Author's Note: Okay, so it took me a little longer than a day or two to get this chapter out. I got a little sick and that slowed me down. But, I'm all better now, and here it is. Also, I'd like to mention that the car mentioned in this chapter is a real car, though it was only made for like three years. I always figured the character mentioned to own it would have a classic car rather than a modern one. If anyone wants to see what the car actually looks like, just do a Google image search for "1957 Dual Ghia".
Please enjoy…
Three of the four VKs were standing in the dorm hall's foyer, waiting for the cars to arrive.
"I still wish you were coming to the palace with us," Mal said to Evie a little sadly.
"I know, but…I, uh…"
"I know, I know," Mal relented as she watched Evie become uncomfortable. "You want to spend time with your sister…your actual sister."
"Aww, M," Evie said sympathetically. She walked over and wrapped Mal in a big, warm hug. "You know you're my sister, too," she told Mal without letting go. "But how often am I going to get the chance to try and smooth over the things my mother did with the person she did them to?"
Mal and Evie separated and Mal looked at her best friend turned sibling. "I get it, I really do," Mal said sadly, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Evie laughed and hugged Mal one more time.
"Oh, enough with the hugging," Carlos complained from the base of the stairs where he'd taken up position while they waited, Dude lying next to him. His backpack was sitting between his feet while he played a game on his handheld. "It's making me want to hurl," he added.
"Stop being such a Grinch," Evie scolded him.
"Yeah," Mal agreed with an exaggerated nod. "And where's Jay?" she asked him, becoming worried that the fourth member of their quartet still wasn't down yet.
"He woke up late, and had to start packing," Carlos answered, letting his voice trail off as he delivered the news.
"Woke up late?" Evie asked.
"Start packing?" Mal almost shouted at the same time. "I told him to pack last night."
"You know he'd never do that," Carlos laughed, smiling for the first time in a few days.
"Evie, can you –"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," the three teenagers heard from upstairs. They looked up and saw Jay rushing down the second-floor hallway and then down the stairs, his suitcase in one hand, his backpack being held over one shoulder in the other hand. "Car here yet?" he asked when he reached the bottom of the stairs.
Mal and Evie rolled their eyes at him. Carlos just let out a small chuckle.
A few minutes later, the two cars finally did arrive. One held Ben, Belle, and Beast, and the other Snow White, Florian, and their son, Raymond. The adults began saying their hellos, Belle gushing over how much Raymond had grown since the last time she saw him. Eventually, the impromptu reunion ended and the cars started getting loaded with the kids' bags. All except for Carlos' luggage.
"Carlos, sweetie," Belle told him, putting a gentle hand on his face. "Before we go, you should know, someone has stepped forward and volunteered to let you stay with them for the Christmas break. Now, we don't want to force you, so we thought we'd let you decide once they get here," she explained.
"Which is surprising that she's not here yet," Beast said as he stood next to his limo.
Great, he thought, somewhere else I can feel out of place.
"Actually, I think I see her pulling up now," Snow White interjected.
Everyone turned to look in the direction that Snow was and saw a classic looking car pulling up the driveway and coming to a stop behind Snow White's limo. "Now that's a car," Raymond exclaimed, seemingly in awe of the vintage vehicle. The car was a two door Dual-Ghia. It was a sporty looking little car with an ice blue exterior and what looked to be a baby blue and white interior. While the overall feel of the car was classy and sophisticated, it gave off enough of a vibe that said it could easily show off some serious horsepower if called upon to do so.
What was even more surprising for the four assembled VKs was owner. Their eyes widened and, in the case of a certain reformed pickpocket, there was a slight open mouthed expression as the driver side door opened and out came the Fairy Godmother, followed shortly by Jane from the passenger side.
"That's your car?" Mal asked in disbelief as she ran her eyes over the vehicle. She'd never pictured the Fairy Godmother as a driver, and she certainly never pictured her driving something like this. But as she saw her standing next to it, she couldn't help but think that it suited her – classy, bright without being gaudy, and strong without overstating its power.
"It's so cute," Evie gushed.
"Isn't it?" she smiled.
"What's going on here?" Carlos asked impatiently.
Mal and Evie rolled their eyes while Jay just shook his head. Belle and Beast just looked at each other, their expressions somewhere between shock and worry. Snow just looked sympathetic. Despite not being around as often due to the distance of her own kingdom, Evie had slowly been filling her in on her friends, so she knew about Carlos' issues with Christmas.
"Carlos…um…," Fairy Godmother began as she walked toward the white-haired fourteen-year-old. She felt strangely awkward at the moment, mostly because she had no clue how this situation was going to turn out, and didn't want to have to see her daughter's heartbroken face if this whole plan went south before it had a chance to take off. "I know this is last minute, but I was wondering if you would like to spend Christmas with me and Jane?" she smiled.
Carlos looked at her slightly confused. He turned toward the car and saw Jane standing next to it, her hands resting on the roof. She smiled at him and waved, a small, hopeful smile curling her lips. Evie and Mal couldn't hold back their "aww" as they watched the way Jane also appeared to get a little dreamy eyed. Belle, Snow, and Fairy Godmother just looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
"Did you guys know about this?" Carlos asked his friends.
All three of them shook their heads in the negative.
"Actually, it was mine," Fairy Godmother answered. "Please don't get angry, but I heard how down you've been this season, figured, well, maybe you'd like to spend Christmas some place a little more…cozier than the palace."
"Like we said though, sweetie, it's totally up to you," Belle told him gently.
Carlos didn't know what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to stay with his friends, even if they were going to be all Christmas cheer and glad tidings. But at least he wouldn't be alone, and that was what he hated more than the idea of happy holidays. Then again, he'd been looking for a reason to try and talk to Jane more often, and spending Christmas with her definitely gave him his reason.
"What do you guys think?" he asked Mal, Jay, and Evie.
Jay just shrugged his shoulders. If Carlos did stay with Fairy Godmother, he figured he'd still be close enough to hang out with if things at the palace got too refined for him. And personally, he figured a change of scenery might do the boy some good. Mal and Evie we're torn for their own reasons. After their conversation last night, Evie knew that this was all Jane's idea. The timing was too perfect. She also thought that those two were too perfect for each other. She hated the idea of Carlos not being at least with Mal and Jay, but she was thrilled at that the thought of him finally getting to be around his crush.
Mal was slightly upset because it meant that another one of her friends wouldn't be with her for Christmas. It was their first Christmas together of the Isle and she wanted them to be together. That way they could face anything that happened together. Then again, maybe I'm just afraid of what'll happen, she thought. For better or for worse, she felt safer with her friends around, like nothing bad could happen, or if it did, they could take it on as one. Ben said her friends were like a security blanket, and as she thought about it, it sounded right.
Maybe that's why I don't want them to leave, she mused to herself as she looked at Carlos and then at Evie. But, she wagered, at some point, security blankets had to be put aside every now and then.
And this was one of those times. Not because she didn't care, but because Mal realized that this was about Carlos, not her.
"I want you to stay," Mal told him. She saw Jane begin to look like a wounded puppy after she said it. "But…this might not be a totally bad idea," she continued, bring a look of shock from Carlos, and Evie and Jay as well.
Carlos looked to Jay and Evie, waiting to see if they'd say anything. Once again, Jay shrugged. Carlos knew if he had any reason to believe this was a bad idea, he'd say something.
"I'm trying out different. Might not hurt you to give something different a chance too," Evie told him.
Carlos looked back toward Fairy Godmother. Then Jane. "I guess I'll go with you," he answered tentatively.
Fairy Godmother's house was not what Carlos was expecting. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting, but he always figured she lived in some huge, practically regal looking home. Maybe even some kind of smaller sized castle since she was the most powerful fairy in the world. He figured her title and her level of power had to mean something after all.
So as they pulled up to the quaint, average looking yellow and white bungalow, he almost thought they had pulled up to the wrong house. "We're here," he heard Fairy Godmother say cheerfully as the car came to a stop.
Jane moved to let Carlos out of the backseat. Like back at Auradon Prep, there was snow on the ground, but it had also been groomed so as to keep the walkway and sidewalks clear. He helped pull his bags out of the trunk and made his way up the path, surprise kicking in. "How are their flowers growing?"
"Magic," Jane answered.
"Jane," Fairy Godmother said in an admonishing tone.
"Aww, I can't have any fun," she pouted.
"The flowers are Camellias and Christmas Roses, Carlos. They're perfectly at home growing in snow," Fairy Godmother informed him.
"That makes more sense," he said looking at Jane. She just smiled at him and then playfully stuck her tongue at him before going into the house. Carlos lagged behind for a second, looking at the house's exterior. There were poinsettias planted inside of box planters on the porch rail, and individual pots of them on the end of each step coming down to the walkway. On each pillar was a string of garland wrapped around it and what looked like lights wrapped with them. He noticed that lights also bordered the porch and the front door, which itself had a large wreath made of declaratively arranged branches, flowers, and red ribbons rather than whatever plant was normally used.
"Home, sweet, home," Jane said once she was inside.
Once Carlos was inside he set his bag down and wandered into the living room. The room itself wasn't overly large, but it felt homey all the same. The furniture was modern, but the rugs they sat on were definitely antiques. The room wasn't overly decorated except for the fireplace and the eight foot Christmas tree in the corner.
As he looked closer he noticed that that fireplace had stockings hung on it – three in all. "Who's the third stocking belong to?" he asked unsure.
"It's yours, honey," Fairy Godmother told him. "If you're going to stay here, you get one just like we do."
Carlos didn't know how to feel about that statement. Sure he had gotten one from Mal back at school, but he figured she was obligated to get him one, in her mind at least. But he wasn't expecting this.
He thought…he didn't know what to think.
