Rating - T (for swearing and allusions to past relationships)
Summary - Mal provides Carlos with an enchanted truth gummy. He takes it at the worst time, and ends up not being able to hide his feelings when encountering an old flame.
A/N - I decided to do small chapters instead of writing one giant fic, just because I'm eager to get it started and get it out there. I've never really written a multi chapter story before so we'll have to see what the update schedule looks like together.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: A Favor
Carlos groaned, slumping back against his headboard and exiting out of one of the dozen tabs he had open on his laptop. All of which had some variation of “how to ask a girl out” typed in the search bar, with all the infinite unhelpful results that followed.
Apparently in Auradon, the best way to strike a match with a girl was to be her predetermined soulmate and whisk her away to her happily ever after.
Sure, they had advice for those who weren’t so lucky in love, but Carlos didn’t understand how it was supposed to help him.
“Start a conversation with her.”
Duh. Was he supposed to stare her down in silence until she agreed to be his girlfriend? Besides, they’d done nothing but talk so far in their relationship. Carlos was tired of talking. That's why he was trying to do something for a change.
“Be vulnerable.”
Carlos was an expert at that. After all, he’d been plucked from his home and thrust into a new life with zero preparation and all eyes in Auradon on him, watching his every move as he tried to adapt. He couldn’t imagine himself in a more vulnerable spot. If that was all it took to earn a date, everyone in the country should be lining up to get a piece of him right now.
There were so many angles to how he could ask, but none of them felt right.
He couldn’t play it casual. He tried that, and had been misinterpreted to Hades and back with Jane thinking he was asking her all these things as a friend.
The “funny” pick up lines were corny, and Carlos cringed every time he imagined himself using one of them.
And the flirty ones… Those all sounded like they’d be more natural coming from Jay, he thought, and would only work if he had Jay’s looks to back them up.
Carlos sighed, but couldn’t help but smile when he heard Dude let out a huff of his own from his spot on the bed next to him. He reached over, gently scratching behind the little canine’s ears.
“I see you reading over my shoulder,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood with himself. “Alright, how about this one?” He cleared his throat, and looked over at Dude. “You know what you would look really beautiful in? My arms.”
Dude just stared up at him with his usual blank stare, but it still made Carlos feel judged.
“Yeah, it’s not good,” he groaned, closing his laptop and setting it on the bed.
He’d already made up his mind for a little… enchanted assistance to help him make his move. Nothing major, just a temporary truth charm that he’d convinced Mal to concoct for him. Something to give him the push he needed to ask Jane out, and not let himself be shut down by another misunderstanding.
And speaking of Mal…
The news station he had on for background noise switched to another story about Mal, just as the girl herself came barreling into his dorm.
She slammed the door behind herself, leaning against it and panting hard as her eyes flashed a bright green.
“Whoa, easy, girl…” Carlos soothed, hating seeing her so stressed out.
“What? You think this is so easy?!” Mal snapped, pushing off of the door and starting to pace around his dorm room. He snatched the remote off his nightstand to turn the tv off before Mal could see herself on the screen. Thankfully she was still in too much of a frenzy to have noticed. “You don’t have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say boo! I mean, not that I can even say ‘Boo’, but you know what I -”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Carlos said softly.
“Carlos, don’t you ever miss screaming at people and making them run away from you?”
Carlos frowned at that.
Back on the Isle, villain kids fell between two categories - prodigies or punching bags. Those with powerful parents that once possessed magical abilities ended up on the top of the heap. Their parents took control, and they raised their children to do the same.
And at the bottom of the heap, there were kids like Carlos. Kids with ordinary parents that were looked down upon just because their ambitions were anything less lofty than cursing, killing, or enslaving whole kingdoms at a time.
Those villains had less pull, and subsequently ended up treating their own children more like minions.
Maleficent was obviously the one who ran things on the Isle, which meant Mal had free reign to do whatever she pleased. And despite not having powers to rival Maleficent’s scepter, Jafar and the Evil Queen had a magic all their own. The three of them were a trio to be feared, admired, and respected, and it was the same with Mal, Jay, and Evie.
If Carlos could say anything positive about his mother, it was that she was conniving enough to figure out a way to align herself with three of the biggest players on the Isle.
That had kept Carlos safe from being tormented by other villain kids, even if nothing could’ve saved him from being tormented by his own mother.
“You’re thinking of my mother,” he replied dryly. “And I was usually on the other end of that, so… no.”
That seemed to permeate through Mal’s anxiety haze, and she looked at Carlos - really looked at him, instead of just letting her eyes dart over to him for a split second as she frantically looked around the room.
“I’m sorry.”
For the first time since she entered the room, Mal stilled. Carlos made some room for her on the bed, and she sat down on the edge of it.
“I wasn’t thinking, I -”
“No, no, it’s okay. I mean, I get it,” Carlos replied. “With everything you’ve got going on, it’s a wonder you even remember to feed yourself.”
Mal’s stomach growled almost on cue, and she reached up to clutch it.
“Crap, I think I forgot to eat breakfast…”
“Here, I’ve got you.”
Carlos hopped off of the bed, going over to his backpack and fishing out a protein bar.
“Here,” he said, offering it to Mal, who just wrinkled her nose up at it. “It’s good, I promise. Better than the ones that tasted like sawdust that made it over to us.”
She hesitated before taking it, opening the wrapper and taking a bite.
“See? Not so bad,” he smiled. “Oh, and hey, I’ve got the report I promised you.” He went back to his bag, pulling out a folder and getting some papers out. “As well as your chemistry homework. And I’m almost done with your history project, but I know it’s not due til Friday, so I promise I’ll finish in time. It's crazy that they still make you do homework on top of all your princessy work.”
“Ben can do it, and he's the king. No reason I can't too. But thank you,” Mal sighed, managing a weak smile as she looked up at Carlos. “All this for one tiny charm - it almost seems like too much… Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can do for you? Just a little spell, a potion, anything?”
“Whoa, slow down, one truth spell is more than enough,” he chuckled. He set the papers on the bed next to Mal, before sitting down on her other side. “You’re really itching to do some magic, huh?”
“You have no idea." She stuffed the rest of the protein bar into her mouth and wadded up the wrapper, tossing it into the trash can by Carlos’s bed. Carlos watched her as she chewed and swallowed, hoping she’d say more when she was done.
But she stayed quiet.
“I know you’ve got a lot on your plate…” he said when he knew he wasn’t getting anything else out of her. “More than any of the rest of us could imagine. I mean, I’m lucky my biggest source of stress right now is giving Dude his semi-weekly bath. Well, second biggest source, maybe…”
Mal got the hint, reaching into the pocket of her skirt and pulling out a little mint tin, handing it to Carlos.
He took it eagerly, opening it up and seeing what looked like an ordinary piece of red candy sitting in a nest of tissue paper.
“You… made it into a gummy?” he asked, an amused smile tugging at one corner of his lips.
“Yeah. Cherry flavored. That’s still your favorite, right?”
“You remembered,” Carlos smiled. He gently bumped his shoulder against Mal’s as a way of saying thanks. “How long is it supposed to last?”
“A few hours, max,” Mal replied. “I tried to dilute the charm as best as I could. Because I know how dangerous the truth could be, and if you took it at the wrong time you could say the wrong thing to the wrong person and everyone would look at you like you were crazy and you could get into some serious trouble or even sent back to the Isle-”
“Gods, Mal, what do you think I really think about Jane?”
“I’m serious!” she exclaimed, pounding her fist onto the comforter.
“It’ll be okay, I promise,” he said. He closed the tin, placing it on the nightstand. “I’ll save it for later. Jane’s been so busy with cotillion committee lately, I probably won’t see her til tonight. Then it’ll give me the boost I need to get my feelings out, and secure a date with her. Easy as that.”
“Easy. Right,” Mal said with a slight nod.
“Thanks, Mal, seriously,” he said, smiling at his friend. “You don’t know how much this means to me. And if you need any more work taken care of for your classes, I’ll be here.”
“I can’t ask all that of you…”
“Hey, what are lackeys for, right?” he teased, bumping her shoulder again. This time she bumped him back.
“Thanks, ‘Los.” She got up from the bed, grabbing the stack of schoolwork Carlos had done for her. “You don’t know what this means to me…”
She managed another small smile for him before turning towards the door to head out.
Carlos stretched back out on his bed, petting Dude and grabbing his laptop again.
“Oh, hey,” he called, and Mal turned around at the door. “Maybe you could do a magic salon thing this week. When the girls come to Evie to get their cotillion dresses, you could do their hair. It’d help you scratch that magic itch a little don’t you think?”
Mal smiled, and Carlos was too far away to see just how pinched it looked.
“Yeah, good idea,” she replied with a nod. “Thanks again.”
“You too,” Carlos replied happily, turning back to his laptop as Mal left.
That went better than expected. Mal really came through for him, and he got to help her out in return.
And in just a few short hours, he’d ask Jane to be his girlfriend, and everything about his life in Auradon would be perfect.
prompt: zed takes eliza to try vanilla, double vanilla and triple vanilla
Frozen Delight
AO3///FF.NET
———————–
“No, I’m not going.” Eliza said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Zed pursed his lips, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness. “C'mon Eliza! You’ll love it, trust me!”
Eliza huffed, still not budging. “Zed, why would I want to give my money to the humans? I would rather go support Zavier’s Caulibrains stand than that…that human yoghurt shop.”
“Eliza, stop being irrational and come with me to try this Froyo!” Zed exclaimed, taking Eliza’s arm and dragging her towards Seabrook.
Eliza huffed, but allowed herself to be dragged away. She would never admit it, but she was curious about this ‘froyo.’ Zed had talked it up so much, telling her all about his favorite flavor, vanilla.
She let her best friend drag her about half way before she tugged her arm out of his grasp. She straightened her outfit, and continued to follow Zed down the path. She could walk herself, thank you very much.
Zed kept clamoring on about how good the flavors were, about how much she would love it. Eliza just rolled her eyes at his antics, he was basically a tall-ass child. He would be lost without her.
As the two zombies crossed into Seabrook, the mood changed. People were staring at them, like they were diseased or something. It had only been a few weeks since the cheer championship, so zombies being out was odd to the humans.
Zed took the attention like a champ, smiling at everyone as they passed by, but Eliza didn’t. The stares made her skin crawl, made her want to go home. She was all for the attention when she felt she deserved it, like for her protests, but she didn’t like this. It made her feel like an animal locked in a cage, like she was a pariah.
As if he could feel her uneasiness, Zed grabbed Eliza’s hand and tugged her into his side. He threw his arm around her shoulder, and winked at her. Knowing she had her best friend by her side made her worry fade away. No matter how strong she was, she knew she could always fall back onto Zed.
They finally got to the froyo shop, and Eliza noticed that the normal ‘no zombies allowed’ sign was missing. So the humans were changing, just slowly. The two friends walked into the store, and again received looks from the patrons. Zed paid them no mind, and grabbed a table next to the shop’s front windows.
“Eliza, you sit. I’m gonna go get our froyo.” He said, pulling out a seat for her.
Eliza frowned, but sat down. “Zed, you should let me choose my own flavor, and you know, pay.”
“Nonsense! I dragged you down here, I pay! Also, you don’t know these flavors like I do, I’m going to bring you the best ones! Just trust me, ok?” Zed asked, puppy dog eyes out in full force.
Eliza sighed and nodded her head. Her best friend was an idiot, but she had a hard time telling him no. She chuckled as he basically skipped his way to order, and she took that time to take in her surroundings.
She could see zombies walking outside, laughing and mucking about. Humans were intermingling with them, hesitantly, but smiling. She was extremely happy that zombiekind were being accepted, no matter how slowly. She just wished it didn’t take her entire life to happen. 15 years of resentment and hatred thrown her way, and then suddenly a white haired girl comes around, and everything changes.
She didn’t get a chance to muse any longer, as Zed came back and sat three froyos in front of her. Three, exactly the same, froyos. She frowned questioningly and glanced at Zed. He was already happily munching on his own froyo, which looked the exact same as the other three. He saw her glance, and smiled widely, motioning for her to try them.
“Zed…these are all the same…” She said hesitantly.
Zed scoffed, and sat his froyo down. “No, that one’s vanilla,” he motioned to the one on her left, “that one’s double vanilla,” motioning to the middle one, “and that one’s triple vanilla! They’re different!”
Eliza’s frown deepened. “Zed, they’re all vanilla. They’re all the same!”
“No, Eliza, just try them! You’ll see! They each get richer in their vanilla flavor! I personally like the double vanilla the best, rich, but not too rich.” He said, motioning to his own froyo.
Still skeptical, Eliza picked up the vanilla flavor, and scooped a spoonful into her mouth.She could have moaned in pure bliss, but she held it in. The vanilla was so good! She closed her eyes and savored the flavor. She had never tasted anything so good, she needed more.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Zed grinning ear to ear. His eyes said ‘I told you so’ but the words didn’t fall from his mouth. She glared at him and picked up the second one. If Zed was right about the first one, he had to be right about the others. She took a bite of the double vanilla, and was prepared to be amazed again, but the same pleasure didn’t hit her.
Don’t get her wrong, it was still very good, but it was the same as the original vanilla. She frowned slightly and picked up the third and last vanilla. She hoped this would have a richer taste, but she knew it was going to taste the same.
Taking a scoopful, she found was correct in her assumptions. Zed had bought four of the same froyos, thinking that they were different. She looked at her best friend, and he looked at her eagerly.
“Ok, so which one is your favorite?” He asked excitedly.
Eliza grimaced, and glanced at the three froyos.. “Zed, I hate to tell you this, but they’re the exact same.”
Zed rolled his eyes. “No they’re not Eliza, we talked about this! It’s subtle, but they’re different!”
Eliza sighed and shook her head. She knew there was no arguing with him. “Sure, Zed. i liked the first one the best.”
“Oh! Good choice, good choice. That’s Addie’s favorite!” He said, going back to scarfing down his frozen vanilla treat.
Eliza chuckled and grabbed the first froyo, not that it mattered, as, again, they were all the same. She was realizing just how far she would go to keep her best friend happy, even if that meant putting her opinions on the back burner, where it mattered. She was still going to rule the world one day.
