Sometimes being the son of a super villain sucks. Carlos De Vil, son of Cruella De Vil, knew this better than anyone else he knew. Always misunderstood, avoided, seen as a freak; useless and callous and rotten to the core. He was sick of being an outcast, seen as a no-good misfit. Becoming friends with Jay, Mal, and Evie, fellow children of villains who shared his misery, was the first time he didn't feel alone.

When the Royals decided to invite Carlos to Auradon Prep along with his best friends, he thought that it was finally his chance to do something more, to finally shed the villainous shadow of his mother that followed him everywhere.

For the most part, that had happened, especially for his friends. Mal, once the most villainous of them all, had fallen for the soon-to-be king and led them all to do the right thing at her boyfriend's coronation, earning the trust and respect of their classmates. Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen, finally stopped playing dumb and embraced her knowledge as well as a relationship with Doug, one of the smartest guys in their school, and is now using her fashionista talents to start new trends every day. Even Jay, who was like Carlos's brother and mentor, had won the hearts of the school for both his prowess on the Tourney field and his charming good looks.

Then there was Carlos. Sure, he embraced goodness too, but unlike his friends he hadn't won any sort of grand reputation. He wasn't hot and magical with a royal boyfriend like Mal, he wasn't smart and talented like Evie, and he definitely wasn't charismatic and athletic like Jay. Sure, he'd made the team, but Jay had to pull him out of danger during almost every game and used him as his personal ragdoll on the field. He was completely useless.

Carlos felt more lost and useless than he had on the Isle of the Lost.

Take today for example. It was this season's first game against their fiercest rivals, the Falcons, and Carlos was stuck once again on the bench, watching Jay dance around the field as if he'd been born to play. He vaulted over players with ease, ducking and dodging and flipping across the kill zone with senseless abandon. Carlos cheered and yelled along with the rest of his teammates on the bench and the fans behind them, but he couldn't really help the sinking of his heart, the downward pull of his lips.

Carlos's pride was still smarting from the beginning of the game, when he'd unwittingly passed the ball to their opponents instead of Jay. Coach had called him off the field immediately, and Carlos waved off Jay's protests with his head down, unable to look at him due to his stinging eyes.

Now, however, Carlos grins despite himself as he watches Jay charging towards the Falcon's goalie with a ferociousness that had reduced the knees of some players to putty, but that Carlos and their teammates had come to expect from him. He knew without a doubt that the goalie didn't stand a chance against his best friend.

Sure enough, Jay manages to fake him out last minute and the goalie dives in the wrong direction. The crowd surges to its feet as Jay throws off his helmet, doing a flip. Carlos is off the bench and running towards him with the rest of the team, his heart lifting a little at the joy on Jay's face, but he slows after a few steps, allowing his team time to surround Jay. Ben and Chad lift Jay up on their shoulders, awarding Carlos with the breathtaking view of Jay's face.

Pure happiness. That is what Jay's expression conveys to everyone around them, his face open for the world to see, and all they see is pure, uncensored giddiness.

Carlos had never felt that before, and for a moment Carlos closes his eyes as he realizes with a sudden sense of realization that he is jealous. Suddenly the wind is knocked out of his chest and Carlos feels as if someone had plowed into his chest.

Oh wait, they had.