Sorry it's be a long few months with nothing but dead-end attempts to write. But with endless support and love from , positive praise and encouragement from , and an uplifting message that resonated me from , I could finally get this chapter up.

So here's a little bit of cute and spicy from me and the boys as a heartfelt thanks.

Side note: It's not edited yet. I just needed to smash it out and post. I promise I'll edit it thoroughly later!

*

The school Principal cracked down on Wednesday's drama quickly.

It was my first Monday back at school since medical leave and the classes were already actively pushed into participating with setting up anti-bullying campaigns. Staunch guys across the year levels like Trey and Ben were assigned tasks of carrying boxes from the delivery truck and putting them in storage. I hadn't seen much of Charlie this morning, but I think he'd volunteered to help put flyers around the school together with Ikeisha.

As for me? Despite insisting I'm fine enough to help, I'd been put on messenger duty and reporting progress back and forth to teachers and participating students. It was chill so I could just go wherever I wanted without being questioned, but it got boring quickly since I had to leave my phone behind. I wanted to hang out more with Charlie.

Those few days off school with him were fun.

Uncle Tom called my name, making me turn back to face him. He stood beside a vaguely familiar guy with tight yellowy-blonde curls over excessive regrowth. He looked like early Justin Timberlake with packet noodle hair. "Can you take Jesse over to Charlie and Ikeisha for me? I'm off to library duty."

I stared at the guy, wondering why he felt familiar before recognizing him as one of the groupies who held Charlie down during Wednesday's fight. He had a strange look in his eyes that didn't falter for even a second. For whatever reason, I felt uneasy, but I couldn't exactly deny the request.

"Aubrey?" Tom repeated.

"Oh, ah..." It wasn't exactly like I could decline. "Sure."

A greasy smile spread across Jesse's face. He wouldn't be the worst looking person on the planet if he didn't make me feel so uneasy, but since he did, he just looked... gross. Jesse came to my side before smiling back at Tom.

"Thanks, Mr. Hardy," he said.

"No worries. I know it's not easy being the new kid. Oh, Aubrey, just quickly," he said before we started walking off, "stop at the storage shed on the way and get the guys to take a few more boxes to the courtyard. They're probably running low by now."

"Will do."

We walked quietly down the hall until the tension almost chilled me to the bones. Luckily, we weren't far from the storage shed, and I burst inside before I froze to death. What I didn't expect was to find Ben pinned against the wall, never mind Trey being the one holding him there. They both froze, evidently caught off-guard by the sudden intrusion. "Um, sorry. I didn't mean-"

Trey shoved Ben then turned to face me, knowing exactly what I was going to say. "You didn't disrupt anything."

"What happened?" I signed to him.

"I'll tell you later," he signed back, but I sensed how frustrated he was. It was a very signature look for Trey when his jaw clenched, and his posture stood rigid. Some people found him intimidating, and judging by how flustered Ben looked, I'd say he was one of them. Trey stormed past me and carelessly knocked into Jesse as he passed, while Ben regained some composure and patted himself down.

If it was anyone else then I'd have apologized for his rude behavior, but I didn't feel like I owed it to Jesse. "Are you okay?" I asked Ben when Trey slammed the door closed behind him.

"Yeah," he muttered, turning and picking up a box from a stack to his right. "Just quarrelling over boxes n' shit."

As if that's what happened. I've known for three years just how much attention Trey pays to Ben. He shows nothing but hostile irritability, but his focus remains on Ben just the same. Something's up, even if Trey doesn't say it. And it's more than just about what Ben said three years ago, that much was for certain. I just didn't know what. Whatever it was had been kept strictly between them both... Or maybe Ben was just as clueless.

"Um, Mr. Hardy wants someone to take some boxes over to-"

"Tell Horse-Face to do it," Ben muttered.

"Donovan?" I asked, confused. "Why would he-?"

"Why would he what?" a nauseatingly familiar voice came from behind some shelves. "Why would he be at school, did you mean?"

Donovan Hughes appeared from the far left and slung his arm familiarly over Jesse's shoulder. "Benefits of befriending Principal's kid, I guess," he grinned.

"Principal's kid?" I asked through gritted teeth. This asshole was welcomed back with open arms while Charlie was suspended for three days and got a smushed record. I felt anger boil in the pit of my gut, but I tried to keep a handle on my emotions. I'd complain to Tom and get the story later. "What in the nepotism? You were supposed to be banned till exams."

"My buddy got me sorted. Right, Jess?"

Jesse stared at me with eyes so similar to snakes that I almost couldn't distinguish his pupils from reptilian slits. "Yeah," he said, shrugging out of Donovan's grasp. "This guy's taking me to help Charlie Rascal."

I hated the way Charlie's name sounded coming from his mouth. He was tainting Charlie's innocence just by saying it. He's not allowed to join a bunch of bullies to beat someone up and then sound excited to see that same person. It's just messed up.

"Oh, Charlie?" Donovan sneered. "That'll be fun for you. Right, buddy?"

The way he spoke made me nauseous. It was like a secret they shared between them that involved Charlie. It wasn't like they knew anything was going on between us. Still, it felt like they were deliberately goading me, trying to elicit a reaction. Donovan slapped Jesse's back and turned back to leave. Ben was gazing over at us with a confused expression.

"What the fuck was that about?" he asked, staring after Donovan. "The prick didn't even take boxes with him."

Before I could answer, Jesse put his arm around my shoulders. Despite how badly I wanted to slap him away, I quietly allowed him to lead me out of the closet. We walked to the outside seating area by the cafeteria where Ikeisha and Charlie were putting up flyers together along the concrete walls.

There were various forms of antibullying brochures, bulletins and posters that would inevitably be vandalized the minute the bell rung for break. Right now, we were forty-minutes into our weekly double free period. No one, not even the cafeteria crew would be nearby anymore. We were the only ones to either volunteer, be voted in, or pushed into it by our teachers. Since Charlie volunteered, I inevitably did, too.

I just didn't think I'd be stuck on messenger duty instead of at his side in the courtyard.

Charlie saw me approach and smiled with excitement before it faltered slightly, looking confusedly at Jesse whose arm was still on me. Donovan's voice loomed from behind me, making me spin around and break Jesse's hold.

"Lover girl and twink boooy," Donovan sung. "The dead-end love triangle because Ikeisha Hansen likes a dick loving twink!"

Keish, who was happily sticking a poster beside one Charlie just put up, startled into dropping it and flung around.

"What the hell?" she demanded, scrunching her brows while she folded her arms in obvious distaste. "First day back and you're already causing more trouble? There's a limit to how stupid you can be, you know."

Donovan moved past us and headed under the shaded area where Ikeisha and Charlie both stood, cornering Keish so his back was turned to both Charlie and us.

"I got nothing to fear from lover girl and twink boooy. I am immortal!" he sung again loudly enough for me to hear as Jesse and I as we continued to approach.

Trey, who'd been lazing on the grass against a graffitied concrete wall, obviously had enough when he slowly and deliberately stood and patted himself down. The scene of him dragging himself across the grass towards them was seriously ominous, like he'd whip out a weapon and reenact Jason. His reaction to Ben's racist comment for the past three years was a big hint that Donovan wouldn't be let off the hook so easily.

Trey grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and forced him away from Ikeisha. She took to Ben and Charlie's side immediately, red in the face. She's a brave chick, not normally intimidated by the likes of Donovan, but seemed flustered anyway. Maybe it was because he was right on the money about her liking Charlie and having just outed her crush.

As for the twink bit, I hadn't told her anything about how close I'd gotten with him recently. Neither of them knew that that part was actually true as well. After my attempt to avoid Charlie when she first told me about her feelings, we only got closer. That was probably my bad. Steal my best friend's crush – I was a great friend. My heart sunk a little at the realization that we both liked the same person.

"You shut the fuck up about my sister," Trey said, dragging me out of my thoughts.

Ben ran over, too, wasting no time by shoving Donovan's chest and causing him to stumble. Since Ben was probably the stockiest of the lot, he probably had the most chance to win against the infamous "Horse Boy." I just hoped Charlie and Keish moved out of the way quickly. If a fight did eventuate, that is.

Charlie spoke with Ikeisha from a safe distance, but I couldn't hear anything. He looked at me on occasion, and then their conversation ended with her nodding then looking over at me. "I'm going to get a teacher," she signed.

I nodded as he she started to walk off.

Before the fight had a chance to escalate, Charlie leaned provocatively against Donovan. He stroked Donovan's fingers with one hand, while flirtatiously running his fingers up his chest with the other. Donovan looked bemused, as if he hadn't quite figured out what was going on. And the height difference was phenomenal. I'd never seen Charlie looking as vulnerable in size as he did right at that moment that all I wanted to do was protect him.

But what was he doing?

"Donny, honey," Charlie cooed, cutely fluttering his lashes. "Did'ya miss me that badly that you wanted my attention like this? Y'know that's not how to get it, snookum. You can give me all your lovin' outside'a school..." He paused for a moment and pretended to look bashful. "What if people find out about us?"

Even though I knew he was full of shit, I still couldn't help this little pang of irritation and jealousy. If Donovan didn't behave so stupidly, Charlie wouldn't even have to mess with him like this. Still, it was hilarious watching Donovan's face go red with rage. Then history repeated itself when Donovan lifted his fist for a swing, and Charlie grinned and ducked it. Just as he was passing Donovan, he turned and performed a power-kick so great that Donovan stumbled and yelled.

He couldn't even give chase to Charlie because Ben had him pinned straight against the table, grappling each other while Trey tried to wedge himself in between. Technically, Trey's an official school mediator, but the look on his face made me think he was more trying to help beat the asshole up than actually mediate the fight. My attention turned back to a weight lift off my shoulders. And by that I meant literally.

I didn't notice Jesse's arm was back around me until Charlie came over and slapped him away. "Touching my ass wasn't enough?" Charlie asked him as he pulled me to his side. "Now you gotta put your greasy hands all over Aubrey, where do you even get off?"

Jesse shrugged with some form of nonchalance, but I was too engrossed in watching Charlie's aggressively protective side. How did everyone mistake him for such a foot in mouth clown? How did I? I've never seen anyone quite like him. But... this asshole touched Charlie's butt? When? How? Why? I wanted to ask so many questions.

"I kept quiet so far but don't think I'll stand still if you lay your filthy hands on Aubrey again."

He took my hand and led me away. While I didn't mind it one bit, I looked back at Trey to see his momentary paused involvement in the fight, looking at me with surprise. Since I had no time to explain anything, I waved and followed Charlie away from the scene. We could see Ikeisha returning with a teacher from another direction, so we kept hidden and went to a more secluded area for the remainder of free study period. Charlie led me into the gymnasium and opened the door to a decently sized closet.

We paused in front of it. I asked, "Um, what are we doing here?"

"Avoiding conflict," he said, grinning mischievously. I couldn't help grin back as I followed him inside. After he closed the door, we sat side by side against the back wall and leant our heads back. His hand gently covered mine, and I let it. I liked it. Everything felt peaceful and safe, the way it tended to whenever I was with him.

"Tell me about this bum thing," I said, feeling nervous.

"Why, you jealous?" he grinned, wickedly. "You can touch it too, if you want."

"Shut up."

He chuckled. "It was during the fight. Don't worry, you already decked him good when you came in to save me."

I felt shy. He thinks I saved him. It made me feel good.

We sat quietly like this for a few minutes before Charlie started to hum a slightly broken, monotonous tune. I looked at him curiously while his humming slowly formed words, and I realized he was going over a tongue twister in his head. "...picked a peck of pickled pepper... hmm...hm... hmm...peter piper picked. Hmm-hmm..." We'd been going over tongue twisters and their histories on Friday as one of our last catch ups so it probably stayed in his head the whole time. Poor guy.

"Peter Piper pecked a peckled-" I tried to participate but screwed it up immediately, making Charlie laugh. I'd only gotten it smoothly a total of two times during our rounds at his place. "Peter piper picked a pick of peckle-"

He laughed again.

"Alright," Charlie said, turning slightly so he was sitting cross legged facing me. He picked up my arm and kissed it. "For every word you get right, I'ma kiss your arm for positive reinforcement."

"How do you know it'll be positive?" I asked, challenging his cockiness.

"You wouldn't be in here with me otherwise," he said with an assured grin. Well, I couldn't exactly argue. Instead, I felt my face flush, so I looked down at my hands and nodded.

"Peter piper picked a peck...of pickled peppers..." I started off slow, trying to gain some confidence. I felt his lips move softly across my arm, making my hairs prickle. I liked how it felt, letting my eyes involuntarily close at the sensation. "...a peck of pickled peppers peter piper picked..." His lips continued trailing across my skin in short little bursts, making my concentration falter. "If peter piper pecked a peck of pickled - Ow!"

He surprised me when he playfully bit a spot on my arm. "You didn't say you would bite me if I'm wrong," I protested while rubbing the spot – not that it actually hurt.

"To be more specific," he said with his signature know-it-all look, "I didn't say what I'd do if you get it wrong."

I stared at him closely, surveying the state of his face and decent recovery over the past five days. Now that his lip swelling and bruising had gone down, and the scabs had since come off, there was nothing stopping me from doing what I wanted. So, I grabbed his hair at the back of his head and pulled him towards me, taking him by surprise when I took hold of his lips.

He went rigid for all of two seconds before I felt him relax into it and initiate deepening the kiss. I kissed his lips, then moved along his cheeks, down to his neck. His arms were around me, pulling me close against him. This was it. A defining moment. The way I felt like I'd melt the moment he put his arms around me, I knew that things changed between us for good.

Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew I had those kinds of romantic feelings for Charlie Rascal. And it felt so right. It was like I would burst at any moment from the sheer excitement while my heart palpitated beyond relief. I wanted to sink into him and disappear from this world for just these few moments. But I had an ulterior purpose for initiating this, and I still wanted to have my fun.

After placing a few kisses against his neck, I leaned back and took a deep breath, before blowing a massive raspberry against his skin. He squealed and pulled away, but I held him and attacked him with an onslaught of raspberries across his neck, throat, and collarbone. He laughed and flailed, but I grappled his arms while lifting his shirt so I could stick my face inside. He squealed loudly when I blew a massive raspberry against his belly, and I felt his legs kick the air helplessly while his thighs brushed each of my sides.

"Aubrey, stop!" he cackled relentlessly. I was starting to get hot under his shirt when he suddenly went still as the closet door opened.

I hesitated for a second, scared of the possibilities. "Charlie...?"

I pulled my head out and looked up to find the dean staring down at us in contempt. She'd caught me with my head stuck up Charlie's shirt. If this wasn't a compromising position, I didn't know what was. Her face went stiff and expressionless. My smile quickly faltered. I was going to be in deep shit. What if she called our mums? Charlie's mum probably knows he's gay but what about mine?

How would my parents react? What would they feel?

"Both of you, follow me to my office," she demanded, turning away and leaving the door open behind her. "Now."