Work Text:
Carlos took a deep breath in, slowly and steadily. Being aware of his breath was part of something Jane had offered as a tip for dealing with anxieties; one she used herself. However, before he could even begin to feel soothed, the door to the dorm room was thrown open.
In came Evie, visibly frazzled. Her usually picture-perfect hair even had fly-away strands. Most probably wouldn’t have even noticed that detail, but Carlos knew his friend well enough to see that as a pretty big warning sign; even more so than her wide eyes and tense expression.
“Uh… What’s up?” Carlos asked, now more concerned for Evie than annoyed at the intrusion.
“It’s a mess!” Evie declared. “I can’t make everyone’s outfit for the Auradon Lights Festival and help plan it. I can’t believe I told Jane I could… Why are you sitting like that? Were you doing yoga, because I think you need a harder surface than a bed to-”
Blushing slightly, Carlos uncrossed his legs. “No, actually, I was trying meditation.”
Evie blinked in surprise, distracted from her personal catastrophe. “You? Really?”
“Yeah, it was just… Something Jane mentioned… Nevermind, it’s stupid.”
“No, I think it’s a great idea! Especially for you. I just didn’t think it was the kind of thing you’d try. I’m sorry, should I leave?”
Carlos smiled and shook his head. “Jay will be back from ROAR practice pretty soon, and anyway, you sound like you need to vent.”
“I need more than that,” Evie sighed, before once again becoming distracted. “Hey, yeah, Mal said you quit the team…?”
Carlos shrugged one shoulder. “It was just too much. Tourney and ROAR and classes,” he listed, trying to downplay exactly how stressed school had been making him lately. Evie looked a bit suspicious, though, so Carlos went on to ask, “Can I do anything to help? With the Lights Festival?” Although… He hoped she’d say ‘no’. He’d absolutely help Evie if she asked, but the last thing Carlos needed was more to do.
For a moment, he wondered if this is what Mal had felt like a few months ago, when she’d missed being on the Isle – before all the Uma drama. Sure, it wasn’t exactly the same, but just that feeling of being so overwhelmed by life in Auradon – and being seen as one of its ‘great success stories’.
“No, that’s okay,” Evie said, and Carlos tried to hide his relief. “Fairy Godmother was reluctant to let anyone help Jane at all. I mean, FG adores you, of course! But she likes to keep the planning as close to being ‘in the family’ as possible, I guess. Jane managed to convince her to let me help because she said I have an eye for style.” Evie paused for a moment and smirked. “…Which I do. Ugh, but still! This is too much! And I can’t get help from Doug with the outfits, because he’s on a family vacation, and let’s face it, Mal’s useless with clothes…”
“I’m not,” Carlos blurted out, before he could stop himself. It was just… Well, he really wasn’t. He had a lot of experience with tending to his mother’s furs and such back on the Isle of the Lost, after all.
Evie looked up at him, eyes shining with hope. “Carlos, that’s right! Oh, would you? I mean… If it’s not too much!” she quickly insisted. “Doug gets back in four days; I can wait if I need to.”
Carlos had to hide his feelings once again, fighting off the urge to wince. He managed, and nodded at Evie with a smile that was just convincing enough.
If it weren’t for the second bed, and Maleficent – in lizard form – hanging out in her terrarium, Evie and Mal’s room really would have looked like just Evie’s room, then. Of course, when events that called for the teens of Auradon to wear new looks were approaching, that was pretty much always the case.
“Woah, I have my work cut out for me…” Carlos murmured as he walked around the room, looking at clothing design sketches and half-finished dresses on mannequins. Evie bit her lower lip.
“Carlos, really, it’s okay if you don’t want to… I know this is a lot.”
“No, no, it’s alright. You go help Jane. Tell her I said hi.”
Evie grinned and hugged her friend. “You’re the best. Carlos, I owe you one!” she exclaimed, giving him a tight squeeze before she set to explaining the specifics of what needed to be done. Once she finished, she was out the door.
Carlos inhaled deeply, once again trying to focus on his breathing. In, in, in… And out. Okay. He could do this. He moved his headphones from around his neck to over his ears, and plugged them in to the mp3 player in his pocket. Lonnie had recently made a new mix of music, and sent the files out to all her friends. It was pretty great, and Carlos had been enjoying the songs so far.
Now, though, as he tried to focus on work, he found the music distracting – at best. At worst, the louder, more sudden sounds seemed to cut through his mind, causing his whole body to go tense… Which, in turn, made using a sewing machine that much more difficult.
Carlos took of his headphones perhaps a bit too forcefully. They fell to the ground, pulling his mp3 player out of his pocket so it also fell. As he checked to make sure there was no damage done, Carlos was pretty sure he could hear a sound that could only be described as reptilian laughter.
Alright. No more music, and no more stressing. This was just sewing, decorating, hemming… The kind of things he should be able to do in his sleep by now. But about an hour later, when Carlos had nothing to show for his time but torn-out stitches on ripped-up fabric, it was becoming abundantly clear that he had lost his touch.
The door opened, and Mal entered, looking around with a low chuckle. “Wow. You know Evie’s going to kill you for touching this stuff, right?”
Carlos gave her an annoyed look. “I told her I’d help with the outfits for the Lights Festival, because she’s helping Jane do the event planning.”
“Oh,” Mal said. “Well, it doesn’t look like you’re doing a very good job,” she said with a wink.
Carlos groaned. “No, Mal, I’m not. Look, this isn’t funny, okay? I’m going crazy.”
Mal was quickly at his side, crouching down to be on level with Carlos as he sat in front of the sewing machine – not that she had to crouch much. “Carlos, relax. It’s just clothes, and if you need to back out, I’m sure Evie will understand.”
“Sure, she would,” Carlos admitted, “just like Jay understood when I left the team. But I don’t want to people to have to understand. I just want to come through – that’s just so hard when there’s so much to do! School, and people, and clubs… And it still feels like everyone’s watching, sometimes. I didn’t really realize it until all that… Stuff happened, but it really does feel that way. And I don’t… I don’t blame anyone; I don’t think it’s even that they’re waiting for us to screw up, at this point. I just feel like they’re all waiting to see what we do next, and it’s-”
“Exhausting,” Mal finished for him.
“Yeah,” Carlos sighed. “It really is.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. I mean, I kind of talked about it with Jane, but… Not really.”
Mal ruffled his hair, smiling sadly. “Hey, you can always talk to me about stuff.”
“You’ve got all the royal stuff to do with Ben, though. And Jay’s got all his sports, and Evie’s got this,” he gestured around the mannequin-filled room.
Mal gave a snort of laughter. “Man, remember when we used to be on the Isle and had nothing to really do? Remember being bored?” she joked, before her expression turned serious. “But come on, Carlos, seriously. If you can’t talk to the three of us about this stuff, after all we’ve been through… You’re too smart not to know we’re always going to be there for you.”
Carlos nodded. “You’re right. I know that… Thanks, Mal.”
“No problem.”
There was a moment’s pause before Carlos glanced back at the sewing machine and sighed. “So… What do we do now?”
“We work with what we’ve got, I guess. I bet Ally would be able to help you with the sewing. And you can probably relax with the schoolwork. It won’t be the end of the world if you get a ‘B’ for once.”
Carlos had to laugh at that. “Are you giving me this advice just because I keep showing you up in social studies?”
Mal rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Carlos’ shoulder. Carlos shoved hers in return, and he smiled. He was going to be just fine.