Hi everyone :) Yes, I've finally started another story but this one is different from the rest. It's about two guys falling in love and figuring life out together. So the focus is a homosexual couple, not a heterosexual one. Anyone who has a problem with that should really not read this story. Take a look at the others on my page instead.

This is my first time writing original slash fiction, hopefully I do a good job. I'm putting up the first chapter, and like with He's Been Right There, I'd like to know if you all think I should continue the story. So, read and review please!

~FairyTaleDreams

Charlie

"You're disgustingly hopeless, you know that, right?" My best friend quipped as she slid into her seat opposite me for lunch. The cafeteria was buzzing with laughter and chatter as everyone tried to talk at once about the summer that had just ended.

"Mmm." I hummed noncommittally, my eyes fixed on a group of people few tables down from us, "I haven't seen him all morning."

I could practically feel Claire roll her eyes, "He's definitely here. I had Biology with him last hour."

Now my eyes flickered to meet hers, "Oh, that's good then." I said, flashing her a smile.

Seeing that she finally had my undivided attention for a moment, she launched into her usual lecture, "Seriously, Charlie, you need to get over this stupid crush. It's unhealthy, and it'll only end up hurting you. You know he's straight."

I snorted, picking up my slice of pizza and biting into it, "Claire," I said patiently, "you know I've tried getting over him."

"Not hard enough." She said scowling.

"That's what she said." I grin, unable to help myself.

Despite herself, Claire chuckles, shaking her head, "Like I said, hopeless."

"Who's hopeless?"

Claire and I both glance up as a tall, lanky guy with unmanageable, curly brown hair folds himself into the chair beside my best friend before leaning over and kissing her cheek, "Hi, love."

"What? No hello for me?" I asked, raising a single brow, "I feel hurt."

Leo gave me a dry look, "You're such a drama queen."

I pouted slightly, "That's still not a 'hello'."

Leo chuckled, "Hi Charlie, how was your summer?"

I grinned, "Great, thanks. The Hamptons were awesome. And yours?"

Leo shrugged, "The usual. I worked part-time at Sal's Garage, and spent the rest of the summer with Claire."

I placed an elbow on the table and rested my chin on my palm, regarding him thoughtfully, "Aren't you bored with her yet?"

For that, I earned a kick under the table which made me yelp and laugh all at once. It was good to be back in school, I'd missed my friends desperately. Claire gave me an irritated look before her lips curved in what I could only describe as an evil smirk. Uh oh.

"Leo, tell him who else worked with you at the garage this summer." She said, her voice sickly sweet.

My eyes narrowed and focussed on Leo, "What's she talking about? Who?"

Leo grinned sheepishly, "Um, Nate Andrews."

Nate Andrews? Surely he didn't mean the Nate Andrews I'd been crushing on since the beginning of our Junior year. The Nate Andrews who had been the star of numerous wet dreams. The guy I had not been able to get out of my head for a year now. Surely not that Nate Andrews!

Lips parted in soundless surprise and I felt a flash of annoyance toward Claire for not mentioning this before. Granted, I'd come back to town only last night, so it wasn't as if I could have visited Leo at work, but still. The thought of Nate Andrews sweaty and greasy from working on cars made my mouth dry; my imagination could have made such good use of this information!

Suddenly, something occurred to me that had my brown eyes lighting with hope as I leaned across the table towards Leo, "Please tell me you're friends with him now."

"Hey Leo! Hi Claire!" The cheery greeting came from behind me, but I didn't have to turn around to know who was speaking. I was pathetic enough that I knew his voice instantly. I turned anyway though, after all, as I'd told Claire before, I hadn't seen him all morning.

Nate Andrews was that boy that every high school had. Good looking, intelligent, popular. Basically, way out of my league. It didn't stop me from raking my eyes over him though. He was wearing a red tee that showed off his six foot four, lean, clearly muscled frame and those blue jeans cupped his ass in just the right way while showcasing his endlessly long legs. My eyes flicked back up to his face and I felt my heart pick up pace at the sight of the chiseled beauty of his jaw, high cheekbones, perfect nose and those full, bow lips. His dark hair was cut short and spiky, and oh my god, I was staring! My eyes widened and dropped away from the beautiful man before me. Christ, how long had I been staring? Did he think I was a complete freak? No, wait, I was pretty much running that risk anyway what with being one of the only out people in school.

"Charlie?"

I blinked and looked up at Claire who was peering at me concernedly. I had a feeling this wasn't the first time she was calling my name. Swallowing, I gave her a tight smile, "Yeah?"

"Leo was trying to introduce you to Nate. They worked together over the summer." Claire said, gesturing to the man behind me.

Steeling myself, I turned around and looked back up at the gorgeous specimen I'd been crushing on for so long. This time, I met his intrigued hazel gaze. "Hi. I'm Charles, Claire's best friend since we were about two." I even managed a grin as I spoke, "It's nice to meet you."

Hazel eyes darted over my face before they shifted away, and as if his very presence wasn't enough to get me hard, he pulled on his bottom lip with his teeth, clearly a nervous habit. Instead of wondering why he would possibly be nervous though, I was too busy staring at the way his teeth were abusing that full bottom lip. God, I wish I were the one doing that. I had a brief flash of having him pressed up against some surface and kissing him roughly, nipping at his bottom lip and it was all I could do to keep myself from groaning. Fucking hell, now I was hard as a rock.

"Nice to meet you too." He was saying, and I forced myself to focus on him and his words rather than my fantasies, "Claire and Leo talk about you a lot."

That caught my attention and I narrowed my eyes at my best friend and her boyfriend, "They do?"

"Yeah." He shifted behind me awkwardly and I turned to meet his gaze once more, finding that it was easy since his eyes were still on me, "Um, anyway I should go. My friends are waiting for me." He held my gaze for a moment longer before looking to Leo and grinning, that natural, easy grin, "I just wanted to say hi. I'll see you guys around!"

The three of us watched him go. It was only once he'd settled down at his table, greeting his friends with smiles and pats on the back that I turned away with a sigh. "Fuck. That could have gone better. How obvious was I?" I asked Claire, running a hand through my long blond curls.

She pursed her lips, "You know how I said he was straight?"

My eyebrows furrowed, "Yeah?"

"I might have been wrong." She said simply, turning her attention back to her food.

I stared at her, perplexed. What the fuck did that even mean?

Nate

I rushed forward, shooting past the members of the opposing team, turning my head to catch sight of the ball spiralling toward me. I jumped and caught it, zigzagging through the defense to score a touchdown.

Coach blew the whistle signalling the end of play, and everyone came up to clap me on the back, congratulating me on a great score. Coach gave me a wide grin, "Good job, Quarterback."

I grinned back, "Thanks, Coach."

He raised his voice to address the team, "Alright, great practice boys! Hit the showers! I'll see you lot on Wednesday."

There was a general rumble of agreement as everyone made their way towards the shower. I stopped at my locker, shucking my gear and pulling my wet t-shirt over my head. I heard Jacob and Julian on either side of me, removing their clothing as well.

"So, I never got around to asking you before, but why were you talking to Union High's resident fag in the cafeteria?" Jacob asked casually.

I flinched inwardly at the term and levelled a cool look at my oldest friend, "Don't use that word."

"Yeah. It makes you out to be an ignorant asshole, which we know you aren't." Julian said, sounding just as annoyed as me. He had moved into town freshman year and had immediately clicked with Jacob and me. The three of us had been inseparable since.

Jacob grimaced, "You both are so touchy sometimes; you know I don't care if a guy likes to suck cock."

His words made an image flash in my mind; warm wet suction around my cock, my hand buried in golden curls, heated brown eyes looking up at me. I felt myself harden and stomped down my thoughts. I really didn't need to sport a hard-on in the locker room of all places. "It doesn't matter. Fag is a derogatory term and you know it." I pointed out, stepping out of my jeans and boxers with a towel wrapped around my waist, making my way to the showers.

"Okay, okay." Jacob grinned, "I'm sorry. Why were you talking to Union High's resident homosexual in the cafeteria, Nate?"

I shrugged, "You know Leo, the guy I worked with at Sal's, and Claire, his girlfriend." I waited till they nodded, "Charles is Claire's best friend."

"Charles." Jacob rolled that name around his mouth, "That's his name?"

"I think everyone calls him Charlie." Julian offered, turning on his shower.

I stepped into my spray, lifting my head up and closing my eyes as the water cascaded over my body, "I like Charles." I mumbled absently. Again, my imagination ran wild as it picked up from where it had left off before. My hand buried in golden curls, heated brown eyes looking up at me as pink lips closed around my cock and an unseen tongue swirled around the tip. I could see myself sag back on the wall behind me, his name leaving my lips in a guttural moan. Yes, 'Charles' was so much sexier than 'Charlie'.

"What did you say?" Jacob asked, sounding confused.

I flushed, my eyes snapping open as I recalled where I was and with who. The realisation was enough to stop the blood from flowing into my cock, I cleared my throat, "The name Charlie doesn't seem to suit him." I said lamely, hoping that explained my words.

Jacob was still looking at me like I'd grown a second head, but he let it drop, turning away.

"Leo and Claire are quite fun." Julian mused, no doubt recalling the few days all of us had spent hanging around the mall or the movie theatre. "If Charlie is their friend, where was he all summer?"

"Hamptons." I answered, "His parents have a house up there and they go every summer."

Jacob snickered, "So he's a spoilt rich boy. Should have guessed, what with his ride to school."

My lips twitched as I fought a smile. Charles's ride to school was exactly what had first drawn my attention to him. Last November, he had ridden into school on the back of a shiny red Harley, all suited up in black skinny jeans, a white tee and a black leather jacket. Just the sight of him had made my heart skip a beat and my cock twitch in interest. I'd known by then that I was gay, but it was the first time I'd been interested in a guy beyond just thinking he was hot. The first time I'd wanted to get to know a guy in a romantic sense. It had helped that Charles was out and unashamed of his sexuality. That kind of confidence was ridiculously attractive in a man.

"Earth to Nate!"

I jolted out of my thoughts as I turned to Julian who was smiling bemusedly, "What is up with you today? You completely zoned out. Again."

I flushed, turning off the shower and wrapping a towel around myself, "Um, nothing. Sorry. What were you guys saying?"

"I was asking you whether you were coming for my party on Saturday." Jacob said, towelling his hair dry.

I rolled my eyes, "I've come every year since fifth grade. Why would that change now?"

Jake shrugged, "Hot date, maybe?"

I snorted, "Yeah, no."

Jake shook his head, "I don't understand you. Girls throw themselves at you on a daily basis. How come you never give them a chance?"

Because I don't like girls.

I could say that, and while he'd be shocked, Jacob would accept the answer. Julian would accept the answer too, and lately it was getting more and more difficult to keep that part of me hidden from them. I wanted to ask a boy out on a date. I wanted to hold hands with someone who cared about me. I wanted to kiss the boy I liked. I wanted to kiss Charles, and going by the way he was staring at me in the cafeteria, I'd like to think he wants me to kiss him too.

But I wasn't ready for the fall out of coming out of the closet. Sure, Jacob and Julian would accept me, but what about my football team? The rest of the school? My parents?

"I have high standards." I mumbled as we made our way out of the locker room.

"So tell me these standards of yours!" Jacob pushed, "Between Julian and me, we know enough girls that at least one of them should be your type."

"Let it go, Jake. If he doesn't want to date anyone, he doesn't have to." Julian said in that quiet, firm way of his that had Jacob shutting up immediately.

He frowned looking between Jules and me, "I was just trying to help."

I sighed, slinging an arm around his shoulder and drawing him to me in a half-hug, "I know, Jake. I'm sorry. Dating isn't really an option for me right now."

Julian studied my face intently, "Isn't an option?"

I swallowed. Sometimes I got the feeling Julian knew a lot more than he let on. "No. Not right now."

Jacob seemed to consider that, "Why isn't it an option? Is that something you want to talk about? You know you can tell Jules and me anything."

I smiled, affection for my best friends welling up within me, "I know. I swear, I do. And when I'm ready to talk, I'll come to both of you first."

Both of them seemed satisfied with that. There was a moment of silence and then Jacob asked, "You think I should invite Leo and Claire for my party?"

Julian's eyes slid to me before sliding back to Jake, "If you invite them, you'll have to invite Charlie."

"I don't mind." Jacob said, shrugging, "What do you think, Nate?"

I couldn't stop the smile that curved my lips, "I think it's a great idea."

Suddenly, Saturday couldn't come fast enough.

COPYRIGHT SANJANA BALARAMAN.