Mal tumbled into Carlos and Jay's room, where only Carlos was at the moment, relieved to get away from the cameras. Distressed, she paced back and forth, turning off the room's TV where a video of her and Ben was playing. It was when her eyes started glowing green that Carlos decided to say something.
"Woah, easy girl," he warned, placing his laptop, which had been sitting on his lap, aside.
"What? You think this is so easy?!" Mal exclaimed, gesturing back at the door. "You don't have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say boo! I mean, it's not that I could even say boo but you know what I..."
Taken aback, Carlos answered, "I'm sorry."
"Carlos, don't you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?"
Carlos huffed a laugh at Mal's question. "You're thinking of my mother. And I was usually on the other end of that so not really, no." He scratched Dude behind the ears for a second before realising what Mal was there for.
"Oh, hey!" he started excitedly, standing up. "Did you bring it?"
Mal opened her palm, about to give Carlos what the boy was asking for when the door, which, in fact, had been locked, creaked open.
Cautiously, Chad snuck in. It was only when he turned around that he saw the two villain kids staring at him.
"Hi," the son of Cinderella answered Carlos' narrowed eyes. "Just came to use your 3D printer. Won't be a sec."
"How'd you get a key to my room?" Carlos asked.
Chad looked down at his hand. "Oh, I printed it off last time I was in here," he answered. To his credit, he was at least being honest.
Mal and Carlos looked at each other, their faces holding more questions than they could sensibly voice.
"You guys were sleeping," Chad filled in.
"Look, I just," Chad stammered before gesturing to the printer. "Your printer's so much better than mine and you've installed all these hacks and everything runs so much smoother than mine and—"
"Out," Carlos commanded, cutting the boy off and gesturing to the door. "Now."
"Fine, fine," Chad said, shrugging as if he had every right to be offended and disappointed.
"Chad!"
"What, hmm?"
"Leave the key," Carlos gestured.
Looking even more offended in his slouched all-mightyness, the blond slammed the door as he exited, the key left on Carlos' circular table.
The white-haired boy turned to Mal again, who'd spaced out. "Mal?"
"Hmm?" the girl hummed, turning to him.
"My potion?" There was an hopeful glint in his eye.
The girl hummed again, opening the small box in her palm. "Yeah, umm..." She took out a little gummy-candy looking red thing.
Carlos stared at it. "So this thing will make me say what I really feel to Y/n?" he asked, as if to confirm.
"Yeah. I mean, this is a truth gummy, so take it or leave it."
The boy smiled briefly. In his heart he wondered if Y/n would like him taking a potion but for the sake of telling her, he was willing to take the risk. "Perfect."
"Hold on, though," Mal said, flinching her hand away from Carlos. "Are you sure you want to be taking this? Because this is gonna make you say the truth all the time, no matter what, and the only reason I'm asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I would get myself sent back to the Isle. Which is, not that it sounds super unappealing, but you know..."
"Yeah," Carlos nodded, glancing at the red treat. "I'll take my chances, I guess."
"Okay," Mal agreed, dropping her hand down. She was about to hand the gummy over to Carlos when Dude jumped swiftly off of the boy's bed and ate the potion right out of Mal's hand.
The two gasped.
"Ohh, bad dog!" Mal reprimanded.
Dude jumped back on the bed, shaking himself with a strangely humane sound emitting from him.
Carlos and Mal looked at him in surprise.
"Man, that thing was nasty," the dog confessed, in very, very human words.
Carlos looked at Mal in horror, glancing back at Dude only when the dog started talking again.
"And you, you just got to man up." Silence filled the room for a second. "And while you're at it, scratch my butt."
Mal shook her head in disbelief. "You heard him. Scratch his butt." With that, she left the room, ignoring Carlos, who was calling after her.
"Come on, you scratch your own all the time," Dude urged.
Carlos sighed. What did I get myself into?