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“I can get them for you.”
Dimples carved into the sides of Charlie’s mouth, replying, “Nick, they’re only cones. You have a team to warm up.”
Nick hesitated. “They’re heavy.”
“I think I can manage. Go. Seriously.”
There were standing rugby pitch, the sun beating down and threatening to burn Charlie who’d forgotten sunscreen. The team was joking around down the field, tackling one another and laughing loud enough to hear down the street. Not exactly Charlie’s cup of tea.
The blonde nodded, leaning in like he was going to kiss Charlie’s forehead before he remembered where he was. He straightened up with a blush on his face. “Er, okay. I’ll.. be here.”
Charlie grinned, digging up dirt as he turned on the heel of his cleat. It was a kind of long walk to the supply closet, but Charlie didn’t mind. The wind was rustling the trees all around him, pushing the clouds off the blue sky. It was a beautiful day, Charlie was in a beautiful mood and he had a beautiful boyfriend.
The door hinge squawked loudly as Charlie pushed it, stepping into the locker room and continuing past the benches to the hall.
Nick and Charlie had been going out for a while—Charlie wanted to say almost an entire year—but it still felt like the honeymoon phase. Not in the sense that it was easy, per se, but in the sense that it was magical . Nick still made Charlie want to kick his feet and giggle, like he did at twelve years old when he saw Daniel Randicilf in Prisoner of Azkaban for the first time. He was still his sweet, kind, loving self. Nick was just magic. And Nick was his boyfriend. No one outside their tightly knit friendship group knew about them, but Charlie didn’t mind.
Well, he minded a tiny, little bit when girls flirted with him right in front of Charlie, but Nick never entertained them.
His eyes scanned the doors and landed on the supply closet door propped open. Charlie made a mental note that the door locked when closed as he entered.
When Truham was built, a bunch of the doors were made to lock when closed for some reason. Most had been replaced through the years, but a few closets still auto-locked. The boy flicked on the light, eyes grazing around for the multi-colored cones that Ms. Singh always used. Somewhere far away, he heard footsteps in the hall, but he was too distracted as he pulled the cones off the shelf.
Nick was right, they were heavy. He almost dropped them but managed to place the first one on the floor neatly. It was freckled with dirt and smelled like.. well, rugby, if that makes any sense. He reached for the next purple cone.
“Charlie?”
Charlie almost dropped the cone again, but this time out of surprise. He turned and his eyes landed on a boy. A boy with a boxy jawline and brown hair that was styled to the left, wearing the same uniform as Charlie.
Ben.
Charlie just stared. A million thoughts tried to cram into his head at once, none coherent.
Ben’s eyebrows pinched together. “Why are you in here?”
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. “...I’m.. getting stuff for the rugby team.”
He cocked an eyebrow, confusion turning to a familiar sneer. “Are you the water boy?”
Charlie didn’t answer, frozen like a deer in headlights. Ben examined him from his shoes to his hair. What for, Charlie didn’t know. The tension was so thick between them that you could cut it with a knife. Another beat passed.
Ben smirked and it went to hell.
Ben kicked the doorstop and stepped inside. A loud clang followed, blowing the dust in the closet around. Panic hit Charlie like a bus. “T- the door-”
But Ben already knew, stalking towards him. The room was so small that each step he took towards Charlie echoed around. “Nowhere to run now.”
Fear clouded Charlie’s senses. He tried to take a step back but his shoulder hit the metal shelf. Trapped. He was trapped.
Charlie tightened his grip around the purple cone in his hands, heart pounding against his ribs. The fear that was freezing him seemed to thaw, right back into panic. The boy stole a glance to the left. The wall was about two steps away, but that was a corner. He needed to get to the opposite side of the room and somehow keep him away. Buy time.
The wall was farther away to the right, but Ben was rapidly closing that exit. Charlie didn’t think.
Charlie pushed the cone towards Ben, hitting him square in the chest. The boy went fumbling and Charlie slipped to the right.
The cone already weighed a lot but the maneuver turned his arms to noddles and the cone into a pile of bricks. It hit the ground with a clatter. His plan worked okay though; Ben had replaced him in the corner of the room and Charlie was next to the door. The closed, locked door. Real convenient. Ben’s hair fell into his eyes but other than that, he was unscathed. At least, physically.
Emotionally, he seemed pissed.
His jaw tightened. “God, Charlie, anyone ever tell you you’re a bitch?”
Charlie felt his hands curl, but they were shaking. How long did he have until Ben was going to try kissing him again? Probably less than a minute, unless…
Charlie had to distract him.
“No, just you, oddly enough.”
The glint in Ben’s eye was sharp enough to cut. Like a predator, and not just the animal kind. “You go whoring around the school, trying to climb in everyone’s pants. You’re pathetic, Charlie. A pathetic, desperate whore.”
Charlie hated hearing his name come out of Ben’s mouth. He hated the feeling of Ben’s eyes on him. And he hated how Ben’s words still managed to punch him in the gut. But he stood his ground, the best he could anyway.
“And now you’ve started up with Nicholas fuckin’ Nelson.” His lip curled but he shrugged nonchalantly. “Guess I should’ve known when you joined the rugby team. What are you, getting turned on in the locker room?”
Charlie had heard all of this ten times before. But coming from someone he used to— used to—hold dear to his heart… Well, it made his eyes sting. How long until Nick thought these things? Ben stepped closer and Charlie came back to the task at hand.
His lips settled in a firm line. “You know, this won’t change anything, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You still like me, don’t you?” Ben’s expression twitched. “All these words, they won’t change the fact you like me, Ben. You like guys.”
His plan seemed to backfire.
Ben’s face went red and suddenly, there was a rough hand on his collar, Charlie’s back slammed to the wall. Ben was mad. Tiny bits of spit hit Charlie’s skin as the boy seethed, “You’re pathetic. Maybe I like guys but at least I don’t have the nerve to shove it in everyone’s face like a fag. You disgust me .”
A bead of sweat slipped down Charlie’s neck, body radiating panic. He managed to gather every bit of strength left in himself to push Ben off his body.
Charlie stumbled with the force of his own shove, landing in the corner he’d begun in while Ben hit the shelf. A baseball glove fell off and hit the ground with a solid thud.
“ Bitch ,” Ben swore again. If he was pissed before, he was furious now. His tie was slightly loose, like a drunk teenager at a party. Charlie’s breath got swept from his lungs as Ben shoved him to the wall. Charlie nearly tripped over the cone he’d set down earlier. His mind spun. Ben was panting, breath uncomfortably warm. “You are such a bitch , Charlie Spring. I-”
Ben never got to finish his sentence.
Light flooded the dimly lit closet as the door opened. Charlie’s vision was hazy but he made out a very familiar silhouette. In a blurry series of events, Ben was ripped off Charlie and sent—for the third time in a day—sailing to the opposite side of the closet. Nick stood between them, a wild look in his eye.
His gaze flickered between Charlie and Ben, and only then did Charlie realize he’d been crying.
Nick .
His legs almost crumpled.
He blinked away his spinning vision, trying to come back to the scene before him. There was a baseball mitt wedged under the door, keeping it open. Nick had Ben to the wall, a fistful of his shirt in his grip.
“Stop,” Charlie managed, leaning on the shelf to stay upright. He didn’t want to see Nick doing what Ben had just done to him; holding someone against a wall. Nick looked over at the sound of his voice, worry clouding his eyes. His grip loosened.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, looking back at Ben. He released the boy’s shirt forcefully. Ben sunk to the floor as Nick hurried over to Charlie. Charlie felt a warm hand lace with his. Probably from the sun. Nick smelled like sweat and grass. He must’ve finished his warm-up already . How long had he been gone?
“-you okay? Char? Hey, remember to breathe.”
Charlie tried. He really did. His mind was still spinning. Fight-or-flight was still very much on, making his whole body tremble.
“I’m fine.” His voice was surprisingly steady for how unsteady he felt. Breathing helped. Nick’s pulse against his own helped. He just needed a second. Charlie exhaled. “I’m okay. Thanks.”
Charlie looked up to find confusion still twisting Nick’s expression. “Why was he-”
Charlie squeezed his boyfriend’s hand, more for himself than Nick. He mumbled, “Long story.”
“I knocked him out. His head hit the corner of the shelf, I think,” Nick admitted, glancing back at the brunette who was slumped against the wall. Just as Nick turned back to Charlie, Ben began to stir.
Charlie shook his head. Nick could feel him becoming stiff. “He’s waking up.”
“What should I do? Let him go?” Nick obviously didn’t agree with this idea but he waited for Charlie’s call. “I could tell Ms. Si-”
“No,” Charlie said, quicker and harsher than he meant. Ben’s head was beginning to lift. He already knew how that would go. Ben Hope and Charlie Spring had a fight in the sports supply closet? He didn’t want to deal with how that would unfold. “Not that, I.. I don’t know what to do.”
His voice shook. God, he was pathetic, wasn’t he? Nick just seemed to hold his hand tighter, glancing at Ben who should have cartoon stars circling his head to match his expression. When their eyes relocked, his face was stricken with worry again.
“Did he do anything?”
“No,” Charlie semi-lied. Not physically. He was pretty sure Nick could see right through him but, thankfully, Nick didn’t press.
“Can I handle him?”
Charlie wound his hands. “Don’t.. don’t hit him, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Okay.”
Nick’s hand slipped away from Charlie’s as he approached Ben. The light was all but returned to Ben’s eyes and he was attempting to stand on wobbly knees.
“Hey, Ben.”
Ben winced, like he had a headache and the voice annoyed him. At the sight of Nick, he straightened up. His eyes flickered to Charlie who instinctively flinched. Ben hesitated. “You’re in the way of the door.”
“I know,” Nick said. “Are you fully conscious, because I have a message for you; if you so much as breathe in Charlie’s direction again…”
Nick chose his words like they were made of glass.
“You’ll be out for more than just a few seconds. You got that? Don’t look at him, don’t talk to him, and don’t you dare touch him. I will know and you’ll regret it.”
Ben must’ve been too stunned to wipe the fear from his face. A moment passed before he realized Nick was waiting for a reply. He cleared his throat. “G- got it.”
“Got what?”
Charlie could feel Ben grinding his teeth for across the room. “...I won’t touch Charlie.”
Nick stepped back. He motioned to the door. “Go. Get out.”
Ben stumbled out the door and Charlie listened to his rapid steps fade down the hall. He slowly relaxed, gripping the shelf so hard his knuckle turned a ghostly white. He felt Nick’s hand slip around his side.
Charlie weakly said, “You need to get back to the team.”
“I need to take care of my boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say the s-word.”
Charlie’s chest tightened. Nick allowed them both to sink to the floor, keeping a hand around Charlie. Charlie was more grateful then he could put to words. He set his head in the crook of Nick’s neck.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Nick murmured after a minute, rubbing circles on his back. Charlie hugged onto him tighter, like a kid gripping a juice box.
“He just came in here and,” Charlie sucked in a breath, “He kicked the doorstop. Nothing happened. He just said a bunch of stuff..”
“What kind of stuff?”
And then it was all spilling out. Every word that had stung him he spit back out again. His gaze went blurry and his words were messy and out of order but he couldn’t bring himself to care. When he was out of things to say, he was clutched Nick’s arm and Nick’s shirt looked like he’d just walked out during a rainstorm. Charlie was about to apologize, but Nick spoke first.
“He’s so wrong, Char,” Nick said, voice cracking on the last syllable. “So wrong. You have a right to love, just like everyone else. It doesn’t make you less human. You’re amazing. You,” He pulled away to search Charlie’s face. Charlie was surprised to see his eyes were teary as well. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. He’s just mad he missed out.”
Charlie didn’t quite believe that but he forced a small nod. Nick didn’t buy it.
“You are amazing. Say it.”
“Nick…”
“Say it, for me?”
A beat passed. Charlie pursed his lips before whispering, “I’m amazing.”
“Like you mean it.”
Charlie repeated it louder. “I’m amazing.”
The blond smiled, a fond look in his eye. “You are. You’re beautiful, and smart, and kind,” With each word, he poked Charlie’s stomach, where he was ticklish, “and talented, and so loveable, and strong, and-”
“Okay, okay,” Charlie sputtered, through laughs. Nick grinned at him. “Yes, okay, but we still have practice.”
“Do we?”
Charlie rolled his eyes, but not unkindly. “Yes, you dork. Come on. I’m not making you lose your team captain-ness for me.”
“If you insist, but I’m carrying the cones.”
Charlie’s lips tipped with a small smile. “Alright.”