Work Text:
Charlie tossed his backpack onto the floor and flopped onto his bed, the familiar weight of his braces making his mouth ache. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, trying to sort through the jumble of thoughts swirling in his head after being with Aurelia. The soft glow of his desk lamp caught the edges of his open vocabulary journal sitting nearby.
He reached over and grabbed the journal, flipping it open to a fresh page. Pen in hand, he began writing.
I didn’t think braces would mess me up this much. It’s not just the pain or the weird sounds when I talk. It’s like everything I worked for—the way I speak, how people see me—it’s paused. Like I’m stuck.
Aurelia’s braces make it less scary, but only a little. She’s scared, too. That helps. It means I’m not the only one feeling like this.
I keep thinking about spelling bees and how clear I sounded before. Now it’s like I’m chewing marbles. What if people stop taking me seriously? What if Aurelia thinks I’m different? It feels like losing part of me.
But she says braces don’t change who we are. Maybe she’s right.
I hate not having control. I like being prepared, neat, and bright. But this? It’s out of my hands.
All I can do is keep going. Learn to live with the weirdness for a while.
Team braces. Dumb name, but better than “metal mouth.” This is just a weird chapter. I’ll get through it.
Charlie closed the journal and set it back on his desk carefully. He rubbed his sore jaw and grabbed his phone, scrolling through messages from Aurelia. A small smile tugged at his lips.