You Need Some Serious Help

(Tuesday Afternoon, July 2nd)

When Jay passes him, Carlos's eyes narrow, "Really? No hey, how are you doing?"

He turns around, "Carlos. I really can't do this right now."

"Why? Your girlfriend keeping you busy?"

"Mal, actually," Jay's eyebrows furrow. "Not that it's any of your business."

"You know," Carlos thinks up, "I never thought of you as the princess type. I mean, you've gone for some pretty dumb girls before, but—"

"Stop it," he steps forward. "Before you say something you regret."

"Her mother was kidnapped and kept in a tower, didn't even try to escape."

Jay takes another step, his eyes widening, "I'm warning you—"

"It's kind of hard to find a blond that's not dumb, though," Carlos comments. "You must really miss me."

Jay charges at him, "I said stop." and he pins him against the wall. He grits his teeth, "Ruby's mother is a lawyer now, and she's just as smart as she is, so…" He notices Carlos's grin, and his expression falters as he looks over him. "You said those things to get me mad," Jay realizes. "You wanted me to hurt you." His face toughens, before he lets go of his arms and takes a step back, yelling, "You're sick. You know that?"

He starts to march off, and Carlos frowns, "Jay."

He twists back around, "No." and gives a stern look. "You made me hurt you. You played me, just because you needed some sexual thrill."

"Jay," Carlos loudly says.

"And you know that I have a girlfriend, that I've been saying no to you, but you just couldn't give up." He shakes his head, "You know, I could probably report you for this."

"I didn't plan this," Carlos desperately defends.

"You're going to get in trouble," he seriously states.

"Jay, no," he pleads.

"Not me," he stares him down. "I'm not going to say anything. But you…" He eyes him up-and-down, "You need some serious help."

"I know she knows," Mal complains. "She knows about what happened to me. She knows everything about Ben now. And all because I couldn't keep my own damn thoughts to myself." She takes another drink from the bottle, "And she just had no answers for me."

Jay takes the bottle from her, "Are you upset, because she's psychic or because she didn't let you know she knew?"

After he takes a sip Mal snags the bottle back, "What bothers me is this whole Auradon thing, where people just act like the world is sweet and perfect."

When the bottle reaches the halfway point, he takes it, "Mal. You know these people can't help that they have better lives than we do."

Mal takes the bottle again, "Maybe, but—"

"Hey," Jay steals it back. "It's my turn."

She looks off in annoyance, "These people can at least act like the world isn't perfect. They don't need to cover their eyes to every bad thing they see."

Jay takes a drink, "They didn't cover their eyes for Audrey."

"No," Mal counters, "because Audrey is the definition of innocent, and some villain like me even trying to touch her is the worst thing in the world."

"I mean, you were trying to kiss her," Jay defends.

Mal's mouth gapes, "You're on her side now?"

"No." He grips onto the bottle with both hands, "I just…"

"Jay," she half laughs. "What happened?"

When he faces her, he sees her concern, "It's just Carlos." He looks down at the bottle, "He's just been…" Jay shakes his head, "It's nothing."

"I know you," Mal gives a look. "It's not nothing."

Jay continues to frown, "I don't even really know… It's just…" He makes a noise before facing her, "He tried to get me to hurt him, and I fell for it."

Mal takes a moment, before she nabs the bottle back, "Don't worry. I'll take care of him for you."

"How?" Jay doubts.

"Well," she slowly states, "I was thinking I would hide some chocolate around the East Wing and tell him I'm not telling him where it is." She laughs, "Or even better, do it without the chocolate. He'd be so tortured for weeks."

"Mal," Jay softly responds, "I think he's looking for the more physical stuff right now."

"So," Mal changes course, "I'll just have to give him so much pain that he doesn't want it anymore."

"I'm being serious," he angers.

"Well, what do you want me to do, Jay?" Mal counters. "Carlos is only fifteen. He'd have to wait an entire year to even go to one of those prostitution places, and what if it turns out what he wants is illegal? Huh? What then?"

Jay sighs, "Look. You don't even need to do anything." before he takes the bottle and drinks. "I just wish he didn't need it."

Mal steals the bottle and finishes it off, "Well, I wish Ben didn't feel like biting me every time we do stuff. Looks like both of our sex lives are crap."

Jay hesitates, "He bites you?"

She shakes her head, "He tries to."

"Is that new?"

"No," she breathes. "I think it's just getting worse, happening more often." Her eyes widen, and she stares forward, "He used to make us stop when he'd get like that."

"No," Jay makes a noise. "I mean." Mal looks at him and watches as he moves her brown hair over her shoulder. "Did he do this?"

"It could have been worse," Mal mentions.

Jay shakes his head, "I don't like this. He's forcing this on you. It's Hook all over again."

Mal's eyes widen, "Don't you dare compare Ben to him." before her tone softens. "He's just… hungry, you know? If he wasn't —" She places a hand to her head, "I should have never hypnotized him. I made him forget everything about being a beast hybrid, and now he doesn't even know what to do."

"He tried to kill himself," he reminds her.

"But do we really know that had to do with him finding out?" Mal suggests.

"Yeah," Jay plainly answers. "He told you that if you didn't hypnotize him, then he would try it again."

"He didn't say those exact words," she denies.

"It's what he meant," Jay sternly responds. "Mal. You did nothing wrong. If anyone did anything wrong, it's Ben for telling you that if he died it would be your fault. He made you hypnotize him. You didn't have a choice."

"I could have hypnotized him to not kill himself," she mumbles.

"And how long would that have lasted?" She looks away, and he asserts, "Mal. None of this is your fault."

She faces him, "Then why does it feel so wrong?"

Jay takes the bottle from her, "Because. Alcohol is a depressant." and he stands. "Come on." Mal pulls herself from the ground and Jay smiles, "You can sleep this off."

"Hey," Jay complains. "That's your fourth plate."

Ben awkwardly smiles, "So?"

"Honey," his mother chimes in. "Give the rest to them. It's time for dessert anyway."

Ben frowns at Jay for a minute, before he passes the large bowl to him. "I'll get it," his father offers, and Ben watches as he makes his way to the kitchen.

When he looks back at his mother, she smiles, "Now, Ben. There's no reason to be upset with me. I know you liked the dinner tonight, but I'm sure you want to save a room for the pie."

Because, he couldn't have both. Ben looks away from her. He could have had both. There's a tension in his stomach, yes, but it feels hollow and his teeth still ache to bite something. How is he supposed to bite pumpkin pie? There's nothing to chew, nothing but the crust; although, neither did the pasta. He may have chosen the worst dinner for himself tonight. "Here we are," he hears his father cheerfully reenter the room.

"Adam," his mother surprises. "What is this?"

Ben watches his father set the pumpkin pie and white cake onto the table, before he sits and turns towards her. "Well," he stumbles his words. "I know I'm not the easiest man to live with. So." He gestures to the cake, "I thought I'd get you something nice."

Mal, Jay, and Carlos exchange looks, as Belle smiles, "Is this coconut?"

"Yes. It is," he smiles back.

"Oh," she offers him a loving look. "But, Adam. You hate coconut."

"Well, I mean," he places a hand to his chin, "if you don't want it, I can take it back."

Her mouth gapes, "I said no such thing." and he chuckles. "Is there a knife?"

"Right here," he carefully offers it to her.

"This is so weird," Carlos mutters, and when Ben looks over Mal eyes away from them and the other two attend to their food.

His mother comments, "Ben. You like coconut."

He eyes over the white frosting and chocolate flakes. He's going to eat it all. He's going to eat it all, and then he's going to feel sick. He can practically taste the nauseating sugar already. He clears his throat, "You know, actually, I should be practicing."

"Ben," his mother frowns. "You're not even going to have the pie?"

The entire pie, yes. He shakes his head, "Save me some. I can have it later."

After Ben moves into the ballroom, Carlos intrudes, "I'll have some."

Jay cracks a smile, "All your teeth are going to fall out."

"Shut up," Carlos narrows his eyes at him. "I wasn't talking to you."

"Can't you two just get along?" Belle sighs. They merely eye each other, and she takes a breath, "Okay. Carlos, why don't you take a piece?"

"Thank you," he smiles, before he reaches over to take some pie.

Adam notices her expression fall, "Belle. Are you alright?"

She smiles at him, "Yes." before she places a slice of cake onto her plate.

Later on, there's a knock at the door, and when Carlos answers, he frowns, "Belle."

"I'd like to speak with you," she explains. "May I come in?" He steps aside, and after she comes in, he shuts the door. He faces her but doesn't speak, so she asks, "May I see your arm?"

"What?" he fearfully defends. "No," he says louder in defense. He doesn't know what's there, but she must have seen something. Scars from burns, some cut he hadn't felt, or Jay. It's Jay. His mouth opens in realization. It's a bruise. He can feel it now.

"Please," she frowns. "I won't say anything." Carlos slowly lifts his sleeve up and looks down to see the imprint for himself. It's a hand. There's no mistaking it on his pale skin. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

This is embarrassing. He tries to speak, but it takes a minute, "I was just trying to get Jay's attention."

Belle offers a solemn look, "That's not the kind of attention you want."

Carlos glances down, "It was probably the wrong way to go about it."

"Has this happened before?"

He lifts his head and meets her brown eyes, "Jay's not Adam."

Her eyes lower, "Of course, he's not." before she folds her hands and faces him again. "I'm just saying that if you feel scared or, uh, concerned, you can tell me."

"I'm not scared," Carlos evenly answers.

She nods before eyeing the wound, "Does it hurt?"

"No." It's just warm. That's all.

"Not even when you touch it?" she makes sure.

He presses his fingers on the bruise, and it stings; however, he doesn't react, and he excuses, "I have a high pain tolerance."

"Alright, then," she partly smiles, and when he doesn't say anything, she walks past him.

He turns to her, "I don't care if I get hurt." and she turns back around. He hesitates, "I, uh. You're going to probably see things with me, but you don't need to worry. I'm fine."

Her eyes widen, "Be careful." and after he smiles in answer, he lets her leave.