CHAPTER 2: CARLOS

The short boy threw himself onto his bed inside the room he shared with Jay. He started laughing uncontrollably as he was so proud of himself for finally working up the nerve to ask the guy he'd been crushing on, Weiss White to Audrey's party. He had met black haired boy in biology. Weiss was the first person in the class to actually talk to him personally. Like he wasn't a villain. The two were lab partners and Carlos took a liking to the boy quickly as they shared the same docile nature.

While Carlos cooed and daydreamed, Jay suddenly ran into the room like he was searching for something. The tall boy then noticed the still sweat covered Carlos on his bed.

"Dude?" Jay says twice before Carlos burst upward to face him.

"Hey! Didn't notice you walked in. Haha." Carlos fake laughed.

"Suuure. Hey bro have you seen my varsity ring?" Jay asked leisurely.

"Did you drop it under your nightstand like you always do?" Carlos was basically the older boy's mother. Jay bent over on all fours to dig under his nightstand. Carlos stopped fighting the urge to stare at his butt ages ago.

"You staring at my butt up there?" Jay laughed.

Carlos chuckled and went to his dresser to pick out a change of clothes for after his shower.

"GOTCHA!" Jay cried as he yanked his gold varsity ring from under the nightstand. He turned to see the shirtless younger boy. "Look at you." Jay wolf whistled as he sauntered up to Carlos.

"Look at what?" Carlos dug through his drawer casually. Jay started poking the boy's bare stomach and tickling him.

"You're getting ripped! All that running, you'll be as big as me!" Carlos barely fought off the older boy's rough hands.

"Quit it Jay!" Carlos giggled. He tried to get out of the way but Jay kept up with him. He liked it and knew he couldn't escape it anyway. Grabbing and squeezing the white haired boy until the two were on the floor, Jay had him pinned. Carlos's warm brown eyes met Jay's deep chestnut colored eyes that were being framed stunningly by his dark hair.

"I'm like super sweaty so you should probably get off me." Carlos says.

"Nah. I like this." The long haired boy smirked.

Carlos knew Jay could do stuff like this for hours. He didn't mind but he knew Jay had forgotten his other obligations "Don't you have to meet up with Lonnie?"

Jay's brain took a moment to register what the monochrome headed boy said before letting out an, "Aw shit!" He slid off the other boy's waist and ran toward the door.

"See that! Brains!" He points to the shorter boy as he runs out the room.

Carlos thought it was strange how accustomed to Jay's roughness he had gotten. He wouldn't have it any other way though because he knew that contact was how Jay showed affection. The older boy was actually the first person Carlos ever liked. Now in an empty room, he stood up from the hard wood floor and finally got to his shower.


Friday morning and the second to last week of school was coming to an end. No one was ready for their finals and anxiety covered the usually peaceful atmosphere. Carlos knew he'd ace his tests and wasn't too worried.

It was time for his math final and he was confident. He happened to share this class with Jay and knew the tourneyman had never kept up with the work consistently. A few minutes in, Carlos noticed the jock struggling.

"Psst. Psst." Jay whispered rather obnoxiously to Carlos who was right next to him. Carlos half looked his way. Jay mouthed 'what's 14?'

Carlos sighed and made hand gestures. One finger was for A, four fingers was for D. He held up three fingers discreetly and Jay nodded thankfully. This was basically the rest of the class.

Now time for biology, the white haired boy found the final exam to be a lot of fun. He finished early, not earlier than his crush. Carlos made his way toward Weiss who was at a lab table all alone near the door. The two of them were left with nothing to do during class, giving the two time to chat.

"So have you been to any of Audrey's parties before?" Carlos said quietly. "This is gonna be my first one."

"Yeah. They're very…busy." Weiss said lowly.

"You don't like them?"

"I don't do crowds well." Weiss shook his head. "Doug dragged me to the last one right before you all came and he just wanted to get drunk and flirt with girls." The black haired boy sighed.

Carlos smiled. "Now he's with Evie."

Carlos noticed Weiss's face scrunch up. "What's wrong?"

"That Evie girl…what's she like?" Weiss asked.

Carlos wasn't sure what to make of the question as he could only think about Evie's mother, Evil Queen, poisoning Weiss's mother, Snow White.

"She's my best friend. Next to Jay of course. She's like…my big sister." Carlos said genuinely. Weiss took in the freckly boy's words.

"I'll take your word for it." Weiss sighed.

Carlos frowned. "Weiss, how come you don't like Evie?"

"Because she smells bad." Weiss said without a second thought.

Carlos stared at the black haired boy. Trying to figure out exactly what he meant.

"What you don't like the smell of cinnamon and apples?" Carlos raised his brow confused.

"No Carlos. I told you about my nose." Weiss said referencing his otherworldly sense of smell.

"That intuition. Huh, nature boy?" Carlos joked.

"Yes." Weiss nodded seriously.

Carlos's face hardened. "Well this has to be the first time it's wrong then Weiss." Carlos said. "Evie is the best. She's smart, she's caring. I mean Doug loves her and he's your best friend!" Carlos tried to whisper but people began to stare.

Becoming uncomfortable, Weiss looked down. Class would be over soon so he began to gather his things. "I have a cooking club meeting and we're wrapping up for the year. I won't be back at the dorms until sort of late." He said slinging his primary color schemed backpack onto himself. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course." Carlos smiled then stood as the bell rang. Weiss couldn't continue frowning at the white haired boy. The two hugged, casting each other's respective scents on to one another.

"Later." Weiss paced off, unable to hide his reddening face. As he gathered his things, Carlos hoped he could diffuse whatever animosity the boy he liked had for one of his best friends.


Carlos knew Jay had an away game so he wouldn't see him until later. The boy head toward his group's regular spot atop the tourney field's bleachers to see Evie, Doug, and a rather pissed looking Mal sitting there

"Hi Carlos!" Evie waved when she saw her little brother.

"Hey. How'd everyone's finals go?" The fashionable youth asked as he climbed the seats.

"I absolutely detest English. It's sooooo boring!" Evie exclaims atop the bleachers. She dramatically falls into Doug's arms.

"Well this year for P.E. the final was a written exam! I can safely say I maintained a 4.0." Doug grinned.

"You're so smart Dougey!" Evie kissed the dopey lads cheek.

"You guys are giving me diabetes." Mal says insipidly. She was in a black dress with violet lacing. She wore purple shades to cover her eyes from the sun.

"Where's Ben?" Carlos asked.

"He just text me and he's apparently doing something royal." Mal sighed. "He also said he'll be at some retreat this summer for kingly training or some nonsense." Mal then got quiet. Looking down at her leather boots. "I'll hardly get to see him."

Evie's face lit up like she had a wonderful idea. "Well there's always Audrey's party. Maybe you two can make things official." The blue haired princess's mouth was left agape.

Mal sighed again. "People don't need to have sex to make their relationships official, Evie." The orchid haired girl slouched.

Evie finally closed her mouth, blushing. "I'm just saying you two should make the most of your time together before he has to go off."

Mal sighed once more. "Maybe I'll find a summer fling. Abdul's looking pretty hot today." The purple haired vixen peeked above her shades to see the son of Aladdin and Jasmine playing soccer with some other boys on the unoccupied tourney field.

Carlos was immediately disappointed. "Mal don't say that." He rubbed her shoulder knowing how stressed maintaining her first romance made her sometimes. "You and Ben will make it." Mal held Carlos's hand to her shoulder for a second before a weak smile dressed her face.

"Whatever. Enough about me. Losey, have you found a date to Audrey's party?" Mal turned to the younger boy. Carlos's freckles couldn't hide the redness flushing to his cheeks.

"Maybe."

Mal smirked. "Boy or a girl? Wait it doesn't matter as long as it's not Jay."

"And what's wrong with Jay?" Carlos got defensive.

"Um, he's only your best friend. You two can't wingman forever, it's totally weird." Mal said assuredly.

"Well it's not Jay. Promise." Carlos smiled sweetly as he thought of Weiss, who he had never introduced to his friends.

Evie's mouth opened into a gaping smile again. "Hey why not take Jane? Her hair is…depressing, but she is cute." The princess suggests. Mal, Doug, and Carlos just look at her.

"Or not. Like whatever." Evie said then continued to lie in Doug's chest.

"So Carlos, got any hints for us as to who you're courting for Audrey's party?" Mal said taking a cigarette from her purse.

"Mal you know I hate when you smoke." The boy scrunched his face in disgust.

"Eh, it's edgy. And I'm not a regular weak human like you guys so I'm not gonna die or anything." She smiled deviously using her magic to light a tiny light purple flame atop her finger.

Carlos recoiled toward a higher seat. Noticing this, Evie stopped her best friend from lighting the cigarette. "Mal, smoke reminds Carlos of his mom." The blue haired girl whispered.

Mal instantly stopped the flame. "Oh. Oh my god, I'm so dumb." She put the unlit cigarette away, not wanting to trigger the younger boy's memories of the Isle. "Sorry Losey. I'll save my bad habits for when I'm all alone."

Carlos chuckled, sliding back down a seat. "It's fine." He nodded. "And no hints about my date. It'll be a surprise okay?"

"Better be damn good one." Mal stood.

"And where are you going Miss Mal?" Evie asked.

"Well I'm bored and since you're all cozied in commitment, I'll go flirt with some boys in your stead your Evieness."

"Mal!" Carlos cried.

"Just play-flirting! Promise." Mal smirked before heading down the bleachers toward the field to distract the boys.

Evie sighed as she watched Mal mesmerize the soccer players and subsequently ruin their game. Not that the boys mind or anything though.

"Whatever are we to do with her?" Evie turned to Carlos who had gotten unusually close to her. She furrowed her flawless navy brows.

"Huh? Oh. Who knows?" The white haired boy slid away hastily on the metallic seat.

"Carlos were you just sniffing my girlfriend?" Doug asked as he made a peculiar face at the shorter boy.

"Whaaat? Nooooo" Carlos lied ineffectively.


It was late at night now and Jay had snuck Lonnie into his and Carlos's room. Carlos actually had no idea the daughter of Mulan was that type of girl, but he hadn't spent much time with her to figure otherwise. Jay hadn't said a thing to him when he and the girl snuck back in their room past curfew. The tall boy may have assumed Carlos was asleep, but he in fact wasn't.

The monochrome haired boy was playing a handheld game in his bed for longer than he should have. Since he couldn't sleep he was forced to listen to Jay and Lonnie's incessant giggling from under the covers. They wouldn't sleep together with Carlos in the room (thankfully) but if they did Jay would have boasted about how she was the first good girl he ever hooked up with afterward.

The couple settled down around 3 AM but Carlos still couldn't sleep. Maybe he was anxious about the party. Or about what Weiss had said about Evie. He wasn't too sure but something was keeping him up. After sleeping for maybe an hour and awaking earlier than usual, the white haired boy decided he'd just go for a walk. Still in his jammies, he threw on some slippers and head out the room.

On the first floor of the boy's dorm in the kitchen Carlos noticed Weiss was making a spread. There was a dorm mother who does that stuff but they wouldn't be around until later when everyone was awake. The short boy had heard that Weiss regularly woke up extra early and made his own food, but Carlos had never actually seen it with his own eyes.

"Good morning." The freckly boy said.

"Good morning." Weiss smiled sweetly, scanning the boy's apparel. "It's weird seeing you in pajamas." Weiss said fully dressed in a deep blue polo, Khakis, and bright red shoes. The two had never actually saw each other in the mornings since Carlos usually slept in or stayed in his room on weekends. It was a pleasant surprise for them both.

"It's weird to see anyone…awake this early." Carlos said.

"Well I like to hear the birds chirp." Weiss said as he scrambled the eggs.

"You really are a nature boy through and through." Carlos couldn't help but grin.

Weiss smirked, turning toward the other boy. "You could say that." Again the two sort of marveled at one another. Well they did before the sizzling on the stove loudened.

"Oh no, the eggs!" Weiss spun around to try and fix the meal up.

Carlos laughed before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He shivered at the touch before realizing it was only Doug.

"Over here." The skinny boy dragged Carlos to the other side of the kitchen where Doug had apparently been seated the entire time. The band geek got real close to Carlos's face.

"You and Weiss?"

Carlos looked around. "Weiss and I what?"

"The party! Ask him to the party! It'd be perfect. That way Evie and I can double date with you guys! Seriously, it's perfect." Doug's face glowed with cheer.

Carlos sort of giggled. "I already did man." Doug only stared at him perplexed.

"And he didn't tell me?" Doug looked down crestfallen putting his hands on his hips. A habit shared by a certain somebody else. Sure Evie's dramatic persona had rubbed off on him. The dopey boy then quickly brought himself back to good spirits.

"We can all go together! We'll look so good. This is great man you and Weiss make a great couple." Doug said rubbing Carlos's shoulders and aggressively. "Oh! Oh! Ooo…Sorry about that. Haha."

Smelling a well prepared breakfast, the boys float toward the aroma emitting from the kitchen. Weiss announced everything was ready and made them each a plate of homemade eggs, sausage, and of course French toast. The boys sat down and ate together, discussing their plans for the party later that evening.