It was finally here: the last day of senior year at Rydell High School. The senior carnival was in full swing, and everyone out on the football field had a smile plastered to their face. Everyone except Erik, of course. He hadn't stopped thinking about Charles—not that it was particularly surprising—since he had left the drag race without so much as a "great job, Erik," or a "great racing, Erik," or a "please ravage me senseless, Erik." That didn't make what he was doing now any easier.
He could feel the stares on him as he passed, searching desperately for the playful judgment of his friends rather than the critical eyes of the rest of Rydell's senior class. Since when had he cared so much what those assholes thought? Oh, right, he reminded himself, Since Charles did.
"No way!" he heard Janos before he saw him, "Erik Lehnsherr's gone…jock?" his friends began circling him like vultures as he walked, tugging on his varsity sweater and hooting in laughter. Finally, Erik came to a stop.
"What?" he said, "Just because you total putzes couldn't even pass PE doesn't mean I had to keep my supreme athletic skill from the world." Azazel rolled his eyes and flicked his tail.
"Last I checked, Lehnsherr, you could barely even hold a basketball," their whole posse laughed at that, and Erik couldn't help the small smile that cracked his intimidating facade.
"Well, I'd like to see any of you—" Erik was cut off by Alex's low whistle. They all turned to face Havok, confusion clear across their faces.
"What's with you, Summers?" Riptide asked, giving Alex a slap on the arm. Alex ignored him and kept his awestruck stare locked on something behind them. He slapped Janos back and continued to do so, pointing in the direction of his stare. Riptide turned, and his expression mirrored Alex's.
"Guess we should humor tweedle dum and tweedle dumber over there, huh?" Azazel asked, nudging Erik with his elbow. Erik, personally, was anxious to continue his search for Charles. He froze before he'd even turned a full circle.
"I can't do this. I can't, girls, I really, really can't."
Despite all the bravado he had shown earlier—and how comfortable his new black jeans were—Charles wanted to turn tail and run all the way back to Westchester. As soon as he had set foot in that carnival, all his earlier doubts returned. Emma, Hank, and Raven had to practically drag him down the rows of booths as they searched for Erik.
At the thought of Erik, Charles's knees practically turned to gelatin. What on Earth would Erik say if he could see Charles now? Would he laugh? It took a swift hand to the face from Raven for him to stop his "I can't" mantra.
"Yes, you great big idiot, you can," she began, calling for Emma and Hank to stop dragging him for a minute. "You love Erik, don't you?" Charles nodded, a blush rising to his cheeks.
"Well, listen up, Xavier, because I'm only gonna say this once," Raven took Charles face in her hands so he was staring deep into her yellow eyes, "we do crazy things for those we love, and it makes us sweaty and blush-y and nervous and tingly all over, but we do them anyway. Why? Well... that I don't have the answer to, but I think you do." Charles took a moment, then he gave a small smile, his confidence and love for Erik wiping away his fears.
"Yes, Raven, I believe I do," he gave Raven a kiss on the forehead with a whispered, "thank you." She smiled and released him.
"Not to mention, Professor X," Emma added, now that she and Hank had released their hold on his arms, "your ass looks spectacular in those jeans. Isn't that right, Hank?" Charles's blush grew and Hank began to splutter. They continued their Erik search, combing the area for any signs of him or the Brotherhood in their leather jackets. It was Hank who spotted them first.
"Here it is, Charles, your big moment!" Raven squealed, straightening his jacket and making sure his outfit was in perfect order. She fluffed up his hair again for good measure.
"Go get him, tiger," Emma winked and shoved him forward. He stumbled rather ungracefully, barely managing not to bump into Erik and his friends. He straightened himself up, and glanced back to his friends for one final bit of support. Raven smiled, Hank gave a thumbs up, and Emma rolled her eyes, making a motion for him to light the cigarette he had tucked behind his ear. He did so, fumbling a bit, and was just taking his first drag when he heard Alex whistle. Charles glanced up, trying for all the world to harness his inner badass, and came face to face with an awestruck Erik.
"...Charles?" Erik practically squeaked. He would've mentally berated himself if every fiber of his being was not focused on the sight before him. Charles was dressed in head-to-toe black, sporting a leather jacket, black leather boots, a deliciously tight black t-shirt, and the most perfectly fitted jeans Erik had seen on any creature to walk this Earth. Erik's breath hitched when he saw the look Charles was sending his way. Charles exhaled his cigarette smoke and smirked at him. That smirk did some awful things to Erik's mental health.
"Tell me about it...stud," came Charles's carefully rehearsed response. He let his smirk grow at the sight of Erik's blush. A throat clearing behind him was the reminder to throw his cigarette to the ground and stamp it out.
Erik could barely hold himself back. Since when had it gotten so unbearably hot outside? He ripped his sweater off and unceremoniously threw it to the ground. His eyes were trained on Charles the entire time as he ran his comb nervously through his slicked-back blonde hair. He gulped as Charles removed his jacket, revealing studs on the ends of his sleeves. That was the final straw. He strode towards Charles, intending to drag him away to some dark corner behind the bleachers, but a hand against his chest stopped him. Erik took few deep breaths to calm his racing heart and stop the chills that threatened to drive him to his knees. He met Charles's eyes. Charles gave him a wink, grabbed a handful of his shirt, and pulled him flush against his chest. For someone a good half-foot shorter than Erik, Charles was surprisingly strong.
"Hi," Charles whispered, giving a grin so bashful and precious that Erik wanted to kiss it off his face, "I...I just wanted to tell you, Erik that umm... that," Charles closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, he looked directly into Erik's wide blue eyes with more love than Erik thought any person was capable of.
"You're the one that I want."
That did it. Erik grabbed the back of Charles's neck and crashed their lips together. Charles gave an excited squeak at first, but quickly kissed Erik back, standing on his tip-toes for better leverage as he ran his fingers through Erik's hair. Their friends cheered and cat-called. They both smiled as they broke the kiss, leaning their foreheads together. Erik let the hand he had on Charles's back slide down to his ass as he gave it a quick squeeze, causing the shorter boy to squeak and give him a weak disapproving look. Erik smiled genuinely, not one of the shark-like grins he usually sported.
"You're the one that I want, too...honey," they both laughed, happy to simply be together.