Strained

Trouble's Brewing

After he'd regained himself I smiled, turning around. "Get on." I said.

He jumped onto my back and wrapped his arms around my neck. I put my arms under his thighs and walked with him on my back through the halls. We saw Ben on the way and waved at him as he approached us.

"Well, if it isn't Auradon's most popular couple." He said.

"W-what do you mean?" Carlos asked.

"You two are blowing up on our school web page's social forum! See?" He pulled out his phone and showed us the website. I read multiple comments complimenting how cute me and Carlos were and smiled. But there was one particular comment that caught my eye.

'I'm so sick of this school, not only are villains going here now. But the villains going here are gay. Ffs, I hate Carlos.'

I looked for a name under it but it said 'anonymous'. "Ben, do you see that comment?" I pointed to the mean comment. He read it too.

"Yeah. It's a little rude." He said.

"A little rude? They bashed Mal, Evie, Carlos and me on social media. And not only that, they made a point to go out of their way and explain that they hate Carlos." I was a little annoyed at Ben's calm attitude.

"Well, there are gonna be mean people. Look, don't look too much into it. It's just a comment on the school website." Ben said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded and smiled. He did have a point. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be that offended by it since it was the only bad thing I'd seen about us.

"Thanks Ben." I said before walking towards our locker hall.

"No prob. Take care Carlos." He said to Carlos who just sighed.

" 'Los, don't let that comment get to you." I said, trying to sound as comforting as I could.

He said nothing as we walked on. I sighed, knowing how easily influenced Carlos' mind was.

I knew that comment had gotten to him. I wished there was something that I could do that would make him not think about it, but I couldn't muster up anything in my mind.

When we got to my locker I gasped at the view in front of me. I assume Carlos saw what I saw also since he gasped almost at the same time as me.

"J-Jay. I'm sorry." He said, clinging to me. Drawn in permanent marker on my locker was 'FAGGOT' in all capital letters. The first thought to come to mind was who would write that.

"No, no. Shh, it's not your fault." I said, trying to reassure him.

"Yes, it is! If we weren't together than this wouldn't be happening and I hate to make all of this stuff happen to you." He said, his thin voice breaking off. I heard him choking up. I put him down and turned around to hug him.

"It's okay." I said, holding back tears of my own. I couldn't let him see me cry. I was supposed to be his protector. If I looked weak in front of him, what would he think? I choked the tears back and swallowed.

"We're going to find out who did this and they're going to get it, if not by the teachers or anyone, than by me." I said, trying to make Carlos feel better. "Okay?" I said.

He nodded, his tears touching my face as I kissed his cheek shortly. "Come on, we shouldn't let this ruin our day. We can still get your book and go out to the field." I said, rubbing his face. I opened my locker and got the book out, closing it back.

"You're gonna leave it up there? I'll wipe it down for you..." Carlos said.

I shrugged. "Eh, I'm gay anyways, so it's not too far from right. Let's leave it up there, not only for proof when we bust this idiot, but for decoration." I said, getting a chuckle from Carlos.

We walked in silence to the field, hand in hand. I was glad that Carlos didn't seem to dwell on the situation for long. He had a faint smile until we sat down on the bleachers and began to study.

About thirty minutes into our studying he sighed. "What?" I asked, closing my cosmetology textbook.

"I can't really concentrate." He said.

"On what? Studying?"

He nodded.

"Why don't we take a break then?" I proposed.

He closed his book and looked down at me. "Jay, I'm actually really excited for cosmetology class." He said.

"Yeah, I am too." I admitted. I loved when Carlos braided my hair. To feel his tiny, warm fingers in my hair was heaven.

"We should really go into the forest again sometime." Carlos said quietly, as if it was meant to be a mere thought.

"Yeah, I really enjoyed-" In the middle of my sentence, a cup hit me in my jaw, nearly making me fall.

"Oh my gosh." Carlos came down to me. "You okay?" He asked, touching my jaw. I was a bit flustered at his touch.

"Yeah." I said, looking around for the cup. After spotting it under the bleachers I quickly jump off if them and grab it. Going back up to Carlos I sit down and examine the cup.

It's a hard, plastic red cup. Looking inside, I saw a balled up piece of paper and swiftly pulled it out. Unwrapping it, I saw scribbles on it.

" 'I'm gonna kill you and your boyfriend'." I read aloud from the paper. Carlos put his head in his hands. I couldn't tell if he was crying or not, he was silent.

I put my hand on his back, thinking of how happy I want to make him. I tried to think of something comforting to say, but words just wouldn't form; in my mouth or in my head. I grabbed his hand and rubbed my fingers across his knuckles as comforting as I knew how.

When he lifted his head I, quite thankfully, saw a soft smile and a tearless face. Seeing him smile, even at such bad times like this, made me smile.

"Come on, let's go to Fairy God Mother and then we can head out to somewhere." I said, tugging his arm gently.

His eyes widened. "But we can't be out pass dorm check hours." He said, his eyes full of worry.

I rolled mines. " 'Los, who cares?" I saw him getting ready to say 'me'. "If you don't get caught, you don't get in trouble."

He played with his fingers a bit before nodding. "Okay, but please don't let us get caught."

"I've got you." I said, putting my arm around his shoulder and grabbing my book with my free hand. I made him hand me his books too and we started walking to Fairy God Mother's office.

It's all the way on the other side of the kingdom, so it took us a while to get there. She was at a wooden desk, doodling on some papers. She was clearly void of any duty at the moment.

"Fairy God Mother," I called. She looked up in a snap.

"Jay, Carlos. Yes?" She said, a warm smile spreading across her face.

"Um, I'd like to report some... Uh, hostility?" I said in the best way I knew how. A confused look replaced her welcoming smile as she tilted her head to the side.

"What do you mean hostility?" She said, her voice matching her expression.

"Well, you might know that me and Carlos are a couple," I started nervously. "Which means we're gay. So... Well, being gay is something that's never really welcomed and-"

"Jay, say what you're trying to say." She interrupted, more or less nicely.

"Well, someone made a mean comment on the school web page about us. Carlos, Mal, Evie and I. And, today while we we're on the field studying, someone threw a cup at me that had a note inside threatening to kill me and Carlos."

Her face fell with dread, and an uncomfortable silence veiled the room.

"Well, do you know of anyone who could have anything out for you? Anyone who has anything against you?"

I look up to the ceiling and think before looking back down at her and shaking my head.