Chapter Text
The next day there is a big car outside. Okay, maybe it wasn't that big, but it was long. There weren't a lot of cars on the isle, some scooters, but most got around by running or climbing on buildings. Even so, they could all tell that this was a fancy car, even for Auradon.
A limousine, Carlos recalls from the pictures Cruella had showed him from when she was younger. In her prime she had been crashing events so fancy that there had been several limos outside. He sees the fire in her eyes light up, sparked by the memories.
He takes it as a sign to get going before she gets her grip on him. Then he’d never be able to leave. Along with his friends, he gets into the car that's gonna take them away. The door slams shut behind him as he narrowly avoids his mother’s reaching claws.
Once inside the car, they're all quiet, with the dawning realization of where they were going and what they were doing. “Look at this.” Jay says confidently, and flashes his signature smirk as he pulls out the golden, crown shaped hood ornament that had been on the front of the limousine.
He nods, satisfied with himself. “Did you steal that just now?” Carlos asks him, dumbfounded. “Uh, yeah.” Jay answers him, while making a confused face to signal how much of an idiot he was for asking. “Duh.” The other boy mocks, and Carlos reaches for him, starting a scuffle.
“Guys!” Mal yells, catching their attention. They stop and look over at her, still in their fight positions. Jay is almost on top of Carlos, with an arm around his neck in an almost headlock that Carlos is grabbing at with both of his hands. It's embarrassing when it goes quiet.
Carlos feels Mal and Evie’s eyes on them, and registers how Jay is, like usual, winning. It's vulnerable to be so easily overpowered, even if it's just a playfight. Jay's muscular arms are holding him down, close to himself, and the headlock has to be tighter than he intends, because Carlos can hear the pulse in his ears as his face goes hot and he feels his breathing stop for just a second.
He taps out on Jay’s shoulder, and is able to sit up and breathe normally once his friend has climbed off him and leaned back into his own seat. “We have to stay focused on the plan, okay?” Mal says, and they all nod.
Evie squeals, “I can't believe we're going to Auradon!”. Mal rolls her eyes, not nearly as excited. The boys notice the stacked containers with countless types of candies that they've never even imagined. It's another wrestling match to get it all first.
Evie takes a lollipop shaped like a crystal, and she's way more classy about it. She offers one to Mal as well, but the purple haired girl isn't interested. “Once we get there, no more joking around. We need this to work.” She instructs. “Of course.” Jay confirms, and Evie hums in agreement.
Carlos feels like a traitor for the relief he'd felt when he had learned that they were getting off of the island and away from their parents. He swallows the chocolate he's stuffed his face with, and nods halfheartedly. He can't help but feel like he might not end up hating Auradon as much as he should. It would be the first time they could be safe.
He doesn't really want to give their parents any more power than they have on the isle. He definitely doesn't want his mother to have even more power over him, or others. Though he wouldn't mind if she'd save him from the awful monsters they kept there. Dogs. A shiver runs through his body at the thought.
The car ride isn't very long, and soon they're pulling up in front of a huge building. They make their way out of the car, and are met by the prince himself, as well as the fairy godmother. “Welcome!” The prince smiles before introducing himself as he shakes all their hands.
“I’m Ben, this is Audrey,” he motions to the girl standing next to him. She's dressed in pink and smiles. “Daughter of Sleeping Beauty, and Ben’s girlfriend.” She adds on, and Mal returns her forced smile with a matching fake one. “What a pleasure.” she replies, not putting in a lot of effort to sound the part.
Ben chuckles awkwardly, obviously sensing the weird tension. “This is the fairy godmother, she's the headmistress here at Auradon prep, where you will be attending alongside the students of Auradon.” he continues the introduction. The fairy godmother smiles and informs them of some ground rules that Carlos doesn't really pay any attention to.
They get a tour of the school, which is way fancier than any place they've ever been. It's almost like a castle itself, and it makes Carlos wonder what the actual castles must look like. Just the size of the dorm he’s told he’ll share with Jay only, would probably be big enough for all four of them to share comfortably. The beds are huge as well, and they don't even have to share them.
After the tour, they're left in their new rooms to settle in. “If there's ever anything you need, feel free to ask me and I will do my best to help you feel at home here.” Ben reminds them, “Or you can ask Doug!” Audrey chimes in, wrapping her arms around the prince’s arm.
“Right.” Ben agrees, “You can ask Doug,” and Carlos recalls the nervous, nerdy teen that had handed them their schedules. He’d stuttered over his sentence, clearly intimidated by the four vk’s, he'd avoided eye contact at his best ability, only looking at them to do a double take at Evie. Well, triple take. Or a quadruple take. Or whatever came after quadruple take. No surprise there, Evie was stunning.
The boy had also forgotten the last of the seven dwarfs, despite being Dopey’s kid, which amused Carlos. By Audrey’s comment it was clear that she didn't want them talking to Ben more than absolutely necessary. The look she had directed towards the girls made Carlos think it definitely was a jealousy thing.
“Or you can ask anyone! I’m sure they're all excited to meet you guys, and they would love to help out.” Ben finishes informing them, before they say their goodbyes and leave.
Mal claps her hands together as she turns on her heels to face the rest. “So…” she drags out, “about that wand.” They all look at eachother, not sure where to start. Carlos gets the feeling that his friends might be feeling as unsure as he is right now. It feels good to not be the only one.
Evie smiles, in the way she does when she's trying to appeal to her mother's wishes while disagreeing. “How about we let the planning wait until tomorrow?” she asks sweetly, “Just to…” she trails off a little as she's thinking of a reason that’ll back her up, “get some more information on this place.”
“Yeah,” Jay yawns, "I for one wouldn't mind trying out the beds here just one night. They look comfy as shit.” he says, as he throws himself on one of the beds. Mal closes her eyes for a second, just like every time she tries to stop herself from becoming too annoyed over something small.
Carlos nods slowly. “Yeah. It would probably be easier some other night.” He agrees, “I’m sure they've got the security upped to full forces right now too. They've just brought four people they don't trust into their kingdom.” He reasons, and the others nod along, not having considered it themselves.
Mal sighs. “Alright then. We’ll do it another night.” She decides. The two girls leave the boys’ room to go find their own before the curfew begins. What a weird concept.