A/N: Thanks for reading!
Lunch couldn't have come soon for Erik or Charles. The two met in the hallway and walked together, talking about how their morning classes were. Erik could feel Shaw eyeing him in the hallway. He tried to ignore this and focus on Charles. Charles was chatting happily about how easy his Literature test was and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. Erik clenched his hands into fists, fighting back the urge to run his hand through Charles' hair as well.
"Erik…?" Charles asked, staring at him. Erik snapped back to reality and realized he hadn't been really listening to Charles this whole time.
"Uh-what was that?" Erik decided that he'd get too distracted if he stared at Charles so he picked a spot on the ground and followed it intently with his eyes.
"I ask you if your mother liked me." Charles' voice was timid, trying not to sound too obvious. He really just wanted to know if they had talked about Charles at all after he left.
"Oh, yeah. She thinks you're great!" Erik smiled, trying to force the image of him crying onto his mother's shoulder, talking about feelings. Charles certainly didn't need to know that any of that happened.
The two were now seated at their empty table. Charles had a salad for lunch and Erik had the usual apple. Charles dug into his lunch bag and gave Erik is chips and drink. They were talking about the weather when they noticed someone had sat down next to them.
"Hey, we thought we'd sit with you guys today!" Raven said cheerfully and pointed to the tall boy sitting across from her (next to Erik) with thick glasses.
"This is Hank, everyone. Hank, this is Charles and his boy-I mean, best friend, Erik." Raven laughed nervously and Charles shot her a look of dread but Erik didn't seem to notice. He just sat there looking angry and frustrated.
"It's nice to meet you." Hank said timidly, nodding at Erik and Charles.
"I thought Raven said you had tutoring or something?" Charles asked, picking at his salad. He glanced at Erik who was still looking angry.
"Oh, I found time during study hall to help them so my lunch schedule was free." Hank smiled, adjusting his glasses. Raven smiled at him and started to eat her sandwich. After a few bites, something greasy from the sauce spilled on her skirt. Frustrated, her and Hank went to go get napkins, leaving Erik and alone with Charles.
Erik was the first to speak up. "So, when are we going to get together to work on the art project?"
Charles looked up thoughtfully, running thru his schedule. "I'm free whenever you are. We can head to the library after school, the art museum too one day, and then we could grab and bite to eat-if you want to that is."
"Yes, that'd be perfect. Are you free today?" Erik had to restrain himself form jumping. Why am I so excited? I need to calm down. I just need to be with him alone to see if I really do…like him.
Charles smiled brightly. "I'll just tell Ms. Grey that I can't help today. I'll just get the work down in study hall to make for it. Your mother won't mind if I buy you dinner again, will she?"
He's making it sound like a date. Maybe he wants it to be…No, Erik. That's probably not true. But he sounds like he's my boyfriend; buying my dinner and all that. I could get use to calling him that….
"Are you sure you're alright, Erik? You kept zoning out on me…." Charles asked, looking slightly insulted.
Erik snapped back again and gave Charles a half-hearted smile.
"Yeah, just a lot on my mind." Erik didn't get much sleep last night due to a lot being on his mind. Charles smiled and said "Okay" and went back to his salad.
Just when everything seemed to be slightly better, Shaw had to walk over to ruin everything. Erik kept his hands in his lap, knowing that if he got detention again he couldn't spend time with Charles. Shaw, looking smug, stood next to Charles.
"Well, if it isn't the fag and his friend. So glad to see you can actually make a friend, Charlie." Shaw rustled the top of Charles' head, messing up his perfectly neat hair. Charles paid no attention and went back to nibbling on his salad.
"His name is Charles, Shaw. Don't you have someone else to pick on? Besides, I bet you're just angry that you couldn't score with Emma." Erik's tone was strong and stern which made him look more like a thug. Shaw seemed to note the irritation in Erik's voice.
"Oh, didn't know you had feeling for him. My bad, Erik." Shaw eyed Erik and knew he hit the sensitive spot. Erik's eyes narrowed.
"Leave him out of this, Shaw. You have a problem with me, not him." Charles looked form Erik to Shaw and a thought came to him. This is like watching the Animal Kingdom; two adult lions are fighting over a piece of meat .I guess I'm the meat then.
Raven and Hank were back now, awkwardly standing to the side of the two angry lions. Raven's eyes were glued to Erik, watching his body language like a hawk.
"So you're not denying those feelings for him then…?"
"Shut up, Shaw. I said to leave him out of this." Erik was standing up now too, his height towering over Shaw.
Shaw, being the jackass he is, smirked and moved closer to Charles. "I'll take that as a yes." He had his hand on Charles' shoulder. Erik flinched with rage.
"Don't. Touch. Him." Erik's fists were clenched, ready to punch the lights out of Shaw. Shaw wanted to push Erik's buttons even more. He took the salad Charles was slowly eating and dumped it on Charles' head, the dressing pouring all over him. Erik fists were up and he was about to knock Shaw when Hank and Raven grabbed him to stop him. Shaw just laughed and strolled away, flicking off Erik as he walked. Erik was fuming with rage at this point and when he finally calmed down slightly, he looked at the ranch covered Charles. His lower lip was quivering slightly and he was trying to beat back the tears.
"C-Charles, are you alri-?" Erik asked, walking over to him. Charles shook his head and got up, walking quickly to the bathroom. He could hear people laughing at him and figured they were pointing as well.
"I hope he's okay…" Raven said with a frown. Erik stood in shock. Why didn't I punch Shaw sooner? How could I have let him do that…?
Erik was walking quickly, also in a sprint, to the bathroom. He walked into the empty bathroom, only to hear a muffled crying from a stall at the end. He knocked softly and whispered "Charles?"
"Go away, Erik. I'm not in the mood to talk." Charles murmured, sniffling.
"Too bad, I want to talk to you. I brought you some napkins on my way out. Let me help you, Charles." Silence fell. After a minute of quiet, Charles opened the stall door. The ranch dressing was running all down his face, mixed with his tears, and down his neck. Erik frowned and plucked a tomato off the top of Charles' head. With a napkin he wiped the white sauce off of Charles' face. A small smile rested on Erik's face; he enjoyed taking care of Charles. He just wished it wasn't because a bully dumped salad on him at lunch.
Erik finished wiping Charles' hair and neck.
"It's stained your shirt." Erik said and Charles nodded. He had stopped crying but was still sniffling.
Erik took off his tan jacket and untucked his navy blue turtleneck from his pants.
"W-What are you doing?" Charles asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Take my sweater. It's dry. I have a wife beater underneath that I'll just wear with my jacket." Erik grinned and proceeded to strip off his turtleneck. He tossed it to Erik and put his tan jacket back on. Charles stared at him, admiring how toned Erik was. With a light shade of pink blush across his face, Charles stared back at the shirt in his hands.
"C-Can you leave? I'm not comfortable changing in front of people…" Charles squirmed awkwardly.
"How do I know you won't just lock me out again?" Erik questioned him.
Charles smiled. I wouldn't really have anywhere to go, now would I?" With that Charles shooed him out and changed shirts. The sweater was huge on Charles. He rolled up the sleeves three times and tucked the back into his pants. He unlocked the stall door and greeted Erik with a smile.
"Thank you for the help, Erik. You really are a true friend." Charles smiled and messed with his damp hair, trying to fix it back into place.
"You're welcome, Charles. Now, I think the bell is about to ring. You want me to walk with you to your science class?" Erik offered as they stepped out of the bathroom.
"Won't you be late to your class?"
"Eh, it's okay. My teacher's pretty cool." Erik shrugged, walking with Charles to his science class. Once they were outside the AP Chemistry room, Charles turned to Erik and smiled.
"Thank you again. It means a lot to me, Erik." Charles' voice was soft and meaningful.
Erik blushed slightly, not enough for Charles to see luckily. "You're welcome. I'll see you by your locker after school." Erik smiled and turned to walk away.
Charles sat down in class and adjusted the collar on Erik's turtleneck. He couldn't help but notice that it smells like Erik; musty and strong but also like Germany (if Charles had ever been to Germany himself, he expected it to smell like this). Charles found it hard to focus on Chemistry while sniffing the sleeve the entire class.
A/N: Sorry this was so sort :/ My dad was breathing down my neck while I wrote the whole thing so I mentally couldn't write much. BUT I have a solution: I'm going to update later tonight! And except a longer chapter tomorrow too (: Thank you for reading!