Carlos was proud proud of his friends. He was unbelievably proud of them, because he didn't want to be evil and bad either. He knew that they were all going against their parents, and everything they had been taught. He was proud because his friends were going against their parents, they were standing up for themselves and for what's right, and they were being so brave.

But his friends had always been braver than him. When they were younger and thunder shook the ground, when lightning covered the sky, Carlos was the only one who was scared. Sure, he was younger than them, but the age difference wasn't that big. Carlos remember how much Jay teased him because of it, until he saw the tears welling up in Carlos eyes and he instead proceeded to get mad and yell at the thunder. He was probably pretending, Carlos had thought, but Jay was just so brave and Carlos couldn't understand how. And that time when he was being teased by some older guys, and Mal and Evie had stood up for him and gotten them to leave him alone. It wasn't much, but Carlos admired them for that. Carlos wasn't brave at all, but it was okay because he had his friends. Except now. They all chose good, they had put their hands out without hesitation, and now they were all looking at him. This was a decision he would have to make completely on his own. The three of them had obviously had the courage to go against their parents, but Carlos didn't know if he could do it too.

The others looked at Carlos, all worried. Because they had grown up with him, and they knew. They knew that he had it the worst. Sure, none of them had an ideal childhood. They didn't have the best parents, and they weren't always treated good. Far from it, actually. There had been lots of times when their parents didn't treat them like children, or even like family. Cruella, though, barerly treated Carlos like a human being. They didn't know everything she had done to him and put him through, but they knew that it was bad. They had seen some of it, they had heard about some of it. Truth to be told, even if they had absolutely no clue about what went on in the De Vil residence, they would still have been able to tell that it was bad, because you could see it in Carlos. In his behaviour, his body language, his manners, his habits, his fears, and his voice. If you paid attention to Carlos, you could tell that he had been through some stuff. Not only did they want him to choose good because it was the right thing to do and because they knew that Carlos wasn't evil (he hadn't been very evil even back at the Isle), but also because they just couldn't let him go back to his old life. Especially when they wouldn't be there to help him.

So Carlos hesitated. He didn't want to go against his mother, because he remembered all the nights he had cried himself to sleep, and all the times he hadn't even slept, just cried and cried until he saw the sky brightening. The nights when he went to sleep with sore and aching muscles, from working all day, and the nights when he went to sleep with blue bruises and a red cheek. He remembered the panic when one of his friends would see the bruises and cuts, and the bad lies he would tell them so that they would leave it alone. When his skin would hurt all over because it was wounded and he didn't have a bed to sleep in. When his nightmares were filled with barks, wild eyes and sharp teeth, and when his own mother slowly started appearing in them until his nightmares were filled with her instead.

Carlos knew what happened when he didn't follow her orders. And something as big as this? Choosing good over evil?

He couldn't go against her, he just couldn't. He couldn't even imagine what she would do.

But he also didn't want to let his friends down. And he knew that their parents would get mad too. So he did the first thing that came to mind.

"So, just to be clear, we don't have to be worried about how mad our parents are gonna be?", he asked his friends. He said it with a small smile, and in a light tone, because he wanted them to think that he already had made his decision, and that he was joking. Kind of.

The others laughed, which was a relief to Carlos.

"Cause they're gonna be really, really mad", he continued. He didn't know what he wanted their answer to be. Maybe that they knew that already, and that they could handle that together. Or that they for some reason wouldn't have to deal with their parents at all. But he didn't get the answer he expected.

"Your parents can't reach you here", Ben said and looked at Carlos.

And Carlos hadn't thought about that. He was just so used to his mother always being there that he literally forgot that there was a barrier between them. Carlos thought about it, and he realised that Ben was right. There was a barrier that kept her away from him, a barrier that had kept all the villains away for years. He himself had lived behind it. The villains had never managed to get through it before. And the Fairy Godmother had her wand, they had magic here. His mother was only one person, and she wasn't powerful alone. She needed people. Even she did get through the barrier, so what? With his friends here, and all the other people he knew would help him, he could handle it. He would be okay. It was a very sudden realisation and he could still feel the worry in his stomach. He could here his heart pounding and his breathing was irregular. Choosing good was a big decision and he was still a bit hesitant, but he suddenly got the courage to make it. So he did.

"Okay then"

Carlos had hesitated, but it had only been a few moments. It didn't seem like much to everyone else, but to Carlos it had felt like hundreds and hundreds of thoughts and memories passed through his mind in seconds. He put his hand on his friends hands. For once, Carlos wasn't worried about his mother. And for once, Carlos actually felt brave.