Charles is 8 and a half and his favourite thing to do is go to the big tree by the lake in the park that is only two streets away from his house.
He's been going to the tree since he was 5, and it's his special place. No one goes there, not even his little sister Raven.
It's an ordinary Sunday and the sun is out so Charles packs a backpack and puts his special hat on and without his Mother even noticing, he leaves the house and sets out for his tree. He knows how to get there, he's had the path memorized for ages. Charles is smart, smarter then most kids, or at least according to Mr Banner, his teacher.
When he reaches the tree, his tree, he is shocked to notice that someone else is there. A boy. Sitting in his tyre swing. In his tree.
"Who are you?" Charles asks, because he's not as shy or awkward as he looks.
"Who are you?" asks the boy, looking directly at Charles.
"That's not fair, I asked you first!"
The boy rolls his eyes. "My name's Erik. Erik Lehnsherr. I'm 8 and a half and I'm new."
Charles knows who this is. He's the new boy in Charles' street, who moved in to the house next to the house next to Charles' house.
"I'm Charles Xavier. I'm 8 and a half," Charles says.
The boy, Erik, nods his head and stares at his brown shoes.
"This is my tree. No one comes here," Charles says, but not in an accusing way. It's just a statement, and Erik seems to understand this.
"No one?"
"No one. Not even my little sister Raven, or her friends. Not even Sebastian Shaw's gang, and they're really big."
Erik nods again. "Can I come here?"
Charles cocks his head to the side. Erik is nice, in a weird way. He decides he likes Erik. "Yes. We can be friends, if you want."
"I don't have any friends," Erik shrugs. "But I do now."
Charles doesn't tell him that what he said doesn't make perfect sense. Instead, Charles beams at him and walks over and pulls out his bag of lolly snakes and offers Erik one. Erik eats all the yellow ones and Charles eats all the pink, and they share the rest.
It's the start of an incredible friendship.
/
The next Monday back at school, Charles and Erik walk to school together. It's Erik's first day at Charles' school, and Charles tells him about everyone on the walk there.
"My teacher is Mr Banner, and he's very nice. I think you'll probably get him too, all the smart kids are in my class. Though, none of them are as smart as me. I only have one friend in my class, and that's Moira, and she's really nice. In the higher grades, there's Sebastian Shaw's gang, I told you about them I think? Emma, Azazel, Janos? They're big and scary, don't make them angry. In the younger grades, Raven's class, there's Alex, Darwin, Hank, Sean, Angel... There's more people of course, you'll see, and look, we're here Erik!"
If Erik minds that Charles talks too much, he doesn't say it.
Erik is put in Mr Banner's class, and Charles beams and shows him to the classroom. Erik isn't met with the colourful streamers that decorate the rest of the classrooms. Instead, Mr Banner's room is clean and white, with pots of eccentric plants and various insects in cages. Erik can tell Mr Banner is a clever man, and he likes it. He likes the stick insects (named Merlin and Arthur, after the legends, Charles tells him) and he likes the neatly arranged desks. Most of all, he likes that Mr Banner has seated him next to Charles, who is seated next to a brunette girl who he assumes is Moira.
Erik thinks he's going to like it here.
/
Erik turns 9 during summer break. His mother lets him have a party, and Erik invites all the friends he's made since starting at his new school. Moira, Hank, Alex, Sean, Darwin, Angel, Raven, they all come. And of course, Charles is there.
"Happy birthday, Erik! Wow, I can't wait until I turn 9. How does it feel, Erik?" Charles gushes, geniune curiosity and excitement in his voice. Erik likes that Charles likes talking to him.
"It feels like I'm 8, only a bit older," Erik says. Charles laughs and Erik laughs.
They play musical chairs, and Angel cheats, but it's Raven who ends up winning. Erik has a vanilla sponge cake and he blows out all his candles in one go. He likes how happy his mother looks at seeing how many friends Erik has made. All in all, it's Erik's best birthday yet.
/
Charles turns 9 three months after, but he doesn't have a party. His Mother is too drunk to remember Charles' birthday and Raven is sick with the flu. His other friends are all busy, except for Erik.
Erik turns up on his doorstep with a mysterious box and takes him to his - no, their - tree. He reveals the contents of the box - chocolate cake, lolly snakes, and a neatly wrapped present with a big blue bow. Charles hugs him and opens his present to find a big book about science experiements to do around the house. They eat all the cake and share the snakes and climb the tree higher then either of them had ever climbed before.
"This was the best birthday ever. Thank you, Erik," Charles says once they're lying on the grass beneath their tree.
"You're welcome, Charles."
/
Mr Banner announces the school play in a monotone voice that doesn't match his twinkling eyes. The other students all hype up when they hear that this year, the school is doing 'Peter Pan'.
"Are you going to try out for a character, Erik?" Charles asks as they enter the school yard for recess. "I think I might - Imagine if I was Peter Pan!"
Erik shakes his head. "I don't want to be on stage. But I think you'd be a good Peter Pan."
Charles beams at him and suggests he help make props. Erik thinks this is a good idea.
Charles gets the role of Peter Pan. Erik helps make the props.
/
On the opening night of the school play, Charles is extremely nervous.
"What if I mess something up, Erik? What if I trip over?"
"You won't," Erik smiles. "You'll be good!"
Charles smiles. Erik is right. He watches from the side of the stage. Charles makes a good Peter Pan. The very best.
/
Erik turns up at Charles' door, just like he did on his birthday. But Erik isn't smiling, or holding a box. He's sad, and Charles immediately frowns when he sees him.
"Erik, what's wrong?"
Erik stares at his feet. "It's my Mama. She wants to move back to Germany. I don't know how long we'll be there. Maybe forever."
Charles feels his heart drop. "When do you leave?"
"The day after tomorrow," Erik says.
"Oh, Erik!" Charles wails, and he flings his arms around him, because Erik is leaving, his best friend Erik, and Charles has other friends, but none of them are as good as his best friend.
Erik hugs him back. "I don't want to go, Charles!"
"I don't want you to go, Erik!" Charles whispers. "You still have tomorrow, right?"
"After I finish packing, yeah."
"Okay," Charles says. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Erik."
"See you tomorrow, Charles."
Charles goes straight to his bedroom and doesn't talk to anyone for the rest of the night, not even Raven. He sits on his bed and cries.
/
"Erik? Are you ready?"
Charles is standing brave and fall in front of Erik's house, a too-big backpack on his back. Edie, Erik's mum, opens the door.
"Hi Charles," Edie says, smiling sadly. "Erik is in his room, packing."
Charles nods and wanders to Erik's bedroom. He knocks on the closed door, standing back as Erik opens it and smiles.
"You can help me, Charles!" Erik grins.
Erik doesn't want to go back to Germany. At least, not for forever. He's excited to be going back, but he wants to come back and see Charles and go to school and play.
Charles doesn't say much as they fill Erik's bag with clothes and books and toys. Once they're done, Charles drags him out of the house and down to their tree.
"I wanted your last day to be special," Charles says as he puts his bag down beneath the tyre swing. "So I got most of the food from my house, to have a picnic!"
Erik grins and they eat all the unhealthy goodness that all children loved. Hyped on sugar, they proceeded to chase each other around their tree, not even stopping when Erik falls into the lake.
By the time the sun sets, they're dripping wet, muddy, and panting. Charles starts to cry.
"Charles, please don't be too sad," Erik whispers. "I'll write to you, every day."
"I'll... W-w-write... To you, t-too!" Charles sniffs, trying to smile. Erik hugs him.
"You'll always be my best friend, Charles. Nothing can change that."
"Yeah, Erik. Y-y-you too."
/
Charles sits on the pavement in front of his house and watches as Erik and Edie pull out of the driveway. He waves to Erik in the back seat, cranes his neck to see the car drive down the road and off into the distance.
He goes back inside and cries.
/
Erik doesn't smile during the whole drive to the airport. Edie looks at him through the rear view mirror.
"Schatz, what's wrong?"
Erik folds his arms across his chest. "I'm gonna miss Charles, Mama."
"I know, schatzi, but my own Mama is feeling very poorly, and I need to be close to her right now," Edie smiles.
"What if I never see him again?"
"Oh, Erik. If he is truly your best friend, you will see him again. Maybe not for a while. But one day, you two will meet again," Edie says, and she smiles to herself.
/
Charles spends his spare time sitting by the letterbox.
One day, Raven and Hank come out to join him, sipping their juice boxes.
"Chaaaarles," Raven says, drawing out his name. "Why do you keep sitting by the letterbox?"
"I'm waiting for Erik to write to me," Charles says. "He promised me he would."
"Oh," Raven says. She turns to Hank. "Do you wanna go somewhere else?"
Hank nods, because Hank doesn't talk too much. They leave, and Charles stays, but the postman doesn't come.
/
Emma Frost lives around the corner, and she sometimes rides her bike past Charles' house.
The first day she sees Charles sitting outside, she doesn't think much of it. He's 9, and when she was 9, she loved being outside. Heck, she's 12, and she still does from time to time. So she rides on past, and doesn't question it.
The second day, she does the same. Maybe the kid really loves being outside, she thinks.
On the third day, she stops and stares at him for two seconds.
On the fourth day, she does the same.
This continues until the sixth day, when she gets off her bike and walks up to Charles.
"What are you waiting for?" she asks, hands on her hips.
Charles looks up at her. "I'm waiting for my best friend to write me a letter."
"Erik Lehnsherr? Didn't he move to Germany?"
Charles nods.
"Give him time. Do you know how long it takes for a letter to get from Germany to here?"
"No..." Charles says.
"A long time," she shrugs. With that, she gets on her bike and rides off again, as though she had never stopped in the first place.
The seventh day, Charles isn't out there. However, a letter is in the letterbox. Emma pulls it out, and sure enough, it's addressed to Charles, in Erik's handwriting.
She knocks on the front door of Charles' house.
"Yes?" Charles says, opening the door.
Emma hands him the letter. "Thought you might want this."
Charles stares at it in his hands, and then leaps at Emma, pulling her into a tight hug. Emma is surprised, but she pays Charles' arm.
/
Dear Charles,
I'm here in Germany. Mum says that we need to be here because her Mum is sick. I don't want to be here. It's boring. There are no trees or lakes or parks, and there are no kids playing.
I miss you. Mum says that I will see you again one day. I hope she's right.
From Erik.
/
Charles writes his letter to Erik immediately after finishing reading. He gets pen ink on the side of his nose, but he's too excited to care.
Once he's done, he goes off in search of a stamp and an envelope.
/
Erik knows that Charles' reply will take a long time to arrive. He attempts to busy himself in various activities, but he's always so bored.
Until he meets Magda.
Magda is a short, brunette girl who lives in the house next door to Erik's grandmother's. Erik meets her one morning on his way to check the letterbox.
"Hullo," she says, pulling her purple scarf tight around her head. She is speaking German, and Erik is suddenly grateful that his mother taught him the language all those years ago. "Are you new?"
"I'm staying with my Grandmama," Erik answers, shaking his head. "I'm Erik."
"Magda," she smiles, sunken and unhappy face brightening. "Can we be friends? There are no other kids around here to play with."
Erik nods. "Yes. But you can't be my best friend - I already have one."
"Oh," Magda says, smile faltering slightly. "Nevermind - want to go explore?"
"Explore? There's nothing to explore!" Erik says.
Magda smiles shyly. "That's what you think."
She runs off down the road, and Erik, for lack of better things to do and being too curious, follows her.
/
Dear Erik,
It's still the same here. I hope your Mum's mum gets better soon - maybe then you can come back!
Raven, Moira, Alex, Hank, Sean, Angel, and Darwin all say 'Hi!' They all miss you. But not as much as me.
From, Charles.
/
Erik gets Charles' letter and spends the whole day writing the perfect reply. Even when Edie comes into his room, he continues writing.
"Erik, liebling, there's a girl at the door who wants to play with you," Edie says, leaning against his doorframe.
"Oh, tell her I can't," Erik mutters, scribbling furiously.
"Why not?"
"I'm writing my letter to Charles, Mama!" Erik says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, of course," Edie smiles. "But, Erik... Who is this girl?"
"It's only Magda, Mama. She lives next door. We're friends, but not best friends, because Charles is my best friend."
"I know, Erik," Edie says, and leaves to tell Magda that sorry, Erik is very busy and can't play right now.
Erik is sure Magda will understand.
/
Charles is too lonely, in Moira's opinion. She thinks he needs cheering up.
"Chaarles!" she sings, drawing out his name slightly and rocking on the balls of her feet. Charles opens his front door.
"Hi, Moira," he says.
"Do you want to go to the playground like we used to?" she says. Charles considers her offer and nods.
"Sure."
They venture to the playground three streets away, near Moira's house. The yellow and red and blue paint is still as bright as it was when they were six and always visiting here. Of course, Charles also had his tree - but that was a secret that only Erik knew.
Charles sits on the red swing and Moira sits on the green. "Charles, you look sad."
"I miss Erik," he says, swinging slowly.
"I know, but you can't be sad forever," she says.
"Why not?"
"Because if you stay sad and never do anything, what will you write about in your letters to Erik?"
Charles stares at Moira. "You're right."
"I normally am," she grins.
"Let's do something fun, Moira," he smiles, and they have a competition to see who can swing higher. Moira wins, but Charles thinks it's just because her legs are longer.
/
Charles is beaming when he gets his next letter from Erik.
Dear Charles,
Germany has gotten better. I have a new friend (but not a new best friend, of course, you're my best friend) and her name is Magda. She only speaks German, but that's ok because I can speak German too. Not very well, though. She took me to see an incredible park very far from our homes. It's nothing compared to our park!
My Grandmama is getting better, I think. Mama says that if she does get better, we might come back. I really miss you!
Tell Raven, Moira, Alex, Hank, Sean, Angel, and Darwin that I say "Hi!" back and that I miss them. But not as much as I miss you.
From, Erik.
Charles pins up the new letter next to the first one on his wall, and begins writing.
/
"So, your best friend... He lives in America?" Magda says, amazed.
"Ja," Erik grins. "His name is Charles, he's very smart."
"Wow," she smiles. "I've never had a best friend before."
"Maybe one day you can come back to America with me and meet all of my friends and be one of their best friends!" Erik suggests. "I mean, Moira doesn't really have a best friend either, so you two could be best friends!"
"Yeah... Maybe," Magda laughs. It's a far-fetched idea, but they're young and anything is possible to them.
"So, where are we going to go today, Magda?"
Magda smiles. "In the other direction."
She's a bit vague, but Erik likes that she's adventurous. Of course, Erik would prefer Charles, but he has to make do for now.
/
The years go by. Erik and Charles write back and forth none stop, sharing all their memories. When Erik is 10, Magda kisses him for the first time, and Charles is the only person he tells - apart from his mother, who watches from the window and grins when he enters the house. When Charles is 11, Moira kisses him for the first time, and Erik is the only person he tells - but Raven figures it out after he comes back from the playground with extra-pink cheeks. Eventually, the letters begin to thin out, and when they're 14, they stop all together.
When Charles turns 15, he figures it will be like any normal birthday. Except, when he goes to his window to greet the day, he can see a familiar car pull into the house next to the house next to his.
Erik Lehnsherr has returned.
/
"Charles?" Edie says, staring at the tall boy standing in front of the door. She hugs him tightly. "You've grown so much!"
"Not really, Edie," Charles blushes, hugging the woman back. "You look well, when did you return?"
"Oh, Charles, last night! I told Erik he should visit you, but he said it had been too long... Oh my, it must be your birthday today, right?" she exclaims, checking the calendar that has been thrown onto the kitchen table in a hurry of unpacking.
"Yes, it is," Charles mumbles. It had been a long time since he had physically seen Erik, but they had stopped talking less than a year ago. It's Charles' fault - he got Erik's letter and it got buried beneath all his assignments and textbooks until he forgot about it. Yes, Charles knows it's his fault, and he feels awful about it.
"Erik is sleeping, I can wake him up if you'd like?" Edie beams, and Charles nods silently, feeling unusually nervous.
He fidgets with the hem of his jumper, and looks down at the tiled floor that he remembers all too well. Visions from Erik's 9th birthday enter his mind, and he cracks a small smile.
He's startled by the sound of the door opening, and he looks up to find Edie with...
Erik is gorgeous. Tall, lean, with a sharp jawline. His auburn hair is messy from sleep, and Charles has to force himself form letting his jaw drop.
"E-Erik?" he stutters, words failing him.
"Charles," Erik says.
/
Erik takes Charles back into his bedroom, and he looks straight at his window. Charles, after many years, is beautiful. His brown hair has grown out slightly, framing his face nicely, and he's a little bit taller and little bit more muscular.
"I'm so dreadfully sorry that I never wrote back," Charles whispers. "I got so distracted with my schoolwork and I lost your letter beneath all my papers..."
Erik nods. "It's ok. School got in the way for me, too."
Charles is relieved Erik isn't mad at him. "So, why are you back now?"
"Grandmama died," Erik says, and Charles instantly moves to comfort him.
"I'm sorry," he says, sitting down on his bed hesitantly.
"It's alright, it was always going to happen," Erik murmurs. "The funeral was a week ago. Mama thought we should come back - luckily, she never sold the house. Although, it was a right bastard on our bills."
Charles laughs weakly. "I can imagine."
Erik smiles. "And how are you? How is everyone?"
"I'm good. Still smart and nerdy. The others are ok, too. The young ones are excited for their freshman year next year, and I've stuck with Moira through my freshman year," Charles sighs.
"Ah, Moira," Erik says. "Are you and her..."
Charles squints slightly, before saying, "No, no. No way. She kissed me once, back when I was 11. That's it."
Erik hums his response, not approving not disapproving.
"What about you?" Charles says. "Your friend... Magda, was it?"
Erik nods. "Magda, she... Yes, she is my..."
"Girlfriend?" Charles suggests, and he can't tell if his voice is supportive or disappointed.
"Ja, that," Erik says. "Which reminds me, I need to call her soon..."
"Does she still only speak German?" Charles asks.
"Ja."
They both laugh, but neither of them feel too happy. Charles shuffle awkwardly on the bed. "Well, I should get home... See you later, maybe?"
"Sure," Erik says. "And Charles?"
Charles is halfway out his bedroom door. "Yes?"
"Happy birthday."
Charles nods, but he has a hard time believing that this birthday will be happy.
/
"Charles!"
"Go away, Raven!"
Raven sighs and pounds his door harder. "You have to tell me what's wrong sooner or later."
"No I don't!" Charles calls from beneath his quilt on his bed. He's been hiding there for the most of his day, ever since he returned from the Lehnsherr's.
"Is it Erik? I thought you'd be happy he's back!" Raven shouts.
"Go away!"
"I'll call Moira!"
Charles rolls his eyes. "So?"
"C'mon, Charles, have you talked to Moira before? She'll get it out of you!"
Charles hates that she's right. He clicks the lock on his door and Raven bounds in.
"What's wrong, Charles," she says, sitting on his bed. Charles ducks back under his quilt.
"It's nothing," he mumbles.
"Then why, pray tell, are you under your sheets?" she says, rolling her eyes. "Tell me!"
"Ok, ok!" he says, pulling his head out. "Erik's back and he has a girlfriend. Are you happy now?"
Raven stares at him. "Oh my god, you like Erik!"
"Wha- No I don't! Raven!" Charles splutters.
"You so do! Aw, Charles, you should have just said so!" she grins.
"Raven, I don't like hi-"
"You're not fooling anyone!" Raven sings. Charles sighs.
"Ok, maybe... Just a tiny bit..."
She snorts. "Yeah right. You're an overly attached puppy dog, you never love people 'just a tiny bit'."
Charles groans. "I hate you. You know that, right?"
"Happy birthday, Charlie," she grins, pulling him into a hug.
/
Erik finds high school in America to be very different to high school in Germany. He feels a bit lost - this time, there's no Charles to walk him to school, because Charles is at home sick, according to Raven, who has taken his place.
"I don't know too much about your classes, but I'm sure you'll be ok," she says, and Erik can't tell what it is about her, but she seems very smug. It's a little off putting, to be honest.
"Yeah, sure. How hard could it be?" he mumbles. Raven beams.
"Oh, I've missed you, Erik," she laughs, before bounding off to her own class.
Erik finds his first class easily enough. He doesn't know anyone there - Moira is apparently on a family holiday in Australia, and Charles is sick. And of course, Magda, his sweet Magda, is in Germany.
He hates his first day.
/
"Charles, are you there?"
Charles ducks his head up to see out his window, before ducking back down. It's Erik. Why does it have to be Erik?
"Charles? I know you're sick, Raven told me."
Charles is going to murder his little sister. Brutally.
He slumps down the stairs and opens the front door. "Hi, Erik."
"Charles," Erik says, smiling. "Are you feeling better? I brought soup."
Erik presents him with a bowl of steaming soup, and Charles suspects that Edie knows he's sick, because Erik has never been a good one with cooking. Sure, Charles is basing his assumption on a 9 year old Erik who burnt his toast, but that's beside the point.
"I'm feeling fine, thanks," he says, putting the bowl down on the kitchen counter.
"Where's Raven?" Erik asks.
"Raven? She's always late home - she spends her afternoons snogging Hank behind the gym toilets," Charles shrugs. Erik's eyes widen.
"They're together?"
"Oh, yeah. Have been for a whole now," Charles says. "How was your first day?"
"Lonely."
"I'm sorry."
And he is. A little bit.
/
Charles Xavier is definitely going to kill his little sister, this time.
Their parents are away on a work trip, so Raven has decided to invite half the school over for a party. And Charles has a paper on the French Revolution that has to be completed in two days. And he hasn't started it.
Yes, he is going to kill her.
He's interrupted by someone opening his bedroom door. "I'm in here, go make out in the toi-"
He swivels around, and it's not some horny teenage couple - it's Erik.
"Oh, sorry, I thought you were... Never mind," Charles says. He looks down at his assignment sheet and puts it away. He's going to fail, but he really can't concentrate at all.
"Quite the party your sister has down there," Erik snorts. "I couldn't find you, so I figured you'd be up here."
"You're right," Charles says. "Wanna go somewhere else?"
Erik looks at him for a moment. "Sure."
Charles pulls a bottle of whiskey out from his desk and opens his window. "I'd rather not push through a crowd of sweaty teenagers."
"I understand," Erik smiles, and he climbs out of the window and drops down gently to the ground.
Charles mouths, "Catch!" and drops the bottle of whiskey, which Erik catches easily. He then makes his way out of his window.
"Where to now?" Erik asks once Charles is safely on the ground.
"Our tree, of course," Charles says, feeling a little childish. Erik, however, grins.
It's been forever since Erik has been here. The tyre swing is old and dirty, and there's litter all around the lake, but it's still theirs. Charles sits on the ground, unscrews the bottle of whiskey, and takes a big gulp.
"Where'd you get this?" Erik asks, taking the bottle from him and drinking.
"Nicked it from my stepdad," Charles shrugs. "Easy enough."
Erik nods, and hands it back to Charles. "You've been avoiding me lately."
Charles has, he knows he has. Every class they have together, Charles has come up with some excuse to sit with someone else. His sick days have become frequent. He's been avoiding Erik, and they both know it. "Yeah."
"Why?"
Charles takes another big swig of whiskey. He's going to regret this later, but he doesn't care now. "Because, Erik, I..."
He trails off. "Because you what?" Erik says.
"No, it's silly," Charles smiles. Erik rolls his eyes.
"C'mon, Charles. Just tell me."
"You'll hate me."
"No, I promise I won't," Erik persists. "What is it?"
Charles shakes his head, and Erik slumps back against the tree. "That bad, huh? Do you hate me?"
"I could never hate you, Erik," Charles says, words more slurred.
"Then tell me."
Charles breathes deeply. "Alright. It's because... I don't like that you have a girlfriend."
Erik stares at him. "What?"
Charles smiles again. "You know... I like you. Like you like you."
Erik frowns, until he gets it. "Oh."
"Yeah. Oh."
Charles would be nervous if he isn't so intoxicated. He waits for Erik to say something, but he never does. Eventually, Erik gets up and leaves.
Charles doesn't have the mindset to follow.
/
"Lehnsherr, open this door right now!"
Edie is panicked - she's never liked yelling. She opens the door quickly to find Raven fuming. "Hello, Raven, how can I-"
"I need to speak to Erik, now," Raven says. "Sorry," she adds, watching Edie flinch. "I'm angry at him, not you, Edie."
Edie scurries to wake Erik and brings him to the door. He's vaguely annoyed and stills smells like stale whiskey. "What on Earth do you want, Raven?"
Raven glares at him. "Where's Charles?"
"Charles? I don't know..." Erik mumbles, trying to remember. "Oh, shit."
He runs out of the house, still clad in his boxers and AC DC shirt, and darts for their park... Charles. He can't remember him following him home last night.
"Charles?" he yells, arms flailing madly. "Charles!"
His mind is a flurried panic of Charles-where's-Charles-what-if-he-fell-into-the-lake-or-got-abducted-shit-shit-shit. He can't think straight. "CHARLES!"
And suddenly, from behind their tree, he hears a mumble. "Wha'?"
Erik darts around the tree, and there's Charles, reeking of alcohol and still half asleep, but Erik has never been happier to see anyone in his life, and he hugs him tightly...
"Erik? Where... Where am I?" Charles mumbles, opening his eyes. Erik pulls back, and stares at him.
"You spent the night at our tree, Charles. Oh god, I'm so sorry..."
Raven has caught up to him, and she takes Charles from Erik's hands, thanking him under her breath, and Erik doesn't care that he's revealed their age old secret place, because Charles is alright, for now.
/
"You've been the one avoiding me, now," a voice says, and Erik turns to find Charles standing in front of his locker.
"Have I?" Erik says airily. "I hadn't notice-"
"Please, Erik. Don't bullshit me," Charles says, and Erik's eyes widen, because he's never heard Charles swear, ever.
"I'm sorry," Erik mumbles.
"I told you... Oh god, Erik, I poured my heart out to you, and you left me. Do you know how that feels?" Charles whimpers, and he tries to fight the tears in his eyes but damn it, he's crying in the middle of the school grounds in front of his best friend.
"I... Charles, please..."
"No, it's ok. Don't worry," Charles says. He wipes the tears away. "I'll leave you alone from now on. It's ok."
Erik tries to call back to him, but Charles walks away and doesn't turn back.
/
"Magda... I have a problem."
"A problem?" Magda repeats, German words sharp and pronounced.
"Ja, a problem. Charles... He... He likes me," Erik says.
"Oh," Magda replies. "Do you like him?"
"Magda, you know I love you."
Magda clicks her tongue. "That's not what I asked, though."
Erik hates her, absolutely hates her, for being so smart. Because he does like Charles, likes Charles more than he should ever like him. "Damn you."
He can almost hear her eyebrow raise. "I'm always right, remember?"
"Are you mad at me?"
"For loving your best friend? I've been waiting for this day!" she laughs.
"What?" Erik frowns.
"Ever since you mentioned him... Can you blame me? You spoke about him like he was your world," she says. "Go to him. Tell him you love him."
"What about you?" Erik asks.
Magda's soft laugh comes through the phone. "Don't worry about me, Erik. I know how to get by on my own."
"Thank you, Magda."
"Just... Don't forget about me, ok?" she asks. "Call me sometime."
"I will," Erik says, and he's not lying.
/
"Charles?"
Charles spins around rapidly. "Erik."
It's the last day of school before summer break, and kids are flooding out of the school or hanging behind to say their goodbyes.
"Would you walk with me? Please?" Erik asks, aware as to how desperate his voice sounds.
Charles nods, and they walk the route to their homes, only Erik doesn't turn left where he should. Instead, he keeps on walking until they're at their tree.
"Sit, please," Erik says, gesturing at the ground. Charles sits and Erik fishes out a bag of lolly snakes from his backpack.
"Remember when we first met? I was at your tree and you were my first friend. You ate all the pink snakes and I ate all the yellow. We shared the rest," Erik smiles. Charles' lips quirk up slightly at the memory.
"And on your 9th birthday, we climbed this tree higher then we ever had before. We ate cake and celebrated. And the day before I left, we fell into the lake and got completely muddy and wet and promised each other we would always be best friends."
Charles nods curtly.
"I've done a lot of thinking, Charles," Erik says. He breathes deeply and continues. "Magda and Mama agree with me on this completely."
Charles stares at him blankly. "Yes?"
"I... I like you. I like being with you. I like that you make me feel happier than anyone ever has. I like that I can trust you with anything, and that even when we were worlds apart, you were still the only person I willingly confided in. And, I'm sorry I was such a prick to you. I like you. Like you like you."
Charles looks up at him, and Erik is staring at the ground, blushing. He pounces up and grabs his arms.
"You mean it?"
Erik looks into his eyes. "I mean it."
And Charles leans forward and kisses Erik's lips, and Erik kisses back, and it's awkward and sloppy because they're 15 and insecure but, God, both of them know that it's just so right.
Charles is 15 and his favourite thing to do used to be going to the big tree by the lake in the park that is only two streets away from his house.
But, after much consideration, he thinks that maybe, his favourite thing to do is kissing Erik, his best friend and boyfriend, at the big tree by the lake in the park that is only two streets away from his house.
And if the change in his favourite thing to do bothers him, he doesn't show it at all.