A/N: I'M SO SO SO SO SO SO... (five minutes later) ...SO SO SO SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG WITH THIS CHAPTER! School piled up, I was doing NaNoWriMo in November (writing a novel in a month), and my motivation was all over the place, not to mention tech issues with my laptops. To make up for my absence, this is the longest chapter by far, nearly double the previously longest chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think at the bottom! ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS!

Previously:

Jay and Evie's feet pound down the hallway, their eyes wide at Dude's sudden burst of speed and barking. Jay's heart pounds heavily in his chest when he sees Carlos's door hanging slightly ajar, and he doesn't think before he bursts into the room, the door banging off the wall with a loud crack.

Jay doesn't hear it; in fact, he doesn't hear anything but the blood rushing in his ears as he takes in the sight on the bed: Carlos on his back with Al over top of him, straddling him, one hand caressing Carlos's hip and the other his face. Their lips sealed together in a kiss, Carlos's hands on Al's shoulders. Then their faces looking up at him; Carlos's eyes round with surprise as he pulls his face away from Al's, who's eyes hold only a glare.

Jay turns and pushes his way past Evie, striding out the door. His breath seems to come in uneven pants, his chest feeling constricted. He has no words to describe what he's feeling, and he sees nothing but blackness and Carlos kissing Al as he stumbles down the hall, as far away from Al as he can. At the base of the main stairs in the foyer, he falls to his knees and sobs.

Chapter 15
Mal is running through the halls of the dorm, a small pouch slapping against her thigh from where it hangs loosely in her hands, when she rounds into the foyer and spots Jay slumped over on the floor at the base of the stairs.

"Jay?" She cries, changing direction and sprinting to his side, fear freezing her heart. She falls to her knees and breathes a sigh of relief that quickly changes into more worry when she realizes that he is sobbing, his head in his hands and his shoulders shaking. "Jay?" She asks again, quietly, dropping the pouch so that she can place a gentle hand on his shoulder, the other reaching up to cradle his chin.

Jay lifts his head, his face red and tear-stained, and his eyes puffy. He glances at her worried eyes for a moment before burying his fae in her shoulder with another heavy sob. She pats him on the back frantically while fumbling with the other in her jacket pocket in search for her phone. She hits speed dial and lifts it to her ear.

"Evie, what happened?" Mal demands as soon as the other girl answers, nearly screeching.

"Al accosted Carlos in their room just as Jay and I walked in." Evie's voice is steely when she answers, as if she's speaking through her teeth. Mal's never heard Evie use that tone before, and becomes worried before she even registered Evie's words and what they imply.

"What?" Mal shrieks immediately. Jay sobs again into her shoulder and she tightens her grip around his shoulders absently, her gaze darting around the foyer with wide eyes. "Where are they now?" Mal asks quickly. She had hoped to avoid this sort of situation, but this could be the perfect time to enact her plan. She glanced down at the small pouch next to her.

"I'm with Al and Carlos in Carlos's room right now. Carlos is a little shaken up and locked himself in his bathroom, and I've got Al tied to a chair at the moment."

Mal can just picture Evie glaring at Al while she said that. Mal holds back a smirk. "Alright, keep him there, I'll be right there, and I'm bringing Jay back with me. I think everyone needs to be present for what I'm about to do." She hangs up her phone with a snap.

Mal cradles Jay's head in her hands for a minute, drawing his eyes up to hers. Her face turns sad and sympathetic, and she coos softly at him for a minute. She inwardly thanks anyone who will listen for the fact that there aren't any students around at that moment.

"There, there, it will be okay sweetie. I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding. Why are you so upset?" She holds up a hand when he opens his mouth. "I know what happened, I want to know what specifically is hurting you right now." She looks at him shrewdly, simultaneously hating to ask him the question but hoping that her hunch is right.

Jay hesitates, staring into Mal's eyes, his own filled with moisture though he'd stopped crying. He wipes his hand hard across his eyes.

"I think I'm in love with Carlos." He whispers, looking away.

Mal squeals and throws her arms around his neck. "Oh, hun, I know."

Jay pulls back with a frown. "What do you mean, you know? I didn't even know!"

Mal chuckles gently. "Oh, everyone knew except the two of you, silly. We've all been waiting for you to figure it out. We've been getting tired of waiting, and then this whole mess started and we'd started to give up hope." When his eyes started to water again she grabbed his chin forcefully. "No, don't you give me that. This, the fact that you know you're in love with Carlos and how upset the two of you have been, all it does is prove that there's still hope for the two of you yet. Don't give up hope. Please."

Jay hesitates before nodding. "What do you mean 'except the two of us'? You mean Carlos has been in love with me too?"

Mal pauses. "You'll have to ask him that yourself, sweetie." She says finally. Then she scrambles to her feet, holding out her hand for Jay. He grabs on and she helps pull him up and watches as he brushes off his uniform.

"So, what do we do now?" Jay asks her, biting his lip.

She holds up her pouch, her face fierce. "Now, we go find out the truth."

/

When Mal and Jay storm into Jay and Carlos's room they find Evie and Al exactly as Evie said they would.

Evie stands leaning against Carlos's dresser, studying her nails impassively. Across from her Al sits in a chair a couple feet away from the table, his feet and hands taped together, a sock (which Mal secretly hopes is dirty) shoved into his mouth, and his body bound to the chair with sheets from the bed. Dude lays on the floor in front of a flipped over laundry basket, and Mal realizes belatedly that Evie had trapped Abby beneath it. The monkey clutches the plastic bars, swatting at Dude every now and then, making him growl.

Evie looks up from her nails when Mal and Jay walk in, rushing over to give Jay a hug. "Oh, you poor baby." She coos.

"Where's Carlos?" Mal asks Evie quietly. Evie glances meaningfully at the closed bathroom door. Mal walks over and knocks gently.

"Carlos, hunny? I need you go come out here for a few minutes." She calls softly, pressing her ear against the door.

"Why?" Comes a soft reply. Mal glances sorrowfully at Evie for a moment.

"Please, Carlos? I need you to hear something for yourself."

"I can listen from here." He says stubbornly.

"No, you need to see it while you hear it. I don't want any doubt in your mind. Please? You're safe here, okay? You don't need to say or do anything, just come out." Mal almost smiled at the unintentional double meaning to her words. She hopes Carlos doesn't notice it.

Everyone waits silently, holding their breath while they wait to see what Carlos will do. Finally the door cracks open, and Carlos's red-rimmed eyes and pale, worn-out face are visible in the crack. Mal steps back and holds her arms open to him, her face gentle. He opens the door and falls into her arms with a deep, shuddering breath.

"Okay." He whispers, his voice scratchy. "I'm here now."

Mal nods at him slowly. "You have to stay here for the entire thing, okay?" She raises her eyebrows at him. He nods slowly. "Good." Then she turns to Al, her gentle face falling away, replaced by a cool hatred.
Mal holds up the small pouch she'd brought and finally opens it, pulling out a chocolate chip cookie. Everyone raises an eyebrow at her, including Al. He seems very unconcerned about his position.

"Did I mention to any of you that I had found a new spell in my mother's spell book? It's a truth spell, and whoever consumes it has to answer every question they're asked with full honesty." Mal raises an eyebrow at Al, stepping forward. Suddenly he seems a little more concerned, leaning back with narrowed eyes. Mal glances back at Evie.

"Evie, would you please do me a favour and film this? I want a record of whatever Al has to say to us right now, just in case it's something we need to share."

"Sure thing." Evie says, glaring at Al. Jay leans back against the door, glancing warily at Carlos every few seconds. Carlos slides down the wall to sit on the floor next to the bathroom, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.

Once Evie begins recording on her cellphone, Mal walks forward and pulls the sock out of Al's mouth. Al works out his jaw, a disgusted look on his face.

"That thing was disgusting. You know, I'm pretty sure there's rules about keeping another student as a bound and gagged prisoner."

"At this moment I don't particularly care. Now, eat this." Mal holds the cookie out to him. Al glares at it, clamping his mouth shut. Mal raises an eyebrow. "Have something to hide?" She asks.

"Not at all." Al mutters through his teeth. "I'm just not particularly fond of chocolate."

"Now, that in itself should be a crime." Mal says drily. "Now, eat this one cookie, just a bite. You don't want to insult my cooking now, do you? What sort of prince are you?"

"The smart kind, that doesn't want to eat anything that's been tainted by magic." Al snaps. Mal narrows her eyes at him, grabs him by the chin, and forces his mouth open, popping a chunk of the cookie into his mouth. Then she clasps her hand over his mouth so he doesn't spit it out.

"Now chew. I'm not moving my hand until you do. You're making it very clear that you have something to hide, I think this in itself is enough to perk the Fairy Godmother's curiosity and I bet you they'll launch an investigation, especially when I get King Ben involved. Let's just make this easier on ourselves and go through it now, shall we?"

Mal's eyes are colder and harder than any of the people present had ever seen them. Evie looks at her best friend with pride gleaming in her eyes. The Isle may not have been the best, but they had learned how to protect one another no matter what it took.

Finally, after an intense stare down, Al begins to chew. Mal steps back after leveling him with a warning look.

They wait for a few seconds, giving the spell a chance to get to work. After a moment, Mal steps forward again, her arms crossed.

"Al, what do you think of Jay?" She asks, knowing very well he'd have to tell the truth if the spell had worked.

Al's eyes narrow, and for a moment he looks as if he's choking as he clenches his teeth together, and then his mouth opens and the words pour out like poison, his face livid.

"I think he is a villain that deserves to be sent back to the Isle of the Lost for all eternity, a villain who enjoys hurting people and who doesn't deserve love and friendship. I think he is a horrible coward, a liar, a monster that hurts innocent people and causes pain everywhere he goes."

Al falls silent, the veins sticking out in his throat as he clenches his jaw. His eyes spew fire at Mal. Behind them, Carlos draws in a sharp breath. Mal's fists clench as her side as she draws a deep, steadying breath.

"Al, why did you come to this school?" Mal whispers.

"For an education." Al spits.

"Were you aware before you arrived that we had been invited to Auradon?"

"No."

"Did you attempt to physically harm Jay?"

"No."

"Did you want to?"

"Yes." The word is growled through his teeth.

"Did you attempt to mentally and or emotionally harm Jay?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"By trying to separate him from all of you, especially Carlos." He narrows his eyes and adds the next bit willingly. "I'd made the mistake when I arrived to think that you and Princess Blue over there were innocent just as Carlos was. I thought the two of you had overcome your disadvantageous background; that you were above your lowly background. I was wrong. You are monsters just like Jay."

"What did you do to try and separate him and Carlos?" Mal hisses, her fists clenching. Behind her Evie takes a step forward, the camera lowering, but Mal holds up a hand at her without looking.

"I got Chad to goad him into insulting Carlos after Tourney practice. Then I went after Carlos and comforted him after making sure Jay wouldn't follow, promising Jay I'd look after him. Then when I got to Carlos, I didn't even have to say the whole spiel I'd prepared about how Jay was horrible for him and how he deserved better, he had a breakdown all on his own. Then I got to comfort him and become his new hero, and earned his trust. After that I went to find Jay while Carlos was asleep and told Jay exactly what I thought of him, and warned him to stay away from Carlos. Then, today, when I knew Jay would be on the lookout for Carlos, I knew I had to act fast to get him to get the point, so I got Carlos alone in their room, knowing Jay would return eventually, and had Abby watch the door. She told me when Jay was coming, and I made my move. I knew seeing Carlos in the arms of another would break him." An evil glimmer enters his eye, a disgustingly proud look. Jay leans back against the door, his hands over his mouth as tears silently slide down his cheeks.

Mal and Evie step forward together, their fists clenching and murder on their faces. However, surprisingly, Carlos speaks up.

"Stop." His voice is silent as he steps forward, his eyes on his friends, soft and pleading. Mal and Evie waver before nodding and stepping back. Mal's heart quivers along with her body, aching with her entire being to punish the boy in front of her for causing such pain in her friends.

Then Carlos steps forward, and a slow smacking sound rings out through the room. Everyone stares in shock as Carlos's hard, closed off face as he stares at a very surprised Al, whose cheek is slowly reddening.

Al's eyes are wide as he stares at Carlos.

"Not you." Al whispers. "You were the innocent one in all of this. How could you do that to me? They're the ones that have hurt you, caused you pain! They're villains!"

"No." Carlos says quietly, though his voice is as hard as steel. "The only villain I see in here is you."

"Do you have anything you'd like to ask him, Carlos?" Mal whispers gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Carlos looks at Al seriously, his lips downturned. He looks tired as he contemplates her offer.

"Was I just a means to an end for you?" He asks finally.

Al hesitates. "I thought I was protecting you. But for the most part…yes."

"What about Chad?"

Al's eyebrow raises. "That little bitch? Oh he was easy, once I realized his little puppy-dog crush on me, he became very useful. Once he was in my bed, he was willing to do anything I wanted." Al's lips pull up in a sharp grin, his eyes gleaming.

Evie feels sick, and Carlos's face is sad.

"What else? Who else have you hurt?"

"Well, it's a loose definition of the word 'who' but that stupid mutt over there got in my way one to many times." Al says, his teeth gritted. He looks at Dude with a disgusted face. Dude swings his head around and growls low in his throat at Al and Abby takes another swipe at him. Dude turns back to snarling at the monkey.

Evie gasps, her hand that isn't holding her phone going up to cover her mouth.

"You're sick." Mal hisses.

Al doesn't answer, as it wasn't posed as a question.

"I think that's all we need." Mal finally whispers. She places a gentle hand on Carlos's shoulder. "Carlos?"

"Yeah." Carlos mutters, not taking his eyes off Al. "We're done here."