Stolen

(Wednesday Afternoon, August 13th)

"What's that?" Aladdin asks, as he walks into the kitchen.

Carlos scoops up more pudding from the mixing bowl, "Brownies."

"And you didn't feel like cooking it?"

"That would have taken too long," Carlos frowns. "I was hungry now."

"You could have had a sandwich." He opens the fridge, "Or not." before he grabs the pitcher of iced tea.

Carlos unsurely responds, "Right. I accidently finished the ham yesterday." before Aladdin takes the glass and sits across from Carlos. "Are you mad?"

He takes a moment, "Carlos. You and I come from similar backgrounds, so I feel like I can be straight with you."

Carlos stares at him, "Okay."

"I think there's a strong possibility that you could have the virus." Carlos eyes down, swirling the spoon around the red bowl, and Aladdin questions, "Do you?"

"I have friends who are carnivores, and I don't act like them." He hesitates, "But I see why you would think that." before he gauges his expression. "I've thought about it too."

"You know, there's a test to know for sure," he suggests.

"Is that why you wanted me to see a doctor?" Carlos recalls.

"It would take a week or two to get the results," Aladdin informs, "but if you do have it, I think it's an important thing to know."

"If I do have it, I can't think of when it'd've happened." He frowns, "I don't feel any different. It didn't change me."

"On a biological level, it would have," Aladdin counters. "And this is a contagious disease. If you have it, you have the responsibility to make sure you don't pass it."

"So, it's my fault that I'm like this?" Carlos takes offense.

"No. Of course, not," Aladdin's eyes widen. "You practically grew up on the streets. You could have caught this any time, anywhere, and wouldn't have even known it. I'm lucky I didn't get anything like that."

Carlos shakes his head, "Then, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's good to know," he explains, "whether you have it or not. If you do, then you know what's going on. If you don't, then that's going to be a lot less on your mind."

Carlos takes a minute, "No. I don't want to get tested."

He pauses, "Why not?"

"Because," Carlos stresses, "if it comes back and I have it, then… what if it changes me? I know who I am right now, but what if I'm not who I think I am? What if knowing I have a biological reason for doing things makes me feel less guilty about doing those things?"

Aladdin softly answers, "If you're hungry, you're going to do those things whether you want to or not. If you get tested and it comes back positive, you will be given a medical card that will have resources available for you to be able to get the help you need."

"I don't need any help," Carlos denies. "I'm fine."

"Then tell me you can go four days without meat," Aladdin frustrates, "because that's what's going to happen if you pretend everything is fine."

"I can do four days," Carlos challenges.

Aladdin frowns, "Don't do this. I can still take you back to Auradon."

"You told Aziz your little theory about me, didn't you?" Carlos accuses. "That's why he's been acting so weird around me. That's why he pushed me to leave."

"I just told him to be careful," he negates. "I know people can act out of character when they're hungry."

"So, you've had dreams about eating cats?" Carlos assumes.

"It's not safe for you to be here," he continues.

"Me or you?" Carlos debates, "You know what I think? I think you only believe what the news tells you. The virus infects the host and takes over their body and lowers their inhibitions. It doesn't matter how good I am or not. You think I'm going to break and hurt someone."

"Or yourself," he adds. "Why is staying so important to you? What is it exactly that you're trying to prove?"

"If going without meat for four days means Az will stop treating me like a wild dog, then I can do it," Carlos persists.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Aladdin puts forth. "If you do this, these four days could be hell for you. You could seriously get hurt."

"Evie's been locked in a bathroom for entire weeks without food," Carlos counters. "I can last a couple days."

"Four days," Aladdin reminds him, "and you're not anorexic."

"I'm pretty sure Evie didn't ask her mother to lock her in the bathroom and be isolated from her friends," Carlos points out.

"We can discuss the abuse you and your friends went through later," Aladdin bypasses. "This is about you—here and now. Your body isn't used to starvation. You will get hurt."

"It's not like I won't be eating anything," Carlos rebuttals. "There's still all those plants and things you all eat."

Aladdin stares at him, "This isn't some game. This is your life."

He shakes his head, "So?"

Aladdin stands from his seat, "The minute you want to leave, let me know. You and I both know you're going to have to go."

After Aladdin turns around, Carlos comments, "We're out of brownie mix."

"So, make the next batch from scratch." Carlos stays silent, and Aladdin turns around, "You don't know how, do you?" Carlos shakes his head, and he takes a deep breath, "Alright. Let's do this while you're still focused enough."

Carlos watches him take some ingredients from the pantry, "Thank you."

"Yep." He sets the items across the island counter and faces him, "With how much you're going through, it's probably cheaper this way anyway. The best part of making them yourself, you get to choose what's in it." He leans an arm on the counter, "Now, tell me. Did Jasmine figure out gelatin is pigs' fat or did someone eat all the marshmallows?"

"They're fun to bite," Carlos confirms.

"Okay," Aladdin nods. "Is there anything else here that looks fun to bite?"

"The pumpkins and cones."

"Good." He inquires, "Anything else?"

Carlos hesitates, "I'm guessing if boxes need eggs, scratch does too."

"And you'd be correct," Aladdin answers, before he opens the fridge, shuts it, and then claps his hands. "Okay, then." He smiles at him, "How good are you at stealing eggs?"

Carlos's eyes shift, "You mean, like, from a stall or store?"

"From hens," he corrects.

Carlos slowly replies, "I don't think I've seen a hen."

"Well, you're about to see ours," Aladdin declares.

"You're going to want leather gloves," Jasmine mentions, as she enters the kitchen. Carlos faces her, and she walks towards him, "Any mother would attack the thing trying to eat her babies. You understand?"

Carlos uncomfortably smiles, "Uh, yeah. I think I do." before he frowns at Aladdin.

He places a hand on his shoulder, "We should get going. Those eggs aren't going to steal themselves." They walk past Jasmine, and Aladdin turns around, "I'm sorry about lunch."

"Don't worry," she reassures. "The kids are in the dining room. You can tell them on your way out."

When he catches up with him, Carlos comments, "She's something."

"What was I supposed to do?" Aladdin murmurs. "Marry someone who would take it easy on me? I liked her feisty personality. I'm not going to complain that's what I got."

When they pass through the dining room, Aziz interrupts, "Hey." They turn around, and he questions, "Where's lunch?"

"We're getting the eggs now," his father excuses.

"Eggs for lunch?" Aziz doubts.

"We're making brownies," Carlos explains. Aziz glances at him, before he switches to Arabic. Carlos eyes between him and Aladdin, before he whispers, "Almazari." Aziz cuts himself off, and when he looks at him, Carlos comments, "If you don't want me to know where the animals are, you can go instead."

"French and now Arabic?" Aziz complains, "Keep it up like this and you'll know more languages than Doug by the end of the school year."

"How did you know what we were saying?" Aladdin asks.

Carlos shrugs, "Nouns are the same in every language."

"Not Arabic," Aziz disagrees. "And your pronunciation needs work."

"So, are you going to get the eggs," Carlos slowly says, "or…"

"You're coming," Aladdin instructs. "You haven't learned how to steal anything, until you've stolen eggs."

"Are you seriously trying to bond with him now," Aziz argues. "He's a—"

"I don't care what he is or isn't," his father interrupts, "and if you're really his friend, then you wouldn't either." He nods Carlos away, "Come on."

"You never said William was a vampire," Aladdin mentions, as they stare at the screen.

Aziz shakes his head, "I didn't know."

"It's amazing how predators can hide in plain sight," Jasmine inputs, before they look at her. "Well, look at him. Look at Carlos. They don't look like they drink blood behind closed doors, do they?"

"Carlos doesn't drink blood," Aziz intrudes.

His father considers, "Maybe he should be." and Aziz stands from the couch before heading down the hall and rushing into his room. He closes the door and pulls out his phone, before he finds William's number. It goes to voicemail, he tries again, and it goes to voicemail again, "Yeah. It's Aziz. I saw your interview, and I have some serious questions for you. Why aren't you answering? It's the middle of the afternoon." He places a hand to his forehead, "And I'm an idiot. You're asleep, aren't you?" He takes a deep breath, "Look. It's about Carlos. He's—" The voicemail interrupts, and Aziz sighs before ending the call. There's a knock on the door, and Aziz shouts, "Come in."

His father opens the door and steps inside, "Hey. How's it going?"

He shakes his head, "I thought William might have some answers, but he's asleep."

"You mean, about Carlos," he assumes.

"It's like I don't even know him now."

"You know," he informs, "Carlos really wishes you wouldn't treat him differently."

"So, what?" Aziz disbelieves, "I'm supposed to just pretend he's not sick?"

"Well, yeah." His father points out, "He's still the same guy, and he didn't do anything to deserve this. If he really is suffering from the virus, you should be more empathetic."

Aziz breathes, "Alright. So, where is he?"

"Last I checked, he was setting the record for the most brownies baked and eaten in a single afternoon."

"Seriously?" Aziz irritably replies, before he walks past him and heads to the main floor. He enters the kitchen, and he sees Carlos eating a plate of brownies. "Hey."

"Hey," Carlos suspiciously eyes him.

Aladdin walks towards them, "How's it going?"

Carlos picks up another brownie, "It's going."

"Full yet?" he inquires.

Carlos chuckles, "Never."

Aziz asks, "How much meat have you had today?"

He smiles, "Uh. None."

"Is that safe?" Carlos gives a look, and Aziz glances at his father before facing Carlos. "Just… I mean, because you're not used to not having it."

Carlos gapes at him, "I'm handling it. Okay?"

"I don't think eating your weight in brownies is handling it," Aziz protests.

"There's like three and a half days left," Carlos counts.

"You don't plan on going that long without meat?"

"I know you think I'm infected," Carlos meets his eyes. "If I can go that long without meat, then that means I'm not. And you can stop looking at me like I'm some sort of monster."

Aziz takes a moment, "You're not a monster."

Carlos looks down at the brownies, "What's for dinner?"

"We were thinking about having spaghetti again," Aladdin informs.

"With tofu balls?" Carlos strains a smile. "Sounds good."

Aziz notices his expression falter, "You don't have to eat it."

"I can't just have brownies," Carlos murmurs, before he notices them look at each other. "You know, um," Carlos rubs the back of his neck. "I'm tired. Wake me up when it's ready."

After he walks past them, Aziz looks back at the brownies and then notices the light on the stove, "Hey. Carlos." He turns toward him, and Aziz informs, "I think you still have brownies in the oven."

Carlos frowns, "You can have them." before he exits the room.

Aziz faces his father, "Carlos passing up chocolate?"

"He said he's tired," he reasons. "Maybe it's making him nauseous."

"Did you know he was planning to do this?" he questions.

His father hesitates, "I had an honest talk with him. He doesn't want to admit this is happening to him, and he's not willing to lose his friendship with you over it."

"And pretending to be a vegetarian for four days fixes both of the problems," Aziz understands. "But he's not going to make it that long."

"That's a lesson he needs to learn," he states. "You kids are still figuring out how your bodies react to certain things, the things that make you feel full or make you sick. If he fails this, he's not going to try to do it again."

Aziz takes a minute, "How bad are we expecting him to fail? Is he going to starve himself until he breaks down and begs to be brought home, or are we going to wake up one day with our pets' fur laying on the kitchen floor?"

"Sometimes lessons are hard," his father frowns, "but I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen."

"And how are you going to do that?"

Aladdin thinks, "We can keep the cats in our rooms while we sleep."

"They're going to want to get out," he debates. "And what about Jasper? He doesn't even have to annoy us to leave. He can open the door at any time."

"Don't worry." He reassures, "I'm sure Jasper's smart enough not to get eaten."

"You think?"

His father smiles, "I know."

Aziz notices Carlos slow his eating, "I told you, you don't have to eat it. I saved some brownies for you in the fridge."

"And I said I need more than brownies," Carlos complains, before he wraps an arm across his abdomen. "I have a stomachache."

"Maybe you're full," Aladdin suggests. "You ate a lot earlier."

Aziz hears Carlos's stomach, "Yeah. That doesn't sound like he's full."

"I think I'll just finish the plate and let it settle," Carlos solves, before he eats another tofu ball; however, it crawls back up his throat. He swallows, bringing a hand to his mouth, as it comes back up.

"Carlos?" Aziz worries, and Carlos stands to run to the bathroom.

When he looks at his father, his mother suggests, "Maybe he's allergic."

Aladdin turns to her, "Allergic to tofu?"

"Allergic to soy." She explains, "Remember? My doctor told me not to have soy while nursing. The allergic reaction happens, because the immune system overreacts to the proteins."

"And younger kids are more likely to get a reaction," he recalls. "So, you're thinking Carlos is part of the lucky percentage who didn't grow out of it?"

"Or the virus doesn't like it," she considers. "It already attached itself to his DNA and rewrote it. His body knows the protein in tofu isn't what he's supposed to have."

"It doesn't matter why he's allergic," Aziz interrupts. "Allergies can get worse the more the body is exposed to it. He had a stomachache last time, and now he's throwing up?"

"He's right." Jasmine faces Aladdin, "The more often a foreign agent is introduced to the body, the easier it is for the body to respond. The response could be a lot harsher next time."

Aladdin stands, "I should check on him." and he heads to the bathroom. A retching sound comes from a stall, and he notices puke in one of the sinks as he passes it. "Carlos?" He moans, and Aladdin slowly opens the stall. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"Awesome," Carlos catches his breath, before he holds up a thumb and sits against the metal divider.

"We're thinking that you might be allergic to soy." He explains, "The tofu."

"That must be why I'm puking my guts out," Carlos concludes.

"If you are allergic—"

"I'd like to die alone."

"You're not going to die," Aladdin dismantles. "Why would you want to be alone?"

"Because, my family's not here," he hoarsely shouts. "As good as you are, as great as you've been to me, you're not them."

"Your family. You mean, those other kids," he acknowledges, and Carlos nods. "When was the last time you talked to them?"

He shakes his head, "I've texted Evie almost every night when I first came here, but I stopped when I started to feel… sick, I guess. She's worried about me."

"And the others?" Aladdin inquires.

"I miss Mal's advice," he admits, "but she's not the kind of person you can just plan to talk to about stuff. As far as Jay goes… well, you know how that goes."

"Is it going to be safe for you to go back?" he inquires.

"I mean, he's still going to be my roommate, right?" Carlos unsurely answers.

"Right." He smiles, "How about you and Mal switch rooms? She can be with her brother, and you can stay with Evie."

"I don't think it's going to matter that Mal and Jay's parents hooked up," Carlos inputs. "They're not technically related, and pregnancy is still a problem on paper." His expression slips, and Carlos comments, "I did stay with Mal and Evie a week or something last year, but that's really not allowed. And I'm sure they'd like to do some things that don't include me anyway."

"Right," Aladdin understands.

"It's not his fault." Carlos confesses, "I had a hard time talking to him. He doesn't even know he did anything wrong."

"Because he's a sociopath," Aladdin reminds him, "who can't pick up social cues."

"Neither can people with autism," Carlos counters, and Aladdin sighs. "He needs someone who can be straight-forward with him. Like…" He falters, "Like Ruby."

"Carlos," he starts.

Carlos holds his stomach, "Uh, you know, I think some of that tofu got digested. Could you go?"

"Oh." Aladdin stands, "Yeah." before he walks out of the stall. "Of course." He turns, watches the door shut, and nods before heading out of the bathroom.

"You think Carlos the Chocolate Addict is a vampire?" William questions.

"I'm serious," Aziz stresses. "He looks sick, and he's completely out of it."

"Well, if he's a vampire and he looks sick, then you're not feeding him right," William points out. "Please don't tell me you're trying to make him a vegetable too."

"Vegetarian," Aziz corrects. "I know your English isn't that bad. Stop with the jokes."

"I get to talk to Chad in German now," William brags, before he lets out a breath. "Well, we were, before he got grounded for…"

"For what?"

"You know," he backtracks, "it doesn't even matter."

"What? Was he caught with a guy or something?" Aziz assumes.

He takes a moment, "I thought that was a secret."

"Chad has a really loose definition of secret." Aziz laughs, "I mean, you can't fuck any guys if no one knows you're homo, right?"

"I hope you don't call Carlos that," William mentions. "If I remember correctly, they call it 'gay' on the Isle."

"You know, what?" Aziz agitates. "I'll call them whatever I damn please. I'm not going to change what our country calls them just because those people can't admit that what they're doing is wrong."

"Whatever, man," William whispers. "I got to go."

"Wait," Aziz requests. "Aren't you going to help me with Carlos?"

"You want to know if he's a vampire?" William reiterates. "Try garlic."

"Garlic?" he repeats.

"A nice, quick and easy test. Like you want."

"Garlic's a myth," Aziz disagrees. "If it was that easy to test for it, there wouldn't be a test for it."

"I don't like garlic, my mother doesn't like garlic, and Ben absolutely hates it," William disagrees. "Now, it's more of a sensitivity than an allergy, so it won't kill him, but—"

"It'll work?" Aziz softly asks.

"It's spicy," he explains. "It'll burn his mouth. It's small, but yeah. It will work."

"Okay," Aziz nods. "I'll try that."

"Another thing." He pauses, "If he is a vampire, don't try to get him any blood."

Aziz takes a second, "I thought that's what vampires ate."

"Has he ever had blood before?"

He thinks, "It doesn't sound like it."

"Then it's better if he continues doing whatever he's been doing until now," William opinionates. "Blood—especially, fresh human blood— might be the best thing for a vampire to have, but it's also the hardest thing to live without." He sighs, "Maybe it's different if you're raised and gradually introduced to it, but I think about it nearly all the damn time. And I know it's going to be way worse for someone who's never even had it before."

"You mean," Aziz examples, "someone like Ben?"

"Yeah," he agrees. "Exactly like Ben. Well, minus the eating disorder."

"That binging's going to get him into trouble one day," Aziz opinionates.

"Binging?" Aziz fails to speak, and he comments, "You haven't seen the picture yet."

"Picture?"

"The one leaked of Ben, when he was in the hospital." William discerns, "Dude. You're so out-of-touch. He's completely underweight. I really hope he's not dead."

"I know his parents are secretive," Aziz acknowledges, "but even they can't hide that."

"They wouldn't know."

"What do you mean, 'they wouldn't know'?" Aziz asks.

"Ben's low-key missing," he informs. "Oh. But we're not supposed to tell our parents about it. I'm telling you, my parents had a field day with that one."

"Who said not to tell our parents?"

"Who do you think?" William answers, "Ben's parents. They're afraid it's going to ruin their image, and Queen Belle's certain Ben will turn up once the new school year starts." He laughs, "You know how they are."

"Yeah," Aziz frowns. "You do too."

"I do," he confirms. "Anyway, they gave us strict instructions to turn Ben into them for his own safety if we heard from him. So, make sure to turn him in. Or don't. It's your choice."

Aziz's expression slips, he lowers the phone to his side, and he exits the bedroom before heading towards the living room. His father faces him and frowns, "I'm guessing you weren't given good news?" Aziz shakes his head, and he questions, "So, he thinks Carlos could have the virus, then?"

"Uh." Aziz answers, "He said to try garlic. I was thinking garlic bread."

"And that's not going to hurt him?" he makes sure.

"No. It won't." His parents look at each other, and Aziz addresses, "Dad."

He turns back to him, "Yes?" but Aziz fails to speak. "What is it?"

After Aziz fails to answer again, his mother reassures, "Whatever it is, you can tell us."

"Well, it's just…" He glances at his phone before facing him, "Ben's missing."