BBC Ghosts: Teatime Club

Care

"You wanted to speak to me, Cap?"

Cap felt a little sick, but knew that this is what he had to do. He cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I do William. Do you have a moment?

William nodded and Cap lead him towards an empty classroom, away from the prying eyes who were staring at them from behind the lockers.

"Darn it, they've moved!" Julian complained, throwing his hands into the air. "And I wanted tea to spill."

"Did you want a teapot then?" Kitty asked, causing the Tory to snort.

"No you imbecile!" Julian mouthed, "It's an expression. Tea! You know, drama?"

"Don't call Kitty an imbecile." Mary glared at the taller boy. "And since when do you care about drama anyway?"

Julian smirked, "Since I figured out what was putting Cap in such a foul mood."

Mary raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

Julian tapped his nose.

"Don't be like that, you jerk!" Mary sniffed, folding her arms. "Tell me!"

Julian rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Mary, figure it out!"

Mary thought real hard for a moment, then shrugged. Julian facepalmed and watched the retreating figures of Cap and William with a small sigh. He hadn't been lying to Mary when he'd said he'd figured out what was wrong with his... friend. Julian may have been a cold-hearted bastard who didn't really give a shit about a LOT of people but he could pick up on certain signs - the same signs Cap seemed to give off when he was around William.

It's not that Julian didn't care, either. He considered Cap one of his friends now, although he'd never tell anyone that, and his real reason for watching the pair talk together was to make sure William wouldn't take anything the wrong way and strike out at Cap.

Julian's lips turned up into a small smile. His gilded motive was dripped in the less than savoury image he'd presented for himself his whole life, which meant nobody knew how much he actually cared about his friends, and that's the way it would always be. He just hoped Cap would be alright.

"What are you guys doing?"

Julian jumped and turned to see Pat crouching behind the lockers, joining them in their hiding space. Behind him was Thomas, standing up as normal, looking completely bored.

"Julian wants to spill the tea!" Kitty offered, causing Pat to frown at him.

"Spill the... tea?"

"Uh..."

"We're watching Cap talk to William. I mean, we were, until they moved." Mary put in.

Pat glared at Julian.

Julian put his arms up in defence. "It's not what you think! I was just, you know, curious to see why they were talking! William's leaving so I thought some sort of little sordid secret might have come out!"

"Sordid... secret?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"Like, you know! Cap admitting he has a crush on Fanny!" Julian blurted out, the lie coming off as seamless.

"You what?" Pat frowned in confusion, rubbing his head.

"Cap has a crush on Fanny? Ew." Mary scoffed, thinking it was gross on both parties.

"Can I tell Fanny?" Kitty beamed.

"No! N-No, let's not tell Fanny that. For one thing I think she sorta likes him anyway but she may have cooled on him and I can't be doing with that drama." Julian said.

"I thought you LIKED drama?" Mary added.

Thomas raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you that perceptive?"

"Well, I'm not, I'm just... shut up, Thomas."

Thomas frowned.

Julian shrugged, standing up. "Let's just... go finish lunch."

Julian sighed and lead his friends back to the canteen. Pat and Thomas gave him curious glances and Kitty and Mary followed behind, with the latter gushing over Robin.

Inside the classroom across the way, Cap was still talking to his friend. He'd chosen not to confess at that moment, because he was scared of ruining their friendship and he held their friendship in high esteem. He considered reaching into his pocket to give William a letter he'd written about certain... matters, but something begged him not to give it to him, so he decided against it. Instead they just spoke about how much they'd miss one another, with William giving him tips on how to be friendly to others.

"But I won't be able to do that!" Cap complained, sagging his shoulders, "You know I'm not a people person!"

"Come on, Cappy, you know you have to be friendly sometime or other!" William smiled, "Besides, I know you have a lot of people who care about you, even if you haven't figured that out yet."

Cap gruffly folded his arms. "Like who? My parents? You know how conflicted we are as a unit."

"I wasn't talking about them." he started, looking out of the classroom window and into the canteen, where he could just about see Pat and the others sitting down next to Fanny, Robin, and Humphrey, "You seem pretty close with that Pat Butcher and his friends. You have that after school thing with them, don't you?"

"The Teatime Club. Yes. That's different though. I-I mean, compared to you."

"They care about you a lot." William observed, watching the table as Julian said something offensive to Thomas, causing the latter to reach across the table to smack him. "You should let them in."

"Why should I?"

"They only want the best for you, just like I do. Is that so wrong?"

Cap followed his crush's gaze through to the canteen, where the rest of the idiots were sitting. A small smile graced his lips. He couldn't help but feel warm when he looked their way. "I suppose..."

"Yes?"

"I suppose it could work. They clearly need a leader. Pat's okay but... he's too nice."

"And you're Mr Mean, huh?" William teased, causing Cap to elbow his arm.

"Watch it, you..." he smirked, and the two friends started laughing.