It felt like Carlos was stuck in his hospital room for forever. In reality, it was only for two weeks. Those two weeks were filled with constant visits from Ben, Audrey, and the Vk's. Ben always brought him food from outside of the hospital because Carlos didn't care for the blandness of the food there. Mal and Evie brought him his school work to do when he felt up to it. Jay had brought him his headphones and charger so that he could listen to music on his phone again, he knew how much Carlos loved his music. Finally, Audrey brought him get well balloons and flowers. She gushed about her online girlfriend Uma from the Isle a lot but he was happy for her.
The main concern once he was released from the hospital was the trial that was currently in process for Cruella's assault on him. Due to her attacking him he wasn't allowed to be there but he gave a written testimony and coordinated with Auradon City lawyers to deal with the matter. The problem became the fact that Carlos had no living relatives who could support him. So the Queen and King offered to take custody but only as guardians, not adopt him due to his relationship with their son. It was a really rough time for Carlos. He had lost his mother and was still recovering from his more serious injuries. Everyone could see how hard it was weighing on him so they tried their best to keep him distracted from it all and not think too much. The days of the trial he stayed at the castle with Ben and binge-watched Auraflix series.
His first day back to school after the trials and after the recovery was the worst. Carlos left his dorm with Ben and the whispering was almost immediate. He had done his best to ignore it and forget it. Ben gave people dirty looks to shut them up but he couldn't stop everyone.
"You okay pup?" Ben asked softly rubbing his back outside of his locker. Carlos just gave a shrug and didn't meet his eyes. He stopped Carlos when he saw the tears pulling him into his chest holding him protectively. Carlos tried to pull himself together quickly pushing the tears down.
"Sorry… I'm okay…" He said pulling out of his grasp and grabbing the books he needed. Ben gave him a less than confident look but nodded not wanting to push him too hard.
"I know that's a lie pup, but I'm here for you if you need or want me." He gave Carlos a reassuring smile before heading off to class. Carlos composed himself too and went to class. Even in class, the whispering was almost impossible to stop and all he could think about was how much it reminded him of the gossip from when Audrey and Mal were trying to break him and Ben up. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
When lunch came around he didn't even bother to grab lunch, he just sat down at their usual table starting to work on his homework quietly. Evie came and sat next to him as usual and gave him a concerned look. "No lunch?" Carlos just shook his head and kept writing. "' Los… come on. You need to eat." Evie urged but he just shook his head.
"I can't. My stomach is upset. I won't be able to keep it down." Carlos just stares at his assignment not wanting to look up. He can still hear people talking about the trial's results and about him. He grips his pencil tighter and goes back to the assignment. Evie just puts a soft hand on his back rubbing small circles hoping to soothe him somehow. When Ben sat at the table on the other side of Carlos, two whispered about him not eating and Carlos snapped his pencil from gripping it too hard. Everyone at the table stared at him as the tears started to come.
"It's bad enough everyone else is whispering about me, I really can't handle you guys doing it too." He gripped the remainder of his pencil in his hand tightly not looking up at anyone. Ben took his other hand, sharing a look with Evie before pulling him into a hug. Carlos dropped the broken half of the pencil and clung to Ben.
"I'm sorry Pup. We're just worried about you. No more whispering. Promise." Ben kissed the top of his head, but all of his friends shared worried looks that said more than anything whispering could do.
Class after lunch went by rather quickly and immediately after class Carlos tried to scurry from his locker to his dorm fast enough to avoid anyone. Right now, he didn't feel like dealing with any more whispers or questions. One girl had the nerve to ask about his mother directly to him during the last period and it took everything in him not to snap at her. All of the day so far had quite frankly been complete shit and he was ready to steal one of Ben's bigger t-shirts, curl up in Ben's bed and forget the day ever happened.
However, once he finally got to his dorm everyone was already there sitting on the bed or in one of the two chairs. They all cheered when he came in. Carlos gave them a withering look. There was a collection of snacks for everyone and a collection of movies for them to watch already ready on screen. Ben was holding the biggest box of chocolate one could possibly buy.
"How did you guys manage this with class?" Carlos asked quickly taking the box of chocolates from Ben trying to hide a smile. Ben laughed a little bit.
"We skipped. Duh." Mal grinned at him. Carlos rolled his eyes at her then looked at Ben for a real answer.
"We asked the headmistress for the last period off to do this for you." Bingo. Carlos knew Ben would never skip class like that. Mal stuck her tongue out at Ben and Carlos couldn't help but bubble with laughter. Everyone go comfortable on the beds. Evie, Mal, and Audrey cuddled up on Carlos' bed while Ben and Carlos curled up on Ben's bed. Jay didn't want to cuddle so he just sat in one of the comfier desk chairs and swiveled around. They all sat and munched on snacks, in Carlos' case just chocolate, and watched movies the rest of the night. It was a great night but for the first time, Carlos thought to himself. "Maybe I don't have Rotten Luck after all…"