Chapter Text
They were all worried about Carlos. It had been months since they’d arrived in Auradon, and they’d all adapted to their new lives at different paces- which, without Carlos, had gone fairly well. But the white-haired boy hadn’t made many friends (if you could even count Ben as one), had barely eaten or spoken, and it was clear he wasn’t doing well. He hadn’t even taken off that collar Cruella used to make him wear, as if he were a dog.
So they finally decided they had to do something, talk to him.
“I can do it by myself, if you let me,” said Jay. “Our friendship has grown stronger, and I think he’d be more comfortable if I just talked to him casually in our dorm than if we all went. I know he’d take that the wrong way.”
Evie hesitated, but after what felt to Jay like a full, nonverbal conversation made only by exchanging looks between her and Mal, they both agreed.
“But be careful. Watch every single word you say to him, you know how sensitive he is,” Evie said before he left.
“You know I always do,” Jay replied.
****
Jay made sure Carlos knew he was about to enter the dorm, so he wouldn’t startle him. When he heard that familiar growl (Carlos’s way of letting him know it was okay to come in) he carefully opened the door.
"What's up, Pup? Whatcha doing?" Jay asked, trying to sound casual, maybe a little too casual.
"Nothing… just, just playing," Carlos replied, trying not to lose focus on his video game.
Jay stared at him for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Hey, Pup." No answer. "C, could you pause that for a moment? I want to talk to you."
Then Jay felt Carlos tense up, his eyes widening. He didn’t even pause the game.
“What–what’s wrong?” Jay heard his lisp more prominently than ever, and that’s when he realized what he’d done.
Shit. Maybe he should’ve let Evie handle it.
“No, no, C, I’m sorry if I scared you.” He sat on Carlo's bed next to the boy and reached out his hand but pulled back at the last second.
“You did nothing wrong, it’s just- I just wanted to talk. I promise, no one’s angry with you.”
Carlos relaxed a little, but he didn’t lower his guard completely.
“What is it, then?” he asked cautiously.
It took Jay a moment to find the right words.
“Well, I’ve… noticed that you’ve been… acting kind of… different lately…”
He paused, realizing that if he wanted to get through to Carlos, he needed to be clear, make sure Carlos understood exactly what he meant.
“See, you practically don’t talk-” He saw Carlos open his mouth to respond, but Jay continued. “And don’t tell me you’re just introverted, because what I mean is that you don’t even talk to us. Not to me, not even to Evie. You barely eat, Carlos. You say you’re not hungry, but that can’t be true, not every single meal, not when it’s obvious you’re starving. And I know you’re really smart, but you’re still failing every subject. What I want to understand is… why?”
He saw Carlos struggling, eyes fixed on the floor, not meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry…”
“No, don’t say that. You know that’s not what I’m trying to do. I told you, I'm not angry” Jay interrupted gently. “Please, just talk to me.”
“Pup, you know what I mean, right? We’re happy here. This is everything we could’ve only dreamed of back on the Isle. Here, our parents don’t have any power over us.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem, Jay! That’s exactly the problem!” Carlos almost shouted, and Jay froze, he couldn’t remember a single time he’d heard Carlos raise his voice like that before.
“...What—” Jay started, but Carlos cut him off. “You’re happy here because your parents don’t bother you, right? You’re all so happy because you’ll never have to see them again. And they… they all lived happily ever after. But how can you do that? They’re your parents, Jay. Can you really get better and forget your father? Is it really that easy for you?”
Carlos’s voice cracked, tears streaming down his face. Jay’s heart sank. He had made Carlos cry. No doubt Evie was going to kill him.
“No, of course not, Carlos. I didn’t… forget about him. Obviously, we can’t just do that, and that’s not what I meant. No one’s ever asked you that... Is that why you’re like this? Do you feel bad because of your mother?”
“I mean, she raised me, she’s my mother. I can’t be happy here knowing she’s still back on the Isle.”
“C, why do you even— do you really care about her that much?”
They sat in silence on Carlos’s bed for a while. The answer was obvious, but Jay didn’t understand Carlos, and Carlos didn’t understand that Jay didn’t.
Carlos looked at him, eyes tired but honest.
“How couldn’t I, Jay?”
“Is that why you still haven’t taken off that collar?”
Carlos touched the rough fabric of his collar. “Well, she didn’t— I had to wait for her permission to take it off, and most of the time it was her who did it, and she just hadn’t... you know...,” Carlos said, visibly embarrassed.
Jay didn’t know every detail of what it was like to be raised by Cruella, but from what he’d heard and the scars and bruises he’d seen on Carlos’s body, he figured that even Evie, Mal, or himself couldn’t truly understand what Carlos was going through.
“Pup, she… she abused you your whole life. She didn’t even-” Carlos cut him off.
“So?”. Jay didn’t know what to say. “She’s still my mother, Jay. I know she doesn’t love me, that she made my life a living hell. I already know it, I'll never forget it. But she’s still…” And here we go again. Carlos started crying again.
“She’s your mother, I know that. And believe me, I wish she weren’t, but the truth is she is. So what? We’re your family now, Pup, and we love you. I’m not asking you to forget her or hate her, I don’t think you’re capable of that. But what I want you to understand, C, is that you deserve to be happy. You’re not responsible for what she did. She never cared for you. You don’t owe her anything.”
Jay slowly hugged Carlos. Carlos didn’t just accept it, he returned it. That’s when Jay realized the conversation had been worth it.
“You love me?” Carlos asked, his voice trembling with quiet tears
Jay slowly let go of the hug, surprised by the question, but he nodded and smiled softly. “Of course we do, Pup. We all do.”
He took a breath before continuing,
“And listen, I know I can’t just change how you feel or erase years of what you’ve been through. For tonight, we can leave it here, but, if it's not too much, I’d be really proud if you could take off… or let me take off that collar for you. Only if you want.”
Carlos thought for a few seconds, and Jay could tell there was something else on his mind.
“It’s just that…” Carlos mumbled, avoiding Jay’s eyes.
Jay waited quietly, encouraging him gently, “What is it, Pup?”
“It also… helps me cover some… scars.”
“Oh, I don’t see the problem, you have so many-” Jay stopped when Carlos’s eyes met his. “I mean, we…”
“It’s okay, Jay. I know they’re noticeable. The thing is, they’re different kinds of scars. You know, what you see are from cuts and bruises, but…”
“C, I don’t care. I mean, I care, but not in that way. I get it if you don’t want other people to see them, but how about you just… show me? And then we’ll see.”
Carlos thought for what felt like hours to Jay.
“Okay, fine, but I can always put it back on if—” Jay cut him off, smiling softly. “Come on, dude, you know it would never bother me in… any way.”
“Okay, then,” said Carlos, sitting up straight. Jay looked him in the eyes and reached for Carlos’s collar. He paused for a moment, waiting to see if Carlos would pull away, but when he didn’t, Jay continued.
Jay carefully slid the collar off, almost like he was afraid of hurting him, and set it aside. His eyes immediately fell on the marks around Carlos’s neck: uneven scars, reddish and brownish in tone, with some paler patches where the skin looked thinner and tighter. Some were sunken, others raised, like a map of old wounds. Carlos lowered his gaze, uneasy, gripping his hands tightly on his knees, as if he wanted to shrink away and disappear. Jay swallowed hard, not looking away, not out of curiosity, but trying to understand everything those scars said without words.
Jay didn’t hesitate. “Can I ask you about them?”
“They’re from electricity. That’s another way she punished me. See, my collar has those little electrodes…" said Carlos, looking at it. "She would use them to…” Carlos’s voice faltered.
“That’s awful, Pup. I’m so sorry,” Jay said softly. “Can I hug you?”
Carlos nodded, and Jay wrapped him in a careful, gentle embrace.
When they finally let go of the hug, Jay spoke softly, “You don’t need to wear that anymore. No one’s going to ask about it, and if they do, I promise I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
“It’s just that… here, no one has even a single bruise. Everything’s so perfect. They stare and ask questions. It's almost impossible not to show some of my scars. But these ones… they’re different. Maybe I’ll never really fit in here.”
“You’ll fit in, I know it. They’ll love you. You just need to give it a shot. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll be here to help you. The people who matter won’t care about your scars, and those who do… well, they don’t deserve your attention. Okay?” Jay said softly, wiping Carlos’s tears from his cheeks.
“I get it, from your perspective, if you’re not ready to show these scars yet, that’s okay. But I don’t want you to keep wearing that collar anymore. Of course, it’s your decision, but it just doesn’t feel right.”
“Well, yeah, but, what can I do? I can't wear a scarf all the time.”
Suddenly, Jay had an idea. “What would you like? You know, you like the fact that it’s a collar itself?”
Carlos shifted his gaze away from Jay again. “I don’t-I'm just asking to help you, not judging.”
Carlos fidgeted with his fingers. “Well, yeah, I mean, for me it feels more natural. Like, I kinda feel like I can breathe better with it- I just feel better wearing it.”
“Perfect. Hey, Pup, thank you so much for opening up like this. I know it can be scary. I hope you feel comfortable enough to tell me whatever you want to share. I want to step out for a moment, it’s related to this, and I want to help you. But if you’d rather I stay here with you, I’m more than happy to.”
Carlos hesitated for a moment, then said, “No, you can… go, obviously.”
Jay smiled gently. “You’re okay?”
Carlos nodded firmly. “Totally.”
When Jay was about to put on his leather jacket, he paused.
“Oh, Pup, would you like me to put your collar back on? For now?”
Carlos looked down, his voice barely a whisper. “That’d be great.”
When Jay put the collar back on, Carlos looked visibly embarrassed but still thanked him quietly. Jay smiled and said, “No problem, C. And listen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, okay? Nothing at all.” He left after Carlos gave him a small, grateful smile.
****
Jay made his way from the boys’ dorm hall to the girls’ one. And got to Mal and Evie’s door. He knocked, and a confused Mal opened it.
“Jay? What are you doing here at this hour?”
As soon as she heard his name, Evie appeared at the door.
“Have you talked to Carlos? Is he okay?”
“He will be, but he needs help. And I know exactly where we can start.”
****
When Jay returned to their dorm, Carlos was already asleep. It was the calmest he’d seen him sleep in weeks. Quietly, Jay made his way to his own bed, and listening to Carlos’s soft breathing, he soon fell asleep too.
****
In the morning, Jay heard knocks on the door and opened it, already guessing who it was.
“You got it?” he asked Evie, excited.
“If I have it? Of course I do. It’s for Carlos, after all.”
“She barely slept last night,” Mal chimed in.
Before Evie could answer, they heard Carlos’s voice from inside:
“Have what?”
Silence fell for a moment, until Jay broke it.
“Well, Pup, you needed a new collar, one that wasn’t… that one. So I found the best seamstress in Auradon.”
Evie held up the collar she’d made. “I made this for you. Hope you like it.”
Carlos took it and looked at Jay. “I- you told them?”
“No, just enough for them to understand,” Jay said casually.
“You can share whatever you feel comfortable with,” Evie added gently. “We want to help you.”
Carlos hesitated, looking down at the collar.
“Do you like it?” Mal asked softly. At that, Carlos started crying.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Evie whispered, pulling him into a hug.
Jay and Mal exchanged relieved smiles and waited patiently.
“Thank you so much, guys,” Carlos finally said.
“Want us to put it on you?”
Carlos nodded, tears still in his eyes.
Mal almost asked if Carlos wanted privacy, but decided it was better to let him set the pace. So Jay carefully removed Cruella’s collar, and Evie gently fastened the new one around Carlos’s neck.
Carlos looked happier than they’d ever seen him. They headed off to class, their bond stronger than ever.