XF → Harry Hook [2]✔

Scarf

The moon rose above the trees as the group walked, a lone performer on the stage that was the clear night sky. The stars that should have accompanied it were missing, and the mere presence of the bright silver satellite appeared to have scared away the clouds. Carlos didn't blame them; on this particular night, he found that if he glanced at the moon for even a second too long, he felt as if he was having a staring contest, and Carlos never was the best at resisting intimidation.

Jane noticed his involuntary shudders. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly. She placed a warm hand on his arm, which Carlos used to wrap around her waist and pull her close.

"I'm scared." He glanced nervously at the others around him, afraid that they would hear his confession.

"Me too," She looked at him, eyes bright with worry. "The last time XJ tried to go after the crown, she almost succeeded."

"You heard what Harry said – she's not after the crown."

"But what else could she want?" Jane furrowed her brows. "She's got everything."

Carlos gave her a curious look. "Everything?"

Jane blushed, the redness prominent under the harsh silver moonlight. "You know, she's smart, she's brave, she's confident, she can fight..."

Carlos's eyes widened as Jane's blush deepened. "You're not jealous of her, are you?"

"Maybe a little," she admitted. "I know she's bad and she's mean and she's not what most Auradonians think a decent person should be, and I thought the same when she first came here. I mean, I thought the same when you first came here."

"But we ended up together all the same."

"We did, but the second XJ set foot on Auradonian soil..." Jane hesitated before continuing. "You've got to understand – before she arrived, I had heard about this ruthless, untouchable girl who was described to be just as beautiful as she was cunning before I saw her. But when I did, she surpassed her reputation. I had never seen anyone like that before, and I thought...I thought you'd leave me for her."

Carlos was stunned speechless, but finally, he let out a hysterical laugh. Evie and Jay turned their heads to look back at him, causing both Carlos and Jane to turn red. Carlos suppressed his laughter and spoke between giggles:

"You think...I'd leave you for XJ?"

"I thought," Jane's face was now so hot that even the chilly wind couldn't combat the flush. "Past tense. Not anymore."

Carlos took a deep breath, hoping to numb the ache in his stomach from laughter. "XJ scares me to hell and back, Jane. Back on the Isle, I would avoid her at all costs. Once I was in a dead-end, and I heard her coming, so I scaled a house and almost broke my leg trying to climb down."

"My god," Jane's eyes widened. "What did she do to you?"

He shrugged. "She didn't single me out or anything; she was just nasty all around."

"She was a bully?"

"Everyone on the Isle was a bully." Carlos sighed. "You either became the bully or the bullied. She'd take whatever she wanted, and she'd talk however she wanted to whoever she wanted, and nobody dared do anything about it."

"Why? Because she's Shan Yu's daughter?"

"Partly, but it was mostly because XJ didn't go out of her way to show people that she was mean, which made it even worse, since you didn't know what she would or wouldn't do. She'd either give you a look that made you feel less than gum on her shoe, or she'd break every bone in your body – you just didn't know, and that was enough to scare people into submission."