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When Chad broke into Carlos' room, he definitely didn't imagine he would ever be in there again. There was no circumstances where he would be there under invite, and he definitely wasn't going to break in again. Chad was a prince, after all, and it certainly wouldn't do for a prince to have rumors swirling around about why he was breaking into someone else's room, let alone the room of a villain kid. Plus, knowing how protective Jay was of his property (and his friends), he might end up on the receiving end of Jay's fist.
Which was a fight he was totally confident he could win. Totally. Even if Jay was the captain of the tourney team now, and thereby extremely fit. And also one of the hottest guys Chad had ever seen...he didn't know if he would willingly be able to leave any damaging marks.
However Jay might've seen it, though, Chad was confident his reasons for breaking into someone else's room couldn't be classified as "malicious intent". He was only there to print out a ring for Audrey, because she had been really weird about his commitment to her or dedication to their relationship or whatever. His printer had been jammed ever since Doug tried to replicate too many of Evie's designs, and the ones in the library were never working.
And he knew Carlos had one, because Carlos was always talking about nerd shit with Evie, and she was dating Doug, who Chad was now on speaking terms with. According to Doug, Carlos was incredibly skilled at modifying machinery, so really, his fancy 3D printer was kinda Chad's only option if he wanted to impress his girlfriend. If anything, it was noble! Right? Right.
He didn't have a break-in plan, he was too used to having doors opened for him to prepare for the opposite, so it was a matter of casually walking down the same hallway until he caught the door ajar while no one was in there. Which meant a lot of really weird looks from Carlos and Jay when he passed by their room several times a day for seemingly no reason, until, finally , they weren't there. Thank gods, he was about to resort to sneaking in while they were sleeping.
'The perfect crime.' He had thought, desperately trying to justify the amount of effort this stupid ring had taken him. Audrey better appreciate this.
"Chad, I hate to get picky about these things, but you know that purple is my least favorite color." Audrey frowned, staring at the ring Chad had proudly put in her open palm. "Actually, scratch that, you know damn well I hate purple with a passion, for good reason. I'm honestly really confused about why you thought this would comfort me about...us."
"Come on, Auds! Don't be like that!" Chad protested. "I spent a lot of time searching for the...well, the perfect gift. And I really thought you would like this."
"Really? A lot of time?" And, shit, he must've miscalculated, because Audrey looked pissed. "Because I know you, Chad, and I fully believe you printed out the first ring you found a picture of without even thinking about what I would like." Her voice was getting shriller now, people were staring, and he regretted doing this outside. "Knowing you, you probably thought I would be so overjoyed at getting a ring I wouldn't think twice!"
She might've been right, but Chad gritted his teeth and mustered the most intense glare he could handle. "You don't seem to think very much about me."
She met his eyes with fiery anger. "That's because you think so highly of yourself that no one else needs to."
"I just don't understand why everything makes you so freaking mad! It's impossible to do anything with you, like you're still pining over Ben or whatever, and I can't compete with someone you won't admit you're into!"
"I have no problem admitting I'm not over him! Chad, you know that I only dated you to make Ben jealous , right? And, newsflash, it didn't work!"
"Oh, so you're gonna blame me for that? Is that it?"
"I can't blame you for that, but I can blame you for putting the absolute minimal effort into our relationship that you possibly could! Because you always do this, Chad, you set up reservations last minute, you don't talk to me unless I bug you, y-"
"That is such horseshit, you know I'm busy, my life is about more then you!"
"Ben was getting groomed to be King and he still had time for me."
And, seriously? She was gonna play that game? Well...he could do that too.
"You only liked Ben because he was going to be King and you wanted to be Queen," Chad hissed. "Don't sit there and...and act all high and mighty when you're just as selfish as you seem to think I am."
Her eyes started to tear up. Fuck, he really didn't prepare for this.
"You think I was using Ben?" Her voice was much smaller then it had been a few seconds ago, and he instantly felt like shit.
"I-I mean, it just-I didn't mean to go that far, Aud-"
"I wasn't using Ben," she interrupted. "I would never use Ben. I might not have been...the nicest to him, sometimes, I know I c-can be a lot, but," her voice was trembling now, tears starting to fall. "I really liked Ben. I might've loved him, Chad. I thought we were going to get m-married. Do you know....do you know what it feels like, to be so stable in a relationship that you are totally unprepared when it self destructs?"
He shook his head no, but she wasn't looking at him.
"After Mal, I heard people saying that...that Ben had always seemed so unhappy with me, and that he was so sweet to never have said anything and I was so inconsiderate because I hadn't noticed. And that's...so fucked up, isn't it?"
He didn't know what to say. Normally, when girls started telling him their feelings, he pretended to get a call from his dad or something. But this was Audrey, and she had been his friend before she was his girlfriend. She knew his nervous ticks. She knew his dad didn't call him.
She wiped her tears and sat up straighter, trying to introduce formality like they hadn't been screaming seconds earlier. "Chad, I don't think we should see each other. I'm clearly not ready for a relationship, and, well, you don't seem to be that into this either."
"If we break up, can we stop fighting all the time? Cause I hate when you're mad at me for no reason, Auds."
Audrey gave a shaky giggle. "Only if you stop doing dumb things!"
"Over my dead body." Chad joked, trying not to tear up too. Was this really happening?
"Seriously though, Chad, I think we need to break up."
"Yeah, you're...you're probably right." Chad said, reluctantly. "My parents are gonna freak, they loved you."
"They don't know anything. Besides," Audrey gave a choked laugh, trying to hide her tears. "We were way more iconic as the unattainable hot best friends."
He offered a weak grin in return. "We kinda were, weren't we? We definitely liked each other more."
"Here," Audrey said, slipping the ring back into his hands. "It's beautiful, but it's not for me."
He stared at the ring, and closed his palm around it. "Hey, Auds, for what it's worth, I don't think Mal and Ben are gonna make it to a wedding, either."
She beamed. "I know it's mean to hope for, but...I keep thinking about how delicious that would be. Maybe I'm a villain kid."
Chad laughed. "Maybe."
As Audrey walked away, all Chad could do was stare. He felt a pang of regret, but was more upset about why they didn't work out. He had known her forever, they knew almost everything about each other, and he couldn't even make that work? What did that say about them? What did that say about him?
He hoped that Auds would still talk to him, he wouldn't be able to deal if she didn't.
"So, I heard Audrey dumped you." Doug said.
Chad groaned. "Really? That's spreading already? It, like, just happened a few hours ago."
"Well, there are rumors, but I just walked into our room to find you lying on the bed with the lights off and a pillow over your eyes. You definitely give off an aura of having experienced a breakup."
"You're so nosy. Why can't I rest in my own damn room? If I can't find peace here, then where?"
"Chad, please. You almost never get dumped. This is momentous. I need to know the truth."
He let out a long, dramatic sigh. "It was mutual. We talked about it and...well, honestly, she did most of the talking, but was right about what she said. I'm really just worried about...other things."
"Such as?" Doug pried.
"Well, I thought dating Auds was gonna make me closer to her. Like, I don't know, I just thought that it was gonna strengthen our friendship or some other dumb bullshit. And all it did was make us fight more."
"So you're worried it's gonna get worse now that you aren't dating her anymore?" A creaking noise to Chad's right indicated that Doug had sat down on his bed.
"Nah, if anything we're gonna stop fighting. That's what's weird, though! Shouldn't we have been a good couple? We've been friends for ages, and I think she's great and all, but I couldn't date her."
"Chad, no offense," Doug said. "But you and her probably weren't a good fit. Not everyone is meant to be a couple. Sometimes people are just friends, and that's fine."
"You're the worst roommate ever." Chad grumbled, earning a noncommittal noise in return. But he could sense that the conversation wasn't over, because any second now Doug would start talking about-
"You know who's really good at talking about breakups? Evie."
Boom. He totally called it.
"Is that so?" Chad asked, sarcastically.
Doug either didn't notice or didn't care, and even if Chad couldn't see it, he could just sense that Doug was getting that heartsick expression he always got when he talked about Evie. 'I want that.' Chad thought, which only made him more miserable. 'I want someone to think of me like that.'
"Yeah, she's really good at analyzing breakups from every emotional angle. The scientific process she uses to analyze is incredible, and the accuracy is spot on nearly every time. She's been analyzing couples in the shows we watch, and she's always right, even if it's a suggestion I've never considered before, although usually it's just 'They should communicate.'"
"You two are nerds." Chad said. It was weird to think that only a month or so ago he would have said that as an insult.
"Yeah, yeah. We're passing physics, though."
"I'm passing!"
"Barely."
Chad threw a pillow from his bed at Doug, and heard the unmistakable "thump" of a target reached. That was the pro to playing tourney that they never told him about, the accuracy at which to hit your friends with pillows based on sound alone.
Friends. Was Doug his friend? Would it be weird to ask?
"Don't throw things at me, I have weak limbs and you know it." Doug griped.
"Aren't you a scout or something? Nature's gonna throw danger at you left and right. Gotta prepare you."
"Ugh. I'll leave you to wallow in peace, I've got band practice, and I'm not gonna stay here and be bullied any longer."
Chad raised an arm in a shamble of a wave, resolving not to think too much harder on the breakup.
So far, considering the very small amount of actual friends he knew that Audrey had, and maybe less so for him, an unreasonable amount of people had come up to Chad to ask about his breakup. Which was really starting to bug him. He knew he was popular, and he knew she was popular, but he also knew that didn't necessarily mean they were well liked. Or that his affairs were their business.
So when Jay and Carlos approached him in the hallway, two people he knew could care less about him or Audrey, he was surprised, but already prepared to deal with them.
"Listen, guys," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I know you're here for the dirt on what happened with Audrey, so I'm just gonna give you a short summary and you can leave me alone."
Jay crossed his arms. "Dude, you seriously think we care about that?"
"Um." Chad said, while Jay and Carlos gave each other an exasperated look. Yet another situation completely misread. What was up with him lately? "What else would you be here for?"
Jay rolled his eyes. "You are so weird."
"What Jay means to say," Carlos said. "Is that you've been walking by our room a lot. Like, a lot a lot. And every single time that you walk by, you try to casually look inside, and I don't know if you know that you aren't subtle, but you really aren't. So, uh, what we're wondering is...what's your deal?"
"And if you can stop." Jay added.
Carlos nodded. "Yeah, and if you could stop."
"Because, bro, we know you're probably still wary around us 'villain kids'," Jay said. "But we've been here for a while. You can stop spying on us. We aren't here to pull anything."
"Plus, it's kinda creepy. Kinda very creepy. Stalker-ish, almost."
Chad had to intervene before they dug him into a hole he couldn't get out of.
"No, it's not like that at all!" He began. "The truth is that, um..."
He had literally no idea what to do. He was pretty sure, however, that admitting that he had been waiting for the perfect time to break into their room to use Carlos' fancy printer would not win him any points in this situation.
Jay and Carlos stared at him impatiently. Chad knew there was only one thing to do: turn up his natural charm.
"Okay, this is sort of embarrassing for me to say, but the real reason that I was being weird is that I'm not doing so good in physics, and I kind of need a tutor." He bit his lip. That usually worked when he had to charm girls. "And Doug is always hanging out with Evie and I don't want to drag him away from his girlfriend so I figured that maybe, I don't know, that Carlos could help."
He shrugged, arms crossed, looking at Jay and Carlos to see if they bought it. They did not look convinced; Jay's eyebrows had steadily crept up his forehead, and Carlos had pursed his lips in disbelief.
"Let me get this straight," Carlos said slowly. "You wanted me to tutor you, even though I'm younger then you, and normally you just steal other people's work?"
"I'm trying to turn over a new leaf." Chad grinned. Time to turn on the flattery. "And you were moved up a grade! If anyone can explain things to me, it's you."
"Right." Carlos dragged out the word, like it had personally offended him. "You decided to ask me...someone you openly distrust and hate-"
"Well, I wouldn't say hate." Chad interjected.
"But distrust is fine? Okay. We'll settle on strongly dislike." Carlos said, incredulous, as he folded his arms. "And...with this goal in mind, you came to our room various times, saw me in there , and neglected to actually, y'know, ask me to tutor you."
Chad plastered on what he hoped was a sheepish and lovable smile. "Yep! It's...kinda hard for me to ask for help sometimes."
Carlos looked at him, then looked at Jay, and then just generally looked confused, raising a hand to his temples and shaking his head slowly. Jay, alternatively, looked ready to beat Chad up, which was not something Chad was prepared for.
"If you want me to tutor you, then literally just talk to me and we can set it up. But you need to stop lurking, because it's weird. Got it?"
Chad's grin almost faltered. He had been sure Carlos was gonna say no, and that would've been the end of it. "Right! Right. We can arrange that sometime. You guys satisfied now, or do I need to justify my actions even more?"
The looks he was getting told him that he wasn't believed, but there was nothing he could do about that. At least they were letting the issue drop...at the price of Chad's free time, which he now had to use to learn about science.
Fantastic.
Chad hadn't had the time to appreciate Carlos' room when he had last been in it. Granted, he hadn't bothered to look around, he was too busy getting that dumb ring for Auds.
Carlos and Jay's room was very unlike his and Doug's room. Chad was kind of a neat freak (cons of being a child of Cinderella), so their room was unusual in its spotless organization. Carlos and Jay seemed to have taken a different approach, having seemingly collaborated to make the room as unique as their semi-villainous personalities. The school curtains had been swapped out for curtains with a design Chad recognized as an Evie original. One bed had several large throw pillows on it, and beanies messily scattered on a side table. The other had some neatly folded blankets, and, on the table next to it, miscellaneous deconstructed electronics on top of what seemed to be instruction manuals. On the far end of the room, there was a shelf with a disorganized collection of video games, with tourney gear on the floor next to it. Band and sports posters were plastered on the walls, and Chad noticed several pictures in multiple places of Carlos and Jay with Mal and Evie, or Carlos with Ben, or Jay with the tourney team, or just a framed picture of Carlos' dog. In the corner, there was a large pile of pillows that had dog toys on and around it, with a food and water bowl next to it. Carlos' dog was sleeping on the pillows. The room also contained, of course, the 3D printer.
"Your room is a lot different in the-I mean, now that I'm actually in it."
Carlos gave Chad a weird look, and walked over to a table that was unusually cleaner then the rest of the room. Chad figured that Carlos had cleared it off so he would have space for tutoring--those physics textbooks were huge. He followed, and sat as Carlos did.
"Alright," Carlos said. "Before we get this shit rolling, I just wanna establish some rules. I'm not gonna do your homework for you, so if that's the intent here, you better forget about it. I can go over the basics, but you have to tell me what you don't understand so we actually cover that instead of things you already got. We can meet whenever, as long as you schedule it first. And I want to be paid. You get all that?"
Chad nodded. "Yeah, no prob, I'll just call my dad and let him know about payment."
"And the other stuff?"
Chad sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
"For someone who hovered outside my room for weeks, you don't seem very enthusiastic to be here."
"I might need this tutoring, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy schoolwork outside of class."
Carlos grinned. He had a gorgeous smile, it really accentuated his freckles. "Fair enough. You have anything specific you wanna start with?"
"Uh, we did some work last class that I think I understand, but usually I'm wrong about that. Can you just...look it over?"
Carlos nodded, and they sat in silence as he checked Chad's work. Chad had never really considered it before, but Carlos was really impressive. Chad had certainly never felt the need to master the things he needed to pass class, much less things unrelated to school at all. How Carlos got the motivation was beyond him. And he was super cute, on top of that. Man. Some people were just gifted.
"It looks like you understands the process," Carlos said, interrupting Chad's thoughts. "But you just need to be careful about actually thinking about the steps before you do them, especially if you aren't going to check your work. You're rushing through, and that's causing way too many simple mistakes...just do the problems again, but take your time, and I'll check them again."
They repeated this process for about an hour, and by the end of it, Chad was feeling incredibly dumb. Carlos suggested that next time, they go over some old tests, and see if Chad could do any better on them.
"Also, we need to exchange phone numbers." Carlos said. "Because as fun as it was to see you struggle to ask me for help during lunch in front of my friends, I'd rather you just text me."
"Uh, yeah, sure." Chad agreed. Normally, he received numbers, instead of exchanging them, but...he shouldn't be thinking about it like that, it was just tutoring. Not a big deal.
When Carlos wished him a good night, albeit with traces of insincerity, Chad willingly returned it. This wouldn't be so bad.
Chad might've broken up with Audrey (or, more accurately, the other way around), but that didn't mean he had to stop hanging out with her. They had practically been forced into a friendship by their parents when they were kids, and to their credit, it worked. Chad and Audrey (and formerly Ben) stuck together through all of school, and they certainly weren't going to let a pesky breakup ruin that.
Besides, they argued way less now that they weren't dating. If he had still been dating her, that breakup fight would have taken weeks to reconcile from. Now, though? Just one "Ur so extra but can we hang out" text and the problem was solved. Wild.
He met her at the campus coffee shop, where she was already sipping her (overly complicated, he was sure) frappuccino. She caught his eye and waved him over.
"I don't know why we always have to come here. You know I don't drink caffeine." Chad grumbled.
"Chad, when have I ever tailored my lifestyle to suit someone else's needs? Do you think I'm about to start now?" Audrey said. "But just, I don't know, get a muffin or something."
The muffins were good, but Chad needed to get the final word. He stuck out his tongue. "Rude."
Audrey made a shooing motion with her hands, and patiently waited until Chad returned with his muffin. He swirled the chair so the back was facing the table and sat down on it, causing Audrey to roll her eyes.
"That is so basic, Chad."
"Whatever. You can't stay mad at me, because I got you... banana bread ." Chad said, setting it down in front of her with a dramatic flourish.
"How unusually considerate of you." Audrey smiled, picking the bread up and taking a small bite. "Thank you."
"I'm the nicest ex-boyfriend you have."
She sighed. "Honestly...you kinda of are."
"I take it Ben is too busy to hang out here today?"
"He says that he's really sorry that he couldn't make it, and that he has Royal business to attend to, but I'm positive he just didn't want to come."
"Maybe he is busy." Chad offered, at which Audrey gave him a disbelieving look. He had to admit, as nice as Ben was, it didn't seem much like he was making an effort to interact with them.
And Chad...understood. Why would Ben want to chill with his ex-girlfriend and former best friend? Especially when he and Audrey had been so rude to the Isle kids. He just wished Ben would actually shut them down instead of politely implying that he might show up one day. It was sorta sad to no longer be friends, sure, but it was even worse that Ben couldn't just put them out of their misery.
"Well, whatever." Chad said. "We don't need him to have fun."
"I know that, dork." Audrey chastised, but she couldn't hide her smile. "Hey, is it true that Carlos is tutoring you?"
Chad groaned. "Why is everyone always gossiping about my life?"
"That's what happens when you're popular." Audrey shrugged. "But reviewing schoolwork in your free time is so unlike you, Chad. What happened?"
'Carlos got suspicious when I broke into his room to print that ring for you.' Chad thought, but was he about to tell Audrey that? No way.
"My parents are getting on my case about my grades, I figured if I showed initiative they'd step off." There, that was at least partially true.
Audrey gave him that look, the one where she was about to call him on his bullshit, and he mentally prepared himself to be decimated.
"Chad, you know you can't lie to me."
"It's not a big deal, it's just-"
"Chad." Audrey interrupted. "You just wanted to hang out with Carlos, right?"
Wait, what?
"I think you're confused." Chad said, slowly.
"It's okay! I know you probably thought I'd be mad, but I do genuinely want you to be happy." Audrey smiled. "I've been thinking I should start being nicer to the villain kids anyway. Well, except for Mal."
"Auds, you have to understand that I have no idea what you're talking about." And Chad really didn't. But he looked at Audrey again, whom he hadn't seen this excited since Ben asked her out, and it just clicked. "Wait, you think I have a crush on Carlos?"
She nodded. "You always go for those nerdy types."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, remember that you had that crush on Doug?"
Chad's heart stopped. He had to play it cool, maybe she would drop it.
"When?"
"During the entire first week of our relationship, and probably before that? That was why I was so mad at you when we started dating, because you ignored me but went out of your way to interact with Doug and it was super transparent."
This was not happening . "Name one example."
Audrey raised an eyebrow, and he instantly recognized he had made the situation worse. "Okay, how about when you made Doug stop talking to Evie after Family Day because you wanted to break them up? Or what about during Ben's coronation, when I was standing right next to you and you grabbed Doug when you were afraid instead of me? Or when you called him cute after that tourney game and then got really nervous and acted like that didn't happen? Or how, even though you have no qualms about manipulating girls to do your homework, you never tried that on Doug? The list goes on, Chad"
Chad put his head in his hands. "Oh my gosh, I am so screwed."
"You know it's fine, right?" Audrey said, concerned. "It's not a big deal or anything."
"It kind of is, Auds! Listen, just..." Chad sat up straight and looked away, tapping his finger against the chair. "I don't really want to talk about this."
"Oh! I'm sorry," Audrey frowned. "I can drop it, if you want."
He nodded. She switched topics like nothing happened, which he was grateful for.
"Did you see what Mal was wearing today? I don't know why she insists on mixing purple and green, it's such a tragedy."
Chad had been thinking about what Audrey had said all day. He hadn't started any of his homework (which was really going to piss Carlos off during tutoring, oops), he had just been sitting on his bed, staring at his unopened notebooks. He had been so sure that he had concealed his old crush on Doug perfectly. But if Audrey knew, did other people? Did Doug know? Did people know he was...nope. Not a possibility. But if he was going to actually get work done, he had to put his mind to rest.
"Hey, Doug, I have a question for you."
Doug, sitting at a desk across their room, looked up from his work at directed his attention to Chad. "As long as it isn't about math, I'm done with that."
Chad gulped, fidgeting with his pencil and avoiding eye contact. "Nah, uh, I was just wondering...did I ever, in the past, do anything that might have led you believe that....I don't know. That I had a crush on you or something?"
Doug started laughing. "Wow, that was the most nervous I've ever seen you. Normally you're so smooth."
Chad was not amused. "Just answer the question."
"Um, now that you mention it, yeah, actually. Was that why you were such a weird bully?"
Chad internally groaned. He was gonna have to do so much damage control to make sure his parents didn't hear about this.
"How was I a weird bully?" He deflected. "What does that even mean?"
"What it means, Chad," Doug said. "Is that you would shun me one day and act like we were friends the next. And you were always staring at me at the weirdest moments. It was...indecipherable."
"Oh," he said. "Well, I didn't. Have a crush on you. Just so you know."
Doug shrugged, and turned back to his work. "Okay. It's fine if you did, though."
"And even if I did, I don't have one anymore. Not that I did. But, y'know."
"I said it was fine, Chad."
"I know. Just wanted you to know that I'm not gay."
"Do your work."
That hasn't calmed Chad down at all.
Chad had to admit, even though he hadn't really wanted a tutor, his physics grades were really improving. Besides, now that he and Carlos were being civil with one another (were they friends? Did tutors befriend the dumb kids they helped?), Carlos no longer acted like he considered Chad to be human garbage beneath his feet. Jay, Evie, and Mal still hated him, though, which he got. He had been extremely shitty to them, Evie especially. He definitely shouldn't have put off apologizing for this long.
But, unfortunately, every tutoring session led to him noticing more positive things about Carlos. His laugh (confident, no matter what), his patience (Chad had a really hard time focusing and Carlos hadn't murdered him yet), his snark (often at Chad's expense, but he couldn't bring himself to care). The list was piling up. Although this might have seemed like a good thing, like a path to friendship, Chad knew himself. He knew that he was very easily wooed by pretty boys who didn't mean to be wooing him in the first place. And now that he knew that his feelings were incredibly obvious, the last thing he needed was a crush. What he needed was to figure out a way to end these tutoring sessions, and fast. His life depended on it.
"Chad, are you paying attention?" Carlos asked. "Because my explanation isn't going to mean anything if you're just ignoring me. You're paying me for this, man. Have some respect."
"Sorry, I'm just thinking about some stuff." Chad said.
"Oh, mysterious." Carlos joked. "But we're going over behavior of matter, not behavior of Chad."
"That's dumb." Chad said, but he grinned anyway. Carlos looked pleased with himself, and it was really messing with Chad's stomach.
He was so screwed.
"Seriously though, stop zoning out. We only have 20 minutes left, the least you can do is pay attention." Carlos said. "If you want to talk about feelings with me, save that for after this."
Chad furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would I talk about feelings with you?"
"I don't know, but you sure aren't talking about them with anyone else, because you've been awful broody for these past few sessions. It's intense. I'm worried you're gonna do something drastic to your hair."
Chad gave a confused laugh, unsure how seriously to take Carlos. "Why would I do something drastic to my hair?"
"I know you think I'm joking," Carlos' tone became very somber. "But whenever Mal is stressed she does something horrible to her hair. Once back on the Isle, she got extensions and just...the worst bangs, and she liked it so much that we couldn't say anything."
"Wow. Seems tragic."
"It was maybe the worst month of my life." Carlos looked off into the distance. "Sometimes, still, I lie awake and think of those bangs. I live in fear."
"Sounds stressful." Chad offered. "I don't think I could have done it."
"Yeah, I don't think so either."
"Rude."
Carlos stuck out his tongue, and then pointed to a passage in the physics textbook. "Save the witty banter for later, Chad. Just reread this and see if you understand it now."
Carlos De Vil sent a message at 5:06 PM
Carlos: hey I kno I just tutor u or whatev
Carlos: but you def need to apologize to Evie
Carlos: it's way overdue
Read by Chad Charming
Chad: definitely
Chad: I do actually feel bad about what I did yknow
Read by Carlos De Vil
Carlos: don't tell me. Tell Evie
Carlos: also I gotta cancel for tmmrw! I totally forgot that I'm bringing dude to the vet after school
Read by Chad Charming
Chad: np
He had almost psyched himself out of the apology. Chad Charming did not give apologies, he received them, or pretended they had been given. And, really, if he wanted to get rid of Carlos, shouldn't he have just ignored his wrongs for a little longer? That would have caused Carlos to get angry and drop him, right?
But he was sick of being on a tourney team that hated him. He was sick of Doug getting worried that he was going to start bullying others again. He was sick of Ben ignoring him. And not apologizing was really bad for his reputation; you didn't have to be well liked to be popular, but it certainly helped maintain the position.
(Chad Charming did not give apologies, but Chad Charming did feel bad about his behavior on occasion, even if he wouldn't acknowledge it.)
He drew a deep breath to collect himself, and knocked on the door to Evie and Mal's room. There was a faint "Come in!" from inside, so he slowly opened the door.
"Hey," he said, trying give off an air of confidence that he did not feel. "Doug said he'll be here in a few minutes, but until then, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help out with your...fashion."
Evie, who was sitting next to a large pile of fabric, had been looking at her sketchbook. Her eyes quickly widened as she looked up. "Chad?" She asked, wrinkling her nose. "Why would Doug send you? Since when do you actually do work?"
"Since recently," he said. "And I asked him if I could help."
Evie looked him over, and Chad could practically see her weighing out the pros and cons of accepting his help. Pros, boss around your dumb almost-ex-boyfriend. Cons, your dumb almost-ex-boyfriend might do everything wrong. She was probably thinking something much harsher, as the disdain was evident in her glare.
"Okay," she finally said, crossing her arms. "I need some help with accessory inventory management. There should be a list on the table with the bracelets on then, you need to make sure the numbers on the list are correct. If you don't know what something is, ask me, I really don't need you to mess this up."
Chad gave a thumbs up, at which she rolled her eyes and returned to her sketchbook, detailing a pair of boots. He directed his attention the the list. Thankfully, for both Evie's sake and his, the items on it were described in detail, so he didn't have much trouble locating the right objects. He couldn't imagine how quickly he would've annoyed her if otherwise.
The accessories themselves were gorgeous, and though many of them had Evie's signature color scheme, Chad could see that others were inspired by her friends. A bracelet made of 2 metal snakes, one gold and one red, a purple dragon pendant on a simple, but elegant, silver chain, a velvet red choker with white dog bones on it. He grinned, that was adorable.
The two continued to work in silence, but it was killing Chad. The longer he put it off, the more likely it was he would walk out without saying anything at all. 'I just need more time to mentally prepare.' He justified, but really, wasn't that what he should have been doing for the past few months? Chad really had no excuse, and he knew it. He just had to do it.
"Listen, Evie," he finally said, meeting her gaze as she looked up at him. "I might have had an ulterior motive for helping you out today."
"What, you want me to do your schoolwork again?" Evie asked, her tone light but her eyes dark.
"Actually, kind of the opposite? I wanted to apologize for how I treated you back when you first arrived here. It was un-gentlemanly of me to use you the way I did. Not prince-like at all. And, uh," he continued, becoming less composed with every word. "I'm sorry about how I acted towards you and your friends. It was rude."
Evie maintained an expression of neutrality. Chad nervously offered a smile, waiting for what seemed like ages for her response. Then she broke into an earnest, wide grin.
"Chad, I'm really glad you said that. It means a lot." Evie said. "Obviously it doesn't mean I've completely forgiven you, but Doug says you've been better lately, and Carlos doesn't hate you anymore. I'll take this at face value."
Oh, thank gods. Chad felt relief flood through his nervous system. "So are we cool?"
"Your apology is accepted, but I'm just gonna go ahead and say that it can be revoked at any time."
"That's fair." He said, his smile almost matching her's. "Alright, I'm gonna keep working on inventory."
"Yeah, you better. If you had just left, I would've hated you again so fast."
He chuckled, and the two returned to their work.
Since he had apologized to Evie, nothing much has changed. Which Chad was somewhat grateful for - he didn't want to be besties with the Isle kids, he just wanted to be on good terms with them. It was the smaller things that counted, anyway; Jay stopped eyeing Chad like Chad was going to start a fight at any moment, Evie offered to tailor clothes (for the right price, of course), Ben maintained eye contact with him for more then 5 seconds at a time. Mal was...well, she was the same, but Chad no longer felt like the contempt in her eyes was reserved especially for him, more like it was the general amount of contempt she had for anyone that wasn't a VK or Ben.
It was the little things that counted. Things like Carlos asking to hang out.
Oh, who was he fooling? Chad knew that was major, it was a source of constant anxiety for him. The worst part was that Chad was entirely incapable of saying no when Carlos cared enough to ask, only furthering his awful feelings. Actually, he was starting to think he was incapable of saying no to Carlos at all, which did not bode well for his future.
Whenever Chad was conflicted or anxious about anything, he knew there were only two options. The first was to bury himself in an outer shell of aggression and ego. The second was to have a long and heartfelt talk with Audrey. Given that the first option usually resulted in more problems, Chad opted to call his best friend, who was taking a short vacation back home to, quote, "find herself". Chad knew that really meant "avoid Ben", but he wasn't about to drag her for that.
So that was how he found himself standing outdoors, on the most secluded part of the tourney field to avoid any eavesdropping, having a heated conversation with Audrey over the phone.
"I don't know why I did it, Auds. I should've just...I don't know. Moved to a cave somewhere, and never spoken to anyone ever again."
"You are such a drama queen. Are you sure you aren't in line for that specific throne?"
"Ha, ha, very funny." He hissed. "I don't think you're taking this seriously. Actually, I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation!"
"Calm down. It's not that big a deal. It's just hanging out, you don't have to date him or anything. And, seriously, would that be such a bad thing?"
"It would be and you know it! I would have to tell my parents, which means having to come out to my parents, and I have no idea what they'll say when they realize I wouldn't produce an heir."
"Are you kidding? Your family is still worried about heirs? My family stopped ages ago."
"Yeah, but your family thought you were gonna marry the future King, they didn't need to worry about producing an heir in case they got closer to the throne." Chad grumbled. "Weren't they super mad when he dumped you?"
"Shut up, Chad! I swear to the gods, you are so annoying! They've made their peace with that nonsense. Everyone knows that Rapunzel's family is next in line, anyway."
"Well, my family is holding out hope. Or at least my dad's side of the family, I don't think my mom cares at all."
"That doesn't mean you have to stay in the closet forever, idiot. You're going to throw away the rest of your romantic life just because you're too much of a coward to do otherwise?"
"Exactly!"
Audrey gave a deep sigh from her end. " You are so sad. If this were anyone else I would believe it was stupidly sacrificial, but with you I just think you're stupid."
Chad grit his teeth, fully prepared to argue with Audrey for at least 10 more minutes before she started gossiping about a public figure or he started complaining about school. Before he could continue, however, he spotted Carlos walking his dog on the other end of the tourney field.
"Listen, I'd love to talk more, but I just saw Carlos so I have to go."
"Seriously? You are so fucking dramat-"
Chad hung up. He would definitely get shit for that later, but it would hopefully be worth it. Carlos waved at him, and Chad jogged over to where Carlos was, making Carlos laugh.
"You're so extra," Carlos giggled as Chad bent down to pet Dude, who was generally excited just to see a person, tail wagging at lightning speed.
"Yeah, extra-charming." Chad grinned in return, standing up. "Can I walk with you?"
Carlos shrugged. "Sure, but just gonna let you know that we get sidetracked a lot . Dude loves chasing other animals," he said, staring adoringly at his dog. "He wants to befriend them."
"Maybe I can help him out," Chad said, as they started walking. "I grew up in a castle with talking mice and birds with an affinity for fashion. Animals love me."
"That's so weird," Carlos said. "But really cool. Does it work on, like, big animals? Like...I don't know, tigers?"
"Um, I've never tried? I don't want to die, Carlos."
"You have no sense of adventure whatsoever." Carlos pouted. "Okay, what about...deer?"
"Well, the deer will come to me, but I'm awful at handling them. Audrey's much better with those woodland animals."
Carlos gave Chad a look that...well, Chad didn't really understand what it was. Confusion?
"I...thought you and Audrey broke up?" Carlos asked, even though it wasn't really a question.
"We did?" Chad responded, mimicking Carlos' tone, causing the smaller boy to give him a small shove. "Seriously though, we did. It's just that I've known her forever, so I'm not about to drop her."
"Oh." Carlos said, almost...disappointed? No, that couldn't be right. "Are you...like...trying to hook back up with her?"
Okay, now Chad was confused. Why would Carlos be asking about Audrey's romantic involvement in Chad's life? Unless....Chad's heart sank as he figured it out.
"Do you have a crush on Audrey? You totally do, right?" Chad exclaimed, feigning excitement that he did not even remotely feel.
Carlos frowned. "That's not it at-"
"It's totally fine, bro! I'm over her, anyway."
"I promise I could literally care less about your romantic feelings towards Audrey." Carlos mumbled, but Chad barreled on.
"I've been best friends with her forever, too, so I can help you out! Kinda payback for all you've done that's helped me out, right?"
"Chad, I appreciate it, but I really don't need you to do this. At all." In fact, Carlos seemed nervous at the idea. Chad didn't expect him to be shy about a crush, that was...unfortunately, very cute.
"Aw, c'mon, don't be worried! Don't tell Auds I said this, because she might kill me, but," Chad grinned at Carlos, ruffling his hair. "She would be lucky to have you."
"That's sweet and all," Carlos said, batting Chad's hand away. "- don't touch the hair, Chad - but I'm really not interested in Audrey. You've got the wrong idea - please stop touching my hair."
"But it's so soft...what conditioner do you use?" Chad didn't quite buy what Carlos was selling, but he figured he could at least change the subject, which Carlos looked grateful for.
"Believe it or not, Evie is thinking about opening a line of beauty products. Me and Jay are kinda her test subjects."
"Wow, that girl really is good at at everything ."
"She works hard. Talent doesn't mean anything if you don't put in the work to improve."
Chad made a face. "Um, are you trying to teach me a lesson, Carlos De Vil?"
"All the world's a tutoring session." Carlos smirked.
"That's dumb," Chad groaned, but he conceded. He looked around to try and find Dude, who had gotten a bit ahead of them, and was approaching a plant that Chad recognized from years of unfortunate rashes. "...hey, I think your dog is trying to smell poison ivy."
"Shit!" Carlos bolted over to Dude, lifting him up before he got into too close proximity to the plant. "Don't touch that, Dude!"
Dude just licked Carlos' face, happily indifferent to the entire situation. Chad laughed.
"You better not get a rash." Carlos grumbled to his dog. He gave Chad a long-suffering look. "He failed obedience school."
"Wow, even your dog is a rebel."
"It's not so cool when he keeps eating bugs and rolling in garbage." Carlos complained as he cradled Dude. "But I also love him, so it's worth it."
Chad nodded, and then felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket, and gave Carlos an apologetic grin.
"It's Audrey, I should probably take it."
"Cool, clingy ex." Carlos joked.
Chad shook his head. "If anything, I'm the clingy one. We had been broken up for maybe a day before I started hanging out with her again."
"I never would've guessed." Carlos said, setting down Dude. "We're gonna head back, I'll leave you to your talk."
"Cool." He directed a finger-gun at Carlos. "Hey, I'll put in a good word for you!"
Carlos rolled his eyes. "Please don't. That's the last thing I want."
"Oh, right, it probably isn't good for the ex boyfriend to recommend a new boyfriend." Chad nodded. "I gotcha. I won't say anything."
Carlos looked conflicted, but ultimately didn't say anything, just laughed softly and walked away with Dude. Chad turned his attention back to Auds' call...she would be exasperated if he ignored her for any longer, especially after he had hung up on her earlier.
Damn it, she was so good at reading his emotions, she was gonna sense something was wrong immediately. Why did Carlos have to have a crush on Audrey ? Gods, even when he had no chance, he was so close to the situation. But at the same time, Chad knew he was the fakest ever. He had been trying to distance himself from Carlos since he had figured out he has a crush, and not only had he failed, but the minute Carlos expressed interest in anyone else he got upset about it.
This had to stop. Audrey was right, was he gonna stay in the closet forever? And live with his own unhappiness? No chance in hell . It didn't matter if he and Carlos stayed together, it didn't even matter if Carlos had any interest in him. Chad just had to stop...torturing himself. His fear of disappointing his parents, his own fucking cowardice, was gonna prevent him from going after someone who was quite possibly the cutest boy to ever live?
Nope.
He picked up the call. "Hey, Auds, I can't talk right now. I have to go get a boyfriend."
"You're so extra. You could've just texted me, you di-"
Click.
When Chad got to Carlos' room, he didn't hesitate. He knocked twice on the door and tried to think about what he was going to say. He should've....written it out, or something. He didn't know. There wasn't exactly time when he was running back to the school in case he lost his nerve along the way.
Carlos opened the door, and he understandably looked confused. "Uh, hey Chad? Listen, I can't really tutor right now, so-"
"It's not that." Chad said. He was freaking out already, so he decided to just go ahead and turn on the charm. "Can I come inside, please?"
Carlos, still confused, nodded, and opened the door further. As Chad entered, he saw Jay, using a laptop on his bed, pretending not to be eavesdropping. Chad swallowed, hard. He had to do this.
Carlos crossed his arms. "So?"
"You'll have to excuse me, I'm much more used to asking out...well, frankly, women who I'm not attracted to." Chad awkwardly joked, shifting nervously, palms sweaty. "And I know that you're probably straight, and this seems like it's coming out of nowhere."
Carlos' eyes widened, and a slight blush was creeping up his face. "Are you...?" He trailed off.
"Carlos, you are so smart, and so pretty, and so kind," Chad continued, and he could feel himself blushing, too. "And I am so sorry that I ever considered you to be anything less then that, because that was a huge mistake. If you need to think about this, I get it, but I would be incredibly honored if you would go on a date with me. And...maybe more then one."
He took a deep breath, finished. Carlos' face was completely scarlet, and Jay had given up the pretense of eavesdropping, laptop now shut.
"Wow, uh," Carlos finally stammered. "You certainly aren't called Charming for nothing."
Chad's grin faltered. "Um, is that...?"
"It's a yes!" Carlos beamed, and Chad's own smile was restored. "Oh my gods, I can't believe you asked me out, this is unreal. And this isn't...this isn't because I'm tutoring you or anything, right?"
Gods, Chad wished he hadn't been such a dick in the past. He shook his head "no" as furiously as he could, while still maintaining his dignity.
"Don't worry, bro," Jay said from his position of the bed. "If he pulls anything, I'll kick his ass for you."
Carlos laughed, burying his face in his hands. "Shut up , Jay." He giggled.
"And you," Jay said, directing his attention to Chad. "...you seriously were worried Carlos was straight? Like, really?"
"Jay, shut up, I am so serious." Carlos said, still laughing. Chad joined in, and Carlos pulled him into a hug. Jay shook his head, smirking, and grabbed his phone, presumably to text anyone who would care. And Chad couldn't bring himself to be worried about his reputation, or if his parents heard, or anything. He could deal with that later.
But right now?
Everything was going to be alright.