Mal lets the delicate chain of metal slide through her fingers in a motion that's become second nature since she took possession of the ruby pendant five days ago. She sighs and snaps her fist closed around the crowned heart. It's cold to the touch and sits heavy in her hand, and holding it doesn't feel nearly as good as she had imagined.
The satisfaction of a well thought out and expertly executed plan had been brief and not very satisfying at all. Yes, she had tricked Jay into stealing Evie's necklace and yes, she had driven Evie from school, but it all felt a little disappointing in the end. Mal tells herself it's because she was robbed of Evie's reaction, denied the chance to witness Evie's defeat with her own two eyes and savor in her victory. The princess had simply left school that afternoon and not returned since. That had been the desired outcome, hadn't it? So why did it leave Mal feeling so unfulfilled?
"It's been five days. She can't still be crying over this stupid necklace," Mal muses as she turns the pendant over in her palm.
Mal pauses her pacing to glare at Evie's locker door. Her handiwork is still on display—four little letters staring back at her bright and bold as ever. She can't help but cringe at the sight, it wasn't exactly her most inspired act of villainy. Sophomoric. That's what Evie had called her that day in P.E. Maybe the princess had a point. Name-calling isn't exactly the pinnacle of evil.
Jay shrugs and leans back against the wall with a bored expression. They've been standing opposite Evie's locker for over forty minutes now, a position he and Mal have managed to find themselves in at some point every day since Evie walked away from him with tears in her eyes. He's not sure what Mal is hoping to gain from stalking Evie's locker considering the other girl had been avoiding the damn thing since Mal's little act of vandalism.
"She's gone. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Mal ignores Jay's question because she's not so sure anymore. Evie made her angry, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't get a certain thrill out of their interactions.
"She didn't even try to get it back. You said she seemed upset that day but she didn't even bother to fight for it. She just gave up." Mal can't deny that she had been anticipating some push back from Evie in the wake of the theft. The girl was a nuisance, after all, and Mal had pictured wild blue hair and angry red lips stomping on long lean legs down a corridor in her direction. She could even hear Evie's low raspy voice in her head, demanding she give the necklace back. But none of that had come to fruition, Evie had just slipped away and somehow Mal's the one who feels cheated.
"Maybe we should give it back to her," Jay suggests. He misses seeing Evie around school and he doesn't feel too great about being the reason for her absence. Not to mention Carlos had seemed particularly sullen this morning when he showed up to school yet again without Evie in tow.
"And why would we do that?" Mal demands sharply. The plan had been a success and even if she isn't feeling as pleased as she hoped, she has no intention of backpedaling now. That would only make her look weak and indecisive—characteristics completely unbecoming of the daughter of Maleficent.
"Because it's obviously important to Evie and you won't let me sell it so what's the point of holding onto the damn thing if we're not gonna make any money off it?" Jay shoots back.
"It's not about money!" Mal snaps, finding her anger once again. "It's about showing that pretty little princess how things work around here! Not everyone lives a picture-perfect life in their big castle with their loving mommy who adores them and showers them with gifts. She has some nerve showing off that thing around here!"
Jay just smirks, choosing to ignore the majority of Mal's rant in favor of one particular word of note. "You think Evie's pretty?"
"Shut up," Mal growls, stalking away from the cocky thief.
Jay chuckles to himself, amused by Mal's erratic behavior, and trails behind her. Classes are in session but there's still plenty of kids lingering in the halls—this is a school full of villain kids after all. Still, Jay's a little surprised to find Carlos loitering in front of his locker.
With Evie around, Carlos had started spending more of his time in class—even if it wasn't necessarily the class he had been assigned to. Carlos and Evie were constantly in the lab tinkering away or commandeering an empty classroom to work on some big secret project they wouldn't talk about. The first day Evie failed to show up to school Carlos carried on as if Evie's absence would only be temporary—he worked on his radio and ran some experiments on his own—but as one day turned into two and then three and the weekend approached, Carlos's mood seemed to grow more and more tense.
Now it's Monday and Jay could sense that Carlos had been holding onto hope that Evie would reappear after the weekend passed—if he's honest with himself, Jay was hoping for the same. But Evie's gone and Carlos is sulking and Jay feels pretty shitty for his role in it all.
"Yo Carlos, wanna come check out the docks after school?" Jay calls out as he and Mal reach the boy. "It's delivery day. Should be some fresh swag to loot. Might even be able to get a hold some of those missing pieces for that radio you're always messing around with."
Maybe Jay can provide Carlos a distraction, cheer him up with a little petty theft to take his mind off the fact that Jay and Mal had effectively driven his best friend from school.
Carlos shakes his head distractedly as he digs through his bag. "Can't."
"Got something better to do than committing petty crimes with your crew?" Jay asks.
Carlos doesn't lift his head, moving his search from his bag to his locker. "I'm going to check on Evie after school. I haven't seen her since last Wednesday."
"Yeah, cause Mal conned me into stealing her stupid heart necklace and Evie got upset," Jay mutters. "Give the princess a couple more days, I'm sure she'll get over it." Or at least Jay hopes she will.
Carlos snaps his head in Jay's direction. "You stole Evie's necklace?" he asks, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully. "The one her mother gave her?"
It's Mal who cuts in to answer, defiant and defensive. "Damn right I did! She wouldn't stop showing the damn thing off. Like she was so damn proud of it. Someone had to put her in her place."
"We steal shit all the time. What's the big deal?" Jay adds, trying to avoid the feeling of guilt creeping into his chest.
Carlos doesn't answer, his brows pinched in concern and a serious expression on his face as he stares off into space. He's so wrapped up in his thoughts he fails to remember he's supposed to be avoiding Mal. He had been walking away from the purple-haired girl whenever she approached but with Evie gone, the gesture seems hollow and unnecessary.
"You seem awfully invested. You sure you and the princess don't have something going on?" Jay teasingly prods, hoping to lighten the mood and shake off his growing guilt with some gentle ribbing. "Because if you do—I'm happy for you, man! Chick's got like zero survival instinct but she's hot as fuck! I'm impressed, dude!"
A dark look crosses Carlos's face as he slams his locker shut. "I told you—we're friends. And don't talk about her like that."
Jay rolls his eyes. "It was just a joke. Chill."
"Whatever," Carlos says under his breath. He's not in the mood for Mal and Jay's nonsense, not when Evie is at home in gods know what shape.
Over the past few days, Carlos has stood outside Evie's castle gate and waited each morning with diminishing hope. The first day he chalked her absence up to passing illness, or possibly a bad mood, maybe even a bad hair day. It isn't exactly unusual for a kid to skip school on the Isle, not that Evie is your typical Isle kid. But then it was Thursday and Friday and still no sign of the girl. He even made two trips into the woods to their old meeting spot over the weekend but she never showed and he didn't see any evidence that she had been there.
Carlos had hoped the new week would come with Evie's return, but yet again he found himself standing in front of The Castle Across The Way at dawn this morning, waiting anxiously for his friend in the castle's ominous shadows. On his walk to school, which now felt dull and lonely without Evie at his side, he solidified his plan.
Five days without word from Evie is too long and he has no choice but to reach her himself. It won't be the first time he'd have to resort to sneaking into Evie's castle but doing so presented certain dangers, which is why it's always been a last resort. If the Evil Queen catches him she'll surely punish Evie for his interference and that's a risk Carlos would like to avoid at all costs. But he can't wait any longer; he needs to see that Evie is okay.
Carlos tucks the baggie he had finally located at the bottom of his locker into his pocket and stars to walk off. He knows Jay means no harm but he's too wound up to tolerate the other's boy's joking.
Jay speeds up and wraps an arm around Carlos's neck from behind, putting him in a headlock and messing up his hair. "Aw come on, man, don't be so grumpy."
Carlos attempts to shrug Jay's heavy arm from his neck. "Get off of me!"
"Make me!" Jay challenges with a widening grin. "You know what, Mal? I think our boy's got himself a little crush! Our little Carlos is all grown up!"
Jay glances back at the girl in hopes of pulling her into his game of teasing but Mal just stares back, seemingly uninterested in the boy's antics.
"Knock it off!" Carlos's cry is muffled against Jay's arm as the two boys grapple through the halls.
"You gonna have to try harder than that, C!" Jay taunts, tightening his hold as Carlos thrashes and grows increasingly agitated. "C—isn't that what Evie calls you?"
"Screw you, man!" Carlos finally manages to slip out of Jay's hold and shoves at the older boy's shoulder.
Jay bounces off a nearby locker with a laugh and attempts to pull Carlos into another headlock, but Carlos is quick and dodges him. Jay's fingers catch the leather of Carlos's jacket as he spins away and tug, causing a rumpled paper bag to spill from Carlos's jacket pocket. Jay notices first and is quick to snag the baggie from the floor, Carlos taking notice a moment too late.
"Ooh, what do we have here?" Jay sings, waving the paper bag like a carnival prize.
"Give me that!" Carlos groans and lunges for the baggie. Jay pulls his hand back sharply to evade him and Carlos huffs in defeat.
Jay peeks inside to observe the contents of the bag and cocks a curious eye in the other boy's direction. Carlos, haunched over at the waist as he takes a moment to catch his breath, glares up at him. "What's the matter? Didn't get enough to eat at lunch? You gotta take better care of yourself, bro, you're a growing boy."
The bag is filled with crushed and broken pieces of the dry soup crackers they sometimes serve in the cafeteria. The crackers make a crinkling sound as Jay shakes the bag out in front of him, allowing Carlos to snatch it back with a scowl.
"They're not for me. They're for Evie," Carlos confesses, straightening his back and shoving the baggie back into his pocket. "Actually do either of you have any food on you?"
Mal tended to block out the boys' dumb roughhousing but she tunes back into the conversation at once, her curiosity effectively piqued at the mention of Evie's name.
"Food?" she questions.
Typically, Carlos would be more discrete in his mission but he's worried about Evie and the cafeteria's offerings had been particularly dismal today.
"I managed to grab some crackers and an only partially rotted apple but if she hasn't eaten since last Wednesday that's not gonna be enough." He digs the apple out his backpack and frowns. It's dented and browning and he's not so sure Evie will even eat it considering her aversion to the fruit.
"What do you mean hasn't eaten? Why wouldn't she have eaten since Wednesday?" Mal asks with a touch of surprise.
Carlos sighs, exasperated by the whole exchange. "Never mind. I'll figure something out."
"Carlos, wait!" Mal calls, jogging after him. "What's going on? Why do you have to check on Evie and bring her food?"
If Carlos didn't know any better he'd say Mal looks downright concerned.
"Evie's mom," he tries to explain but finds himself pausing to consider his words. "Well, she expects Evie to be perfect at all times. And if she's not—there's hell to pay."
Mal rears back, her face working through a myriad of emotions. She settles on perturbed. "Are you saying the Evil Queen starves Evie when she messes up?"
"Not just when she messes up," Carlos reveals with a dejected sigh. "But yes, amongst other things."
Perhaps Evie will kill him for revealing the truth (at least in part) about life in her mother's castle to her chief antagonist, but Carlos's nerves are wearing thin and his resolve has been wavering a little more each day. Evie's load is a heavy one to bear and Carlos has been shouldering it for so long now that the extra weight feels debilitating. For years, Carlos has remained loyal and trustworthy, keeping Evie's secrets close to his chest with fervent dedication. But what good has it done? Evie's life is still miserable and Carlos carries an unyielding sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. Is it really so selfish of him to want to let someone else in after all these years—someone who won't feel so indebted to keep Evie's secrets? He feels guilt at the thought alone.
Jay makes a face, digging his fingers under his beanie to scratch his head. "That's messed up."
"We'll come with you," Mal declares. The offer stuns Carlos and all he can do is gape at the purple-haired girl in shock and confusion.
"We will?" Jay adds, equally confused by Mal's sudden eagerness to help the girl who has been the target of so much of Mal's personal vitriol.
"Yes," Mal says, her eyes cutting dangerously in the boy's direction. "If Evie's mom is really that bad, Carlos is going to need backup. And we're a crew." As always, Mal is firm and assertive in her directive, but she's not oblivious enough to believe Jay and Carlos will actually buy her bullshit.
Carlos isn't stupid, he's noticed Mal's preoccupation with Evie from the second Mal heard her name. Mal has made plenty of enemies over the years and has adversaries in every corner of the Isle, but Carlos has never known her to devote so much time to one particular rival. Evie seems to be a special fixation of Mal's and Carlos has a pretty good idea why. Still, he never expected her to throw away all pretense and expose herself with such earnestness. Not when Mal has been living so far denial that she been actively trying to drive the object of her obsession away.
But despite his own selfish desire to unload some of Evie's emotional baggage, Carlos remains wary of Mal's intentions and unconvinced of her ability to truly give in to her feelings of affection for Evie— not to mention he's still pissed off at her for all the crap Mal's pulled at Evie's expense. Carlos may detect genuine concern on Mal's face, but he can't take the risk and expose Evie to any additional harm when she's likely to be found in a vulnerable state.
"Evie's not in our crew. She's my friend and I can look out for her on my own," Carlos says decidedly, eyes hardening as he gazes into his friends' faces. "Besides, you've already done enough."
Jay lowers his head in shame as Mal takes a hesitant step and calls out his name.
"Carlos."
