"Hey, dude. What's up?"
Jay turned away from his failed attempt at a thesis statement. Diego de Vil was leaning against the door to Jay's bedroom, his curly black hair pushed back from his face. His jeans were torn at the knees, and he was wearing a beat-up black leather jacket.
"How did you get in my house?" Jay slammed his laptop closed. The essay wasn't due for another two days, anyway.
"Aziz let me in. We've got band practice. Are you coming?"
"Sure." Jay got up, reaching for his messenger bag. "Who's driving?"
"Me."
Jay froze. Diego was one of his best friends, but he was also a terrible driver. "And your mom can't because…"
"Meeting with the social worker."
Jay nodded. "Fine. I call shotgun."
o-o-o-o-o
Diego's band practiced at Auradon Prep, the private school Jay attended with most of his friends. Jordan and Mal were already in the music room, setting up Aziz's drum kit.
"You did it wrong," Aziz called, leaping up onto the small platform the band used as a makeshift stage. Jay, who had no musical talent and was there as an audience member, sat down in one of the folding chairs along the back wall. Evie didn't look up from her book.
"Evie."
Nothing.
"Evie!"
"Oh, hi." She closed the book, revealing an image of DNA on the cover. "Sorry. I've got a bio quiz tomorrow."
"It's cool." Up on the platform, the band was mostly set up, getting ready to practice. "They decided on a name yet?"
"No," Evie said. "Mal and Jordan were going back and forth about that before you guys showed up." At the sound of her name, Mal glanced over and winked at Evie. Evie blushed.
"You guys are horrible," Jay said.
"Shut up." Evie elbowed him in the side.
Jordan had taken her place in front of the microphone. Aziz banged out the beat on his drums. Diego and Mal finished tuning their guitars, and took their places with the others.
"Oh God," Evie said. "That's so bad."
Out of loyalty to his brother and best friends, Jay didn't say anything.
"I'm going to break into the ice cream freezer," Evie said. "You coming?"
Jay briefly wrestled with himself, then nodded. "They probably won't notice we're gone, anyway."
o-o-o-o-o
"So," Jay said. "Diego's mom is meeting with the social worker today."
Jay and Evie were tucked away in a corner of the school kitchens. Jay had picked the lock on the freezer where the ice cream was kept. The rest of the cafeteria was deserted.
"I heard," Evie said. "How's that going?"
Jay shrugged. "Diego seems to think they have a chance."
"I hope so." Evie took another bite of her ice cream sandwich. "Do you think they're done yet?"
Just then, the door to the kitchen swung open. Jay startled, nearly dropping his ice cream.
Diego was standing in the doorway. "I need to go. My mom texted. They're signing the papers tonight."
Jay jumped up from his spot on the ground. "No way."
"Yeah," Diego said. "Can you guys get yourselves home?"
"I'll drive them," Evie said quickly. "You go."
"Thanks, Evie," Diego said.
Once he was gone, Jay turned to face Evie. "Wow."
"Yeah," Evie said. "We should get back. They'll be looking for us."
o-o-o-o-o
Evie had driven Mal and Jordan in her older sister's minivan, so they were able to squeeze everyone into the back.
"This is technically illegal," Evie pointed out. "I'm not supposed to drive more than three minors, if I'm not related to them."
"Who cares. Don't get pulled over," Jay advised, climbing into the back of the van next to Jordan.
Evie rolled her eyes and threw the car into reverse. The engine whined in protest.
"Oh, shut up," Evie muttered.
"Hey, guys," Mal said. "Did you check the Brat's Instagram?"
"I don't follow her," Jay said.
"Didn't you used to date?"
"That's exactly why I don't follow her, Mal."
"Well, she's going to prom with Chad Charming."
"Do we care?" Jordan asked.
"Only because it means she's gonna be absolutely insufferable, especially once they inevitably break up again." Mal scowled down at her phone. Like Jay, Mal was adopted; she didn't get along with Audrey nearly as well as Jay got along with Aziz.
"It's not your problem," Aziz pointed out. "You have a prom date, anyway. What does she have to hold over you?"
"She does?" Evie glanced into the rearview mirror before changing lanes. "News to me."
"Oh shit," Mal said. "I knew there was something I forgot to do."
Jay laughed. "Nice one, Mal."
"Evie, will you go to prom with me?"
Evie rolled her eyes. "Sure."
"That's great for you guys," Aziz said. "That was also the lamest promposal I've ever seen."
"Shut up," Mal and Evie said, in perfect unison.
o-o-o-o-o
Jay knew he should be working on his homework. In his defense, his brother wouldn't leave him alone.
"Aziz, go bother someone else," Jay said. "I've got homework."
"You're not going to do it until the night before it's due anyway," Aziz said. Jay's room had a window seat, and Aziz was lounging across it, peering across the street at Diego's house. "What do you think he's like?"
"Carlos?" Jay asked. "I don't know."
Jay didn't know much about Diego's cousin- only that Diego's mother had been trying to get custody for years. Apparently, Carlos's mother spent more time in casinos and bars than she did at home with her son.
Aziz sat up straighter, his nose practically bumping the glass. "They're back."
"God, Aziz. Give them some space." But Jay was watching over his brother's shoulder, and Aziz knew it.
Diego's mother, Carlie de Vil, climbed out of the driver's side. Two boys emerged from the back of the car.
One was Diego. The other was shorter, skinnier, with a longer mass of white curls. His shoulders seemed to slump forward as he looked at the house.
Carlie moved to unlock the door. Diego said a few words to his cousin, then followed. Carlos glanced back across the street.
His eyes locked on Jay's. Jay knew it was ridiculous. It was dark, and the only light in his room was the desk lamp. Carlos shouldn't have been able to see more than two dark figures. But he could have sworn Carlos was looking directly at him.
Carlos turned and followed his family into the house.
o-o-o-o-o
For the next few weeks, things felt mostly normal.
Diego was around a little less, but he still showed up for band practice. When asked about Carlos, he shrugged and said something along the lines of, "He's adjusting. It's rough, you know."
Mal and Jay, who did know, nodded.
Jay didn't have a lot of time to think about it. The end of junior year was only a few weeks away. Finals were coming up. Teachers were scrambling to fit in the last of the coursework.
Still, every once in a while, he found himself remembering the boy he'd seen through the window.
And then Diego decided to throw a party.
"Not, like, a party party," he clarified. "Like, a get-to-know-you party. Carlos is going to Auradon Prep next year. It'd be good if he could get to know some people over the summer. My mom's cooking."
Carlie was an amazing cook, so Jay was sold.
"It would just be the band," Diego continued. "And Jay and Evie, of course."
So, at three o'clock that Saturday afternoon, Jay and Aziz headed across the street to Diego's house.
"No drinking," their mother, Jasmine, called after them.
"Way to take all the fun out of it, Mom," Aziz shouted back, closing the door behind them. Jay started across the street, leaving Aziz to scramble after him. "Should we have brought food?"
"No point." Jay rapped his knuckles against the front door. Carlie opened it immediately.
Carlie was a small woman, shorter than her son by almost a foot. She wore a plain blue dress, specked with flour, and her hair was tied back in a long braid. She smiled when she saw Jay and Aziz.
"Hi, guys," she said. "Everyone else is in the den." She stood back to let them in.
The de Vil house was smaller than Jay's. The den was really the family room, office, and dining room combined. Jay and Aziz had to squeeze past the dining table to get to where everyone else was gathered on the old sofas.
"Hey, guys," Diego said. Jay smiled and nodded, but his attention was fixed on Carlos.
Carlos sat cross-legged on the end of the couch, next to his cousin. He had a paper plate of chips piled on his lap, and he was eating them with very tiny dabs of Carlie's extra spicy salsa on the corners.
As if sensing Jay's stare, Carlos looked up. His white curls flopped over his forehead, making it difficult for Jay to read his expression.
Jay looked down and snatched a chip from the coffee table.
"Carlos, this is Jay, and his brother, Aziz," Diego said. "Aziz is in the band with me."
"Hi," Carlos said. "Nice to meet you."
"You too," Aziz said. "You know anything about music?"
"Not really," Carlos said.
"Well, you can join Evie and Jay in the audience, if you want. They're our biggest fans."
"We're your only fans," Evie said. Mal turned to face her, looking betrayed.
"Food's ready!" Carlie called from the kitchen. "Can some of you guys help me?"
Diego and Carlos immediately stood up. So did Jay.
"Be right back," he told Aziz, and the three boys left the room.
"Thank you," Carlie said when they entered the small kitchen. The room smelled like heaven. Actually, it smelled better than heaven. Three large homemade pizzas sat on the counter- one cheese, one pepperoni, and one spinach-pineapple-bacon-broccoli, which only Jordan and Mal were going to eat.
"Mind taking these into the other room?" Carlie asked. "Here." She took the cheese pizza and disappeared through the swinging doors; Diego grabbed the other two and followed his mother out.
Jay and Carlos were alone.
"So," Jay said. "Thinking about joining the band?"
"No," Carlos said. "I'm not really musical."
"Neither are they."
Carlos laughed. Jay felt like he'd won some kind of victory.
"What's your deal?" he asked curiously.
"What do you mean?" Carlos crossed his arms over his chest.
"Like, what do you do?"
Carlos shrugged. "I read. I build things."
"What kind of things?"
"I don't know. Things." Carlos pointed across the room. There was a salt-and-pepper shaker sitting on the counter. It was one of the ones with a swinging lid, so you could choose whether the salt side or the pepper side was open. There was also a little wind-up knob on the side.
Jay picked it up and twisted the knob. Immediately, the little swinging lid began to rotate on its own. If it had been upside down, it would have been depositing both salt and pepper.
"Nice," Jay said, duly impressed. "How'd you get it to do that?"
"The same way a wind-up toy works."
Jay had no idea how wind-up toys worked, but he didn't want to admit that, so he just nodded. "Well, it's cool."
"Thanks." Carlos folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter. "You're a junior, right?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yeah."
"What school were you at before?"
"Dragon Hall."
Dragon Hall was the local public school. Jay had been there a few times for football games.
"So you're from Auradon."
"Yeah. I grew up on the Isle."
Jay had been born on the Isle, but he didn't feel like getting into his past, so he didn't mention it. "Well. I've heard Auradon Prep is pretty different from Dragon Hall."
Carlos grinned. "I got that much, yeah."
"Guys." Diego stuck his head in through the kitchen door. "Come on. We're eating. Grab those veggie platters, would you?"
Jay grabbed the plate, and Carlos picked up two bowls of homemade dip. Across the hall, Mal was laughing at something Aziz had said. Jordan was watching Diego through the open door to the hall, the way she always did when she thought he wouldn't notice. Evie was standing behind the sofa, braiding Mal's hair.
Carlos was watching it all, his eyebrows scrunched together. Jay set the vegetables down on the dining table.
"Come and eat," Carlie called.
o-o-o-o-o
After that, Carlos was just always around.
Jay actually didn't mind that much. There had been a time when he'd been the new kid, hanging around with his brother's friend group. After him, it had been Mal, who forcefully inserted herself after refusing to hang out with Audrey's friends. Then it had been Jordan, when her family moved to town, and then Evie, when she moved in with her sister. Carlos just happened to be the latest addition.
Also, he was a cool guy. He was better at video games than anyone Jay had ever met, which annoyed Aziz to no end. He was always willing to walk someone through their math or science homework, and he was definitely the smartest person Jay knew.
At the moment, Jay was still waiting for Carlos to show up. He was leaning back in an uncomfortable metal folding chair, watching Mal pick at her guitar. She only sort of knew what she was doing, but she'd never admit it.
"Just ask Diego to teach you to play the thing," Jay called. Mal flipped him off just as Jordan stumbled into the room
"Jordan?" Mal asked. "You okay?"
"Fine," Jordan panted. "Those assholes-"
Aziz exploded into the room after Jordan. "Tag!"
"Really?" Jordan cried. "Are you serious? What is this, kindergarten?"
Aziz backed out of the room, and Jordan took off after him. Diego was nowhere to be seen, but Jay caught a glimpse of Carlos and Evie, leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway. Evie was eating a hot dog. Carlos was braiding a bunch of colorful wires.
"I'll be right back," Jay said, pushing himself out of his chair. Mal nodded absently. Jay left the music room and crossed the hall.
"Is Mal in there?" Evie asked, handing Carlos what was left of her hot dog.
"Yeah," Jay said. Evie left Jay and Carlos alone outside the music room.
"So," Jay said. He'd been hanging out with Carlos for two weeks, but this was the first time they'd been alone together since the get-to-know-you party.
"So," Carlos repeated. "Did you finish those equations?"
It took Jay a second to figure out what Carlos meant. "Oh God. Those are due tomorrow, aren't they?" Jay shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "Oh well."
He expected something from Carlos about how he'd never get into college if he failed precalc, but Carlos surprised him. He said, "If you want, I'll help you with them later."
Jay blinked. "Don't you have your own homework?"
"Already done. Do you want help?"
Jay was impressed. "Sure. Once these idiots are done."
Jordan, Diego, and Aziz came stomping back up the hall. Aziz was swinging his arms at his side; Jordan and Diego were walking a little too close together. Jay rolled his eyes.
"Coming?" Diego asked. "This is gonna suck."
o-o-o-o-o
After practice, Jay waved goodbye to his friends and left them to finish packing up the music room. He went down the hall to use the bathroom. On his way back, he passed Mal and Evie.
"We're leaving," Mal said. "Diego wants to know if you can drive Carlos home. Carlie asked him to pick up some groceries."
"Sure," Jay said. For some reason, the thought of being alone with Carlos again, in his car, made him nervous. "Wait, where's Aziz?"
"Helping Diego." Evie smiled at Jay, and she and Mal headed off down the hall. Jay stopped outside the door to the music room. He expected to find Carlos sitting outside, or maybe perched on the edge of the stage.
Instead, Jay found Carlos standing on the raised platform, playing Mal's guitar.
Jay didn't know anything about guitar, but Carlos was clearly better than Mal. His eyes were fixed on the stand in front of him, playing the music from that day's practice. His fingers danced over the strings.
Jay leaned back against the doorframe and closed his eyes, listening. Then he opened them, so he could watch Carlos.
Carlos hadn't noticed him yet. He finished the song and set the pick down on the edge of the stand, slinging the strap of the guitar off his shoulder. Jay wasn't sure what to do, so he shuffled his feet against the carpet, letting Carlos know he was there.
Carlos turned around. His face was flushed brilliant red under his freckles. "Oh," he said. "I didn't realize anyone was there."
"You're… really good," Jay said. "Where'd you learn to play like that?"
"My mom." Carlos didn't elaborate, and Jay didn't pry into what was clearly a sensitive subject.
"You're really good," Jay said. "Like, really. I thought you said you didn't know anything about music? You could definitely play with them, if you wanted to."
Carlos blushed even more, if that was possible, and looked down. "I don't. And I wouldn't want to take Mal or Diego's place."
"Believe me, Mal won't mind," Jay said. "She doesn't actually play. She'd rather focus on singing."
"She could do both."
"She doesn't want to. Singing and guitar doesn't leave much time for graffiti." Jay stepped farther into the room as Carlos hopped down from the platform. "Seriously. They'd be thrilled. Does Diego know you play?"
"He knows I can," Carlos said. "Where do you think he learned?"
Jay, for once, was at a loss for words, watching Carlos gather up his things and swing his backpack over his shoulder. "So," Carlos said. "Those equations."
Jay blinked, confused. "The math homework?"
"Yeah. Did you still want my help? Is the library still open?"
"Oh. Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks."
Jay followed Carlos down the hall to the library, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.
o-o-o-o-o
The weekend passed without Jay seeing much of Carlos. Carlos had waved from his driveway when he'd seen Jay and Aziz pass on their morning run once, but otherwise, Jay didn't speak to Carlos again until the band got together on Tuesday.
Jay, as usual, was sitting in the back with Evie. They were passing a bag of popcorn back and forth. Evie was also double-checking her math homework, using her binder as a writing surface. Jay was pretending to study for his Bio final.
"I know you're not really working," Evie said. She took a handful of popcorn and handed Jay the bag.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jay said. "I know this stuff. I'll pass."
Evie raised her eyebrows and snatched the textbook off Jay's lap. "Phases of mitosis. Go."
"Um," Jay said. "What?"
Evie handed him back the book, eyebrows raised.
"I'll look at that," Jay said.
"Okay." Evie went back to her math.
On the other side of the room, Mal and Diego were arguing about something. Jay didn't think it was serious, because Mal hadn't hit anything yet. Jordan was waiting on stage, standing behind her mic, while Aziz messed around on his drum kit.
Carlos was perched on the edge of the stage, kicking his feet against the carpet. Now, he stood up and reached for Mal's guitar, which she'd left propped against the platform. He climbed onto the stage.
Jay grinned, and when Carlos caught his eye, he winked.
Jordan raised her eyebrows. Carlos leaned over her shoulder, riffling through the music on her stand, and pointed one out. She nodded and passed a copy back to Aziz, who glanced over it and shrugged. He twirled his drumsticks over his fingers.
When the music started, Mal and Diego forgot their argument. They were staring up at the three onstage, and Jay couldn't blame them. Jordan and Aziz were both decent, but Carlos was amazing. Jay had heard his friends play a thousand times before. They were never this good.
When they hit the chorus, Diego grabbed his own guitar and hopped up on stage, joining in the song. He read over Carlos's shoulder, while Mal sang along with Jordan.
When they finished, Evie burst into wild applause. Jay couldn't take his eyes off Carlos.
Carlos's black-and-white curls were plastered to his forehead with sweat, and his dark eyes sparkled in the music room lights. His cheeks were flushed, and when he met Jay's gaze, Jay winked again.
This time, Carlos blushed and looked away. Evie elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow!" Jay said. "Seriously? I was having a moment."
"I saw," Evie said. "Are you planning on asking him out?"
Jay honestly hadn't thought that far ahead. He was only just now realizing that it was possible he had a slight crush on Carlos de Vil. Nothing to worry about, if you ignored the fact that Carlos was his friend's cousin, and a member of his friend group. Asking him out was probably a bad idea.
"Maybe," Jay said.
o-o-o-o-o
Jay was absolutely going to fail his finals.
The problem wasn't that Jay was bad at school; the problem was that it wasn't interesting. Jay found things like math and science boring, and he'd never been able to force himself to focus on them.
But finals were in less than two weeks, so he was going to have to figure something out.
Aziz was sitting in Jay's window seat again, reading through pages of history notes. Jay sat at his desk, not reading through his precalc notes.
"You know," Aziz said, "Carlos is pretty good at that stuff."
"What?" Jay glanced up at his brother.
"Math and whatever. Diego says Carlos is some kind of prodigy. Ask him for help," Aziz said.
Jay considered it. It was true that Carlos was good at this stuff. It was also true that Jay wasn't going to say no to an oppourtunity to hang out with Carlos, one-on-one.
"Okay," he said. "I'll ask him."
o-o-o-o-o
"So," Jay said.
Carlos glanced up from his book. They were sitting at the back of the music room, listening to the band practice. Carlos hadn't wanted to get up on stage this time.
"Yeah?" Carlos asked.
"I was wondering," Jay said. He swallowed. Fidgeted with the hem of his tee shirt. Didn't meet Carlos's eyes. "Could you, uh. Could you help me with finals? Studying for them, I mean."
"Oh," Carlos said. "I mean, yeah. Sure. If you want."
"Thanks," Jay said, relieved. "We can meet at my place? If you want."
"Okay," Carlos said.
Jay knew he was blushing. He was pretty sure Carlos was, too.
o-o-o-o-o
"Carlos is gonna be here in five minutes," Jay said. "Get out of my room."
Aziz was leaning against the doorframe, scuffing his heal against the carpet. He was wearing sneakers. "Is he? I was going to ask if you wanted to go for a run, but I guess I have my answer."
"Next time," Jay promised.
"Sure," Aziz agreed. "I'll ask Diego."
"Diego hates running."
"Worth a shot." Aziz crossed the room to peer out Jay's window. "Well, he's not here yet."
Jay rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm leaving. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Aziz said, winking.
Jay shook his head. "You're asexual. You wouldn't do anything."
"That's fair. Don't do anything Mom would murder you for." Aziz smirked and backed out of the room, closing the door behind himself.
Three minutes later, someone knocked on Jay's bedroom door. Jay, who had been making a point not to look out the window, said, "Come in."
Carlos opened the door and slipped into the room. "Hey."
"Oh. Hey," Jay said. He realized, too late, that there was really nowhere to sit in his room. The desk chair, which Jay was occupying, the window seat, which he'd covered in homework, and his bed.
Carlos's eyes flickered around the room, and he moved to the window seat, picked up a textbook, a notebook, and a few stray worksheets, and dumped them all on the end of Jay's desk. He sat in the cleared space.
"Where did you want to start?" Carlos asked.
Jay's teachers had been handing out review packets for finals for the past few weeks. He'd gone through the bottom of his backpack and fished them all out, and made a sloppy pile on the desk. He'd tried organizing them by subject and given up halfway through.
"With these, I guess," Jay said.
"Okay," Carlos said. He slid the first packet off the pile. "Biology?"
Jay groaned.
o-o-o-o-o
It was almost ten o'clock by the time Carlos and Jay finished working through the packets. Jay wanted to throw himself out the window.
"I think you'll be fine on most of these," Carlos said. "Really. You know all of it."
"Sure," Jay said skeptically.
"You do," Carlos said. "You just have to find a new way to study. Reading text blocks clearly doesn't work for you."
"Does that work for anyone?" Jay asked.
Carlos shrugged. "Some people. Not me."
Jay smiled.
"Well," Carlos said. "It's getting late."
It was past late. At one point, Jasmine had had to bring dinner upstairs for Jay and Carlos, because they'd both lost track of time.
"You didn't have to stay so long," Jay said, though he was secretly pleased that Carlos had.
"Don't worry about it," Carlos said. He started to move towards the door.
"Hey, Carlos," Jay said. Carlos paused.
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering…" Jay shook his head. "If you might want to… hang out sometime."
"Isn't that what we just did?"
"Yeah, but I mean, without the studying," Jay said. "We could get food, see a movie, whatever." Jay had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't going well.
"Sure," Carlos said. "That sounds fun. Maybe next week." He left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Jay threw himself back on his bed with a groan. Why couldn't he manage to ask a guy out without making it sound like a platonic straight-dude-bro thing?
o-o-o-o-o
"Where are you going?" Jasmine asked. Jay was halfway out the door, dressed in jeans that weren't torn and his favorite leather jacket.
"Hanging out with Carlos," Jay said, as casually as possible.
Aziz perked up. He'd been slumped over the counter, sneaking bits of cookie dough from the bowl on the counter and scrolling through his phone. Now, he made eye contact with Jay and whooped.
"Like a date? You asked Carlos de Vil out on a date? Finally!"
"It is not," Jay began. His mother's eyes narrowed. "It is not a date. We're hanging out. That's all."
"Uh huh," Jasmine said. "Curfew is nine o'clock. If you bring him back here, he stays downstairs. Don't go to his house."
"Mom, I'm not ten anymore."
"That's exactly why I'm worried. Now go. Have fun."
Jay backed out the front door, letting it swing shut behind him. From the kitchen window, he heard Jasmine's voice calling after him— "A minute after curfew and you're grounded! Love you!"
Jay sighed.
o-o-o-o-o
"So would you?" Jay asked. "I'm serious. You were amazing that day."
"I'll think about it," Carlos said. "I don't know. I guess I never thought about being in a band. Guitar is just, you know, a hobby for me."
Jay and Carlos were walking down the sidewalk of Auradon's main strip mall, ice cream cones in hand. It was just the two of them.
"Your mom taught you, right?"
"Yeah," Carlos said. "When I was a kid. She was really into it. She'd get out her guitar every night, and I picked up a lot just watching her."
It was the first time Jay had heard Carlos really talk about his parents. He realized, too late, that it might have been a painful subject for Carlos.
"I can see you stressing yourself out," Carlos said. "It's fine. We can talk about it."
"I'm sorry," Jay said. Carlos waved his hand. His lips were pinched together, and his eyes were downcast, but he seemed otherwise fine.
"I never knew my dad, so there's nothing to miss. My mom had other things she'd rather do. It's not a big deal."
In Jay's experience, it was a big deal.
"My mom left," he said. "Dad couldn't take it. He got drunk. There was an accident."
"I'm sorry," Carlos said.
"Me too," Jay said. And even though I'm sorry so often felt like useless words, Jay was glad he'd told Carlos. He was glad Carlos understood.
o-o-o-o-o
"I had fun today," Carlos said.
Jay leaned against the column supporting the overhang on the de Vil's front porch. "Yeah, me too."
Carlos hesitated. "Well. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," Jay said. "That's right. Band practice."
"You and Evie should just be managers or something," Carlos said.
"Evie is. I'm the audience."
Carlos grinned. "See you around."
"Yeah. See you." Jay watched Carlos walk back into his house, and resisted the urge to call after him—Hey, was this a date or what?
o-o-o-o-o
The next morning, Jay woke to a series of text messages. Most of them were from Diego.
Hey man
I know its early
Like stupid early. Sorry
But when you see this—its fine if you've got a thing with C or whatever's going on
Just don't break his heart, okay?
Not that I think you would. Just saying
I'm gonna tell him the same thing so like. I really don't think either of you would
Just don't want anyone getting hurt
This was probably a shitty thing to do. I'll shut up now. Sorry
Again
The last two messages were from Carlos.
Hey, just wanted to say thanks for listening yesterday.
It's really early, isn't it? Sorry.
It was the best part of Jay's day.
o-o-o-o-o
"So," Evie said. "You and Carlos, huh?"
Jay and Evie were sitting in the back of the music room, watching Jordan and Aziz set up. No one else had arrived yet. Jay had one final left, and then he was free—but it was history, and Jay had a whole list of important battles and historical figures to memorize.
"I have no idea what you mean—oh, screw it, who cares about any of this stuff?" Jay asked. "Like, seriously. Why do I care? I'm not going to be a history teacher."
"You care because this is worth twenty-five percent of your final grade in that class," Evie reminded him. "And don't change the subject. Carlos?"
Jay sighed. "It's not a thing. We hung out. Once. Platonically. Does he even like guys?"
Evie shrugged. "I have no idea. Were you actually going to ask him out?"
"No one starts a relationship this close to prom, Evie."
"Why not?"
"Because—because you haven't been together long enough to actually go to prom, but it's not like you can go with anyone else. And it's too late for all that anyway."
"You do know I started dating Mal three days before the Winter Formal?"
"Yeah, but you knew she was going to ask you and had a dress ready."
"No, I wanted her to ask me and had a dress ready." Evie nudged Jay with her shoulder. "Just ask him. What's the worst that could happen?"
Jay shook his head. "He could say no. God, Evie."
"Or," Evie said, "He could say yes."
Evie had a point, but then, she usually did.
Just then, Jay's phone buzzed with a text. Jay glanced at the screen.
Diego and I are running late. Here's a link to some practice quizzes. Do them until you stop failing.
"Look at that," Evie said. "A way to study that means I can borrow your notes. Thank you, Carlos." Evie snatched Jay's notebook off his lap.
"Your notes are literally flawless, Evie."
"You never know what I might have missed," Evie said. She had her own notebook out for comparison.
Jay shook his head and clicked on the link Carlos had sent.
o-o-o-o-o
Finals were done. Prom was the day after tomorrow. The seniors were contemplating life after graduation, just three days away; Jay and his friends, who were all juniors, were planning out their summer break.
Jay and Aziz were just sitting down to lunch with their parents when the doorbell rang. Aladdin frowned.
"Did you guys invite someone over?"
"I didn't," Aziz said. Jay shook his head and went to get the door.
Jordan was standing on the front porch. "Hey, Jay. You're not busy, right?"
"Actually, I-" Jay began.
"No? Great!" Jordan said. She grabbed Jay's wrist and dragged him out the front door. "See you, Aziz!" she called back into the house, pulling the door shut behind them. Jay didn't hear any of his family's replies.
"Okay," Jordan said, yanking Jay's arm to propel him across the street. "Carlie's at work. I am going to knock on that door, ask Diego if he wants to go for a walk, tell him I'm crazy about him, kiss him super romantically under that street lamp on the corner, and snag my prom date."
"That's… great for you guys," Jay said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jordan said dismissively. "You're doing the same with Carlos, only without leaving the house, since you'll have it all to yourselves." Jordan winked.
"Oh my God," Jay said. "Seriously, what is wrong with you people?"
Jordan was already knocking on the de Vil's door.
Diego answered it. "Oh. Hey, guys. Sorry, did we have plans today?" He took out his phone and scowled down at the screen.
"Nope," Jordan said. "I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk, though. Just the two of us."
"Oh, uh, sure," Diego said. He was blushing. "Sure. Jay, are you…?"
"Carlos is helping me study. That's it," Jay said. He was so used to saying it, it took him a second to remember that finals were over.
Diego didn't question it, though. He just stood aside and held the door open.
"Thanks," Jay muttered, passing Diego as he stepped into the front hall. The door closed behind him.
Jay had been to the de Vil's house a million times, but he didn't know where Carlos was. Still, he started up the stairs, passing Carlie's door on the right side of the upstairs hallway, and Diego's just past it. There was a bathroom and a spare bedroom; Jay assumed Carlos was occupying the spare.
Jay knocked at the door, and Carlos said, "It's unlocked."
Jay pushed the door open. Carlos spun around in his desk chair and blinked.
"Oh, Jay. Um, hi. I thought you were Diego."
"He's out with Jordan," Jay said.
"That's great," Carlos said. "That's good for them." He seemed a little flustered; his cheeks were bright red.
Jay took a look around the room. Carlie had used it as an office before Carlos moved in, and Jay recognized the desk shoved against one wall. Someone had set up a bed across from the door, and bookshelves on either side of the desk. Carlos had a small collection of things hanging up; a few photos of Diego and Carlie, one of Mal and Jordan, arm in arm, which Evie had taken; some cut-out magazine pictures of dogs, what looked like a diagram of a computer, a rainbow flag, and a postcard from a beach Jay didn't recognize. The desk and shelves were littered with colorful wires, tools, and pieces of metal.
In other words, it looked exactly as Jay would have expected Carlos's room to look.
"So," Carlos said. "What, uh… what are you doing here? I mean, you're welcome to stay," he said quickly. "I just… I'm going to stop talking now."
Jay looked around for a place to sit. With Carlos occupying the desk chair, the only place left was the bed. Jay wondered if it would be weird if he sat on Carlos's bed, but it wasn't like Carlos had never sat on Jay's bed, and the only other options were the floor or the top of the dresser.
Jay sat on the bed.
"Yeah," Jay said, because he wasn't sure what else to say. "I actually wanted to ask you something."
"Okay," Carlos said.
Jay picked at the hem of his tee shirt. "What are you doing on Friday?"
"Nothing. Why?"
"That's prom night."
"Oh yeah." Carlos tipped his head to the side. "Isn't that for seniors?"
"Juniors can go too," Jay said.
"That's cool. It was seniors only at Dragon Hall, unless you were someone's date. I don't think the gym was big enough for everyone."
"Huh," Jay said. "Well. I was wondering if you might want to go. With me, that is."
Carlos smiled. "Like, with the others?"
"No." How was Jay so bad at this? "Like, you and me. Go to prom. Together."
"Oh," Carlos said. "I—yeah. Yes. I'd love that." The tips of his ears had gone pink.
Jay knew he was blushing just as much. "Awesome."
"Awesome," Carlos repeated. "I guess—I should get a tux, or something."
"Diego probably has one," Jay said. "Unless he's wearing it. I know Aziz has at least two."
"Aren't you wearing the other one?" Carlos asked.
"Oh yeah," Jay said. "We'll figure it out-" Jay broke off as Carlos stood up and moved to the bed. He grabbed Jay's arm and yanked him up.
"What are you doing?" Jay asked. This close to Carlos, he was amazed he remembered how to form words at all. He could count every one of Carlos's freckles. He could see Carlos's eyelashes brushing against his cheeks when he blinked.
"You asked me to be your prom date, didn't you?" Carlos said, and then he was kissing him.
It was a little awkward, and a little messy, but Jay had definitely had worse first kisses.
o-o-o-o-o
"Dude, you have got to calm down," Aziz said. "You kissed a guy and now he's your prom date. Or you got a prom date and then you kissed the guy. Happens all the time."
Jay threw himself back on his bed. His head slammed into the wall and he winced, yanking his pillow over his face. "When was the last time you had a crush?"
"I don't know. Seventh grade? Eighth? That doesn't count, it's puppy love."
"Exactly."
Aziz ripped the pillow off Jay's face. "Get up."
Jay got up.
There were two suit jackets draped over the back of Jay's chair, and two pairs of pants, still on their hangars, dangling from the closet doorknob. Jay's one pair of dress shoes were sitting next to the door.
"Just pick one," Aziz said. "Seriously, I don't care."
Jay reached for a random jacket.
"Good," Aziz said. He tossed Jay the matching pants. "Go try it on. Dad ironed a nice shirt for you. It's in the bathroom."
Jay marched down the hall and wrestled his way into the suit. It fit, kind of. Jay's shoulders were broader than Aziz's, and his legs were just a little bit shorter, so the jacket was too small and the pants were too big, but everything was staying on, so Jay was counting it as a win.
"Okay," Jay said. Aziz opened the bathroom door and nodded.
"It'll do."
"Oh, thanks," Jay said. "Can I take it off now?"
"Sure." Aziz closed the door again. "I'll find you a tie," he called.
Jay sighed.
o-o-o-o-o
Jay couldn't count the number of times Mal had told him that prom was overrated.
"It's just an excuse for teenagers to eat shitty food and hook up in hotel rooms," she'd told Jay once. They'd been sitting on the front porch of Mal's house, listening to her mom fight with Audrey. "I'm not going."
"You're a sophomore, Mal. You can't go."
"True. Also, I have better things to do."
"Well, feel free to join Aziz and I. We're playing video games." Jay leaned back on his hands and tipped his face up, enjoying the early summer breeze.
"Yeah, no. Evie's got that fashion exhibit, remember?"
"And you're into Evie. How could I have forgotten?"
Now, Jay realized just how much of a hypocrite Mal was. She and Evie were standing arm in arm in front of Jay, waiting their turn to step through the balloon arch and into the gym. Behind Jay, Jordan and Diego were holding hands.
Jay was awkwardly sandwiched between his brother and his date.
"Next!" the photographer called. Mal and Evie stepped forward and posed, arms around each other.
"Next!"
Aziz waved the photographer off and went in on his own. Almost immediately, he struck up a conversation with some of the boys from the lacrosse team.
"Next!"
Jay looked at Carlos.
Carlos smiled and reached for Jay's hand. "Let's do this."
o-o-o-o-o
Aziz was still talking to the lacrosse guys. Jay didn't know any of them, so he was leaning against the gym wall, trying not to tear any streamers with his shoulder blades. Carlos was standing next to him. Their fingers were still entwined.
Carlos leaned back against Jay's shoulder. "Hey, do you want to get out of here?"
"Sure," Jay said. Carlos tugged him across the gym. Aziz noticed and winked. Jay ignored him.
There was a teacher keeping watch in front of the doors, but he was on his phone, tapping away. Jay and Carlos walked right past.
In the hallway, Carlos paused. "I... don't actually know where we are."
"Where are we going?" Jay asked. He glanced up and down the hall. No one else was there.
"The cafeteria," Carlos said. "Kitchen. Whatever."
Jay took the lead. He guided Carlos down the main hall to the other end of the school and entered the kitchen through a back door. Out of habit, he headed right for the ice cream freezer.
Carlos immediately snatched up all the ice creams he could hold. Jay raided the fridge unit for milk cartons. Carlos explained what he'd had in mind, and Jay led the way to a second-floor janitor's closet. At the back, a ladder led up to a panel in the ceiling. At the top, Jay stepped out onto the roof.
Carlos dropped his ice cream and sat down at the edge, his legs dangling off the building. Far below, the lights from the gym swirled over the parking lot's pavement.
Jay sat down, handing Carlos a carton of chocolate milk and unwrapping an ice cream sandwich. Carlos tipped his head back and closed his eyes.
"This is a much better date than prom," he said. "No offense."
Jay laughed. "Are you kidding? If I'd known that, I'd never have put this thing on." He gestured to his suit.
Carlos shook his head. "I'm glad you did. It looks good on you."
Jay knew he was blushing. He didn't care.
"You don't look so bad, either."
Carlos elbowed Jay in the ribs. They were both laughing. "Thanks, I think."
"Seriously, though," Jay said. "This would have been a good first date. I should've thought of it."
"It kind of is our first date," Carlos said. "We ditched prom to eat ice cream on the roof. That's not bad."
"No," Jay agreed. "It's not."
They ate their ice cream in silence for a moment. Carlos drained half of his chocolate milk and piled up the empty wrappers.
"Hey, Carlos?" Jay asked.
"Yeah?" Carlos set the last wooden stick on top of the pile and glanced up at Jay.
"So… just asking…" Jay trailed off. He didn't have a ton of experience with relationships, outside of Audrey, and that had imploded magnificently. "What is this? Like, convenient prom dates, or…"
"Did you want it to just be convenient prom dates?" Carlos kicked his feet against the side of the school building, frowning down at the parking lot.
"No," Jay admitted, and Carlos smiled.
"Me neither. I really like you, Jay."
"Okay," Jay said. "So we'll see how it goes."
Carlos reached across the roof and took Jay's hand.
"Sounds good to me."
o-o-o-o-o
Three Months Later
Jay wove his way through the party, Evie clinging to the sleeve of his jacket. The backyard was packed with people, celebrating the summer, fitting in a last few moments of freedom before the senior year grind.
"What time is it?" Evie asked. She had a red cup of beer in her other hand, but she wasn't drinking it.
"Almost ten." Jay took the cup from Evie and set it down on a nearby table. At the far edge of the lawn, someone had built a temporary stage, and Jay and Evie fought their way towards it.
Ben ducked out from behind the old sheet that hid the people on stage from view. "What's up, everyone?"
Cheers split the air as the crowd started to drift toward the stage.
"Alright, let's give it up for—it's time—come on, guys—" Ben threw up his hands in exasperation. No one had stopped cheering, and the noise was deafening.
An unearthly screech echoed from behind the sheet. Everyone gasped and grabbed at their ears.
"Okay," Ben said. "Um, The Descendants, everyone!"
He hopped off the stage, and someone flicked the sheet away.
Mal and Jordan stood at the front, microphones in hand. They both wore leather jackets over leggings and combat boots, Mal's outfit with purple accents, and Jordan's with gold. Behind them, Aziz twirled his drumsticks around his fingers. He and Mal had spray-painted The Descendants across the front of his drum kit. On either side of him, Diego and Carlos held their guitars, their hair freshly bleached and dyed white.
"Oh. My. God," Evie said. "Are you seeing this?"
"I see it," Jay said. "They finally settled on a name. I wasn't sure this one would stick."
The band began to play.
o-o-o-o-o
Jay and Evie caught up with the rest of their friends behind the temporary stage. Evie went over to Mal and threw her arms around her girlfriend.
"You were amazing!"
"Thanks, E," Mal said. She tilted her head up, and Evie kissed her.
Jordan was leaning into Diego's side, and she smiled when she saw Jay. "Hey. What did you think?"
"You guys were all great," Jay said. He slid past Mal and Evie, who hadn't let go of each other, and stopped behind Carlos. "I told you so, by the way."
"I know," Carlos said. "You were right. Joining the band wasn't a bad idea."
Jay laughed and kissed Carlos. It was fantastic, right up until they were interrupted.
"Okay, lovebirds," someone called. "Wrap it up."
Jay pulled away, taking hold of Carlos's hand. "Not fair. Mal and Evie got a whole minute."
"Don't you have better things to do?" Aziz asked. "Like help your brother pack up his very heavy drum kit, since he's the one driving you home?"
"I could do that," Jay said. "Or I could help my boyfriend take these guitars down to the van."
"Here." Diego thrust his guitar into Jay's chest. "There's a bag for it in the trunk."
"Thanks." Jay followed Carlos away from the crowds, across Ben's front lawn, and down to the car. They loaded the guitars into the trunk, and then they climbed into the backseat of the van, and Carlos leaned his head against Jay's shoulder, and Jay threw his legs across Carlos's lap. They rolled down the windows and listened to the distant sounds of the party, continuing behind Ben's family's mansion.
"I like this," Carlos said. His voice was blurred with exhaustion, and before Jay could say anything, Carlos's eyes fluttered shut. He was asleep.
Jay ran his fingers through Carlos's mess of white curls.
"I like this, too."