Chapter 1 – Meet 'Cute'

-:-:-

Another day, another closet.

Honestly, Chad tried to avoid this kind of stuff, but it seemed that his second year at Auradon Prep was determined to be as horrible as his first. Chad wasn't sure what he had done that offended the young royals that attended Auradon Prep so very much aside from being shy, but that wasn't his fault. He'd been homeschooled his entire life, restricted to the walls of his castle after his mother's death for his own safety, and while he had been secure, he hadn't really been allowed to talk to many people, let alone people his own age. Even his dad didn't seem to want much to do with him, Chad's image too similar to his late mother's, so Chad was relegated to strict tutors and his grandfather with a lot of alone time in between, which didn't really help him build any kind of social grace.

He understood the noble kids likely thought he was some kind of scholarship student with his cheaply made clothes and his reserved disposition, but there wasn't much Chad could do about that. He'd never seen the outside world as Chadwick James, only his counterpart – Auguste de Lancret – which had been created for his own safety. He didn't attend Auradon Prep as a prince, but as the son of a minor Sardinian government official, and with that came certain limitations. His grandfather had given him a necklace that magically illusioned him into someone who appeared less 'noteworthy', which really meant he was kind of plain, which the other kids seemed to take offense at. It was for his protection, though, and to assure Chad that anyone who was attracted to him would do so for who he was rather than his looks, which was great, except he couldn't get any of the other students to talk to him after Prince Fritz had made it his one goal to make Chad's life miserable.

Hence the closet, because once the prince of the Southern Isles had realized Chad didn't like dark, confined spaces, he made a habit of shoving Chad into them at every available opportunity.

Which was what led Chad to now, his logic slowly being replaced by terror as he tried and failed to valiantly hold onto some kind of composure. It wasn't his fault that one of his tutors' favorite punishments had been to lock him up, but it was his fault that he failed enough to warrant it, which was what he must have done now, he must have failed and the walls were closing in on him. He was going to stay trapped in this closet forever and he didn't even have his phone on him to act as a light because Fritz always broke his so he had to leave it in his room and-

"P-Please," Chad whispered to himself as he beat against the door of the dark closet. "Please, please, please, please-"

He didn't know why he tried. It was the same every time. He would beat on the door and call for help and no one would come because no one ever came to this part of the building, until eventually the janitor would make his rounds sometime in the evening and he would lead the pathetic sight of Chad to Fairy Godmother's office the same way he always did.

It was always the same. It never changed and yet here Chad was, beating on the door like that would make any difference.

"Please," Chad gasped, useless tears pouring down his cheeks because he hadn't run out of those yet. Sometimes Fritz liked to linger just to record Chad's whining, and despite knowing this Chad still did it, because he was broken inside. "Please, please-"

A jolt, and then the door was swinging open, something Chad almost missed because he hadn't been expecting it so soon, no one had said anything. The sudden brightness stung his eyes for all of a moment before they finally adjusted, revealing…

Some Agraben kid clutching what Chad guessed was a set of lockpicks.

For a moment, the guy stared up at him with a surprised expression, like he hadn't expected to see Chad either. "You… are not Carlos," he said eventually, rising to his feet in a fluid motion before pocketing his tools.

"Um- no," Chad said, taking a tentative step out of the closet and feeling somewhat relieved that the guy hadn't shoved him back in. "I'm Gus."

"Gus?" the guy quirked a brow at him. "How'd you get stuck in a closet? Trying to help clean up some mess like the goody-goody you are and accidentally got trapped?"

That seemed like a generous assumption, one Chad struggled to process, though he did come to one conclusion. The guy had to be new if he didn't know about Chad's bullying. Most of the meaner noble kids were aware and thought it was hilarious.

"Fritz locked me in," Chad sniffed, taking another step out when he was feeling brave enough, and then another, clutching the straps of his worn backpack closer to him. "Thanks for getting me out, and um- do you need help finding your friend?"

The guy blinked at him. "What?"

"Carlos?" Chad prompted. "Did he get locked in a closet too?"

The other teen didn't seem to know what to do with Chad. "I didn't think so," he said finally. "But I didn't think any Auradon kids would freak out at being locked in a closet like he would."

"I'm from Sardinia," Chad offered, wiping at his cheeks. He really was a baby.

"What?" the guy was confused again.

"Sardinia," Chad repeated. "Not Central Auradon. It's an honest mistake though, our kingdoms are right next to each other."

"I don't…" the guy began, his brows furrowed in confusion. "You're a fucking weirdo."

Chad didn't flinch because Chad was used to this. "Sorry."

"Don't-" the guy let out a huff, running a frustrated hand through his long hair. "Don't fucking apologize for that. Just- why the fuck were you crying anyway?"

"I'm claustrophobic," Chad said, shifting unsteadily. "And the dark's not great, so…"

An interested look suddenly pinned to him. "You got trauma or something?"

"What?" It was Chad's turn to be confused.

"Trauma," the guy repeated. "That's what all our stupid counselors keep wanting to talk about. How our trauma can affect our behavior or whatever."

"I don't- I don't think so," Chad offered honestly. "Maybe? I make a lot of mistakes so my grandpa had to lock me up a lot when I was little."

And also now, but the guy didn't need to know that. This was the longest conversation Chad had been a participant of in a long time.

"Shit, man," the guy said, his brows furrowed. "I didn't think they did that in Auradon."

"Sardinia," Chad reminded him. "I'm from Sardinia."

"Whatever," the guy said, rolling his eyes. "Try not to get locked in any more closets."

"Oh, okay," Chad said, but the guy was already walking away, already done with the conversation, and Chad-

Well, he should probably get going too. At least this time he hadn't missed lunch. That was something.

It was a hollow victory, but he'd take it.

-:-:-

Another Saturday, another detention.

It was a familiar weekend routine. Chad would go to detention, try to sneak some lunch, and then maybe run some errands off campus and take advantage of Fritz's busy schedule (the only times he was super occupied were the weekends, and then Chad could be free – free and alone, which wasn't the best but obviously wasn't the worst).

Detention at Auradon Prep was relegated usually to just himself and the poor teacher stuck with it for the morning, who usually regarded him with some amount of pity before letting him catch up on all the homework he missed while being locked in various closets. You would think at some point Chad would learn, but he never really did.

This morning, however, he seemed to have company, and it was a surprise to realize that said company was actually the same teen that had rescued him from his closet in the first place.

The other teen seemed just as shocked to see Chad, quirking a brow at him while the blond (well, brunette with his enchanted necklace, not that anyone would know with the knit caps he tended to favor) walked over and tentatively took the seat next to him.

"Are you here for fun or something?" the guy asked. "How the hell would you have gotten detention?"

"Skipping class," Chad explained with a shrug. "Same as always."

"Skipping class… because someone locked you in a closet," the guy deduced. "They punished you for that?"

Chad shrugged again. "They have to when they can't prove it."

"Right, right," the guy drawled. "You totally locked yourself in that closet and got half out of your mind with fear on purpose. Obviously." He let out an annoyed scoff. "Fucking Auradon."

"Do you have something against Auradon?" Chad asked, because in retrospect, the guy seemed to say the kingdom's name bitterly quite a lot.

For a moment the guy didn't say anything, aiming a suspicious glare at Chad and then, upon realizing that Chad wasn't going to elaborate, he looked up towards the ceiling with an exasperated look. "Fucking hell," he muttered. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"Um- no?" Chad offered. "You never introduced yourself."

The guy gave him another suspicious look, then shrugged. "I'm Jay."

"Oh." It was nice to finally have a name. And it was a good one, in Chad's opinion. Jay. It seemed to match his roguish looks and devil-may-care personality. Chad wished his fake name suited him. Even if Gus was technically his grandfather's name, it never really sat well on him. "It's nice to properly meet you, Jay."

"From you, I actually believe that," Jay drawled. "Seeing as the alternative is a dude that shoves you into closets."

"That's… accurate," Chad surmised.

Before Jay could respond, the teacher spoke up, his gaze glued to a tablet in his hands. "Detention starts now. Get your classwork out, please."

Chad moved to do as he said, eager to catch up on all the things he'd missed. Once he'd left Sardinia Castle he found he actually was quite good at schoolwork, which seemed to be one of his few redeeming qualities. Fritz called him a know-it-all and suck-up when Chad was just being a good student, eager to have teachers who praised him instead of hitting him with rulers, and maybe Chad had been a little too eager in the beginning to soak up that positive attention, but it was too late to correct that mistake now. At this point, he had to commit to what he was good at and manage the menace that was Fritz as best he could.

It took him a few moments to realize that Jay hadn't pulled out any of his own schoolwork, seeming content to stare out the window with a bored look of longing.

Chad cleared his throat. "Hey, um- do you um- need help with your homework?" When Jay cocked a wry brow at him, Chad felt his cheeks flood with an embarrassed warmth. "I mean- I'm a tutor, so I could- if you needed help. Like, as a thank you."

Jay considered this with pursed lips before finally giving in with a shrug. "Whatever," he muttered. "But I'm hopeless, so don't get sad or whatever if you can't help."

The teacher, seeming to decide that they were doing something productive, said nothing, letting Chad help Jay through the first of his homework and-

Yeah, he had not been joking. Jay was not great at schoolwork, which made Chad wonder who he was related to. He obviously wasn't a scholarship student like Chad (supposedly), and he didn't seem to care all that much about his scholastic performance, which meant that he wasn't worried about getting expelled from the school. He had no enthusiasm, but Chad had worked with worse.

Literally. He'd had to tutor Fritz once upon a time, but after a few sessions with Fairy Godmother rife with his tears, she'd assigned the other prince to a different tutor.

Just- Chad could only take so much, he knew that, it was something his grandfather frequently despaired over.

Helping Jay wasn't that bad, though. And Chad pushed through it, slowly but surely determining methods that helped Jay understand the basic concepts of his math homework.

"Wow," Jay said when they finished up his worksheet. "You're not actually terrible at this."

"Thank you," Chad said, smiling sort of hopelessly. He'd been used for his brain before, but Jay didn't seem like the other princesses that wanted Chad to do their homework for them. Jay was doing the work himself, but he looked to Chad for guidance, and seemed reluctant to give any kind of compliment, even when he ultimately gave in to the urge.

So obviously he was some kind of rebel noble, but like, a decent one, and Chad liked that a lot. Or maybe he was just biased because this had been his longest positive relationship at Auradon Prep in all the time he'd spent there.

"Want to move onto science next?" Chad asked. "Or we could review your English homework."

He shivered as he mulled over the possibilities, his thin blazer not nearly enough to combat the school's air conditioning. He tried to layer to combat it, but he only had so many clothes – most of which ended up getting torn or broken by Fritz, and he had to stretch them out between washings to make them last. The only place he could do laundry where he knew it would be safe was the Sardinian Summer Home his family kept in Auradon City to attend council sessions, but Chad was only allowed access to that about twice a month so as to not blow his cover.

It meant he was cold more often than not, but it was fine. There were worse things to be in life.

"What do you think?" Chad asked, chewing at his bottom lip.

"I think your coat's doing a shitty job," Jay drawled. "You've been shivering for the past hour."

Chad felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment once more. "Scholarship student," he explained. "I don't exactly have excess money to um-"

"Get a decent coat?" Jay prompted. "Here."

Chad blinked as a letterman jacket was draped around his shoulders, the high-quality material immediately cutting off the strong chill of the air conditioner. Chad stared at it with wide eyes, taking in the large A on the left breast, staring at the arm and recognizing the symbol for Tourney there.

Jay was a Tourney player, a jock.

"Ben just delivered them to us," Jay drawled, leaning back in his seat with a bored look. "I think he wanted us to feel included or whatever, but they look stupid as hell, so…" he trailed off with a shrug. "Keep it."

"Keep- really?" Chad asked even though he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, not when he'd already been given so much that day.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Yes, keep it. You deserve a coat that actually keeps you warm." He cocked his head to the side in thought. "I guess you could consider it as payment for your help."

"But…" Chad began, holding the jacket closer to him. "Helping you was payback for you getting me out of the closet."

"It was, huh?" Jay hummed. "Guess that means you owe me again." He cocked a grin at Chad. "I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other in the future."

And that was- oh, Chad finally got it, maybe, or maybe this was just his hope flaring up in a terribly desperate way, because Jay actually wanted to see him again but couldn't be obvious about it because Chad was Gus, and therefore the lowest of the low.

"Yeah," Chad said, mustering his own tentative smile. "I guess we will."

It was, he marveled, almost like having a friend. At least, he thought this was what having a friend might be like.

Chad held onto that, and Jay's coat when they were finally released from detention, Jay's number written in his notebook because the other teen wanted to arrange another tutoring session and Chad was- maybe he wasn't over the moon, but he was certainly close.

He could only hope that this wasn't another elaborate prank by Fritz because he'd already done that once before and it had almost crushed Chad.

Still, second time was the charm.

He hoped.

-:-:-

In a small way, Chad had known he was going to see Jay again. They'd arranged to meet up in his room after Tourney practice (for Jay) and tutoring sessions (for Chad) on Monday.

There was just the slightest chance that Chad ran into Jay a bit sooner than that courtesy of Fritz, of course, because the Southern Isles prince had finally tracked down where Chad hid his clothes during gym class and stolen them while Chad was in the shower, which was a thing he would have avoided altogether because that left him even more vulnerable, but he had to be clean, it was a rule, so he'd taken a shower, and now he was standing outside it dressed in nothing but a towel and the enchanted necklace that made his muscular body look like that of an appropriate bookworm.

Shit. Fritz would probably be waiting outside to take pictures or something. Chad was surprised he hadn't left stupid clothes in the place of his usual ones like he sometimes did – panties to replace his boxer briefs that Chad would be forced to put in rotation until he could buy new underwear and-

A large portion of his tutoring income seemed to go to new clothes because his grandfather only allotted a certain amount of funds and he didn't humor Chad's requests for more no matter how vital they were. He said such dilemmas were supposed to help Chad develop better problem-solving skills.

By this point, Chad should be the champion of such things, and yet standing there, feeling somewhat hopeless and terrified in next to nothing, he could only marvel that he had so much further to go.

He had to get out of there before the Tourney guys showed up, because when they did there would be hell to pay. Chad had made that mistake once, thinking they could help, but Fritz was on the Tourney team and really, that just meant he could recruit more help to drag Chad back towards the laundry room or something and really torment him there, so he needed to get out of here. Maybe he could check the lost and found? Yes, it was gross, and Chad would have to shower again, have to purchase an outfit to replace the one he'd lost, but he could- it would be fine, it was doable-

"Hey," a voice said, and Chad turned in time to see Jay stroll into the locker room, one brow quirked in interest. "What are you doing?"

"Panicking," Chad replied honestly. "Fritz stole my clothes again."

"Again?" Jay echoed, coming over to the cubby hole that Chad had been using. "You mean he's done this before?"

"Sure," Chad said, trying to build up the courage to walk over to the lost and found bin full of musty clothes. Knowing Fritz, he would have left only the worst stuff for Chad. "He's probably waiting outside."

"Where the cameras can't see him," Jay deduced. "Thus confirming his cycle of torment safely continues."

"Pretty much," Chad said, shifting nervously. "I um- I- I um-"

"Fucking hell, man," Jay griped, digging through his bag. "Here," he said, shoving a bundle of Auradon blue and yellow clothes into Chad's hands. "Ben got us a bunch of extra Auradon Prep workout shit. Just wear that back to your room while I distract Fritz."

"You'd- you'd do that?" Chad asked, his gaze skittering towards the entrance of the locker room before settling on the clothes. He hesitated for a moment, then gave into his panic and dropped his towel, sliding into the outfit then and there. "Thanks, Jay. I owe you some more. We can- I'll tutor you for the week-"

"Holy shit," Jay said, his cheeks flushing dark before he abruptly turned around, staring at the ceiling. "Don't do that, man, it's strange enough that all you Auradon guys shower together."

By this point Chad was beginning to realize that Jay lumped everyone into the Auradon category when it came to critiquing the school itself, which in a way sort of made sense, Chad figured, as the school was located in Central Auradon and very much immersed in Auradon culture.

"Sorry," Chad said, quickly sliding into the clothes and flushing at the fact that he had no underwear. He was wearing another guy's sweats without underwear, but they still had the tags on them, meaning Jay had just been carrying them around for lack of anything else to do with them. "I just- I gotta get out before the rest of the Tourney team shows up."

"Why?" Jay asked. "Does Fritz have friends on the team?"

"Got it in one," Chad said, grinning now that he was clothed. Sure, he was missing shoes, but there were worse things than walking around barefoot. "Okay, I'm dressed now."

"Then let's get out of here," Jay said, shoving his bag into a random cubby and locking it with a flick of his fingers. "I'll meet you in your room later, try not to get those clothes stolen too."

"Will do," Chad said, even managing a smile, and despite the fact that Jay rolled his eyes, Chad was pretty sure he was at least somewhat amused, which counted towards friendship, probably.

Chad didn't know, but he hoped. It was all he had in the end.

-:-:-

"Alright," Jay said later when he was climbing in through Chad's window, because apparently he knew where Chad lived and he also didn't like doors and Chad was pretty sure he'd locked that but whatever. "Why does Fritz hate you so much?"

"I'm a suck up," Chad replied, doing his best to stealthily remove Jay's letterman jacket and failing entirely because the guy was staring right at him. Just- it made him feel safe, and it was the first present he'd ever gotten from someone at Auradon Prep – the second being his workout clothes – he was allowed to cherish it a little. "A poor, ugly, know-it-all who has no business attending Auradon Prep – or, I mean, that's what he says."

"Wow," Jay said, locking the window behind him and quirking a brow at Chad's choice of jacket. "So what, his stupidity stopped you from making friends?"

"Essentially," Chad said with a shrug, giving up and deciding to burrow back into the warm comforts of Jay's jacket. "He's vicious in a way princes aren't supposed to be but he's good at covering his tracks, so no one ever catches him on it."

"That's shitty," Jay declared, settling on Chad's bed like he owned it. "Why haven't you tried to stop him?"

"I did," Chad said. "Last year. It… it didn't go well."

That was a wonderful understatement, and since then Chad had learned it was best to go with the flow and minimize the damage of Fritz's fixation with him, even if it was superbly irritating in the long run.

"Well…" Jay said, his brows furrowed in concentration. "Would you like to try again? But like, with help?"

Chad paused, because he'd long since given up on such a thing. "You'd do that?" he asked, fingers curling into the fabric of Jay's jacket, and then when he realized it was too good to be true, when he realized what this could mean, he pushed onwards. "Don't- don't offer if you're just a plant, Jay, please. If he paid you to string me along, to give me hope only to crush it when I try to fight back, I can't- I can't do that again." His eyes flooded with warmth at the mere thought of attempting as much. "I'm okay being his punching bag. I'm okay with that, honestly, I didn't mean to complain, but don't-"

"Hey," Jay interrupted, his gaze serious as he slid onto his feet. "No, Gus – that's not what's going on. I don't talk to Fritz, and I sure as shit wouldn't take any money from him."

"Just- this is too nice," Chad said. "You saved me from the closet and gave me your clothes and distracted Fritz and I'm happy and that's- that's what he did last time, he made me happy, and then he crushed me because I'm so stupid and annoying."

He tried not to cry, honestly he did, but it was hard not to when he thought back on the way Marnie had lured him in, the daughter of a DunBroch clansman sweet and confident and funny and not seeming to care about Chad's fake looks. She played him like a fiddle, drew him in until Fritz's bullying fell off him like water, and then when the time was right, she lured him to a school ball he never would have attended otherwise, and-

It was behind him, but the humiliation – that still hurt. Chad's grandfather had been furious for weeks, muttering how grateful he was that Chad wasn't attending school as the actual prince of Sardinia considering how terrible he'd make his kingdom look.

"Look," Jay said, seeming to project a hint of discomfort. "I don't know what kind of psycho pants deal this asshole has with you but the only shithead I interact with is my dad, and that's because I have to. I'm not going to go out of my way to hunt down Fritz, and anyway, this sure as shit isn't charity."

"Right," Chad said, still feeling uneasy. "You um- want payment?"

That actually made him feel a bit better.

"Yeah," Jay said. "More tutoring. For me and my friend. You do that until our grades get up and we'll take care of this guy, make sure that he's no longer a problem for you."

Chad blinked, trying to consider a world where such a thing could happen, and just… couldn't wrap his head around it.

"I don't think you can manage that," he admitted. "He's really crafty."

For whatever reason, that made Jay scoff. "Yeah," he said with a smirk. "So am I."

Chad could only hope that was true, because if it wasn't, they were all going to have hell to pay of some form or other.

-:-:-

"Alright, dinner time," Jay said when they finished up their respective homework, Jay cutting through his own at a much faster rate now that Chad had given him some basic tools to help him better process it. "Does Fritz harass you then too?"

"Yeah," Chad said. "That's why I always have to vary when I go. I used to go really early – run in and get something real fast that I could eat in my room – but he figured that out and started waiting for me outside. And then I tried to go late, but there was the same problem, so I just- I have to mix it up, is all."

"Okay, too much of your life is dictated by this dumb asshole," Jay said. "Since you're going to be working with us, I suppose you can sit with us for dinner."

That was- Chad had never sat with other students at mealtime. At least, not past his first few days at Auradon Prep, when he'd made a tentative friendship with the son of Dopey and Fairy Godmother's daughter before Fritz had taken it all away, making Chad's friendship the equivalent of a plague.

It was an amazing gift, and Chad didn't want Jay to think he didn't appreciate it, but there was also a low thread of anxiety building in his stomach, because – "That's not going to stop him," Chad said. "He'll just pay someone to trip and pour food on me or someone else to trip me so I spill food everywhere or he and his friends will swarm your table so he can make fun of me the whole time-"

"First off, none of those things are going to happen," Jay said, brows furrowing deeper with each passing example. "Because Fritz might fuck with you, but no one fucks with us."

"Look," Chad sighed. "I get that you're new here-"

"No one, Gus," Jay repeated, narrowing his eyes with a look of victory. "No one. Now let's go have a nice dinner."

For Jay's sake, Chad certainly hoped that was the case. He didn't want his newest friendship to abruptly end because Jay was subjected to a taste of Fritz's obsession.

-:-:-

Endnotes:

I also can't remember what inspired this story. I remembered it felt very important to write a Chad/Jay fic and why not throw in some identity porn or something – I dunno. This is what I ended up with.

This story will consist of six chapters of story content. I update once a week, generally on Sundays, but because things have been so crazy lately, I decided to make an effort to update twice a week. So there will be one update on Sunday and one update on Wednesday/Thursday for now :D

Please let me know if I missed anything in the tags. I prefer to ere on the side of caution with these things, but when you've been staring at something for so long, it can be easy for things to slip through the cracks. I'm also pretty sure I'm missing some sort of body confidence tags for this one, but I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, so if anyone has any idea, please comment! :)

Just a heads up – I update the story tags as I go in order to avoid spoilers. So characters, pairings, content warnings – all will be updated in correlation to the appropriate chapter as they are posted. Also, if you see a tag you're worried about, check the forenotes – the more hard-hitting stuff will have more thorough warnings listed there.

Story notes:

Chad's fake name comes from the Cinderella live action movie 'Ever After', with Auguste being Ella's father and 'de Lancret' being her mother's maiden name.

Prince Fritz is a character I made up for the sake of having a standby antagonist. As you can assume from every other story I've written him into, he is in fact the worst.

Central Auradon is the kingdom Ben's family rules over specifically, where the United State of Auradon is the union of kingdoms they also rule over.

Marnie is also entirely made up for the purposes of this story, fighting for the title of second worst. Maybe third.

Until next time