"Jay, be honest with me. Do you have feelings for me?" Carlos blushed which sent Jay's heart into a flutter. Could Carlos actually like him back? Or would he just look like a fool? Before Jay had a chance to reply, Carlos quickly continued. "I- I wouldn't care if you did. I just need to know."

"Carlos…" Jay wrestled with his emotions. He wanted to scream out to the world that he loved Carlos. He needed the younger boy to know he was loved but Jay's fears got the better of him. "I don't. I'm really sorry man, but I only have eyes for the ladies. Dude must have misheard who I was talking about." Jay saw the inkling of a smile on Carlos' face quickly turn into a frown. It nearly broke Jay's heart until he saw a single tear roll down his cheek. The sight of that completely tore him up but he didn't want to show it. He needed to say something, anything, but it was too late for him to retract what he had already claimed. "Hey, C, I still love you. Just as a friend though. I'm really sorry. I'm sure you'll find someone way better than me out there. You're amazing Carlos, you don't give yourself enough credit." This was the only truth Jay was brave enough to say out loud. He was a coward and he hated himself for it. Before he could stop himself, Jay continued. "You're just not for me. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was stupid of me to believe that. Sorry. I know you." Jay did not think it was possible but his heart had broken even more. The 'I know you' had completely obliterated Jay's heart. He wanted so badly to scream out to anyone that would listen that Carlos did not know him. Jay yearned to tell the boy of his dreams, how he really felt but instead he had destroyed him. Jay had no way of knowing the chain of events that his denial had set in motion but it would forever haunt him for the rest of his life. Years later Jay would think back to this moment and want to punch his younger self for being such a coward. He'd want to grab himself by the shoulders and scream into his face, make him see what was right in front of him before it was too late. Before the irrevocable damage was done.

Carlos had ran into the bathroom and Jay could tell that he had tears in his eyes. "Hey man, are you okay in there?" Jay asked through the bathroom door that Carlos had quickly shut behind him. "I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings." That sounded so weak and pathetic when Jay heard the words leave his lips. He was so much more than sorry but he could not express that. Emotions were not Jay's strong suit. He preferred to settle emotions with his fists and love was just not an emotion that the fist could understand. Jay wanted to break down the door and scoop Carlos up in his arms. He wanted to show him the world. Experience everything so that the day they did die, they could do so happily in each other's arms.

"No. It's fine. Really, stop worrying. I was just being stupid. I'm just brushing my teeth." Jay knew this was a lie, he could practically hear the tears in Carlos' voice.

"Carlos…" Jay started but he knew there was no adequate ending to that sentence that could ever make up for the lie he had just told. The lie he had told ever since he found Carlos lying almost lifeless on the isle. There were no words to make up for the pain he caused Carlos. At least Jay felt he was right about one thing. Carlos deserved so much better than him. He was the shining light on that isle of darkness and yet Jay had just tried to shut him down. Jay paused outside the door, trying to grasp what was left of the tattered relationship between the two, before heading back and getting into bed.

He lay absolutely still trying to clear his thoughts but the muffled whimpering that Carlos was trying to hide in the bathroom could still be heard. The quiet sounds were worse than anything. Carlos wasn't crying to get attention, he was crying because Jay had ripped out his heart. Carlos hadn't even cried when Harry Hook had tormented him and ruled his life for all those years. It was Jay that had caused the pain and he knew it. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and die even though he knew that he deserved a much worse punishment. He deserved Carlos' upbringing and relationship with Harry ten times over and it still would not be enough.

When he heard the click of the bathroom door he rolled over and was about to open his mouth and apologise again when he saw the red eyes. Those red eyes would haunt him for many sleepless nights. Carlos had moved quickly but Jay had still seen. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch the boy he had hurt so much. Evie and Mal were right, Jay did leave a trail of broken hearts in his wake. He had just never even conceived the possibility that he would have to stare at one all night. Especially not one like Carlos.

He barely got any sleep that night as the sounds of Carlos whimpering continued into the early hours of the morning. The only time the whimpering stopped was when Carlos would fall asleep but that would only be temporary. Every time Jay tried to close his eyes all he saw was Carlos staring back at him with puffy red eyes. When Jay did manage to fall asleep he dreamt that he was drowning in a sea of tears, Carlos' tears.

Jay rolled over and looked at the clock. It was still too early to go for breakfast but he couldn't stay in this room any longer. It was destroying him lying so close to the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and know the damage he had caused him. Without making a sound Jay got dressed and slipped out of the room into the empty castle.

Every footstep seemed to echo in Jay's head. He had tried to avoid the life his father had envisioned for him but in doing so had inadvertently created one so much worse. Now he walked through a castle as empty as he felt inside. He saw no one as he made his way outside.

Jay just ran. He ran, and ran, and ran. Like he had all his life. The one thing Jay was good at was running away from things. It was a skill he had picked up from an early age. On the Isle it had served him well but now it was coming back to haunt him. Jay pushed himself further than he ever had before and before long could feel pains in his chest as his lungs struggled to fill with air. His body wanted to stop but Jay pushed through the pain he so much deserved. When at last he could not continue Jay stopped and found himself by the Enchanted Lake. It was a place Mal had told him about but he had never seen its brilliance for himself.

Jay had dreamed of taking Carlos there on one of their dates. It was the only place Jay could think of that was as special as Carlos was to him. There was no one around so Jay just yelled into the air. He yelled and yelled and yelled until his voice was hoarse and his throat was hurting. The sun was well and truly up by now but Jay did not feel like returning to the castle. He wasn't even hungry anymore. He could not bring himself to face Carlos, he didn't know how he would ever do so again.

The rest of the day he lay by the lake. He could not even bring himself to go for a swim, he did not belong in such brilliance. In Jay's eyes the only way he ever could would be with Carlos and that was never going to happen now. Why did he have to be such a coward? He was normally so smooth but when he was around Carlos he just lost everything. Carlos made him want to be a better person and he had repaid him by crushing his heart. Not even Evie's mother could have done a better job.

"Hey, Jay, are you alright?" As if hearing her name mentioned in Jay's thoughts Evie had appeared on the other side of the lake.

"Wh-what? Evie? Ho-how did you find me?" Jay was genuinely surprised, he had not expected anyone out here today, the weather was not so great, even by the Isle's standards.

"I wasn't looking for you, you self-entitled ass." Evie jabbed. Jay thought it might be a joke but he wasn't sure, maybe Carlos had told her. Maybe Carlos had told everyone. At least then they would all know who he really was. "I came out here for inspiration. Ben and Mal are always going on about how beautiful it is out here I thought I might be able to bring some of that into my dresses."

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough. Why were you yelling?"

"I tripped over a rock and it felt good to let it out." Jay lied without a second thought. "I didn't think there would be anyone out here, sorry."

"Sure." Evie clearly didn't believe him but the good thing about Evie was that she always knew when to push and when to pull back. "Hey, did you and Carlos sort out your issue last night? I caught him outside my room panting and yelling after you? Something about you stealing his homework?" Evie was genuinely concerned and it hurt Jay to know that he had to lie to her again.

"Y-yeah. His is always so much better than mine. I'd rather just have the answers than the reasoning behind them." In some ways Jay was relieved, Carlos had not told anyone. Jay knew if he was going to tell anyone Evie would be the first. It still hurt though, that Carlos was protecting him after everything he had done to him. Why did Carlos have to be so good? It would make things slightly more bearable if Carlos was like anyone else back on the island. But no, Carlos was perfect and Jay had had to ruin it. Just as he ruined everything else in his life before he came to Auradon.

"You're never going to learn that way." Evie tutted. "So, are you going to help me or not?"

"What are you looking for?"

The rest of the afternoon and most of the night Jay spent with Evie. Normally he wouldn't be interested in all this fashion nonsense but it was a distraction and Jay needed as much of that as he could get. He had classes again tomorrow and he would have to face Carlos. He would do anything to prolong that reunion.

He snuck into the dorm when he thought Carlos was asleep and quickly got into bed. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't eaten all day but he didn't feel hungry. All he felt was guilt. A deep and never-ending pool of guilt that was slowly consuming him.

The next month passed by slowly for Jay. Every moment he spent with Carlos felt like an eternity. Eventually they had started speaking again. They never mentioned anything about what had happened but Jay could see in Carlos' eyes that he had not forgotten. Every time he got lost in those beautiful eyes he felt an intangible amount of guilt that rocked him to his rotten core.

Though they were speaking something was holding both of them back. Jay knew his guilt was to blame but he was unsure what was happening with Carlos. Every time he saw him he just looked empty and hopeless. He would occasionally put on a false smile and fake a laugh when the occasion called for it but Jay knew Carlos well enough to know that he was lost.

"What happened to Carlos?" Evie asked the group one day.

"I'm not sure, he's been like that for weeks." Mal replied as she gripped Ben's hands. "Has he said anything to you Jane?"

"Not me. Normally he is so much happier and we joke around while studying but lately he has just been so focused and it's been hard to get through to him at all. I've asked him if anything is bothering him countless times but he just shrugs and tells me not to worry."

"Should we talk to Uncle Doc?" Doug asked. "He does have some experience with dealing with Grumpy's mood swings. Maybe he could help?"

"I don't think Doc is gonna help Carlos. But thanks, I'll keep him in mind." Evie gave Doug a reassuring smile as she rubbed his hand. "Jay? Has he said anything to you?"

"Nah, not really. Even Dude has been feeling a little left out lately. Carlos hasn't taken him for walks or anything in nearly a month." Jay knew the reason why but he didn't want to bring anything up. He was still too afraid to say anything to anyone, not even his closest friends.

"Did something happen between the two of you?" Mal asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she gave a sideways glance at Evie.

"Yeah, he's been different ever since that night I caught him chasing you down? What happened?" Evie added.

"Nothing, seriously, all I did was take his homework. He was fine after that we even played video games for the rest of the night. I don't know, something must have happened during the night. Maybe he's having nightmares again."

"About Cruella?" Mal asked.

"Yeah." Jay paused carefully to consider his next sentence. "Among other things."

"What other things?"

"That's not my place to say. He made me promise not to tell. Don't even try the green eyes trick, it won't work on me." Jay had done so much damage to Carlos he could at least protect his secret. It was bad enough that he had even hinted at anything else. Why did Jay have to be so horrible to the one he loved?

"What happened with Cruella?" Ben asked. The others around the table immediately looked away except for Doug. Carlos must have told Jane while they were together. No one was speaking so Jay decided to answer.

"Hell. Cruella treated him like her slave rather than her son. He did all her washing and ironing and if ever he made one tiny mistake she would lock him up in her closet which was full of traps which were hard to see in the dark. He was left alone for days at a time with nothing to light the way and barely a blanket to keep him warm at night. All that mattered to Cruella were her clothes. Carlos could have died for all she cared, as long as he didn't stain her clothes she'd be fine." Tears welled up in Jay's eyes as he said this.

"Oh… that's horrible. Why her closet though?" Ben asked, his face suddenly joining the others around the table.

"That's where he lived." Evie replied sadly. "He had it the worst out of all of us. One time she beat him so hard he nearly died. Luckily Jay found him lying in the streets and carried him to me."

Jay didn't bother correcting her. Carlos had never said it was Cruella but they had all just assumed. He wasn't going to spill Carlos' secret and hurt him any more than he already had. "I'm going to go to bed, he might be there and I'll see if I can talk to him." As Jay got up a look of concern swept through the group. No one wanted to say it but if Jay couldn't get through to him then Carlos was in more trouble than even Doc could handle.

As he was leaving he heard Ben say "I never realised how bad you guys had it on the Isle. If I had I would have brought the others over so much sooner. How can someone to do that to someone they love?" When there was silence Ben continued "Surely even villains love their kids, just a little?" The silence around the table confirmed Ben's fears. "Oh… I'm so sorry."

Jay bit back tears as he rushed back to his room. Jay felt he was no different to Cruella. Her punishments were physical but his were so much worse. Physical scars heal but emotional ones can linger for a long time, if they ever heal at all.

He was surprised when he got back that Carlos wasn't already in their room. Normally he would be studying at the desk or playing a video game by now. Jay assumed he went to the library to be alone. It's all Carlos seemed to want to do these days; be alone that is. Studying had slowly been slipping off his radar.

Jay grew concerned when Carlos didn't show up that night or when he didn't attend their classes the next day. By lunch time Jay was becoming frantic.

"Guys! Have you seen Carlos at all?" Jay asked Evie, Mal, Ben, Doug, Jane and Audrey as they sat together at lunch. They all shook their heads. "He didn't come back last night and he's missed another day of classes. Come to think of it, was he in any classes yesterday?"

"He was in my morning class but he missed the afternoon one we have together. Where do you think he could be?" Evie asked concern growing on her face along with everyone else at the table.

"We should ask my Mum, if anyone knew, she would. In the least she would be concerned that he's missing classes and skipping curfew." Jane suggested. They all nodded and rushed off to see the Fairy Godmother.

"I'm so sorry guys, Carlos said he had already told you all." Fairy Godmother said, a sad look on her face.

"Told us what?" Jay demanded.

"I'm so sorry to tell you children that Carlos has returned to the Isle."