The weekend rolls around, and here I am on my way to Charlie's place. It took me an ungodly amount of time to decide what to wear. In the end, I kept it casual and stuck with a dark blue sweatshirt and beige pants. No idea why it took me so long to pick an outfit.
I finally arrive at the apartment complex, and according to Charlie, he lives on the 5th floor. So, I head to the elevator and press the number five. As I approach the door, my heart starts to beat faster for some reason. Taking in one last breath I ring the bell. I hear some muffled noises behind the door, but it doesn't take long for Charlie to appear.
"Hey, come in." he says while opening the door, his hair is tousled, and I can't help but crack a smile at that sight.
I enter his apartment, but my eyes remain focused on Charlie. He's wearing a hoodie yet again, but a purple one this time. His face is soft, his cheeks puffed out as if he just woke up. How cute–
What, no. Stop. We're here for business.
"Do you want something to drink?" Charlie asks as he walks to the kitchen.
"Water is fine." I answer, taking a seat on the couch.
Now that I'm seated, I take a look around. His place is a bit smaller than I expected. Well, I suppose it is because it's a one-bedroom flat. Meaning he lives alone. I don't know why but that assumption sends some kind of feeling in my stomach. There aren't any pictures or plants in the living room. Though, there is a giant poster across the wall. I believe it's from an anime.
"Here you go," Charlie hands me a glass of water.
"Thanks. Say what kind of poster is that?" I ask as I take a sip.
Charlie takes a glance at the said poster. "It's from an anime."
"I know that," I set the glass on the small table in front of me. "I meant from which anime is it from."
His eyes widen, and my heart goes wild for a second. It's that look again. Charlie's eyes beam and the corner of his mouth curve upwards, leaving his mouth ajar.
"It's from Fairytail. Do you know it?" he says, his face full of joy.
"I have heard of it, but I didn't watch it."
"You should! It's amazing." Charlie smiles. "I didn't know you also watch anime."
"I watched a lot back in middle school. Now not so much."
"What's your favourite?" he asks, his voice oozing with curiosity.
I hum, racking my brain. "Dragonball for sure."
Charlie's face jolts up, "That's one of my favourites too."
"Oh, is that so?" I laugh. Man, he is so cute, and his reactions are so funny. He's acting like a little kid who just found a friend he can share his interests with. Quite adorable.
Anyway, I have to get myself together. I am supposed to be here for something else and not to stare at his face.
"So," I start. "Can you tell me more of your idea about the webcomic? I assume you already have a rough idea of what kind of story you want to tell. I only draw so I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes, of course." Charlie says as he gets up. He strides towards the door on the left and I follow right behind. We enter his bedroom, and I'm left stunned at the sight before my eyes. His room is quite huge. There are two bookshelves in the right corner filled to the brim with mangas. Right next to it is a large glass cabinet with an insane amount of anime figures. I have never seen a room like this before. It's great to see that he's dedicated to his hobbies.
Charlie stops in front of his desk and spins the chair around to face me. "Here take a seat."
I was reluctant at first, but then I went ahead and did what he asked for. My eyes fall onto his PC screen, and my eyes widen. Is this a 60-page manuscript?
"To tell you the truth, I've been working on this novel for quite some time now. I have always wanted to make a webcomic out of it, but I can't draw or at least draw the way I have envisioned the style I want for this story." Charlie says as he leans closer to the screen, his face almost touching my shoulder. He smells quite fragrant, citrus almost.
"Can I read a little?" I ask as I lift my head to his. Our faces are breaths apart, but I feel like I'm the only one who's about to fall apart.
"Yes, of course. Go ahead. I wanted to ask you to look over it anyway. Since we're going to be working on this together, your opinion on the story is important."
"All right," I turn my eyes towards the screen and read the first few pages. It's really good. The beginning packs quite a punch to it. I only wanted to read the first chapter, but I ended up reading the whole 60 pages in one go. It was just that breathtaking.
The story doesn't seem that different from any other action fantasy. There is a solid main character, solid side characters, a love interest, and a decent villain, who doesn't just strive for evil but also has a heart and reasonings for doing the things he does. The established world seems fine as well. Not to mention the trauma and pain involved in the scenes. It's perfect as it is. Charlie could definitely pitch his novel and get a deal from publishing houses. Though, he did say he wanted to create a webcomic.
I spin around to face Charlie, who had been sitting quietly on his bed the entire time. His eyes spring up to mine, his fingers interlocking with one another. Anticipation and… fear across his face.
I huff out a smile. "Charlie, this is great."
"Really?" he says, and I can see his worries dissolve in seconds. "I'm glad. I was worried you might not find it interesting."
"Are you insane? It's a hell of a story, and your writing skills are top-notch. I can see this project reaching millions and even more."
Charlie's cheek reddens as he tries to avoid my gaze. "You're exaggerating."
I'm not though, I even feel kind of happy he wants to work with me, but if I tell him that I'm pretty sure his whole face will turn into a tomato.
Charlie and I continue to discuss the details of our webcomic. He told me a rough idea of how the ending might be and what other plans he has for the progress of the story. I asked him if he had an idea about how he wants the character to look like, so I can try and visualize them. To my surprise Charlie has a folder on his PC filled with anime characters and portraits of how he wanted the characters to resemble. I took note of that; it was big help.
Time flew by when I was at Charlie's place. I wish I could've stayed longer, but work was calling, and I couldn't trade shifts last minute. So, here I am at the local library, sitting at the counter, bored as hell. My mind wanders back to earlier this day.
After Charlie and I had finished working on the webcomic, we spent the rest of the time talking about anime and manga. I, in particular, am not that familiar with it, I mean sure, I have watched a few animes, but not daily. But listening to Charlie talk about it made it worthwhile. He was so enthusiastic. I just sat there and watched him talk nonstop about an anime he had recently watched. Then he proceeded to show me all kinds of mangas, asking me what genre I liked and even offering me some. I don't read mangas, but I took his recommendations anyway.
My beautiful thoughts get interrupted when a loud bang on the counter appears, and I see a stack of books in front of me. I look up and find Louis, staring at me, his eyes narrowed.
"I didn't offer you this job so you could daydream."
That's right. When I needed some cash or more like I was in need of a job to keep me occupied Louis asked me to work at his workplace since they needed another part-timer. I'm beyond grateful, but sometimes I feel like he takes this job too seriously.
„Relax. I wasn't distracted."
Louis rolls his eyes. „What's going on with you today? You're in a bitter mood somehow."
I scoff, „I'm not. I would just rather be… somewhere else."
"Don't we all?"
This time it's my turn to roll my eyes. I take the stack a books and shove it closer to me. As I scan every single one to the computer, Louis opens his big mouth again.
"Just admit you were on a date today," he says, half cackling.
"I was not," I retort, keeping my eyes on the screen as I continue my work.
"Liar."
"I'm not. I was just at a friend's house." We are friends… right? Charlie and I never said anything of the sort, we met as project members and now we kind of are just business partners.
"Oh?" Louis hums and I can feel his gaze on me. "What's the name of this girl?"
"It's a guy, and his name is Charlie." I say as I look over to him. His head tilts and his brows furrow in confusion. "He is in my Media Graphics class. We work on a project together."
"Ohhh." Louis stretches the word out, the enthusiasm leaving his voice. "And here I thought you had a girlfriend."
I ignore him and the urge to correct him "You mean boyfriend". Unlike Jayson, Louis doesn't know I'm gay, and I have no intention of telling him anytime soon. Not that I want to keep it a secret from him, but we haven't known each other for that long yet. We just met a month ago, and I don't go around telling everyone what my sexual orientation is, not that it concerns them. Jayson is different, we've been stuck together since kindergarten. Our parents were close friends, so naturally we needed to carry on the friendship.
Besides that, I have a strong feeling that Louis' reaction to me coming out would not be very supportive. I don't want to assume, but Louis is as straight as a ruler and he doesn't give off ally vibes. Not to mention, he's pretty damn judgy. So, I'll be putting that thought of information aside for now. When the right time comes, I'll tell him for sure.