was a whole different story.
“I understand if you don’t have an answer!” Carlos held up his hands, mimicking a caught criminal. “I’m not expecting one right away, I-” Carlos sighed softly. “I’m sorry. This- this was a bad idea. I’m with Jane and everything…”
Jay was shell shocked, having to take a moment to process what had just happened as Carlos continued to ramble. Eventually, he stopped Carlos mid-sentence.
“I'm sorry i-”
“Carlos?” Jay asked tentatively. “I’m… not really sure what to say.” He chuckled softly. Humorlessly.
Carlos nodded quickly.
“Right, yeah-”
“I haven’t really thought about this stuff a lot… Well, me and you. So- maybe? Yeah. Let’s give it a try!” Jay smiled brightly. “We’ll see how it works out.”
Carlos lit up.
“Wait- wait, really?”
“Yeah! Just… tell Jane what’s going on, and I’m sure she’ll understand! We’re not official, just trying some things out-”
Carlos nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah, I’ll go tell her!” He bounced up and down, ready to run off and find his girlfriend.
Jay smirked at this. Suddenly, he had an idea. A good one? Who’s to tell. So, he gave Carlos a little peck on the cheek.
Carlos paused, before his face broke out into a geeky grin. It was the grin of a ten-year-old who’d just gotten to hold hands with a girl. Which is to say: shy, yet adorable.
Jay laughed. “Alright. Go tell your girlfriend what’s going on.”
Carlos nodded once more. “Yes! Yeah. I’ll do that!”
Spoiler alert: he did not, in fact, do that. What was he supposed to tell her? Would she be upset with him? What would she think?
So, instead of going to Jane, he went to another person. Whose reaction would likely be worse. The person? Well, none other than Miss Cruella DeVil.
And it went about as well as you can imagine.
“You bitch!” Cruella yelled, standing from her leather armchair- in a manic state. Carlos usually avoided her when it was getting bad, but this time, he really couldn’t.
“So you run off to join that Auradonian circus, and then become a” the next word she said was less than savory, “even after all I’ve done for you!? Was I not a good mother!? This is what I get for supporting this childish delusion of yours. Pah! My sweet, precious Luciana turned into… you! If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’d just gone and replaced her! Gone and skinned her alive, before stealing her skin and taking on her appearance! Or you were just a little witch who had crawled into her brain and told her to do these terrible things! Gah! What’s a mother to do!?” Cruella wailed.
Carlos winced, shrinking into himself. “Mother, I-”
“No!” She shrieked, smacking him across the face with the back of her hand. It stung. Carlos kept his face away from her: this was the best thing to do in these kinds of situations.
“You get out of here, and never come back! Carlos DeVil…” she sneered. “What a foolish name. You are not worthy of the DeVil title, and you never will be! Not until you bring me back my precious Luciana, you wench! Now go!” Cruella demanded, pointing towards the door.
Carlos left silently.
Ah. So much for telling his mother… Gods why did he have to be this way? Unhappy in his own body, and then unhappy with his girlfriend? He was selfish. He knew that. Who did he piss off in his past life to make him this way?
Carlos only looked up at the sound of rustling in the bushes. He was outside Auradon Prep’s boundaries, in the town of Auradon itself.
Deciding to take a break from self-loathing to investigate, he found a small white rabbit. He bent down to touch it, but it just hopped away instead. He sighed. Not even a rabbit wanted to be near him, then.