Wouldn't Dream Of It

Chapter 3

Charlie

When lunch finally rolled around, Charlie was fucking exhausted. Math could kill a person man, Jesus.

As someone who hated loud noises, the cafeteria was his least favorite place at school. After picking up his food, he dropped down onto the "Jock" table where most of the athletes sat. Basketball players and football player didn't usually mix but because a few of them were close friends with each other, no one protested when they sat together. Some of the players were not at the table today so it wasn't as cramped as it usually was. 

The guys were talking about their upcoming match and stuff but, Charlie wasn't focused on that, his gaze was trained on Jason. He had dark circles under his eyes and Charlie pretty sure he was the only one who noticed how tired Jason looked as he frowned at his food. Charlie instinctively turned away when the other man looked up, his head perking up like a puppy. As much as he hated to admit it, he felt a pang of protectiveness go through him at the thought of Jason suffering, which is why the next time he caught Charlie's gaze, instead of looking away like he usually would, he asked him, "You okay?"

Jaosn's eyes widened in surprise before he regained his composure and gave him a curt nod, "I'm fine". His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion that he may have been feeling. He seemed to do that a lot, pretend like he didn't feel anything. Charlie wasn't a psychiatrist by any means but even he knew that it wasn't very healthy.

"Right", Charlie said, shaking his head, unconvinced, "And I'm straight"

Jason grunted, rolling his eyes, "Seriously Hayes, when did you become such a big baby? I'm fucking fine!"

All the other heads in the table whipped up to look at them, eyebrows raised. Charlie shook his head in frustration. Why did he even try?

"You know what? Fuck you", he snapped before making his way to the trash can and dropping his tray with a thump. Thankfully, he had art next which meant he could finally work off some steam, but unfortunately it was one of the very few classes he shared with Jason.

Charlie stood in front of the easel, staring at it and wondering what exactly to paint. He usually let his imagination run wild and instinctively painted whatever came to mind, but right now, his brain was as blank as the canvas. Jason stood a couple of feet away from him. Charlie could only see his back, but he knew his face would be scrunched up in concentration. As he studied Jason's frame, the way he fidgeted around and crossed his hands against his chest, never standing in the same position, Charlie realized something. Something he'd thought about but never really executed. Using that as his idea, he started to paint.

By the time he was done with the picture, most of the class had cleared out except him, Jason and a couple of others. Satisfied with his art, Charlie moved away from the canvas, studying it.

He had painted an ocean, starting off calm and peaceful but soon turning a dark shade of blue, waves crashing against the rocks. This was the only way he could describe Jason; he was like an ocean, often bright and full of light but could be moody and grumpy at the same fucking time. Charlie smiled at the painting, a wave of nostalgia storming through him as he remembered the times they used to spend together on his tree house, sprawled on the ground staring at the ceiling. He was one of the main reasons Charlie had realized that he was gay. His sexuality was something that had taken time for him to come to terms with, but once he did, there was no going back.

As if he knew Charlie was thinking about him, Jason turned his chin to face him over his shoulder and Charlie froze, not sure what to do. He gave Charlie this cheeky little grin and moved out of the way so that his canvas was visible. 

Charlie snorted when he saw what was on it. Painted on the white sheet, was a smurf.

A fucking smurf!

"Did you just-"

Covering his mouth with his hand, Charlie glared at him, trying his best to control the laughter that wanted to burst out of him but fuck it, He couldn't hold it in. It started off as a giggle, but the second he saw Jason's lips quirk up in amusement, Charlie lost it.

Something about the drawing was so fucking hilarious, it was the brainy smurf, a basketball in hand, his ass kind of pointed out, blushing at another smurf. (He also didn't miss the fact that the other smurf was blonde. Hmm tryna tell me something hun?)

God he always knew Jason was a good artist, but this was beautiful.

Jason said nothing but winked at Charlie and walked out of the room without a second glance. It reminded Charlie of freshman year, back when their rivalry was just based on academics and teasing each other with their achievements. But now, almost 5 years later it was real. Jason really did hate him and that sucked on so many levels. Charlie had tried to rekindle their friendship but had soon given up. 

He sighed staring at Jason, long after he was gone. He was so fucking screwed, all the anger Charlie had towards him during lunch was gone.

Just a simple painting and he was gone.

AAh, here we are, end of chapter 3. Hope you liked it, don't forget to vote and comment! Also, quick question: Have you ever been hit in the face with a basketball? *Shudders*