Carlos is relatively feeling a little better by the next morning. Last night, he somehow managed to sleep off his anger. Maybe because Uma and Jay were cuddling him and he was a sucker for affection. He could stay like this all day, but unfortunately they had school.

He turned, his movement causing Uma to stir and Jay to let out a whine. The older male tightened his arms around him.

"Don't move. You're warm."

"Uh huh, buddy. Dude, get up."

"No. Sleep."

"I'm with Carlos. I need food.", Uma spoke up, sitting up and stretching. "If I go to school without food my mood will be permanently ruined." She rolled out the blanket and hurried off downstairs, leaving Carlos to handle Jay.

He started hitting Jay's arm to wake him.

"Come on, Jay. Doesn't food sound good right now?"

Jay's eyes opened just a little to peek at Carlos. "Hm."

"Food, man. Food."

The other eventually sat up, hair messy and eyes half-lidded in a glare. "Fine."

"Glad to see you're cooperating." Carlos slid out the blanket and scurried out the room, hearing Jay getting up and following him.

The two arrived into the kitchen, ducking in time from a flying orange. Gil was tossing oranges to Mal who was squeezing them, making fresh orange juice using the juicer. Evie was flipping the last of the pancakes and stirring the eggs. Uma and Harry was hogging the coffee machine.

"Good morning, ya'll.", Jay greeted with a yawn, stopping at the counter by Mal. "What time is it?"

"We have about a good three hours before school starts.", Mal answered him. "Does anybody need to head home for clothes or anything?"

"Nah, brought the necessities over here.", Uma replied before taking a quick sip of her coffee. She moaned in satisfaction. "Ah, yes. The morning pleasure that is coffee."

"Agreed, mate.", Harry chuckled drinking his own. "Hm, by the way, Evie, is Aunt Grimhilde still here?"

Evie shook her head, amazingly, the curlers she had in staying in place. "No. She had a meeting to attend to. In fact, her and the rest of our parents. I figure it's about the upcoming fashion show?"

"I hope there's nothing wrong.", Carlos prayed. He enjoyed his mother's fashion shows immensely. "I'm looking forward to modeling, you know?"

"Same. I want to strut my stuff.", Uma pouted. "Wonder what the meeting is about though."

"Let's hope it's about what the color scheme is gonna be."

"Of course, I'm on board with that! What kind of question was that?!"

Hades knew that one thing that will never change about Cruella de Vil is how animated she could be. Not to say it's a bad thing though. He had gotten used to how expressive she can be. He was more relieved she was going with the idea.

"Excited, I guess?"

Cruella chuckled, leaning back in her plush desk chair. "Hades, darling, I love your music. How could I not agree to a performance for my show? Though, I'm curious as to who you want to perform?"

"You mentioned something about new music you written?", Maleficent spoke up from beside Grimhilde.

"Yes. I thought the kids would like to perform. Give them another chance to be show-offs... again.", he teased.

"Aw, yes. Nothing is better than our wonderful children showing how amazing they are. You know my little Evie will steal the show.", Grimhilde praised with a clap. "She has a voice of an angel."

"May be true, but my little dragon's voice is that of a goddess'.", Maleficent clapped back.

"Please, my girl can sing both of yours under a table and then some. She gets it from her mother.", Ursula piped up from the sofa.

"Uh huh. Anyways, ladies, Hades, we're all in agreement on this?", Cruella questioned, crossing on leg over the other and placing her hands on her desk.

They all gave their answers.

"Alright. We'll just let Jafar, James and Gaston know about this. As well as the kids, of course."

"Then, meeting adjourned?"

"What, you got soap operas to catch up on, Maleficent?"

"How about we not do this?"

Ursula and Maleficent sassed each other as they headed out the door with Hades following after them with the roll of his eyes. Grimhilde had stayed behind, retaking the chair next to Cruella's desk.

"Those two won't ever get over this rivalry thing they have, will they?", the blue and black clad woman teased.

Cruella shook her head. "No. No, they won't, Grimhilde."

"Yeah, I thought so." She sat back in her chair. "Has he called you again?"

Much like a teenager would seeing a final exam, the fashion diva thumped her head onto the surface of her desk. "Urgh. Yes, this morning. Saying he'll be in town by tomorrow."

"Mentioned anything about Carlos?"

"He wants to have a lunch date with him, but I told him Carlos refuses to see him. The audacity of that ass to say 'his son has to' like he's enforcing authority over my baby like he's an employee of his."

"You want me to poison him? I'll do it."

"Grimhilde, I don't need you to do that." Cruella reached over and patted her knee. "But thank you for the offer."

"You're my friend. And Carlos is one of my joys other than my daughters. I hope he doesn't get the satisfaction of knowing that boy."

👑👑👑

The moment he stepped out the car, he heard his name being called. He turned and came face to face with the prince.

"Oh, hi, Ben.", he greeted.

Ben gave his sunshine smile, handsome as ever. "Hi."

"Well, you're a bit overly happy this morning.", Carlos teased, walking beside the prince as they approached closer to the school's building. "What has you in a chipper mood?"

"I made the team."

For a second, he had no idea what Ben was referring to but then he remembered yesterday was tryouts. He remembered Audrey said the results of who made the teams would be up today.

"You made the team?"

Ben nodded, his smile bigger now. "Yeah."

"What about us?", Jay asked.

"See for yourselves."

He lead the others to where the posters were pinned up. Only a few were there, so it wasn't too crowded. Aziz and Chad was there, high-fiving each other before the blond pulled Doug into a quick kiss. Apparently, they made the football team, too. When Aziz saw Jay, his eyes lit up and the grin he sported grew.

"Jay! I made the team!"

"Congrats, Aziz!"

"Hey, Jay!", Harry called over, gesturing for him to look at the names. He passed by Harry's, happy for his friend. He stopped when he saw his name was written down, too.

"I made it on the team, too!"

"Looking forward to playing games with you.", Aziz teased, in Jay's space and smirking. The other could feel his cheeks heat up.

"Uh... yeah."

"Congratulations, Jay!", Carlos cheered, hugging him tightly.

"Carlos, we're cheerleaders!", Evie had squealed, ambushing with an embrace when he let Jay go. She dragged him over to where their names were and sure enough he was one of the first ones listed. He was able to spot Uma and Evie on the list, too. "This calls for a celebratory selfie."

"Evie, really?", Uma playfully whined.

"Yes. Besides, my hair curled just how I wanted to! I have to show it off!", the beauty princess giggled. She fished out her phone and pulled Uma and Carlos close. "Come, come. Be cute with me."

"You're lucky I love you."

The trio took a couple of selfies, making various faces and poses before Evie decided to take pictures of the new members of the football, including Gil and Mal. She picked the pictures she and the others liked the most before posting them on her usual page. Within moments, she was getting likes and comments while the others' cells pinged with notifications.

Surprisingly, even the dubbed AKs'.

Audrey had noticed the wide eyed stares and shrugged. "What? I always thought you had amazing pictures. So yeah, I follow you."

"Beautiful, beautiful pictures.", Aziz agreed.

"Oh, thank you."

"You know, there was this picture you posted the other day with just Jay and Carlos at some diner I think and it was the cutest picture. Right, Ben?", Audrey cooed, nudging the prince who nodded without a second thought.

"I know what picture you're talking about. I didn't think Carlos could look anymore cuter than he already is, but I was proven wrong."

Carlos ignored Uma's laugh, pinching her side. His cheeks were hot.

"Thanks."

"We should totally get to class before that bell rings.", Mal suddenly insisted, stepping in between Ben and Carlos before the prince got any closer. "Right?"

"Right.", Carlos answered back, suspicious. Mal was never eager to get to class, even when they were attending Dragon Hall. She did this very thing the other day when Ben and Carlos were alone at his locker. Maybe she was... jealous?

"Well, I need to get something from my locker first for my class.", Jay said, holding his bag a little higher onto his shoulder.

"I'll walk with you.", Aziz volunteered. Much to the other's shock, he grabbed onto his hand. "Come on."

Jay glanced at Carlos who smirked at him, giving him an encouraging nod. The duo had walked away, leaving the others to wonder about them.

Evie had stepped to Audrey's side, smiling as she walked Jay and Aziz disappear down the hall. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it possible Aziz is really feeling Jay?"

The princess was just as giddy about the possible attraction as she was. "I think so. I mean, they are cute together. Also, irony."

"Like I said yesterday, Aziz wants to date Jay.", Jordan had stated as she came up to the group. "What's up?"

"Hi, Jordan.", Carlos greeted.

"Hi, Carlos. I'm guessing my bestie stole your bestie?"

"Away on a magic carpet ride."

"He's been wanting to do that ever since Ben's birthday. How are the rest of you?"

"Doing fabulous.", Evie answered, doing a twirl. "Did you hear the news? The boys made it on the team."

"And Evie, Uma and Carlos are our newest cheerleaders.", Audrey announced proudly, arm-looping with Uma who was trying to rid of her sudden gay panic. "Isn't that great?!"

"Congrats, you girls and guys! Ooh! That reminds me to start looking into layouts for the school's online news blog."

"Well, if you need help picking out something aesthetically eye-catching, Mal's just the girl for that.", Evie praised, nudging the girl who blushed. "She helped my mom design her logo."

"It was just subtle suggestions.", Mal stated with a shrug, walking away now to find her locker. The girls had followed her, Jordan taking to questioning about her about her art skills.

Chad and Doug also took their leave, hand in hand.

This allowing just Ben and Carlos alone. The prince had stepped closer as they began to walk down the hall so that whatever he said could only be heard by Carlos. It raised suspicions from passing students and teachers given there already was speculation about their relationship. A relationship that has yet to start. Yet.

"So, I just remembered I never got your number.", Ben says as they turn a corner. "I mean to ask you yesterday, but it slipped my mind."

Carlos is sure his cheeks are a bit pink right now. It's so weird to him how the brunet always managed to make his heart beat a little faster within an instant. He does have a crush on him, that he was sure of. But, jeez, just how hard is he crushing?

"My number?", he repeats, unsure if this is reality. The smile Ben gives is very charming. They stop just outside Carlos' first class.

"Yeah. So I can talk to you outside of school. Personally."

"O-oh. Yeah."

Is he sweating? No, he's not sweating. He's good, he's good.

Ben hands him his phone. The case is as Carlos thought it would be. It's just a solid blue case. He takes a while to remember his own phone number, still a little fidgety with butterflies in his stomach. After a quick tapping of his number onto the screen, he handed it back to Ben and the grin the prince sports is so bright he wants to put on sunglasses.

"Thanks, Carlos."

"No problem."

The prince shoots him one more smile before he turns on his heel and heads for his own class. Carlos is left blushing, suddenly feeling the questioning stares.

👑👑👑

It's an hour into the first class before his teacher heads out for a second. As if on cue, his cell vibrates in his pocket and he jumps. The boy next to him gives him a concern look and he tells him it's okay before he takes out his cell and sees he has a message.

At first, he would have believed it to be a message from his mother, given it's something she does nowadays, or one of his friends. But then he sees it's an unknown number.

He frowns, his first thought being that it could be that man. Much to his relief and bafflement, it's not.

It's Ben.

Unknown Number: it's me, Ben

Unknown Number: wanted to say hi!

Carlos chuckles, imagining the prince smiling at his phone as he types excitedly over the keys.

C: Hi, Ben! u know u shouldn't be texting in class?

After he sends the message, he saves Ben's number.

Ben: and yet you're replying back to me. besides, my teacher stepped out for a minute to talk to one of my classmates

Ben: how's your class?

C: we're practicing making our own blogs, the teacher isn't here either

Ben: i bet you're a master already at that

His cheeks warm at the compliment.

C: well, technology is my life, other than fashion and animals

👑👑👑

Ben remembers seeing some of the photos Audrey shown him when he finally decided to be more social media active.

On the VKs' pages, the photos served evident that they were close. Often, if the background wasn't a diner, a street, or one of their parents' workplaces, it was their homes.

None of them cared about how they would look with pink cream covering their faces as their skin because soft. None of them cared that they looked like a hot mess in funny printed sweats. None of them cared the photos and videos shown some of their embarrassing moments like Harry making a face of pure horror as he tripped down Mal's stairs.
Image didn't matter because honestly, those were the photos people liked the most. Photos and videos that shown that despite the glam life they now lived, they were still humans.

And some of those photos that were Ben's favorites were photos of Carlos.

His favorite just to happen to be a photo of the freckled teen smiling as he petted a dog someone was walking. It was a natural scene, one that was wholesome.

It must have been a warm day that time. The sun was caught in the photo, gleaming bright over the teen and dog with Jay and Uma in the background laughing. Carlos was kneeled next to the dog, beaming. The owner of the dog was smiling down at him, not minding it at all.

Everything in that picture was golden, but Carlos was the center of Ben's liking for it.

B: you like animals?

Carlos: yes

Carlos: not to be picky because I love all animals, but dogs are my favorite

Ben locked that piece of information up for later.

B: do u have any pets?

Carlos: no, but i wouldn't mind one

Carlos: teacher is back, ttyl

B: u n ur friends should sit with us at lunch today, please?

He hopes Carlos accepts.

Carlos: well, u said please so I don't see the harm. I'll let the others know

B: ok!

The conversation ends there, but Ben's happy.

👑👑👑

"O-oh, this is... um... new..."

Audrey just squeezed Jane's hand, a little concerned as to why the girl was so jittery. The VKs weren't coming over to harm them.

"Jane, it's alright. We just thought they sit with us today."

The brunette chuckled, hiding her embarrassment and fright. "I'm okay. Just wasn't expecting them to be coming over."

"I invited them to.", Ben admits, eyes on Carlos who was saying something to Jay. Whatever he said had the other pouting and turning red. His face was still red when the group made it to their table. He stood up, greeting them. "Glad you decided to join us."

"Well, thanks for the invite.", Mal responds, taking a seat. The table was large enough to fit at least 20 people. There was only seven of the VKs and eight of them, so enough room to spare.

Evie sat next to her, coaxing Uma to sit on her other side so that she was next to the pink princess who didn't mind one bit. Both Jay and Carlos were guided to sit in between Aziz and Ben, both princes very pleased with the arrangement.

"Not that I mind, just curious. Why did you ask for us to join you today?", Mal speaks up once more, her eyes green and intense and staring across the table at Ben.

The prince shrugged, offering his winning smile. "Just thought it would be nice. Besides, we're all on the same teams now and we're friends, right?"

"Right! And thank you, Ben.", Evie smiles. He misses the blue haired diva's smirk that she shot at Carlos, mouthing something that resulted in him blushing and giving her a glare.

Lonnie speaks up. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Li Lonnie.", she greets brightly. "I'll be captain for the swim team this year."

At that Uma perks up. "Oh? I wanted to try out for the swim team."

"Great! We won't have tryouts until two weeks from now, but I'll still notify you about it. You're Uma, right?"

"The one and only."

👑👑👑

Lunch went well just as Ben hoped it would. It was odd though that Mal was staring at him the whole time, only speaking up when she was mentioned and addressed to. Her staring down make him feel a little uneasy and made him wonder what was it all about.

There was also Jane's usually fidgety-ness, but surprisingly Gil had been friendly with her and the brunette eased up and eventually joined in more openly with them. Despite what his mother had said about Gil's father, his son was a totally different story. He was sweet with a charming smile to match. He seemed like he would be a bully but the teen was as precious as a puppy. It was no wonder Harry fawned over him and glared at anyone who looked at Gil any way wrong.

It made sense as to why they were able to click so well with Chad and Doug. Both couples was more than the first layer. A lot people would accept the stereotypes from Doug and Gil, a spineless nerd and a possible brainless jock, but that wasn't the case. Both were much more. Doug was actually quite the sass, as proven when he went toe-to-toe playfully with Uma over lunch. He was as smart as anyway would believed, but he isn't any way spineless. In fact, he was the reason Chad went from being a self-absorbed prince to a prince that only smiled because he meant it with a kind heart. He remembered their freshman year when he told the blond off, telling him that because they are friends, he was letting him know that he needed to change for the better. A week later, Chad was asking him out and apologizing for his unattractive behavior. And the rest was said and done. Doug wasn't afraid to speak his mind and despite knowing him for a little bit of a while Ben could tell the same with Gil.

He could see that he brought out the best in Harry who didn't mind showering him with affection in public view. Harry didn't care it made him seem less intimidating to others, he just cared for Gil.

Honestly, it made Ben feel jealous of the two couples.

He wanted that so much with Carlos.

And at the rate Aziz was going with the flirting, it seemed in no time Jay and him would be there soon.

"That went well!", Audrey sighed happily, closing her locker after getting what she needed for her next class. Right now, only he was accompanying the princess. "I don't know why no one else wants to be nice to them. They're pretty cool."

He nods in agreement. "Well, as long as we're nice, it will be alright. Besides, we have to make a good impression on our future wife and husband, right?", he teases and Audrey laughs and playfully swats his arm.

"Agreed, Benny-boo." She suddenly giggles and the apples of her cheeks match her pink skirt. "Uma looks absolutely radiant today. Who am I kidding? She looks radiant every day."

"I can say the same about Carlos. One wonder he's a model."

"So is it true?"

The duo jumps, turning around to the source of the sudden question. Standing behind them is Ally, daughter of Alice Kingsleigh, an infamous traveling journalist with a story to tell each week. Like her mother, the girl had an endless curiosity and right now she wanted to feed it.

"Is what true?", Audrey repeats, wary of the girl. She has the right to be. When she and Ben broke up, it somehow made it out to the rest of the school and the rest of Auradon. She was sure the only people who knew about the break-up was their inner circle. That inner circle being Jane, Doug, Chad, Lonnie, Aziz and Jordan. She had a feeling that Ally probably did some snooping and leaked it. She didn't want to accuse the girl, but she had history of doing such things.

"That Ben is really dating Carlos. You know, that's all everyone is talking about. You and him being Auradon's current 'it couple'."

"Well, Ally, for the time being, we'll keep the crowd guessing.", Ben answers firmly. He doesn't want to spill anything because he does care for Carlos. He's not stupid. He's careful. He knows people are all for him and the freckled teen, but there are still some wary of Carlos as if he has done wrong. He didn't want to say something and someone hears and flips it around to damage the de Vil name.

Ally pouts, obviously disappointed she didn't get the answers she aiming for. "Oh, alright." She turns and leaves the duo who let out breaths they didn't know they were holding.

They glance at each other and give affirming nods.

"She's gonna say the wrong thing one day.", Audrey is assured. "So we have to be careful with what we say around her."

He couldn't agree more.