Hi Guys, and happy Halloween. I got quite lucky with the uploading of this story, as I think this chapter perfectly fits in with a holiday celebrating monsters, demons and villains. Saying that, I hope you enjoy...

Monday-1:30pm- Week 3-Ben's POV:
It had been close to a week since the whole incident had happened. Since then, the VK's have been very distance but only with me. They still hung around with Doug, Jane and Audrey, but when I approached the table, it would become very awkward, normally resulting in either me or them leaving. Carlos had been released from hospital, and it sounded like his recovery was coming along well, but I still hadn't spoken to him. He was constantly texting me after the incident, but over the past few days, the texts seem to have died down. News of the love spell rampaged around Auradon. A nurse overheard the conversation between Carlos and me, and decided to blab to a local news station. By this point, everyone knew that I was spelled, and most were claiming that the Villain kids should be sent back to the Isle for what they had done.

Anyway, it was approaching lunch time at the school, and everyone was following the usual routine. I had walked in with Lonnie, Doug and Jane, as we all made our way over to the line, grabbing the different items of food that we wanted. We sat down, and small talk began, each telling each other about how our lessons went. The nice atmosphere lasted for about 10 minutes, before the fog of awkwardness engulfed the table. Mal, Evie and Jay decided to join us for lunch today, and I took that as my cue to leave. "I'll see you guys later ok?" I said towards Lonnie, Doug and Jane, before getting up from the table.

Before I could walk away I heard Mal say "Ben, wait", and I slowly turned to face her, with a rather stern look on my face. "We're sorry ok? We were selfish, and stupid, and we didn't stop to consider what affect our plan would have on the other's involved. We were too self-obsessed and arrogant to consider what we were actually doing." She finished, and Evie was next to speak up.

"It was wrong of us to toy with your emotion, and we never thought past our own selves. It's just, when we were on the Isle, we had to fight to survive, each day not knowing what would happen. I suppose we were so hell bent on impressing our parents that we didn't stop to think about the life we had here. The life you provided us with" she finished, and I sat back down at the table.

"It was big of you to admit that you were wrong, and I'm sorry I snapped at you when I did…" but before I could finish, Evie interrupted again.

"Ben, you have nothing to apologise for. You had every right to shout at us, after what we did to you. You have provided us with everything since we have been here, and we took advantage of your generosity. We know that we can't change what's been done, so all we can do is try to offer amends. Just know that we won't cause any more trouble in the future." She finished, and I just smiled at her.

"I forgive you. I may not know what it's like on the Isle, but Carlos provided me with some details, and I know it must have been difficult for you." I replied, before asking a rather awkward question, "H-How is Carlos anyway?"

Jay was the first one to respond. "He's getting better. He's pretty much recovered from the pneumonia now, but he's…upset. I know it isn't much good coming from us, but he did love you Ben, well, that's the happiest I've ever seen him. And to be honest, Carlos always had reservations about the plan, but it was the rest of us that were too scared to give up. You should go see him Ben, and try to clear the air" Jay finished, and I nodded.

"Ok, I've got a free next, so I'll go then" I replied, and Evie quickly piped up. "I'll come with you, as I've got a free as well" she said, and it provided me with a little bit of confidence.

1:45pm-Carlos POV:
I was laid in bed watching some TV, when I heard a knock at the door. Out of instinct, I shouted "Come in" and it was probably the biggest mistake of my life. I turned my head towards the door, only to see Chad enter. "What do you want?" I snapped, but he didn't respond, he just slowly approached me.

Out of fear, I tried to crawl as far away as possible, but with me being on the bed if didn't help. He grabbed one of my legs, and yanked me off the bed, my head slamming onto the floor as he did so, causing me to groan in pain. I struggled, trying to free my leg from his grasp, and to some scale, I was successful.

He let go of my leg, before grabbing me by my collar, and slamming me against the wall, his arm pressing against my neck. "Chad, why?" I managed to mutter, and he only laugh.

"Why? Why? Because I can De Vil. Because you're a pathetic little fag that thinks he deserved everything. Everyone knows about your little love potion. Just think how the public will see me if I bring them the person responsible." He sneered, before punching me straight in the gut, causing me to groan once again in pain.

He then threw me against the opposite wall, creating a rather large thud sound. I dropped to the floor, unable to move, my whole body shearing in pain. I saw him pull a knife out from his pocket, and I knew this was not going to end well. Whilst hunched over on the floor he kicked me twice. One in the gut, and then once in the head, causing my vision to become very blurry, and I could feel a warm liquid running down from my nose.

He picked me up once again, and started to glide the knife across my body, in a rather graceful motion, causing three large slashes, one running across my pecs, and two across my stomach. I screamed as he did so, causing his smirk to grow. "Chad, please" I begged, as he raised the knife up to my throat.

"This is the end De Vil" he muttered.

Ben's POV:
I walked down the corridor, contemplating what I was going to say, when I could hear someone screaming in pain. I broke into a sprint heading straight for Carlos', and essentially kicked the door in. And I did not expect to see the sight before me. I could see Chad pinning Carlos to the wall, with a knife against his throat. Carlos looked seriously injured, with three knife wounds trailing across his body, and bruises forming elsewhere.

At this point, I lost all control, sprinting over to Chad, grabbing him by the scuff of his collar, and throwing him to the floor. I let out a might roar, before kicking the knife out of his hand, and stamping onto his wrist. I grabbed him by the collar once again, dragging him to the door. I threw him into the corridor, out of Carlos' view, before laying into him.

I kicked him in his side, causing him to wince in pain, before moving on, and repeatedly kicking him in the leg. I then straddled him, using my legs to pin his arms to the ground. I laid into the boy beneath me, punch after punch, each time my hand connecting with a new part of his face. Some bystanders had to literally drag me off of the boy, and this probably saved his life. I could feel the blood running between my knuckles, a sensation I quickly became disgusted by, as my self-control took over. "Carlos!" I said, running back into the room, only to see my crush unconscious in Evie's arms.

"He's not breathing" she said, panic in complete control of her voice. I pulled the boy into my arms, before running out of the room, not paying attention to the husk of Chad's body outside the door. Evie was following behind, and I could hear she was sobbing into her hands. Everyone stopped, staring at the scene unfolding in front of them. The boy currently in my arms, blood intertwined with his hair, and more blood, dripping from his chest. Blood was also dripping from my fingers, but this was not from the victim I carried. No one dared stand in my way, out of fear for their own lives.

I reached the infirmary, Nurse Potts waiting once again, but she did not expect what she saw. She gasped at the sight before her, helping me lift Carlos onto the bed. "Ben, you need to leave" she said, already beginning to cut into Carlos' clothes allowing her complete access to his whole body. I heard other person enter the room behind, but I was too pre-occupied to care who it was.

"No, I will not leave him. Not this time!" I said, holding his hand in my own, but instead of his usual, warm touch, it was cold, which caused me to break down further. I felt some arms grab me from behind, trying to pull me away, but I fought, resisted as hard as I could, constantly refusing to leave him. Eventually I was overpowered, and as I was dragged out of the room, I saw Fairy Godmother had joined Nurse Potts, in her attempt to save the love of my life. I got the final look of my white haired crush, before the doors closed in front of me.

I looked around, seeing I was surrounded by everyone, each with a confused and sad look on their face. Jay helped me into a seat in the waiting room, and I fell into a catatonic state, reliving the moment in my mind. Evie showed everyone what had happened through her magic mirror, and what followed as a series of gasps and cries, as people broke down over the image.

Everyone sat down, Evie crying into Doug's shoulder, Lonnie crying into Jay's, Audrey and Mal had surprising joined forced, each stating how they were going punish Chad for what he had done. Jane had sat next to me, trying to reassure me that everything would be ok. "If anyone can save Carlos, it'll be my mother" her words rang through my mind. We could hear spell after spell being cast from beyond the door, each followed by a series of updates, none of which I could comprehend, but I could hear the worry in their voice, and I knew what that meant.

10 minutes passed, signalled by the arrival of my mum and dad. Belle ran straight over to me, pulling me into a deep hug, seeing how my clothes were stained with blood, whilst Beast asked for an explanation. Evie showed then what had happened through her mirror, including my brutal beating of Chad, which caused both of them to gasp. "Surely Ben isn't in trouble? I mean, he was protecting Carlos. Chad is the one in the wrong here" I heard Mal speak up, and everyone mumbled in agreement. Belle walked back over to me, placing her hand onto my shoulders, whilst Beast was pacing up and down, considering what had occurred.

"I would have carried on. Chad was lucky people stopped me" my words stunning the whole room. I heard Belle whimper, and felt a few tears drop into my shoulder, whilst Beast approached me. "It's okay, son" he said, kneeling in front of me, and looking into my eyes.

Another hour passed, with still no word on Carlos' condition, and I started to panic. "We should have heard something by now." I said, standing up from my seat, and walking towards the door. Beast was quick to grab my wrist, pulling me back towards him. "I'll check" he said, before disappearing into the doors. He returned moments later, and the room got cold as soon as he entered. We all knew this wasn't going to be good. He walked straight over to Belle, muttering and whispering into her ear, and the change in facial expression was enough for me to know what was happening, it was enough for everyone.

A chorus of people breaking down echoed through the room, this time Mal and Audrey joining in. "What?" I mumbled, both wanting and not wanting to hear the news. "They've been casting spell after spell, and have managed to recover a weak pulse" he began, and we all knew this wasn't the end of what he was saying. "But he is still heavily injured, and isn't responding physically" he finished, causing everyone to break down even further.

"I want to see him" I said, standing from my chair. "I need to see him." But I was quickly stopped by Beast one again.

"Son, with more people in the room, it's more difficult for them to work. You know that they will do what they can to save him" he said, but Mal was quick to respond.

"But will they? Do everything to save a villain?" she said, her voice echoing around the room. I broke down once again, as did Evie and Audrey, snuggling into Doug and Mal respectively. Jane broke down into my shoulder, and whilst I was breaking down into Beast's.

Hours after hours passed, with everyone disappearing slowly. Belle and Beast had gone to inform Cinderella and Prince Charming of what had happened, while Audrey and Lonnie had gone to grab some food for us all. Jane and Doug stayed with us, providing emotional support for all of us. Evie and I had been crying since the start, but it was only recently that Mal and Jay had broken down as well, and the waiting certainly wasn't helping. The spells from behind the door had slowly come to a stop, and no one could tell what was happening in the room anymore. The room had remained silent since Beast's last statement, only filled with the sounds of sobs.

I decided to ask a rather difficult question. "How did you first meet Carlos?" I asked turning my attention to Evie, who was shocked by the sudden sound in the room.

"I suppose it was the first day of school, this year" she said, looking back into my eyes. "I had been castle schools since then, and he was my first friend. He was the first person to be nice to me, and we quickly became friends. When Mal threw a party at Hell Hall, he rescued me from a closet filled with fur traps" she said, and I muttered under my breath "You mean his bedroom", causing her to do nothing but nod.

"It's funny, I thought he was a dog at first" she said, slightly chuckling through her tears, and I just looked up at her, intrigued by what she meant. "Our houses were next door, and what Cruella would shout, just gave me that impression," she replied, tears still streaming down her face. I turned to Mal next.

"How did you meet him?" I asked, causing her to think about it. "My mother and Cruella had always been…acquaintances" she began, considering the word 'acquaintances'. "I suppose it must have been one on of their first visits. I always remember Carlos being there, he was always in my classes, and I saw him running around the Isle. I suppose the first time we actually became friends was when we went to the Forbidden Fortress together. As the journey progressed, we all kinda got close. It happens when you nearly die together" She finished, tears also streaming down her face.

"Did this journey require you to cross a bridge?" I asked, breaking down at the memory of me and Carlos on our first date.

Jay nodded, "Yeah, how did you know?" he asked, piquing Evie's and Mal's interest as well.

"It was something he hold me on the first date. We…we had to cross an old bridge, and Carlos was scared to do so. I held his hand the entire time" I replied, breaking down at the last sentence, causing everyone to chorus an "aww", whilst I broke down into Jane's shoulder once again. I felt Evie rubbing my back, whilst Mal was the first to speak up.

"Carlos was always the brains of the group. He was the most caring, intelligent, sensitive boy I knew. I suppose he's family. We all are" she said, and I even saw Jay have a few stray tears running down his face.

The atmosphere in the room changed as soon as we heard the door squeak once. We all looked up to see Fairy Godmother exiting the room. She didn't say anything at first, but just shook her head, causing me to break down even more. "We've done our best to try and heal all of the visible injuries on his body. We've bandaged up his chest, and stop the bleeding. But it's the none visible ones were are worried about. We are moving him to Auradon Bay Hospital in the morning" she said, with a tone of worry in her voice.

"C-can I see him?" I asked, rising from my seat, but she shook her head.

"He still needs medical attention. But, I promise you can see him tomorrow, when the doctors have reviewed the situation. I suggest you all return to your rooms, and try to get some rest. It's been a long day for all of us" she said, placing her and on my shoulder. Everyone in the room nodded, but once again I refused.

"No, I'm going to stay here. I can't, I won't leave his side" I said, sitting back down on my chair.

"Ben you're only punishing yourself if you stay. I promise that you will be the first person I contact if anything happens. But for now, try to get some sleep" she said, in a rather calm but firm tone. "O-ok" I stuttered, getting up from my seat. Evie pulled me into a huddle, as we left the waiting room, the both of us crying as we did. Doug texted Audrey and Lonnie telling them to go back to their dorms, whilst Jay helped Mal down the corridor, similar to what Evie was doing to me. From the sounds of it, the three VK's were going to bunk together tonight, in the girls room, and extended the offer to me, which I quickly accepted. I was so distraught to be alone tonight, and wanted someone by my side.

We said goodbye to Doug and Jane, before heading back to the girl's dorm. They had offered me one of their beds, but I refused stating I would be alright on the floor. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't going to get a lot of sleep anyway, my mind racing, still reviewing the day's events. "He's going to pay. He's going to pay severely" I muttered, from the floor, tossing and turning as I did so. "He's going to rot in the dungeons. Starving for days on end" I continued, planning all the things that Chad would suffer for what he has done.

"You could always throw him on the Isle" I heard Mal suggest from her bed. Clearly she was struggling to sleep as well. "Brand him as a villain," she said, turning to face me. "I mean, we all saw the look on his face when he was doing it. It was a look of pure evil" she finished, causing me to flinch. "Now, try to get some sleep, and consider it in the morning" she said, rolling back over, facing the ceiling.

"Thanks Mal" was my only response, before rolling over myself, and facing the ceiling, the possibilities running through my mind.

Um, so that was Chapter 8 for you. Like I said, I think it fits perfectly with the holiday, Chad acting like the biggest monster there is. So, Carlos is in a bit of a bad state, but Ben made sure to get his own back on Chad.

Let me know how bad you think Carlos' condition is, and any predictions for this story!

Since Halloween is all about the night time, I thought I'd upload this later in the day. Let me know if you like this, or if you prefer me to upload in the morning.

Thank you once again to Sexly Sango for leaving a review on the story, and I hope I kept the DRAMA brewing.

I'll see you guys on Thursday for Chapter 10 of Now the Commoner. It's funny, while one story is facing Benlos drama, the other is recovering from it ;)

TTFN :D