Chapter Text
The sun painted their town as the morning came. Warmth coated the grass outside while the sun rose. Orange streams of light peaked through his blinds and prodded at his eyes, as a wake up call for the first day of senior year.
Eventually, the light became unbearable and Charlie groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up in his head. He felt for his glasses on the nightstand beside him, finding them after a few unsuccessful grasps. He checked his phone to see if he were late or early. 6:58 AM. He had to get to school at 8, so he had just barely over an hour to prepare. He uncovered his body and stood up to stretch, a small amount of skin showing due to the position.
Charlie headed towards his closet to find anything flattering enough for his first day of school. Of course, he didn't find anything that he felt like wearing, his grogginess helped to lower his confidence. He then remembered his idea from the beginning of summer and rummaged through the drawer near the corner and sure enough, he had picked out a special outfit for this occasion especially.
Before he dressed into his clothes, he stepped into his shower, the warm water on his skin making him feel more relaxed and awake than before. He washed out the dirt and oil from his hair and used fluffing conditional so his hair would look good for the first day.
He stepped out and dried off most of the fluids on his body. His hair still slightly dripping but he would deal with that later. He wrapped the towel around his waist and grabbed his toothbrush and washed away the plaque and his mouth felt much better than before. He soon washed his mouth out and washed his face, making him feel fully refreshed for the day before him.
He walked out of his bathroom and grabbed his clothes he chose out and quickly dressed into them, while getting some jewelry to spice the look up a little. Once he was fully done with everything, he put his shoes on and grabbed his stuff
He went downstairs and got greeted by the sight of his mother making breakfast, and she seemed to notice he came down "good morning honey, I'm making eggs and pancakes since it's your first day of senior yearrrr" she drags out the 'year' and turns towards him, smiling widely. Charlie smiles back and goes over to hug her.
Charlie was always something of a momma's boy. He could never hate his mom, even if they had a fight, he endlessly loved her and she loved him. He gives her a short hug from behind, and she turns around and gives him a proper hug.
Charlie was almost a foot taller than his mom, even though he wasn't very tall himself. Regardless of people thinking that a small person wouldn't be comforting, Charlie always loved their hugs, even as he got much bigger than her. He closed his eyes as their hug went on and rested his chin on her head. They both hummed in happiness, both enjoying each others' presence.
They finally let go after what feels like forever and a second at the same time. She grabs her sons arms and rubs light circled on them with her thumbs. "I love you Charlie." He smiles warmly while looking her in the eyes with compassion "I love you too mom." They exchange another quick hug and she gets back to cooking breakfast.
Charlie waits at the table and is soon met with a full plate of food. He quickly snarfs half of it in his mouth. His mother looks at him with surprise even though she's seen him do this every time before school. Charlie soon finishes his breakfast and is stuffed and ready to go to school.
Charlie and his mom hop into her car and pull out of the driveway while having a comfortable silence. "I'm heading to work after dropping you off so I'll be coming back late at night okay sweetie?" Charlie meets her eyes that are gazing at his and nods in acknowledgment.
They get to school and it looks like half of the school is outside, the other half probably late to school or inside. "Bye honey, have a good first day back and make loads of friends, I love you." Charlie snickers quietly but nods "I will mom, I love you." Charlie waves back and smiles at his mom for the last time that day and he heads inside, looking for anyone recognizable.
He's met with a crowd of people that are almost impossible to navigate through. He manages and gets to a table near the middle of the cafeteria. He texts any of his friends but they either don't respond or say they haven't gotten there yet. His leg bounces in worry because he usually doesn't like social places, nonetheless when they're incredibly crowded.
Suddenly, he's being given a noogie and a hug from behind while laughter is heard from behind him. His eyes light up as he stands up and turns around. Charlie is met with Quackity's wide smile and open arms. They both burst into laughter and pull each other into a long and well needed hug.
"Quacks, it's been so long, why didn't you respond to my message? I thought you fully ghosted me to hang out with Wilby again~"
Charlie taunts quackity with kissy lips and the other punches him lightly in the shoulder while smiling. "Shut up slime, i know you would be BEGGING for what we have." Quackity dramatically flips his leftover hair thats not tucked into his tight beanie. They both burst in laughter and sit down. They chat for what seems like hours until the bell rings and they part their ways to their other classes.
Charlie keeps a smile worn on his face while he goes into his next class, but it slowly fades as he realizes he doesn't have any friends of his in his class. He shrugs and sits down in an empty seat near the back, he can always make new friends like his mom always says. He checks his schedule and it says 'Biology'. Oh lord, he was never good with children, let alone their anatomy.
Soon enough, he has to stop the music playing in his airpods because the bell had rung and the teacher walks in. The class is now filled almost to the brim, leaving him the only table with him only. He doesn't mind though, he doesn't like talking to new people.
"Alright everybody. Todays your first day of senior year. Congratulations, it's the last year until college, hopefully you will all make it. Some of you may or may not know me as Mr. Cucurucho, and if you don't know me, nice to meet you. Todays assignment isn't too difficult, if anything it's easier than a 11th grade class should be, but I'm too tired and I'm retiring soon, so I'm doing it anyway."
He looks looks dreadfully tired and elderly, ready to retire, even though he looks relatively in shape and alive. To each of their own I guess. Cucurucho grabs a plastic Hyvee bag and digs for something. Charlie looks closer to try and guess what it is before he takes it out, but he genuinely has no clue.
He finally pulls out a dozen of eggs. Some of the people in their tables start whispering as he pulls one out.
"What I hold in my hand is a possibility to make a beautiful little chick. But, we're not looking to have actual animals in our class unless we're dissecting them." Charlie gags silently at the thought. He was never really good with animal guts or gore alone. He regains his composure and looks back at the teacher.
"What you and the person next to you will be doing, is you will be raising one of these like your own child to test if you can handle it. You should all be great full that my first assignment is so easy, because trust me it will get worse." send one of your partners to retrieve an egg. Charlie sits silently until he's the last one to get an egg.
"Uhm, excuse me sir? I don't have a partner . I can work alone if I have to I honestly don't care I'm just checking if-"
SLAM
The door slams open and shows a man with black hair and tan skin that's littered with freckles. He has glasses like Charlie and a haircut like his as well. He can't help but notice that he's panting and sweating slightly, which makes it look like he was running on the way here, which, judging on the time, wouldn't be too far off. Charlie can't help but stare at him a bit too long and they make eye contact. Charlie quickly looks back down at his egg in embarrassment.
Cucurucho finally clears his throat and the boy looks up at him. "Don't. Slam. My. Doors. You should know that by now Mariana." So his name is Mariana, huh.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't wake up on time." Mariana looks around for an empty seat and looks at the one next to Charlie's. "Looks like Charlie found a partner." Charlie grabs the egg and rushes back to his seat while fidgeting with the egg and his fingers. He can see Mariana getting his desk ready and sitting down in his peripherals.
Charlie can almost feel the burn of Mariana's eyes on him. Chatters can be already heard from the classroom. "Alright alright everyone listen up. You and your partner will alternate between houses and taking care of it, including a set of tasks you have to do. Now, I'll let you have a little time to get to know your partner, as you will be working together for the rest of the year.
Oh no. He was already nervous just looking at him, but now he has to work with someone for an entire year? Charlie doesn't dare make a move, worrisome of if the other will judge him. Thankfully, Mariana makes the first move.
"Charlie right? So we're partners now I guess. Sorry that I'm late, I didn't wake up in time."
An embarrassed smile paints Mariana's face while he rubs his neck and looks away. Charlie finds it weirdly endearing that he's also nervous. Mariana is holding his hand out, waiting for a shake of approval. Finally, Charlie reciprocates it and finally looks Mariana in the eyes.
"Yea, I'm Charlie. And Mariana correct?"
Mariana nods in agreement. They chat for a little, about Mariana's backstory with being in this class multiple times but failing, about Charlie equally hating the subject, and they crack some jokes in between the conversation. They both laugh, but Mariana's laugh is louder and more soulful.
Charlie can't help but admire it from him, the fact that he hunches over when he laughs too hard, and his eyes turn glossy. Charlie finds himself staring and Mariana looks back at him, which shakes him out of his thoughts as he looks back at the egg.
"So, one of the tasks is to name it right? So what should we name it?"
Mariana's eyebrows are stuck together as he's thinking, and Charlie's does as well. They sit in silence thinking and Charlie is the first to come up with something. Charlie's face beams and grows into a smile as he waits for Mariana, studying his face and position.
His elbows are resting on the table and his hands are running through his dark curls. They look so soft that Charlie has to physically fight himself from touching it. Mariana groans and releases his head from his hands, leaving it hanging. For some reason, Charlie felt something when he groaned. He started to think about what he would sound like doing work, or in bed...wait what??
Marianas fingers snapped in front of Charlie's face which startled him and brings him back to reality. "You were staring into space for a while tu tonto." Mariana lightly chuckles as Charlie cocks his head to the side like a confused dog.
"Ay, i should've known you didn't know spanish, sorry I slip into my first language sometimes. Al menos podré decir que eres un poco lindo." Mariana mumbles the last bit of information even if he couldn't understand it.
"It's okay man, you can speak in Spanish if you're more comfortable." Charlie reassures Mariana with a warm smile, which the other returns. "Alright, do you have a name in mind?"
"Yea, I was thinking Juan or Juana because Juan is my fathers name." Charlie nods and thinks "I was thinking, frontflippo? I know it's dumb but me and some of my friends are super into gymnastics."
Mariana nods and ruffles his eyebrows once more. "How about, Juanflippo? A combination of the two? Or Juanaflippa? Depending on the gender of course."
Charlie's eyes light up and he smiles "Can we do Juanaflippa? I've kinda always wanted a younger sister or daughter." Charlie rubs his neck and feels more closed off because of how much he's over shared in this class alone.
"Honestly, i think that's a great idea. I've also wanted a younger sister or daughter if I'm gonna be honest." Mariana chuckles and Charlie sighs in relief.
"We also have to give it an appearance, so what do we have in common?" Charlie suggests dark hair but only Mariana had that, Mariana suggested light skin but only Charlie had that, so they met in the middle. "How about glasses? We have those." Charlie smiles and nods quickly as he grabs a sharpie. Charlie draws a pair of glasses and 'Juanaflippa' on the back.
"I think that's it for todays tasks, do we have a shared place to leave it? Or should one of us keep it?" Mariana sounds a bit confused as most of the tasks and instructions are in English on an almost blindingly white piece of paper. Charlie scoots his chair closer to see what he was confused about and grabs the other side of the paper, then two incredibly close together.
'The egg shall live in both of your houses, switching every day so you both share it.' "Ohhh okay, it has weird words that I understand that you wouldn't get. Honestly me neither. It's basically saying we have to switch days and nights we have Flippa, so if I had her one day, you would have her the next day." Charlie turns to Mariana who's smiling at him and appreciating them being able to translate eachother.
Charlie blinks as he realizes how close they are together. He can smell the cologne on his body that smells like smokey pine trees and cinnamon. Mariana could cover himself in the musk and Charlie would never back away from it. The smell wraps around his nose and tugs on his heart. He quickly turns red as he realizes he had been dosing off again.
"S-sorry i got lost in thought again." Charlie chuckles as Mariana nods "No it's okay, i didn't notice." Soon enough, the bell rings and they have to depart again. Charlie's heart practically sinks as he might not be able to see him for any of his other classes.
"Charlie." He snaps back into reality and looks at Mariana with pleading eyes, which he hopes he can't see through into his heart. "It was nice meeting you. Could I get your number so we could talk about the project? Or we could just hang out because you're very cool."
Charlie's heart races at the simple action. "U-uh yea hold on let me pull out my phone." He finally gets a grasp on the device in his back pocket and they exchange numbers. Mariana starts to leave but Charlie acts before he can think.
"Mariana, i think you're pretty cool too. Like genuinely. See you around?" Mariana's gaze softened into a smile "Yea, see you around Charlie." They mirror a similar smile and wave their goodbyes as they walk in two different directions.
The rest of the day, Charlie couldn't stop thinking about him. His chocolate brown eyes, his sharp jawline, his veiny arms...oh god. He has to quit thinking about his new friend like this, especially since they haven't even known each other for 24 hours.
As soon as Charlie got home, he called Quackity, in need of someone to talk to about this whole thing. His phone rings a couple times before he picks up.
"Hey pendejoooo what's up?" Quackity was weirdly energetic but he didn't judge. What he did judge was the fact that he is still called pendejo since elementary. It's embarrassing, but he usually only calls him that when he's been around his Mexican friends.
"Hey something happened today and i wanna talk to see id it's normal or weird, are you busy?" Charlie could hear that he had company over, due to the laughter and talking in the background. "Uhh, kinda? You wanna stop by? It's Friday so we have the whole weekend right? We could have a sleepover!!"
Charlie thinks for a second. He talks to Alex and contemplates every possible outcome and it's usually defeated by another excuse from Quackity. Charlie gives up from fighting the urge to go over, even though he doesn't know many of Quackity's friends.
"Alright fine Alex, but don't expect me to know everyone." He could hear Quackity from the other side laughing and screaming "YES" and Charlie can't help but giggle at it. "Ok I'm gonna pack some stuff and tell my mom so I'll see you in 15 ok?"
Alex comes back from his celebrations to the phone to listen to him "OKAY SEE YOU LATER SLIME!!!" Alex hangs up and Charlie is left dumbfounded by the worse nickname once again from elementary. Charlie sighs and packs his hygiene products, a phone charger, and a couple outfits. On his way out, he writes a note to his mom saying that he's staying the night at his friends house. Soon enough, he's on his way out and beginning the treck towards Quackity's house.
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Charlie finds himself hesitating to knock on the door. Regardless of his love for his best friend Quackity, he doesn't really want to go inside since there are multiple people that he doesn't know in there. The hair on the back of his neck sticks up as he finally decided to knock, quickly and a bit harshly.
He can hear the voices hush just a little bit but they get back to their conversations in a few seconds as he can hear thumping towards the door. He latched his hands on the straps of his backpack and prepares himself for anything.
Thankfully, Alex opens the door with a grin on his face. They crash into a long hug with laughing in between it. They finally let go and Charlie closes the front door behind him.
"Everyone, this is Charlie, Charlie, this is everyone." Alex shouts could burst his eardrums normally, but from the years of being friends with him, he gets used to it. He looks around the room and sees unfamiliar faces aside from one person in the kitchen getting water.
Other people chatter around, not noticing what Charlie's staring at or the fact that he's staring at all. He recognizes the dark curls and tan skin that's littered with almost unnoticeable freckles. He turns around to face Charlie and they're barely a foot apart by now.
"Mariana?"