23 | Happy

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Charles had kissed Sam. Two weeks since the two poured out their feelings for each other. Two weeks since Sam's heart had started to leap with joy at the mere mention of a certain individual. And yet, as cliché as it sounded even to him, he couldn't get used to the sweet words that Charles would envelope him with, the subtle touches they'd make in school when no one was seeing, and of course, the softest kisses Charles would shower him with. With every contact he had with Charles, with every conversation they had and with every day passing by like meagre seconds when he was around him, Sam was sure he was in love with the boy. But he was too shy to admit it out loud. He'd talked to June about it but that proved to be extremely unhelpful because June would just bombard him with a hundred 'JUST DO IT YOU F*CKINH MORON's and Sam had to bite back the urge to snap at him because did he really think it was that easy? Sam definitely thought otherwise.

With thoughts like that flooding his mind, he was quite surprised when he heard a knock on his door because their parents and Kat had gone out on a shopping spree. Sam had just wanted to stay home as he was tired from school - which had started yet again a week prior. Lazily, he walked over to open the door, only to be met with a face he'd never get tired of seeing.

"Miss me?" Charles asked, a small smile making its way to his lips as he placed his shoes neatly in a corner.

"Nah," he replied, but anyone could tell that that was a lie because the red that was creeping up his neck stated otherwise. Despite having seen the other boy just the day before, Sam wouldn't deny that he, indeed, missed him.

"Wow, okay, then. I'll just go ba-" Charles started, turning around to face the door he'd just come through, but Sam quickly grabbed him from behind and instantly put his arms around the taller boy's waist.

"N-no, please, I was just kidding."

"Hm, I thought so," he said, his smile only widening. Looking at that ethereal beauty, Sam wasn't able to stop the smile that was making its way to his own lips. They went into Sam's room - the room that contained so many precious memories that both of them held close to their hearts - where they'd planned to finish off some homework. Studying was difficult with the both of them as they never paid attention even for a second if they were together, but doing their homework was an easy task - they just laughed and talked and had fun while getting their work complete. And in case they missed out on something because of having too much fun, they'd just google the answers and copy them down (though that was a rare case).

And so they went in, Charles taking off his jacket and keeping it to a side, revealing his long, lean arms. Sam furiously blushed and looked away when he caught himself staring. What the hell are you doing?! Get a hold of yourself, stop-

"Something wrong?" Charles asked, having noticed his sudden flinch.

"N-no, why would you assume that?"

"Dunno, your face looks really red."

Okay, he definitely knows. He's just teasing me now.

"Sh-shut up!"

With a cheeky laugh from the other, they decided to finally start off. The sooner they started, the sooner they'd get it over with, and the longer time they'd have for each other.

A lot of time passed with them just doing their own work in silence, reveling in each other's presence. They usually took a lot of breaks in between, but - maybe it was due to the atmosphere, Sam wasn't sure - today, they didn't, and Sam was okay with that. Their time for other things would just add up, resulting in a lot, so it wasn't really a loss.

When they were done, it was almost 7 in the evening. Stretching his hands and legs, Charles said, "Wow. That was the most concentrated I've been since ages."

"Guess what, same," Sam replied. And that really was true. Ever since the incident before their math exam had happened, Sam took it upon himself to scavenge for ways to stay concentrated. One thing that really didn't help was music. Sam loves music more than anything - it acted as his therapy and best friend when no one was there for him and it just felt like home. But when he tried using it as a way of trying to concentrate, it ended up distracting him even more as he'd only sing and not get a single thing done. What did help, though, was thinking of the things he could do after he was done. Simple things - things like, "oh, I can go meet Charles after I'm done with this," or "I can go to June's shop and spend time with him," or even "I could teach Kat some singing, I know she loves it just as much as I do." - really helped him get his work done on time. As his mother quoted often, if he wanted something to happen, then he is the one who should work towards it, because no one else will. No one else cares enough.

"So..." Sam started off, but seeing as Charles's face lit up - because probable because if something he remembered - he chose to stay quiet and let the other speak.

"Sam, do you have a- like an album? That has the pictures of you when you were small?"

Oh.

"I do, but I'm not gonna show them. They're embarrassing."

"I'll show you mine when we're at my house," he said, clearly knowing that this would get Sam to budge. He's known me for what, 8 months now? And he knows me almost as much as June does? Wow.

"...you really know how to get me to do the things you want, don't you," he said, remembering how he'd made him sing two weeks ago. And that immediately made his heart race because that was the day he'd had his first kiss. I want to tell him that I love him, too, he thought, out of nowhere.

"Hehe," he said, making an adorable face. Stop it. My heart is already yours, what more do you want?

Turning around with a face he knew was red, he beckoned Charles to follow him. When they went out, they saw Kat lying on the couch, her face red and sweaty. Sam's older brother instinct kicked in when he asked, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing..."

"Like I'm gonna buy that."

"Really, nothing. I'm just tired. It's so hot outside, I almost got fried," she said, making Charles laugh out loud.

"Oh..." Okay, it wasn't anything serious, he thought, a tad relieved.

"...why're you still staring at me? Go do what you were about to, I'm fine," she said, shooing them away.

"Where's mom? And dad? Didn't you go with them?"

"I did, but seeing that mom still had too many things to buy, and I was like, literally getting toasted, dad dropped me off and then went back... to join her, I guess."

Typical mom. With a small laugh, he said, "Okay... I'll be in the store room. Call me if you need something."

"Yeah, fine. Now please go, I want to rest."

Muttering a 'brat' under his breath and Charles laughing at the interaction, they both went to said room, Charles clearly eager to see baby Sam.

"Look, just a warning, I was really ugly-"

"Say that once more and I'll never kiss you again," he interrupted. Sam's face flushed, and he didn't say anything afterward. With hands a little hesitant, he grabbed the dozen albums and kept it in front of Charles. They both sat down on the floor, Sam trying to guess from the cover of the album which one was the least embarrassing. He picked the one that had the photos of both him and Kat. He was four years old in them. He handed it over to Charles, which he gladly accepted. Flipping through the pages, Charles wasn't able to stop saying "aww" every second, and though it made Sam happy that he didn't find him ugly, he was embarrassed as hell. Well, who wouldn't be?

"Oh my gosh, who is this?" he asked, pointing at the girl that used to be his best friend back in the day.

"That's my cousin, Sia," he said, a small smile making its way to his lips as he recollected all the memories they shared with each other. Because of how time flew and they hardly ever visited each other's houses anymore, Sam wondered if she remembered it all, too. He wondered if those memories meant anything to her and whether she talked to her friends about Sam from time to time.

"And that?" he asked, pointing to the taller boy next to her.

"That's Drake, her older brother." Damn, I miss them. I wanna go to their house and see how they're doing. I want them to meet Charles, I'm sure they'd love him.

And Charles just flipped through the pages, not hesitating one bit to show how much he adored Sam in every picture he saw.

"Oh my gosh, you're so adorable in this."

"And this."

"Aww, look at you, all bundled up in layers of sweaters."

"I'm so glad I asked to see this, you're so cute in each and ever one of them."

"Ah, my heart is at risk. Baby Sam is the best thing that happened to this world."

"Are you for real??!!?!?!? Th-this is so cute, please, ugh..."

"AWWW LOOK AT YOU HOLDING YOUR LITTLE SISTER IN YOUR ARMS, I SWEAR, I'M GONNA CRY."

"You literally haven't changed. You're still the same baby you were ten years ago."

"OHMYGOD-"

"Okay, that's enough," Sam said, extremely flustered because of how much Charles was cooing over pictures of him ages ago.

"N-no... I... please... I need more..." he said, putting his hand over his heart and wincing as if he was in physical pain.

"You're so dramatic!! Stop it, I'm so embarrassed."

Charles laughed at that, his entire face brightening and his body shaking. Seeing him, despite his embarrassment, Sam couldn't help but crack a smile, too.

"Ha... Have y- wait, what time is it?" Charles asked.

"Um, we would've spent, like, half an hour here, so I'd say it's probably seven thirty."

"I should go home, then. My mom w- oh, wait... my mom said she'd be back late from work... Now I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he said, his face slowly becoming small.

"You can stay over," Sam blurted. If he was honest, Sam had really wanted to have a sleepover with Charles ever since they'd become close friends. But he was too shy to ask him, so he never said anything. And now, since they were a lot closer (ahem), Sam got the courage to do so. So what if they were dating? A sleepover was a sleepover nonetheless. And plus, just because they were each other's boyfriends (HE STILL DOESN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE BECAUSE THEY HADN'T TALKED ABOUT IT BUT THE WORD JUST SLIPPED BECAUSE OF MADELINE AND HE WASN'T GOING TO TAKE IT BACK BECAUSE-!!) doesn't mean they weren't friends anymore. They were friends, and more. And that was what Sam loved the most.

"Y-you sure? What about your parents?"

"June has stayed over so many times. They won't think much, I guess..."

"Um- if you say so... But you don't have to argue with them or anything, I'll be fine going back, I'll just be a little lonely... But really, it's fi-"

"My parents aren't that strict, you can clam down," he said, going near Charles and punching his arm lightly.

"...okay."

After a small pause, Sam said, "Let's go out. Maybe we can go to the terrace?? The sky looks so pretty at night, I swear. Especially from my terrace, since there aren't many buildings around, it's the beautiful-est."

"Let's go, then," he replied, putting an arm around Sam's shoulders. Because of their height difference being a little less than half a head, Sam felt safe and secure in his arms. With that, they left the store room, their minds set only on spending their time with the moon and the stars.

When they were out, they heard Sam's parents talking. As they got closer, Sam's mother noticed them and gave Charles a knowing smile. "Hey there," she said, nodding towards them. "It's pretty late now, Charles, do you want to stay over for dinner?"

Sam remembered the day Charles had promised to dine with them some other day. He looked up at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Um- why not? I was going to ask if- if I could stay... for a sleepover with Sam, because we've been f-friends for so long but haven't had even one. A proper one, at least." Right after he said that, he eyed Sam, wanting some sort of assurance. Sam slightly nodded, giving him the assurance he wanted.

"Oh, okay! You can use the mattress June usually does- or, wait, I could-"

"Oh, that would be more than enough. Thanks, mom," Sam said, feeling giddy at the thought of finally being able to spend a whole night with Charles.

"No problem. Dinner will be ready in some time, I'll call you then."

"Okay, we'll be in the terrace," he said, already pulling Charles by his wrist.

They went out of the house and up the stairs that led to Sam's terrace. Sam could only laugh at Charles's awestruck expression upon seeing it - it was huge. Going over to the small room they built there to keep some blankets and other things, Sam took out a big one, spreading it on the floor in a cozy corner. He then proceeded to sit on it comfortably, resting his back on the wall and beckoned Charles to do the same. And so he did. Charles sat beside Sam, going close so that their shoulders and arms were touching. With both of their knees propped up and their backs softly resting on the not-so-soft wall, Sam didn't think they could get more comfortable.

They just sat there, gazing at the sky, Sam thinking yet again about Charles. How much light the other boy had brought into his life. Without him, he had no clue what he'd be doing at the moment. He wouldn't have gotten over the self hatred he'd built up since forever, wouldn't have even spared a glance towards him if he hadn't done so, and would've definitely been his self-pitying self. Of course, he'd have June, but there was only so much even the poor guy could do to bring about a change in Sam. Charles, though, hadn't tried to do that - he focused on Sam doing all of it all by himself. And that indeed served as his remedy. As the saying goes, if you give your fish to a beggar, you'll feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you'd have fed him for his entire life.

He felt Charles's hand reach out to take his own. Gently holding it, they stared at the stars, just enjoying each other's presence like they always did.

"Do you come here often?" Charles asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Yeah," he said, "It gives me a sense of, I don't know, escapism?"

"Hm, I thought as much."

With some more time passing by, them completely lost in the feeling of being watched over by the moon, Sam sighed a deep, relieved sigh. Charles then tapped lightly on on his shoulder, trying to get his attention. Sam turned his head around, only to be met with a pair of full lips on his. With his chest heaving up and down visibly due to the sudden gesture and his heart beating fast against his rib cage, reminding him once again who it was beating for, Sam let himself dissolve in the sensation. With his eyes closed, he hummed into the quiet night, his hands making its way down to Charles's and holding them close. His hands are so comforting, he thought, trying to get closer to the other boy. Charles held his face delicately with his hands and tilted his head, wanting more. And so, Sam gave him more.

With flushed cheeks, they both pulled away after a while, their faces only an inch apart, and looked into each other's eyes. Sam hardly ever looked into people's eyes due to it being a very embarrassing and nerve-wracking thing for him to do, but he could stare into those chocolate pools of brown he grew to be so familiar with all day. Or better yet, all night. With a little giggle, Sam wrapped his arms around Charles, being so gleeful that such a person existed. Charles returned it at the beat of a heart. He ruffled Sam's hair and whispered, "I love you."

"How much?" Sam asked.

"So much."

And Sam just hummed into Charles's t-shirt in reply. Say it back, you moron, his brain yelled. I know, I will, his heart replied.

"I love you, too."

- End -

DONT TOUCH ME DONT TALK TO ME IM SO SAD 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭