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Jay hated stealing, and saw it more as a job than a hobby. He started out of necessity to be able to eat dinner at night. The more merchandise that he stole meant the more food Jafar would provide for him. He even began turning away from other activities that interested him to please his father. Theft became the only thing Jay was good at doing, so he continued. It didn’t matter what it was or where from if Jay decided that he wanted it he got it. Nothing was out of reach for him until he realized there were more valuable items hidden away.
Items worth stealing tended to be a rarity on the island because the villains took few with them. The tricky part was getting into the houses to take these items. After almost being strangled by Ursula Jay realized he needed a better plan.
Jay wasn’t blind to the looks of interest that the kids in his class gave him, or even the ones given by their parents. He was taller than most of the other kids on the island and took pride in his appearance. He made sure that he chose an outfit that showed off his muscles by favoring his snug leather vest.
He used this information to his advantage. Flirting with girls was the easy part. Jay didn’t have to be good at it at first. Just giving them the time of day and flexing his arm muscles usually had them falling all over him. The hard part was getting them to invite him into their homes where stealing would be a breeze. He would need a better approach.
The first time he attempted to kiss someone ended in a swollen eye. Mal seemed like the obvious choice due to the fact they were friends, or as close to being friends as the island would permit. She didn’t agree. Jay made a mental note that Mal could throw a punch and to never try to flirt or steal from her again. She terrified him, not that he would ever admit this to her.
His tactics worked well with the other girls on the island, but there was nothing valuable in their houses for him to steal. He got away with a few pieces of fake jewelry and the affection of too many girls that always wanted more from him. The transaction ended up being more trouble than it was worth because his father was never happy with what he brought home. It was never big enough, worth enough, or shiny enough to attract a customer’s attention.
There were only two places left containing valuables. Maleficent’s castle, which Jay never tried to steal from. He valued his life, no matter how terrible it got. The other was Hell Hall which also seemed useless. Cruella didn’t have a daughter to flirt with, and her son seemed more interested in inventing things than he did in human interaction. Though if Jay got picked on as much as Carlos De Vil did then he might hate human interaction too.
He never gave the kid much thought until he helped them find the Dragon’s Eye. He proved to be more useful than Jay gave him credit for with his invention and the amount of bravery it took to face the gargoyles was impressive. There seemed to be more to Carlos than anyone thought.
After their quest the group of four had started hanging out more in Carlos’s tree house. Jay had finally found his way into Hell Hall, but he was fighting with himself about taking anything. He never second-guessed stealing before, but something was different. Seeing how Cruella treated her son made Jay sick to his stomach, and he doesn’t want to think about Carlos getting hurt because of him.
Jay didn’t understand why he would be worried about this. Villains do not care about anyone because it lead to weakness and clouded their judgment. But Jay couldn’t see caring about his friends as a problem. He hates it when Mal or Evie get hurt and he would always protect them and make them happy. Even if this means having to watch the Prince of the Week show with Evie, or lying to Maleficent for Mal.
But things were different with Carlos. Jay wanted nothing from Carlos and tried his best to protect him. Jay also got more violent when defending the youngest member. Last month the Gaston twins were taking turns beating on him for giving them the wrong answers in Weird Science class. After making sure Carlos was okay Jay had a ‘talk’ with the twins, which ended in broken bones and the promise they would never go near Carlos again.
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The villain kids are in the tree house at the moment hiding from their parent’s wrath, who are still upset about the whole Dragon Eye situation. Mal and Evie are sitting in front of the tv, Jay is perched on the end of the table, and Carlos is sitting at the table.
Jay is brought from his thoughts by Mal throwing a pencil at his head. He picks it up and throws it back, but Mal dodges it easily. Evie giggles at him and the girls go back to talking. Jay can’t understand what they are talking about or why they keep staring at him and Carlos. Carlos was oblivious to the entire thing because he was too busy working on his newest invention.
He tried to explain it to Jay, but he can’t remember. All he remembers is how Carlos’s eyes lit up while talking about it. It was cute. When he realized that he was staring at Carlos he shook his head and looked back at the girls who were in the process of leaving. Evie turned to Jay and winked before she headed out the door.
He shrugged it off and went to where Carlos was working. After a few attempts at a conversation and trying to figure out what the young genius was working on, Jay started feeling restless. He started stealing tools from Carlos while he was busy fixing a problem with his invention. Carlos was so lost in his work he didn’t bother to look up to find the items. The lack of attention was starting to annoy Jay. He needed to be noticed, more importantly he needed Carlos to notice him.
“Jay,” Carlos mumbled from under a pile of parts.
“What’s up?” The sound of his name had startled him. Did the kid have mind reading powers or something?
“Do you know a place with a heating coil?” Carlos asked, finally taking his eyes off the machine in front of him and looking over at Jay.
“Why do you need one?”
Carlos makes a quick hand movement to the machine. “The one on here is broken and it won’t work without it.” As if sensing Jay’s confusion he continues with, “for the coffee maker. So we can try to have coffee that doesn’t taste of slime and feet.”
Jay remembers seeing something that remotely looked similar a heating coil in the trash pile outside the town. He back flipped out the window without giving Carlos another look. The sound of Carlos laughing followed him out the window.
“Hey show off! Use the door next time!”
“Shut up, nerd!” Jay called jokingly over his shoulder.
It took five minutes to get to the trash pile and grab the item. Ursula’s daughter hung out by the pile, and she just couldn’t take the fact that Jay isn’t interested. Hiding from her took more time than he planned so it took ten minutes to get back to the tree house.
Carlos is still in the same position that Jay left him in and doesn’t notice his return. Jay thought about maybe creeping up behind him to make a barking sound, but thought better of it. With his luck Carlos would make a mistake, and since his last invention punched a hole in the barrier the last thing he needed was a scared Carlos and his machine taking out Hell Hall. Deciding to be nice Jay walked up behind Carlos to drop the coil in front of him. It was really too bad. Carlos was cute when he was scared.
“You found one! Thank you!” Before Jay could react Carlos had sprung up and hugged him. After he realized what he did Carlos froze and looked up.
“I-I’m sorry.” He yelped.
“It’s cool though I am use to being thanked in a different way.” Jay said with a wink and leaned closer. The thought of kissing him crosses his mind, but Jay shakes it away. Carlos is not a girl he is trying to steal from. He is more important than that. So he smirks and pulls Carlos in even closer. Carlos’ cheeks flushed the color of his jacket as he quickly removed himself from Jay’s arms.
“I have to get back to work.”
Jay smirks wider as he watches the boy retreat to the table. His heart was racing from the embrace and he couldn’t help but think of ways to get Carlos that close to him again. Jay had never felt like this before, nor had he ever experienced a moment as enjoyable in all of his life. Stealing, which everyone assumed he loved, never made him feel like this. Jay hates stealing, but when it gets Carlos in his arms then maybe it’s not so bad.