Chapter Text
Carlos tries to wrench his hand away again, twisting it in Evie’s tight grasp. But her grip doesn’t budge, and he winces when her red nails start to press harder into the thin flesh of his wrist.
“Eves, stop,” he groans, almost stumbling over his feet as she pulls him along. She sighs and picks up the pace, refusing to look back at Carlos as she practically breaks in a jog, forcing him to do the same to keep from falling.
“Stop!” He screeches again, trying another yank. It’s enough to stop Evie in her tracks, but only so she can serve Carlos a pointed glare.
“What is it, Carlitos?? We’re going to be late!” Evie huffs, flapping her arms. She’s still holding onto Carlos as she does so, and he almost topples over from her exaggerated flailing. But she finally stops when she notices his panicked expression.
“Oh! Sorry,” she squeaks softly, dropping his hand. “But can we please hurry? You know I have to meet the rest of the squad. We all promised we’d be at the holiday tournament. We have to get a spot by them!”
Carlos scoffs, but starts trudging along beside her. At least she’s slowed her pace, he’s grateful for that.
“I don’t see why you need me then,” he grumbles, scuffing his boots as they walk. “This is gonna be SO…awkward.”
“Awkward?” Evie repeats, and Carlos sneers at the mocking lilt to her voice. “Please. You’re being a little dramatic, don’t you think? He’s only asked you out a couple of time-“
“Five! Five times Evie! Every day this week!”
He waves five fingers in her face, waggling them harshly when Evie perks an uninterested brow. Gently but firmly, she tucks Carlos’ fingers into her own, pushing them back down as her gaze softens into a pout.
“Carlos. My Carlitos,” Evie sighs. “It’s just a boy. A very cute boy, by the way,” she adds with a giggle when Carlos rolls his eyes, “and he happens to be the captain of our baseball team and our star pitcher. Which also means he’ll be busy. Playing. You know, baseball? That we came to watch, just like the hundreds of other people in here? I think you’re worrying for nothing.”
Carlos bites back a huff, shaking his head dismissively at his best friend. Truthfully, he hopes Evie is right. Maybe Jay will be too busy to notice that he’s even there. There’s a huge crowd, the school has been hyping up the tournament for weeks. Maybe he can just disappear in it. He’s good at that. He loves that. Going unnoticed. That’s all he wants. Especially tonight.
“Hey! Freckles!!”
“Ooops…” Evie breathes, reaching to tuck Carlos behind her. His breathe hitches at the sight of Jay jogging towards them. He’s staring so intently at Carlos that when he tries to toss a ball back behind him nonchalantly, he nearly takes out another player with it instead.
“Fuck, Jay!” Chad screeches as he jumps back. “Watch it! And where are you going?? The game’s about to start!”
But Jay pays him no attention, his eyes never leaving the boy behind Evie’s shoulder. “Aw, Freckles! C’mere! Don’t be so shy, I just wanna talk to you!”
“Let’s go,” Carlos hisses, pulling Evie by the back of her dress. She stumbles in line with him, grabbing his hand and letting him lead her towards the rest of her squad that’s huddled at the other end of the arena. But even through the din of the crowd, they can still hear Jay shouting after them. Carlos curses silently and tugs at Evie to move her along faster.
“JAY-DIR!”
Jay halts at the familiar wail. He knows better than to ignore that voice. He sighs and casts one last longing look to the cute boy retreating from his sight before turning back towards their dugout.
“Get your ass over here!” Mal calls again, waving at Jay frantically as she runs towards him. “Seriously, what do you think you’re doing??” She grabs his bicep when she finally reaches him and starts to drag him back, relentlessly grumbling at him the entire way.
“I can’t fucking believe you’d just run off like that! The game’s literally about to start!!”
“Just shut it, Mals,” Jay grits through his teeth. “I had something…important, to take care of.”
He startles when she bursts out a laugh. “Your little crush is not as important as this game, Jay-Jay,” Mal tuts, squeezing his arm tightly. “Seriously. Ben said he’s going to throw us a victory bash at the castle after we win! Don’t you want that??”
Jay just scoffs, trying his best to be casual as he lets his gaze skitter across the crowd. But Mal shakes her head and gives a firm tug, hard enough to launch Jay forward and almost knock him to the ground.
“STOP looking for freckle nerd! Got it?? I swear Jay, if you cost us this game I’m kicking your ass allll the way up and down this field. Comprende??”
She jabs his chest pointedly, prompting a yelp before Jay slaps her hand away.
“Yeah. Comprended.”
Mal grins wide, finally dropping her grip. “Good boy,” she snips, giving him a slap on the back despite the fiery glare directed right at her. “Now, I think it’s time we go make this tournament our bitch, don’t you think?”
-----
Unfortunately, the next two hours of the game don’t go as well as Mal predicted. They’re actually bad enough to make Carlos cringe. Auradon Prep is one of the best teams in the league, but that’s not what Carlos sees at all right now. Not tonight. And he’s only seen one, very obvious, weak link the entire game –their bumbling, distracted, raven-haired pitcher.
The crowd lets out another collective groan when the ball suddenly slips out of Jay’s fingers again. Carlos has lost count at this point how many the teen has dropped it throughout the game. The boos only continue to get louder with each passing minute, and Jay’s look of complete distress over it almost makes Carlos feel a little bad for him. Almost.
“He’s looking again.”
Evie nods towards the pitcher’s mound at Jay, who’s craning his neck in their direction, his eyes searching the bleachers. Carlos is already instinctively tucking behind Evie as he has several times tonight, noticing the shuddering sigh of her body as he does so.
“This is ridiculous. He can’t even see you!!” She whines. When she turns a little to look at Carlos, his body quickly follows, curling away from any exposure. Evie groans and rolls her eyes.
“I’m not doing this all night, C! You’re going to have to face him sooner or later.”
“Later,” he mumbles simply, dropping down to sit on the bench behind them.
“Is he really that bad?” She asks again for what seems like the fiftieth time, and Carlos scoffs and looks away.
“He’s just a jock that’s looking to get laid, Eves. That’s it. I’m just another challenge to him, nothing else.”
“Hey! Freckles!! There you are, babe!”
Carlos groans and buries his face in his hands, trying to ignore the tan-skinned boy sprinting at him. But Evie tugs his hands away and promptly yanks him on his feet. “Just talk to him,” she mumbles, leaning in Carlos’ hear. He shrugs her off, glaring sullenly towards her before straightening to face Jay, who’s already right in front of them, smiling triumphantly as if Carlos is a prize that he’s here to collect.
“Did you come to watch me play?”
Carlos’ lip twinges, and he fights back the urge to smile. “Oh, is that what you were doing?? Because the scoreboard says otherwise, I think.”
Jay looks taken aback for a moment, his mouth tipped open at Carlos’ biting retort. But he steels himself just as quickly, curling a soft smile at Carlos’ smug grin.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s not my best day,” Jay agrees, nodding slightly. “But you…could make it better.”
Carlos perks a brow, intrigued. Jay clears his throat, his fingers weaving in a nervous twitch. “Did you maybe, think it over more? You know, going on a date, with me?”
“Didn’t we already?”
Jay tips his head curiously, and Carlos chuckles a little.
“In your dreams?”
“Aw Freckles,” Jay moans, “Come on, don’t go breaking my heart! What are you doing this weekend??”
His voice cracks a little, hinting of frustration, and Carlos huffs before dropping back down onto the bleachers.
“Well, definitely not you. Sorry if that bruises the captain’s fragile ego.”
Jay gapes again, still in shock at the brazenness of this cute freckled geek. He honestly never thought that the teen could have such a sharp tongue. It’s kind of…hot. Even if the attitude is directed towards him.
“Um, no? That’s not...” Jay hesitates. But a sharp cackle from behind redirects his thoughts.
“Haha Damn, kid! I don’t think there’s enough water in Auradon to treat that burn.”
Jay curls a sneer at the interruption, shaking Mal harshly off his shoulder when she reaches for him.
“Will you shut it, Mal?? I got this!”
“Actually,” Evie straightens behind Carlos, crossing her arms and fixing a glare at Mal and Jay. “I don’t think you do. It’s been a week now, Jay, hasn’t it? And I think Carlos has been pretty clear where he stands about dating you. That’s his name, by the way, did you know that? Carlos.” She sits down and wraps an arm around her friend, pulling him in close and earning a small smile from him. “Which is probably something you should have bothered to ask him in that entire time you were looking for a way to get in his pants, hm??”
Mal’s hands shoot up to cover her mouth, barely in time to muffle a loud chortle. Jay jabs her sharply with his elbow then, and she stumbles back with an angered gasp.
“Ow! Don’t be such an ass, Jay! It’s not my fault your flirting is SO fucking funny!” She adds with another chuckle.
“Shut UP,” Jay mutters, his eyes downcast. “I didn’t…I tried.” He lets out a sigh, surprisingly soft and despondent. He looks up then, meeting Carlos’ eyes. “You didn’t…I didn’t get much of a chance to get anything. Y-you shut me out pretty fast, Carlos. Every time.”
Carlos stares back, silent. The boy in front of him suddenly seems so…fragile? He’s hugging his torso, shoulders hunched and looking so reserved and unsure. Nothing like the confident athlete that strut up to him in the halls, touching Carlos freely and acting unphased with every rejection Carlos threw his way. Carlos had never gotten the impression that his words mattered to Jay, until now.
“Um. I’m. I’m sorry?”
Carlos’ voice barely comes out as a whisper, but it’s loud enough for Jay. His head whips back up, a small smile already on his lips.
“So, does that mean you’ll give me a shot?” He swallows, taking a tentative step closer. “Carlos, will you go on a date with me?”
Carlos furrows his brow, eyeing Jay cautiously. “That’s not -I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry I shut you down so fast, Jay. But I was trying to save us both some time, ok? I don’t really think we’re on the same page for like, anything.”
He gestures dismissively at Jay, slumping back in his seat, back towards Evie.
“So, that’s it then?” Carlos whips back to Jay, surprised at the hardened look in his eyes. “You’re not even gonna give me a chance??”
Carlos bites his lip, his eyes flitting to Evie with a questioning stare. But she looks equally as perplexed, only offering a small shrug that’s no help at all.
“Tell you what,” Mal steps in, literally. She positions herself between Carlos and Jay, earning perturbed glares from both sides. But she crosses her arms sternly, looking entirely unphased.
“We’ve gotta get back and try like hell to save this game,” she quips, perking a brow in Jay’s direction. His head drops and he looks away immediately. “So, maybe we can turn this into something that could help all of us.”
“Oh?” Evie jumps in shrilly. She leans in front of Carlos to face Mal, looking intrigued. “And how do you propose we do that?”
Mal smirks proudly. “How about…if we win, Carlos agrees to be Jay’s date to the party after? At Beast’s castle?”
Jay visibly brightens at the idea, but Carlos and Evie just look at each other, silent and unsure.
“If we lose, Jay will leave you alone, Carlos.”
She gives Jay a look then, brow raised as she waits for his response. Despite visibly deflating at the thought, he nods quickly in agreement, and Mal grins.
“And anyway C, if we actually win, you’re only giving Jay one date. It’s like, that chance he’s asking for, ok? If you’re still not interested when the date’s over, no harm done. No strings attached. You just part ways. Deal?”
Jay and Mal are both looking at Carlos expectantly now, their movements frozen momentarily in anticipation. And Carlos is looking back at them, a brow perked and contemplative as he carefully thinks over Mal’s words.
Evie clears her throat. “That sounds, agreeable, to me,” she starts, noting Carlos’ surprise at her words. “Don’t you think, Carlitos? You don’t have anything to lose, really. Do you? Just one date. Maybe.”
Jay’s still staring at Carlos, eyes wide and hopeful, and Carlos can only sigh loudly. “FINE,” he relents, flinching when Jay and Mal whoop and high five each other. “You still have to win though,” he snaps, gesturing toward the scoreboard.
Jay’s smile stretches wide. “Oh, don’t you worry about that, babe. Carlos,” he corrects himself when Carlos glares at him. “I think I’ve got the right motivation now. You just worry about what you’re wearing to the party tonight,” he adds with a wink, and Carlos rolls his eyes as he and Mal finally turn away to run back towards the dugout. He sneers a little when Jay spins back and waves at him.
“Maybe that was a mistake,” he grumbles, glancing at Evie. But she’s already buried in her compact and carefully touching up her lip gloss, seemingly indifferent to what just happened.
“Evie!” Carlos persists, grabbing the compact away from her and forcing her to look at him. “Come on, we basically just bartered me for the sake of this fucking game. That was stupid. We are stupid.”
“No, we’re not,” Evie sighs. “You only agreed because you think there’s almost zero chance of them winning. And you’re right, they’ll probably need a miracle, they’re so far behind.”
“True,” Carlos agrees, laughing dryly. “I mean, what do you think the chances are that I’ll actually have to go on this date?”
THWACK.
“Holy Shit!!”
Evie and Carlos turn their attention to the field just as Chad tumbles to the ground, ball in hand. Jay is standing at the pitcher’s mound, wildly grinning and punching his glove repeatedly.
“Fuckin’ hell, Jay! Bet you can’t do that again!” Chad taunts, tossing the ball back to him.
Jay catches it easily and throws Chad a wink before whipping the ball right back at him, smacking him squarely in the chest and knocking him on his ass again.
“Aw, throw it back here, you baby!” Jay taunts as Chad rolls on the ground a little, moaning helplessly. “Come on, I could do this all night!”
“Well,” Evie smirks, clapping Carlos soundly on his shoulder. “I think…you should wear the new patchwork leather jacket I made you. Tonight. And maybe, a fitted black t-shirt underneath? You know, give him a sneak peek of the goods, but still make him work for it.” Evie giggles wickedly.
“Ugh. Shut it, Eves,” Carlos groans, and buries his face in his hands. This is most definitely NOT how he thought his night would be going.