Ch. 20

As Mal started to doze off and Doug dutifully turned the limo around and headed back to Auradon Prep, Carlos and Jay attempted to get comfortable splayed out on the long leather bench seats.

"How's your leg feeling Jay?" Carlos asked, tempted to rearrange the jackets he'd piled up to keep it elevated as the car jostled them.

"Better now that I'm not moving so much. How are you doing after your wet and wild river ride? Did the artifacts get neutralized?" Jay replied.

"Eh, I'm a little sore but nothing I haven't dealt with before. I don't know about the artifacts, I couldn't tell whether or not they were magical before so I guess we'll have to wait until Fairy Godmother looks at them," Carlos said, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

Jay looked over Carlos carefully as his friend sat partially hunched over in his seat across from him. "So what's bugging you then?"

Carlos practically flinched at the abrupt question, his gaze sliding to the window as he gnawed his lip nervously.

"Carlos, talk to me man," Jay said, noticing the fine tremors that started in the hands fisted in his lap.

Carlos shook his head, his voice catching as he whispered. "I lost the bag in the river, I got knocked out after I went over the waterfall and when Mal found me the artifacts had been scattered everywhere. We managed to find most of them, except for the wand. I don't know where it is Jay."

Jay struggled to sit up, his leg twinging at the movement. Carlos buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he choked out a muffled sob. Jay reached out, barely able to graze Carlos' knees with his fingertips across the wide gap. "Carlos, don't worry about it, we'll tell Ben what happened and I'm sure by dawn he'll have the entire army scouring that river."

"Fairy Godmother trusted me with it Jay, and now she won't be able to transfer her magic to Jane. This might kill her and it'll be all my fault," Carlos said brokenly.

"It's not your fault Carlos, you blindly jumped into a river to try and neutralize that thing and went over a hundred story waterfall just to try to get help for me when I was trapped. We've done some pretty crazy stunts before man, but you were only doing this to help your friends," Jay argued, trying to balance himself on one hand as he leaned across the limo.

Carlos took a shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes, his cheeks going hot at the thought of falling apart so badly in front of Jay. He still hated to seem weak in front of others, but the thought of how disappointed and upset Jane and Fairy Godmother were going to be made his heart clench in anxiety. Carlos knew neither one would react violently or shriek at him like his mother, but failure in the past had been met with such swift and brutal consequences that he was terrified at what could happen. This wasn't like ditching class or coming in after curfew, lives were at stake and one mistake could easily tip the balance. Carlos didn't realize that although he'd stopped crying, his trembling hadn't and now his whole body was shaking. Strong arms wrapping around him made Carlos startle until he saw Jay sitting down next to him, his face tight with pain as he dragged his leg across the floor.

"Jay what are you doing? You shouldn't be moving," Carlos protested, trying to squirm out of his grasp.

"Dude, you're shaking like a leaf and freaking me out with the petrified look on your face like you expect your mom to burst through the door," Jay said, gripping the other teen's arms to keep him still.

Carlos sighed, he was really screwing things up for everyone today. "I'm sorry Jay, I've messed up so bad and everyone's suffering because of it. Jane's never going to talk to me after this."

Jay resisted the urge to tell Carlos where Jane could shove it if she so much as look at his friend wrong after all he'd just gone through for her and instead pulled Carlos against his chest. "No matter what happens Carlos, Mal, Evie and I are always gonna be here for you, got it?"

Carlos relaxed back into the embrace, resting his cheek against Jay's chest, the sound of his strong, steady heartbeat helping to calm his wrecked nerves. "You shouldn't have to put up with me Jay."

The dual-colored hair was soft and curly under his cheek as Jay pressed a gentle kiss to Carlos' temple, tightening his grip as he held him close. If they were still on the Isle, if Jay had heeded all his father's teachings then he never would have put up with Carlos or anyone for that matter and kept to himself. That would, however, have left him alone, still stuck on the Isle, with nothing to his name, scrounging and stealing everything he could get his hands on for his father for the rest of his miserable, pathetic life. His leg may be broken, they may have lost the wand, Jane might be upset but bones healed, lost thing could be found and Jane was too kind-hearted to hold a grudge for long. And all of that was worth it in Jay's opinion because of the life he now had, the friends who cared about him and most of all the person he now held in his arms.

After nearly two hours of driving, Mal woke with a groan and a stretch, trying to work out the aches in her overused muscles. "Thanks for the break Doug, you ready for one now?"

Doug gave her a sleepy smile. "It's not too much further, but if you're sure you're rested enough I'd appreciate it."

"No problem, it'll be the least strenuous thing I've done all day. How are Jay and Carlos doing?" Mal asked.

"It's been quiet the whole way, I think they're asleep," Doug replied, as he carefully maneuvered the large vehicle to the side of the road.

Once the car had been parked, Mal and Doug got out and switched sides so Mal could drive the rest of the way to Auradon Prep. Before starting the limo, Mal glanced through the window divider into the backseat. Jay and Carlos were sound asleep, stretched out together along one of the benches.

"They sure are close, aren't they?" Doug remarked, peeking through the window next to Mal.

"Yeah," Mal agreed.

"I thought on the isle everyone hated everybody else? Evie said you two were like mortal enemies for years growing up," Doug asked.

Mal chuckled. "That was all our parents doing, or well mostly my mom's. The Evil Queen didn't invite us to Evie's birthday party when we were kids so my mom pretty much banished her to the furthest point on the Isle and they stayed there, terrified of my mom's wrath until Evie started high school. When I saw her again I decided to get my revenge, but we wound up working together, in the end, to try to get my mom's scepter back and I realized holding onto a five-year old's grudge was stupid. I couldn't have done what I needed to without Evie, Jay, and Carlos. Of course, our parents just thought we were using each other so it worked."

"I didn't have many friends growing up either, seeing Jay and Carlos like that kinda makes me jealous," Doug admitted.

"Trust me, what we went through to get to this point is nothing to be jealous of. Jay and Carlos certainly didn't become friends in any typical Auradon male way, in fact, when they first met Carlos was terrified that Jay would beat him up and Jay thought Carlos was a worthless scary cat. We weren't supposed to make friends on the Isle, but when you go through the sorts of things we did together you find common likes, you learn each other's fears and weaknesses. After helping each other, we realized how much better life was when we were together when we had someone to talk to, hang out with and who wasn't as awful as our parents. Evie became my best friend, my sister, someone I'd do anything for. Jay became Carlos' rock, someone who would always protect him and Carlos was always there for Jay, letting him know he saw him as more than a thief. We were the first people in each other's lives who ever cared for each other. I love Evie, Jay, and Carlos and I know they love me, but I don't think we knew what that meant until we came here to Auradon," Mal explained, feeling more nostalgic then she had in a long time.

"Yeah, I guess I can see that. Evie's told me about some of your adventures back on the Isle; you guys are so much braver than me," Doug replied with a laugh.

"Honestly, I can't believe we survived. We barely knew each other and the entire time I'm pretty sure we were trying to figure out how to stab each other in the back. And yet every time we had that chance, we didn't do it. We nearly lost Evie like three times, Jay rescued Carlos twice and me once," Mal laughed.

"Glad you're not trying to do that anymore or we'd probably still be stuck in the mines," Doug said.

"No way, Evie would kill me if I left you behind. Besides you're pretty useful in a pinch," Mal smirked.

The drive back to Auradon Prep was long and the four stumbled weak-kneed out of the limo once they'd pulled up to the front steps.

"No more car trips for a very long time," Mal moaned, trying to stretch the kinks out of her body.

"I am definitely looking forward to my bed, stone floors are really hard on your back," Doug added.

"Can't say the limo's back seats are any comfier," Carlos said, earning an agreeing nod from Jay.

"So, how'd the trip go? Mal? When did you get back?" Ben asked, coming down from the dorm room doors.

Carlos shot Mal a look and the girl stepped forward to meet Ben.

"It didn't go exactly as planned and I'm going to need your help with something tomorrow but everyone is back in one piece," Mal replied with a broad cheerfully forced smile.

"Okay, did you find the neutralizing waters? Did they work?" Ben asked eagerly.

Mal grimaced. "That's part of what didn't go according to plan. We're not sure if the artifacts are neutralized yet but Carlos had been the only one to touch them so we'll have to wait and see what Fairy Ida says; once we have them all back."

"Once you have them all back? Why don't you have them all? Where are they? Mal what happened?" Ben asked worriedly.

Mal wrapped an arm around Ben's waist, turning him back towards the dorm entrance. "It's a really long story Ben, and I'll tell you every single bit of it after some food and a hot shower."