Jay was a light sleeper, so when the sun rose, so did he.
He was always an early bird, he blamed it on his father constantly drilling one of his many mantras into his head: never waste an opportunity.
Back on the Isle, usually that opportunity was goods left unattended and ripe for the picking. But, at Auradon Prep, the opportunity was a good run and a hot shower before everyone started milling into the boys shower.
When Jay got back to the room at 7:15 sharp each morning, however, Carlos was always still asleep. Jay figured that, with all of Cruella's yelling and general craziness, Carlos learned to sleep around that and eventually trained himself to sleep through it when he discovered she wasn't yelling for him or any particular reason.
The way Carlos slept was very amusing. His covers were all off and on the floor, the bed was practically stripped, Carlos' mouth was open, and his arm was thrown over his eyes.
His hair was the best part. It stuck in every direction you could imagine.
But Jay's favorite part was waking Carlos up.
On that particular morning in their shared room, Jay realized that the little things, like watching Carlos sleep, were worth it. Even if they weren't together and never were. Jay just couldn't pass up the opportunity to just look for a while, and then wake him up as obnoxiously as possible.
So, he hopped onto the bed and started jumping, the small boy bouncing up as Jay's feet came down.
As soon as Carlos' head met the mattress, he jolted awake. There was always a little panic at first, but it subsided once Carlos realized who it was. His hand went up to smooth some of his untamed hair, to no avail, and he smiled warmly.
"Good morning, sunshine," Carlos greeted groggily as he snuggled back into the feathery down of his pillow. His eyes were about to drift shut when Jay grabbed the pillow out from beneath his head.
"Oh no you don't, Sleeping Beauty." Carlos snorted but sat up anyway, "Like I would ever be related to Audrey." Carlos' reply was matter-of-fact.
"Why'd you get me up so early, anyway?" It was a good question, granted, but Jay never really had good reasons to wake Carlos up early on the weekend.
"I wanted to jump on the bed, but I didn't want to mess mine up and yours already looked like a bomb went off." It wasn't true, but Jay was the Prince of Lies. He spun them so well, he could convince even Evie that the girls bathroom on the third floor had a magic mirror that doled out fashion advice (and he did convince her).
It wasn't the truth, but Jay couldn't tell Carlos that the real reason he woke him up on Saturday's was to see that vulnerable look he only got when he was tired. He couldn't admit to loving the way Carlos bantered back so easily and he definitely could not say that Carlos' nicknames in the morning gave him life.
While it was a lie, it was one told for the better. At least, that's what Jay thought.
It was better Carlos not know, and it was better that Jay did not act on his feelings. He'd only hurt Carlos in the end. In addition to being the Prince of Lies, he was the Prince of Thieves, and stealing Carlos' heart would not make his father proud.
And Jay had always wanted his father to be proud of him. Even if it meant Jay had to ignore his feelings.
But it was for the better. At least, that's what Jay thought.