The four villain kids sat hunched around the circle table in the centre of Jay and Carlos room. Mal had arranged pieces of paper and maps as she explained the plan.
"It will be up on the alter under the beasts spell jar" Mal said as she pointed to a map of the room that they would be in tomorrow. While explaining she looked at each of the kids faces. Jay who was standing beside her, had his ink black hair in a bun and was shirtless. Mal didn't take no notice, neither did Evie. Evie was too busy listening to the plan, hands on her hips and a red bag hung from her shoulder.
"I will be coming in from her and I- Carlos are you listening?" Mal interrupted herself as she looked at the boy and he seemed distracted, he just nodded that he understood.
"Are you alright?" Evie asked placed a hand on his shoulder. Carlos looked at Evie and then gave a quick glance to Jay and small look down his body. So quick that no one had noticed before he took a breath and then finally said "no, I'm fine really".
Mal looked at him for a second to make sure then continued.
"I'll be right at the front, you guys...will be up in the balcony" Mal spoke as she moved her hand over to where the balcony was on the map.
"Carlos?" She then said softly to make sure he was still okay. Carlos brought forward a piece of paper that was closer to him and sat it next to the map.
"Okay, I'll find our limo so we can break the barrier.." he spoke quietly and then paused "and get back on the isle with the wand?".
"Perfect" replied Mal.
"Evie?" Mal said turning to the girl who was silent next to her.
"Yeah?". Mal picked up a bottle of what looked like perfume and held it up to her.
"You will go with Carlos and use this, two sprays of this...and he'll be out like a light" Mal released her grip on the bottle as Evie grasped it. There was a silent tension in the room as all the kids looked at each other awkwardly, wondering if what they were doing was right but no one said anything. Jay put both his hands on his head and then walked over the window looking out at the garden now filled with darkness with an expressionless face. Carlos went over to his bedside cabinet and took out a small wooden box, and walked over the door and said "I'll be back in 10 minutes".
"Are you sure you're okay?" Evie asked again genuinely.
"Yeah, this is just something I have to do" Carlos replied with a small sad smile which Evie returned as he walked out of the door and down the hall disappearing.
Evie turned from speaking to Carlos and was about walk past Mal who was now sitting at the table as she traced her mothers spell book reading a spell, she caught the name.
"M!?" Evie said as she hunched over Mal's shoulder. Mal stopped reading and looked up to her friend.
"You want to break Bens love spell?" Evie asked in shock. Evie's hand was on the table next to Mal and Mal looked down at it, trying to escape her friends gaze. After a few seconds of silence she then weakly responded "um yeah?". Evie shook her head a little probably not even meaning too.
"You know for after?" Mal said. Evie silently and gently took a seat next to her purple haired friend and took her hand so that she could explain.
"I've just been thinking, you know when the villains finally do invade Auradon..." the sentence almost stung in her throat "...and begin to loot..and kick everyone out of their castles and in prison their leaders and destroy everything that is good and beautiful.." she almost trailed off, she was exactly repeating a speech that her mother had once used to teach her to bed bad to the bone.
"..Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra...." she couldn't find the word to use. She racked her head for a few seconds before blurting out the word "cruel!".
Evie opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again a she looked Mal's reddening cheeks and her eyes now becoming irritated. Mal was about to cry but Evie didn't look at Jay or anything she just watched her friend. Hands still clasped as Evie thumb stroked the back of Mal's hand.
Mal gently pulled her hand, closed the book annoyingly, stood up and walked out of the room. She heard Evie calling for her, "M!" She called but Mal never looked back.
Carlos walked down with the small wooden box down the hall down the stairs and knocked on Elliott's door. It's took a few seconds before Ansel, Elliott's cousin came to the door. He was surprised at first but then his face softened. Carlos looked at Ansels reaction and realised what he was doing, he was a villain he thought why was he doing this.
"Are you looking for Ell?" He asked. Carlos was silent trying to find the courage to actually say something. But he couldn't cough up any words.
"Ell?" He yelled into the room and then walked back into the room to make space at the door. Elliot came to the door still in the clothes he was wearing that day, light blue skinny jeans and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top.
"Carlos? It's like eleven at night? Is everything alright? Come on in" he said quickly. Carlos stood where he was, not moving.
"No, I mean it's fine I shouldn't be here anyway this was a mistake, I should go?" He said as he looked in the door gesturing to Elliott's cousin who was present in the room. Elliot came back to the door and leaned in the doorway.
"You came all the way down here just to leave me hanging? You villain kids sure are evil" Elliott said in his usual sarcastic tone. Carlos gave a soft smile.
"Cmon" Elliot said gently taking Carlos arm and leading him into the room, although Carlos wore a thick cardigan he could still feel the soft sting of coldness on his arm. Elliott let go when they entered the room. Carlos took in the room as one side of the bed was painted in soft greys, whites and every so often a small touch of blue. The other half of the room was painted in red and green, this is where Ansel lay on his bed looking up from his book to the boy that had just embarrassed himself at the doorway moments ago.
"Ah he speaks!" Ansel said, clearly sarcasm runs in the family. Carlos laughed.
"Leave him alone" Elliott said to Ansel as he picked up a mug of what looked like coffee and drunk it. Carlos was uncomfortable being here, he felt like he didn't belong in such a..good place. Carlos grew more uncomfortable as Ansel began to look at him, and then to Elliott and back to him, with a smile on his face. Elliott noticed by Carlos body language and turned to Ansel who lay smuggly on the bed, "didn't you say you were going on a midnight run?" Elliott said, as he suddenly remembered. Ansel looked confused.
"Yes, you said you were going on a midnight run? Better get to it before you miss it?".
Ansel got what Elliott was doing and rolled his eyes and lazily got up from the bed and grabbed a red jacket that matched his hair and pointed as he walked past Elliott.
"Fine but you owe me!" Elliot nodded and Ansel walked past Carlos, "you too Mute" he said before he left the room.
"Ignore him, he's harmless" Elliott said plainly.
Carlos smiled silent.
"Come here?" Elliott walked over and sat on his bed waiting for Carlos. Carlos began walking and then realised the temperature of the room, close to boiling.
"Is it me or is it warm in here?" Carlos said looking around making sure he wasn't going mad.
"Oh yeah sorry, you're asking the guy with ice running through his veins? It's fine I'll fixed it" Elliott stated as he began to move off the bed.
"No, it's fine" Carlos protested as he began taking off his cardigan and sat it on the bed as he followed.
"Okay, so what's up?" Elliott asked crossing his legs into a sitting position. Carlos took a deep breath. He took the box from his pocket and sat it in front of him.
"Listen... I've lived on an island my entire life, and island full of villains, and sure I've had Evie and Jay and Mal as friends but I just wanted to come to you and say I've never met someone like you?" He said as Carlos kept looking from the box to Elliott's eyes and back to the box as he spoke, Elliott's gaze never moved from Carlos face.
"I've never met someone who was nice, and kind without an alterer motive. You helped me with tourney, you introduced me to cookie dough ice cream...you- you gave me your dog" Carlos said as he lifted the box moving it with his hands as he spoke.
"What I'm trying to say is that I've never met someone who I'd lo- like, like..like you...here in Auradon" Carlos finished.
Elliott looked more confused than ever but still they both looked in each other's eyes. Elliott's diamond blue state pierced Carlos heart like a dagger through butter. Carlos held up the box as he handed it to Elliott. Elliott's gaze fell from the boy to the box as he looked at the engraving of a snowflake on it. Elliott smiled...and then opened it. His mouth gaped open and he gasped putting his hand inside it and lifting it to reveal the thin chain inside. Elliott held in his hand in front of them both a thin silver chain and at the bottom attached to what a small silver metal snowflake with little blue speckles in it.
"Carlos..it's beautiful".
Carlos looked happy with himself, he put a hand behind his head scratching and used to other point to it.
"It's got a neutralising effect built into it, you know so it controls your body temperature and helps control your...icyness? You know so you don't...have to wear those chains on you legs or arms" Carlos said empathetically.
Elliott was shocked again. As he looked up to Carlos with an unbelievable look on his face. "Oh my god that's amazing!" He said as he placed the chain back in Carlos hand and turned around.
"Put it on me" Elliott asked. Carlos unclipped it and put his hand over the boy's head feeling the chill of his skin as he was now really close to him. Once he clipped the chain the centre of the snowflake lit up a small fluttering blue. Elliott grabbed the snowflake and clutches it in his hand. And smiled. "Why did you do this?" Elliott asked as he still faced the opposite direction to the wall. Carlos' hand was still on the chain, he moved his other hand to rest on Elliott's shoulder and as he spoke Elliott turned to face him.
"No one as amazing as you should have to wear handcuffs".
Elliott turned his body round to completely face him again. Elliott's hands went to Carlos shoulders as he pulled him in and hugged him tightly "thank you so much!" he whispered into the blonde boys ear. As cold as Elliott normally was, Carlos could feel nothing but warmth from this hug. They pulled away but there faces were still so close to each other as the silently looked at each other. Into each other's eyes. Their faces began to become increasingly closer. Carlos licked his top lip lightly in a nervous fury, he could feel Elliott's cold breath on his face and it made a comfortable shiver run down his spine. Neither of the boys knew what was happening but their nose were about to touch, their lips were about to touch just as-
A quiet bang came from the door of the room as Ansel leaped in his face red from the cold and his arms were crossed and were shivering.
"Do you realised how cold it is? It's literally minus 60 I swear...so I'm sorry, I'm not a freaking reindeer. I'm not going running in that.....hey what you doing guys?" Ansel asked as he now stood next to the two boys on the bed as the were face to face with each other. Elliott rolled his eyes and fell back onto his bed in annoyance.
"Nothing...absolutely nothing!" He said in a whisper that no one could hear. Apart from himself.
Jay got up from his bed. Carlos still hadn't returned from his secret midnight adventure. He walked and stood in the middle of the room next to the table, still shirtless with pyjama bottoms on. Silently he looked over and glanced at the trophy he had one for the team on his first tourney game, was he about to regret the decision he was about to commit tomorrow he thought. The dog Dude snored quietly on his absent friends bed, he tip toed over and lightly stroked him on the ears and smiled.
Evie, who was in bed with the lamp on was waiting on Mal to return. She opened the cabinet next to her bed and pulled out the chemistry test that she had passed. Evie thought of Doug in that moment and what she was about to do that would destroy the friendship they had built and the subject that Evie had done to well in. She looked over the paper and felt the cover then placed it carefully back into the cabinet.
If Only (Reprise) Performance takes place.
