Who knows how long Mark, Mike and Charlie all stood their staring at each other. It was awhile before it was interrupted, surprisingly by the appearance of Tom, who Mike knew from various classes. Mike still couldn't speak, he just kept picturing the scene in his head. Going back to America because some dweeb had ratted him out. Charlie crying because he would be leaving him. His hatred boiled up inside of him. Finally he just blurted it all out.
"Fine, get us expelled. I don't care. I hate this place and it's screwed up policies and would love to go back home!" Mike snapped in Mark's face. "What are you waiting for? Now you have Louise all to yourself."
"The one reason I wouldn't want to get you expelled Mike Teavee." Mark replied, walking closer to them. "That girl bugs me to death. It doesn't help that our parents are setting us up."
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, turning to Charlie who still wasn't saying anything.
"Let's just say we have a lot more in common than you think." Mark replied, grabbing Tom's hand to show what he was impying. "I just had to save face in front of James before and I'm sorry."
Tom spoke up. "If James found out about us, god knows what he would do. He picks fights with 'our types' on a regular basis. Not to mention he would get you expelled."
Mike gave a cocky smirk. "I'd like to see him try. He can bring it on for all I care."
"Easy for you to say. I've seen you in the gym. Quite impressive." Tom replied, though turning his attention to Mark when he was shot a dirty look. "Come on, just stating the obvious."
Mark rolled his eyes. "The point is, you can trust us. We know how you feel and we won't tell anyone. Especially not Louise and James. I know Louise is out to get you, because she did the same thing to me. Never gets the hint until she finds someone else to bug. I guess it all seems pretty pointless because she's going to end up with me anyway. Not many options unless I want to live on the street."
"I'd rather live on the street than live with her." Mike replied, rolling his eyes. "Can't you just talk to your parents about it all?"
Tom looked back at him. "You're the one who gets top grades in everything and your asking that question?"
Mark sighed. "It's all part of a business investment really. Nothing to do with us, merely her parents and mine. Yet somehow I am dragged into it all. I hate it so much. I can't tell my parents I don't like girls, they'll disown me. Especially if I don't like Louise." He looked at Mike and Charlie solemnly. "You may think it's just that easy, you may even say your parents don't get you but you don't know what I have to go through."
Charlie finally spoke up. "Sometimes you care about someone and want to make it work but have to accept the fact that maybe it won't." He looked to both Mark and Tom. "Thanks for keeping our secret and you're welcome to eat lunch with us tomorrow if you want. I better go, I have homework." After saying it, he didn't wait for Mike before walking away.
Mike easily caught up to Charlie, who was clearly giving him the silent treatment. "What was that supposed to mean? We didn't get caught, so why are you still fretting?"
"It's not about Mark or our secret. It's about you." Charlie turned around to face him. "What did you mean when you said you didn't care?"
Mike looked at his boyfriend's face, seeing how hurt he was. "I didn't mean it like that."
Charlie looked Mike right in the eyes. "Then why did you say it?"
"There's no winning with you is there? I told you that I loved you and that you're worth it and all you care about is something I blurt out in a moment of anger?" Mike threw up his hands in frustration.
"You didn't think about anything did you? You basically said you didn't care. So is that really how it is?" Charlie snapped back.
Mike had seen Charlie angry before, but not like he was at that moment. "I've had a bad day and seeing you was the only part I was looking forward to. Now you have to go and throw one of your little tantrums. Thinking that because you cry I will run back to you with open arms, well you know Charlie that's not who I am so quit trying to change me."
"Okay, so if I'm just a guy that throws tantrums then why are you still with me? You've got Louise and even Tom back there admiring you, why don't you go be one of them I'm sure they'll fit your needs." All the years of unexpressed anger had finally caught up with Charlie. "I'm surprised you don't like Louise, after all with her it's all about you isn't it and it's obvious that you like that!"
Mike slapped Charlie accross the face, which silence both of them for a brief moment. "Charlie, I'm sorry. You know that I love you."
Charlie held his cheek, feeling it pulse with pain. "If this is how you express it, then I don't want it."
Mike grabbed Charlie's hand, though they were in the middle of school grounds. "Come on, stop it. Don't do this again. We've had the best time together, especially after this Louise stuff."
Jerking his hand away, Charlie looked at him seriously. "Just go Mike. I can't do this anymore. You're leaving in a few months, we have to accept that. We may aswell end it now while we can still be room mates and friends then later when there's no hope."
"I'm going to the gym and I'll talk to you when you come to your senses." Mike walked away angrilly and Charlie was too stubborn and upset to follow him.
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It was official, Charlie and Mike had broken up. They had barely spoken to each other for the rest of the week. In the library the next Tuesday, Charlie was sitting and working on his Maths homework, but still couldn't get his mind off the fight or off Mike.
He knew deep down it was for the best, because he hated being scared of everyone leaving him. The whole reason he had brought Mike to that special room in the chocolate factory was to say good bye and remember that one special moment for ever. Though Charlie couldn't bare to hurt Mike's feelings. I guess it's good to know he doesn't have any, Charlie thought to himself, touching his cheek and remembering how Mike slapped him hard.
When lunch time finally arrived, Mike wasn't at their usual spot. Charlie saw him heading off to the gym and stared after him. He decided to sit somewhere else as well and found a spot on the grass. Mark came up to him soon after he sat down.
"Listen, I just heard that you and Mike broke up." Mark told him. "Apparently right after you spoke to us last week. Listen, we won't tell your secret, I promise. So there's no need to break up and screw up everything."
"It wasn't about you. It was a long time coming. After all, with Louise and him moving back to America, plus thinking of ideas for chocolate and candy all while keeping up with homework it just didn't seem like it was worth getting hurt over." Charlie replied, knowing that he was lying.
Mark raised an eyebrow. "If you say so." He ate his lunch, while him and Charlie continued to make small talk, avoiding the subject of Mike completely.
While all this was happening, Mike was in the gym punching the bag as hard as he could, resisting the urge to scream out "Die die die!" He was sure that his fingers were bleeding in his gloves, but he didn't care. He could feel eyes watching the back of his head, eventually he turned around and glared right in Tom's face.
"Woah, I'll get out of the line of fire." Tom held up his hands smiling.
Mike took a sip of water before going back to punching. "It's not you, it's Charlie. I guess he was right about ending it, but I thought we could enjoy it while it lasted. He was the one that convinced me of it after all."
"Well, you have to accept the fact that sometimes even the most hopeful people realise when a situation is hopeless. Charlie is very sensitive, it's easy to see that. Sure he's developed a bit more of a skin by being with you, but with everything that's happened I'm not surprised that he has just lost his faith." Tom explained.
"If he can't be bothered fighting for me, then why should I be bothered going back to him when he whines for me?" Mike walked over to the hand weights, aware that Tom was following and listening intently. "I'm in another country with another culture I may aswell make the most of it and make new friends. Plus I have my video games back and some DVD's to watch on my laptop. Sure it's not a big screen but it beats the crap shown in the sitting room." He rolled his eyes at the thought.
"You know you're going to talk to Charlie. You can lift as many weights as you want but it won't shift the one on ur shoulders." Tom said like he had a vision of the future.
Mike glared at him, dropping the handweights. "You don't know me. I was deprived of my video games and a decent television and I went crazy from withdrawal symptoms. Charlie was just a distraction, just like these workouts are now. I mean, I went from, what I was two years ago to a fit looking individual. Imagine how buff I can get with a few more sessions." He almost convinced himself it was true, but the look on Tom's face shown he was not buying it.
"I've seen you with Charlie." Tom looked around before touching Mike's arm and squeezing his bicep. "I wished you looked at me the way you look at him."
"What are you talking about?" Mike shook him off as he was coming on a little strong. "You're with Mark."
"Like I said before, sometimes even the most hopeful people know when something is hopeless." Tom replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I know from experience."
Mike watched Tom walk away, he picked up his towel and decided to hit the showers. He knew that in a week and a half Valentines Day was coming up. The new year was passing quickley and he had little time to make amends. For a while he sat in the locker room thinking of what the best would be.
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Charlie sat in the bathroom, he rolled up the sleeve of his sweater. He didn't know how it had started, but the fact was, it had. He didn't want to complain to Mike anymore and didn't know how else to escape the daily pain. Everything around him was falling apart. His family, his concentration on work and lastly his relationship.
Looking at all the little cuts made before, he once again did what he felt he had to do. Nobody knew, and he hoped that no-one would ever know. It stopped him from crying and he liked that. He was sick of crying over Mike and dead relatives. The stress had been piling up on Charlie even more and he wasn't sure he could handle the transition.
Afterwards, he went back to his room. Mike was sitting at his desk, playing a game on the laptop Charlie he bought him. He said a few quick words to Mike before lying on his bed to read. For awhile they sat in silence, but the tension could have been cut with a knife. All the words they wanted to say but couldn't say were floating around in the air.
"So, how was class today?" Mike asked Charlie.
Mike turned around to him. "Well, after I realised that I really hate this small talk bull crap Louise started to bug me. Though I'm used to her. Seriously Charlie, if we're going to break up, then I should move out of this room."
Charlie slowly nodded in reply. "I guess you're right, it is difficult to see you all the time. Probably why we failed in the first place. We have to branch out and meet new people." He rubbed his arm for a few seconds. "I wish we could have worked Mike. You know I didn't mean what I said. Just like I'm sure you didn't mean what you said. I guess it's just the way it goes."
Mike turned back to his game. "Yeah, I've been warning you about that. I just didn't want you to get hurt." Though Mike knew that Charlie had changed him, brough out his softer side and seen it. Mike couldn't deny he was hurting, but since he wasn't with Charlie anymore it was much easier to hide it.
Charlie finished reading 'Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' and looked up at Mike, realising something. "If you think about it, it's kind of like fate. What ever way the situation went whether Mark and Tom told or kept it a secret, we're not together. It was just meant to be that way."
"You've officially completed your English homework then. Now I'm almost on level nine." Mike was only beginning to remember how much he loved his games, he smirked at the thought of Charlie replacing them. Nothing can replace the good old graphics, he laughed to himself.
A/N: Hope you like it once again. I know it was a bit angsty, but there's more to come trust me. This one just took a little longer to update because of the idea I had and the many ways to write it. So wait for the next chapter and see what happens. Please continue reading and reviewing as I appreciate all your feedback and the compliments are always encouraging for a next chapter to be up :-) As for the relationship. Just wait and see...please don't hate me :-)