Ch 6:

Carlos and Jay crossed the school grounds from the tourney field to the dorm building. They'd just entered the building when someone approached them.

"Hey, Carlos."

Carlos eyed Anthony Radcliffe warily. He knew another Anthony back on the Isle, Anthony Tremaine. And while the two were similar in their proper mannerisms, they were also completely different. Where Tremaine was arrogant and dark, both in looks and attitude, this Anthony was the complete opposite. But Carlos was still wary. After all, this boy might have some hidden resentment toward the De Vil family.

"Hey. Can I help you?" Carlos asked Anthony warily.

Anthony glanced briefly at Jay before focusing on Carlos. "I was hoping we could talk about Chloe."

Carlos narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Chloe had gone out of her way to avoid Anthony in the week since they met, and she was slightly more nervous than she'd been her first day, worried she might run into him again.

Seeing his expression, Anthony raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm not trying to cause problems. I swear. I didn't mean to upset her last Monday."

Carlos pursed his lips before admitting, "It wasn't really your fault, I guess. Just finding out who you are,…she was scared you'd hate her for our mother. But you did help her from what she said, and I appreciate that. Thank you."

Anthony shrugged. "It was no problem. I don't blame either of you for who your parents are. But helping her,…that's part of what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What do you mean?" Carlos asked warily.

Anthony glanced at Jay again, who crossed his arms in a silent statement that he wasn't going anywhere. Anthony focused back on Carlos.

"That day…What has she told you about what happened that day?"

Carlos' brow furrowed worriedly. "Nothing much. She won't talk about it. Why?"

Anthony nodded, rubbing his hands together as he seemed to think over his words. "Has she ever…I don't want to say 'freak out', but…Have you ever seen her go into a sort of state where she starts sweating, maybe panicking, trembling, can't breathe, her heart starts racing,…" Anthony trailed off, his eyes fixed on Carlos' face, searching for any signs of recognition.

And he found them. Carlos exchanged a worried glance with Jay. Chloe had entered states similar to that several times while on the Isle, and Carlos had seen it happen a couple times just in the past week. He never knew how to help her other than sitting with her and assuring her he was there. Sometimes touching her or rubbing her back would help, but sometimes it would make it worse.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anthony guessed.

"What's it to you?" Jay demanded defensively. As Carlos' sister and part of their gang, Chloe was as good as his little sister. He wasn't about to let people go after her the way they did to the other four when they first arrived in Auradon.

"I think Chloe has panic attacks." Anthony admitted nervously.

"Panic attacks." Carlos repeated.

"You're making such a big deal about her panicking?" Jay asked incredulously.

"It's not as simple as panicking. Panic attacks can be debilitating, sometimes leaving you feeling like you're going to die. There's a wide range of things people experience during a panic attack, like nausea, sweating, chest pain, the list goes on." Anthony explained briefly.

"And what makes you so sure that's what Chloe's going through?" Carlos asked.

Anthony stared at him, and Carlos understood. That's how Anthony and Chloe met. She hadn't wandered into the music room, she'd been having a panic attack, or something similar. And Anthony had helped her.

"How do you know so much about panic attacks?" Carlos asked, partially suspicious, partially curious.

"My family does some work with people who have different…situations." Anthony answered carefully. "I've met people who have panic attacks, and I've researched a bit. When I saw Chloe in the music room, I was pretty certain that's what was happening."

"'Pretty certain'." Jay repeated dubiously.

"I'm not a professional." Anthony defended. "Most of what I know I've researched in books and the internet. But I'm not a licensed professional. I mostly just know the basics."

"Well, whatever you know, it must have been enough to help Chloe." Carlos admitted quietly. "Thank you again, for that."

Anthony shrugged. "I'm just glad I was able to help. But you know, you might want to consider getting her some kind of professional help. I could-"

"She doesn't need help from some doctor." Jay cut in abruptly. "She has us. That's enough. She doesn't need some shrink to tell her how messed up in the head she is. No Auradon doctor would ever be able to understand what she's been through."

Anthony nodded slowly. "I don't doubt that. I would never claim to understand what you've all been through over there. I was just trying to-"

"Thanks, but we're fine." Jay cut in, glancing at Carlos.

Carlos looked down uncomfortably. While he did want his sister to get help, the Isle part of him doubted a doctor would be able to or want to help. And he doubted Chloe would want to talk to some stranger about her problems.

"Thanks, Anthony. I'll talk to her about it." Carlos finally responded, giving the taller boy a small smile.

Anthony smiled in return, nodding in understanding. "Okay. And I don't want to upset her or anything, so if you could tell her…that I'm sorry for upsetting her or anything…"

Carlos nodded. "Sure. I'll do that."

They went their separate ways, Carlos and Jay heading up to the girls' dorms. Carlos knocked on his sister's door, waiting until she called for him to enter before opening the door.

Chloe was sitting on her bed, Jane sitting next to her with some books spread out around them while they seemingly worked on homework. Dude was curled up on the bed next Chloe, his chin resting on her lap. Chloe was scratching his ears with her free hand while she wrote with her left hand. Beelzebub was curled up between Chloe and Jane, purring as the young fairy petted the cat between writing in her notebook.

Chloe and Jane both smiled in greeting as the boys entered. Chloe and Jane had become pretty good friends in a surprisingly short amount of time. Carlos figured it was partially due to their similar, shy personalities, and partially due to Jane just being so nice and Chloe being much less intimidating than Mal and Evie were when they first arrived.

"Hey. How was practice?" Chloe asked, pausing in her writing. Dude hopped up, tail wagging as he scampered to the edge of the bed to greet Carlos, though he didn't go any farther. He liked the comfy bed. Dude and Beelzebub barely tolerated each other's presence, but they both adored Chloe. Dude still sometimes slept in Carlos and Jay's dorm, but he also loved sleeping curled up with Chloe. And Beelzebub slept on her worn out pillow next to Chloe's head. As long as they had Chloe between them, they were civil.

"Good." Jay answered, flopping down on the spare bed next to Chloe's. "The Imperial Academy won't know what hit them."

Chloe smiled at his confidence. Although, 'arrogance' might be more accurate.

"This is…an away game, right?" Chloe asked hesitantly. She'd heard a few terms over the past week.

Jane looked up, nodding her head. "Yeah. The next couple games are both away games, then Castlecoming is in a few weeks."

"Castlecoming?" Chloe asked curiously, and even Carlos and Jay looked curious. They were all still new to Auradon's ways, and there weren't any interschool sports on the Isle.

"Yeah. Our first couple games were home games, they were played here at Auradon Prep." Jane explained. "Castlecoming, or homecoming in some areas, is the first home game after the away games."

"So, the first couple games were home games, the next couple are away games, and our next home game is 'Castlecoming'." Carlos summed up, to which Jane nodded. "And that's a big deal around here?"

"A little, yeah." Jane answered. "There's the game, and the dance afterwards. And a lot of the school Alumni show up to celebrate and tell stories."

"That's not…mandatory, right?" Chloe asked hesitantly.

"No, of course not. But don't you want to go?" Jane asked, confused.

Chloe grimaced, looking back down at her math textbook. "I'm not a big fan of parties."

"But you'll at least watch our game, right?" Carlos asked his sister. He understood her not wanting to go to a dance. The last time she'd been at a party of any kind was when Mal forced them to host a party at Hell Hall. It had been loud and crowded, and she got attacked by the Gaston twins. And he also understood her not wanting to or being unable to travel for an away game.

Chloe nodded instantly. "The Castlecoming game, of course. I can't wait."

Carlos grinned. But then it faltered and he sat on the edge of Chloe's bed, petting Dude on the belly as the small dog rolled over next to him.

"Um, we ran into Anthony Radcliffe on the way up here." Carlos admitted, watching his sister out of the corner of his eye. She tensed. "He said he was sorry. He didn't mean to upset you."

Chloe's brows furrowed in confusion, while Jane glanced between them.

"Anthony? He's one of the nicest guys around. Did he do something to upset you?" Jane asked worriedly.

Chloe shook her head, her gaze focused downward. "No, it wasn't his fault. I guess…I didn't know who he was at first."

"What do you mean who he-" Jane cut herself off, her eyes widening slightly. "Oh. Oh!" She looked over at Chloe worriedly. "He didn't bother you, did he?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, like I said, he didn't do anything. I just…freaked out a little when I realized who he was. I was worried he'd hate me or something when he realized who I was."

Jay snorted. "Chloe, you have black and white hair. He knew who you were the moment he saw you, and yet he still helped you."

Chloe nodded, her eyes still fixed on her textbook. "I guess…"

Dude got up and wandered back toward Chloe, flopping down onto her lap and bringing a smile to her face. She put down her pencil and wrapped her arms around Dude, pulling him close to cuddle him to her chest. She wished she could bring him or Beelzebub to classes. They would probably help keep her calm. But after Dude disrupted class one time when Carlos took him to class, the teachers decided it was no longer a good idea to let the little mutt be in classes. Apparently, he flunked obedience class.

Carlos watched his sister cuddle the small dog, a soft smile on his face. He'd been hesitantly planning on broaching the subject Anthony brought up earlier, about Chloe having panic attacks. But he didn't want to upset her, and he doubted she'd appreciate bringing it up in front of Jane.

So, Carlos decided he'd do some research himself first before talking to Chloe about it. Maybe he could come up with some possible solutions to bring to her at the same time.

AN: Right about now I'm going to start incorporating the Descendants books in my story, though the timeline and details may get fudged here and there, and they may not have too much of an effect on the story.

Let me know what you all thought of this chapter! I know it's a little short, but maybe if I get some good reviews I'll post the next chapter a bit early for Christmas!