Il libro di Jaylos

pre date

Winter holidays were a weird thing.

On the Isle, there had been no holidays. No happy gatherings, no time off from school, and certainly no presents. Homework was a suggestion, more than a requisite task, and it never piled up- especially for Carlos de Vil, not-so-evil-but-still-a-genius of the Isle. He had been able to carefully manage schoolwork, Mal's half-cocked schemes and his chores like a well balanced scale, never letting one thing tip the balance too much, and he had been damn good at it. He had assumed that going to Auradon would mean less stress; he didn't have to worry about schemes and watching his back, about the mountain of never ending chores his mother would give him daily. He could focus on schoolwork and friends without having to stress about his life for a change.

He had assumed wrong.

Were he inclined to blame others for things in his life, his hectic schedule would have to be blamed on Jay's need to stay active and Evie's craving for acceptance from the royal masses. Jay had insisted that they both joined Tourney, and with Tourney's off season came Swords and Shields. Carlos hadn't been able to refuse Jay's begging that he join as well- he knew it was Jay's way of making sure he could defend himself should they ever be separated, and though Swords and Shields was easy enough for him, the only thing keeping him in Tourney had been Jay. Evie's soft spoken plead for assistance with her newest clothing line was equally impossible to refuse, his nights running longer as the deadline for her first mock up's drew nearer, Mal often disappearing into Lonnie's room across the hall to avoid the sounds of sewing machines while she tried to sleep.

On top of all that, he had taken up three new classes just before winter break, technology courses that had him up all hours fiddling with parts Mr. Hawkins had slipped him on the fly after the last class of the semester. He hadn't realized exactly how much he'd let pile up until Jane had knocked on his dormitory door, asking if he'd finished his share of the Oceanography project they had been grouped together for. He had apologized profusely, assuring the confused girl that he would have the research to her as soon as possible before diving into the pile of work awaiting him on his desk.

That had been three days ago, and Jay was growing concerned. He had made sure to bring food up from the cafeteria for the younger boy, forcing him to take a break long enough to eat every so often, and while he had tucked the teen into bed the past few nights, every morning he woke up to Carlos passed out on top of his notes. It was beginning to get ridiculous; while Jay knew that Carlos had a problem with taking on too many tasks to keep himself occupied, to tire himself to the point of dreamless, nightmare free sleep, he knew from the multiple health classes Fairy Godmother forced them to take (and hadn't she been surprised during their 'sex education ' talk to learn that sweet, innocent Carlos was the most crass of their foursome when it came to the topic) that what Carlos had been doing wasn't healthy.

"Hey, C? Why don't you take a break from all that work? I was, uh, thinking maybe you'd wanna go see a movie with me?" Carlos glanced up from his book, frowning slightly at Jay before returning his attention to his work.

"I need to get this done, Jay. Maybe ask the girls if they wanna go, I just have too much homework to do to hang out right now." Jay frowned, moving to take the book from Carlos in an attempt to gain his attention.

"I was thinking more of a you and me alone thing...I'll pay, we can get dinner first, catch my drift?" He gave the younger teen a hopeful look, and Carlos reached to take the book back, giving an exasperated sigh as he picked up his pen again.

"Later, Jay. Okay?" Jay gave a sigh, running his hand through his hair before turning to go to his bed, picking up his jacket.

"Okay. I'm reading you loud and clear, C. Forget I asked you out on a date, dude...I don't want things to get awkward." Pulling on his coat he left the room, shoulders slumped as Carlos made a noncommittal noise, scribbling furiously in his notebook for a moment before his head shot up, eyes wide.

"A date?" he stated, turning his head to look at the door Jay had disappeared through, processing the words before pushing himself away for his desk to take off out of the dorm room, rushing to catch up with Jay to grasp his arm, preventing him from going further down the hall.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Jay frowned as he watched Carlos, waiting for him to catch his breath as they stood in the hallway.

"You want to go on a date with me?" It was half question half statement, and Jay gave a slow nod, brows furrowing in concern as Carlos gave him a baffled look. "And it's not a joke? Or a trick?" Jay shook his head, reaching to take the smaller teen by his shoulders as he gave him a small smile.

"Carlos. I would never joke about asking you out. I thought you felt the same way, but if I was wrong..." Carlos shook his head, eyes wide as he grasped Jay's arms tightly.

"No! No, that's not-I never thought you would like me, Jay, I mean I'm just- no no, I do feel the same way I promise. Yes. I'd love to go to dinner and a movie with you." Both teens beamed at each other, and Jay nodded towards the direction he'd been walking.

"You wanna come eat with me now and we can discuss details?" Carlos raised a brow, giving a small snort.

"A pre-date date?" He teased, and Jay laughed as he draped an arm over the younger teen's shoulder, guiding him down the hall.

"I think our entire friendship up to this point has been a pre-date date, C."