Tag: chad

It’s not until after classes have ended, until tourney practice, that Ben chooses to face the consequences. Mostly because there is no other option. He’s nervous, and if his grip on Carlos’ hand during the walk there is a little too tight, well, Carlos understands. It’s one thing to have the Lost kids accept him as one of their gang, one thing to have Evie reassure him that most people are actually fine with his relationship, but he’s king. He will one day rule Auradon, he can’t be afraid to hear what his people have to say.

More than that, though, he’s just Ben. He’s a teenage boy in love; he needs to stand up for himself.

Jay enters the locker room before them, always willing to put himself in between his friends and danger, but there are some things that even the strongest intent to protect cannot shield, and this is one of them.

One last deliberate hand squeeze causes Carlos to turn to face him. Ben’s not sure what expression he has, but whatever it is makes Carlos dart in quickly and press a comforting kiss to Ben’s cheek.

With encouragement like that, how could Ben not be brave?

He walks into a conspicuously quiet and tense locker room, and while the other boys don’t overtly look at him, they are as aware of him as he is of them. Carlos, sidling in after him, automatically heads toward Jay. It’s one less thing to worry about, not that Ben expects this to turn into a fight. At least, not a physical one.

He’s braced for an insult, maybe a snide passive-aggressive comment, especially from Chad whose aura of disgust and belligerence could not be thicker unless it were a literal cloud around him. Instead he gets tentative, awkward circling around the point.

“So… yesterday. That was an impressive goal, Carlos,” leads Amir, who sort of nods in Carlos’ direction but also sort of doesn’t due to Jay standing protectively in front of him. While most of the tourney team had been rather laid-back to the Lost kids, Amir included, he’s always been kind of… twitchy with Jay in particular. Unsurprising, considering his parent’s history.

Nondescript agreements ring around, a pathetic echo of yesterday’s cheering.

To Ben’s side, Esteban asks, “Are you and Mal… doing okay?”

“Yes, we’re great,” Ben says, tersely.

“Look, okay, some of us saw that kiss yesterday and the whole school knows about the two of you,” Tyrone, who probably inherited his gumption from his mother, cuts to the chase, “Someone obviously blabbed,” he continues, a pointed glare at Chad’s back, “Not that you were being particularly subtle this morning.”

“Or for the past two months,” Liam, Tyrone’s childhood best friend, interjects mischievously.

“But if it was just adrenaline or… whatever,” Tyrone falters, a little, “We understand.”

It’s an offer to write it off, Ben realizes, they’re waiting for his lead.

“No. Not adrenaline,” Ben says lowly, before catching Carlos’ gaze. Ben can do this, “I love Carlos. Mal is still my girlfriend, but now Carlos and I are dating, too.”

There’s an immediate swell of noise, but surprisingly, most of it is enthusiastic. Some of the boys, like Chad, have grim, repulsed expressions, but for the most part the rest of the team seems… relieved.

“Finally! I thought we’d have to watch this thing for another two months,” Ben hears Amir say to Manny.

“Well, at least we didn’t have to do a song and dance number this time,” Manny shoots back.

“Okay,” Tyrone says simply with a companionable slap to Ben’s shoulder. Matter concluded, the locker room returns to normal.

Ben can’t help but feel lighter now; not because he’s told other people he loves Carlos–it was never something he wanted to keep a secret. But whether due to kingship or honorary Lost kid status, he had been steadily dissociating from the rest of Auradon’s students and only just realized how much that had been weighing on his mind.

Now he knows though: his fellow Knights, most of them at least, will stand by him. He may not be as close to them, but they accept him. They’re still his team, his friends. He’s happy.

~

A/N: Weird ending and kind of short, sorry, but the next part I am almost completely sure will be the last and it has more of an epilogue-y feel to it, so this one had to be separate.

Okay so I cannot, for the life of me, find that post someone incredibly awesome did of backstories for the other tourney team players, but I adopted/adapted their name choices. I hope you don’t mind, OP.

Amir is Aladdin and Jasmine’s son; I just used the alternative A spelling to go with the whole… everyone’s children’s names are ridiculously close to their own.

Liam (the shortened form of William) is the son of Lottie (the shortened form of Charlotte). And, like their mothers, is childhood friends with Tyrone, Tiana and Naveen’s son. (The Princess and the Frog)

I went with Manny, aka Manuel, for Audrey’s son instead of Miguel, though. Because her father was named Manuel and Manny just kind of sounds more like Audrey. (Atlantis)

Esteban is Esmeralda and Phoebus’ son. (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Tbh, I don’t think Auradon is ALL of the Disney kingdoms combined. I think it’s probably a mix of several of the pseudo-European ones, particularly the Golden Age movies, but that everyone else’s kids are there because Auradon Prep is actually “Preparation to Reign” not “Preparation for University”. So while the kingdoms in Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast (and Hunchback of Notre Dame because if France is included, all of the French-set movies should be too), and maybe a few others, have combined into Auradon not all of the movies. So Agrabah, China, Corona (Tangled), Scotland (aka the Highlands, Brave), and Atlantis, for example, are still separate.

All of Ben’s careful, well-intentioned plans crumble into dust after the Auradon Knights win against the Corona Suns. Or, rather, when Carlos wins against the Corona Suns.

Both teams defenses’ were working double time during the game, and neither side had managed to score against the other. They had already dragged the game into overtime but with still no goals made, they were facing another ten minutes of grueling overtime. And maybe that was why the Suns had focussed on Jay and Ben, the Knights’ top scorers, and completely forgot about Carlos. Small, fast, cunning Carlos who scored the game winning goal.

It was such a surprise that, for a beat, there was stunned silence. But then a roar of cheers erupted from the Knights’ side, the band and cheerleaders at the front of the celebration. The team, tired but exhilarated, crowded together, jostling Carlos in congratulations. After Carlos and Jay finish their familiar, triumphant, roughhousing, Ben sees Carlos bounding towards him.

It’s nothing at all to catch the smaller boy mid-leap with arms around his waist. It seems right to have a matching embrace around his neck. And maybe that associative seduction worked too well; or maybe Ben conditioned himself instead. Because it just feels natural to lean in, to press his lips against Carlos’, to taste, to touch, to kiss.

For all that Ben wishes it had been an eternity, it’s brief. A fleeting moment in time that ends all too soon because he pulls away. Has to pull away. When his brain comes back online, he realizes he didn’t ask. Didn’t feel a matching, reciprocating pressure from Carlos. So Ben has to pull away, has to look and see what he’s done.

Carlos’ mouth is open, an involuntary temptation; Ben would like to imagine that his lips are a little redder, but then again, he’d like to imagine a lot of things that aren’t actually true. Shaking those thoughts away, Ben sees that Carlos is frozen, eyes wide and staring back in shock. The arms around Ben’s neck have loosened their hold, hands resting lightly on his shoulders.

He knows that there’s still noise and movement around them, but as far as Ben’s concerned none of that matters. They are a tableau of two, motionless and accompanied only by the sound of Ben’s pounding, nervous heartbeat.

Then Carlos’ hands twitch, and maybe it’s just a reflex, but maybe he’s trying to push Ben away. And Ben doesn’t want to presume, doesn’t want to trap him, so he lets go, sets Carlos back on the ground quickly, but gently, and he pulls his arms away. Carlos fingers are still curled in Ben’s jersey, and his expression is still open and shocked and vulnerable. And Ben resists the urge to lean back in, to press more kisses against his face, to see if Carlos actually tastes like chocolate or if that was just more of Ben’s imagination at work.

Unfortunately, or maybe not, considering how close Ben was to giving in to the impulse, Jay appears and manhandles Carlos away. He steers them back into the crush of enthusiastic teenagers riding the high of victory, leaving Ben to stand at the fringes and stare after them. When he turns away, trying to get himself under control, he catches the knowing gaze on Chad’s face.

~

A/N: I cannot express how difficult this was to write. And not in the usual way where I want to write but have no idea what to, this time it was I know exactly what to write but my soul keeps curling up in embarrassment every other word.

I am not very good at romance, so… you know, anything that isn’t vague hinting or sly implication is way too much for me. But! I persevered, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, a title for this series! Hooray! Not very witty reference from the lyrics of Can’t Help Falling In Love, but it was either that or a reference to Fall Out Boy’s Young Volcanoes. And “Free From The Coliseum” doesn’t quite make sense without the context.

Also, also, hello new followers that are presumably here because of this series. Uh… I’m glad you enjoy this series, and hope you find other drabbles you enjoy amongst my writing.

So, just to make clear, this drabble is part four in a series.